Abstract: When a device is rotated from a portrait orientation to landscape orientation, or vice versa, the display device rotates the content items within distinct respective content regions of a page template (“slots”) that each appear to stay in their same position with respect to a frame of reference of the display device. While the content regions stay in their same positions, the content within each content region counter-rotates in place to offset the rotation of the display device. Thus, the content within the content regions maintains an orientation with respect to a constant (non-rotating) frame of reference, regardless of the orientation or rotation of the display device. In one embodiment, a slot's position, height, and width in a template in a second orientation are determined from the slot's position, height, and width in the template in a first orientation.

Abstract: A digital magazine server identifies content items for recommendation to a user based on content items with which the user previously interacted. Based on key phrases and terms in content items with which the user previously interacted, topics are associated with the content items and used to generate a vector for each content item. The vectors are used to generate clusters including one or more content items. A characteristic vector is generated for each cluster based on the vectors generated for content items within a cluster. Candidate content items are retrieved and topics included in the candidate content items are used along with the characteristic vectors to determine a measure of similarity between candidate content items and various clusters. Candidate content items with at least a threshold measure of similarity to a cluster are selected for presentation to the user.

Abstract: A digital magazine server separates an advertisement received for presentation to one or more digital magazine server users into a plurality of layers, each including one or more elements of the advertisement. For example, one or more foreground layers and one or more background layers of an advertisement are identified. By modifying elements included in different layers, modified advertisements associated with different display sizes are generated and associated with the display sizes. When presenting the advertisement to a user, the digital magazine server determines a size of a slot in which the advertisement is to be presented and retrieves a modified advertisement associated with the size of the slot for presentation to the user.

Abstract: A digital magazine server determines a quality score for content items receiving less than a threshold amount of interactions from digital magazine server users. A distribution of quality scores for a content item is determined from quality scores of content items having one or more characteristics matching characteristics of the content item. As users interact with a content item, the distribution of quality scores is modified to reflect the received interaction. The digital magazine server may use the distribution for a content item to determine a quality score for the content item having a specified confidence or the confidence of the content item having a specified quality score.

Abstract: An online system generates implied links between objects distributed by the online system based on a plurality of users' behaviors with respect to the objects. For a behavior of a user with respect to an object that satisfies a link criterion, the online system identifies a connection between the user and the object. Local object graphs are generated to represent the relationships between the objects connected to each user, and the local object graphs are merged into a global object graph. An adjacency matrix is extracted from the global object graph as a representation of the strength of relationships between the objects distributed by the online system. The online system may then apply graph analysis techniques to the adjacency matrix, thereby analyzing the relationships between the objects without relying upon explicit links between the objects.

Abstract: A digital magazine identifies content items for recommendation to a user by determining the address information of one or more content items. The address information of a content item identifies a source from which the content item was received and additional information describing the content item. Representations of content items are generated from the address information for each content item. Additionally, representations of content items previously presented to the user are generated from the address information for the previously presented content items. A measure of similarity between a representation of a content item and a representation of a previously presented content item is determined and used to select content items to present to the user.

Abstract: A topical search computer system identifies topics from various definitional (i.e., data) sources. The system generates a catalog of different topics from the data sources. Topics with similar names are differentiated by the system based on the context in which each topic is used. The context for a topic is represented by a context vector, which describes the co-occurrence relationships between the topic and other topics derived from the data sources. Because the system has computed a context for each topic, the system can provide improved search results responsive to user queries for information.

Abstract: Systems and methods for enabling users to rapidly flip through displayed pages of content in an intuitive manner are provided. Graphical animations for transitioning from one page to another can be executed so that portions of three or more pages can be simultaneously viewed. This enables a user to make snap judgments as to whether she wishes to explore any one of those pages in more detail as she rapidly flips through the pages.

Abstract: A client device selects content items associated with various applications executing on the client device and dynamically lays out the selected content items for presentation while the client device is in a locked state. To present the selected content items, the client device selects a page template including slots specifying sizing and relative positioning of content items based on user attributes, geographic information, client device characteristics, and content item attributes. Content items associated with various applications are associated with each slot in the selected page template, and when the client device is in a locked state, the content items are presented with relative sizing and positioning determined by the slots in the selected page template.

Abstract: A user device uses sensors to determine the rotation of the user device with respect to a reference orientation. Using the user device rotation, an image manipulation module accesses images that are associated with image rotations. A set of the images are selected based on the device rotation to select images that have image orientations corresponding to the device rotation. A weight may be determined for each selected image, and the images are combined to generate a blended image using the weights. The blended image is displayed to the user, and as the rotation of the user devices changes, the process is repeated to display changing blended images based on the device rotation, thereby animating the rotation effect.

