Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SELECTION AND PRESENTATION OF RELATED SOCIAL NETWORKING
SYSTEM CONTENT AND ADVERTISEMENTS
BACKGROUND
[0001] This invention generally pertains to social networking, and more
specifically to
combining social networking system content and advertisements in a social
networking
environment.
[0002] Social networking systems enable users (including people, businesses,
and other
entities) to form connections and interact with other users. For example, a
user may post a
set of pictures to a profile associated with the user on a social networking
system. Other
users who have formed a connection with that user can then review the posted
pictures by
browsing that user's profile. Social networking systems also track the
connections and
interactions among the users to obtain useful information about the users. For
example, a
social networking system may infer a user's interest in a particular topic
based on the user's
interactions with objects related to that topic. With a robust set of
information about its users,
a social networking system can enable its users to communicate information
more efficiently,
such as by directing a user's communications to other users who are interested
in that user or
in the content of the communication. This information also allows the social
networking
system to select communications and advertisements that are better tailored to
the users based
on each user's particular interests.
[0003] Social networking systems allow users to communicate with one another
using
various communication tools (e.g., messaging tools like email and streams or
feeds that
receive users' posted content). These communications can be personal messages
directed to a
particular user, or they may be broader posts to a community of users. The
communications
may comprise various types of information, from simple text about a user's
interest,
activities, etc., to multimedia posts including photos, video, hyperlinks,
etc., to notifications
of events, pages, groups, etc. Anything that may be shared over the Internet
may be part of
these communications. These communications, as well as the connections among
the users
and their activities within and outside of the social networking system, may
be used by the
social networking system to offer more relevant information to users.
[0004] Social networking systems can incorporate various mechanisms that
provide users
with content that is most likely to be relevant to any particular user. For
example, users may
be categorized by one or more attributes, such as geographic location,
employer, job type,
age, music preferences, interests, activities within or outside of the social
networking system,
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or any other information that may be relevant to a user's interests. This
information can be
used to customize or target information delivery so that information that
might be of
particular interest to a user can be communicated to that user or to a group
of users with
common attributes or categorizations. In this way, users of a social
networking system
receive content that is most likely to be relevant to the users based on the
information that the
social networking system knows or can infer about each user.
[0005] Another application of this capability is to advertising. Advertisers
can leverage
the social networking system's information to target ads to users whose
interests best align
with the products or services being offered. Other applications include, for
example, user
engagement and growth. Social networking systems may present customized
content to
users, including news stories about other users (both individuals and other
entities) in the
social networking system. These news stories encourage users to engage with
the social
networking system, interact with other users, and form connections. Although
some tools
exist for these purposes, social networking systems can benefit from better
ways to leverage
the information available to the systems to optimize for any desired result
(or, optimization
goal), such as growth, user engagement, revenue, sharing, or any other goal of
an
administrator of the social networking system.
[0006] Another problem facing providers of online content who provide
advertisements
with their content is "ad blindness." Typically, a provider of online content
designates a
portion of a display for advertisements. For example, websites often have
banner ads that
always appear in the same location at the top of a web page. Users learn to
ignore that
portion of the web page, which greatly diminishes the effect of the
advertising. Accordingly,
content providers and advertisers would benefit from better mechanisms to
direct users'
attention to a portion of a display that includes advertisements, while still
providing relevant
content to users of an online system.
SUMMARY
[0007] To present content that is more effective and relevant to users than
traditional
online content, a social networking system uses information that it obtains
from and about its
users. In particular, the social networking system uses this information to
select social
networking content and advertising for presentation to users in a way that
optimizes for a
particular optimization goal. The social networking system may be configured
for one or
more optimization goals, such as maximizing monetization, sharing, user
engagement, system
growth, communication, or any other goal of an administrator of the social
networking
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system. The optimization goal may be altered at any time, and in real time,
depending on the
needs or priorities of the administrator of the system.
[0008] In one embodiment, a social networking system optimizes for an
optimization
goal by presenting a selected set of content items to a user in a display, for
example, within a
designated portion of the display. In the case of a social networking website,
for example, a
web page may include a main portion and a supplemental portion. Other types of
displays
may likewise include main content and supplemental portions. In the case of a
social
networking website, the supplemental portion may contain the selected set of
content items,
and the main portion may contain other content of the social networking
website (e.g., a
profile page of a user or group, an application that runs on the social
networking system, or
any other web page served by the social networking website).
[0009] The social networking system may select the content items according to
various
methods to achieve the optimization goal. In one embodiment, the display is
populated with
content items that are related to topics of interest to the user. The selected
content may be
tied to any interests or activities of the user discernible by the system. In
this manner, the
content items are made relevant to the user's interests or activities at that
moment or over a
designated period of time, thereby increasing the chances that the user will
engage and
interact with the content items.
[0010] The selected set of content items may include a combination of one or
more
advertisements and one or more social networking content items. A social
networking
content item may comprise content that is related to users, objects,
activities, or
functionalities of the social networking system. Examples of social networking
content items
include news stories, suggested connections or suggestions to perform other
actions, media
provided to or maintained by the social networking system (e.g., pictures or
videos), status
messages or links posted by users to the social networking system, events,
groups, pages
(e.g., representing an organization or commercial entity), and any other
content provided by
or accessible via the social networking system. The social networking content
items may be
provided by various sources within the social networking system, such as a
store or a
generator of media, news stories, suggested connections, etc. The
advertisements may be
selected according to any method, including various methods for targeting a
relevant
advertisement to the user.
[0011] In one embodiment, the goal may be to increase user engagement (e.g.,
by
providing useful social networking content items to a user) as well as to
maximize
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monetization (e.g., by presenting ads that a user is likely to click). In this
embodiment, the
social networking system may achieve both of these goals by selecting
advertisements and
social networking content items that are related to each other. By presenting
related content
items in the supplemental portion of the display, this supplemental portion is
more coherent
and thus more likely to receive the attention of a user. Moreover, if the
display includes a
mixture of advertising interspersed with social networking system content, a
user is more
likely to pay attention to and interact with the advertisements if they are
related to the other
social networking system content.
[0012] Accordingly, in one embodiment, one or more social networking content
items are
selected for a particular user, and then one or more advertisements are
selected based at least
in part on their relatedness to the selected social networking content items.
The
advertisements and social networking content items are then combined into a
portion of the
display (e.g., the supplemental portion), where the display may include other
content from the
social networking system (e.g., in a main portion). In another embodiment, one
or more
advertisements are selected for a particular user, and then one or more social
networking
content items are selected based at least in part on their relatedness to the
selected
advertisements. Selecting the advertisements of interest to the user and then
selecting the
social networking content items related to those advertisements may lead to a
better result in
some implementations. For example, a social networking system may have a
larger number
of potential social networking content items than advertisements that are
relevant to a
particular user. In such a case, selecting advertisements first may help the
social networking
system identify a better set of content items that are both relevant to the
user and related to
each other.
[0013] In another embodiment, the content items (including the advertisements
and/or the
social networking content items) are selected based on their relatedness to
content in the main
portion of the display. For example, in a social networking website,
advertisements are
selected for the supplemental portion based on the remaining portion of the
web page that a
user is currently viewing. The selected advertisements may also be tied to a
page or display
the user has visited recently, visited a designated number of times within a
particular time
frame, visited in proximity to visits to other displays or pages, visited the
most in their
browsing history, etc.
[0014] In one embodiment, the social networking system optimizes for multiple
optimization goals, for example some combination of monetization, sharing,
user
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engagement, system growth, communication, or any other goal of an
administrator of the
social networking system. The social networking system determines a value or
score, for
each optimization goal, associated with different types of social networking
content items
and/or advertisements. The social networking system may also determine a value
for an
advertisement based on an expected monetary value for presenting the
advertisement to a
particular user. When the system prepares a display for a particular user, the
system selects
one or more social content items and/or advertisements based on the scores for
each
optimization goal and a selection of optimization goals to maximize provided
by the system
administrator. The social networking system may also applies rules for the
selection of
advertisements and social networking content items, such as mandating a
minimum number
of advertisements or a minimum number of social networking content items of a
certain types
(e.g., at least one suggestion to add a connection). The selected
advertisements and social
networking content items are then added to a display of a user interface of
the social
networking system (e.g., in a supplemental portion thereof), which is then
provided to the
user.
[0015] The features and advantages described in this summary and the following
detailed
description are not all-inclusive. Many additional features and advantages
will be apparent to
one of ordinary skill in the art in view of the drawings, specification, and
claims hereof.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] FIG. 1 is an event diagram illustrating a process for selecting content
to provide
on a display to a user, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
[0017] FIG. 2 is a network diagram of a system for providing content items to
users of a
social networking system, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
[0018] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a social networking system, in accordance
with an
embodiment of the invention.
[0019] FIG. 4 is an interaction diagram of a process for selecting content
items for
display, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
[0020] FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a process for selecting content items based
on other
content items provided on a list/window, in accordance with an embodiment of
the invention.
[0021] FIG. 6 is a flow chart of a process for selecting content items based
on the content
on a display requested by a user, in accordance with an embodiment of the
invention.
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[0022] FIG. 7 is an illustration of a portion of an example display from a
social
networking system showing content items displayed, in accordance with an
embodiment of
the invention.
[0023] FIG. 8 is an interaction diagram of a process for generating content
items for
display, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
[0024] FIG. 9 is an interaction diagram of a process for collecting and
applying feedback
in content item selection, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
[0025] FIG. 10 is an event diagram illustrating a process for mixing content
types and
selecting content items to provide on a display to a user, in accordance with
an embodiment
of the invention.
[0026] FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a social networking system, in accordance
with an
embodiment of the invention.
[0027] FIG. 12 illustrates an example table for scoring content types, in
accordance with
an embodiment of the invention.
