Sharing of location-based content item in social networking service

• US 9,119,027 B2
• Filed: 10/06/2009
• Issued: 08/25/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Inventors: Sharon, Eyal M., Stremel, Jed, Adeagbo, Olumakinde A., Chang, Wayne, Hewitt, Joseph, Cahill, Matthew
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim, Matt
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pan, Yongjia
• Application Number:
  US12/574,614
• Publication Number:
  US 20110083101A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,149 Days
• Field of Search: 715/700, 715/733, 715/734, 715/736, 715/739, 715/741, 715/742, 715/748, 715/751, 715/764, 715/772
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6245 Protecting personal data, e.g. for financial or medical purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2111 Location-sensitive, e.g. geographical location, GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• 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 4/185 by embedding added-value information into content, e.g. geo-tagging
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications

Abstract

A method and/or system allows a user of a social networking service to publish a content item tagged with location information for sharing with other users of the social networking service. The user publishing the content item performs operations on the originating device to generate the content item. The originating communication device attaches the location information to the content item, and transmits the content item to a social networking system. The social networking system may provide various location-based services based on the content item tagged with the location information.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving location information for a communication device of a first user of a social networking service;

determining a list of distinct locations where a first user is likely to be located based on the received location information and a user profile of the first user;

sending the list of distinct locations to the communication device;

receiving selection of a location from the list from the communication device by the first user to indicate the location of the first user;

retrieving additional information about the selected location of the first user from a service distinct from the social networking service, the additional information comprising flight information or vehicle information;

determining an updated location of the first user based on the selected location and the additional information obtained from a service distinct from the social networking service, the updated location distinct from the selected location and representing a location of the first user after the first user was at the selected location; and

making the updated location available to a second user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the updated location is made available to the second user by associating the updated location in a content item.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising making a content item associated with the updated location available to the second user.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the updated location is received simultaneously with the content item from the communication device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the list of distinct locations where the first user is likely to be located is determined based on at least one of user input received from the communication device, information from a third party, previous locations of the communication device, a content item, and activities of a group of users participating in the social networking service.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining the list of distinct locations based on an IP (Internet Protocol) address of the communication device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein a content item and the updated location are sent to the second user via at least one of an instant message, an email, a web document and a text message.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving from the second user an indication of a geographic location of interest;

selecting content items provided by a plurality of other users associated with the indicated geographic location; and

making the selected content items available to the second user.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein making the updated location available to the second user further comprises:

determining a level of resolution of the updated location to be provided to the second user; and

making the updated location available to the second user at the determined level of resolution.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

receiving first privacy information for determining whether a content item associated with the updated location should be made available to a user of the social networking service; and

receiving second privacy information for determining whether to make the updated location available to a user and the level of resolution of the updated location to be made available to a user of the social networking service.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

making the updated location at a first resolution level available to a second user based on the second privacy information; and

making the updated location at a second resolution level available to a third user based on the second privacy information, wherein the first resolution level is a higher resolution level than the second resolution level.

12. The method of claim 11, where the first resolution level indicates a street level address, and the second resolution level indicates a neighborhood, city or state level location.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the level of resolution of the selected location is determined based on the social relationship or privacy setting received from the first user.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the user profile includes at least one of a resident address of the first user or an office address of the first user.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the service distinct from the social networking service is a transport operator, an airline, or a bank.

16. A method comprising:

receiving location information for each of a plurality of communication devices associated with a respective user;

for each respective user, determining a list of distinct locations where the respective user is likely to be located based on the received location information and a user profile of the respective user;

for each respective user, sending the list of distinct locations to a corresponding communication device;

from each respective user, receiving selection of a location from the list from the corresponding communication device by the respective user to indicate the location of the respective user;

retrieving additional information about the selected location of the respective user from a service distinct from the social networking service, the additional information comprising flight information or vehicle information;

determining an updated location of the respective user based on the selected location and the additional information obtained from a service distinct from the social networking service, the updated location distinct from the selected location and representing a location of the first user after the first user was at the selected location;

determining for the content item whether to make the updated location available to a requesting user; and

making the selected content item and the updated location available to the requesting user responsive to determining that the content item be made available to the requesting user.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein making the selected content items and the updated location available to the requesting user comprises:

determining a level of resolution of the updated location to be provided to the requesting user; and

making the updated location available to the requesting user at the determined level of resolution.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

receiving first privacy information for determining whether the content item should be made available to a user of the social networking service; and

receiving second privacy information for determining whether to make the updated location available to a user and the level of resolution of the updated location to be made available to a user of the social networking service.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

making the updated location at a first resolution level available to the requesting user based on the second privacy information; and

making the updated location at a second resolution level available to the requesting user based on the second privacy information, wherein the first resolution level is a higher resolution level than the second resolution level.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the first resolution level indicates a street level address, and the second resolution level indicates a neighborhood, city or state level location.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein the user profile includes at least one of a resident address of the respective user or an office address of the respective user.

