Identifying and employing social network relationships

• US 8,954,500 B2
• Filed: 02/11/2008
• Issued: 02/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/04/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Yahoo! Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Marlow, Cameron, Davis, Marc, Sample, Neal, Curtis, Michael, Kennedy, Ryan, Krishnappa, Yathin, Wroblewski, Luke, Boerries, Marco, Hayashi, Joe
• Primary Examiner(s): DAILEY, THOMAS J
• Application Number:
  US12/069,731
• Publication Number:
  US 20090177744A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,556 Days
• Field of Search: 709/204, 709/217, 705/319, 715/745
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

Methods and apparatus are described for detecting social relationships across multiple networks and/or communication channels. These social relationships may then be utilized in a wide variety of ways to support and enhance a broad range of user services.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for identifying social relationships for a first user operating in a first network controlled by a first entity, comprising:

ascertaining an identity of the first user with reference to a first data source associated with the first network and under control of the first entity, and at least one external data source outside of the first network and not under control of the first entity, wherein the at least one external data source are within one or more other networks, wherein each external data source employs a permissioning model for controlling access to information associated with the external data source;

accessing the information associated with the at least one external data source according to the corresponding permissioning model, thereby aggregating the permissioning models associated with the external data sources;

identifying a plurality of contacts having a relationship with the first user with reference to the first data source, the at least one external data source, and the identity of the first user, a first subset of the contacts not being identifiable from the first data source;

aggregating vitality events from inside multiple social networks for particular ones of the plurality of contacts, the multiple social networks including the first network and the one or more other networks, wherein aggregating vitality events includes aggregating the vitality events from inside the first network and inside the one or more other networks for the particular ones of the plurality of contacts, wherein the first user is a member of the first network and the one or more other networks, thereby aggregating the vitality events for the particular ones of the plurality of contacts across the multiple social networks;

wherein the vitality events indicate the nature and/or content of online activities inside the first network and the one or more other networks for the particular ones of the plurality of contacts.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein ascertaining an identity of the first user comprises:

identifying and aggregating a plurality of identity tokens from the first data source and the at least one external data source.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein each of the first data source and the at least one external data source corresponds to one of a social networking system, a messaging system, a content sharing system, or a member network.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein identifying the plurality of contacts comprises referring to one or more of an address book, a contact list, a message sender, a message recipient, a publisher of content, a subscription to content, or social network data.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a relevancy measure for each of the contacts which represents a relevance of the relationship between the first user and the contact, the relevancy measure for each contact being determined, at least in part, with reference to one or more of the first data source or the at least one external data source;

wherein the relevancy measure is further determined with reference to one or more of a frequency of communication, a recency of communication, a volume of communication, a periodicity of communication, a number of connections, a group membership, a demographic characteristic, a name, a relationship category, or a geographic location.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising ranking the plurality of contacts with reference to the relevancy measures.

7. The method of claim 5 further comprising grouping the plurality of contacts with reference to the relevancy measures.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising transmitting first invitations to connect with the first user to a subset of the contacts selected by the first user.

9. The method of claim 5 further comprising repeating identifying the plurality of contacts and determining the relevancy measures with reference to an additional external data source identified by the first user.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining that two or more of the plurality of the contacts correspond to one person;

wherein aggregating vitality events from inside multiple social networks for particular ones of the plurality of contacts includes aggregating the vitality events from inside the first network and inside the one or more other networks for the one person, thereby aggregating the vitality events for the one person across the multiple social networks.

11. The method of claim 5 further comprising:

determining that two or more of the plurality of the contacts correspond to one person;

processing messages received by the first user with reference to the relevancy measures, wherein the messages include messages from the one person.

27. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying at least one of relationships or interactions in a second network, wherein the second network is one of the other networks;

identifying at least one of relationships or interactions in a third network, wherein the third network is another one of the other networks;

determining that an identity of an individual in one of the relationships or interactions in the second network corresponds to the same individual in one of the relationships or interactions in the third network; and

aggregating the vitality events for the individual across the second network and the third network.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the relationship or interaction in the third network is with the first user.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein the relationship or interaction in the third network is not with the first user.

30. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying at least one of relationships or interactions in the first network;

identifying at least one of relationships or interactions in a second network, the second network being one of the other networks;

determining that an identity of an individual in one of the relationships or interactions in the second network corresponds to the same individual in one of the relationships or interactions in the first network; and

aggregating the vitality events for the individual across the second network and the first network.

31. The method of claim 10, a second subset of the contacts being identifiable from the first data source, wherein determining that two or more of the plurality of the contacts correspond to one person comprises:

ascertaining that a first contact in the first subset of the contacts and a second contact in the second subset of the contacts correspond to one person.

