U.S. patent application number 16/398148 was filed with the patent office on 2019-08-15 for systems and methods for providing a community-based dating service for a social networking system.
The applicant listed for this patent is Facebook, Inc.. Invention is credited to Nathan Andrew Sharp, Qiang Wang.
Application Number | 20190251640 16/398148 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 67540192 |
Filed Date | 2019-08-15 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20190251640 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Sharp; Nathan Andrew ; et
al. |
August 15, 2019 |
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PROVIDING A COMMUNITY-BASED DATING SERVICE
FOR A SOCIAL NETWORKING SYSTEM
Abstract
A disclosed computer-implemented method may include determining
that a user of a social networking system is (1) a participant in a
dating service of the social networking system, and (2) a member of
an interest-based community of the social networking system that
includes an activated community-based dating feature. The method
may further include receiving a request from the user for access to
the community-based dating feature, and providing, in response to
receiving the request, the user with access to the community-based
dating feature by (1) identifying at least one additional member of
the interest-based community who is an additional participant in
the dating service, and (2) presenting dating information
associated with the additional member of the interest-based
community within a dating interface of the social networking
system. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media
are also disclosed.
Inventors: |
Sharp; Nathan Andrew; (San
Francisco, CA) ; Wang; Qiang; (Redwood City,
CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Facebook, Inc. |
Menlo Park |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
67540192 |
Appl. No.: |
16/398148 |
Filed: |
April 29, 2019 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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62665478 |
May 1, 2018 |
|
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62720493 |
Aug 21, 2018 |
|
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62575128 |
Oct 20, 2017 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 16/9536 20190101;
G06F 3/0482 20130101; H04L 51/32 20130101; G06Q 50/01 20130101;
G06F 9/451 20180201; G06F 16/9538 20190101; G06F 16/9535
20190101 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 50/00 20060101
G06Q050/00; G06F 16/9535 20060101 G06F016/9535 |
Claims
1. A computer-implemented method comprising: determining that a
user of a social networking system is both: a participant in a
dating service of the social networking system; and a member of an
interest-based community of the social networking system that
includes an activated community-based dating feature that
facilitates dating connections between members of the
interest-based community; receiving a request from the user for
access to the community-based dating feature of the interest-based
community; and providing, in response to receiving the request, the
user with access to the community-based dating feature of the
interest-based community by: identifying at least one additional
member of the interest-based community who is an additional
participant in the dating service; and presenting dating
information associated with the additional member of the
interest-based community within a dating interface of the social
networking system.
2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the
interest-based community comprises at least one of: a set of users
of the social networking system who have each indicated an interest
in an event; or a set of users of the social networking system who
have each indicated an interest in a subject.
3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein: the method
further comprises presenting, within the dating interface, a
representation of the interest-based community that comprises an
interface affordance that indicates at least one of: whether the
community-based dating feature is activated for the interest-based
community; or whether the user has been provided with access to the
community-based dating feature of the interest-based community; and
receiving the request from the user for access to the
community-based dating feature of the interest-based community
comprises receiving the request via a user interaction with the
interface affordance.
4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:
providing an administrator of the interest-based community with a
dating feature control that enables the administrator to provide an
instruction to activate the community-based dating feature of the
interest-based community; receiving, via the dating feature
control, the instruction to activate the community-based dating
feature of the interest-based community; and activating the
community-based dating feature of the interest-based community in
response to receiving the instruction to activate the
community-based dating feature associated with the interest-based
community.
5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, further comprising:
providing the administrator with a duration control that enables
the administrator to provide a duration of time for the
community-based dating feature of the interest-based community to
remain activated; receiving the duration of time via the duration
control; and upon expiration of the duration of time, inactivating
the community-based dating feature of the interest-based
community.
6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising
inactivating the community-based dating feature of the
interest-based community upon expiration of a predetermined
duration of time following an activation of the community-based
dating feature of the interest-based community.
7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein: the method
further comprises: receiving a request from the additional member
for access to the community-based dating feature of the
interest-based community; and providing, in response to receiving
the request from the additional member for access to the
community-based dating feature of the interest-based community, the
additional member with access to the community-based dating feature
of the interest-based community; and identifying the additional
member of the interest-based community who is an additional
participant in the dating service is based on providing the
additional member with access to the community-based dating feature
of the interest-based community.
8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein identifying
the additional member of the interest-based community comprises:
obtaining, from the user, data representative of at least one
desired user attribute for new user connections; and determining
that the additional member of the interest-based community shares
the desired user attribute.
9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein identifying
the additional member of the interest-based community further
comprises determining that the user and the additional member of
the interest-based community have at least a threshold level of
compatibility within the dating service.
10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving a selection of the additional member of the
interest-based community from the user; and presenting at least one
set of information associated with the dating service and the
additional member of the interest-based community to the user in
response to receiving the selection of the additional member of the
interest-based community.
11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein the set of
information comprises a dating profile of the additional member of
the interest-based community.
12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein: the
dating profile comprises a set of conversation starter elements;
and the method further comprises: presenting, within the dating
interface, a conversation interface that enables the user to start
a conversation with the additional member of the interest-based
community regarding at least one conversation starter element
included in the set of conversation starter elements; receiving,
via the conversation interface: a selection of at least one
conversation starter element included in the set of conversation
starter elements; and a conversation starter message from the user
to the additional member of the interest-based community regarding
the conversation starter element; and sending the conversation
starter message to the additional member of the interest-based
community.
13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein receiving
the conversation starter message from the user comprises:
receiving, via the conversation interface, at least one textual
element for inclusion in the conversation starter message; and
preventing inclusion of at least one restricted audiovisual element
in the conversation starter message.
14. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, further
comprising: determining whether the additional member of the
interest-based community has sent a response to the conversation
starter message to the user; upon determining that the additional
member of the interest-based community has sent the response to the
user, providing the response to the user within the dating
interface; and upon determining that the additional member of the
interest-based community has not sent the response, preventing the
user from sending an additional message to the additional member of
the interest-based community.
15. A system comprising: a determining module, stored in memory,
that determines that a user of a social networking system is both:
a participant in a dating service of the social networking system;
and a member of an interest-based community of the social
networking system that includes an activated community-based dating
feature that facilitates dating connections between members of the
interest-based community; a receiving module, stored in memory,
that receives a request from the user for access to the
community-based dating feature of the interest-based community; a
providing module, stored in memory, that provides, in response to
the receiving module receiving the request, the user with access to
the community-based dating feature of the interest-based community
by: identifying at least one additional member of the
interest-based community who is an additional participant in the
dating service; and presenting dating information associated with
the additional member of the interest-based community within a
dating interface of the social networking system; and at least one
physical processor that executes the determining module, the
receiving module, and the providing module.
16. The system of claim 15, wherein: the system further comprises
an activation management module, stored in memory, that: provides
an administrator of the interest-based community with a dating
feature control that enables the administrator to provide an
instruction to activate the community-based dating feature of the
interest-based community; receives, via the dating feature control,
the instruction to activate the community-based dating feature of
the interest-based community; and activates the community-based
dating feature of the interest-based community in response to
receiving the instruction to activate the community-based dating
feature associated with the interest-based community; and the
physical processor further executes the activation management
module.
17. The system of claim 16, wherein the activation management
module further: provides the administrator with a duration control
that enables the administrator to provide a duration of time for
the community-based dating feature of the interest-based community
to remain activated; receives the duration of time via the duration
control; and upon expiration of the duration of time, further
inactivates the community-based dating feature of the
interest-based community.
18. The system of claim 15, wherein: the receiving module further
receives a selection of the additional member of the interest-based
community from the user; and the providing module further provides
the user with access to the community-based dating feature by
presenting a dating profile of the additional member of the
interest-based community to the user in response to the receiving
module receiving the selection of the additional member of the
interest-based community.
19. The system of claim 18, wherein: the dating profile comprises a
set of conversation starter elements; and the providing module
further provides the user with access to the community-based dating
feature of the interest-based community by presenting, within the
dating interface, a conversation interface that enables the user to
start a conversation with the additional member of the
interest-based community regarding at least one conversation
starter element included in the set of conversation starter
elements; the receiving module further: receives, via the
conversation interface: a selection of at least one conversation
starter element included in the set of conversation starter
elements; and a conversation starter message from the user to the
additional member of the interest-based community regarding the
conversation starter element; and sends the conversation starter
message to the additional member of the interest-based
community.
20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising
computer-readable instructions that, when executed by at least one
processor of a computing system, cause the computing system to:
determine that a user of a social networking system is both: a
participant in a dating service of the social networking system;
and a member of an interest-based community of the social
networking system that includes an activated community-based dating
feature that facilitates dating connections between members of the
interest-based community; receive a request from the user for
access to the community-based dating feature of the interest-based
community; and provide, in response to receiving the request, the
user with access to the community-based dating feature of the
interest-based community by: identifying at least one additional
member of the interest-based community who is an additional
participant in the dating service; and presenting dating
information associated with the additional member of the
interest-based community within a dating interface of the social
networking system.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Application No. 62/665,478, filed May 1, 2018, U.S. Provisional
Application No. 62/720,493, filed Aug. 21, 2018, and U.S.
Provisional Application No. 62/757,128, filed Nov. 7, 2018, the
disclosure of each of which is incorporated, in its entirety, by
this reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Modern social networking systems have revolutionized how
people connect to and communicate with each other. For example,
users of social networking systems may share information (e.g.,
posts, news stories, media, etc.) with other users, join groups
that include other users who share common interests, and so forth.
