AU2021200362A1 - System and method for directing content to users of a social networking engine - Google Patents

Abstract

A system and method for providing a third generation social network. The system provides processes that allow physical objects to be represented as social objects in the social network. A user may then interact with the social objects. These interactions allow the system to collect the content of the interactions of a particular user. The content of the interactions may then be analyzed and used to direct specific content to specific users that may have an interest in the specific content as indicated by the content of the interactions of those users. Furthermore, the system provides a method for associating data with a shape in an image to allow a user and/or groups of users to interact with the image. 3/11 Start 305 300 Receive image 310 Receive selection of Dortion of imaue 315 fDetermine shape of tmdificartio object in roortiono 320 Display outline of shape 325 Receive modifications 330 Store data about shape in image database in 335 Receive text from user 340 Store association of \t text 345 Embed link to association in imaae 350 Another 355 no e Anotherye 360 0 database in ik aae Figure 3

Description

3/11

Start 305 300 Receive image 310

Receive selection of Dortion of imaue 315

fDetermine shape of object in roortiono 320 Display outline of tmdificartio shape 325 Receive modifications 330 Store data about shape in image database in 335 Receive text from user 340 Store association of \t text 345 Embed link to association in imaae 350

Another 355 no e Anotherye 360 0

database in ik aae

Figure 3

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DIRECTING CONTENT TO USERS OF A SOCIAL NETWORKING ENGINE

Incorporation by Reference

This application is a divisional application of Australian patent application

2018256595 filed on 1 November 2018, which is a divisional application of Australian

patent application 2016225905 filed on 9 September 2016, which is a divisional

application of Australian patent application 2015200187 filed on 16 January 2015, which

is a divisional application of Australian patent application 2011249059 filed on

6 December 2021, which is the national phase application of PCT/SG2011/000179 filed

on 6 May 2011, which claims the benefit of United States of America patent application

61/331,975 filed on 6 May 2010, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by

reference in their entirety.

Technical Field

This disclosure relates to social networking engines. More particularly, this

disclosure relates to processes for associating users, objects, and services in social

networking engines. Still more particularly, this disclosure relates to processes for

associating users and objects in social networking engines to provide desired content to

users.

Background

Social networking engines have gained popularity in recent years. Two of the

more well known social networking engines are Facebook and Myspace. Originally,

social network engines operated in a manner similar to a "blog" in which a user may post

updates or comments for others to see. Then, social network engines allowed users to make associations or "friends" that allowed associated users to share content with one another through postings to the engines. The social network engines then started to allow "actions" such as the sending of gifts in "on-line" games; uploading and tagging of photos; etc. to allow users to interact with one another.

As social networks have evolved, one problem that has evolved has been

keeping users interested in the activities provided by the network to maintain traffic to

the engines. It is known that users commonly get tired of looking at the comments of

others or playing games provided by the network. Thus, the users stop frequenting the

engine. This can affect the advertising sales of the engines. To counter this problem,

social network engines constantly try to add new games and/or features to provide the

users with different content to keep their interest in the engine. However, this does not

address the problem when users tire of the games and other content. Thus, those

skilled in the art are constantly striving to find new social networking models to change

the features provided by these social networks to maintain user interest in using the

engines providing a social network.

One problem encountered in providing new content is that the networks are

confined to a digital world. Thus, only words and other visual and audible images may be

used for interaction. This confines the interactions in the social network to interactions

between people. However, those skilled in the art see a need to expand the content to

allow interaction with objects in the physical world to expand the content that may be

provided.

A second problem is that the users want to expand social networks to contain

more content than information about other users. Often, users want to share information

about "social objects" such as products, locations, events, and other objects with their

contacts. As such, the users desire a social network that provides a system that allows

a user to interact with these types of "social objects".

A third problem for social network providers is finding revenue streams from

providing the social network. Typically, the social network providers generate revenue

from selling advertisements on the social networking engines. However, advertisers

often desire to only target users of the social networking engines that fit the particular

demographics for the advertised products. The demographics may include the location,

age, and interest of the users. Thus, the advertisers desire a system that identifies

specific users and targets advertisements for specific products to those specific users of

the social network engine.

Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like which

has been included in the present specification is not to be taken as an admission that

any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general

knowledge in the field relevant to the present disclosure as it existed before the priority

date of each claim of this application.

Throughout this specification the word "comprise", or variations such as

"comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated

element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of

any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.

Summary of the Invention

The above and other problems are solved and an advance in the art is made by a

system and method for directing content to users of a social network engine in

accordance with this invention. A system in accordance with this invention has the

advantage of making a social network engine more dynamic by making objects, such as

pictures and social functions, "social objects" in the social network engine to allow

interaction with the objects as well as users to make the social network engine more

interactive to maintain user interest. A second advantage of a system in accordance with this invention is that the interaction of users with social objects allows more data to be collected from users that may then be used to provide specific content, such as advertisements, to the specific users to maximize the effect of content provided to the users.

