# US 11,113,352 B2 · Adjusting system actions, user profiles and content in a social network based upon detected skipped relationships

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- Number: US 11,113,352 B2
- Document ID: US11113352B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/750,490
- Filed: 2020-01-23
- Published: 2020-05-21
- Granted: 2021-09-07
- Earliest claimed: 2015-10-26
- Assignees: International Business Machines Corporation
- Applicants: International Business Machines Corporation
- Inventors: Jonathan F. Brunn; Jeffrey R. Hoy; Marit L. Imsdahl; Asima Silva
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11113352B2

## CPC

- H04W 4/21: for social networking applications
- G06F 16/24575: {using context}
- G06F 16/9535: Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
- G06F 16/9536: Search customisation based on social or collaborative filtering
- G06Q 10/42: Determination of affinities or common interests between users
- G06Q 10/48: using social graphs
- H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72)
- G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N)
- G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR

## Abstract

Adjusting system actions based on an absence of relationship acceptance may include detecting absence of connection acceptance by one or more first users in a computer-implemented social networking system. Patterns of the absence of connection acceptance of the one or more first users may be correlated. Users with common patterns of absence of connection acceptance may be clustered into a cluster of users. Absence of connection acceptance by a second user may be detected. Responsive to determining that a pattern of the absence of connection acceptance associated with the second user matches with the common patterns, a profile associated with the second user may be updated according to a template profile associated with the cluster. System actions of the social networking system may be activated for the second user based on the profile updated according to the template profile.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A computer-implemented method executed automatically by a social network application running on a hardware processor, the method comprising:
detecting absence of connection acceptance by a plurality of users in a computer-implemented social networking system despite repeated recommendations by the social network application to connect;
correlating patterns of the absence of connection acceptance of the plurality of users;
clustering the plurality of users with common patterns of absence of connection acceptance into a cluster of users;
determining a cause of a skipped relationship, the cause of the skipped relationship including a reason as to why at least one of the plurality of users has intentionally skipped accepting a connection request; and
applying the determined cause to a user in the cluster with a confidence value according to cluster membership strength associated with the user in the cluster, the applying including at least updating the cluster of users,
responsive to detecting a new connection, which breaks the determined cause of a skipped relationship, by the user in the cluster, discarding the new connection as an outlier in the patterns based the confidence value.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further including:
detecting absence of connection acceptance by another user, wherein said another user is a different user from the plurality of users;
responsive to determining that a pattern of the absence of connection acceptance associated with said another user matches with the common patterns of the absence of connection acceptance by the plurality of users, updating a profile associated with said another user according to a template profile associated with the cluster, the template profile generated to include a profile common among the plurality of users belonging to the cluster; and
activating a system action of the social networking system for said another user based on the profile updated according to the template profile.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The method of claim 2, wherein the system action includes recommending a connection.

### Claim 4 (depends on 2)

The method of claim 2, wherein the system action includes causing displaying of customized content.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further including modifying a system action of the social networking system based on the cause.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The method of claim 5, wherein the system action includes updating a set of users likely to connect with and a set of users likely to be skipped based on the determined cause.

### Claim 7

A computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a device to cause the device to:
detect absence of connection acceptance by a plurality of users in a computer-implemented social networking system despite repeated recommendations by the social network application to connect;
correlate patterns of the absence of connection acceptance of the plurality of users;
cluster the plurality of users with common patterns of absence of connection acceptance into a cluster of users;
determine a cause of a skipped relationship, the cause of the skipped relationship including a reason as to why at least one of the plurality of users has intentionally skipped accepting a connection request; and
apply the determined cause to a user in the cluster with a confidence value according to cluster membership strength associated with the user in the cluster, the applying including at least updating the cluster of users,
responsive to detecting a new connection, which breaks the determined cause of a skipped relationship, by the user in the cluster, discard the new connection as an outlier in the patterns based the confidence value.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the device is further caused to detect absence of connection acceptance by another user, wherein said another user is a different user from the plurality of users, and
wherein responsive to determining that a pattern of the absence of connection acceptance associated with said another user matches with the common patterns of the absence of connection acceptance by the plurality of users, the device is caused to update a profile associated with said another user according to a template profile associated with the cluster, the template profile generated to include a profile common among the plurality of users belonging to the cluster.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the device is further caused to activate a system action of the social networking system for said another user based on the profile updated according to the template profile.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the system action includes recommending connections.

### Claim 11 (depends on 9)

The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the system action includes causing displaying of customized content.

### Claim 12 (depends on 9)

The computer program product of claim 9, further including modifying a system action of the social networking system based on the cause.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the system action includes updating a set of users likely to connect with and a set of user likely to be skipped based on the determined cause.

### Claim 14

A system for adjusting a system action based on an absence of relationship acceptance, comprising:
a storage device; and
a processor communicatively coupled to the storage device, the processor running a social network application operable to detect absence of connection acceptance by a plurality of users in a computer-implemented social networking system despite repeated recommendations by the social network application to connect,
the processor further operable to correlate patterns of the absence of connection acceptance of the plurality of users,
the processor further operable to cluster the plurality of users with common patterns of absence of connection acceptance into a cluster of users,
the processor further operable to determine a cause of the skipped relationship, the cause of the skipped relationship including a reason as to why at least one of the plurality of users has intentionally skipped accepting a connection request, and
the processor further operable to apply the determined cause to the users in the cluster with a confidence value according to a cluster membership strength associated with the user in the cluster, applying the cause including at least updating the cluster of users,
the processor further operable to, responsive to detecting a new connection, which breaks the determined cause of a skipped relationship, by the user in the cluster, discard the new connection as an outlier in the patterns based the confidence value.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The system of claim 14, wherein the processor is further operable to modify a system action of the social networking system based on the cause.

### Claim 16 (depends on 14)

The system of claim 14,
the processor further operable to detect absence of connection acceptance by another user, wherein said another user is a different user from the plurality of users, and
wherein responsive to determining that a pattern of the absence of connection acceptance associated with said another user matches with the common patterns of the absence of connection acceptance by the plurality of users, the processor is further operable to update a profile associated with said another user according to a template profile associated with the cluster, the template profile generated to include a profile common among the plurality of users belonging to the cluster, and
the processor is further operable to activate a system action of the social networking system for said another user based on the profile updated according to the template profile.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The system of claim 16, wherein the system action includes recommending a connection.

### Claim 18 (depends on 16)

The system of claim 16, wherein the system action includes causing displaying of customized content.

### Claim 19 (depends on 16)

The system of claim 16, wherein the system action includes updating a set of users likely to connect with and a set of user likely to be skipped based on the determined cause.