# US RE44,324 E1 · Method and apparatus for selectively sharing and passively tracking communication device experiences > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US RE44,324 E1 - Document ID: USRE44324E1 - Status: Granted - Kind: E1 - Application number: 12/820,579 - Filed: 2010-06-22 - Granted: 2013-06-25 - Earliest claimed: 2001-04-24 - Assignees: Tena Technology, LLC - Applicants: Darren P. Briggs; Brady O. Bruce; Michael W. Mitchell; Emile L. Reed, IV - Inventors: Darren P. Briggs; Brady O. Bruce; Michael W. Mitchell; Emile L. Reed, IV - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/USRE44324E1 ## Abstract The present invention includes methods and devices for passively tracking and selectively sharing user experiences with communication devices, including computers, web-enabled telephones, and PDAs. User rating or comments on their experiences can be captured. Particular aspects of the present invention are described in the claims, specification and drawings. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A computer-implemented method of sharing computer user experiences, including: communicating with a registration server to register a user, for automatic client-side collection of computer usage experiences for future sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include one or more of browsing URLs or visiting a location with a location-aware device that records the visited location; accessing enabling access to one or more of the user's messaging buddy lists and selecting selection of one or more buddies with whom to share the automatically collected computer usage experiences; defining enabling definition of categories of computer usage experiences to be shared with particular selected buddies; and tracking automatically on the client-side at least a portion of the user's computer usage experiences and reporting information indicating the user's computer usage experiences to a tracking server to be published to the particular buddies in accordance with their defined categories of sharing to enable sharing of the computer usage experiences with the particular selected buddies in accordance with the defined categories. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the registration server and the tracking server are a single server. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the registration server and the tracking server are distinct servers. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein registering the user excludes collection of the user's e-mail address. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein registering the user excludes collection of the user's actual name. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein registering the user excludes collection of the user's physical address. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein registering the user excludes collection of any information that identifies a the user in a manner adapted to direct marketing. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein registering the user further includes establishing an anonymous unique identifier for the user. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, wherein reporting the tracking data information indicating the computer usage experiences to the tracking server includes reporting the anonymous unique identifier. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the messaging buddy list is maintained by AOL's Instant Messenger software. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the messaging buddy list is maintained by MSN Messenger software. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the messaging buddy list is maintained by Yahoo! Messenger software. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the messaging buddy list is maintained by America Online's ICQ software. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the messaging buddy list is maintained by Odigo's instant messenger software. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the messaging buddy list is maintained by Jabber's instant messenger software. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the rights of the buddies are defined by content category of the user's computer usage. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the rights of the buddies are defined by URLs viewed by the user are categorized into categories of computer usage experiences based on the appearance of one or more keywords on pages corresponding to the URLs viewed. ### Claim 18 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the rights of the buddies access rights of the particular selected buddies include the categories of computer usage experiences to be shared with the particular selected buddies and are further defined by activity type of the user's computer usage. ### Claim 19 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the user utilizes a computer and tracking is carried out by a module resident on the computer. ### Claim 20 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the tracking is carried out by a device placed between a computer utilized by the user and an access point to the Internet. ### Claim 21 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the computer usage experience experiences tracked is are filtered before it is being reported to the tracking server. ### Claim 22 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the computer usage reported is filtered after it is reported to the tracking server and before it is posted for the buddies to access. ### Claim 23 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more messaging buddy list is lists are maintained by an instant messenger software. ### Claim 24 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further including sending tracking data regarding the information indicating one of a user's computer usage experiences to one or more buddies. ### Claim 25 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further including categorizing at least a portion of the tracking data user's computer usage experiences by content and sorting the tracking data information indicating the user's computer usage experiences reported to the tracking server by content category. ### Claim 26 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further including categorizing at least a portion of the tracking data user's computer usage experiences by content and making the tracking data information indicating the user's computer usage experiences reported to the tracking server searchable by content category and date range. ### Claim 27 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein posting further includes providing annotation tools for associating notes with individual tracking data entries. ### Claim 28 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein posting further includes providing annotation tools for associating ratings with individual tracking data entries. ### Claim 29 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein posting further includes indexing text portions of at least a portion of pages reported from tracking the user's Internet usage. ### Claim 30 (depends on 29) The method of claim 29, wherein text indexing is limited to pages reported from tracking as having been annotated or forwarded by the user. ### Claim 31 A method of sharing Internet browsing experiences, including: tracking automatically with a client-side application at least a portion of a user's Internet usage and reporting the tracking data to a server; categorizing at least a portion of the reported tracking data by content category; presenting to the user a history of the reported tracking data, with tools for searching and forwarding the tracking data; receiving from the user data identifying of one or more persons on the user's buddy lists and authorizing the persons to receive tracking data; responsive to a user request, sending one or more entries from the history of the reported tracking data to the authorized persons. ### Claim 32 A method of sharing computer user experiences, including: registering a user with a registration server to collect and share visited location data using a client-side application collected while visiting a location with a