Online Systems and Methods for Advancing Information Organization Sharing and Collective Action

• US 20140282016A1
• Filed: 03/10/2014
• Published: 09/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Jr., Gerald Douglas Hosier
• Original Assignee: Jr., Gerald Douglas Hosier
• Inventors: Hosier, Gerald Douglas Jr.
• Granted Patent: US 9,253,609 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/733
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/022 with dynamic range variability
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/185 by embedding added-value information into content, e.g. geo-tagging

Abstract

Methods and systems and mobile device interfaces for creating, joining, organizing and managing via mobile devices affinity groups in a cloud computing environment for social and business purposes.

Claims

1. A graphical user interface for a wireless mobile device having a gesture sensitive display through which the user interacts with the interface and further having the capability to wirelessly communicate via a remote host computer system with other mobile devices with like interfaces for enabling those mobile device users authorized to participate in the system to create, to join by acceptance of an electronic invitation received from another mobile device, to organize, to manage and to separately communicate with a multiplicity of affinity groups, said interface comprising:

(a) a scrollable home screen for visually displaying to the user in separate gesture sensitive blocks the individual names of those affinity groups the user created and those the user joined and at least a portion of the most recent message received in each of said affinity groups;

(b) a gesture sensitive icon on the home screen for opening an affinity group creation screen to enable the user to create and to assign a name to a new affinity group and to specify other mobile device users to whom to send electronic invitations to join the new affinity group;

(c) the interface being responsive to the user creating a new affinity group for adding to the home screen a new gesture sensitive block visually displaying the name of the newly created affinity group;

(d) the interface displaying on the home screen an invitation icon indicating that the user has received an unanswered invitation to join an affinity group;

(e) the invitation icon on the home screen being gesture sensitive for opening an invitation reply screen to provide the user predetermined information about said invitation including its affinity group name and for enabling the user to accept said invitation;

(f) the interface being responsive to the user accepting said invitation on the invitation reply screen for adding to the home screen a new gesture sensitive block visually displaying the name of the newly joined affinity group; and

(g) the affinity group identifier blocks on the home screen being individually gesture sensitive to open respective affinity group message screens for viewing messages electronically received by the user from others in said affinity groups and for enabling the user to prepare messages for electronic transmission to others within said affinity groups.

2. The graphical user interface of claim 1 in which the invitations icon appears when the user electronically receives invitation to join an affinity group and in which said invitations icon opens by gesture sensitive action an invitations screen for displaying particulars of the invitation and having at least one gesture sensitive block on said invitations screen for enabling the user to electronically accept the invitation.

3. The graphical user interface of claim 2 and further including a gesture sensitive icon for opening a member screen individually identifying the members of the affinity group and with each identified member listing on said member screen being individually gesture sensitive for opening individual personal profile screens for said members.

4. The graphical user interface of claim 1 in which the user may send a message to a user determined subset of the members of an affinity group.

5. The graphical user interface of claim 1 in which the number of new, unread messages electronically received by a user from other members of an affinity group displayed on the home screen is identified with a corresponding numeral in said affinity group block.

6. The graphical user interface of claim 1 in which the device user may designate by gesture sensitive action one or more user selected affinity group blocks listed on the home screen to be additionally displayed on a priority message screen only when a new message is received for the designated affinity group and further in which the user by gesture sensitive action may delete from the priority message screen any affinity group block either before or after reading the new message, all while said block remains on the home screen and while all messages remain on the message screen and further in which a designated affinity group block deleted by the user from the priority message screen reappears on the priority message screen when a next new message is received for said designated affinity group.

7. The graphical user interface of claim 1 and further including a user profile screen for enabling the user to create a master personal profile comprised of a user determined number of individual profile elements and in which the user may select desired ones of said individual profile elements to create different personal profiles for different affinity groups.

8. The graphical user interface of claim 1 in which the affinity group creator may by gesture sensitive action make a selection for enabling notification to the host computer that other such device users not expressly invited to join the affinity group may join the affinity group.

9. The graphical user interface of claim 2 in which the individual electronic messages received and sent by the device user may include electronic file attachments comprising documents, images and videos and further including for each affinity group a files screen identifying all message attachments included in the messages sent between the affinity group members, which attachments may be individually opened by gesture sensitive action.

10. The graphical user interface of claim 1 in which separate affinity group blocks on the home screen may be selectively merged by gesture sensitive action into a single block and in which the merged block includes a numerical identifier denoting the number of affinity groups so merged and another numerical identifier denoting the number of new, unread messages received for all of the affinity groups so merged and in which the merged block is opened by gesture sensitive action to separately display the merged affinity group blocks with numerals within each block identifying the new, unread messages for each block and in which the individual blocks are opened to their respective message screens by gesture sensitive action.

