HK1138659B - Social namespace addressing for non-unique identifiers - Google Patents

Description

Social namespace addressing of non-unique identifiers

This application claims priority from U.S. application 11/555,247 filed on 31/10/2006, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to mobile communications, and more particularly, but not exclusively, to techniques for enabling communications based on non-unique identifiers associated with users within a social network.

Background

Great changes affecting our daily lives have occurred in the internet. For example, online social networks have become new appointment places. They may invoke a new business lunch and a new golf course to conduct business life in the united states. Also, many people are using such online social networks to reconnect themselves to their friends, their neighbors, their communities, and otherwise connected people.

This advancement in online social networking brings countless benefits to our daily lives, provides immediate access to people like a crowd, and enables us to form partnerships with more people in more ways than before.

One aspect of our daily lives that may benefit from online social networking technology relates to social gatherings that may often occur in a less organized, ad hoc manner. For example, a person may decide to gather in a certain restaurant, club, etc. online (almost immediate decision). Users may have appointments with each other in such social gatherings and may further wish to interact with each other. However, the user may not know or remember how to contact others. Thus, these and other factors are contemplated by the present invention.

Drawings

Non-limiting and non-exclusive embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various views unless otherwise specified.

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the detailed description, in association with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a system diagram of one embodiment of an environment in which the present invention may be implemented;

FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of a mobile device that may be included in a system implementing the invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of a network device that may be included in a system implementing the invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a logical flow diagram generally showing one embodiment of a process for determining a user associated with a namespace ID;

FIG. 5A illustrates a logical flow diagram generally showing one embodiment of a process for determining characteristics of an event and determining a social network of members associated with the event;

FIG. 5B illustrates a logical flow diagram generally showing one embodiment of a process for determining member differences (member distinctions) for members associated with namespace IDs;

FIG. 6 shows one embodiment of a use case illustrating enabling an operation to be performed on a member of a social network associated with a namespace ID;

FIG. 7 shows one embodiment of another use case illustrating enabling an operation to be performed on a member of a social network associated with a namespace ID;

FIG. 8 illustrates one embodiment of a user interface for identifying a user associated with a namespace ID;

FIG. 9 illustrates one embodiment of a user interface for reviewing and sharing media between users associated with namespace IDs; and

FIG. 10 illustrates one embodiment of a user interface for reviewing media shared by users associated with namespace IDs in accordance with the present invention.

Detailed Description

The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and which show, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In addition, the present invention may be embodied as methods or devices, etc. Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense.

Throughout the specification and claims, the following terms take the meanings explicitly associated with them, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The phrase "in one embodiment" as used herein does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, but may. Moreover, the phrase "in another embodiment" as used herein does not necessarily refer to a different embodiment, but may. Thus, as described below, various embodiments of the invention may be readily combined without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.

In addition, as used herein, the term "or" is an inclusive "or" operator and is equivalent to the term "and/or," unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The term "based on" is not exclusive and allows for being based on additional factors not described, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In addition, throughout the specification, the meaning of "one (a), an" and the case where no number is indicated includes a plurality. The meaning of "in.

The terms "social network" and "social community" as used herein refer to the concept that individual friends' networks, family members, colleagues and subsequent connections within these networks can be used to find more relevant connections for a variety of activities, including but not limited to dating, job networking, service nominations, content sharing, individuals with similar intent or purpose, activity partners, and the like. Such social networks may be created based on a variety of criteria, including, for example, social events, such as parties, dating events, and so forth.

The term "event" as used herein refers to any social gathering of people having a start time and an end time. In one embodiment, the start and/or end times may be loosely established in that they may occur informally, such as may occur based on an informal gathering of people. In another embodiment, the event may have established a start and/or end time. Also, in one embodiment, an event may have multiple start/end times, such as may occur in the form of regularly scheduled appointments, and so forth.

The term "media content" as used herein refers to any digital data that is directed by a user of a computing device, including, but not limited to, audio data, multimedia data, photographs, video data, still images, text, graphics, animation files, voice messages, text messages, and the like.

The term "ID" or "user ID" as used herein refers to an identifier of a user. The identifier may comprise any text or multimedia content that may be used to identify a user, including alphanumeric strings, pictures, sounds, movie clips, and the like. The term "Namespace ID (NID)" refers to a user Identifier (ID) that may be non-unique. That is, the NID may be associated with more than one subscriber. For example, "John" may represent a NID that may be associated with multiple users.

The term "member" as used herein refers to a user that is included in a collection, such as a social network, group, or the like. The term "member difference" as used herein refers to information used to distinguish members in a set. The term "group" as used herein refers to a collection of members. The group may be unassociated with the event or associated with the event (including permanent, continuous, or temporary events).

The term "addressing" as used herein refers to any form of contact with a member, including communicating with a member, sending a group message (e.g., message board, server list), wherein the member may be at least one of the recipients of the group message; sending messages directly to the member (e.g., via SMS, IM, email); or otherwise provide information to the member, etc.

Briefly, the present invention relates to enabling a user to clarify the identity of a member included in a User's Social Network (USN), and to enabling operations to be performed based on information about the member.

The USN is determined. In one embodiment, the USN is determined based on membership in a group associated with the event. In one embodiment, the event comprises a user.

The NID of the member is received. If the NID is not unique within the USN, member differences are determined for a plurality of members in the USN associated with the NID. In one embodiment, the membership differences are determined based in part on event characteristics. The member differences may include last contact time, traffic, common friends, identification information of the particular member, characteristics of a previous event including the user and the particular member, and so forth.

The member differences are sent to the user. The user selects one of the users associated with one of the member differences. Based on the selection, the server receives information about the selected member. Enabling an operation to be performed based on the information about the selected member. The operation may include addressing the selected member, enabling communication between the user and the selected member, and so forth.

