Abstract:
A method, which provides a location context to an online object, includes (a) receiving identification information regarding the online object; (b) in a database, creating a relationship between the online object and a representation of a geographical location; (c) receiving a request for retrieving the relationship from the database based on the identification information or the geographical location; and (d) responding to the request by returning the relationship retrieved from the database. The request may originate from an application program that displays the representation of the geographical location graphically. The online object may correspond to an online business. In some implementations, the online object is unrelated in real life to a community located at the geographical location.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to activities on the internet, whether they are commercial, non-commercial or business activities. In particular, the present invention relates to associating commercial, non-commercial, or business activities on the Internet with geographical locations. 
         [0003]    2. Discussion of the Related Art 
         [0004]    The Internet has brought more and more of our daily activities into a virtual or online world. In the online world, information is represented by binary data that can be transported around the globe reliably at great speed and practically at no cost. Such information is stored, analyzed and retrieved with great efficiency. For example, when a customer carries out a text-based online chat session with a customer service representative, a record of that conversation (e.g., a transcript) can be preserved for later retrieval and analysis a long time after the time of the conversation. Had the conversation occurred in person, or over a telephone call, preservation of that conversation for subsequent retrieval would not be a simple task. (You can certainly argue that there is potential danger and evil in the ability to accurately and permanently record such events for later use; there are certainly reasons for their judicious use and to guard against abuse zealously.) 
         [0005]    Even in the online world, there is often a need to refer to the real physical world. For example, many online sites or mobile application programs (“apps”) support location-based services (“LBS”). For example, when a user whose geographical location is known searches for a coffee shop on an online map (e.g., an on-line map website or app), the on-line map would preferentially show coffee shops in the user&#39;s local area, such as illustrated in  FIG. 1 . When such a search is performed on a mobile device (e.g., a cellular telephone), the search results are typically automatically prioritized according to distance from the mobile device&#39;s current geographical location. To determine the current location, the mobile device typically includes a global positioning system (GPS) receiver or a comparable location determination component in the mobile device. Using the current location so determined, an LBS server then accesses a database that “geo-tags” merchants or businesses with their positions expressed, for example, in GPS coordinates. Geo-tagging is also widely used with photographs. To geo-tag a photograph, a camera in a GPS-equipped or position-aware mobile device (e.g., a cellular telephone) includes in the photograph&#39;s image file the mobile device&#39;s position at the time the photograph is taken. In fact, today&#39;s professional cameras are likely to be equipped with a built-in GPS unit. Such a camera embeds its current geographical location by default into the image file whenever a photograph is taken. 
         [0006]    LBS or geo-tagging methods have been used for many years. In general, however, their uses have been limited because of many disadvantages. First, a user&#39;s current location may implicate serious privacy concerns. Once a person&#39;s true current geographical location becomes accessible online, that information is vulnerable to being sniffed, hijacked, misappropriated, taken advantage of or otherwise abused. Second, frequent use of the GPS module in a mobile device drains precious battery power. Third, an industry standard GPS receiver does not work very well inside buildings, especially in a multi-story building. Much effort has been focused on developing “indoor GPS”. In indoor GPS, indoor positions may be determined using known positions of WiFi access points (hotspots). There are a diverse variety of methods for performing indoor positioning. However, none of these methods are completely satisfactory yet. 
         [0007]    For businesses, using an office location as the online LBS location of a business seems straightforward, but there are often complications. For example, in a high-rise office building, or in a multi-level indoor mall, many businesses share the same planar position (i.e., same latitude and longitude coordinates), even though they can be distinguished on the basis of altitude or elevation. Positions of these businesses thus overlap in a 2-D or aerial-view map. A 3-D rendering, or a 2-D rendering augmented by discrete levels, is simply too involved. For small home-based businesses, using the actual geographical location would reveal a home address, which implicates privacy and safety concerns. However, to establish an office address merely to insulate the home from the business may be costly. 
         [0008]    Some on-line applications are based on imaginary locations in virtual worlds.  FIGS. 2( a ) and 2( b )  illustrate uses of imaginary locations in a virtual world in 3-dimensional and 2-dimensional renditions, respectively. In some applications, for example, a user in a virtual world may be represented by an avatar, which is allowed to freely roam the virtual world. A treasure hunting game is an example of such an application. Such applications, which allow for great creative and artistic expressions, are typically found in gaming, social media, and education. However, many techniques developed for virtual worlds are not used in applications related to the actual geographical locations in the real physical world. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method provides a location context to an online object. The method includes (a) receiving identification information regarding the online object; (b) in a database, creating a relationship between the online object and a representation of a geographical location; (c) receiving a request for retrieving the relationship from the database based on the identification information or the geographical location; and (d) responding to the request by returning the relationship retrieved from the database. The request may originate from an application program that displays the representation of the geographical location graphically. The online object may correspond to an online business. In some implementations, the online object is unrelated in real life to a community located at the geographical location. 
