Abstract:
A reputation system used in a social networking service provides for recognition for its members in the form of badges that can be displayed on the members&#39; profile pages as a way of indicating a particular status. In various illustrative examples, a “tastemaker” badge may be awarded to a member who plays or recommends to other members (through various recommendation channels such as messages, shared playlists, etc.) particular pieces of media content such as songs or videos in advance of that content becoming popular with the larger community of members in the social network. The tastemaker badge can then be placed on the member&#39;s profile page as a symbol of recognition or achievement that can help to increase that member&#39;s reputation in the social network.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    Web-based social networking has become a popular way for people to meet and interact with people over public networks like the Internet. Typically, social networking is implemented by websites that provide a social networking service. Social networking services are often stand alone or dedicated web-based services although some services are integrated as part of other service offerings. For example, Microsoft Corporation provides the “Zune Social” brand of social networking service in combination with a media content delivery service for its popular Zune® brand of personal media player. 
         [0002]    To use a web-based social networking service, a member may provide information to set up an account with a social networking service. Once a member&#39;s account is configured, users can generate “profiles” of themselves. The profiles typically contain a variety of information about a user (such as location, occupation, hobbies, likes/dislikes, friends/social graph, etc.). 
         [0003]    Social networking services allow members to view other member profiles, join groups with a common subject or theme, add other members to a contact list, and send messages to other members. Some social networking services are reputation-based where members can receive reviews and ratings from other users and/or receive recognition for possessing certain attributes or performing certain actions. For example a social network member might be a “Power Reviewer” by posting a certain number of reviews or comments about particular topics or subjects. Such reputation features can often add additional dimensions of entertainment and interest in the services because they give members more ways to socially interact. Other members like the recognition features which can help to differentiate them from other members or function as trophies or other indicators of status or standing in the social network. 
         [0004]    This Background is provided to introduce a brief context for the Summary and Detailed Description that follow. This Background is not intended to be an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter nor be viewed as limiting the claimed subject matter to implementations that solve any or all of the disadvantages or problems presented above. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0005]    A reputation system used in a social networking service provides for recognition for its members in the form of badges that can be displayed on the members&#39; profile pages as a way of indicating a particular status. In various illustrative examples, a “tastemaker” badge may be awarded to a member who plays or recommends to other members (through various recommendation channels such as messages, shared playlists, etc.) particular pieces of media content such as songs or videos in advance of that content becoming popular with the larger community of members in the social network. The tastemaker badge can then be placed on the member&#39;s profile page as a symbol of recognition or achievement that can help to increase that member&#39;s reputation in the social network. 
         [0006]    The reputation of the member as a tastemaker (i.e., a person who is able to spot or lead trends or otherwise be influential in shaping opinions) may be determined by calculating a “popularity difference” for the particular piece of played or recommended media content over some time period. The system tracks usage of all media content throughout the social network so that the difference between a play count of the particular media content at the time of calculation and the play count at the time the content was first played or recommended by the member can be calculated. Higher magnitudes of popularity differences and/or steeper growth rates in popularity difference can indicate greater ability of the member to identify content that will become popular in the larger social network. Differing levels of tastemaking ability may be reflected in different badges, styles, or attributes. For example, a member with a “5 Star” tastemaker badge indicates greater success at spotting or creating popularity trends compared with a member who has a “3 Star” tastemaker badge. 
         [0007]    This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. 
     
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]      FIG. 1  shows an illustrative usage environment in which a user may listen to audio content and watch video content rendered by an illustrative personal media player; 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  shows a front view of an illustrative personal media player that supports a graphical user interface (“GUI”) on a display screen, as well as user controls; 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  shows the portable media player when docked in a docking station that is operatively coupled to a PC and where the PC is connected to a media content delivery service and a social networking service over a network such as the Internet; 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  shows an illustrative member card which is utilized as part of any member&#39;s profile page that is supported by a social networking service; 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  shows an illustrative table that shows how various award levels for a tastemaker badge may be achieved by a member based on the magnitude and growth rate of popularity difference; and 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  shows a flowchart of an illustrative method that may be used to implement the present reputation award system using a reputation system 
           [0014]      FIG. 7  is a simplified block diagram that shows various functional components of an illustrative example of a personal media player; and 
           [0015]      FIG. 8  is a simplified block diagram that shows various physical components of an illustrative example of a personal media player. 
