Patent Abstract:
Methods and Devices are disclosed for performing automatic check-ins for a user associated with a mobile device. In some embodiments, the process is completely automated with no user intervention once the process has started. In some embodiments, the user is prompted for confirmation before the check-in is generated. The automatic check-in is performed based on detecting a social context which includes a current location of the user of the mobile device and applying rules. The rules may include an action part, a condition part, and qualifier part. The rules and the individual parts of the rules may be independently editable by the user.

Full Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/412,584, filed Nov. 11, 2010, and provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/419,369, filed Dec. 3, 2010, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     The present disclosure relates to, in a first aspect, automatically sharing the location of a user based on a social context of the user. In another aspect, the present disclosure relates to automatically generating and sending a status update for a user based on a social context of the user. 
     BACKGROUND 
     People are becoming increasingly comfortable with revealing or reporting some aspects of their current location and activities to their social network via check-in services such as FourSquare™ and social networking services such as Facebook®. However, in both instances, the current generation of services is predominantly manual. There is a desire for a system and method for performing automatic check-ins and/or generating and sending status updates. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present disclosure relates to automatically sharing a location of a user and/or automatically generating and sending a status update for a user based on a social context of the user. As used herein, a social context of a user is generally any data that describes a location at which the user is currently located or users that are spatially proximate to the user. Notably, data that describes a location is to be distinguished from the location itself. In one embodiment, a social context of a user is determined. Then, a determination is made as to whether to automatically share a current location of the user based on the social context of the user and one or more predefined automatic location sharing rules. The current location of the user is then automatically shared if the determination is made to automatically share the current location of the user. In one preferred embodiment, the current location of the user is shared by performing an automatic check-in for the user at a Point of Interest (POI) that corresponds to the current location of the user. 
     In another embodiment, a social context of a user is determined. Then, a determination is made as to whether to send an automatic status update for the user based on the social context of the user and one or more predefined automatic status update rules. If the determination is made to send the automatic status update, a status update is automatically generated and sent on behalf of the user. In one embodiment, the status update is personalized based on the social context of the user. 
     Those skilled in the art will appreciate the scope of the present disclosure and realize additional aspects thereof after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments in association with the accompanying drawing figures. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES 
       The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a system for performing automatic check-ins and/or automatically generating and sending status updates for users based on social contexts of the users according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the Automatic Check-in and Status Update (ACSU) server of  FIG. 1  according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIGS. 3A through 3C  illustrate an exemplary Graphical User Interface (GUI) that enables a user to configure settings and rules for automatic check-ins and automatic status updates according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates an exemplary rule builder dialog that enables a user to create an automatic check-in or automatic status update rule according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates a syntax of the rule builder dialog of  FIG. 4  according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 6  illustrates a number of exemplary rules defined via the rule builder dialog of  FIG. 4  according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 7  illustrates an exemplary status update generated according to a personalized style defined by a user for which the status update is generated according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 8  is a block diagram of the server computer hosting the ACSU server of  FIG. 1  according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 9  is a block diagram of one of the mobile devices of  FIG. 1  according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 10  is a block diagram of an exemplary computer server hosting the check-in service of  FIG. 1  according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; and 
         FIG. 11  is a block diagram of an exemplary computer server hosting the social networking service of  FIG. 1  according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The embodiments set forth below represent the necessary information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and illustrate the best mode of practicing the embodiments. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the disclosure and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure and the accompanying claims. 