location-aware device that records the visited location; accessing one or more of the user's messaging buddy lists to identify one or more buddies with whom the tracking data may be shared; defining rights of the buddies to access the visited location data; posting at least a portion of the user's visited location data for the buddies to access according to their defined rights. ### Claim 33 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 wherein the computer usage experiences further include rating a geographic location. ### Claim 34 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 wherein the computer usage experiences further include commenting on a geographic location. ### Claim 35 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 wherein the computer usage experiences further include assigning an emoticon to a geographic location. ### Claim 36 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 wherein the computer usage experiences further include connecting to another user at a geographic location. ### Claim 37 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 wherein the computer usage experiences further include sending one or more items from the user to one or more other users. ### Claim 38 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 wherein the computer usage experiences further include general messaging between the user and one or more other users. ### Claim 39 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 wherein the computer usage experiences include browsing URLs. ### Claim 40 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 wherein the computer usage experiences include visiting a location with a location-aware device that records the location. ### Claim 41 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: enabling receipt and display of advertising information. ### Claim 42 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 wherein certain computer usage experiences are shared after the user selectively enables sharing. ### Claim 43 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 wherein the user selectively enables or disables sharing. ### Claim 44 A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software for instructing a controller of a computing device to: communicate with a registration server to register a user for automatic and passive client-side collection of computer usage experiences for sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include one or more of a group consisting of: listening to songs, viewing videos, purchasing items, browsing URLs, and visiting a geographic location with a location-aware device that automatically records geographic information for the geographic location; enable access to one or more lists of other users and selection of one or more other users from the one or more lists of other users with whom to share the computer usage experiences; enable definition of categories of computer usage experiences to be shared with particular selected other users among the one or more other users selected from the one or more lists of other users; and track automatically and passively on the client-side at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user and automatically report information indicating the at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user to a tracking server to enable sharing of the computer usage experiences with the particular selected other users in accordance with the defined categories. ### Claim 45 (depends on 44) The computer-readable medium of claim 44, wherein the registration server and the tracking server are a single server. ### Claim 46 (depends on 44) The computer-readable medium of claim 44, wherein the registration server and the tracking server are distinct servers. ### Claim 47 (depends on 44) The computer-readable medium of claim 44, wherein registering the user excludes collection of the user's e-mail address. ### Claim 48 (depends on 44) The computer-readable medium of claim 44, wherein registering the user excludes collection of the user's actual name. ### Claim 49 (depends on 44) The computer-readable medium of claim 44, wherein registering the user excludes collection of the user's physical address. ### Claim 50 (depends on 44) The computer-readable medium of claim 44, wherein registering the user excludes collection of any information that identifies the user in a manner adapted to direct marketing. ### Claim 51 (depends on 44) The computer-readable medium of claim 44, wherein registering the user further includes establishing an anonymous unique identifier for the user. ### Claim 52 (depends on 51) The computer-readable medium of claim 51, wherein the information indicating the computer usage experiences reported to the tracking server includes the anonymous unique identifier. ### Claim 53 (depends on 44) The computer-readable medium of claim 44, wherein at least one of the one or more lists of other users is a messaging buddy list. ### Claim 54 (depends on 44) The computer-readable medium of claim 44, wherein at least one of the one or more lists of other users is an e-mail contact list. ### Claim 55 (depends on 44) The computer-readable medium of claim 44, wherein at least one of the one or more lists of other users is a contact list maintained by a software application. ### Claim 56 (depends on 44) The computer-readable medium of claim 44, wherein at least one of the one or more lists of other users is a network registry. ### Claim 57 (depends on 44) The computer-readable medium of claim 44, wherein URLs viewed by the user are categorized into categories of computer usage experiences based on the appearance of one or more keywords on pages corresponding to the URLs viewed. ### Claim 58 (depends on 44) The computer-readable medium of claim 44, wherein access rights of the particular selected other users include the categories of computer usage experiences to be shared with the particular selected other users and are further defined by activity type of the user's computing device usage. ### Claim 59 (depends on 44) The computer-readable medium of claim 44, wherein the computing device is a device placed between a device utilized by the user and an access point to the Internet. ### Claim 60 (depends on 44) The computer-readable medium of claim 44, wherein the computer usage experiences tracked are filtered before being reported to the tracking server. ### Claim 61 (depends on 44) The computer-readable medium of claim 44, wherein at least one of the one or more lists of other users is a messaging buddy list maintained by an instant messenger software. ### Claim 62 (depends on 44) The computer-readable medium of claim 44, wherein the software further instructs the controller of the computing device to send the information indicating one of a user's computer usage experiences to one or more of the other users identified by the one or more lists of other users. ### Claim 63 (depends on 44) The computer-readable medium of claim 44, wherein at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user is categorized by content and the information indicating the computer usage experiences of the user reported to the tracking server is sorted by content category. ### Claim 64 (depends on 44) The computer-readable medium of claim 44, wherein at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user is categorized by content and the information indicating the computer usage experiences of the user reported to the tracking server is searchable by content category and date range. ### Claim 65 (depends on 44) The computer-readable medium of claim 44, wherein reporting further includes providing annotation tools for associating notes with individual entries of the information indicating the at least a portion of the computer usage experiences. ### Claim 66 (depends on 44) The computer-readable medium of claim 44, wherein reporting further includes providing annotation tools for associating ratings with individual entries of the information indicating the at least a portion of the computer usage experiences. ### Claim 67 (depends on 44) The computer-readable medium of claim 44, wherein reporting further includes indexing text portions of at least a portion of pages reported from tracking the user's