Patent ID: 8984076
Filing Date: 2015-03-17
Classification: G06F,G06Q,H04L

Abstract:
1. A method comprising: providing a first user connected to a system with access to a social graph, wherein the first user is allied with a first set of nodes of the social graph specified by the first user and the social graph comprises: providing in the social graph a first type of node, referred to as a user-provided node, and a first type of edge, referred to as a user-provided edge, wherein user-provided edges include information provided by users of the system; and providing in the social graph a second type of node, referred to as a system-provided node, and a second type of edge, referred to as a system-provided edge, wherein system-provided nodes and system-provided edges include information gathered by the system; maintaining the social graph comprising: allowing system-provided nodes to be coupled to other system-provided nodes by system-provided edges; allowing user-provided nodes to be coupled to system-provided nodes by user-provided edges; disallowing user-provided nodes from being coupled to other user-provided nodes or to system-provided nodes using system-provided edges; and disallowing system-provided nodes from being coupled to other system-provided nodes using user-provided edges; representing the first user as a first user-provided node in the social graph; representing the first set of nodes in the social graph as a first set of user-provided nodes; coupling the first user-provided node with the first set of user-provided nodes by user-provided edges; allowing the first user to enter a request to the system, wherein the request comprises identifying a first system-provided node of the social graph; determining using the system that a first relationship of a second user-provided node of the first set of user-provided nodes satisfies the request, wherein the second user-provided node represents a second user and the first relationship comprises a path with at least one system-provided node and at least one system-provided edge in the social graph; determining a first user-provided edge couples the second user-provided node with the first system-provided node and the first user is disallowed from viewing the first user-provided edge coupling the second user-provided node with the first system-provided node; and indicating to the second user they are able to satisfy the request, without indicating to the first user that the second user is able to satisfy the request.