[0028] FIG. 13 is an interaction diagram of the process for selecting content
types/items,
in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
[0029] FIG. 14 is a flow chart of a process for offline and online selection
of content
types/items, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
[0030] The figures depict various embodiments of the present invention for
purposes of
illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the
following discussion
that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein
may be
employed without departing from the principles of the invention described
herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Overview of Social Networking System and Display
[0031] A social networking system offers its users the ability to communicate
and interact
with other users. As uses herein, a "user" includes any individual, group,
thing or entity that
can be represented in a social networking system or on the Internet. In use,
users are
connected with other users through a social networking system. In some cases,
users can
connect via a social networking website. As used herein, the term "connection"
refers to any
connection, association, or relationship between two users recognized by the
social
networking system. Connections may be added explicitly by a user, for example,
the user
selecting another user to connect with, or automatically created by the social
networking
system based on common characteristics of the users (e.g., users who are
alumni of the same
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educational institution). Connections in social networking systems are usually
mutual, but
need not be. For example, if Sam and Nair both agree to be connected to each
other in the
social networking system, there is a mutual connection. Some embodiments of a
social
networking system allow connections to be one way. For example, Sam may choose
to
connect to a Nair, but Nair does not agree to form a mutual connection. In
this case, Sam will
be connected to Nair, but may be limited in his interactions with Nair or
prevented from
seeing information that Nair only makes available to mutual friends. Some
embodiments of a
social networking system may also connect users via one or more levels of
connections or
degrees of separation (e.g. connections of connections). It should also be
noted that social
networking systems may or may not require formal membership, so the term
"connection"
may refer to another member, but it may also refer to any other user
interacting with or using
a social networking system.
[0032] In addition to interactions with other users, the social networking
system provides
users with the ability to take actions on various types of items represented
in the social
networking system. These items may include networks (where "networks" here
refers not to
physical communication networks, but rather networks of people) to which users
may belong,
events or calendar entries in which a user might be interested, computer-based
applications
that a user may use, transactions that allow users to buy or sell items, and
content posted by
other users or advertisers with which users may interact. These are just a few
examples of the
items upon which a user may act in a social networking system, and many others
are possible.
Though many of the embodiments and examples provided below are directed to a
social
networking website, the invention described herein is not limited to a social
networking
website, but can include other environments involving social networking
systems or other
types of websites. For example, the social networking system could be
implemented with an
application that obtains information from the social networking system using,
e.g.,
application programming interfaces (APIs) or other methods. Further, the terms
"display" or
"page" described below can include anything that can be displayed on a client
device
(described below), such as a web page on a social networking website, a
graphical user
interface display (GUI), information provided in a message, and so forth.
[0033] FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of the social networking system 100
with which
the user can interact. In some embodiments, the social networking system 100
is associated
with a social networking website. The social networking system 100 maintains
information
(e.g., web pages) for a number of users. The social networking system 100 of
FIG. 1
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illustrates some examples of content that can be available to users on these
displays,
including photos, people you may know (i.e., suggested connections), events,
fans, gifts,
videos, advertisements, applications, suggestions, requests, invitations,
etc., which are
described in more detail below.
[0034] An example of a display 101 is illustrated in FIG. 1. In some
embodiments, such
as the example shown in FIG. 1, the display 101 includes a main portion 102
and an
information window 103. In other embodiments, the display 101 includes
different and/or
additional portions. The main portion 102 comprises a user interface for
interaction with the
social networking system or for accessing information about the social
networking system,
and the main portion typically includes the bulk of the content on the
display. The
information window 103 is a supplemental portion or area on the display 101
for presenting
additional content (e.g., ads, news stories about connections, etc.), as
described in more detail
below.
[0035] In one example, each user has a page that presents profile information
for that
user, the content of which is commonly found in the main portion 102 of the
display (though
can be located elsewhere on the display 101). The profile may identify
connections of the
user to other users of the social networking system (e.g., the user's
connections). A user's
profile can include various types of content associated with the user,
including personal
information about himself, his likes and dislikes, photos, his list of
connections,
messages/comments between the user and other users, etc. Other users may then
access and
view a user's profile page to learn about and interact with that user.
[0036] A user may also view a display 101 that includes a newsfeed that
provides
information that may be relevant to that particular user. The newsfeed would
commonly be
found in the main portion 102 of display 101, though it can be located
elsewhere on the
display 101. Newsfeed communications may take the form of news stories, with
each story
having an informational message comprising one or more lines of information
about a
connection or other items represented in the social networking system that
might be of
interest to the particular user. These stories may also contain multimedia or
other material,
such as a photo, video, song, link, etc. Stories can be presented to a user
via one or more
displays or pages (e.g., web pages of a social networking website), for
example in each user's
home page or newsfeed page. In addition to being able to view his own pages, a
user may
also be able to view pages of his connections (privacy settings permitting) to
see the
connection's profile, photos, and/or other information associated with the
connection.
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Actions that a particular user takes with respect to another user may be
associated with that
user's pages/profile (and may become the subject of a news story). For
example, a user can
add a connection to another user, send a message to another user, read a
message from
another user, view content associated with another user, and attend an event
posted by
another user, among others.
[0037] When a user is viewing a page in the social networking system, the user
may be
presented with various types of additional content about the user, the user's
connections, or
other content that may be of interest to the user. The user typically can
interact with or select
a link associated with some or all of this additional content. In one
embodiment, the
additional content is shown in a supplemental portion of a display or in an
information
window 103 that can be located somewhere on the display 101 that is
distinguishable from
the main content on the page. In the embodiments of the invention described
below, the
information window 103 refers to a portion of a display that contains content
items, and that
is in some manner distinguishable from the remaining content on the display
(e.g., sometimes
referred to here as the main portion 102 of the display 101). The information
window 103
might be located over to one side of the display 101, at the top or bottom of
the display 101
(e.g., like a banner ad), in the corner of the display 101, in the center of
the display 101 (yet
distinct from the main portion), as another tab or page associated with the
main portion 102,
or other locations that provide access to the additional content items. In
other embodiments,
the information window 103 may be static, clickable, or dynamic, such as a pop-
up or
scrolling ticker. In the example shown in IFG. 1, there are six available
spaces for content
items in the information window 103, but there can be more or fewer spaces, as
desired. The
number of available spaces does not have to be predetermined, nor does it have
to be the
same for each display 101. The content items described herein need not be
displayed in an
information window 103, but can be displayed or described in some other
listing of content
items on the display 101 or can even be interspersed with or included with
content on the rest
of the display 101.
[0038] In one embodiment, the information window 103 includes at least two
kinds of
content items: advertisements and social networking content items.
Advertisements
presented in the information window 103 are typically (but need not be) paid
or sponsored
advertisements. A social networking content item may comprise content that is
related to
users, objects, activities, or functionalities of the social networking
system. Examples of
social networking content items include news stories, suggested connections or
suggestions to
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perform other actions, media provided to or maintained by the social
networking system (e.g.,
pictures or videos), status messages or links posted by users to the social
networking system,
events, groups, pages (e.g., representing an organization or commercial
entity), and any other
content provided by or accessible via the social networking system. In this
way, a social
networking content item may present a user with content or highlights about
what the user's
connections are doing, or the social networking content item may notify the
user that one of
the user's connections posted new photos, commented on something, formed a
connection
with another user, or otherwise took an action that could be of interest to
the user.
[0039] The social networking content items may also include messages or
suggestions
from the social networking system 100 to the user. For example, the content
might include a
"People you may Know" (PYMK) suggestion, which includes a suggestion to the
user to add
a particular other user as a new connection, as well as a link enabling the
user to do so (e.g.,
"You may know Greg Griffin. Click here to add Greg as a friend"). A social
networking
content item might also suggest that the user invite new users who have not
yet created a
profile and are not already users of the social networking system. Further, a
social
networking content item may inform the user of events in which a user can
participate (e.g., a
friend's birthday party), applications that the user can use (e.g., an
enhanced messaging
service application in which users can send virtual gifts/flowers plus
messages to others),
groups that a user may join (e.g., a group supporting a political cause),
gifts that a user can
give (e.g., birthday gift), fan pages that a user can join (e.g. for bands,
products, services,
etc.), photos, videos, messages, and other items that may be interesting to
the user. These
examples of social networking content items are provided for illustration
purposes only, and
it can be appreciated that an unlimited number of variations and features can
be provided for
the social networking system.
[0040] A content selection algorithm 170, which may be executed by the social
networking system, determines the appropriate content items to include in the
available
spaces of the window 103. A database of content items 175 provides the content
item used
by the content selection algorithm 170, the database 175 including both ads
180 and social
networking content items 185. The content selection algorithm 170 selects the
content to
present to the user from the store 175 of content items in a manner that will
optimize for any
desired result, or optimization goal, such as growth, user engagement,
revenue, sharing, or
any other goal of an administrator of the social networking system.
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[0041] In one embodiment, the user may be presented with the information
window 103
on a third party website 140 or on some other display that is outside of the
social networking
environment or otherwise separate from the social networking system 100. The
social
networking system may thus syndicate this information window 103 (and the
content items
therein) on a third-party website 140 and/or through other external systems.
Syndication of
the social networking system's content items on external systems may comprise
a social
network communicating the content items to one or more external systems, which
then
present the content items to a user of the external system, who need not be a
user of the social
networking system. The communications between the social networking system and
the
external system that enables this syndication may be implemented in various
ways, and one
technique of implementing communication between a social networking system and
an
external system for this purpose is described in U.S. Application No.
12/324,76 1, filed
November 26, 2008, incorporated by reference herein. Information from external
systems
(such as third party websites 140) can also be used to provide information to
the social
networking system 100.
Social Networking System Architecture
[0042] FIG. 2 is a high level block diagram illustrating a system environment
suitable for
operation of a social networking system 100. The system environment comprises
one or
more client devices 210, one or more third-party websites 140, a social
networking system
100, and a network 220. In alternative configurations, different and/or
additional modules
can be included in the system.
