System for online interaction with content
Systems and methods relating to an online system for allowing interactions between online users. The system continuously tracks each user's interactions with different types and categories of content as well as with other users. Based partially on each user's tracked interactions, a probability based model of preferences, interests, and needs is created for each user. The probability based model is then used to predict a user's compatibility with other users and to recommend content. Based on predicted compatibilities, communities and groups of users are recommended to each user. To account for changing user profiles, each user's profile is periodically assessed against the profiles of other users for compatibility. Similarities in interests, preferences, and needs between users, as well as peer rankings, are taken into account when assessing compatibility between users and user groups and communities.
1 . A system for providing online content to users, the system comprising:
a document database containing a plurality of documents, said plurality of documents being accessible by said users, and each document of said plurality of documents being tagged with at least one topic to which said document relates, wherein said plurality of documents comprises at least some of said online content;
processing circuitry and at least one memory unit, the at least one memory unit storing computer-executable instructions, the processing circuitry configured to:
manage said plurality of documents in said document database;
recommend at least some of said plurality of documents in said document database to at least one of said users;
manage user profiles for said users;
automatically assess said user profiles, in real-time, to determine compatible users or groups of compatible users;
automatically recommend, in real-time, said compatible users or groups of compatible users to each other; and
facilitate interactions via a private social network between individual ones of said compatible users, between said individual ones of said compatible users with said groups of said compatible users, and between individual users and said online content,
wherein
said compatible users or groups of said compatible users are determined based on direct comparison of counters in said user profiles;
each of said counters relates to a topic and each of said counters in each user's user profile is incremented as said each user interacts with content related to said topic, said processing circuitry being further configured to set a flag on said specific one of said user profiles responsive to one of said counters being incremented;
a compatibility score for a first specific user and a second specific user is determined by:
automatically comparing a subset of first counters in a first profile of said first specific user with a subset of second counters in a second profile of said second specific user in real-time, wherein said subset of first counters comprises counters with highest count values in said first profile and said subset of second counters comprises counters with highest count values in said second profile, such that said subset of first counters indicates topics of greatest interest to said first specific user and said subset of second counters indicates topics of greatest interest to said second specific user;
automatically determining a number of topics in common between said subset of first counters and said subset of second counters in real-time;
automatically, in real-time, determining a compatibility score based on said number of topics in common; and
said first specific user is determined to be compatible with said second specific user when said compatibility score meets a predetermined threshold; and
an amount of an increment for said counter in respect of a specific interaction of said specific user with said content is based on a quality of said specific interaction of said user with said content, said quality being determined based on at least one of: a duration of said specific interaction and a completeness of said specific interaction.
2 . The system according to claim 1 , wherein said processing circuitry determines compatibility of said first specific user and said second specific user based at least partially on rankings by other users.
3 . The system according to claim 1 , wherein said processing circuitry determines compatibility of said first specific user and said second specific user based at least partially on user interests as indicated in said user profiles.
4 . The system according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of said user profiles includes data relating to a medical condition of one of said users associated with said at least one of said user profiles.
5 . The system according to claim 1 , wherein said processing circuitry is further configured to detect a presence of said flag on said specific user's profile;
responsive to detecting said flag, reassess said compatibility score for said specific user and at least one other user.
6 . The system according to claim 5 , wherein said processing circuitry is further configured to reassess said compatibility score at predetermined intervals.
7 . The system according to claim 1 , wherein said system gathers information directly from said users regarding user activities.
8 . The system according to claim 7 , wherein said user activities include at least one of: duration of visits to pages in said system, pages visited, resources used, user-indicated likes, user-entered comments, user participation in at least one program accessed through said system, user-entered bookmarks, user-created content, user-shared content, and user-generated direct messages to other users.
9 . The system according to claim 1 , wherein data regarding said first specific user is gathered by said system using a user interface, and wherein said data relates to said first specific user's health and well-being.
10 . The system according to claim 9 , wherein said user interface includes a visual cue regarding a subject of said data being gathered from said first specific user.
11 . The system according to claim 1 , wherein said counter ages based on a recency of said user interactions with said content.
12 . The system according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of said first counters is also incremented when said first specific user designates another user as a friend, said at least one of said first counters relating to a topic of common interest between said first specific user and said another user.
13 . The system according to claim 12 , wherein said at least one of first counters is incremented upon the designation of said another user as a friend only when said topic of common interest is a topic of highest interest for both said first specific user and said another user.