     The present disclosure relates to automatically sharing a location of a user and/or automatically generating and sending a status update for a user based on a social context of the user. As used herein, a social context of a user is generally any data that describes a location at which the user is currently located or users that are spatially proximate to the user. Notably, data that describes a location is to be distinguished from the location itself. For example, the location may be a street address, whereas the data that describes the location may be a name of a corresponding Point of Interest (POI) (e.g., a business name) located at that street address. Specifically, as used herein, a social context of a user includes one or more of the following: a POI corresponding to the current location of the user, information describing a POI corresponding to the current location of the user, information describing an event currently being held at a POI corresponding to the current location of the user, historical aggregate profile data for the current location of the user, an aggregate profile for a crowd of users in which the user is currently located, an aggregate profile for each of one or more crowds currently located near the user, a list of nearby devices, a list of nearby users, a list of nearby friends, a list of nearby friends and friends-of-friends, mode of transportation, activity being performed by the user (e.g., listening to song X by artist Y), and websites that the user is logged into at that time. As used herein, a “check-in” is an electronic means by which a user indicates that he or she is currently located at a particular place (e.g., a POI). The indication may be sent to other users, retrieved by other users, sent to or retrieved by businesses, displayed on social networking sites or other websites, or the like. As used herein, a status update is a text, audio, or video message posted or otherwise sent by a user. Preferably, the status update is sent to and published by a social networking service (e.g., a Facebook® post or Twitter® tweet). Further, the status update may be published to other users or entities (e.g., businesses). 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a system  10  for performing automatic check-ins and/or generating and sending automatic status updates for users according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Notably, while check-ins are discussed herein as being the preferred manner in which to share the current locations of the users, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Other location sharing technologies may be used. As illustrated, the system  10  includes a server computer  12 , a number of mobile devices  14 - 1  through  14 -N (generally referred to herein collectively as mobile devices  14  or individually as mobile device  14 ) having associated users  16 - 1  through  16 -N (generally referred to herein collectively as users  16  and individually as user  16 ), a check-in service  18 , a social networking service  20 , and one or more social context data sources  22  connected via a network  24 . The network  24  may be any type of network or any combination of networks. Specifically, the network  24  may include wired components, wireless components, or both wired and wireless components. In one exemplary embodiment, the network  24  is a distributed public network such as the Internet, where the mobile devices  14  are enabled to connect to the network  24  via local wireless connections (e.g., Wi-Fi® or IEEE 802.11 connections) or wireless telecommunications connections (e.g., 3G or 4G telecommunications connections such as GSM, LTE, W-CDMA, or WiMAX® connections). 
     The server computer  12  is a physical computing device (i.e., a hardware device). Note that while only a single server computer  12  is illustrated, it should be appreciated that the functions of the server computer  12  described herein may be performed by a number of server computers  12  operating in a collaborative manner for purposes of redundancy and/or load sharing. As illustrated, the server computer  12  hosts an Automatic Check-in and Status Update (ACSU) server  26  and a user records repository  28 . The ACSU server  26  is preferably implemented in software and is executed by the server computer  12 . As discussed below, the user records repository  28  is maintained by the ACSU server  26  and stored in one or more secondary storage devices of the server computer  12 . The user records repository  28  includes a user record for each of the users  16 . For each user  16 , the user record of the user  16  includes one or more automatic check-in rules defined by the user  16 , one or more automatic status update rules defined by the user  16 , and credentials of the user  16  (e.g., username(s) and password(s) for accessing the check-in service  18  and/or the social networking service  20 ). In addition, the user record of the user  16  may include one or more social context records that store social context data that defines the social context of the user  16  over time. 
     The ACSU server  26  includes a rules manager  30 , a social context function  32 , an automatic check-in function  34 , and an automatic status update function  36 , which may be implemented by one or more corresponding software components. As described below in detail, the rules manager  30  generally operates to obtain automatic check-in rules and automatic status update rules from the users  16  and store the automatic check-in rules and automatic status update rules in the corresponding user records of the users  16  maintained in the user records repository  28 . The social context function  32  operates to determine the social contexts of the users  16 . The automatic check-in function  34  operates to perform automatic check-ins for the users  16  based on the social contexts of the users  16  and the corresponding automatic check-in rules of the users  16 . In general, for each of the users  16 , rather than performing automatic check-ins for all POIs visited by the user  16 , automatic check-ins are performed only when appropriate as determined by the social context of the user  16  and the automatic check-in rules of the user  16 . Similarly, the automatic status update function  36  operates to generate and send automatic status updates for the users  16  based on the social contexts of the users  16  and the corresponding automatic status update rules of the users  16 . In general, for each of the users  16 , automatic status updates are generated and sent only when appropriate as determined by the social context of the user  16  and the automatic status update rules of the user  16 . 
     Each of the mobile devices  14  is generally any type of mobile personal computing device such as, but not limited to, a mobile smart phone, a portable media player device, a mobile gaming device, an e-book device, a notebook or laptop computer, a tablet computer, or the like. Some exemplary mobile devices that may be programmed or otherwise configured to operate as the mobile devices  14  are the Apple® iPhone®, the Palm Pre®, the Samsung Rogue™, the Blackberry Storm™, the Motorola DROID or similar phone running Google&#39;s Android™ Operating System, an Apple® iPad®, and the Apple® iPod Touch® device. However, this list of exemplary mobile devices is not exhaustive and is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. 
