Targeting social advertising to friends of users who have interacted with an object associated with the advertising.

(54) Title: SOCIAL ADVERTISING TARGETING FOR FRIENDS OF USERS WHO HAVE INTERACTED WITH AN OBJECT ASSOCIATED WITH ADVERTISING.

(54) Title: TARGETING SOCIAL ADVERTISING TO FRIENDS OF USERS WHO HAVE INTERACTED WITH AN OBJECT ASSOCIATED WITH THE ADVERTISING.

(57) Summary

Social ads are provided to a viewer user when accessing content associated with a social networking system. A social ad can include a candidate ad and an associated social story. Candidate ads are ads served by one or more advertisers, where the ads each specify a relationship between their ad content and one or more social media objects. To identify social stories with the candidate ads, the social re system identifies other users with the viewing user who has interacted with objects on the social network that are related to the candidate ads. Furthermore, the social network system identifies one or more of the interactions between the other users and one or more of the objects as a social story. The social media system selects a candidate ad and combines it with a social story to create a social ad and sends the social ad to be presented to the viewing user.

(57) Abstract

A viewing user is provided with social advertisements when accessing content associated with a social networking system. A social advertisement can include a candidate advertisement and an associated social story. Candidate advertisements are advertisements provided by one or more advertisers, where the advertisements each specify a relationship between their advertising content and one or more social networking objects. To identify social stories associated with the candidate advertisements, the social networking system identifies other users associated with the viewing user who has interacted with social networking objects that are related to candidate advertisements. Additionally, the social networking system identifies the one or more interactions between the other users and the one or more objects as a social story. The social networking system selects a candidate advertisement and combines it with a social story to create a social advertisement and sends the social advertisement for display to the viewing user.

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<img file="MX352437B_D0002.tif" />

PATENT TITLE No. 352437

Owner (s): FACEBOOK, INC.

D micilioi 1601 Willow Road, Menlo Park, California, 94025, USA

D nomination: TARGETING SOCIAL ADVERTISING FOR FRIENDS OF USERS WHO

THEY HAVE INTERACTED WITH AN OBJECT ASSOCIATED WITH ADVERTISING.

Classification:

Inventor (s)

CIP:

GO «p30 / 0 | 25S

CPC:

<img file="MX352437B_D0003.tif" />

ga con fpomogables, counted to of the Industrial Property ions III and 7 ° Í-W12 / 1 .1 °, 3 'fr | l 0 subdivisional directors, Coordinators 2/1999, amended on 02/04/2000. 07/29/2004,

99.

JUNLIANíÍZHÁNG; GANG WU ^

Number:'

MX / a / 2013/066825

Us Validity: VeijWyears ^ ₊ .. _λ iu

WÉ Date | while ^ 1 | ^ eS ^

Date of E «^ 4 || tion ^ 4

The patent of referei „. ... .TO.? ... . ________

In accordance with the áH ^ loH ^ of the Law of the ΗΓΟρββββΊ from the date of preseM ^ i ^ i ^ la soiie ^^ iqjemao ^ fitj

Who signs this tftüIbl &amp; 'hAál'co (Official Gazette of the Federation 25/01/2006, 06/05 / 2009,06 / 01 / 20lOT®M Regulation of the Mexican Institute dpJh articles 1 °, 3 °, 4 °, 5 'fraction V incife 3) 12/27/1999, amended 10/10/2002, 29 / 0i_ Adjunct Generals, Coordinator. Directors, Departmentals and other subordinates of the Institute 08/04/2004 and 09/13/2007).

6»

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meo dn Internacional de 20jZ le twenty r validi ^ sw rs 2 ds / a.

((urper:

12 / ^ 38,786 / 1999. 01/26/2004. 06/16/2005, a). 4 'and 12' sections I and III of 004, 07/28/2004 and 09/07/2007); of Industrial Property (DOF that delegates powers to the Directors

This official letter is signed with an advanced electronic signature (FIEL), based on articles 7 BIS 2 of the Industrial Property Law; 3 of its Regulations, and 1 section III, 2 section V, 26 BIS and 26 TER of the Agreement establishing the guidelines for the use of the Payment Portal and

Electronic Services (PASE) of the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property, in the procedures indicated.