14 . A system for use in interacting with content and other users, the system comprising:
a document database containing a plurality of documents, each document of said plurality of documents being tagged with at least one topic, said plurality of documents comprising at least some of said content;
processing circuitry and at least one memory unit, the at least one memory unit storing computer-executable instructions, the processing circuitry configured to:
manage user profiles for said users;
automatically, in real-time, assess said user profiles to determine compatible users or groups of compatible users;
automatically, in real-time, recommend said compatible users or groups of compatible users to each other; and
automatically, in real-time, track user interactions with said content,
wherein
each specific user of said users of said system is associated with a specific one of said user profiles;
interactions of a specific user with said content cause at least one change to said specific one of said user profiles, said processing circuitry being further configured to set a flag on said specific one of said user profiles when said at least one change is made;
said specific one of said user profiles details said user's interest in a topic by way of a counter, said counter relating to said topic and said counter being incremented as said specific user interacts with content related to said topic;
a compatibility score for a first specific user and a second specific user is determined by:
automatically, in real-time, comparing a subset of first counters in a first profile of said first specific user with a subset of second counters in a second profile of said second specific user, wherein said subset of first counters comprises counters with highest count values in said first profile and said subset of second counters comprises counters with highest count values in said second profile, such that said subset of first counters indicates topics of greatest interest to said first specific user and said subset of second counters indicates topics of greatest interest to said second specific user;
automatically, in real-time, determining a number of topics in common between said subset of first counters and said subset of second counters;
automatically, in real-time, determining a compatibility score based on said number of topics in common;
said first specific user is determined to be compatible with said second specific user when said compatibility score meets a predetermined threshold; and
an amount of an increment for said counter in respect of a specific interaction of said specific user with said content is based on a quality of said specific interaction of said user with said content, said quality being determined based on at least one of: a duration of said specific interaction and a completeness of said specific interaction.
15 . The system according to claim 14 , wherein said counter ages based on a recency of said user interactions with said content.
16 . The system according to claim 14 , wherein said processing circuitry is further configured to detect a presence of said flag on said specific user's profile; and responsive to detecting said flag, reassess said compatibility score for said specific user and at least one other user.
17 . The system according to claim 16 , wherein said processing circuitry is further configured to reassess said compatibility score at predetermined intervals.
18 . A health and wellness-themed system for providing online content to users based on the users' health conditions, the health-and-wellness-themed system comprising:
a document database containing a plurality of documents, said documents being accessible by said users, each document of said plurality of documents being tagged with at least one topic to which said document relates, said online content comprising at least said plurality of documents;
processing circuitry and at least one memory unit, the at least one memory unit storing computer-executable instructions, the processing circuitry configured to:
manage user profiles for said users;
automatically, in real-time, assess said user profiles to determine compatible users or groups of compatible users;
automatically, in real-time, recommend said compatible users or groups of compatible users to each other; and
automatically, in real-time, track user interactions with said content,
wherein said processing circuitry is further configured to:
automatically, in real-time, periodically assesses each user profile against all other user profiles;
automatically, in real-time, set a flag for the user's profile when the user makes a change to their user profile;
automatically, in real-time, detect a presence of said flag on said user's profile; and
responsive to detecting said flag, assess said user's profile against other user profiles, wherein said assessing comprises determining similarities between users to determine if specific users are compatible with other specific users,
and wherein:
said user profile for each individual user includes data related to: said individual user's health conditions, any maladies of said individual user, any symptoms entered by said individual user, any medications taken by said individual user and dosage and frequency data for said medications, and
each of said user profiles is configured to contain a number of counters, each of said counters being associated with a specific topic and each of said counters tracking said one of said users' interactions with content tagged for its associated specific topic, wherein a count for any specific topic is aged based on a recency of said interactions,
at least one of said documents is recommended to a specific user based on:
filtering said documents using a predefined whitelist to thereby obtain a subset of filtered documents;
extracting keywords from said filtered documents and performing sentiment analysis on said filtered documents to thereby output a content vector for each of said filtered documents;
classifying content vectors using classifiers trained for each topic, wherein each of said classifiers corresponds to an aspect of interest for the content;
labeling each of said filtered documents based on outcomes of the classifying, such that at least one of said filtered documents is labeled as an approved candidate for publishing; and
ranking the at least one approved candidate for publishing using a topic model for said at least one topic to which said at least one of said filtered documents relates and wherein said ranking uses said specific user's interests.
19 . The health-and-wellness-themed system according to claim 18 , wherein said processing circuitry is further configured to detect a presence of said flag on said specific user's profile; and responsive to detecting said flag, reassess said compatibility score for said specific user and at least one other user.
20 . The health-and-wellness-themed system according to claim 19 , wherein said processing circuitry is further configured to reassess said compatibility score at predetermined intervals.