Methods and systems for tracking of user interactions with content in social networks

• US 9,508,102 B2
• Filed: 07/25/2012
• Issued: 11/29/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Inventors: Thibaux, Romain, Seo, Eric
• Primary Examiner(s): To, Jennifer
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fortino, Ashley
• Application Number:
  US13/557,735
• Publication Number:
  US 20140033074A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,588 Days
• Field of Search: 715/753
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34

Abstract

Techniques to track interactions with content on a social network. In one embodiment, references are embedded within content to be presented to a user. At least one identifying reference from among the references is received in response to an interaction by the user with the content. The identifying reference is stored in a memory caching system as a record of the interaction. The references may comprise a key and a type. The key may be associated with the content and the type may be associated with components in the content. The interaction may involve selection by the user of a component within a story.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

embedding, by at least one computing device, references in content formatted in a markup language, the references coded in the markup language to designate at least a portion of the content as corresponding to at least a component in a hierarchical structure, wherein the hierarchical structure corresponds to one or more components in a social network object in a social network system;

dynamically generating, by the at least one computing device, a markup language document including the content for presentation, via a website or an application of the social network system, to a user device associated with a user account;

receiving, by the at least one computing device, at least one identifying reference from a client device record, reflecting a user interaction with the markup language document, stored in the user device, the identifying reference from among the embedded references in the content formatted in the markup language;

determining, based on the received identifying reference and relative to the hierarchical structure, the component associated with the user interaction; and

associating, by the at least one computing device into an interaction record, the user account with an identifier of the component to track one or more user interactions respectively with the components of the social network object across one or more dynamically generated documents of the social networking system.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the references include a key associated with the social network object.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the references include types associated with the components in the social network object.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the references are coded in a hierarchical structure corresponding to the hierarchical structure of the social network object.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the social network object is a user activity story in the social network system.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the interaction record indicates that the user selected the component within the social network object.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising identifying the component of the social network object with which the user interacted.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein embedding the references include providing the content with one or more hypertext markup language elements to designate a level within the hierarchical structure of the social network object, wherein each of the hypertext markup language elements includes at least one of the references.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising modeling the social network object as a document object model.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising causing the at least one identifying reference to be written to a website cookie on a client device, wherein the client device record is the website cookie.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising embedding an encrypted impression in the content, wherein the encrypted impression is associated with the social network object.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving an encrypted impression having advertising data.

13. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing the content as an advertisement.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving an encrypted impression having advertising data before receipt of the at least one identifying reference.

15. The method of claim 1 further comprising recording provision of the content to the user in an impression log.

16. The method of claim 1 further comprising recording the interaction record in an interaction log in a memory caching system.

17. The method of claim 1 further comprising training a machine learning model based on the interaction record.

18. A computer-storage memory apparatus storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause a computer system to perform a computer-implemented method comprising:

embedding references in content formatted in a markup language, the references coded in the markup language to designate at least a portion of the content as corresponding to at least a component in a hierarchical structure, wherein the hierarchical structure corresponds to one or more components in a social network object in a social network system;

dynamically generating a markup language document including the content for presentation, via a website or an application of the social network system, to a user device associated with a user account of the social network system;

receiving at least one identifying reference from a client device record, reflecting a user interaction with the markup language document and stored in the user device, the identifying reference from among the embedded references in the content formatted in the markup language, wherein the identifying reference identifies the portion of the content in reference to the component in the hierarchical structure;

determining, based on the received identifying reference and relative to the hierarchical structure, the component associated with the user interaction; and

associating the user account with an identifier of the component in the hierarchical structure to track one or more user interactions respectively with the components of the social network object across one or more dynamically generated documents of the social networking system.

19. A system comprising:

at least one processor; and

a memory storing instructions configured to instruct the at least one processor to;

embed references in content formatted in a markup language, the references coded in the markup language to designate at least a portion of the content as corresponding to at least a component in a hierarchical structure, wherein the hierarchical structure corresponds to one or more components in a social network object in a social network system;

dynamically generate a markup language document including the content for presentation, via a website or an application of the social network system, to a user device associated with a user account of the social network system;

receive at least one identifying reference from a client device record, reflecting a user interaction with the markup language document and stored in the user device, the identifying reference from among the embedded references in the content formatted in the markup language, wherein the identifying reference identifies the portion of the content in reference to the component in the hierarchical structure;

determining, based on the received identifying reference and relative to the hierarchical structure, the component associated with the user interaction; and

associate the user account with an identifier of the component in the hierarchical structure to track one or more user interactions respectively with the components of the social network object across one or more dynamically generated documents of the social networking system.