Abstract: The present disclosure describes various embodiments of methods, systems, and machine-readable mediums which may be used in conjunction with a campaign for distributing content to users of the social network. Among other things, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a number of advantages over conventional systems for content distribution, including a simplified targeting process and increased reach (i.e. distribution) for content providers among users of a social network, as well as improving the utilization of an inventory of content and higher and more efficient engagement with such content by users of the social network.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and computer storage media for discovering authoritative images of people entities are provided. Selections of person entities are received. Authoritative URLs and authoritative images for the person entities are identified. Once the authoritative images are identified, features are extracted. Queries for the person entities are identified by mining search engine logs. The queries and features can be utilized to construct candidate queries to identify and retrieve candidate image URLs. Candidate features are extracted for each candidate image associated with the candidate image URLs. Training data may be utilized to train a classifier that can be run on each candidate image. Each candidate image can then be tagged with an entity ID tag. Images with the entity ID tag can be ranked higher in search engine results page than images without the entity ID tag.

Abstract: A system, method, and apparatus are provided for migrating contacts (e.g., records identifying contacts) from one domain to another. Each record includes various fields corresponding to a single contact or other entity known within the first domain. The migration process may involve configuring multiple queries from the field data, for querying the second domain or system to identify (or to attempt to identify) matching entities known within the second domain. One or more exact queries may be configured to identify specific entities within the second domain, based on entity-specific data, for example. Other queries may be more general and may match multiple entities known within the second domain. For records for which no exact query identifies an entity, one or more general queries may be executed to identify multiple entities, which may be subsequently ranked based on the likelihood that they are the entity that corresponds to the record.

Abstract: Techniques and a system are provided for a profile manager system that stores multiple profiles. These profiles are used by a content selection system to match entities to content for which the entities would be best suitable. The profile manager system allows a content selection system to identify, in response to a request associated with an entity, different pieces of data from different data sources and match the different pieces of data when the difference pieces of data refer to the same entity. The profile manager system may also provide merging of the different pieces of data, when they are matched as referring to the same entity.

Abstract: The present disclosure describes various embodiments of methods, systems, and machine-readable mediums which may be used in conjunction with a campaign for distributing content to users of the social network. Among other things, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a number of advantages over conventional systems for content distribution, including a simplified targeting process and increased reach (i.e. distribution) for content providers among users of a social network, as well as improving the utilization of an inventory of content and higher and more efficient engagement with such content by users of the social network.

Abstract: Techniques and a system are provided for a profile manager system that stores multiple profiles. These profiles are used by a content selection system to match entities to content for which the entities would be best suitable. The profile manager system allows a content selection system to identify, in response to a request associated with an entity, different pieces of data from different data sources and match the different pieces of data when the difference pieces of data refer to the same entity. The profile manager system may also provide merging of the different pieces of data, when they are matched as referring to the same entity.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and computer-readable storage media for web-scale visual search capable of using a combination of visual input modalities are provided. An edgel index is created that includes shape-descriptors, including edgel-based representations, that correspond to each of a plurality of images. Each edgel-based representation includes pixels that depicts edges or boundary contours of an image and is created, at least in part, by segmenting the image into a plurality of image segments and performing a multi-phase contour detection on each segment.

Abstract: In order to expand the audience for an advertising campaign, a system identifies an expanded audience for the advertising campaign based on characteristics of individuals in the expanded audience and a target audience of the advertising campaign. Then, the system compares a historical cumulative advertising performance metric at a current time for the target audience with a current cumulative advertising performance metric at the current time for the target audience in the advertising campaign. Next, the system selectively changes a probability of showing advertisements in the advertising campaign to individuals in the expanded audience based on the comparison. For example, if a current cumulative number of daily advertising impressions at the current time is less than a historical cumulative number of daily advertising impressions at a current time, the system increases the probability.

Abstract: A system and methods are provided for forecasting the volume of future events that match specified attributes regarding type of event (e.g., serving of an advertisement impression, a page view, fraudulent activity), attributes of entities involved in the events (e.g., users, content items, system components), and/or other factors. A forecast query is received with one or more terms identifying target criteria of a campaign (e.g., an ad campaign, some other content-serving campaign). The query is decomposed into a first set of terms corresponding to attributes for which one or more predefined models exist, and a second set of terms for which no models exist. The predefined model for the first set of terms (or for a third term that is a superset of the first set of terms) is then used to estimate a number of future events that match the query terms.

