(19) United States
`(12) Patent Application Publication (10) Pub. No.: US 2013/0036.165 A1
`Tseng et al.
`(43) Pub. Date:
`Feb. 7, 2013
`
`US 2013 0036.165A1
`
`(54) DISPLAYINGSOCIAL OPPORTUNITIES BY
`LOCATION ON A MAP
`(76) Inventors: Erick Tseng, San Francisco, CA (US);
`Matthew Cahill, Redwood City, CA
`(US)
`s
`s
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 13/198,071
`
`(22) Filed:
`
`Aug. 4, 2011
`
`Publication Classification
`
`(51) Int. Cl.
`G06F 15/16
`
`(2006.01)
`
`1 OO
`
`
`
`Social Networking System
`130
`
`(52) U.S. Cl. ....................................................... 709/204
`(57)
`ABSTRACT
`A social networking system provides relevant content objects
`at the request of Social networking system users. Relevance
`scores are determined for content objects by matching user
`location, user interests, and other social information to the
`content, location, and timing associated with content objects.
`A ranked list of content objects can be provided to the user,
`where the content objects are relevant to them based on their
`interests, location, and other social information. The system
`provides a user interface that displays a map containing pins,
`where each pin represents a content object in actionable proX
`imity to a user. The content objects selected to be presented as
`pins to the user are those content objects with sufficiently high
`relevance scores. Multiple pins for a nearby area can be
`clustered. The user can switch between Zoom levels for the
`map, thereby showing pins at varying distances from the
`user's current location.
`
`Third-party Content Object
`Provider
`120
`
`User Device
`110
`
`APPLE EXHIBIT 1018
`IPR2017-01993
`APPLE v. UNILOC
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`Patent Application Publication
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`Feb. 7, 2013 Sheet 1 of 4
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`US 2013/0036.165 A1
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`
`
`Social Networking System
`130
`
`Third-party Content Object
`Provider
`120
`
`User Device
`110
`
`FIG. 1
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`Patent Application Publication
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`US 2013/0036.165 A1
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`Patent Application Publication
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`Feb. 7, 2013 Sheet 3 of 4
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`US 2013/0036.165 A1
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`300a
`
`Third-Party Website
`120
`
`
`
`Social Networking
`System
`130
`
`Clien Evice
`
`User interactions
`305
`
`Maintain user SOcial information
`310
`
`Receive third-party content
`objects
`315
`
`locati
`Rece
`eCeIVe USe OCaOn
`and request for
`relevant Content objects
`320
`
`ASSign Categories and locations
`to content objects
`325
`
`Calculate relevance SCOre for
`Content objects relative to user
`330
`
`Select content objects based on
`relevance SCOre
`335
`
`Respond to user request
`regarding relevant
`content objects
`340
`
`FIG. 3
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`Patent Application Publication
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`Feb. 7, 2013 Sheet 4 of 4
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`US 2013/0036.165 A1
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`
`
`Immediate Vicinity
`
`N/ 622 24
`2> -z C
`
`A) StarbuckS 3 likes 7 Comments
`Joe, Bob & Jim are here
`re 445
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`US 2013/0036.165 A1
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`DISPLAYING SOCIAL OPPORTUNITIES BY
`LOCATION ON A MAP
`
`CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED
`APPLICATIONS
`0001. This application is related to U.S. patent application
`Ser. No. 12/977,027, filed on Dec. 22, 2010, the content of
`which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
`
`BACKGROUND
`0002 This invention relates generally to social network
`ing, and in particular to providing relevant information for a
`user of a social networking system based on user location and
`Social information.
`0003 Social networking systems have become prevalent
`in recent years because they provide a useful environment in
`which users can connect to and communicate with other
`users. A variety of different types of social networking sys
`tems exist that provide mechanisms allowing users to interact
`within their social networks. In this context, a user may be an
`individual or any other entity, such as a business or other
`non-person entity. Accordingly, while enabling Social com
`munications among friends, a Social networking system can
`also be a valuable tool for businesses to engage with potential
`COSU.S.