         [0010]    In one embodiment, the creator of a relationship corresponds to an online business which systematically relates online objects to fictitious locations. The fictitious location is specified by a real life location expressed in latitude and a longitude, and optionally an altitude. The database further includes both relationships between real objects and geographical locations and online objects and geographical locations. To distinguish between real entities and virtual entities, the creator may enforce a policy that restricts the relationships of the online objects to geographical locations of public areas. In that implementation, the public areas may include sidewalk, public parks, public lands, on streets, on throughways, or underground. 
         [0011]    In one embodiment, the online objects in the database form a virtual community, such as a virtual bazaar. 
         [0012]    The relationship is created in the database by a server, which operates a user interface that is implemented in a website or a mobile application program. In one embodiment, the server may conduct one or more of the following activities: online commerce of goods or services, classified advertisement, advertising, information sharing or exchange, online publishing of articles or books, online communications, or online socializing. The user interface may allow a user to explore a local community using an avatar. The local community may be entirely virtual, i.e., a community which does not correspond to a community in the real world. 
         [0013]    The present invention provides a systematical way for associating on-line entities with physical, geographical locations on a semi-permanent, immobile, real estate-like manner. 
         [0014]    The present invention is better understood upon consideration of the detailed description below, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0015]      FIG. 1  shows a map used in a typical location-based service, representing businesses locations at or near an actual geographical position. 
           [0016]      FIGS. 2( a ) and 2( b )  illustrate uses of imaginary locations in a virtual world in 3-dimensional and 2-dimensional renditions, respectively. 
           [0017]      FIG. 3  illustrates providing a local geographical context to virtual businesses, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0018]      FIG. 4  shows one implementation of a service that provides association of fictitious locations to real or on-line entities, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0019]      FIG. 5  shows a list of fictitious locations in order of increasing distance from the current location, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0020]      FIG. 6  shows a chat session opened as a result of the user exploring the “My Beer” site of  FIG. 5 , according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0021]      FIG. 7  shows a screen-shot of an application program running on a mobile device, which verifies a user check-in at a fictitious location, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0022]    The present invention associates a virtual element (e.g., an online business) with a local context that is based at least in part on one or more real geographical locations.  FIG. 3  illustrates providing a local geographical context to virtual or online businesses, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 3 , locations labeled  101 ,  102 ,  103  and  104  correspond to locations on a sidewalk of a city block. Real businesses or virtual on-line websites may be associated in an on-line database with the actual geographical locations on the sidewalks of the city block. Of course, for virtual elements, that association is completely artificial. In this detailed description, on-line locations may be artificially associated with real or virtual elements in an online database; such on-line locations are referred to as the “fictitious locations” of these elements. Fictitious locations may correspond to actual geographical locations in the real world. Imagine a hot dog stand on a sidewalk, or a note regarding a beloved pet that&#39;s lost posted on a lamp pole of a street light. Fictitious locations are the online equivalents for the geographical positions of the side walk or the lamp post. In  FIG. 3 , for example, fictitious location  101  is associated with an on-line specialty beer vendor, fictitious location  102  may be associated with a real cafe actually located physically nearby fictitious location  102 , and fictitious location  103  is associated with an actual person who provides babysitting service in the neighborhood—though not physically present at the geographical location corresponding to fictitious location  103 —and fictitious location  104  is associated with a posted note regarding a lost dog, although no such note is actually posted at the actual geographical location corresponding to fictitious location  104 . 
         [0023]    By associating a fictitious location to an online business, the present invention allows the online business to be included by a search application looking for businesses in the vicinity of the location corresponding to the on-line business&#39;s fictitious location. In the prior art, to be included in the search result, an on-line business often needs to buy keywords in one or more search engines (i.e., pay one or more search engines to include the on-line business in the search results, when a query that includes the keyword is received). Often, to capture the business in a specific community, the on-line business buys the locations of the community and related descriptions as keywords. Such keyword buying is obviated when the on-line business is deemed associated geographically with the specific community directly through its fictitious location. A method of the present invention helps small on-line businesses become local businesses, e.g., by associating a small mail-order business to locations of a specifically targeted community. At the same time, a method of the present invention simplifies the process by which local businesses become on-line businesses, e.g., by allowing a babysitting service to serve the local community without revealing where the service provider is actually located. Given that many consumers prefer to use local service providers, the present invention provides advantages to localized on-line businesses, as they compete with large on-line giants, such as amazon, taobao.com and others. 
