Abstract:
A system and method to permit users to have personal unique identifiers associated with personal information stored on a database accessed by an identity server is disclosed. The identity server is connected to one or more networks including the Internet. Users can distribute the personal unique identifier to third parties who can then obtain the personal information by accessing the server through the network. The users may modify the information stored in the database, which can then assist third parties in obtaining the modified information by inputting the personal unique identifier, or permitting client software to do so automatically on their behalf, in turn making updates to that information for the third party. This can be done over a large period of time such that third parties can easily access personal information of the user even if that information changes. The third parties may also be organizations or corporations with extensive customer lists that wish to update their client contact information with minimum interference to the customers and at minimal costs to the organization. Furthermore, users can use the personal unique identifier to populate electronic forms, such as web forms, provided on web sites hosted by organization or corporation, for the convenience of the organization or corporation and the use. The personal information of the user may also be organized in different cards having a variety of reveal and hidden status levels permitting access to additional information if a key, comprising an alphanumeric code, is entered together with the unique identifier.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/730,756, filed on Oct. 26, 2005, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     This invention relates to a method and system for granting access to personal information. In particular, this invention relates to a system and method for granting access to personal information using unique identifiers given by users to third parties. This invention also relates to a system and method facilitating updating of personal information.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     In our increasingly mobile culture, organizations face the challenge of staying in touch with clients and customers as they move from job to job, city to city and country to country. Individuals face a similar challenge as they try to stay in touch with both friends, family and work colleagues. E-mail addresses, telephone numbers and physical “brick and mortar” addresses change frequently, but there is often no permanent, unchanging element of information.  
         [0004]     In addition to movement, there are numerous examples of how these constant changes cause inconvenience, expense and require valuable time to manage, both on the part of the person who is moving and on the part of the organization or individual who is attempting to contact the person who has moved. For instance, if you need a cell phone number for a work colleague, there generally is no such “directory assistance” which can provide cell phone numbers thereby preventing quickly locating their number. Furthermore, while several people submit their contact information to organizations, the information can quickly become outdated. Furthermore, several individuals pass out business cards, the business cards may be old and/or the information contained on the business cards may be out of date. Furthermore, many people may have changed jobs, been promoted to new positions, updated their e-mail addresses, or changed their mobile phone numbers in the interim since submitting their information to an organization or handing out a business card. Furthermore, some jurisdictions have changed their telephone area codes or even changed the number of digits in the telephone numbers to accommodate the increasing number of telephones, cell phones and facsimile machines in any given area. There would be no easy way to reconnect with these people if one or more of their contact information has changed.  
         [0005]     Several organizations often lose touch with clients once they have changed their circumstances, such as moved on from college, or moved from one city to another city. Furthermore, several people often lose touch with friends under similar circumstances. It is often difficult to find and reconnect with such individuals. This is compounded by the fact that several people may change their names, as may result, for instance, from marriage or divorce.  
         [0006]     Furthermore, over time people become associated with a growing number of organizations, including e-commerce web sites, print subscriptions, associations, banks and utilities. Each organization holds a stagnant version of a client&#39;s contact information, and each will require a manual update by the client when the information changes. Not only is the task becoming increasingly burdensome for the information owner, because the sheer number of locations (especially online) makes the task almost impossible to manage effectively, the task of an organization managing and updating valuable customer data becomes more costly to do.  
         [0007]     Furthermore, individuals are represented by a growing number of contact information elements, particularly in the digital realm; today alone a single person could have IDs in multiple instant messenger services, a personal web page, an internet voice account, online IDs in numerous social networking sites, and multiple email addresses. The task of keeping all this data current in all locations is near impossible to manage.  
         [0008]     Furthermore, as people&#39;s lives change, or as organizations change values or offerings, people need control over the type and frequency of communications they wish to receive from organizations; for example, marketing material. With personal contact information distributed through multiple locations, there is no centralized way to monitor and control use of one&#39;s contact information, for the purposes of communication by organizations.  
         [0009]     Furthermore, organizations eager to acquire and retain customers have a significant cost of customer contact information management. Statistics show that 15% of physical addresses change each year, as do 30% of online IDs, such as email addresses. Loss of contact due to outdated information is a significant cost to organizations.  