[0043] The client devices 210 comprise one or more computing devices that can
receive
user input and can transmit and receive data via the network 220. For example,
the client
devices 210 may be desktop computers, laptop computers, smart phones, personal
digital
assistants (PDAs), or any other device including computing functionality and
data
communication capabilities. The client devices 220 are configured to
communicate via
network 220, which may comprise any combination of local area and/or wide area
networks,
using both wired and wireless communication systems. As described above, a
third party
website 140 may be coupled to the network 220 for communicating with the
social
networking system 100 about things that occur outside of the system 100.
[0044] The social networking system 100 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 100 stores user profiles that describe
users of the social
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networking system, which can include biographic, demographic, and other types
of
descriptive information, such as work experience, educational history, hobbies
or preferences,
location, and any other information about the user. The system 100 further
stores data
describing one or more connections, associations, and/or relationships between
system users
or information. This information may indicate, among other things, users who
have similar
or common work experience, group memberships, hobbies, or educational history.
Additionally, the social networking system includes user-defined relationships
between
different users, allowing users to specify their relationships with other
users. For example,
these user-defined relationships allow users to generate relationships with
other users that
parallel the users' real-life relationships, such as friends, family, co-
workers and so forth.
Users may select from predefined types of relationships, or define their own
relationship
types as needed.
[0045] FIG. 3 is an example block diagram of a social networking system 100.
The
social networking system 100 includes a display server 350, a display
generator 355, an
action logger 360, an action log 365, a content item selector 375 (with an ad
module 371 and
a social networking content item module 372), a content server 380, a user
profile store 305,
a feedback store 315, and a content item store 175 (with ads 180 and social
networking
content items 185). In other embodiments, the social networking system 100 may
include
additional, fewer, or different modules for various applications.
[0046] The display server 350 links the social networking system 100 via the
network
220 to one or more client devices 210, as well as to one or more third party
websites 140 or
other information sources. The display server 350 may include a mail server or
other
messaging functionality for receiving and routing messages between the social
networking
system 100 and the client devices 210 or third party websites 140 or
information sources.
The messages can be instant messages, queued messages (e.g., email), text and
SMS
messages, or any other suitable messaging technique. The display server 350
maintains
information or pages associated with the social networking system for a number
of users, as
explained above. In one embodiment, each page/display 101 includes a main
portion 102 and
an information window 103, though different designs are also possible. The
social
networking system, or an external system outside of the social networking
system, may
maintain profiles for users of a social networking system, which include
connections to other
users of the social networking system. The profiles are stored in the user
profile store 305.
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[0047] The display server 350 also determines when a user of the social
networking
system has requested information to be rendered and receives this information
request. For
example, the user may have navigated to the user's own profile page, or the
profile page of
another user, and the display server 350 determines that the corresponding
profile web page
has been requested by the user. The display server 350 passes this information
to the display
generator 355 for generating the display for the user. The display generator
355 generates the
requested information in the form of a display/page 101. As explained above,
the display can
be a web page or could be other information provided on a client device 210.
The display
generator 355 may notify the content item selector 375 when a display has been
generated in
response to a request from the user.
[0048] The content item selector 375 selects content items to be included in
the
information window 103 of the display 101. In one embodiment, the selector 375
selects a
combination of advertisements and social networking content items.
Specifically, the content
item selector 375 includes an ad module 371 for selecting advertisements and a
social
networking content item module 372 for selecting social networking content
items. The
selected advertisements and social networking content items are then added to
the
information window 103 of the display generated by the display generator 355.
[0049] The content item selector 375 may use a content selection algorithm
170, shown
in FIG. 1, for selecting what additional content to include on the display 101
(e.g., in the
information window 103) to optimize for a desired result, or optimization
goal. Various
algorithms for optimizing are described in the following sections. For
example, in selecting
the content items to include in the information window 103, the selector 375
may consider
other content items that have been selected or are available for selection for
the information
window 103. The selector 375 may also consider the content of the other
portion of the
display 101, such as the main portion 102. For example, the selector 375 can
select
advertisements to be included in the window 103 from a group of advertisements
(e.g., stored
in content item store 175) based on the selected advertisement being related
to one or more of
the social networking content items to be included in the window 103 and/or
based on the
content of the main portion 102 of the display 101. In this way, the
advertisements presented
to the user may be more relevant to the user's current interests (e.g., using
the other content
on the display 101 as a proxy for the user's current interests), thereby
making the advertising
more effective. It can be appreciated that a number of other strategies may be
employed,
several of which are described below.
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[0050] For example, a news story that includes a photo from a connection's
recent trip to
Egypt may be one of the social networking content items that has been selected
for the
information window 103 for a particular user. The selector 375 may then select
an ad related
to a trip to Egypt (e.g., a vacation package to Egypt, airfare deals, a tour
book on Egypt, etc.)
to be displayed in the information window 103 along with the news story.
Similarly, the
selector 375 can choose a news story or other content to display based their
relationship to
advertisements selected for display window 103. For example, when an ad about
vacation
packages to Las Vegas is selected, the selector 375 can select news stories or
other content
that provide photos/videos/information related to a connection's recent Vegas
trip. In both of
these embodiments, the ads, news stories and/or other content are paired
together to optimize
for a particular result. In this case, the optimization goal might be to
encourage users to
interact with advertisements in the display window 103.
[0051] A content item that is selected based on its relatedness to another
content item can
be "related" in any sense of the word. For example, a content item can be
related to the same
topic or subject (e.g., both are about Egypt travel). A content item can be in
the same
category of information (e.g., both relate to cooking, such as an
advertisement about a
cooking class and a news story about a connection's cooking), where the social
networking
system stores a classification or other meta data associated with the content
item. A content
item may also be an advertisement related to an action performed by a user's
connection, as
reported in a news story (e.g., a news story about a connection becoming a fan
of a book and
an ad for that book), or a content item may be an advertisement related to an
action
performed by one user related to another user (e.g., a news story about a user
wishing his
connection a happy birthday coupled with an advertisement for birthday cards).
Moreover, a
content item can be an advertisement or a social networking content item
related to other
types of content, such as user comments, photos, videos, etc. (e.g. an
advertisement for a surf
travel service when a user posts photos of surfboards). A variety of other
examples are also
possible. Any way in which one piece of content can be related to another can
form a basis
for those pieces of content being displayed together.
[0052] In one embodiment, the selector 370 selects content items for the
information
window 103 based on the availability of a related content item to display with
that content.
For example, if there is a news story indicating that a user's connection
became a fan of a
product, such as a particular brand of shoes, the selector 370 can select an
ad for that brand of
shoes to include in the information window 103 instead of providing another ad
that it might
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have otherwise selected related to a different product. Similarly, the
selector 370 can select a
news story about a user who went to a new restaurant to show alongside an ad
for that
restaurant, as opposed to an unrelated news story about another connection.
[0053] In some embodiments, the content item selector 370 varies the content
items
selected for the display (e.g., in the information window 103 or elsewhere)
based on feedback
received from the feedback store 315. In one case, the feedback store 315 can
include
explicit feedback provided by the user rating content items displayed in the
information
window 103 (or elsewhere in the display 101). For example, the user can
provide a rating
(e.g., a thumbs up or down, a one to five star rating, a point scale rating,
or other indication of
the user's preferences regarding content items) when viewing the content
items. The user
might indicate that he did not find interesting the ad that was paired with a
related news story
in the information window 103. The selector 370 can use this feedback in the
future for
providing better, more relevant content items to that user (e.g., content
items on a different
subject, content items that are more closely related, content items that are
related in the
different way, etc.). In on embodiment the user may be permitted to view and
rate content
items that were displayed over a particular period of time (e.g. in the last
day, week, month,
etc.). The feedback store 315 may also (or as an alternative) collect implicit
feedback
provided by the user based on engagement with the content items (e.g. by
determining which
content items or categories of items a user clicks on, shares with other
users, comments on,
spends the most time viewing, etc.). The selector 370 can use this feedback in
selecting
future items. The overall content selection process is described in more
detail below.
[0054] The content server 380 detects the contents of the display generated by
the display
generator 355, and provides selected content items (chosen by the selector
370) for inclusion
on the display. The content server 380 can then provide the complete display
with all content
items to the display server 350.
[0055] In one embodiment, the content server 380 also determines how to
organize and
present the news stories/ads in the information window and/or on the display.
In this
embodiment, the content server 380 can control the ordering or placement of
ads/news items
on the display. For example, the content server 380 can place the most
relevant items at the
top of a list of content items, can order the items in the information window
103 according to
ordering on the main portion 102 of the display 101, can intersperse ads and
news items and
other content items, etc. Similarly, the content server 380 might present the
most relevant
content as soon as the user logs onto his account, or may save the more
relevant content until
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after the user has been logged on for a while. For example, if the user
typically does not click
on ads until after he has been logged onto his account for a while, the
content selector 375
may save the ads for later displays requested.
[0056] The display server 350 provides the display to the user. The display
includes the
content items (e.g., in an information window 103) selected by the content
item selector 370
(e.g., news stories or ads). In the case of a social networking website, the
display server 350
may comprise a web server.
[0057] In some embodiments, an action logger 360 is capable of receiving
communications from the display server 350 about user actions on and/or off
the social
networking system 100. The action logger 360 populates the action log 365 with
information
about these tracked user actions. There are various different types of actions
that can be
logged by logger 360. As explained above, the users can interact with other
users of the same
social networking system (e.g., by sending messages, sending gifts, sending
invitations to
events, etc.). In addition to interactions with other users, the social
networking system
provides users with the ability to take actions on various types of content
items (e.g., by
commenting on news stories or other content items, sharing content items.
signifying they
like a particular item, etc.). Users may also join groups, become fans of
pages dedicated to
products, services, entities, and other things, create events, authorize and
use applications that
provide all manner of functionality and entertainment, engage in transactions
that allow users
to buy or sell items, visit hubs representing general concepts, etc. In some
embodiments, the
social networking system 100 maintains a number of objects for the different
kinds of items
with which a user may interact on the system 100 (e.g., such as user profiles,
pages, hubs,
group objects, event objects, application objects, transaction objects, etc.)
where the objects
can be stored by the system 100 for each instance of its associated item.
