Abstract:
System platform, software and hardware equipment and components, and methodologies are provided for gathering, organizing, distributing and synchronizing information about events, event attendees or group activities associated with events. Event management system and methods include mobile software application platform for event participants to receive push content, and generate and share real time activity feed(s) on various social media and/or dialogue platforms via a server that transmits push information (notifications, ads, alerts, updates) to event participant&#39;s mobile application, receives activity feed information from mobile application, and selectively transmits activity feed information to social media and/or dialog platforms. Events include conferences, tradeshows, seminars, or any activities involving one or more participants. Event participants include attendees, exhibitors, speakers, sponsors, organizers, or any other groups or individuals associated with event. Social media and/or dialogue platforms include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, email, text messaging, or any other communication media supporting data transfer or sharing between users.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to prior U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/711,427 filed Oct. 19, 2012, the contents of which (including all attachments filed therewith) is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The invention is in the field of gathering, organizing, distributing and synchronizing information across portable and web-based devices, such as and without limitation mobile smart phones, workstations, personal computers, laptops and the like. Generally, exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide system platform, software and hardware equipment and components, and methodologies for gathering, organizing, distributing and synchronizing information about one or more events, including without limitation any social occasion or activity such as conferences, concerts, meetings, sports, etc., and individual event attendee or group activities associated with one or more events. 
         [0004]    2. Discussion of the Background of the Invention 
         [0005]    Various conventional methods and systems exist for generating and distributing information about events to mobile users including those described in the following U.S. patents and published patent applications. 
         [0006]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,647,257 titled “System and Method For Providing Targeted Messages Based on Wireless Mobile Location” describes providing messages to a subscriber of a mobile service based on location of mobile device, where targeting messages is based on identified mobile call signal, historic response data and identity of mobile terminal. 
         [0007]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,889,054 titled “Method And System For Schedule Based Advertising On A Mobile Phone” describes pushing ads to mobile device including user preferred schedule for push ads, and controlling push ads based on user preferred schedule. 
         [0008]    U.S. Pat. No. 7,027,801 titled “Method Delivering Location-Base Targeted Advertisements To Mobile Subscribers” describes receiving a push ad from an external server and sending it to mobile terminal based on: mobile terminal ID; received mobile terminal location; and Picocell service areas of mobile device, or products/services identified in a user profile. 
         [0009]    U.S. Pat. No. 7,051,105 titled “System And Method For Distributing Management Events To External Processes” describes providing notifications to client computer for computer event management including receiving and matching notification types, and client sending notification to a listener on network. 
         [0010]    U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,076,244 and 7,711,769 both titled “System And Method For Pushing Information To A Mobile Device” describe how to display ads on a mobile device including categorizing static, dynamic or default ads, and combining and displaying static with dynamic or default ad. These patents also describe how to push information to a mobile device where server stores information in pre-defined categories (channels), database server sends notification to proxy server at each change in the information, and a channel is selected for sending notifications to a mobile device according to the type of information. 
         [0011]    U.S. Pat. No. 7,873,708 titled “System And Method For Distributing Management Events To External Processes” describes providing multimedia content to wireless device including receiving search query by wireless device, sending content to wireless device based on query, sending updated content to device, and receiving preference by device. 
         [0012]    U.S. Published Patent Application, Pub No. 2008/0085700 titled “Event Update Management System” describes sending alerts to registered mobile users requesting alerts regarding an event. 
         [0013]    U.S. Published Patent Application, Pub No. 2010/0250672 titled “Providing Event Data To A Group Of Contacts” describes an event coordination service providing event data to computing devices where data is displayed to contacts in a group continuously during an event, and updated. 
         [0014]    U.S. Published Patent Application, Pub No. 2012/0071129 titled “Methods And Apparatuses For Transmission Of An Alert To Multiple Devices” describes sending alerts from one device to another device in response to not receiving periodic message at one mobile device. 
         [0015]    U.S. Published Patent Application, Pub No. 2010/0102091 titled “Automated Blogging And Skills Portfolio Management System” describes blogging and portfolio management accessible via mobile app, including organizing plurality of messages from plurality of mobile devices based on current event, having messages accessible by other mobile device, and organizing and publishing messages in a portfolio. 
         [0016]    None of these conventional systems or methods address the need for gathering from the attendees information about the event and providing this information to the event attendees as well as third parties, or to synchronize information about the event among event attendees let alone doing so during an event, or by utilizing social media Likewise, none of these conventional systems or methods addresses the need to share or broadcast the information about the event among event attendees and third parties. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0017]    Exemplary embodiments of the present invention address at least the above problems and/or disadvantages and provide at least the advantages described below. 
         [0018]    Exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide an event management system and methods including a mobile software application platform for event participants to receive push content, and to generate and share real time activity feed(s) on various social media and/or dialogue platforms via a server. 
         [0019]    According to exemplary implementations of embodiments of the present invention, managed events include conferences, tradeshows, seminars, or any activities involving one or more participants. 