`0004. However, users of social networking systems tradi
`tionally have not been able to obtain information that is rel
`evant and timely based on their interests, connections to oth
`ers, and particular locations. Users have not yet been able to
`exploit the relationships and connections among members of
`a social networking website, nor the rich user information
`contained therein, in a meaningful way. Similarly, third-party
`content providers, such as businesses, also have not been able
`to exploit Social networking systems to provide information
`at the appropriate time and place to best take advantage of a
`potential customers interest.
`
`SUMMARY
`0005 To enable a social networking system to provide
`relevant content objects at the request of Social networking
`system users, embodiments of the invention provide a mecha
`nism for matching user location, interests, and other social
`information with the content, location, and timing associated
`with content objects, including both third-party content
`objects and user generated content objects. In particular,
`embodiments of the invention enable relevance scores to be
`calculated for content objects with respect to relevance spe
`cific to a user of the Social networking system, from which a
`ranked list of content objects can be provided to the user,
`where the content objects are relevant to them based on their
`interests, location, and other social information.
`0006. In one embodiment, the social networking system
`provides a user interface on a mobile device displays a map
`containing pins, where each pin represents a content object in
`actionable proximity to a user (e.g., a nearby friend, deal,
`etc.). The content objects selected to be presented as pins to
`the user are those content objects with sufficiently high rel
`evance scores. Multiple pins for a nearby area can be clus
`tered. The user can switch between Zoom levels for the map.
`thereby showing pins at varying distances from the user's
`current location (e.g., nearby, close, and far). In one embodi
`ment, the Zoom levels are based on the existence of relevant
`content rather than being predetermined distances from the
`
`user. In one embodiment, the system is configured to receive
`a request from the user to automatically select the content
`object with the highest relevance score instead of displaying
`the map of pins.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`0007 FIG. 1 is a network diagram of one embodiment of
`a system for responding to the requests of Social networking
`system user regarding nearby, relevant activities.
`0008 FIG. 2 is a diagram of a social networking system, in
`accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
`0009 FIG. 3 is an interaction diagram of one embodiment
`of a process for responding to a request for information rel
`evant to a user of a Social networking system based on user
`location and social information.
`0010 FIG. 4 is a series of sample screenshots illustrating
`how a client device may display information regarding
`nearby activities relevant to a user of a social networking
`system responsive to the user's request.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION
`
`Overview of a Social Networking System Network
`0011
`FIG. 1 is a network diagram of one embodiment of
`a system for responding to the requests of Social networking
`system user (e.g., member) regarding nearby, relevant activi
`ties. The system 100 includes one or more user devices 110.
`one or more third-party content object provider 120, the
`social networking system 130 and a network 140. For pur
`poses of illustration, the embodiment of the system 100
`shown by FIG. 1 includes a single third-party content object
`provider 120 and a single user device 110. However, in other
`embodiments, the system 100 may include more user devices
`110 and/or more third-party content object providers 120. In
`certain embodiments, the social networking system 130 is
`operated by the social network provider, whereas the third
`party content object providers 120 are separate from the
`social networking system 130 in that they may be operated by
`different entities. In various embodiments, however, the
`social networking system 130 and the third-party content
`object providers 120 operate in conjunction to provide social
`networking services to users of the Social networking system
`130. In this sense, the social networking system 130 provides
`a platform, or backbone, which other systems, such as third
`party content object providers 120, may use to provide Social
`networking services and functionalities to users across the
`Internet.
`0012. A user device 110 comprises one or more computing
`devices that can receive input from a user and can transmit
`and receive data via the network 140. For example, the user
`device 110 may be a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a
`Smartphone, a personal digital assistant (PDAS) or any other
`device including computing functionality and data commu
`nication capabilities. The user device 110 is configured to
`communicate with the third-party content object provider 120
`and the social networking system 130 via the network 140,
`which may comprise any combination of local area and/or
`wide area networks, using both wired and wireless commu
`nication systems. In one embodiment, the user device 110
`displays content from the third-party content object provider
`120 and/or from the social networking system 130.
`0013 The third-party content object provider 120 com
`prises one or more sources of content objects, which are
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`communicated to the user device 110 at appropriate times. In
`one embodiment, the third-party content object provider 120
`is a separate entity from the Social networking system 130.
