Abstract:
A system and method that allows generating, maintaining and presenting one or more self-marketing scores based on references from friends or acquaintances, preferably via a communication network such as the Internet. The respective scores can be generated in a standardized format making the scores comparable across different persons.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims the benefit of Provisional Application No. 61020739 entitled “Self-Marketing System and Method”, filed on Jan. 13, 2008. 
     
    
     FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH 
       [0002]    Not Applicable 
       SEQUENCE LISTING OR PROGRAM 
       [0003]    Not Applicable 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0004]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0005]    The present invention relates to generating, maintaining and presenting one or more self-marketing scores based on references from friends or acquaintances, preferably via a communication network such as the Internet. The respective scores can be generated in a standardized format making the scores comparable across different persons. 
         [0006]    2. Background of the Invention 
         [0007]    In the increasingly popular field of social networking services, a multitude of persons are communicating and sharing information with one another typically via the Internet. 
         [0008]    In more detail, a social networking service focuses on the building and verifying of online social networks for communities of people who share interests and activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others. 
         [0009]    Most social networking services are primarily web based and provide a multitude of ways for users to interact, such as chat, messaging, email, video, voice chat, file sharing, blogging, discussion groups, for example. 
         [0010]    The main types of social networking services are those which contain directories of some categories (such as former classmates), means to connect with friends (usually with self-description pages), and recommender systems linked to trust. Popular methods now combine many of these, with MySpace, Bebo and Facebook being the mostly widely used in 2007. 
         [0011]    A key social need for members of a social networking environment is to express and communicate individual positive attributes as a means to build and maintain a reputation that is trusted by other members of the social networking environment. 
         [0012]    The present invention addresses this need in a novel way providing a number of advantages. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0013]    The invented system and method allows persons to generate one or more scores suited to measure and present one or more aspects of their respective personalities, strengths, integrity and the like in a standardized, cross-person comparable form. 
         [0014]    In order to provide utmost clarity in the following description, the following terms shall be introduced and defined:
       a) The term claim in the spirit of the present invention shall refer to a construct that comprises a statement and is depicted in detail in  FIG. 1 .   b) The term source person shall refer to a person that creates a claim.   c) The term target person shall refer to a person that a claim relates to.   d) The term friend shall be used to describe somebody who is part of a person&#39;s social network, which typically indicates at least a reasonable amount of mutual trust.   e) The term source person&#39;s friends shall refer to one or more friends of the source person.   f) The term target person&#39;s friends shall refer to one or more friends of the target person.   Source person and target person are preferably friends. Also, it shall be pointed out that at least a sub set of the source person&#39;s friends may also be target person&#39;s friends and vice versa.   g) The term vouch shall be used to indicate that a friend gives personal assurance that a claim is true. The term vouch shall be used as a noun as well as in verb form. Used as a noun, a vouch shall refer to the result of the verb form of vouch “to vouch”. Used as a noun, a vouch comprises an expression indicating whether an assurance regarding the claim was given or not and an identifier related to the person who created the vouch. In addition, a vouch may comprise, but is not limited to, one or more comments.   h) The term score in the spirit of the present invention shall refer to a metric comprising one or more quantitative or qualitative expressions as described in more detail below. A score is preferably generated in the following sequence:       
 
         [0024]    1) a source person creates a claim relating to an aspect of himself or herself preferably via the Internet, for example, the claim comprising the following statement: “I am the best Java programmer in California”. In this case, the source person is equal to the target person. 
         [0025]    2) the source person then asks one or more of his or her friends (source person&#39;s friends) to vouch that the claim is true. 
         [0026]    3) an initial score regarding the claim is generated that is preferably updated each time a vouch for the respective statement is received, preferably representing a standardized measurement for the quantity and quality of received vouches as described below. 
         [0027]    It is also an object of the present invention that two or more scores, each relating to two or more respective claims, may be aggregated as to generate one or more higher-level scores that can be used as a standardized measurement of the integrity of the target person that the two or more respective claims relate to. 
         [0028]    As an alternative embodiment of the present invention, a claim may also be created by one person targeting another person. In this case, a score may, for example, be generated in the following sequence: 
         [0029]    1) a source person creates a claim regarding an aspect of a target person preferably via the Internet, for example, “Tim Doe is the best Java programmer in California”. In this case, the source person is not equal to the target person. 