         [0010]     Furthermore, while friends and colleagues may send e-mails advising you that their contact information has changed, in our increasingly busy lifestyles, such e-mails may be ignored or misplaced or diverted by SPAM filters or could be lost through a system failure or virus.  
         [0011]     Furthermore, even in cases where people can store information, such as in an address book, access to this type of storage medium is not always accessible, particularly when travelling.  
         [0012]     While it is often possible for people to contact friends, family or colleagues by one medium, such as a telephone number, or another piece of contact information such as an e-mail address, this can generally be time-consuming and difficult to do. Furthermore, if the reason for the contact information being required is for an invitation, congratulatory card or birthday card, it is often embarrassing to request this contact information in order to forward these types of items.  
         [0013]     Accordingly, there is a need for a more effective system and method for people to be able to share contact information with organizations, friends and/or colleagues which is efficient for both the recipient party and the party whose personal contact information is being given. Furthermore, there is a need in the marketplace for a system and method which permits individuals to be uniquely identified by a means which remains stable in our mobile culture when physical addresses, e-mail addresses, online IDs, telephone numbers and, in some cases, even personal names can change over time. Furthermore, there is a need in the marketplace to be able to share different types of information, such as personal information, work-related information, billing-related information, shipping-related information, school-related information and/or family-related information with different organizations or individuals and limit the nature and use of the personal information being shared, depending on the recipient parties.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0014]     Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to at least partially overcome some of the disadvantages of the prior art. Also, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved type of system and method which provides a network-based or a web-based service for users to share contact information with others. Furthermore, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved type of system and method for providing contact information which can be modified easily and seamlessly to the recipient of the information. Furthermore, it is an object of this invention to provide a system and method to segregate and govern use of contact information by different categories of recipients.  
         [0015]     Accordingly, in one aspect, the present invention resides in a web-based service which provides a simple and safe way to ensure that third parties always have access to a user&#39;s current contact information. In such a system, a user would choose a unique name or unique personal identifier for themselves, and enter all current contact information in a database associated with that unique user name or unique personal identifier. Such access to the database may be performed, in a preferred embodiment, through a website accessed through the Internet. The user may then share the unique personal identifier with others, by any means available, such as via e-mail, in an advertisement, in a meeting, at a party, or printed on business cards, or submitting through electronic form including in a web form. Any third party or “guest” having the unique personal identifier can request the current contact information for that individual by accessing the database, such as by a website through the Internet, and obtaining the personal information associated with the unique identifier. The user name provides a unique personal identifier which is independent to the user&#39;s other contact information, including the user&#39;s personal name. In this way, the personal unique identifier could be used by the user to assist the user to maintain and share contact information with others for as long as the unique personal identifier is active. The personal unique identifier could also be used by guests and other users to obtain information about the user and which the user desires to reveal to the public and/or specific guests.  
         [0016]     The users, in one embodiment, have full control over what specific information they can share with any particular requesting party. Such access may be increased, for instance, by way of a key identifier, which, in one embodiment, is an alphanumeric code, associated with the personal unique identifier. For instance, accessing the database, such as through the website, using both the personal unique identifier and a key associated with the unique identifier may reveal hidden information which otherwise would not be revealed by accessing the database with the personal unique identifier alone.  
         [0017]     To access the network, a device, such as a personal digital assistant (“PDA”), or a cell phone, as well as server computer or personal computers, may be used. Furthermore, such a connection may be through a wired connection or a wireless connection as is known in the art. In addition, client software and interfaces modules for these devices including PDA&#39;s, personal computers and servers, may be available to facilitate access to the database containing the personal information and the unique user names or identifiers. In this way, any user or guests can easily enter or submit a stored version of the user name for an individual and obtain the personal contact information which is available for that user.  
         [0018]     In one aspect of the invention, the personal contact information is kept private and the user has total control over the nature of the personal contact information which is revealed and to whom that information is revealed by controlling access to that data.  
         [0019]     In one aspect, the present invention resides in a method for granting access to personal information comprising: selecting a personal unique identifier to uniquely identify a user in an identity database; storing personal information regarding the user in the identity database associated with the personal unique identifier; providing the personal unique identifier to at least one other person, including an organization or individual, said at least one other person submitting the personal unique identifier into the database to retrieve said personal information for the user.  
