Patent Publication Number: US-2013241937-A1

Title: Social Interaction Analysis and Display

Description:
FIELD OF DISCLOSURE 
     The claimed subject matter relates generally to social networking applications and, more specifically, to techniques for saving and displaying information corresponding to selected elements within a social networking application. 
     SUMMARY 
     The advent of the Internet during the 1990&#39;s opened up new avenues of communication among computer users around the world. Both personal users and businesses established identities on the Internet for both recreation and commercial reasons. During the past two decades, traffic on the Internet has increased exponentially and available context has expanded into many different areas, including social networking applications. Two such contexts are social networking services such as Facebook, provided by Facebook, Inc., and Twitter, provided by Twitter, Inc. of San Francisco, Calif., and virtual worlds (“VWs”) such as Second Life (“SL”), supported by Linden Research, Inc., or “Linden Labs,” of San Francisco, Calif. as well as Entropia Universe, Sims Online, There, Red Light Center as well as massively multiplayer games such as EverQuest, Ultima Online, Lineage and World of Warcraft. 
     Social networking services such as Facebook and Twitter should be familiar to those with experience in the computing arts and, basically, a VW is an Internet-based simulated environment in which users interact via “avatars,” or computer representations of a user. Often a VW resembles the real world with respect to such things as physics and object, e.g. houses and landscapes. Other terms associated with VWs are a “metaverse,” which is a collection of VWs, and “3D Internet.” VW users are presented with perceptual stimuli and typically are able to both manipulate elements of the VW and communicate with other users via the avatars. The following definitions explain a few of the basic concepts of a VW:
         Avatar: VW user&#39;s representation of him or herself in the VW that other users can see, often taking the form of a cartoon-like human.   Agent: particular user&#39;s account, upon which the user can build an avatar and which is tied to an inventory of assets owned by the user.   Region: virtual area of land within a VW, typically residing upon a single computer server.       

     Assets, avatars, the VW environment and anything visual within a VW is associated with a unique identifier (UUID) tied to geometric data, which is distributed to users as textual coordinates, textures, which are distributed as graphics files, and effects data, which are rendered by a user&#39;s client process according to the user&#39;s preferences and the user&#39;s device capabilities. 
     Provided are techniques for storing information for identifying and characterizing a plurality of user characterizations associated with a social networking application; parsing a display associated with the social networking application to identify a first user characterization of the plurality of user characterization; correlating the first user characterization to a first portion of the stored information; analyzing the first portion with respect to a first user-defined criteria; and in response to a determination that the first portion satisfies the first user-defined criteria, displaying, on the display, first data corresponding to the first portion in conjunction with a first indicia to enable the first data to be associated with the first user characterization. 
     This summary is not intended as a comprehensive description of the claimed subject matter but, rather, is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the functionality associated therewith. Other systems, methods, functionality, features and advantages of the claimed subject matter will be or will become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       A better understanding of the claimed subject matter can be obtained when the following detailed description of the disclosed embodiments is considered in conjunction with the following figures, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a computing system architecture that may implement the techniques of the disclosed subject matter. 
         FIG. 2  is an illustration of a display of a virtual world on the client system of  FIG. 1  showing a user characterization, in this example an avatar, various setting elements and a pop-up menu that implements aspects of the claimed subject matter. 
         FIG. 3  is an illustration of the display of  FIG. 2  showing a different scene in the virtual world of  FIG. 2  and a number of avatars, including the avatar introduced in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a block diagram of a Social Networking Element Capture Module (SNECM), first introduced in conjunction with  FIG. 1 , in greater detail. 
         FIG. 5  is a flowchart of one example of an Operate SNECM process that may implement aspects of the claimed subject matter. 
         FIG. 6  is a flowchart of one example of a Gather Data process that may implement aspects of the claimed subject matter. 
         FIG. 7  is a flowchart of one example of an Analyze Display process that may implement aspects of the claimed subject matter. 
         FIG. 8  is an illustration of the display of  FIGS. 2 and 3  showing an example of a view in a social networking application that implements the claimed subject matter. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Although described with particular reference to a virtual world (“VW”) and the interaction of avatars, the claimed subject matter can be implemented in any social networking application in which users are interacting through user characterizations such as, but not limited to, profiles, postings and avatars. Those with skill in the computing arts will recognize that the disclosed embodiments have relevance to a wide variety of computing environments in addition to those used as examples below. 