         [0030]    Optionally, the target person, in this example Tim Doe, may need to approve the claim before the following steps are allowed to be performed: 
         [0031]    2) the source person as well as the target person can then ask one or more of the target person&#39;s friends to vouch that the claim is true. 
         [0032]    3) an initial score regarding the claim is generated that is preferably updated each time a vouch for the respective statement is received, preferably representing a standardized measurement for the quantity and quality of received vouches as illustrated below. 
         [0033]    The present invention introduces a multitude of objects and advantages including commercially valuable features and services. 
         [0034]    For example, one object and advantage of the present invention is to allow a person to illustrate or advertise, for example, an area of strength in order to attract, for example, new friends, partners or employers. 
         [0035]    Another object and advantage of the present invention is to allow employers looking to hire employees with specific profiles to use the presently disclosed scores as part of their recruiting process. In this case, employers may improve the speed and quality of their recruiting processes, for example, by using the disclosed scores as readily available references. 
         [0036]    Another object and advantage of the present invention is to allow advertisers to identify and engage with specific target audiences. In this case, an advertiser may wish to only engage with target audiences who feature, for example, scores above a specific minimum value, or strengths in a specific area. 
         [0037]    Another object and advantage of the present invention is that the invented system and method may also be applied to generating one or more scores suited to measure and present aspects of an organization&#39;s strengths, capabilities, integrity or the like using the same or a similar process as described above and in the following description regarding persons. In this case, for example, one organization may publish a claim regarding itself or another organization and asks partner organizations of the target organization to vouch for the claim, in the same or similar way as described above. 
         [0038]    The term organization shall be used in the context of the present invention to include a corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership or association, or any other legal for-profit or non-profit entity. 
         [0039]    For an organization, an object and advantage of the present invention is to allow the organization to illustrate or advertise, for example, an area of its strengths in order to attract, for example, new partners, customers, or investors. 
         [0040]    Another object and advantage of the present invention is to allow organizations to identify and engage with specific other organizations. In this case, an organization may wish to only engage with other organizations who feature, for example, scores above a specific minimum value, or strengths in a specific area. 
         [0041]    It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that a multitude of non-commercial and commercial services may be enabled by applying the invented system and method, including, but not limited to, research services, entertainment services, partnership services, recruiting services and advertisement services. 
         [0042]    Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art based on the following drawings and detailed description. 
     
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
         [0043]      FIG. 1  depicts the structure of a claim. 
           [0044]      FIG. 2  shows an example of a claim that a person made regarding himself. 
           [0045]      FIG. 3  shows an example of a claim that a person made regarding a friend of the person. 
           [0046]      FIG. 4  is a block diagram depicting a generation of a score. 
           [0047]      FIG. 5A  is a screenshot of a first step of a prototypical web-based application that illustrates how a source person may create a claim relating to himself or herself. 
           [0048]      FIG. 5B  is a screenshot of a second step of a prototypical web-based application that illustrates how a source person may input a statement as part of the claim of  FIG. 5A . 
           [0049]      FIG. 5C  is a screenshot of a third step of a prototypical web-based application that illustrates how a source person may ask at least a subset of his or her friends to vouch for the claim of  FIG. 5A . 
           [0050]      FIG. 5D  is a screenshot of a first step of a prototypical web-based application that illustrates how a source person may create a claim relating to a friend. 
           [0051]      FIG. 5E  is a screenshot of a second step of a prototypical web-based application that illustrates how a source person may input a statement as part of the claim of  FIG. 5D  relating to a friend . 
           [0052]      FIG. 5F  is a screenshot of a third step of a prototypical web-based application that illustrates how a source person may ask at least a subset of the target person&#39;s friends to vouch for the claim of  FIG. 5D . 
           [0053]      FIG. 6  is a screenshot of a prototypical web-based application that depicts how a request to vouch for a claim may be presented to a target user&#39;s friend. 
           [0054]      FIG. 7  is a screenshot of a prototypical web-based application that depicts an alternative view of how a request to vouch for a claim may be presented to a target user&#39;s friend. 
           [0055]      FIG. 8  is a screenshot of a prototypical web-based application that illustrates how a source person may be enabled to look at and interact with a list of claims that either the source person has published or that have been published regarding the source person. 
           [0056]      FIG. 9  is a screenshot of a prototypical web-based application that illustrates how a source person may be enabled to look at and interact with a list of claims that friends of the source person have published. 
           [0057]      FIG. 10  is a screenshot of a prototypical web-based application that illustrates how a source person may be enabled to look at and interact with all claims that the source person currently has access to. 