Internet usage. ### Claim 68 (depends on 67) The computer-readable medium of claim 67, wherein text indexing is limited to pages reported from tracking as having been annotated or forwarded by the user. ### Claim 69 (depends on 44) The computer-readable medium of claim 44 wherein the computer usage experiences further include rating a geographic location. ### Claim 70 (depends on 44) The computer-readable medium of claim 44 wherein the computer usage experiences further include commenting on a geographic location. ### Claim 71 (depends on 44) The computer-readable medium of claim 44 wherein the computer usage experiences further include assigning an emoticon to a geographic location. ### Claim 72 (depends on 44) The computer-readable medium of claim 44 wherein the computer usage experiences further include connecting to another user at a geographic location. ### Claim 73 (depends on 44) The computer-readable medium of claim 44 wherein the computer usage experiences further include sending one or more items from the user to one or more other users. ### Claim 74 (depends on 44) The computer-readable medium of claim 44 wherein the computer usage experiences further include general messaging between the user and one or more other users. ### Claim 75 (depends on 44) The computer-readable medium of claim 44 wherein the computer usage experiences include listening to songs. ### Claim 76 (depends on 75) The computer-readable medium of claim 75, wherein the software further instructs the controller to receive information indicating quantified relative influence of at least one user on other users. ### Claim 77 (depends on 44) The computer-readable medium of claim 44 wherein the computer usage experiences include viewing videos. ### Claim 78 (depends on 44) The computer-readable medium of claim 44 wherein the computer usage experiences include purchasing items. ### Claim 79 (depends on 44) The computer-readable medium of claim 44 wherein the computer usage experiences include browsing URLs. ### Claim 80 (depends on 44) The computer-readable medium of claim 44 wherein the computer usage experiences include visiting a geographic location with a location-aware device that automatically records geographic information for the geographic location. ### Claim 81 (depends on 44) The computer-readable medium of claim 44 wherein certain computer usage experiences are shared after the user selectively enables sharing. ### Claim 82 (depends on 44) The computer-readable medium of claim 44 wherein the user selectively enables or disables sharing. ### Claim 83 A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software for instructing a controller of a computing device to: communicate with a registration server to register a user for automatic and passive client-side collection of computer usage experiences for sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include one or more of a group consisting of: browsing URLs and visiting a geographic location with a location-aware device that automatically records geographic information for the geographic location; enable access to one or more lists of other users and selection of one or more other users from the one or more lists of other users with whom to share the computer usage experiences; enable definition of categories of computer usage experiences to be shared with particular selected other users among the one or more other users selected from the one or more lists of other users; and track automatically and passively on the client-side at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user and automatically report information indicating the at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user to a tracking server to enable sharing of the computer usage experiences with the particular selected other users in accordance with the defined categories. ### Claim 84 (depends on 83) The computer-readable medium of claim 83, wherein the registration server and the tracking server are a single server. ### Claim 85 (depends on 83) The computer-readable medium of claim 83, wherein the registration server and the tracking server are distinct servers. ### Claim 86 (depends on 83) The computer-readable medium of claim 83, wherein registering the user excludes collection of the user's e-mail address. ### Claim 87 (depends on 83) The computer-readable medium of claim 83, wherein registering the user excludes collection of the user's actual name. ### Claim 88 (depends on 83) The computer-readable medium of claim 83, wherein registering the user excludes collection of the user's physical address. ### Claim 89 (depends on 83) The computer-readable medium of claim 83, wherein registering the user excludes collection of any information that identifies the user in a manner adapted to direct marketing. ### Claim 90 (depends on 83) The computer-readable medium of claim 83, wherein registering the user further includes establishing an anonymous unique identifier for the user. ### Claim 91 (depends on 90) The computer-readable medium of claim 90, wherein the information indicating the computer usage experiences reported to the tracking server includes the anonymous unique identifier. ### Claim 92 (depends on 83) The computer-readable medium of claim 83, wherein at least one of the one or more lists of other users is a messaging buddy list. ### Claim 93 (depends on 83) The computer-readable medium of claim 83, wherein at least one of the one or more lists of other users is an e-mail contact list. ### Claim 94 (depends on 83) The computer-readable medium of claim 83, wherein at least one of the one or more lists of other users is a contact list maintained by a software application. ### Claim 95 (depends on 83) The computer-readable medium of claim 83, wherein at least one of the one or more lists of other users is a network registry. ### Claim 96 (depends on 83) The computer-readable medium of claim 83, wherein URLs viewed by the user are categorized into categories of computer usage experiences based on the appearance of one or more keywords on pages corresponding to the URLs viewed. ### Claim 97 (depends on 83) The computer-readable medium of claim 83, wherein access rights of the particular selected other users include the categories of computer usage experiences to be shared with the particular selected other users and are further defined by activity type of the user's computer usage. ### Claim 98 (depends on 83) The computer-readable medium of claim 83, wherein the computing device is a device placed between a device utilized by the user and an access point to the Internet. ### Claim 99 (depends on 83) The computer-readable medium of claim 83, wherein the information indicating the tracked computer usage experiences are filtered before being reported to the tracking server. ### Claim 100 (depends on 83) The computer-readable medium of claim 83, wherein at least one of the one or more lists of other users is a messaging buddy list maintained by an instant messenger software. ### Claim 101 (depends on 83) The computer-readable medium of claim 83, wherein the software further instructs the controller of the computing device to send the information indicating one of a user's computer usage experiences to one or more of the other users identified by the one or more lists of other users. ### Claim 102 (depends on 83) The computer-readable medium of claim 83, wherein at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user is categorized by content and the information indicating the computer usage experiences reported to the tracking server is sorted by content category. ### Claim 103 (depends on 83) The computer-readable medium of claim 83, wherein at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user is categorized by content and the information indicating the computer usage experiences reported to the tracking server is searchable by content category and date range. ### Claim 104 (depends on 83) The computer-readable medium of claim 83, wherein reporting further includes providing annotation tools for associating notes with individual entries of the information indicating the at least a portion of the computer usage experiences. ### Claim 105 (depends on 83) The computer-readable medium of claim 83, wherein reporting