32. The method of claim 10, wherein determining that two or more of the plurality of the contacts correspond to one person comprises:

ascertaining that a first contact in the first subset of the contacts and a second contact in the first subset of the contacts correspond to one person.

33. The method of claim 10, wherein determining that two or more of the plurality of the contacts correspond to one person comprises:

identifying at least one of relationships or interactions in the other networks; and

determining that an identity of an individual in one of the relationships or interactions in a second network corresponds to the same individual in a relationship or interaction in a third network, wherein the second network is one of the other networks, and wherein the third network is the first network or another one of the other networks.

38. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

consolidating the two or more contacts into a single contact for the one person.

41. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the multiple social networks is controlled by a service provider.

42. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the multiple social networks is associated with a corresponding web site.

43. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the multiple social networks is a physical network.

44. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the one or more other networks is controlled by a corresponding entity.

12. A system for identifying social relationships for a first user operating in a first network controlled by a first entity, comprising at least one computing device configured to:

ascertaining an identity of the first user with reference to a first data source associated with the first network and under control of the first entity, and at least one external data source outside of the first network and not under control of the first entity, wherein the at least one external data source are within one or more other networks, wherein the first user is a member of the first network and the one or more other networks contexts are each associated with a different network of which the first user is a member, wherein each external data source employs a permissioning model for controlling access to information associated with the external data source;

access the information associated with the at least one external data source according to the corresponding permissioning model, thereby aggregating the permissioning models associated with the external data sources;

identify a plurality of contacts having a relationship with the first user with reference to the first data source, the at least one external data source, and the identity of the first user, a first subset of the contacts not being identifiable from the first data source;

and

aggregating vitality events from inside multiple social networks for particular ones of the plurality of contacts, the multiple social networks including the first network and the one or more other networks, wherein aggregating vitality events includes aggregating the vitality events from inside the first network and inside the one or more other networks for the particular ones of the plurality of contacts, wherein the first user is a member of the first network and the one or more other networks, thereby aggregating the vitality events for the particular ones of the plurality of contacts across the multiple social networks;

wherein the vitality events indicate the nature and/or content of online activities inside the first network and the one or more other networks for the particular ones of the plurality of contacts.

26. The system of claim 12, wherein each of the two or more of the plurality of contacts has associated therewith a different set of identity tokens or identifiers, wherein each of the two or more of the plurality of contacts corresponds to a different network of which the user is a member, further comprising:

comparing a first set of identity tokens or identifiers of a first one of the plurality of contacts with a second set of identity tokens or identifiers of a second one of the plurality of contacts.

39. The system of claim 26, wherein each set of identity tokens or identifiers includes a name or phone number, wherein comparing a first set of identity tokens or identifiers of a first one of the plurality of contacts with a second set of identity tokens or identifiers of a second one of the plurality of contacts comprises:

comparing a name or phone number of the first one of the plurality of contacts with a name or phone number of the second one of the plurality of contacts.

40. The system of claim 26, wherein each set of identity tokens or identifiers includes profile data, wherein comparing a first set of identity tokens or identifiers of a first one of the plurality of contacts with a second set of identity tokens or identifiers of a second one of the plurality of contacts comprises:

comparing profile data of the first one of the plurality of contacts with profile data of the second one of the plurality of contacts.

13. A computer program product for identifying social relationships for a first user operating in a first network controlled by a first entity, comprising at least one computer readable medium having computer program instructions stored therein configured to cause at least one computing device to:

ascertain an identity of the first user with reference to a first data source associated with the first network and under control of the first entity, and at least one external data source outside of the first network and not under control of the first entity, wherein the at least one external data source are within one or more other networks, wherein each external data source employs a permissioning model for controlling access to information associated with the external data source;

access the information associated with the at least one external data source according to the corresponding permissioning model, thereby aggregating the permissioning models associated with the external data sources;

identify a plurality of contacts having a relationship with the first user with reference to the first data source, the at least one external data source, and the identity of the first user, a first subset of the contacts not being identifiable from the first data source;

and

aggregate vitality events from inside multiple social networks for particular ones of the plurality of contacts, the multiple social networks including the first network and the one or more other networks, wherein the first user is a member of the first network and the one or more other networks, thereby aggregating the vitality events for the particular ones of the plurality of contacts across the multiple social networks;

wherein the vitality events indicate the nature and/or content of online activities inside the first network and the one or more other networks for the particular ones of the plurality of contacts.