           [0058]      FIG. 11  is a screenshot of a prototypical web-based application that allows a person to see and interact with various aspects of the present invention in one view. 
           [0059]      FIG. 12  is a block diagram depicting a system in the spirit of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0060]      FIG. 1  depicts the preferred structure of a claim in the spirit of the present invention. Claim  2  contains a source identifier  4 , a target identifier  6 , a timestamp  8 , a statement  10  and a score  12 . 
         [0061]    In the context of the present invention, the term source identifier shall be used as a preferably unambiguous reference to a source person and the term target identifier shall be used as a preferably unambiguous reference to a target person. 
         [0062]    Examples for an identifier for a person shall include a combination of a first name, optionally middle name and a last name, a number or series of numbers and characters, such as a user name that is linked to a particular person, or the like. 
         [0063]    The term timestamp shall be used to refer to the date and time when a claim was created. 
         [0064]    The term statement shall be used to refer to a verbal description of one or more aspects of, for example, a target person&#39;s strengths, conduct, or integrity. 
         [0065]    The term score is defined above. A score in the spirit of the present invention is preferably intended to be used as a metric for a claim&#39;s credibility and is preferably designed to allow easy readability and comparability across two or more claims. 
         [0066]      FIG. 2  shows an example of a claim  16  that a source person made regarding himself. In this case, the name of the source person creating the claim  16  as well as the target person that the claim  16  is related to, is “Barney Rubble”. In this case, identifier  18 , which consists of the first and last name of the source person, represents both, the source identifier and the target identifier. 
         [0067]    Timestamp  20  depicts the date and time when claim  16  was created. In the illustrated case, for usability reasons, timestamp  20  only shows a date, which is Aug. 17, 2007. Of course, timestamp  20  could also be expressed in a much more comprehensive and granular form, for example, as “2007-08-17 13:27:44 PST” which includes a date, time and respective time zone. 
         [0068]    In addition, claim  16  includes a statement 22 “I am the best Java Programmer in California”. 
         [0069]    Furthermore, claim  16  includes a score  24  called “Vouchoo Index”. Score  24  consists of a quantity indicator  26  and a quality indicator  28 . Quantity indicator  26  shows that  537  vouches have been received so far regarding claim  16 . Quality indicator  28  shows that 96% of the friends of the target person at the time claim  16  was published have vouched for claim  16  so far. Or, as expressed in more general terms: 
         [0070]    X=total number of vouches received regarding a claim z so far; 
         [0071]    y=total number of the claim z&#39;s target person&#39;s friends at the time when the claim z was published (the target person is the person that the claim z relates to); 
         [0072]    Quantity indicator value=x; 
         [0073]    Quality indicator value [%]=100* x/y 
         [0074]    Exceptions:
       a. if y equals 0 then Quality indicator value shall equal 0%;   b. if Quality indicator value is greater than 100% then Quality indicator value shall equal 100%.       
 
         [0077]    Vouchoo Index for the claim z: 
         [0000]    Quantity indicator value for claim z (Quality indicator for claim z [%]).
 
Example 1: for x=5 and y=10: Vouchoo index=5 (50%);
 
Example 2: for x=300 and y=10: Vouchoo index=300 (100%);
 
Example 3: for x=0 and y=10: Vouchoo index=0 (0%);
 
Example 4: for x=50 and y=0: Vouchoo index=0 (0%).
 
         [0078]    While the above described way to compute and present a score is an object of the present invention, there is a multitude of alternative ways. For example, the value of quality indicator  28  may also be influenced by how slow or fast vouches for claim  16  have been received, the time elapsed since claim  16  has been created as to account for aging effects that may influence the validity of statement  22  over time, for how long friends that vouched for claim  16  were registered as friends of Barney Rubble upon vouching for claim  16  and the like. 
         [0079]    Of course, score  24  may also be expressed in a multitude of alternative formats. For example, score  24  may include additional or alternative indicators or indicators with additional or alternative value spaces. 
         [0080]      FIG. 3  shows an example of a claim  30  that a person made regarding another person. In this case, the name of the source person is “Mandy Flintstone”  32  and the name of the target person is “Barney Rubble”  34 . In this case, as illustrated, “Mandy Flintstone” represents the source identifier  32  and “Barney Rubble” the target identifier  34 . 