These are just a few
examples of the items upon which a user may act in a social networking system,
and many
others are possible.
[0058] When a user takes any of these types of actions or other actions, the
action is
recorded in the action log 365 (e.g., a database of entries in which an entry
is added for each
action). The social networking system 100 can also log actions that a user
takes on a third
party website 140. The system 100 may learn of the user's actions on the third
party website
140 when the website 140 sends a message to the system 100 with a notification
of the action
through an API or otherwise (e.g., a notification that the user purchased an
item on website
140). In another embodiment, the social networking system 100 logs actions
taken by its
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users in the real world. For example, the user can register a credit card with
system 100 so
that when it is used in a qualifying way, a message is sent to system 100 via
email, SMS, or
any other appropriate means.
[0059] The action log 365 over time will become populated with entries related
to
activities of users of the social networking system 100. The action log 365
may therefore
contain a very rich set of data about the actions of the users, and can be
analyzed and filtered
to identify trends and relationships, as well as affinities, between the users
and various
objects. The action log 365 can be used for many purposes. Each user's
experience on the
social networking system can be customized using data form the action log 365.
This data
can also be used by the system 100 to choose content items that more
effectively optimize for
a desired result, or optimization goal. The action log 365 can also track
actions of users that
can be stored by the feedback store 315, by tracking how users interact with
and rate content
items, etc.
[0060] Though the description provides many examples of a social networking
website
embodiment, embodiments of the invention are not limited to website
embodiments. For
example, in another embodiment, the social networking system is implemented on
an
application running on a client device 210 (e.g., a portable communications
device) that
accesses information from the social networking system using APIs or other
communication
mechanisms other than the Internet or web. Similarly, various other
implementations for the
social networking system are also possible.
Process for Selecting Content Items
[0061] FIG. 4 illustrates a process for selecting content items, in one
embodiment. In this
process, a user requests 400 a page using a client device 210. The display
server 350 receives
405 the request for information from the user of the social networking system
and sends 410
a request to the display generator 355. The display generator 355 generates
415 the display,
in response to the request. The display may include an information window 103
having
available spaces in which to include content items and a main portion 102 that
having a user
interface for the social networking system, which may contain a profile page,
a newsfeed,
photos, pages, groups, events, applications, etc.
[0062] The display generator 355 provides 420 the display to the content
server 380,
which then requests 425 content items from the content item selector 375. The
selector 375
selects 440 content items to include in the information window of the display.
In one
embodiment, the content item selector 375 first queries 430 the content item
store 175 for
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content items (e.g., social networking content items, advertisements, etc.).
The content item
store 175 returns 435 content items that are available for providing to the
user. For example,
the content item store 175 may provide news stories or other social networking
content items
that relate to the user or one of the user's connections. In some embodiments,
these different
content items for a given user are generated in advance and then stored by the
content item
store 175 for later usage when the user logs on and requests information. In
other
embodiments, the content items can be generated dynamically, when a user
requests 400
information. In either case, the items can be generated by content server 380,
as explained in
more detail in FIG. 8.
[0063] The content item selector 375 may use various content selection
algorithms 170 to
select 440 the content items to be included on the display generated 415 out
of the group of
available items from content item store 175. The algorithm used will depend
upon the result
that is being optimized for (i.e. growth, user engagement, revenue, sharing,
etc.). The
selector 375 may select the content items based on their relationship to other
items that will
be on the display, based on their relationship to other items that will be
included in the
information window 103, a combination of both. The selector 375 may also
select the
content items based on other factors related to the user's express or
demonstrated interests,
such as interest demonstrated by content viewed recently, viewed a designated
number of
times within a particular time frame, viewed in proximity to viewing other
displays or
content, viewed the most in the user's browsing history, or any other
discernable activities or
habits. The selection process is described in more detail in FIGS. 5 and 6. In
some
embodiments, the selector 375 provides 445 the items to the content server
380, which then
includes 450 the selected items on the display. The content server 380
provides 455 the
display with the selected items to the display server 350, which then provides
460 the display
plus content items to the user on the client device 210.
Selecting Content Items Based on Related Content Items in Information Window
[0064] FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of a content item selection process,
in which
content items are selected based on their relatedness to other content items
selected for the
information window. In this embodiment, the social networking system receives
505 a
request from a user for information, and the social networking system begins
the process of
generating 510 a display responsive to the request, such as in the process
described in FIG. 4.
The display to be generated includes a set of spaces available in an
information window for a
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set of content items. Accordingly, the social networking system selects
content items to fill
the available spaces in the information window 103.
[0065] As described above, the content item selector 375 of the social
networking system
may determine what type of content items to add (e.g., an advertisement, a
news story, a
photo, a video, or other content items). The content item selector 375 may
determine what
type of content items to add to the information window based on a set of
predetermined rules
(e.g., at least three ads and one suggested connection), how many open spaces
there are to
fill, what other content is in the display, etc. For example, if the
information window will
have three ads, and has two remaining openings for content items, the social
networking
system might select two news stories to balance out the content items in the
window. How
these spaces are populated may depend largely upon what optimization goal is
being
optimized for by the system. The content item selector 375 may select just
enough content
items to fill the open spaces on a display, or the content item selector 375
may select more
items than can be presented on one display (e.g., items for multiple displays
for the user).
[0066] In one example, once one or more content items are selected, the
content item
selector 375 selects additional content items from a group of available
content items. Content
items may be available based on their existence as well as their eligibility
to be presented to a
user. For example, the social networking system may enforce a privacy rule
that dictates
whether a user can see a news story, so the news story is an available content
items for a
display to be shown to that user only if the privacy setting allows it. The
example shown in
FIG. 5 refers to news stories, but it can be appreciated that this extends to
other types of
social networking content items described herein, of which news stories are
just one example.
[0067] In one embodiment, the content item selector 375 selects content items
successively, and for each new content item selected, the content item
selector 375 considers
the relatedness of the new content item with one or more of the previously
selected content
items. For example, if the content item selector 375 is to select a news story
for the
information window, the content item selector 375 may first check 520 the ads
currently
selected for inclusion in the information window. If there are no ads selected
yet, the content
item selector 375 may select any news story relating to the user. If there are
ads selected, the
content item selector 375 may check 530 the content items store 175 for news
stories for the
user that are related to ads that have already been selected. If there are
related news stories,
the social networking system can select 540 the related news story. Instead of
randomly
selecting a news story for the user that might have normally been picked, the
algorithm
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applied by the content item selector 375 selects 540 a story related to one of
the ads to be
included the window.
[0068] Conversely, if the content item selector 375 is to select an
advertisement, the
content item selector 375 can perform the same steps 520, 530, 540 as above,
but in this case
the content item selector 375 is selecting an ad based on a news story (or
other social
networking content item). The content item selector 375 may check 525 the news
stories that
have been selected in the information window, and if there are no news stories
selected, the
content item selector 375 may select any ad relatingto the user. If there are
news stories
selected, the content item selector 375 may then check 535 the content items
store 175 for ads
for the user that are related to those news stories. If there are related ads,
the content item
selector 375 may select 545 the related ads.
[0069] In another embodiment, the content item selector 375 selects a
plurality of related
advertisements and social networking content items at the same time. In this
case, the
content item selector 375 checks 550 the content item store 175 for the
existence and
availability of both types of content items. The content item selector 375
then selects 555 a
plurality of the advertisements and social networking content items that are
related (e.g., in
pairs or in groups of related content items). For example, the social
networking system may
select 555 an advertisement selling a particular product along with a news
story about one of
the user's connections who recently became a fan of an entity in the social
networking system
associated with that product.
[0070] The content item selector 375 can measure the relatedness of two
content items
using a variety of techniques, and which technique may depend on the type of
content item.
In one example, the content items include textual content (e.g., words in an
advertisement,
the title of a group or event, or portions of a news story). In such an
example, two content
items may be related if they contain the same words. In another example,
content items may
be associated with metadata about the content items (e.g., user-provided tag
words for an
image or video), and this metadata may also be compared to determine whether
two content
items are related. Content items may also be related based on other
attributes, such as their
source (e.g., an image posted by another user is related to a news story that
mentions the
same user). The relatedness may also be based on category information about
the content
items (e.g., an ad for a concert and a video clip containing a song may be
considered in the
same category, "music"). The relatedness may be discrete (i.e., related or not
related), as in
the previous examples, or the measure of relatedness may be continuous. For
example,
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various algorithms could be used to score the relatedness of two content
items, based on the
similarity of their various attributes.
[0071] In each of the cases above, if there are no content items directly
related to other
items to be included in the window, the content item selector 375 may select
distantly related
items. In some embodiments, the content item selector 375 may notify the
content server 380
to generate a content item on some topic that is related to one of the items
in the window
(e.g., as shown in FIG. 8, describing content item generation). The content
item selector 375
may also select one or multiple content items to include on the display. Once
the selection
540, 545, 555 is made, the selected content items can be included 560 on the
display, and the
display with items can be provided 565 to the user.
Selecting Content Items Based on Main Portion of Display
[0072] FIG. 6 illustrates a content item selection process, in which the
content items are
selected for a supplemental portion of the display based on the content in a
main portion of
the display that the user is currently requesting or viewing. Similar to FIG.
5, the method
includes receiving 605 from a user a request for information from the social
networking
system. In response to the user request, the social networking system
generates 610 the main
portion of the display, which may include a user interface for the user to
interact with the
social networking system. The display further includes a supplemental portion,
such as the
information window described above. The supplemental portion of the display is
reserved fro
inclusion of one or more content items selected for the display. The content
item selector 375
thus begins a process of selecting content items, such as news stories, to be
added to the
supplemental portion of the display.
