System for managing social group interactions

• US 8,918,092 B2
• Filed: 06/28/2011
• Issued: 12/23/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bindu Rama Rao
• Original Assignee: Bindu Rama Rao
• Inventors: Rao, Bindu Rama
• Primary Examiner(s): Sarwar, Babar
• Application Number:
  US13/170,644
• Publication Number:
  US 20110258275A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,274 Days
• Field of Search: 455/412.1, 455/414.1, 455/419, 455/550.1, 455/552.1, 709/246, 709/217, 709/218, 709/219, 709/201, 709/203, 709/226
• US Class Current: 455/419
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/353 into predefined classes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4878 Advertisement messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/493 Interactive information services, e.g. directory enquiries ; Arrangements therefor, e.g. interactive voice response [IVR] systems or voice portals

Abstract

A system for managing social group interactions comprising a server that supports creation and management of a plurality of social groups and a plurality of user devices communicatively coupled to the server that is used by a plurality of users. The server supports the registration of each of the plurality of users as members of one or more of the plurality of social groups. The server saves a list of the plurality of social groups in which the one of the plurality of users is currently a member at the one of the plurality of user devices associated with the one of the plurality of users. For example, if a user using the user device is associated with a social group (where he is a member), then the server saves a reference and membership details and even a member list in the user device.

Claims

1. A system for managing social group interactions, the system comprising:

a server that supports creation and management of a plurality of social groups;

a plurality of user devices communicatively coupled to the server that is used by a plurality of users;

the server supporting the registration of each of the plurality of users as members of one or more of the plurality of social groups;

the server saving a list of the plurality of social groups in which the one of the plurality of users is currently a member at the one of the plurality of user devices associated with the one of the plurality of users;

each of the plurality of user devices facilitating local login by one of the plurality of users in order to provide access to message based communication services;

the server facilitating login by the one of the plurality of users via the one of the plurality of user devices, when a local login attempt facilitated by the one of the plurality of user devices fails;

the server facilitating open one-to-many and one-to-one interactions using messages in peer-to-peer type social groups by all members of such social groups; and

the server facilitating controlled one-to-many and one-to-one social interactions by a manager type member using messages while supporting one-to-one social interactions by other types of members using messages in managed group type social groups;

wherein the one of the plurality of user devices retrieves and stores the retrieved list of member references for each of the list of the plurality of social groups in which the one of the plurality of users is currently a member in a removable storage device, in a programmed card or a SIM card, plugged into and communicatively coupled to the one of the plurality of user devices; and

wherein each of the messages and individual response to the messages comprises a textual component, an audio component, a digital image component, a video component, a GPS coordinate component, an IP address component, a sales offer component, an advertisement component, a security information component and an encrypted secure data component.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the one of the plurality of user devices associated with the one of the plurality of users retrieves and locally stores a list of member references for each of the list of the plurality of social groups in which the one of the plurality of users is currently a member.

3. A server that supports social group interactions, the server comprising:

a group membership manager that facilitates creation of a plurality of social groups and the management of the members of the plurality of social groups, wherein each of the plurality of social groups is assigned one or more group managers;

a registration manager that manages a member profile for members of the plurality of social groups, wherein the member profile comprises;

a contact information;

a user type indicating a role, wherein the role comprises an administrative role and a normal user role;

a subscription type that is one of a prepaid, postpaid;

a status that is one of active, inactive and closed; and

a receiving mode indicating web access, mobile based access to messages;

a group interaction manager that manages interaction by members of the plurality of social groups employing their corresponding user devices, wherein the corresponding user devices are communicatively coupled to the server, and wherein each of the plurality of social groups are assigned an associated social group interaction type;

the group interaction manager managing one-to-one interactions and one-to-many interactions within each of the plurality of social groups, wherein the interactions comprise sending and receiving messages by the members of the each of the plurality of social groups;

the group interaction manager managing creation and dissemination of responses by the recipients of the messages communicated in the one-to-one interactions and the one-to-many interactions within each of the plurality of social groups;

the group interaction manager also facilitating a default mode communication of a new message by one member of one of a plurality of social groups to all the other members of the one of a plurality of social groups when the group interaction type associated with the one of a plurality of social groups is a peer-to-peer group;

the group interaction manager facilitating another default mode communication of a new message by one member of one of a plurality of social groups to only the group managers of the one of a plurality of social groups when the group interaction type associated with the one of a plurality of social groups is a managed group and the user type associated with the one member is regular;

the group interaction manager facilitating communication of a new message by one member of one of a plurality of social groups to all the members of the one of a plurality of social groups when the group interaction type associated with the one of a plurality of social groups is managed group and the user type associated with the one member is manager; and

wherein the new message and response to the new message comprises a textual component, an audio component, a digital image component, a video component, a GPS coordinate component, an IP address component, a sales offer, a security information and an encrypted secure data.

4. The server of claim 3 wherein the group interaction manager facilitates creation and sharing of a response message, referencing the new message, by at least one of the other members of the one of a plurality of social groups, in response to the new message by the one member.

5. The server of claim 3 wherein the group interaction manager also facilitates forwarding of the new message by one of the other members of the one of a plurality of social groups to another one of the plurality of social groups, in response to the new message sent by the one member.

