HOLIDAY EXPRESSION AND SHARING IN A GEOSPATIALLY CONSTRAINED SOCIAL NETWORK

• US 20140222339A1
• Filed: 04/15/2014
• Published: 08/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Raj Abhyanker
• Original Assignee: Raj Abhyanker
• Inventors: Abhyanker, Raj
• Application Number:
  US14/252,822
• Publication Number:
  US 20140222339A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/533
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3837 Data obtained from a single source
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1845 broadcast or multicast in a specific location, e.g. geocast protocols for adapting network applications to user terminal location H04L67/52; services specially adapted for wireless communication networks making use of the location of users or terminals H04W4/02
• 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 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/101 Access control lists [ACL]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/02 Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security

Abstract

Disclosed are methods of verifying a user of a geospatial social network has a primary residence in a particular location associated with a claimed neighborhood using a processor and a memory. The user verified in the geospatial social network as having the primary residence at the particular location is permitted to place a holiday pushpin on a geospatial representation of a property boundary associated with the user. A holiday map in generated in which various homes associated with users of the geospatial social network who have placed holiday pushpins on their property boundaries are published to other verified users in the claimed neighborhood. The method restricts the visibility of the holiday map to users who have verified their address in the claimed neighborhood and denies access to the holiday map to users who have verified their addresses in neighborhoods different than the claimed neighborhood.

Claims

1. A method of a holiday expression server comprising:

verifying that a user of a geospatially constrained social network has a primary residence at a particular location associated with a claimed neighborhood based on an address data using a processor and a memory;

permitting the user to set a privacy setting associated with a profile data such that a certain information of the user is marked as private in the geospatially constrained social network and is therefore masked from being visible to neighboring users of the user in the geospatially constrained social network;

permitting the user that has been verified in the geospatially constrained social network as having the primary residence at the particular location to place a holiday marker-on a geo-spatial representation of a property boundary associated with the user;

generating a holiday map in which various homes associated with individual users of the geospatially constrained social network that have placed holiday marker on their property boundaries are published to other verified users in the claimed neighborhood;

restricting visibility of the holiday map to users who have verified their address in the claimed neighborhood; and

denying access to the holiday map to users who have verified their addresses in neighborhoods different than the claimed neighborhood.

2. The method of claim 1

wherein the user is provided an additional privilege as a lead user in the geospatially constrained social network based on at least one of a participation level of the user in the geospatially constrained social network and an activity level of the user associated with encouraging neighbors to participate in the geospatially constrained social network.

3. The method of claim 1

automatically generating a walking map of the claimed neighborhood based on a request of the users in the claimed neighborhood,

wherein the holiday map is at least one of a Christmas lighting display map, an Independence day fireworks map, and a Halloween candy availability map.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the holiday marker is associated with a Halloween candy distribution by the user of the geospatially constrained social network, and wherein the holiday map is a treat map.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the geospatially constrained social network has a domain name of nextdoor having a generic top-top level suffix of com.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising annotating the holiday map based on real-time feedback from users of the geospatially constrained social network such that the holiday map is updated based on at least one of an availability, a rating, and a review of various items listed in the holiday map.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the claimed neighborhood of the user is activated based on a primary residential address associated with each of the other verified users through at least one of the post card verification, and a driver license verification.

8. The method of claim 1 permitting a holiday broadcast data to be disseminated to adjacent neighborhoods that have been claimed by different users in a manner such that the holiday broadcast data is optionally disseminated to the surrounding claimed neighborhoods based on a preference of the user.

9. The method of claim 1

wherein the holiday marker generated through a data processing system is distributed through at least one of an on-page posting, an electronic communication, and a push notification delivered to desktops, mobile devices and/or data processing systems associated with users and their user profiles in the claimed neighborhood restricting visibility of the holiday map to users who have verified their address in the claimed neighborhood;

and

denying access to the holiday map to users who have verified their addresses in neighborhoods different than the claimed neighborhood.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

generating a separate login to the online community designed to be usable by at least one of a police department, a municipal agency, a neighborhood association, and a neighborhood leader associated with the particular neighborhood;

permitting at least one of the police department, the municipal agency, the neighborhood association, and the neighborhood leader to at least one;

invite residents of the particular neighborhood themselves using the holiday expression server using a self-authenticating access code that permits new users that enter the self-authenticating access code in the online community to automatically join the particular neighborhood as verified users,

generate at least one of a virtual neighborhood watch group and an emergency preparedness group restricted to users verified in the particular neighborhood using the holiday expression server,

conduct high value crime and safety related discussions from local police and fire officials that is restricted to users verified in the particular neighborhood using the holiday expression server,

broadcast information across the particular neighborhood, and

receive and track neighborhood level membership and activity to identify leaders from the restricted group of users verified in the particular neighborhood using the holiday expression server.

