Online human network management system and method for stimulating users to build various faces of relation

• US 8,352,574 B2
• Filed: 01/09/2008
• Issued: 01/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/13/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NHN Corporation
• Original Assignee: NHN Corporation
• Inventors: Kwon, Oh Sung
• Primary Examiner(s): Avellino, Joseph
• Assistant Examiner(s): KHAN, AFTAB N
• Application Number:
  US11/971,394
• Publication Number:
  US 20080147884A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,826 Days
• Field of Search: 709220-222, 707100-1041, 715700-759
• US Class Current: 709/218
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass

Abstract

The present invention provides the steps of maintaining a first database containing profiles of a plurality of users in a network; maintaining a second database containing relationship index between some of the users wherein the relationship index is determined based upon degree of correspondence relationship between the users; forming a social network comprising a plurality of nodes and a plurality of links between at least some of the nodes, in association with the relationship index stored in the second database; upon receipt of a request from a first user, searching for at least one route connecting the first user to a second user in the social network based, at least in part, upon said existing links and the relationship index of the links; and evaluating each of the searched routes based, at least in part, upon the relationship indexes of the links which form said respective searched routes.

Claims

1. A method that utilizes a processor to connect users in a network, the method comprising:

maintaining a first database, the first database containing profiles of a plurality of users in a network;

maintaining a second database, the second database containing a relationship index between some of the users wherein the relationship index is determined based, at least in part, upon a degree of a correspondence relationship between two users, the degree of the correspondence relationship having been set by at least one of the two users;

forming a social network, the network comprising a plurality of nodes and a plurality of links between at least some of the nodes, in association with the relationship index stored in the second database, wherein at least some of the nodes are the users and each of the links is a virtual connection path between two users who have the correspondence relationship;

upon receipt of a request from a first user, searching, using the processor, for at least one route connecting the first user to a second user in the social network based, at least in part, upon said existing links and the relationship index of the links; and

evaluating each of the searched routes based, at least in part, upon the relationship indexes of the links which form said respective searched routes,

wherein evaluating comprises calculating cost of the searched routes in accordance with total weights of the links which form each route and upon selection of a route among the evaluated routes by the first user, charging the cost of the selected route to the first user'"'"'s account,

wherein the weight is inversely proportional to the relationship index of the respective link between two nodes having the correspondence relationship, and

wherein the cost of the selected route comprises an amount paid to a third user when the first user sends an invitation message for a new relationship to the second user via a third user having correspondence relationships with both the first user and the second user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the route is a virtual route which comprises:

at least one link which was previously created between two nodes due to the correspondence relationship of the respective two nodes; and

at least one link which has not been created between two nodes.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the route is an existing route which consists of a plurality of links which were previously created between two nodes due to the correspondence relationship of the respective two nodes.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the routes is a virtual route which comprises at least one link which was previously created between two nodes due to the correspondence relationship of the respective two nodes;

and at least one link which has not been created between two nodes, and at least one of the routes is an existing route which consists of a plurality of links which were previously created between two nodes due to the correspondence relationship of the respective two nodes, and further comprising;

comparing the evaluation result of each virtual route with the evaluation result of each existing route; and

providing the first user with the result of the comparison.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising

updating the relationship index contained in the second database in accordance with the number of online communications between the users having the correspondence relationship.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the request includes at least one condition for the second user and the second user is selected based, at least in part, upon the condition.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the request includes at least one condition for the second user and the second user is selected based upon the condition and the evaluation result.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising

allowing the first user to send an invitation message for a new relationship to the second user;

upon the second user'"'"'s acceptance, storing the new correspondence relationship of the first user and the second user.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

recommending the first user at least one route among the evaluated routes based, at least in part, upon the result of the evaluation.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

allowing the first user to select one route among the recommended routes.

11. A method that utilizes a processor to connect users in a network, the method comprising:

maintaining a database, the database containing profiles of a plurality of users in a network and a relationship index between users in the network wherein the relationship index is determined based, at least in part, upon a degree of a correspondence relationship between two users, the degree of the correspondence relationship having been set by at least one of the two users;

storing existing links associated with the relationship index of the existing links which were previously created between two nodes due to the correspondence relationship of the respective two nodes, wherein the nodes are the users and each of the links is a virtual connection path between two users who have correspondence relationship;

upon receipt of a request from a first user, searching, using the processor, for at least one route connecting the first user to a second user based, at least in part, upon said existing links and the relationship indexes of the links; and

evaluating each of the searched routes based, at least in part, upon the relationship indexes of the links which form said respective searched routes,

wherein evaluating comprises calculating cost of the searched routes in accordance with total weights of the links which form each route and upon selection of a route among the evaluated routes by the first user, charging the cost of the selected route to the first user'"'"'s account,

wherein the weight is inversely proportional to the relationship index of the respective link between two nodes having the correspondence relationship, and

wherein the cost of the selected route comprises an amount paid to a third user when the first user sends an invitation message for a new relationship to the second user via a third user having correspondence relationships with both the first user and the second user.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the route is a virtual route which comprises:

at least one link which was previously created between two nodes due to the correspondence relationship of the respective two nodes; and

at least one link which has not been created between two nodes.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the route is an existing route which consists of a plurality of links which were previously created between two nodes due to the correspondence relationship of the respective two nodes.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising recommending the first user at least one route among the evaluated routes based, at least in part, upon the result of the evaluation.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein at least one of the routes is a virtual route which comprises at least one link which was previously created between two nodes due to the correspondence relationship of the respective two nodes;

and at least one link which has not been created between two nodes, and at least one of the routes is an existing route which consists of a plurality of links which were previously created between two nodes due to the correspondence relationship of the respective two nodes, and further comprising;

comparing the evaluation result of each virtual route with the evaluation result of each existing route; and

providing the first user with the result of the comparison.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising

updating the relationship index contained in the second database in accordance with the number of online communications between the users having the correspondence relationship.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the request includes at least one condition for the second user and the second user is selected based, at least in part, upon the condition.

18. The method of claim 11, further comprising

allowing the first user to send an invitation message for a new relationship to the second user;

upon the second user'"'"'s acceptance, storing the new correspondence relationship of the first user and the second user.

19. A social network management system comprising:

a non-transitory first data storage medium containing profiles of a plurality of users in a network;

a non-transitory second data storage medium containing a relationship index between some of the users wherein the relationship index is determined based, at least in part, upon a degree of a correspondence relationship between two users, the degree of the correspondence relationship having been set by at least one of the two users; and

a search module configured for searching for at least one route connecting a first user to a second user in the social network based, at least in part, upon links which connect nodes and the relationship indexes of the links and for evaluating each of the searched routes based, at least in part, upon the relationship indexes of the links which form said respective searched routes,

wherein at least some of the nodes are the users and each of the links is a virtual connection path between two users who have correspondence relationship,

wherein evaluating comprises calculating cost of the searched routes in accordance with total weights of the links which form each route and upon selection of a route among the evaluated routes by the first user, charging the cost of the selected route to the first user'"'"'s account,

wherein the weight is inversely proportional to the relationship index of the respective link between two nodes having the correspondence relationship, and

wherein the cost of the selected route comprises an amount paid to a third user when the first user sends an invitation message for a new relationship to the second user via a third user having correspondence relationships with both the first user and the second user.