VISITOR-ASSISTED USER PROFILE CREATION

• US 20100082683A1
• Filed: 09/26/2008
• Published: 04/01/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Wu, Dan, Steinbok, Jeffrey Earl, Gadkari, Archana M., Zappa, Eric, Kunins, Jeffrey Craig, Bono, Joseph Andrew, Perrin, Brian M., Law, David W.
• Granted Patent: US 8,195,601 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/784
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

A visitor to a profile page is invited to modify a user profile associated with the profile page. If the visitor elects to provide a suggested modification to the profile page, a message is transmitted to the user that owns the profile page requesting authorization to perform the suggested modification. In response to the message, the user can accept the suggested modification to the user profile, decline the suggested modification to the user profile, or edit the suggested modification to the user profile. If the user accepts or edits the suggested modification to the user profile, the user profile is modified accordingly. In this manner, a visitor to a profile page can assist in the creation of a user profile.

Claims

1. A method for enabling a visitor to a profile page to modify a user profile associated with the profile page, the method comprising:

receiving a request for a profile page for a user, the profile page comprising data stored in the user profile and an invitation for the visitor to modify the data stored in the user profile;

providing the profile page in response to the request;

receiving a request to modify the user profile in response to the invitation contained in the profile page; and

modifying the user profile in response to receiving the request.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the request to modify the user profile comprises a suggested modification to the user profile received from the visitor.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising in response to receiving the request to modify the user profile, transmitting a message to the user requesting authorization to perform the suggested modification on the user profile.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

receiving an authorization from the user to perform the suggested modification on the user profile in response to the message; and

modifying the user profile according to the suggested modification in response to receiving the authorization.

5. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

receiving a reply to the message indicating that the user profile is not to be modified; and

in response to receiving the reply, not performing the suggested modification on the user profile.

6. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

receiving an authorization from the use, the authorization including an edit to the suggested modification to the user profile; and

modifying the user profile according to the edit specified by the authorization.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein a social networking application is configured to provide and maintain the user profile and the profile page, to transmit the message to the user requesting authorization, to receive the authorization to modify the user profile, and to modify the user profile in response to receiving the authorization.

8. The method of claim 3, wherein the message comprises a private message.

9. A computer storage medium having computer executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:

store a user profile for a user and a profile page comprising data stored in the user profile and an invitation for a visitor to the profile page to suggest a modification to the user profile;

receive a request for the profile page;

provide the profile page in response to the request;

receive a suggested modification to the user profile from the visitor in response to a selection of the invitation contained in the profile page by the visitor; and

to

modify the user profile according to the suggested modification.

10. The computer storage medium of claim 9, having a social networking application also stored thereupon, the social networking application configured to store the user profile and the profile page, to receive the request for the profile page, to provide the profile page in response to the request, to receive the suggested modification, and to modify the user profile according to the suggested modification.

11. The computer storage medium of claim 10, having further computer executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the computer will cause the computer to transmit a message to the user requesting authorization to perform the suggested modification on the user profile in response to receiving the suggested modification.

12. The computer storage medium of claim 11, having further computer executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the computer will cause the computer to:

receive a reply to the message comprising an authorization to perform the suggested modification; and

to

perform the suggested modification on the user profile in response to receiving the reply.

13. The computer storage medium of claim 11, having further computer executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the computer will cause the computer to:

receive a reply to the message comprising a rejection of the suggested modification; and

to

not perform the suggested modification on the user profile in response to receiving the reply.

14. The computer storage medium of claim 11, having further computer executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the computer will cause the computer to:

receive a reply to the message comprising an edit to the suggested modification; and

to

modify the user profile according to the edit specified by the reply.

15. A method for enabling a first user to modify a user profile associated with a second user, the method comprising:

receiving a request for a profile page associated with the second user, the profile page comprising data stored in a user profile associated with the second user and an invitation for the first user to modify the data stored in the user profile;

providing the profile page to the first user in response to the request;

receiving a request from the first user to modify the user profile of the second user in response to the invitation contained in the profile page of the second user;

in response to receiving the request to modify the user profile, transmitting an authorization request to the second user requesting authorization to modify the user profile of the second user;

receiving an authorization from the second user to modify the user profile in response to the authorization request; and

modifying the user profile of the second user in response to receiving the authorization.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the second user is a member of a social networking Web application and wherein the user profile is maintained by the social networking Web application for the second user.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

receiving a reply to the authorization request indicating that the user profile is not to be modified; and

in response to receiving the reply, not modifying the user profile.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the request to modify the user profile of the second user comprises a suggested modification to the user profile.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

receiving a reply to the authorization request indicating that an edit to the suggested modification is to be utilized to modify the user profile; and

in response to receiving the reply, modifying the user profile according to the edit.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the authorization request comprises a private message transmitted to the second user.