Calculating an influence score of a member

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2017091193-A1
Application number	US-201615282934-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Sep 30, 2016
Priority date	Sep 30, 2015
Publication date	Mar 30, 2017
Grant date	—

Abstract

Techniques for ranking members based on an influence score are described. For example, an influence score process can access, from a database in an online social network, member data of a first member in response to receiving a ranking request of the first member. Additionally, a contribution factor for each first-degree connection of the first member can be determined. A centrality score for the first member can be determined based on the contribution factor for each first-degree connection of the first member. Moreover, an expertise score for the first member can be determined based on the member data of the first member. Furthermore, an influence score of the first member can be calculated based on the centrality score and the expertise score. Subsequently, a user interface is configured to cause a presentation, on a display of a device, of the ranking of the first member based on the influence score.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A system comprising:
a member database storing member data of a plurality of members in an online social network, the member data having profile data and social graph data for the plurality of members; one or more processors configured to:
receive a ranking request associated with a ranking of a first member, the social graph data for the first member having first-degree connections of the first member;
determine a contribution factor for each first-degree connection of the first member;
determine a centrality score for the first member based on the contribution factor for each first-degree connection of the first member;
determine an expertise score for the first member based on the profile data of the first member;
calculate an influence score of the first member based on the centrality score and the expertise score; and
a user interface configured to cause a presentation, on a display of a device, of the ranking of the first member based on the influence score.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
calculate an influence score for each first-degree connection of the first member; and generate a ranking list of the first member and the first-degree connections of the first member based on the influence score of the first member and the influence score for each first-degree connection of the first member; and wherein the presentation includes the generated ranking list.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the ranking request includes a profile attribute associated with the first member; and
wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: determine a subgroup of members from the plurality of members, the subgroup of members having the profile attribute; calculate an influence score for each member in the subgroup of members; and generate a ranking list of the first member and the subgroup of members based on the influence score of the first member and the influence score for each member in the subgroup of members; and wherein the presentation includes the generated ranking list.

4 . The system of claim 3 , wherein the profile attribute is an employer of the first member; and
wherein the subgroup of members are other employees of the employer.

5 . The system of claim 3 , wherein the profile attribute is a job title of the first member; and
wherein the subgroup of members are members having the job title listed on a profile page.

6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the member data further includes a contribution factor for each first-degree connection of the first member; and
wherein the contribution factor for each first-degree connection of the first member is accessed from the member database.

7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the centrality score for the first member is calculated using an eigenvector centrality algorithm, wherein the contribution factor for each first-degree connection has an equal weight.

8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the centrality score for the first member is calculated using a Katz centrality algorithm, wherein the centrality score is further based on contribution factors associated with second-degree connections of the first member.

9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the centrality score for the first member is calculated is further based on a damping factor for each first-degree connection of the first member; and
wherein the damping factor for each first-degree connection of the first member is based on a page rank value associated with a profile page of each first-degree connection of the first member.

10 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the centrality score for the first member is calculated using a strength of connection value, wherein the contribution factor for each first-degree connection is based on the strength of connection between the first member and a first-degree connection of the first member.

11 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the centrality score for the first member is determined by summing the contribution factors for each first-degree connection of the first member.

12 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the influence score is calculated by multiplying the centrality score for the first member by a first coefficient and multiplying the expertise score for the first member by a second coefficient.

13 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the profile data includes a first employer of the first member; and
wherein the system further comprises a third-party database storing ranking data, the ranking data having an employer ranking; and wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: access the employer ranking for the first employer of the first member; and update the expertise score for the first member based on the employer ranking for the first employer.

14 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the profile data includes a school attended by the first member, wherein the system further comprises a third-party database storing ranking data, the ranking data having a school ranking; and
wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: access the school ranking for the school attended by the first member; and update the expertise score for the first member based on the school ranking for the school attended by the first member.

15 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the profile data includes years of experience, and the expertise score is based on the years of experience.

16 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the profile data includes a company name and a job title, and the expertise score is based on the job title and a number of employees associated with the company name.

17 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
receive a search request of a member having a first name and a last name that is associated with the first member; and generate a search result based on the influence score of the first member; and wherein the user interface is further configured to present the generated search results.

18 . A method comprising:
accessing, from a member database, member data of a plurality of members in an online social network, the member data having profile data and social graph data for the plurality of members; receiving a ranking request associated with a ranking of a first member, the social graph data for the first member having first-degree connections of the first member; determining a contribution factor for each first-degree connection of the first member; determining a centrality score for the first member based on the contribution factor for each first-degree connection of the first member; determining an expertise score for the first member based on the profile data of the first member; calculating, using a processor, an influence score of the first member based on the centrality score and the expertise score; and causing a presentation, on a display of a device, of the ranking of the first member based on the influence score.

19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the ranking request includes a profile attribute associated with the first member, further comprising:
determining a subgroup of members from the plurality of members, the subgroup of members having the profile attribute; calculating an influence score for each member in the subgroup of members; and generating a ranking list of the first member and the subgroup of members based on the influence score of the first member and the influence score for each member in the s

Assignees

• Linkedin Corp

Inventors

• Li Xuan
• Feng Yi
• Wang Weizhen
• Lu Min

Classifications

• G06Q10/40 Primary

  Business processes related to social networking or social networking services · CPC title

• G06F17/3053 Primary

  Physics · mapped topic

• G06F17/30554

  Physics · mapped topic

• G06F17/30958

  Physics · mapped topic

• G06Q10/46 Primary

  Determination of level of influence of users within social networking services · CPC title