Dynamic geosocial networking

• US 20080140650A1
• Filed: 11/28/2007
• Published: 06/12/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Geofriend, LLC
• Original Assignee: David Stackpole
• Inventors: Stackpole, David
• Granted Patent: US 8,108,414 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/5
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• 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 4/21 for social networking applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a method and system for establishing a geosocial network. A client application is provided on a communications device of a user seeking to establish the geosocial network. The user creates a personal profile and a preference profile using the client application. The preference profile refers to characteristics the user seeks in potential members of the geosocial network. The user transfers the personal and preference profiles to the social networking server. The social networking server registers a location and range selected by the user for the geosocial network. The social networking server identifies potential members within the registered location and range by matching the personal profile of each of the potential members with the preference and personal profiles of the user. The social networking server provides communications link between the user and the identified potential members upon mutual confirmation between the user and the identified potential members.

Claims

1. A method of establishing a geosocial network, comprising the steps of:

providing a client application on a communications device of a user;

creating a personal profile and a preference profile by said user using said client application, wherein said preference profile refers to characteristics sought by the user in potential members of said geosocial network;

transferring said personal profile and the preference profile to a social networking server using the client application by the user;

registering a location and range for the geosocial network by said social networking server, wherein said location and said range are selected by the user;

identifying said potential members within said registered location and range by matching personal profile of each of the potential members with the preference profile and the personal profile created by the user; and

providing a communications link between the user and one or more of the identified potential members upon mutual confirmation between the user and said one or more of the identified potential members;

whereby said communications link establishes the geosocial network based on the preference profile of the user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the user imports the personal profile and the preference profile by choosing one of a plurality of personal and preference profiles stored at the social networking server.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of establishing a geosocial network is based on one of the preference profiles of the user and relationship criteria of the user, wherein said relationship criteria defines the type of relationship sought by the user with potential members.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the potential members are identified based on overlaps found between the registered location and range of the user and registered location and range of the potential members, further wherein the potential members are identified as one of actual potential members and virtual potential members, wherein said virtual potential members are not in physical proximity of the user.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the virtual members of the geosocial network access limited information from the personal profile and preference profile of members at a location and members within virtual localized geosocial network of the virtual members prior to visiting said location.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the social networking server recommends an optimal place and time to hold a social event based on the collective preferences of invitees to said social event, wherein said collective preferences comprise time, date, environment, and distance preferences of the invitees.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the communications link is provided between the user, and members and non members of the geosocial network for a designated period of the social event.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the social networking server allows the user to create and join affinity groups through a menu-driven graphical user interface provided on said communications device of the user.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the user searches for one of said affinity groups and the potential members in one or more social categories of interest to the user.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the user creates and associates functions to each of the affinity groups, wherein said functions are used to prompt actions pertaining to each of the affinity groups, wherein the functions are activated by using one of user recognizable codes, graphical user interface, and a combination thereof.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the user associates the functions with events, new and existing social contacts, and profiles.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the functions are activated using said user recognizable codes or the graphical user interface, further wherein the functions facilitate the search for locations of members of the affinity groups by the user.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the user performs said search by one of a step of combining the user recognizable codes associated with the affinity groups and a step of combining graphical user interface entries in a search criteria.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the user performs said search by combining the user recognizable codes, graphical user interface entries, and the preference profile of the user in a search criteria.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising a step of performing searches by the user for locations of highest social value of the potential members based on common topics of interest and the preference profile sought by the user.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the social networking server determines the location and the range of the user from information generated by one of global positioning system on the communications device, scanning of the personal profile, inputs from the user, and any combination thereof.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the user registers a plurality of preferred locations to build the geosocial network.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the personal profile and the preference profile comprise physical and non physical characteristics, clothing characteristics, location, and distinguishing characteristics of the user and the potential members respectively.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the user searches for a target user by providing one of visual data and descriptive data of said target user in a search query to the social networking server, wherein the social networking server responds with profiles of the potential members matching said visual data and said descriptive data.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the user searches for the target user via automated notifications from the social networking server to the user based on proximity of the user to compatible target users.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the user searches for the target user via one of degree and distance estimation and triangulation from other users within the vicinity to identify the target user.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the social networking server queries the user to confirm one of said profiles of the potential members as a match to the target user, further wherein the social networking server alerts the target user upon receiving a confirmation from the user.

23. The method of claim 1, further comprising a step of performing a search by the user using search criteria comprising weighted characteristics of the preference profile, weighted keywords of interest to the user, and weighted locations of interest to the user, wherein the user applies weights to said search criteria for finding members of affinity groups and the potential members compatible with the user in a social context.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising a step of determining a social value score of a location based on weighted characteristics of said location, members in the location, and weighted keywords of interest to the user, wherein said social value score is used by the social networking server to suggest locations of highest social value to the user.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the keywords of interest to the user in the search criteria is incorporated in the preference profile of the user.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein the personal profile of the user is augmented using inputs provided by social contacts of the user.

27. The method of claim 1, wherein the social networking server determines optimal matches among the social contacts of the user and between the social contacts and the user, further wherein the social networking server notifies the user of said optimal matches.

28. The method of claim 1, wherein the social networking server stores and forwards communication messages between members of the geosocial network, further wherein the social networking sever identifies keywords from said communication messages to determine topics of the communication messages and frequency of occurrence of each of said topics.

29. The method of claim 1, further comprising a step of segmenting social contacts of the user into categories, wherein the user assigns a factor to each category for determining a degree of importance of the category.

30. The method of claim 1, wherein the user requests a compatibility ranking between social contacts of the user by entering names of said social contacts into the social networking server.

31. The method of claim 1, wherein the user may create a temporary profile customized to a particular social context.

32. A system for establishing a geosocial network comprising:

a client application on a communications device of a user for one of creating and importing a personal profile and a preference profile and transferring said personal profile and said preference profile to a social networking server;

said social networking server further comprising;

a geocoding module for registering a location and range of said geosocial network for the user, wherein said location and said range are selected by the user;

a database comprising user registry, wherein said user registry is used to identify potential members within the location and the range by matching personal profile of each of said potential members with the preference profile and the personal profile created by the user; and

a communications network for establishing a communications link between the user, the identified potential members, and the social networking server.

33. The system of claim 32, wherein the client application comprises a graphical user interface and enables the user to perform one or more of the steps of:

creating and joining affinity groups;

searching locations of members of said affinity groups using user recognizable codes associated with the affinity groups;

searching for the potential members based on one of the preference profiles specified by the user and common topics of interest between the user and the potential members; and

searching for a target user by providing visual data and descriptive data of said target user.

34. The system of claim 32, wherein the geocoding module extracts location information from one of the personal profile of the user and global positioning feeds from the communications device of the user.

35. A computer program product comprising computer executable instructions embodied in a computer-readable medium, wherein said computer program product comprises:

a first computer parsable program code for creating a personal profile and a preference profile, wherein said preference profile refers to characteristics sought by a user in potential members of a geosocial network;

a second computer parsable program code for transferring said personal profile and the preference profile to a social networking server;

a third computer parsable program code for registering a location and range for the geosocial network by said social networking server, wherein said location and said range are selected by said user;

a fourth computer parsable program code for identifying potential members within said registered location and range by matching personal profile of each of the potential members with the preference profile and the personal profile created by the user; and

a fifth computer parsable program code for providing a communications link between the user and one or more of the identified potential members upon mutual confirmation between the user and said one or more of the identified potential members.