# US 9,519,938 B2 · Mining of user event data to identify users with common interests > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 9,519,938 B2 - Document ID: US9519938B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 14/849,472 - Filed: 2015-09-09 - Published: 2015-12-31 - Granted: 2016-12-13 - Earliest claimed: 2005-03-30 - Assignees: Amazon Technologies, Inc. - Applicants: Amazon Technologies, Inc. - Inventors: Joel R. Spiegel - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9519938B2 ## CPC - G06Q 30/02: Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising - G06F 16/24: Querying - G06F 16/24578: {using ranking} - G06F 16/2465: {Query processing support for facilitating data mining operations in structured databases} - G06F 16/248: Presentation of query results - G06F 16/285: {Clustering or classification} - G06Q 10/42: Determination of affinities or common interests between users - G06Q 30/08: Auctions - H04L 12/1813: {for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms (instant messaging H04L51/04; protocols for multimedia communication H04L65/1101; arrangements for multi-party communication H04L65/403; telephonic conference arrangements H04M3/56; television conference systems H04N7/15)} - H04L 51/52: for supporting social networking services - H04L 67/306: User profiles - 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 - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) - H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M) ## Abstract A computer-implemented matching service matches users to other users, and/or to user communities, based at least in part on a computer analysis of event data reflective of user behaviors. The event data may, for example, evidence user affinities for particular items represented in an electronic catalog, such as book titles, music titles, movie titles, and/or other types of items that tend to reflect the traits of users. Event data reflective of other types of user actions, such as item-detail-page viewing events, browse node visits, search query submissions, and/or web browsing patterns may additionally or alternatively be considered. By taking such event data into consideration, the matching service reduces the burden on users to explicitly supply personal profile information, and reduces poor results caused by exaggerations and other inaccuracies in such profile information. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A computer-implemented method comprising: storing, in computer storage, event data representing user-generated events that reflect user affinities for particular items, wherein the user-generated events comprise user actions that can be monitored by a computing device; programmatically generating a score that reflects a degree to which item affinities of a first user of a plurality of users are similar to item affinities of a second user of said plurality of users, said score taking into consideration a first plurality of user-generated events by the first user reflecting a set of item affinities of the first user, a second plurality of user-generated events by the second user reflecting a set of item affinities of the second user, and a type of one or more of the items identified in common between the first and second users, wherein generating the score further comprises accessing item similarity data to determine whether an item in the set of item affinities of the first user is similar to an item in the set of item affinities of the second user; and based at least in part on the score, programmatically determining whether to recommend the second user to the first user. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the user-generated events exclude entry of data into a profile. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2, wherein said score further takes into consideration profile data. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the score reflects a degree to which an item in the set of item affinities of the first user is related to an item in the set of item affinities of the second user. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 further comprising, in response to a determination that the second user is to be recommended to the first user, electronically providing to the first user an image of the second user. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 further comprising, in response to a determination that the second user is to be recommended to the first user, electronically providing to the first user information sufficient for the first user to contact the second user. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 further comprising electronically providing to the first user information about item affinities of the second user. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein generating the score comprises: identifying items of a first type in common between the set of item affinities of the first and second users; identifying items of a second, different type in common between the set of item affinities of the first and second users; and weighting each of the identified common items as a function of the respective type of the identified common item. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein said score further takes into consideration at least one additional type of event data reflective of user affinities for items, wherein generating the score further comprises accessing item similarity data to determine whether an item of the first user is similar to an item of the second user. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one additional type of event data includes data descriptive of at least one of the following events: (a) an addition of an item to an electronic shopping cart, (b) an addition of an item to an electronic rental queue, (c) a selection of an item for viewing, (d) a submission of a rating of an item, (e) a selection of an item category in a browse structure, or (f) a submission of a search query to search the electronic catalog. ### Claim 11 A system comprising: memory for storing event data representing user-generated events that reflect user affinities for particular items, wherein the user-generated events comprise user actions that can be monitored by a computing device; and at least one computing device including a processor in communication with the memory, the at least one computing device operative to: programmatically generating a score that reflects a degree to which item affinities of a first user of a plurality of users are similar to item affinities of a second user of said plurality of users, said score taking into consideration a first plurality of user-generated events by the first user reflecting a set of item affinities of the first user, a second plurality of user-generated events by the second user reflecting a set of item affinities of the second user, and a type of one or more of the items identified in common between the first and second users, wherein generating the score further comprises accessing item similarity data to determine whether an item in the set of item affinities of the first user is similar to an item in the set of item affinities of the second user; and based at least in part on the score, programmatically determining whether to recommend the second user to the first user. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The system of claim 11, wherein the user-generated events exclude entry of data into a profile. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The system of claim 12, wherein said score further takes into consideration profile data. ### Claim 14 (depends on 11) The system of claim 11, wherein the score reflects a degree to which an item in the set of item affinities of the first user is related to an item in the set of item affinities of the second user. ### Claim 15 (depends on 11) The system of claim 11, wherein the at least one computing device is further operative to, in response to a determination that the second user is to be recommended to the first user, electronically provide to the first user an image of the second user. ### Claim 16 (depends on 11) The system of claim 11, wherein the at least one computing device is further operative to, in response to a determination that the second user is to be recommended to the first user, electronically provide to the first user information sufficient for the first user to contact the second user. ### Claim 17 (depends on 11) The system of claim 11, wherein the at least one computing device is further operative to electronically provide to the first user information about item affinities of the second user. ### Claim 18 (depends on 11) The system of claim 11, wherein generating the score comprises: identifying items of a first type in common between the set of item affinities of the first and second users; identifying items of a second, different type in common between the set of item affinities of the first and second users; and weighting each of the identified common items as a function of the respective type of the identified common item. ### Claim 19 (depends on 11) The system of claim 11, wherein said score further takes into consideration at least one additional type of event data reflective of user affinities for items, wherein generating the score further comprises accessing item similarity data to determine whether an item of the first user is similar to an item of the second user. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The system of claim 19, wherein the at least one additional type of event data includes data descriptive of at least one of the following events: (a) an addition of an item to an electronic shopping cart, (b) an addition of an item to an electronic rental queue, (c) a selection of an item for viewing, (d) a submission of a rating of an item, (e) a selection of an item category in a browse structure, or (f) a submission of a search query to search the electronic catalog.