In a first embodiment of the invention there is provided a system for providing a

social network engine. The system may comprise: a processor; and a memory including

instructions that, when executed by said processor, cause said processor to perform

operations including: maintain a plurality of database tables wherein each database

table stores data for each social object of a particular one of a plurality of classes of

social objects, the plurality of classes of social objects consisting at least a person

class, a place class, a thing class, an activity class, a vocabulary class, and a service

class, wherein a social object is a representation of a physical object on a social

network; establish, on said social network, an association between the plurality of social

objects of the different classes consisting of the person class, the place class, the thing

class, the activity class, the vocabulary class and the service class, wherein said

association is established between a first social object that corresponds to the person

class, a second social object that corresponds to the place class, a third social object

that corresponds to the thing class, a fourth social object that corresponds to the activity

class, a fifth social object that corresponds to the vocabulary class, and a sixth social

object that corresponds to the service class; wherein establishing the association

includes providing a crawler that performs multiple searches of said plurality of database

tables to find two or more social objects that have similar attributes, and wherein said

multiple searches comprise three levels of searches such that a second level search is

dependent upon results of a first level search and a third level search is dependent upon

said results of said first level search and upon results of said second level search;

present said association between said plurality of social objects to a user, wherein said plurality of social objects is configured to interact with one another or with the user, wherein said social network is provided for said plurality of social objects and is configured to record all activities of all of said social objects; analyze recorded activities of each of a plurality of social objects that are associated with a social object of the user, including determining a social weight for the user that represents a number of social objects that respond to interactions initiated by the user divided by a total number of interactions with other social objects initiated by the user; and determine content to provide to the user on the social network based on the analysis of the recorded activities of the each of the plurality of social objects that are associated with the social object of the user by providing specific content to the user in response to the social weight of the user being determined to be above a specific threshold.

In a second embodiment of the invention there is provided a method for providing

a social network. The method may comprise: maintaining a plurality of database tables,

wherein each database table stores data for each social object of a particular one of a

plurality of classes of social objects, the plurality of classes of social objects consisting of

at least a person class, a place class, a thing class, an activity class, a vocabulary class,

and a service class, wherein a social object is representation of a physical object on a

social network; establishing, on said social network, an association between a plurality of

social objects of the different classes consisting of the person class, the place class, the

thing class, the activity class, the vocabulary class and the service class; wherein said

association is established between a first social object that corresponds to the person

class, a second social object that corresponds to the place class, a third social object

that corresponds to the thing class, a fourth social object that corresponds to the activity

class, a fifth social object that corresponds to the vocabulary class, and a sixth social

object that corresponds to the service class; wherein establishing the association

includes providing a crawler that performs multiple searches of said plurality of database tables to find two or more social objects that have similar attributes, and wherein said multiple searches comprise three levels of searches such that a second level search is dependent upon results of a first level search and a third level search is dependent upon said results of said first level search and upon results of said second level search; presenting said association between said plurality of social objects to a user, wherein said plurality of social objects is configured to interact with one another or with the user, wherein said social network is provided for said plurality of social objects and is configured to record all activities of all of said social objects; analyzing recorded activities of each of a plurality of social objects that are associated with a social object of the user by determining a social weight for the user that represents a number of social objects that respond to interactions initiated by the user divided by a total number of interactions with other social objects initiated by the user; and determining content to provide to the user on the social network based on the analysis of the recorded activities of the each of the plurality of social objects that are associated with the social object of the user by providing specific content to the user in response to the social weight of the user being determined to be above a specific threshold.

In accordance with some embodiments of this disclosure, a provider of a social

network allows text to be associated with portions of images in the following manner to

facilitate the use of "social object". The system receives an image from a user. The

system then determines a shape in the image. Data describing the shape is then stored

in a record associated with the image in an image database. An input of text to

associate with the shape is then received from the user. The text may be a descriptor of

the object or a web site associated with the object in accordance with some of these

embodiments. An indicator of the text and the shape is then stored in the record. The

indicator is then embedded in the image proximate a location of the shape in the image.

A link to the record in the image database is then embedded in the image database.

In accordance with some embodiments, the determination of the shape is

performed in the following manner. The system receives an input of a portion of an

image. An object in the input portion of image is then identified. An outline of the

identified object is then defined to produce the shape. In accordance with some of these

embodiments, the user may input modifications to the shape by adjusting the outline.

In accordance with some of these embodiments, the input text may be received

in the following manner. The system first receives an input of an identifier of an object.

A database is then searched for a record storing information for an object based on the

input identifier. The information from the record for the object is then displayed. The user

may then input modifications to the information which is then stored in the record. If a

record associated with the identifier is not found in the database, a new record is created

for the identifier.

In accordance with some embodiments, the image may be viewed in the

following manner. The system receives a selection of the link to database embedded in

the image. The system then displays the image associated with the link including all

embedded indicators. The system then receives an input indicating a selection of an

indicator from the displayed image. The text associated with the link read from the

record in said image database and displayed with the image.

In accordance with other embodiments of this disclosure, a user is allowed to

interact with "social objects" provided by a social network. Data regarding the

interactions may then be used to direct content to the user.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The above and other advantages and features of a system in accordance with

this disclosure are described in the following detailed description and are shown in the

following drawings:

Figure 1 illustrates a network including a server providing a system in accordance

with embodiments of this disclosure;

Figure 2 illustrating a processing system in a device shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 illustrating a flow diagram of a process for "orbbing" an image in

accordance with embodiments of this disclosure;

Figure 4 illustrating a flow diagram of a process for displaying and capturing

information about an object "orbbed" in an image in accordance with embodiments of

this disclosure;

Figure 5 illustrating a flow diagram a process for displaying an "orbbed" image

and associated information in accordance with embodiments of this disclosure;

Figure 6 illustrating a flow diagram of a process for determining social influence

of a user in accordance with embodiments of this disclosure;

Figure 7 illustrating a flow diagram of a process for generating and maintaining a

list of influenced users in accordance with embodiments of this disclosure;

Figure 8 illustrating a process for adding influenced users to a list of influenced

users based upon posts to a social network in accordance with embodiments of this

disclosure;

Figure 9 illustrating a process determining whether a user is a member of a

targeted group for content based upon posts to a social network in accordance with

embodiments of this disclosure;

Figure 10 illustrating a process for providing content to users based upon

geographic targeting in accordance with embodiments of this disclosure; and

Figure 11 illustrating a process for providing content to users based upon

geographic location and social influence in accordance with embodiments of this

disclosure.

