Automatically providing a communication based on location information for a user of a social networking system

• US 10,826,858 B2
• Filed: 01/23/2019
• Issued: 11/03/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Inventors: Stremel, Jed, Ramakrishnan, Thyagarajapuram S., Slee, Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): Gilles, Jude Jean
• Application Number:
  US16/255,452
• Publication Number:
  US 20190158446A1
• Time in Patent Office: 650 Days
• Field of Search: 709206, 709220, 709204, 709218, 709207, 709219
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/384 using social networks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/222 using geographical location information, e.g. messages transmitted or received in proximity of a certain spot or area
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• 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 67/306 User profiles
• 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 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/185 by embedding added-value information into content, e.g. geo-tagging
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications

Abstract

Systems and methods for automatically locating web-based social network members are provided. According to one embodiment, contact content including an associated GPS identifier and status for web-based social network members located at or near the same location automatically appears on a GPS-enabled device. A further exemplary system includes a GPS-enabled device configured to receive a GPS identifier and a status representing a location and a current state for a web-based social network member, a processing module that associates the received GPS-identifier and the received status, and a communications module that sends the associated GPS-identifier and status to a server comprising a web-based social network database. Contact content in a web-based social network database record in the web-based social network database is updated to include the associated GPS identifier and status for the web-based social network member.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

determining that a first device is at a location based on location information for the first device;

identifying an interactable object associated with the location;

providing the interactable object to the first device when the first device is determined to be at the location;

determining that a second device is at the location based on location information for the second device; and

providing the interactable object to the second device when the second device is determined to be at the location, wherein the interactable object is in a modified state based on an interaction with the interactable object on the first device.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein a user associated with the second device has a social networking connection to a user associated with the first device.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising storing location information for the first device and the second device in user profiles associated with the users of the first device and the second device.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the interactable object includes audio associated with the location.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the interactable object includes a photograph associated with the location.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the interactable object includes information about a place associated with the location.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the interactable object includes a video associated with the location.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that when executed by a processor of a client device cause the processor to:

determine that a first device is at a location based on location information for the first device;

identify an interactable object associated with the location;

provide the interactable object to the first device when the first device is determined to be at the location;

determine that a second device is at the location based on location information for the second device; and

provide the interactable object to the second device when the second device is determined to be at the location, wherein the interactable object is in a modified state based on an interaction with the interactable object on the first device.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein a user associated with the second device has a social networking connection to a user associated with the first device.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, further comprising storing location information for the first device and the second device in user profiles associated with the users of the first device and the second device.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the interactable object includes audio associated with the location.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the interactable object includes a photograph associated with the location.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the interactable object includes information about a place associated with the location.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the interactable object includes a video associated with the location.

15. A social networking system comprising:

a processor for executing instructions;

a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions executable by the processor, the instructions comprising;

instructions for determining that a first device is at a location based on location information for the first device;

instructions for identifying an interactable object associated with the location;

instructions for providing the interactable object to the first device when the first device is determined to be at the location;

instructions for determining that a second device is at the location based on location information for the second device; and

instructions for providing the interactable object to the second device when the second device is determined to be at the location, wherein the interactable object is in a modified state based on an interaction with the interactable object on the first device.

16. The social networking system of claim 15, wherein a user associated with the second device has a social networking connection to a user associated with the first device.

17. The social networking system of claim 15, further comprising storing location information for the first device and the second device in user profiles associated with the users of the first device and the second device.

18. The social networking system of claim 15, wherein the interactable object includes audio associated with the location.

19. The social networking system of claim 15, wherein the interactable object includes a photograph associated with the location.

20. The social networking system of claim 15, wherein the interactable object includes information about a place associated with the location.