Systems and Methods to Control the Lifetime of Online Posts

Abstract

Systems and methods to control the lifetime of social networking posts. The viewable range and/or duration of a post is determined as a function (e.g., Gaussian) of the viewer location/position relative to the post location/position and other factors, such as, local content density power of the poster, net likes, etc. The expiration time of the post at the viewer location/position is extended when content density is low, and reduced when content density is high. Posts are retained for a fixed duration in server; and zone-relevant content is delivered to clients based on local content density. Content from distant cells is highlighted by graphics that distinguish it from local range posts.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method implemented on a mobile computing device, the method comprising:
 retrieving, by the mobile computing device from a server computer over a wireless communication network, a set of candidate posts, wherein each respective post of the candidate posts has a post location and a post time;   determining, by the mobile computing device, a current location of the mobile computing device;   computing, by the mobile computing device from a function of a distance between the post location and the current location of the mobile computing device, a lifetime duration of the respective post, wherein the lifetime duration starts from the post time and ends at an ending time; and   in response to the computing device being at the current location at a current time, performing one of:
 in response to a determination that the current time is before the ending time, allowing the respective post to be displayed on the mobile computing device at the current location at the current time; and 
 in response to a determination that the current time is after the ending time, preventing the respective post from being displayed on the mobile computing device at the current location at the current time. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining, by the mobile computing device, a remaining lifetime of the respective post based on subtracting, from the lifetime duration, a time duration between the post time and the current time.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the function is configured to provide a maximum lifetime duration for the respective post at the post location and a decreasing lifetime duration at an increasing distance of the mobile computing device from the post location. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 presenting, by the mobile computing device, the respective post on a user interface of the mobile computing device, in response to a determination that the remaining lifetime of the respective post is positive.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 presenting, by the mobile computing device, the respective post on a user interface of the mobile computing device for a duration according to the remaining lifetime of the respective post.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the function is an analytical function. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the analytical function is a Gaussian function based on the distance between the post location and the current location of the mobile computing device. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein in the Gaussian function the distance is scaled based on a distance parameter of the respective post and an influence parameter. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the influence parameter is a function of a count of net likes of the respective post in a social networking environment hosted on the server computer. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein increasing the count of net likes increases the lifetime duration. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the influence parameter is a function of a count of net dislikes of the respective post in a social networking environment hosted on the server computer. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein increasing the count of net dislikes decreases the lifetime duration. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the influence parameter is a poster density indicator at the current location of the mobile computing device. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the influence parameter is a function of influence power of an author of the respective post. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the influence parameter is a function of previous posting record of an author of the respective post. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein in the Gaussian function the lifetime duration of the respective post is proportional to one of:
 a function of a count of net likes of the respective post in a social networking environment hosted on the server computer;   a function of a count of net dislikes of the respective post in the social networking environment hosted on the server computer;   a function of influence power of an author of the respective post; and   a function of previous posting record of the author of the respective post   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein in the Gaussian function the lifetime duration of the respective post is inversely proportional to a poster density indicator at the post location. 
     
     
         18 . A non-transitory computer storage media storing instructions configured to instruct a mobile computing device to perform a method, the method comprising:
 retrieving, by the mobile computing device from a server computer over a wireless communication network, a set of candidate posts, wherein each respective post of the candidate posts has a post location and a post time;   determining, by the mobile computing device, a current location of the mobile computing device;   computing, by the mobile computing device from a function of a distance between the post location and the current location of the mobile computing device, a lifetime duration of the respective post, wherein the lifetime duration starts from the post time and ends at an ending time; and   in response to the computing device being at the current location at a current time, performing one of:
 in response to a determination that the current time is before the ending time, allowing the respective post to be displayed on the mobile computing device at the current location at the current time; and 
 in response to a determination that the current time is after the ending time, preventing the respective post from being displayed on the mobile computing device at the current location at the current time. 
   
     
     
         19 . A mobile computing device, comprising:
 at least one microprocessor; and   a memory storing instructions configured to instruct the at least one microprocessor to:
 retrieve, by the mobile computing device from a server computer over a wireless communication network, a set of candidate posts, wherein each respective post of the candidate posts has a post location and a post time; 
 determine, by the mobile computing device, a current location of the mobile computing device; 
 compute, by the mobile computing device from a function of a distance between the post location and the current location of the mobile computing device, a lifetime duration of the respective post, wherein the lifetime duration starts from the post time and ends at an ending time; and 
 in response to the computing device being at the current location at a current time, perform one of:
 in response to a determination that the current time is before the ending time, allowing the respective post to be displayed on the mobile computing device at the current location at the current time; and 
 in response to a determination that the current time is after the ending time, preventing the respective post from being displayed on the mobile computing device at the current location at the current time. 
 
   
     
     
         20 . The mobile computing device, comprising:
 a global positioning system (GPS) receiver used to determine the current location; and   a touch-sensitive display device to display the respective post.