Exemplary work Environment

FIG. 1 illustrates components of one embodiment of an environment in which the invention may be implemented. Note that not all of the components are required in implementing the invention, and variations in the arrangement and type of the components may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. As shown, the system 100 of FIG. 1 includes a Local Area Network (LAN)/Wide Area Network (WAN) (network) 105, a wireless network 110, an event/namespace server (ENS)106, a mobile device (client device) 102, 104, and a client device 101.

One embodiment of the mobile device 102 and 104 is described in more detail below in conjunction with FIG. 2. In general, however, the mobile device 102 and 104 may virtually comprise any portable computing device capable of receiving and sending messages over a network (e.g., network 105, wireless network 110, etc.). The mobile device 102 and 104 may also be generally described as a client device configured to be portable. Thus, the mobile device 102 and 104 may virtually include any portable computing device capable of connecting to another computing device and receiving information. These devices include portable devices such as cellular telephones, smart phones, display pagers, Radio Frequency (RF) devices, Infrared (IR) devices, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), handheld computers, laptop computers, wearable computers, desktop computers, integrated devices combining one or more of the preceding devices, and the like. As such, the mobile device 102 and 104 are generally broad in terms of capabilities and features. For example, a cellular telephone may have a numeric keypad and a monochrome LCD display of several lines on which only text may be displayed. In another example, a web-enabled mobile device may have a touch-sensitive screen, a stylus, and several lines of color LCD display (where both text and graphics may be displayed).

A web-enabled mobile device may include a browser application configured to receive and transmit web pages, web-based messages, and the like. The browser application may be configured to receive and display graphics, text, multimedia, etc., the application virtually employing any web-based language, including wireless application protocol messages (WAP), etc. In one embodiment, the browser application is capable of employing Handheld Device Markup Language (HDML), Wireless Markup Language (WML), WMLScript, JavaScript, standard generalized markup language (SMGL), hypertext markup language (HTML), extensible markup language (XML), and the like, to display and send messages.

The mobile device 102 may also include at least one other client application configured to receive content from another computing device. The client application may include the ability to provide and receive text content, media content, and the like. The client application may also provide information identifying itself, including type, capabilities, name, and the like. In one embodiment, the mobile device 102 and 104 may uniquely identify themselves through any of a variety of mechanisms, including a telephone number, Mobile Identification Number (MIN), Electronic Serial Number (ESN), or other mobile device identifier. The information may also indicate content formats that the mobile device is capable of employing. Such information may be provided in a message sent to ENS 106, client device 101, or other computing device.

The mobile device 102 may also be configured to communicate messages with another computing device, such as the ENS 106, the client device 101, or with each other, for example, through Short Message Service (SMS), Multimedia Message Service (MMS), Instant Messaging (IM), Internet Relay Chat (IRC), Mardam-Bey's IRC (mIRC), Jabber, and so forth. However, the present invention is not limited to these message protocols, and virtually any other message protocol may be employed. For example, the client application may enable a user to interact with a browser application, an email application, a VOIP application, and the like.

The mobile device 102 may also be configured to include a client application that enables the end user to log into an end user account, which may be managed by another computing device, such as the ENS 106. Such an end-user account may be configured, for example, to enable the end-user to receive emails, send/receive IM messages, SMS messages, access selected web pages, participate in social networking events, and so forth. However, participating in various social networking events may also be performed without logging into the end user account.

Additionally, the mobile device 102 can include another application configured to enable the mobile user to share and/or receive media content and display the media content. In one embodiment, each of the mobile devices 102 and 104 may share media content with and/or receive media content from the ENS 106 and/or from the other of the mobile devices 102 and 104, respectively. For example, media content may be shared between mobile devices using MMS, WAP, or the like. In one embodiment, a mobile device may receive a message indicating that media content is available at a website for viewing and/or annotation, and/or the like.

In conjunction with sharing media content, the mobile devices 102 and 104 can interact with each other by sharing various messages and typically engaging in a variety of integrated social experiences (not just voice communications). In one embodiment, the mobile device 102 and 104 may enable interaction with a user associated with an event. For example, a user of one of the mobile devices 102 and 104 can create a group including the identified members and send a message to the members related to the event. In one embodiment, the members of the group may then choose to share media content, such as photos, video clips, audio clips, text messages, emails, and so forth, with other members of the group. Moreover, the mobile device 102 and 104 can enable any member of the group to also add other members to the group.

The user's social network may be determined based on the user's creation and/or membership in the group and the membership of other users in the group. In one embodiment, the user may also interact with members of the user's social network that are associated with namespace IDs. 6-7 below include one embodiment of an example of group creation and enable interaction between a user and a member associated with a namespace ID. In one embodiment, the interaction may be SMS, email, or IM between one of the mobile devices 102 and 104 and the other device over the network 110 and the network 105.

Mobile device 102 may also communicate with non-mobile client devices such as client device 101. In one embodiment, such communication may include providing information regarding the shared media to a user of the client device 101 or the like.

Client device 101 may virtually comprise any computing device capable of communicating over a network to send and receive information, including social networking information and the like. One embodiment of the client device 101 is described in more detail below in conjunction with fig. 2. In general, however, a collection of such devices can include devices that typically connect using a wired or wireless communications medium such as personal computers, microprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, and the like. In one embodiment, the client device 101 may be configured to access a website or other location where media content is shared, and to annotate the media content, add additional media content, and so forth. Similar to mobile device 102-104, client device 101 may be configured to allow a user to interact with members of the user's social network using namespace IDs.

The wireless network 110 is configured to couple the mobile device 102 and its components 104 with the network 105. The wireless network 110 may include any of a variety of wireless sub-networks that may further overlay stand-alone ad-hoc networks, etc. to provide an infrastructure-oriented connection for the mobile device 102 and 104. Such subnetworks may include mesh networks, wireless lan (wlan) networks, cellular networks, and so forth.