         [0020]     In a further aspect, the present invention resides in a method for facilitating access to personal information comprising: selecting a personal unique identifier to uniquely identify a user in an identity database controlled by a personal unique identifier server; storing personal information regarding the user in the identity database associated with the personal identifier; accessing the personal unique identifier server by the user inputting the personal unique identifier and a further password identifier through a network to permit the user to modify the personal information; providing the unique identifier to at least one other person, including an organization or individual; wherein the at least one other person can submit the unique identifier to access the personal information associated with the unique identifier, said personal information reflecting modifications made by the user.  
         [0021]     In a still further aspect, the present invention provides a system for controlling access to personal information, said system comprising: a database containing a plurality of personal unique identifiers, each personal unique identifier uniquely identifying personal information of a particular user associated with the corresponding unique personal identifier; a personal unique identifier server for providing access to the personal information stored in the database; wherein the user can provide their personal unique identifier to at least one person, other than the user, such that said at least one other person can access the personal information of the user associated with the unique personal identifier through the personal unique identifier server.  
         [0022]     In a still further aspect, the present invention resides in a method for granting access to personal information comprising: selecting a personal unique identifier to uniquely identify a user in an identity database; storing personal information regarding the user in the identity database associated with the personal unique identifier; submitting the personal unique identifier to a web form offered on a web site to accept and store personal information, said web site operating an interface module capable of passing the given personal unique identifier into the identity database to retrieve said personal information on the user&#39;s behalf, and then populating the web with the personal information.  
         [0023]     Further aspects of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and drawings, which illustrate the invention and preferred embodiments of the invention.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0024]     In the drawings, which illustrate embodiments of the invention:  
         [0025]      FIG. 1  illustrates a symbolic representation of a system which may be used in the present invention;  
         [0026]      FIG. 2  illustrates a schematic representation of the function of the server and accessing data stored in the database according to one embodiment of this invention;  
         [0027]      FIG. 3  illustrates a representation of the personal information stored for a particular user according to one embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0028]      FIG. 4  is a schematic representation illustrating the function of a remote client web site accessing data stored in the database according to one preferred embodiment of this invention;  
         [0029]      FIG. 4   a  illustrates population of information on a web form by a remote client web site according to one aspect of the present invention; and  
         [0030]      FIG. 5  is a schematic representation illustrating updating of personal information contained by a remote client according to a further preferred embodiment.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0031]     Preferred embodiments of the invention and its advantages can be understood by referring to the present drawings. In the present drawings, like numerals are used for like and corresponding parts of the accompanying drawings.  
         [0032]     As shown in  FIG. 1 , one embodiment of the present invention relates to a system, shown generally by reference numeral  10 , comprising a personal unique identifier (“PUI”) server  20  connected to a personal information database  22 . The database  22  is connected through the PUI server  20  to a network, represented generally by reference numeral N. In a preferred embodiment, the network N comprises the Internet  8 . It is understood that the database  22  may form part of the PUI server  20  or be physically separate.  
         [0033]     A plurality of users and guests (where users can be individuals or organizations) may access the database  22  through the PUI server  20  by means of a number of various devices  30  for accessing the PUI server  20  through the network. These devices  30  may comprise personal digital assistants (“PDAs”)  31 , which can be any type of electronic hand-held information devices, as well as cell phones  32 . Such PDAs  31  and cell phones  32  may access the database  22  through the PUI server  20  by means of a wireless connection, shown generally by reference numeral  40 , and/or a wired or land connection  41  and through a number of networks including the Internet  8 . As is also illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the devices  30  may also comprise a web browser or other software such as client software or interface module operating on a computer or other type of digital device, shown generally by reference numeral  33 , which facilitates access to the database  22  through the PUI server  20 . The devices  30  can send and receive information, including personal data, to and from the database  22  as discussed more fully below.  
         [0034]     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , a user  101  may have a personal unique identifier  100  which, for illustration purposes only, comprises the word “Zeus.” It is understood that the personal unique identifier  100 , in this case the word “Zeus,” could be used by a user  101  to identify him or herself. Furthermore, it is understood that the personal unique identifier  100  is not restricted to identifying an individual person, but could be used to identify a group of people, an organization, a corporation, a government agency or any other entity. The word “Zeus” would be associated with corresponding personal contact information for the user  101  in the database  22 , which will be discussed in more detail below.  
