Analyzing language dependency structures

• US 9,830,404 B2
• Filed: 12/30/2014
• Issued: 11/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Inventors: Huang, Fei, Rottmann, Kay, Zhang, Ying, Eck, Matthias Gerhard
• Primary Examiner(s): Vy, Hung T
• Application Number:
  US14/586,074
• Publication Number:
  US 20160188661A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,064 Days
• Field of Search: 707769, 707736, 707750, 707749
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/90335 Query processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9038 Presentation of query results

Abstract

Technology is discussed herein for identifying trending actions within a group of posts matching a query. A group of posts can be selected based on specified actions, action targets, or parameters such as author age, location, gender, when the posts were posted or what keywords they contain. Selected posts can be divided into sentences and a dependency structure can be created for each sentence classifying portions of the sentence as actions or action targets. Statistics can be generated for each sentence or post indicating whether it matches the actions, action targets, or other parameters specified in the query. Based on these statistics, additional information can be gathered to respond to questions posed in the query.

Claims

1. A method, performed by a computing system, for generating trending action statistics that match a query, comprising:

receiving, by a server, the query identifying one or more of;

a search action or a search action target;

selecting a set of posts relevant to the query, the set of posts comprising one or more action posts that contain at least one sentence that specifies a post action and a post action target;

for one or more selected action posts of the one or more action posts;

dividing the selected action post into one or more sentences;

creating, for at least one action sentence of the one or more sentences, a dependency structure correlating a performed action identified in the action sentence with an action target identified in the action sentence, wherein the identification of the performed action comprises a first identifier, within the action sentence, corresponding to the performed action, and wherein the identification of the action target comprises a second identifier, within the action sentence, corresponding to one or more objects of the action sentence;

determining, based on the dependency structure, that the selected action post matches the query by;

determining that the search action specified in the query matches the performed action identified in the dependency structure;

or

determining that the search action target specified in the query matches the action target identified in the dependency structure;

in response to determining that the selected action post matches the query, updating a count of matching actions or a count of matching action targets corresponding to the action or action target identified in the dependency structure;

communicating between the server and a database to generate a response to the query by computing statistics based on the count of matching actions or the count of matching action targets; and

providing the response to the query.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the received query identifies one or more search actions by specifying one or more action keywords.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein creating the dependency structure comprises identifying words on a predefined action word list.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the received query further identifies additional criteria indicating one or more of;

author location;

author age;

author gender;

author group association;

post keywords;

post length;

post language;

post location;

or

post timeframe; and

selecting the set of posts relevant to the query is based on the additional criteria.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein selecting the set of posts relevant to the query comprises automatically identifying and extracting keywords from the query and locating posts that contain the keywords.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein identifying and extracting keywords from the query comprises:

classifying words in the query;

identifying, as action keywords, words with an action classification; and

excluding, from the identified action keywords, action keywords on an action exclusion list.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

identifying, using the response to the query, a category for one or more trending actions or action targets;

receiving a request for a web page, wherein the web page is associated with the identified category;

selecting one or more content items that are;

related to the one or more trending actions or action targets;

or

customized for the one or more trending actions or action targets;

customizing the web page to include the selected one or more content items; and

providing, in response to the request for the web page, the customized web page.

8. The method of claim 1:

wherein the received query identifies one or more search actions by specifying one or more minutia identifiers; and

wherein the one or more minutia identifiers correspond to a set of actions comprising;

feeling, watching, reading, listening to, drinking, eating, playing, traveling to, looking for, and exercising.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the received query specifies additional information to be gathered in relation to posts matching the search action or search action target identified in the query; and

generating a response to the query comprises;

obtaining, in relation to each of the selected action posts, the additional information specified in the query.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the additional information to be gathered is information about authors of posts matching the search action or search action target identified in the query.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the computed statistics used to generate the response to the query are further based on a count of non-matching posts or non-matching sentences that, based on another dependency structure generated for each non-matching sentence, do not match the search action specified in the query or do not match the search action target specified in the query.

12. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computing system, cause the computing system to perform operations for selecting trending action targets matching a query, comprising:

receiving a query identifying one or more search actions;

identifying, as search criteria, one or more keywords or one or more identifiers for the one or more search actions in the received query;

selecting, based on the search criteria, a set of posts relevant to the query, the set of posts comprising one or more action posts that contain at least one sentence that specifies a post action and a post action target;

for one or more selected action posts of the one or more action posts;

creating a dependency structure for at least one action sentence in the selected action post, wherein the dependency structure correlates a performed action identified in the action sentence with an action target identified in the action sentence, wherein the identification of the performed action comprises a first identifier, within the action sentence, corresponding to the performed action, and wherein the identification of the action target comprises a second identifier, within the action sentence, corresponding to one or more objects of the action sentence;

determining, based on the dependency structure, that the selected action post matches the query by determining that at least one of the one or more search actions specified in the query matches the performed action identified in the dependency structure; and

in response to determining that the selected action post matches the query, updating a count of action targets that match the query corresponding to the action target identified in the dependency structure; and

providing a response to the query that identifies one or more response action targets based on the count for each of the identified one or more response action targets being above a threshold.

13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12 wherein the received query identifies one or more search actions by specifying one or more action keywords.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12 wherein:

the received query further identifies additional criteria indicating one or more of;

author location;

author age;

author gender;

author group association;

post keywords;

post length;

post language;

post location;

or

post timeframe; and

selecting the set of posts relevant to the query is based on the additional criteria.

15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12:

wherein selecting the set of posts relevant to the query comprises;

classifying words in the query;

identifying, as action keywords, words with an action classification; and

locating posts that contain the keywords; and

wherein identifying words with the action classification comprises excluding, from the identified action keywords, action keywords on an action exclusion list.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12 wherein the one or more search actions comprise at least one of:

feeling, watching, reading, listening to, drinking, eating, playing, traveling to, looking for, exercising, or buying.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12 wherein:

the received query specifies additional information to be gathered in relation to posts matching the one or more search actions; and

the response to the query comprises;

the additional information specified in the query obtained in relation to each of the selected action posts.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17 wherein the additional information to be gathered is information about authors of posts matching the one or more search actions identified in the query.

19. A system for identifying trending actions matching a query, comprising:

one or more processors;

a memory;

an interface configured to receive a query identifying one or more search action targets;

a post selector configured to;

identify, as search criteria, one or more keywords or one or more identifiers for the one or more search action targets in the received query; and

select, based on the search criteria, a set of posts relevant to the query, the set of posts comprising one or more action posts that contain at least one sentence that specifies a post action and a post action target;

a language dependency analyzer configured to;

for one or more selected action posts of the one or more action posts, create a dependency structure for at least one action sentence in the selected action post, wherein the dependency structure correlates a performed action identified in the action sentence with an action target identified in the action sentence, wherein the identification of the performed action comprises a first identifier, within the action sentence, corresponding to the performed action, and wherein the identification of the action target comprises a second identifier, within the action sentence, corresponding to one or more objects of the action sentence; and

a statistics generator configured to;

determine, based on the dependency structure, that the selected action post matches the query by determining that at least one of the one or more search action targets specified in the query matches the action target identified in the dependency structure; and

in response to determining that the selected action post matches the query, update a count of actions that match the query corresponding to the action identified in the dependency structure; and

providing a response to the query that identifies one or more actions based on the count for each of the identified one or more actions being above a threshold.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein:

the received query specifies additional information to be gathered in relation to posts matching the one or more search action targets in the query;

the response to the query comprises;

the additional information specified in the query obtained in relation to each of the selected action posts; and

the additional information to be gathered is information about authors of posts matching the one or more search action targets identified in the query.