System and method for modeling relationships between entities

• US 8,271,506 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2008
• Issued: 09/18/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: R2 Solutions LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Yahoo! Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Martinez, Ronald, Davis, Marc Eliot, Higgins, Christopher William, O'Sullivan, Joseph James
• Primary Examiner(s): Lu, Kuen S
• Application Number:
  US12/059,594
• Publication Number:
  US 20090248738A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,632 Days
• Field of Search: 707/802, 707/755, 707/758
• US Class Current: 707/755
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/211 Schema design and management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/337 Profile generation, learning or modification

Abstract

The disclosure describes systems and methods for modeling relationships between entities on a network using data collected from a plurality of communication channels including social data, spatial data, temporal data and logical data within a W4 Network. The W4 Network personalizes and automates sorting, filtering and processing of W4COMN communications delivered or requested to be delivered using personalized value-based ranking and encoding of data, which is modeled from the point-of-view (POV) of any specific user, topic or node in the W4 Distributed graph. POV modeling supplies comparative value services to users which entails individuated data models to be aggregated and used in customization and personalization forecasting for each user and their associated data management needs.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

identifying, using a computing device, a first real world entity (RWE) and a second RWE having at least one relationship, such that the at least one relationship is identified by analyzing social data, spatial data, temporal data and logical data available to a network and associated with a plurality of RWEs;

identifying, using the computing device, a first information object (IO) associated with the first RWE that defines a state of the first RWE, and a second information object associated with the first RWE that defines a state of a second RWE; and

identifying, using the computing device, a third information object associated with the second RWE that defines a state of the second RWE, and a fourth information object associated with the second RWE that defines a state of the first RWE, such that;

in response to a request for state information about the first RWE from a perspective of the second RWE, analyzing, using the computing device, the fourth information object,

in response to a request for state information about the second RWE from a perspective of the first RWE, analyzing, using the computing device, the second information object,

in response to a request for state information about the first RWE from a perspective of the first RWE, analyzing, using the computing device, the first information object, and

in response to a request for state information about the second RWE from a perspective of the second RWE, analyzing, using the computing device, the third information object.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

generating, using the computing device, an entity information object for each the analysis of the first, second, third and fourth information objects such that each generated entity information object defines a point-of-view (POV) relationship between each of the information objects associated with the first RWE and the second RWE.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising storing, using the computing device, each POV relationship independently.

4. The method of claim 2 further comprising storing, using the computing device, each POV relationship based upon a respective perspective of the first RWE to the second RWE and the second RWE to the first RWE.

5. The method of claim 2 further comprising identifying the POV relationship as explicit if the POV relationship between the first RWE and the second RWE is based upon an explicit declaration of the POV relationship by at least one of the first RWE and the second RWE.

6. The method of claim 2 further comprising identifying, using the computing device, the POV relationship as implicit if determined based on modeling of known interactions between the first RWE and the second RWE.

7. The method of claim 6 such that the modeling comprises a probability analysis of data contained in electronic communications between the first RWE and the second RWE.

8. The method of claim 6 such that the modeling comprises analysis of content of electronic communications between the first RWE and the second RWE.

9. The method of claim 6 further comprising determining, using the computing device, the implicit POV relationship based upon stored social data, spatial data, temporal data and logical data of the first RWE and the second RWE and the information objects associated with the first RWE and second RWE.

10. The method of claim 2 such that the entity information objects represent the first RWE and the second RWE, the entity information objects comprise corresponding descriptors and identifiers for the first RWE and the second RWE.

11. A computer-readable storage medium for tangibly storing thereon computer readable instructions for a method comprising:

identifying, using a computing device, a first real world entity (RWE) and a second RWE having at least one relationship, such that the at least one relationship is identified by analyzing social data, spatial data, temporal data and logical data, available to a network, associated with a plurality of RWEs;

identifying, using the computing device, a first information object (IO) associated with the first RWE that defines a state of the first RWE, and a second information object associated with the first RWE that defines a state of a second RWE; and

identifying, using the computing device, a third information object associated with the second RWE that defines a state of the second RWE, and a fourth information object associated with the second RWE that defines a state of the first RWE, such that;

