The present invention generally relates to social media platforms, systems, and methods. The invention particularly relates to a system utilizing handheld electronic mobile devices and application software (app) running thereon to enable a user thereof to initiate direct person-to-person communications and social interactions with other users who are physically or virtually located within the physical vicinity of the initiating user, but with whom the initiating user may be unacquainted.
Various social media tools, such as websites and mobile apps, are available that provide users with the capability of exchanging information, particularly user generated content such as text, digital photo, or digital video posts. An example is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,743,244 to Crutchfield. Commonly, such tools allow users to create their own profiles, which is included in an online social network that connects the user's profile with those of other individuals and/or groups. Such tools generally promote interactions between the users within the network, such as commenting on other user's content, joining virtual groups, and the like. While these capabilities are beneficial for users to remain in contact with other users that they are already acquainted with, the tools may be limited in their ability to connect and exchange information between users that are strangers or otherwise not yet socially acquainted. A such, it would be desirable if a system were available for selectively providing a user with social media-related information about other users with whom they are unacquainted to promote direct person-to-person communications and social interactions.
In one implementation, a method of interacting in a social media environment is provided. The method includes receiving from a first user of a social media platform a first item of user content; displaying an augmented reality user interface to a second user of the social media platform via a display screen of a first mobile device, the augmented reality user interface including a display of a first geographic area proximate to the second user, the display of the first geographic area obtained via a camera element of the first mobile device, the first user not being physically present at the first geographic area, the augmented reality user interface including: a first virtual object representing the first item of user content, or the first virtual object and a second virtual object pinned by the first user at the first geographic area, the second virtual object representing the first user and the first virtual object being associated with the display of the second virtual object in the augmented reality user interface; receiving from the second user a selection of the first virtual object via the augmented reality user interface; and providing access to the first item of user content to the second user in response to the selection.
In another implementation, a method of interacting in a social media environment is provided. The method includes receiving from a first user of a social media platform a first item of user content, the first item of user content representing a marketing opportunity; displaying an augmented reality user interface to a second user of the social media platform via a display screen of a first mobile device, the augmented reality user interface including a display of a first geographic area proximate to the second user, the display of the first geographic area obtained via a camera element of the first mobile device, the first user not being physically present at the first geographic area, the augmented reality user interface including: a first virtual object representing the first item of user content, or the first virtual object and a second virtual object pinned by the first user at the first geographic area, the second virtual object representing the first user and the first virtual object being associated with the display of the second virtual object in the augmented reality user interface, wherein the second user is allowed by the social media environment to see the first virtual object within the augmented reality user interface based on a privacy setting of the first user; receiving from the second user a selection of the first virtual object via the augmented reality user interface; and providing access to the first item of user content to the second user in response to the selection, wherein the second user is not acquainted with the first user at the time of accessing the first item of user content.
In yet another implementation, a processor-readable storage medium including processor-executable instructions for performing a method of interacting in a social media environment is provided. The instructions include a set of instructions for receiving from a first user of a social media platform a first item of user content; a set of instructions for displaying an augmented reality user interface to a second user of the social media platform via a display screen of a first mobile device, the augmented reality user interface including a display of a first geographic area proximate to the second user, the display of the first geographic area obtained via a camera element of the first mobile device, the first user not being physically present at the first geographic area, the augmented reality user interface including: a first virtual object representing the first item of user content, or the first virtual object and a second virtual object pinned by the first user at the first geographic area, the second virtual object representing the first user and the first virtual object being associated with the display of the second virtual object in the augmented reality user interface; a set of instructions for receiving from the second user a selection of the first virtual object via the augmented reality user interface; and a set of instructions for providing access to the first item of user content to the second user in response to the selection.
According to one aspect of the invention, a social media system and method are provided that include the use of mobile devices to provide the capability for a plurality of individuals to communicate through a location-based augmented reality feature of an app that is stored and operating on the mobile devices.
Another aspect of the invention is a mobile device on which the app and its location-based augmented reality feature are stored and operating as described above.
Still another aspect of the invention includes providing for a first user of a social media system to pin user content to a specific geographic location using a location-based augmented reality feature of an app that is stored and operating on a mobile device of the first user, and allowing a second user of the social media system to access the user content through the location-based augmented reality feature of the app that is also stored and operating on a mobile device of the second user.