Wireless network 110 may also include an autonomous system of terminals, gateways, routers, and the like connected by wireless radio links, and the like. These connectors may be configured to move freely and randomly and organize themselves arbitrarily, such that the topology of wireless network 110 may change rapidly.

Wireless network 110 may also employ a variety of access technologies including second generation (2G), third generation (3G) radio access for cellular systems, WLANs, Wireless Router (WR) meshes, and so forth. Access technologies such as 2G, 3G, and future access networks may enable wide-range coverage for mobile devices (e.g., mobile devices 102 and 104 with various degrees of mobility). For example, the wireless network 110 may enable radio connections over a radio network access such as global system for mobile communications (GSM), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), and so forth. The wireless network 110 may include virtually any wireless communication mechanism by which information may travel between the mobile device 102 and 104 and another computing device, network, etc.

Network 105 is configured to couple ENS 106 and its components with other computing devices including mobile device 102 and 104, client device 101, and to couple ENS 106 to mobile device 102 and 104 through wireless network 110. The network 105 can employ any form of computer-readable media for transferring information from one electronic device to another. Additionally, the network 105 may include the Internet as well as a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a direct connection, such as through a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port, other forms of computer-readable media, or any combination thereof. On an interconnected set of LANs, including those based on differing architectures and protocols, a router acts as a link between LANs, enabling messages to be sent from one to another. Additionally, the communication links within LANs typically include twisted wire pairs or coaxial cables, and the communication links between networks may employ analog telephone lines, all or portions of dedicated digital lines (including T1, T2, T3, and T4), Integrated Services Digital Networks (ISDN), Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL), wireless links including satellite links, or other communication links known to those skilled in the art. In addition, remote computers and other related electronic devices can be remotely connected to either LANs or WANs via a modem and temporary telephone link. In essence, network 105 includes any communication method that may be used to propagate information between ENS 106, client device 101, and other computing devices.

In addition, communication media typically embodies computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave, data signal, or other transport mechanism and includes any information delivery media. The terms "modulated data signal" and "carrier-wave signal" includes a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information, instructions, data, and the like, in the signal. By way of example, communication media includes wired media such as twisted wire pairs, coaxial cables, fiber optics, wave guides, and other wired media and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared, and other wireless media.

One embodiment of ENS 106 is described in more detail below in conjunction with FIG. 3. Briefly, however, ENS 106 may include any computing device capable of connecting to network 105 to determine (e.g., create and/or modify) a user's social network based on event characteristics.

ENS 106 may be configured to create an event group and share media content with members of the group. ENS 106 may receive media content and other social networking information (including information, messages, etc. associated with an event) from various participants in the event. ENS 106 may then employ any of a variety of communication services to enable messages to be shared among members of the group. Moreover, ENS 106 may enable a network or other location to store and access at least some of the shared messages. ENS 106 also enables members of the group to add more members to the group even if the member performing the addition is not the original creator of the group.

ENS 106 may also enable the user to interact with members of the user's social network based on the namespace ID. ENS 106 may be configured to determine a plurality of member differences for members having the same namespace ID. In one embodiment, the member differences may include characteristics of the event, such as time, location, etc. of the event. Member differences enable a user to clarify the appropriate member associated with a namespace ID. ENS 106 may transmit the plurality of member differences to a device comprising one of mobile device 102 and/or client device 101 via network 105 and/or network 110 to enable a user of the device to select a member list associated with the same namespace ID.

Moreover, ENS 106 may enable interaction between devices used by a user and clarified members via network 105 and/or network 110. For example, ENS 106 may act as a messaging server to relay messages between devices. ENS 106 may perform at least some of its actions using similar processing as described below in connection with fig. 4, 5A, and 5B.

Devices that may operate as ENS 106 include personal computers, desktop computers, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, servers, and the like.

Although FIG. 1 illustrates ENS 106 as a single computing device, the invention is not so limited. For example, one or more functions of ENS 106 may be distributed across one or more different computing devices. For example, the operations of determining member differences, managing the mapping of users/members to namespace IDs, managing various social networking events (including sharing media content), managing Instant Messaging (IM) sessions, SMS messages, email messages, pasting media content, determining implicit information such as start/end times, location of events, etc., may be performed by multiple computing devices without departing from the scope or spirit of the present invention.

Exemplary client Environment

FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of a client device 200 that may be included in a system implementing the invention. Client device 200 may include more or fewer components than shown in fig. 2. The components shown, however, are sufficient to disclose an illustrative embodiment for practicing the present invention. Client device 200 may represent, for example, mobile device 102 and 104 of FIG. 1.

As shown, client device 200 includes a processing unit (CPU)222 in communication with a mass memory 230 via a bus 224. Client device 200 also includes a power supply 226, one or more network interfaces 250, an audio interface 252, a video interface 259, a display 254, a keypad 256, an illuminator 258, an input/output interface 260, a haptic interface 262, and an optional Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver 264. Power supply 226 provides power to client device 200. Rechargeable or non-rechargeable batteries may be used to provide power. Power may also be provided by an external power source, such as an AC adapter or powered base that supplements and/or recharges the batteries.

Client device 200 may optionally communicate with a base station (not shown), or directly with another computing device. Network interface 250 includes circuitry for coupling client device 200 to one or more networks and is constructed for one or more communication protocols and technologies, including, but not limited to, global system for mobile communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP), SMS, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), WAP, ultra-wideband (UWB), IEEE 802.16 Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), SIP/RTP, or any of a variety of other wireless communication protocols. Network interface 250 is also sometimes referred to as a transceiver, transceiving device, or Network Interface Card (NIC).

Audio interface 252 is arranged to produce and receive audio signals such as human speech. For example, audio interface 252 may be coupled to a speaker and microphone (not shown) to enable communication with others and/or to generate an audio acknowledgement of some action. Display 254 may be a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), gas plasma, Light Emitting Diode (LED), or any other type of display for a computing device. The display 254 may also include a touch sensitive screen arranged to receive input from an object (e.g., a stylus or a finger of a human hand).