Abstract: When the device is rotated from a portrait orientation to landscape orientation, or vice versa, the display device rotates the content items within distinct respective content regions of a page template (“slots”) that each appear to stay in their same position with respect to a frame of reference of the display device. While the content regions stay in their same positions, the content within each content region counter-rotates in place to offset the rotation of the display device. Thus, the content within the content regions maintains an orientation with respect to a constant (non-rotating) frame of reference, regardless of the orientation or rotation of the display device. In one embodiment, a slot's position, height, and width in a template in a second orientation are determined from the slot's position, height, and width in the template in a first orientation.

Abstract: A digital magazine server generates pages presenting content items to a user in slots of a page template describing a relative positioning of content regions presenting content items. A page template may include a limited number of slots that limits the number of content regions presented to a user. If a number of content items selected for presentation to the user exceeds the limited number of slots in a page template, a plurality of content items are selected and used to generate a combined content item. The combined content item identifies each of the selected plurality of content items and allows a user to view information from various content items used to generate the combined content item.

Abstract: Syndicated descriptions of web content are obtained from feeds. For each item of each feed, a link is followed to a content page, and it is determined whether the content page directly or indirectly points back to the feed. If so, the description of the item from the feed is stored as an authorized description with a canonical form of the link to the item. Subsequently, when an item of user-generated content that includes a link to web content is received, the link to the web content is canonicalized. Based on the canonicalized link, any stored authorized syndicated descriptions of the linked content is obtained. If more than one authorized syndicated description of an item of linked content is available, one is selected. Then, the item of user-generated content containing a link can be published with an authorized syndicated description of the linked content.

Abstract: A digital magazine server presents content retrieved from various sources to a user. The content may include various images, with images selected by the digital magazine server for presentation to a user along with additional content. Text associated with an image may also be retrieved and presented to the user along with the image. To improve presentation of images with text, the digital magazine server identifies features in an image and identifies regions of the image where text is capable of being presented without obscuring or being obscured by features of the image. The image is modified to present text associated with the image in one or more of the identified images, allowing the text to be presented without detracting from features of the image.

Abstract: A digital magazine server generates pages presenting content items to a user in slots of a page template describing a relative positioning of content regions presenting content items. A page template may include a limited number of slots that limits the number of content regions presented to a user. If a number of content items selected for presentation to the user exceeds the limited number of slots in a page template, a plurality of content items are selected and used to generate a combined content item. The combined content item identifies each of the selected plurality of content items and allows a user to view information from various content items used to generate the combined content item.

Abstract: An online system generates implied links between objects distributed by the online system based on a plurality of users' behaviors with respect to the objects. For a behavior of a user with respect to an object that satisfies a link criterion, the online system identifies a connection between the user and the object. Local object graphs are generated to represent the relationships between the objects connected to each user, and the local object graphs are merged into a global object graph. An adjacency matrix is extracted from the global object graph as a representation of the strength of relationships between the objects distributed by the online system. The online system may then apply graph analysis techniques to the adjacency matrix, thereby analyzing the relationships between the objects without relying upon explicit links between the objects.

Abstract: A digital magazine server user interacts with a client device presenting one or more content items from the digital magazine server to access various content items identified by the digital magazine server. For example, the user interacts with a portion of a display device of the client device and traverses to an additional portion of the display device to view additional content items on the display device. Based on a rate at which the user traverses from the portion to the additional portion, a content update rate is determined and used to select an indication of modification that is presented. The indication of modification provides the user with a visual indication that the content items presented by the display device are modified, and may include a subset of content items from the digital magazine server if the content update rate does not exceed a threshold.

Abstract: A digital magazine server creates a section of a digital magazine including content items identified based on a search query received from a user. The digital magazine server receives a request to create the section that includes the search query and applies the search query to one or more sources. Content items satisfying the search query are retrieved from the one or more sources. A section of the digital magazine including various content items satisfying the search query is generated and presented to the user requesting creation of the section as well as additional users of the digital magazine server.

Abstract: Connections between an online system user and one or more social networking system users maintained by various social networking systems are analyzed to determine social proximity between the online system user and social networking system users connected to the online system user via a social networking system. Social networking system users connected to the online system user via each of a plurality of social networking systems are identified. Based on a number of social networking system users connected to both the online system user and to a social networking system user connected to the online system user, a social proximity score indicating relative social “closeness” of the digital magazine server user and the social networking system user connected to the digital magazine server user is generated.

Abstract: A digital magazine server user may identify a content item presented by the digital magazine server to save or present to other digital magazine server users by interacting with a client device presenting the content item. For example, providing a gesture to the client device identifies a content item for presentation to other digital magazine server users. The gesture may begin by the user interacting with a portion of a display device that displays a portion of the content item and continue as the user interacts with the display device along a path from the portion to an additional portion. When the gesture is completed, the user may be presented with options to present the content item to additional digital magazine server users, or the content item may be presented to other digital magazine server users.