         [0020]    According to exemplary implementations of embodiments of the present invention, event participants include attendees, exhibitors, speakers, sponsors, organizers, or any other groups or individuals associated with the event. 
         [0021]    According to exemplary implementations of embodiments of the present invention, social media and/or dialogue platforms include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, email, text messaging, or any other communication media supporting data transfer or sharing between users. 
         [0022]    According to exemplary implementations, a server of an event management system and methods of exemplary embodiments of the present invention transmits push information (notifications, ads, alerts, updates) to an event participant&#39;s mobile application, receives activity feed information from the mobile application (via a graphical user interface), and selectively transmits the activity feed information to social media and/or dialog platforms, allowing users to share the activity feed information via the social media platform with their network. 
         [0023]    According to exemplary implementations of embodiments of the present invention, push information transmitted by a server can include notifications, ads, alerts, updates, and any other information generated by the server and/or selectively input and/or chosen by a user. 
         [0024]    According to exemplary implementations of embodiments of the present invention, the push information and/or activity feeds regarding an event include notifications, advertisements, registration information, comments, notes, pictures, maps, documents, schedules, contact info, web page, presentations, analytics, dialogue with others, and other feeds. 
         [0025]    According to exemplary implementations of embodiments of the present invention, activity feeds are generated by user on a mobile device, or any other web-based or communication device capable of transmitting information to a social media or dialogue application, where the activity feeds are transmitted to social media or dialogue application via a server. 
         [0026]    According to exemplary implementations of embodiments of the present invention, the push information can be generated by third parties and provided to the server for pushing to a participant&#39;s mobile application, or any other web-based or communication device capable of receiving push information from the server. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0027]    A more complete appreciation of the present invention and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
           [0028]      FIGS. 1 ,  2 A and  2 B are a generalized illustration of a system platform and platform components according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0029]      FIGS. 3A-3I  are illustrative examples of topology and architecture, as well as certain complementary component features, of a system and methodology according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. 
           [0030]      FIGS. 4A and 4B  are a generalized illustration of certain functionality provides by an app according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0031]      FIG. 5  shows an example of a process flow according to a feature of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0032]      FIG. 6  shows an example of another feature of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0033]      FIGS. 7A ,  7 B and  8  show an example yet another feature of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0034]      FIG. 9  shows an example of functionality and associated process flow according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0035]      FIG. 10  shows an example of another process flow according to a feature of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0036]      FIGS. 11 and 12  shows examples of functionality, information processing and display on various software and hardware platforms according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0037]      FIG. 13  shows another example of functionality, information processing and display according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0038]      FIG. 14  shows an example of yet another feature of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0039]      FIG. 15  shows another example of functionality and associated process flow according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0040]      FIGS. 16A-16D  show an example of functionality and associated workflow of a user of a platform according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0041]      FIGS. 17A-17E  show yet another example of additional functionality and associated workflow according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0042]      FIGS. 18A and 18B  shows an example of another feature and associated additional functionality selectively provided by the feature according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0043]      FIGS. 19A-19B  and  20 A- 20 F show examples of additional features and associated additional functionality selectively provided by the features of  FIG. 18B  according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. 
           [0044]      FIG. 21  illustrates and example of a mobile device having a user account according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention 
           [0045]      FIG. 22  is a generalized illustration of synchronization of various system components according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0046]      FIG. 23-31  show further examples of features and associated functionality selectively provided by exemplary embodiments of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
       [0047]    Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views, embodiments of the present invention are shown in schematic detail. A skilled artisan will readily appreciate that any references to specific software, tools and/or components by their manufacturer or brand name are merely for exemplary purposes and not to limit the scope of the invention. 
         [0048]    The matters defined in the description such as a detailed construction and elements are nothing but the ones provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of the invention. Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Also, well-known functions or constructions are omitted for clarity and conciseness. Certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described below in the context of commercial application. Such exemplary implementations are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, which is defined in the appended claims. 
         [0049]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 ,  2 A,  2 B,  21 , and  22  exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide a platform which includes a server or multiple servers (“Compass server” as may be referenced throughout this application for consistency and ease of understanding) for gathering and distributing information about events, such as conferences. As illustrated in a generalized  FIG. 1 , according to an illustrative non-limiting example of the present invention, a mobile application  102  (a “CrowdCompass” app, a “Compass” app, or an “app,” as may be referenced throughout this application for consistency and ease of understanding) executed on, for example, a mobile device  104  facilitates generation of a user&#39;s personal activity feed  200  for an event  100  they are attending or did attend. An activity feed  200  comprises user&#39;s activities at an event  100 , for example activities displayed on a screen of a mobile device, and the user&#39;s interactions with other people and experiences at an event  100 , for example in chronological order or as a timeline. 
