Inferring target clusters based on social connections
US9373146B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 24, 2012 |
| Grant date | Jun 21, 2016 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 29, 2033 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L67/535
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A seed cluster comprising a group of users who share a particular attribute and/or affiliation is determined by a social networking system. For each user of the seed cluster, other users and/or entities connected to the user in the social networking system are retrieved. For each retrieved other user or entity, the social networking system may determine whether the other user or entity exhibits the attribute or affiliation based on a random walk algorithm. A resulting targeting cluster of users and/or entities may be used for targeting advertisements targeting to members. A social networking system may also infer an affiliation for a user based on the user's interaction with a page, application, or entity where other users who interacted with the same page, application, or entity have the same affiliation.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.