Markup Language for Social Data Integration

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing social networking systems and external websites lack the ability to effectively utilize information about users' social connections to customize and personalize user experiences, leading to inferior user interactions and inefficient targeting of advertisements.

Innovation Solution

A social networking system provides instructions in a markup language document to a client device, enabling it to access and retrieve social networking information, which is then used to render web pages that incorporate user and connection data, while respecting privacy settings, allowing external websites to present relevant information and advertisements to users.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If external websites collect and maintain information about users' social connections, then user experience personalization improves, but system complexity and resource requirements increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveuser experience personalizationVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a markup language document as an intermediary mechanism that enables external websites to access social networking information without directly implementing complex data collection and storage systems. The markup language serves as a mediator that translates social connection data into usable formats for personalization, allowing external sites to leverage social information while avoiding the burden of maintaining such systems themselves.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The markup language document is designed to be universally applicable across different external websites, providing a standardized method for incorporating social networking information. This universal approach allows any external website to access and utilize social connection data through the same mechanism, eliminating the need for each site to develop proprietary solutions and thereby reducing overall system complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Measurement precision

If external websites access social networking information through markup language instructions, then advertisement targeting accuracy improves, but information privacy risks increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveadvertisement targeting accuracyVSAvoidinformation privacy risks
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The markup language document acts as a privacy-protecting intermediary between the social networking system and external websites. It enables precise advertisement targeting by incorporating social connection information while maintaining privacy controls, as the markup language can be designed to expose only authorized data elements without revealing sensitive information.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements differentiated privacy protection by allowing selective exposure of social networking information based on user permissions and data sensitivity. Different portions of social connection data can be exposed with different levels of detail and access control, enabling precise advertisement targeting while protecting sensitive information through localized privacy management.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentUS10666694B1Markup language for incorporating social networking system information by an external web site
Publication Date: 2020.05.26 META PLATFORMS INC
  • US10666694B1 patent drawing
  • US10666694B1 patent drawing
  • US10666694B1 patent drawing

AI summary

A social networking system contains information describing information about users of the social networking system and about various connections among the users. When a user of the social networking system accesses an external website, the external website may send the user a web page containing markup language with instructions to retrieve information associated with a user from a social networking system. The client device processes the annotations and sends a request for social information related to the user to a social networking system, subject perhaps to privacy settings in the social networking system. The user's browser uses the information obtained from the social networking system in response to the request to render the markup language document for display on the user's computer system. This process allows the external website to use information from the social networking system to enhance the user's experience on the external website.