     As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the present invention may be embodied as a system, method or computer program product. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer readable medium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon. 
     Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may be utilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readable storage medium would include the following: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. 
     A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signal with computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may take any of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to, electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. A computer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium that is not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate, propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. 
     Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing. 
     Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of the present invention may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages. The program code may execute entirely on the user&#39;s computer, partly on the user&#39;s computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user&#39;s computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user&#39;s computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). 
     Aspects of the present invention are described below with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readable medium produce an article of manufacture including instructions which implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to cause a series of operational actions to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other devices to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide processes for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     As the Inventors herein have realized, the world is a busy place with many people interacting online via VW applications, social applications and so on. As a result, people are bombarded with information. Therefore, there is a need for tools/analytics to help in dynamically engaging with people online. One example of such a tools/analytics would be techniques to help recall pertinent information about other people encountered within interactions. Another example would be tool/analytics to prioritize interactions and potential interactions. 
     In addition, virtual realities such as a computer game do not provide any mechanism for a user to remember, i.e. save and recall, any detail of a particular setting other than by means of a screen shot. Unfortunately, a screen shot only preserves the look of the particular setting and not any detailed information about elements represented in the setting. For example, if a user would like to save for later recall information about another user&#39;s avatar within the setting, the user typically would manually write down the information, which is not an effective technique for managing virtual world or gaming contacts. 
     Turning now to the figures,  FIG. 1  is a block diagram of one example of a computing system architecture  100  that may incorporate the claimed subject matter. A client system  102  includes a central processing unit (CPU)  104 , coupled to a monitor  106 , a keyboard  108  and a pointing device, or “mouse,”  110 , which together facilitate human interaction with computing system architecture  100  and client system  102 . Also included in client system  102  and attached to CPU  104  is a computer-readable storage medium (CRSM)  112 , which may either be incorporated into CPU  104  i.e. an internal device, or attached externally to CPU  104  by means of various, commonly available connection devices such as but not limited to, a universal serial bus (USB) port (not shown). CRSM  112  is illustrated storing an example of a virtual world (VW) client  114 . VW client executes on CPU  104  to display and enable interaction with a virtual world  152  (see  FIG. 2 ). Coupled to VW client  114  is a Social Networking Element Capture Module (SNECM)  116 . The function of VW client  114  and SNECM  118  are is described in detail below in conjunction with  FIGS. 2-8 . As mentioned above, the disclosed technology is equally applicable in settings other than virtual worlds such as, but not limited to, any current or future social and business networking applications and services. The term “Virtual World” in conjunction with various elements described throughout this Specification is used merely within the context of the following examples. Further, it should be understood that the claimed subject matter is not limited to functioning in one type of social networking application at a time. For example, an implementation in a VW may retrieve, analyze and display information from a social networking server and vice versa. 
     Client system  102  is coupled to the Internet  120 , which is also connected to a second client system  122  and a VW server, or simply a “server,”  124 . Computing system  122  and server  124  would typically include many of the same components as client system  102 , including a CPU, a monitor, a keyboard and a mouse. Like client system  102 , in the following examples, client system  122  would also include a VW client such as VW client  114 . These additional components of client system  122  and server  124  should be familiar to one with skill in the relevant arts and, for the sale of simplicity, are not illustrated. 
     Server  124  is coupled to a CRSM  126 . Server  124  functions as a VW server, i.e. it is responsible for transmitting data corresponding to particular areas, or “regions,” of VW  152  (see  FIG. 2 ) to VW client  114  so that VW  152  can be instantiated on client system  102 . VW  152  is instantiated by the execution of a VW simulator (sim.)  128 , stored on CRSM  126 . CRSM  126  also stores a VW database (DB)  130 , which may be executing as a function of a database management system (DBMS) (not shown). 