The video interface 259 is arranged to capture video images, such as still photographs, video clips, infrared video, and the like. For example, video interface 259 may couple to a digital video camera, a web camera, and so forth. The video interface 259 may include a lens, an image sensor, and other electronics. The image sensor may include a Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuit, a Charge Coupled Device (CCD), or any other integrated circuit for sensing light.

Keypad 256 may include any input device arranged to receive input from a user. For example, the keypad 256 may include a push button numeric dial or a keyboard. Keypad 256 may also include command buttons associated with selecting and sending images. Illuminator 258 may provide a status indication and/or provide light. Illuminator 258 may remain active for a particular period of time or in response to an event. For example, when illuminator 258 is active, it may backlight the buttons on keypad 256 and remain illuminated while the client device is powered on. In addition, illuminator 258 may backlight these buttons in various modes when performing a particular action (e.g., dialing another client device). Illuminator 258 may also cause a light source to be located within a transparent or translucent housing of the client device to illuminate in response to an action.

Client device 200 also includes input/output interface 260 for communicating with external devices, such as a headset, or other input or output devices not shown in fig. 2. The input/output interface 260 may employ one or more communication technologies, such as USB, infrared, Bluetooth^TMAnd so on. The haptic interface 262 is arranged to provide haptic feedback to a user of the client device. For example, the haptic interface may be used to vibrate client device 200 in a particular manner when another user of the computing device is calling.

Optional GPS transceiver 264 may determine the physical coordinates of client device 200 on the surface of the earth, which typically outputs the location as latitude and longitude values. GPS transceiver 264 may also employ other geolocation mechanisms including, but not limited to, triangulation, assisted GPS (agps), E-OTD, CI, SAI, ETA, BSS, etc. to further determine the physical location of client device 200 on the surface of the earth. It is appreciated that under different conditions, GPS transceiver 264 may determine the physical location of client device 200 within millimeter accuracy; and in other cases the determined physical location may be less accurate, such as within meters or significantly greater distances. However, in one embodiment, the mobile device may provide other information through other components that may be used to determine the physical location of the device, including, for example, a MAC address, an IP address, and so forth.

Mass memory 230 includes RAM 232, ROM 234, and other storage devices.Mass memory 230 illustrates another example of computer storage media for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Mass memory 230 stores a basic input/output system ("BIOS") 240 for controlling low-level operations of client device 200. The mass memory also stores an operating system 241 for controlling the operation of client device 200. It will be appreciated that the component may include, for example, UNIX or LINUX^TMVersion, or a general-purpose operating system such as Windows Mobile^TMOrA dedicated client, such as an operating system, communicates with the operating system. The operating system may include, or interface with, a Java virtual machine module that enables control of hardware components and/or operating system operations via Java application programs.

Memory 230 also includes one or more data stores 244, which stores 244 can be used by client device 200 to store, among other things, applications 242 and/or other data. For example, the data storage 244 may also be used to store information describing various capabilities of the client device 200. This information may then be provided to another device, including being sent as part of a header during a communication, sent upon request, and so on. Moreover, the data store 244 may also be utilized to store media content and/or social networking information (including text messages, address books, group member lists, and the like). At least a portion of the media content and/or event information may also be stored on a storage medium 266 (e.g., disk drive, removable storage, etc.) within client device 200.

The applications 242 may include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the client device 200, provide functionality such as calendars, contact managers, task managers, transcoders, database programs, word processing programs, screen savers, security applications, spreadsheet programs, games, search programs, and so forth. Application 242 may also include Message Manager (MM) 245.

MM 245 represents any of a variety of applications configured to send, receive, and/or otherwise process messages and other web content and configured to be able to communicate with another user of another networked device, including but not limited to SMS, MMS, IM, email, VOIP, browser, and the like. For example, MM 245 may comprise any of a variety of browser applications that may run under the control of operating system 241 to enable and manage requesting, receiving, and rendering markup pages, such as WAP pages (also sometimes referred to as WAP cards), SMGL, HTML, HDML, WML, WMLScript, JavaScript, and the like.

MM 245 may also include an IM application configured to initiate and otherwise manage instant messaging sessions, including but not limited to AOL instant messenger, Yahoo! A messenger,. NET messenger server, ICQ, etc. In one embodiment, the IM application within MM 245 may be configured to employ SIP/RTP to integrate IM/VoIP functionality. For example, the IM application may employ SIMPLE (SIP for instant messaging and presence balancing), APEX (application exchange), Prim (presence and instant messaging protocol), open XML-based XMPP (extensible messaging and presence protocol), Jabber more commonly, and IMPS (instant messaging and presence service) specifically for OMA (open mobile alliance) created by mobile devices, and so on.

MM 245 may also include a text messaging application that enables client device 200 to receive text messages from and/or send text messages to another device. In one embodiment, the text messaging application may also provide an alert mechanism that indicates to the user of the client device 200 when a text message is received. The text messaging application may also allow a user to compose and send a text response message over the network. The text messaging application may operate to manage SMS text messages, MMS messages, Enhanced Messaging Service (EMS) messages, and the like, in which graphics, video clips, sound files, or other media content may be transmitted between client device 200 and another networked device.

In any event, any one or more messaging applications within MM 245 may be used to enable a user of client device 200 to create a group with members for the event, share media content and other messages with members of the group, add access to media content and the like from another networked device (e.g., a website, server, etc.), and the like. In one embodiment, MM 245 may enable a user to send SMS messages and/or send/receive MMS messages, where the messages may include media content, a link to a remote server where the media content is stored, and the like.