       
    
    
       [0016]    Like reference numerals indicate like elements in the drawings. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0017]      FIG. 1  shows an illustrative portable device usage environment  100  in which a user  105  interacts with digital media content rendered by a personal media player  110 . In this example, the personal media player  110  is configured with capabilities to play audio content such as MP3 files or content from over-the-air radio stations, display video and photographs, and render other content. The user  105  will typically use earphones  120  to enable audio content, such as music or the audio portion of video content, to be consumed privately (i.e., without the audio content being heard by others) and at volume levels that are satisfactory for the user while maintaining good battery life in the personal media player. Earphones  120  are representative of a class of devices used to render audio content which may also be known as headphones, earbuds, headsets, and by other terms. Earphones  120  generally will be configured with a pair of audio speakers (one for each ear), or less commonly a single speaker, along with a means to place the speakers close to the user&#39;s ears. As shown in  FIG. 2 , the speakers are wired via cables to a plug  201 . The plug  201  interfaces with an audio jack  202  in the personal media player  110 . 
         [0018]      FIG. 2  also shows a GUI  205  that is rendered on a display screen  218 , and user controls  223  that are built in to the personal media player  110 . The GUI  205  uses menus, icons, and the like to enable the user  105  to find, select, and control playback of media content that is available to the player  110 . In addition to supporting the GUI  205 , the display screen  218  is also used to render video content, typically by turning the player  110  to a landscape orientation so that the long axis of the display screen  218  is parallel to the ground. 
         [0019]    The user controls  223 , in this example, include a gesture pad  225 , called a G-Pad, which combines the functionality of a conventional directional pad (i.e., a “D-pad”) with a touch sensitive surface as described in U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 60/987,399, filed Nov. 12, 2007, entitled “User Interface with Physics Engine for Natural Gestural Control,” owned by the assignee of the present application and hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety having the same effect as if set forth in length. A “back” button  230  and a “play/pause” button  236  are also provided. However, other types of user controls may also be used depending on the requirements of a particular implementation. 
         [0020]      FIG. 3  shows the personal media player  110  as typically inserted into a dock  305  for synchronization with a PC  312 . Dock  305  is coupled to an input port  316  such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) port with a synchronization (“sync”) cable  321 , in this example. Other arrangements may also be used to implement communications between the personal media player  110  and PC  312  including, for example, those employing wireless protocols such as Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi (i.e., the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, IEEE 802.11 standards family) that enable connection to a wireless network or access point. The wireless communications capability in the player  110  can also be utilized to implement peer-to-peer connectivity with other players that are similarly equipped. 
         [0021]    The personal media player  110  is arranged to be operatively couplable with the PC  312  using a synchronization process by which data may be exchanged or shared between the devices. The synchronization process implemented between the PC  312  and personal media player  110  typically enables media content such as music, video, images, games, information, and other data to be downloaded from an online source or media content delivery service  315  over a network such as the Internet  318  to the PC  312 . In this way, the PC  312  operates as an intermediary or proxy device between the service  315  and the personal media player  110 . 
         [0022]    The media content provided by the service  315  will typically be organized and presented to the user  105  using a player application  320  that runs on the PC  312 . The player application  320  is arranged to enable the user  105  to browse, select, and download media content from the service  315 , often on a fee basis or as part of a subscription plan. In some cases, advertising supported business models may also be utilized. The downloaded media content can be consumed on the PC  312  or be transferred to the personal media player  110 . Media content may be protected in some instances where its limitations on its use may be enforced by various DRM (digital rights management) systems that interoperate between the PC  312  and the player  110 . 
         [0023]    In this example, a social networking service  325  supplements the media content delivery service  315 . The social networking service  325  can be supported by a common service provider, as shown, but a service  331  may alternatively be provided by a third party (as indicated by the dashed line in  FIG. 3 ). In each case, the social networking service will typically support an online community of members, as indicated by reference numerals  334   1  and  334   2 . 
