Populating ghost identities for online community advocacy management platform

• US 9,736,253 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2012
• Issued: 08/15/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Daniel Sullivan
• Original Assignee: Daniel Sullivan
• Inventors: Sullivan, Daniel
• Primary Examiner(s): Winder, Patrice
• Assistant Examiner(s): SOLOMON, RUTH S.
• Application Number:
  US13/722,328
• Publication Number:
  US 20140181195A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,699 Days
• Field of Search: 709203, 709204
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0421 Anonymous communication, i.e. the party's identifiers are hidden from the other party or parties, e.g. using an anonymizer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching

Abstract

For an online community advocacy management platform, the techniques herein create “ghost profiles” of users not registered with the app/plug-in, but that are participating in the social media forum (an identification phase). In this manner, all participants may build their advocacy score regardless of the app/plug-in, which may be useful for the user if later deciding to participate officially, or else for the brand to continue to be able to monitor anonymous (yet uniquely identified) activity on an individual basis, and to identify, quantify, and foster the most valuable and influential advocates within the existing community.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

determining, by a processor operating as part of an online community advocacy management platform, user-generated activity within an online community associated with a non-registered participant, wherein user-generated activity comprises one or more of comments, likes, sourced topics, sourced ideas, followers, shares, or flags;

determining, by the processor, available identification (ID) information of the non-registered participant;

determining, by the processor, whether the non-registered participant has a ghost profile for the online community based on the ID;

in response to no ghost profile, generating, by the processor, a ghost profile for the non-registered participant in the online community advocacy management platform, wherein a ghost profile provides a log of user-generated activity in a social media forum of an online community by a corresponding non-registered user based on the ID, and logging the user generated activity in on a cache memory within the online community advocacy management platform;

in response to having a ghost profile, logging, by the cache memory the user-generated activity by the non-registered user within the associated ghost profile; and

in response to generating the ghost profile for the non-registered participant, activating access to the ghost profile for the non-registered user on the online community advocacy management platform for at least an administrator,

wherein the processor builds an advocacy score within the ghost profile of the non-registered participant based upon, at least in part, the logged user-generated activity;

registering the non-registered user to a registered user; and

populating a registered profile of the registered user with logged activity from the associated ghost profile.

2. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

limiting at least one of the advocacy score of non-registered users within the ghost profile.

3. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

displaying, with user-generated content, the ID on individual community threads where the user-generated activity took place;

displaying, with the user-generated content, an anonymous ID on other threads to which the user-generated activity is copied.

4. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

providing access to the ghost profile for only administrators of the online community.

5. The method as in claim 4, further comprising:

identifying the non-registered user to the administrators as a uniquely identifiable anonymous user without indicating the ID.

6. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

providing access to the ghost profile for participants of the online community; and

identifying the non-registered user to the participants as a uniquely identifiable anonymous user without indicating the ID.

7. A tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media having software encoded thereon, the software when executed by a processor operable to:

determine, as an online community advocacy management platform, user-generated activity within an online community associated with a non-registered participant, wherein user-generated activity comprises one or more of comments, likes, sourced topics, sourced ideas, followers, shares, or flags;

determine available identification (ID) information of the non-registered participant;

determine whether the non-registered participant has a ghost profile for the online community based on the ID;

in response to no ghost profile, generate a ghost profile for the non-registered participant in the online community advocacy management platform, wherein a ghost profile provides a log of user-generated activity in a social media forum of an online community by a corresponding non-registered user based on the ID, and log the user generated activity in on a cache memory within the online community advocacy management platform;

in response to having a ghost profile, log, in the cache memory, the user-generated activity by the non-registered user within the associated ghost profile; and

in response to generating the ghost profile for the non-registered participant, activate access to the ghost profile for the non-registered user on the online community advocacy management platform for at least an administrator,

wherein the processor builds an advocacy score within the ghost profile of the non-registered participant based upon, at least in part, the logged user-generated activity;

registering the non-registered user to a registered user; and

populating a registered profile of the registered user with logged activity from the associated ghost profile.

8. The computer-readable media as in claim 7, wherein the software when executed is further operable to:

limit at least one of the advocacy score of non-registered users within the ghost profile.

9. The computer-readable media as in claim 7, wherein the software when executed is further operable to:

display, with user-generated content, the ID on individual community threads where the user-generated activity took place;

display, with the user-generated content, an anonymous ID on other threads to which the user-generated activity is copied.

10. The computer-readable media as in claim 7, wherein the software when executed is further operable to:

provide access to the ghost profile for only administrators of the online community.

11. The computer-readable media as in claim 10, wherein the software when executed is further operable to:

identify the non-registered user to the administrators as a uniquely identifiable anonymous user without indicating the ID.

12. The computer-readable media as in claim 7, wherein the software when executed is further operable to:

provide access to the ghost profile for participants of the online community; and

identify the non-registered user to the participants as a uniquely identifiable anonymous user without indicating the ID.

13. An apparatus, comprising:

one or more network interfaces to communicate with a computer network;

a processor coupled to the network interfaces and adapted to execute one or more processes; and

a cache memory on an online community advocacy management platform configured to store a process executable by the processor, the process when executed operable to;

determine, within the online community advocacy management platform, user-generated activity within an online community associated with a non-registered participant, wherein user-generated activity comprises one or more of comments, likes, sourced topics, sourced ideas, followers, shares, or flags;

determine available identification (ID) information of the non-registered participant;

determine whether the non-registered participant has a ghost profile for the online community based on the ID;

in response to no ghost profile, create a ghost profile for the non-registered participant in the online community advocacy management platform, wherein a ghost profile provides a log of user-generated activity in social media forum of an online community by a corresponding non-registered user based on the ID, and log the user generated activity in on a cache memory within the online community advocacy management platform;

in response to having a ghost profile, log on the cache memory the user-generated activity by the non-registered user within the associated ghost profile; and

in response to generating the ghost profile for the non-registered participant, activate access to the ghost profile for the non-registered user on the online community advocacy management platform for at least an administrator,

wherein the processor builds an advocacy score within the ghost profile of the non-registered participant based upon, at least in part, the logged user-generated activity;

registering the non-registered user to a registered user; and

populating a registered profile of the registered user with logged activity from the associated ghost profile.