     Although in this example, client systems  102  and  122  and server  124  are communicatively coupled via the Internet  120 , they could also be coupled through any number of communication mediums such as, but not limited to, a local area network (LAN) (not shown). Further, it should be noted there are many possible computing system configurations, of which computing system architecture  100  is only one simple example. It should be noted that a typical VW architecture could involve dozens if not hundreds of servers and perhaps hundreds if not thousands of clients but for the sake of simplicity only one or two of each are shown. 
       FIG. 2  is an illustration of an example of a display  150  of a virtual world  152  that might be shown on monitor  106  ( FIG. 1 ) of client system  102  ( FIG. 1 ). Display  150  includes several elements for controlling display  150  that should be familiar to one with skill in the relevant arts, including a “Start” button  154  and a menu bar icon  156  corresponding to an application rendering VW  152 . 
     VW  152  is illustrated with an avatar  160 , a background, or region,  162  and various display objects  164 ,  166  and  168 . In this example, VW  152  is displayed on monitor  106  for the benefit of a user of client system  102  by VW Client  114  ( FIG. 1 ) under the control of VW Simulator  128  ( FIG. 1 ). Avatar  160  represents a user, on client system  122  ( FIG. 1 ) who is logged into VW  152 . Typically, only a portion of region  162  is displayed at any point in time. Region  162  includes a platform  164  on which avatar  160  appears to be standing, object  166  represents plant life and object  168  represents land. Objects  164 ,  166  and  168  are examples of various items that may be added to a region such as region  162  to make the region appear more like the real world and give visual clues that distinguish one region from another. 
     Information necessary to display VW  152 , avatar  160  and setting objects  164 ,  166  and  168  is stored in VW DB  130  ( FIG. 1 ) of VW server  124  ( FIG. 1 ). The control of avatar  160  is executed by the user in conjunction with a VW client  122  and VW server  124  and displayed on monitor  106  of client system  102  by VW client  114 . Typically, different VW servers may be responsible for a particular region, or grid, of VU  152 . In the following examples, the rendering of region  162  is the responsibility of a VW Sim.  128  executing on server  124 . 
     Also displayed in  FIG. 2  is a cursor  170  that, in this example is currently positioned over avatar  160 , and a menu  172 . Menu  172  is typically displayed when the user on client system  102  depresses, or “clicks,” a left button (not shown) on mouse  110 , while cursor  170  is positioned over an object, which in this example is avatar  160 . Menu includes a title, i.e. “Capture Data”  173 , three (3) possible choices or “selections,” i.e. a “Personal” selection  174 , a “Scene” selection  175 , and a “Both” selection  176 . Also illustrated are three (3) action buttons, i.e., a “Display” button  177 , a “Show Correlation (Corr.)” button  178 , and an “Exit” button  179  that, when selected, causes menu  172  to be removed from display  150 . 
     Capture Data  173  merely informs the user of the name of menu  172 . Selections  174 - 176  enable the user to specify the particular type of information that is gathered when cursor  170  is positioned over a selection  174 - 176  and a right button (not shown) of mouse  110  is clicked. Information gathered relates to the object over which cursor  170  is positioned when menu  172  is displayed. In other words, Personal selection  175  gathers personal information relating to avatar  160  and potentially the user on client system  122  that corresponds to avatar  160 . Such personal information may include, but is not limited to, contact information, such as but not limited to name and email address of the user on computing system  122 . Scene selection  176  collects information on region  162 , including but not limited to, a location within VW  152 , information identifying scene  162 , current objects  164 ,  166  and  168  and the current time and date. Both selection  176  gathers both personal and region information. Display  177  shows information stored about a corresponding avatar. Show Corr.  178  displays information relating to previous encounters with the selected avatar, including but not limited to, name, contact information, time and place. The specific information displayed is configurable (see  216 ,  FIG. 4 ). 
     Rather than avatars, social and business networking applications other than VWs may represent users in different ways. For example, a user may be represented as a posted profile (e.g. Facebook) or simply by a tag appended to a comment (e.g. Twitter). Regardless, the disclosed technology enables a user to identify, collect information, analyze and display information on other users and their representations. 
       FIG. 3  is an illustration of display  150  ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ) showing a second scene  182  in VW  152  ( FIG. 2 ). In this example, scene  182  is presented on display  150  at a point in time after scene  162  of  FIG. 1  and information related to avatar  160  ( FIG. 2 ) has been previously captured and stored as explained above in conjunction with  FIG. 2 . 
