Social networking permissions

• US 8,595,146 B1
• Filed: 03/15/2005
• Issued: 11/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AOL Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Liew, Jeremy
• Primary Examiner(s): McCormick, Gabrielle
• Assistant Examiner(s): SENSENIG, SHAUN D
• Application Number:
  US11/079,524
• Time in Patent Office: 3,178 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1, 705/319
• US Class Current: 705/319
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/00 Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9035 Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: G16Z 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other main groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4015 where at least one of the additional parallel sessions is real time or time sensitive, e.g. white board sharing, collaboration or spawning of a subconference
• 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

Abstract

Enabling access to user-specific content includes maintaining data indicating a social network that indicates a first user and a second user that are connected by one or more relationships through zero or more intermediary users. At least one of the relationships that connect the first and second users is categorized. A request for access to content maintained by the second user is received from the first user. One or more of the relationships that connect the first user to the second user are identified using the data indicating the social network. A category of at least one of the identified relationships is identified. A type of access to the content to be provided to the first user is identified based on the identified category. The first user is enabled to access the content in accordance with the identified type of access.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for enabling access to user-specific contact lists, comprising:

receiving, from a first user, a request to access a contact list of a second user;

obtaining information associated with a social network that includes the first and second users;

identifying, based on the social networking information, at least one relationship connecting the first user to the second user;

identifying a category associated with the at least one relationship;

determining, using a processor, at least a portion of the contact list of the second user that is accessible to the first user based on at least the identified category, the accessible portion being a subset of the contact list of the second user; and

enabling, using the processor, the first user to access the portion of the contact list of the second user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the at least one relationship comprises identifying at least one direct relationship between the first and second users, the direct relationship connecting the first and second users through zero intermediary users.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein identifying the category comprises identifying the category associated with the at least one direct relationship based on the social networking information.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein identifying the at least one relationship comprises identifying a plurality of direct relationships that connect the first and second users.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

identifying categories associated with the plurality of direct relationships based on the social networking information; and

determining a composite category representative of the identified categories,

wherein the determining comprises determining the accessible portion of the contact list based on the composite category.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the at least one relationship comprises identifying at least one indirect relationship between the first and second users, the indirect relationship connecting the first and second users through one or more intermediary users.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising computing, for the at least one indirect relationship, a degree of separation between the first and second users, wherein the determining comprises determining the accessible portion of the contact list of the second user based on at least the degree of separation between the first and second users.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the request comprises information identifying the first user;

the method further comprises identifying at least one characteristic of the first user based on the information; and

the determining comprises the accessible portion of the contact list of the second user based on at least the first user characteristic.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a type of access associated with the accessible portion of the contact list of the second user based on at least the identified category, the enabling comprises enabling the first user to access the portion of the contact list in accordance with the access type.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, based on the social networking information, that no relationship connects the first and second users; and

assigning a default type of access to the contact list of the second user, based on the determination that no relationship connects the first and second users,

wherein the enabling comprises enabling the first user to access the contact list of the second user in accordance with the default access type.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the identified category comprises at least one of a friend, a family member, a business contact, a vendor, or a customer.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to identify at least one direct relationship between the first and second users, the direct relationship connecting the first and second users through zero intermediary users.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to identify the category associated with the at least one direct relationship, based on the social networking information.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to identify a plurality of direct relationships that connect the first and second users.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to:

identify categories associated with the plurality of direct relationships based on at least the social networking information;

determine a composite category representative of the identified categories; and

determine the accessible portion of the contact list of the second user based on the composite category.

12. An apparatus, comprising:

a storage device that stores a set of instructions; and

at least one processor coupled to the storage device and executing the set of instructions, the set of instructions configuring the at least one processor to;

receive, from a first user, a request to access a contact list of a second user;

obtain information associated with a social network that includes the first and second users;

identify, based on the social networking information, at least one relationship connecting the first user to the second user;

identify a category associated with the at least one relationship;

determine at least a portion of the contact list of the second user that is accessible to the first user based on at least the identified category, the determined contact list portion being a subset of the contact list of the second user; and

enable the first user to access the portion of the contact list of the second user.

17. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to:

identify at least one indirect relationship between the first and second users, the indirect relationship connecting the first and second users through one or more intermediary users;

compute, for the at least one indirect relationship, a degree of separation between the first and second users; and

determine the accessible portion of the contact list of the second user, based on at least the degree of separation between the first and second users.

18. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein:

the request comprises information identifying the first user; and

the processor is further configured to;

identify at least one characteristic of the first user based on the information; and

determine the accessible portion of the contact list of the second user based on at least the first user characteristic.

19. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine, based on the identified category, a type of access associated with the accessible portion of the contact list of the second user; and

enable the first user to access the portion of the contact list of the second user in accordance with the access type.

20. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to:

determining, based on the social networking information, that no relationship connects the first and second users; and

assigning a default type of access to the contact list of the second user, based on the determination that no relationship connects the first and second users,

wherein the enabling comprises enabling the first user to access the contact list of the second user in accordance with the default access type.

21. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the identified category comprises at least one of a friend, a family member, a business contact, a vendor, or a customer.

22. A tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform a method for enabling access to user-specific contact lists, comprising:

receiving, from a first user, a request to access a contact list of a second user;

obtaining information associated with a social network that includes the first and second users;

identifying, based on the social networking information, at least one relationship connecting the first user to the second user;

identifying a category associated with the at least one relationship;

determining, using a processor, at least a portion of the contact list of the second user that is accessible to the first user based on at least the identified category, the accessible portion being a subset of the contact list of the second user; and

enabling the first user to access the portion of the contact list of the second user.