         [0081]    Timestamp  36  depicts the date and time when claim  30  was created, in this case formatted as “2007-09-23 11:05:01 PST” which includes a date, time and respective time zone. 
         [0082]    In addition, claim  30  includes a statement  38  “Barney Rubble can run one mile in under 4 minutes”. 
         [0083]    Furthermore, claim  30  includes a score  39  called “Vouchoo Index” that is computed and presented in the same way as score  24  described above. Comparing score  24  with score  39 , it will be apparent that only  33  vouches have been received for claim  30  thus far (versus  537  for claim  16 ) and also that only 38% of friends asked to vouch for claim  30  have done so as of yet (versus 96% for claim  16 ). Thus, claim  16  features a much higher credibility ranking than claim  30  at this time. 
         [0084]      FIG. 4  is a block diagram depicting a preferred generation of a score. In step  40 , typically via the Internet, a source person creates a claim for a target person. 
         [0085]    In step  42 , an initial score is computed and included in the claim by a system in the spirit of the present invention, the initial score being, for example, a Vouchoo Index with the quantity and quality values 0 (0%), since no vouches have been received for the claim yet. 
         [0086]    In step  44 , at least one of, the source person and the target person, ask the target person&#39;s friends to vouch for the claim. 
         [0087]    In step  46 , if a vouch regarding the claim has been received, the score related to the claim is updated in step  48  at least partly influenced by the respective quantity and quality of all vouches received at that time. 
         [0088]    Either if no vouch is received in step  46 , or upon updating the score in step  48 , step  50  is performed. In step  50 , if there are to be performed actions such as, for example, alerting subscribed persons about the changed score, these actions are being performed in step  52 . 
         [0089]    Either if there are no actions to be performed in step  50 , or upon performing actions in step  52 , step  54  is performed. In step  54 , if the process of generating a score is not to be ended, step  46  is performed . In step  54 , if the process of generating a score is to be ended, the process is ended in step  56 . 
         [0090]      FIG. 5A  is a screenshot of a first step of a prototypical web-based application that illustrates how a source person may create a claim relating to himself or herself. The application is designed to integrate with Facebook, a very popular social networking website. Of course, the following functionality may be implemented with an alternative technology and be integrated into an alternative website that allows to create a claim in the spirit of the present invention. 
         [0091]    Form  100  comprises a step indicator  102  that is currently indicating a step 1. Furthermore, form  100  comprises a selector for choosing a target person comprising an option “Yourself”  104  and an option “A Friend”  106 . Option  104  is selected meaning that the source person selected to create a claim relating to himself or herself. 
         [0092]    In addition, form  100  comprises a button “Next”  108  and a link “Cancel”  110 . Clicking on link  110  allows to leave form  100  without further processing. In this case, the source person clicks on button  108  in order to move to step 2 of form  100  depicted in  FIG. 5B . 
         [0093]      FIG. 5B  depicts a screenshot illustrating a second step of the prototypical web-based application depicted in  FIG. 5A . Step indicator  102  shows that step 2 of form  100  is currently active. Clicking link “See Examples”  124  shows one or more examples of well designed claim statements to the source person as to support the source person in formulating an appropriately designed statement for the present claim. Text input field  126  allows the source person to input a statement for the present claim, for example, “I am the best Java programmer in California”. 
         [0094]    In addition, form  100  comprises a button  128  that leads back to step 1 depicted in  FIG. 5A . Form  100  also comprises a button “Next”  130  and a link “Cancel”  132 . Clicking on link  132  allows to leave form  100  without further processing. In this case, the source person clicks on button  130  in order to move to step 3 of form  100  depicted in  FIG. 5C . 
         [0095]      FIG. 5C  depicts a screenshot illustrating a third step of the prototypical web-based application depicted in  FIG. 5B . Step indicator  102  shows that step 3 of form  100  is currently active. Friend selector  154  shows a list of the target person&#39;s friends allowing to select one or more of the identifiers of the presented friends&#39; names. Of course, this list could be scrollable as to accommodate for a larger number of friends. The identifiers of Friend  1   156 , Friend  5   158  and Friend  6   159  are selected meaning these friends shall be asked to vouch for the present claim. 
         [0096]    In addition, form  100  comprises a button  160  that leads back to step 2 depicted in  FIG. 5B . Form  100  also comprises a button “Publish”  162  and a link “Cancel”  164 . Clicking on link  164  allows to leave form  100  without further processing. In this case, the source person clicks on button  162  in order to include the present claim in the source person&#39;s profile that is illustrated in  FIG. 13 . and request vouches from the selected friends  156 , 158  and  159 . 
