Methods and systems for visually distinguishing user attribute similarities and differences

A system for displaying attribute associations to a viewing user, the system comprising:

• a display capable of presenting information to the viewing user;
• a memory containing instructions;
• and
• a processor coupled to the memory, the processor executing the instructions to perform stages comprising:
• sending a request for attributes corresponding to at least a second user;
• receiving a plurality of attributes, at least one of which corresponds to the second user;
• identifying which attributes of the second user are associated with the attributes of the viewing user;
• accessing a rank defined by the viewing user for at least one identified attribute, wherein the rank indicates a degree of importance of the commonality of the at least one identified attribute relative to other commonalities existing between attributes associated with the viewing user and the second user;
• and
• visually distinguishing, on the display, the at least one identified attribute to the exclusion of the other commonalities existing between attributes associated with the viewing user and the second user, based on the rank of the at least one identified attribute being higher than the rank of the other commonalities.

A computer-readable storage medium containing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform stages comprising:

• receiving a first plurality of attribute selections from a viewing user;
• receiving a second plurality of attributes from a second user;
• identifying at least one common attribute between the first and second pluralities of attributes;
• accessing a rank defined by the viewing user for the at least one common attribute, wherein the rank indicates a degree of importance of the commonality of the at least one common attribute relative to other commonalities existing between the first and second pluralities of attributes;
• and
• visually distinguishing, on a display, the at least one common attribute to the exclusion of the other commonalities existing between the first and second pluralities of attributes, based on the rank of the at least one common attribute being higher than the rank of the other commonalities.

A computer-readable storage medium containing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to define a visual highlight as applying to a user attribute by performing stages comprising:

• receiving a first input from a first user, describing a first attribute of the first user;
• receiving a second input from the first user that defines a visual highlight to apply to a second attribute that is identified as associated with the first attribute;
• receiving a third input from the first user that defines a rank indicating a degree of importance of the association of the first attribute with the second attribute relative to other associations existing between attributes of the first user and the second user;
• storing at least the second input on a storage medium;
• and
• visually distinguishing the second attribute to the exclusion of other attributes, based on the rank indicating the degree of importance of the association of the first attribute with the second attribute being higher than the rank of the other associations existing between attributes of the first user and the second user.