Unfortunately, it may be difficult for users of a social networking
system to initiate new relationships with other users of the social
networking system.
[0003] For example, a user may wish to find a new romantic partner,
and therefore may wish to identify other users of the social
networking system who may be open to forming a new romantic
relationship and with whom the user may be compatible (e.g.,
socially compatible, romantically compatible, sexually compatible,
etc.). While some conventional social networking systems may allow
users to form and/or participate in communities of users who share
common interests, it may be difficult for a user who is a member of
such a user community to identify other members of the community
who may be open to forming new relationships and/or who may be
otherwise compatible with the user.
[0004] Hence, the instant disclosure identifies and addresses a
need for new systems and methods for providing a community-based
dating service for a social networking system.
SUMMARY
[0005] As will be described in greater detail below, the instant
disclosure describes various systems and methods for providing a
community-based dating service for a social networking system. In
one example, a computer-implemented method may include determining
that a user of a social networking system is both (1) a participant
in a dating service of the social networking system, and (2) a
member of an interest-based community of the social networking
system that includes an activated community-based dating feature
that facilitates dating connections between members of the
interest-based community. The method may further include receiving
a request from the user for access to the community-based dating
feature of the interest-based community. The method may also
include providing, in response to receiving the request, the user
with access to the community-based dating feature of the
interest-based community by (1) identifying at least one additional
member of the interest-based community who is an additional
participant in the dating service, and (2) presenting dating
information associated with the additional member of the
interest-based community within a dating interface of the social
networking system.
[0006] In some examples, the interest-based community may include
at least one of (1) a set of users of the social networking system
who have each indicated an interest in an event, or (2) a set of
users of the social networking system who have each indicated an
interest in a subject.
[0007] In at least one example, the method may further include
presenting, within the dating interface, a representation of the
interest-based community that includes an interface affordance that
indicates at least one of (1) whether the community-based dating
feature is activated for the interest-based community, or (2)
whether the user has been provided with access to the
community-based dating feature of the interest-based community. In
some examples, receiving the request from the user for access to
the community-based dating feature of the interest-based community
may include receiving the request via a user interaction with the
interface affordance.
[0008] In some embodiments, the method may further include
providing an administrator of the interest-based community with a
dating feature control that may enable the administrator to provide
an instruction to activate the community-based dating feature of
the interest-based community, and receiving, via the dating feature
control, the instruction to activate the community-based dating
feature of the interest-based community. In at least one
embodiment, the method may further include activating the
community-based dating feature of the interest-based community in
response to receiving the instruction to activate the
community-based dating feature associated with the interest-based
community.
[0009] In some examples, the method may further include providing
the administrator with a duration control that may enable the
administrator to provide a duration of time for the community-based
dating feature of the interest-based community to remain activated.
In at least one example, the method may also include receiving the
duration of time via the duration control and, upon expiration of
the duration of time, inactivating the community-based dating
feature of the interest-based community.
[0010] In some embodiments, the method may further include
inactivating the community-based dating feature of the
interest-based community upon expiration of a predetermined
duration of time following an activation of the community-based
dating feature of the interest-based community.
[0011] In at least one embodiment, the method may further include
receiving a request from the additional member for access to the
community-based dating feature of the interest-based community, and
providing, in response to receiving the request from the additional
member for access to the community-based dating feature of the
interest-based community, the additional member with access to the
community-based dating feature of the interest-based community. In
additional embodiments, identifying the additional member of the
interest-based community who is an additional participant in the
dating service may be based on providing the additional member with
access to the community-based dating feature of the interest-based
community.
[0012] In some examples, identifying the additional member of the
interest-based community may include (1) obtaining, from the user,
data representative of at least one desired user attribute for new
user connections, and (2) determining that the additional member of
the interest-based community shares the desired user attribute. In
at least one example, identifying the additional member of the
interest-based community may further include determining that the
user and the additional member of the interest-based community have
at least a threshold level of compatibility within the dating
service.
[0013] In some embodiments, the method may further include (1)
receiving a selection of the additional member of the
interest-based community from the user, and (2) presenting at least
one set of information associated with the dating service and the
additional member of the interest-based community to the user in
response to receiving the selection of the additional member of the
interest-based community. In at least one embodiment, the set of
information may include a dating profile of the additional member
of the interest-based community.
[0014] In some examples, the dating profile may include a set of
conversation starter elements. In additional examples, the method
may further include presenting, within the dating interface, a
conversation interface that may enable the user to start a
conversation with the additional member of the interest-based
community regarding at least one conversation starter element
included in the set of conversation starter elements. In some
examples, the method may further include receiving, via the
conversation interface, (1) a selection of at least one
conversation starter element included in the set of conversation
starter elements, and (2) conversation starter message from the
user to the additional member of the interest-based community
regarding the conversation starter element. In at least one
additional example, the method may further include sending the
conversation starter message to the additional member of the
interest-based community. In some examples, receiving the
conversation starter message from the user may include (1)
receiving, via the conversation interface, at least one textual
element for inclusion in the conversation starter message, and (2)
preventing inclusion of at least one restricted audiovisual element
in the conversation starter message.
[0015] In some embodiments, the method may further include
determining whether the additional member of the interest-based
community has sent a response to the conversation starter message
to the user. In at least one embodiment, the method may further
include, upon determining that the additional member of the
interest-based community has sent the response to the user,
providing the response to the user within the dating interface. In
some examples, the method may further include, upon determining
that the additional member of the interest-based community has not
sent the response, preventing the user from sending an additional
message to the additional member of the interest-based
community.
[0016] In addition, a corresponding system for providing a
community-based dating service for a social networking system may
include several modules stored in memory, including a determining
module that determines that a user of a social networking system is
both (1) a participant in a dating service of the social networking
system, and (2) a member of an interest-based community of the
social networking system that includes an activated community-based
dating feature that facilitates dating connections between members
of the interest-based community. The system may further include a
receiving module that receives a request from the user for access
to the community-based dating feature of the interest-based
community. The system may also include a providing module that
provides, in response to the receiving module receiving the
request, the user with access to the community-based dating feature
of the interest-based community. In some examples, the providing
module may provide the user with access to the community-based
dating feature of the interest-based community by (1) identifying
at least one additional member of the interest-based community who
is an additional participant in the dating service, and (2)
presenting dating information associated with the additional member
of the interest-based community within a dating interface of the
social networking system. The system may further include at least
one physical processor that executes the determining module, the
receiving module, and the providing module.
[0017] In some embodiments, the system may further include an
activation management module, stored in memory, that provides an
administrator of the interest-based community with a dating feature
control that may enable the administrator to provide an instruction
to activate the community-based dating feature of the
interest-based community. In some examples, the activation
management module may further receive, via the dating feature
control, the instruction to activate the community-based dating
feature of the interest-based community. In at least one example,
the activation management module may also, in response to receiving
the instruction to activate the community-based dating feature
associated with the interest-based community, activate the
community-based dating feature of the interest-based community. In
some embodiments, the physical processor may further execute the
activation management module.
[0018] In additional or alternative embodiments, the activation
management module may further provide the administrator with a
duration control that may enable the administrator to provide a
duration of time for the community-based dating feature of the
interest-based community to remain activated. In some embodiments,
the activation management module may also receive the duration of
time via the duration control, and may further, upon expiration of
the duration of time, inactivate the community-based dating feature
of the interest-based community.
[0019] In some embodiments, the receiving module may further
receive a selection of the additional member of the interest-based
community from the user. In at least one embodiment, the providing
module may further provide the user with access to the
community-based dating feature by presenting a dating profile of
the additional member of the interest-based community to the user
in response to the receiving module receiving the selection of the
additional member of the interest-based community.
[0020] In some examples, the dating profile may include a set of
conversation starter elements. In some examples, the providing
module may further provide the user with access to the
community-based dating feature of the interest-based community by
presenting, within the dating interface, a conversation interface
that may enable the user to start a conversation with the
additional member of the interest-based community regarding at
least one conversation starter element included in the set of
conversation starter elements. In some embodiments, the receiving
module may further receive, via the conversation interface (1) a
selection of at least one conversation starter element included in
the set of conversation starter elements, and (2) a conversation
starter message from the user to the additional member of the
interest-based community regarding the conversation starter
element. In at least one embodiment, the receiving module may also
send the conversation starter message to the additional member of
the interest-based community.
[0021] In some examples, the above-described method may be encoded
as computer-readable instructions on a computer-readable medium.
For example, a computer-readable medium may include one or more
computer-executable instructions that, when executed by at least
one processor of a computing device, may cause the computing device
to determine that a user of a social networking system is both (1)
a participant in a dating service of the social networking system,
and (2) a member of an interest-based community of the social
networking system that includes an activated community-based dating
feature that facilitates dating connections between members of the
interest-based community.
[0022] In some embodiments, the computer-readable medium may
include one or more computer-executable instructions that, when
executed by at least one processor of a computing device, may cause
the computing device to receive a request from the user for access
to the community-based dating feature of the interest-based
community.
[0023] In at least one embodiment, the computer-readable medium may
include one or more computer-executable instructions that, when
executed by at least one processor of a computing device, may cause
the computing device to provide, in response to receiving the
request, the user with access to the community-based dating feature
of the interest-based community by (1) identifying at least one
additional member of the interest-based community who is an
additional participant in the dating service, and (2) presenting
dating information associated with the additional member of the
interest-based community within a dating interface of the social
networking system.
