Microsoft files for a new patent that can boost your social media presence

Recently, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the US government’s patent agency, published a patent application from Microsoft that demonstrates a system of customized social media notifications based on engagement.

So, this means the Redmond tech giant is working on developing a system for special media apps to send notifications, which are tailored on the basis of whether the recipient engages with the poster’s content a lot.

The 22-page document with patent number 11968732 was filed on December 21, 2022, and the patent date is April 23, 2024. The inventors are Ivan Lopez Moreno, Xuexin Ren, Ying Han, Shaunak Chatterjee, and Ajith Muralidharan.

This image shows a content notification feedback cycle in a communications network system.

What does it do?

If you are wondering how it works, let us explain. When you follow people on social media platforms like X, Instagram, and YouTube, you can choose to receive notifications about their stories, Instagram posts, videos, and other activities.

However, this thing has become outdated as not everyone who follows you or everyone you follow opts in to get new post notifications.

With this patent, Microsoft wants to change it. According to it, if you have followed or subscribed to these accounts, the system will only show you notifications of an account if you engage with their content a lot, which means you click, Like, and Watch someone’s content regularly.

Apart from this, it will only send you notifications on occasion. This will be great for content creators, as they can use the information to create the content according to your audience’s liking, making it viral.

This one shows a social activity push notifications chart showing the Click-Through-Rates for some notification types and volume percentages.

How does this method work?

This method employs a scoring system called rAffinity, which evaluates the chances of content creators engaging with notifications when a viewer interacts with their content.

This scoring system guides content recommendations, which will help content creators identify their most engaging content.

This system is slightly similar to YouTube’s feature, which lets you select the All, Personalized, or None option for your subscribed channel. However, there is a difference; it is not you but the rAffinity, the scoring system, that decides the intensity of these notifications here.

The USPTO granted this patent and published it on April 23, 2024, the same day as a few other patents filed by Microsoft, including Mixed standard accessory device communication utilizing host-coordinated transmission.

As the patent has been granted, we may see it in action soon. However, there are no social media apps under Microsoft’s hood except Skype and LinkedIn, so the Redmond tech giant might have to collaborate with other companies.

What do you think about this patent or will it be beneficial? Share your opinions with our readers in the comments section below.