Method and System for Connecting People in a Social Network
AssigneeWallrust, Inc.
InventorsJozsef Patvarczki, Adam Kornafeld, Endre Tamas
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system and method for connecting people in a social network using information from a user's digital address book. A social network member can friend a contact and be friended by a contact if she is in that contact's address book. An central server keeps track of friended members of the social network and contacts.
Claims13
A method for connecting people on a social network, each person having a device with access to a global computer network and an address book with contacts, each contact having at least one unique identifier, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a central server that maintains a list of social network members with unique member identifiers;
- (b) operatively connecting the device to the central server via the global computer network;
- (c) registering the person with the social network as a member;
- (d) friending a contact without an invitation and an acceptance by (1) the central server accepting from the device the at least one unique identifier associated with the contact from the address book;
- (2) the central server determining if the unique identifier identifies another member;
- (3) if the unique identifier identifies another member, verifying that the member is in the contact's address book;
- (4) if the member is in the contact's address book, automatically friending the contact as a friended contact;
- and (5) if the unique identifier does not identify another member, saving the unique identifier, and upon a new member registering, determining if the unique identifier of the new member is saved, and if so, automatically friending the new member as a friended contact if the member is in the new member's address book;
- (e) upon the person registering as a member, automatically friending a predetermined subset of the contacts as friended contacts without an invitation and an acceptance;
- and
- (f) providing access to the member for all friended contacts.
A system for connecting people on a social network, each person having a device with access to a global computer network and an address book with contacts, each contact having at least one unique identifier, the system comprising:
- (a) a central server having a processor executing instructions stored in memory, the central server maintaining a list of social network members with unique member identifiers;
- (b) the device connected to the central server via the global computer network;
- (c) the central server running an application, the application including instructions for registering the person with the social network as a member;
- (d) the application including instructions for friending a contact without an invitation and an acceptance comprising the steps of (1) accepting from the device the at least one unique identifier associated with the contact from the address book;
- (2) determining if the unique identifier identifies another member;
- (3) if the unique identifier identifies another member, verifying that the member is in the contact's address book;
- (4) if the member is in the contact's address book, automatically friending the contact as a friended contact;
- and (5) if the unique identifier does not identify another member, saving the unique identifier, and upon a new member registering, determining if the unique identifier of the new member is saved, and if so, automatically friending the new member as a friended contact if the member is in the new member's address book;
- (e) the application including instructions to automatically friend a predetermined subset of the contacts as friended contacts without an invitation and an acceptance upon the person registering as a member;
- and
- (f) the application including instructions to provide access to the member for all friended contacts.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.