Youth Based Social Networking

• US 20080281710A1
• Filed: 05/10/2008
• Published: 11/13/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/10/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Mary Kay Hoal
• Original Assignee: Mary Kay Hoal
• Inventors: Hoal, Mary Kay
• Application Number:
  US12/118,709
• Publication Number:
  US 20080281710A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0239 Online discounts or incentives
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0247 Calculate past, present or future revenues
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services

Abstract

The invention provides a method for managing an online social network, the method comprising: establishing criteria for membership in a social network; receiving a request to participate in the social network; obtaining information about the requester; verifying the actual identify of the requester; and determining the eligibility of the requester to participate in the social network based on the established criteria.

Claims

1. A method for managing an online social network, the method comprising:

establishing criteria for membership in a social network;

receiving a request to participate in the social network;

obtaining information about the requester;

verifying the actual identify of the requester; and

determining the eligibility of the requestor to participate in the social network based on the established criteria.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the established criteria is based on at least one of:

geographic area, age, gender, hobby, interest, relationship status, family status, profession, memberships, education, financial status, race, religion, and event type.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the established criteria is an age range.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the age range is restricted to youth.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the age range is nine to eighteen.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising creating a profile for an eligible first user.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the information obtained from the requestor is personal information.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein verifying the identify of the requester is based on presenting the requestor'"'"'s information to an internet database.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the request to participate in the social network further comprises a waiver of anonymity from the requester.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the request to participate in the social network comprises a request for personal information about the requester.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the personal information includes information from at least one category of:

nationality, address, birth, financial, governmental, criminal, military, work and education.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein verifying the identify of the requester comprises first verifying the identity of a proxy requestor.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the proxy is a parent or guardian of a minor requestor.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein further comprising verifying the identity of the proxy.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the verified proxy verifies the identify of the minor requestor.

16. The method of claim 13 further comprising running the verified identity of at least one of the requestor and the proxy through a sex-offender database.

20. The social network of claim 9 wherein the rewards are selected from the group consisting of funded internships, training, mentoring programs and scholarships.

21. The social network of claim 9 wherein the rewards are philanthropic donations selected by users.

22. The social network of claim 9 wherein revenues are membership fees collected from users.

23. The social network of claim 9 wherein revenues are advertising revenues collected from advertisers on said social network.

17. The method of claim 17 wherein the sex-offender database applies standards set forth by law for sex-offender screening.

18. The method of claim 18 wherein the sex-offender database qualifies as an FTC approved Safe Harbor provider under COPPA.

19. An online social network substantially limited to youth, the network comprising:

a) a computer database comprising data associating each user with information regarding age of the user;

b) a computer program for determining the eligibility of the user to participate in the social network based on established criteria;

c) means for collecting revenues based on access to the social network; and

d) a rewards program for returning a percentage of revenues to users as rewards.