         [0050]    As illustrated in the example of  FIG. 21 , according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention the platform facilitates hosting of user accounts (“my Compass” or “user&#39;s Compass” as may be referenced throughout this application for consistency and ease of understanding). A user&#39;s accounts (“My Compass”)  2100 , for example accessed via the app  102 , can include a collection of a user&#39;s activity during an event, or activities in a user&#39;s activity feed  200 . For example, an individual user&#39;s Compass can serve as a single source to facilitate, for example, keeping track of connections made, sessions attended, notes taken and/or photos made for an event. As further illustrated in the example of  FIG. 21 , the app allows a user to create/ view  2102  connections associated with an event, create/view  2104  notes associated with an even (such as, but not limited to, notes taken during an even session and/or about a speaker or an organizer), view/find/create  2106  bookmarks (such as people or activities) associated with an event, create/view  2108  photos associated with an event, and keep track  2110  of sessions (for example, attended sessions) associated with an event. 
         [0051]    According to an exemplary implementation of the present invention, any and all of the user&#39;s experiences  202 ,  204  at an event  100  can be gathered in such a personal activity feed  200 . The user can then broadcast  216  this information within the event app and also selectively provide  112  all or part of the gathered information for transmission  110 ,  210  using traditional social networks  106 - 109 ,  206 ,  208 . An exemplary benefit achieved by deployment of the app  102  according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention it to promote the event  100  through transmission  110 ,  210 , or sharing  216 , of individual user&#39;s feeds  200  to plurality of other web-based end users  214 , thereby potentially increasing the event&#39;s popularity. 
         [0052]    As illustrated in generalized diagrams of  FIGS. 3A and 22 , exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide for universal synchronization  300 ,  2200  of information across all devices  302 ,  2202  and  304 , 2204 , including without limitation information gathered from individual or group users via app  102  executing on user&#39;s devices  302 ,  2202 , or on essentially any web-based platform  304 ,  2204 . 
         [0053]      FIGS. 3B and 3C  illustrate examples (labeled for reference as “CrowdCompass”) of a logical architecture  310  and topology  340  diagrams of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention including associated client, server and network architectures. In the example of  FIGS. 3B and 3C , CrowdCompass infrastructure can be deployed on a data center or centers and associated server or servers. The infrastructure can be designed to be both horizontally and vertically scalable and scripted for reduced time in creating new instances of the production stack. A configuration management and systems integration framework can used to configure and provision the environments. Third-party dependencies can include services providing device push notifications, email, metrics, and DNS, S3. In an exemplary implementation, third party metrics dependency can be replaced by internally-developed logging, metrics, and analytics. 
         [0054]    Referring further to exemplary embodiment illustrated in  FIGS. 3B and 3C , CrowdCompass mobile clients natively support various operating systems and platforms, including without imitation iOS, Android, and BlackBerry. One of the features of the architecture of exemplary embodiments of the present invention is removing dependence on third-party platforms, which gives CrowdCompass the flexibility to take advantage of the latest new features offered by any of the supported system components at the time of each respective software development kit (SDK) release. Another exemplary implementation  360  provides for maintaining common logical code across all platforms for reuse using, for example, an invocation system centered around dispatching internal, client-only, uniform resource identifiers (URIs) tied to client-specific actions and objects as generally illustrated in  FIG. 3D . Such a feature can, for example, facilitate rapid and flexible reuse of components and configuration over the wire and through the local database. 
         [0055]    According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, client server communication includes mobile clients communicating with the server over Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), for example for Direct Messaging features. In an exemplary implementation, CrowdCompass native mobile clients can work offline for most features, such as for example and without limitation schedule, agenda, maps, sponsors, sponsored content, QR scanning, and more, and take full advantage of the network when it is available for functions such as for example and without limitation twitter, contact exchange, personal schedules, content updates, and more, via a synchronization engine which can be built into the CrowdCompass Content Management System (labeled, for example for reference only and without limitation, as “Event Center”) and each mobile client. 
         [0056]    According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, synchronization strategy can be based on polling at app startup and defined intervals to ensure all content is up to date. According to another exemplary embodiment, synchronization can use push-to-pull notification where available based on device, platform, and connectivity. Clients can communicate to a web service endpoints using, for example, lightweight Java Script Object Notation (JSON) calls over HTTP to retrieve JSON encoded responses. All responses can be compressed (for example, “gzip&#39;d”) to decrease bandwidth consumption. In an exemplary implementation, each data object in the system follows a pattern by which it may be uniquely identified (using for example and Object Identifier, oid) and all creation and last update date times can be tracked, in order to facilitate the system-wide synchronization.  FIG. 3E  is a table summary of exemplary function and features  365  that can be used to facilitate synchronization in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention. 
         [0057]    According to an exemplary implementation, a synchronization system can be designed for both incremental updates, as illustrated in example flowcharts of  FIGS. 3F and 3G , and full local content (database, assets) replacement, as illustrated in example flowcharts of  FIGS. 3H and 3I .  FIGS. 3F and 3G  show an example of GET process flows  370 ,  375  where client requests new, updated, and deleted objects.  FIGS. 3H and 3I  show an example of GET process flows  380 ,  385  including a full database response where client requests new, updated, and deleted objects. A benefit of background synchronization and incremental updates is that a user experience can be uninterrupted and the user not blocked from using the mobile application during synchronization. 
