Techniques for targeting endorsement requests

Abstract

Techniques for suggesting to a first member an endorsement of a skill possessed by a second member are described. In an example, disclosed is a system that accesses a plurality of skills associated with members from a member database, and accesses a reputation score for each skill of each member from a skill reputation database. Moreover, a subset of skills can be selected based on the reputation scores of the first member. Furthermore, a specific skill in which to endorse the second member can be determined from the subset of skills based on the reputation score of the second member for the specific skill. A quality score for the specific skill is calculated. Subsequently, a user interface can present, on a display of a device of the first member, an endorsement suggestion for the specific skill of the second member when the quality score transgresses a predetermined threshold.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system comprising:
 a member database storing member data of a plurality of members in a social network, the member data including a plurality of skills associated with a member in the plurality of members;   a skill reputation database storing a plurality of reputation scores for a member in the plurality of members, each reputation score in the plurality of reputation scores being associated with a skill of the member;   one or more processors configured to:
 access, from the member database, a plurality of skills associated with a first member in the plurality of members and a plurality of skills associated with a second member in the plurality of members; 
 access, from the skill reputation database, a reputation score for each skill in the plurality of skills associated with the first member and a reputation score for each skill in the plurality of skills associated with the second member; 
 select a subset of skills from the plurality of skills associated with the first member based on the reputation score for a skill in the subset of skills being above a first threshold value; 
 determine a specific skill associated with the second member based on the reputation score of the second member for the specific skill, the specific skill being a skill from the subset of skills; and 
 calculate a quality score for the specific skill based on the member data of the first member and the member data of the second member; and 
   a user interface to present, on a display of a device of the first member, an endorsement suggestion for the specific skill associated with the second member when the quality score transgresses a predetermined threshold.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the endorsement suggestion is presented on a home page of the social network. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
 access the member data of the first member and the member data of a first-degree connection of the first member;   calculate an overlap value between the first member and the first-degree connection of the first member based on the accessed member data; and   select the first-degree connection as the second member based on the calculated overlap value being above a second threshold value.   
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
 access the member data of a first-degree connection of the first member;   calculate a recipient value for the first-degree connection of the first member based on the accessed member data; and   select the first-degree connection as the second member based on the calculated overlap value being above a third threshold value.   
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
 receive, from the device of the first member, a request to view a profile page of the second member; and   wherein the endorsement suggestion is presented on the profile page of the second member.   
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the reputation score of the first member for the specific skill is based on the first member having an educational degree that is related to the specific skill. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
 determine an endorser value for the first member based on the member data of the first member; and   update the quality score based on the endorser value.   
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
 determine, from the member data, a number of endorsements received by the first member and a number of endorsements sent by the first member; and   wherein the endorser value is determined based on the number of endorsements received by the first member and the number of endorsements sent by the first member.   
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the profile data includes years of experience, and the endorser value is further based the years of experience of the first member. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
 determine a recipient value for the second member based on the member data of the second member; and   update the quality score based on the recipient value.   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
 determine, from the member data, a number of endorsements received by the second member and a number of endorsements sent by the second member; and   wherein the recipient value is determined based on the number of endorsements received by the second member and the number of endorsements sent by the second member.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
 determine an overlap value for the first member and second member based on the member data of the first and second member; and   update the quality score based on the overlap value.   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
 calculate a connection density value between the first member and the second member; and   update the overlap value based on the connection density value.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the overlap value is further based on a first geographic region associated with the first member and a second geographic region associated with the second member; and
 wherein the overlap value increases when the first geographic region is the same as the second geographic region.   
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the specific skill is not listed on a profile page of the second member, and wherein the specific skill is further determined based on a job title of the second member. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the specific skill is not listed on a profile page of the second member, and wherein the specific skill is further determined based on a degree attained by the second member. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the endorsement suggestion further includes a common profile attribute between the first member and the second member, and wherein the common profile attribute is a school that both the first member and the second member attended, or a company that employed both the first member and the second member. 
     
     
         18 . A method comprising:
 accessing, from a member database, a plurality of skills associated with a first member and a plurality of skills associated with a second member;   accessing, from a skill reputation database, a reputation score for each skill in the plurality of skills associated with the first member and a reputation score for each skill in the plurality of skills associated with the second member;   selecting a subset of skills from the plurality of skills associated with the first member based on the reputation score for a skill in the subset of skills being above a first threshold value;   determining a specific skill associated with the second member based on the reputation score of the second member for the specific skill, the specific skill being a skill from the subset of skills;   calculating, using a processor, a quality score for the specific skill based on the member data of the first member and the member data of the second member; and   presenting, on a display of a device of the first member, an endorsement suggestion for the specific skill associated with the second member when the quality score transgresses a predetermined threshold.   
     
     
         19 . A system comprising:
 a member database storing profile data of a first member, the profile data including a plurality of skills associated with the first member;   a skill reputation database storing a plurality of reputation scores for a second member, each reputation score in the plurality of reputation scores being associated with a skill of the second member;   one or more processors configured to:
 receive, from a user device of the second member, a request to view a profile page of the first member; 
 calculate a quality score for a specific skill from the plurality of skills associated with the first member using an endorser value, a recipient value, or an overlap value; and 
 generate an endorsement suggestion for the specific skill when the quality score transgresses a predetermined threshold; and 
   a user interface to present the endorsement suggestion on the profile page of the second member.   
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 19 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
 access a reputation score of the second member for the specific skill; and   update the quality score based on the reputation score of the second member for the specific skill.