THE DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OF PATENTS

<img file="MX352437B_D0005.tif" />

NAHANNY CANAL REYES

Original string:

NAHANNY MARISOL CANAL REYES | 00001000000403252793 | Administration Service

Tax | 1695 || MX / 2017/96625 | MX / a / 2013/006825 | PCT patent title | 1220 | RRGO | Page (s) | u / + 2CM5s6kbNPPGacFgQLWbeDAs =

Digital label liVJfQJQnH0AB2rRTouPDGgnL2D0PpCsuYSNTN1fUVWVROVIST0V7IBhHt0qpa5IY3bMokLY25mHM3LaYkadg4Xflqy KAulmWyYmZWAG09PjFX2mevMwS1tUt2rtneVqFEctigvOpL7FNHq6rzvbGEvFBY2quuE7vnVQ2Wx + P6pgXOTOamxvY JyaOBkBvnhQ9VqqYwi + t5nCbKE6sccSfBRrsFJfoahH6iTEjXZBctXUMX1QZ43D + 494Q9FOs1AmOIHBZXyqUie43Wn tyGjWHPpTa5kfLtZ / 7cXYNfuCYyqwlD8YqTvnVm2oZFvbgWdLSZminbbli3DFdhZ706D7NIQ ==

Arenal No 550, Piso 1 Pueblo Santa Mana Tepepan, Xochimilco 16020. Ciudad de Lfexico í 55153340700 www gob mx / impi ni ·

MX / 2017/96625

90l3 / é &amp; ^

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TARGETING SOCIAL ADVERTISING

IMPI

INSTITUTO MEXICA / ÍO Di LA INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY A AMIGOS D

<img file="MX352437B_D0007.tif" />

USERS WHO HAVE INTERACTED WITH AN OBJECT

ASSOCIATED WITH ADVERTISING

BACKGROUND

This invention generally pertains to social network, and more specifically to combining social network system content and advertisements in a social network environment.

Social media, or social assets that track and enable connections between members (including people, businesses, and other entities), have become prevalent in recent years. In particular, social networking systems allow members to communicate information more efficiently. For example, a member may post contact information, background information, job information, hobbies, and / or other member-specific data to a location associated with the member on a social networking system. Other members can then review the published data by browsing member profiles or searching for profiles including specific data. Social network systems also allow members to associate with each other with other members, thereby creating a network of connections between members of the social network system. These connections between members can be exploited by the social network system to offer more relevant information to each member in view of their own revealed interests.

Z DWTTUTO MEXICANO Jsl

OI LA FROHEDAD k. tUHJÍTlUAl.

Of the members.

Social networking systems typically incorporate a system for connecting members to content that is most likely to be relevant to each member. For example, members can be grouped according to one or more common attributes in their profiles, such as geographic location, employer, type of job, age, musical preferences, interests, or other attributes. Members of the social network system or extreme parties can then use these groups to tailor or focus the delivery of information so that information that may be of particular interest to a group can be communicated to that group.

Advertisers have attempted to make use of this information regarding members by targeting their ads to members whose interests are best aligned with the ads. For example, a social media system may present banner ads for a concert to members that include an affinity for the band that is featured on their social media system profile and lives near a concert site where the band may be. presenting. However, these attempts are no different than the ad targeting that exists in many other contexts. Advertisers have not yet been able to exploit the relationships and connections between members of a social networking system in a meaningful way to increase user engagement with an advertised product or ad.