11. A method of a holiday expression server comprising:

generating a treat map in a geospatially constrained social network in which users that have verified addresses associated with each listing in the treat map have a holiday marker placed on a visual representation of a property associated with each verified address when the users indicate that they are offering Halloween candy to neighborhood residents having verified addresses in the geospatially constrained social network using a processor and a memory;

permitting visibility of the treat map to users who have verified their address in the claimed neighborhood;

denying access to the treat map to users who have verified their addresses in neighborhoods different than the claimed neighborhood; and

permitting at least one of the police department, the municipal agency, the neighborhood association, and the neighborhood leader to at least one;

invite residents of the particular neighborhood themselves using the holiday expression server using a self-authenticating access code that permits new users that enter the self-authenticating access code in the online community to automatically join the particular neighborhood as verified users,

generate at least one of a virtual neighborhood watch group and an emergency preparedness group restricted to users verified in the particular neighborhood using the holiday expression server,

conduct high value crime and safety related discussions from local police and fire officials that is restricted to users verified in the particular neighborhood using the holiday expression server,

broadcast information across the particular neighborhood, and

receive and track neighborhood level membership and activity to identify leaders from the restricted group of users verified in the particular neighborhood using the holiday expression server.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

verifying that a user of the geospatially constrained social network has a primary residence at a particular location associated with a claimed neighborhood based on at least one of an address data and a zip code data verified using at least one of a post card verification and a drivers license verification;

permitting the user that has been verified in the geospatially constrained social network as having the primary residence at the particular location to place the holiday marker on a geo-spatial representation of a property boundary associated with the user;

generating a holiday map in which various homes associated with users of the geospatially constrained social network that have placed holiday markers on their property boundaries are published to other verified users in the claimed neighborhood; and

automatically generating a walking map of the claimed neighborhood based on a request of the users in the claimed neighborhood,

wherein the holiday map is at least one of a Christmas lighting display map, an Independence day fireworks map, and a Halloween candy availability map.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the holiday marker is associated with a Halloween candy distribution by the user of the geospatially constrained social network, and wherein the holiday map is the treat map.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising generating an optimal walking route to homes offering Halloween candy in the claimed neighborhood through a navigation system of a mobile device associated with the user.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

permitting the user to set a time and day of candy availability associated with the holiday marker, such that the user can select when candy will be available at their home, and what kind of candy will be offered at their home.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising annotating the holiday map based on real-time feedback from users of the geospatially constrained social network such that the holiday map is updated based on at least one of an availability, a rating, and a review of various items listed in the holiday map.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the claimed neighborhood of the user is activated based on a minimum number of other verified users in a threshold distance that have been verified through a primary residential address associated with each of the other verified users through at least one of the post card verification and a drivers license verification.

18. The method of claim 17 permitting a holiday broadcast data to be disseminated to adjacent neighborhoods that have been claimed by different users in a manner such that the holiday broadcast data is optionally disseminated to the surrounding claimed neighborhoods based on a preference of the user.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the holiday marker generated through a data processing system is radially distributed through at least one of an on-page posting, an electronic communication, and a push notification delivered to desktops, mobile devices and/or data processing system s associated with users and their user profiles around an epicenter defined at a set of geospatial coordinates associated with the holiday broadcast data to all subscribed user profiles in a circular geo-fenced area defined by a threshold distance from the set of geospatial coordinates associated with the holiday broadcast data through an radial algorithm of a neighborhood broadcasting system that measures a distance away of each address associated with each user profile from a current geospatial location at the epicenter.

20. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

generating a separate login to the online community designed to be usable by at least one of a police department, a municipal agency, a neighborhood association, and a neighborhood leader associated with the particular neighborhood.

21. A neighborhood communication system comprising:

a holiday expression server having a processor communicatively coupled with a memory having a set of instructions thereon which when executed through the processor;

to verify that each user of the community network lives at a residence associated with a claimable residential address of the community network using a processor and a memory;

to obtain from each user of the community network, using the processor of a computing device, member data associated with each user, the member data including an address;

to associate the address with a profile of each user;

to determine a location of each user based on the member data;

to store the member data in a database;

to generate a holiday map in which various homes associated with users of the geospatially constrained social network that have placed holiday markers on their property boundaries are published to other verified users in the claimed neighborhood;

to restrict visibility of the holiday map to users who have verified their address in the claimed neighborhood;

to deny access to the holiday map to users who have verified their addresses in neighborhoods different than the claimed neighborhood; and

to obtain a personal address privacy preference from each user, the personal address privacy preference specifying if at least one of an address and a last name should be displayed to other users.

