Timeline Interface for Social Network User Information
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Solution Overview
Problem
Social networking systems face challenges in presenting historical user information effectively due to limited display space and the need to aggregate large volumes of data, making it difficult for users to view information related to specific time periods or locations concurrently.
Innovation Solution
A display interface that presents user information in a chronological timeline, using a ranking method to highlight the most relevant information, and organizes data into timeline units based on relatedness and relevance, allowing users to browse by time and location.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If user information is displayed through a profile web page with separate sections for different information types, then information can be organized by category, but it becomes difficult to locate older information and view multiple information types from the same time period concurrently
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments information by time period rather than by type, creating chronological sections (e.g., 'College Years', 'University Years') that contain mixed information types from each era. This allows users to view photos, status updates, and other information from the same time period together, resolving the contradiction between organized display and easy retrieval of historical information
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a time-based dimension for organizing information, transitioning from the traditional categorical dimension (photos, friends, status updates as separate sections) to a temporal dimension. This dimensional change enables users to browse information chronologically and view multiple information types from the same time period concurrently
2Quantity of substance
If the profile page displays all user information, then comprehensive information is available, but the limited display space makes it difficult to locate and consume historical information
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the large volume of user information into manageable time-based sections, making it easier to consume. Instead of displaying all information at once in a dense profile page, the system organizes information into chronological periods that can be browsed sequentially, improving ease of operation while maintaining comprehensive information availability
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary organization of information into time-based sections before the user needs to access it. By pre-grouping information chronologically, the system prepares the data structure that enables efficient browsing and consumption of historical information without requiring users to manually search through unorganized data
3Ease of operation
If information is segmented by information type in separate sections, then each section is easy to navigate, but users cannot view different types of information related to a particular time period concurrently
Solution Approach 1:
The patent re-segments information from being type-based to time-based segments. Each time period section contains a contextual mix of information types (photos, status updates, friends) that were previously scattered across different sections, thereby preserving contextual information while maintaining ease of navigation through chronological organization
Data Source
AI summary
The invention provides a display interface in a social networking system that enables the presentation of information related to a user in a timeline or map view. The system accesses information about a user of a social networking system, including both data about the user and social network activities related to the user. The system then selects one or more of these pieces of data and/or activities from a certain time period and gathers them into timeline units based on their relatedness and their relevance to users. These timeline units are ranked by relevance to the user, and are used to generate a timeline or map view for the user containing visual representations of the timeline units organized by location or time. The timeline or map view is then provided to other users of the social networking system that wish to view information about the user.