System and method to facilitate user thinking about an arbitrary problem with collaboration or social networking system

• US 8,032,470 B1
• Filed: 10/29/2007
• Issued: 10/04/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Zxibix Inc.
• Original Assignee: Zxibix Inc.
• Inventors: Heidenreich, James Ralph, Higgins, Linda Shawn
• Primary Examiner(s): Starks; Wilbert L
• Application Number:
  US11/980,281
• Time in Patent Office: 1,436 Days
• Field of Search: 702/1, 705/9, 706/45, 706/47
• US Class Current: 706/45
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/04 Inference or reasoning models
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

Systems and methods to facilitate collaborative or cooperative user thinking about an arbitrary problem in formal and informal settings, which may include social networks. Preferred embodiments of the systems and methods include outputs and interfaces to external systems, components and resources.

Claims

1. A collaborative or social networking system for facilitating multiple user thinking about an arbitrary problem, comprising:

processor executable instructions embodied in a computer readable media, a computer readable device, or a memory, or a combination thereof, said instructions comprising;

instructions to facilitate at least one user specification of at least one user model regarding an arbitrary problem, comprising at least one of a at least one problem and a at least one conclusion, or both, and at least one specification of knowledge related to the arbitrary problem;

instructions to specify linkages or relationships between and among said components of the at least one user model structure;

instructions to relate at least one user model structure to at least one other user model structure;

collaboration or cooperation instructions to relate multiple user interactions within a predefined set of interaction sequences, wherein the predefined set of interactions define an archetype process for user thinking about the problem;

instructions to display, instructions to store or instructions to output at least a subset of the resulting user structure, or a combination thereof.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising tracking of the specification of user model structure, or user interactions, or both.

3. The system of claim 2 further comprising instructions to evaluate the tracking to identify potentially related user models or users, or both.

4. A collaborative or social networking system for facilitating multiple user thinking about an arbitrary problem, comprising:

At least one processor;

instructions operable to execute on one or more processors for implementing the system for facilitating user thinking in conjunction with the development of at least one electronic presentation, embodied in a computer readable media, a computer readable device, or a memory, or a combination thereof, said instructions comprising;

instructions to facilitate at least one user specification of at least one user model regarding an arbitrary problem, comprising at least one of a at least one problem and a at least one conclusion, or both, and at least one specification of knowledge related to the arbitrary problem;

instructions to specify linkages or relationships between and among said components of the user model structure;

instructions to relate at least one user model structure to at least one other user model structure;

collaboration or cooperation instructions to relate multiple user interactions within a predefined set of interaction sequences, wherein the predefined set of interactions define an archetype process for user thinking about the problem;

instructions to display, instructions to store or instructions to output at least a subset of the resulting user structure, or a combination thereof.

5. The system of claim 4 further comprising tracking of the specification of user model structure, or user interactions, or both.

6. The system of claim 5 further comprising instructions to evaluate the tracking to identify potentially related user models or users, or both.

7. A collaborative or social networking system for facilitating multiple user thinking about an arbitrary problem, comprising:

An interface;

A process manager system operable to execute actions on one or more processors, said actions comprising;

facilitation of at least one user specification of at least one user model regarding an arbitrary problem, comprising at least one of a at least one problem and a at least one conclusion, or both, and at least one specification of knowledge related to the arbitrary problem;

facilitation of linkages or relationships between and among said components of the user model structure;

relation of at least one user model structure to at least one other user model structure;

collaboration or cooperation actions to relate multiple user interactions within a predefined set of interaction sequences, wherein the predefined set of interactions define an archetype process for user thinking about the problem;

display, storage or output of at least a subset of the resulting user structure, or a combination thereof.

8. The system of claim 7 further comprising tracking of the specification of user model structure, or user interactions, or both.

9. The system of claim 8 further comprising evaluation of the tracking to identify potentially related user models or users, or both.

10. An archetype based system for facilitating collaboration or cooperation in multiple user thinking about an arbitrary problem, through identifying potential user models, users, or related content, as being potentially related or relevant to an arbitrary problem, said system comprising:

processor executable instructions embodied in a computer readable media, a computer readable device, or a memory, or a combination thereof, said instructions comprising;

instructions to identify a specific user model regarding an arbitrary problem, or identify a specified arbitrary problem;

instructions to identify potential other user models, users, or related content, or a combination thereof, for evaluation related to the originally identified user model or specified arbitrary problem;

instructions to evaluate the said identified potentially related or relevant other user models, users or related content, or a combination thereof, relative to an exemplary archetype model or archetype process, or both, for developing user thinking about an arbitrary problem or relative to at least one archetype based user model regarding a problem;

instructions to provide a suggestion in display or output, regarding the resulting evaluated potentially related other user models, users, or related content, or a combination thereof, as being potentially related or relevant to the identified user model or specified problem.

11. The system of claim 10 further comprising evaluation instructions that analyze relationships between user models or relationships between users, or both.

12. The system of claim 10 further comprising instructions that analyze relationships between user models, associated output or other related files, and users, or a combination thereof.

13. The system of claim 10 further comprising that the suggestion includes compositing or combining or comparing at least two of the potentially related, identified or specified user models, or a combination thereof.

14. The system of claim 10 further comprising that the suggestion includes at least one automatically generated suggested user model component or addition to a user model, or both.

15. An archetype based system for facilitating collaboration or cooperation in multiple user thinking about an arbitrary problem, through identifying potential user models, users, or related content, as being potentially related or relevant to an arbitrary problem, said system comprising:

an interface;

a processor manager system operable on one or more processors to execute actions comprising;

identification of a specific user model regarding an arbitrary problem, or identification of a specified arbitrary problem;

identification of potential other user models, users, or related content, or a combination thereof, for evaluation related to the originally identified user model or specified arbitrary problem;

evaluation of the said identified potentially related or relevant other user models, users or related content, or combination thereof, relative to an exemplary archetype model or archetype process, or both, for developing user thinking about an arbitrary problem, or relative to at least one archetype based user model regarding a problem;

provisioning of a suggestion in display or output, regarding the resulting evaluated potentially related other user models, users, or related content, or combination thereof, as being potentially related or relevant to the identified user model or specified problem.

16. The system of claim 15 further comprising evaluation that analyzes relationships between user models or relationships between users, or both.

17. The system of claim 15 further comprising analysis of relationships between user models, associated output or other related files, and users, or a combination thereof.

18. The system of claim 15 further comprising that the suggestion includes compositing or combining or comparing at least two of the potentially related, identified or specified user models, or a combination thereof.

19. The system of claim 15 further comprising that the suggestion includes at least one automatically generated suggested user model component or addition to a user model, or both.