System and method for sharing investment information via a social network

• US 9,953,381 B1
• Filed: 12/22/2014
• Issued: 04/24/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Charles Schwab & Company Incorporated (Charles Schwab Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Charles Schwab & Company Incorporated (Charles Schwab Corporation)
• Inventors: Bravmann, Kenneth M., Chelamacherla Anand, Sandeep Reddy, Gotlieb, Charles E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tang, Karen
• Application Number:
  US14/580,122
• Time in Patent Office: 1,219 Days
• Field of Search: 709207
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• 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

Abstract

A system and method allows users to share watchlists with other users of a group such as that established on a social network server, and receives and displays other related information.

Claims

1. A method of displaying securities information comprising:

receiving from a first server comprising a social network server a user identifier of each user on the first server in at least one group defined to the first server, each of the at least one group comprising a plurality of users interested in sharing securities information with one another;

receiving from each of the plurality of users in each of the at least one group a user identifier of said user at a second server;

for each of at least some of the plurality of users in the at least one group, associating the user identifier of said user on the first server with the user identifier of said user on the second server;

receiving from the second server comprising a hardware processor, from each of a plurality of at least some of the plurality of users in the at least one group, a list of securities in which said user is interested;

receiving from each of a plurality of the users of the at least one group, at least one rating value from a range of possible rating values of each of at least some of the other users of the at least one group having such user and such other user in common;

providing for display to each of at least some of the plurality of the users in the at least one group, a plurality of symbols corresponding to a plurality of securities from the lists of each of the at least some of the plurality of users of the at least one group that includes such user, responsive to the plurality of lists of securities and the plurality of user identifiers on the first server of the at least one group;

receiving from each of at least some of the plurality of the at least one group, at least one comment about at least one of the securities corresponding to the plurality of symbols displayed; and

providing for display to each of the plurality of users in the at least one group to which the plurality of symbols are displayed, the at least one comment associated with the symbol of the security about which the at least one comment is directed, and a price of the security corresponding to the symbol; and

wherein the symbols are displayed in an order responsive to at least some of each of the at least one rating value given to the plurality of users from whom comments regarding the security corresponding to the symbol were received.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the rating values in the range assigned to at least one other user received from a user indicates a degree of value the opinions of said other user provide to said user.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the rating values to which the order is responsive are influenced at least more heavily by rating values received from the user for which the symbols and comments are being provided for display than other users from which comments may have been received.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one group comprises a plurality of groups, and the symbols, prices and comments are displayed responsive to each of the groups in the plurality of groups.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of symbols are displayed responsive to a number of users in at least one of the at least one group from which the security corresponding to said symbol were received.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of symbols are displayed responsive to a number of users in at least one of the at least one group from which comments about the security corresponding to said symbol were received on said user'"'"'s list.

7. A system for displaying securities information comprising:

a log in registration manager having an input coupled for receiving from a first server comprising a social network server a user identifier of each user on the first server in at least one group defined to the first sever, each of the at least one group comprising a plurality of users interested in sharing securities information with one another, and for receiving from each of the plurality of users a user identifier of said user on a second server, the log in registration manager for providing at an output the user identifiers of each of the plurality of users in each of the at least one group received at the log in registration manager input, associated with the user identifier of said user at the non-social network server;

the second server having an input for receiving from each of a plurality of at least some of the plurality of users in the at least one group, a list of securities in which said user is interested, associated with the user identifier of said user on the second server, the second server for providing at an output the list of securities in which each said user is interested;

an application rating manager having an input for receiving from each of a plurality of the users of the at least one group, at least one rating value from a range of possible rating values of each of at least some of the other users of the at least one group having such user and such other user in common, the application rating manager for providing each of the at least one rating value at an output;

a display manager having an input coupled to the second server for receiving the list of securities in which each of the at least some of the plurality of users in the at least one group are interested, and to the log in registration manager for receiving the user identifiers of each of the plurality of users in each of the at least one group, associated with the user identifier at the non-social network server of each said user in each of the at least one group, and to the application rating manager output for receiving each of the at least one rating value, the display manager for providing at an output for display to each of at least some of the plurality of the users in the at least one group, a plurality of symbols corresponding to a plurality of securities from the lists of each of the at least some of the plurality of users of the at least one group that includes such user, responsive to the plurality of lists of securities and the plurality of user identifiers of the at least one group, and in an order responsive to at least some of the at least one value rating given to the plurality of users from whom comments regarding the security corresponding to the symbol were received; and