[0024] Features from any of the above-mentioned embodiments may be
used in combination with one another in accordance with the general
principles described herein. These and other embodiments, features,
and advantages will be more fully understood upon reading the
following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings and claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0025] The accompanying drawings illustrate a number of example
embodiments and are a part of the specification. Together with the
following description, these drawings demonstrate and explain
various principles of the instant disclosure.
[0026] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example system for providing
a community-based dating service for a social networking
system.
[0027] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example implementation of a
system for providing a community-based dating service for a social
networking system.
[0028] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an example method for providing
a community-based dating service for a social networking
system.
[0029] FIG. 4 includes an example interface view that illustrates
providing a dating interface of a social networking system that
includes various representations of interest-based communities of
the social networking system in accordance with some embodiments
described herein.
[0030] FIGS. 5A-5B and FIG. 6 include interface views that
illustrate various examples of providing entry points from a social
networking interface into a dating interface of a dating service of
the social networking system in accordance with some embodiments
described herein.
[0031] FIG. 7 includes an interface view that illustrates an
example of presenting a home screen of a dating service of a social
networking system within a dating interface of the social
networking system in accordance with some embodiments described
herein.
[0032] FIGS. 8A-8C include interface views that illustrate examples
of presenting, within a dating interface of a social networking
system, dating information associated with a participant in a
dating service of a social networking system who is also a member
of an interest-based community in accordance with some embodiments
described herein.
[0033] FIGS. 9-10 include interface views that illustrate examples
of presenting, within a dating interface, a conversation interface
that may enable a user to start a conversation with an additional
member of the interest-based community in accordance with some
embodiments described herein.
[0034] FIG. 11 includes an interface view that illustrates
providing, within a dating interface of a social networking system,
a set of participants in the dating service who have indicated an
interest in a participant in the dating service in accordance with
some embodiments described herein.
[0035] FIGS. 12A-12C include interface views that illustrate a
messaging interface of a dating service of a social networking
system in accordance with some embodiments described herein.
[0036] Throughout the drawings, identical reference characters and
descriptions indicate similar, but not necessarily identical,
elements. While the exemplary embodiments described herein are
susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms,
specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the
drawings and will be described in detail herein. However, the
exemplary embodiments described herein are not intended to be
limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the instant
disclosure covers all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives
falling within the scope of the appended claims.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
[0037] The present disclosure is generally directed to systems and
methods for providing a community-based dating service for a social
networking system. As will be explained in greater detail below,
embodiments of the instant disclosure may determine that a user of
a social networking system is both (1) a participant in a dating
service of the social networking system, and (2) a member of an
interest-based community of the social networking system that
includes an activated community-based dating feature that
facilitates dating connections between members of the
interest-based community. Embodiments may also receive a request
from the user for access to the community-based dating feature and
may provide, in response to receiving the request, the user with
access to the community-based dating feature of the interest-based
community. In some examples, providing the user with access to the
community-based dating feature may include identifying an
additional member of the interest-based community who is also a
participant in the dating service. An embodiment may then present
dating information associated with the additional member of the
interest-based community within a dating interface of the social
networking system.
[0038] The systems and methods described herein may enable a user
of a social networking system to unlock dating features associated
with various interest-based communities (e.g., groups, events,
etc.) of which they are already members. Such a dating feature may
facilitate dating connections between members of interest-based
communities of a social networking system (e.g., groups, events,
pages, etc.). As members of these interest-based communities may
already share at least one common interest (e.g., an interest in a
subject associated with the interest-based community), facilitating
dating connections between such users may enable the users to make
stronger, longer-lasting, and/or more fulfilling dating connections
than may be possible through conventional dating services.
[0039] To illustrate, if a user is a member of an "I Love Corgis"
group and wishes to see if there are members within that group who
may be interested in making dating connections with other members
of the group, then one or more embodiments of this disclosure may
enable the user to opt-in to a dating feature associated with the
group. This may enable the user to view dating profiles of other
members of the group that have also opted in to participate in the
dating feature associated with the group.
[0040] Similarly, if a user recently attended a friend's birthday
party and met someone that they were interested in making a dating
connection with, one or more embodiments of the instant disclosure
may enable the user to opt-in to a dating feature associated with
an interest-based community associated with the event. This may
enable the user to see if the person of interest has also opted in
to the dating feature of the interest-based community, which may
indicate that the person of interest is also interested in making
dating connections with other users who attended the friend's
birthday party.
[0041] In some embodiments, one or more of modules 102 may provide
group administrators with tools to enable, disable, lock, or unlock
dating features or services for their group. For example, an event
planner for a funeral may disable, via an administrator interface,
a group-based dating feature for an event associated with the
funeral (e.g., an interest-based community organized around the
event of the funeral), while a wedding planner may enable, via an
administrator interface, a group-based dating service for an event
associated with the wedding. In some examples, embodiments may
filter dating profiles based on a variety of criteria, such as
sexual orientation, religion, likelihood of a good match with the
user, and so forth. In additional or alternative examples, access
to a dating feature of an interest-based community may be
time-limited (e.g., limited to one week following an event).
[0042] Additionally, one or more embodiments of the instant
disclosure may enable and/or disable one or more features
associated with an interest-based community and/or a
community-based dating feature associated with the interest-based
community in order to facilitate user privacy and/or security when
a user participates in the community-based dating feature
associated with the interest-based community. For example, an
embodiment may enable, limit, and/or disable a messaging service
associated with an interest-based community and/or a
community-based dating feature associated with the group based on
one or more criteria. Thus, a messaging service associated with a
group and/or a dating feature of an interest-based community may be
tailored and/or limited to enhance user safety and/or privacy
(e.g., messaging between two or more group members may be limited
to text only until certain criteria are met to avoid offensive
images, spam solicitations, etc.).
[0043] Furthermore, embodiments of the instant disclosure may
provide for a more efficient usage of telecommunications resources
(e.g., telecommunications infrastructure, bandwidth, etc.) than
traditional dating services. For example, the systems and methods
described herein may enable a participant in a dating service of a
social networking system to easily identify other participants in
the dating service who share common interests with the user. Hence,
the participant may discover potential dating connections by
accessing dating information associated with such identified
participants instead of randomly browsing profile information
associated with a potentially larger, less targeted set of
participants. This may conserve bandwidth resources of the
participant, the social networking system, and/or a
telecommunications infrastructure that connects the user to the
social networking system.
[0044] The following will provide, with reference to FIGS. 1-2 and
4-11, detailed descriptions of systems that may provide a
community-based dating service for a social networking system.
Detailed descriptions of corresponding computer-implemented methods
will also be provided in connection with FIG. 3.
[0045] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example system 100 for
providing a community-based dating service for a social networking
system. As illustrated in this figure, example system 100 may
include one or more modules 102 for performing one or more tasks.
As will be explained in greater detail below, modules 102 may
include a determining module 104 that may determine that a user of
a social networking system is both (1) a participant in a dating
service of the social networking system, and (2) a member of an
interest-based community of the social networking system that
includes an activated community-based dating feature that
facilitates dating connections between members of the
interest-based community. Example system 100 may further include a
receiving module 106 that receives a request from the user for
access to the community-based dating feature of the interest-based
community.
[0046] As further shown in FIG. 1, example system 100 may also
include a providing module 108 that may provide, in response to the
receiving module receiving the request, the user with access to the
community-based dating feature of the interest-based community. As
will be described in greater detail below, in some examples,
providing module 108 may provide a user with access to a
community-based dating feature of the interest-based community by
(1) identifying at least one additional member of the
interest-based community who is an additional participant in the
dating service, and (2) presenting dating information associated
with the additional member of the interest-based community within a
dating interface of the social networking system.
[0047] In some additional and/or alternative embodiments, example
system 100 may further include an activation management module 110
that may provide an administrator of the interest-based community
with a dating feature control that may enable the administrator to
provide an instruction to activate the community-based dating
feature of the interest-based community. In some examples,
activation management module 110 may also receive, via the dating
feature control, the instruction to activate the community-based
dating feature of the interest-based community. In at least one
example, activation management module 110 may also activate the
community-based dating feature of the interest-based community in
response to receiving the instruction to activate the
community-based dating feature associated with the interest-based
community.
[0048] As further illustrated in FIG. 1, example system 100 may
also include one or more memory devices, such as memory 120. Memory
120 generally represents any type or form of volatile or
non-volatile storage device or medium capable of storing data
and/or computer-readable instructions. In one example, memory 120
may store, load, and/or maintain one or more of modules 102.
Examples of memory 120 include, without limitation, Random Access
Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), flash memory, Hard Disk
Drives (HDDs), Solid-State Drives (SSDs), optical disk drives,
caches, variations or combinations of one or more of the same, or
any other suitable storage memory.
[0049] As further illustrated in FIG. 1, example system 100 may
also include one or more physical processors, such as physical
processor 130. Physical processor 130 generally represents any type
or form of hardware-implemented processing unit capable of
interpreting and/or executing computer-readable instructions. In
one example, physical processor 130 may access and/or modify one or
more of modules 102 stored in memory 120. Additionally or
alternatively, physical processor 130 may execute one or more of
modules 102 to facilitate providing a community-based dating
service for a social networking system. Examples of physical
processor 130 include, without limitation, microprocessors,
microcontrollers, central processing units (CPUs),
Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) that implement softcore
processors, Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs),
portions of one or more of the same, variations or combinations of
one or more of the same, or any other suitable physical
processor.
