User created tags for online social networking

• US 7,756,926 B2
• Filed: 04/10/2009
• Issued: 07/13/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/16/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ifwe Inc.
• Original Assignee: Tagged Incorporated
• Inventors: Tseng, Greg, Schleier-Smith, Johann
• Primary Examiner(s): WANG, LIANG CHE A
• Application Number:
  US12/422,155
• Publication Number:
  US 20090241035A1
• Time in Patent Office: 459 Days
• Field of Search: 709/201, 709/204, 709/205, 709/217, 709/218, 709/219, 709/223, 709/226
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/117 Tagging; Marking up details of markup languages G06F40/143; Designating a block; Setting of attributes style sheets, e.g. eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transformation [XSLT], G06F40/154
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/169 Annotation, e.g. comment data or footnotes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• 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

The present invention provides a social networking system and method by which customized tags can be created by a registered user in an online social networking environment and distributed to facilitate social networking. The tags represent personal characteristics and preferences associated with users of the online social networking environment. A graphical user interface (GUI) is provided in the online social networking website that enables a specific user to create and customize tags. Tags can be embeddable in that a user can insert the tag in a website GUI for display. Also, tags may have embedded content, e.g. a photo, a song, a profile page location, etc and may be sponsored or traded in the social networking website. Also a skin that shows the personal profile page GUI style may be customized, sponsored, or traded.

Claims

1. A social networking method comprising:

establishing an online networking environment to enable a plurality of users to engage in a social networking game; and

operating a user interface in the online networking environment to enable a first user of the social networking game to;

select a first tag to convey to a second user, the first tag representing a trait of the second user as attributed by the first user;

convey the first tag to the second user to enable the second user to add the first tag to the second user'"'"'s tag collection;

wherein the first tag is displayed in a profile page associated with the second user subsequent to the second user accepting the first tag conveyed by the first user

wherein the first user selects the first tag from a second tag repository, wherein the second tag repository includes a plurality of tags maintained by an operator of the online networking environment.

2. The social networking method of claim 1, further comprising:

establishing a profile page for each user of the social networking game, the profile page enabling each user to display tags received from other users of the social networking game.

3. The social networking method of claim 1, wherein the first user selects the first tag from a first tag repository, wherein the first tag repository includes a plurality of tags associated with the first user.

4. The social networking method of claim 3, wherein the first tag repository includes a first subplurality of tags, the first subplurality of tags including customized tags created by the first user.

5. The social networking method of claim 3, wherein the first tag repository includes a second subplurality of tags, the second subplurality of tags including tags conveyed to the first user by other users of the social networking game.

6. The social networking method of claim 1, wherein the second tag repository includes a first subplurality of tags including tags created by the operator of the online networking environment.

7. The social networking method of claim 1, wherein the second tag repository includes a second subplurality of tags including tags contributed by the plurality of users of the social networking game.

8. The social networking method of claim 1, wherein the second tag repository includes a third subplurality of tags including sponsored tags, each sponsored tag contributed by a specific sponsor for marketing a product and/or service.

9. The social networking method of claim 1, wherein the first user dynamically creates the first tag prior to selecting and conveying the first tag to the second user.

10. The social networking method of claim 1, further comprising:

operating a tag market in association with the social networking game, wherein the tag market enables the first user to sell a specific tag to one of;

a third user of the social networking game, enabling the third user to add the specific tag to a tag repository associated with the third user;

or

an operator of the online networking environment, enabling the operator to add the specific tag to a tag repository associated with the online networking environment.

11. The social networking method of claim 1, further comprising:

operating a tag market in association with the social networking game, wherein the tag market enables the first user to purchase a specific tag from one of;

a third user of the social networking game, enabling the first user to add the specific tag to a tag repository associated with the first user;

or

an operator of the online networking environment, enabling the first user to add the specific tag to a tag repository associated with the first user.

12. The social networking method of claim 11, wherein the first user conveys the purchased specific tag to a fourth user as a gifted tag.

13. The social networking method of claim 11, wherein the first user conveys the purchased specific tag to a fourth user as a traded tag in return for a particular tag stored in a tag repository associated with the fourth user.

14. The social networking method of claim 1, wherein the first tag includes one or more of:

a graphic image;

an animated graphic image;

an embedded audio media;

an embedded video media;

an embedded hyperlink;

or

an embedded executable application.

