SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS

• US 20070271272A1
• Filed: 03/15/2007
• Published: 11/22/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: 3degrees LLC
• Original Assignee: Within3, Inc.
• Inventors: Smith, Brian, Kionga-Kamau, Peter, McGuire, Heather, Markus, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 8,412,706 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

This invention is generally directed to one or more systems or methods relating to social network analysis. More specifically, this invention is generally directed to one or more systems or methods relating to personal communication networks and the analysis of personal-communication-network data.

Claims

1. A method for classifying a member of an internet or computer-based personal-communication-network as an opinion leader or innovator in a field of interest, the personal-communication-network including a number of members, the method comprising the steps of:

gathering personal-communication-network data from information entered and activities conducted on the personal communication network; and

classifying a personal-communication-network member as an opinion leader or innovator in a field of interest based upon the gathered personal-communication-network data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the personal-communication-network data is gathered from one or more of the following sources:

information in profiles of members, communication links by and among members of the personal communication network, information in communications by and among members of the personal communication network, invitations to join personal communication networks, and information regarding previously performed searches.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the personal-communication-network data is based upon a quantity of personal-communication-network keyword or name searches that list the member in the search results, or wherein the data is based upon the number of times that other personal-communication-network members access the member'"'"'s profile.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of classifying is based upon a quantity of invitations that the at least one person has received or accepted in the personal communication network, wherein all of the networks have a field of interest in common.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the memberships are defined as being a first, second, or third degree contact in the at least one personal communication network, and is weighted accordingly in the classifying step.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of classifying is based upon the quantity of electronic communications that the person has sent from or received from personal-communication-network members in a field of interest.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of classifying is based upon a variable selected from the group consisting of:

the quantity of communications between members, the frequency of communication between memberss, the number of words in a communication between members, the direction of communication between members, the number of key words in a communication between members, and combinations thereof.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the personal-communication-network data relates to personal-communication-network keyword searching that the personal communication-network members have performed.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of classifying involves a relative comparison that includes a plurality of personal communication networks having the field of interest in common.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of classifying involves a relative comparison of the member'"'"'s quantity of personal-communication-network memberships within the field of interest to at least one other member'"'"'s quantity of personal-communication-network memberships within the field of interest.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the field of interest is medicine, pediatrics, aerospace medicine, diagnosis and treatment, pharmacology, asthma, allergy and immunology, anesthesiology, colon and rectal surgery, dermatology, emergency medicine, family practice, general preventive medicine, internal medicine, critical care medicine, medical genetics, neurology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, preventive medicine, psychiatry, molecular genetic pathology, neurological surgery, diagnostic radiology, neuroradiology, nuclear medicine, obstetrics, gynecology, occupational medicine, ophthalmology, orthopaedic surgery, otolaryngology, pathology-anatomic and clinical pediatrics, plastic surgery, preventive medicine, public health, radiation oncology, radiology-diagnostic surgery, thoracic surgery, urology, abdominal radiology addiction psychiatry, adolescent medicine, adult reconstructive orthopaedics, blood banking/transfusion medicine, cardiothoracic radiology, cardiovascular disease, chemical pathology, child neurology, clinical cardiac electrophysiology, clinical neurophysiology, clinical and laboratory immunology, craniofacial surgery, critical care medicine, cytopathology, dermatopathology, developmental-behavioral pediatrics, endovascular surgical neuroradiology, foot and ankle orthopaedics, forensic pathology, forensic psychiatry, gastroenterology, geriatric medicine, geriatric psychiatry, hand surgery, hematology, oncology, infectious disease, interventional cardiology, medical microbiology, medical toxicology, musculoskeletal oncology, musculoskeletal radiology, neonatal-perinatal medicine, nephrology, neurodevelopmental disabilities, neuropathology, neuroradiology, neurotology, nuclear radiology, oncology, orthopaedic sports medicine, orthopaedic surgery of the spine, orthopaedic trauma, pain medicine, pediatric anesthesiology, pediatric cardiology, pediatric critical care medicine, pediatric emergency medicine, pediatric emergency medicine, pediatric endocrinology, pediatric gastroenterology, pediatric hematology/oncology, pediatric infectious diseases, pediatric nephrology, pediatric orthopaedics, pediatric otolaryngology, pediatric pathology, pediatric pulmonology, pediatric radiology, pediatric rehabilitation medicine, pediatric rheumatology, pediatric sports medicine, pediatric surgery, pediatric urology, procedural dermatology, pulmonary disease, rheumatology, selective pathology, spinal cord injury, sports medicine, surgical critical care, undersea and hyperbaric medicine, vascular neurology, vascular surgery, vascular and interventional radiology, or a combination thereof

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of classifying, includes classifying a person'"'"'s innovativeness based upon a quantity of personal-communication-network invitations the person has received from a personal-communication-network member that is classified as an innovator, early adopter, early majority, late majority, or laggard.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of classifying, includes classifying a person'"'"'s innovativeness based upon a factor selected from the group consisting of:

length of time required for the person to respond to a personal-communication-network invitation, a number of invitations sent to the person, a percentage of the population that has already adopted an innovation, a time between a similar recent development'"'"'s introduction to a market and a time when the person adopted the similar recent development;

the person'"'"'s participation in experimental studies, and publications by the person, or a combination thereof.

