SYSTEM AND METHOD OF CREATING UNIQUE PROFILES ON A SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE

• US 20140082073A1
• Filed: 04/01/2013
• Published: 03/20/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/17/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dropbox, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Dropbox, Inc.
• Inventors: Wable, Akhil, Agarwal, Aditya, Sanghvi, Ruchi, Jenkins, Joshua
• Granted Patent: US 9,203,926 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1044 Group management mechanisms management of multicast group membership H04L12/185; reconfiguring of node membership in a computing system to eliminate errors G06F11/1425
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles

Abstract

A social networking system enables users to join multiple user groups and create separate profiles for each group they join on the site. Each profile has a default set of user fields and a set of customized, administrator-created fields. Members of a group may create a profile when joining a particular group and may create the profile using a custom profile template generated for each group. Thus, if the same user joins a second group, they can create a new profile for the second group based on a profile template that is unique to the second group. The system may use information from the first profile to auto-populate the second profile if the second profile includes one or more of the same fields as the first profile. However, users may be able to edit the auto-populated information in the second profile to make it more specific to the second group.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of providing a user of a social networking site the ability to create a unique profile for each group the user is a member of, comprising the steps of:

receiving, from a first user, a request to form a first group,

in response to the request, forming, by at least one processor, a first group on the social networking site that allows users of the social networking site to join the first group;

enabling, by the at least one processor, the creation of a first member profile template that is unique to the first group;

receiving, from a second user, a request to form a second group,

in response to the request, forming, by at least one processor, a second group that allows users of the social media site to join the second group; and

enabling the creation of a second member profile template that is unique to the second group;

in response to a third user joining the first group, enabling the creation of a first profile based on the first member profile template; and

in response to the third user joining the second group, enabling the creation of a second profile based on the second member profile template,

wherein the first profile differs from the second profile.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein

the first member profile template comprises a first group of fields that are unique to the first group, and

the second member profile template comprises a second group of fields that are unique to the second group.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the first group of fields further comprises:

at least one default field that is common to both the first member profile template and the second member profile template, and

a plurality of custom fields that is unique to the first group.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the at least one default field is a name field.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the at least one default field is an e-mail address field.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the custom fields for the first member profile template are user-defined and created when the first user forms the first group.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the at least one default field is automatically populated based on information a user enters when joining the social networking site.

8. A computer system for allowing users of a social networking site to create a unique member profile for each group that the user is a member of, the computer system comprising at least one processor configured to:

receive, from a user of the social networking site, a first set of profile information based on a first group profile template that the user completes when joining the first group on the social networking site,

generate, for the user, a first group profile based on the first set of profile information,

wherein the first group profile for the user is unique to the first group,

receive, from the user, a second set of profile information based on a second group profile template that the user completes when the user joins a second group on the social networking site, and

generate, for the user, a second group profile based on the second set of profile information, wherein the second group profile for the user is unique to the second group,

wherein the member profile for the user for the first group can only be viewed by members of the first group.

9. The computer system of claim 8, wherein the first set of profile information and the second set of profile information contain common data.

10. The computer system of claim 8, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to allow the user to maintain a plurality of group profiles, each group profile based on a respective group profile template, wherein each of the plurality of group profiles contains information that is unique to its respective group.

11. The computer system of claim 8, wherein the first group profile contains a plurality of common fields and a plurality of custom fields that is unique to the first group.

12. The computer system of claim 8, the at least one processor being further configured to allow an administrator of the group to create a member profile template when the administrator creates the group on the social networking site.

13. The computer system of claim 8, wherein all members of the first group complete the same first group profile template.

14. A computer system comprising at least one processor configured to:

receive, from a user, a first set of information that the user enters into a first profile template for use in establishing a first profile for the user within a context of a first user group on a social networking site;

receive, from the user, a second set of information that the user enters into a second profile template for use in establishing a second profile for the user within the context of a second user group on the social networking site;

enable the creation of, within the context of the first user group on the social networking site, a first profile for the user based on the first set of information; and

enable the creation of, within the context of the second user group on the social networking site, a second profile for the user based on the second set of information; and

at a particular time;

use the first profile for the user within the context of the first user group; and

use the second profile for the user within the context of the second user group.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the first profile contains different information from the second profile.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein receiving the first set of information comprises receiving the completed first member profile template from the user when the user joins the first group, and the step of receiving the second set of information comprises receiving the completed second member profile template from user when the user joins the second group.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein:

the first member profile template comprises a set of default fields and a first set of custom fields that are unique to the first group; and

the second member profile template comprises the set of default fields and a second set of custom fields that are unique to the second group.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein:

the first user group further comprises a first set of users of the social networking site, the second user group further comprises a second set of users of the social networking site, and

at least one user of the first set of users is not a member of the second set of users.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to allow a user to change the information associated with the set of default fields.

20. The system of claim 14, wherein that at least one processor is further configured to require that all members of the first group complete the same first group profile template.