Social Network Based Recommendation Method and System

• US 20100287033A1
• Filed: 05/08/2009
• Published: 11/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Comcast Interactive Media LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Comcast Interactive Media LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Mathur, Arpit
• Granted Patent: US 8,489,515 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/10
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/735 Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/02 using automatic reactions or user delegation, e.g. automatic replies or chatbot-generated messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4826 using recommendation lists, e.g. of programs or channels sorted out according to their score

Abstract

Recommendations for content may be generated based on social networking communities. For example, a user may receive a list of recommended content items based on content that has been viewed by others in the user'"'"'s social networks. Recommendations may further be based on content information such as reviews, ratings, tags, attributes and the like from various sources internal and external to the user'"'"'s social networks. Content items may be given a weight that corresponds to a determined level of relevance or interest to a user. Using the weight, a list of recommended items may be sorted or filtered. In one or more configurations, the weight may be modified based on an age of the content item. For example, the relevance, importance or interest of a news report may decline as the news becomes older and older.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for making content recommendations comprising:

receiving content preference information for a first user;

identifying a social network community of which the first user is a member;

determining a first content item accessed by a second user, the second user being a member of a social network of which the first user is a member, wherein the social network is included in the social network community; and

generating in a computer a content recommendation for the first user based on the determined first content item.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, determining the first content item access by the second user includes retrieving content access information for the social network, wherein the social network includes only users approved by the first user.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the content preference information includes a keyword and wherein the method further comprises determining a second content item from a content database based on the keyword.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, further comprising ranking the first content item and the second content item based on activity within the social network associated with at least one of:

the first content item and the second content item.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein ranking the first and second content items is further based on recommendation information derived from sources other than social network communities.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein ranking the first and second content items is further based on an occurrence of the keyword in the first content item.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the content preference information includes a first interest, a second interest, a first level of interest associated with the first interest and a second level of interest associated with the second interest.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein receiving the content preference information for the first user includes determining the content preference information based on attributes of one or more content items accessed by the first user.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the content recommendation comprises a list of content items including the first content item at a first position and wherein the method further comprises moving the first content item from the first position to a second position in the list upon expiration of a specified amount of time, wherein the second position is indicative of a lower relevance than the first position.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising assigning a weight to the first content item based on interactions of the second user with the first content item.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, further comprising decreasing the weight of the first content item based on the age of the first content item.

26. The one or more computer readable media of claim 2, wherein the computer readable instructions, when executed, further cause the apparatus to assign a weight to the first content item based on interactions of the second user with the first content item.

27. The one or more computer readable media of claim 26, wherein the computer readable instructions, when executed, further cause the apparatus to decrease the weight of the first content item based on an age of the first content item.

12. An apparatus comprising:

a processor; and

memory storing computer readable instructions that, when executed, cause the apparatus to;

receive content preference information for a first user;

identify a social network community of which the first user is a member;

determine a first content item accessed by a second user, the second user being a member of a social network of which the first user is a member, wherein the social network is included in the social network community; and

generate a content recommendation for the first user based on the determined first content item.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, the computer readable instructions, when executed, further cause the apparatus to transmit the content recommendation to a remote set-top box.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising a headend device connected to the remote set-top box through a distribution network.

15. The apparatus of claim 12, the computer readable instructions, when executed, further cause the apparatus to assign a weight to the first content item and wherein the weight is determined based on one or more interactions of the second user with the first content item.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the weight is further determined based on content information received from a non-social network external source.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the non-social network external source is a website.

18. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the social network only includes individuals approved by the first user.

19. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the content preference information includes a keyword and wherein the method further comprises determining a second content item from a content database based on the keyword.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the computer readable instructions, when executed, further cause the apparatus to rank the first content item and the second content item based on activity within the social network associated with at least one of:

the first content item and the second item.

21. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the computer readable instructions, when executed, further cause the apparatus to provide a chat functionality relating to the first content item to the first user and second user.

22. One or more computer readable media storing computer readable instructions that, when executed, cause an apparatus to:

receive content preference information for a first user;

identify a social network community of which the first user is a member;

determine a first content item accessed by a second user, the second user being a member of a social network of which the first user is a member, wherein the social network is included in the social network community; and

generate a content recommendation for the first user based on the determined first content item.

23. The one or more computer readable media of claim 22, wherein the content preference information includes a first interest, a second interest, a first level of interest associated with the first interest and a second level of interest associated with the second interest.

24. The one or more computer readable media of claim 22, wherein receiving the content preference information for the first user includes determining the content preference information based on attributes of one or more content items accessed by the first user.

25. The one or more computer readable media of claim 22, wherein the content recommendation comprises a list of content items including the first content item at a first position and wherein the computer readable instructions, when executed, further cause the apparatus to move the first content item from the first position to a second position in the list upon the first content item reaching a specified age, wherein the second position is indicative of a lower relevance than the first position.