     Scene  182  includes display objects (not labeled) and a number of avatars, including among others avatar  160 , an avatar  184  and an avatar  190 . In this example, a star  186  is positioned on avatar  184 , a square  188  near avatar  160  and a triangle  192  near avatar  190 . In this example, cursor  170  ( FIG. 2 ) is positioned over triangle  188 . Star  186 , which is positioned over avatar  184 , indicates that avatar  184  represents a user who is currently navigating scene  182 , i.e. “U Prime” or “Up.” 
     Triangle  192  positioned over avatar  190  indicates that the user associated with avatar  190  has been identified by an analysis engine  210  (see  FIG. 4 ) as satisfying a set of user-defined rules and criteria. For example, the user associated with avatar  184  may specify that any avatar corresponding to a user employed by Company Y be tagged. Square  188  positioned over avatar  160  also indicates that the user associated with avatar  160  has been identified by an analysis engine  210  as satisfying a second set of user-defined criteria. In this example, different shapes, i.e. triangles and squares, indicate that different sets of criteria have been met with respect to avatars  160  and  190 . In addition, a number ‘1’ in triangle  192  and a number ‘2’ in square  188  indicate an order of contact suggested by analysis engine  210  based upon user-defined rules and criteria. An order of contact may, for example, be based upon the relative position of a user with respect to their employer, e.g. presidents receive the number ‘1’ and vice-presidents receive the number ‘2’. In this example, there may be multiple avatars designated with the same number. Other shapes (not shown) may merely indicate that data corresponding to a particular avatar has been previously captured and stored in accordance with the disclosed technology (see  300 ,  FIG. 6 ). A lack of any shapes positioned over other avatars (not labeled) indicates that those particular avatars do not either meet any defined criteria or been designated as avatars of interest, although data may still have been gathered about them (see  350 ,  FIG. 7 ). For example, depending upon the configuration, all avatars that populate a scene may have that fact that they were in the scene recorded so that the information is available in the event that one is designated as an avatar of interest at some point in the future. It should be noted that, the particular shapes may be designated be the setting of configuration parameters and, in the alternative; colors may be employed to designate particular information. 
     In the following examples, Up, corresponding to avatar  184 , is using computing system  102  ( FIG. 1 ) and a second user, corresponding to avatar  160 , is using client system  122  ( FIG. 1 ). In addition, Up and the second user will primarily be referenced throughout the Specification as avatars  184  and  160 , respectively, although there is a distinction between an avatar, i.e. the computer representation of a user, and the corresponding user. Whenever the distinction is relevant, either the avatar or the corresponding user will be specified. 
     Although illustrated with indicia such as star  186 , square  188  and triangle  192 , which, in this example, represent the availability of corresponding information, other types of indicia may also be employed. For example, there may be a separate panel (not shown) that simply includes text in conjunction with means for correlating specific entries in the panel with particular avatars, postings or comments. In addition, information may be displayed whenever a cursor such as cursor  170  is either positioned over a particular representation of a user or positioned and coupled to some other action such as a click on a mouse. Further, display of information may be controlled by user-defined parameters. For example, a user may toggle information display on or off or select from a number of display options depending upon the circumstances. 
       FIG. 4  is a block diagram of SNECM  116 , first introduced in conjunction with  FIG. 1 , in greater detail. SNECM  116  includes an input/output (I/O) module  202 , a graphical user interface (GUI)  204 , a data collection module  206 , a correlation module  208 , an analysis engine  210  and a data module  212 . For the sake of the following examples, SNECM  116  is assumed to execute on client system  102  ( FIG. 1 ) and stored in data storage  112  ( FIG. 1 ). As explained above in conjunction with  FIG. 3 , the following examples will be described with respect to the user corresponding to avatar  184  ( FIG. 3 ), on client system  102 , and the user corresponding to avatar  188  ( FIG. 3 ) on client system  122  ( FIG. 1 ). It should be understood that the claimed subject matter can be implemented in many types of computing systems and data storage structures but, for the sake of simplicity, is described only in terms of client system  102 , client system  122 , server  124  ( FIG. 1 ) and other elements of architecture  100  ( FIG. 1 ). Further, the representation of SNECM  116  in  FIG. 3  is a logical model. In other words, components  202 ,  204 ,  206 ,  208 ,  210  and  212  may be stored in the same or separates files and loaded and/or executed within computing system  102  and system  100  either as a single system or as separate processes interacting via any available inter process communication (IPC) techniques. 
