Yahoo! Inc.

Excalibur Ip, LLC

Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Duncan James Watts

Sharad Goel

Daniel Gray Goldstein

Jake M Hofman

Robert Warren Gruen

Winter Mason

A tracking system is provided comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored therein data representing instructions executable by a programmed processor for monitoring a database. The storage medium comprises instructions for receiving a current shortened content address from a requesting user, the current shortened content address including a shortened content address base and an appended link identifier, and instructions for determining a content address associated with the current shortened content address. The storage medium further comprises instructions for storing the shortened content address base and the appended link identifier in a database and instructions for determining if the tracking system has previously received a request for a shortened content address associated with the content address from the requesting user. The storage medium also comprises instructions for generating a new link identifier when the system has not previously received a request for a shortened content address associated with the content address from the requesting user and instructions for recording a chain of relationships of appended link identifiers with any new link identifiers in the database.

System for tracking diffusion

Various techniques of content virality determination and visualization are disclosed herein. For example, a method of determining network content virality metric includes constructing a diffusion cascade for a computer network content based on a plurality of time points at which individual users adopt the network content and connection information of the users. The method also includes calculating, with a processor, a virality metric of the network content based on a structural characteristic of the constructed diffusion cascade. Based on the calculated virality metric, one may determine if the network content is viral.

Content virality determination and visualization

Methods, system and computer readable medium for discovering social groups include extracting activity related data associated with a user's social interactions from a source. The activity related data identifies information related to social contacts used during the social interactions at the source. The activity related data of the user is analyzed to identify co-occurrences of the social contacts. The co-occurrences determine a set of related contacts. The set of related contacts identified from the activity related data are clustered into distinct social groups. The social groups are used by a user to facilitate subsequent interactions.

System and method to enable communication group identification

A tracking system comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored therein data representing instructions executable by a programmed processor for monitoring a database is provided. The storage medium includes instructions for storing a plurality of link identifiers in a database, each link identifier associated with a content address identifier and instructions for receiving a current shortened content address with an appended link identifier from a requesting user. The storage medium further includes instructions for determining a requested content address identifier associated with the current shortened content address and instructions for determining if the tracking system has previously received any previous shortened content address associated with the requested content address identifier from the requesting user. The storage medium also includes instructions for creating a new link identifier for the requesting user only when the tracking system has not previously received any previous shortened content address associated with the requested content address identifier from the requesting user.

A tracking system comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored therein data representing instructions executable by a programmed processor is provided. The storage medium of the tracking system includes instructions for receiving a request for content from a device using a first shortened content address, the first shortened content address including a shortened content address base and a first link identifier. The storage medium further includes instructions for determining a content address identifier associated with the first shortened content address and instructions for searching the device for a cookie associated with the content address identifier, the cookie including a cookie link identifier. The storage medium also includes instructions for providing the content to the device using the first shortened content address when the cookie is found on the device and the cookie link identifier is the first link identifier and instructions for providing the content to the device using a second shortened content address when the cookie is found on the device and the cookie link identifier is not the first link identifier, the second shortened content address including the shortened content address base and the cookie link identifier. The storage medium further includes instructions for generating a new link identifier when the cookie is not found on the device and instructions for providing the content to the device using a third shortened content address when the cookie is not found on the device, the third shortened content address including the shortened content address base and the new link identifier.

A computer-implemented method tracks diffusion. The method includes receiving a tracking request from an initiating user to track diffusion of content located at a content address. A computer tracking system generates a first shortened content address for the content address, from which the content is provided to the initiating user. The method includes receiving content requests from one or more requesting users, and generating, for each requesting user, a unique subsequent shortened content address for the content address. Content is provided to each requesting user using the subsequent shortened content address generated for each requesting user respectively. Each content request from the requesting users is made using either the first shortened content address or one of the subsequent shortened content addresses.

Growing community of inventors

New York, NY, United States of America

Duncan James Watts