Patent Publication Number: US-2019190873-A1

Title: Continued influenced threads

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The present invention relates generally to a method and system for continued influenced threads with regard to social media accounts. 
     When adding information onto a social media thread or source (e.g., a collaboration thread in a community), users may gather information from other threads or sources. Often, the interplay of these sources and the association between threads is significant, in view of the behavior of the users. There is need, then, for being cognizant of the relationships between threads and sources going forward. 
     There exist some technologies relating to facilitating social media accounts. However, there remains a need in the art for methods and systems for continued influenced threads. The present invention satisfies that need. 
     SUMMARY 
     The invention provided herein has a number of embodiments useful, for example, in implementing a system and method for continued influenced threads, and more specifically, for augmenting a thread on a channel based on affinity. 
     The system and method monitor other threads on different channels, which may include analyzing content being discussed in the threads. 
     The system and method identify an affinity with one of the other threads, which may comprise establishing an association between the threads based on the analyzed content. 
     The association may be established between the threads by determining whether the analyzed content is shared between the threads. 
     The association may be established between the threads depending on a frequency of the analyzed content being shared between the threads. 
     The association may be established between the threads by calculating quotients corresponding to the analyzed content shared between the threads, and combining the quotients to determine the affinity. This calculation may include assigning weights to the quotients and establishing the association between the threads based on the assigned weights. 
     The system and method modify the thread based on the identified affinity, which may comprise copying at least a portion of the other threads. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Referring now to the drawings in which like reference numbers represent corresponding parts throughout: 
         FIG. 1  is a pictorial representation of a system for implementing continued influenced threads, according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating how the continued influenced threads are implemented, according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram illustrating a use case for continued influenced threads, according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart illustrating the steps performed by the system implementing the continued influenced threads, according to one embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration one or more specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural and functional changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     Overview 
     The present invention comprises a computer-implemented method and system for augmenting collaboration and social media threads based on thread affinity. The system monitors the collaboration and social media threads on different channels, and based on their affinity, it can establish associations between those threads that can be used for augmenting either thread, thereby realizing continued influenced threads. 
     In one embodiment, the system monitors collaboration and social media threads and analyzes the content being discussed. This includes the context, tone and sentiment of the responses from those involved in the threads. 
     The system calculates quotients corresponding to each of the elements analyzed in the threads (e.g., topic, context, sentiment, frequency of posts, number of people involved, etc.). The combination of these quotients determines an affinity factor that can then be compared across multiple threads and channels. The system can assign different weights to each of those quotients, so that, when certain criteria is reached, a connection or association can be established between those threads. 
     In another embodiment, the system determines user behavior by analyzing whether any content from one thread is used on another thread. Depending on the frequency of content referenced or copied from one thread to another, the system creates a secondary type of association (for example, a permanent reference) that shows up on the involved threads. 
     In another embodiment, the system uses “breadcrumbs” style content source tracing. Any snippet reused on another thread (e.g., a small piece or brief extract of a thread is copied verbatim, or re-typed and modified, onto another thread) is traced to its original source thread. 
     One aspect of the present invention includes the analysis and identification of isolated threads and, based on individual and group behavior between two threads, associating the isolated threads based on individual and group behavior affinity. Another aspect of the present invention also includes determining affinity of isolated threads based on common elements. In addition, an aspect of the present invention includes snippet source tracing. 
     The advantages of the present invention include surfacing to the users of one thread, relevant and ongoing communications on a different thread. 
     Hardware and Software Environment 
       FIG. 1  is a pictorial representation of a system  100  for implementing continued influenced threads, according to one embodiment. 
     The system  100  includes a network  102 , which is the medium used to provide communications links between various devices and computers connected together within the system  100 . In the depicted example, the network  102  may be the Internet or another network. 
     A server computer  104  is connected to the network  102 , along with one or more collaboration or social media web sites  106 . In addition, client devices  108 ,  110 ,  112  are connected to the server computer  104  and social media web sites  106  via the network  102 . These client devices  108 ,  110 ,  112  may be, for example, desktop computers  108 , laptop or notebook computers  110 , smartphones  112  and other devices. 
     The server computer  104 , web sites  106 , and client devices  108 ,  110 ,  112 , are typically comprised of one or more processors, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), and other components such data storage devices and data communications devices. Moreover, the server computer  104 , web sites  106 , and client devices  108 ,  110 ,  112 , execute one or more computer programs operating under the control of an operating system. These computer programs perform various functions and steps as described in more detail below. 
     In this system  100 , the server  104  monitors the behavior of one or more users interacting with the web sites  106  using their client devices  108 ,  110 ,  112 , and notices if a significant group of users sources content, sentiment or opinion in another communication channel or source, e.g., when looking at a Facebook™ thread, the user accesses a WhatsApp™ thread to find some information. If it is determined that a significant number of users do that, then that source may be defined as a significant source. That behavior, in turn, may be used to augment the original Facebook™ thread to additionally show the relevant WhatsApp™ information going forward. 
     For example, consider a scenario where a virtual reality (VR) thread in Linkedln™ is being viewed by Peter. Peter decides he wants to find out what his colleague Joe thinks about VR, and accesses a related WhatsApp™ chat, and then uses information from that related WhatsApp™ chat to base a comment in the original VR thread in Linkedln™. The system  100  monitors the specific WhatsApp™ chat for comments by Joe, and then those comments going forward may optionally be overlayed onto the Linkedln™ thread. Optionally, that information can be made visible to others, e.g., viewable by close network contacts. 
     The advantage of such a system  100  is surfacing the relevant and ongoing flow of communication. Currently, a user needs to copy/paste content through multiple web site  106  threads and there is no automated flow control. Another advantage of such a system  100  is, over time, understanding the influence of a source to a group in a particular collaboration, and using that learned information to optimize that collaboration. 
     Continued Influenced Threads 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating how the continued influenced threads are implemented by the system  100 , according to one embodiment. In this embodiment, the continued influenced threads are implemented using:
         an agent  200  is executed on the user&#39;s devices  108 ,  110 ,  112  to track the user&#39;s activities, behaviors, reactions, etc., on the web sites  106 ; and   a plurality of modules  202 - 212  are executed on the server  104  that communicate with the agent  200  installed on the user&#39;s devices  108 ,  110 ,  112  to analyze the user&#39;s activities, behaviors, reactions, etc., on the web sites  106  as tracked by the agent  200 .       

