Social Network Feed Relevance via Time Decay Scoring
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Social networking systems fail to effectively select time-specific content for presentation to users, leading to irrelevant content being displayed, which can negatively impact user retention and revenue generation due to the lack of consideration for time-based relevance.
Innovation Solution
The social networking system generates a feed of content items by identifying candidate content items associated with topics that have start and end times, adjusting their affinity scores based on these times, and selecting content for presentation based on these adjusted scores to ensure relevance to users at the right time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If content items are selected based on targeting criteria alone, then content relevance to user interests is improved, but time-based relevance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the content selection system adaptive to changing time conditions. The system dynamically adjusts content relevance based on temporal factors, transitioning from static targeting criteria to a dynamic model that incorporates time decay and recency weights. This allows the system to automatically adapt content presentation timing without manual intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameters of content selection by introducing time-based weighting factors alongside traditional targeting criteria. The system modifies the relevance calculation by incorporating time decay parameters and recency weights, transforming the selection algorithm from a static attribute-matching process to a dynamic multi-parameter evaluation that accounts for temporal relevance.
2Reliability
If seasonal content is presented outside its relevant time period, then user retention deteriorates, but revenue generation opportunities are improved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by proactively managing content presentation timing through time decay mechanisms and recency weights. The system anticipates when content relevance will diminish and adjusts presentation probabilities accordingly, preventing the presentation of outdated seasonal content before it negatively impacts user retention. This proactive temporal management ensures content is presented during optimal windows.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback by using user interaction data and time-based metrics to continuously refine content selection. The system monitors content performance over time and adjusts weighting parameters based on observed user behavior patterns, creating a closed-loop system that learns from past presentations to optimize future timing decisions for both retention and revenue objectives.
Data Source
AI summary
A social networking system maintains content items associated with various topics. Each topic may be associated with a start time and/or an end time defining a time range during which content items associated with the topic are most likely to be relevant to social networking system users. The start time and/or end time associated with a topic may be based on information received from a user of the social networking system or on the occurrence of an event. The social networking system computes a score indicating a predicted affinity of a viewing user of the social networking system for each content item eligible for presentation to the viewing user and adjusts the affinity score based on a start time and/or an end time of an associated topic. One or more content items are selected for presentation to the viewing user based on the affinity score associated with each content item.