METHOD OF CONDUCTING SOCIAL NETWORK APPLICATION OPERATIONS

• US 20140108539A1
• Filed: 08/17/2013
• Published: 04/17/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Crawford C.S. Lee
• Original Assignee: Crawford C.S. Lee
• Inventors: CRAWFORD, C.S. LEE
• Application Number:
  US13/969,560
• Publication Number:
  US 20140108539A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9536 Search customisation based on social or collaborative filtering
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0259 based on store location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• 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 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/024 Guidance services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications

Abstract

In one embodiment, a method of sharing locations of users participating in a social networking service at a geographic location, the method executed by a computer system and comprises: receiving location information and text descriptive information from a mobile device of a first user of the social networking service, the location information representing a geographic location of the first user, the text descriptive information manually provided by the first user on an input module of the mobile device; associating the location information with the text descriptive information of the first user in a database; sending the text descriptive information and the location information of the first user to a second user for display.

Claims

1. A method of sharing locations of users participating in a social networking service at a geographic location, the method executed by a computer system and comprising:

receiving location information and text descriptive information from a mobile device of a first user of the social networking service, the location information representing a geographic location of the first user, the text descriptive information manually provided by the first user on an input module of the mobile device;

associating the location information with the text descriptive information of the first user in a database;

sending the text descriptive information and the location information of the first user to a second user for display.

2. A mobile computing device comprising:

a processor for controlling the device;

a display;

wireless communication circuitry, wherein the wireless communication circuitry comprises circuitry for communicating over a short range wireless area network;

global positioning system (GPS) circuitry for acquiring GPS data; and

memory for storing data and software code for execution by the processor, wherein the software code comprises;

a first mobile application for interacting with a social network service, wherein (1) the first code is adapted to obtain location information using circuitry of the mobile device and text descriptive information from a first user of the mobile device, (2) the first user is a user of the social networking service, the location information represents a geographic location of the first user, and the text descriptive information is manually provided by the first user on the input module of the mobile device; and

(3) the first mobile application is adapted to communicate the location information and the text descriptive information to the social network service for association in an account of the first user of the social network service for communication of the text descriptive information and location information to a second user of the social network service for display; and

a second mobile application for providing a location based service, wherein (1) the second mobile application is adapted to communicate with at least one location based service server for application operations;

(2) the second mobile application provides digital content to the first user for multiple indoor retail locations where GPS information is unavailable;

(3) each of the multiple indoor retail locations includes a respective plurality of stores;

(4) each of the multiple indoor retail locations includes a respective plurality of access points of one or more short range wireless area networks;

(5) the location based service correlates multiple identifiers of access points of one or more short range wireless area networks with store locations within the respective indoor retail locations and sub-store locations within respective stores of corresponding indoor retail locations for presentation of digital content to the first user and for tracking of activities of the first user; and

(6) the location based service provides mapping operations including store locations identified in relation to identifiers of access points.

3. The mobile device of claim 2 wherein the at least one location based service correlates respective access points of one or more short range wireless area networks with point of sale locations within respective retail locations.

4. The mobile device of claim 2 wherein the at least one location based service detects presence of users of the at least one location based service in respective departments of multi-department retail merchants.

5. The mobile device of claim 4 wherein the at least one location based service generates analytic data reflective browsing aggregate behavior of users according multiple departments of multi-department retail merchants.