further includes providing annotation tools for associating ratings with individual entries of the information indicating the at least a portion of the computer usage experiences. ### Claim 106 (depends on 83) The computer-readable medium of claim 83, wherein reporting further includes indexing text portions of at least a portion of pages reported from tracking the user's Internet usage. ### Claim 107 (depends on 106) The computer-readable medium of claim 106, wherein text indexing is limited to the pages reported from tracking as having been annotated or forwarded by the user. ### Claim 108 (depends on 83) The computer-readable medium of claim 83, wherein the computer usage experiences include listening to songs. ### Claim 109 (depends on 108) The computer-readable medium of claim 108, wherein the software further instructs the controller to receive information indicating quantified relative influence of at least one user on other users. ### Claim 110 (depends on 83) The computer-readable medium of claim 83, wherein the computer usage experiences include viewing videos. ### Claim 111 (depends on 83) The computer-readable medium of claim 83, wherein the computer usage experiences include purchasing items. ### Claim 112 (depends on 83) The computer-readable medium of claim 83 wherein the computer usage experiences further include rating a geographic location. ### Claim 113 (depends on 83) The computer-readable medium of claim 83 wherein the computer usage experiences further include commenting on a geographic location. ### Claim 114 (depends on 83) The computer-readable medium of claim 83 wherein the computer usage experiences further include assigning an emoticon to a geographic location. ### Claim 115 (depends on 83) The computer-readable medium of claim 83 wherein the computer usage experiences further include connecting to another user at a geographic location. ### Claim 116 (depends on 83) The computer-readable medium of claim 83 wherein the computer usage experiences further include sending one or more items from the user to one or more other users. ### Claim 117 (depends on 83) The computer-readable medium of claim 83 wherein the computer usage experiences further include general messaging between the user and one or more other users. ### Claim 118 (depends on 83) The computer-readable medium of claim 83 wherein the computer usage experiences include browsing URLs. ### Claim 119 (depends on 83) The computer-readable medium of claim 83 wherein the computer usage experiences include visiting a geographic location with a location-aware device that automatically records geographic information for the geographic location. ### Claim 120 (depends on 83) The computer-readable medium of claim 83 wherein certain computer usage experiences are shared after the user selectively enables sharing. ### Claim 121 (depends on 83) The computer-readable medium of claim 83 wherein the user selectively enables or disables sharing. ### Claim 122 A method of operation of a registration and tracking server for sharing computer usage experiences, comprising the following computer-implemented steps: receiving, at the registration and tracking server, a registration of a user for automatic client-side collection of computer usage experiences for sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include one or more of browsing URLs or visiting a location with a location-aware device that records the location; enabling access to one or more of the user's messaging buddy lists and selection of one or more buddies with whom to share the computer usage experiences; obtaining defined categories of computer usage experiences to be shared with particular selected buddies; receiving, at the registration and tracking server, tracking information for the user from a client-side application that automatically tracks the computer usage experiences of the user, the tracking information comprising information indicating at least a portion of the user's computer usage experiences; and publishing the at least a portion of the user's computer usage experiences to the particular selected buddies in accordance with the defined categories of sharing. ### Claim 123 (depends on 122) The method of claim 122 wherein the computer usage experiences include browsing URLs. ### Claim 124 (depends on 122) The method of claim 122 wherein the computer usage experiences include visiting a location with a location-aware device that records the location. ### Claim 125 (depends on 122) The method of claim 122, wherein the registration and tracking server comprises at least two distinct servers. ### Claim 126 (depends on 122) The method of claim 122 wherein certain computer usage experiences are shared after the user selectively enables sharing. ### Claim 127 (depends on 122) The method of claim 122 wherein the user selectively enables or disables sharing. ### Claim 128 A method of operation of a client-side application to share computer usage experiences, including: communicating with a registration server to register a user for automatic client-side collection of computer usage experiences for sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include one or more of browsing URLs or visiting a location with a location-aware device that records the location; enabling selection of one or more buddies with whom to share the computer usage experiences from one or more of the user's messaging buddy lists; enabling definition of categories of computer usage experiences to be shared with particular selected buddies; tracking automatically on the client-side at least a portion of the user's computer usage experiences; and reporting information indicating the at least a portion of the user's computer usage experiences to a tracking server to enable sharing of the computer usage experiences with the particular selected buddies in accordance with the defined categories. ### Claim 129 (depends on 128) The method of claim 128 wherein the computer usage experiences include browsing URLs. ### Claim 130 (depends on 128) The method of claim 128 wherein the computer usage experiences include visiting a location with a location-aware device that records the location. ### Claim 131 (depends on 128) The method of claim 128 wherein certain computer usage experiences are shared after the user selectively enables sharing. ### Claim 132 (depends on 128) The method of claim 128 wherein the user selectively enables or disables sharing. ### Claim 133 A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software for instructing a controller of a user device to: communicate with a registration server to register a user for automatic and passive client-side collection of computer usage experiences for sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include one or more of a group consisting of: listening to songs, viewing videos, purchasing items, browsing URLs, and visiting a geographic location with a location-aware device that automatically records geographic information for the geographic location; enable the user to select one or more other users with whom to share the computer usage experiences from one or more lists of other users; enable the user to define categories of computer usage experiences to be shared with particular selected other users among the one or more other users selected from the one or more lists of other users; and track automatically and passively on the client-side at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user and automatically report information indicating the at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user to a tracking server to enable sharing of the computer usage experiences with the particular selected other users in accordance with the defined categories. ### Claim 134 (depends on 133) The computer-readable medium of claim 133 wherein the computer usage experiences include listening to songs. ### Claim 135 (depends on 134) The computer-readable medium of claim 134, wherein the software further instructs the controller to quantify relative influence of at least one user on other users. ### Claim 136 (depends on 134) The computer-readable medium of claim 134, wherein the software further instructs the controller to receive information indicating quantified