         [0035]     Other persons may access the personal contact information of the user by inputting the unique identifier  100 , in this case the word “Zeus” into the database  22 . For instance, any other persons also referred to as guests, and shown generally by reference number  102 , may input the user name “Zeus” through the Internet  8  using the client software and/or the web browser  33  to access the PUI server  20  either through a website or other interface. The guest  102  may then access the personal information, including contact information, which the user  101  associated with the personal unique identifier “Zeus” has made available for view in association with the personal unique identifier “Zeus.” 
         [0036]     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the user  101  may update or add information associated with the user&#39;s personal unique identifier  100 , which, in this example, is the word “Zeus.” This can be done, for instance, by the user  101  sending add/update signals Sa. The add/update signals Sa may be sent by any manner, as discussed above, to the personal unique identifier PUI server  20  and the database  22 . For instance, this may be done, as illustrated in  FIG. 1 , by means of the wired or land connection, shown generally by reference numeral  41 , and via a web browser/or client software  33  accessing the Internet. It is understood that the personal unique identifier PUI server  20  may also be accessible through a web page, which preferably has security features, and can be accessed through the Internet N. Similarly, a guest  102  may send search and retrieve signals Sr to and from the personal unique identifier PUI server  20  to access the information stored in the database  22 . The search and retrieve signals Sr may be sent by any manner possible, including through a wired or land connection  41  as illustrated in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0037]     In a preferred embodiment, as illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the guest  102  may comprise a remote client, identified generally by reference number  402 , which may comprise a remote client web server  450 . The remote client server may comprise an interface module  475  which facilitates communication with the PUI server  20 . The remote client  402  could, for example, be of a nature that routinely accepts and stores people&#39;s personal contact information and has also provided a means to accept personal unique identifiers  100  as referenced above. The user  101  may input their personal unique identifier  100  into the remote client web server  450  by way of a personal computer  30  operating a web browser  33 . The remote client web server  450  in turn engages the interface module  475  to input the given personal unique identifier  100 , along with any other authenticating information which may be required, to the PUI server  20 . The PUI server  20 , upon authenticating the request from the interface module  475 , returns information associated with the given personal unique identifier  100  to the interface module  475 . The remote client web server  450  reads the returned information and presents it to the user  101 , who in turn can submit it to the remote client web server  450 .  
         [0038]      FIG. 4   a  illustrates an example of a user  101  experience as described in the above paragraph. A remote client web server  450  provides the remote client web site  480  having a web form  481  which in this example accommodates contact information shown as name, home address, email, etc. The same web form  481  preferably accommodates a field to enter the personal unique identifier  100  and a means to submit the said personal unique identifier  100  to the remote client web server  450  by way of a button  482 . Upon submission of the personal unique identifier  100 , and other functionality generally described herein, the web form  481  is populated with contact information  485  associated with the personal unique identifier  100 , in this example “Zeus,” which was submitted by way of the submit button  482 .  
         [0039]      FIG. 5  illustrates a further preferred embodiment where the user  101  may update or add information associated with the user&#39;s personal unique identifier  100 , which, in this example, is the word “Zeus.” This can be done, for instance, by the user  101  sending add/update signals Sa containing the personal unique identifier  100  uniquely identifying the user  100  together with the updated information regarding the user  101  to the PUI server  20  and the database  22  in any manner, as discussed, for example, above. Update signals Sp containing this updated personal information for particular users  101  can then be sent from the PUI server  20  to the remote client  402  through interface module  475 . The remote client  402  may request that update signals Sp containing the updated personal information be sent periodically in a number of ways, examples of which are discussed below.  
         [0040]     Independently, a remote client  402 , having a digital record of previously given personal unique identifiers  100 , can engage its interface module  475  to send search and retrieve signals Sr to and from the PUI server  20  to access information of particular users  101  contained in the database  22  that has been updated. Information can be identified as having been updated in a number of ways, such as by temporarily tracking when changes have been made to the personal information by the particular users  101 .  
