Tracking Changes to User Content in an Online Social Network

Abstract

In one embodiment, a method includes receiving, at a social-networking system, a query for content that has been changed, added to, or updated on the social-networking system by a first user of the social-networking system, wherein the query is received from a third-party system that is separate from and external to the social-networking system; determining, by the social-networking system, whether content associated with the first user has been changed, added to, or updated on the social-networking system; and sending information to the third-party system responsive to the query.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising, by a computing device:
 receiving, at a social-networking system, a query for content that has been changed, added to, or updated on the social-networking system by a first user of the social-networking system, wherein the query is received from a third-party system that is separate from and external to the social-networking system;   determining, by the social-networking system, whether content associated with the first user has been changed, added to, or updated on the social-networking system; and   sending information to the third-party system responsive to the query.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the query comprises a user ID and password associated with the first user. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 authorizing the third-party system to query for content associated with the first user based on the user ID and password.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the query comprises a request to access a web page associated with the first user. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the query further identifies one or more types of content. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the query is sent from the third-party system in response to second user accessing a web page of the third-party system associated with the first user. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 accessing a tracking preferences indicating one or more types of content to track;   wherein determining whether content associated with the first user has been changed, added to, or updated on the social-networking system is based at least in part on whether the content changed, added to, or updated on the social-networking system substantially matches the tracking preferences.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the information comprises the content that has been changed, added to, or updated on the social-networking system. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the information comprises a description of the content that has been changed, added to, or updated on the social-networking system. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the information comprises a reference to the content that has been changed, added to, or updated on the social-networking system. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the information comprises an activatable link to a notification web site. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the information comprises an activatable link to a web page associated with the first user. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the information is a syndicated feed. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the information is in a web feed format. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the web feed format is really simple syndication (RSS). 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the content comprises one or more of a user profile, a digital photo, a video, a blog post, text, a testimonial by other users, or identification of users who are friends of the first user. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 notifying one or more second users of the third-party system that content associated with the first user of the social-networking system has been changed, added to, or updated on the third-party system.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 accessing a graph data structure comprising a plurality of nodes and connections between the nodes, each of one or more of the nodes being associated with one of a plurality of users of the social-networking system, each connection between two nodes representing a relationship between them and establishing a single degree of separation between them.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising:
 notifying one or more second users of the third-party system that content associated with the first user of the social-networking system has been changed, added to, or updated on the third-party system, wherein each second user if a first-degree connection of the first user within the graph data structure.   
     
     
         20 . A system comprising: one or more processors; and a memory coupled to the processors comprising instructions executable by the processors, the processors operable when executing the instructions to:
 receive, at a social-networking system, a query for content that has been changed, added to, or updated on the social-networking system by a first user of the social-networking system, wherein the query is received from a third-party system that is separate from and external to the social-networking system;   determine, by the social-networking system, whether content associated with the first user has been changed, added to, or updated on the social-networking system; and   send information to the third-party system responsive to the query.