[0050] As also illustrated in FIG. 1, example system 100 may also
include one or more stores of data, such as data store 140. In at
least one example, data store 140 may include participant data 142
that may include information associated with users who are
participating in a dating service of the social networking system.
Furthermore, in some examples, participant data 142 may also
include, without limitation, data associated with one or more
attributes of a participant in a dating service of the social
networking system and/or data associated with a compatibility level
(e.g., an interpersonal compatibility level, a dating compatibility
level, etc.) of at least two participants in the dating service.
Data store 140 may represent portions of a single data store or
computing device or a plurality of data stores or computing
devices. In some embodiments, data store 140 may be a logical
container for data and may be implemented in various forms (e.g., a
database, a file, file system, a data structure, etc.). Examples of
data store 140 may include, without limitation, one or more files,
file systems, data stores, databases, and/or database management
systems such as an operational data store (ODS), a relational
database, a NoSQL database, a NewSQL database, and/or any other
suitable organized collection of data.
[0051] Example system 100 in FIG. 1 may be implemented in a variety
of ways. For example, all or a portion of example system 100 may
represent portions of an example system 200 ("system 200") in FIG.
2. As shown in FIG. 2, system 200 may include user device 202 in
communication with a social networking server 206 ("server 206")
and an administrator device 208 via network 204. In at least one
example, server 206 may be programmed with one or more of modules
102. Additionally or alternatively, user device 202 and/or
administrator device 208 may be programmed with one or more of
modules 102.
[0052] In at least one embodiment, one or more modules 102 from
FIG. 1 may, when executed by user device 202, server 206, and/or
administrator device 208, enable user device 202, server 206,
and/or administrator device 208 to perform one or more operations
to provide a community-based dating service for a social networking
system. For example, as will be described in greater detail below,
determining module 104 may cause user device 202, server 206,
and/or administrator device 208 to determine that a user (e.g.,
user 210) of a social networking system is both (1) a participant
in a dating service of the social networking system (e.g., dating
service 212), and (2) a member of an interest-based community of
the social networking system (e.g., interest-based community 214)
that includes an activated community-based dating feature (e.g.,
community-based dating feature 216) that facilitates dating
connections between members of the interest-based community.
[0053] Furthermore, receiving module 106 cause user device 202,
server 206, and/or administrator device 208 to receive a request
(e.g., request 218) from the user for access to the community-based
dating feature of the interest-based community. Additionally,
providing module 108 may cause user device 202, server 206, and/or
administrator device 208 to provide, in response to receiving
module 106 receiving the request (e.g., request 218), the user with
access to the community-based dating feature of the interest-based
community. In some examples, providing module 108 may provide the
user with access to the community-based dating feature of the
interest-based community by: (1) identifying at least one
additional member (e.g., additional member 220) of the
interest-based community who is an additional participant in the
dating service, and (2) presenting dating information associated
with the additional member of the interest-based community (e.g.,
additional member information 224, also referred to in FIG. 2 as
"add'l member information 224," that may be included in participant
data 142 as part of dating information 222) within a dating
interface of the social networking system (e.g., dating interface
226).
[0054] In at least one embodiment, one or more of modules 102
(e.g., providing module 108) may cause user device 202, server 206,
and/or administrator device 208 to present, within the dating
interface (e.g., dating interface 226), a representation of the
interest-based community (e.g., interest-based community
representation 228, also referred to herein as "IBC representation
228") that may include an interface affordance (e.g., affordance
230) that may indicate at least one of (1) whether the
community-based dating feature (e.g., community-based dating
feature 216) is activated for the interest-based community, and (2)
whether the user has been provided with access to. In some
embodiments, one or more of modules 102 (e.g., receiving module
106) may also receive the request (e.g., request 218) from the user
for access to the community-based dating feature of the
interest-based community by receiving the request via a user
interaction with the interface affordance (e.g., affordance
230).
[0055] In some additional or alternative embodiments, activation
management module 110 may cause user device 202, server 206, and/or
administrator device 208 to provide an administrator of the
interest-based community (e.g., administrator 232) with a dating
feature control (e.g., dating feature control 236 included as part
of administrator interface 234) that may enable the administrator
to provide an instruction (e.g., activation instruction 238) to
activate the community-based dating feature of the interest-based
community. In some examples, activation management module 110 may
additionally or alternatively cause user device 202, server 206,
and/or administrator device 208 to receive, via the dating feature
control (e.g., dating feature control 236), the instruction (e.g.,
activation instruction 238) to activate the community-based dating
feature (e.g., community-based dating feature 216) of the
interest-based community (e.g., interest-based community 214). In
at least one example, activation management module may cause user
device 202, server 206, and/or administrator device 208 to activate
the community-based dating feature (e.g., community-based dating
feature 216) of the interest-based community (e.g., interest-based
community 214) in response to receiving the instruction (e.g.,
activation instruction 238) to activate the community-based dating
feature associated with the interest-based community.
[0056] In some embodiments, activation management module 110 may
also cause user device 202, server 206, and/or administrator device
208 to provide the administrator (e.g., administrator 232) with a
duration control (e.g., duration control 240 within administrator
interface 234) that may enable the administrator to provide a
duration of time (e.g., duration 242) for the community-based
dating feature (e.g., community-based dating feature 216) of the
interest-based community (e.g., interest-based community 214) to
remain activated. In some examples, activation management module
110 may also cause user device 202, server 206, and/or
administrator device 208 to receive the duration of time (e.g.,
duration 242) via the duration control (e.g., duration control
240), and, upon expiration of the duration of time, inactivate the
community-based dating feature of the interest-based community.
[0057] In some examples, one or more of modules 102 (e.g.,
providing module 108) may also cause user device 202, server 206,
and/or administrator device 208 to obtain, from the user (e.g.,
user 210), data representative of at least one desired user
attribute (e.g., desired user attribute 246) for new user
connections. In some examples, providing module 108 may cause user
device 202, server 206, and/or administrator device 208 to identify
the additional member (e.g., additional member 220) of the
interest-based community (e.g., interest-based community 214) by
determining that the additional member of the interest-based
community shares the desired user attribute (e.g., by accessing
user attribute data 244 that may be included in participant data
142).
[0058] In at least one embodiment, providing module 108 may cause
user device 202, server 206, and/or administrator device 208 to
identify the additional member (e.g., additional member 220) of the
interest-based community (e.g., interest-based community 214) by
further determining that the user (e.g., user 210) and the
additional member (e.g., additional member 220) of the
interest-based community (e.g., interest-based community 214) have
at least a threshold level of compatibility (e.g., compatibility
level 248 that may be included as part of participant data 142)
within the dating service.
[0059] In at least one example, one or more of modules 102 (e.g.,
receiving module 106, providing module 108, etc.) may cause user
device 202, server 206, and/or administrator device 208 to receive
a selection (e.g., selection 250) of the additional member (e.g.,
additional member 220) of the interest-based community (e.g.,
interest-based community 214) from the user (e.g., user 210). In
additional examples, one or more of modules 102 (e.g., providing
module 108) may cause user device 202, server 206, and/or
administrator device 208 to present at least one set of information
associated with the dating service and the additional member of the
interest-based community to the user in response to receiving the
selection of the additional member of the interest-based
community.
[0060] User device 202 generally represents any type or form of
computing device capable of reading and/or executing
computer-executable instructions. In at least one embodiment, user
device 202 may accept one or more directions from server 206 and/or
administrator device 208. Examples of user device 202 include,
without limitation, servers, desktops, laptops, tablets, cellular
phones, (e.g., smartphones), personal digital assistants (PDAs),
multimedia players, embedded systems, wearable devices (e.g., smart
watches, smart glasses, etc.), gaming consoles, combinations of one
or more of the same, or any other suitable mobile computing
device.
[0061] Network 204 generally represents any medium or architecture
capable of facilitating communication and/or data transfer between
user device 202, server 206, and/or administrator device 208.
Examples of network 204 include, without limitation, an intranet, a
WAN, a LAN, a Personal Area Network (PAN), the Internet, Power Line
Communications (PLC), a cellular network (e.g., a Global System for
Mobile Communications (GSM) network, a code-division multiple
access (CDMA) network, a Long-Term Evolution (LTE) network, etc.),
universal serial bus (USB) connections, and the like. Network 204
may facilitate communication or data transfer using wireless or
wired connections. In one embodiment, network 204 may facilitate
communication between user device 202, server 206, and
administrator device 208.
[0062] Server 206 generally represents any type or form of
computing device capable of reading and/or executing
computer-executable instructions and/or hosting executables.
Examples of server 206 include, without limitation, application
servers, storage servers, database servers, web servers, and/or any
other suitable computing device configured to run certain software
applications and/or provide various application, storage, and/or
database services.
[0063] Like user device 202, administrator device 208 generally
represents any type or form of computing device capable of reading
and/or executing computer-executable instructions. In at least one
embodiment, administrator device 208 may accept one or more
directions from user device 202 and/or server 206. Examples of
administrator device 208 include, without limitation, servers,
laptops, tablets, cellular phones, (e.g., smartphones), personal
digital assistants (PDAs), multimedia players, embedded systems,
wearable devices (e.g., smart watches, smart glasses, etc.), gaming
consoles, combinations of one or more of the same, or any other
suitable mobile computing device. In at least one example,
administrator device 208 may present an administrator (e.g.,
administrator 232) of an interest-based community (e.g.,
interest-based community 214) with one or more controls to
administer the interest-based community. For example, in at least
one embodiment, administrator device 208 may, when directed by one
or more of modules 102 (e.g., activation management module 110)
present an administrator interface (e.g., administrator interface
234) to an administrator (e.g., administrator 232) of an
interest-based community (e.g., interest-based community 214). In
some examples, the administrator interface may include a dating
feature control (e.g., dating feature control 236) and/or a
duration control (e.g., duration control 240).
