The technology industry continues to be a hotbed of patent innovation. Activity is driven by the increasing availability of connected devices and the vast amount of data generated from social networks providing rich sources for analysis, and growing importance of technologies such as data analytics, machine learning, natural language processing, and network visualization tools. These technologies enable the extraction of valuable insights from social network data, allowing businesses and researchers to make informed decisions and develop effective strategies based on social network dynamics. In the last three years alone, there have been over 1.5 million patents filed and granted in the technology industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Social media in technology: social network analysis. Buy the report here.
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According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 1.6 million patents to analyze innovation intensity for the technology industry, there are 185+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
Social network analysis is a key innovation area in social media
Social network analysis (SNA) is a field of sociology focused on studying the connections and interactions between individuals or groups in a social network. It explores how these relationships impact communication, influence, trust, and other social dynamics. SNA employs techniques like graph theory, link analysis, and statistical methods to identify patterns in networks and quantify the strength of relationships among network participants.
GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies. According to GlobalData, there are 225+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established technology companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of social network analysis.
Key players in social network analysis – a disruptive innovation in the technology industry
‘Application diversity’ measures the number of applications identified for each patent. It broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.
‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of countries each patent is registered in. It reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.
Patent volumes related to social network analysis
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Meta Platforms is one of the leading patent filers in social network analysis. One of the company’s patents focuses on a method that involves receiving a user's query, consisting of multiple n-grams, from their client system in an online social network. Based on a syntactic model, the method determines the head-terms and modifier-terms of the n-grams. It then identifies matching objects, ranks them according to the quality of the match to the determined terms, and sends a search-result interface to the client system. The interface displays search results corresponding to the identified objects, each with a rank higher than a specified threshold.
Other prominent patent filers in the space include Microsoft and People.ai.
By geographic reach, People.ai leads the pack, followed by Take-Two Interactive Software and Advanced New Technologies. In terms of application diversity, Microsoft holds the top position, followed by Meta Platforms and Take-Two Interactive Software.
Innovation in social network analysis has brought about a significant transformation in understanding and analysis of social interactions and relationships. It helps to gather real-time data from interconnected devices and platforms, allowing to capture and analyze social dynamics in unprecedented detail.
To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the technology industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Social Media.
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GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.
GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.