relative influence of at least one user on other users. ### Claim 137 (depends on 133) The computer-readable medium of claim 133 wherein the computer usage experiences include viewing videos. ### Claim 138 (depends on 133) The computer-readable medium of claim 133 wherein the computer usage experiences include purchasing items. ### Claim 139 (depends on 133) The computer-readable medium of claim 133 wherein the computer usage experiences include browsing URLs. ### Claim 140 (depends on 133) The computer-readable medium of claim 133 wherein the computer usage experiences include visiting a geographic location with a location-aware device that automatically records geographic information for the geographic location. ### Claim 141 (depends on 133) The computer-readable medium of claim 133 wherein certain computer usage experiences are shared after the user selectively enables sharing. ### Claim 142 (depends on 133) The computer-readable medium of claim 133 wherein the user selectively enables or disables sharing. ### Claim 143 A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software for instructing at least one controller of a registration and tracking server to: receive, at the registration and tracking server, a registration of a user for automatic and passive client-side collection of computer usage experiences for sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include one or more of a group consisting of: browsing URLs and visiting a geographic location with a location-aware device that automatically records geographic information for the geographic location; enable the user to select one or more other users with whom to share the computer usage experiences from one or more lists of other users; obtain defined categories of computer usage experiences to be shared with particular selected other users among the one or more other users selected from the one or more lists of other users; receive, at the registration and tracking server, tracking information for the user from a client-side application that automatically and passively tracks at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user; and publish information indicating the at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user to the particular selected other users in accordance with their defined categories of sharing. ### Claim 144 (depends on 143) The computer-readable medium of claim 143 wherein the computer usage experiences include browsing URLs. ### Claim 145 (depends on 143) The computer-readable medium of claim 143 wherein the computer usage experiences include visiting a geographic location with a location-aware device that automatically records geographic information for the geographic location. ### Claim 146 (depends on 143) The computer-readable medium of claim 143, wherein the registration and tracking server comprises at least two distinct servers. ### Claim 147 (depends on 143) The computer-readable medium of claim 143, wherein the software further instructs the controller to display advertising information. ### Claim 148 (depends on 143) The computer-readable medium of claim 143 wherein certain computer usage experiences are shared after the user selectively enables sharing. ### Claim 149 (depends on 143) The computer-readable medium of claim 143 wherein the user selectively enables or disables sharing. ### Claim 150 A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software for instructing a controller of a user device to: communicate with a registration server to register a user for automatic and passive client-side collection of computer usage experiences for sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include one or more of a group consisting of: browsing URLs and visiting a geographic location with a location-aware device that automatically records geographic information for the geographic location; enable the user to select one or more other users with whom to share the computer usage experiences from one or more lists of other users; enable the user to define categories of computer usage experiences to be shared with particular selected other users among the one or more other users selected from the one or more lists of other users; track automatically and passively on the client-side at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user; and automatically report information indicating at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user to a tracking server to enable sharing of the computer usage experiences with the particular selected other users in accordance with the defined categories. ### Claim 151 (depends on 150) The computer-readable medium of claim 150 wherein the computer usage experiences include browsing URLs. ### Claim 152 (depends on 150) The computer-readable medium of claim 150 wherein the computer usage experiences include visiting a geographic location with a location-aware device that automatically records geographic information for the geographic location. ### Claim 153 (depends on 150) The computer-readable medium of claim 150 wherein certain computer usage experiences are shared after the user selectively enables sharing. ### Claim 154 (depends on 150) The computer-readable medium of claim 150 wherein the user selectively enables or disables sharing. ### Claim 155 A method of operation of a server to share computer experiences, comprising the following server-implemented steps: receiving at the server a registration of a user for automatic client-side application collection and sharing of computer usage experiences of the user for sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include listening to songs; enabling access to one or more messaging buddy lists of the user and selection of one or more buddies with whom the computer usage experiences may be shared from one or more messaging buddy lists of the user; obtaining defined rights of the one or more buddies to access the computer usage experiences; and posting information indicating at least a portion of computer usage experiences for the one or more buddies to access according to the rights defined for the one or more buddies. ### Claim 156 (depends on 155) The method of claim 155, further comprising: quantifying relative influence of at least one user on other users. ### Claim 157 (depends on 155) The method of claim 155 wherein certain computer usage experiences are shared after the user selectively enables sharing. ### Claim 158 (depends on 155) The method of claim 155 wherein the user selectively enables or disables sharing. ### Claim 159 A method of operation of a server to share computer experiences, comprising the following server-implemented steps: receiving at the server a registration of a user for automatic client-side application collection and sharing of computer usage experiences of the user for sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include viewing videos; enabling access to one or more messaging buddy lists of the user and selection of one or more buddies with whom the computer usage experiences may be shared from one or more messaging buddy lists of the user; obtaining defined rights of the one or more buddies to access the computer usage experiences; and posting information indicating at least a portion of the computer usage experiences for the one or more buddies to access according to the rights defined for the one or more buddies. ### Claim 160 (depends on 159) The method of claim 159 wherein certain computer usage experiences are shared after the user selectively enables sharing. ### Claim 161 (depends on 159) The method of claim 159 wherein the user selectively enables or disables sharing. ### Claim 162 A method of operation of a server to share computer experiences, comprising the following server-implemented steps: receiving at the server a registration of a user for automatic client-side application collection and sharing of computer usage experiences of the user for sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include purchasing items; enabling access to one or more messaging buddy lists of the user and selection of one or more buddies with whom the computer usage experiences may be shared from one or more messaging buddy lists of the user; obtaining defined rights of the one or more