[0064] In at least one example, user device 202, server 206, and
administrator device 208 may be computing devices programmed with
one or more of modules 102. All or a portion of the functionality
of modules 102 may be performed by user device 202, server 206,
administrator device 208, and/or any other suitable computing
system. As will be described in greater detail below, one or more
of modules 102 from FIG. 1 may, when executed by at least one
processor of user device 202, server 206, and/or administrator
device 208, may enable user device 202, server 206, and/or
administrator device 208 to provide a community-based dating
service for a social networking system.
[0065] Many other devices or subsystems may be connected to system
100 in FIG. 1 and/or system 200 in FIG. 2. Conversely, all of the
components and devices illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 need not be
present to practice the embodiments described and/or illustrated
herein. The devices and subsystems referenced above may also be
interconnected in different ways from those shown in FIG. 2.
Systems 100 and 200 may also employ any number of software,
firmware, and/or hardware configurations. For example, one or more
of the example embodiments disclosed herein may be encoded as a
computer program (also referred to as computer software, software
applications, computer-readable instructions, and/or computer
control logic) on a computer-readable medium.
[0066] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an example computer-implemented
method 300 for providing a community-based dating service for a
social networking system. The steps shown in FIG. 3 may be
performed by any suitable computer-executable code and/or computing
system, including system 100 in FIG. 1, system 200 in FIG. 2,
and/or variations or combinations of one or more of the same. In
one example, each of the steps shown in FIG. 3 may represent an
algorithm whose structure includes and/or is represented by
multiple sub-steps, examples of which will be provided in greater
detail below.
[0067] As illustrated in FIG. 3, at step 310, one or more of the
systems described herein may determine that a user of a social
networking system is both (1) a participant in a dating service of
the social networking system, and (2) a member of an interest-based
community of the social networking system that includes an
activated community-based dating feature that facilitates dating
connections between members of the interest-based community. For
example, determining module 104 may, as part of user device 202,
server 206, or administrator device 208 in FIG. 2, cause user
device 202, server 206, and/or administrator device 208 to
determine that user 210 of a social networking system is both (1) a
participant in a dating service of the social networking system,
and (2) a member of interest-based community 214 that includes
activated community-based dating feature 216.
[0068] In some examples, a "dating service" or "dating service
within a social networking system" may be any service of a social
networking system that manages dating connections and/or shares,
compiles, formats, and/or broadcasts information based on dating
connections. In some examples, a "dating connection" and "a
connection within a dating service" may be any social connection
between at least two participants of a dating service of a social
networking system that represents an interest by at least one of
the participants in engaging in dating practices with the other
participant or participants.
[0069] In some examples, an "interest-based community" and/or an
"interest-based community of a social networking system" may
include a gathering of people assembled around a subject of common
interest. Examples of subjects of common interest may include,
without limitation, persons, events, places, physical objects,
virtual objects, concepts, themes, problems, propositions,
expressions, fields, businesses, organizations, issues, works, and
so forth. In some examples, a social networking system may provide
one or more features that may facilitate users of the social
networking system forming, maintaining, managing, administering,
joining, and/or engaging with interest-based communities. For
example, a social networking system may provide a "groups" feature
that may enable one or more users to establish, join, interact
with, and/or administer an interest-based community surrounding a
particular subject. Additionally or alternatively, a social
networking system may provide an "events" feature that may enable
one or more users to establish, join, interact with, and/or
administer an interest-based community surrounding a particular
event, such as a concert, a social gathering, a meeting, and so
forth. Furthermore, a social networking system may provide a
"pages" feature that may enable one or more users to follow other
users.
[0070] In some examples, a "community-based dating feature," a
"community-based dating feature of a social networking system,"
and/or a "community-based dating feature associated with an
interest-based community" may include a feature of a social
networking system that facilitates (e.g., establishes, promotes,
furthers, expedites, provides tools for, etc.) formation,
maintenance, and/or dissolution of dating connections between
members of interest-based communities. For example, a
community-based dating feature may identify members of an
interest-based community who are participants in a dating service
of a social networking system to other members of the
interest-based community who are also participants in the dating
service of the social networking system. This may enable users who
share common interests (e.g., users who are both members of an
interest-based community) to form dating connections with each
other. By facilitating dating connections between users who already
share common interests, a community-based dating feature of a
social networking system may enable users to form strong,
enjoyable, and valuable dating connections with other users of the
social networking system more efficiently than via conventional
electronic dating systems.
[0071] Determining module 104 may determine that user 210 is both
(1) a participant in a dating service of a social networking
system, and (2) a member of interest-based community 214 that
includes activated community-based dating feature 216 in a variety
of contexts. For example, as described above, participant data 142
as maintained by data store 140 may include information associated
with participants in a dating service of a social networking
system. Hence, participant data may include one or more indicators
(e.g., a data field, a database record, a file, portions of one or
more of the same, etc.) that may indicate that user 210 is a
participant in a dating service of the social networking system
and/or that user 210 is a member of an interest-based community of
the social networking system. Determining module 104 may therefore
determine that user 210 is both (1) a participant in a dating
service of a social networking system, and (2) a member of
interest-based community 214 that includes activated
community-based dating feature 216 by accessing participant data
142 and/or by analyzing participant data 142 to identify one or
more such indicators that may be included in participant data
142.
[0072] Returning to FIG. 3, at step 320, one or more of the systems
described herein may receive a request from a user for access to
the community-based dating feature of the interest-based community.
For example, receiving module 106 may, as part of user device 202,
server 206, or administrator device 208 in FIG. 2, cause user
device 202, server 206, and/or administrator device 208 to receive
request 218 for access to community-based dating feature 216 of
interest-based community 214.
[0073] In some examples, a "request" may include any information
that indicates that a user (e.g., user 210) of a social networking
system desires to participate in a community-based dating feature
of an interest-based community that may facilitate dating
connections between members of the interest-based community. For
example, a request (e.g., request 218) may include an instruction
for one or more of the systems described herein to provide user 210
with access to community-based dating feature of an interest-based
community. In some examples, a request (e.g., request 218) may
further include, without limitation, a message from the user to
other members of the interest-based community who are participating
in the community-based dating feature, a set attributes of the
user, at least one desired user attribute for new user connections,
and so forth.
[0074] Receiving module 106 may receive request 218 from user 210
in a variety of contexts. For example, user 210 may submit a
request to participate in the discovery service via a dating
interface of a social networking system (dating interface 226).
Receiving module 106 may then receive request 218 from the dating
interface via any suitable communications medium (e.g., network
204).
[0075] In some examples, one or more of the systems described
herein (e.g., one or more of modules 102) may present, within a
dating interface, a representation of the interest-based community
that may include an interface affordance that indicates at least
one of (1) whether the community-based dating feature is activated
for the interest-based community, and (2) whether the user has been
provided with access to dating information associated with members
of the interest-based community who are also participants in the
dating service. In at least one example, receiving module 106 may
receive the request from the user for access to the community-based
dating feature of the interest-based community by receiving the
request via a user interaction with the interface affordance.
[0076] In some examples, an "interface affordance" may include any
interface element that indicates at least one of (1) whether a
community-based dating feature is activated for an interest-based
community, and (2) whether the user has been provided with access
to dating information associated with members of the interest-based
community who are also participants in the dating service. For
example, as a user of a social networking system (e.g., user 210)
who is a participant in a dating service of a social networking
system interacts with a dating interface of the social networking
system (e.g., dating interface 226), the interface may present an
interface affordance that may be associated with (e.g., included
in) a representation of an interest-based community (e.g., IBC
representation 228). In some examples, the interest-based community
may be an interest-based community that the user is a member of
(e.g., interest-based community 214). In such examples, the
interface affordance may indicate (1) whether a community-based
dating feature is activated for the interest-based community,
and/or (2) whether the user has been provided with access to a
community-based dating feature of the interest-based community.
[0077] In at least one example, one or more of the systems
described herein (e.g., providing module 108) may indicate one or
more relationships between a user and a community-based dating
feature via the interface affordance. For example, when
community-based dating feature 216 is not active for interest-based
community 214, providing module 108 may present affordance 230
within dating interface 226 as a first image (e.g., an icon
indicating that the community-based dating feature is not active, a
blank space at a specific position within IBC representation 228,
etc.). If community-based dating feature 216 is active, but user
210 has not been provided with access to community-based dating
feature 216, providing module 108 may present affordance 230 within
dating interface 226 as a second image (e.g., an image of a locked
padlock). If community-based dating feature 216 is active for
interest-based community 214 and user 210 has been provided with
access to community-based dating feature 216, providing module 108
may present affordance 230 within dating interface 226 as a third
image (e.g., an image of an unlocked padlock).
[0078] By way of illustration, FIG. 4 includes an example interface
view 400 that illustrates a dating interface of a social networking
system that includes various representations of interest-based
communities of the social networking system. For example, FIG. 4
includes a representation 402 of an interest-based community
associated with an event (e.g., a concert by a performer "DJ
Bravo"). This may indicate that a user who may be accessing a
dating service of the social networking system via the illustrated
dating interface may be a member of the interest-based community
represented by representation 402. As shown, representation 402
includes an interface affordance 404 that includes an image of a
locked padlock. Hence, interface affordance 404 may indicate that a
community-based dating feature is activated for the interest-based
community represented by representation 402, and that the user has
not been provided with access to the community-based dating feature
of the interest-based community represented by representation
402.