Detailed Description

Figure 1 illustrates network 100 including provider server 105 and client devices

110,115, and 120. Network 100 is a network such the Internet that allows processing

system to communicate with one another. Provider server 105 is server or group of

servers that store data and execute processes that provide content such as a social

network to users over network 100. Device 110 is a traditional desktop computer system

that is connected to network 100 via either a wire or wireless connection and accesses

the content of the provider via a web browser application performed by device 110.

Device, 115 is mobile device such a smartphone or Person Digital Assistant (PDA) that

is connected to network 100 via a wireless and performs a web browser or other specific

application to access the content provided by the provider. Device 120 is a laptop

computer is a conventional laptop computer that is connected to network 100 via a wire

or wireless connection and that accesses the provider content via a web browser or

other application. One skilled in the artwill recognize that devices 110, 115, and 120 are

only provided as examples and other types of user devices may be used to access the

content of the provider without departing from this disclosure.

Processes provided by instructions stored by a media that are executed by a

processing system in a user's computer system and one or more server perform provide

this disclosure. The instructions may be stored as firmware, hardware, or software.

Figure 2 illustrates processing system 200 such as the processing system in the user's

computer system and servers that execute the instructions to perform the processes for

providing a method and/or system in accordance with this disclosure. One skilled in the

art will recognize that the exact configuration of each processing system may be

different and the exact configuration of the processing system in each device may vary

and Figure 2 is given by way of example only.

Processing system 200 includes Central Processing Unit (CPU) 205. CPU 205 is

a processor, microprocessor, or any combination of processors and microprocessors

that execute instructions to perform the processes in accordance with the present

disclosure. CPU 205 connects to memory bus 210 and Input/ Output (1/O) bus 215.

Memory bus 210 connects CPU 205 to memories 220 and 225 to transmit data and

instructions between the memories and CPU 205. I/O bus 215 connects CPU 105 to

peripheral devices to transmit data between CPU 205 and the peripheral devices. One

skilled in the art will recognize that 1/O bus 215 and memory bus 210 may be combined

into one bus or subdivided into many other busses and the exact configuration is left to

those skilled in the art.

A non-volatile memory 220, such as a Read Only Memory (ROM), is connected

to memory bus 210. Non-volatile memory 220 stores instructions and data needed to

operate various sub-systems of processing system 200 and to boot the system at start

up. One skilled in the art will recognize that any number of types of memory may be

used to perform this function.

A volatile memory 225, such as Random Access Memory (RAM), is also

connected to memory bus 210. Volatile memory 225 stores the instructions and data

needed by CPU 205 to perform software instructions for processes such as the

processes required for providing a system in accordance with this disclosure. One skilled

in the art will recognize that any number of types of memory may be used as volatile

memory and the exact type used is left as a design choice to those skilled in the art.

1/O device 230, keyboard 235, display 240, memory 245, network device 250 and

any number of other peripheral devices connect to 1/O bus 215 to exchange data with

CPU 205 for use in applications being executed by CPU 205. 1/O device 230 is any

device that transmits and/or receives data from CPU 205. Keyboard 235 is a specific

type of 1/O that receives user input and transmits the input to CPU 205. Display 240 receives display data from CPU 205 and display images on a screen for a user to see.

Memory 245 is a device that transmits and receives data to and from CPU 205 for

storing data to a media. Network device 250 connects CPU 205 to a network for

transmission of data to and from other processing systems.

The present disclosure is an evolution of social networking to a third generation

of social networking products. This third generation is different from social networks

currently available from engines such as Facebook.com, Myspace.com and others.

A social network provided in accordance with this disclosure is intended to blur

the physical world with the on-line world by introducing the concept of "social object".

The intent of such a social network is to record all activities of all social objects, enable a

bridging between the virtual and physical realms, and to link users with services. These

networks collect data from interactions with the network and process the interactions

against the social objects and social service database to form relationships amongst the

"social objects". This allows "social kinetics" or attributes that are associated with the

object and/or users interacting with the object to be implemented and analyzed. In

accordance with this disclosure, a social object may be an event, such as an outing to a

movie, a place, such as a restaurant, or an object, such as a picture. The users may

interact with the object to communicate with other users. The system may then analyze

these interactions to determine content that a user may be interested in to introduce

other social objects or users to the user to enhance the user's use of the network.

"Social flows" or interaction between "social object" are integrated in accordance

with embodiments of this disclosure. By analyzing these social flows, more information

may be ascertained about individual users to allow a specific content of interest to be

presented to the user through the social networking site. The analysis may be

implemented by looking at the associations between different users and/or events and detection key words from postings to a social network engine. Furthermore, the analysis may be used to determine related key words to better associate content and users.

Systems may analyze data using the concept of "social objects" in the following

manner. First, "social associations" between the users and "social objects" may be

studied. These components will be used to determine a "social vocabulary". From the

"social vocabulary", "social activities" may be determined. From these "social activities",

"social clusters" or associations between users may be determined. "Social locations" or

locations that user's physical interactions occur may also be determined from the "social

activities". The "social locations" may then be used to determine the "social preferences"

ofa user or a group ofusers.

"Social weight" is a metric of a users influence on others. "Social weight" is

calculated by invitations to events that a user sends to others using the social network

and studying the number of positive responses to each invitation. This result is a

percentage of users that respond which corresponds to the "social weight" of the user.