     I/O module  202  contains logic to handle communication between SNECM  116  and other components of client system  102 , server  124  and elements of architecture  100 . GUI  204  enables users of SNECM  116  to interact with and to define the desired functionality of SNECM  116 . For example, rules and criteria may be defined to specify particular avatars for identification and ordering (see  188  and  192 ,  FIG. 3 ). Data collection module  208  contains logic to gather and store information about an avatar that has been selected. Such data may be gathered via a request for information to server  124  (see  256 ,  FIGS. 5 and 300 ,  FIG. 6 ). 
     Correlation module  208  contains logic to transform information relating to the position of cursor  170  ( FIG. 2 ) and triangle  190  ( FIG. 3 ) into information that identifies a particular avatar such as avatar  160  ( FIG. 2 ) and avatar  188  ( FIG. 3 ) and region, or portion of a region, such as region  162  ( FIG. 2 ) and region  182  ( FIG. 3 ). In addition, correlation module  208  correlates information about a current avatar with information about previously identified avatars. For example, a user may click on a particular avatar such as avatars  160  and  188  for information about whether or not the particular avatar has been previously identified and, if so, under what circumstances 
     Analysis engine  210  employs data stored in VW data  214  and avatar data  216  and data generated by data collection module  206  and correlation module  208  to provide additional information. Examples of such additional information may include, but is not limited to, other avatars to address, contact or speak to (perhaps in the event of multiple avatars within a particular setting), a suggested order of contact, context and avatar-specific greetings (e.g., “Last time we meet in April, you were getting married.”), lists of other avatars for introduction (“Bob, I&#39;d like to introduce you to John. He has a background in industrial management.”) and information that may be used by GUI  204  to enhance the real-time experience of the user corresponding to avatar  184 . In addition, analysis engine  210  is employed to parse and analyze scenes such as scenes  162  ( FIG. 2) and 182  ( FIG. 3 ). 
     In addition to any data collected as described above, data input into analysis engine  210  may include such data as a history of interaction (e.g., the number of times and the circumstances of previous interactions with a particular avatar), information entered by a user during a current or previous interaction (e.g., a “quality” or “importance” rating or data relating to a particular known fact), a user&#39;s status (e.g., a title, ranking and association), a relationship (e.g., business colleague or wife of a friend), notable exchanges and other avatars within a defined range of the user (e.g., the same conference room or same island). Within a social or business networking service, data may include such information relating to levels or circles of friends and/or associates. 
     Data module  212  is a data repository for information that SNECM  116  requires during normal operation. Examples of the types of information stored in data module  212  include a VW data  214 , avatar data  216 , operating parameters  218  and working data  220 . VW data  214  stores information about the particular VW such as VW  152 , currently on display. 
     Avatar data  216  stores information about avatars for which data has previously been encountered and/or captured. Examples of data are described above in conjunction with analysis engine  210 . Among other things, avatar data  216  is employed by correlation module  208  to match data on a currently selected avatar to previously selected avatars and by analysis engine  210  for processing. In this example, information stored in avatar data  216  includes, but is not limited to, a history of interactions between avatar  188  and previously encountered avatars, quality ratings with a granularity of favorability with respect to past interactions, ranking, title and associations of users associated with avatars, relationships among avatars, notable exchanges, events corresponding to an avatar and proximity to other avatars, hobbies, interests and education. For example, information about a particular avatar may include that a corresponding user was encountered within specific meeting or region, was rated highly as a potential contact, is president of Company X, is friends with the president of Company Y, was recently married and maintains a certain level or circle of friends within a particular social networking application or service. Additional information may include noted added about a particular avatar or user associated with the avatar. 
     Operating parameters  218  includes information on various user preferences that have been set for controlling the operation of SNECM  116 . For example, a user may specify the particular personal and scene information that is gathered for selected avatars. 