[0079] FIG. 4 also includes a representation 406 of an
internet-based community associated with a subject (e.g., "JSC
Alumni Class of 2018"). This may indicate that the user who may be
accessing the dating service via the illustrated dating interface
may be a member of the interest-based community represented by
representation 406. As shown, representation 406 includes an
interface affordance 408 that includes an image of an unlocked
padlock. Hence, interface affordance 408 may indicate that a
community-based dating feature is activated for the interest-based
community represented by representation 406, and that the user has
been provided with access to the community-based dating feature of
the interest-based community represented by representation 402.
[0080] In some examples, receiving module 106 may receive a request
(e.g., request 218) from the user for access to a community-based
dating feature of an interest-based community by receiving the
request via a user interaction with an interface affordance
included in a representation of the interest-based community. For
example, continuing with the example illustrated in FIG. 4, a user
may interact with (e.g., tap on, click on, select, etc.) interface
affordance 404. The interaction may cause receiving module 106 to
receive request 218 (e.g., information representative of a request
from the user for access to the community-based dating feature of
the interest-based community represented by representation 406.)
Hence, a user may "unlock" a community-based dating feature of the
interest-based community represented by representation 406 by
interacting with (e.g., tapping on, clicking on, selecting, etc.)
interface affordance 408.
[0081] Returning to FIG. 3, at step 330, one or more of the systems
described herein may provide, in response to receiving a request, a
user with access to a community-based dating feature of an
interest-based community by (1) identifying at least one additional
member of the interest-based community who is an additional
participant in the dating service, and (2) presenting dating
information associated with the additional member of the
interest-based community within a dating interface of the social
networking system. For example, providing module 108 may, as part
of user device 202, server 206, and/or administrator device 208 in
FIG. 2, cause user device 202, server 206, and/or administrator
device 208 to provide, in response to receiving request 218, user
210 with access to community-based dating feature 216 of
interest-based community 214 by (1) identifying additional member
220 who is an additional participant in dating service 212, and (2)
presenting additional member information 224 within dating
interface 226.
[0082] Providing module 108 may perform the foregoing operations in
a variety of contexts. For example, providing module 108 may
identify additional member 220 by accessing and/or analyzing
participant data 142 to identify one or more indicators that may
indicate that additional member 220 is an additional participant in
dating service 212. Participant data 142 as maintained by data
store 140 may include information associated with participants in a
dating service of a social networking system. Hence, participant
data may include one or more indicators (e.g., a data field, a
database record, a file, portions of one or more of the same, etc.)
that may indicate that an additional member 220 is a participant in
dating service 212 and/or that additional member 220 is a member of
interest-based community 214. Providing module 108 may therefore
identify additional member 220 by accessing participant data 142
and/or by analyzing participant data 142 to identify one or more
such indicators that may be included in participant data 142.
[0083] In at least one example, providing module 108 may identify
additional member 220 by obtaining, from user 210, data
representative of at least one desired user attribute for new user
connections (e.g., desired user attribute 246), and determining
that additional member 220 shares the desired user attribute.
[0084] In some examples, a "user attribute" may be any quality or
characteristic that may be associated with a user of a social
networking system. In some examples, a user attribute may include,
without limitation, a characteristic (e.g., physical, mental,
intellectual, etc.), a trait, an aspect, a property, and/or a
state. For example, desired user attribute 246 may include an
indication that user 210 is located in a particular geographic area
and/or wishes to connect with other users in the particular
geographic area, an indication that user 210 is employed by a
particular employer and/or wishes to connect with other users who
are also employed by the particular employer, an indication that
user 210 is a participant of a dating service of a social
networking system and wishes to connect with other users who are
also participants of the dating service, and so forth.
[0085] Providing module 108 may obtain desired user attribute 246
from user 210 in any suitable way. For example, user 210 may submit
desired user attribute 246 via a dating interface of a social
networking system (e.g., dating interface 226). Obtaining module
106 may then obtain desired user attribute 246 from the user
interface via an internal messaging service of the social
networking system that facilitates communication among various
services, modules, and/or users of the social networking system. As
noted above, in some examples, desired user attribute 246 may be
included with (e.g., incorporated as part of, communicated to
providing module 108 contemporaneously with, etc.) request 218.
[0086] Providing module 108 may determine that additional member
220 possesses desired user attribute 246 in a variety of contexts.
For example, providing module 108 may determine that additional
member 220 possesses the desired user attribute by accessing user
attribute data 244 included in participant data 142 stored in data
store 140. Providing module 108 may then determine that additional
user 220 is a participant in the dating service of the social
networking system and that additional user 220 possesses the
desired user attribute based on user attribute data 244, and may
identify additional user 220 based on that determination.
[0087] For example, user 210 may be geographically located in Palo
Alto, Calif. Desired user attribute 246 may indicate that user 210
desires to connect with other users who are also located in Palo
Alto, Calif. User attribute data 244 may indicate that additional
member 220 is also geographically located in Palo Alto, Calif.
Providing module 108 may access participant data 142, determine
that additional member 220 possesses the desired user attribute of
being geographically located in Palo Alto, Calif. based on user
attribute data 244, and may identify additional member 220 based on
that determination.
[0088] In some examples, providing module 108 may identify
additional member 220 by determining that user 210 and additional
member 220 have at least a threshold level of compatibility within
a dating service. In some examples, a "level of compatibility"
and/or "compatibility level" may include any metric that may
indicate a degree to which two participants of a dating service may
be romantically compatible with each other. A level of
compatibility may be determined based on any suitable criteria
including, without limitation, common attributes (e.g., income,
socioeconomic status, religious views, etc.) of user 210 and
additional member 220, previous dating experiences of user 210
and/or additional member 220, previous relationships of user 210
and/or additional member 220, and so forth.
[0089] For example, a threshold level of compatibility may be 10
compatibility points. User 210 and additional member 220 may both
be participants of the dating service and may share a particular
attribute that may correlate with romantic compatibility, such as a
set of common religious views. Based on user 210 and additional
member 220 sharing this common attribute, the dating service may
assign user 210 and additional member 220 a compatibility level 248
of 10 compatibility points, and may store compatibility level 220
as part of participant data 142. In this example, providing module
108 may identify additional member 220 by accessing compatibility
level 248 included in participant data 142, and determining that
compatibility level 248, at 10 compatibility points, meets or
exceeds the threshold level of compatibility of 10 compatibility
points. Therefore, providing module 108 may identify additional
member 220 by determining that user 210 and additional member 220
have at least the threshold level of compatibility within the
dating service.
[0090] In some contexts, providing module 108 may identify the
additional member (e.g., additional member 220) by determining that
the additional member is excluded from a set of friends of the user
(e.g., user 210) and/or that the user (e.g., user 210) is excluded
from a set of friends of the additional member. In at least this
way, the systems and methods described herein may limit providing
module 108 to identifying (e.g., as potential connections) members
of the interest-based community who are not already friends of user
210. Thus, the systems and methods described herein may identify
additional member 220 when additional member 220 may not already be
a friend of user 210 and/or user 210 may not already be a friend of
additional member 220.
[0091] Furthermore, participant data 142 may include dating
information 222 associated with participants in dating service 212,
and may therefore include additional member information 224 that
may include dating information associated with additional member
220. For example, dating information 222 may include, without
limitation, a textual message from additional member 220 to other
participants in the dating service, a listing of interests of
additional member 220, a set of attributes of additional member 220
(e.g., physical attributes, geographic location, sexual
orientation, sexual identity, religious views, etc.), a set of
attributes that additional member 220 desires in potential dating
connections, a media content item (e.g., video, audio, image, text,
etc.) associated with and/or selected by additional member 220, and
so forth.
[0092] Hence, providing module 108 may present additional member
information 224 within dating interface 226 by accessing dating
information 222, identifying at least a portion of dating
information 222 that may be associated with additional member 220,
designating the identified portion of dating information 222 that
may be associated with additional member 220 as additional member
information 224, transferring additional member information 224 to
user device 202, and/or directing user device 202 to present
additional member information 224 within dating interface 226.
[0093] In at least some embodiments, one or more of the systems
described herein (e.g., providing module 108) may provide one or
more additional features of a dating service. For example,
providing module 108 may, as part of user device 202, server 206,
and/or administrator device 208, cause user device 202, server 206,
and/or administrator device 208 to provide at least one entry point
from a social networking interface into a dating interface of the
social networking system. In some examples, an "entry point" into a
dating interface may include any interface and/or interface element
that may, when interacted with by a user of a social networking
system, cause one or more systems described herein to provide the
user with a dating interface (e.g., dating interface 226).
[0094] By way of illustration, FIGS. 5A-5B and FIG. 6 may include
interface views that illustrate various examples of providing entry
points from a social networking interface into a dating interface
of a dating service of the social networking system in accordance
with some embodiments described herein. As shown in FIG. 5A,
interface view 500 may show an interface of a social networking
system that includes an interface element 502. One or more systems
described herein (e.g., receiving module 106, providing module 108,
etc.) may cause user device 202, server 206, and/or administrator
device 208 to detect a user interaction with interface element 502.
