Centralized registration for distributed social content services

• US 9,294,579 B2
• Filed: 01/04/2012
• Issued: 03/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Sampson, Todd, Sampson, John, Ho, Steve, Marcoullier, Eric, Rafer, Neil Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): DRAGOESCU, CLAUDIA B
• Application Number:
  US13/343,639
• Publication Number:
  US 20120110484A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,539 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users

Abstract

A system and method are directed towards enabling centralized registration for managing a selective display of visitor information to distributed social networking websites. A visitor may enter selective personal information, and determine what information is made available on a social networking webpage. The visitor may then return to the social networking website to view selective visitor information, such as within a reader roll. A visitor to a social networking website may select to not have their information displayed at selective a social networking website, while still being displayed at another social networking website. In one embodiment, selecting to not display their information may be performed by ‘mousing’ over their information and selecting a display option. Social networking websites may look to a centralized registration system to determine whether to display the visitor information, while still being able to obtain information about the visitor, and/or provide benefits to the visitor.

Claims

1. A network device, comprising:

a storage device that stores a social networking site; and

a processor that is operative to perform actions, including;

receiving a request from a first visitor for content from the social networking site, the social networking site being one of a plurality of social networking sites;

receiving a unique identifier for the first visitor from the first visitor, the unique identifier being provided to the first visitor during registration of the first visitor using a central registration for registering the first visitor to the plurality of social networking sites;

in response to providing the unique identifier to the central registration, receiving first visitor information about the first visitor, the first visitor information comprising identifying information of the first visitor;

displaying the first visitor information on the social networking site within a reader roll on the social networking site that displays other visitor information for a plurality of other visitors that visited the social networking site;

when an input by the first visitor associated with the displayed first visitor information is detected, displaying a selectable element useable by the first visitor to selectively modify while on the social networking site the display of the first visitor information within the reader roll on the social networking site, including hiding at least some of the first visitor information from display within the reader roll to a second visitor while the second visitor is on the social networking site, while allowing a different social networking site within the plurality to display the at least some hidden first visitor information to the second visitor while the second visitor is on the different social networking site, the selectable element being hidden until the input is detected,

wherein the reader roll displays information identifying the second visitor for at least a period of time after the second visitor leaves the website.

2. The network device of claim 1, wherein the input comprises a mouse over.

3. The network device of claim 1, wherein the first visitor information is displayed within a plurality of visitor information associated with a plurality of other visitors and the first visitor, the displayed plurality of visitor information being organized to display to the first visitor the first visitor information in a foremost displayed location with respect to the plurality of visitor information, while the social networking site displays to the second visitor the second visitor'"'"'s visitor information in the foremost displayed location.

4. The network device of claim 1, wherein the first visitor information is displayed within a plurality of visitor information associated with a plurality of other visitors and the first visitor, and wherein the plurality of visitor information is aged such that when one of the plurality of other visitors or the first visitor is determined not to have visited the social networking site for a period of time that visitor'"'"'s visitor information is no longer displayed at the social networking site.

5. The network device of claim 1, wherein the first visitor information is displayed within a plurality of visitor information associated with a plurality of other visitors and the first visitor, and wherein the plurality of visitor information is ordered alphabetically for visitors determined to be currently viewing the social networking site, and chronologically for visitors to the social networking site that are determined not to be currently viewing the social networking site.

6. A system for managing network activities, comprising:

one or more processors configured as a central registration server that performs actions, including;

providing a unique identifier to a first visitor during registration of the first visitor using the central registration server to register the first visitor to the plurality of social networking sites; and

a plurality of processors, each processor providing a social networking site from the plurality of social networking sites, and at least one of the processors arranged to perform actions, including;

receiving a request from the first visitor for content from the social networking site;

receiving the unique identifier for the first visitor from the first visitor;

in response to providing the unique identifier to the central registration server, receiving first visitor information about the first visitor, the first visitor information comprising identifying information of the first visitor;

displaying the first visitor information on the social networking site within a reader roll on the social networking site that displays other visitor information for a plurality of other visitors that visited the social networking site; and

when an input by the first visitor associated with the displayed first visitor information is detected, displaying a selectable element useable by the first visitor to selectively modify while on the social networking site the display of the first visitor information on the social networking site, including hiding at least some of the first visitor information from display within the reader roll to a second visitor while the second visitor is on the social networking site, while allowing a different social networking site within the plurality to display the at least some hidden first visitor information to the second visitor while the second visitor is on the different social networking site, the selectable element being hidden until the input is detected,

wherein the reader roll displays information identifying the second visitor for at least a period of time after the second visitor leaves the website.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the input comprises a mouse over.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the first visitor information is displayed to the first visitor in a foremost position relative to a plurality of other visitor information for a plurality of other visitors, while a second visitor information is displayed to the second visitor in the foremost position relative to the plurality of other visitor information and first visitor information.

9. The system of claim 6, wherein the first visitor information is removed from display within the social networking site when the first visitor does not revisit the social networking site for a period of time.

10. The system of claim 6, wherein at least some of the plurality of visitor information is organized using a different mechanism for some visitors than for other visitors within the reader roll.

11. A non-transitory, processor readable device that includes instructions, wherein the execution of the instructions enable actions, including:

executing on one or more processors to perform actions, comprising;

receiving a request from a first visitor for content from a social networking site, the social networking site being one of a plurality of social networking sites;

receiving a unique identifier for the first visitor from the first visitor, the unique identifier being provided to the first visitor during registration of the first visitor using a central registration for registering the first visitor to the plurality of social networking sites;

in response to providing the unique identifier to the central registration, receiving first visitor information about the first visitor, the first visitor information comprising identifying information of the first visitor;

displaying the first visitor information on the social networking site within a reader roll on the social networking site that displays other visitor information for a plurality of other visitors that visited the social networking site; and

when an input by the first visitor associated with the displayed first visitor information is detected, displaying a selectable element useable by the first visitor to selectively modify while on the social networking site the display of the first visitor information within the reader roll on the social networking site, including hiding at least some of the first visitor information from display within the reader roll to a second visitor while the second visitor is on the social networking site, while allowing a different social networking site within the plurality to display the at least some hidden first visitor information to the second visitor while the second visitor is on the different social networking site, the selectable element being hidden until the input is detected,

wherein the reader roll displays information identifying the second visitor for at least a period of time after the second visitor leaves the website.

12. The non-transitory, processor readable device of claim 11, wherein the input comprises a mouse over.

13. The non-transitory, processor readable device of claim 11, wherein at least some of the visitor information is being displayed alphabetically for visitors currently visiting the social networking site.

14. The non-transitory, processor readable device of claim 11, wherein the first visitor information is removed from display within the social networking site when the first visitor does not revisit the social networking site for a period of time.

15. The non-transitory, processor readable device of claim 11, wherein the first visitor information is displayed to the first visitor in a foremost position relative to a plurality of other visitor information for a plurality of other visitors, while a second visitor information is displayed to the second visitor in the foremost position relative to the plurality of other visitor information and first visitor information.

16. The non-transitory, processor readable device of claim 11, wherein the actions, further including selectively redirecting the first visitor to the central registration to modify other first visitor information.

17. The non-transitory, processor readable device of claim 11, wherein the actions, further including the first visitor receiving a benefit or a privilege for at least visiting the social networking site.