Geo-coded Social Network Messaging for Municipal Targeting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current social media systems lack the ability to effectively narrowcast information from municipal officials to geographically relevant recipients, resulting in users receiving large amounts of irrelevant information.
Innovation Solution
A computer-based system that geo-codes user locations and allows municipal officials to define and target messages to specific geographic areas, delivering relevant information to users within those areas through social networks, mobile applications, or text messages.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If municipal officials use broad broadcast channels to communicate with all users, then information reach is maximized, but information relevance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the user base into geographically defined groups or clusters. Instead of broadcasting to all users uniformly, the system divides recipients into location-based segments and delivers targeted information to each segment, thereby maintaining high reach while improving relevance for each user group.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by tailoring information delivery to specific geographic locations. Different regions receive different information content based on their location, ensuring that each user receives information relevant to their local context rather than a generic broadcast to all users.
2Device complexity
If all information is aggregated into a single feed, then system complexity is reduced, but information relevance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the information feed into location-based streams. Rather than maintaining a single aggregated feed, the system creates multiple feeds organized by geographic area, allowing users to receive only the information relevant to their location while keeping the overall system architecture relatively simple.
3Loss of information
If geographic targeting is implemented, then information relevance is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces geographic location data as an intermediary element that connects users with relevant information. By using location as a mediating factor, the system can automatically route information to appropriate users without requiring complex user preferences or manual configuration, thus improving relevance while limiting complexity growth.
Data Source
AI summary
Users of social networking computer systems provide location information that is transformed into geo-coded coordinates specifying user locations. Providers of content, such as messages or documents, also participate in the social networking system and use drawing tools or provide data files that define one or more geographical areas or regions of a map, which may define a larger geographical area that encompasses the users of the social networking system. Data specifying the areas is stored. The content providers create one or more messages and associate each of the one or more messages with one or more of the areas. The users communicate requests for messages to the social networking system; in response, the system associates the user location data with the stored areas and messages and returns only those messages that have been associated with the particular areas in which the users are located. As a result, users receive only messages for their areas, and only messages that the content providers have designated as intended for or relevant to their areas.