Social Networking System which Provides Notification of User Location Based on Distance

• US 20110137814A1
• Filed: 02/16/2011
• Published: 06/09/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Chemtron Research LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Behemoth Development Company LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Stewart, Brett B.
• Granted Patent: US 8,391,909 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/319
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/222 using geographical location information, e.g. messages transmitted or received in proximity of a certain spot or area
• 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: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/027 using movement velocity, acceleration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• 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 64/003 locating network equipment

Abstract

Systems, methods, apparatus and software have been discovered for use by individual users to monitor the geographic location of other people or assets with some relationship to the user. Once some manner of location information is determined, users have the ability to describe that location in various ways and control how that information is shared with other users.

Claims

1. A computer accessible non-transitory memory medium comprising program instructions for providing location information to a first user, wherein the program instructions are executable to:

receive location information of at least one second user, wherein the location information of the at least one second user is received over a wide area network, wherein the at least one second user is associated with the first user;

receive location information of the first user;

determine if the at least one second user is within a predetermined distance of the first user;

provide location information of the at least one second user to the first user based on said determining if the at least one second user is within the predetermined distance of the first user.

2. The computer accessible non-transitory memory medium of claim 1,

wherein the program instructions are executable to provide the location information of the at least one second user to the first user based on a determination that the at least one second user is within the predetermined distance of the first user.

3. The computer accessible non-transitory memory medium of claim 1,

wherein the program instructions are executable to provide the location information of the at least one second user to the first user based on a determination that the at least one second user is not within the predetermined distance of the first user.

4. The computer accessible non-transitory memory medium of claim 1,

wherein the at least one second user comprises a group of a plurality of second users.

5. The computer accessible non-transitory memory medium of claim 1,

wherein the memory medium stores first information corresponding to the first user, wherein the first information regards desired notification of location of the at least one second user;

wherein the first information comprises the predetermined distance;

wherein the first information is used for determining selective provision of the location information of the at least one second user based on a proximity of the at least one second user to the first user.

6. The computer accessible non-transitory memory medium of claim 5, wherein the first information further comprises information for selective provision of location information of the first user to the at least one second user based on a proximity of the first user to the at least one second user.

7. The computer accessible non-transitory memory medium of claim 1,

wherein said providing location information is performed periodically, wherein a period of said providing is based on a stored notification parameter.

8. The computer accessible non-transitory memory medium of claim 1,

wherein the memory medium is comprised in a computer system which implements at least a portion of a social networking service;

wherein the computer system is configured to communicate with a communication device operated by the first user over the wide area network.

9. The computer accessible non-transitory memory medium of claim 1,

wherein the memory medium is comprised in a communication device operated by the first user.

10. The computer accessible non-transitory memory medium of claim 1,

wherein the program instructions are executable to provide location information of the at least one second user to the first user based on said determining if the at least one second user is within the predetermined distance of the first user and based on one or more constraints configured by the first user.

11. A method for providing location information to a first user, the method comprising:

receiving location information of a second user, wherein the location information of the second user is received over a wide area network, wherein the second user is associated with the first user;

receiving location information of the first user;

determining if the second user is within a predetermined distance of the first user;

providing location information of the second user to the first user based on said determining if the second user is within the predetermined distance of the first user.

12. The method of claim 11,

wherein said providing location information of the at least one second user to the first user is performed based on a determination that the at least one second user is within the predetermined distance of the first user.

13. The method of claim 11,

wherein said providing location information of the at least one second user to the first user based is performed on a determination that the at least one second user is not within the predetermined distance of the first user.

14. The method claim 11,

wherein the at least one second user comprises a group of a plurality of second users.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

storing notification information corresponding to the first user, wherein the notification information regards desired notification of location of the at least one second user;

wherein the notification information comprises the predetermined distance;

wherein the notification information comprises information for determining selective provision of the location information of the at least one second user based on a proximity of the at least one second user to the first user.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the notification information further comprises information for selective provision of location information of the first user to the at least one second user based on a proximity of the first user to the at least one second user.