     The mobile devices  14 - 1  through  14 -N include ACSU clients  38 - 1  through  38 -N (generally referred to herein collectively as ACSU clients  38  and individually as ACSU client  38 ) and location functions  40 - 1  through  40 -N (generally referred to herein collectively as location functions  40  and individually as location function  40 ), respectively. For each of the mobile devices  14 , the ACSU client  38  of the mobile device  14  is preferably implemented in software and executed by the mobile device  14 . In general, the ACSU client  38  enables the user  16  to interact with the ACSU server  26  to define automatic check-in rules and/or automatic status update rules and provide credentials for accessing the check-in service  18  and/or the social networking service  20  for the user  16 . In addition, in some embodiments, the ACSU client  38  obtains a current location of the mobile devices  14  from the corresponding location functions  40  and provides the current location of the mobile devices  14 , and thus the users  16 , to the ACSU server  26  automatically or upon request. 
     Still further, in some embodiments, the ACSU client  38  gathers and reports at least some social context data to the ACSU server  26 . The ACSU client  38  may collect social context data such as, for example, device identifiers of nearby devices, calendar information from a calendar application or calendar feature of an application on the mobile device  14 , mode of transportation, activity performed by the user  16 , and websites the user  16  is logged in to. Additionally, information such as aggregate profile information may be available at the ACSU client  38 , or the like. The device identifiers of nearby devices may be, for example, Bluetooth® identifiers (IDs) of devices detected by a Bluetooth® interface (not shown) of the mobile device  14 , Media Access Control (MAC) addresses of devices detected by a local wireless interface (not shown) of the mobile device  14  such as, for example, a Bluetooth® interface or IEEE 802.11x interface of the mobile device  14 . The calendar information may be a calendar entry, or data from a calendar entry, that contains data describing the current location of the user  16 , data identifying friends currently located near the user  16  (e.g., other attendees of a meeting being attended by the user  16 ), or the like. 
     The location function  40  of the mobile device  14  may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination thereof. In one embodiment, the location function  40  operates to determine or otherwise obtain the location of the mobile device  14 . As used herein, the location of the mobile device  14  includes any information that defines the location of the mobile device  14  in two-dimensional or three-dimensional space such as, for example, a latitude and longitude coordinate pair and optionally an altitude, a street address, or the like. For example, the location function  40  may be or include a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver. In addition or alternatively, the location function  40  may include hardware and/or software that enables improved location tracking in indoor environments such as, for example, shopping malls. For example, the location function  40  may be part of or compatible with the InvisiTrack Location System provided by InvisiTrack and described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,423,580 entitled “Method and System of Three-Dimensional Positional Finding” which issued on Sep. 9, 2008, U.S. Pat. No. 7,787,886 entitled “System and Method for Locating a Target using RFID” which issued on Aug. 31, 2010, and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0075898 entitled “Method and System for Positional Finding Using RF, Continuous and/or Combined Movement” which published on Apr. 5, 2007, all of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference for their teachings regarding location tracking. 
     In this embodiment, the check-in service  18  is a third-party service hosted by one or more server computers. The check-in service  18  is a service by which users, such as but not limited to the users  16 , are enabled to manually check-in to POIs via their mobile devices while the users  16  are at those POIs. For example, if the user  16 - 1  were to visit Sullivan&#39;s Steakhouse at 414 Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh, N.C., the user  16 - 1  may manually check-in to Sullivan&#39;s Steakhouse via the check-in service  18 . One exemplary check-in service is the FourSquare™ check-in service. However, whereas the check-in service  18  enables users to manually check-in, the ACSU server  26  interacts with the check-in service  18  to enable automatic check-ins for the users  16 . 
     In this embodiment, the social networking service  20  is a third-party service hosted by one or more server computers. The social networking service  20  is generally any type of social networking service that enables users, such as the users  16 , to manually create and send status updates to individuals or groups of users (e.g., send status updates by posts to Facebook® friends or groups, send tweets to Twitter® followers, or the like). Exemplary social networking services are the Twitter® social networking service, the Facebook® social networking service, the MySpace® social networking service, and the like. However, whereas the social networking service  20  enables users to manually send status updates, the ACSU server  26  interacts with the social networking service  20  to enable automatic status updates from the users  16 . 
