Abstract: Inferring membership in a group may include receiving one or more queries from a user, where the one or more queries have a feature that is independent of a subject matter of the one or more queries and that distinguishes the one or more queries from other queries received from the use. Inferring membership may include identifying the feature; and, in response to identifying the feature, making an inference that the user is a member of a group based on the subject matter of the one or more queries, where the group has one or more characteristics associated therewith. Inferring membership may further include attributing the one or more characteristics to the user based on the inference; and selecting the user for distribution of electronic content based on the one or more characteristics.

Abstract: Techniques include: receiving a search query; identifying content responsive to the search query; identifying one or more members of a social networking service that have an association with identified content; and outputting, to a computing device, data corresponding to the one or more members, where data corresponding to the one or more members is for generating display areas, and where the display areas are for obtaining information about corresponding members and for display along with search results.

Abstract: A method performed by one or more processing devices includes receiving a request for social media content that is relevant to one or more search terms; identifying, based on a social graph of a user, social media content with connections in the social graph to the user, wherein the social media content is associated with metadata; identifying metadata that is associated with the identified social media content and that has at least a threshold amount of relevance to the one or more search terms; generating a summarization of contents of the metadata identified and contents of the social media content identified; and transmitting, to the device used by the user who sent the request, the summarization for presentation to the user, in response to the request for social media content.

Abstract: Methods for ranking users based on contextual factors are provided. An example method may include receiving an online question by an asking user. The method may further include identifying one or more topics of the received online question. The method may further include identifying a set of candidate answering users from a plurality of users based on an expertise level of each user of the plurality of users, wherein the expertise level is related to the identified one or more topics of the received online question. In addition, the method may include ranking the set of candidate answering users based on a commonality of one or more contextual factors between the asking user and the set of candidate answering users, wherein the one or more contextual factors are distinct from the identified one or more topics. Systems and computer-readable media for ranking users based on contextual factors are also described.

Abstract: Techniques include: receiving a search query; identifying content responsive to the search query; identifying one or more members of a social networking service that have an association with identified content; and outputting, to a computing device, data corresponding to the one or more members, where data corresponding to the one or more members is for generating display areas, and where the display areas are for obtaining information about corresponding members and for display along with search results.

Abstract: Techniques for inferring membership in a group may include receiving one or more queries from a user, where the one or more queries have a feature that is independent of a subject matter of the one or more queries and that distinguishes the one or more queries from other queries received from the use. The techniques may include identifying the feature; and, in response to identifying the feature, making an inference that the user is a member of a group based on the subject matter of the one or more queries, where the group has one or more characteristics associated therewith. The techniques may further include attributing the one or more characteristics to the user based on the inference; and selecting the user for distribution of electronic content based on the one or more characteristics.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for searching using social network data. Techniques include: receiving a request for search results; in response to the request, obtaining search results using one or more social engagement signals to identify content deemed to have entertainment value, where the one or more social engagement signals are unspecified in the request; and providing the search results to a computing device.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus include computer programs encoded on a computer-readable storage medium for providing content. A method includes: identifying a plurality of segments of viewers wherein each segment is associated with an entity; identifying pairs of segments for comparison; responsive to a request for content, identifying a content item for presentation on a user device; identifying a first pair of segments that are associated with the content item; determining, for each segment of the first segment pair, a response metric associated with responses to the content item, the responses attributable to entities in a given segment; and providing the content item responsive to the request including providing results associated with the response metric for both segments of the first pair of segments for presentation along with the content item.

Abstract: Example techniques for suggesting a tag to promote a discussion topic may include the following operations: receiving text into a display field; performing a search to identify a topic relating to the text, where the topic is among plural topics being discussed on a social networking service; identifying a title of a discussion on the social network service that relates to the identified topic; ranking the title among other titles of discussion topics based, at least in part, on a number of members of the social networking service that are participating in the discussion; and suggesting, based on the ranking, a text entry for the display field that promotes posting to the discussion identified by the title.

Abstract: Techniques include receiving a search query; determining a topic related to the search query; identifying, within a specific time following receipt of the search query, one or more members of a social network who are available to interact and who are members of a group relating to the topic; and outputting, for use in augmenting a graphical user interface, data corresponding to information about the one or more members. The data can include data for a link to the group on the social network.