Yet another aspect of the invention includes identifying a first user of a social media system with a location-based augmented reality feature of an app that is stored and operating on a mobile device of a second user of the social media system, and then with the app providing the second user access to user content created by the first user.
Technical effects of the methods and systems described above preferably include the capability of a first individual to quickly access limited user content about another individual who is physically or virtually located within the physical vicinity of the first individual's present geographic location, thereby promoting direct person-to-person communications and social interactions between individuals.
Other aspects and advantages of this invention will be further appreciated from the following detailed description.
The patent or application file contains at least one drawing executed in color. Copies of this patent or patent application publication with color drawing(s) will be provided by the Office upon request and payment of the necessary fee.
The mobile device represented in
According to a particular aspect of the invention, the tool allows each of its user to generate user-generated content (“user content”) that includes, but is not limited to, a personal profile containing limited personal information about themselves. Such user content may then be selectively accessible (based on privacy settings set by the user) by other users of the tool via a location-based augmented reality feature of the app, but only when the other users are within the physical vicinity (geographic area) of the user location of the user that created the user content, and/or within the physical vicinity (geographic area) of a pinned location that the user that created the user content has associated with their user content. As used herein, a pinned location means a geographic location that has been selected by the user and to which an image has been “pinned” by the user as a virtual object (hereinafter, “pinned image”), such that the user is present as a virtual object at the pinned location, but is not physically present at the pinned location. In this manner, the tool provides a social media platform by which direct person-to-person communications and social interactions can be initiated by a user (hereinafter, “initiating user”) of the system with another user (hereinafter, “recipient user”) of the system, but only if the initiating user is within the physical vicinity of the geographic location of the user location of the recipient user, and/or the pinned location of a pinned image of the recipient user. Conversely, such communications and interactions can only be initiated between the initiating user and a recipient user if the user location of the recipient user and/or a pinned location of the recipient user is within the physical vicinity of the geographic location of the initiating user. Detection of the recipient user or a pinned image of the recipient user can be performed with the camera of the initiating user's mobile device, operating in combination with the location-based augmented reality feature of the app to indicate the physical presence of the recipient user or virtual presence (via a pinned image) of the recipient user. The process of discovering potential recipient users is initiated by the initiating user scanning their surroundings with the camera of their mobile device. If a pinned image is detected with the camera, the location-based augmented reality feature displays the pinned image of the recipient user on the display of the mobile device of the initiating user, with the pinned image being overlaid on the image of the real world captured by the camera. If an individual that appears in the scan of the camera is a user of the tool (i.e., a recipient user), the location-based augmented reality feature displays a suitable notification on the display of the mobile device of the initiating user, for example, a dot or other icon that appears above the head of the recipient user. The initiating user effectively initiates communications and interactions with the recipient user by then using the app to access the user content of the recipient user, for example, by clicking on an icon that the app associates with the recipient user and is shown on the display of the initiating user's mobile device, as nonlimiting examples, the pinned image if the recipient user is virtually present or an icon appearing above the head of the recipient user if the recipient user is physically present. Notably, the initiating user is not required to be acquainted with the receipt user in order to access the recipient user's user content. On the other hand, the tool does not provide any notifications regarding individuals that are not users of the tool, in which case there is no user content to be accessed. Furthermore, the privacy settings of the tool set by users enable any user to choose to be completely undetectable by the tool or choose to partially or completely block access to their user content by individuals or everyone, as may be appropriate under certain social circumstances. Furthermore, the app preferably enables all users to select the distance over which they may (as an initiating user) detect other users and over which other users may detect them (as a recipient user).