in response to a request for state information about the first RWE from a perspective of the second RWE, analyzing, using the computing device, the fourth information object,

in response to a request for state information about the second RWE from a perspective of the first RWE, analyzing, using the computing device, the second information object,

in response to a request for state information about the first RWE from a perspective of the first RWE, analyzing, using the computing device, the first information object, and

in response to a request for state information about the second RWE from a perspective of the second RWE, analyzing, using the computing device, the third information object; and

generating, using the computing device, an entity information object for each analysis of the information objects with respect to the first RWE state information and the second RWE state information, and such that each generated entity information object defines a point-of-view (POV) relationship between each of the information objects associated with the first RWE and the second RWE.

12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 further comprising storing, using the computing device, the defined POV relationship based upon a respective perspective of the first RWE to the second RWE and the second RWE to the first RWE.

13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 further comprising identifying, using the computing device, the POV relationship as explicit if the POV relationship between the first RWE and the second RWE is based upon identified correlations between the first RWE and the second RWE.

14. The computer-readable of claim 11 further comprising identifying, using the computing device, the POV relationship as implicit if determined based on modeling of known interactions between the first RWE and the second RWE.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 14 further comprising:

determining, using the computing device, the implicit POV relationship based upon stored social data, spatial data, temporal data and logical data of the first RWE and the second RWE and the information objects associated with the first RWE and second RWE.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 such that the entity information objects represent the first RWE and the second RWE, the entity information objects comprise corresponding descriptors and identifiers for the first RWE and the second RWE.

17. A computing device comprising:

a processor;

at least one communication channel connected to the processor, the at least one communication channel further connected to a plurality of computing devices transmitting a plurality of information objects (IOs) over the at least one communication channel to the processor, the plurality of IOs comprising social data, spatial data, temporal data and logical data relating to a plurality of real-world entities (RWEs);

a storage medium for tangibly storing thereon program logic for execution by the processor, the program logic comprising;

correlation logic executed by the processor for correlating associations between the plurality of IOs and the plurality of RWEs based upon analysis of social data, spatial data, temporal data and logical data associated with the plurality of IOs and the plurality of RWEs; and

relationship identification logic executed by the processor for identifing POV relationships between the RWEs based upon the correlations made by the correlation logic.

18. The computing device of claim 17 such that the relationship identification logic further comprises logic for

generating an entity IO for the relationships of the RWEs, and such that each generated entity IO defines the POV relationships between the RWEs.

19. The computing device of claim 17 such that the relationship identification logic further comprises logic for

storing information in the appropriate IOs that represent RWEs associated with the relationship upon determination that at least one of the POV relationships exist.

20. The computing device of claim 17 such that the relationship identification logic further comprises logic for

identifying the POV relationships as explicit if the POV relationships between the RWEs are based upon identified correlations between the RWEs.

21. The computing device of claim 17 such that the relationship identification logic further comprises logic for

identifying the POV relationships as implicit if determined based on modeling of known interactions between the RWEs.

22. The computing device of claim 17 such that the analysis of extracted social data, spatial data, temporal data and logical data comprises creating a combined graph of combinations of the plurality of RWEs and the IOs and their respective attributes and relationships.

23. A method comprising:

retrieving, via the network, social data, spatial data, temporal data and logical data available to the network associated with the a plurality of real world entities (RWEs);

graphing, using a computing device, the social data, spatial data, temporal data and logical data to identify a plurality of relationships between the plurality of RWEs;

identifying, using the computing device, a first subset of the plurality of relationships, such that each of the first subset of the plurality of relationships is a point of view relationship between one of the plurality of RWEs and one other of the plurality of RWEs, such that the respective relationship was explicitly defined by the one of the plurality of RWEs;

identifying, using the computing device, a second subset of the plurality of relationships, such that each of the second subset of the plurality of relationships is a point of view relationship between one of the plurality of RWEs and one other of the plurality of RWEs, such that the respective relationship is identified by estimating a respective probability that the one of the plurality of RWEs and the one other of the plurality of RWEs have the respective relationship using the social data, spatial data, temporal data and logical data; and

storing, using the computing device, the first subset of the plurality of relationships and the second subset of the plurality of relationships on a computer readable medium.