Method and apparatus for dynamically managing user profiles and status change information

• US 9,462,441 B2
• Filed: 07/01/2014
• Issued: 10/04/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/01/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Dowlatkhah, Sangar, Shaw, Venson, Khajavi, Afsaneh
• Primary Examiner(s): Gonzalez, Amancio
• Application Number:
  US14/320,749
• Publication Number:
  US 20160007173A1
• Time in Patent Office: 826 Days
• Field of Search: 455/414.1, 709/238, 725/34
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• 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: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications

Abstract

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, receiving status change information from a first communication device of a first user over a network; adjusting a user profile of a second user responsive to the status change information; and providing the status change information to a group of second communication devices of the second user to cause the group of second communication devices to adjust operational parameters according to the status change information. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by a system including a processor, status change information from a first communication device of a first user over a network, the status change information being determined by the first communication device, the status change information being associated with a second user, the first communication device not being associated with the second user, wherein the status change information is determined by the first communication device based on detecting a second communication device of a group of second communication devices being in proximity to the first communication device and based on a type of communication service being provided by the first communication device at a time of the detecting of the second communication device;

adjusting, by the system, a user profile of the second user responsive to the status change information, the user profile being stored in a memory accessible to the system; and

providing, by the system, the status change information to the group of second communication devices of the second user to cause the group of second communication devices to adjust operational parameters according to the status change information,

wherein the adjusting of the user profile of the second user and the providing of the status change information to the group of second communication devices is performed without user intervention by the second user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the adjusting of the operational parameters of the group of second communication devices enables access to a communication service that was unavailable at the group of second communication devices prior to the adjusting of the user profile of the second user.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the system, verification information from the second communication device, the verification information being received without user intervention by the second user; and

analyzing, by the system, the verification information to determine an accuracy of the status change information associated with the second user that was determined by the first communication device,

wherein the adjusting of the user profile of the second user and the providing of the status change information to the group of second communication devices is performed responsive to a determination by the system that the status change information associated with the second user is accurate.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the system, a request for status update from a third communication device of the second user; and

providing, by the system, the status change information to the third communication device to cause the third communication device to adjust operational parameters according to the status change information,

wherein the receiving of the request for status update and the providing of the status change information is performed without user intervention by the second user.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the adjusting of the user profile of the second user comprises adjusting a group of user profiles that are each associated with a different persona of the second user, wherein the adjusting of the group of user profiles according to the status change information is different for each of the group of user profiles.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first communication device comprises a set top box, and wherein the second communication device comprises a mobile communication device.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the different persona of the second user are associated with different sets of end user devices of the second user.

8. The method of claim 1, comprising:

adjusting, by the system, a second user profile of the first user responsive to the status change information, the second user profile being stored in the memory accessible to the system; and

providing, by the system, the status change information to a group of first communication devices of the first user to cause the group of first communication devices to adjust second operational parameters according to the status change information, wherein the adjusting of the second user profile of the first user and the providing of the status change information to the group of first communication devices is performed without user intervention by the first user.

9. A first communication device, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising;

detecting a second communication device of a second user in proximity to the first communication device, wherein the detecting of the second communication device in proximity to the first communication device is according to wireless communications between the first and second communication devices;

determining status change information based on the detecting of the second communication device and based on a type of communication service being utilized by the first communication device at a time of the detecting of the second communication device; and

providing the status change information over a network to a server, the status change information being associated with the second user, the first communication device not being associated with the second user, wherein the providing of the status change information to the server causes the server to adjust a user profile of the second user according to the status change information and causes the server to provide the status change information to a group of second communication devices of the second user to enable adjusting operational parameters according to the status change information,

wherein the adjusting of the user profile of the second user and the providing of the status change information to the group of second communication devices is performed without user intervention by the second user.

10. The first communication device of claim 9, comprising a set top box, wherein the second communication device comprises a mobile communication device, and wherein the type of communication service being utilized by the first communication device at the time of the detecting of the second communication device comprises presenting video content.

11. The first communication device of claim 9, wherein the providing of the status change information to the server causes the server to adjust a second user profile of a first user of the first communication device according to the status change information and causes the server to provide the status change information to a group of first communication devices of the first user.

12. The first communication device of claim 11, wherein the adjusting of the second user profile of the first user comprises adjusting a group of other user profiles that are each associated with a different persona of the first user, wherein the adjusting of the group of other user profiles according to the status change information is different for each of the group of other user profiles.

13. The first communication device of claim 12, wherein the different persona of the first user comprise a work persona and a home persona, wherein the first communication device comprises a set top box, and wherein the second communication device comprises a mobile communication device.

14. A machine-readable storage medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processor of a second communication device, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:

providing communication signals that enable a first communication device to detect the second communication device in proximity to the first communication device, wherein a detection of the second communication device in proximity to the first communication device causes the first communication device to determine status change information for a second user of the second communication device, and wherein a determination of the status change information causes the first communication device to provide the status change information to a server for adjusting a user profile of the second user according to the status change information and for providing the status change information to a group of second communication devices of the second user to enable adjusting operational parameters according to the status change information, wherein the determination of the status change information for the second user is based on a type of communication service being utilized by the first communication device at a time of the detecting of the second communication device; and

providing verification information to the server without user intervention by the second user, wherein the providing of the verification information causes the server to make a second determination of an accuracy of the status change information associated with the second user that was determined by the first communication device,

wherein the adjusting of the user profile of the second user and the providing of the status change information to the group of second communication devices is performed responsive to the second determination by the server that the status change information associated with the second user is accurate.

15. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving the status change information of the second user from the server; and

adjusting the operational parameters of the second communication device according to the status change information to enable access to a communication service that was unavailable at the second communication device prior to the adjusting of the user profile of the second user.

16. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the adjusting of the user profile of the second user comprises adjusting a group of user profiles that are each associated with a different persona of the second user, and wherein the adjusting of the group of user profiles according to the status change information is different for each of the group of user profiles.

17. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the different persona of the second user comprise a work persona and a home persona, wherein the first communication device comprises a set top box, and wherein the second communication device comprises a mobile communication device.