         [0024]    The user  105  will typically use a web browser  335  running on the PC  312  to interact with the social networking service  325 . The social networking service  325  enables the online community of members  334  to explore, discover, and share media content experiences, typically including music and video. For example, a member may recommend a song to a friend, share a playlist of favorite songs, post messages/reviews/ratings in chat room and forums, and conduct discussions, and the like. The members  334  each have a profile page featuring a member card  405  that is supported by the social networking service  325 , as illustratively shown in  FIG. 4 . 
         [0025]    The member card  405  is automatically updated by the service  325 , in this example, to reflect the music that a member plays either on their personal media player (e.g., player  110 ) or on the player application (e.g., player application  320 ) that runs on a PC. These updates are reflected by a series of tiles  408   1, 2 . . . N  that are arranged in a moveable filmstrip-like arrangement that may be configured to scroll horizontally across the member card  405 , for example. The tiles  408  will typically show a graphical representation, or thumbnail, to represent the music and may include icons, photographs, text, etc. Typically, the tiles  408  are configured as active links to the music content that they represent. 
         [0026]    A member  334  is able to pick a picture  411  to be included in the member card  405 , as well as a nickname, usemame, or “tag” or similar type of identification  413 . The member card  405  can also be customized with a member-supplied background image  414 , or the member  334  can pick from an assortment of service-supplied backgrounds. The member card  405  is also arranged, in this example, to show current status information such as the last song played (as indicated by reference numeral  415 ) and the reputation of the member as reflected by a numerical reputation badge  418 . An assortment of navigation controls, collectively identified by reference  421 , is also provided as shown. 
         [0027]    In some cases, a tile  408  may be used as a badge or other token to indicate a particular status or reputation of a member  334  in the social network. For example a member  334  might receive a badge  410  for being a “power poster” (i.e., a member who posts beyond a certain number of posts on forums hosted by the service  325 ). The badges  410  can use different graphical symbols to denote different types of recognition. 
         [0028]    Another type of badge is a tastemaker badge  425  which may be awarded to social network members  334  who discover new media content which then becomes popular with the rest of the network community. Eligibility for the tastemaker badge  425  is determined, in one illustrative example, by calculating a “popularity difference” for content over a time period: 
         [0000]      popularity difference=(play count) current −(play count) selected    
         [0000]    where 
         [0029]    (play count)  current  is the play count of content at the current calculation time and, 
         [0030]    (play count)  selected  is the play count of content at the time it was selected by a member for playback or for a recommendation to the community. 
         [0031]    Thus, for example, on April 1 a member selects a song to play on the PC  312  or his media player  110  and likes the song enough to recommend it by posting messages in the social network&#39;s chat rooms or forums. At the time it was selected, the song had been played perhaps 100 times by members of the community as a whole so that (play count) current =100. By May 1, a month later, the song has a play count of 1,100 so that (play count) current =1100 giving a popularity difference of 1000. This means the selected song was played an additional 1,000 times by the community of members of the social network during the period of a month. 
         [0032]    Popularity differences will generally be calculated by the reputation system per-piece of media content being played and recommended on a per-member basis. In some cases, the popularity differences will be aggregated on a per-member basis to determine eligibility for the tastemaker badge  425 . For example, if a tastemaker badge requires a popularity difference of 1,000 over a one month period, then if a member  334  selected one song having a popularity difference of 600 and another with 400 in that month, then the eligibility requirements is satisfied. In other cases, eligibility for the tastemaker badge  425  will be based on single piece of media content only. 
         [0033]    It is emphasized that popularity differences do not have to be based only on play count or recommendations. Other indicators of popularity that may be used include, for example, the frequency with which the content is designated as being a member&#39;s “favorite”, or ratings given by member to the content, or by some combination of all these criteria. 
         [0034]    Different popularity difference thresholds may be used to award the different styles of tastemaker badges, or badges that have different attributes. In this example, as shown in  FIG. 5 , it is contemplated that a “star” award system will be utilized where an increased number of stars indicates a more significant or valuable award. That is a “5 Star” tastemaker badge indicates a higher level of reputation for the member  334  who holds it than a “2 Star” badge. Of course, the star award system is intended to be illustrative and any of a wide variety of alternative types of awards and/or attributes may be used as appropriate to meet the needs of a given implementation. 
