Sponsored Story Promotion via Dedicated Feed Segmentation

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Solution Overview

Problem

In social networking systems, relevant sponsored stories often get lost in the vast number of user updates, and there is a lack of functionality for sponsors to ensure permanence and increased viewing frequency of their stories within users' newsfeeds.

Innovation Solution

A system that allows sponsors to promote specific newsfeed stories to a dedicated sponsored story space on users' social networking pages, utilizing computer vision algorithms to detect product interactions and integrate with the social graph, enabling sponsors to boost relevant stories even if they don't administer the object or node, with customizable permissions and targeting based on user interests.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If sponsors pay to promote stories in the newsfeed, then viewing frequency increases, but the stories get lost among vast user updates and permanence is not ensured

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveviewing frequencyVSAvoidstory visibility
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the newsfeed display into two distinct areas: the organic activity stream and a dedicated sponsored story space. By separating sponsored stories from the main feed and placing them in a dedicated section, sponsored content receives focused attention without being lost among user updates, thereby ensuring both increased viewing frequency and sustained visibility.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces a new spatial dimension for sponsored stories by creating a dedicated sidebar or separate section on the user's social networking page. This moves sponsored content from the temporal dimension (scrolling through feed) to a persistent spatial dimension, ensuring permanence and continuous visibility regardless of feed updates.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Productivity

If sponsors can promote any story, then advertising effectiveness improves, but system complexity increases due to permission management

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveadvertising effectivenessVSAvoidpermission management
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements self-service mechanisms where story owners automatically receive notifications when their stories are selected for sponsorship. The system autonomously manages permission verification, sponsorship agreements, and content delivery, reducing manual intervention and simplifying the overall permission management process while maintaining advertising effectiveness.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The patent incorporates feedback loops where the system continuously monitors story performance, user engagement, and sponsorship metrics. This feedback enables dynamic adjustment of sponsorship decisions, ensuring that only high-performing stories are promoted while automatically managing permissions based on real-time data, thereby improving advertising effectiveness without increasing complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

3Measurement precision

If computer vision algorithms detect product interactions, then targeting precision improves, but processing time and computational resources increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetargeting precisionVSAvoidprocessing time
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by pre-processing and pre-categorizing user-generated content as it enters the system. Images and videos are automatically tagged with product identifiers, categories, and metadata before sponsorship evaluation. This preliminary classification enables rapid retrieval and matching during sponsorship decisions, achieving high targeting precision without increasing real-time processing time.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces traditional mechanical search and matching systems with computer vision algorithms that automatically detect and analyze product interactions in media content. These algorithms efficiently identify products, contexts, and user engagements, providing precise targeting capabilities while optimizing computational resources through intelligent sampling and hierarchical processing.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Data Source

PatentUS9742822B2Sponsored stories unit creation from organic activity stream
Publication Date: 2017.08.22 META PLATFORMS INC
  • US9742822B2 patent drawing
  • US9742822B2 patent drawing
  • US9742822B2 patent drawing

AI summary

Methods, apparatuses and systems directed to sponsored story generation from an organic activity stream in a social networking site. A user wishing to promote an entry from an organic activity stream may, using a sponsor user interface, specify the types of stories to promote to a portion of the home page displayed to a member of a social network.