Patent ID: 8584258
Filing Date: 2013-11-12
Classification: G06F,G06Q,H04L,Y10S

Abstract:
1. A method comprising: associating, via a computing device, electronic content with an authenticated user of an electronic service; associating, via the computing device, the content with a user relationship in a computerized online social network that indicates at least one form of the user relationship based on a degree of separation involving a direct or indirect relationship between at least one unauthenticated user and the authenticated user, the online social network being a computerized service for communicating information over a network to and from users of the online social network, wherein the user relationship is established and controlled by the authenticated user, said at least one form of the user relationship is required to exist in the online social network before access to at least a portion of the content is provided to any unauthenticated user; associating, via the computing device, the content with a token; providing, via the computing device, the unauthenticated user with an invitation to join the online social network and establish the user relationship between the unauthenticated user and authenticated user in order for the unauthenticated user to access the content, said invitation comprising the token; receiving, via the computing device, the token as a request by the unauthenticated user to join the online social network and access the content, wherein said accessing the content comprises at least previewing a sample of the content; determining, via the computing device, whether the token is valid; and