The greater the "social weight" of the user, the more likely the user is to influence others.

Thus, these users should be targeted with advertisements as the opinions and posts of

these users are likely to influence the thinking of others. In the attached flow charts, an

application for a concept of determining "social weight" to target specific content to users

and/or groups users is shown. This application will be described below.

"Social behaviour" may be determined by monitoring posts by users to a social

network. All of the content that a user posts to a social network may be searched for

one or more key words that relate to a particular product or type of product. Those users

that have added content to the site that includes the searched key words may then be

targeted with content, such as advertisements of products, that is related to the key

words.

The concept of "social behaviour" may also be applied in a more particular

manner such as analyzing events that the user has attended. In the shown example, the

system searches "events" and "activities" related to certain events that a user has posted

an acceptance to attend. In the shown example, the system looks for particular

"activities" that are related to events and finds those users that posted an acceptance to

one of these "activities". The system may then direct content to the users that have

posted an acceptance to the "activities" searched.

"Social location" is a registered location of a user. The social network may store

location information about a user that is supplied by either a user input or by a device

that is used to access the engine of the social network. The "social location" of the user

may then be compared to a "social location" of a "social object", such as an event or a

business, and if the "social location" of the user is within a defined proximity of the

"social location" of the "social object", information about the "social object" is provided to

the user.

"Social preferences" are activities that are of interest to a user based upon the

text in posts by a user. A process of searching for users with similar "social preferences"

is performed in the following manner. First, key words of a particular interest are

searched for in posts from a group of users. Those users that have provided posts to

the engine of the social network that include the searched key words are grouped

together. Content for this particular preference may then be directed to the identified

users.

A social network provided in accordance with the disclosure has numerous

advantages. In particular, the present disclosure provides a social network site that is

able to better customize content provided to a particular customer. Thus, keeping the

users interested in the social network engine to maintain traffic to an engine.

In accordance with some embodiments of this disclosure, a social network

provides "social objects" in the following manner. "Social objects" are divided into 6

classes. The "social objects" that are member of a class are stored in a database table

particular to the class and a separate database table is maintained for each class. In

accordance with these embodiments, the 6 classes are person, place, thing, activity,

vocabulary, and service. Each "social object", regardless of the class to which the "social

object" belongs has associated attributes. The attributes associated with each particular

"social object" depend upon the class of the objects.

In accordance with embodiments of this disclosure, the person class has the

following attributes name, gender, age, e-mail address, interests and other attributes.

The primary attribute of the person class is the name. The other attributes are

considered secondary attributes. Each attribute is stored as a separate field in the

database table storing "social objects" for persons. An example of a database table for

the person class in accordance with an embodiment of this disclosure is given in the

following table:

Name Age Gender Email Contact Interest Attributes (Primary Address Number Key)

In accordance with embodiments of this disclosure, the thing class includes the

following attributes, a system generated identifier, and other attributes. The primary

attributes is the identifier and the other attributes are secondary attributes. Each

attribute is stored as a field in the database table storing social objects for things. An

example of a database table for the thing class in accordance with an embodiment of

this disclosure is given in the following table:

Object Name Date Time Attributes Number (Primary key)

In accordance with embodiments of this disclosure, each "social object" in the

place class the following attributes. The primary attribute is 'area polygon'. The area

polygon describes the local of the place. Other secondary attributes include a physical

address of the place and other attributes. Each attribute is stored as a field in the

database table storing social objects for places. An example of a database table for the

place class in accordance with an embodiment of this disclosure is given in the following

table:

Area Address Table Date Time Attributes Polygon (Primary Ke

In accordance with embodiments of this disclosure, each "social object" in the

activity class includes the following attributes. The primary attribute is a system

assigned identifier, such as a 'serial number' automatically generated by the system.

Other attributes are secondary attributes. Each attribute is stored as a field in the

database table storing social objects for activities. An example of a database table for

the activity class in accordance with an embodiment of this disclosure is given in the

following table:

Activity Name Date Time Attributes Number (Primary Key)

In accordance with embodiments of this disclosure, each "social object in the

vocabulary class include a primary attribute of a text identifier. Other attributes are

considered secondary attributes. Each attribute is stored as a field in the database table

storing social objects for the vocabulary class. An example of a database table for the

vocabulary class in accordance with an embodiment of this disclosure is given in the

following table:

Text Date Time Attributes (Primary Ke )

In accordance with embodiments of this disclosure, each "social object" in the

service class includes the following attributes. The primary attribute is a system

assigned identifier, such as a 'serial number' automatically generated by the system.

Other attributes are secondary attributes. Each attribute is stored as a field in the

database table storing social objects for services. An example of a database table for

the service class in accordance with an embodiment of this disclosure is given in the

following table:

Service Name Date Time Attributes Number (Primary Key)

In accordance with embodiments of this disclosure, each social object regardless

of class will have a separate database table to record all transactions. All other social objects' values in the corresponding classes are recorded against this table together with a date and time stamp.

In accordance with these embodiments, an example of a searching of the

database table of a search for associating social objects is given below. In the example

associations are made for a person class social object. One skilled in the art will

recognize that this is one particular example of the associations made between a

particular social object to other social objects and that associations for other types of

social objects may be performed in a similar manner.

