Dynamic social network relationship determination method and apparatus

Abstract

A method for a computer system includes receiving an identifier from a user, initiating a user session in response to the identifier, determining a social map for the user in response to the identifier and in response to a plurality of social network relationships, receiving a first change to the plurality of social network relationships from the user, receiving a second change to the plurality of network relationships from another user, determining a revised social map for the user during the user session in response to receiving the first change, but not in response to receiving the second change, wherein the revised social map for the user reflects the first change and the second change, and storing the revised social map for the user during the user session in a cache.

1 . A computer system for dynamically determining social relationships within a social network, the system comprising:
 a graphing system including:
 a memory device storing a plurality of social network relationships including a social map including entries for a first user; 
 a processor coupled to the memory device, the processor configured to,
 compute a social map for a user in response to at least the portion of the plurality of social network relationships in the memory device, the social map computed during log-in time for the user and stored in the memory device, 
 evaluate, while the user is logged into a session, the social map stored in the memory device to identify an indication of the social map being stale, and 
 recompute, if the social map has an indication of being stale, the social map during the session; and 
 
 a server communicatively coupled to the graphing system, the server configured to: 
   access the social map stored in the memory device, in response to the user initiating a query for data drawn from the social network; and   trigger computation of a revised social map for the first user, within the graphing system and during the session, in response to an indication of a change in the social map for the first user.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the graphing system is further configured to compute a first social distance between the first user and a second user, and a second social distance between the first user and the second user, wherein the first social distance is different from the second social distance. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the server is further configured to trigger computation of the revised social map upon detection of the first social distance or the second social distance changing as a result of recalculation of a weighting factor. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the server is further configured to recalculate the weighting factor based at least in part on detecting a change in frequency of communications between the first user and the second user. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the server is further configured to recalculate the weighting factor based at least in part on detecting a change in responsiveness by the first user in answering communications from the second user. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the server is further configured to recalculate the weighting factor based at least in part on detecting a manual adjustment made directly to the weighting factor by the first user. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the graphing system is further configured to evaluate the social map stored in the memory device to identify dirty bits, where the dirty bits are indicative of the social map being stale; and
 wherein the server is further configured to trigger computation of the revised social map upon detection of an indication of the social map being stale.   
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the graphing system is further configured to calculate the social distance between the first user and the second user. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the graphing system is further configured to calculate a shortest path between the first user and the second user. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the graphing system is configured to compute a social map for the user including a shortest path between the user and a plurality of other users on the social network. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the server is further configured to trigger computation of the revised social map when the first social distance or the second social distance are changed as a result of an added or deleted relationship affecting the first social distance or the second social distance. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the server is further configured to access the social map in response to a query selected from a group consisting of: request affinity groups related to a user, request classified listings related to a user, request a list of users a user has communicated with, request businesses related to a user, and request which users have a good reputation. 
     
     
         13 . A method for dynamically determining social relationships within a social networking system including a database system, a graphing system, and a server system, the method comprising:
 computing, within the graphing system at a user session initiation for a first user, a social map for the first user based at least in part on a plurality of social network relationships for a plurality of users maintained in the database system;   storing, within computer memory within the graphing system, a copy of the social map for the first user;   monitoring, within the server system during the user session, activities related to the social network to identify actions affecting the social map for the first user; and   triggering, in response to identification of an action affecting the social map for the first user during the user session, generation of a revised social map for the first user within the graphing system.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the social map includes a first social distance between the first user and a second user and a second social distance between the first user and the second user, where the first social distance is different than the second social distance 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the triggering generation of the revised social map occurs in response to a change in the first social distance or the second social distance. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the change in the first social distance or the second social distance is based at least in part on recalculation of a weighting factor. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the recalculation of the weighting factor is based at least in part on a change in frequency of communications between the first user and the second user. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the recalculation of the weighting factor is based at least in part on responsiveness by the first user in answering communications from the second user. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the recalculation of the weighting factor is based at least in part on a manual adjustment made directly to the weighting factor by the first user. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising evaluating the social map stored in the computer memory of the graphing server to identify dirty bits, where the dirty bits are indicative of the social map needing recalculation; and
 wherein the triggering generation of the revised social map occurs in response to identification of the dirty bits.   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the triggering generation of the revised social map occurs in response to the first social distance or the second social distance changing as a result of an added or deleted relationship affecting the first social distance or the second social distance. 
     
     
         22 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed within a social networking system including a database system, a graphing system, and a server system, cause the social network system to perform operations comprising:
 computing, within the graphing system at a user session initiation for a first user, a social map for the first user based at least in part on a plurality of social network relationships for a plurality of users maintained in the database system;   storing, within computer memory within the graphing system, a copy of the social map for the first user;   monitoring, within the server system during the user session, activities related to the social network to identify actions affecting the social map for the first user; and   triggering, in response to identification of an action affecting the social map for the first user and during the user session, generation of a revised social map for the first user within the graphing system.