Social networking system capable of providing location-based notifications
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A networked computing system, comprising:
- a server that provides network-based user access to a service interface that provides functionality for users to register with a service and to selectively establish contact relationships with other users of the service, said server comprising a processor and memory;
a computer data repository that stores relationship data that specifies contact relationships established between users of the service, said relationship data comprising, for a contact relationship established between a first user and a second user, permission data specifying that the second user has granted permission for the first user to be notified of events in which the first and second users are concurrently in a common location, said permission data specified by the second user via a user interface that provides functionality for the second user to grant permissions, on a contact-by-contact basis, for contacts of the second user to receive notifications regarding the second user; and
a notification service configured to use the relationship data, in combination with location data associated with users of the service, to detect an event in which the first user and the second user are concurrently in a common location, said notification service additionally configured to notify at least the first user of said event according to the permissions granted by the second user.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A networked computer system provides various services for assisting users in locating, and establishing contact relationships with, other users. For example, in one embodiment, users can identify other users based on their affiliations with particular schools or other organizations. The system also provides a mechanism for a user to selectively establish contact relationships or connections with other users, and to grant permissions for such other users to view personal information of the user. The system may also be capable of detecting, and notifying a user of, an event in which the user and a contact of the user are in a common location.
-
Citations
25 Claims
-
1. A networked computing system, comprising:
-
a server that provides network-based user access to a service interface that provides functionality for users to register with a service and to selectively establish contact relationships with other users of the service, said server comprising a processor and memory; a computer data repository that stores relationship data that specifies contact relationships established between users of the service, said relationship data comprising, for a contact relationship established between a first user and a second user, permission data specifying that the second user has granted permission for the first user to be notified of events in which the first and second users are concurrently in a common location, said permission data specified by the second user via a user interface that provides functionality for the second user to grant permissions, on a contact-by-contact basis, for contacts of the second user to receive notifications regarding the second user; and a notification service configured to use the relationship data, in combination with location data associated with users of the service, to detect an event in which the first user and the second user are concurrently in a common location, said notification service additionally configured to notify at least the first user of said event according to the permissions granted by the second user. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
-
-
8. A computer-implemented method, comprising:
-
providing a computer-based service that enables users to selectively establish contact relationships with other users; storing relationship data specifying contact relationships established between users of the service, said relationship data specifying a contact relationship established between a first user and a second user, said relationship data comprising permission data representing a grant of permission by the second user for the first user to be notified of events in which the first and second users are concurrently in a common location, said grant of permission by the second user being specific to the first user, said permission granted by the second user via a user interface of the service, the user interface including functionality for the second user to grant permissions, on a contact-by-contact basis, for contacts of the second user to receive notifications regarding the second user; storing location data associated with locations of particular users of the service, including the first and second users; detecting, based on the location data, an event in which the first and second users are concurrently in a common location; and sending a notification of the event to at least the first user in accordance with the grant of permission; said method performed in its entirety by a networked computer system. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
-
-
17. Non-transitory computer storage having stored thereon executable program instructions that direct a networked computing system to perform a process that comprises:
-
providing a user interface that includes functionality for users of a service to selectively establish relationships with other users of the service and to grant permissions to other users; storing relationship data specifying the relationships established between users of the service, said relationship data comprising permission data representing a grant of permission by the second user for a first user to be notified of events in which the first and second users are concurrently in a common location, said grant of permission by the second user being specific to the first user, said permission granted by the second user via the user interface, said user interface including functionality for the second user to grant different levels of permission to different users on a user-by-user basis; storing location data associated with particular users of the service; detecting, based on the location data associated with the first and second users, an event in which respective locations of the first and second users coincide; and sending a notification of the event to at least the first user. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
-
Specification