         [0058]    According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, synchronization system scales to handle large content updates which are common in the industry as content is overhauled and details are finalized close to the event start date. For example, if more the N (N=250, configurable) records are updated in the Event Center for a given event, the server sends the full_database response back to the client upon content update request (sync_aggregate), as illustrated in the example of  FIGS. 3H and 3I . In response, the server sends a full database (for example, tailored for the appropriate platform) down to the client for unzipping and extraction. This process can be fast and efficient for large scale updates, but may block the user interface (UI) for the user for a short period. 
         [0059]    According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, internationalization (i18n) support can be achieved via a method where a locale and language are sent with each request. If the client language setting differs from the default database (typically English), then content (database) with the matching language is sent back to the client, if available. The client unpacks the new language, fully replacing the default, shipped database and the user continues their experience in their desired language. 
         [0060]    In yet another exemplary implementation utilizing a Q3-end, a full-database process can be employed to enable multi-event support within a single application. Such an implementation can be designed for example for a corporate meeting space where a single app will typically host a variety of regional meetings complete with their own set of maps, schedule, agenda, and branded graphics. A user can select what event they want to experience from a higher UI layer such that complete event information can be downloaded for local and offline use. 
         [0061]    Referring now to  FIGS. 4A ,  4 B and  5 , according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, an app  400  can include multiple event guides  402  residing in app event directory  404 . By selecting one of the event guides  402 , a user is prompted to download or open, or remove  408  the selected event guide  406 . In an exemplary implementation, the associated process flow is illustrated in  FIG. 5  where: user  502  opens S 510  event directory in an app  504 , which checks S 512  that the event directory is up-to-date by referencing Compass server  506 , which provides S 514  any newly-added events to app  504 , which updated S 516  event directory opened by user  502 ; user  502  selects S 518  event guide to download in app  504 , which downloads S 520  the event guide by referencing Compass server  506 , which provides S 522  event guide database and assets to app  504 , which makes the event guide available S 524  in my events of user&#39;s  502  Compass; and user  502  can then open S 525  the event guide in app  404 , which provides S 526  event guide content to user  502 . 
         [0062]    Referring to  FIG. 6 , according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, before publishing an event guide to an app  600 , an event organizer has the opportunity to preview  602  one or more of the event guides  602  in the app  600  across mobile devices. In the example of  FIG. 6 , two event guides  604 ,  606  appear greyed-out for the organizer, indicating that these event guides are in preview mode, so only the organizers previewing these events can see, or have access to, these event guides. 
         [0063]    Referring to  FIGS. 7A ,  7 B,  8 , according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a social login feature  700  allows an event attendee to sign into a Compass system using a third-party login service  702 , rather than requiring their own password on the Compass system. This also opens up the door for social sharing to the networks  702  against which the user has authenticated. After the user has tied their account to social network services, as illustrated in the example  704  of  FIG. 7B , users have the ability to share items  802  from the apps  800  to their social networks  802 , for example multiple social networks at a time. Items can also be simultaneously shared to the user&#39;s Compass. 
         [0064]    In an exemplary implementation illustrated in  FIG. 9 , where a Compass user accesses, via an app on mobile device  900 , session  902  of a Compass event, user can select S 904  information to share  906 , such as photograph  908  and a link  910  to Compass event, and then push out S 912  this information to the user&#39;s Compass (“My Compass”)  914  and to user&#39;s social media account  916 . The associated process flow is illustrated in  FIG. 10 , where: user  1002  provides S 1010  share item for an app  1004  to be saved S 1012  locally in app  1004 , which provides S 1014  share item to user&#39;s Compass server  1006 , which provides S 1016  share item to user&#39;s social media account  1008 , and confirms S 1018  successful completion of sharing operation to mobile app  1004 , which in turn confirms S 1020  successful completion of sharing operation to user  1002 . 
         [0065]    In an exemplary implementation illustrated in  FIG. 11 , items that are shared, such as connections  1102 , bookmarks  1104 , notes  1106 , and photographs  1108  associated with a Compass event, appear on a user&#39;s Compass  1100  personal activity feed  1110 . Exemplary  FIG. 10  illustrates sharing according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention in a wireframe of a Compass on a mobile device  1120 . On the other hand, exemplary  FIG. 12  illustrates sharing according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention in a wireframe of a Compass on a desktop web browser  1220  where connections  1202 , bookmarks  1204 , notes  1206 , and photographs  1208  associated with a Compass event appear on a user&#39;s Compass  1200  personal activity feed  1210 . 