     Working data  220  stores data currently in use by logic associated with SNECM  116 , including but not limited to, the intermediate results within ongoing processing. Components  202 ,  204 ,  206 ,  208 ,  210 ,  212 ,  214 ,  216 ,  218  and  220  are described in more detail below in conjunction with  FIGS. 5-8 . 
       FIG. 5  is a flowchart of one example of an Operate SNECM process  250  that may implement aspects of the claimed subject matter. In this example, logic associated with process  250  is stored in conjunction with SNECM  116  ( FIGS. 1 and 4 ) of VW client  114  ( FIG. 1 ) on CRSM  112  ( FIG. 1 ) and executed on one or more processors (not shown) of CPU  104  ( FIG. 1 ) of client system  102  ( FIG. 1 ). 
     Process  250  starts in a “Begin Operate SNECM” block  252  and proceeds immediately to a “Receive Request” block  254 . During processing associated with block  254 , a request for avatar information is received in response to user input via I/O module  202  ( FIG. 4 ) and GUI  204  ( FIG. 4 ). In this example, avatar  184  has positioned cursor  170  ( FIGS. 2 and 3 ) over triangle  188  ( FIG. 3 ) and “clicked on” mouse  110  ( FIG. 1 ) to indicate that information on avatar  160  ( FIG. 3 ) is requested. The specific information requested, and ultimately displayed, may be specified by a user corresponding to the requesting avatar  184  (see  172 - 179 ,  FIG. 2 ), configurable (see  218 ,  FIG. 4 ) or any combination of the two. The information is generated by analysis engine  210  ( FIG. 4 ) of SNECM  116  ( FIGS. 1 and 4 ) based upon data stored in data module  212  ( FIG. 4 ). In the alternative, the technology may be configured to display information on avatar  160  by merely positioning cursor  170  over triangle  190 . In addition, a user may submit a request for information on all avatars within a particular scene or those avatars within a particular, designated area within a scene. In other words, although described for the sake of simplicity on a request for information corresponding to a single avatar, the disclosed technology is equally applicable to a requests and retrievals of information on identified groups of avatars. 
     During processing associated with a “Gather Data” block  256 , Once the avatar or avatars that are the subject of the request are identified, information is gathered internally, from SNECM  116  (see  206 ,  FIG. 4 ) and via a request for information transmitted to VW server  124  (see  300 ,  FIG. 6 ). Additional information may be gathered from external sources such as, but not limited to, social networking services. During processing associated with a “Display Requested?” block  258 , a determination is made as to whether or not the request received during processing associated with block  254  includes a request to display the information. If so, control proceeds to a “Display Information” block  260 . During processing associated with block  260 , the information gathered during processing associated with block  256  is displayed on monitor  106  ( FIG. 1 ) to the requesting user. Once the information has been displayed during processing associated with block  260  or, if during processing associated with block  258 , a determination is made that display has not been requested, i.e. the information is being collected and stored for future reference, control proceeds to a “Correlation (Corr.) Requested?” block  262 . 
     During processing associated with block  262 , a determination is made as to whether or not the request received during processing associated with block  254  includes a request to correlate the information to known avatars. If so, control proceeds to a “Correlate to Known Avatars” block  264 . During processing associated with block  264 , information is generated by analysis engine  210  ( FIG. 4 ) relating to the identified avatar and corresponding relationships. During processing associated with a “Display Corr. Info” block  266 , the information generated during processing associated with block  264  is displayed on monitor  106 . 
     Following the display of correlation information, of, if during processing associated with block  262  that a correlation is not requested, control proceeds to an “Update Records” block  268 . During processing associated with block  268 , information gathered during processing associated with block  256  and, if applicable, information generated during processing associated with block  264  is stored in avatar data  216  for future reference. Control then returns to block  254  and processing continues as describe above. 
     During normal operation, process  250  loops through blocks  254 ,  256 ,  258 ,  260 ,  262 ,  264 ,  266  and  268  processing requests as they are received. Finally, in the event that VW client  114 , SNECM  116  or client system  102  is halted, an asynchronous interrupt  270  is generated and control proceeds to an “End Operate SNECM” block  279  in which process  250  is complete. 
