Dynamic Place Visibility in Geo-Social Networking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Geo-social networking systems face challenges in dynamically adjusting the visibility of places based on user activity and social contacts, leading to irrelevant or inappropriate place search results for users.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a visibility state system for places, where visibility is modulated based on user and social contact interactions, with initial settings adjustable by the system considering trustworthiness and user type, and dynamically adjusted based on check-in activity and user feedback.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If places are made visible to all users to promote social interaction and check-ins, then user engagement and system activity increase, but privacy concerns and exposure to inappropriate content increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements differential visibility settings where different places have different visibility states (public, private, hidden) based on their specific characteristics and the user's relationship to them. This allows the system to promote engagement for appropriate places while protecting privacy for sensitive places, resolving the contradiction through localized quality control.
Solution Approach 2:
The visibility state of places is made dynamic rather than static. The system automatically adjusts visibility based on user feedback, check-in patterns, and social graph analysis. Places can transition between visibility states over time, allowing the system to promote engagement when appropriate while maintaining privacy protection when needed.
2Adaptability or versatility
If all user-created places are displayed in search results to provide comprehensive options, then place variety increases, but relevance and quality of results decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms where user interactions (check-ins, searches, selections) are analyzed to determine place quality and relevance. Places that receive positive feedback are promoted in search results, while irrelevant or low-quality places are filtered out, maintaining both variety and relevance dynamically.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of place visibility from a binary state to a multi-level system with associated quality metrics. Places are evaluated based on multiple parameters (user feedback, check-in frequency, social graph connections) and their visibility in search results is adjusted according to these evaluated parameters, ensuring relevant results are prioritized.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If visibility settings are manually configured by users for each place, then privacy control improves, but system complexity and user burden increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides self-service automation where places automatically configure their visibility settings based on detected patterns and user behavior. The system monitors user interactions and autonomously adjusts place visibility without requiring manual user configuration, reducing system complexity while maintaining privacy control through intelligent automation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary analysis of user behavior patterns and social graph data to pre-configure appropriate visibility settings for places before users need them. By anticipating privacy needs based on historical data and context, the system establishes suitable visibility states in advance, reducing the need for complex manual configuration.
Data Source
AI summary
In one embodiment, a user of a social networking system requests to search for a place near the user's current location. The social networking system generates a list of places near the user's current location, select a sub-set from the list of places based on visibility and activity of the user and the user's social contacts for each place in the list, and returns the sub-set to the user.