buddies to access the computer usage experiences; and posting information indicating at least a portion of the computer usage experiences for the one or more buddies to access according to the rights defined for the one or more buddies. ### Claim 163 (depends on 162) The method of claim 162 wherein certain computer usage experiences are shared after the user selectively enables sharing. ### Claim 164 (depends on 162) The method of claim 162 wherein the user selectively enables or disables sharing. ### Claim 165 A method of operation of a server to share computer experiences, comprising the following sever-implemented steps: receiving at the server a registration of a user for automatic client-side application collection and sharing of computer usage experiences of the user for sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include Internet browsing; enabling access to one or more messaging buddy lists of the user and selection of one or more buddies with whom the computer usage experiences may be shared from the one or more messaging buddy lists of the user; obtaining defined rights of the one or more buddies to access the computer usage experiences; and posting information indicating at least a portion of the computer usage experiences for the one or more buddies to access according to the rights defined for the one or more buddies. ### Claim 166 (depends on 165) The method of claim 165 wherein certain computer usage experiences are shared after the user selectively enables sharing. ### Claim 167 (depends on 165) The method of claim 165 wherein the user selectively enables or disables sharing. ### Claim 168 A method of operation of a computing device, comprising: communicating with a registration server to register a user for automatic and passive client-side collection of computer usage experiences for sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include one or more of a group consisting of: listening to songs, viewing videos, purchasing items, browsing URLs, and visiting a geographic location with a location-aware device that automatically records geographic information for the geographic location; enabling access to one or more lists of other users and selection of one or more other users from the one or more lists of other users with whom to share the computer usage experiences; enabling definition of categories of computer usage experiences to be shared with particular selected other users among the one or more other users selected from the one or more lists of other users; and tracking automatically and passively on the client-side at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user and automatically reporting information indicating the at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user to a tracking server to enable sharing of the computer usage experiences with the particular selected other users in accordance with the defined categories. ### Claim 169 (depends on 168) The method of claim 168, wherein the registration server and the tracking server are a single server. ### Claim 170 (depends on 168) The method of claim 168, wherein the registration server and the tracking server are distinct servers. ### Claim 171 (depends on 168) The method of claim 168, wherein communicating with the registration server to register the user excludes collection of the user's e-mail address by the registration server. ### Claim 172 (depends on 168) The method of claim 168, wherein communicating with the registration server to register the user excludes collection of the user's actual name by the registration server. ### Claim 173 (depends on 168) The method of claim 168, wherein communicating with the registration server to register the user excludes collection of the user's physical address by the registration server. ### Claim 174 (depends on 168) The method of claim 168, wherein communicating with the registration server to register the user excludes collection of any information that identifies the user in a manner adapted to direct marketing by the registration server. ### Claim 175 (depends on 168) The method of claim 168, wherein communicating with the registration server to register the user further includes establishing an anonymous unique identifier for the user. ### Claim 176 (depends on 175) The method of claim 175, wherein the information indicating the computer usage experiences reported to the tracking server includes the anonymous unique identifier. ### Claim 177 (depends on 168) The method of claim 168, wherein at least one of the one or more lists of other users is a messaging buddy list. ### Claim 178 (depends on 168) The method of claim 168, wherein at least one of the one or more lists of other users is an e-mail contact list. ### Claim 179 (depends on 168) The method of claim 168, wherein at least one of the one or more lists of other users is a contact list maintained by a software application. ### Claim 180 (depends on 168) The method of claim 168, wherein at least one of the one or more lists of other users is a network registry. ### Claim 181 (depends on 168) The method of claim 168, wherein URLs viewed by the user are categorized into categories of computer usage experiences based on the appearance of one or more keywords on pages corresponding to the URLs viewed. ### Claim 182 (depends on 168) The method of claim 168, wherein access rights of the particular selected other users include the categories of computer usage experiences to be shared with the particular selected other users and are further defined by activity type of the user's computing device usage. ### Claim 183 (depends on 168) The method of claim 168, wherein the computing device is a device placed between a device utilized by the user and an access point to the Internet. ### Claim 184 (depends on 168) The method of claim 168, wherein the computer usage experiences tracked are filtered before being reported to the tracking server. ### Claim 185 (depends on 168) The method of claim 168, wherein at least one of the one or more lists of other users is a messaging buddy list maintained by an instant messenger software. ### Claim 186 (depends on 168) The method of claim 168 further comprising sending the information indicating one of a user's computer usage experiences to one or more of the other users identified by the one or more lists of other users. ### Claim 187 (depends on 168) The method of claim 168, wherein at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user is categorized by content and the information indicating the computer usage experiences of the user reported to the tracking server is sorted by content category. ### Claim 188 (depends on 168) The method of claim 168, wherein at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user is categorized by content and the information indicating the computer usage experiences of the user reported to the tracking server is searchable by content category and date range. ### Claim 189 (depends on 168) The method of claim 168, wherein reporting further includes providing annotation tools for associating notes with individual entries of the information indicating the at least a portion of the computer usage experiences. ### Claim 190 (depends on 168) The method of claim 168, wherein reporting further includes providing annotation tools for associating ratings with individual entries of the information indicating the at least a portion of the computer usage experiences. ### Claim 191 (depends on 168) The method of claim 168, wherein reporting further includes indexing text portions of at least a portion of pages reported from tracking the user's Internet usage. ### Claim 192 (depends on 191) The method of claim 191, wherein text indexing is limited to pages reported from tracking as having been annotated or forwarded by the user. ### Claim 193 (depends on 168) The method of claim 168 wherein the computer usage experiences further include rating a geographic location. ### Claim 194 (depends on 168) The method of claim 168 wherein the computer usage experiences further include commenting on a geographic location. ### Claim 195 (depends on 168) The method of claim 168 wherein the computer usage experiences further include assigning an emoticon to a geographic location. ### Claim 