       FIG. 6  is a flowchart of one example of a Gather Data process  300  that may implement aspects of the claimed subject matter. In this example, logic associated with process  300  is stored in conjunction with VW Sim.  128  ( FIG. 1 ) on CRSM  126  ( FIG. 1 ) and executed on one or more processors (not shown) of a CPU (not shown) of VW server  124  ( FIG. 1 ). 
     Process  300  starts in a “Begin Gather Data” block  302  and proceeds immediately to a “Receive Request” block  304 . During processing associated with block  304 , a request for information on one or more avatars is received by VM Sim.  128  (see  256 ,  FIG. 5 ). In the following example, the received request corresponds to a single avatar although, as explained above, some requests may be associated with multiple avatars. During processing associated with an “Identify Avatar” block  306 , the avatar specified in the request received during processing associated with block  304  is identified, i.e. associated with data stored in VW DB  130  ( FIG. 1 ) corresponding to a particular, known avatar. 
     Configuration data associated with avatars may include information concerning the amount and type of data that the corresponding user is willing to be share with over avatars. During processing associated with a “Permission (Perm.) Requested?” block  308 , a determination is made as to whether or not the particular avatar is configured to either refuse request for information or to check with the corresponding user for authorization to release data. If permission is necessary, control proceeds to a “Notify Avatar” block  310  during which the user corresponding to the avatar is notified of the request for information. During processing associated with a “Receive Reply” block  312 , process  300  waits for a response to the query transmitted during processing associated with block  310 . In addition, a timer (not shown) may be set such that expiration of the timer defaults to either permissions granted or not granted depending upon the current configuration. During processing associated with a “Perm. Granted?” block  314 , a determination is made as to whether or not permission to release data has been received. Such permission may limit the type and amount of information such as specifying that only business contact and not personal contact information be released. In one embodiment, a user may be provided with a GUI (not shown) to check off specific information and/or types of information that may be either released or withheld. 
     If permission is not received, either explicitly or inexplicitly, control proceeds to a “Notify Requestor” block  316 . During processing associated with block  316 , the user who initiated the request for information is notified that no information is available. If, during processing associated with block  314 , a determination is made that at least some information may be released, control proceeds to a “Collect Data” block  318  during which the authorized information is retrieved from VW DB  130  and formatted for transmission. In addition to information about the avatar, information about the current setting or scene may be sent, even if no avatar information is authorized for release. During processing associated with a “Transmit Data” block  320 , setting information and avatar information, if authorized, is transmitted to the requesting user. Finally, during processing associated with an “End Gather Data” block  329 , process  300  is complete. 
       FIG. 7  is a flowchart or one example of an Analyze Display process  350  that may implement aspects of the claimed subject matter. In this example, logic associated with process  350  is stored in conjunction with analysis engine  210  ( FIG. 4 ) of SNECM  116  ( FIGS. 1 and 4 ) of VW client  114  ( FIG. 1 ) on CRSM  112  ( FIG. 1 ) and executed on one or more processors (not shown) of CPU  104  ( FIG. 1 ) of client system  102  ( FIG. 1 ). 
     Process  350  starts in a “Begin Analyze Display” block  352  and proceeds immediately to a “Detect Change” block  354 . During processing associated with block  354 , a change in a scene, in this example scene  182  ( FIG. 3 ), is detected. A change in scene may include, but is not limited to, avatar  184  navigating to an entirely different scene or a different perspective within a scene or the entry of one or more avatars that were not previously present in the scene. In addition, a change may include a modification to user-defined rules, criteria and/or parameters. In that case, each avatar in a particular scene would be reanalyzed, i.e. treated as a new avatar. During processing associate with a “Parse Scene” block  356 , scene  192  is parsed to determine individual displayed elements such as, for example, avatars  160  and  190 . 
     During processing associate with a “New Avatar(s)?” block  358 , a determination is made as to whether or not and additional displayed elements identified during processing associate with block  356  represent one or more avatars the were not previously in the scene. Of course, if avatar  184  has navigated to an entirely new scene, then each avatar is typically new to the scene. If a new avatar is not detected, control returns to block  354  and processing continues as described above. 
