System and method for managing web services data and presence data related to a plurality of users

• US 20080172458A1
• Filed: 02/13/2008
• Published: 07/17/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/12/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Ranous, Alex, Middleton, Justin
• Granted Patent: US 8,428,565 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/567 Integrating service provisioning from a plurality of service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/655 Combination of telephone service and social networking messaging within social networks H04L51/52
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42365 Presence services providing information on the willingness to communicate or the ability to communicate in terms of media capability or network connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications

Abstract

A system and method are described for interfacing a wireless device with a plurality of web services including social networking web services. For example, a system according to one embodiment of the invention comprises a system for interfacing a wireless device with a plurality of web services comprising a web service proxy having an API to allow other modules to interface with the web service proxy; a plurality of web services adapters interfaced with the web services proxy through the API, each one of the web services adapters configured to communicate with a particular web service using the specific communication formats required by that web service; wherein the web services adapters and the web services proxy convert between the communication formats employed to communicate with each of the web services and a wireless communication format, the wireless communication format being a different format than the communication formats required by each of the web services, thereby enabling bi-directional communication between the wireless device and the plurality of web services.

Claims

1. A method for managing social networking data and presence data for a plurality of user comprising:

collecting user data from multiple social networking sites;

combining the user data to generate a unified compilation of the social networking data for each user;

collecting presence information related to the presence of one or more of the users;

receiving a request from a first user for information related to other users, the request including specified criteria related to the unified compilation of the social networking data and to the presence information; and

transmitting a subset of the unified compilation and the presence information to the first user based on the specified criteria.

2. The method as in claim 1 wherein the presence data includes geographical data related to the location of the one or more other users.

3. The method as in claim 2 wherein the presence data further includes an electronic presence of the one or more other users.

4. The method as in claim 3 wherein the electronic presence comprises an indication as to whether each of the one or more users are online.

5. The method as in claim 2 wherein the presence information is collected and/or transmitted to the first user in the form of global positioning data related to the specific location of one or more of the users.

6. The method as in claim 2 wherein the presence information is collected and/or transmitted to the first user in the form of a city and/or state in which the one or more users are currently located.

7. The method as in claim 2 wherein the presence information is collected and/or transmitted to the first user in the form of a street address, intersection or business name.