In accordance with this example, a person class social object is created in the

social network system for 'Fredrick'. Fredrick then interacts with the social network and

the database table maintained for the 'Fredrick' social object is populated as shown in

the following table:

People Thing Place Activity Vocabulary Service Date Time Lisa Apartment Orchard Buy ION Service 1st April 3:05pm Rd Number 2011 1234 Nathan Apartment Orchard Buy ION 3rd April 4:15pm Rd 2011 Nathan Apartment Oxford Buy Kentish 3rd April 6:07pm St Lodge 2011 Self Levis Jeans Bugis Shopping Denim 5h April 8:02pm Junction 2011 Stan Star Bucks Beach Coffee Break 7th April 8:27pm Rd 2011 Self Sofa 10 Buy Black Service 8t April 11:34pm Holland colour Number 2011 8889

The following is an example of a database table created for the activity of

'Buying'. The table is populated by interactions of users with the social network.

People Thing Place Activity Vocabulary Service Date Time Lisa Apartment Orchard Buy ION Service 1st April 3:05pm Rd Number 2011 1234 Nathan Apartment Orchard Buy ION 3rd April 4:15pm Rd 2011 Nathan Apartment Oxford Buy Kentish 3rd April 6:07pm

St Lodge 2011 Frederick Sofa 10 Buy Black Service 8th April 11.34pm Holland colour Number 2011 8889

In accordance with this embodiment, a social object'crawler' will run continuously

as a background routine to establish association amongst the social objects. The

crawler searches through each class transaction table to establish associations between

the various social objects. This search is performed on three levels.

The first level searches for an exact search expression. In the given example the

expression may be:

Select People = '*' where Activity ='Buying' and Thing = 'coffee table' and Place=

'Orchard Rd'

The value for Activity = 'Buy' and Thing = 'coffee table' and Place = 'Orchard Rd'

are automatically inserted. A counter then records the number of times the value occurs

within a transaction table of each class. In the present example, the activity table for

'buying' appeared three times and therefore will be moved upwards to be inserted as the

'value' in the Select statement. The system will then replace with the next most

recurring value. All of the social objects that meet the criteria are then returned and

presented as an associated social object.

In accordance with this embodiment, the 'crawler' then performs a second level

search pf every social object in that class. This search is applied to all classes. In the

present example the exact expression is:

Select People= ' where Activity ='Buy' and Thing = 'Apartment' and Place=

'Orchard Rd'

All of the social objects that meet the criteria are then returned and presented as an

associated social object.

The crawler then performs a third level search in which every social object that

appears in both results is searched using the search term. All of the social objects that

meet the criteria are then returned and presented as an associated social object.

In accordance with embodiments of this disclosure social objects may be created

in the following manner. First, a 'name of the object' is entered. The system then

determines whether an object for the name already exists. If an object for the name

does not exist, a new object is created. The system then interacts with the user to

receive inputs of attributes and values for each attribute. One skilled in the art will

recognize that a default value for each attribute may be assigned by the system at the

time a new social object is created. The value is then changed as more data is created

through user interaction with the network. The new "social object" is then stored in the

appropriate table database.

In accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure, attributes may be

added to a social object in the following manner. If 'value' appears for an 'attribute' over

N times, the attribute is added to the "social object". The attributes are then compared

and are associated to the social object in ascending order.

The following are descriptions of the accompanying flow charts of processes for

implementing embodiments of processes that implement some of the processes

described above.

One particular process for providing social objects in accordance with

embodiments of this disclosure is "orbbing". "Orbbing" is the process of making a social

object representing a real world object. In particular, "orbbing" changes a digital image

and/or video stream into a social object as discussed in the first and second pages of the

slides. The process of "orbbing" is performed by providing a database that includes

records that link portions of the image to text fields describing the portions. The process

then embeds a link into the data of the image that allows a viewer to use a pointing device to direct a web browser to get the data from the desired link while viewing the image. Users are then allowed to create further records that link portions of the image to additional text. This is referred to as social tagging and shape tagging of the image and/or stream. One skilled in the art will recognize that although this embodiment of

"orbbing" is discussed with regards to an image, a streaming video may also be tagged

by selecting particular images in the stream without departing from this disclosure.

The process of "orbbing" and image and/or video stream may be performed by a

social network engine the following manner in accordance with embodiments of this

disclosure. The process begins by receiving an image. A user then uses the process to

create "hot zones". Creating "hot zones" means that a user identifies particular portion

of the image for which the user wants to provide a text comment. After all of the "hot

zones" are identified, the user applies social attributes. In other words, the user inputs a

comment. A text comments may refer to other links i.e. referring to a cultural database

or may be a new input added to the database i.e. shaping the cultural database. The

process then performs the "orbbing" which is the embedding of a link to the cultural

database into the image. In other embodiments, the link may be a link to a particular

web site that provides a product or service associated with the "orbbed" object. The

process then allows other users to access the image to define further "hot zones" and

add further social attributes i.e. comments.

"Social tagging" refers to creating culture through the normalization of nouns and

adjectives describing a social object, such as an "orbbed" image. A process for

performing "social tagging" of an image and/or video stream is performed in the following

manner in accordance with this disclosure. The process begins by retrieving a social

object. The process then reads all of the social nouns and adjectives associated with

the social object. An iterative process is then performed in which the frequency or

number of references to a particular social adjective is determined. If the frequency of occurrence is greater than a certain threshold, the social adjective is added to a social cultural template. The iterative process is performed for each of the social adjective found to be associated with the social object. The social cultural template is then added to the cultural database and the process ends.

"Shape tagging" is the process of identifying "hot zones" in accordance with

embodiments of this disclosure. "Hot zones" are portions of an image that the user

would like to associate with a particular text data, such as a name, a web-link, or other

identifier. The process of "shape tagging" analyzes the portion of interest in the image

and determines "vector points". The process then requests text data to associate with

the "vector points". The process of "shape tagging" will also allow a user to adjust the

vector points or edit the associated text.