Upon detecting the user interaction, one or more of the systems
described herein (e.g., providing module 108) may cause user device
202, server 206, and/or administrator device 208 to provide an
interface for the discovery service. Furthermore, FIG. 5B may show
an interface view 510 of a discovery service interface of a social
networking system. As shown, FIG. 5B further includes a dating
service entry point 512. When a user interacts with (e.g., touches,
clicks, selects, etc.) dating service entry point 512, one or more
of the systems described herein (e.g., providing module 108) may
detect the interaction and may, in response, provide the user with
a dating interface (e.g., dating interface 226).
[0095] FIG. 6 shows an alternative interface view 600 that includes
a dating service entry point 602 and a dating service entry point
604. When a user (e.g., user 210) interacts with (e.g., touches,
clicks, selects, etc.) dating service entry point 602 or dating
service entry point 604, one or more of the systems described
herein (e.g., providing module 108) may cause user device 202,
server 206, and/or administrator device 208 to provide, via user
device 202, server 206, and/or administrator device 208, a dating
interface (e.g., dating interface 226).
[0096] FIG. 7 includes an interface view 700 that illustrates an
example of presenting a home screen of a dating service of a social
networking system within a dating interface of the social
networking system in accordance with some embodiments described
herein. Upon detecting a user interaction with one or more dating
service entry points (e.g., dating service entry point 512, dating
service entry point 602, and/or dating service entry point 604),
one or more of modules 102 (e.g., providing module 108) may provide
interface view 700 that includes various interface elements that
may enable a user to interact with a dating service (e.g., dating
service 226). For example, one or more of the systems described
herein (e.g., one or more of modules 102) may detect a user
interaction with dating profile interface element 702, which may
cause one or more of the systems described herein to provide a view
of a dating profile of the user. As will be described in greater
detail below, FIG. 7 also includes an image 704, an interested
control 706, and a conversation control 708.
[0097] In some examples, a "dating profile" may include any
suitable information that a participant in the dating service of
the social network (e.g., user 210 and/or additional member 220)
may wish to share with other participants in the dating service
and/or may wish to keep private from users of the social networking
system who are not participating in the dating service. For
example, a dating profile for user 210 may include, without
limitation, an image of user 210, a text description of user 210, a
set of interests of user 210, a relationship status of user 210, a
geographic location associated with user 210, a set of physical
attributes of user 210, and so forth.
[0098] Additionally or alternatively, a dating profile for
additional member 220 may include, without limitation, an image of
additional member 220, a text description of additional member 220,
a set of interests of additional member 220, a relationship status
of additional member 220, a geographic location associated with
additional member 220, a set of physical attributes of additional
member 220, and so forth. In some examples, dating profiles of
participants in the dating service may be included as a part of
dating information 222 in participant data 142.
[0099] As described above, one or more of the systems described
herein (e.g., one or more of modules 102) may present dating
information associated with an identified additional member of an
interest-based community (e.g., additional member information 224
associated with additional member 220 of interest-based community
214) within a dating interface (e.g., dating interface 226) of a
social networking system. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, image
704 may include dating information associated with an additional
member of an interest-based community who is also a participant in
a dating service of the social networking system and/or who has
also requested and been provided access to the community-based
dating feature associated with the interest-based community.
[0100] A user may interact with (e.g., tap on, click on, select,
etc.) image 704. One or more of modules 102 (e.g., receiving module
106, providing module 108, etc.) may cause user device 202, server
206, and/or administrator device 208 to receive a selection (e.g.,
selection 250) of the additional member (e.g., a selection of
additional member "Douglas" indicated by image 704). One or more of
modules 102 (e.g., receiving module 106, providing module 108,
etc.) may cause user device 202, server 206, and/or administrator
device 208 to present at least one set of information associated
with the additional member of the interest-based community to the
user in response to receiving the selection of the additional
member of the interest-based community. In some examples, the set
of information may include a dating profile of the additional
member of the interest-based community.
[0101] FIGS. 8A-8C include interface views that illustrate examples
of presenting, within a dating interface of a social networking
system, dating information associated with a participant in a
dating service of a social networking system who is also a member
of an interest-based community. As shown in these figures, a user
(e.g., user 210) may have selected (e.g., tapped on an image
presented within a dating interface of) an additional member named
Saleem. Interface view 800 shown in FIG. 8A, interface view 810
shown in FIG. 8B, and interface view 820 shown in FIG. 8C
illustrate examples of information associated with the dating
service (e.g., dating service 212) and additional member Saleem
that one or more of the systems described herein (e.g., one or more
of modules 102) may present to the user in response to receiving
the user's selection of additional member Saleem, such as portions
of Saleem's dating profile.
[0102] FIG. 8C further includes a pass control 822 and an interest
control 824. A user viewing the dating profile shown in FIGS. 8A-8C
may select one of these controls to indicate whether they are
interested in the participant shown in the dating profile. For
example, if the user is not interested in making a dating
connection with Saleem, the user may select pass control 822, which
may cause one or more of the systems described herein to no longer
present Saleem and/or Saleem's dating profile to the user.
Conversely, if the user is interested in making a dating connection
with Saleem, the user may select interest control 824, which may
cause one or more of the systems described herein to present a
conversation starter interface to the user.
[0103] FIGS. 9-10 include interface views that illustrate examples
of presenting, within a dating interface, a conversation starter
interface that may enable a user to start a conversation with an
additional member of the interest-based community. FIG. 9 includes
interface view 900 that may enable a user to select one or more
conversation starter elements. In some examples, a "conversation
starter element" may include any data associated with a participant
in a social networking system that may be selected by other users
of the social networking system to initiate a conversation with the
user within a conversation starter interface. Conversation starter
elements may include, without limitation, images, text, a set of
interests, geographic locations, and so forth. In some examples,
conversation starter elements may be included in and/or selected
from a dating profile of a user. A user may select one or more
conversation starter elements and may write a conversation starter
message to the additional member. FIG. 10 includes an interface
view 1000 that shows a user entering a message to an additional
member regarding a conversation starter element. In some examples,
one or more of the systems described herein (e.g., one or more of
modules 102) may prevent inclusion of a restricted audiovisual
element, such as an image, an audio file, a harassing text message,
etc., within the conversation starter message. Hence, in some
examples, the conversation starter message may be limited to text
and/or the conversation starter element. This may prevent users
from engaging in harassing behavior.
[0104] One or more of the systems described herein (e.g., one or
more of modules 102) may receive the selection and the message, and
may send the conversation starter message, that may include the
selected conversation starter element, to the additional member of
the interest-based community. In some embodiments, one or more of
the systems described herein may determine whether the additional
member has sent a response to the conversation starter message to
the user. If the additional member has sent a response, the
response may be provided to the user within the dating interface
(e.g., whiting a messaging interface of the dating interface). If
the additional member has not sent a response, one or more of the
systems described herein (e.g., one or more of modules 102) may
prevent the user from sending an additional message to the
additional member. This may further prevent users from engaging in
harassing behavior.
[0105] Returning to FIG. 7, a user may select interested control
706 to access an interface view that may show dating information
associated with other participants in the dating service who have
indicated an interest in the user. FIG. 11 includes an interface
view 1100 that illustrates providing, within a dating interface of
a social networking system, a set of participants in the dating
service who have indicated an interest in a participant. As shown
in FIG. 11, a participant "Danny" has indicated an interest in a
user and has sent the user a conversation starter message 1102. The
user may choose to respond to the message, ignore it, and/or to
have it removed from the dating interface. If the user chooses to
respond to the message, one or more of the systems described herein
may provide a messaging interface of the dating service that may
enable the user to respond to the conversation starter message
and/or continue a conversation with other users who have indicated
an interest in the user.
[0106] FIGS. 12A-12C may include interface views that illustrate a
messaging interface of a dating service of a social networking
system in accordance with some embodiments described herein. A user
may be presented with interface view 1200 upon choosing to respond
to a conversation starter message. Additionally or alternatively, a
user may be presented with interface view 1200 upon selecting
conversation control 708 shown in FIG. 7. As shown, interface view
1200 shows conversation 1202, which represents a conversation that
the user is conducting with another participant named Roy. FIG. 12B
includes interface view 1210, which may illustrate a messaging
interface that shows an ongoing conversation between the user and
Roy. FIG. 12C includes interface view 1220, which illustrates a
user responding to a message from Roy by entering a message in text
box 1222. The messaging interface may enable participants in the
dating service to carry on conversations with each other separately
from other messaging interfaces that may be provided by the social
networking system.
[0107] In additional embodiments, one or more of the systems
described herein may perform one or more operations to enable an
administrator to activate a community-based dating feature of an
interest-based community. For example, activation management module
110 may, as part of user device 202, server 206, and/or
administrator device 208 in FIG. 2, provide administrator 232 with
dating feature control 236 that may enable administrator 232 to
provide an instruction to activate community-based dating feature
216 of interest-based community 214. Additionally, activation
management module 110 may, as part of user device 202, server 206,
and/or administrator device 208 in FIG. 2, receive, via dating
feature control 236, activation instruction 238 that may direct one
or more of the systems described herein to activate community-based
dating feature 216. Furthermore, activation management module 110
may, as part of user device 202, server 206, and/or administrator
device 208, in FIG. 2, activate community-based dating feature 216
of interest-based community 214 in response to receiving activation
instruction 238.