The “Carnac” feature is similar to the “Spot Selfie” and “Chill'n Post” features, except that by scanning a geographic area with the camera of their mobile device, an initiating user is able to detect the actual physical presence of other users of the app. As previously noted, the location-based augmented reality feature of the app indicates the presence of other users of the app on the display of the initiating user's mobile device, for example, as a result of the location-based augmented reality feature displaying a notification, such as profile pictures of the other users as shown in
The pinned images and user content displayed and represented in
As evident from the above, the above features of the tool allow initiating users to access the user content of recipient users with the location-based augmented reality feature of the tool. In
Since various features of the app (for example, the Spot Selfie and Chill'n Post features) provide for pinning an image or other user content (collectively, “pinned user content”) accessible by other users in a geographic location, the app provides means for users (initiating users) to locate pinned user content of other users (recipient users). For example, the app may include means for identifying on a map the specific geographic location of all available user content that has been pinned and/or specific filtered user content. As a nonlimiting but more specific example, the app may provide a search (radar) feature that presents a map to an initiating user with locations of pinned user content of potential recipient users highlighted on the map, for example, using the GPS coordinates of the pinned user content, relative to the location of the initiating user (for example, over an area encompassing a predetermined distance around the initiating user, as set by the initiating user). The search feature may include filter options to limit the highlighted user content, for example, based on distance or category/type of user content. For example, the app may include filter options including “hanging out” which includes only pinned user content that is relatively near the physical location of the initiating user, “walking around” which includes a larger geographic area than “hanging out,” and “stadium” which includes all available pinned user content regardless of location.
Referring again to
Finally, the app may provide additional features such as the aforementioned “Safety,” “Flash Antics,” and “Rate a Party” features. As an example, the Flash Antics feature may provide means by which a plurality of users in a vicinity of a geographic location are able to vote on an activity to be performed by the users at the geographic location, and the Rate a Party feature may provide means for labeling a geographic location where a social gathering is currently occurring, and rate the social gathering for viewing by other users.
In view of the above, the app provides various functions for selectively providing an initiating user with social media-related information about other users with whom they may or may not be acquainted and who are in their physical vicinity in order to promote direct person-to-person communications and social interactions. For example, in the case of two users that are within a sufficiently small geographic area that enables a first of the users to see the other, the first user may decide they would like to know more about the second user. The first user may then, in the role of the initiating user, use the app in an attempt to access information about the other user, who is now in the role of a recipient user. Because the other person is also a user with user content that includes a personal profile that they created in the app, the initiating user may be provided with information about the recipient user contained in the personal profile of the recipient user. The information available to the initiating user can be limited or even prevented by the recipient user's privacy settings. For example, as represented in
In addition to promoting direct person-to-person communications and social interactions between unacquainted individuals, the personal information and location of the users provides a mutually beneficial marketing opportunity. In particular, the app preferably is capable of identifying businesses, products, events, etc., that may be relevant to an individual user based on the user's personality, interests, activities, etc., as indicated by the contents of their personal profile Based on this information, the app may then provide advertisements to the user based on the user's preferences and the user's actual (GPS) location. The advertisements are effectively customized customer electronic billboards, which the app may show as virtual objects floating in the augmented reality space displayed by the camera of the user's mobile device. The user can then tap the billboard to obtain more information about the advertised product. In addition, the app may provide feedback regarding the user's response to the advertisements.
While the invention has been described in terms of specific or particular embodiments, it is apparent that other forms could be adopted by one skilled in the art. For example, the tool and its features could differ in appearance and construction from the embodiments described herein and shown in the drawings, and the tool may operate on devices other than those described herein. Accordingly, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to any embodiment described herein or illustrated in the drawings. It should also be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed above are for the purpose of describing the disclosed embodiments, and do not necessarily serve as limitations to the scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the invention is to be limited only by the following claims.
This application is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/197,808, filed Mar. 10, 2021, entitled “Social Media Systems and Methods and Mobile Devices Therefor,” which is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/186,265, filed Feb. 26, 2021, entitled “Social Media Systems and Methods and Mobile Devices Therefor,” which is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/166,679, filed Feb. 3, 2021, entitled “Social Media Systems and Methods and Mobile Devices Therefor,” which is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/989,713, filed Oct. 10, 2020, entitled “Social Media Systems and Methods and Mobile Devices Therefor,” which is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/696,803, filed Sep. 6, 2017, entitled “Social Media Systems and Methods and Mobile Devices Therefor,” each of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. This application also claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/383,813, filed Sep. 6, 2016, entitled “Social Media Systems and Method,” which application is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. This application is also related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/989,348, filed on Aug. 10, 2020, entitled “Social Media Systems and Methods and Mobile Devices Therefor.”
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 17197808 | Mar 2021 | US |
Child | 17206218 | US | |
Parent | 17186265 | Feb 2021 | US |
Child | 17197808 | US |