"Shape tagging" is performed in the following manner in accordance with

embodiments of this disclosure. Shape recognition begins with creating "hot zones". It

is envisioned that the "hot zones" are user defined portions of the image that a user may

select using a cursor and pointing device. The process then places vector points over a

shape in the "hot zone" and shows the vector points the user super-imposed over the

image. The user may then adjust the vector points to better define the image. When the

vector points are completed, the object is added to a shape recognition database. The

process is then repeated for additional shapes in a particular portion of the image and for

each other selected portion or "hot zone" of the image.

In viewing an "orbbed" image, a user may perform a process termed a "social

object finder". The social object finder is a process used by user to retrieve information

about the portions in the image. In one embodiment, the database maintaining the

information about the images is loaded into a device accessing the image over a

network connection. This database may also be maintained on the device in memory

and only updated when a network connection is made. The user then views the image on the display. If the user wants to see the associated text for a portion of the picture, the user uses a pointing device to "click" a portion associated with the information. The database is then searched for the information and the retrieved data is displayed to the user.

One embodiment of a process for "orbbing" an image, such as photograph or a

frame from a video stream process for associating text with shapes in the image in

accordance with an embodiment of this disclosure is illustrated in Figure 3. Process 300

may be implemented in an image capture device or by the system of a content provider

of a particular website. The process begins by receiving image in step 305. In step 310,

a selection of a portion of the image is selected by a user. The selection may be input

by using a "drag and drop" feature or some other feature incorporated with an input

device. A shape of an object in the selected portion is identified in step 315. This may

be performed in several manners, including but not limited to, pixel contrast

comparisons, and/or comparisons of pixels to images of known objects.

After a shape has been identified in the image, an outline of the shape is

displayed for the user in step 320. The user is then allowed to input modifications to the

shape in step 325. The user may input the modification using a pointing device using a

feature such as "drag and drop". One skilled in the art will recognize that other methods

of inputting the modifications may be used without departing from this disclosure. After

the outline of the shape is identified, the system stores data about the shape in a record

for the image in an image database in 330.

The process then receives an input of text from the user in step 335. The text

may be input using a key board, key pad, or other Input/Output device. In accordance

with some embodiments, a prompt such as a dialog box may interrogate the user to

receive the inputted text. The dialog box may also be completed automatically based

upon inputs by the user in some embodiments. The text may be a description, web site address, or any other type of information that the user wants to share about the selected object. An indicator identifying an association of the text to the shape is then stored in record of the image in the image database in step 340. The indicator may be an icon or an overlay of the shape upon the object in the image, or some other manner of showing that the object is an object of interest in the image. The indicator is then embedded into the image in the 345.

The process then determines whether there is another object in the selected

portion of the image in step 350. If there is another object in the selected portion,

process 300 repeats from step 315 for each subsequent object until all of the objects in

the selected portion are handled in accordance with the user. If there is no another

object in the selected, the process determines if the process has received an input of a

subsequent selected portion in step 355. If another selection is received, process 300

repeats from step 310 for the subsequent portion. If another selection is not received, a

link to the image database is embedded into to the picture in 360. The embedded link is

an address to the record of the image in an image database that allows a user to access

the record for the image over a network in order to view the content. After the link is

embedded, process 300 ends.

Figure 4 illustrates an exemplary process for performing steps 330 and 335 for

receiving and storing information about a selected object in accordance with an

embodiment of this disclosure. Process 400 begins in step 405 by receiving an identifier

of the object. This may be received as input in a dialog box or through other methods in

accordance with this embodiment. The database or other structure is then searched for

a record associated with the identifier in step 410. In step 415, the process determines

whether a record for the object was found. If a record is not found, a new record is

created for the object in step 420. If a record for the object is found, the information

about the object stored in the record is displayed in step 425. This may be performed by displaying the information in particular fields in a dialog box or a similar manner. The user may then input modifications to the information in step 430. This may be performed by editing the information in the fields, adding information to unused fields, or in any other manner. If the record is a new record, the modification is the entering of the information for the new object. The modified information is then stored in the record in step 435 and process 400 ends.

Figure 5 illustrates a process for presenting information associated with a shape

in an image in accordance with an embodiment this disclosure. The process begins in

step 505 by displaying the image. The process then receives a request for the links to

associated information for the image in step 510. The input may be a click over a pre

defined portion of the image using a pointer. The process then reads data about all of

the shapes in the image that have associated text in step 515. The process is

performed by retrieving all of the shapes linked to the image and reading a record for an

object associated with each shape.

The shapes are then indicated in the picture in step 520. The indication may be

provided by superimposing an outline over the object or any other method that makes

the shapes easily identifiable. The process then receives a request from the user for the

text associated with a particular shape in step 525. The request may be received in the

form of a "click" using a pointing device or any other form. The process then reads the

text associated with the shape from the record of the object stored in the image

database in step 530. The read information is then displayed in some manner in step

535. In some embodiments, the text may be superimposed over the image near the

shape or may be provided in a text box under the image on the display. The process

then waits to receive another selection in step 540. If another selection is received, the

process repeats from step 530 for the new shape. If another selection is not received or

a request to end the viewing is received, process 500 ends.

A further aspect of this disclosure is using the data collected from the creation

and use of social objects. Some embodiments of this disclosure may use information to

calculate the "social weight" of a user an exemplary embodiment of a process for

determining "social weight of a user is shown in Figure 6. "Social weight" is a

quantitative measure of the influence that a user has on others. "Social weight" may be

measured on a "per event" basis and/or a "Total Social weight" that measures the overall

response to posts by user. Process begins in step 605 in which an invitation to an event

that includes a list of invitees is received by the social network engine. The system then

determines the invitees on the list of invitees that post an acceptance to the disclosure in

step 610.