         [0035]    As shown in the table  505  in  FIG. 5 , award stars  510  are given based on differing threshold levels of calculated popularity differences. The thresholds in this example are chosen arbitrarily and are thus intended to be illustrative. The thresholds are arranged in the table  505  in both vertical and horizontal directions. Thus, greater levels of popularity differences in the vertical direction will result in tastemaker badges having more stars. In this case, if a member&#39;s selected content has a popularity difference of 100 within a three month period, he can get a “1 Star” tastemaker badge as indicated in entry  515  in the table  505 . “2 Star” and “3 Star” tastemaker badges are likewise awarded for popularity differences of 1,000 and 10,000, respectively in a three month period, as indicated by entries  520  and  525 . 
         [0036]    In addition, to the popularity difference thresholds that are indicated in the first column of table  505 , consideration may also be given to other factors. For example, the growth rate in popularity of a given piece of content may also be utilized in determining the number of stars used for the tastemaker badge. The growth rate is reflected by the entries in the third and fourth columns of the table. That is, if the popularity differences are achieved over a shorter time period, this indicates a greater rate of growth. Accordingly, a “2 Star” tastemaker badge will be awarded for a popularity difference of 100 that is achieved over a two month period of time as indicated by entry  530  in table  505 . This logic is repeated for other entries so that moving up and to the right in the table gives progressively more stars. Thus, a “5 star” tastemaker badge can be received by a member  334  who picks a song, for example, that has a popularity difference of 10,000 within a time period of a single month. That means that the member  334  was able to select a song that got popular very quickly as is thus deserving of the highest award possible that confers the highest tastemaking reputation to that member. 
         [0037]      FIG. 6  is a flowchart of an illustrative method that may be used to implement the present reputation award system using a reputation system. The reputation system may be arranged as an operative element of either the media content delivery service  315  or the social networking service  325 , or be distributed as functionalities across multiple services or platforms. The method here is applicable to a music example however it may be also applied to other types of media content including video, photographs, images, etc. 
         [0038]    The reputation system is arranged to track the popularity of content including artists, albums, songs, etc., that is consumed by members of the social network on an overall basis ( 600 ). In one illustrative implementation, the popularity tracking may be performed by assigning a unique song ID (identification) to each piece of media content in the social network as well as assigning a unique ID for each member (i.e., a “source user ID”). These ID pairs can then be tracked so that as music is played from a profile page, from a message inbox when a song is sent via the messaging system, from a playlist, etc., the reputation system can properly award the correct credit to a member for the tastemaker badge as content is played in the network. 
         [0039]    In addition, the system tracks content that is played on a per-member basis ( 605 ). The tracking can extend to both the PC  312  and player  110 , for example. Content that is recommended by the member through various recommendation channels including messaging, playlists and the like, is also tracked ( 610 ). The popularity difference for each piece of content is calculated, as described above, over some time period ( 615 ) which may be a running time period (i.e., the last week, last month, etc.) or fixed period (e.g., week 1, week 2, January, February, etc.) on a per-member basis. 
         [0040]    The calculated popularity differences are then compared against one or more thresholds, such as those shown in table  505  in  FIG. 5  ( 620 ). Tastemaker badges with an appropriate number of stars can then be awarded to eligible members ( 625 ). 
         [0041]      FIG. 7  is a simplified block diagram that shows various illustrative functional components of the personal media player  110 . The functional components include a digital media processing system  702 , a user interface system  708 , a display unit system  713 , a data port system  724 , and a power source system  728 . The digital media processing system  702  further comprises an image rendering subsystem  730 , a video rendering subsystem  735 , and an audio rendering subsystem  738 . The digital media processing system  702  is the central processing system for the personal media player  110  and provides functionality that is similar to that provided by the processing systems found in a variety of electronic devices such as PCs, mobile phones, PDAs, handheld game devices, digital recording and playback systems, and the like. 