<img file="MX352437B_D0008.tif" />

IMPI nrrmvro MEXICANO MlAHUaPIEDAD INDUSTRIAL

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the invention provide social advertisements to a viewing user, wherein a social advertisement comprises advertising content and a social story related to the advertising content. The social story can describe an action of another user connected to the viewing user who has interacted with a social network object associated with an ad. For example, if a viewer user is connected to another user in a social networking system who has confirmed to attend an event, the social announcement sent to the viewer user may comprise an announcement for the event and a statement that the other user is planning to attend. to the event. In this way, social ads improve the effectiveness of the ad by making use of the social interaction information stored within the social network system. For example, the viewing user is more likely to notice or take interest in advertisements where friends of the viewing user are represented. A viewer user may also be more likely to interact with an ad that is associated with their friends' interests or interactions. In that way, the social network system can provide a more interactive social network experience by providing social advertisements that are likely to be relevant to a viewing user and / or social advertisements that a viewing user is likely to interact with. Additionally, advertisers can achieve greater

<img file="MX352437B_D0009.tif" />

target audience when reaching friends of aHBHMÚWHtffca ^ with an object associated with an advertisement within the social network system.

In one embodiment, a social network system generates a social advertisement to present to a viewing user when the viewing user requests content (eg, a web page) with which an advertisement is to be served. Social ads are selected from ads provided by one or more advertisers, where each of the advertisers has a relationship between their advertising content and one or more social network objects. The ad can include metadata that specifies this relationship to one or more objects, or the social network system can discover the relationship between the ad and the objects (e.g. a fan page, an event, a game, etc.) based on in destination or landing URL in the ad or some other signal associated with the ad.

To generate a social ad for a particular viewing user, the social network system maintains an index for each of at least some of the users with which the viewing user is connected, where each index identifies a number of social network objects with which that user is connected. A user can connect to a social network object in various ways, such as joining a group, attending an event, registering at a location, or becoming a fan of a page. By using indexes, the social network system identifies a group of candidate ads that are associated with at least one social network object

MEXICAN INSTITUTE

DELA INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY candidates in an index. In this way, each of the identified advertisements is associated with a social network object to which at least one of the viewed user's friends is connected, providing a possible social story to be included with the advertisement. The social networking system selects a candidate ad, combines it with a social story to create a social ad, and sends the social ad to present itself to the viewing user.

The social network system can select which social ad to present to a viewing user using various criteria. For example, the social networking system may provide a social ad to a viewing user based on a possibility that the viewing user will click on the ad or on an expected income associated with it. The social network system can also apply targeting criteria provided by the advertiser, which can specify which social network objects to use when identifying candidate ads. The social network system may also enforce applicable privacy policies in the social network system, for example, to prevent sending a social ad that communicates an action on a user whose privacy policies reject such communication. The social ad may also be selected by a particular viewing user based at least in part on the relationship between the viewing user and the user interacting within the social network system.

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INDIVIDUAL MEXICAN i)! THE PROPERTY

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS ^¹^

<img file="MX352437B_D0012.tif" />

csss

Figure 1 is a diagram of a system for providing a social advertisement to a user of a social network system, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

Figures 2a and 2b are network diagrams of a system for providing consumer advertisements to users of a social network system, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

Figure 3a is a flow chart of a method for identifying objects associated with advertisements, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

Figure 3b is a flow chart of a method for providing a social advertisement to a viewing user of a social network system, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

The figures illustrate various embodiments of the present invention for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following discussion that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods used herein can be employed without departing from the principles of the invention described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

General view

A social networking system offers its users the ability to ⁷ I prevent communicating and interacting with other users of the users join the network system: oii jj ^ x.xnimi rnc needle rr connections to a number of other users with whom they wish to be connected. In addition to interactions with other users, the social networking system provides users with the ability to take action on various types of articles supported by the system.

Figure 1 illustrates a system for providing social advertisements to users of a social network system, according to one embodiment of the invention. Figure 1 illustrates a viewer user 110, the user's friends 120, social network objects 130, candidate ads 140, an ad selection processor 175, an ad generation processor 180, and social ads 190.