     In alternative embodiments, however, these functions may be wholly performed on the server  104  or client devices  108 ,  110 ,  112 . 
     To analyze the user&#39;s activities, behaviors, reactions, etc., on the web sites  106  as tracked by the agent  200 , the server  104  implements the following modules and functionality. 
     A Social Media Monitor module  202  monitors and analyzes threads on different web site  106  channels. It identifies threads and the content being discussed, including the context, tone and sentiment of the responses from those involved in the threads. The Social Media Monitor module  202  calculates a quotient corresponding to each of the elements analyzed in the threads (e.g., topic, context, sentiment, frequency of posts, number of people involved, etc.). The combination of these quotients determines an affinity factor. Different weights may be assigned to each of those quotients. These weights can be driven by different factors depending on the element being analyzed, for example, activity level, intensity of sentiments, number of followers, etc. 
     A Source Tracing module  204  creates a unique Tracing ID associating a snippet (and all the other information analyzed in Social Media Monitor module  202 ) and the web site  106  channel source. Every time the user copies a snippet from a thread, that snippet carries a Tracing ID with it. If the user changes that snippet, the Tracing ID persists as long as certain quotients remain unchanged (for example, “topic”). In this way, any snippet reused on another thread (e.g., copied verbatim, or re-typed and modified) can be traced to its original source thread. 
     A User Monitor module  206  analyzes user participation in web site  106  channels. It analyzes the type of web site  106  and threads the user participates in and the type of participation. Further, it analyzes if the user is leveraging or reusing information from one thread into another (from interaction with the Source Tracing module  204 ). This module  206  is also a learning module that understands user behavior, which is needed later on by a Recommendations module  212 . 
     A Thread Comparison module  208  compares the quotients and affinity factors between the user&#39;s active threads against any other threads on any other web site  106  channel the user is subscribed to. 
     Based on data provided by the other modules, a Post Association module  210  determines what other posts or threads can be associated with the user&#39;s active posts. 
     A Recommendations module  212  recommends to the user a specific action corresponding to the active thread based on previous user behavior. Some recommendation examples could include adding a reference to the other thread, or pre-selecting a snippet from another thread to be inserted in the current thread. 
     Use Case 
     The system  100  can be enabled for any collaboration or social media web site  106  that takes input from a client device  108 ,  110 ,  112  of a registered user. The system  100  uses a monitoring method to capture steps and behaviors when the user is creating, editing and/or updating threads on the client device  108 ,  110 ,  112 . The system  100  captures the source of content that is used in the thread. So, if the user is updating a Linkedln™ thread and copying content from a WhatsApp™ or Facebook™ group chats or threads, then the system  100  maps the sources for future exchange. The system  100  also augments the threads. 
     Consider the following use case illustrated in  FIG. 3 . A user starts a new thread  300  on their smartphone  112  for one of the web sites  106 A, wherein the thread  300  includes both user and group content. As part of the research in compiling the thread  300 , the user takes input from other web sites  106 B,  106 C of one or more social media applications. The server  104  monitors the interaction between the user&#39;s smartphone  112  and the thread  300  during the compilation and content gathering process. If the user triggers a certain threshold of data gathering from a given source, then the server  104  tags that as a source of valuable content, and therefore, as a source for an augmented thread  302 . As the thread  300  continues, the valued sources of content will be mapped to the augmented thread  302 . 
     A data structure created and stored on the server  104  for the thread  300  that shows the linkage between sources is provided below: 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
               
