SOCIAL NETWORK FOR RECIPROCAL DATA SHARING

• US 20110289153A1
• Filed: 08/03/2011
• Published: 11/24/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Slack Technologies LLC (Salesforce.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Excalibur IP, LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Inventors: Farmer, F. Randall, Hull, Mark E., Perelman, Ellen S.
• Granted Patent: US 9,978,042 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/205
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles

Abstract

A method, apparatus, and system are directed towards seeding a user'"'"'s contacts for their online social network. The invention is arranged to automatically recommend to the user a set of seed contacts that the user may employ to invite to join their social network. The set of seed contacts may be harvested from the user'"'"'s existing portal activities, as well as other sources. In one embodiment, the invention analyzes portal activity, such as email exchanges with the user, and the like, to determine a frequency of contact with the user. Other sources may include but not be limited to emails, names within an address book of the user, names within an address book of another person, a buddy list, an instant messaging list, an activity, a mailing list, an online discussion group, a membership in a category, chat group, and the like.

Claims

1-20. -20. (canceled)

21. A method comprising:

identifying, via a server, data fields associated with a user profile of a user on a social network, each data field representing a different entry related to the user;

establishing, over a network, a communication with a third party service;

identifying, via the server, information from the third party service that corresponds to information contained within a data field of the user profile; and

incorporating, via the server, content related to the information from the third party service into the data field of the user profile.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

identifying, via the server, corresponding data field information from the user profile that corresponds to third party information on the third party service; and

communicating, via the server, content related to the identified corresponding data field information to the third party service.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein said communicating the content related to the identified corresponding data field information facilitates incorporation of the content related to the identified corresponding data field information within a data field of the third party service.

24. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

identifying a plurality of users on the social network associated with the user;

identifying relationships between the user and each user of the plurality of users; and

determining a degree of separation for each of the identified relationships.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein said plurality of users are identified as friends within the user profile.

26. The method of claim 24, further comprising grouping the plurality of users into categories within the user profile.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein each category is based on the identified relationship between members of the category and the user.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein each user of the plurality of users is grouped based on designations made by the user.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein said designations comprise category specific permissions set by the user.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein said incorporating the content related to the information from the third party service into the data field of the user profile further comprises enabling a category of users associated with the data field access to the content related to the information from the third party service.

31. The method of claim 21, wherein the social network is a computerized service that implements a portal environment for communicating information to and from users of the social network, the social network utilizing information available through various portal services of the portal environment that each user has interacted with, and integrating said information within the social network.

32. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

comparing the information from the third party service with the information contained within the data field of the user profile; and

identifying the content related to the information from the third party service, the content comprises content that corresponds to the information in the data field and is absent from the data field.

33. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

comparing the identified corresponding data field information with the third party information; and

identifying the content related to the identified corresponding data field information, the content comprises content that corresponds to the third party information and is absent from the third party service.

34. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

incorporating the information from the third party service into the data field of the user profile.

35. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

communicating the identified corresponding data field information to the third party service, wherein said communicating the identified corresponding data field information facilitates incorporation of the identified corresponding data field information within a data field of the third party service.

36. A system comprising:

a database comprising stored user data;

a social network server in communication with the user data in the database, the social network server programmed to perform a plurality of operations, comprising;

identifying data fields associated with a user profile of a user on a social network, each data field representing a different entry related to the user;

establishing a communication with a third party service;

identifying information from the third party service that corresponds to information contained within a data field of the user profile; and

incorporating content related to the information from the third party service into the data field of the user profile.

37. The system of claim 36, wherein the social network server is programmed to perform further operations comprising:

identifying corresponding data field information from the user profile that corresponds to third party information on the third party service; and

communicating content related to the identified corresponding data field information to the third party service.

38. The system of claim 37, wherein said communicating the content related to the identified corresponding data field information facilitates incorporation of the content related to the identified corresponding data field information within a data field of the third party service.

39. The system of claim 36, wherein the social network server is programmed to perform further operations comprising:

comparing the information from the third party service with the information contained within the data field of the user profile; and

identifying the content related to the information from the third party service, the content comprises content that corresponds to the information in the data field and is absent from the data field.

40. The system of claim 38, wherein the social network server is programmed to perform further operations comprising:

comparing the identified corresponding data field information with the third party information; and

identifying the content related to the identified corresponding data field information, the content comprises content that corresponds to the third party information and is absent from the third party service.