         [0097]      FIG. 5D  is a screenshot of a first step of a prototypical web-based application that illustrates how a source person may create a claim relating to a friend of the source person. 
         [0098]    Form  100  comprises a step indicator  102  that is currently indicating a step  1 . Furthermore, form  100  comprises a selector for choosing a target person comprising an option “Yourself”  104  and an option “A Friend”  106 . Option  106  is selected meaning that the source person selected to create a claim relating to a friend of the source person. 
         [0099]    In addition, form  100  comprises a button “Next”  108  and a link “Cancel”  110 . Clicking on link  110  allows to leave form  100  without further processing. In this case, the source person clicks on button  108  in order to move to step 2 of form  100  depicted in  FIG. 5E . 
         [0100]      FIG. 5E  depicts a screenshot illustrating a second step of the prototypical web-based application depicted in  FIG. 5D . Step indicator  102  shows that step 2 of form  100  is currently active. Friend selector  204  shows a list of the source person&#39;s friends allowing to select one of the identifiers of the presented friends&#39; names. Of course, this list could be scrollable as to accommodate for a larger number of friends. The identifier of Joe Smith  206  is selected meaning the present claim shall be created related to Joe Smith  206 . 
         [0101]    In addition, form  100  comprises a button “Previous”  210 , a button “Next”  212  and a link “Cancel”  214 . Clicking on link  214  allows to leave form  100  without further processing. Clicking on button “Previous”  210  leads back to step 1 depicted in  FIG. 5D . In this case, the source person clicks on button “Next”  212  in order to move to step 3 of form  100  depicted in  FIG. 5F . 
         [0102]      FIG. 5F  depicts a screenshot illustrating a third step of the prototypical web-based application depicted in  FIG. 5D . Step indicator  102  shows that step 3 of form  100  is currently active. Clicking link “See Examples”  234  shows examples of well designed claim statements of claims targeting a target person as to support the source person in formulating an appropriately designed statement for the present claim. Text input field  236  allows the source person to input a statement for the present claim, for example, “Joe Smith is the best dancer in Palo Alto”. 
         [0103]    In addition, form  100  comprises a button “Previous”  238  that leads back to step 2 depicted in  FIG. 5E . Form  100  also comprises a button “Send”  240  and a link “Cancel”  242 . Clicking on link  242  allows to leave form  100  without further processing. In this case, the source person clicks on button “Send”  240  in order to send the present claim to the target person “Joe Smith” for consent as indicated in text  244 . 
         [0104]    As an alternative embodiment, of course, the present claim may also be published directly without the need to ask for the target person&#39;s consent, much as illustrated in  FIG. 3C . 
         [0105]    In either case, as soon as the present claim has been added to the target person&#39;s profile, the target person may ask one or more of the target person&#39;s friends to vouch for the present claim. 
         [0106]      FIG. 6  is a screenshot of a prototypical web-based application that depicts how a request to vouch for a claim may be presented to a target user&#39;s friend. Upon clicking on the link “1 vouch request”  252  in the request list control  251 , form  250  is presented to a target user&#39;s friend of “Fred Flintstone”. The form  250  shows a claim  254  and two buttons  256  and  268 . Clicking on button “Vouch for Fred!”  256  allows the present target user&#39;s friend to vouch for claim  254 , while button “Ignore”  258  allows the present target user&#39;s friend to avoid vouching for claim  254  at this time. 
         [0107]      FIG. 7  is a screenshot of a prototypical web-based application that depicts an alternative view of how a request to vouch for a claim may be presented to a target user&#39;s friend. 
         [0108]    Form  270  contains a vouch control  272 , a friends control  278 , a comment control  279 , a quick link control  286  and a function control  292 . 
         [0109]    Claim control  272  depicts a claim  271 , the claim&#39;s  271  current score  273 , a help link  274  and a vouch button  276 . Upon clicking on help link  274 , for example, an explanation of how the score  273  is being computed may be presented (not shown). 
         [0110]    Upon clicking on vouch button  276 , score  273  is updated accordingly and the vouch button  276  may, for example, become inactive (not shown) as to prevent multiple vouches from the same person. 
         [0111]    Friends control  278  shows a list of icons representing none or more friends who already vouched for claim  271 . 