[0073] In one embodiment, the information in the main portion of the display
is parsed
620 or otherwise analyzed. The parsing may result in words that are located in
the textual
content of the main portion. The parsing may also obtain metadata that is not
displayed in the
main portion (such as html tags) and other information that could result from
processing
content on the main portion (e.g., the identity or other metadata associated
with a video clip,
which is identified using a fingerprinting algorithm). Once the content of the
main portion of
the display is parsed or otherwise analyzed, the content item selector 375
selects 630 content
items based on their relatedness to the information in the main portion. As
explained above,
the measure of relatedness may be determined according to any number of
techniques, which
may compare attributes of the content in the main portion of the display with
available
content items to select one or more content items to include in the
supplemental portion of the
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display. Once the content items are selected, they are included 630 to the
display in the
supplemental portion, and the display is provided 640 to the user.
[0074] In one example, if the user has requested a page that includes the
profile of a
connection having photos of the connection's new baby, a new story selected
for the
information window might be a story about another connection who posted baby
photos, a
connection who just had a baby, a connection who became a fan of a baby
product, etc. In
this manner, the page provided to the user will include a number of items on
the same topic.
The user may be more likely to click on the news stories in the list/window
because they are
related to the topic he is viewing on the page he requested. The selected news
items may also
include advertisements. Continuing the above example, since the user is
viewing a friend's
baby pictures, an advertisement for a baby gift may be selected and added to
the display.
Example Display
[0075] FIG. 7 is an illustration of an example display (e.g., a web page) that
might be
provided to a user of the social networking system. The example illustrates a
profile page for
a user (in this example, Bob Jensen) of a social networking system, which
provides a photo of
the user (in this case, a "No Photo Available" photo), information about the
user (his
relationship status and school), comments from the user's connections, and
recent activity
information for the user. The user's page also includes a list of content
items (in this
example, advertisements and news stories), which are located in an information
window 103
that acts as a supplemental portion for the main display page.
[0076] In an embodiment of the invention, a user who is a connection of Bob
Jensen has
requested Bob Jensen's page. As explained above, the page requested will be
generated for
the viewing user, and certain content items can be included in the information
window 103.
If a different user requests to view Bob's page, a different collection of
content items can be
selected for that different user. In FIG. 7, the content items have been
selected using the
embodiments of the invention described above. For example, the three items
701, 702, 703
are related to the United States in the window. Item 703 is a news story that
provides
"Photos of trip across US" which was provided by Fred Thompson, who may be a
connection
of the viewing user as well. Item 702 is an ad for "$39 Flights across the
US." Item 701 is a
news story (or could be a social ad, if sponsored) about the USA for which Jim
Fredericks
became a fan, and the story offers to the viewing user to "Become a Fan," too.
The content
item selector 375 has thus selected three content items that are related
(e.g., according to the
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process of FIG. 5), encouraging the chances that the viewing user will
interact with one or
more of these items.
[0077] The fourth item 704 is a news story about Jan Edwards, a connection of
the
viewing user, and who is attending law school. The selector 375 has selected
item 704
according to the process of FIG. 6. This item is not related by topic to the
other content
items, but is related to the page the viewing user has requested (Bob Jensen's
profile) since
Bob's profile not only indicates that he is "Attending Law School" in the
section 705
providing Bob's personal information, but it also includes a comment from a
connection in
the comments section 706 about how law school is going. If the viewing user is
also
attending law school or is a lawyer, which information the social networking
system may
track, this content item about Jan Edwards can be even more likely to be
selected by the
selector 375, since it represents an overlap between the viewing user and Bob
(e.g., the study
or practice of law).
[0078] Any combination of the methods of FIGS. 5 and 6 can be used, as well.
For
example, an item might be selected that is both related to other items in the
information
window and is also related to the page currently being viewed by the user.
Content Item Generation Process
[0079] FIG. 8 illustrates a process by which content items are generated,
according to one
embodiment. In this embodiment, the content server 380 receives 800 a request
to generate
content items. The server 380 queries 805 the action log 365 for actions
relating to a user
(e.g., actions of connections of a user). Connections between users are
provided in the
profiles of these users stored in the user profile store 305. The action log
365 returns 810 a
list of different actions relating to the user. The content server 380 then
generates 815
content items based on those actions, and sends 820 these to the content items
store 175 for
storage. In some embodiments, the server 380 selects the most relevant actions
of
connections of the user about which to generate 815 items. For example, the
server 380 can
select the most recent actions, the actions of connections most closely
related to the user or
with whom the user interacts regularly, and so forth. In one embodiment, the
server 380
generates 815 news stories about these actions (e.g., a news story of a
connection that just got
married). Advertisements of products may or may not be related to user
actions, and so they
may be generated by the content server 380, but they also may be created by
advertisers or
other entities and then stored in the content item store 175. The items can be
generated 815
in real-time (e.g., when a user requests information or a particular web page)
or in advance
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for users (e.g., and stored for when the user requests a page). These stored
items may have to
be updated regularly if a user has not logged on or requested information for
a while, to avoid
the items from becoming stale.
Feedback Collection and Usage Process
[0080] FIG. 9 illustrates a process by which feedback is collected from users
and is used
in selecting content items, according to one embodiment. The display server
350 receives
explicit feedback when a user rates content items provided. For example,
returning to FIG. 7,
the ad about the plane flights across the U.S. provides "thumbs up" or "thumbs
down" links
that allow the user to rate the ad. Other rating systems are also possible
(e.g., points, stars,
etc.), and the user can in some cases provide comments. The explicit feedback
is sent 905 for
storage by the display server 350 to feedback store 315.
[0081] In some embodiments, implicit feedback can also be collected. The
display server
350 can receive 915 user actions regarding the content items provided. For
example, the user
might click on or otherwise interact with the content item, follow a link to
additional
information about an item, spend a certain amount of time on this additional
information, etc.
These types of actions provide information about what a user thinks of the
content items
provided. The display server 350 can send 920 any actions taken regarding
content items to
the action logger 360. If the logger 360 determines 925 that the actions
provide useful
feedback from the user, the logger 360 can send 930 the feedback to the
feedback store 315,
which can then store 935 this implicit feedback.
[0082] The remaining steps illustrate how stored feedback is used to select
content items.
When the display server 350 has indicated that certain information (e.g. a
particular web
page) has been requested 940 by a user and the content server 380 requests 945
content items
for a display from the selector 375, the selector 375 can query 950 for
feedback from the
feedback store 315. The store 315 returns any feedback available from the user
(e.g., ratings
or actions of a user regarding prior content items provided). The content item
selector 375
then applies this feedback in selecting 960 content items. For example, if the
user gives poor
ratings to all travel ads provided, the selector 375 can avoid travel ads for
that user. If the
user interacts only with social ads and not other ads, the selector 375 can
focus on social ads.
The feedback can be accumulated in the store 315 and filtered in a variety of
ways to acquire
trends for a given user, and the selector 375 can apply this information in a
variety of ways to
select 960 items.
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[0083] In one embodiment, the processes described above are applied across
multiple
users. In this case, the selector 375 does not select items by the user, but
instead selects items
across groups of users. For example, if ad/news story pairs or groups can be
reused across
multiple users of the same social networking system. If multiple users are
connections with
Bob Jensen of FIG. 7, the same news story/ad pairs or groups can be shown to
his other
connections, where relevant.
Optimization for Mixing Different Types of Content Items
[0084] FIG. 10 illustrates a social networking system 100 with which the user
can
interact. The system of FIG. 10 includes all of the features and explanations
associated with
the system 100 and third party website 140 of FIG. 1, so those descriptions
are not repeated
here. FIG. 10 illustrates a process in which content is mixed and targeted to
the user for
presentation to the user. In FIG. 10, the process includes a display 101
having an information
window 103 and a main portion 102, and so includes all of the features of the
display/page
101 in FIG. 1. The display without content shows a number of available spaces
into which
different types of content items can be included.
[0085] The content optimizing algorithm 1070 is used to determine the
appropriate
mixture or ratio of different types of content to include in the available
spaces of the window
103 for a given user. A content type database 1075 provides the different
types of content
used by the optimizing algorithm 1070 for the information window 103 for a
user. A content
item database 1076 provides the particular content items (of the different
types) for a user.
The content types can include any of the types described above, such as PYMK,
events, gifts,
photos, fans, ads, social ads, applications, suggestions, requests,
invitations, videos, links,
third party content external to the social networking system, and so forth.
The content items
can include specific instances of those content types for a given user, such
as a PYMK item
for a first user that suggests a second user to be a person the first user
might know.
[0086] The algorithm 1070 receives a request for information for a given user,
and
receives or determines input parameters for that user (e.g., the user group(s)
to which the user
and optimization goal(s) for that group). The algorithm 1070 then outputs
content items for
display in the information window to that user. Instead of randomly selecting
a content type
for a user or selecting based on availability, the algorithm 1070 instead
allocates the available
spaces of the information window to different content types based on ability
of the types to
promote the certain optimization goals for a user group. The mixture of the
types allocated
can vary with different user groups and optimization goals. In one embodiment,
the ability of
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the types to promote certain goals is determined by monitoring the results of
presenting
different types to users of different groups over a period of time and
determining which types
of content promote certain optimization goals more effectively than other
types. The
algorithm 1070 may score each of the types of content based on ability of the
types to achieve
optimization goals 1080 for different user groups 1085, and the scores can be
applied for
allocating the types of content to available spaces of information windows for
users. The
scoring is described in more detail below regarding FIG. 12.