14. A method for displaying search results of an internet or computer-based the personal communication network search, the the personal communication network including a number of members, the method comprising the steps of:

gathering personal-communication-network data from information entered and activities conducted on the personal communication network;

searching the gathered personal-communication-network data for a key word or phrase identified by a party;

displaying results of the search by;

showing at least one personal-communication-network member that is identified by the search and showing how the party conducting the search is linked to the at least one personal-communication-network member identified by the search;

or

showing at least one personal-communication-network communication that is identified by the search and showing how the party conducting the search is linked to the at least one personal-communication-network communication identified by the search.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein in the step of displaying the results, each way that a party conducting the search is linked to the at least one personal-communication-network communication identified by the search is shown.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of indicating in the results whether a personal-communication-network member identified in the results is an opinion leader or innovator in a field of interest.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of indicating in the results a relationship between the party and the member identified in the search or a relationship between the party and an author of the communication identified in the search;

wherein the relationship is determined by a search of the gathered personal-communication-network data and is expressed in terms of degrees of separation to the party conducting the search.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the results are displayed in a tabular form, wherein the tabular form has at least one horizontal row and at least one vertical column wherein the at least one row shows a personal communication network path to a node, and the at least one column shows the degrees of separation between the node and the person that initiated the search.

19. A method for displaying search results of an internet or computer-based personal-communication-network search, the personal communication network including a number of members, the method comprising the steps of:

gathering personal-communication-network data from information entered and activities conducted on the personal communication network;

searching the gathered personal-communication-network data for a key word or phrase identified by a party;

obtaining results of the search including at least one personal-communication-network member that is identified as being associated with information related to the key word or phrase;

determining whether the at least one identified member is likely to possess information about the key word or phrase by searching the gathered personal-communication-network data; and

displaying the results of the search by showing at least one member who is likely to possess information about the key word or phrase.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising the step of electronically processing the key word or phrase identified by the party and determining additional topics, subtopics, or fields of interests associated with the key word or phrase, and including the additional topics, subtopics, or fields of interest in the search.

21. A method for operating an invitation and acceptance process for a personal-communication-network, the steps of which comprise:

selecting an original invitee that is not already a first-degree contact in the personal communication network;

presenting a selection to a original invitor whether to send a reciprocal invitation to become a member of the invitee'"'"'s personal communication network to the original invitee;

compiling an invitation to the original invitee, including the reciprocal invitation, if selected;

defining a personal-communication-network link as unidirectional or bi-directional based upon whether the original invitor accepts the reciprocal invitation or a later reciprocal invitation.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the personal communication network member indicates in the invitation at least one field of interest that the personal communication network member would like to communicate about with the invitee.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the personal communication network is included in a the personal communication network of physicians on the basis of peer contacts and evaluations made through the network;

wherein the member is a physician, and the invitation includes a message from the physician to an invitee physician indicating a field of interest for which the invitee physician is invited for inclusion in the network.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising the step of identifying an opinion leader specialist physician by specialization and an accounting and evaluation of links in the personal communication network which indicate an opinion leader specialist physician.

25. A method for defining links between two members of an internet or computer-based the personal communication network, the the personal communication network including a number of members, the method comprising the steps of:

gathering personal-communication-network data from data from information entered and activities conducted on the personal communication network;

recording one or more electronic communications from a first personal-communication-network member to a second personal-communication-network member;

quantifying or qualifying the use of a key word or key phrase within the electronic communication; and

defining the links between members using information gathered in the step of quantifying or qualifying.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the step of quantifying or qualifying includes a step selected from the group consisting of:

quantifying the number of electronic communications between the members, recording the frequency of electronic communication between the members, recording the number of words in an electronic communication between the members, recording the direction of communication between the members, or recording the use of keywords in an electronic communication between the members, or a combination thereof.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the links between members are defined as a field of interest related to the key word or key phrase.

28. A method for filtering an internet or computer-based search performed by a user using a personal communication network as a filter, the method comprising the steps of:

identifying a key word or phrase for searching;

searching for the key word or phrase; and

filtering the search by identifying results that arc related to members of the personal communication network.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising displaying results of the filtered search with an indication of the number of degrees of separation between the user and a member related to the result, or with an indication of how the user is linked to the member.

30. A system for identifying an opinion leader specialist physician within a personal communication network of physicians on the basis of peer contacts and evaluations made through the network, the system comprising:

a registration process for registering the identity and specialties of a plurality of physicians for inclusion in the network;

an invitation and acceptance process for establishing links between physicians, the invitation including a message from a physician in the network to an invitee physician indicating a field of interest for which the invitee physician is invited for inclusion in the network, and accept, decline and reciprocate response options for the invitee physician, the response of the invitee physician determining a status of a link between physicians as unidirectional or bi-directional; and

a network analyzer which identifies an opinion leader specialist physician by specialization and an accounting and evaluation of links in the personal communication network which indicate an opinion leader specialist physician.