Group-centric location tagging for mobile devices

• US 20070032244A1
• Filed: 08/08/2005
• Published: 02/08/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Farnham, Shelly, Schwartz, Jordan, Counts, Scott
• Application Number:
  US11/199,025
• Publication Number:
  US 20070032244A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.100
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/14 between corresponding nodes

Abstract

An annotation is manually and/or automatically correlated with a location and selectively distributed to participants of an associated user network. Thus, network participants possessing a common bond can obtain “trusted” information regarding specific locations. This allows a network participant to locate resources such as friends, restaurants, hotels, and/or entertainment sites, etc. based on the annotations provided by other network participants for those locations. Network users can annotate locations with temporal information, text, audio/video, photos, and/or graphics, etc. The annotations can be provided to the network via mobile devices and/or via non-mobile devices. Annotation information can be entered before a user visits a location, while a user is visiting a particular location, and/or after a user has visited a location. Location coordinates can be automatically provided and/or manually entered. Annotations are correlated with locations and made selectively available to network participants. Annotation retrieval can occur automatically and/or manually by participants.

Claims

1. A system that correlates information, comprising:

a tagging component that obtains information relating to a physical location from a participant of an associated user network and correlates the information with the physical location; and

a distribution component that obtains the correlated information from the tagging component and provides the correlated information to at least one participant of the associated user network.

2. The system of claim 1, the associated user network comprising a social network that provides location information to at least one participant of at least one group of the social network.

3. The system of claim 2, the distribution component selectively shares the location information to groups within a participant'"'"'s social network.

4. The system of claim 1, the associated user network is a private and/or public network.

5. The system of claim 1, the distribution component provides the location information to at least one network participant via a mobile device, a computer, an Internet website, and/or a hard-copy manifestation of the data.

6. The system of claim 1, the distribution component provides location information obtained from a network participant during a visit to a location, after a visit to a location, before a visit to a location, and/or without a visit to a location.

7. The system of claim 1, the distribution component stores the location correlated information in a database to allow subsequent retrieval and distribution.

8. The system of claim 1, the distribution component provides the correlated information to a participant in response to a query pertaining to participants of a group of the associated user network.

9. The system of claim 1, distribution component and/or tagging component resides on a remote server, a local server, a mobile device, and/or a computer.

10. The system of claim 1, the tagging component stores the location correlated information in a database for access by the distribution component, the database resides on a remote server, a local server, a mobile device, and/or a computer.

11. The system of claim 1, the location information including, at least in part, temporal information relating to the location.

12. The system of claim 1, the location information comprising text, images, and/or video.

13. A mobile device that employs the system of claim 1 to allow a user to remotely input and/or obtain information pertaining to a location.

14. A mobile device that utilizes the system of claim 1 to provide location-specific information to a participant based on the participant'"'"'s current location.

15. The system of claim 1, the location automatically determined by a mobile device when the location information is created by a participant.

16. A method for facilitating information correlation, comprising:

obtaining information from at least one associated user network participant, the information relating to at least one physical location; and

correlating the information to the physical location for utilization by at least one participant of the associated user network.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising:

selectively distributing the correlated information via an Internet web service.

18. The method of claim 16 further comprising:

utilizing the correlated information to facilitate in retroactively reviewing the activities and/or comments of at least one participant of the associated user network.

19. The method of claim 16 further comprising:

aggregating the correlated information to provide enhanced metadata relating to at least one location.

20. A system that facilitates information correlation, comprising:

means for obtaining information relating to a physical location from a participant of an associated user network;

means for correlating the information with the physical location; and

means for selectively distributing the correlated information to at least one participant of the associated user network.