     If, during processing associate with block  358 , one or more new avatars are detected, control proceeds to an “Update Database” block  360 . During processing associate with block  360 , records are entered in avatar data  216  ( FIG. 4 ) to indicate the presence of new avatars identified during processing associate with block  358 . It should be noted that although each identified avatar may not be of interest, a record of an interaction may be relevant to avatar  184  in the future, when, for example, such an avatar is first designated as an avatar of interest. 
     During processing associate with a “Select Avatar” block  362 , an avatar identified during processing associate with block  358  is selected for processing. During processing associate with an “Analyze Avatar” block  364 , the avatar selected during processing associate with block  362 , is correlated with records of avatars stored in avatar data  216  (see  208 ,  FIG. 4 ) and evaluated based upon user-defined rules and criteria. For example, one rule may specify that all avatars corresponding to presidents of a company or associated with a specific company be identified. During processing associated with a “Criteria (Crit.) Met?” block  366 , a determination is made as to whether or not the selected avatar meets any user defined criteria. 
     If not, during processing associate with a “Know Avatar?” block  368  a determination is made as to whether or not the selected avatar is a known avatar, i.e. corresponds to records in avatar data  216 . If so, during processing associated with a “Mark Known?” block  370 , a determination is made as to whether or not, based upon a user-defined parameter, VWECM  116  is configured to indicate all previously identified avatars. Once a determination has been made during processing associated with block  366  that the selected avatar meets user-defined criteria or, during processing associated with block  370 , a determination is made that known avatars should be marked, control proceeds to a “Mark Avatar” block  372 . 
     During processing associated with block  372 , the corresponding avatar in scene  182  displayed is conjunction with an appropriate symbol (see  188  and  192 ,  FIG. 3 ). In addition, any number corresponding to a suggested order of contact may be added. It should also be noted that the marking of any particular avatar may necessitate the modification of the markings of other avatars, for example when the suggested order of contact needs adjustment. Once the selected avatar has been marked or, if during processing associated with  370 , a determination is made that the known avatars are not marked, control proceeds to a “More Avatars?” block  374 . During processing associate with block  374 , a determination is made as to whether or not there are more avatars detected during processing associated with  358  that remain to be processed. If so, control returns to block  362 , the next avatar is selected and processing continues as described above. If not, control proceeds to an “End Analyze Scene” block  379  during which process  350  is complete. 
       FIG. 8  is an illustration of display  150  ( FIGS. 2 and 3 ) showing an example of a view in a social networking (SN) application that implements the claimed subject matter. The mechanics of the data collection, analysis and display would be similar to that described above in conjunction with  FIGS. 2-7 .  FIG. 8  is provided to illustrate how the claimed subject matter may look with respect to a SN application or service. In addition,  FIG. 8  illustrates a “list” type of display rather than a “marking” type. 
     Display  150  includes a Start button ( FIGS. 2 and 3 ) and a menu bar icon  402  corresponding to an application rendering the SN application. In the this example, the SN application is displaying a “wall,” i.e. SN Wall  404 , in which a photograph  406  has been placed, or “posted,” by a user, i.e. a user_prime, represented by a characterization U_P  410 . Three additional users, represented by characterizations, i.e. a user — 1  411 , a user — 2  412  and a user — 3  413 , have posted comments corresponding to photograph  406 , i.e. a comment — 1  412 , a comment — 2  422  and a comment — 3  423 , respectively. 
     In accordance with the claimed subject matter a list  430  of information relating to users associated with user characterizations  411 - 413  are also displayed, specifically an info — 1  431 , an info — 2  432  and an info — 3  433 . Information  431 - 432  may not directly correspond to user characterizations  411 - 413 , respectively, but rather may correspond to an importance placed on different users by analysis engine  210  ( FIG. 4 ). Particular information  431 - 433  may be associated with specific user characterizations  411 - 413  in different configurations. For example, particular information  431 - 433  may be highlighted when the corresponding user characterization  411 - 413  is clicked on or a cursor (not shown) is positioned over. Vice versa, particular user characterization  411 - 413  may be highlighted when the corresponding information  431 - 433  is clicked on or a cursor (not shown) is positioned over. It should also be understood that each user characterization  411 - 413  may not correspond to any of information  431 - 433 . 
     The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. 
     The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated 
     The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.