         [0041]     In a further preferred embodiment, the PUI server  20  can track associations between particular users  101  and specific remote clients  402  and simply notify the specific remote clients  402  when a modification has occurred by a particular user  101 . An association may be tracked between a particular user  101  and a specific remote client  402  if the particular user  101  uses their personal unique identifier  100  in a web form  480 , for example, or the remote client  402  otherwise accesses the personal information of a particular user  101  using the personal unique identifier  100  of the particular user  101 . At the option of the remote client organization  402 , the PUI server  20 , upon receiving updates from the user  101 , can in turn send update signals Sp to the interface module  475  of the remote client server  450  if the PUI server  20  has tracked an association between a particular user  101  and a specific remote client  402 . These update signals Sp may contain the personal unique identifiers  100  of the user  101 , which have updated their personal information and for which the personal unique identifier  100  has tracked, and preferably stored in the database  22 , the association with the specific remote client  402 . Preferably, the remote client web server  450  may receive these update signals Sp and then decide if they wish to receive the updated personal information of the particular users  101  uniquely identified by the personal unique identifiers  100  contained in the update signal Sp. It is understood that a monetary fee may be charged to the remote client  402  at various stages for the services discussed above. It is also understood that these notifications are merely examples of types of notifications which can occur. Also, these notifications can be prompted either by the PUI server  20  or in response to a search and retrieve signal Sr from a specific remote client  402 .  
         [0042]     As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the database  22  may store personal contact information shown generally by reference numeral  320 . In a further preferred embodiment, the database  22  stores personal contact information in different categories, also referred to as cards and illustrated, for instance, in  FIG. 3  by reference numeral  310 . There may be a number of cards  310 , identified for convenience by the specific reference numerals  310   a ,  310 b and  310 n. The cards  310  may also have a name, identified generally by reference numerals  312   a ,  312   b ,  312   n , which identify each of the cards  310  for the easy organization by the user  101 . In a preferred embodiment, the names  312  may be altered as the user  101  sees fit.  
         [0043]     The cards  310  may each contain different types of personal information. For instance, one card  310   a  could have company or work information, another card  310   b  may have home or shipping information and other cards  310   n  may similarly be organized with information of a different nature.  
         [0044]     In a further preferred embodiment, one or more of the components of contact information  320  may also have a reveal/hidden status  330 . The reveal/hidden status  330  will be an identification of the privacy level of the associated information. For instance, a reveal/hidden status  330  having a value “R” may constitute information which may be revealed to anyone who accesses the database  22  through a device  30 , whether this is done through a website, accessed by a network such as the Internet N, or directly via a device  30 . In another embodiment, for each component of contact information  320  which has a reveal/hidden status of H hidden, the associated information may not be visible to guests  102  who access the database  22  unless they have additional information, such as a key  99  as outlined below. In a preferred embodiment, each card  310  has a card reveal/hidden status  313  which permits the user to change the reveal/hidden status  330  of all of the information in the card  313 .  
         [0045]      FIG. 2  illustrates additional functionalities of the system and method according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the information owner or user  101 , in this case having the personal unique identifier “Zeus,” has the personal name Joe Smith.  
         [0046]     The personal user information  201  of the user  101  Joe Smith will be stored in the database  22 . In a preferred embodiment, the personal information  201  may be stored as illustrated in  FIG. 3  and discussed above. In a further preferred embodiment, the information  201  may be stored as illustrated in  FIG. 2  and may comprise contact information  320  set as both public information  320   p  and hidden information  320   h,  as was the case with the contact information  320  having the reveal/hidden status  330  shown in  FIG. 3 . Furthermore, the personal information  201  may also comprise directory information  305 . The directory information  305  may comprise name and location information, and, can be set as either public  305   p,  or private  305 . It is understood that these are merely examples of information that can be stored in the directory, and many other types of information may be set as either public or private. In a preferred embodiment, the directory information set as public will include the name of the owner “Joe Smith” to facilitate searching as discussed below.  
         [0047]     As illustrated in the step  250 , the user  101 , in this example being “Joe Smith,” may add or update the user&#39;s own information in the directories  305 p and  305 h as well as in the cards  310 . This can be done, for instance,.by the user  101  accessing the PUI server  20 , as illustrated by signal Sa in  FIG. 1 , using the personal unique identifier  100  and another password (not shown) and then accessing the information.  
