Method and server for providing a social network service

An apparatus for providing a social network service, the apparatus comprising:

• a setting unit configured to set an access threshold value for a particular content belonging to a content owner and a weight value for one or more communities of which the content owner is a member;
• an activity calculator unit configured to extract a community of which a content requester is a member from among the one or more communities of which the content owner is a member, when a request for the particular content is received from the content requester, and calculate an activity value of the content requester for the extracted community;
• a reputation calculator unit configured to calculate a reputation value for the content requester by using one or more of a number of the extracted communities, a weight value set for the extracted communities, and the calculated activity value;
• and
• an access authorization unit configured to provide the content requester with authorization to access the particular content according to a comparison result between the calculated reputation value and the set access threshold value.

A method for providing a social network service, the method comprising:

• (a) receiving as input a selection for a particular content to be shared within a community;
• (b) displaying an interface for inputting an access threshold value for the particular content and a weight value for a community of which a content owner is a member;
• (c) receiving the access threshold value and the weight value as input via the interface;
• and
• (d) transmitting the inputted access threshold value and the weight value to a service provider server,
• wherein the access threshold value is an indicator of a sharing level of the content owner for the particular content, and the weight value is an indicator representing a degree of importance of the community to the content owner.