FACILITATING USER INTERACTIONS BASED ON PROXIMITY

• US 20120329483A1
• Filed: 01/31/2012
• Published: 12/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/07/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Groupon Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Groupon Incorporated
• Inventors: Vengroff, Darren E., Holden, Jeffrey A.
• Granted Patent: US 9,614,921 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.3
• 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: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/186 Processing of subscriber group data

Abstract

Techniques are described for providing location-based information and functionality to people and computing devices in various ways. In at least some situations, the techniques include enabling multiple people in a common geographic area to interact in various ways, such as via devices capable of communications (e.g., cellular telephones, computing devices with wired and/or wireless communications capabilities, etc.). In addition, the techniques include enabling the creation and maintenance of location-based virtual groups of users (also referred to as “clouds”), such as for users of mobile and/or fixed-location devices. Such clouds may enable various types of interactions between group members, and may be temporary and/or mobile.

Claims

1-48. -48. (canceled)

49. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored contents that configure a computing device to a method, the method comprising:

receiving, by the configured computing device, one or more first instructions from a first user who is a member to establish a uni-directional relationship from the first user to each of one or more other indicated users;

initiatin, by the configured computing device, establishing of the uni-directiona relationship from the first user to each of the one or more other indicated users in response to the one or more first instructions; and

in response to one or more second instructions from the first user that identify the one or more other indicated users as intended recipients of one or more commiunications from the first user, initiating, by the configured computing device, forwarding of the one or more communications to the one or more other indicated users.

50. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 49 wherein the method further comprise, before the receiving of the one or more first instructions initiating creation of the virtual group by selecting multiple users to participate in the virtual group, the multiple users including the first user and the one or more other indicated users and at least one additional user.

51. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 4950 wherein the virtual group is location-based and has an associated geographical area, and wherein the first user and the one or more other indicated users and at least one additional user are selected as members of the virtual group based at least in part on each having a location within the associated geographical area.

52. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 49 wherein the configured computing device is a mobile communication-capable device of the first users.

54. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 49 wherein the configured computing device is a central server computing system that is configured to communicate with the-communication-capable devices of users who are members of the virtual group, wherein the computer-readable medium is a memory of the central server computing system and wherein the stored contents are software instructions that when executed, program the configured computing device to perform the method.

67. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 49 wherein the established uni-directional relationship from the first user to each of the one or more other indicated users is based on the first user initiating a bookmarking activity for each of the one or more other indicated users.

68. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 49 wherein the establishing of the uni-directional relationship from the first user to each of the one or more other indicated users is performed without obtaining agreement from the one or more other indicated users for the establishing of the uni-directional relationship.

69. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 49 wherein the method further comprises, in response to one or more third instructions from the first user, initiating establishing of a bi-directional relationship between the first user and one or more additional indicated users that are distinct from the one or more other indicated users, wherein the establishing of the bi-directional relationship includes obtaining agreement of the one or more additional indicated users.

70. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 49 wherein the method further comprises, in response to one or more third instructions from the first user, initiating forwarding of one or more additional communications from the first user to all users who are members of the virtual group.

71. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 49 wherein the second instructions identify the one or more other indicated users based on an indication from the first user of a group of users that include the one or more other indicated users.

72. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 49 wherein the method further comprises, in response to one or more third instructions from the first user that specify at least one of the one or more other indicated users from whom to block communications, blocking one or more communications sent to the first user from the at least one other indicated users.

73. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 49 wherein the virtual group is created by the first user, and wherein the one or more other indicated users are all of the users of the virtual group other than the first user.

74. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 49 wherein the method further comprises delivering the one or more communications to each of the one or more other indicated users.

75. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 49 wherein the method further comprises terminating the virtual group in response to one or more third instructions from the first user.

53. (canceled)

55-66. -66. (canceled)

76. A computer-implemented method comprising:

in response to one or more first instructions from a first user, initiating, by one or more configured computing systems, establishing of a uni-directional relationship from the first user to each of one or more other indicated users; and

in response to one or more second instructions from the first user that identify the one or more other indicated users as intended recipients of one or more communications from the first user, initiating, by the one or more configured computing systems, forwarding of the one or more communications to the one or more other indicated users.

77. The method of claim 76 wherein the one or more configured computing systems include a central server computing systems that enables communications between communication-capable devices of a plurality of users who are each members of one or more virtual groups, and wherein the first user and the one or more other indicated users are at least some members of one of the virtual groups.

78. The method of claim 77 wherein the one virtual group is created by the first user, and wherein the one or more other indicated users and the first user are all of the members of the one virtual group.

79. The method of claim 77 further comprising, before receiving the one or more first instructions, initiating creation of the one virtual group by selecting multiple users to participate in the one virtual group, the multiple users including the first user and the one or more other indicated users.

80. The method of claim 77 wherein the one virtual group is location-based and has an associated geographical area, and wherein the first user and the one or more other indicated users are members of the one virtual group based at least in part on each having a location within the associated geographical area.

81. The method of claim 76 wherein the established uni-directional relationship from the first user to each of the one or more other indicated users is based on the first user bookmarking each of the one or more other indicated users without obtaining agreement from the one or more other indicated users.

