Tracking Changes to User Content in an Online Social Network
In one embodiment, a method includes receiving, at a social-networking system, a query for content that has been changed, added to, or updated on the social-networking system by a first user of the social-networking system, wherein the query is received from a third-party system that is separate from and external to the social-networking system; determining, by the social-networking system, whether content associated with the first user has been changed, added to, or updated on the social-networking system; and sending information to the third-party system responsive to the query.
1 . A method comprising, by a computing device:
receiving, at a social-networking system, a query for content that has been changed, added to, or updated on the social-networking system by a first user of the social-networking system, wherein the query is received from a third-party system that is separate from and external to the social-networking system;
determining, by the social-networking system, whether content associated with the first user has been changed, added to, or updated on the social-networking system; and
sending information to the third-party system responsive to the query.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the query comprises a user ID and password associated with the first user.
3 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising:
authorizing the third-party system to query for content associated with the first user based on the user ID and password.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the query comprises a request to access a web page associated with the first user.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the query further identifies one or more types of content.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the query is sent from the third-party system in response to second user accessing a web page of the third-party system associated with the first user.
7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
accessing a tracking preferences indicating one or more types of content to track;
wherein determining whether content associated with the first user has been changed, added to, or updated on the social-networking system is based at least in part on whether the content changed, added to, or updated on the social-networking system substantially matches the tracking preferences.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the information comprises the content that has been changed, added to, or updated on the social-networking system.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the information comprises a description of the content that has been changed, added to, or updated on the social-networking system.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the information comprises a reference to the content that has been changed, added to, or updated on the social-networking system.
11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the information comprises an activatable link to a notification web site.
12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the information comprises an activatable link to a web page associated with the first user.
13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the information is a syndicated feed.
14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the information is in a web feed format.
15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the web feed format is really simple syndication (RSS).
16 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the content comprises one or more of a user profile, a digital photo, a video, a blog post, text, a testimonial by other users, or identification of users who are friends of the first user.
17 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
notifying one or more second users of the third-party system that content associated with the first user of the social-networking system has been changed, added to, or updated on the third-party system.
18 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
accessing a graph data structure comprising a plurality of nodes and connections between the nodes, each of one or more of the nodes being associated with one of a plurality of users of the social-networking system, each connection between two nodes representing a relationship between them and establishing a single degree of separation between them.
19 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising:
notifying one or more second users of the third-party system that content associated with the first user of the social-networking system has been changed, added to, or updated on the third-party system, wherein each second user if a first-degree connection of the first user within the graph data structure.
20 . A system comprising: one or more processors; and a memory coupled to the processors comprising instructions executable by the processors, the processors operable when executing the instructions to:
receive, at a social-networking system, a query for content that has been changed, added to, or updated on the social-networking system by a first user of the social-networking system, wherein the query is received from a third-party system that is separate from and external to the social-networking system;
determine, by the social-networking system, whether content associated with the first user has been changed, added to, or updated on the social-networking system; and
send information to the third-party system responsive to the query.