         [0024]    A method of the present invention is flexible and may be easily implemented using conventional computing devices and internet connections, as readily available to any creator of online information, online host or business owner.  FIG. 4  shows one implementation of a service that provides association of fictitious locations to real or on-line entities, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 4 , server maintains a database  405  which associates fictitious locations to both entities with an actual location and virtual entities that exist only on-line. Such associations may be created by authorized personnel of the real and virtual entities through an application software (e.g., app  401 ), or alternatively, by a website interface of server  403 . These associations are provided to user apps  402  and  404  when they query database  405  through server  403 . User apps  402  and  404  may be application software running on mobile devices, e.g., search engines, map applications or other software providing LBS-type services. Alternatively, user apps  402  and  404  may be web pages served by server  403  to provide search engine, maps or other LBS-type services. Because of the ease of implementation and low capital requirements, the present invention facilitates a fictitious geographical presence in the online world, hence enabling businesses that are even smaller than what is conventionally considered small businesses, specialty businesses or niche businesses. By attaching a fictitious location to an on-line entity, the present invention provides a neighborhood context to online activities, without imposing undue restrictions or intruding into privacy. 
         [0025]    A method of the present invention may also benefit personal sites that are created to facilitate social interactions with people, to disseminate ideas, to express oneself, even without a commercial motive. In one application, a user from anywhere on the globe may ask to virtually visit a geographical location, so as to interact with members of the local community to thereby experience local culture and preferences. By virtually visiting a geographical location, say Athens, Greece, using an avatar, the user may obtain a feel for how the local people live on a specific street or neighborhood in Athens, accessing local information around there. For such an application, language translation built into the system may be particularly useful. Alternatively, the user may filter sites with a language tag to limit the websites to be visited to those targeting English speakers. Such an application is akin to walking down a street in Athens, except that the travel is instantaneous. Such a travel experience will also have an element of serendipity, just as in a real life travel experience. 
         [0026]    There are many ways to explore a website supporting fictitious locations. One way to access information in such a website is by browsing the model of the neighborhood of the fictitious location (i.e., the equivalent of walking down a street in the physical world). Another way is by picking through a hierarchy of categories, starting from where the user&#39;s avatar is located.  FIG. 5  shows a list of fictitious locations in order of increasing distance from a device&#39;s current location, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The list of  FIG. 4  may be the result of a search query on the keyword “microbrewery”, for example. As shown in  FIG. 5 , each business associated with the fictitious locations may be selected from the list and explored. For example, the current fictitious location corresponds to “My Beer” with a 4-star rating. Clicking on “My Beer” allows the user to explore My Beer&#39;s offerings.  FIG. 6  shows a chat session opened as a result of the user exploring the “My Beer” site of  FIG. 6 , according to one embodiment of the present invention. In this instance, My Beer may or may not have an actual geographical location, but it does sell beer or other merchandises on-line. As shown in  FIG. 6 , the user makes a purchase with an agent. Other familiar formats suitable for location-based applications may also be provided. For example, rather than provided a list of search results, the local map showing the fictitious locations of the websites returned as landmarks may be displayed. A user may browse through the results on the map by clicking on the landmarks. In  FIG. 6 , a “FAQ” (i.e., frequently asked questions) tab provides visitors with product information, delivery or pick-up options, store hours, payment form accepted or other information. 
         [0027]    It may be advantageous for an application to have a set of rules to govern transactions and user behavior, for example. Such rules or policies may be essential to ensure good citizenship and to prevent fraud. In one instance, for example, before a business is allowed to be associated with a fictitious location, the system may require the business owner to show a real-life connection to a local community represented by the fictitious location. Whether such a rule should be strictly or loosely enforced depends on the particular application and on the particular local culture of the community. For example, the system may require a user claiming a fictitious location to check-in periodically (e.g., once a month) with his cellular telephone from the corresponding geographical location. Exemptions may be made under some circumstances (e.g., for a babysitting service or a mobile hair dresser, where the local connection is self-evident). Suitable rules helps in ensuring and maintaining a quality on-line community.  FIG. 7  shows a screen-shot of an application program running on a mobile device, which verifies a user check-in at a fictitious location, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In  FIG. 7 , the current actual geographical location of the mobile device is indicated. When the current location coincides with the fictitious location to be verified (i.e., the fictitious location to which his business is assigned), the user selects the button labeled “Verify Stand” to satisfy the verification requirement of the virtual community. 
         [0028]    The above detailed description is provided to illustrate specific embodiments of the present invention and is not intended to be limiting. Numerous variations or modification within the scope of the present invention are possible. The present invention is set forth in the following claims.