Social Network Connection Attribute Visualization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing social and professional network systems lack a facile way for users to view their connections in terms of desired attributes, requiring users to navigate individual profiles to find information such as education, organizations, and other details, which does not provide insightful insights into their community connections.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that utilize filters to allow users to view their connections by attributes like employer, job title, seniority, skills, and status, providing an insightful visual depiction of common attributes among their connections, and using machine-learning models to predict future success based on connection patterns.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If users navigate individual profiles to find connection information, then they can access detailed attributes, but it requires significant time and effort
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the large set of connection data into meaningful attribute groups (education, organizations, skills, etc.) and presents them as filtered views. Users can selectively view only the attribute segments they are interested in, rather than navigating through complete individual profiles, thus reducing time while maintaining information access.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a new dimension of viewing connections by attribute categories rather than by individual profiles. This dimensional shift allows users to see all connections that share a particular attribute (e.g., all connections from the same university) in a single view, dramatically reducing the time required to gather connection intelligence.
2Loss of information
If users view each individual connection profile, then they can see all available information, but the interface becomes complex and difficult to navigate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal filtered view that can display multiple types of connection information simultaneously across different attribute categories. A single interface allows users to view education, organizations, skills, and other attributes of multiple connections at once, eliminating the need to navigate separate profiles for each piece of information.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the single-dimensional profile navigation into a multi-dimensional attribute-based view. Users can filter and view connections by any attribute dimension (school, company, skill, etc.), making the interface adaptable to different information needs without increasing complexity.
3Loss of information
If the system provides comprehensive connection information, then users gain deep insights, but the data presentation becomes overwhelming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by allowing users to focus on specific attribute areas of interest rather than presenting all connection data uniformly. Users can select which attribute dimensions to view (e.g., only educational background or only current employers), receiving comprehensive information in their area of interest while ignoring irrelevant details, thus reducing overall interface complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamic filtering capabilities that allow users to adjust the level and type of information displayed based on their needs. The interface can dynamically switch between different attribute views and filter criteria, providing comprehensive insights when needed while maintaining simplicity when users want a high-level overview.
Data Source
AI summary
A system, method, and apparatus are provided for depicting attributes of a user's or member's connections within a professional or social network, in a manner that enables insight into the nature of the connections. When insight into a first member's connections is to be depicted, one or more attributes of first-degree connections (i.e., direct connections) and/or other connections are retrieved (e.g., employer or associated organization, function or role, seniority, skill(s)), over all time or some threshold period of time into the past. The values for the attributes are aggregated over the examined connections, and some or all values are displayed with one or more visual characteristics (e.g., size, color) that indicate a frequency or commonness of the values among the connections. The system or apparatus may include a user interface through which the depiction is presented in place of or in addition to a display of the connections.