         [0066]    In yet another exemplary implementation illustrated in  FIG. 13 , shared items  1302 ,  1304 ,  1306 ,  1308  also appear on an activity feed  1310  that is tied to a Compass event, where a personal activity feed includes all shared items for a particular attendee, and an event activity feed  1310  includes all share items  1302 ,  1304 ,  1306 ,  1308  across all attendees  1322 ,  1324 ,  1326 ,  1328  at the event. 
         [0067]    According to yet another exemplary implementation illustrated in  FIG. 14 , a Compass event  1400  can provide users an option  1402  to be reminded, for example via an email  1404 , the next time registration opens for the event  1400 . 
         [0068]    According to an exemplary implementation illustrated in  FIG. 15 , an attendee of a session  1500  of a Compass event initiates S 1510  camera  1502  to take S 1514  a photograph  1504  which associates photograph  1504  with session  1500 . When the attendee provides S 1516  photograph  1504  to share  1508  for sharing S 1520 , via for example Twitter  1506 , the photograph  1504  can be automatically shared S 1518  to the session&#39;s photo album  1510  for viewing by all attendees via their Compass apps. 
         [0069]    Other examples of various implementations of exemplary embodiments of the present invention are as follows. 
         [0070]    Referring to  FIGS. 16A-16D , according to an exemplary implementation of the present invention the sign-in/sign-up workflow  1600 , which may include providing for example general personal information and password  1616  to create a new account  1610  or sign in using general personal information and password  1614  associated with an existing account  1612 , can allow Compass users to create or access a user&#39;s Compass account that is tied to any number of their social media accounts  1602 ,  1604 ,  1606 ,  1608 . Exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide methods and systems for deploying social login  1600  (such as, for example and without limitation, Twitter  1602 , Facebook  1604 , LinkedIn  1606 , and/or Google  1608 ) for event app account creation  1610 . Once the user&#39;s Compass account has been created a user can access the account settings (for example, via “My Dashboard” screen  1620  of the Compass app) to, for example, modify the settings, such as account information  1622 , links to any of the user&#39;s existing services  1624 , and password  1626 , or delete  1628  the user&#39;s account, as illustrated in the example of  FIG. 16D . 
         [0071]    Referring to  FIGS. 17A-17D , according to an exemplary implementation of the present invention, after sign-in/sign-up, a user can access Compass events which are under the user&#39;s “My Events”  1700 , or selectively download event or events from Compass event directory  1702 . A user can search  1704  for a desired event by, for example, event name. When one or more events  1706 ,  1708 ,  1710 ,  1712  from Compass event directory  1702  are available for access by the user, the user can selectively review an event&#39;s detailed information  1714 , and can selectively download  1716  an event  1718 , or multiple events  1718 ,  1720  into the user&#39;s Compass (under “My Events”  1700 ). 
         [0072]    Referring to  FIG. 18A , according to an exemplary implementation of embodiments of the present invention, the app allows  1800  users to view and/or add  1832  comments  1830  about a Compass event. 
         [0073]    Referring to FIGS.  18 B and  20 A- 20 F, according to an exemplary implementation of embodiments of the present invention, the app allows  1801  users to selectively perform various functions  1802  in association with a Compass event or events. In the example of  FIG. 18 , these functions provide, without limitation, access to: Compass event information  1806 ; user&#39;s schedule  1808  (see  FIGS. 20A and 20B  illustrating an example of additional functionality  2008 ,  2009  provided when accessing user&#39;s schedule); Compass event listing  1810  (see  FIG. 20C  illustrating an example of additional functionality  2010  provided when accessing Compass event listing); user&#39;s information or “path” associated with Compass events  1812  (see  FIG. 20D  illustrating an example of additional functionality  2012  provided when accessing a user&#39;s path), and native camera application  1814  for taking photographs that can be associated with an event (see  FIG. 20F  illustrating an example of functionality  2014  provided when accessing camera application). 
         [0074]    Referring further to  FIG. 18B , as well as  FIGS. 19A and 19B , according to an exemplary implementation selection, accessing user&#39;s schedule  1806  provides additional functionality  1804  allowing user to electively access, display and/or manipulate specific information associated with an event including, without limitation: event schedule  1818 , event exhibitors  1820 , event maps  1822 , event contacts  1824 , event search  1826 , information about event  1828 . In another exemplary implementation selectively accessing additional functionality  1804 , such as even exhibitors  1820 , can provide user not only access to underlying more specific event information, but also further functionality, such as list menus  1920  and  1921  associated with the specific event information (exhibitors  1820  in the example of  FIGS. 19A and 19B ). 
         [0075]    According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a single user account (“My Compass”) can exist for any users (such users may include, without limitation, event planners, exhibitors, speakers, attendees, or any other individuals or groups associated with an event) of the system. According to such an exemplary implementation, a given user can be allowed to collect digital reputation and experience across any of the Compass events. 