[0087] The optimization goals 1080 may include any type of goal associated
with
presenting content to a user in the window 103, such as monetization, user
sharing, user
engagement, user communication or network growth, etc. For example, the goal
1080 for a
new user of the social networking system 100 may be to encourage growth of a
user's social
networking system. In this case, the optimization goal 1080 is increased user
communication. The algorithm is more likely to select more content types
associated with
encouraging the user to link to more connections, such as PYMK, invite new
connections,
connection suggestions, and so forth. In another example, for a user who
already has many
connections, but does not interact with these connections much, the goal 1080
may be to
increase user sharing. In this case, the algorithm is more likely to select
more content types
associated with encouraging the user to interact with other users, such as
events, gifts, photos,
etc. In another example, for a user who has a large network of connections and
interacts
regularly, the goal 1080 may be to increase monetization associated with this
user. The
algorithm is more likely to select more paid advertisements through which
revenue may be
made upon user interaction with the ads. Similarly, for a user who has
connections and
interacts with them, the goal 1080 could be to increase the user's engagement
with the social
networking system 100, including encouraging the user to post information and
photos about
himself, to join fan clubs, to utilize applications or play games on the
system 100, etc. In this
case, the algorithm may be more likely to select more content types associated
with
encouraging the user to engage with the system 100, such as providing
suggestions to play
applications or utilize certain features of the system 100 etc.
[0088] The optimization goals 1080 may differ for different user groups 1085,
and they
may be set for each user specifically or set globally for all users of the
social networking
system. The examples above illustrate a few situations in which the goals 180
may be
different based on user type/account usage (e.g., a new user, a user who does
not interact
much, or a user who has many connections/interacts a lot). The users may also
be grouped
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according to social networking system groups designated by the system 100
(e.g., all
supporters of a particular political cause, the fan club for a particular
band, etc.) or to user
preferences (e.g., all users who have indicated an interest in cooking in
their profiles). The
user groups may further include groups formed according to the gender or age
of the users,
geographic location, demographic, user preferences, user profile information,
race, ethnicity,
account usage or usage history, length of time using the social networking
system 100,
engagement level, the user's network, among others. For example, female users
might be
known to be more likely to participate in user sharing (e.g., gift giving,
events, etc.) than male
users. The goal for male users might be to provide more user sharing content
to get the male
users involved in interacting (or to provide different types of user sharing
content that male
users tend to prefer). As another example, the goals for users of a particular
geographic
location might be different from other locations. If users in Sweden are known
not to form
many connections, the goal for a user from Sweden may be to increase user
communication
(e.g., provide more PYMK or invite connections content types).
[0089] The goals 1080 may also change over time for a user group 1085. For
example,
once the Swedish users have begun to form lots of connections, the goal 1080
might then be
to focus on monetization and providing more ads to those users to increase
revenue. The user
groups 1085 and goals 1080 are discussed in more detail below.
[0090] The algorithm 1070 receives the parameters (e.g., the user group 1085
and the
optimization goal(s) 1080) for a user requesting information (e.g., a display
including an
information window). Based on the scores for the different content types of
database 1075
that indicate the effectiveness in promoting certain goals, the algorithm 1070
may select the
types of content or the ratio of types for the information window 103 to be
presented to the
user. In the embodiment of FIG. 10, to fill the six spaces of the window 103,
the algorithm
1070 selected 2 ads, 1 event, 1 fan, 1 PYMK, and 1 gift. In another example,
the algorithm
1070 could allocate 50% of the available spaces to PYMK item types, 25% to ad
item types,
and 25% photo item types.
[0091] The algorithm 1070 further targets the information window content to a
particular
user by selecting the content items of the allocated types to fill the
available spaces. The
content items are selected from the items stored in database 1076 to promote
user interaction
with the information window 103. In the FIG. 10 example, the algorithm 1070
selects the
particular 2 ads to show, the event, fan, PYMK, and gift content items. For
example, the
algorithm 1070 might select, for a given user, an ad for a vacation package
deal, an ad for a
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new movie, a birthday event for a connection of the user, a fan item that
indicates that the
user's connection is a fan of the new movie for which the ad was shown, a PYMK
for another
user with few connections, and a suggestion to send a birthday gift to the
connection having
the birthday event. Selection of content items is described in more detail
below regarding
FIGS. 11-14.
[0092] Once the algorithm 1070 has selected the appropriate content items to
fill the
spaces of the information window 103, the display 101 with content items is
presented to the
user. The content may be presented to the user while he is reviewing any page
associated
with the social networking system 100 (e.g., the user's own profile or
newsfeed, other users'
profiles, group profiles, etc.), while the user is using a third party
website, etc. The display
may be provided as a web page to a user on a website, but may also be provided
in an
electronic message sent to a client device 210 (e.g., e-mail, text message,
etc.), provided as a
GUI, and so forth.
[0093] The embodiment of the system environment illustrated in FIG. 2 may
apply to the
FIG. 10 embodiment, too. FIG. 11 is an example block diagram of a social
networking
system 100. The social networking system 100 includes a display server 1150, a
parameter
receiver 1155, an optimizing engine 1175 (including a score generator 1160, a
content type
selector 1165, and a content item selector 1170), an action logger 1180, an
action log 1185, a
user profile store 1105, a group store 1110, a feedback store 1115, a content
type store 1075,
and a content item store 1076. In other embodiments, the social networking
system 100 may
include additional, fewer, or different modules for various applications.
[0094] The display server 1150 links the social networking system 100 via the
network
220 to one or more client devices 210, as well as to one or more third party
websites 140.
The display server 1150 may include a mail server or other messaging
functionality for
receiving and routing messages between the social networking system 100 and
the client
devices 210 or third party websites 140. The messages can be instant messages,
queued
messages (e.g., email), text and SMS messages, or any other suitable messaging
technique.
The display server 1150 can maintain the user profiles for a number of users.
[0095] The display server 1150 receives a request for information to be
provided or
rendered for a user (e.g., the user is navigating to his own profile page) or
when content types
otherwise need to be determined, and the display server 1150 can communicate
this to the
parameter receiver 1155 for determining the parameters for the content type
selection. In one
embodiment, the display server 1150 generates the display to which the content
items will be
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added. In some embodiments, the display server 1150 makes a request for
content items to
be added to a display each time a display is presented (so the content
type/item selection
occurs in real time, as a user navigates through the system 100). In other
embodiments, the
display server 1150 makes a request for content items without having a
particular display on
which to immediately post those items. In these embodiments, the selected
content
types/items are stored for later presentation to the users.
[0096] The parameter receiver 1155 determines parameters to be input into the
content
optimizing algorithm 1070. The receiver 1155 determines a first parameter,
which is a user
group 1085 for one or more of the users. The receiver 1155 also determines a
second
parameter, which includes one or more optimization goals 1080 for interaction
of the user
group 1085 with the information window 103. The parameter receiver 1155
determines these
parameters, in one embodiment, by gathering information about a user to whom
content is to
be provided from the user profile store 1105 (e.g., user's preferences,
gender, geographic
location, etc.). In some embodiments, one or both of these parameters for the
user are
determined in advance by the parameter receiver 1155 and retrieved when
needed.
[0097] The parameter receiver 1155 can also obtain information about that
user's actions
from the action log 1185 for determining the parameters. This action log 1185
is structured
in the same manner as action log 365 of FIG. 3, so the description of action
log 365 above
applies here too. The action log 1185 can store any action a user takes on an
object
associated with the system 100 or actions relating to other users (e.g.,
typical account usage
of a user, actions indicating user preferences or user type, and so forth).
The receiver 1155
can also gather information about groups joined by the user from the group
store 1110 (e.g.,
group supporting a political or social cause, musical band fan site, local
city network, etc.).
All of this information can then be used by the receiver 1155 in classifying
users into user
groups 1085 or determining goals 1080. User groups 1085 and optimization goals
1080 are
discussed in more detail regarding FIGS 13 and 14 below.
[0098] The optimizing engine 1175 inputs the parameters collected by the
parameter
receiver 1155 into the optimization algorithm 1070 for allocating/selecting
content types and
selecting content items for the user. The engine 1175 then outputs the
selected content items
for that user. Thus, the optimized mixture of content items can be provided
for that for that
user to further optimization goals for the user's group.
[0099] In some embodiments, the optimizing engine 1175 includes a score
generator
1160 for determining the ability of different content types to promote the one
or more
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optimization goals. The score generator 1160 can monitor the results of
presenting content
items of allocated types to users of different user groups over a period of
time. The score
generator 1160 can determine, based on the results, which types of content
promote certain
optimization goals more effectively than other types. For example, the score
generator 1160
might determine, by monitoring over a period of time, that presenting PYMK
content types
tends to increase communication between users and encourage growth of the
social
networking system. The score generator 1160 can determine this by comparing
groups of
users to whom a higher percentage of PYMK items were displayed than were
displayed to
other groups. The score generator 1160 can determine whether the rate of
forming
connections with other users or the size of the network increases for the
groups of users who
viewed more PYMK content types. The score generator 1160 can then score the
types of
content based on the ability of the types to achieve certain optimization
goals.
[0100] FIG. 12 illustrates one example of the scoring performed by the score
generator
1160, according to an embodiment of the invention. In this example, each of
the content
types is scored based on its ability to further each optimization goal. Three
different
optimization goals are scored in FIG. 12 (monetization, user sharing, and user
communication), though other goals can be included and scored too. In the
example, the
scoring range is from 1 to 10, though other ranges can be used (e.g., 1 to 50,
1 to 100, etc.)
and other scoring/weighting systems can also be used. In the example, the
content type,
"PYMK," is rated very high for the user communication goal, since PYMK
promotes
creation of more connections between users when a user selects a PYMK content
type from
the information window 103. The content type, "events," is rated very high for
user sharing,
since event items encourage users to share and interact with other users using
the system 100.
The content type, "paid ad," is rated very high for monetization, since
providing ads to users
that the users can select and interact with can allow the system 100 to
generate money. Other
content types can be scored, as well.