In one embodiment, the social network system provides a social advertisement 190 to a viewer user 110 of the social network system wherein the social advertisement includes an advertisement and one or more social stories. A social story includes interaction information between one or more friends 120 of the viewing user and a social network object 130. A social network object 130 can represent a variety of things, including, without limitation, other users of the social network system (represented, for example, as a profile object for the user), applications (for example, games that can be play within the social network system), events (for example, a concert that users can attend), groups (to which users belong), page or

<img file="MX352437B_D0013.tif" />

hubs (for example, pages that constitute the presence of a particular organization in the system), locations associated with a user (for example, "Santa Clara, California, USA), and concepts or other terms (for example" Running "). A user can interact with social network objects by associating with an object or acting on an object. For example, a user can interact with objects 130 by joining a group, attending an event, registering at a location, becoming a fan of a web page object, clicking on an object, and so on.

In one embodiment, a social story included in a social ad includes information about the interaction of the viewing user's friends with a social network object that is related to an ad. For example, if a friend of the user interacts with an object by becoming a fan of the object related to an ad, the social ad may comprise the ad and a message mentioning that the friend of the user recently became a fan of the object. In another example, if multiple friends of the user become fans of the object related to an ad, the social ad might comprise the ad and a message that mentions the number of other friends of the user who have become fans of the object.

Following advertisements that are related to social network objects, in one embodiment, the social network system identifies candidate ads 140 for whom there is a potential social story associated with the friends of the viewing user. By

<img file="MX352437B_D0014.tif" />

Candidates 140 associated with an object are connected to at least one of the viewing user's friends 120, who provides a possible social story to be included with the advertisement.

In one embodiment, the ad selection processor 175 selects a candidate ad 140 based on the relationship between the viewer user 110 and the friend 120, the expected value to be generated upon presenting the ad, the ad targeting criteria provided by the advertiser. , the privacy criteria provided by viewer user 110 and friend 120, or any combination thereof. In one embodiment, the ad generation processor 180 generates social ads 190 to present to a viewer user 110, wherein the social ad comprises an ad and one or more social stories.

System Architecture

Figure 2A is a high-level block diagram illustrating a suitable system environment for the operation of a social network system 100. The system environment comprises one or more client devices 210, one or more third-party websites. 140, a social network system 100, and a network 220. In alternative configurations, different and / or additional modules may be included in the system.

Client devices 210 comprise one or more

<img file="MX352437B_D0015.tif" />

¹⁰ IMPJ INSTITUTO MEXICANO computing devices that can receive entRS &lt;$ g £ ju $ ^ can transmit and receive data through {gj ^^ JgO ^ P ^ ej ^ mgJI ^ client devices 210 can be desktop computers, laptop computers , tablet computers (pads), smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), or any other type of device including computing functionality and data communication capabilities. Client devices 220 are configured to communicate over network 220, which may comprise any combination of local area and / or wide area networks, using both wired and wireless communication systems. As described above, third party website 240 and action terminal 150 are coupled to network 220 to communicate messages to social network system 100 about user actions outside of system 100.

The social network system 100 comprises a computer system that allows users to communicate or otherwise interact with each other and access content as described herein. In one embodiment, the social network system 100 stores member profiles that describe the users of a social network, including biographical, demographic, and other types of descriptive information, such as work experience, educational history, hobbies, or preferences, location. , and the like.

Figure 2b is an illustrative block diagram of a social network system 100. The social network system 100 includes an „IMPI ^^

Ί Ί institutoMEXICANO s ^ sessSáSJR

OF THE PROPERTY i ”jMf. INDUSTBJAL web server 250, a data logger 260, a user profile store 205, a group store 210, an event store 215, a data application store 220, a transaction store 225, and a data store. content 230. In other embodiments, the social network system 100 may include additional, fewer, or different modules for various applications.

The web server 250 links the social network system 100 via the network 220 to one or more client devices 210, as well as to one or more third party web sites 240. The web server 250 may include a mail server or other messaging functionality for receiving and directing messages between the social network system 100 and client devices 210 or third-party websites 240. The messages can be instant messages, formed messages (for example, email), text messages and SMS, or any other suitable messaging technique.