The social weight for the event is calculated in step 615 and stored in a memory

for future use in step 620. The social weight of the event is determined by dividing the

number of invitees that posted an acceptance by the number of invitees on the list of

invitees. After the social weight of the user for the event is determined, a total social

weight of the user is updated in step 625. A new total social weight is determined by

adding the social weights for all of the events posted by the user divided by the total

number of events that the user has posted to the social network site. The process then

ends by storing the updated total social weight.

Figure 7 illustrates an embodiment of a process for adding influenced users to an

influenced list of a first user. Process 700 begins by receiving an invitation to an event

by a user. The user inputs the invitation to the social network engine. The invitation

includes a list of invitees. After the time that the event is scheduled to take place, the

system retrieves the list of invitees for the event from a memory maintained by the

engine in step 705. An invitee is then selected from the list in step 710. The system

then determines if the selected invitee posted an acceptance of the invitation to the

network in step 715. If not, the process repeats from step 710 for another user. If the invitee did accept the invitation, the system increments an influence counter that counts the number of invitations that the user accepts from this particular user in step 720. The system then determines whether the counter is greater than a predetermined threshold in step 725. The exact threshold used is left to one skilled in the art. However, the threshold should be selected to appropriately show significant influence of the user on this particular invitee. If the counter is greater than the threshold, the invitee is added to a list of influenced users that is associated with the user that originated the invitation in step 730. Process 700 then determines whether all of the invitees have been processed in step 725. If not, process 700 is repeated from step 710. After all of the invitees have been examined, process 700 ends.

Figure 8 illustrates an embodiment of a process for adding influenced users to a

list for a first user based upon posts to the social network engine in accordance with

embodiments of this disclosure. Process 800 begins by receiving a post of a comment

from a first user in step 805. The post is then posted on the user pages of the social

network engine. The system then waits to receive a comment from a subsequent user in

step 810. A comment is text received input by a user to the page of the user in response

to the post on the social network engine. When a comment is received from the

subsequent user, the system increments an influence counter that counts the number of

comments of the subsequent user to comments posted by this particular user in step

815. The counter is then compared to a threshold in step 820. The exact value of the

threshold is left as a design choice left to those skilled in the art. However, the threshold

should be chosen to be a number that represents a likelihood of influence of the

particular user on the subsequent user. If the counter is greater than the threshold, the

subsequent user is added to a list maintained in memory that stores users influenced by

the particular user in step 825. The process then repeats when a subsequent comment

is received.

Figure 9 illustrates an embodiment of a process for detecting key words in

postings by user to a social network engine in accordance with embodiments of this

disclosure. Process 900 begins by retrieving all of the postings of the user to the engine

from a memory maintained by the engine in step 905. For purposes of this discussion, a

posting may be any text entry that is received and stored by the social network engine.

This may includes posts, comments, invitations and other actions that are provided by

the social network engine.

A list of key words to search is then received by the system. The system then

selects a key word from the list of key words in step 910. A posting from the list is then

read by the system. The system then determines if the posting includes the key word in

step 915. If the posting does not include the key word, the process continues to the next

posting. Otherwise, the system increments a key word counter associated with the user

in step 920.

The system then determines if the counter is greater than a threshold in step 925.

The threshold should be chosen as an amount that will demonstrate an interest in the

subject matter associated with the list of key words. The exact value of the threshold is

left as a design choice for those skilled in the art. If the counter is not greater than the

threshold, the process continues to the next posting. If the counter is greater than the

threshold, the user is added to a list of users that is interested in the subject matter

associated with the list of key words that is maintained by the system in step 930. This

list will be used to send information, such as advertisements, relating to the associated

subject matter to users on the list. This process is repeated for all of the postings to

search for the selected key word in step 935. After all of the postings are searched for

the selected key word, the process repeats for each of the other key words in the list in

step 940.

Figure 10 illustrates an embodiment of a process for specific targeting of users

for advertisements based on key words and geographical area in accordance with this

disclosure. The process begins by receiving advertisement or other content that is

associated with a key word or list of key words in step 1005. The system then receives

a desired geographic area where the content is to be targeted in step 1010. The desired

geographic area may be city, postal code, or any other geographic demarcation. The

system then performs a search in the records of users for users that have registered in

the desired geographic area to generate a list of users in the desired area in step 1015.

A user may register in a geographic area by providing registration information such as

an address to the social network or this may be obtained from a device such as a smart

phone used to connect to the engine providing the social network.

After the list of users in the desired area has been generated, the system selects

a user from the list in step 1020. The system then determines whether the selected user

belongs to the targeted group in step 1025. This determination may be made in a

manner similar to the process for detecting key words in postings by user to a social

network engine described above. If the user does not belong to the target group, the

system selects another user in step 1045 and repeats the process. If the user belongs

to the targeted group, the content is provided to the user in step 1030. The system may

then retrieve the list of users influenced by the selected user and provide the content to

each user in the retrieved list of influenced users in steps 1035 and 1040. The process

is then repeated for another user until a determination is made for each of the users on

the list of users registered in the targeted area in step 1045.

Figure 11 shows an embodiment of a process for selective geographic targeting

of material in accordance with embodiments of this disclosure. Process 1100 begins in

step 1105 by receiving content to distribute, such as an advertisement of an event at a

particular store. The system then receives a desired geographic area where the content is to be targeted in step 1110. The desired geographic area may be city, postal code, or any other geographic demarcation. The system then performs a search in the records of users for users that have registered in the desired geographic area and generates a list of users in the desired area in step 1120. A user may register in a geographic area by providing registration information such as an address to the social network or this may be obtained from a device such as a smart phone used to connect to the engine providing the social network.

