AdHeat Advertisement Model for Social Network

Abstract

In one implementation, a computer-implemented method includes receiving at a server information indicating activity levels of users of a computer-implemented social network or acquaintance relationships of the users on the computer-implemented social network. The method further includes generating by the server influence scores for the users based on the received information. The method also includes recursively propagating by the server an ad through the computer-implemented social network between users having an acquaintance relationship by transmitting the ad from a propagating user to a recipient user when a difference between a first influence score of the propagating user and a second influence score of the recipient user is greater than a threshold.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer-implemented method comprising:
 receiving at a server information indicating activity levels of users of a computer-implemented social network or acquaintance relationships of the users on the computer-implemented social network;   generating by the server influence scores for the users based on the received information; and   recursively propagating by the server an ad through the computer-implemented social network between users having an acquaintance relationship by transmitting the ad from a propagating user to a recipient user when a difference between a first influence score of the propagating user and a second influence score of the recipient user is greater than a threshold.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the recipient user acts as a second propagating user after the ad has been transmitted to the recipient user. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising terminating by the server the recursive propagation of the ad through the computer-implemented social network when an influence score of the particular propagating user is less than or equal to an influence score of the particular recipient user. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising terminating by the server the recursive propagation of the ad through the social network when the server receives an indication that the particular propagating user has declined an opportunity to propagate the ad through the computer-implemented social network. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the indication is generated by a client associated with the particular propagating user in response to an action expressing disinterest in the ad. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising replacing by the server the ad with a substitute ad after the user declines to interact and recursively propagating by the server the substitute ad through the social network between users having an acquaintance relationship. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising terminating by the server the recursive propagation of the ad through the social network when a time period for the ad has expired. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising terminating by the server the recursive propagation of the ad through the social network when each recipient user having an acquaintance relationship with the particular propagating user has an influence score greater than or equal to the influence score of the propagating user. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising terminating by the server the recursive propagation of the ad through the social network when each recipient user having an acquaintance relationship with the particular propagating user has already received a transmission of the ad. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising terminating by the server the recursive propagation of the ad through the social network when a target number of propagations for the ad has been met. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising terminating by the server the recursive propagation of the ad through the social network when a budget for the ad has been exhausted. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising providing by the server the propagating user with an opportunity to interact with the ad. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising providing by the server compensation to the propagating user when the propagating user elects to propagate the ad by interacting with the ad. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising calculating by the server an amount of compensation based on a number of recipient users to which the ad is propagated. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the opportunity to interact is provided to the propagating user in a gadget located in the propagating user's display of the computer-implemented social network. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the propagating user interacts with the ad by adding a comment regarding the ad or explicitly specifying one or more users to receive the ad based on an interaction with the ad. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising obtaining by the server data related to propagation of the ad through the computer-implemented social network from the propagating user and each recipient user. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the propagation data includes information related to a number of users to view the ad, a number of users to interact with the ad, or a number of users to propagate the ad. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein recursively propagating the ad through the computer-implemented social network further comprises determining the threshold by applying a heat diffusion model to the first influence score and the second influence score, the heat diffusion model being related a path by which the ad can propagate through the computer-implemented social network. 
     
     
         20 . A system for propagating an ad across users of a social network, comprising:
 one or more servers;   an interface to the one or more of servers to receive information indicating activity levels of users of a social network or acquaintance relationships of the users on the social network;   a means for generating influence scores for the user based on the received information; and   a recursive propagation module installed on the one or more servers to recursively propagate an ad through the social network between users having an acquaintance relationship by transmitting the ad from a propagating user to a recipient user when a difference between a first influence score of the propagating user and a second influence score of the recipient user is greater than a threshold.