Patents by Inventor Spencer Greg Ahrens

Spencer Greg Ahrens has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 9866515
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a computing device receives an indication of a first user action by a first user. The computing device determines a topic of the first user action based on analyzing content associated with the first user action, and determines whether the first user has a preference to exclude posts associated with the topic or a category associated with the topic. If the first user has not indicated any preference to exclude posts associated with the topic or the category, then the computing device identifies a second user action by a second user and related to the topic, and determines whether the first user has indicated a preference to exclude posts associated with the second user. If the first user has not indicated any preference to exclude posts associated with the second user, the first user is provided with access to the second user action.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2018
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Spencer Greg Ahrens, Cameron Alexander Marlow, Lars Seren Backstrom, Chaitanya Mishra
  • Patent number: 9767218
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes determining rankings for a plurality of objects of a social-networking system, where the social-networking system includes a social graph that includes a plurality of nodes and a plurality of edges connecting the nodes. Each object corresponds to a node of the social graph, and each ranking for each object is determined based on a number of edges being connected to the node to which the respective object corresponds. The objects are stored in a plurality of partitions of a database, where each partition stores only objects having a particular ranking. The objects are indexed in the partitions by a plurality of search indices that each index only a particular one of the plurality of partitions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Soren Bogh Lassen, Spencer Greg Ahrens
  • Publication number: 20160337307
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a computing device receives an indication of a first user action by a first user. The computing device determines a topic of the first user action based on analyzing content associated with the first user action, and determines whether the first user has a preference to exclude posts associated with the topic or a category associated with the topic. If the first user has not indicated any preference to exclude posts associated with the topic or the category, then the computing device identifies a second user action by a second user and related to the topic, and determines whether the first user has indicated a preference to exclude posts associated with the second user. If the first user has not indicated any preference to exclude posts associated with the second user, the first user is provided with access to the second user action.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 25, 2016
    Publication date: November 17, 2016
    Inventors: Spencer Greg Ahrens, Cameron Alexander Marlow, Lars Seren Backstrom, Chaitanya Mishra
  • Patent number: 9432327
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a computing device receives an indication of a first user action by a first user. The computing device determines a topic of the first user action based on analyzing content associated with the first user action, and determines whether the first user has a preference to exclude posts associated with the topic or a category associated with the topic. If the first user has not indicated any preference to exclude posts associated with the topic or the category, then the computing device identifies a second user action by a second user and related to the topic, and determines whether the first user has indicated a preference to exclude posts associated with the second user. If the first user has not indicated any preference to exclude posts associated with the second user, a reference associated with the second user action is sent to the first user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2016
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Spencer Greg Ahrens, Cameron Alexander Marlow, Lars Seren Backstrom, Chaitanya Mishra
  • Publication number: 20150381556
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a computing device receives an indication of a first user action by a first user. The computing device determines a topic of the first user action based on analyzing content associated with the first user action, and determines whether the first user has a preference to exclude posts associated with the topic or a category associated with the topic. If the first user has not indicated any preference to exclude posts associated with the topic or the category, then the computing device identifies a second user action by a second user and related to the topic, and determines whether the first user has indicated a preference to exclude posts associated with the second user. If the first user has not indicated any preference to exclude posts associated with the second user, a reference associated with the second user action is sent to the first user.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 4, 2015
    Publication date: December 31, 2015
    Inventors: Spencer Greg Ahrens, Cameron Alexander Marlow, Lars Seren Backstrom, Chaitanya Mishra
  • Publication number: 20150317409
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes maintaining data stores for objects of a social-networking system, each data store being configured to store objects of a particular one of multiple object types indexed by a search index; receiving an object; identifying an object type of the received object; storing the received object in at least one data store being configured to store objects of the identified object type; and updating the search index of the at least one data store based on the received object.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 14, 2015
    Publication date: November 5, 2015
    Inventors: Soren Bogh Lassen, Spencer Greg Ahrens
  • Patent number: 9177346
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes receiving a first user action relating to a first topic from a first user, identifying the first topic based on the first user action, identifying one or more second posts that relate to the first topic, and transmitting to the first user one or more of the second posts or information associated with the second posts in a structured document for display to the first user, the structured document further comprising one or more interactive elements that enable the first user to interact with the one or more second posts or to respective second users that declared the second posts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2015
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Spencer Greg Ahrens, Cameron Alexander Marlow, Lars Seren Backstrom, Chaitanya Mishra
  • Patent number: 9158801
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes maintaining data stores for objects of a social-networking system, each data store being configured to store objects of a particular one of multiple object types indexed by a search index; receiving an object; identifying an object type of the received object; storing the received object in at least one data store being configured to store objects of the identified object type; and updating the search index of the at least one data store based on the received object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 13, 2015
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Soren Bogh Lassen, Spencer Greg Ahrens
  • Publication number: 20140032563
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes maintaining data stores for objects of a social-networking system, each data store being configured to store objects of a particular one of multiple object types indexed by a search index; receiving an object; identifying an object type of the received object; storing the received object in at least one data store being configured to store objects of the identified object type; and updating the search index of the at least one data store based on the received object.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 27, 2012
    Publication date: January 30, 2014
    Inventors: Soren Bogh Lassen, Spencer Greg Ahrens
  • Publication number: 20120005224
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes receiving a first user action relating to a first topic from a first user, identifying the first topic based on the first user action, identifying one or more second posts that relate to the first topic, and transmitting to the first user one or more of the second posts or information associated with the second posts in a structured document for display to the first user, the structured document further comprising one or more interactive elements that enable the first user to interact with the one or more second posts or to respective second users that declared the second posts.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 1, 2010
    Publication date: January 5, 2012
    Inventors: Spencer Greg Ahrens, Cameron Alexander Marlow, Lars Seren Backstrom, Chaitanya Mishra