196 (depends on 168) The method of claim 168 wherein the computer usage experiences further include connecting to another user at a geographic location. ### Claim 197 (depends on 168) The method of claim 168 wherein the computer usage experiences further include sending one or more items from the user to one or more other users. ### Claim 198 (depends on 168) The method of claim 168 wherein the computer usage experiences further include general messaging between the user and one or more other users. ### Claim 199 (depends on 168) The method of claim 168 wherein the computer usage experiences include listening to songs. ### Claim 200 (depends on 199) The method of claim 199, wherein the software further instructs the controller to receive information indicating quantified relative influence of at least one user on other users. ### Claim 201 (depends on 168) The method of claim 168 wherein the computer usage experiences include viewing videos. ### Claim 202 (depends on 168) The method of claim 168 wherein the computer usage experiences include purchasing items. ### Claim 203 (depends on 168) The method of claim 168 wherein the computer usage experiences include browsing URLs. ### Claim 204 (depends on 168) The method of claim 168 wherein the computer usage experiences include visiting a geographic location with a location-aware device that automatically records geographic information for the geographic location. ### Claim 205 (depends on 168) The method of claim 168 wherein certain computer usage experiences are shared after the user selectively enables sharing. ### Claim 206 (depends on 168) The method of claim 168 wherein the user selectively enables or disables sharing. ### Claim 207 A method of operation of a computing device, comprising: communicating with a registration server to register a user for automatic and passive client-side collection of computer usage experiences for sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include one or more of a group consisting of: browsing URLs and visiting a geographic location with a location-aware device that automatically records geographic information for the geographic location; enabling access to one or more lists of other users and selection of one or more other users from the one or more lists of other users with whom to share the computer usage experiences; enabling definition of categories of computer usage experiences to be shared with particular selected other users among the one or more other users selected from the one or more lists of other users; and tracking automatically and passively on the client-side at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user and automatically reporting information indicating the at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user to a tracking server to enable sharing of the computer usage experiences with the particular selected other users in accordance with the defined categories. ### Claim 208 (depends on 207) The method of claim 207, wherein the registration server and the tracking server are a single server. ### Claim 209 (depends on 207) The method of claim 207, wherein the registration server and the tracking server are distinct servers. ### Claim 210 (depends on 207) The method of claim 207, wherein communicating with the registration server to register the user excludes collection of the user's e-mail address by the registration server. ### Claim 211 (depends on 207) The method of claim 207, wherein communicating with the registration server to register the user excludes collection of the user's actual name by the registration server. ### Claim 212 (depends on 207) The method of claim 207, wherein communicating with the registration server to register the user excludes collection of the user's physical address by the registration server. ### Claim 213 (depends on 207) The method of claim 207, wherein communicating with the registration server to register the user excludes collection of any information that identifies the user in a manner adapted to direct marketing by the registration server. ### Claim 214 (depends on 207) The method of claim 207, wherein communicating with the registration server to register the user further includes establishing an anonymous unique identifier for the user. ### Claim 215 (depends on 214) The method of claim 214, wherein the information indicating the computer usage experiences reported to the tracking server includes the anonymous unique identifier. ### Claim 216 (depends on 207) The method of claim 207, wherein at least one of the one or more lists of other users is a messaging buddy list. ### Claim 217 (depends on 207) The method of claim 207, wherein at least one of the one or more lists of other users is an e-mail contact list. ### Claim 218 (depends on 207) The method of claim 207, wherein at least one of the one or more lists of other users is a contact list maintained by a software application. ### Claim 219 (depends on 207) The method of claim 207, wherein at least one of the one or more lists of other users is a network registry. ### Claim 220 (depends on 207) The method of claim 207, wherein URLs viewed by the user are categorized into categories of computer usage experiences based on the appearance of one or more keywords on pages corresponding to the URLs viewed. ### Claim 221 (depends on 207) The method of claim 207, wherein access rights of the particular selected other users include the categories of computer usage experiences to be shared with the particular selected other users and are further defined by activity type of the user's computer usage. ### Claim 222 (depends on 207) The method of claim 207, wherein the computing device is a device placed between a device utilized by the user and an access point to the Internet. ### Claim 223 (depends on 207) The method of claim 207, wherein the information indicating the tracked computer usage experiences are filtered before being reported to the tracking server. ### Claim 224 (depends on 207) The method of claim 207, wherein at least one of the one or more lists of other users is a messaging buddy list maintained by an instant messenger software. ### Claim 225 (depends on 207) The method of claim 207, further comprising sending the information indicating one of a user's computer usage experiences to one or more of the other users identified by the one or more lists of other users. ### Claim 226 (depends on 207) The method of claim 207, wherein at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user is categorized by content and the information indicating the computer usage experiences reported to the tracking server is sorted by content category. ### Claim 227 (depends on 207) The method of claim 207, wherein at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user is categorized by content and the information indicating the computer usage experiences reported to the tracking server is searchable by content category and date range. ### Claim 228 (depends on 207) The method of claim 207, wherein reporting further includes providing annotation tools for associating notes with individual entries of the information indicating the at least a portion of the computer usage experiences. ### Claim 229 (depends on 207) The method of claim 207, wherein reporting further includes providing annotation tools for associating ratings with individual entries of the information indicating the at least a portion of the computer usage experiences. ### Claim 230 (depends on 207) The method of claim 207, wherein reporting further includes indexing text portions of at least a portion of pages reported from tracking the user's Internet usage. ### Claim 231 (depends on 230) The method of claim 230, wherein text indexing is limited to the pages reported from tracking as having been annotated or forwarded by the user. ### Claim 232 (depends on 207) The method of claim 207, wherein the computer usage experiences include listening to songs. ### Claim 233 (depends on 232) The method of claim 232, further comprising receiving information indicating quantified relative influence of at least one user on other users. ### Claim 234 (depends on 207) The method of claim 207, wherein the computer usage experiences include viewing videos. ### Claim 235 (depends