6. The server of claim 3 wherein the group interaction manager facilitates creation of adhoc social groups and interaction between members of the adhoc social groups.

7. The server of claim 3 wherein each of the plurality of social groups comprise:

one or more members, each of the one or more members have a corresponding profile registered with the server;

a group name;

at least one of the one or more members identified as a group manager;

an optional region identification;

a group category identifying a vertical market or a business category;

an optional organization affiliation; and

the group interaction type, wherein the group interaction type is peer-to-peer or managed.

8. The server of claim 7 wherein the group membership manager manages the membership data of the plurality of social groups, wherein the members of the plurality of social groups are assigned a member type for each of the plurality of social groups in which they are members, wherein the member type is one of an admin, group manager, regular member and observer.

9. The server of claim 3 wherein the registration manager stores a copy of the member profile for members of the plurality of social groups in their corresponding user devices or in a corresponding secure storage units, along with a list of those of the plurality of social groups in which the member is a member.

10. The server of claim 3 wherein the corresponding user devices is one of a TV, a personal computer, a set-top-box, a gaming console, a mobile phone, a tablet device, a media server and a WiFi router.

11. The server of claim 3 wherein the server stores, categories and manages messages that are flagged as recommendations by members of the plurality of social groups.

12. A method of managing interaction in social groups supported by a server, the method comprising:

creating managed social groups at the server based on anticipated participation by a plurality of individuals in a group activity, wherein each of the managed social groups comprises at least a group name, a group identification, a group type, a group category, a region identification, an organization identification, a primary group manager and an interaction type;

providing a user profile for each of the plurality of individuals at the server, wherein the user profile comprises at least a user identification, a contact information, personal preferences information, status, category receiving mode, subscription type, default social group identification, a user type, and a default friends list identification;

registering the plurality of individuals to appropriate ones of the managed social groups at the server by maintaining a group-user mapping comprising the group identification, the user identification, a status and a member type;

controlling access employing a login activity wherein each of the plurality of individuals attempt a local decentralized login on a corresponding user device communicatively coupled to the server before attempting a centralized login at the server;

posting selectively a one-to-one or one-to-many new message to the managed social groups by each of the plurality of individuals, wherein each of the plurality of individuals employ their corresponding user device; and

managing, by a personal social and business manager module, membership data related to the membership of the one of the plurality of individuals in one or more of the managed social groups as well as membership in other external public social groups; and

facilitating, by the personal social and business manager module, interactions by the one of the plurality of individuals in the one or more of the managed social groups, employing the membership data; and

wherein the personal social and business manager module is part of the corresponding user device, part of an electronic device communicatively coupled to the corresponding user device, or part of the server;

displaying messages and responses selectively employing a list format or a thread-based tree format, wherein the thread-based tree format presents a set of messages and responses organized as a plurality of expandable threads, wherein such organization is dynamically conducted by processing a current set of messages and responses that are retrieved from the server in a chronological order.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein posting comprises:

determining if the new message created by one of the plurality of individuals on the corresponding user device is to be communicated to all the members of one of the managed social groups, communicated to a subset of the members of one of the managed social groups, communicated to one or more managers of the one of the managed social groups or communicated to a manager of a second one of the managed social groups.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising:

soliciting, a message category for selection by the one of the plurality of individuals on the corresponding user device during the creation of a new message and presenting a related message issue list for user selection based on the user'"'"'s selection of a selected message category in order to solicit a selected message issue; and

collecting by the server the new message created, the selected message category, the selected message issue, an urgency indicator, an optional recipient list, the user identification, and the group identification from the corresponding user device.

15. The method of claim 12 wherein the new message is created by each of the plurality of individuals on the corresponding user device employing a client software that facilitates entry of text, taking a digital photo, taking a video clip, recording voice audio, capturing GPS coordinates and selection of a list of recipients, wherein the server collects the new message from the client software, stores it and communicates to one of the managed social groups or a subset thereof.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

paying for the interactions in at least one of the managed social groups by the one of the plurality of individuals, wherein an organization in charge of providing a product or service subsidizes interactions in the at least one of the managed social groups and pays at least a portion of charges incurred by the one of the plurality of individuals.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising:

uploading a list of new members for at least one of the managed social groups by an organization in charge of providing a product or service, wherein the list of new members constitutes new users for whom the organization is willing to sponsor or subsidize.

18. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

arranging for a coordinated participation in an online activity by all the members of one of the managed social groups, wherein the online activity is one of an online multi-player game with members of the one of the managed social groups participating, viewing a TV show as a group activity, a special viewing of a movie arranged exclusively for the members one of the managed social groups, a special educational activity coordinated for the members one of the managed social groups and an interactive media viewing group activity.

19. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

displaying employing a thread based tree format, a set of messages associated with one of the managed social groups, wherein the set of messages are retrieved in chronological order from the server and dynamically organized into threads by a client app in the corresponding user devices associated with the members of one of the managed social groups; and

arranging for a coordinated participation in a collective purchase activity by all the members of one of the managed social groups for a product or service available for purchase.