Systems and methods for class designation in a computerized social network application
First Claim
1. A computer program product for use in conjunction with a system, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium and a computer program mechanism embedded therein, the computer program mechanism comprising:
- a user profile database comprising a plurality of personal profiles, wherein each respective personal profile in said plurality of personal profiles corresponds to a user in a computerized social network, each respective personal profile in said plurality of personal profiles includes an identity of at least one user other than the user represented by the respective personal profile; and
each respective personal profile in said plurality of personal profiles includes a capability to organize each said at least one user into a plurality of groups associated with the user corresponding to the respective personal profile; and
a social networking module for supporting said computerized social network, wherein said social networking module further comprises a friend access routine that includes;
instructions for receiving a request from a first user to access users in the personal profile of a second user; and
instructions for determining which of the users in the personal profile of the second user can be accessed by the first user, wherein said instructions for determining include;
instructions for comparing (i) a degree of separation between the second user and the first user to (ii) a maximum allowable degree of separation between the second user and the first user that is specified in a group in the personal profile of the second user, wherein when the degree of separation between the second user and the first user exceeds the maximum allowable degree of separation between the second user and the first user that is specified in the group in the personal profile of the second user, the identity of the users in the group is not made available to the first user.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Computer program products, methods, and systems for facilitating a computerized social network are provided. The invention includes a user profile database having a plurality of personal profiles, each corresponding to a user in the social network. Each personal profile includes an identity of at least one user of the network other than the user represented by the personal profile. Each respective personal profile includes a capability of organizing each of the at least one users into one or more groups associated with the user corresponding to the respective personal profile. A friend access routine includes instructions for receiving a request from a first user to access users in the personal profile of a second user. The friend access routine determines which of the users in the personal profile of the second user can be accessed by the first user.
277 Citations
27 Claims
-
1. A computer program product for use in conjunction with a system, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium and a computer program mechanism embedded therein, the computer program mechanism comprising:
-
a user profile database comprising a plurality of personal profiles, wherein each respective personal profile in said plurality of personal profiles corresponds to a user in a computerized social network, each respective personal profile in said plurality of personal profiles includes an identity of at least one user other than the user represented by the respective personal profile; and
each respective personal profile in said plurality of personal profiles includes a capability to organize each said at least one user into a plurality of groups associated with the user corresponding to the respective personal profile; and
a social networking module for supporting said computerized social network, wherein said social networking module further comprises a friend access routine that includes;
instructions for receiving a request from a first user to access users in the personal profile of a second user; and
instructions for determining which of the users in the personal profile of the second user can be accessed by the first user, wherein said instructions for determining include;
instructions for comparing (i) a degree of separation between the second user and the first user to (ii) a maximum allowable degree of separation between the second user and the first user that is specified in a group in the personal profile of the second user, wherein when the degree of separation between the second user and the first user exceeds the maximum allowable degree of separation between the second user and the first user that is specified in the group in the personal profile of the second user, the identity of the users in the group is not made available to the first user. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23)
-
-
22. A system for hosting a computerized social network, the computer system comprising:
-
a central processing unit;
a memory, coupled to the central processing unit, the memory storing a user profile database and a social networking module, wherein the user profile database comprises a plurality of personal profiles, and wherein each respective personal profile in said plurality of personal profiles corresponds to a user in said computerized social network, each respective personal profile in said plurality of personal profiles includes an identity of at least one user other than the user represented by the respective personal profile, and each respective personal profile in said plurality of personal profiles includes a capability to organize each said at least one user into one or more groups associated with the user corresponding to the respective personal profile; and
whereinthe social networking module comprises a friend access routine that includes;
instructions for receiving a request from a first user to access users in the personal profile of a second user; and
instructions for determining which of the users in the personal profile of the second user can be accessed by the first user, wherein said instructions for determining include;
instructions for comparing (i) a degree of separation between the second user and the first user to (ii) a maximum allowable degree of separation between the second user and the first user that is specified in a group in the personal profile of the second user, wherein when the degree of separation between the second user and the first user exceeds the maximum allowable degree of separation between the second user and the first user that is specified in the group in the personal profile of the second user, the identity of the users in the group is not made available to the first user.
-
-
24. A computer program product for use in conjunction with a system, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium and a computer program mechanism embedded therein, the computer program mechanism for facilitating a computerized social network, the computer program mechanism comprising
a user profile database comprising a plurality of personal profiles; -
each respective personal profile in said plurality of personal profiles corresponding to a user in a computerized social network, each respective personal profile in said plurality of personal profiles including an identity of at least one user of the computerized social network other than the user represented by the respective personal profile, and each respective personal profile in said plurality of personal profiles comprises one group or a plurality of groups associated with the user corresponding to the respective personal profile, and wherein each respective group in said one or said plurality of groups specifies one or more users and an indication of the maximum tolerable degree of separation for viewing the or more users in the respective group. - View Dependent Claims (25)
-
-
26. A method for determining which of a plurality of users in a personal profile of a second user can be accessed by a first user, wherein said plurality of users are organized into a plurality of groups in said personal profile, the method comprising:
-
(A) receiving a request from said first user to access said plurality of users in the personal profile of said second user, wherein said first user and said second user are participants in a social network;
(B) determining a degree of separation between the second user and the first user;
(C) selecting a group in the plurality of groups in the personal profile of the second user;
(D) comparing a maximum allowable degree of separation specified in said group selected by said selecting (C) to said degree of separation between the second user and the first user, wherein when the degree of separation between the second user and the first user exceeds the maximum allowable degree of separation specified in said group, said group is not added to an accessible group list, and when the degree of separation between the second user and the first user is equal to or less than the maximum allowable degree of separation specified in said group, said group is added to an accessible group list;
(E) repeating (C) and (D) until each group in the personal profile of the second user has been evaluated; and
(F) granting access to users in each of the groups in the accessible group list to said first user. - View Dependent Claims (27)
-
Specification