`For example, the third-party content object provider 120 is
`associated with a first domain while the Social networking
`system 130 is associated with a separate Social networking
`domain. In various embodiments, the third-party content
`object provider 120 is located on a website or alternatively a
`server, separate or in conjunction from the website or server
`that hosts the social networking system 130.
`0014. The third-party content objects, as the term is used
`herein, include any content object generated by a third-party
`content object provider 120 rather than by a user of the social
`networking system 130. Content objects generally may
`include information regarding things or activities of interest
`to the user. Third-party content objects include informational
`content objects, such as movie show times, movie reviews,
`restaurant reviews, restaurant menus, product information
`and reviews, etc., as well as incentive content objects, such as
`coupons, discount tickets, gift certificates, etc. according to
`one embodiment. In addition, some third-party content
`objects may include a combination of information and incen
`tives. Other examples of content objects include event content
`objects associated with an event (e.g., a New Year's Eve
`party) or ad-hoc gathering objects (e.g., an impromptu gath
`ering of 100 people in Union Square, San Francisco).
`Examples of content objects and the ways in which content
`objects may be presented or used are described below.
`0015 The social networking system 130 comprises one or
`more computing devices storing a social network, or a social
`graph, comprising a plurality of users and providing users of
`the social network with the ability to communicate and inter
`act with other users of the Social network. According to vari
`ous embodiments, the Social networking system 130 may
`comprise a website, or alternatively a server that can be
`accessed through a wired or wireless network 140 by user
`devices 110 or third-party content object providers 120. In
`use, users join the Social networking system 130 and then add
`connections (i.e., relationships) to a number of other users of
`the social networking system 130 to whom they desire to be
`connected. As used herein, the term “friend” refers to any
`other user of the social networking system 130 to whom a user
`has formed a connection, association, or relationship via the
`social networking system 130. Connections may be added
`explicitly by a user or may be automatically created by the
`Social networking systems 130 based on common character
`istics of the users (e.g., users who are alumni of the same
`educational institution). For example, a first user specifically
`selects a particular other user to be a friend. Connections in
`the social networking system 130 are usually in both direc
`tions, but need not be, so the terms “user” and “friend’ depend
`on the frame of reference. Connections between users of the
`social networking system 130 are usually bilateral, or
`“mutual,” but connections may also be unilateral, or “one
`way.” For example, if Bob and Joe are both users of the social
`networking system 130 and connected to each other, Bob and
`Joe are each other's connections. If, on the other hand, Bob
`wishes to connect to Joe to view data communicated to the
`Social networking system by Joe but Joe does not wish to form
`a mutual connection, a unilateral connection may be estab
`lished. The connection between users may be a direct con
`nection; however, some embodiments of a Social networking
`system allow the connection to be indirect via one or more
`levels of connections or degrees or separation. Using a social
`
`graph, therefore, a social networking system may keep track
`of many different types of objects and the interactions and
`connections among those objects, thereby maintaining an
`extremely rich store of socially relevant information.
`0016. In addition to establishing and maintaining connec
`tions between users and allowing interactions between users,
`the social networking system 130 provides users with the
`ability to take actions on various types of items, or objects,
`supported by the social networking system 130. These items
`may include groups or networks (where “networks' here refer
`not to physical communication networks, but rather Social
`networks of people, entities, and concepts) to which users of
`the Social networking system may belong, events or calendar
`entries in which a user might be interested, computer-based
`applications that a user may use via the Social networking
`system 130, transactions that allow users to buy or sell items
`via the service, and interactions with advertisements that a
`user may perform on or off the Social networking system.
`0017. These are just a few examples of the items upon
`which a user may act on a social networking system, and
`many others are possible. A user may interact with anything
`that is capable of being represented in the Social networking
`system 130 or by an external system of the third-party content
`object provider 120, which is separate from the social net
`working system 130 and coupled to the Social networking
`system 130 via a network 140.
`0018. The social networking system 130 is also capable of
`linking a variety of entities. For example, the Social network
`ing system 130 enables users to interact with each other as
`well as receive content from third-party content object pro
`viders 120 or other entities, or to allow users to interact with
`these entities through an API or other communication chan
`nels.
`0019. The social networking system 130 also includes
`user-generated content objects, which enhances a user's
`interactions with the social networking system 130. User
`generated content may include anything a user can add,
`upload, send, or “post.” to the social networking system 130.