Abstract: A method performed by one or more processing devices includes receiving information specifying one or more attributes of a story; identifying, from a social graph, items of data with attributes matching at least one of the one or more attributes of the story, and connections to an item of data representing a user for whom the story is generated; identifying content items associated with the identified items of data; generating, based on the identified content items, data for a graphical user interface that when rendered by a device used by the user, includes: a visual representation of the story.

Abstract: A method includes receiving, using one or more processing devices, one or more search terms; searching, in a social network using the one or more processing devices, for items of social media content with at least a predefined amount of relevance to the one or more search terms; identifying, based on searching using the one or more processing devices, the items of social media content with at least the predefined amount of relevance to the one or more search terms; and generating, using the one or more processing devices, a summary of content in the identified items of social media content; wherein the summary comprises a subset of the content in the identified items of social media content.

Abstract: A method performed by one or more processing devices includes obtaining search results responsive to a search query submitted by a user; determining a maturity score for the user, where the maturity score represents a measure of development of a particular user attribute; determining, based on the maturity score, utility scores for the search results, where a utility score represents a measure of utility of a particular type of content to a particular type of user as defined by the measure of development of the particular user attribute; and adjusting rankings of the search results based on the utility scores.

Abstract: Techniques include: receiving a search query; identifying content responsive to the search query; identifying one or more members of a social networking service that have an association with identified content; and outputting, to a computing device, data corresponding to the one or more members, where data corresponding to the one or more members is for generating display areas, and where the display areas are for obtaining information about corresponding members and for display along with search results.

Abstract: A method performed by one or more processing devices includes obtaining, based on an execution of a query by the one or more processing devices, one or more search results for the query; generating, based on the query and the one or more search results, a data object for the query; and receiving, through a visual representation of the data object rendered on a computer display of a client device, data indicative of a user interaction with the data object.

Abstract: A process for suggesting information for user profiles includes examining query data sets comprising queries submitted by users of a social networking service, identifying a query term that is common to two or more of the query data sets, defining a group of users based on the common query term, determining an entity specific to the query term, assigning the entity to the group, and providing a suggestion to the users to add information to a user profile indicating an affiliation with the entity.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for engaging a user in a previously-submitted search query in a social networking system are disclosed. The method includes receiving a search query from a user, receiving search results responsive to the search query, providing search results for display to the user, receiving one or more user interactions associated with the search results, and generating a search interaction score based on the one or more user interactions. The method further includes determining that the search interaction score exceeds a threshold search interaction score, receiving a reminder event relating to the search query, and in response to determining that the search interaction score exceeds the threshold search interaction score and the reminder event, providing a notification to the user relating to the search query.

Abstract: Methods, and systems, including computer programs encoded on computer-readable storage mediums, including a method for adjusting content delivery based on user submissions. The method includes analyzing user submissions comprising photographs, the analyzing comprising: for each of the user submissions: identifying a time the user submission occurred; identifying objects represented in the photograph; determining a subject matter of the user submission based at least in part on the objects; determining a geographic location associated with the subject matter of the user submission; determining clusters of the user submissions, each user submission in a particular cluster being similar to each other user submission in the particular cluster based on the times the user submissions occurred, the subject matters of the user submissions, and the geographic locations associated with the user submissions; and adjusting content delivery to members of a network based on the determination of one or more of the clusters.

Abstract: Techniques for providing electronic content may include: identifying members of a social network that have a characteristic in common; determining a first proportion of the social network that the members compose; determining that a first member of the social network has the characteristic; identifying first content from the members that have the characteristic in common; and outputting second content from the social network to the first member. At least some of the first content may be included in the second content, and the at least some of the first content may represent a second proportion of the second content, where the second proportion is based on the first proportion.

Abstract: Techniques include: receiving a first search query from a user; determining a topic associated with the first search query; sending a second search query to the user, where the second search query is associated with the topic and is different from the first search query; receiving a selection of the second search query from the user; and, when the second search query has been received from other users more than a specified number of times within a time window, sending an invitation to the user. The invitation may be for inviting participation in an online social group that includes others who have sent the second query to the server system within the time window. The invitation can be for inviting participation in an online social group including other users (e.g., members of a social network) who have sent the second query to the server system within the time window.