The data logger 260 is capable of receiving communications from the website 250 about member actions on and / or outside the social network system 100. The data logger 260 populates the interaction data store 178 with information about these actions and member communications associated with one or more social network objects.

The social network system 100 maintains data on a number of different types of objects with which a member in the system 100 can interact. Up to this point, each of the ¹² ¡ΙΜΡΙ ^^ ηβίττυτο Mexican user profile storage 205, ¿i alma «ewBH1 ^ eiThr-rfe. R.

group 210, event storage 215, p | n-ii JT application data 220, and transaction storage 225 store data structures to handle the data for each instance of the corresponding type of object maintained by system 100. The data structures comprise information fields that are suitable for the corresponding type of object. (For example, data store 215 contains data structures that include the time and location for an event, while member profile store 205 contains data structures with fields suitable for describing a member's profile). When a new object of a particular type is created, the system 100 starts a new data structure of the corresponding type, assigns a unique object identifier to it, and begins adding data to the object as needed. This can occur, for example, when a member defines a new event, where the system 100 would generate a new instance of an event in event storage 215, assign a unique identifier to the event, and start filling the event fields with information provided by the member.

In one embodiment, the social network system identifies candidate ads 140 that can be presented to a viewing user 110 in a social ad, wherein the candidate ad 140 is associated with an object 130 with which the friend 120 of a viewing user has interacted. . A viewer user 110 is a₁₃ IMPI member of the social network system. In a nutshell, the social network system generates social advertisements when a viewing user 110 requests content (eg, a web page) with which an advertisement is to be served. Viewer user's friends 120 are other users of the social network system who have established a connection with viewer user 110 within the social network system. Therefore, as used herein, the term "friend" refers to any user with whom a user has formed a connection, association, or relationship through the social networking system. Connections can be explicitly added by a user, for example, the user who selects another particular user to be a friend, or created automatically by the social network system based on common user characteristics (for example, users who are students of same educational institution). Connections in social network systems are usually in both directions, but they don't need to be, so the terms "user" and "friend" depend on the reference box. For example, if Bob and Joe are both users and connected to each other within the social networking system, Bob and Joe, both users, are also mutual friends. The connection between users can be a direct connection; however, some modalities of the social network system allow the connection to be indirect through one or more levels of connections. Also, the term friend need not require that the users actually be friends in real life, (which would generally be the case when one of the users is a

<img file="MX352437B_D0016.tif" />

IMPI

MEXICAN INSTITUTE

OF THE PROPERTY _t INDUSTRIAL business or other entity); it simply implies a connection in the social network system.

Users of the social network system that include friends 120 of the viewer user 110 may interact with one or more objects 130 within the social network system. As described in greater detail above, objects 130 within the social network system represent a variety of things within the social network system. In one embodiment, friends 120 of user 110 interact with objects 130 within the social network system. For example, a friend 120 can interact with a calendar object by adding an event to a calendar. In another example, a user, including a friend 120, can interact with an application object within the social network system by playing a video game associated with the application object. Associations within the social networking system can include a variety of things, including, without limitation, joining a group, attending an event, registering at a location, or becoming a fan of a page. In one embodiment, the association between the viewing user's friend 120 and an object 130 can be used as a social story in a social advertisement, as described in more detail below.

An object 130 can be related to an advertisement. In one embodiment, an advertiser may specify the relationship between an advertisement and a social network object 130. For example, an advertiser may indicate that an advertisement for a product, NIKE shoes would be

<img file="MX352437B_D0017.tif" />

related to a page object

<img file="MX352437B_D0018.tif" />

NIKE fan page or a faFi'SFieos page about running.