In one embodiment, MM 245 may enable a user to select a namespace ID for another user that is a member of the user's social network. MM 245 may receive a list of member differences for members in the user's social network associated with the namespace ID. MM 245 may enable a user to select one of the members from the list to begin interacting with using a drop-down list, check box list, selection list, or the like. MM 245 may perform at least some of its actions using, for example, the interfaces described below in connection with fig. 6-10.

Exemplary Server Environment

Fig. 3 illustrates one embodiment of a network device, according to one embodiment of the invention. Network device 300 may include many more components than those shown. The components shown, however, are sufficient to disclose an illustrative embodiment for practicing the present invention. Network device 300 may represent, for example, ENS 106 of FIG. 1.

Network device 300 includes a processing unit 312, a video display adapter 314, and a mass memory, all in communication with each other via a bus 322. The mass memory generally includes RAM316, ROM 332, and one or more permanent mass storage devices, such as hard disk drive 328, tape drive, optical drive, and/or floppy disk drive. The mass memory stores operating system 320 for controlling the operation of network device 300. Any general purpose operating system may be employed. A basic input/output system ("BIOS") 318 is also provided for controlling low-level operations of network device 300. As shown in FIG. 3, the network device 300 may also communicate with the Internet or some other communications network via a network interface unit 310, the network interface unit 310 being constructed for various communications protocols including the TCP/IP protocol. Network interface unit 310 is sometimes referred to as a transceiver, transceiving device, or Network Interface Card (NIC).

The mass memory as described above illustrates another type of computer-readable media, namely computer storage media. Computer storage media may include volatile, nonvolatile, removable, and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information, such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. Examples of computer storage media include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, Digital Versatile Disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by a computing device.

The mass memory also stores program code and data. One or more applications 350 are loaded into mass memory and run on operating system 320. Examples of application programs may include transcoders, schedulers, calendars, database programs, word processing programs, HTTP programs (including XmlHTTPRequest (XHR), asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX), or JavaScript object notation (JSON) programs), customizable user interface programs, IPSec applications, encryption programs, security programs, account management, and so forth. Event Manager (EM)355 and/or message server 354 may also be included as application programs within application 350.

An Event Data Store (EDS)352 stores a plurality of received media content. In one embodiment, EDS352 may be a database, file structure, or the like. EDS352 may store event characteristics including event time, event location, amount of activity during the event, media content associated with the event, and so forth. EDS352 may also store the unique IDs of all users associated with an event, and so on.

Message server 354 virtually includes any communication server that can be configured to enable communication between networked devices, including email servers, Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) servers, short message peer-to-peer protocol (SMPP) servers, SMS servers, various text transfer servers, VOIP servers, IM servers, MMS servers, RSS servers, audio servers, web servers, and so forth. Message server 354 may employ EDS352 to store or otherwise manage media content that may be transmitted over a network. In one embodiment, various message servers 354 may receive messages from one network device and, in conjunction with Event Manager (EM)355, employ information regarding group membership to store and/or share media content with other members on the network. In one embodiment, in conjunction with EM 355, message server 354 stores media content received for a group within EDS 352.

EM 355 is configured to manage events. In this way, EM 355 may receive a request from message server 354 to create, delete or modify a group of events. EM 355 may employ EDS352 to create and otherwise manage membership to a group. EM 355 may also employ various message servers 354 to send messages to members of a group indicating that they are members of the group.

Although message server 354 may be configured to manage and enable sharing of messages, including messages with media content, EM 355 may employ the messages and related information to determine implicit information about the event. Thus, EM 355 may determine the start time, end time, location, etc. of an event. In one embodiment, EM 355 may enable implicit information to be accessed using at least one message server 354. In addition, EM 355 may provide a user interface that is used in conjunction with various message servers 354 to annotate events and/or media content within events at a website or other location. EM 355 may store derived implicit information or received information as event characteristics in EDS352 or the like.

Namespace Manager (NM)353 is configured to store information associated with a user's social network. In one embodiment, NM 353 may store the social network as a tree, graph, database, file structure, or the like. The social network may include members indexed by namespace IDs and/or unique IDs, and so on. In one embodiment, NM 353 may determine relationship information between members (e.g., users) of a group associated with an event. NM 353 may receive membership information for a group from EM 355. In one embodiment, for a member in a group, NM 353 may select the member's social network. NM 353 may add at least one member of the group to the selected social network. Thus, NM 353 may modify (e.g., expand) the user's social network.

In one embodiment, NM 353 may map a unique ID associated with a user to a namespace ID that may not be unique. In this way, NM 353 may determine a plurality of unique IDs associated with a namespace ID that may not be unique. For at least one of the plurality of unique IDs, NM 353 may determine a member difference such as identification information. Such identification information may include a name (e.g., username, first name, last name), telephone number, network address, and so forth.

NM 353 may also determine member differences based on event characteristics stored in EDS 352. For example, NM 353 may associate a user's unique ID and/or namespace ID with an event. NM 353 may store the association with the event characteristics in EDS352 or the like. The event characteristics may be indexed by a unique user ID and/or namespace ID for later retrieval. NM 353 may perform at least some of its actions using, for example, the processing described below in connection with FIGS. 4, 5A, and 5B.

General operation

The operation of certain aspects of the present invention will now be described with reference to fig. 4, 5A and 5B. Fig. 4, 5A, and 5B provide a logic flow diagram of certain aspects. FIG. 4 illustrates a logical flow diagram generally showing one embodiment of a process for determining a user associated with a namespace ID. Process 400 of FIG. 4 may be implemented, for example, within ENS 106 of FIG. 1.

The process 400 begins after a start block at block 412, where a social network (USN) of the user is determined at block 412. One embodiment of the operations of block 412 are described in more detail in conjunction with FIG. 5A. Briefly, however, the USN may be determined by being created, modified, or otherwise populated. In one embodiment, the USN may be determined based on membership of the user in the group (whether or not the group is associated with an event). A group may be associated with an event and/or a relationship between members of the group. In one embodiment, the relationship includes the user inviting the member to the event, the member inviting the user to the event, the member and the user being in the same event, and so on.