11. The graphical user interface of claim 1 and further including a separate search screen including screen portions for enabling the user to designate for search either individual or all affinity groups and in which the search screen includes separate gesture sensitive icons for enabling the user to limit the search to either messages, files or affinity group members and in which said search screen includes a gesture sensitive search window for specifying search words and a scrollable screen portion for displaying the search results.

12. The graphical user interface of claim 1 and further including a user selectable advertising screen for displaying advertisements wirelessly received via the remote host computer system based on predetermined keywords used in affinity group messages while withholding from advertisers access to information related to the identity of the affinity group and its members to deliver to affinity group members selectively accessible, targeted advertising while preserving individual and group privacy.

13. The graphical user interface of claim 12 and further including an advertising category selection screen for enabling the device user to select to receive from the remote host computer only advertisements in predetermined user selected categories.

14. The graphical user interface of claim 1 and further including an advertisement composition screen for enabling the device user to compose an advertisement for transmission to the remote host computer and a search screen for enabling device users to search for advertisements sent by other device users to the host computer and for enabling the user to respond via the interface to such advertisements.

15. The graphical user interface of claim 1 in which the individual blocks on the home screen display at least a portion of the most recent message, the message author and the date and time sent.

16. The graphical user interface of claim 1 and further configured for enabling a website operator to create an affinity group which may be selectively joined by device users permissioned to access said website and for enabling said device users to select to receive as messages from the affinity group creator information regarding predetermined new postings made on said website.

17. The graphical user interface of claim 2 and further including a screen for enabling the user to select for use in association with a specified affinity group at least one among a collection of forms, templates and software applications resident on the host computer.

18. The graphical user interface of claim 14 in which the user may select on the interface, for communication to the host computer, predetermined criteria for at least one of the dissemination, modification or discontinuation of the advertisement.

19. A graphical user interface for a wireless mobile device having a gesture sensitive display through which the user interacts with the interface and further having the capability to wirelessly communicate via a remote host computer system with other mobile devices with like interfaces for enabling mobile device users permissioned to participate in the system to create, to join by acceptance of an electronic invitation received from another mobile device and to separately communicate with a multiplicity of affinity groups, said interface comprising:

(a) a profile screen for enabling a user to specify personal profile information for display to other affinity group members and including information related to the permissioning of the user to participate in said system;

(b) a scrollable home screen for displaying in separate gesture sensitive blocks the names of the affinity groups created by and joined by the user;

(c) an affinity group creation screen for enabling the device user to name and to describe a new affinity group and to specify other of said mobile device users to whom to send electronic invitations to join the new affinity group;

(d) the interface providing the user notice of invitations electronically received from other device users to join an affinity group;

(e) the interface successively adding to the home screen separate, new gesture sensitive blocks bearing the new affinity group name each time the user either creates or joins a new affinity group;

(f) the interface including a priority message screen for (i) displaying only user designated ones of the affinity groups displayed on the home screen and only when new messages are received for the designated affinity group, (ii) enabling the user to access said new messages, and (iii) enabling the user to remove by gesture sensitive action a designated affinity group from the priority message screen, the removed group again appearing on the priority message screen only when a next new message is received for said designated affinity group; and

(g) gesture sensitive screen icons for enabling the user to navigate between said profile, creation, home, message and priority message screens.

20. In a host computer system for enabling, storing and processing word messages from and among mobile devices, the method comprising:

(a) electronically receiving requests from mobile device users to create user named affinity groups and to electronically send invitations to specified mobile devices to join the affinity groups;

(b) acting on said requests by transmitting the invitations to the specified mobile devices and linking to each of said user created affinity groups only those specified mobile devices that electronically accept said invitations;

(c) enabling the electronic communication of word messages between mobile devices linked as affinity groups and storing said messages in said system;

(d) electronically receiving requests from sources not in said affinity groups to communicate information to mobile devices based on predetermined keywords;

(e) electronically receiving from mobile devices all user selected limitations on receipt of information from said sources;

(f) electronically comparing words used in said messages with said keywords and said limitations to identify those mobile devices which qualify for receipt of said information based on use of said keywords in affinity group messages and compliance with said limitations;

(g) transmitting said information to the qualifying mobile devices in a form for presentation to the mobile device users separate from said messages and only when affirmatively selected by the mobile device users; and

(h) storing in said system data respecting the personal identity of mobile phone users and the identity of mobile devices linked as affinity groups in a manner precluding association of said information with affinity group members and individual mobile device users for protecting the personal privacy of mobile device users and the privacy of affinity group members while disseminating to qualifying mobile devices relevant and desired information from sources outside of said affinity groups.