GENERATING SOCIAL GRAPH USING MARKET DATA
A social graph may be generated using a system and method to: identify a focal user, the focal user associated with a transaction; determine a related user associated with the transaction, the related user having a buyer-seller relationship with the focal user; and present the focal user and the related user using a multi-node graph, the multi-node graph including a first node and a second node representing the focal user and the related user, respectively, and a first connector representing the buyer-seller relationship linking the first and second nodes, the first connector being presented with meta-data describing a characteristic of the buyer-seller relationship. Additional apparatus, systems, and methods are disclosed.
1 . A method comprising:
identifying a focal user, the focal user associated with a transaction;
determining a related user associated with the transaction, the related user having a buyer-seller relationship with the focal user; and
presenting, in a display, the focal user and the related user using a multi-node graph, the multi-node graph including a first node and a second node representing the focal user and the related user, respectively, and a first connector representing the buyer-seller relationship linking the first and second nodes, the first connector being presented with meta-data describing a characteristic of the buyer-seller relationship.
2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
storing information associated with the transaction; and
searching the stored information to find the transaction that the related user is associated with.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the meta-data includes a total monetary value of transactions associated with the buyer-seller relationship, an auction listing associated with the buyer-seller relationship, an item listing associated with the buyer-seller relationship, a date associated with the buyer-seller relationship, a date range associated with the buyer-seller relationship, or transaction data associated with the buyer-seller relationship.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein presenting the focal user further comprises presenting the first connector using a metric based on the buyer-seller relationship.
5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein presenting the first connector further comprises adjusting a characteristic of the first connector to represent a corresponding value of the metric.
6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein adjusting the characteristic of the first connector includes altering a width of the first connector, altering a weight of the first connector, altering a color of the first connector, altering a fill pattern of the first connector, including an arrowhead of the first connector, excluding an arrowhead of the first connector, or altering an arrowhead of the first connector.
7 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the metric includes a number of sales, a number of transactions, a reputation score, a positive rating, or a negative rating.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein presenting the focal user further comprises:
presenting the node representing the focal user using a geometric shape.
9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the geometric shape is selected from the group of shapes comprising a circle, a square, a triangle, an octagon, an oval, and a star.
10 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
presenting the node representing the focal user using a particular geometric shape to correspond with a characteristic of the focal user.
11 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the geometric shape includes a border, the border including a width, color, or pattern used to indicate a characteristic of the node representing the focal user.
12 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the geometric shape includes an interior area, the interior area including a color, an image, or a pattern used to indicate a characteristic of the node representing the focal user.
13 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
arranging the nodes representing the focal user and the related user to indicate a geographical relationship.
14 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
arranging the nodes representing the focal user and the related user to indicate a geographical location.
15 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
presenting an auxiliary graphical element in association with the node representing the focal user.
16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the auxiliary graphical element includes a flag to indicate a nationality of the focal user, a colored star to indicate a feedback rating of the focal user, or a miniature photograph to depict the focal user's identification.
17 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the focal user and the related user are users of an online commerce system.
18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the focal user and the related user are users of an online auction system.
19 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
identifying a secondary related user, the secondary related user being related to the related user; and
presenting the related user and the secondary related user using a multi-node graph, the multi-node graph including the second node and a third node representing the related user and the secondary related user, respectively, and a second connector representing the buyer-seller relationship linking the second and third nodes, the second connector being presented with meta-data describing a characteristic of the buyer-seller relationship represented by the second connector.
20 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining a viewing user, the viewing user being a user viewing the presented multi-node graph;
determining whether the viewing user has a relationship with the focal user; and
presenting the focal user and the viewing user using the multi-node graph when the viewing user and the focal user have a relationship.
21 . The method of claim 20 , wherein the presenting the focal user and the viewing user further comprises:
calculating a degree of separation between the focal user and the viewing user; and
displaying the degree of separation using the multi-node graph.
22 . The method of claim 20 , wherein the presenting the focal user and the viewing user further comprises:
determining a path in the multi-node graph, the path connecting the focal user to the viewing user; and
displaying the path.
23 . A system comprising:
a database server configured to provide a database of transactions to a plurality of users;
a data exporter to access the database of transactions;
a data processor to:
identify a focal user, the focal user associated with a transaction in the database of transactions; and
determine a related user associated with the transaction using the database of transactions, the related user having a buyer-seller relationship with the focal user; and
a data presenter to present the focal user and the related user using a multi-node graph, the multi-node graph including a first node and a second node representing the focal user and the related user, respectively, and a first connector representing the buyer-seller relationship linking the first and second nodes, the first connector being presented with meta-data describing a characteristic of the buyer-seller relationship.
24 . The system of claim 23 , wherein the meta-data includes a total monetary value of transactions associated with the buyer-seller relationship, an auction listing associated with the buyer-seller relationship, an item listing associated with the buyer-seller relationship, a date associated with the buyer-seller relationship, a date range associated with the buyer-seller relationship, or transaction data associated with the buyer-seller relationship.
25 . The system of claim 23 , wherein the data presenter is further configured to present the connector using a metric based on the buyer-seller relationship.
26 . The system of claim 25 , wherein the data presenter is further configured to adjust a characteristic of the connector to represent a corresponding value of the metric.
27 . The system of claim 26 , wherein the data presenter is further configured to adjust the characteristic of the connector by altering a width of the connector, altering a weight of the connector, altering a color of the connector, altering a fill pattern of the connector, including an arrowhead of the connector, excluding an arrowhead of the connector, or altering an arrowhead of the connector.
28 . The system of claim 26 , wherein the metric includes a number of sales, a number of transactions, a reputation score, a positive rating, or a negative rating.
29 . The system of claim 23 , wherein the data presenter is further configured to present the node representing the focal user using a geometric shape.
30 . The system of claim 29 , wherein the geometric shape is selected from the group of shapes comprising a circle, a square, a triangle, an octagon, an oval, and a star.
31 . The system of claim 30 , the data presenter is further configured to present the node representing the focal user using a particular geometric shape to correspond with a characteristic of the focal user.
32 . The system of claim 29 , wherein the geometric shape includes a border, the border including a width, color, or pattern used to indicate a characteristic of the node representing the focal user.
33 . The system of claim 29 , wherein the geometric shape includes an interior area, the interior area including a color, an image, or a pattern used to indicate a characteristic of the node representing the focal user.
34 . The system of claim 23 , the data presenter is further configured to arrange the nodes representing the focal user and the related user to indicate a geographical relationship.
35 . The system of claim 34 , the data presenter is further configured to arrange the nodes representing the focal user and the related user to indicate a geographical location.
36 . The system of claim 34 , the data presenter is further configured to present an auxiliary graphical element in association with the node representing the focal user.
37 . The system of claim 36 , wherein the auxiliary graphical element includes a flag to indicate a nationality of the focal user, a colored star to indicate a feedback rating of the focal user, or a miniature photograph to depict the focal user's identification.
38 . The system of claim 34 , wherein the focal user and the related user are users of an online commerce system.
39 . The system of claim 38 , wherein the focal user and the related user are users of an online auction system.
40 . A computer readable medium including instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to:
identify a focal user, the focal user associated with a transaction;
determine a related user associated with the transaction, the related user having a buyer-seller relationship with the focal user; and
present the focal user and the related user using a multi-node graph, the multi-node graph including a first node and a second node representing the focal user and the related user, respectively, and a first connector representing the buyer-seller relationship linking the first and second nodes, the first connector being presented with meta-data describing a characteristic of the buyer-seller relationship.