After the list of users in the desired area has been generated, the system selects

a user from the list in step 1125. The system then reads the total social weight of user

from a memory maintained by the engine. The total social weight of a user may be

calculated in manner similar to that described with regards to the first flow chart above.

The total social weight of the user is then compared to a threshold in step 1130. One

skilled in the art will recognize that the threshold should be chosen to be a value that

targets users that have a desired influence level on other users. However, the exact

value is left as a design choice for those skilled in the art. If the user does not have the

desired social influence, the system selects another user from the list and repeats the

process in step 1150. If the user social weight is greater than the threshold, the content

is provided to the user in step 1135. The system may then retrieve the list of users

influenced by the user in step 1140 and also provide the content to each user in the list

of influenced users in step 1145. The process is then repeated for another user until a

determination is made for each of the users on the list of users in the targeted area in

step 1150.

The above is a description of processes for providing "social objects" in a social

network through the tagging of photographs and processes for using information

collected from the provision of social contacts to direct data to users. It is envisioned that other can and will design alternatives that infringe this disclosure as set forth in the following claims.

Claims (6)

What is claimed is:

1. A system for providing a social network engine comprising:

a processor; and

a memory including instructions that, when executed by said processor, cause

said processor to perform operations including:

maintain a plurality of database tables wherein each database table stores data

for each social object of a particular one of a plurality of classes of social objects, the

plurality of classes of social objects consisting at least a person class, a place class, a

thing class, an activity class, a vocabulary class, and a service class,

wherein a social object is a representation of a physical object on a social

network;

establish, on said social network, an association between the plurality of social

objects of the different classes consisting of the person class, the place class, the thing

class, the activity class, the vocabulary class and the service class,

wherein said association is established between a first social object that

corresponds to the person class, a second social object that corresponds to the place

class, a third social object that corresponds to the thing class, a fourth social object that

corresponds to the activity class, a fifth social object that corresponds to the vocabulary

class, and a sixth social object that corresponds to the service class;

wherein establishing the association includes providing a crawler that performs

multiple searches of said plurality of database tables to find two or more social objects

that have similar attributes, and

wherein said multiple searches comprise three levels of searches such that a

second level search is dependent upon results of a first level search and a third level

search is dependent upon said results of said first level search and upon results of said

second level search; present said association between said plurality of social objects to a user, wherein said plurality of social objects is configured to interact with one another or with the user, wherein said social network is provided for said plurality of social objects and is configured to record all activities of all of said social objects; analyze recorded activities of each of a plurality of social objects that are associated with a social object of the user, including determining a social weight for the user that represents a number of social objects that respond to interactions initiated by the user divided by a total number of interactions with other social objects initiated by the user;and determine content to provide to the user on the social network based on the analysis of the recorded activities of the each of the plurality of social objects that are associated with the social object of the user by providing specific content to the user in response to the social weight of the user being determined to be above a specific threshold.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein

said person class includes following attributes: name, gender, age, e-mail

address, and interests;

said place class includes a following attribute: a location polygon describing a

location;

said thing class includes a following attribute: a system generated identifier;

said activity class includes a following attribute: an assigned identifier;

said vocabulary class includes a following attribute: a text identifier; and

said service class includes a following attribute: a text identifier.

3. The system of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said crawler continuously searches as

a background routine to establish associations between said plurality of social objects.

4. A method for providing a social network comprising:

maintaining a plurality of database tables,

wherein each database table stores data for each social object of a particular one

of a plurality of classes of social objects, the plurality of classes of social objects

consisting of at least a person class, a place class, a thing class, an activity class, a

vocabulary class, and a service class,

wherein a social object is representation of a physical object on a social network;

establishing, on said social network, an association between a plurality of social

objects of the different classes consisting of the person class, the place class, the thing

class, the activity class, the vocabulary class and the service class;

wherein said association is established between a first social object that

corresponds to the person class, a second social object that corresponds to the place

class, a third social object that corresponds to the thing class, a fourth social object that

corresponds to the activity class, a fifth social object that corresponds to the vocabulary

class, and a sixth social object that corresponds to the service class;

wherein establishing the association includes providing a crawler that performs

multiple searches of said plurality of database tables to find two or more social objects

that have similar attributes, and

wherein said multiple searches comprise three levels of searches such that a

second level search is dependent upon results of a first level search and a third level

search is dependent upon said results of said first level search and upon results of said

second levelsearch;

presenting said association between said plurality of social objects to a user, wherein said plurality of social objects is configured to interact with one another or with the user, wherein said social network is provided for said plurality of social objects and is configured to record all activities of all of said social objects; analyzing recorded activities of each of a plurality of social objects that are associated with a social object of the user by determining a social weight for the user that represents a number of social objects that respond to interactions initiated by the user divided by a total number of interactions with other social objects initiated by the user;and determining content to provide to the user on the social network based on the analysis of the recorded activities of the each of the plurality of social objects that are associated with the social object of the user by providing specific content to the user in response to the social weight of the user being determined to be above a specific threshold.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein

said person class includes following attributes: name, gender, age, e-mail

address, and interests;

said place class includes a following attribute: a location polygon describing a

location;

said thing class includes a following attribute: a system generated identifier;

said activity class includes a following attribute: an assigned identifier;

said vocabulary class includes a following attribute: a text identifier; and

said service class includes a following attribute: a text identifier.

6. The method of claim 4 or claim 5, wherein said crawler continuously searches as

a background routine to establish associations between said plurality of social objects.