Generating segmented community flyers in a social networking system

• US 7,797,256 B2
• Filed: 08/02/2006
• Issued: 09/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/02/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Inventors: Sittig, Aaron, Zuckerberg, Mark, Chang, Wayne
• Primary Examiner(s): OUELLETTE, JONATHAN P
• Application Number:
  US11/499,093
• Publication Number:
  US 20080033739A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,504 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1.1, 705/319
• US Class Current: 705/319
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/104 Grouping of entities

Abstract

Segmented community flyers are predicated upon segmented communities. Segmented communities are for those web-based users that appreciate the distinction between their “real life” friends in their local geographic communities and their “cyberspace” contacts, many of whom they have never met in person. Further, those web-based users that do appreciate their “real life” friends in their local geographic communities need a way of communicating to many of these “real life” friends at once, without having to spend time preparing and sending multiple emails. Segmented community flyers advantageously accomplish such communication.

Claims

1. A system for dynamically generating a segmented community flyer comprising:

a server configured with a social network database, the database storing;

a plurality of social network database records representing one or more segmented communities, each segmented community defined within a social networking system, and

information for tracking affiliations of a plurality of users of the social networking system with one or more of the segmented communities; and

a segmented community flyer settings engine coupled to the web-based social network database, the segmented community flyer settings engine comprising;

a flyer settings selection component configured to receive one or more flyer settings selections for a segmented community flyer and payment for a limited distribution of the segmented community flyer from a member of a selected segmented community,

a flyer generator component configured to generate a segmented community flyer for the segmented community based on the one or more flyer settings selections, and

a flyer display component configured to display a plurality of the generated flyers to other members of the selected segmented community in accordance with the received flyer settings selections until the limited distribution has been reached.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the segmented community flyer settings engine generates the segmented community flyer for a second segmented community.

3. The system of claim 2, further comprising the segmented community flyer settings engine configured to display the segmented community flyer to two segmented communities.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the segmented community further comprises a web-based social network database record for each member of the segmented community.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the limited distribution comprises a period of time during which the segmented community flyers are displayed.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the limited distribution comprises a maximum number of segmented community flyers to be displayed.

7. A method for dynamically generating a segmented community flyer comprising:

establishing one or more segmented communities, each segmented community defined within a social networking system;

tracking affiliations of a plurality of users of the social networking system with one or more of the segmented communities;

receiving one or more flyer settings selections for a segmented community flyer and payment for a limited distribution of the segmented community flyer from a member of a selected segmented community;

generating, by a computer system, a segmented community flyer based on the one or more flyer settings selections; and

displaying a plurality of the generated flyers to other members of the selected segmented community in accordance with the received flyer settings selections until the limited distribution has been reached.

8. The method recited in claim 7, further comprising previewing the segmented community flyer incorporating the one or more flyer settings selections.

9. The method recited in claim 7, wherein the segmented community flyer comprises an html link.

10. The method recited in claim 7, further comprising selecting a date on which the segmented community flyer is to be displayed.

11. The method recited in claim 7, further comprising displaying the segmented community flyer to a second segmented community.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the limited distribution comprises a period of time during which the segmented community flyers are displayed.

13. The method of claim 7, wherein the limited distribution comprises a maximum number of segmented community flyers to be displayed.

14. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium having instructions for dynamically generating a segmented community flyer comprising:

establishing one or more segmented communities, each segmented community defined within a social networking system;

tracking affiliations of a plurality of users of the social networking system with one or more of the segmented communities;

receiving one or more flyer settings selections for a segmented community flyer and payment for a limited distribution of the segmented community flyer from a member of a selected segmented community;

generating, by a computer system, a segmented community flyer based on the one or more flyer settings selections; and

displaying a plurality of the generated flyers to other members of the selected segmented community in accordance with the received flyer settings selections until the limited distribution has been reached.

15. The computer program recited in claim 14, further comprising previewing the segmented community flyer incorporating the one or more flyer settings selections.

16. The computer program recited in claim 14, wherein the segmented community flyer comprises an html link.

17. The computer program recited in claim 14, further comprising selecting a date in which the segmented community flyer is to be displayed.

18. The computer program recited in claim 14, further comprising displaying the segmented community flyer to a second segmented community.

19. The computer program of claim 14, wherein the limited distribution comprises a period of time during which the segmented community flyers are displayed.

20. The computer program of claim 14, wherein the limited distribution comprises a maximum number of segmented community flyers to be displayed.