In another embodiment, an advertiser can indicate that an ad is related to certain keyword tags. In such an embodiment, the social network system searches for objects within the social network system and matches an advertisement to an object based on a matching keyword tag or algorithm. In another embodiment, the social network system discovers the relationship between an ad and an object without requiring the ad to specify it. For example, the social media system can determine from a destination URL associated with the ad whether the ad promotes a fan page on the social media system or a platform application (such as a game) within the social media system. social network. The social media system can also determine a concept associated with the ad based on the content of the ad. For example, if the ad promotes golf tools, the social media system may automatically associate the ad with the "golf" object in the social media system. This allows the system to present a social story, such as: "Friends A, B, and C like golf."

Since a social ad 190 includes a social story about an action of the user's friend with respect to an object 130, the social network system identifies candidate ads 140 for which a potential story exists. For example, a social ad 190 can be selected from ads provided by one or more advertisers,

IMPI * Mexican INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY

<img file="MX352437B_D0019.tif" />

wherein each of the aium¿ins esnanifies a relationship between its advertising content and one or more social network objects 130. In addition, the social network system identifies 140 candidate ads associated with a social network object to which it is connected at least one of the viewer's friends 120, who provides a possible social story to be

Include with the ad. In one embodiment, the social network system identifies friends 120 of viewing user 110. As illustrated in Figure 1 for example, a viewing user 110 may have friends 120a, 120b, and 120c. In one embodiment, the social network system maintains an index for each of at least some of the users with which the viewer user is connected, where each index identifies a number of social network objects with which that user is connected. . As illustrated in Figure 1, object 130a can be indexed to friend 120a if friend 120a is associated with object 130a. As described above, a user of a social network system can associate with a social network object by observing the object or by acting on the object to become a fan of the object, by linking the object to a fan page, by playing a game associated with an application object, etc.

In one embodiment, the social network system identifies a group of candidate ads that are associated with at least one social network object 130 in an index. For example, as illustrated in Figure 1, advertisements 140a, 140b, and 140c can be identified as

IMPI 'DiSHTUTO MEXICANO L DB LA PROPIEDAD fc, INDUSTRIAL

<img file="MX352437B_D0020.tif" />

Candidate ads because those with 130 objects associated with friends you advertise are related

120 viewer user.

As described above, the ad can be associated with objects as provided by an advertiser. For example, a manufacturer of running shoes may provide an advertisement to be featured on a "Runners Corner" web page object that is associated with a fan page called "Runner's Corner." In one embodiment, the social network system indexes each advertisement 140 associated with the indexed object 130.

In one embodiment, the ad selection processor 175 selects which ad 140 to present to a viewer user 110 as a social ad 190. For example, in response to a viewer user requesting a web page or an object associated with the network system social, ad selection processor 175 selects ad 140 to serve viewer user 110. In one embodiment, the ad selection processor 175 ranks the ads 140 according to their expected value. The expected value equals the probability of the viewing user clicking on the ad and the price for each ad as applied to click through pricing models. The ad selection processor 175 may also select an ad 140 to be presented as a social ad to the user based on whether the user satisfies the ad targeting criteria provided by the advertiser. For example, an advertiser may provide targeting criteria where social ads based on the¹⁸ ιμρι ^ μ announcement 140 must be submitted to men. ceWr ^ ad selection processor 175 does not advertise 140 if viewer user 110 is female. In another embodiment, the ad selection processor 175 takes into account the privacy criteria of the user where they interact. For example, if the interacting user indicates that their interaction activity should not be presented to other users, the ad selection processor 175 does not select the ad 140 as a basis for a social ad to present to the user. Thus, the ad selection processor 175 only selects the ad 140 for display as a social ad if the viewing user meets the privacy criteria of the interacting user.

In one embodiment, the ad generation processor 180 generates a social ad 190 based on an ad message associated with the ad 140 and the friend interaction information 120 of the viewer user 110 with an object associated with the ad 140. In In one embodiment, the advertisement generation processor 180 retrieves advertisement messages associated with the advertisement 140 selected by the advertisement selection processor 175. An ad message can include text, images, or videos provided by an advertiser. Additionally, the ad generation processor 180 may retrieve social interaction information from the interaction data store 178.