17. The method of claim 11,

wherein said providing location information is performed periodically, wherein a period of said providing is based on a stored notification parameter.

18. The method of claim 11,

wherein the method is performed by a computer system which implements at least a portion of a social networking service;

wherein the computer system is configured to communicate with a communication device operated by the first user over the wide area network.

19. The method of claim 11,

wherein the method is performed by a communication device operated by the first user.

20. The method of claim 11,

wherein said providing location information comprises providing location information of the at least one second user to the first user based on said determining if the at least one second user is within the predetermined distance of the first user and based on one or more constraints configured by the first user.

21. A computer accessible non-transitory memory medium comprising program instructions for providing location information to a first user, wherein the program instructions are executable to:

store first information corresponding to the first user, wherein the first information regards desired notification of location of a plurality of second users based on a proximity of the second users to the first user, wherein the plurality of second users are associated with the first user;

receive location information of one or more of the plurality of second users, wherein the location information of the one or more of the plurality of second users is received over a wide area network;

selectively provide location information of one or more of the plurality of second users to the first user based on the received location information and the first information.

22. The computer accessible non-transitory memory medium of claim 21,

wherein the program instructions are executable to provide location information of at least one second user to the first user based on a determination that the at least one second user is within a predetermined distance of the first user.

23. The computer accessible non-transitory memory medium of claim 21,

wherein the program instructions are executable to provide location information of at least one second user to the first user based on a determination that the at least one second user is not within a predetermined distance of the first user.

24. The computer accessible non-transitory memory medium of claim 21,

wherein said providing location information is performed periodically, wherein a period of said providing is based on a stored notification parameter.

25. The computer accessible non-transitory memory medium of claim 21,

wherein the memory medium is comprised in a computer system which implements at least a portion of a social networking service;

wherein the computer system is configured to communicate with a communication device operated by the first user over the wide area network.

26. The computer accessible non-transitory memory medium of claim 21,

wherein the memory medium is comprised in a communication device operated by the first user.

27. The computer accessible non-transitory memory medium of claim 21,

wherein the program instructions are executable to provide location information of a second user to the first user based on determining that the second user is within the predetermined distance of the first user and based on one or more constraints configured by the first user.

28. A computer accessible non-transitory memory medium comprising program instructions for providing location information to a first user, wherein the program instructions are executable to:

store first information corresponding to the first user, wherein the first information regards desired notification of the first user'"'"'s location to one or more of a plurality of second users;

wherein the first information comprises information for selective provision of first location information of the first user based on a proximity of one or more of the second users to the first user; and

receive location information of at least one second user, wherein the location information of the at least one second user is received over a wide area network, wherein the at least one second user is associated with the first user;

selectively provide the first location information of the first user to one or more of the plurality of second users based on the received location information of the plurality of second users and the first information.

29. The computer accessible non-transitory memory medium of claim 28,

wherein the program instructions are further executable to receive the first location information of the first user over a wide area network.

30. The computer accessible non-transitory memory medium of claim 28,

wherein the memory medium is comprised in a computer system which implements at least a portion of a social networking service.

31. A computer accessible non-transitory memory medium comprising program instructions for providing location information to a first user, wherein the program instructions are executable to:

receive location information of at least one second user, wherein the location information of the at least one second user is received over a wide area network, wherein the at least one second user is associated with the first user;

receive location information of the first user;

determine if the at least one second user is within a predetermined distance of the first user;

provide location information of the first user to the at least one second user based on said determining if the at least one second user is within the predetermined distance of the first user.

32. The computer accessible non-transitory memory medium of claim 31, wherein the program instructions execute in a communication device of the first user.

33. The computer accessible non-transitory memory medium of claim 31, wherein the communication device is a mobile communication device.

34. A computer accessible non-transitory memory medium comprising program instructions for managing geographic information of a first user, wherein the program instructions are executable to:

receive location information of the first user, wherein the location information of the first user is received over a wide area network;

selectively provide the location information of the first user to a second user over the wide area network based at least in part on proximity restrictions on the sharing of the location information.