Method and apparatus for motivating interactions between users in virtual worlds
First Claim
1. A method, comprising:
- hosting, by a server, a virtual world in which users can interact with each other via respective avatars;
automatically determining, by the server, for a first one of the users, criteria associated with one or more virtual goods possessed by a second one of the users for use in the virtual world;
receiving at the server, from a first client associated with the first user, information regarding a publicly accessible website that the first user is visiting via a network;
receiving at the server, from a second client associated with the second user, information regarding the same publicly accessible website that the second user is simultaneously visiting via the network;
automatically by a server, in response to receiving the information from the first and second clients that the first and second users are simultaneously visiting the same publicly accessible website, comparing the criteria with information in a profile of the second user; and
automatically, by the server, alerting the first user about the second user based on information in the profile of the second user matching at least some of the criteria via communications by the server with the first client, wherein the publicly accessible website is separate from the server and its hosted virtual world with respect to network addresses.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention relates generally to the field of computer and network software, and more particularly it relates to a method and apparatus for promoting and facilitating interactions between users in virtual worlds. According to some aspects, the invention provides a way of allowing a user to easily identify other users that the user may want to connect with for any purpose. According to other aspects, the invention allows users to specify items, interests, friends, demographics and/or preferences, and the system automatically identifies other users who meet those criteria. The system can further provide mechanisms to alert and/or introduce users who share similar interests, demographics and/or meet other matching criteria, and allow them to interact with each other. According to still further aspects, the invention can automatically determine criteria for motivating and/or facilitating interactions between users.
-
Citations
16 Claims
-
1. A method, comprising:
-
hosting, by a server, a virtual world in which users can interact with each other via respective avatars; automatically determining, by the server, for a first one of the users, criteria associated with one or more virtual goods possessed by a second one of the users for use in the virtual world; receiving at the server, from a first client associated with the first user, information regarding a publicly accessible website that the first user is visiting via a network; receiving at the server, from a second client associated with the second user, information regarding the same publicly accessible website that the second user is simultaneously visiting via the network; automatically by a server, in response to receiving the information from the first and second clients that the first and second users are simultaneously visiting the same publicly accessible website, comparing the criteria with information in a profile of the second user; and automatically, by the server, alerting the first user about the second user based on information in the profile of the second user matching at least some of the criteria via communications by the server with the first client, wherein the publicly accessible website is separate from the server and its hosted virtual world with respect to network addresses. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
-
-
13. A method comprising:
-
hosting, by a server system, a virtual world in which users can interact with each other via respective avatars; automatically determining, by the server system, for a first one of the users, criteria associated with one or more virtual goods possessed by a second one of the users for use in the virtual world; receiving information, at a server system, that the first and second users are simultaneously accessing first and second publicly accessible website addresses, respectively; and serving content from the server system to a client associated with the first user that indicates the presence of the second user based on matching information in a profile of the second user with the specified criteria, the server system automatically comparing the profile to the criteria and serving the content in response to receiving the information the first and second users are simultaneously accessing the first and second publicly accessible website addresses. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
-
Specification