             
               
                   
               
               
                   
                 % Related 
                 % Related 
                   
               
               
                   
                 to Original 
                 to Original 
                   
               
               
                 Source ID 
                 Thread (User) 
                 Thread (Group) 
                 Recommendations 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 Thread X on Web 
                 14% 
                 68% 
                 Show 
               
               
                 Site 106A 
               
               
                 Thread Y on Web 
                 49% 
                 44% 
                 Show 
               
               
                 Site 106B 
               
               
                 Thread Z on Web 
                 32% 
                 8% 
                 Prevent 
               
               
                 Site 106C 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     The “Source ID” identifies the threads on the web sites  106 , the “% Related to Original Thread (User)” indicates the percentage of content in the threads on the web sites  106  that is related to the user&#39;s contributions to the thread  300 , the “% Related to Original Thread (Group)” indicates the percentage of content in the threads on the web sites  106  that is related to other members of the group contributions to the thread  300 , and “Recommendations” indicate whether the augmented thread  302  should be visualized (Shown) or not (Prevent). 
     The system  100  ascertains how related the two sources are (e.g., using client  112  side monitoring by the agent  200  to ascertain if a user takes content from the other sources). How related two sources are may be based on:
         The frequency members of the group access the other source and revert back.   The timing of the interaction (e.g., is the cumulative time spent significant enough to denote the relationship).   The importance of the author or involved users in the situation.       

     Based on these considerations, a decision is made by the server  104  whether to visualize (“Show”) the content of the augmented thread  302  for the user and/or the group, or not (“Prevent”). That visualization can be configured by the user. 
     Flowchart 
       FIG. 4  is a flowchart illustrating the steps performed by the system  100  when implementing the computer-implemented method of this invention, according to one embodiment. Specifically, these steps comprise the system  100  augmenting a thread on a channel based on affinity, in order to realize continued influenced threads. 
     Block  400  represents the system  100  monitoring other threads on different channels. This may include analyzing content being discussed in the threads. 
     Block  402  represents the system  100  identifying an affinity with one of the other threads. This may include establishing an association between the threads based on the analyzed content. The association may be established between the threads by determining whether the analyzed content is shared between the threads. For example, the association may be established between the threads depending on a frequency of the analyzed content being shared between the threads. In another example, the association may be established between the threads by calculating quotients corresponding to the analyzed content shared between the threads, and combining the quotients to determine the affinity. This may include assigning weights to the quotients and establishing the association between the threads based on the assigned weights. 
     Block  404  represents the system  100  modifying the thread based on the identified affinity, in order to realize continued influenced threads. This may include copying at least a portion of the other threads. 
     Computer Program Product 
     The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computer program product at any possible technical detail level of integration. The computer program product may include a computer readable storage medium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention. 
     The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that can retain and store instructions for use by an instruction execution device. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of the computer readable storage medium includes the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such as punch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructions recorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. A computer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construed as being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagating through a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulses passing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmitted through a wire. 
     Computer readable program instructions described herein can be downloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computer readable storage medium or to an external computer or external storage device via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprise copper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in each computing/processing device receives computer readable program instructions from the network and forwards the computer readable program instructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium within the respective computing/processing device. 
     Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations of the present invention may be assembler instructions, instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, configuration data for integrated circuitry, or either source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++, or the like, and procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages. The computer readable program instructions may execute entirely on the user&#39;s computer, partly on the user&#39;s computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user&#39;s computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user&#39;s computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readable program instructions by utilizing state information of the computer readable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention. 
     Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer readable program instructions. 
     These computer readable program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can direct a computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the computer readable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises an article of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects of the function/act specified in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other device to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computer implemented process, such that the instructions which execute on the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement the functions/acts specified in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     The flowchart illustrations and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowchart illustrations or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions. 
     CONCLUSION 
     This concludes the description of the various embodiments of the present invention. The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain the principles of the embodiments, the practical application or technical improvement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein. Since many embodiments of the invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, the invention resides in the claims hereinafter appended.