[0101] The scores illustrated in FIG. 12 may be the same across the different
user groups
1085 or they can vary for different user groups 1085. So, each type can be
scored for its
ability to promote each goal across all user groups, and/or each type can be
separately scored
for promoting goals for each group. For example, it could be the case that
male users tend
not to interact much with event content items. So, even though event items
tend generally to
promote user sharing across user groups, the event item does not score a 10 in
user sharing
for male user groups, but only scores a 4 and maybe only a 1 in both user
communication and
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monetization. However, male users may tend to interact more with fan content
items, and so
those items might score higher on user sharing for the male user group. How a
content type
should be scored can be determined by reviewing information in, e.g., the
action log 1185,
the user profile store 1105, and the group store 1110. For example, the
actions stored in the
action log 1185 could be filtered to determine items with which male users
tend to interact.
[0102] In addition, scores may be updated occasionally or regularly. Scores
for different
goals may change over a period of time as more or different user groups are
identified, new
content types become available, new goals are set or previous goals are
modified, more
information is gathered about current user groups, goals, content types,
content items, and so
forth. The scores and/or the scoring system may be adjusted by an
administrator to address
different goals for the social networking system 100.
[0103] The content type selector 1165 may select, based on the scores provided
by the
score generator 1160, the types of content and allocate the content types for
the information
window. The types selected/allocated can vary by user group 1085 and goals
1080. For
example, for a group of male users between ages 20 and 25, where the goal is
primarily to
encourage user sharing and secondarily to encourage user network growth, the
selector 1165
may review the content type scores for those goals for that user group. The
selector 1165
may select the types having the top four scores for sharing (e.g., events,
gifts, fans, and
applications), and could select the type having the top score for network
growth (e.g.,
PYMK). Each time a male user between age 20-25 requests information, he could
be
provided with those five types. These types might all be provided on one
display, or over a
number of displays/pages. The displays could be arranged so that the user
receives other
content types too, but receives a higher concentration of the selected types.
In another
example, the selector 1165 could select many types having high scores in user
sharing and
also some having high scores for network growth, and could provide only or
predominantly
these types to the user group over time.
[0104] The content type selector 1165 may also be configured to allocate a
ratio or
percentage of the available spaces to be filled with different content types.
In one
embodiment, the selector 1165 allocates a certain percentage of the spaces for
a user group to
a specific content type (e.g., 5 % of the spaces for users in Germany to event
types). In
another embodiment, the selector 1165 allocates a specified percentage of the
available
spaces to a particular content type for all users having less than a specified
number of
connections to other users in the social networking system. For example, users
falling in a
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user group of "users who have less than X number of connections" could have
50% of their
spaces filled by types known to promote network growth (e.g., PYMK, connection
requests
or invitations, etc.). As another example, users falling in a user group of
"users who have
interacted with another user fewer than X number of times in the past week"
could have 75%
of their spaces filled by types determined to encourage interaction or
information sharing
between users. The selector 1165 could also allocate a certain percentage of
the available
spaces to one or more types, and then select the remaining content types
randomly or based
on availability. Thus, the content types can be selected in a number of
different manners, and
the examples provided above are not limiting but are just a few possibilities.
[0105] In another embodiment, a user can be a user of multiple groups (e.g., a
"males
between 20-25" group and a "San Francisco resident" group). Thus, a given user
may have
content types scored and selected for him based on his membership to multiple
groups. For
example, user can be presented with a display having content types for one
group and then a
display for the next group, the user can be presented with displays having a
mixture of types
for both groups, the user can be presented with displays including only or
predominantly
content types associated with a primary or more important group, and so forth.
[0106] In some embodiments, the selector 1165 selects a certain number of
types to fill a
certain number of available locations on a display. In other embodiments, the
selector 1165
selects various content types that are appropriate for the user or for the
user group 1085, and
there may be fewer or more types selected than are open locations on the
display. If there are
fewer types selected, the remaining locations can be filled randomly or can be
left empty (or
the display can be otherwise rearranged to show only the few types selected).
If there are
more types selected, the display can be arranged to hold more types, or the
additional types
selected can be provided on later displays (e.g., as the user continues to
navigate through the
system).
[0107] The timing of selection performed by the selector 1165 varies in
different
embodiments. In one embodiment, the selector 1165 selects one or more of the
content types
in real-time, as members of different user groups navigate through the system
100. In
another embodiment, the selector 1165 selects one or more of the content types
in advance
for a given user group, and those selected types are stored and used when a
member of the
user group is logged on to his account or requests information. In some
embodiments, a
selection of a particular ratio of content types is performed across multiple
users of a user
group 1085, so that multiple users will be provided with the same mixture of
types selected
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for their user group 1085. In other embodiments, the selection varies by
member or by
subsets of members of a user group 1085, so that not all users of a group 1085
will be
provided with the same mixture of types.
[0108] The content item selector 1170 selects content items of each of the
types of
content selected by the content type selector 1165. The content items are
selected to promote
user interaction with the information window 103. In one embodiment, the
content items
selected are specific to the particular user to whom they will be presented.
In other words, as
explained above, a particular mixture of different content types may have been
selected for a
given user group (e.g., male users between ages 15 and 20). So, for a user
within the group,
the selector 1170 can select particular items, of those types, for that user.
For example, where
one of the types of content selected by selector 1165 for a given user group
(e.g., male users
between ages 15 and 20) is a PYMK type, an example of the content item
selected by selector
1170 for user Tom Edwards who is a 16-year old male could be the following:
"You and Bob
Smith both go to Central High. Add Bob as a connection." In one embodiment,
one or more
items are selected by selector 1170 on-the-fly, as a user has requested
information to be
rendered. In another embodiment, one or more content items are selected in
advance and
stored for one or more users to be provided to the users the next time they
log into their
accounts.
[0109] In some embodiments, the content item selector 1170 varies the content
items
selected for the display (e.g., in the information window 103) based on
feedback received
from the feedback store 1115. The feedback can be input as a third parameter
for the
optimizing engine 1175. The description of feedback stored in feedback store
315 applies to
feedback store 1115, as well. The selector 1170 can use this feedback in the
future for
providing better, more relevant content items to that user (e.g., items on a
different subject,
items that are more closely related, etc.). In some embodiments, the feedback
provided by
users is also used by the content type selector 1165 in optimizing the mixture
of types
selected. The types selected for a user group 1085 to which a user belongs can
be varied
based on that user's feedback or based on overall feedback from users of the
group. The
feedback for users of a group 1085 can be stored over time in feedback store
1115 and can be
filtered in various manners to optimize the mixture of types provided to the
users of the group
1085.
[0110] The display server 1150 provides, to the user requesting information,
the display
with the information window having the selected content items of the selected
content types.
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In some embodiments, the display server 1150 determines in what order to
provide the items.
For example, the server 1150 can place more relevant items at the top of the
window, or in
some other prominent presentation on the display. In other embodiments, this
ordering is
determined by the optimizing engine 1175. In embodiments in which the multiple
items were
selected (e.g., more items than can be presented on one page), the display
server 1150 or
optimizing engine 1175 can determine which items to present on the current
display, and
what items to present on additional pages to which the user navigates. In some
embodiments,
how to order items on a display or across multiple displays is determined over
a period of
time by collecting feedback from users indicating what types of presentation
mechanisms are
the most successful in promoting user interaction with the information window.
[0111] In some embodiments, the system 100 includes an action logger 1180 that
functions in generally the same manner as action logger 360. The logger 1180
is capable of
receiving communications from the display server 1150 about user actions on
and/or off the
social networking system 100. The action logger 1180 populates the action log
1185 with
information about these user actions tracked. There are various different
types of actions that
can be logged by logger 1180, as explained above regarding logger 360 in FIG.
3.
Process for Selecting an Optimized Mixture of Types of Content Items
[0112] FIG. 13 illustrates the overall content type/item selection process,
according to an
embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, the method includes a request
1300 for
content from the display server 1150 for a user. In some embodiments, this
request comes
from the display server 1150 because a client device 210 has requested
information to be
rendered. As explained above, in these embodiments, the process can be
performed in real
time, as users make requests. In other embodiments, the request comes from the
display
server 1150 because the server 1150 has determined it is time to perform the
selection
process. For example, the content type store 1075 or content item store 1076
could be
running low or the content may need updating. In these embodiments, one or
both of the
content type or item selection can be performed or partially performed in
advance, before a
user has requested information, and the stores 1075/1076 are populated with
types/items
already selected for user groups/users.
[0113] When the display server 1150 has requested 1300 content for a user, the
parameter
receiver 1155 can determine 1305 parameters (or retrieve previously determined
parameters),
including grouping the user into one or more user groups 1085. The receiver
1155 can
determine or retrieve information regarding a user's gender, geographic
location, age, race,
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ethnicity, and other information from the user profile store 1105 for
assigning the user to a
group 1085. For example, all female users could form one group, and all users
in California
could form another group. Similarly, groups can include all users in the Bay
Area, all users
between age 20 and 30, all Latino users in the city of San Jose, all male
users in San
Francisco between ages 15 to 20, and so forth. The receiver 1155 can also
obtain information
from the action log 1185 about user actions when determining the groupings
(e.g., how often
the user logs on to his account, how he uses his account, and other relevant
actions). Further,
the social networking groups that a user has joined (e.g., fan clubs) stored
in group 1110 store
can also be used by the receiver 1155 in setting user groups (e.g., a group of
all members of a
particular fan club). In some embodiments, the grouping has been done in
advance, and so
the determining 1305 step includes retrieving the groupings or possibly
updating the
groupings.
[0114] The receiver 1155 can also determine 1305 the optimization goals 1080
(or
retrieve previously determined goals) for the user group 1085 to which the
user is determined
to below. The receiver 1155 can obtain information from the action log 1185,
the user profile
store 1105, and/or the group store 1110 to determine the goals 1080. For
example, the action
log 1185 might be filtered for actions performed by users from Cincinnati,
Ohio to determine
how those users tend to use their accounts (e.g., whether they frequently
interact with other
users, whether the log on regularly, whether they click on ads often, etc.).