an application comment manager having an input for receiving from each of at least some of plurality of members of the at least one group, at least one comment about at least one of the securities corresponding to the plurality of symbols displayed by the display manager, the application comment manager for providing at an output said at least one comment and an identifier of the securities corresponding to the comment; and

wherein;

the display manager input is additionally coupled to the application comment manager output for receiving the at least one comment and the identifier of the security corresponding to the at least one comment; and

the display manager is additionally for providing at the display manager output for display to each of the plurality of users in the at least one group to which it displays the plurality of symbols, each of the at least of the comment, associated with the symbol about which the comment is directed and a price of the security corresponding to the symbol received at the display manager input.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein each of the rating values in the range assigned to at least one other user received from a user indicates a degree of value the opinions of said other user provide to said user.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein:

the application rating manager additionally provides at the output, and the display manager input is additionally for receiving, an identifier of the user from which each rating value was received; and

the rating values to which the order is responsive are influenced at least more heavily by rating values received from the user for which the symbols and comments are being provided for display by display manager than other users from which comments may have been received.

10. The system of claim 7 wherein the at least one group comprises a plurality of groups, and the symbols, prices and comments are displayed by the display manager responsive to each of the groups in the plurality of groups.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein each of the plurality of symbols are displayed by display manager responsive to a number of users in at least one of the at least one group from which the security corresponding to said symbol were received on each said user'"'"'s list.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein each of the plurality of symbols are displayed by the display manager responsive to a number of users in at least one of the at least one group from which comments about the security corresponding to said symbol were received.

13. A computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein for displaying securities information the computer program product comprising computer readable program code devices configured to cause a computer system to:

receive from a first server comprising a social network server a user identifier of each user on the first server in at least one group defined to the first server, each of the at least one group comprising a plurality of users interested in sharing securities information with one another;

receive from each of the plurality of users in each of the at least one group a user identifier of said user at a second server;

for each of at least some of the plurality of users in the at least one group, associate the user identifier of said user on the first server with the user identifier of said user on the second server;

receive from the second server comprising a hardware processor, from each of a plurality of at least some of the plurality of users in the at least one group, a list of securities in which said user is interested;

receive from each of a plurality of the users of the at least one group, at least one rating value from a range of possible rating values of each of at least some of the other users of the at least one group having such user and such other user in common;

provide for display to each of at least some of the plurality of the users in the at least one group, a plurality of symbols corresponding to a plurality of securities from the lists of each of the at least some of the plurality of users of the at least one group that includes such user, responsive to the plurality of lists of securities and the plurality of user identifiers on the first server of the at least one group;

receive from each of at least some of the plurality of the at least one group, at least one comment about at least one of the securities corresponding to the plurality of symbols displayed; and

provide for display to each of the plurality of users in the at least one group to which the plurality of symbols are displayed, the at least one comment associated with the symbol of the security about which the at least one comment is directed, and a price of the security corresponding to the symbol; and

wherein the symbols are displayed in an order responsive to at least some of each of the at least one rating value given to the plurality of users from whom comments regarding the security corresponding to the symbol were received.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein each of the rating values in the range assigned to at least one other user received from a user indicates a degree of value the opinions of said other user provide to said user.

15. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the rating values to which the order is responsive are influenced at least more heavily by rating values received from the user for which the symbols and comments are being provided for display than other users from which comments may have been received.

16. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein the at least one group comprises a plurality of groups, and the symbols, prices and comments are displayed responsive to each of the groups in the plurality of groups.

17. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein each of the plurality of symbols are displayed responsive to a number of users in at least one of the at least one group from which the security corresponding to said symbol were received.

18. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein each of the plurality of symbols are displayed responsive to a number of users in at least one of the at least one group from which comments about the security corresponding to said symbol were received on said user'"'"'s list.