COMMUNICATION-BASED DIGITAL ALLIANCE MANAGEMENT

• US 20190327277A1
• Filed: 02/26/2019
• Published: 10/24/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Project Affinity, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Project Affinity, Inc.
• Inventors: ZHOU, Ray, GOEL, Shubham, QIAN, Hansen, ZHANG, Bobby, DABNEY, Craig
• Granted Patent: US 10,771,516 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/148 File search processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/156 Query results presentation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24 Querying
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/101 Collaborative creation, e.g. joint development of products or services
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34

Abstract

A communication management server computer (“server”) and related methods are disclosed to create and store digital records representing alliances between user accounts and to use the alliance records in filtering messages or other content and/or determining attributes of messages or content for display. The server allows two electronic devices associated with two user accounts to establish an alliance, where each of the two user accounts offers a set of digital communications for exploration of relationships and agrees to share certain types of information regarding the relationships with the other user account.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of communicating digital data among user accounts based digital alliances, comprising:

receiving, by a processor, a request from a user device associated with a user account to establish alliances for a specific organization of a group of members,

the request including information regarding a set of digital communications in a communication account of each of the group of members;

creating and storing, by the processor, digital alliance data representing an alliance for each pair of a group of user accounts for the group of members based on the sets of digital communications associated with the corresponding pair of members;

receiving a query for information regarding relationships within one or more organizations different from the specific organization from a certain device associated with a certain user account of the group of user accounts;

in response to the query, determining a specific set of relationships between the group of user accounts and a specific set of individuals who belong to the one or more organizations and corresponding relationship strengths from the sets of digital communications;

transmitting specific types of information regarding the specific set of relationships within the one or more organizations to the certain device.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, the organization corresponding to a corporate entity.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, the specific set of individuals being distinct.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, the specific types of information including, for the one organization, a size of the specific set of individuals who belong to the one organization, a number of the group of user accounts who communicate with the specific set of individuals who belong to the one organization, or an aggregate of the relationship strengths corresponding to the specific set of individuals who belong to the one organization.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, the specific types of information including, for one of the specific set of individuals, a count of the specific set of relationships that correspond to the one individual, identifying information of each of the group of user accounts who communicate with the one individual, or an aggregate of the relationship strengths corresponding to the specific set of relationships that correspond to the one individual.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, further comprising:

receiving a second request from the certain device to request one of the group of user accounts who communicate with the one individual to make an introduction to the one individual;

sending the second request to a device associated with the one user account.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, the request including information regarding access to the group of communication accounts of the group of members.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, the set of digital communications including one or more of email messages, calendar entries, phone call histories, or chat messages.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, the request specifying the set of digital communications in a communication account of each of the group of members with a selection criterion to be applied to digital communications in the communication account by type, party, communication domain, location, delivery date, or receipt date of a digital communication.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining one of the specific set of individuals as a prospective ally or contact for the certain user account based on a search history or a communication history of the certain device;

transmitting a suggestion of the prospective ally or contact to the certain device.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising, in response to the request:

creating one or more of the group user accounts for the group of members;

associating each of the group of user accounts with the communication account of the corresponding member.

12. One or more non-transitory storage media storing instructions which, when executed by one or more computing devices, cause performance of a method of communicating digital data among user accounts based upon constraints and digital data representing an alliance, the method comprising:

receiving a request from a user device associated with a user account to establish alliances for a specific organization of a group of members,

the request including information regarding a set of digital communications in a communication account of each of the group of members;

creating and storing digital alliance data representing an alliance for each pair of a group of user accounts for the group of members based on the sets of digital communications associated with the corresponding pair of members;

receiving a query for information regarding relationships within one or more organizations different from the specific organization from a certain device associated with a certain user account of the group of user accounts;

in response to the query, determining a specific set of relationships between the group of user accounts and a specific set of individuals who belong to the one or more organizations and corresponding relationship strengths from the sets of digital communications;

transmitting specific types of information regarding the specific set of relationships within the one or more organizations to the certain device.

13. The one or more non-transitory storage media of claim 12, the specific types of information including, for the one organization, a size of the specific set of individuals who belong to the one organization, a number of the group of user accounts who communicate with the specific set of individuals who belong to the one organization, or an aggregate of the relationship strengths corresponding to the specific set of individuals who belong to the one organization.

14. The one or more non-transitory storage media of claim 12, the specific types of information including, for one of the specific set of individuals, a count of the specific set of relationships that correspond to the one individual, identifying information of each of the group of user accounts who communicate with the one individual, or an aggregate of the relationship strengths corresponding to the specific set of relationships that correspond to the one individual.

15. The one or more non-transitory storage media of claim 16, further comprising:

receiving a second request from the certain device to request one of the group of user accounts who communicate with the one individual to make an introduction to the one individual;

sending the second request to a device associated with the one user account.

16. The one or more non-transitory storage media of claim 12, the request including information regarding access to the group of communication accounts of the group of members.

17. The one or more non-transitory storage media of claim 12, the set of digital communications including one or more of email messages, calendar entries, phone call histories, or chat messages.

18. The one or more non-transitory storage media of claim 12, the request specifying the set of digital communications in a communication account of each of the group of members with a selection criterion to be applied to digital communications in the communication account by type, party, communication domain, location, delivery date, or receipt date of a digital communication.

19. The one or more non-transitory storage media of claim 12, the method further comprising:

determining one of the specific set of individuals as a prospective ally or contact for the certain user account based on a search history or a communication history of the certain device;

transmitting a suggestion of the prospective ally or contact to the certain device.

20. The one or more non-transitory storage media of claim 12, the method further comprising, in response to the request:

creating one or more of the group user accounts for the group of members;

associating each of the group of user accounts with the communication account of the corresponding member.