Negotiable information access in electronic social networks

• US 9,626,681 B2
• Filed: 04/02/2009
• Issued: 04/18/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Mller, Samuel, Sommer, Dieter
• Primary Examiner(s): OUELLETTE, JONATHAN P
• Application Number:
  US12/417,207
• Publication Number:
  US 20100257103A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,938 Days
• Field of Search: 705 11-912
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/188 Electronic negotiation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/234 for tracking messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services

Abstract

A method for implementing an electronically-based negotiation session between users within an ESN. The method includes sending a message including a request portion and a response portion from a first user to a second user in a round of successive rounds, and in response to receiving the message from the first user, sending a message from the second user to the first user in a subsequent round, the message from the second user including a response portion responsive to the request portion of the message from the first user and a request portion. When a new round is performed, evaluating whether an agreement exists by checking messages previously exchanged, and exchanging subsequent messages, when any rounds remain and the session has not been terminated, and granting access and exchanging data between the users, executing actions, and setting policies as negotiated, when the session has been terminated and an agreement exists.

Claims

1. A processor-executable method to exchange profile information between electronic user profiles stored on computing devices in an electronic social network, the exchange of the profile information being in accordance with an electronically based multi-round negotiation session for improving data privacy by reducing an amount of exchanged information, comprising:

sending, by a first processor of a first computing device, a first message including a request portion to a second processor of a second computing device to initiate a first round of the electronically based multi-round negotiation session between a first electronic user profile associated with the first processor and a second electronic user profile associated with the second processor, the request portion including at least a contacts query specifying a first contact set requested by the first processor from the second processor;

receiving by the first processor a second message from the second processor based on receiving the first message to conclude the first round of the electronically based multi-round negotiation session, the second message including a response portion responsive to the contacts query of the request portion of the first message;

identifying by the first processor when the request portion and the response portion generate a negotiated amount of profile data to exchange;

identifying by the first processor that an agreement does not exists when explicit termination is executed based on a pre-defined timeout set by the electronic social network or agreed upon between the first and second user profiles;

determining by the first processor whether the negotiated amount of profile data exceeds a pre-defined threshold;

causing, when the agreement exists, by the first processor the exchange of the profile information between the first and second user profiles based on the negotiated amount of profile data and the negotiated amount of profile data being less than or equal to the pre-determined threshold;

when the agreement does not exists, de-escalating by the first processor the agreement by modifying the first message to generate a modified message to request a reduced contact set and sending the modified message to the second processor to initiate a second round of the electronically based multi-round negotiation session,

wherein the reduced contact set of the modified initial message is modification of the first contact set; and

storing all exchanged negotiation messages of the electronically based multi-round negotiation session,

wherein the exchanged negotiation messages including the first message, the second message, and the modified message,

wherein each message includes a resulting action parameter specifying one or more actions to be executed in case the agreement does not,

wherein each specified resulting action is executed when the request portion is no accepted by the second processor,

wherein the profile information is released in at least one of a plain text format or a digital rights management (DRAM)-protected format, and

wherein the second message comprises a request portion that includes is a counter request to the contacts query, the counter requested specifying an alternative set of contacts requested by the second user profile from the first user profile that reduces the amount of exchanged information.

2. A computer program product, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having program instructions for exchanging profile information between electronic user profiles stored on computing devices in an electronic social network embodied therewith, the exchange of the profile information being in accordance with an electronically based multi-round negotiation session for improving data privacy by reducing an amount of exchanged information, the program instructions executable by a first processor of a first computing device to cause the first processor to perform:

sending a first message including a request portion to a second processor of a second computing device to initiate a first round of the electronically based multi-round negotiation session between a first electronic user profile associated with the first processor and a second electronic user profile associated with the second processor, the request portion including at least a contacts query specifying a first contact set requested by the first processor from the second processor;

receiving a second message from the second processor based on receiving the first message to conclude the first round of the electronically based multi-round negotiation session, the second message including a response portion responsive to the contacts query of the request portion of the first message;

identifying when the request portion and the response portion generate a negotiated amount of profile data to exchange;

identifying by the first processor that an agreement does not exists when explicit termination is executed based on a pre-defined timeout set by the electronic social network or agreed upon between the first and second user profiles;

determining whether the negotiated amount of profile data exceeds a pre-defined threshold;

causing, when the agreement exists, the exchange of the profile information between the first and second user profiles based on the negotiated amount of profile data and the negotiated amount of profile data being less than or equal to the pre-determined threshold;

when the agreement does not exists, de-escalating the agreement by modifying the first message to generate a modified message to request a reduced contact set and resending the modified message to the second processor to initiate a second round of the electronically based multi-round negotiation session,

wherein the reduced contact set of the modified initial message is modification of the first contact set; and

storing all exchanged negotiation messages of the electronically based multi-round negotiation session,

wherein the exchanged negotiation messages including the first message, the second message, and the modified message,

wherein each message includes a resulting action parameter specifying one or more actions to be executed in case the agreement does not,

wherein each specified resulting action is executed when the request portion is not accepted by the second processor,

wherein the profile information is released in at least one of a plain text format or a digital rights management (DRM)-protected format, and

wherein the second message comprises a request portion that includes is a counter request to the contacts query, the counter request specifying an alternative set of contacts requested by the second user profile from the first user profile that reduces the amount of exchanged information.

3. A system for exchanging profile information between electronic user profiles stored on computers in an electronic social network, the exchange of the profile information being in accordance with an electronically based multi-round negotiation session for improving data privacy by reducing an amount of exchanged information, comprising at least one computer that includes a processor and a memory,

the processor configured to:

send a first message including a request portion to a second processor of another computer to initiate a first round of the electronically based multi-round negotiation session between a first electronic user profile associated with the first processor and a second electronic user profile associated with the second processor, wherein the request portion includes at least a contacts query specifying a first contact set requested by the first processor from the second processor;

receive a second message from the second processor based on receiving the first message to conclude the first round of the electronically based multi-round negotiation session, wherein the second message includes a response portion responsive to the contacts query of the request portion of the first message;

identify when the request portion and the response portion generate a negotiated amount of profile data to exchange;

identifying by the first processor that an agreement does not exists when explicit termination is executed based on a pre-defined timeout set by the electronic social network or agreed upon between the first and second user profiles;

determine whether the negotiated amount of profile data exceeds a pre-defined threshold;

cause, when the agreement exists, the exchange of the profile information between the first and second user profiles based on the negotiated amount of profile data and the negotiated amount of profile data being less than or equal to the pre-determined threshold;

when the agreement does not exists, de-escalate the agreement by modifying the first message to generate a modified message to request a reduced contact set and resending the modified message to the second processor to initiate a second round of the electronically based multi-round negotiation session,

wherein the reduced contact set of the modified initial message is modification of the first contact set; and

storing all exchanged negotiation messages of the electronically based multi-round negotiation session,

wherein the exchanged negotiation messages including the first message, the second message, and the modified message,

wherein each message includes a resulting action parameter specifying one or more actions to be executed in case the agreement does not,

wherein each specified resulting action is executed when the request portion is not accepted by the second processor,

wherein the profile information is released in at least one of a plain text format or a digital rights management (DRM)-protected format, and

wherein the second message comprises a request portion that includes is a counter request to the contacts query, the counter request specifying an alternative set of contacts requested by the second user profile from the first user profile that reduce the amount of exchanged information.