Abstract: A user may activate an embedded advertisement in an embedded window in a document, such as a web page. This embedded advertisement may be associated with a domain (a granddaughter domain) that is different than the domain associated with the embedded window (a daughter domain) and the domain associated with the document (a parent domain). In older browsers, cross-domain communication may not be supported in this circumstance. This problem is solved by opening a series of windows from the granddaughter domain, each of which is associated with a candidate origin of the document. Then, access commands associated with the windows are communicated to the domain of the document. Only the access command for the window having the correct origin of the domain of the document is processed, which results in content associated with the embedded advertisement being linked at a source and presented or displayed in the embedded advertisement.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and computer storage media for discovering authoritative images of people entities are provided. Selections of person entities are received. Authoritative URLs and authoritative images for the person entities are identified. Once the authoritative images are identified, features are extracted. Queries for the person entities are identified by mining search engine logs. The queries and features can be utilized to construct candidate queries to identify and retrieve candidate image URLs. Candidate features are extracted for each candidate image associated with the candidate image URLs. Training data may be utilized to train a classifier that can be run on each candidate image. Each candidate image can then be tagged with an entity ID tag. Images with the entity ID tag can be ranked higher in search engine results page than images without the entity ID tag.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and computer-readable storage media for web-scale visual search capable of using a combination of visual input modalities are provided. An edgel index is created that includes shape-descriptors, including edgel-based representations, that correspond to each of a plurality of images. Each edgel-based representation includes pixels that depicts edges or boundary contours of an image and is created, at least in part, by segmenting the image into a plurality of image segments and performing a multi-phase contour detection on each segment.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and computer-readable storage media for web-scale visual search capable of using a combination of visual input modalities are provided. An edgel index is created that includes shape-descriptors, including edgel-based representations, that correspond to each of a plurality of images. Each edgel-based representation includes pixels that depicts edges or boundary contours of an image and is created, at least in part, by segmenting the image into a plurality of image segments and performing a multi-phase contour detection on each segment.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and computer-readable storage media for web-scale visual search capable of using a combination of visual input modalities are provided. An edgel index is created that includes shape-descriptors, including edgel-based representations, that correspond to each of a plurality of images. Each edgel-based representation includes pixels that depicts edges or boundary contours of an image and is created, at least in part, by segmenting the image into a plurality of image segments and performing a multi-phase contour detection on each segment.

Abstract: Example embodiments allow a local network client to access information about a shared gateway to determine its actual amount of bandwidth consumption. The client can also obtain the total capacity of such shared gateway. Using its knowledge of its own bandwidth consumption, it can determine the other local network clients' usage of the shared gateway. With all of this information, i.e., total capacity of the shared gateway, the actual usage of the shared gateway, and the usage by other clients within the local network, the client can adjust or throttle background file transfers in order to keep the actual data transfers across the shared gateway within a reasonable percentage of the total capacity available. That is, a client will give priority to other local network computing machines' usage of the shared gateway by adjusting data transfers for its own background transfer system based on usage across a shared gateway.

Abstract: Distributed caching and download of file. A method is described that includes building a peer list comprising a listing of potential peer servers from among one or more networked computers. The peer list includes no more than a predetermined number of potential peer servers. Potential peer servers in the peer list are queried for a file or portion of a file. A message from a peer server in the peer list is received indicating that the peer server has the file or portion of a file available for download. The computer system downloads the file or portion of a file from the peer server.

Abstract: Distributed caching and download of file. A method is described that includes building a peer list comprising a listing of potential peer servers from among one or more networked computers. The peer list includes no more than a predetermined number of potential peer servers. Potential peer servers in the peer list are queried for a file or portion of a file. A message from a peer server in the peer list is received indicating that the peer server has the file or portion of a file available for download. The computer system downloads the file or portion of a file from the peer server.

Abstract: Example embodiments allow a local network client to access information about a shared gateway to determine its actual amount of bandwidth consumption. The client can also obtain the total capacity of such shared gateway. Using its knowledge of its own bandwidth consumption, it can determine the other local network clients' usage of the shared gateway. With all of this information, i.e., total capacity of the shared gateway, the actual usage of the shared gateway, and the usage by other clients within the local network, the client can adjust or throttle background file transfers in order to keep the actual data transfers across the shared gateway within a reasonable percentage of the total capacity available. That is, a client will give priority to other local network computing machines' usage of the shared gateway by adjusting data transfers for its own background transfer system based on usage across a shared gateway.