         [0112]    Comment control  279  allows to publish one or more comments regarding claim  271 . In this case, a comment may be input into text control  280  and then published using button “Post”  282 . Upon posting a comment, the comment may be listed as part of the comment control, for example, in the same way as comment  284 . 
         [0113]    Quick link control  286  shows one or more links that may be of particular interest for a person using form  270 . For example, link “Top claims”  288  may bring up a list of the claims with the currently highest scores across all friends of the person using form  270 . As another example, link “Wilma&#39;s Other Claims”  290  may bring up a list of all other claims relating to the target person of claim  271 . 
         [0114]    Function control  288  shows one or more links that enable additional functionality. For example, link “Send to a mutual friend”  294  may allow to forward a vouch request regarding claim  271  to a friend of both, the target person of claim  271  as well as the person currently using form  270 . 
         [0115]    As another example, link “Report this Claim”  296  may allow the person currently using form  270  to raise a concern, for example, in case the nature or wording of claim  271  is perceived offensive. 
         [0116]      FIG. 8  is a screenshot of a prototypical web-based application that illustrates how a source person may be enabled to look at and interact with a list of claims that either the source person has published or that have been published regarding the source person. 
         [0117]    Form  300  comprises a search term input field  302 , a “Make a New Claim” button  303 , a “My Claims” tab control  304  that is currently selected, a “My Composite Index” indicator  306  and a “How to improve my index” link  308 . In addition, form  300  contains two claim list controls  310  and  326 . 
         [0118]    Search term input field  302  allows to input a search term that is used to filter claims that are presented in claim list controls  310  and  326  in such a way that only claims containing the search term are shown. 
         [0119]    “Make a New Claim” button  303  links to a form allowing input of a new claim, such, for example, illustrated in  FIG. 5A . 
         [0120]    “My Composite Index” indicator  306  shows the current composite score of the person using form  300 . 
         [0121]    The term composite score shall be used to refer to an aggregation of two or more scores relating to the person using form  300 . A composite score may, for example, be computed by adding all quantity indicator values of all claims that relate to the same target person, as well as adding all respective quality indicators and dividing the result by the total number of quantity indicators. For example, as illustrated in  FIG. 8 . composite indicator  306  may be computed by adding the quantity indicator values of  313 ,  315  and  329  of claims  312 ,  314  and  328  respectively, resulting in 34+312+0=346,as well as adding the respective quantity indicator values and dividing the results by the number of the respective quantity indicator values (85%+72%+0%)/3=52.333 . . . %, resulting in a composite score of 346 (52.333 . . . %). Of course, a number of alternative ways to compute a composite score may be applied, preferably as long as composite scores are computed in a consistent way across all persons the respective composite scores are related to. 
         [0122]    Clicking on “How to improve my index” link  308  may present information to the person using form  300  that explains how to improve the person&#39;s present composite score  306  as, for example, to nurture adoption of the composite score as a means to demonstrate a high level of integrity. Composite score  306  may, for example, be used by a person that the composite score is related to, as a reference when the person applies for a job. Additionally, composite scores may be used by businesses to identify a candidate for a job with the highest level of integrity. Of course, a number of additional or alternative applications of a composite score are possible as a composite score can be understood and used as an indicator for the quality of the reputation of a person. 
         [0123]    Claim list control  310  shows a list of the claims that relate to the present source person (the person who is currently logged in) and are currently visible to other persons that can see the present source person&#39;s profile. In the illustrated case, claim list control  310  comprises two claims  312  and  314 . 
         [0124]    The term profile shall be used here to refer to one or more pieces of information that relate to a person in the context of a social network service, typically comprising, for example, the person&#39;s name or identifier, location, number of friends and such. 
         [0125]    Claim list control  326  shows a list of the claims that relate to the present source person (the person who is currently logged in) and are currently not visible to other persons that can see the present source person&#39;s profile. In the illustrated case, claim list control  310  comprises claim  328 . 
         [0126]    Using function link “Show on Profile”  330 , the source person can make claim  328  visible on the source person&#39;s profile. In this case, claim  328  would be added to claim list control  310  and removed from claim list control  326 . 
         [0127]    Using function link “Hide from Profile”  318 , the source person can make claim  312  invisible on the source person&#39;s profile. In this case, claim  312  would be added to claim list control  326  and removed from claim list control  310 . 
         [0128]    Using function link “Request a Vouch”  316 , the source person can send a request to a selection of the source person&#39;s friends to vouch for claim  312 . 