14. A computer-implemented method for identifying social relationships for a first user operating in a first network controlled by a first entity, comprising presenting to the first user a plurality of contacts having a relationship with the first user, the plurality of contacts having been determined with reference to a first data source associated with the first network and under control of the first entity, at least one external data source outside of the first network and not under control of the first entity, and an identity of the first user, wherein each external data source employs a permissioning model for controlling access to information associated with the external data source, the identity having been determined with reference to the first data source and the at least one external data source,

a first subset of the contacts not being identifiable from the first data source,

wherein the plurality of contacts is presented in accordance with a relevancy measure associated with each of the contacts which represents a relevance of the relationship between the first user and the associated contact, the relevancy measure for each contact having been determined with reference to one or more of the first data source or the at least one external data source,

wherein the at least one external data source are within one or more other networks,

the method further comprising

presenting to the first user aggregations of vitality events from inside multiple social networks for particular ones of the plurality of contacts, the multiple social networks including the first network and the one or more other networks, the aggregations having been determined at least in part by accessing the information associated with the at least one external data source according to the corresponding permissioning model, wherein the first user is a member of the first network and the one or more other networks, thereby aggregating the permissioning models associated with the multiple social networks;

wherein the vitality events indicate the nature and/or content of online activities inside the first network and the one or more other networks for the particular ones of the plurality of contacts.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein each of the first data source and the at least one external data source corresponds to one of a social networking system, a messaging system, a content sharing system, or a member network.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein the relevancy measure is representative of one or more of a frequency of communication, a recency of communication, a volume of communication, a periodicity of communication, a number of connections, a group membership, a demographic characteristic, a name, a relationship category, or a geographic location.

17. The method of claim 14 further comprising enabling the first user to select a subset of the contacts to which the first user would like to extend an invitation to connect with the first user.

18. The method of claim 14 further comprising enabling the first user to identify an additional external data source, and presenting a revised version of the plurality of contacts, wherein the revised version of plurality of contacts is presented in accordance with a revised relevancy measure associated with each of the contacts determined with reference to the additional external data source.

19. The method of claim 14 further comprising presenting messages directed to the first user in accordance with the relevancy measures.

20. The method of claim 14 wherein a ranking of the plurality of contacts was conducted with reference to the relevancy measures, and wherein the plurality of contacts is presented in accordance with the ranking.

21. The method of claim 14 wherein a grouping of the plurality of contacts was conducted with reference to the relevancy measures, and wherein the plurality of contacts is presented in accordance with the grouping.

22. The method of claim 14 wherein each of the vitality events indicates a corresponding network, and a time at which the vitality event occurred.

23. The method of claim 14 wherein at least some of the vitality events comprise text updates that indicate changes to a status of a corresponding one of the plurality of contacts.

24. The method of claim 14 wherein the vitality events include posting of content, actions taken, updating profiles, or a combination thereof.

25. The method of claim 14 wherein the vitality events from inside the first network and inside the one or more other networks for particular ones of the plurality of contacts are filtered by geographic proximity with reference to a location associated with the first user.

34. A system for identifying social relationships for a first user operating in a first social network controlled by a first entity, comprising:

means for ascertaining an identity of the first user with reference to a first data source associated with the first social network and under control of the first entity, and at least one external data source outside of the first social network and not under control of the first entity, wherein the at least one external data source are within one or more other social networks, wherein each external data source employs a permissioning model for controlling access to information associated with the external data source;

means for accessing the information associated with the at least one external data source according to the corresponding permissioning model, thereby aggregating the permissioning models associated with the external data sources;

means for identifying a plurality of contacts having a relationship with the first user with reference to the first data source, the at least one external data source, and the identity of the first user, a first subset of the contacts not being identifiable from the first data source; and

means for aggregating vitality events from inside multiple social networks for particular ones of the plurality of contacts, the multiple social networks including the first social network and the one or more other social networks, wherein the vitality events indicate the nature and/or content of online activities inside the first social network and the one or more other social networks for the particular ones of the plurality of contacts;

wherein the first user is a member of the first social network and the other social networks, thereby aggregating the vitality events for the particular ones of the plurality of contacts across the multiple social networks.

35. The system of claim 34, wherein the at least one external data source or corresponding social network can be selected or identified by the first user, wherein login information pertaining to the at least one external data source or corresponding social network is provided by the first user, and wherein accessing the information associated with the at least one external data source is performed using the login information pertaining to the at least one external data source or corresponding social network.

36. The system of claim 34, wherein the first social network and the other social networks are each associated with a different web site.

37. The system of claim 34, wherein the first social network is a social networking site and the one or more other social networks include one or more social networking sites.