`For example, a user communicates posts to the Social net
`working system 130 from a user device 110. Posts may
`include data Such as status updates or other textual data,
`location information, photos, videos, links, music or other
`similar data and/or media. Content may also be added to the
`social networking system 130 by a third-party through a
`“communication channel. Such as a newsfeed or stream.
`0020 Content objects, generally, represent single pieces
`of content that are represented as objects in the Social net
`working system 130. In this way, users of the social network
`ing system 130 are encouraged to communicate with each
`other by posting text and content objects of various types
`through various communication channels, increasing the
`interaction of users with each other and increasing the fre
`quency with which users interact with the Social networking
`system 130.
`
`Social Networking System Architecture
`0021
`FIG. 2 is a diagram of one embodiment of a social
`networking system 130. The embodiment of a social net
`working system 130 shown by FIG. 2 includes a web server
`210, an action logger 215, an API request server 220, a rel
`evance and ranking engine 225, a content object classifier
`260, a notification controller 265, an action log 230, a third
`party content object exposure log 270, an inference module
`275, an authorization server 235, a search module 280, an ad
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`targeting module 285, a user interface module 290, a user
`profile store 240, a connection store 245, a third-party content
`store 250, and a location store 255. In other embodiments, the
`social networking system 130 may include additional, fewer,
`or different modules for various applications. Conventional
`components such as network interfaces, security mecha
`nisms, load balancers, failover servers, management and net
`work operations consoles, and the like are not shown so as to
`not obscure the details of the system.
`0022. As described above in conjunction with FIG. 1, the
`Social networking system 130 comprises a computing system
`that allows users to communicate or otherwise interact with
`each other and access content as described herein. The Social
`networking system 130 stores user profiles describing the
`users of a social network in a user profile store 240. The user
`profiles include biographic, demographic, and other types of
`descriptive information, such as work experience, educa
`tional history, hobbies or preferences, interests, location, and
`the like. For example, the user profile store 240 contains data
`structures with fields suitable for describing a user's profile.
`When a new object of a particular type is created, the social
`networking system 130 initializes a new data structure, i.e., a
`"node of the corresponding type, assigns a unique object
`identifier to it, and begins to add data to the object as needed.
`This might occur, for example, when a user becomes a user of
`the Social networking system 130, the Social networking sys
`tem 130 generates a new instance of a user profile in the user
`profile store 240, assigns a unique identifier to the user profile,
`and begins to populate the fields of the user profile with
`information provided by the user.
`0023. In addition, the user profile store 240 may include
`data structures Suitable for describing a user's demographic
`data, behavioral data, and other social data. Demographic
`data typically includes data about the user, such as age, gen
`der, location, etc., e.g., as included in the user's profile.
`Behavioral data typically includes information about the
`user's activities within the social networking system 130,
`Such as specific actions (posts, likes, comments, etc.), activity
`levels, usage statistics, etc. Other Social data comprises infor
`mation about the user from within the Social networking
`system 130 that is not strictly demographic or behavioral,
`Such as interests or affinities, etc. In one embodiment, user's
`interests may be explicitly specified in the user's profile or
`interests that may be inferred from the user's activities in the
`Social networking system (e.g., uploaded content, postings,
`reading of messages, etc). Additionally, the user profile store
`240 includes logic for maintaining user interest information
`for users according to one or more categories. Categories may
`be general or specific, e.g., if a user “likes an article about a
`brand of shoes the category may be the brand, or the general
`category of “shoes” or “clothing.” Multiple categories may
`apply to a single user interest. In addition, the user profile
`store 240 may be accessed by other aspects of the social
`networking system 130.
`0024 For example, the user profile store 240 includes
`logic for maintaining interest information for users according
`to one or more categories. Categories may be general or
`specific, e.g., ifa user “likes an article about a brand of shoes
`the category may be the brand, or the general category of
`“shoes” or “clothing.” Multiple categories may apply to a
`single user interest. In addition, the user profile store 240 may
`be accessed by other aspects of the Social networking system
`130.
`
`0025. The social networking system 130 further stores
`data describing one or more connections between different
`users in a user connection store 245. The connection infor
`mation may indicate users who have similar or common work
`experience, group memberships, hobbies, educational his
`tory, or are in any way related or share common attributes.