22. The neighborhood communication system of claim 21:

wherein the holiday expression server to initially set a particular neighborhood to a pilot phase status in which the online community of the particular neighborhood is provisionally defined until a minimum number of users verify their residential addresses in the particular neighborhood through the holiday expression server, and

wherein the holiday expression server to automatically delete profiles of users that remain unverified after a threshold window of time.

23. The neighborhood communication system of claim 22 wherein the neighborhood communication system is designed to create private websites to facilitate communication among neighbors and build stronger neighborhoods.

24. The neighborhood communication system of claim 21:

wherein the holiday expression server communicatively coupled with a mapping server through a network to apply an address verification algorithm associated with each user of the online community to verify that each user lives at a residence associated with a claimable residential address of an online community formed through a social community module of the holiday expression server using the processor and the memory;

wherein the mapping server to generate a latitudinal data and a longitudinal data associated with each claimable residential address of the online community associated with each user of the online community,

wherein the holiday expression server to automatically determine a set of access privileges in the online community associated with each user of the online community by constraining access in the online community based on a neighborhood boundary determined using a Bezier curve algorithm of the holiday expression server,

wherein the holiday expression server to transform the claimable residential address into a claimed address upon an occurrence of an event,

wherein the holiday expression server to instantiate the event when a particular user is associated with the claimable residential address based on a verification of the particular user as living at a particular residential address associated with the claimable residential address using the holiday expression server,

wherein the holiday expression server to constrain the particular user to communicate through the online community only with a set of neighbors having verified addresses using the holiday expression server,

wherein the holiday expression server to define the set of neighbors as other users of the online community that have each verified their addresses in the online community using the holiday expression server and which have each claimed residential addresses that are in a threshold radial distance from the claimed address of the particular user.

25. The neighborhood communication system of claim 21:

wherein the holiday expression server to generate a user-generated boundary in a form of a polygon describing geospatial boundaries defining a particular neighborhood when a first user of a particular neighborhood that verifies a first residential address of the particular neighborhood using the holiday expression server prior to other users in that particular neighborhood verifying their addresses in that particular neighborhood places a set of points defining the particular neighborhood using a set of drawing tools in the map view of the online community.

26. The neighborhood communication system of claim 24:

wherein the holiday expression server to generate a separate login to the online community designed to be usable by at least one of a police department, a municipal agency, a neighborhood association, and a neighborhood leader associated with the particular neighborhood,

wherein the separate login to permit at least one of the police department, the municipal agency, the neighborhood association, and the neighborhood leader to at least one;

invite residents of the particular neighborhood themselves using the holiday expression server using a self-authenticating access code that permits new users that enter the self-authenticating access code in the online community to automatically join the particular neighborhood as verified users,

generate at least one of a virtual neighborhood watch group and an emergency preparedness group restricted to users verified in the particular neighborhood using the holiday expression server,

conduct high value crime and safety related discussions from local police and fire officials that is restricted to users verified in the particular neighborhood using the holiday expression server,

broadcast information across the particular neighborhood, and

receive and track neighborhood level membership and activity to identify leaders from the restricted group of users verified in the particular neighborhood using the holiday expression server.

27. The neighborhood communication system of claim 21:

wherein the holiday expression server to permit each of the restricted group of users verified in the particular neighborhood using the holiday expression server to;

share information about a suspicious activity that is likely to affect several neighborhoods,

explain about a lost pet that might have wandered into an adjoining neighborhood,

rally support from neighbors from multiple neighborhoods to address civic issues,

spread information about events comprising a local theater production and a neighborhood garage sale, and

solicit advice and recommendations from the restricted group of users verified in the particular neighborhood and optionally in the adjacent neighborhood.

28. The neighborhood communication system of claim 21:

wherein the holiday expression server to flag a neighborhood feed from the particular neighborhood and optionally from the adjacent neighborhood as being inappropriate, and

wherein the holiday expression server to suspend users that repeatedly communicate self-promotional messages that are inappropriate as voted based on a sensibility of any one of the verified users of the particular neighborhood and optionally from the adjacent neighborhood.

29. The neighborhood communication system of claim 21:

wherein the holiday expression server to personalize which nearby neighborhoods that verified users are able to communicate through based on a request of the particular user, and

wherein the holiday expression server to permit the neighborhood leader to communicate privately with leaders of an adjoining neighborhood to plan and organize on behalf of an entire constituency of verified users of the particular neighborhood associated with the neighborhood leader.

30. The neighborhood communication system of claim 21:

wherein the holiday expression server to filter feeds to only display messages from the particular neighborhood associated with each verified user, and

wherein the holiday expression server to restrict posts only in the particular neighborhood to verified users having verified addresses within the neighborhood boundary.