As described in greater detail above, a system of

-_w B> r / 1III .TI- w ~ • -—- T'.IT. · Fji »>

IMPI tNsmvro Mtxic / .No GIVE INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY social network can store information on social interaction between users and objects of the social network system. For example, if a user interacts with a web page object by posting a message associated with the web page object, the posting interaction for a message may be stored in interaction data storage 178. For each object associated with the ad 140 selected by the ad selection processor 175, the ad generation processor retrieves interaction information between the friend 120 of the viewing user and the object that the friend 120 has interacted with and is associated with. ad. In the example provided above, the ad generation processor 180 may retrieve the message posted by the friend 120 of the viewer user, or it may retrieve that friend of the viewer user who posted a message. In such a case, the ad generation processor 180 generates a social environment 190 that includes the ad message and the social interaction information retrieved from the interaction data store 178. In addition, the generated social ad 190 may include additional information stored in the social network system, such as the name and an image of the viewing user's friend 120, the number of friends 120 of the viewing user who have interacted with the object associated with the viewer. Selected ad 140. The generated social advertisements 190 may be presented to a viewing user as banner advertisements on a web page hosted by the social networking system, such as an interactive pop-up advertisement, such as

<img file="MX352437B_D0021.tif" />

user news viewer, or in association with one associated with the social network system running on a computing device.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the social network system identifies viewer users 110 to receive a social advertisement. In this modality, the social network system accesses a database of the ads, where each ad is associated with targeting criteria that specify the targeting of the ad to a user who is connected in a social network system to another. user who has interacted with an object 130 with the social network system. For example, a viewer user that satisfies the targeting criteria can be identified by the social network system. The identification of a viewer user 110 based on the targeting criteria is described in more detail below.

In one embodiment, the social network system identifies one or more friends 120 of the viewing user in the social network system. In order to identify candidate ads 140, the social network system 20 identifies objects associated with friends 120, where the objects are related to ads. Furthermore, the social network system identifies one or more candidate ads from the ad database where the candidate ad is related to an object associated with the friends of the viewing user. As described in the specification below, the

<img file="MX352437B_D0022.tif" />

ad selection selects a candidate ad based on revenue metrics. The ad generation processor 185 generates a social story based on interaction information between the friend 120 of the viewing user and an object in the social network system. In one embodiment, the social network system sends the ad and the social story to be presented to the viewing user.

Proportion of Ads Generated by User

Figure 3a is a flow chart of a method for identifying objects associated with social advertisements, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. The social network system receives 310 advertisements to present to users of the social network system. In one embodiment, ads can specify a relationship between their advertising content and one or more social network objects. For example, if an advertiser wants an ad served on a web page object, the ad can specify such a relationship. In one embodiment, the social network system selects 320 advertisements that specify a relationship to the social network objects.

In one embodiment, the social network system generates 330 one or more indexes for each user of the social network system. An index identifies a number of social network objects to which that user is connected. For example, if a user has interacted with or is connected to a social network object, the social network system can generate 330 an index that can include information about the user, the object, and the type of interaction.

Figure 3b is a provide an advertisement flow chart

<img file="MX352437B_D0023.tif" />

social to a

<img file="MX352437B_D0024.tif" />

social network system, according to one embodiment of the invention. In one embodiment, the social network system identifies 350 a viewing user to present a social advertisement. For example, the user can identify himself 350 as a viewer user when the user requests content such as a web page with which an advertisement is to be served. In one embodiment, to generate and present social advertisements to the viewer user, the social network system identifies 360 candidate advertisements that are associated with at least one social network object associated with a friend of a viewer user. For example, the social network system may identify friends 120 of the viewing user and retrieve one or more indexes that identify objects with which the friends have interacted. The index can be used by the social network system to identify 360 candidate ads that are related to at least one social network object in an index.