22. The method of claim 16, wherein the service distinct from the social networking service is a transport operator, an airline, or a bank.

23. A computer system for sharing content items and geographic location information associated with the content items in a social networking service, comprising:

a processor;

a content processor module configured to;

receive location information for a communication device of a first user of a social networking service;

determine a list of distinct locations where a first user is likely to be located based on the received location information and a user profile of the first user;

send the list of distinct locations to the communication device; and

receive selection of a location from the list from the communication device by the first user to indicate the location of the first user;

retrieve additional information about the selected location of the first user from a service distinct from the social networking service, the additional information comprising flight information or vehicle information;

determine an updated location of the first user based on the selected location and the additional information obtained from a service distinct from the social networking service, the updated location distinct from the selected location and representing a location of the first user after the first user was at the selected location; and

a publishing module configured to make the updated location available to a second user.

24. The computer system of claim 23, wherein the publishing module is configured to make available the updated location by associating the updated location in a content item.

25. The computer system of claim 23, wherein the updated location is generated at the communication device based on user input received from the first user.

26. The computer system of claim 23, wherein the publishing module is further configured to make a content item associated with the updated location available to the second user.

27. The computer system of claim 23, wherein the updated location is received simultaneously with a content item from the communication device.

28. The computer system of claim 23, wherein the list of distinct locations is determined based on at least one of user input received from the communication device, information from a third party, previous locations of the communication device, the content item, and activities of a group of users participating in the social networking service.

29. The computer system of claim 23, wherein the content processor module is further configured to:

determine the list of distinct locations based on an IP (Internet Protocol) address of the communication device.

30. The computer system of claim 23, wherein a content item and the updated location are sent to the second user via at least one of an instant message, an email, a web document and a text message.

31. The computer system of claim 23, further comprising a location-based service module configured to:

select content items associated with the updated location; and

make the selected content items available to the device.

32. The computer system of claim 23, wherein the publishing module is further configured to:

select content items associated with a location of a third user; and

make the selected content items available to the third user.

33. The computer system of claim 32, wherein the publishing module is further configured to:

make the current location at a first resolution level available to the second user based on the second privacy information; and

make the updated location at a second resolution level available to a third user based on the second privacy information, wherein the first resolution level is a higher resolution level than the second resolution level.

34. the computer system of claim 32, wherein the level of resolution of the updated location is determined based on the social relationship or privacy setting received from the first user.

35. The computer system of claim 23, wherein the publishing module is further configured to:

determining a level of resolution of the updated location to be provided to the second user, the selected location made available to the second user at the determined level of resolution.

36. The computer system of claim 35, further comprising:

a global privacy module is configured to receive first privacy information for determining whether the content item should be made available to a user of the social networking service, and

wherein the content processor module is configured to receive second privacy information for determining whether to make the updated location available to a user and the level of resolution of the updated location to be made available to a user of the social networking service.

37. The computer system of claim 35, wherein the first resolution level indicates a street level address and the second resolution level indicates a neighborhood, city or state level location.

38. The computer system of claim 23, wherein the user profile includes at least one of a resident address of the first user or an office address of the first user.

39. The computer system of claim 23, wherein the service distinct from the social networking service is a transport operator, an airline, or a bank.

40. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions thereon, the instructions when executed by a processor in a computing device for providing a social networking service, cause the processor to:

receive location information for a communication device of a first user of a social networking service;

determine a list of distinct locations where a first user is likely to be located based on the received location information and a user profile of the first user;

send the list of distinct locations to the communication device;

receive selection of a location from the list from the communication device by the first user to indicate the location of the first user;

retrieve additional information about the selected location of the first user from a service distinct from the social networking service, the additional information comprising flight information or vehicle information;

determine an updated location of the first user based on the selected location and the additional information obtained from a service distinct from the social networking service, the updated location distinct from the selected location and representing a location of the first user after the first user was at the selected location; and

make the updated location available to a second user.