         [0129]    Using function link “Request a Vouch”  316 , the source person can delete claim  312 . In this case, claim  312  would be removed from both, claim list control  310  and claim list control  326 . In addition, claim  312  would be hidden from the source person&#39;s profile. 
         [0130]      FIG. 9  is a screenshot of a prototypical web-based application that illustrates how a source person may be enabled to look at and interact with a list of claims that friends of the source person have published. 
         [0131]    Form  350  comprises a “Friends&#39; Claims” tab control  351  that is currently selected, a sort control  352  and a claim list control  354 . 
         [0132]    Claim list control  354  comprises a list of the claims that friends of the present source person (the person who is currently logged in) have published. In the illustrated case, claim list control  310  currently shows three claims  356 ,  360  and  364 . Navigation control  353  allows to show additional claims that are listed as part of claim list control  310  but are currently not visible, for example, due to space limitations. 
         [0133]    Using sort control  352 , the list of presented claims may be sorted according to a selected criteria, for example, in order to show the claim with the currently highest score on top of the list, the claim with the second highest score below and so forth. 
         [0134]    Using function link  358 , the present source person can vouch for claim  356 . Upon vouching for a claim, no further vouching on the claim by the present source person shall be possible. Indicator  362  illustrates this case related to claim  360  as the present source person already vouched for claim. 
         [0135]      FIG. 10  is a screenshot of a prototypical web-based application that illustrates how a source person may be enabled to look at and interact with all claims that the source person currently has access to. 
         [0136]    Form  380  comprises a “Browse Claims” tab control  381  that is currently selected, a view control  382 , a sort control  384  and a claim list control  386 . 
         [0137]    Claim list control  386  comprises a list of the claims that the present source person (the person who is currently logged in) has access to. In the illustrated case, claim list control  386  currently shows three claims  388 ,  390  and  392 . View control  382  allows to filter the claims presented in claim list control  386 , for example, in order to only show claims related to a person with the name “Barney Rubble” (as illustrated). Of course, additional or alternative filter values may be provided. 
         [0138]    In addition, using sort control  384 , the list of presented claims may be sorted according to a selected criteria, for example, in order to show the claim with the currently highest score on the top of the list, the claim with the second highest score below and so forth. 
         [0139]      FIG. 11  is a screenshot of a prototypical web-based application that allows a person to see and interact with various aspects of the present invention in one view. 
         [0140]    Form  400  comprises a “Vouchoo Home” tab control  402  that is currently selected, a “Recent Activity” list control  404 , a “My Stats” control  406 , a “Top Claims” control  408  and a “Friends° Claims” control  410 . 
         [0141]    “Recent Activity” list control  404  may comprise, for example, a list of recent vouches, messages from friends related to claims, comments received and the like (not shown). 
         [0142]    “My Stats” control  406  may comprise, for example, the current number of claims published by the present source person (the person who is currently logged in), the number of received vouches and the current composite score of the present source person. 
         [0143]    “Top claims” control  408  may comprise, for example, the two claims with the currently highest scores that the present source person has access to. 
         [0144]    “Friends&#39; claims” control  410  may comprise, for example, the two claims with the currently highest scores that relate to friends of the source person. 
         [0145]      FIG. 12  is a block diagram depicting an example of a system in the spirit of the present invention. 
         [0146]    Source person  500  is a member of a social networking service  508  as are three friends of the source person  500 : friend  502 , friend  504  and friend  506 . 
         [0147]    Claim service  512 , vouch service  514  and score service  516  are operationally connected with social networking service  508  via the Internet and allow social networking service  508  to provide the above described functionality to its members in the spirit of the present invention as described above. 
         [0148]    Claim service  512 , vouch service  514  and score service  516  use data storage  518  to store and retrieve data, such as claim data, vouch data, comments, score data and the like. 
         [0149]    Score requester  510 , for example an employer looking to hire a person with a desired minimum score from among the members of social networking service  508 , may request a list of members of social networking service  508  adhering to the desired minimum score from score service  516  for a fee. 
       CONCLUSIONS  
       [0150]    The inventions set forth above are subject to many modifications and changes without departing from the spirit, scope or essential characteristics thereof. Other embodiments of this invention will be obvious to those skilled in the art in view of the above disclosure. Thus, the embodiments explained above should be considered in all respect as being illustrative rather than restrictive of the scope of the inventions as defined in the appended claims. 
       SEQUENCE LISTING 
       [0151]    Not Applicable