In one embodiment, the social network system selects 370 a candidate advertisement to be used as a part of the social advertisement. The social networking system can use any number of the posting criteria to select 370 a candidate ad, including but not limited to the possibility that a user will click on a social ad based on the candidate ad, the expected revenue associated with it , the ad targeting criteria that identify the ad's target viewers, and ²³ IMPI 65 ^^

MEXICAN INSTTTUTE

DB THE PROPERTY any of the applicable privacy policies bW ^^ e pireflen prevent the social network system from publishing¹'duJullUV 9UUI9' 011 'user whose privacy policy refuses to publish such information. In one embodiment, to select a candidate advertisement, the social network system ranks the candidate advertisements based on the number of interactions by the friends 120 of the viewing user with the object associated with each of the candidate advertisements. The social networking system selects 370 the candidate ad for use based on the ranking. In another embodiment, the social network system may select all candidate ads to generate a social ad, where the social network system applies the above posting criteria to determine which social ads to present to the user.

In one embodiment, the social networking system generates 380 social ads comprising a candidate ad and a social story. A social story includes interaction information between a friend 120 of the user and an object related to the candidate advertisement. As described in more detail above, the social story can include a message such as "Ten of your friends are interested in NIKE shoes," where the object can be a NIKE fan page and the candidate ad content can be shoes. NIKE. In one embodiment, the social network system generates 380 a social service by combining the candidate ad with a social story.

In one embodiment, the social network system provides 390 social advertisements to the viewing user.

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IMPI

Mexican DtSITrvro DBMFROHHM »

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390 can be provided to the user basáfTWeS'é éh * é'l type 36 content requested by the viewing user. For example, the social ad can be provided in an ad space on a web page if the viewing user has requested a web page with which an ad is to be served. Similarly, the social ad can be provided 390 as a banner ad, a news pack story, a pop-up ad, etc., based on the type of content requested by the viewing user and the network and presentation capabilities of the device on the web. which request is made.

Recapitulation

The foregoing description of the embodiments of the invention has been presented for the purpose of illustration; and it is not intended to be exhaustive or limit the invention to the precise forms described. Those skilled in the relevant art may appreciate that many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above description.

Portions of this description describe embodiments of the invention in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on information. These descriptions and algorithmic representations are commonly used by those skilled in the data processing art to convey the substance of their work effectively to others skilled in the art. These operations, although described

IMPIOS functionally, computationally, or logically, implemented by computer programs or equivalent electrical circuits, micro-code, or the like. Furthermore, it has proven convenient at times to refer to these operating arrangements as modules, without loss of generality. The operations described and their associated modules can be represented in software, firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof.

Any of the steps, operations, or procedures described herein can be performed or implemented with one or more hardware or software modules, alone or in combination with other devices. In one embodiment, a software module is implemented with a computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium containing computer program code, which can be executed by a computer processor to perform any or all of the steps, operations, or procedures described.

The embodiments of the invention may also refer to an apparatus for performing the operations herein. This apparatus may be specially constructed for the purposes required, and / or may comprise a general purpose computing device selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. Such computer program can be stored on tangible computer-readable storage medium or any type of suitable medium.

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to store electron instructions! common driver of computer system. Furthermore, any of the computing systems referred to in this specification may include a single processor or may be architectures employing multiple processor designs for increased computing capacity.

The embodiments of the invention also relate to a computer data signal represented on a carrier wave, wherein the computer data signal includes any embodiment of a computer program product or other data combination described herein. The computer data signal is a product that is presented on a tangible medium or carrier wave and is modulated or otherwise encoded on the carrier wave, which is tangible, and transmitted according to any suitable transmission method.

Finally, the language used in the specification has been primarily selected for readability and instructional purposes, and may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject. The scope of the invention is therefore intended to be limited not only by this detailed description, but by any of the claims that are issued in an application based thereon. Accordingly, the description of the embodiments of the invention is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the invention, which is set forth in the following claims.