Online Social and Professional Networking and Collaboration Services with Enhanced Communications Capabilities

• US 20080189366A1
• Filed: 12/17/2007
• Published: 08/07/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Virtual Telephone & Telegraph, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Virtual Telephone & Telegraph, Inc.
• Inventors: Cox, Richard D., Yagel, Scott M., Metzger, Stephen J.
• Application Number:
  US11/958,338
• Publication Number:
  US 20080189366A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles

Abstract

A virtual collaboration social or work unit or sphere of trust allows participants to contact others within the sphere, using a method designated by the participant being contacted without the participants needing to be aware of the underlying communications infrastructure or method of contact, and without any of the participants having to sharing connectivity information. In a preferred embodiment, the infrastructure can be any method of contact available to the users, including but not limited to, the public Internet, instant messaging, public or private telephony systems, or wireless communication technologies.

Claims

1. In a social or business collaboration or networking service, a method for enabling communication comprising:

storing contact information provided by a plurality of members comprising a predefined group;

transmitting information relating to the group to each of the plurality of members requesting information for a display in a user interface, the information including an indication of the availability of each of plurality of users without displaying the contact information provided by the plurality of users;

receiving through a user input into the interface a request by first one of the plurality members to contact a second one of the plurality of members; and

looking up the contact information provided by the second one of the plurality of members and attempting to establish a connection between the first of the plurality of members and the second one of the plurality of members.

2. A computer-implemented method for providing a group collaboration service over a computer network, comprising:

storing in at least one database contact information a plurality of members comprising a predefined group, each of the plurality of members separately supplying the contact information for that member, the contact information for the plurality of members being stored in a manner that does not permit a member of the group to see contact information supplied by any other member of the group;

transmitting information over at least one network to at least one remote computing device that at least one of the members of the group is using, the information including an indication relating to the availability of users for being contacted without displaying the contact information provided by the plurality of users;

receiving a request to contact a first member of the group to a second member of the group; and

looking up the contact information provided by the first and second member; and

initiating establishment a communication connection between the first member and the second member using the stored contact information of the first member and the second member.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the stored contact information supplied by the members of the group is selected from a group comprising a standard telephone number, universal location identifier, instant messaging (IM) address, and email address.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein transmitting information over at least one network to at least one remote computing device further comprises transmitting information for displaying a graphically representation on the remote computing device a virtual meeting room, the virtual meeting room comprising one or more information sharing services for facilitating sharing of information between to members of the group to exclusion of others with no privileges relating the group.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the one or more information sharing services comprises a file repository available to members of the group, wherein the representation of the virtual meeting room is comprised of an interface for accessing files stored in the file repository.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the virtual meeting room is comprised of a text messing service for enabling members of the group to post messages available to other members of the group through the virtual room.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein transmitting information further comprises transmitting information indicating presence of a member in the virtual meeting room.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein the information transmitted over at least one network further comprises a web page.

9. The method of claim 4, wherein the information transmitted over at least one network is formatted for use by an application running on the remote computer generating the graphical representation of the virtual meeting room.

10. The method of claim 4, wherein receiving the request is comprised of receiving a communication generated by the at least one remote computing device in response to a user interacting with the graphical representation of the virtual room, the graphical representation including a graphical representation of the second member.

11. The method of claim 2, wherein the communication connection is comprised of a communication medium selected from a group consisting of telephone, instant messaging and email.

12. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

receiving a request from one of the first and second members to add a third member of the group to the communication connection; and

initiating addition of the third member to the communication connection.

13. The method of claim 2, wherein initiating establishment of a communication connection is comprised of automatically setting up a call between the first and second members using a bridge using numbers in the contact information stored for the first and second members.

14. The method of claim 2, wherein each of the plurality of members of the group sets up a profile, the profile specifying availability of the member to be contacted and contact information.

15. Apparatus for providing virtual meeting room services over a network, each virtual meeting room having a plurality of members, the apparatus comprising:

means for storing in at least one database contact information a plurality of members comprising a predefined group, each of the plurality of members separately supplying the contact information for that member, the contact information for the plurality of members being stored in a manner that does not permit a member of the group to see contact information supplied by any other member of the group;

means for transmitting information over at least one network to at least one remote computing device that at least one of the members of the group is using, the information including an indication relating to the availability of users for being contacted without displaying the contact information provided by the plurality of users;

means for receiving a request to set up a communication connection between a first member and a second member of the group; and

means for looking up the contact information provided by the first and second member and initiating establishment a communication connection between the first member and the second member using the stored contact information of the first member and the second member.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the stored contact information supplied by the members of the group is selected from a group comprising a standard telephone number, universal location identifier, instant messaging (IM) address, and email address.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the means for transmitting information over at least one network to at least one remote computing device further comprises means for transmitting information for displaying a graphically representation on the remote computing device a virtual meeting room, the virtual meeting room comprising one or more means for facilitating sharing of information between to members of the group to exclusion of others with no privileges relating the group.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the one or more means for facilitating sharing of information comprises a file repository available to members of the group, wherein the representation of the virtual meeting room is comprised of an interface for accessing files stored in the file repository.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the virtual meeting room is comprised of a text messing service for enabling members of the group to post messages available to other members of the group through the virtual room.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein transmitting information further comprises transmitting information indicating presence of a member in the virtual meeting room.

21. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the information transmitted over at least one network further comprises at least one web page.

22. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the information transmitted over at least one network is formatted for use by an application running on the remote computer generating the graphical representation of the virtual meeting room.

23. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the means for receiving the request is comprised of means for receiving a communication generated by the at least one remote computing device in response to a user interacting with the graphical representation of the virtual room, the graphical representation including a graphical representation of the second member.

24. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the communication connection is comprised of a communication medium selected from a group consisting of telephone, instant messaging and email.

25. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising:

means for receiving a request from one of the first and second members to add a third member of the group to the communication connection; and

means for initiating addition of the third member to the communication connection.

26. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein means for initiating establishment of a communication connection is comprised of means for automatically setting up a bridge between the first and second members using numbers in the contact information stored for the first and second members.

27. The apparatus of claim 15, further including means for setting up a profile for each member of the group, the profile specifying availability of the member to be contacted and contact information.

28. A computer readable memory for providing virtual meeting room services over a network, each virtual meeting room having a plurality of members, the apparatus comprising:

a computer database for storing contact information for the plurality of members of the group, the contact information including information indicating availability for each of the members of the group for communication with other members of the group; and

at least one programmable computer adapted for generating virtual meeting room data for use by remote clients in generating a graphical representation of a virtual meeting room;

the at least one computer further adapted for facilitating sharing of information between to members of the group using to exclusion of others with no privileges relating the group, the information including indications of the availability of each member of the group to accept communication connections from other members of the group;

the at least one computer further adapted for setting up a communication connection between two or more of the members of the group using the contact information stored in the computer database in response to receiving a request for a communication connection from one of the members of the group through the virtual meeting room representation on one of the remote client.