METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SOCIAL NETWORKING IN A DYNAMIC ENVIRONMENT

• US 20170324816A1
• Filed: 07/24/2017
• Published: 11/09/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: YASREBI, MEHRAD, Jackson, James E.
• Granted Patent: US 10,542,096 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066

Abstract

In one embodiment, the present invention is a method and apparatus for social networking in a dynamic environment. In one embodiment, a method for social networking in a network includes broadcasting a first set of one or more keywords representing one or more interests of a first user in the network, receiving a response from a second user in the network indicating interest in at least one of the interests of the first user, and connecting to a server in the network, where the server hosts a group for supporting communications between at least the first network user and the second network user.

Claims

1. A method for connecting to a server in a network, the method comprising:

broadcasting, by a first device in the network via a broadcast internet protocol address of the network, a first set comprising a keyword representing an interest of a first user;

receiving, by the first device, a response from a second device in the network operated by a second user, the response indicating an interest in the interest of the first user; and

connecting, by the first device, to the server in the network to join a first group associated with the keyword when the response is received from the second device, where the server hosts the first group for supporting a communication between the first device and the second device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first set comprising the keyword is broadcast together with an indication as to whether the first device is capable of hosting the first group.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first set comprising the keyword is broadcast together with a proposed method for selecting the server.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the response includes a second set comprising a second keyword representing an interest of the second user.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the second set is identical to the first set.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the response includes an indication that the second device is capable of hosting the first group.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the response includes an internet protocol address and a port on the second device, the internet protocol address and the port being reserved for the communication.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the server is the second device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first user and the second user remain anonymous to each other.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of an internet protocol address of the first device and an internet protocol address of the second device is assigned dynamically.

11. The method of claim 4, wherein the second set is a subset of the first set.

12. The method of claim 4, wherein the second set is a superset of the first set.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the response includes an indication that the second device is already hosting a second group that is associated with the keyword representing the interest of the first user.

14. A system comprising:

a first user device in a network for broadcasting, via a broadcast internet protocol address of the network, a first set comprising a keyword representing an interest of a first user;

a second user device in the network for sending a response from a second user to the first user device, the response indicating an interest in the interest of the first user; and

a server for hosting a first group associated with the keyword for supporting a communication between the first user device and the second user device, wherein the first user device and the second user device connect to the server to join the first group.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein at least one of:

an internet protocol address of the first device and an internet protocol address of the second device is assigned dynamically.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the first user device and the second user device remain anonymous to each other.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the response includes an indication that the second device is capable of hosting the first group.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the response includes an internet protocol address and a port on the second device, the internet protocol address and the port being reserved for the communication.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by a processor of a first device in a network, cause the processor to perform operations for connecting to a server in the network, the operations comprising:

broadcasting, via a broadcast internet protocol address of the network, a first set comprising a keyword representing an interest of a first user;

receiving a response from a second device in the network operated by a second user, the response indicating an interest in the interest of the first user; and

connecting to the server in the network to join a first group associated with the keyword when the response is received from the second device, where the server hosts the first group for supporting a communication between the first device and the second device.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the first set comprising the keyword is broadcast together with an indication as to whether the first device is capable of hosting the first group.