         [0076]    According to exemplary implementations of embodiments of the present invention, once the users have signed in or signed up for a Compass account, then the users can keep track of and/or share their interactions at the event using various tools of the Compass app which allow users, without limitation:
       Download event information for one or more events from a directory proved by a Compass server, as illustrated in the example of  FIGS. 17A-17E .   Add a session (or an event)  2302  to their schedule, and/or rate  2304  a session, as illustrated in the example of  FIG. 23 .   Bookmark  2404  a session, exhibitor, speaker, location, product, as illustrated in the example of  FIG. 24 .   Select sharing options, as illustrated in the example of  FIG. 25 .   Check into a session, as illustrated in the example of  FIG. 26 .   Take a note (on a session, exhibitor, speaker, location, product), as illustrated in the example of  FIG. 27 .   Take and post a photograph, as illustrated in the example of  FIG. 28 .   Share a detailed view, as illustrated in the example of  FIG. 29 .   Share entire activity feed, as illustrated in the example of  FIG. 30 .   Add a contact, as illustrated in the example of  FIG. 31 .
 
When the users have their Compass setting turned on (for example, as a default), the mobile and web applications can automatically post this activity to users&#39; personal activity feed for the event—a user&#39;s Compass. In an exemplary implementation, this would require no additional action on behalf of a user.
       
 
         [0087]    Referring to  FIGS. 23-25 , according to an exemplary implementation of an embodiment of the present invention, the Compass provides  2300  detail pages associated with an event, including without limitation detailed pages for speakers, sessions, organizations and attendees. The Compass also provides selectable actions, such as create a note  2402  about a session, speaker, organization, or attendee, bookmark  2404  a session, speaker, organization, or attendee, set a reminder  2406  (for example, a reminder for a session only where reminders do not appear on a user&#39;s Compass), and add a photo  2408  to a session&#39;s album (for example, a for a session only). These selectable actions  2402 ,  2404 ,  2406 , and  2408  can be accessible via a menu bar  2400 , and associated with event information on detailed pages. The actions performed by user can be recorded to the user&#39;s Compass, and the user has the ability, via a menu bar  2500 , to share  2502 ,  2504 ,  2506 , and  2508  one or more of their actions with the user&#39;s social network of choice. In an exemplary implementation, a user has an option  2510 , for example by a slider action, to maintain a selected information private such that the selected information can be displayed in a user&#39;s app (user&#39;s Compass), but visible only to the user when the user is logged on. 
         [0088]    Referring to  FIG. 26 , in an exemplary implementation, when a Compass user attends an event associated with Compass, or a session of an event, the user can check into a session  2602  and, for example, include a message about the session to push out to user&#39;s Compass  2604  and/or any or all of user&#39;s social networks  2606 , such as Twitter. In another exemplary implementation, information included with a user&#39;s message can provide a link  2608  (such as a direct link) to a posting on the user&#39;s Compass  2610 , where other Compass users can leave comments if they are logged on. In yet another exemplary implementation, the other logged in Compass users can be allowed to have access the rest of user&#39;s Compass  2610 , where from the user&#39;s Compass the other Compass users can, for example, click through the full session and explore the rest of the information about the event through a web version of an event guide  2612  which may be provided by the Compass server. 
         [0089]    Referring to  FIG. 27 , in an exemplary implementation, when a Compass user attends an event associated with Compass, or a session of an event,  2702  the user can take notes  2704  on any or all detail views  2702  (such as sessions, attendees, organizations, and/or speakers) on any event, or session of an event, provided by Compass server. In another exemplary implementation, for example, notes  2704  can be selectively shared or kept private by the Compass user. When sharing notes, the Compass user can push the notes out to any or all of the user&#39;s social networks  2706 , such as Facebook. In another exemplary implementation, when sharing notes a user can include a link  2708  (such as a direct link) to a user&#39;s Compass  2710  from which the other Compass users can navigate to the event information which may be provided  2716  by the Compass server. In yet another exemplary implementation, when sharing notes, information can include additional links, such as a direct link to a web version of an event guide  2714 , or a direct link to a web version of the specific session of the event  2712 , where the web versions may be provided  2716  by the Compass server. 
         [0090]    Referring to  FIG. 28 , in an exemplary implementation, when a Compass user attends an event associated with Compass, or a session of an event,  2802  the user can take photographs (using a native photo app  2804  of the user&#39;s device) to push out to user&#39;s Compass  2806  and/or any or all of user&#39;s social networks  2808 . In another exemplary implementation, information included with a user&#39;s photograph can provide a link  2810  (such as a direct link) to the user&#39;s Compass  2812 . In yet another exemplary implementation, the other logged in Compass users can navigate from the user&#39;s Compass  2812  to the rest of the information about the event through a web version of an event guide  2814  which may be provided by the Compass server. 
         [0091]    Referring to  FIG. 29 , in an exemplary implementation, when a Compass user attends an event associated with Compass, or a session of an event,  2902  the user can selectively share  2904  specific information, including without limitation detailed pages for speakers, sessions, organizations, and/or attendees, associated with the Compass event. When sharing the information associated with the Compass event, the Compass user can push out to the user&#39;s social network  2906  a direct link  2908  to the specific information, for example a session,  2910 , of a web version of an event guide  2912  which may be provided by the Compass server. In yet another exemplary implementation, after accessing the specific information  2910 , the other logged in Compass users can navigate to the rest of the information about the event through a web version of an event guide  2912  which may be provided by the Compass server. 
