Patent ID: 8667402
Filing Date: 2014-03-04
Classification: A63F,G06F,G06Q,G06T

Abstract:
1. A computer-implemented method for visualizing communications in a social setting, the method comprising: providing a graphical virtual 3D environment for sharing a social experience between users invited to participate in the virtual 3D environment; enabling the invitation of users of a third party social network to enter the 3D environment; graphically representing each user who enters the 3D environment with a 3D avatar; enabling intra-environment communications between users within the 3D environment and trans-environment communications between users in the 3D environment and users who are neither participating in the 3D environment nor represented with an avatar within the 3D environment; tracking both the intra-environment communications and trans-environment communications; and displaying visual overlays within the 3D environment to represent intra-environment communications and trans-environment communications to or from users in the 3D environment, wherein the visual overlays signify a communicatively active part of the 3D environment while keeping private the contents of the communication, wherein intra-environment communications between users within the 3D environment are represented by horizontal ribbons between the users and trans-environment communications between a user within the 3D environment and a party outside of the 3D environment are represented by ribbons that drop down from outside of the 3D environment onto the user within the 3D environment for which the communication is intended.