on 207) The method of claim 207, wherein the computer usage experiences include purchasing items. ### Claim 236 (depends on 207) The method of claim 207 wherein the computer usage experiences further include rating a geographic location. ### Claim 237 (depends on 207) The method of claim 207 wherein the computer usage experiences further include commenting on a geographic location. ### Claim 238 (depends on 207) The method of claim 207 wherein the computer usage experiences further include assigning an emoticon to a geographic location. ### Claim 239 (depends on 207) The method of claim 207 wherein the computer usage experiences further include connecting to another user at a geographic location. ### Claim 240 (depends on 207) The method of claim 207 wherein the computer usage experiences further include sending one or more items from the user to one or more other users. ### Claim 241 (depends on 207) The method of claim 207 wherein the computer usage experiences further include general messaging between the user and one or more other users. ### Claim 242 (depends on 207) The method of claim 207 wherein the computer usage experiences include browsing URLs. ### Claim 243 (depends on 207) The method of claim 207 wherein the computer usage experiences include visiting a geographic location with a location-aware device that automatically records geographic information for the geographic location. ### Claim 244 (depends on 207) The method of claim 207 wherein certain computer usage experiences are shared after the user selectively enables sharing. ### Claim 245 (depends on 207) The method of claim 207 wherein the user selectively enables or disables sharing. ### Claim 246 A method of operation of a user device, comprising: communicating with a registration server to register a user for automatic and passive client-side collection of computer usage experiences for sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include one or more of a group consisting of: listening to songs, viewing videos, purchasing items, browsing URLs, and visiting a geographic location with a location-aware device that automatically records geographic information for the geographic location; enabling the user to select one or more other users with whom to share the computer usage experiences from one or more lists of other users; enabling the user to define categories of computer usage experiences to be shared with particular selected other users among the one or more other users selected from the one or more lists of other users; and tracking automatically and passively on the client-side at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user and automatically reporting information indicating the at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user to a tracking server to enable sharing of the computer usage experiences with the particular selected other users in accordance with the defined categories. ### Claim 247 (depends on 246) The method of claim 246 wherein the computer usage experiences include listening to songs. ### Claim 248 (depends on 247) The method of claim 247, wherein the software further instructs the controller to quantify relative influence of at least one user on other users. ### Claim 249 (depends on 247) The method of claim 247, wherein the software further instructs the controller to receive information indicating quantified relative influence of at least one user on other users. ### Claim 250 (depends on 246) The method of claim 246 wherein the computer usage experiences include viewing videos. ### Claim 251 (depends on 246) The method of claim 246 wherein the computer usage experiences include purchasing items. ### Claim 252 (depends on 246) The method of claim 246 wherein the computer usage experiences include browsing URLs. ### Claim 253 (depends on 246) The method of claim 246 wherein the computer usage experiences include visiting a geographic location with a location-aware device that automatically records geographic information for the geographic location. ### Claim 254 (depends on 246) The method of claim 246 wherein certain computer usage experiences are shared after the user selectively enables sharing. ### Claim 255 (depends on 246) The method of claim 246 wherein the user selectively enables or disables sharing. ### Claim 256 A method of operation of a registration and tracking server, comprising: receiving, at the registration and tracking server, a registration of a user for automatic and passive client-side collection of computer usage experiences for sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include one or more of a group consisting of: browsing URLs and visiting a geographic location with a location-aware device that automatically records geographic information for the geographic location; enabling the user to select one or more other users with whom to share the computer usage experiences from one or more lists of other users; obtaining defined categories of computer usage experiences to be shared with particular selected other users among the one or more other users selected from the one or more lists of other users; receiving, at the registration and tracking server, tracking information for the user from a client-side application that automatically and passively tracks at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user; and publishing information indicating the at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user to the particular selected other users in accordance with their defined categories of sharing. ### Claim 257 (depends on 256) The method of claim 256 wherein the computer usage experiences include browsing URLs. ### Claim 258 (depends on 256) The method of claim 256 wherein the computer usage experiences include visiting a geographic location with a location-aware device that automatically records geographic information for the geographic location. ### Claim 259 (depends on 256) The method of claim 256, wherein the registration and tracking server comprises at least two distinct servers. ### Claim 260 (depends on 256) The method of claim 256, wherein the software further instructs the controller to display advertising information. ### Claim 261 (depends on 256) The method of claim 256 wherein certain computer usage experiences are shared after the user selectively enables sharing. ### Claim 262 (depends on 256) The method of claim 256 wherein the user selectively enables or disables sharing. ### Claim 263 A method of operation of a user device, comprising: communicating with a registration server to register a user for automatic and passive client-side collection of computer usage experiences for sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include one or more of a group consisting of: browsing URLs and visiting a geographic location with a location-aware device that automatically records geographic information for the geographic location; enabling the user to select one or more other users with whom to share the computer usage experiences from one or more lists of other users; enabling the user to define categories of computer usage experiences to be shared with particular selected other users among the one or more other users selected from the one or more lists of other users; tracking automatically and passively on the client-side at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user; and automatically reporting information indicating at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user to a tracking server to enable sharing of the computer usage experiences with the particular selected other users in accordance with the defined categories. ### Claim 264 (depends on 263) The method of claim 263 wherein the computer usage experiences include browsing URLs. ### Claim 265 (depends on 263) The method of claim 263 wherein the computer usage experiences include visiting a geographic location with a location-aware device that automatically records geographic information for the geographic location. ### Claim 266 (depends on 263) The method of claim 263 wherein certain computer usage experiences are shared after the user selectively enables sharing. ### Claim 267 (depends on 263) The method of claim 263 wherein the user selectively enables or disables sharing.