Social networking system

• US 9,083,763 B2
• Filed: 05/15/2012
• Issued: 07/14/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: IP Holdings Incorporated (IP Holdings LLC)
• Original Assignee: IP Holdings Incorporated (IP Holdings LLC)
• Inventors: Rao, Sunil K., Rao, Raman K.
• Primary Examiner(s): BAYARD, DJENANE M
• Application Number:
  US13/472,390
• Publication Number:
  US 20120290659A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,155 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/104 Grouping of entities
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data

Abstract

A matching network system including communication devices, servers and software which enables the provisioning of services and execution of transactions based on a plurality of private and public personality profiles and behavior models of the users, of the communication devices, of the products/services and of the servers; in combination with the software resident at the communication device level and or the local/network server level. Matching and searching processes based on a plurality of personality profiles wherein the information, communication and transactions are enabled to be matched with the user, the communication device and or the servers. The communication device is a stationary device or a mobile device, such as a portable computing device, wireless telephone, cellular telephone, personal digital assistant, or a multifunction communication, computing and control device.

Claims

1. A social network system comprising:

at least one communication device; and

at least one server comprising an application for storing profile information for one or more individuals, storing actions of one or more individuals, and for storing relationships between one or more individuals;

wherein the communication device and the server interact to allow an individual communication device user to maintain a plurality of personality profiles comprising public personality profiles and private personality profiles,

wherein the personality profiles have a dynamic number of states,

wherein the communication device and the server interact to allow forming one or more groups comprising individuals,

wherein the communication device and the server interact to allow the group to maintain one or more personality profiles,

wherein the server maintains personality profile fields that are associated with a permission level, and

wherein relationships between a plurality of users are defined by degrees of connectivity, wherein a first user profile is connected to a second user profile separated by one or more degrees of connectivity, wherein a third user profile is connected to the second user profile separated by one degree of connectivity, wherein text and images from the third user profile are presented to a second user, wherein text and images from the third user profile are presented to a first user when the first user and a third user both approve of a connection.

2. The social network system of claim 1, further comprising a web search engine configured to search the content of multiple websites across the Internet and display web search results relevant to the profiles of members of the social network.

3. The social network system of claim 1, further comprising a match engine, wherein the match engine allows for the discovery and use of users profiles or products that are best suited for and matched to the user by searching for content across a distributed network of web sites.

4. The social network system of claim 1, wherein a predictive logic is used to send product advertisements to a user based upon past Internet search history.

5. The social network system of claim 1, wherein the private and public personality profiles of a user are created based on data uploaded by a user and wherein private profiles are updated based upon private Internet search history and public profiles are updated based upon public Internet search history.

6. The social network system of claim 1, further comprising a question log, answer log, and personality profile generator for creating personality profiles wherein a user ascribes weights to various questions and answers.

7. The social network system of claim 1, wherein a user, picture, and product are associated with an identifying TAG that is discoverable by web search engines.

8. The social network system of claim 1, wherein a user, web site or web page, and product or service have a plurality of personality profiles.

9. The social network system of claim 1, wherein the communication device and the server interact to allow consumer to consumer matching, consumer to vendor matching, vendor to supplier matching and/or supplier to manufacturer matching.

10. The social network system of claim 1, wherein a user can maintain different personality profiles and/or personality states.

11. The social network system of claim 1, wherein the user is characterized by a user behavior model.

12. The social network system of claim 1, wherein a behavior model characterizes and models the user based on the user'"'"'s personality profiles and the actual history of the user in various prior interactions and/or transactions.

13. The social network system of claim 1, wherein a user behavioral model models the user'"'"'s prior history and decision processes for future predictive behavior Including suggesting relationships.

14. The social network system of claim 1, wherein different web pages within a website are characterized by one or more personality profiles and the ability to hold a state for a specific user, wherein the website can recognize that users have distinctly different personalities and deliver web pages, website personalities, and/or website functionality that are matched to the needs of each user.

15. The social network system of claim 1, wherein users, websites, and products or services are characterized by personality profiles and behavior models to allow for matching of the users with the desired websites, products or services.

16. The social network system of claim 1, further comprising a personality profile creator, question and answer creators, a mutual ability to query and track answers, a matching engine, and personal or group relations management software wherein the system is configured for use in health care applications.

17. The social network of claim 1, further comprising a web search engine configured to search the content of multiple websites across the Internet and display web search results relevant to the profile fields of the first user.

18. The social network of claim 17, wherein the first user adds a connection between the first user profile and a first web site.

19. The social network of claim 18, wherein the third user adds a connection between the third user profile and a second web site.

20. The social network of claim 19, wherein the web search engine matches the second web site to the first user profile and displays the second web site through the web search engine.

21. The social network system of claim 1, wherein a second user can prevent the access of the first user to the third user profile through the second user profile by deleting the connection to the first user or the third user.