SOCIAL NETWORKING SYSTEM CAPABLE OF PROVIDING LOCATION-BASED NOTIFICATIONS

• US 20130166661A1
• Filed: 01/23/2013
• Published: 06/27/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/02/1997
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Robertson, Brian D., Adams, Warren W.
• Granted Patent: US 8,762,471 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0227 Filtering policies mail message filtering H04L51/212
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0263 Rule management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• 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

Abstract

A networked computer system provides various services for assisting users in locating, and establishing contact relationships with, other users. For example, in one embodiment, users can identify other users based on their affiliations with particular schools or other organizations. The system also provides a mechanism for a user to selectively establish contact relationships or connections with other users, and to grant permissions for such other users to view personal information of the user. The system may also include features for enabling users to identify contacts of their respective contacts. In addition, the system may automatically notify users of personal information updates made by their respective contacts.

Claims

1-9. -9. (canceled)

10. A method of facilitating meetings between social networking contacts, the method comprising:

providing a computer-based service that enables users to selectively establish contact relationships with other users such that each user of the service can have one or more contacts;

storing relationship data specifying contact relationships established between users of the service;

storing data regarding locations of particular users of the service;

detecting, based on the relationship data in combination with the data regarding the locations of users, a crossing paths event in which a first user and a second user who have a contact relationship with each other are concurrently in a common location; and

sending a notification of the crossing paths event to at least the first user;

said method performed in its entirety by a networked computer system.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the notification is sent based at least partly on a determination that the second user has granted permission via the service for the first user to be notified of a location associated with the second user.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising storing permission data that specifies whether the first user has granted permission for the second user to be notified by the service of location information associated with the first user.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the data regarding locations comprises travel event data.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the crossing paths event is an event in which the first and second users travel to said common location.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the crossing paths event is detected before the first and second users are concurrently in said common location.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the method is performed under control of program code executed by the networked computer system.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein the method comprises establishing the contact relationship between the first user and the second user by a process that comprises, by said computer system:

receiving a request from the first user to establish a contact relationship with the second user;

sending to the second user a notification of the request; and

receiving a reciprocating request from the second user to establish said contact relationship.

18. A networked computing system, comprising:

a server that provides network-based user access to a service interface that provides functionality for users to register with a service, and to selectively establish contact relationships with other users of the service, said server comprising a processor and memory;

a computer data repository that stores relationship data that specifies contact relationships established between users of the service; and

a notification service configured to use the relationship data, in combination with location data associated with users of the service, to detect an event in which a first user and second user who have an established contact relationship with each other are concurrently in a common location, said notification service additionally configured to notify at least the first user of said event.

19. The networked computing system of claim 18, wherein the notification service is configured to send the notification based at least partly on a determination that the second user has granted permission via the service for the first user to be notified of a location associated with the second user.

20. The networked computing system of claim 18, wherein the location data comprises travel event data.

21. The networked computing system of claim 18, wherein the event is an event in which the first and second users travel to a common destination.

22. The networked computing system of claim 18, wherein the notification service is configured to detect the event before the users are concurrently in said common location.

23. Non-transitory computer storage having stored thereon executable program instructions that direct a computer system to perform a process that comprises:

providing a user interface that includes functionality for users of a service to selectively establish relationships with other users of the service;

storing relationship data specifying the relationships established between users of the service;

storing location data associated with particular users of the service;

identifying, based on the relationship data, a first user and a second user that have an established relationship;

detecting, based on the location data associated with the first and second users, an event in which respective locations of the first and second users coincide; and

sending a notification of the event to at least the first user.

24. The non-transitory computer storage of claim 23, wherein the notification is sent based at least partly on a determination that the second user has granted permission for the first user to be notified of a location associated with the second user.

25. The non-transitory computer storage of claim 23, wherein the location data comprises travel event data.

26. The non-transitory computer storage of claim 23, wherein the event is based on a determination that the first and second users are scheduled to travel to said common location.

27. The non-transitory computer storage of claim 23, wherein the process comprises establishing the relationship between the first user and the second user by a process that comprises:

receiving a request from the first user to link to the second user;

sending to the second user a notification of the request; and

receiving a reciprocating request from the second user to link to the first user.