Device-driven social network

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by a computing device of a social-networking system, information from a network-enabled device associated with a physical location, the network-enabled device being associated with a first user of the social-networking system, wherein the information indicates that an image of an item has been captured by one or more sensors of the network-enabled device when the item had a physical presence proximate to the physical location of the network-enabled device;

identifying, by the computing device of the social-networking system, the item based on a comparison of the image of the item with an image of each of a plurality of candidate items;

identifying, by the computing device of the social-networking system, one or more second users of the social-networking system based on an association of the identified item with one or more of the second users; and

providing, by the computing device of the social-networking system, information about the identified item to one or more of the second users.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the images of each of the plurality of candidate items are stored in a database of the social-networking system.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the images of each of the plurality of candidate items comprise images uploaded by users of the social-networking system and tagged as having been captured in association with an item of the same type as the identified item.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the information received from the network-enabled device comprises a message that was transmitted by the item to the network-enabled device, and wherein the identifying the item further comprises:

extracting item identification (ID) information from the message, wherein the item ID information comprises a manufacturer ID and a product ID for the identified item; and

retrieving, from a third-party system, using the item ID information, profile information about the identified item.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the information received from the network-enabled device comprises a message that was transmitted by the item to the network-enabled device, and wherein the identifying the item further comprises:

comparing information in the message to profile information for candidate items to determine a match, wherein the profile information for the candidate items is stored in a database of the social-networking system.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the profile information for candidate items comprises information uploaded by users of the social-networking system and tagged as having been captured in association with an item of the same type as the identified item.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the providing information about the identified item to the second users of the social-networking system comprises sending a notification regarding a status of the identified item to the second users of the social-networking system.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the identifying of the second users:

identifying a target group of users of the social-networking system, wherein each user in the target group is identified based on profile information of the user, location-based information for the user, an affinity of the user for the identified item, or an authorization level of the user.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the identifying of the second users further comprises:

evaluating each user in the target group of users based on privacy settings for the identified item.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first user has a social-graph connection with at least one of the second users.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the network-enabled device being associated with the first user comprises the network-enabled device authenticating the first user.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the network-enabled device being associated with the first user comprises the first user being an owner of the network-enabled device.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the network-enabled device is associated with the first user through a secure authentication process.

14. One or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media embodying software that is operable when executed to:

receive information from a network-enabled device associated with a physical location, the network-enabled device being associated with a first user of the social-networking system, wherein the information indicates that an image of an item has been captured by one or more sensors of the network-enabled device when the item had a physical presence proximate to the physical location of the network-enabled device;

identify the item based on a comparison of the image of the item with an image of each of a plurality of candidate items;

identify one or more second users of the social-networking system based on an association of the identified item with one or more of the second users; and

provide information about the identified item to one or more of the second users.

15. The media of claim 14 ,

wherein the images of each of the plurality of candidate items are stored in a database of the social-networking system.

16. The media of claim 15 , wherein the images of each of the plurality of candidate items comprise images uploaded by users of the social-networking system and tagged as having been captured in association with an item of the same type as the identified item.

17. The media of claim 14 , wherein the information received from the network-enabled device comprises a message that was transmitted by the item to the network-enabled device, and wherein identifying the item further comprises:

extracting item identification (ID) information from the message, wherein the item ID information comprises a manufacturer ID and a product ID for the identified item; and

retrieving, from a third-party system, using the item ID information, profile information about the identified item.

18. The media of claim 14 , wherein the information received from the network-enabled device comprises a message that was transmitted by the item to the network-enabled device, and wherein identifying the item further comprises:

comparing information in the message to profile information for candidate items to determine a match, wherein the profile information for the candidate items is stored in a database of the social-networking system.

19. The media of claim 18 , wherein the profile information for candidate items comprises information uploaded by users of the social-networking system and tagged as having been captured in association with an item of the same type as the identified item.

20. The media of claim 14 , wherein the software is further operable to send a notification regarding a status of the identified item to the second users of the social-networking system.

21. The media of claim 14 , wherein the software is further operable to:

identify a target group of users of the social-networking system, wherein each user in the target group is identified based on profile information of the user, location-based information for the user, an affinity of the user for the identified item, or an authorization level of the user.

22. The media of claim 21 , wherein the software is further operable to:

evaluate each user in the target group of users based on privacy settings for the identified item.

23. The media of claim 14 , wherein the first user has a social-graph connection with at least one of the second users.

24. The media of claim 14 , wherein the network-enabled device being associated with the first user comprises the network-enabled device authenticating the first user.

25. The media of claim 14 , wherein the network-enabled device being associated with the first user comprises the first user being an owner of the network-enabled device.

26. The media of claim 14 , wherein the network-enabled device is associated with the first user through a secure authentication process.

27. A system comprising:

one or more processors; and

a memory coupled to the processors comprising instructions executable by the processors, the processors being operable when executing the instructions to:

receive information from a network-enabled device associated with a physical location, the network-enabled device being associated with a first user of the social-networking system, wherein the information indicates that an image of an item has been captured by one or more sensors of the network-enabled device when the item had a physical presence proximate to the physical location of the network-enabled device;

identify the item based on a comparison of the image of the item with an image of each of a plurality of candidate items;

identify, by the computing device of the social-networking system, one or more second users of the social-networking system based on an association of the identified item with one or more of the second users; and

provide information about the identified item to one or more of the second users.

28. The system of claim 27 , wherein the images of each of the plurality of candidate items are stored in a database of the social-networking system.

29. The system of claim 28 , wherein the images of each of the plurality of candidate items comprise images uploaded by users of the social-networking system and tagged as having been captured in association with an item of the same type as the identified item.

30. The system of claim 27 , wherein the information received from the network-enabled device comprises a message that was transmitted by the item to the network-enabled device, and wherein the processors are further operable to:

extract item identification (ID) information from the message, wherein the item ID information comprises a manufacturer ID and a product ID for the identified item; and

retrieve, from a third-party system, using the item ID information, profile information about the identified item.

31. The system of claim 27 , wherein the information received from the network-enabled device comprises a message that was transmitted by the item to the network-enabled device, and wherein the processors are further operable to:

compare information in the message to profile information for candidate items to determine a match, wherein the profile information for the candidate items is stored in a database of the social-networking system.

32. The system of claim 31 , wherein the profile information for candidate items comprises information uploaded by users of the social-networking system and tagged as having been captured in association with an item of the same type as the identified item.

33. The system of claim 27 , wherein the processors are further operable to send a notification regarding a status of the identified item to the second users of the social-networking system.

34. The system of claim 27 , wherein the processors are further operable to:

identify a target group of users of the social-networking system, wherein each user in the target group is identified based on profile information of the user, location-based information for the user, an affinity of the user for the identified item, or an authorization level of the user.

35. The system of claim 34 , wherein the processors are further operable to:

evaluate each user in the target group of users based on privacy settings for the identified item.

36. The system of claim 27 , wherein the first user has a social-graph connection with at least one of the second users.

37. The system of claim 27 , wherein the network-enabled device being associated with the first user comprises the network-enabled device authenticating the first user.

38. The system of claim 27 , wherein the network-enabled device being associated with the first user comprises the first user being an owner of the network-enabled device.

39. The system of claim 27 , wherein the network-enabled device is associated with the first user through a secure authentication process.