Managing web services data and presence data

• US 9,438,681 B2
• Filed: 06/11/2013
• Issued: 09/06/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/12/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Middleton, Justin, Ranous, Alex
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, MONG-THUY THI
• Application Number:
  US13/915,510
• Publication Number:
  US 20130275510A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,183 Days
• Field of Search: 455/414.1, 455/414.2, 455/432.3, 4554561-4563
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• 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 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/567 Integrating service provisioning from a plurality of service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/655 Combination of telephone service and social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42365 Presence services providing information on the willingness to communicate or the ability to communicate in terms of media capability or network connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications

Abstract

Interfacing a wireless device with web services, including social networking web services, is described. For example, a system for interfacing a wireless device with a plurality of web services comprises a web service proxy having an API to allow other modules to interface with the web service proxy; a plurality of web services adapters interfaced with the web services proxy through the API, each one of the web services adapters configured to communicate with a particular web service using the specific communication formats for the web service; where the web services adapters and the web services proxy convert between the communication formats employed to communicate with each of the web services and a wireless communication format, the wireless communication format being a different format than the communication formats for each of the web services, thereby enabling bi-directional communication between the wireless device and the plurality of web services.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

collecting, by a web services proxy, social networking data for multiple users from multiple social networking sites, the web services proxy interfaced with multiple different web service adapters through an application programming interface (API), each web service adapter associated with a different one of the multiple social networking sites and configured to communicate with the respective social networking site using a specific communication format associated with the respective social networking site to collect the social networking data;

combining the social networking data for the multiple users to generate a unified compilation of the social networking data;

collecting presence data of the multiple users;

searching the unified compilation of the social networking data and the presence data in accordance with a request from a requesting device to locate multiple users matching a specified criteria of the request;

generating a list of the multiple users matching the specified criteria of the request;

determining a particular communication format for the requesting device;

encapsulating the list of the multiple users matching the specified criteria into the particular communication format for the requesting device; and

transmitting, over a network, the encapsulated list of the multiple users matching the specified criteria to the requesting device.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the unified compilation of the social networking data is accessible to one or more users linked through one or more of the multiple social networking sites.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the unified compilation of the social networking data is accessible to one or more users via one or more of address book applications, calendar applications, or email applications.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the unified compilation of the social networking data is stored in a standardized format.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the presence data comprises an electronic presence of one or more of the multiple users.

6. The method as recited in claim 5, wherein the electronic presence comprises an indication of whether one or more of the multiple users is online.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the presence data comprises a geographic location of one or more of the multiple users.

8. One or more computer-readable storage devices comprising instructions stored thereon that, responsive to execution by a processor, implement a web services proxy configured to perform operations comprising:

collecting social networking data for multiple users from multiple social networking sites, the web services proxy interfaced with multiple different web service adapters through an application programming interface (API), each web service adapter associated with a different one of the multiple social networking sites and configured to communicate with the respective social networking site using a specific communication format associated with the respective social networking site to collect the social networking data;

combining the social networking data for the multiple users to generate a unified compilation of the social networking data;

collecting presence data of the multiple users;

searching the unified compilation of the social networking data and the presence data in accordance with a request from a requesting device to locate multiple users matching a specified criteria of the request;

generating a list of the multiple users matching the specified criteria of the request;

determining a particular communication format for the requesting device;

encapsulating the list of the multiple users matching the specified criteria into the particular communication format for the requesting device; and

transmitting, over a network, the encapsulated list of the multiple users matching the specified criteria to the requesting device.

9. The one or more computer-readable storage media as recited in claim 8, wherein the unified compilation of the social networking data is accessible to one or more users linked through one or more of the multiple social networking sites.

10. The one or more computer-readable storage media as recited in claim 8, wherein the unified compilation of the social networking data is accessible to one or more users via one or more of address book applications, calendar applications, or email applications.

11. The one or more computer-readable storage media as recited in claim 8, wherein the unified compilation of the social networking data is stored in a standardized format.

12. The one or more computer-readable storage media as recited in claim 8, wherein the presence data comprises an electronic presence of one or more of the multiple users.

13. The one or more computer-readable storage media as recited in claim 12, wherein the electronic presence comprises an indication of whether one or more of the multiple users is online.

14. The one or more computer-readable storage media as recited in claim 8, wherein the presence data comprises a geographic location of one or more of the multiple users.

15. A computing system comprising:

one or more processing devices; and

memory storing program instructions executable via the one or more processing devices to implement a web services proxy configured to perform operations comprising;

collecting social networking data for multiple users from multiple social networking sites, the web services proxy interfaced with multiple different web service adapters through an application programming interface (API), each web service adapter associated with a different one of the multiple social networking sites and configured to communicate with the respective social networking site using a specific communication format associated with the respective social networking site to collect the social networking data;

combining the social networking data for the multiple users to generate a unified compilation of the social networking data;

collecting presence data of the multiple users;

searching the unified compilation of the social networking data and the presence data in accordance with a request from a requesting device to locate multiple users matching a specified criteria of the request;

generating a list of the multiple users matching the specified criteria of the request;

determining a particular communication format for the requesting device;

encapsulating the list of the multiple users matching the specified criteria into the particular communication format for the requesting device; and

transmitting, over a network, the encapsulated list of the multiple users matching the specified criteria to the requesting device.

16. The computing system as recited in claim 15, wherein the unified compilation of the social networking data is stored in a standardized format.

17. The computing system as recited in claim 15, wherein the unified compilation of the social networking data is accessible to one or more users linked through one or more of the multiple social networking sites.

18. The computing system as recited in claim 15, wherein the unified compilation of the social networking data is accessible to one or more users via one or more of address book applications, calendar applications, or email applications.

19. The computing system as recited in claim 15, wherein the presence data comprises an electronic presence of one or more of the multiple users.

20. The computing system as recited in claim 15, wherein the presence data comprises a geographic location of one or more of the multiple users.