If the filtering of
action information in the log 1185 shows that Cincinnati users tend to rarely
interact with
their connections in a social networking system, the receiver 1155 can
determine that the goal
for those users is to promote more user sharing. The receiver 1155 can
determine one goal
for each group 1085 or multiple goals for each group 1085. Certain goals might
be rated as
more important than others. For example, another goal for the Cincinnati users
might be to
focus on monetization, but the user sharing goal might be the main interest.
In this case, the
content types selected for the users might include mostly content types
expected to increase
sharing, but the users might also be shown a few sponsored ads too, either on
the current
page, on later pages, at some later date, etc. In some embodiments, the goals
have been
determined in advance for the user groups 1085, and so the determining 1305
step includes
retrieving the goals or possibly updating the goals.
[0115] The parameter receiver 1155 provides 1310 the parameters determined
1305
optimizing engine 1175 inputs 1315 the parameters for the user into the
content optimization
algorithm 1070. The parameters 1310 can be provided to the score generator
1160 for
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inputting 1315 and scoring the types of content, as explained above. In some
embodiments,
the content types have been scored in advance, and the generator 1160 might
just retrieve
these scores, and/or might update the scores where needed. The generator 1160
provides
1320 the scores to the content type selector 1165, which selects/allocates
1325 the types for
the information window for the users. The selector 1165 provides 1330 the
types to the
content item selector 1170. One or more of the types selected can be stored in
the content
type store 1075 until later needed, at which point the content type selector
1165 can retrieve
these from the content type store 1075 and provide these types to the content
item selector
1170. The content item selector 1170 selects 1335 the content items of each of
the selected
types of content for the window. The selector 1170 provides 1340 the selected
items to the
display server 1150.
[0116] In some embodiments, the display server 1150 includes the selected
items in the
display generated for the user. The server thus provides 1345, to the user,
the display with
the information window having the selected content items of the selected
content types. In
some embodiments, instead of generating a display upon selection of the items,
the selected
items are instead stored in the content items store 1076 for a given user.
When the user for
whom the content items are stored requests information to be rendered (e.g., a
web page), the
display server 1150 can then generate the page, query the store 1076 for
content items, and
provide 1345 the display with items to the user.
[0117] FIG. 14 illustrates a content type/item selection process showing the
offline
process when selection is performed in advance and showing the online process
in which
selection is performed in response to a user's request (the method can also
include a
combination of the two). In the offline selection embodiment, the system
decides and
requests that content types/items be selected. For example, the content
type/item selection
can occur at regular time intervals (e.g., every minute, every 30 minutes,
every hour, once a
day/week/month, etc.), when a user logs onto his account, when the content
type/item stores
1075, 1076 are determined to be low in types/items for a user or user group
1085, and so
forth. The frequency with which types/items are selected can vary for
different users/groups.
For example, types/items may be selected more frequently for users/groups that
use the
system 100 regularly than for users/groups who only use the system 100 once in
a while.
[0118] The social networking system determines 1405 the user groups and
determines
1410 the optimization goals (or retrieves one or both of these from storage if
determined in
advance), as explained above. The parameters determined 1405, 1410 are input
1415 into the
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algorithm 1070 and the content types are scored 1420 (or pre-determined scores
are
retrieved/updated), as also explained above. Based on the scoring, the content
types are
selected 1425 for the information window. In one embodiment, the selected
types are stored
1441 in the content type store 1075 for the particular user/user group for
which they were
selected (e.g., by being linked to an ID number or other identifier for the
user/group) until
they are needed
[0119] In one embodiment, feedback 1430 is provided that can vary the types of
content
types selected 1425. The information in the feedback store 1115 can be
filtered to retrieve
feedback 1430 for the members of the user group 1085 for which content types
are being
selected 1425 (e.g., explicit or implicit feedback of users on the content
items provided to
those users). For example, Bob Smith can provide negative feedback on all of
the items of
the PYMK type provided to him by giving them a negative rating or by never
clicking on
these items. This feedback can be incorporated into the store 1115 along with
feedback from
other users from Bob's group (e.g., male users age 15-20). If many of the
users of this group
are giving similar feedback on the PYMK types of items, then fewer PYMK
content types
may be provided to this group.
[0120] The social networking system selects 1435 content items of each of the
selected
types of content. In one embodiment, numerous content items are selected for a
given user
and are stored 1446 the content item store 1076 for the particular user for
which they were
selected (e.g., by being linked to an ID number or other identifier for the
user) until
information is requested by the user.
[0121] Again, feedback 1445 can be provided, which can vary the items
selected. The
information in the feedback store 1115 can be filtered to retrieve feedback
1445 for the user
on the content items provided to that user. For example, Bob Smith can provide
negative
feedback on all of the ads provided to him by giving them a negative rating or
by never
clicking on these items. This feedback can be used to select different types
of ads for Bob
(e.g., more social ads, and fewer ads for products, or ads on topics that are
more of interest to
Bob). In some embodiments, the particular item selected of the content type
for a given user
can be selected using additional factors. For example, instead of randomly
selecting an ad for
Bob, the ad or other item could be selected based on its relation to other
items in the web
page Bob is viewing or based on its relation to other items that will be
included in the
window
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[0122] All of the above steps can be performed offline to prepare content
types and items
in advance. At some point later, the selected content items of the selected
content types are
added to a display for a user, and the display is provided 1450 to the user(s)
with the items.
[0123] FIG. 14 also illustrates on online embodiment. In this case, the method
begins
when information is requested. In this embodiment, a request is received 1455
for a user and
the system starts the process associated with generating 1460 or rendering a
display for the
user. If information window content is not needed (e.g., there is no
information window,
etc.), then the display is provided 1465 to the user. If content is needed,
the method includes
checking to determine if content items are in the content items store 1076 for
the requesting
user (e.g., by filtering items in store 1076 based on user ID). If so, one or
more of those
items can be retrieved 1470 from the store and included in the display
provided 1475 to the
requesting user. If there are not items in the store for the requesting user,
new items can be
selected. The method can then include identifying 1466 the user group to which
the user
belongs, and then checking the content type store 1075 for content types for
any user group to
which the user belongs. If so, one or more of the types can be retrieved 1480
for the user and
content items of those types can be selected 1435 for the user. If there are
no content types,
then the method can include going through one or more of the above-described
steps to select
the types.
[0124] In some embodiments, the user group 1085 and goals 1085 may need to be
first
determined 1405, 1410. These parameters can be input 1415, the types scored
1420 (or score
retrieved), and the content types can be selected 1425, as described above.
However, any one
or more of steps 1405, 1410, 1415, and 1420 may have already been performed,
so the only
step necessary at this point may be the selection step 1425 or some subset of
steps 1405
through 1425. Items of the selected types are then selected 1435, and the
display with the
items is provided 1450 to the requesting user.
[0125] Referring back to FIG. 7, this example could also represent an example
of the
embodiments of FIGS. 10-14. Bob Jensen might have requested his home page, and
the
additional content items added to Bob's page include the four items on the
right of the page.
For example, Bob might be a member of a user group 1085 of males between ages
30 and 40
living in Kentucky for which the optimization goal 1080 is to primarily to
encourage user
sharing, but secondarily to promote monetization. Where the content types of
fans, photos,
and connections' actions scored high for user sharing, and ads for products
scored high for
monetization, Bob can be shown one fan type, one ad, one photo type, and one
connection
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update type. The particular items selected for Bob include an item 701 for
becoming a fan of
the US, an item 702 for flights in the US, an item 703 for photos provided by
a connection,
and an item 704 for providing an update about a connection attending law
school.
[0126] Content items can be generated for embodiments of FIGS. 10-14 in a
manner
similar to that described in FIG. 8, where the display server 1150 generates
the items by
interacting with the action log 1185 and content item store 1076. Feedback can
also be
received and applied for embodiments of FIGS. 10-14 in a manner similar to
that described in
FIG. 9, where the acting parties are the display server 1150 (which can also
perform the
functions of the content server 380), the action logger 1180, the content item
selector 1170
(or content type selector 1165), and the feedback store 1115.
[0127] The foregoing description of the embodiments of the invention has been
presented
for the purpose of illustration; it is not intended to be exhaustive or to
limit the invention to
the precise forms disclosed. Persons skilled in the relevant art can
appreciate that many
modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure.
For example,
although the foregoing embodiments have been described in the context of a
social
networking website, it will apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that
the invention may
be used with any electronic social networking system, even if it is not
provided through a
website. Any computer-based system that provides social networking
functionality can be
used in accordance with the present invention even if it relies, for example,
on e-mail, instant
messaging, or other form of electronic communications, and any other technique
for
communicating between users. The invention is thus not limited to any
particular type of
communication system, network, protocol, format or application.
[0128] Some portions of this description describe the embodiments of the
invention in
terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on information.
These
algorithmic descriptions and representations are commonly used by those
skilled in the data
processing arts to convey the substance of their work effectively to others
skilled in the art.
These operations, while described functionally, computationally, or logically,
are understood
to be implemented by computer programs or equivalent electrical circuits,
microcode, or the
like. Furthermore, it has also proven convenient at times, to refer to these
arrangements of
operations as modules, without loss of generality. The described operations
and their
associated modules may be embodied in software, firmware, hardware, or any
combinations
thereof.
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[0129] Any of the steps, operations, or processes described herein may be
performed or
implemented with one or more hardware or software modules, alone or in
combination with
other devices. In one embodiment, a software module is implemented with a
computer
program product comprising a computer-readable medium containing computer
program
code, which can be executed by a computer processor for performing any or all
of the steps,
operations, or processes described. Embodiments of the invention may also
relate to an
apparatus for performing the operations herein. This apparatus may be
specially constructed
for the required purposes, and/or it may comprise a general-purpose computing
device
selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the
computer. Such a
computer program may be stored in a tangible computer readable storage medium
or any type
of media suitable for storing electronic instructions, and coupled to a
computer system bus.
Furthermore, any computing systems referred to in the specification may
include a single
processor or may be architectures employing multiple processor designs for
increased
computing capability.
