Assisting participation in a social network

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for assisting participation in a social network. In one aspect, a method is performed by a system of one or more data processing devices. The method includes receiving, at the system, a historical record of message exchange between an individual and members in a member network, the system determining, for each of the members, whether the individual is likely to want to be related to the respective member, each determination considering the number and transactional characteristics of the message exchange between the individual and the respective member in the historical record, and the system outputting the determinations that the individual is likely to want to be related to at least two of the respective members.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . (canceled) 
     
     
         2 . A method comprising:
 receiving a historical record of messages exchanged between a user and other members in a member network;   determining, for each of the other members in the member network, a likelihood of the user establishing a relationship with the respective member in the member network, the determination based at least in part on a number of transactional characteristics of a message exchange between the user and the respective member in the historical record;   providing a recommendation for the user to be related to the respective member of the member network; and   providing the user with a suggestion to make the relationship between the user and the respective member visible on a profile page associated with the user.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the suggestion includes a profile image of the respective member, a name of the respective member, and a location of the respective member. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the profile page includes a count of members that the user follows in the member network. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the profile page includes a count of members that follow the user in the member network. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the member network is asymmetric such that at least one member of the network that does not follow the user in the member network is followed by the user. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the historical record of messages includes email messages and chat messages, and further comprising:
 determining a composite value that is a summation of a number of emails sent from the user to the respective member multiplied by a first weight and a number of chat messages sent from the user multiplied by a second weight; and   comparing the composite value to a threshold value, wherein providing the recommendation is based on the composite value meeting the threshold value.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the first weight includes a correspondence between the number of emails sent from the user to the respective member and a probability that the user would choose to be related to the respective member. 
     
     
         9 . A system comprising:
 one or more processors; and   a memory with instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
 receiving a historical record of messages exchanged between a user and other members in a member network; 
 determining, for each of the other members in the member network, a likelihood of the user establishing a relationship with the respective member in the member network, the determination based at least in part on a number of transactional characteristics of a message exchange between the user and the respective member in the historical record; 
 providing a recommendation for the user to be related to the respective member of the member network; and 
 providing the user with a suggestion to make the relationship between the user and the respective member visible on a profile page associated with the user. 
   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the suggestion includes a profile image of the respective member, a name of the respective member, and a location of the respective member. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the profile page includes a count of members that the user follows in the member network. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the profile page includes a count of members that follow the user in the member network. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the member network is asymmetric such that at least one member of the network that does not follow the user in the member network is followed by the user. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the historical record of messages includes email messages and chat messages, and the operations further comprise:
 determining a composite value that is a summation of a number of emails sent from the user to the respective member multiplied by a first weight and a number of chat messages sent from the user multiplied by a second weight; and   comparing the composite value to a threshold value, wherein providing the recommendation is based on the composite value meeting the threshold value.   
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the first weight includes a correspondence between the number of emails sent from the user to the respective member and a probability that the user would choose to be related to the respective member. 
     
     
         16 . A non-transitory computer readable medium with instructions that, when executed by one or more computers, cause the one or more computers to perform operations, the operations comprising:
 receiving a historical record of messages exchanged between a user and other members in a member network;   determining, for each of the other members in the member network, a likelihood of the user establishing a relationship with the respective member in the member network, the determination based at least in part on a number of transactional characteristics of a message exchange between the user and the respective member in the historical record;   providing a recommendation for the user to be related to the respective member of the member network; and   providing the user with a suggestion to make the relationship between the user and the respective member visible on a profile page associated with the user.   
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the suggestion includes a profile image of the respective member, a name of the respective member, and a location of the respective member. 
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the profile page includes a count of members that the user follows in the member network. 
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the profile page includes a count of members that follow the user in the member network. 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the member network is asymmetric such that at least one member of the network that does not follow the user in the member network is followed by the user. 
     
     
         21 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the historical record of messages includes email messages and chat messages, and the operations further comprise:
 determining a composite value that is a summation of a number of emails sent from the user to the respective member multiplied by a first weight and a number of chat messages sent from the user multiplied by a second weight; and   comparing the composite value to a threshold value, wherein providing the recommendation is based on the composite value meeting the threshold value.