         [0092]    Referring to  FIG. 30 , in an exemplary implementation, when a Compass user attends an event associated with Compass, or a session of an event, the user can share  3004  their entire activity feed (my Compass)  3002  associated with the Compass event. When sharing the entire feed, a Compass user can push out to the user&#39;s social network  3006  information including a direct link  3008  to the user&#39;s activity feed  3010  associated with the Compass event which may be provided as a web version  3012  by the Compass server. 
         [0093]    Referring to  FIG. 31 , in an exemplary implementation, when a Compass user attends an event associated with Compass, or a session of an event,  3102  the user can selectively add  3104  another Compass user  3110  as contact. In an exemplary implementation, adding a contact can be considered as contact information sharing between a first and a second Compass user governed by privacy control that the first and second users have on their respective Compass. For example, if both first and second users&#39; Compass accounts are set as public, the information can be shared mutually, with the second user receiving a notification when the first user has added the second user as a contact. In another example, if both the first and second users&#39; Compass accounts are set to private, or if the initiator (e.g., first user) is public and the second user is private, then the initiator&#39;s information is sent to the contact (e.g., second user), the initiator will receive a notification  3106 , and the second user with receive a notification to approve the contact, which if approved will send the contact&#39;s (e.g., second user) information back to the initiator. Once the mutual connection is made, it appears in the connections  3108  of both users&#39; Compasses. 
         [0094]    Yet further exemplary implementations of the embodiments of present invention provide other features as described in the examples below. 
         [0095]    According to an exemplary implementation, as Compass users sign-up/sign-in to events, they can be creating their own Compass pages for each individual event they are attending. Badges from each associated event (for example, a conference) can be displayed on their personal profile and can serve as digital reputation for having attended that event. 
         [0096]    In yet another exemplary implementation, each badge on a user&#39;s personal profile can represent an event attended. According to a yet further exemplary implementation, a feature of drilling down can reveal more personal event detail—a so called user&#39;s Compass activity feed. 
         [0097]    According to yet another exemplary implementation, a Compass can serve as an event app with personal activity feeds that can be collected through passive sharing and associated to global user profiles—all related to an event-going experience. 
         [0098]    According to yet another exemplary implementation, a Compass can serve as an event solutions provider that has digital reputation (badges and activity feed counts) visible across all events attended—at the user level. 
         [0099]    According to yet another exemplary implementation, a Compass user can have his or her own activity feed for each event and can easily share a simple short url via an email, SMS, and/or traditional social networks (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google), and the like. Exemplary potential benefit of such an implementation include, without limitation, creating engaging experiences and capturing the attention of those not at the event. 
         [0100]    According to another exemplary implementation, a Compass can offer a “remind me next time” button on an individual&#39;s Compass feed that allows a visitor to simply click and express interest in the next event even though the event does not exist yet. 
         [0101]    According to yet further exemplary implementation, CrowdCompass can deliver the list of interested prospects to the event organizer and inform the interested prospect of the event when it goes live. 
         [0102]    As described above with reference to  FIGS. 4A and 4B , according to an exemplary implementation, CrowdCompass can offer “multi-event” apps where an application exists to contain a list and/or a directory of events. Yet another exemplary feature according to such an implementation allows users to download or otherwise drill down into the details of each event. 
         [0103]    According to yet further exemplary implementation, events may exist in one or more apps (for example, for cross-promotion efforts) simultaneously. 
         [0104]    Still other exemplary implementations or variations of the embodiments of the present invention are described in the following examples. 
       Private Events 
       [0105]    According to an exemplary implementation, CrowdCompass can offer a feature of making an event private, so that it does not show up in, for example, an Event Directory List. The user of a multi-event app can then enter a private code which can automatically reveal the private event in the event list. 
         [0106]    According to yet another exemplary implementation, users that are signed in (into a CrowdCompass account) and are pre-registered for the private events can see those private events exposed in the list without having to provide a code. 
       On-Device Preview 
       [0107]    According to an exemplary implementation, certain CrowdCompass single user account, such as event organizers (for example, administrators), that are logged into the mobile apps can be given capability to see any in-progress events in their event directory. In an exemplary implementation, such a feature can allow event organizers to preview changes and settings to their events on native mobile applications and the web before the event is published. 
       Real-Time Event Activity Feed 
       [0108]    According to an exemplary implementation, an event activity feed is available, displaying in real-time select (or all) content compiled from activity feeds of all (or a subset of) users at the event. The event activity feed may be viewed for example by an individual through a web browser, mobile device, or projected on a large screen or monitor at the event. The content of the page updates in real time as users share content related to the event, and is available for viewing at any time before, during, and after the event. 
