Using internet content as a means to establish live social networks by linking internet users to each other who are simultaneously engaged in the same and/or similar content

A server-based system for content tagging, analysis, and metadata-based association, comprising:

• a centralized server portion including a network-linked server and also including each of a central processing unit (CPU) and a data storage means operatively coupled with the server, wherein the server portion is operatively coupled with a data-conveying network means;
• a coded instruction set configured when executed on a user's network-linked computing device to,
• recognize content-relevant metadata in content,
• identify at least one other user of other content having similar metadata,
• notify the user when the other user perceives content, wherein the user has directly or indirectly indicated an interest in that content or substantially similar content, and wherein content similarity is based at least in part on the nature of metadata associated with the content,
• anonymously poll a third-party server for access to a link to the other user who has consented to be included in such access, wherein the polling includes a request to link the user to the other user based upon one or more content-related activities selected from the group consisting of bookmarking, searching, mousing-over and/or clicking on content, dragging-and-dropping content, visiting an internet presence, viewing one or both of static and full motion visual images, purchasing, and accessing, creating, or altering a personal homepage, and
• perceivably provide at an output device a user-selectable communication link with the other user of the other content;
• and
• a coded instruction set configured when executed by a user of the computing device to perceivably present to the user one or both of a window and a virtual environment.

A method of defining and using content attributes to form network-enabled social networks, comprising:

• recognizing one or both of a unique content identifier and a representative attribute indicating a characteristic of content accessed by a user;
• identifying one or more other users of other content based upon the other content having one or both of the unique content identifier and one or more representative attributes indicating a characteristic identical to or similar to that of the content accessed by the user, and upon identifying such other users,
• notifying the user of an opportunity to establish a network link with the one or more other users;
• detecting a request by the user to establish a network link with one or more other users;
• and
• enabling the user to establish a live network link with the one or more other users, wherein accessing content by a user comprises any content-related activity or combination of activities utilizing an network-linked device including at least one selected from the group consisting of searching, storing, retrieving from storage, bookmarking, sending, receiving, playing, viewing, editing, commercially transacting, navigating, mousing-over, dragging-and-dropping and selecting.