These members are first-degree of separation members of the USN-for example, members separated from the user by a degree of separation. In one embodiment, the USN may also include other members that are separated from the user by more than one degree of separation. For example, other members may include those members that are not in the same event as the user, but are in the same event as one of the first degree members.

Processing next proceeds to block 414 where the NID of the member within the USN is received at block 414 to enable operations to be performed based on the information about the member. In one embodiment, the NID may be received from a device associated with the user via a network connection or the like. Processing next proceeds to decision block 416.

At decision block 416, a determination is made whether the NID is included in the USN. If the NID is associated with one member of the USN, the NID is included in the USN. If the NID is not in the USN, processing returns to the calling process for further processing. Otherwise, processing continues to decision block 418.

At decision block 418, a determination is made whether the NID is unique in the USN. In one embodiment, the NID is unique if only one member in the USN is associated with the NID. If the NID is determined to be unique, processing continues to block 426. If it is determined that the NID is not unique (e.g., multiple members within the USN are associated with the NID), processing continues to block 420.

At block 420, a member difference is determined for each of a plurality of members of the USN associated with the NID. Membership differences may be based in part on event characteristics. One embodiment of the operations of block 420 are described in more detail in conjunction with FIG. 5B. Briefly, however, the member difference includes information for distinguishing the members. In one embodiment, member differences include member identification information, common friends (e.g., people included in both the member and the user's social network), event characteristics including common events of the user and the member, event-based unique IDs associated with members of the common events, and so forth.

Processing next proceeds to block 422 where the member differences are sent to the user for selection of a member by the user at block 422. In one embodiment, the membership differences are sent over a network to a device associated with the user. In one embodiment, the user may select one member associated with one of the member differences.

Processing next proceeds to block 424 where information about the selected member is received based on the selection at block 424. In one embodiment, the information about the selected member may include a unique ID, address (e.g., SMS, IM, email), etc., associated with the selected member and included within the selection. Processing next proceeds to block 426.

At block 426, an operation to be performed based on the information about the selected member is enabled. The operation may include enabling communication between the user and the selected member or otherwise addressing the selected member, adding the selected member to an event associated with the user, providing information about the selected member to the user, or may include substantially any operation that may be performed on, with, or on the selected member based on the information about the selected member. The communication between the user and the selected member includes sending IM, SMS, email messages, and the like.

Processing next proceeds to block 428. Block 428 may be optional and may be performed where the enabling operation is communication. At block 428, the selected member (e.g., recipient) may filter or even block communications from the user (e.g., sender). In one embodiment, a message from a sender may be sent through an associated communication mode if the recipient has associated the sender with the associated communication mode. In one embodiment, if the sender is not associated with an associated communication mode, the message may be sent through the recipient's preferred communication mode. The preferred communication mode may be determined by the recipient (e.g., simultaneously with message reception or even before the message is received). In one embodiment, the preferred communication mode may be determined to be specific to the sender of the message. Processing then returns to the calling process for further processing.

FIG. 5A illustrates a logical flow diagram generally showing one embodiment of a process for determining characteristics of an event and determining a social network of members associated with the event. Process 500 of FIG. 5A may be implemented, for example, within ENS 106 of FIG. 1.

The process 500A begins, after a start block, at block 502, where a request to add a member to a group associated with an event is received at block 502. Processing next continues to decision block 504.

At decision block 504, a determination is made whether the NID of the member is unique within the group. The NID of a member is unique if the other members of the group are not associated with the same NID. If the NID of the member is unique, processing proceeds to block 508. If the NID of the member is not unique, processing proceeds to block 506.

At block 506, an event-based unique user ID is created for the user. Such an event-based unique subscriber ID may be created by appending a unique portion to the NID. The unique portion may include numbers, characters, symbols, and the like. Processing then proceeds to block 508.

At block 508, the NID or event-based unique subscriber ID is stored as a characteristic of the event. The stored NID or event-based ID may be used to distinguish the members of the group in subsequent operations, such as in determining member differences, etc.

Processing continues to block 510 where the NID of the member is added to the social network of another member of the group at block 510. Processing then continues to block 512 where the NIDs of the other members are added to the member's social network at block 512. The social networks determined at blocks 510 and 512 may be the same as the USNs determined at block 412 of fig. 4.

Processing then continues to block 514 where the member is added to the group associated with the event at block 514. Thus, the member becomes involved in the event and is able to participate in the transmission and sharing of text/media messages between members of the group. Processing then returns to the calling process for further processing.

FIG. 5B illustrates a logical flow diagram generally showing one embodiment of a process for determining member discrepancies for members associated with namespace IDs. Process 500B of FIG. 5B may be implemented, for example, within ENS 106 of FIG. 1.

Process 500B begins, after a start block, at decision block 532, where a list of members associated with NIDs, where the members are selected from the user's USN/social network, is determined at decision block 532. Processing next continues to block 534.

At block 534, members that are already in the group associated with the current event are removed from the list. The current event may be an event created by the user, an event associated with the user, and so on. In one embodiment, the member is determined to be in the group based on a database operation, a match of unique identification information (e.g., a unique ID) associated with the member with another member in the group, and so on. If a member is determined to be in the group, the member is removed from the list.

Processing next continues to block 536 where the list is sorted based on the history of activity between the particular member and the user at block 536. In one embodiment, the activity history may be an activity value representing the amount of messages exchanged between the particular member and the user, the amount of times the particular member and the user have been in the same event, and so on. In one embodiment, the list may be ordered from highest activity value to lowest activity value.

Processing next continues to block 538 where identification information for the particular member is determined at block 538. The identification information may include a name, a birthday, a social security number, mother's maiden name, an address, a portion of a telephone number, and so forth.