         [0048]     Once the user identified by the personal unique identifier “Zeus” sets the information in the directories  305  and cards  310 , third parties, such as guests or other users, shown generally by reference numeral  102 , may access the information. For instance, the guest  102  may seek out the contact information for Joe Smith by performing a search, shown in step  212 . The search may be initiated, for instance, by the guest  102  sending a search and retrieve signal Sr as illustrated in  FIG. 1 . The search may be with a number of different parameters including the name of the user  202 , in this example “Joe Smith” identified by the search term  222   n , the personal unique identifier  100 , in this example “Zeus” identified at search term  222   pui  and/or the personal unique identifier  100  and the key  99  identified at search term  222   k.  As illustrated in step  222   k,  the personal unique identifier  100  and the key  99  in this example consists of the alphanumeric code “Zeus.232” comprising the PUI “Zeus” in this example and the key “232” in this example.  
         [0049]     It is understood that one or more of the search terms  222  will be received by the PUI server  20  in order to access the personal information  201 . For instance, as illustrated in  FIG. 2 , in one preferred embodiment, the PUI server  20  may permit a guest  102  having merely the name search term  222   n  to access the directory information set as public  305   p.  This could be used, for example, similar to a telephone directory providing information as to a person&#39;s full name and location, and/or any other information the user chooses to allow the public access to, solely with the name search term  222   n.  In a further embodiment, a guest  102  may be provided by the PUI server  20  with a means to request more information from the user  101 , in a manner that does not reveal any further information about the user  101 . Receipt of such requests by the user  101  is at the user&#39;s discretion.  
         [0050]     If the guest  102  has the personal unique identifier search term  222   pui,  then the guest  102  may have access to the information set as public  320   p.  It should be noted that the guest  102  may have the name search term  222   n  or the personal unique identifier search term  222   pui  or both. However, different information may be available with these two separate search terms  222   n  and  222   pui.  It is also understood that the user  101  would have set the information available by these two separate search terms  222   n ,  222   pui.    
         [0051]     Furthermore, using the PUI and key search terms  222   k,  a guest  102  may access the public card information  320   p  as well as the hidden card information  320   h.  It is understood that the PUI and key search term  222   k  may be provided so that a user may give their personal unique identifier  100  to several individuals but only have the key  99 , which is normally kept confidential, given to certain guests  102 . Furthermore, while not illustrated in  FIG. 2 , in a further preferred embodiment it is possible to have different keys  99  associated with the same personal unique identifier  100 . For instance, the same personal unique identifier “Zeus” may have a key  99 , such as the alphanumeric code “232” illustrated in  FIG. 2  for some guests  102  providing access to some information set as private  320   h,  and may provide other keys  99  consisting of other alphanumeric codes to other guests  102  to provide access to other card information set as private (not shown). This could be done to permit the user  101  to give access to different personal information  201  to different guests  102 .  
         [0052]     In addition to the functionality discussed above with respect to the guest or other persons  102 , the present system  10  in a preferred embodiment also facilitates special access to linked users (whether individuals or organizations), shown generally by reference numeral  103 . Linked users  103  may comprise any user of the system  10  which has been linked by any type of stored connection in the system  10  to another user. Such a stored connection could result for instance if a user is also a member of the same system  10 . Such a stored connection could also result in the narrower situation where two users have both placed personal information  201  in database  22  and also have accessed each other&#39;s personal information. In either case, a guest  102  can be transformed to the status of linked user  103 , and the linked user  103  will also be able to perform a search step as shown in step  213 . There is also a separate functionality shown in step  252  whereby a particular user can set a linked user  103  as allowed, where the linked user  103  is allowed access to the personal information  201 , or blocked, where the linked user  103  is not allowed access, as illustrated in the allowed/blocked step  253 . In the case, where the access is allowed at the allowed/blocked step  253 , the linked user  103  will be provided access to the personal information  201  of the user  101  in the normal course. However, if access is blocked at allowed/blocked step  253 , the linked user  103  would be denied access to the information. This denial of access may result, for example, by simply indicating that that particular information is no longer available. This denial of access may also trigger a demand that the requesting linked user  103  delete any copies of the personal information of user  101 , that the linked user  103  may have previously acquired. This can be accomplished, for instance, because the linked user  103  will be identified within the system  10 .  
