ANONYMOUS CONTENT POSTING
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for enabling anonymous posting of content, e.g., over a network (e.g., the internet). In some instances, users may inform a system of various attributes of the user, for example, job title, skills, and/or interests. The system may group similar users together. In some cases, users grouped together can see messages posted by the other users in the group in an anonymous discussion forum. In other cases, users grouped together can have other users in the group presented to them as potential options of users to follow, e.g., as part of an anonymous social media platform. In some implementations, users can identify particular user subsets to view posted content.
1 . A computer-implemented method comprising:
receiving profile information from a plurality of users, the profile information comprising at least one attribute of each user;
providing to a first user options of other users for the first user to follow without revealing the identity of the other users;
receiving a message posting from the first user; and
providing the first user with an option to select a subset of the plurality of users that can view the message posting.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the other users have at least one attribute in common with the first user.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the other users all share a common attribute.
4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the common attribute comprises a job title.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one received attribute comprises a job title.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one received attribute comprises a personal characteristic.
7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the personal characteristic relates to how a user performs their job.
8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the personal characteristic is selected from the group consisting of: a parental status, a political status, a religious status, and an immigrant status.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the subset comprises users that follow the first user.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the subset comprises users that have at least one attribute in common with the first user.
11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the at least one received attribute comprises a first attribute and a second attribute, and wherein the subset comprises users that have both the first attribute and the second attribute in common with the first user.
12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the subset comprises users that have a particular attribute that is different than the first user.
13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the particular attribute comprises a job title.
14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one received attribute comprises a place of employment, and wherein the subset comprises colleagues of the first user.
15 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
displaying the message posting to the subset of the plurality of users selected by the first user, without revealing the identity of the first user.
16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the displaying step further comprises presenting a first avatar associated with the first user.
17 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising:
receiving at least one comment posting from the first user on the message posting;
displaying the at least one comment posting along with the first avatar;
receiving a second message posting from the first user; and
displaying the second message along with a second avatar, such that a user viewing the message posting and the at least one comment posting can determine from the first avatar that they are both posted by the same user, while a user viewing the message posting and the second message posting cannot determine that they are both posted by the same user.
18 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the displaying step further comprises indicating to a user viewing the message posting that the message posting was received from a user that has a particular attribute that is different than the viewing user.
19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the particular attribute comprises a job title.
20 . A system comprising:
one or more data processing apparatus programmed to perform operations comprising:
receiving profile information from a plurality of users, the profile information comprising at least one attribute of each user;
providing to a first user options of other users for the first user to follow without revealing the identity of the other users;
receiving a message posting from the first user; and
providing the first user with an option to select a subset of the plurality of users that can view the message posting.
21 . The system of claim 20 , wherein the other users have at least one attribute in common with the first user.
22 . The system of claim 21 , wherein the other users all share a common attribute.
23 . The system of claim 22 , wherein the common attribute comprises a job title.
24 .- 27 . (canceled)
28 . The system of claim 20 , wherein the subset comprises users that follow the first user.
29 . The system of claim 20 , wherein the subset comprises users that have at least one attribute in common with the first user.
30 . (canceled)
31 . The system of claim 20 , wherein the subset comprises users that have a particular attribute that is different than the first user.
32 . The system of claim 20 , wherein the at least one received attribute comprises a place of employment, and wherein the subset comprises colleagues of the first user.
33 . The system of claim 20 , wherein the operations further comprise:
displaying the message posting to the subset of the plurality of users selected by the first user, without revealing the identity of the first user.
34 .- 36 . (canceled)
37 . A computer implemented method comprising:
receiving at least one message posting from a posting user;
assigning a topic tag to the message postings; and
determining a topic reputational score for the posting user based on an amount of feedback received on the message postings and the topic reputational scores of the other users providing feedback.
38 . The computer-implemented method of claim 37 , further comprising:
identifying other users interested in the topic; and
presenting the message postings to the other users at a location based on the topic reputational score of the posting user.