Google's patent application on "influencers"

Claim 1 of published application 20080162260 states:

A computer-implemented method for displaying advertisements to members of a network, the method comprising:

identifying one or more communities within a network, wherein the community comprises a plurality of members of the network;

identifying one or more influencers in the one or more communities; and

placing one or more advertisements at the profiles of one or more members in the one or more communities.

Yes, PageRank does appear:

The advertisement server uses a ranking algorithm, such as PageRank, to rank the members 104 in the community 106. The advertisement server designates influencers based on the rank of the members 104. In one aspect, the advertisement server designates one member as an influencer. In another aspect, the advertisement server designates more than one member from among the top ranked members as equal influencers of the community. In another aspect, the advertisement server associates weights to the top ranked members of the community, wherein the weight is directly proportional to the rank of the member, and the weight refers to the degree of influence of a member in the community.

The correspondence contact is FISH & RICHARDSON P.C.