Determining measures of influence of users of a social network

Abstract

A method and system for evaluating the reputation of a member of a social networking system is disclosed. Consistent with an embodiment of the invention, one or more attributes associated with a social networking profile of a member of a social network are analyzed. Based on the analysis, a ranking, rating or score is assigned to a particular category of reputation. When requested, the ranking, rating or score is displayed to a user of the social network.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer-implemented method for determining a measure of influence of a member of a social network, the method comprising:
 determining a collective influence of a plurality of connections of the member of the social network;   calculating a measure of influence of the member of the social network with respect to a skill of the member of the social network based on the collective measure of influence of the plurality of endorsers of elements of a profile of the member pertaining to the skill, wherein the computing of the measure of influence is performed by one or more processors;   generating a ranking of the measure of influence of the member of the social network with respect to the skill in comparison to measures of influence of additional members of the social network with respect to the skill.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising calculating a collective measure of influence of a plurality of connections of the user and wherein the calculating of the measure of influence of the member of the social network is further based on the collective influence of the plurality of connections of the user. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the determining of the collective influence of the plurality of endorsers of the member of the social network is based in part on a popularity of each of the plurality of endorsers of the member of the social network. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising determining the popularity of each of the plurality of endorsers within the social network based on at least one of a frequency at which other members of the social network invite each endorser of the plurality of endorsers to connect and a frequency at which the other members of the social network accept invitations by each endorser of the plurality of endorsers to connect. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the determining of the collective influence of the plurality of endorsers of the member of the social network includes giving a higher weight to endorsers of the plurality of endorsers that have a higher influence than other endorsers of the plurality of endorsers. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the determining of the collective measure of influence of the plurality of endorsers of the member of the social network includes excluding measures of influence of endorsers of the plurality of connections having fewer than a minimum number of connections. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the determining of the collective measure influence of the plurality of endorsers of the member of the social network includes adjusting measures of influence of big inviters of the plurality of endorsers, the big inviters being endorsers of the plurality of endorsers who exceed a threshold of number of invitations sent over a time period. 
     
     
         8 . A system for determining a measure of influence of a member of a social network, the system comprising:
 a memory comprising a set of instructions;   one or more processors coupled to the memory and configured to, based on the set of instructions,   determine a collective influence of a plurality of connections of the member of the social network;   calculate a measure of influence of the member of the social network with respect to a skill of the member of the social network based on the collective measure of influence of the plurality of endorsers of elements of a profile of the member pertaining to the skill;   generate a ranking of the measure of influence of the member of the social network with respect to the skill in comparison to measures of influence of additional members of the social network with respect to the skill.   
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to, based on the set of instructions, calculate a collective measure of influence of a plurality of connections of the user; and wherein the calculating of the measure of influence of the member of the social network is further based on the collective influence of the plurality of connections of the user. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the determining of the collective influence of the plurality of endorsers of the member of the social network is based in part on a popularity of each of the plurality of endorsers of the member of the social network. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the one or more processes are further configured to, based on the set of instructions, determine the popularity of each of the plurality of endorsers within the social network based on at least one of a frequency at which other members of the social network invite each endorser of the plurality of endorsers to connect and a frequency at which the other members of the social network accept invitations by each endorser of the plurality of endorsers to connect. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the determining of the collective influence of the plurality of endorsers of the member of the social network includes giving a higher weight to endorsers of the plurality of endorsers that have a higher influence than other endorsers of the plurality of endorsers. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the determining of the collective measure of influence of the plurality of endorsers of the member of the social network includes excluding measures of influence of endorsers of the plurality of connections having fewer than a minimum number of connections. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the determining of the collective measure influence of the plurality of endorsers of the member of the social network includes adjusting measures of influence of big inviters of the plurality of endorsers, the big inviters being endorsers of the plurality of endorsers who exceed a threshold of number of invitations sent over a time period. 
     
     
         15 . An apparatus for determining a measure of influence of a member of a social network, the apparatus comprising:
 means for determining a collective influence of a plurality of connections of the member of the social network;   means for calculating a measure of influence of the member of the social network with respect to a skill of the member of the social network based on the collective measure of influence of the plurality of endorsers of elements of a profile of the member pertaining to the skill, wherein the computing of the measure of influence is performed by one or more processors;   generating a ranking of the measure of influence of the member of the social network with respect to the skill in comparison to measures of influence of additional members of the social network with respect to the skill.   
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , further comprising means for calculating a collective measure of influence of a plurality of connections of the user and wherein the calculating of the measure of influence of the member of the social network is further based on the collective influence of the plurality of connections of the user. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the determining of the collective influence of the plurality of endorsers of the member of the social network is based in part on a popularity of each of the plurality of endorsers of the member of the social network. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , further comprising means for determining the popularity of each of the plurality of endorsers within the social network based on at least one of a frequency at which other members of the social network invite each endorser of the plurality of endorsers to connect and a frequency at which the other members of the social network accept invitations by each endorser of the plurality of endorsers to connect. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the determining of the collective influence of the plurality of endorsers of the member of the social network includes giving a higher weight to endorsers of the plurality of endorsers that have a higher influence than other endorsers of the plurality of endorsers. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the determining of the collective measure of influence of the plurality of endorsers of the member of the social network includes excluding measures of influence of endorsers of the plurality of connections having fewer than a minimum number of connections.