`Additionally, the social networking system 130 includes user
`defined connections between different users, allowing users
`to specify their relationships with other users. For example,
`user-defined connections allow users to generate relation
`ships with other users that parallel the users’ real-life rela
`tionships, such as friends, co-workers, partners, and so forth.
`Users may select from predefined types of connections, or
`define their own connection types as needed. The connection
`store 245 includes data structures suitable for describing a
`user's connections to other users, connections to third-party
`content object providers 120, or connections to other entities.
`The connection stores 245 may also associate a connection
`type with a user's connections, which may be used in con
`junction with the user's privacy setting, to regulate access to
`information about the user. In addition, the connection store
`245 may be accessed by other aspects of the social network
`ing system 130.
`0026. The web server 210 links the social networking
`system to one or more user devices 110 and/or one or more
`third-party content object providers 120 via the network 140.
`The web server 210 serves web pages, as well as other web
`related content, such as Java, Flash, XML, and so forth. The
`web server 210 may include a mail server or other messaging
`functionality for receiving and routing messages between the
`Social networking system 130 and one or more user devices
`110. The messages can be instant messages, queued messages
`(e.g., email), text and SMS messages, or any other Suitable
`messaging format.
`0027. The Application Programming Interface (API)
`request server 220 allows one or more third-party content
`object providers 120 to access information from the social
`networking system 130 by calling one or more APIs. The API
`request server 220 also may allow third-party content object
`providers 120 to send information to the social networking
`system by calling APIs. For example, a third-party content
`object provider 120 sends an API request to the social net
`working system 130 via the network 140 and the API request
`server 220 receives the API request. The API request server
`220 processes the request by calling an API associated with
`the API request to generate an appropriate response, which
`the API request server 220 communicates to the third-party
`content object provider 120 via the network 140.
`0028. The action logger 215 is capable of receiving com
`munications from the web server 210 about user actions on
`and/or off the social networking system 130. The action log
`ger 215 populates the action log 230 with information about
`user actions, allowing the Social networking system 130 to
`track or monitor various actions taken by its users within the
`social networking system 130 and outside of the social net
`working system 130. Any action that a particular user takes
`with respect to another user is associated with each user's
`profile, through information maintained in the action log 230
`or in a similar database or other data repository. Examples of
`actions taken by a user within the social network 130 that are
`identified and stored may include, for example, adding a
`connection to another user, sending a message to another user,
`reading a message from another user, viewing content asso
`ciated with another user, attending an event posted by another
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`user or other actions interacting with another user. When a
`user takes an action within the Social networking system 130,
`the action is recorded in the action log 230. In one embodi
`ment, the Social networking system maintains the action log
`230 as a database of entries. When an action is taken within
`the social networking system 130, an entry for the action is
`added to the action log 230. The relevance and ranking engine
`225 includes logic for calculating a relevance score for con
`tent objects (including both user-generated content objects
`and third-party content objects) relative to a user, for ranking
`the content objects by their relevancescores, and for selecting
`content objects for sending to users as notifications or as
`responses to user requests. To calculate the relevance score,
`the relevance and ranking engine 225 determines a location
`value by comparing the content object location and a current
`location for the user device 210, determines an interest value
`based on whether the content object categories are included in
`the user's interests, determines a time value based on whether
`the current time is within the delivery time range for the
`content object, and determines a connection value based on
`how many of the user's connections are associated with the
`content object. Then, the relevance and ranking engine 225
`combines the location value, interest value, connection value,
`and time value to determine the relevance score for the con
`tent object with respect to the user. In one embodiment the
`values are higher for a better fit (closer proximity, great simi
`larity, etc.) and approach a value of one, and are multiplied
`together to yield the relevance score. From the relevance
`scores for each content object, the relevance and ranking
`engine 225 ranks the content objects for a user, e.g., from
`highest relevance score to lowest. The relevance and ranking
`engine 225 then can select content objects to send to a noti
`fication controller 265, or can serve the highest ranked con
`tent object directly to the user device 110 as a notification(s).