       Mobile Client Error Handling and Fail Over 
       [0109]    Network unavailability is common and intermittent and the mobile clients can be designed accordingly. According to an exemplary implementation, given that the mobile clients already tolerate network unavailability and outages, any CrowdCompass server-side outages leave the end-user in a highly functional state. 
         [0110]    According to another exemplary implementation, runtime errors on the client can be logged locally and reported via email and web portals. Web service errors encountered by the client can be logged via HTTP to a notification service. In the event of server overcapacity or outage, a new application stack can be spun up (for example, Chef-script managed) in the same or different data center and the Domain Name System (DNS) can be repointed. The DNS and server infrastructure can be hosted on separate providers. Redundancy can be added to the system to further increase reliability. 
       Application Programming Interface (API) 
       [0111]    According to an exemplary implementation, CrowdCompass can offer an Affiliate, or Partner, API. All API calls can be made over HTTPS using and authenticated key issued by CrowdCompass. The API can offer an improvement versus traditional data loading for real-time data feeds to the Event Center and subsequently to the mobile clients via the synchronization engine. The Crowd Compass Affiliate API can offer further benefits by being closely tied to the Event Center synchronization engine and using the synchronization strategy—providing the necessary meta information required by the mobile devices. 
       Event Center 
       [0112]    According to an exemplary implementation, Event Center can be a main content entry and management tool of the Crowd Compass system. API data and comma-separated-value (CSV) data is fed into the system allowing further manual updates. Event Center can offer a custom username/password authentication model. In another exemplary implementation, development Event Center can extend and redefines this to include full OAuth authentication. In the development environment, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other providers may be used for authentication in addition to the Crowd Compass OAuth login. 
       Exhibitor Center 
       [0113]    According to an exemplary implementation, Exhibitor Center can be an extension of the Event Center and allow for content-entry by an authenticated exhibitor user. Pre-authenticated URLs can be sent by an event organizer, through for example automated emails, to the event exhibitors. Exhibitors can then open their account, define a password, and directly enter information for the event. Additionally, exhibitors can choose to upgrade and provide enhanced, rich content for their listing. 
       Speaker Center 
       [0114]    According to an exemplary implementation, similar to Exhibitor Center, Speaker Center can offer speakers an opportunity to edit and expand their profiles while providing another hands-free tool for event organizers. 
       Attendee Center 
       [0115]    According to an exemplary implementation, Attendee Center can be an extension of Event Center offering a web interface for desktop and unsupported device users. All event—schedule and exhibitor (sponsor)—information can be made available. Mobile usability of the Attendee Center and the degree of personalization (personal schedules, meetings, favorites, ratings) available can be expanded and deployed as desired. 
       Technology 
       [0116]    According to an exemplary implementation, Crowd Compass Event Center (Content Management System, CMS), Exhibitor Center, and Attendee Center can be deployed as part of the overall system to drive content and extend the experience beyond the native mobile clients. 
         [0117]    According to an exemplary implementation, Crowd Compass applications can be built on, for example, a Ruby on Rails (RoR) application stack with additional key components (such as and without limitation, RabbitMQ, ejabberd—both erlang, MongoDB) deployed for specific tasks (such as and without limitation queuing, messaging, logging, respectively). 
       Native Client Build Infrastructure 
       [0118]    According to an exemplary implementation, tools (such as and without limitation, Apache Ant, Ruby, Java) scripts can be used to extract information from Event Center for an event and packaged into mobile databases (such as and without limitation, sqlite3) and asset (such as and without limitation, maps and images) collections (such as and without limitation, zip). 
         [0119]    According to an exemplary implementation, an interface to the build process can be offered by a continuous integration and build server allowing for scalable, distributed (master-slave) builds and cross-platform availability. The build infrastructure can be stateless and can be scaled horizontally. Builds can be saved, for example to the cloud via Dropbox, and available for simulation (demos) and over-the-air (OTA) install internally. 
         [0120]    The above-described exemplary embodiments may be recorded in computer-readable media including program instructions to implement various operations embodied by a computer. The media may also include, alone or in combination with the program instructions, data files, data structures, and the like. The media and program instructions may be those specially designed and constructed for the purposes of the present invention, or they may be of the kind well-known and available to those having skill in the computer software arts. Examples of computer-readable media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape; optical media such as CD ROM disks and DVD; magneto-optical media such as optical disks; and hardware devices that are specially configured to store and perform program instructions, such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), flash memory, and the like. The media may also be a transmission medium such as optical or metallic lines, wave guides, and so on, including a carrier wave transmitting signals specifying the program instructions, data structures, and so on. Examples of program instructions include both machine code, such as produced by a compiler, and files containing higher level code that may be executed by the computer using an interpreter. The described hardware devices may be configured to act as one or more software modules in order to perform the operations of the above-described embodiments of the present invention. 
         [0121]    While the present invention has been shown and described with reference to certain exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.