Processing next continues to block 540 where a common member from the USN and from the social network of the particular member is determined at block 540. Common members may be determined by taking the intersection of the USN and the social network of the particular member. Common members may represent common friends, acquaintances, colleagues, and so forth.

Processing next continues to block 542 where event characteristics of a previous event are determined at block 542, where the previous event includes the particular member and the user. In one embodiment, the previous event is associated with a group that includes a particular member and user. In one embodiment, the previous event may be the most recent event in which both the particular member and the user participated. The event characteristics may include the time of the event, the name of the event, the location of the event, the content media shared during the event, and so forth. In one embodiment, the event characteristics may be based on implicit information determined from activity within the event, such as a media content stream sent between members, a text message sent between members, and so forth. In one embodiment, the event characteristics may include an event-based unique ID associated with a particular member of a previous event.

Processing next continues to block 544 where a member difference is determined for each member in the list at block 544. Member differences may include any combination of identifying information, common members, and/or event characteristics. In one embodiment, common information shared between multiple member differences may be removed. In one embodiment, such shared common information may include the same name, the same event characteristics, the same time that multiple members encountered the user, and so forth. Thus, member differences provide information for the user to distinguish/clarify the individual members. Processing then returns to the calling process for further processing.

Accordingly, blocks of the flowchart illustrations support combinations of means for performing the specified actions, combinations of steps for performing the specified actions and program instruction means for performing the specified actions. It will also be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems which perform the specified actions or steps, or by combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

Exemplary use case

6-7 show embodiments of use case examples illustrating the operation of the present invention. FIG. 6 shows one embodiment of a use case illustrating enabling an operation to be performed on a member of a social network associated with a namespace ID based on information about the member. Although example 600 shows that the operation to be performed on, with, or on the selected member is to add the member to the event, any other action may be enabled, such as enabling SMS, email, or IM communication between the user and the selected member, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Interface 601 of example 600 illustrates that, in one embodiment, a message to create an event may be sent to an event/namespace server (ENS), such as ENS 106 of fig. 1, and so on. In one embodiment, the message may be SMS, however, the invention is not so limited and may be any of a variety of communication messaging services. As shown, at interface 601, a user may request to create a "new" event via a "party group. The user may then be added to the "partygroup" event. Upon receiving the request to create the event, the ENS may determine a social network (USN) of the user, similar to the process described in block 412 of FIG. 4.

At interface 602, a user receives instructions on how to add other members to a group associated with an event.

At interface 603, the user adds one member associated with phone number "4155551234" and another member associated with NID "John". As shown, the NID "John" may be associated with more than one member of the USN. Interface 603 illustrates one embodiment of possible communications from the user that may occur during block 414 of FIG. 4. Upon receiving the NID "John," the ENS may determine whether the NID is unique within the USN associated with the user, as described in blocks 416 and 418 of fig. 4. The ENS may determine the member differences 611- > 613 and may send the member differences 611- > 613 to the user, as depicted in blocks 420 and 422. Membership differences may also be determined by process 500B of fig. 5, as described above.

Interface 604 shows the display of the received member differences 611- > 613. As shown, temporary unique IDs "John 1" and "John 2" associated with the event "Dinner" (Dinner) are included in the membership differentiation. In addition, other event characteristics including event name ("Dinner") and event time ("8/10/06") are included. Identification information of "John 2" (e.g., name "j.doe") is also included. Also included is a common friend "Matt". Interface 604 enables a user to select a member associated with one of member differences 611 and 613.

Interface 605 shows the user selecting one of the members (e.g., "1") based on member differences 611-. The selection is sent to the ENS for further processing. For example, the ENS may perform blocks 424, 426, and/or 428 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 shows one embodiment illustrating another use case that enables operations to be performed on a member of a social network associated with a namespace ID based on information about the member. The example 700 of fig. 7 is a continuation of the example 600 of fig. 6.

Interface 701 shows the user adding a member associated with NID "John". NID "John" may be sent to ENS. In response, the ENS replies with member differences 721, 722.

The interface 702 shows a display of member differences 721 and 722 to enable the user to select a member. The member differences 721- "722 are different from the member differences 611-" 613 of FIG. 6 because the members associated with "John from Bookclub, Matt's friend" (friends of John, Matt from the reading club) have been associated with the current event. Thus, the member differences associated with the member have been removed from the member differences 721 and 722.

The interface 703 shows the user selecting one of the members (e.g., "2") based on the member differences 721 and 722. As shown, another user associated with namespace ID "John" is added to the group associated with the event.

The interface 706 shows two members "John 1" and "John 2" of the group associated with the event "partygroup". The two members share the same namespace ID "John". "John 1" and "John 2" are two event-based unique IDs for the event. Unique portions of these IDs (e.g., "1" and "2") are appended to the namespace ID to generate an event-based unique ID. In addition, interface 702 shows the determined event characteristics, including a start time 706, an end time 707, a location 708, and shared media associated with the event.

Exemplary user interface

FIGS. 8-10 illustrate embodiments of user interfaces for managing events and interactions between users associated with namespace IDs. A client device, such as client device 101 of fig. 1, enables user interfaces 800, 900, and 1000 of fig. 8, 9, and 10, respectively.

FIG. 8 illustrates one embodiment of a user interface for identifying a user associated with a namespace ID. Display 800 shows a user creating an event associated with the title 802- "dryks Tonight" (drinking this evening). The user's social network includes at least two members 812- "Ellen" 813 that are associated with the same namespace ID- "Ellen". The group associated with the event also includes members 812 and 813. Two temporary unique IDs 822 and 823 ("Ellen 1" and "Ellen 2") are associated with members and groups/events. Drop down list 804 illustrates a mechanism for enabling communication with another user.

