METHOD AND SYSTEM TO ENHANCE SOCIAL NETWORKING THROUGH RANDOM LOCATION CONNECTIVITY

• US 20070268864A1
• Filed: 05/22/2006
• Published: 11/22/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: EATON, ERIC T., MOCK, VON A., BROWN, LARRY G.
• Application Number:
  US11/419,619
• Publication Number:
  US 20070268864A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/331
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

A system (100) and method (500, 600, or 700) of enhancing social networking through random location connectivity can include a transceiver (212) and a processor (210) operatively coupled to the transceiver. The transceiver can be a part of a cellular or camera phone for example. The processor can be programmed to request (502) a random connection to a wireless device in a given local area and receive the random connection to the wireless device among devices on a list of available wireless devices. The system can further include a location server (106) and a social network server (108) that receives the request for the random connection from the transceiver and that has access to the list of available wireless devices in the given local area from the location server. The location server and the social network server can be coupled to each other via the Internet (105).

Claims

1. A method of enhancing social networking through random location connectivity, comprising the steps of:

requesting a random connection to a wireless device in a given local area; and

receiving the random connection to the wireless device among a list of available wireless devices in the given local area.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of requesting comprises requesting the random connection from a social server that has access to the list of available wireless devices in the given local area.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the method further comprises the step of requesting by the social server the list of available wireless devices in the given local area from a location server.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises the step of creating a profile that prevents the wireless device from being randomly contacted during a predetermined time of day or in a predetermined location.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of receiving the random connection comprises receiving the random connection to a wireless device randomly selected from the list of wireless device in the given local area.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the random connection to the wireless device is a random connection to a user of a wireless device in the given local area or an object coupled to the wireless device in the given local area.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises the step of randomly selecting the wireless device among the list of available wireless devices in the given local area.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the list of available wireless devices are created from a list of wireless devices that have opted-in to a predetermined service.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of receiving the random connection comprises receiving the random connection to a wireless device randomly selected from the list of wireless device in the given local area further having pre-selected characteristics as determined by a calling party.

10. A method of enhancing social networking through random location connectivity, comprising the steps of:

receiving a request for a random connection to a wireless device in a given local area;

requesting a list of available wireless devices in the given local area; and

randomly selecting a wireless device from the list of available wireless devices in the given local area.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the method comprises the step of receiving the request from a first wireless device and further connecting the first wireless device with a second wireless device randomly selected from the list of available wireless devices in the given local area.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the method requests the list of available wireless devices in the given local area from a location server.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises the step of formatting a request for devices participating in a social network who are in the given local area.

14. A system of enhancing social networking through random location connectivity, comprising:

a transceiver; and

a processor operatively coupled to the transceiver, wherein the processor is programmed to;

request a random connection to a wireless device in a given local area; and

receive the random connection to the wireless device among a list of available wireless devices in the given local area.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the system further comprises a location server and a social network server that receives the request for the random connection from the transceiver and that has access to the list of available wireless devices in the given local area from the location server.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the random connection to the wireless device is a random connection to a user of a wireless device in the given local area or to an object coupled to the wireless device in the given local area.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the processor is coupled to a user interface for providing a list of area contacts selectable by a user.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the system further comprises a location server and a social network server coupled to each other via the Internet.

19. The system of claim 14, wherein the processor is coupled to a user interface for providing a recent call list that can include a given local area recently called where a call to the given local area from the recent call list generates another call to another randomly selected wireless device within the given local area.

20. The system of claim 14, wherein the transceiver is a part of a cellular phone or a camera phone.