`0029. The content object classifier 260 includes logic for
`assigning each of the content objects a location, a category,
`and a delivery time range. Categories may reflect various
`categories of user interests, and may be associated with the
`interests themselves, e.g., a user “likes an article about a
`brand of shoes and the category is the brand, or the article
`about the shoe brand is assigned a general category of 'shoes'
`or "clothing.” Multiple categories may apply to a single con
`tent object. General or specific locations may be assigned to
`content objects as well, e.g., a city, a particular street name or
`intersection, or GPS coordinates. A delivery time range is
`assigned to each content object, e.g., using a useful range
`based on the hours the associated business is open.
`0030 Additionally, user actions may be associated with
`exposure to third-party content objects from one or more
`third-party content object providers 120. Thus, in conjunction
`with the action log 230, a third-party content object log 270 is
`maintained of user exposures to such objects and when the
`last exposure occurred. The action logger 215 receives data
`describing a users interaction with an object and stores it to
`the third-party content object log270. The third-party content
`object log 270 includes logic for storing user exposures to
`third-party content objects and associations between users
`and objects. The exposure information can be used to deter
`mine whether to expose the user to the same or similar content
`objects, and for adjusting the ranking and selection of content
`objects on the basis of whether the user previously has been
`exposed to the same or similar content object. In addition, if
`a user becomes associated with a content object via an action,
`e.g., uses an incentive, goes to the location, etc., that infor
`
`mation also is stored, and can be used for re-ranking and
`re-selecting the content objects.
`0031. The notification controller 265 provides informa
`tion regarding content objects to the user device 110. Infor
`mation may be pushed to the user device 110 as notifications,
`or information may be pulled to the user device responsive to
`a request received from the user device 110. In the push
`circumstance, notifications of content objects are initially
`pushed according to a default rate. Based on user engagement
`with the notifications, the notification controller 265 may
`adjust the rate in which notifications are provided to the user
`device 110. By adjusting the initial settings, the notification
`controller 265 provides notifications of content objects to the
`user device 110 when the user is more likely to engage with
`the notifications. Information may be pulled to the user device
`at any time. Additionally, the type of content that is provided
`to the client device 110 may be updated based on the user
`engagement.
`0032. The authorization server 235 enforces one or more
`privacy settings of the users of the Social networking system
`130. A privacy setting of a user determines how particular
`information associated with a user can be shared. The privacy
`setting comprises the specification of particular information
`associated with a user and the specification of the entity or
`entities with whom the information can be shared. Examples
`of entities with which information can be shared may include
`other users, applications, external websites or any entity that
`can potentially access the information. The information that
`can be shared by a user comprises user profile information
`like profile photo, phone numbers associated with the user,
`user's connections, actions taken by the user Such as adding a
`connection, changing user profile information and the like.
`0033. The useful social information that is tracked and
`maintained by a social networking system can be thought of
`in terms of a “social graph, which includes a plurality of
`nodes that are interconnected by a plurality of edges. Each
`node in the Social graph may represent something that can act
`on and/or be acted upon by another node. Common examples
`of nodes include users, non-person entities, content objects,
`groups, events, messages, concepts, and any other things that
`can be represented by an object in a Social networking system.
`An edge between two nodes in the Social graph represents a
`particular kind of connection between the two nodes, which
`may result from an action that was performed by one of the
`nodes on the other node.
`0034. The social networking system 130 may receive a
`request to associate the web content with a node in the Social
`networking system 130. An external website (e.g., of the third
`party content object provider 130) incorporates a tag into the
`markup language document for the web page(s) of the web
`content to claim ownership of the pages/domain in the context
`of the Social networking system 130. In some cases, an entire
`domain or collection of web pages is associated with a unique
`identifier that associates the web pages with a node. Once
`established, the social networking system 130 tracks data
`associated with the node in the action log 230.
`0035. Data stored in the connection store 245, the user
`profile store 240 and the action log 230 allows the social
`networking system 120 to generate a Social graph that uses
`nodes to identify various objects and edges connecting nodes
`to identify relationships between different objects. An edge
`between two nodes in the Social graph represents a particular
`
`APPLE EXHIBIT 1018
`Page 9 of 14
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`US 2013/0036.165 A1
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`Feb. 7, 2013
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`kind of connection between the two nodes, which may result
`from an action that was performed by one of the nodes on the
`other node.
`0036. The third-party content object store 250 s