FIG. 9 illustrates one embodiment of a user interface for reviewing and sharing media between users associated with namespace IDs. Display 900 shows an activity history associated with an event having a title 902- "DrinksTonight". Member 912-. The shared content 923 is associated with the member 912. Shared content 924 is associated with member 913. The shared message 920 shows a history of activity between participants in the event. Thus, the shared message 920, the temporary unique ID of members 912 and 913, and/or other information shown on the display 900 may be used to determine the event characteristics of the event. Display 900 also shows a preferred communication mode 904 for contacting the user. As shown, the user is identified as "Mobile Phone over SMS" as the preferred mode of communication.

FIG. 10 illustrates one embodiment of a user interface for reviewing media shared by users associated with namespace IDs. Display 1000 shows a history of events associated with a user. For example, events 1021 and 1022 are displayed. Telephone numbers 1002-1003 are associated with the user. Emails 1004 and 1005 are also associated with the user. In one embodiment, a user may associate a communication mode with a member of the user's social network. For example, the associated communication mode may be one of telephone number 1002-1003 and/or one of email 1004-1005. Additionally, as shown, members 1012 and 1013 of the user's social network are displayed. Members 1012 and 1013 share the same namespace ID.

The above specification, examples and data provide a complete description of the manufacture and use of the composition of the invention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, the invention resides in the claims hereinafter appended.

Claims (15)

1. A method for communicating over a network, comprising:

automatically creating a social network of a user to include a member separated from the user by one degree of separation and other members separated from the user by more than one degree of separation, the member and the user being in the same event, the other members and the member being in the same event without the user;

receiving, from the user, a namespace identifier associated with at least one member of the user's social network;

if the namespace identifier is not unique within the social network:

determining a member variance for each member in the social network associated with the namespace identifier based in part on characteristics of an event;

sending the member difference to the user;

receiving information about the selected member based on the member difference; and

enabling performing an operation based on the information about the selected member.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the member difference further comprises determining, for each member of a plurality of members, at least one of:

the number of communications with the user in question,

a common member within the user's social network and within the social network of each member, or

Characteristics of a previous event in which the user and the each member participated.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a social network of the user based on relationships between a plurality of members of an event, wherein the event comprises the user.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the user receives the member variance and transmits a selection of the member using a mobile device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein enabling the performance of operations based on the information about the selected member comprises:

sending a message from the user through the selected member's preferred communication mode.

6. A network device that manages communications over a network, comprising:

a transceiver for transmitting and receiving data over the network; and

a processor operable to perform actions comprising:

adding a user to a group associated with an event;

automatically creating a social network of the user based on relationships between members of the group, wherein the social network of the user includes members that are separated from the user by one degree of separation and other members that are separated from the user by more than one degree of separation, the members and the user being in the same event, the other members and the members being in the same event without the user;

receiving a namespace identifier from the user;

if the namespace identifier is associated with a plurality of members in the user's social network:

determining, for each member of the plurality of members in the user's social network, a member difference based in part on a characteristic of an event that includes the each member and the user;

sending the determined plurality of member differences to the user;

receiving information about the selected member in response to the transmitted plurality of member differences; and

enabling the user to address the selected member based on information about the selected member.

7. The network device of claim 6, wherein the step of determining the member difference comprises determining, for each member of a plurality of members, at least one of:

the number of communications with the user in question,

common members within the user's social network, wherein the common members are included within the social network of each member, or

Characteristics of a previous event in which the user and the each member participated.

8. The network device of claim 6, wherein the step of enabling the user to address the selected member comprises at least one of:

enabling communication between the user and the selected member,

sending a group message from the user, wherein the selected member is at least one of the recipients of the group message,

sending a message from the user directly to the selected member via a preferred communication mode, or

Providing information from the user to the selected member.

9. A system for managing communications over a network, comprising:

a server device operable to perform actions, the actions comprising:

automatically creating a social network of a user based on relationships between members of a group associated with an event, wherein the social network of the user includes members that are separated from the user by one degree of separation and other members that are separated from the user by more than one degree of separation, the members and the user being in the same event, the other members and the members being in the same event without the user;

receiving a namespace identifier from the user;

if the namespace identifier is associated with a plurality of members in the user's social network:

determining, for each member of the plurality of members in the user's social network, a member difference based in part on a characteristic of an event that includes the each member and the user;

sending the determined plurality of member differences to the user;

receiving information about the selected member; and

enabling the user to add the selected member to another event based on information about the selected member; and

a mobile device in communication with the server device, operable to perform the following actions:

receiving the determined plurality of member differences;

enabling the user to select the member based on the received plurality of member differences; and

the selection is sent to the server device.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the step of determining the member differences comprises determining, for each member of the plurality of members, at least one of:

the number of communications with the user in question,

a common member within the user's social network and within the social network of each member, or

Characteristics of a previous event in which the user and the each member participated.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the selection includes a unique identifier associated with the selected member.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the characteristic of the event comprises an event-based unique identifier associated with the selected member.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the server device is further operable to perform the following: enabling communication between the user and the selected member based on information about the selected member.

14. A mobile device for managing communications over a network, comprising:

a transceiver for transmitting and receiving data over the network; and

a processor operable to perform actions comprising:

automatically creating a social network of a user of the mobile device to include a member separated from the user by one degree of separation and other members separated from the user by more than one degree of separation, the member and the user being in the same event, the other members and the member being in the same event without the user;

sending namespace identifiers associated with a plurality of members in the social network of the user of the mobile device;

receiving the determined plurality of member differences associated with the plurality of members in the social network;

enabling selection of a member based on the received plurality of member differences; and

sending, to the server device, information about the selected member and an operation to be performed based on the information about the selected member based on the selection.

15. The mobile device of claim 14, wherein the plurality of member differences are determined based on at least one of:

the amount of traffic with the user in question,

a common member within the user's social network and within each member's social network, or

Characteristics of a previous event in which the user and the each member participated.