82. The method of claim 81 further comprising, in response to one or more third instructions from the first user, initiating establishing of a bi-directional relationship between the first user and one or more additional indicated users that are distinct from the one or more other indicated users, wherein the establishing of the bi-directional relationship includes obtaining agreement of the one or more additional indicated users.

83. The method of claim 76 wherein the second instructions identify the one or more other indicated users using an indicated group of users that include the one or more other indicated users.

84. The method of claim 76 further comprising, in response to one or more third instructions from the first user that specify at least one of the one or more other indicated users from whom to block communications, blocking one or more communications sent to the first user from the at least one other indicated users.

85. The method of claim 76 wherein the one or more communications include information corresponding to a business associated with a virtual group.

86. The method of claim 85 wherein the first user is a member of the virtual group, and wherein at least one of the one or more communications includes an invitation to join the virtual group.

87. The method of claim 86 wherein the one or more other indicated users join the virtual group in response to the invitation, and wherein the forwarding of the one or more communications is performed before the establishing of the uni-directional relationship from the first user to each of the one or more other indicated users.

104. The method of claim 76 wherein the first user and the one or more other users are part of the virtual group, and wherein the method further comprises providing an offer from the business to the first user and to the one or more other users.

105. The method of claim 104 further comprising enabling the first user and the one or more other users to access commercial services of the business via the virtual group.

106. The method of claim 104 further comprising charging one or more fees to each of the one or more other users related to participation in the virtual group.

107. The method of claim 106 wherein the one or more fees charged to each of the one or more other users differ from zero or more fees charged to the first user based at least in part on a status of the first user within the virtual group.

108. The method of claim 104 wherein the forwarding of the at least one received communication is performed before the one or more other users are part of the virtual group.

109. The method of claim 104 further comprising, before the one or more other indicated users are part of the virtual group, determining to add the one or more other users to the virtual group based at least in part on one or more locations of the one or more other users.

88. A configured computing system comprising:

a processor; and

a management system configured to, when executed by the processor, manage communications between a plurality of users by, for each of multiple of the plurality of users;

in response to one or more first instructions from the user, establishing a uni-directional relationship from the user to each of one or more other indicated users; and

in response to one or more second instructions from the user that identify the one or more other indicated users as intended recipients of one or more communications from the user, forwarding the one or more communications to the one or more other indicated users.

89. The computing system of claim 88 wherein, for one of the multiple users, the management system is further configured to create a virtual group in response to instructions from the one user, and wherein the one user and the one or more other users indicated by the one user are the only members of the virtual group at a time of receiving the second instructions.

90. The computing system of claim 89 wherein the virtual group is location-based and has an associated geographical area, wherein the one user and the one or more other indicated users are members of the virtual group based at least in part on each having a location within the associated geographical area, and wherein the management system includes software instructions for execution by the processor.

91. The computing system of claim 88 wherein, for one of the multiple users, the established uni-directional relationship from the one user to each of the one or more other indicated users is based on the one user bookmarking each of the one or more other indicated users without obtaining agreement from the one or more other indicated users.

92. The computing system of claim 91 wherein the managing of the communications between the plurality of users further includes, in response to one or more third instructions from the one user, initiating establishing of a bi-directional relationship between the one user and one or more additional indicated users that is distinct from the uni-directional relationship from the one user to the one or more other indicated users, the establishing of the bi-directional relationship including obtaining agreement of the one or more additional indicated users.

93. The computing system of claim 88 wherein, for one of the multiple users, the second instructions identify the one or more other indicated users via an indicated group of users that include the one or more other indicated users.

94. The computing system of claim 88 wherein the managing of the communications between the plurality of users further includes, for one of the multiple users and in response to one or more third instructions from the one user that specify to block communications from at least one of the one or more other users indicated by the one user, blocking one or more communications sent to the one user from the at least one other indicated user.

95. The computing system of claim 88 wherein the management system consists of one or more means for performing the managing of the communications between the plurality of users.

96. A computer-implemented method comprising:

establishing, by one or more configured computing systems, a virtual group associated with a business;

receiving, by the one or more configured computing systems, one or more communications sent by a first user that include information related to the business; and

forwarding, by the one or more configured computing systems, at least one of the received communications to one or more other users to provide the information related to the business.

97. The method of claim 96 wherein the one or more other users is a second user, and wherein the method further comprises, before the forwarding of the at least one received communication to the second user, establishing a uni-directional relationship from the second user to the first user.

98. The method of claim 97 wherein the first user and the second user are members of the virtual group.

99. The method of claim 96 wherein the first user is a member of the virtual group, and wherein at least one of the one or more communications includes an invitation to the one or more other users to join the virtual group associated with the business.

100. The method of claim 96 wherein the first user is a member of the virtual group, and wherein the one or more other users is a second user who has searched for information to which the business associated with the virtual group corresponds.

101. The method of claim 96 wherein the first user is a member of the virtual group, and wherein the one or more other users is a second user who has been invited to join the virtual group.

102. The method of claim 96 wherein the first user is a member of the virtual group, and wherein at least one of the one or more communications includes one or more of text, video and images.

103. The method of claim 96 wherein the first user is a member of the virtual group, and wherein at least one of the one or more communications is sent to all users who are members of the virtual group.