15. A computer network for a social networking environment, the computer network comprising:

a communication network; and

a plurality of client devices connected to the communication network, each of the plurality of client devices offering a user interface to enable a plurality of users to engage in a social networking activity;

wherein, the user interface of a first client device enables a first user of the social networking activity to;

select a first tag to convey to a second user of the social networking activity, the first tag representing a trait of the second user as intended by the first user, the first tag selected from a tag repository, wherein the tag repository includes a plurality of tags maintained by an operator of the social networking environment, which tag repository may include tags customized by the first user;

convey the first tag to the second user to enable the second user to add the first tag to the second user'"'"'s tag collection; and

wherein the first tag is displayed in a profile page associated with the second user subsequent to the second user accepting the first tag conveyed by the first user.

16. The computer network of claim 15, wherein the first user selects the first tag from a first tag repository associated with the first user, the first tag repository including one or more of:

a first subplurality of tags including customized tags created by the user;

a second subplurality of tags including tags received by the first user from other users of the social networking activity;

a third subplurality of tags including tags purchased by the first user from an operator of the social networking activity;

or

a fourth subplurality of tags including tags purchased by the first user from other users of the social networking activity.

17. The computer network of claim 15, wherein the first user selects the first tag from a second tag repository associated with an operator of the social networking activity, the second tag repository including one or more of:

a first subplurality of tags including tags created by the operator of the social networking activity;

a second subplurality of tags including tags created and contributed by marketing sponsors;

or

a third subplurality of tags including tags contributed by the users of the social networking activity.

18. The computer network of claim 15, wherein the first tag includes one or more of:

a graphic image;

an animated graphic image;

an embedded audio media;

an embedded video media;

an embedded hyperlink;

or

an embedded executable application.

19. A set of instructions embodied on a computer readable medium, the instructions, when executed, causing a machine to perform a method, the method comprising:

establishing a social networking environment; and

operating a user interface to provide access to the social networking environment to a plurality of users, the user interface enabling a first user of the social networking environment to;

select a first tag to convey to a second user of the social networking environment, the first tag representing a trait of the second user as attributed by the first user;

convey the first tag to the second user to enable the second user to add the first tag to the second users tag collection;

wherein the first tag is displayed in a profile page associated with the second user subsequent to the second user accepting the first tag conveyed by the first user; and

wherein the first user selects the first tag from a second tag repository, wherein the second tag repository includes a plurality of tags maintained by an operator of the social networking environment.

28. The social networking method of claim 19, wherein the customized tag includes one or more of:

a graphic content;

a textual content;

a multimedia content;

or

an animation content.

20. A social networking method comprising:

establishing an online networking environment to enable a plurality of users to engage in a social networking game;

operating a user interface in the online networking environment to enable a specific user of the social networking game to create a customized tag for deposition into a tag repository associated with the online networking environment; and

storing the customized tag in the tag repository, wherein the saved customized tag is suitable for being conveyed by a first user of the online networking environment to a second user of the online networking environment, enabling the second user to display the customized tag in a tag collection associated with the second user;

wherein the first user selects the customized tag from the tag repository for sending to the second user, wherein the tag repository includes a plurality of tags;

wherein the customized tag is displayed in a profile page associated with the second user subsequent to the second user accepting the first tag conveyed by the first user.

21. The social networking method of claim 20, further comprising:

verifying the customized tag deposited by the specific user for propriety prior to saving the customized tag in the tag repository.

22. The social networking method of claim 20, wherein the tag repository is a personal database linked to the specific user.

23. The social networking method of claim 20, wherein the tag repository is a database linked to an operator of the social networking game.

24. The social networking method of claim 20, wherein the specific user conveys the customized tag to a third user subsequent to the customized tag being saved into the tag repository.

25. The social networking method of claim 20, wherein the customized tag is indicative of a message as intended by the first user to convey to the second user.

26. The social networking method of claim 20, wherein the user interface accepts the customized tag by allowing the specific user to upload the customized tag from a local computer associated with the specific user.

27. The social networking method of claim 20, wherein the user interface accepts the customized tag by allowing the specific user to create the customized tag in a digital studio offered by the user interface.

29. The social networking method of claim 20, wherein the specific user receives a credit from an operator of the social networking game in return for the deposition of the customized tag.

30. The social networking method of claim 29, wherein the credit includes one or more of:

a monetary compensation;

a gift token for use toward purchasing a particular tag from the tag repository;

or

a rating associated with the specific user'"'"'s use of the social networking game.

31. The social networking method of claim 20, wherein the tag repository includes a plurality of categories for classifying tags stored in the tag repository.

32. The social networking method of claim 31, further comprising:

querying the specific user for a category to classify the customized tag under;

verifying a propriety of the category suggested by the specific user;

storing the customized tag in association with the suggested category subsequent to verifying the propriety of the suggested category.

33. The social networking method of claim 32, wherein the suggested category preexists in the plurality of categories.

34. The social networking method of claim 32, wherein the suggested category is a new category, further wherein the new category is included in the plurality of categories subsequent to the verification of the propriety of the new category.