[0108] For example, interest-based community 214 may be associated
with a wedding, and user 210 and additional member 220 may be
guests at the wedding, relatives of the marriage participants, and
so forth. Likewise, administrator 232 may be a planner of the
wedding. Administrator 232 may wish to activate community-based
dating feature 216 of interest-based community 214 in order for
guests at the wedding to see which other guests are interested in
forming dating connections with other members of interest-based
community 214. Hence, activation management module 110 may provide
administrator 232 with dating feature control 236, and
administrator 232 may interact with dating feature control 236 to
indicate that he or she wishes to activate community-based dating
feature 216. Activation management module 110 may receive, via
dating feature control 236, activation instruction 238, which may
direct activation management module 110 to activate community-based
dating feature 216 of interest-based community 214. Activation
management module 110 may then activate the community-based dating
feature 216 of interest-based community 214 in response to
receiving activation instruction 238.
[0109] Additionally, in some embodiments, activation management
module 110 may, as part of user device 202, server 206, and/or
administrator device 208 in FIG. 2, provide administrator 232 with
duration control 240 that may enable the administrator to provide
duration 242 for community-based dating feature 216 to remain
activated. Furthermore, activation management module 110 may, as
part of user device 202, server 206, and/or administrator device
208 in FIG. 2, receives duration 242 via duration control 240 and,
upon expiration of duration 240, may further, as part of user
device 202, server 206, and/or administrator device 208 in FIG. 2,
inactivate the community-based dating feature of the interest-based
community. Additionally or alternatively, one or more of modules
102 (e.g., determining module 104, receiving module 106, providing
module 108, and/or activation management module 110) may, as part
of user device 202, server 206, and/or administrator device 208 in
FIG. 2, inactivate community-based dating feature 216 of
interest-based community 214 upon expiration of a predetermined
duration of time (e.g., 10 minutes, 10 hours, 10 days, etc.)
following an activation of community-based dating feature 216 of
interest-based community 214.
[0110] Continuing with the previous example, activation management
module 110 may provide administrator 232 with duration control 240
and may receive duration 242 of 1 week via duration control 240,
thereby establishing a temporal window of 1 week following the
wedding for members of interest-based community 214 to utilize
community-based dating feature 216 to make dating connections with
each other.
[0111] At the wedding, user 210 and additional member 220 may meet
each other and may establish a rapport but may forget to exchange
contact information. Two days following the wedding, receiving
module 106 may receive a request from additional member 220 for
access to community-based dating feature 216 (e.g., a request to
"unlock" community-based dating feature 216), and providing module
108 may provide additional member 220 with access to
community-based dating feature 216 in any of the ways described
herein in relation to providing user 210 with access to
community-based dating feature 216. Three days following the
wedding, receiving module 106 may receive a request from user 210
for access to community-based dating feature 216 (e.g., a request
to "unlock" community-based dating feature 216). Providing module
108 may provide user 210 with access to community-based dating
feature 216 by identifying additional member 220 (i.e., based on
providing module 108 providing additional member 220 with access to
community-based dating feature 216), and may present dating
information associated with additional member 220 (e.g., a dating
profile of additional member 220) within dating interface 226. This
may be an example of community-based dating feature 216 operating
as a "missed connections" feature that may enable members of
interest-based community 214 to make dating connections with other
members who they may meet and/or interact with at an event
associated with interest-based community 214.
[0112] However, one week following the wedding, activation
management module 110 may inactivate community-based dating feature
216. Eight days following the wedding, user 210 may provide an
additional request to access community-based dating feature 216. As
activation management module 110 may have inactivated
community-based dating feature 216, determining module 104 may
determine that community-based dating feature 216 is no longer
activated, receiving module 106 may decline to receive the
additional request, and/or providing module 108 may not provide
user 210 with access to community-based dating feature 216. For
example, one or more of modules 102 (e.g., determining module 104,
receiving module 106, etc.) may provide, via dating interface 226,
an error message indicating that community-based dating feature 216
of interest-based community 214 is no longer available to user
210.
[0113] In other examples, one or more systems described herein may
inactivate a community-based dating feature of an interest-based
community upon expiration of a predetermined duration of time
following an activation of the community-based dating feature of
the interest-based community. The predetermined duration of time
may be any suitable duration of time (e.g., a minute, an hour, a
day, a week, a year, etc.), and may be determined by any suitable
person, machine, system, and so forth. For example, upon activating
a community-based dating feature of an interest-based community, an
administrator of dating service 212 may determine that a
community-based dating feature of an interest-based community may
only remain activated for 1 week and may provide an instruction to
one or more of modules 102 to deactivate the community-based dating
feature at the expiration of 1 week. Upon expiration of that period
of time, one or more of modules 102 (e.g., determining module 104,
receiving module 106, providing module 108, etc.) may inactivate
the community-based dating feature.
[0114] As discussed throughout the instant disclosure, the
disclosed systems and methods may provide one or more advantages
over traditional options for making dating connections between
users of a social networking system. For example, enabling a user
of a social networking system to unlock dating features associated
with various interest-based communities (e.g., groups, events,
etc.) of which they are already members, the systems and methods
described herein may facilitate dating connections between members
of interest-based communities of a social networking system (e.g.,
groups, events, pages, etc.) who already share an interest in a
subject associated with the interest-based community, such as a
past, present, or future event, a topic of discussion, a subject,
and so forth. As members of these interest-based communities may
already share at least one common interest (e.g., an interest in a
subject associated with the interest-based community), embodiments
of the systems and methods described herein may enable members of
interest-based communities who are interested in forming dating
connections with other members of those communities to make
stronger, longer-lasting, more enjoyable, and/or more fulfilling
dating connections than may be possible through conventional dating
services and/or traditional social networking systems.
[0115] Furthermore, the systems and methods described herein may
provide various administrative tools that may enable administrators
of interest-based communities to activate, inactivate, enable,
disable, lock, unlock, and/or otherwise administer a
community-based dating feature of an interest-based community.
Moreover, embodiments of the present disclosure may provide various
features of a community-based dating service that may effectively
facilitate formation of dating connections between community
members. For example, an embodiment may limit dating-focused
interactions between group members to "conversation-starter"
messages and/or text-only messages. Additional embodiments may
prevent members from sending repeated messages to disinterested
members. These and other features provided by the systems and
methods described herein may enable users to manage a degree,
depth, and/or quality of their dating-focused interactions with
other members, and/or an overall level of participation in the
community-based dating feature.
[0116] As detailed above, the computing devices and systems
described and/or illustrated herein broadly represent any type or
form of computing device or system capable of executing
computer-readable instructions, such as those contained within the
modules described herein. In their most basic configuration, these
computing device(s) may each include at least one memory device and
at least one physical processor.
[0117] Although illustrated as separate elements, the modules
described and/or illustrated herein may represent portions of a
single module or application. In addition, in certain embodiments
one or more of these modules may represent one or more software
applications or programs that, when executed by a computing device,
may cause the computing device to perform one or more tasks. For
example, one or more of the modules described and/or illustrated
herein may represent modules stored and configured to run on one or
more of the computing devices or systems described and/or
illustrated herein. One or more of these modules may also represent
all or portions of one or more special-purpose computers configured
to perform one or more tasks.
[0118] In addition, one or more of the modules described herein may
transform data, physical devices, and/or representations of
physical devices from one form to another. For example, one or more
of the modules recited herein may receive participant data (e.g.,
one or more elements included in participant data 142, such as
dating information 222) to be transformed, transform the
participant data, output a result of the transformation to present
the transformed participant data to a user (e.g., user 210), use
the result of the transformation to identify one or more additional
users of the social networking system (e.g., additional member
220), and store the result of the transformation to later present
the transformed participant data to one or more additional users
(e.g., additional member 220). Additionally or alternatively, one
or more of the modules recited herein may transform a processor,
volatile memory, non-volatile memory, and/or any other portion of a
physical computing device from one form to another by executing on
the computing device, storing data on the computing device, and/or
otherwise interacting with the computing device.
[0119] The term "computer-readable medium," as used herein,
generally refers to any form of device, carrier, or medium capable
of storing or carrying computer-readable instructions. Examples of
computer-readable media include, without limitation,
transmission-type media, such as carrier waves, and
non-transitory-type media, such as magnetic-storage media (e.g.,
hard disk drives, tape drives, and floppy disks), optical-storage
media (e.g., Compact Disks (CDs), Digital Video Disks (DVDs), and
BLU-RAY disks), electronic-storage media (e.g., solid-state drives
and flash media), and other distribution systems.
[0120] The process parameters and sequence of the steps described
and/or illustrated herein are given by way of example only and can
be varied as desired. For example, while the steps illustrated
and/or described herein may be shown or discussed in a particular
order, these steps do not necessarily need to be performed in the
order illustrated or discussed. The various exemplary methods
described and/or illustrated herein may also omit one or more of
the steps described or illustrated herein or include additional
steps in addition to those disclosed.
[0121] The preceding description has been provided to enable others
skilled in the art to best utilize various aspects of the exemplary
embodiments disclosed herein. This exemplary description is not
intended to be exhaustive or to be limited to any precise form
disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible without
departing from the spirit and scope of the instant disclosure. The
embodiments disclosed herein should be considered in all respects
illustrative and not restrictive. Reference should be made to the
appended claims and their equivalents in determining the scope of
the instant disclosure.
[0122] Unless otherwise noted, the terms "connected to" and
"coupled to" (and their derivatives), as used in the specification
and claims, are to be construed as permitting both direct and
indirect (i.e., via other elements or components) connection. In
addition, the terms "a" or "an," as used in the specification and
claims, are to be construed as meaning "at least one of." Finally,
for ease of use, the terms "including" and "having" (and their
derivatives), as used in the specification and claims, are
interchangeable with and have the same meaning as the word
"comprising."
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