         [0053]     If access to a linked user  103  is allowed in step  253 , the linked user  103  may then search the database  22  using different parameters including the search terms  223 . These search terms  223  may comprise the name search term  223   n,  the personal unique identifier search term  223 PUI, and the personal unique identifier and the key search term  223   k.  The name search term  223   n,  the personal unique identifier search term  223 PUI and the PUI and key search terms  223   k  would be performed in a similar manner to the name search terms  222   n , the personal unique identifier search term  223 PUI and the PUI and key search terms  222   k  discussed above with respect to a guest or other non-linked user  102 . However, by means of the function  251 , the user  101  is permitted the flexibility to optionally set cards as open, closed, or subject to a default public/private setting for particular linked users  103 . In this way, if the user  101  has not yet given a key  99  to the linked user  103 , the user  101  may still permit the linked user  103  access to both the information set as public  320   p  and the information set as private  320   h  through the open option at step  263 . Furthermore, step  263  also provides a close function whereby access by a linked user  103 , who has nevertheless been allowed access at step  253 , can still be denied or closed access to the personal information  201  at step  263 .  
         [0054]     As is apparent from the above, a guest or other person  102 , having the personal unique identifier  100 , for a particular user  101 , can easily and continuously access personal information  201  about the particular user  101 . This is the case whether or not any personal information  201  regarding the user  101  has remained permanent or has changed. Furthermore, the user  101  has the option of what information  202  a particular guest  102  can be granted access to depending on whether or not the user  101  has given merely the personal unique identifier  100  and/or a key  99  and/or a different key (not shown). In this way, a particular user  101  can control the specific personal information  201  which is revealed or hidden.  
         [0055]     In the further preferred embodiment, in cases where guests or other persons  102  access information about a particular user  101  using the name search term  222   n , the guest  102  may contact the user  101  such as by sending an e-mail or other type of message which the user  101  may or may not wish to respond to. Furthermore, access to the user  101  using a name search  222   n , or any other search term other than the personal unique identifier  110 , with or without a key  99 , could be denied at the user&#39;s  101  sole discretion. In this way, the user  101  can grant access to all guests  102  merely with the guest knowing the user&#39;s  101  name, or, may only grant access to information  201  to guests  102  who have at least the personal unique identifier  100 . In this way, the user  101  has different options for how to grant access to personal information  201 . It is also apparent that the guests  102  can access information regarding a user  101 , whether or not the guest  102  is also a user of the system  10 . In other words, the system  10  facilitates access to information by guests  102  who are in essence members of the public and does not require them to also become users of the system  100  to be able to access the personal information  201  of a user  101 .  
         [0056]     It is understood that the description above with respect to  FIG. 2  is one preferred embodiment of the present invention and is intended to describe different functions of the invention rather than to limit the invention to these specific features. It is also understood that these specific features can be used in combination with other features that have not been described but are known to persons skilled in the art without deviating from the present invention.  
         [0057]     It is also understood that reference to user  101  herein is not limited to an individual, but rather is intended to include any organization, entity or group. Similarly, it is understood that reference to guest or other person is not limited to an individual, but rather is intended to include any organization, entity or group, including without limiting the foregoing, a remote client  402 .  
         [0058]     To the extent that a patentee may act as its own lexicographer under applicable law, it is hereby further directed that all words appearing in the claims section, except for the above defined words, shall take on their ordinary, plain and accustomed meanings (as generally evidenced, inter alia, by dictionaries and/or technical lexicons), and shall not be considered to be specially defined in this specification. Notwithstanding this limitation on the inference of “special definitions,” the specification may be used to evidence the appropriate ordinary, plain and accustomed meanings (as generally evidenced, inter alia, by dictionaries and/or technical lexicons), in the situation where a word or term used in the claims has more than one pre-established meaning and the specification is helpful in choosing between the alternatives.  
         [0059]     It will be understood that, although various features of the invention have been described with respect to one or another of the embodiments of the invention, the various features and embodiments of the invention may be combined or used in conjunction with other features and embodiments of the invention as described and illustrated herein.  
         [0060]     Although this disclosure has described and illustrated certain preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not restricted to these particular embodiments. Rather, the invention includes all embodiments, which are functional, electrical or mechanical equivalents of the specific embodiments and features that have been described and illustrated herein.