Systems and Methods to Present Members of a Social Network for Real Time Communications

• US 20080255976A1
• Filed: 04/04/2008
• Published: 10/16/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: YellowPages.com LLC (Mudrick Capital Management LP)
• Original Assignee: UTBK, Inc.
• Inventors: HIRSON, Ron, FABER, Scott, ALTBERG, Ebbe, VAN DER LINDEN, Sean
• Application Number:
  US12/098,386
• Publication Number:
  US 20080255976A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/35
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/384 using social networks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/386 using messaging services or messaging apps using mobile network messaging services for payment, e.g. SMS G06Q20/3255
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0257 User requested
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0273 Determination of fees for advertising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for supporting real-time applications in data packet communication real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM] H04L51/04; selective video distribution H04N21/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/30 Profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles

Abstract

Methods and systems to facilitate real time communications and/or commerce via a social network. In one embodiment, a method includes maintaining data representing a social network of a plurality of members, including a first member and a second member; and providing the first member with information to present the second member, the information including a communication reference of a connection provider, the communication reference to be used to request the connection provider to establish a connection for real time communications between the first and second members without revealing a communication reference of the second member to the first member. In one embodiment, communication references are provided to facilitate the requests for real time communications with a member of the social network via a connection provider, which performs scheduling, filtering, payment processing, etc. for the member of the social network.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

maintaining data representing a social network of a plurality of members, including a first member and a second member; and

providing the first member with information to present the second member, the information including a communication reference of a connection provider, the communication reference to be used to request the connection provider to establish a connection for real time communications between the first and second members without revealing a communication reference of the second member to the first member.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second members are not directly connected in the social network.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

the connection provider establishing a first Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) connection to connect to the first member using the communication reference;

the connection provider determining a telephonic reference of the second member based on the communication reference used to establish the first VoIP connection;

the connection provider establishing a second Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) connection to connect to the second member using the telephonic reference of the second member; and

bridging the first and second VoIP connections to connect the first and second members.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the bridging of the first and second VoIP connections comprises establishing a media connection that does not go through the connection provider to connect the first and second members for telephone communications.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the connection provider establishing the first VoIP connection comprises the connection provider receiving a call for the first VoIP connection in response to the first member placing a call using the communication reference on a public switched telephone network.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the connection provider establishing the first VoIP connection comprises:

the connection provider receiving a request including the communication reference over a data connection; and

the connection provider placing a call for the first VoIP connection in response to the request.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the communication reference is embedded in a user interface element which when selected causes the request to be sent to the connection provider via a data communication network.

8. The method of claim 3, wherein the bridging the first connection and the second connection comprises translating a message from a first language to a second language to bridge the first connection and the second connection.

9. The method of claim 3, wherein the bridging the first connection and the second connection comprises converting a message between text and voice to bridge the first connection and the second connection.

10. The method of claim 2, wherein the communication reference includes a telephone number without an extension, a telephone number with an extension, a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) user identifier, or a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) uniform resource identifier (URI).

11. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

the connection provider charging the first member on behalf of the second member according to a price specified by the second member.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

the connection provider charging the second member a portion of an amount the connection provider charges the first member on behalf of the second member.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the price specified by the second member is dependent on a social distance between the first and second member in the social network.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the connection for real time communications between the first and second members comprises a telephone connection, an instant messaging connection for text, voice or video chat, or a two way voice connection.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a request for the connection between the first and second connection provider via the communication reference;

determining whether a time of the request is within a scheduled callable period of the second member;

wherein the request is blocked when the time of the request is outside the scheduled callable period of the second member.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the scheduled callable period is dependent on a social distance between the first and second members in the social network.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the information to present the second member further includes an indication of real time availability of the second member to conduct real time communications with the first member at a time the information is presented and a price the first member is to be charged for real time communications with the second member.

18. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

determining whether the first member is allowed to call for a connection for real time communications between the first and second members, based at least in part on a characteristic of a social connection between the first member and the second member in the social network;

wherein the information includes the communication reference of the connection provider in response to a determination that the first member is allowed to call for a connection for real time communications between the first and second members.

19. A machine readable media embodying instructions, the instructions causing a machine to perform a method, the method comprising:

maintaining data representing a social network of a plurality of members, including a first member and a second member; and

providing the first member with information to present the second member, the information including a communication reference of a connection provider, the communication reference to be used to request the connection provider to establish a connection for real time communications between the first and second members without revealing a communication reference of the second member to the first member.

20. A system, comprising:

means for maintaining data representing a social network of a plurality of members, including a first member and a second member; and

means for providing the first member with information to present the second member, the information including a communication reference of a connection provider, the communication reference to be used to request the connection provider to establish a connection for real time communications between the first and second members without revealing a communication reference of the second member to the first member.