         [0042]    Some of the primary functions of the digital media processing system  702  may include receiving media content files downloaded to the player  110 , coordinating storage of such media content files, recalling specific media content files on demand, and rendering the media content files into audio/visual output on the display for the user  105 . Additional features of the digital media processing system  702  may also include searching external resources for media content files, coordinating DRM protocols for protected media content, and interfacing directly with other recording and playback systems. 
         [0043]    As noted above the digital media processing system  702  further comprises three subsystems: the video rendering subsystem  735  which handles all functionality related to video-based media content files, which may include files in MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) and other formats; the audio rendering subsystem  738  which handles all functionality related to audio-based media content including, for example, music in the commonly-utilized MP3 format and other formats; and the image rendering subsystem  730  which handles all functionality related to picture-based media content, including for example JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group), GIF (Graphic Interchange Format), and other formats. While each subsystem is shown as being logically separated, each may in fact share hardware and software components with each other and with the rest of the personal media player  110 , as may be necessary to meet the requirements of a particular implementation. 
         [0044]    Functionally coupled to the digital media processing system  702  is the user interface system  708  through which the user  105  may exercise control over the operation of the personal media player  110 . A display unit system  713  is also functionally coupled to the digital media processing system  702  and may comprise the display screen  218  (FIG  2 ). Audio output through the audio jack  202  ( FIG. 2 ) for playback of rendered media content may also be supported by display unit system  713 . The display unit system  713  may also functionally support and complement the operation of the user interface system  708  by providing visual and/or audio output to the user  105  during operation of the player  110 . 
         [0045]    The data port system  724  is also functionally coupled to the digital media processing system  702  and provides a mechanism by which the personal media player  110  can interface with external systems in order to download media content. The data port system  724  may comprise, for example, a data synchronization connector port, a network connection (which may be wired or wireless), or other means of connectivity. 
         [0046]    The personal media player  110  has a power source system  728  that provides power to the entire device. The power source system  728  in this example is coupled directly to the digital media processing system  702  and indirectly to the other systems and subsystems throughout the player. The power source system  728  may also be directly coupled to any other system or subsystem of the personal media player  110 . Typically, the power source may comprise a battery, a power converter/transformer, or any other conventional type of electricity-providing power source. 
         [0047]      FIG. 8  is a simplified block diagram that shows various illustrative physical components of the personal media player  110  based on the functional components shown in  FIG. 7  and described in the accompanying text (which are represented in  FIG. 8  by dashed lines) including the digital media processing system  702 , the user interface system  708 , the display unit system  713 , the data port system  724 , and the power source system  728 . While each physical component is shown as included in only a single functional component in  FIG. 8 , the physical components may, in fact, be shared by more than one functional component. 
         [0048]    The physical components include a central processor  802  coupled to a memory controller/chipset  806  through, for example, a multi-pin connection  812 . The memory controller/chipset  806  may be, in turn, coupled to random access memory (“RAM”)  815  and/or non-volatile memory  818  such as solid-state or Flash memory. These physical components, through connectivity with the memory controller/chipset  806 , may be collectively coupled to a hard disk drive  821  (or other solid-state memory) via a controller  825 , as well as to the rest of the functional component systems via a system bus  830 . 
         [0049]    In the power supply system  728 , a rechargeable battery  832  may be used to provide power to the components using one or more connections (not shown). The battery  832 , in turn, may also be coupled to an external AC power adapter  833  or receive power via the sync cable  321  when it is coupled to the PC  312  ( FIG. 3 ). 
         [0050]    The display screen  218  is associated with a video graphics controller  834 . The video graphics controller will typically use a mix of software, firmware, and/or hardware, as is known in the art, to implement the GUI on the display screen  218 . Along with the audio jack  202  and its associated audio controller/codec  839 , these components comprise the display unit system  713  and may be directly or indirectly connected to the other physical components via the system bus  830 . 
         [0051]    The user controls  223  are associated with a user control interface  842  in the user interface system  708  that implements the user control functionality that is used to support the interaction with the GUI as described above. A network port  845  and associated network interface  848 , along with the sync port  852  and its associated controller  853  may constitute the physical components of the data port system  724 . These components may also directly or indirectly connect to the other components via the system bus  830 . 
         [0052]    Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims. 
         [0053]    Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.