     It should be noted that while the check-in service  18  and the social network service  20  are third-party services in this embodiment, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In an alternative embodiment, some or all of the functionality of the ACSU server  26  may be incorporated into the check-in service  18  and/or the social networking service  20 . For example, the functionality of the ACSU server  26  with respect to automatic check-ins may be incorporated into the check-in service  18 , and the functionality of the ACSU server  26  with respect to automatic status updates may be incorporated into the social networking service  20 . Alternatively, the ACSU server  26  may include the check-in service  18 , the social networking service  20 , and/or one or more social context data source(s)  22 . 
     The one or more social context data sources  22  are generally any type of source(s) that may be utilized to obtain data that defines the social context of the users  16  based on, for example, the current locations of the users  16 . In one embodiment, the one or more social context data sources  22  include a Mobile Aggregate Profile (MAP) server that operates to provide historical aggregate profile data and/or aggregate profiles for crowds of users as described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0198828, entitled “Forming Crowds And Providing Access To Crowd Data In A Mobile Environment,” which was filed Dec. 23, 2009 and published Aug. 5, 2010; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0197318, entitled “Anonymous Crowd Tracking,” which was filed Dec. 23, 2009 and published Aug. 5, 2010; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0198826, entitled “Maintaining A Historical Record Of Anonymized User Profile Data By Location For Users In A Mobile Environment,” which was filed Dec. 23, 2009 and published Aug. 5, 2010; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0198917, entitled “Crowd Formation For Mobile Device Users,” which was filed Dec. 23, 2009 and published Aug. 5, 2010; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0198870, entitled “Serving A Request For Data From A Historical Record Of Anonymized User Profile Data In A Mobile Environment,” which was filed Dec. 23, 2009 and published Aug. 5, 2010; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0198862, entitled “Handling Crowd Requests For Large Geographic Areas,” which was filed Dec. 23, 2009 and published Aug. 5, 2010; and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0197319, entitled “Modifying A User&#39;s Contribution To An Aggregate Profile Based On Time Between Location Updates And External Events,” which was filed Dec. 23, 2009 and published Aug. 5, 2010; all of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference for their teachings related to historical aggregate profile data and aggregate profiles for crowds of users. 
     The one or more social context data sources  22  may also include one or more web-based sources of content that describe the current locations of the users  16 . For example, if the user  16 - 1  is located at a POI that is a venue where various types of sporting events, concerts, and the like are held, the social context data sources  22  may include a web-based source that may be queried or searched by the ACSU server  26  to obtain data that describes the event being held at the venue at a desired point in time. For instance, for a particular point in time, the ACSU server  26  may query the web-based source to obtain data that indicates that the user  16 - 1  is attending a concert for a particular music group, which is data that describes the social context of the user  16 - 1  at that time. 
     The one or more social context data sources  22  may also include one or more databases or sources for mapping the current locations of the users  16  to POIs or POI types of the POIs at which the users  16  are currently located. Alternatively, the server computer  12  may host or otherwise have access to a POI database that can be utilized to map the current locations of the users  16  to POIs at which the users  16  are located and/or POI types of the POIs at which the users  16  are located. 
       FIG. 2  is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the ACSU server  26  of  FIG. 1  according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated, the rules manager  30  of the ACSU server  26  first receives automatic check-in and automatic status update rules from one of the users  16  and stores the automatic check-in and automatic status update rules in the user record of the user  16  (step  1000 ). Note that while  FIG. 2  illustrates receiving and storing the automatic check-in and automatic status update rules as a single step  1000 , it should be appreciated that the user  16  is preferably enabled to update the automatic check-in and automatic status update rules as desired. 
     More specifically, in one embodiment, the ACSU client  38  of the mobile device  14  of the user  16  provides an interface by which the user  16  is enabled to define and update the automatic check-in rules and automatic status update rules of the user  16 . In general, the automatic check-in rules define social contexts for which automatic check-ins are permitted by the user  16 . More specifically, the automatic check-in rules may positively define social contexts for which automatic check-ins are permitted (e.g., a rule stating that automatic check-ins are permitted for restaurants) or negatively define social contexts for which automatic check-ins are not permitted (e.g., a rule stating that automatic check-ins are not permitted for doctor&#39;s offices). The automatic check-in rules may be prioritized in order to, for example, resolve conflicting rules. The automatic check-in rules may be based on criteria including one or more of the following:
         POI type (e.g., restaurant, house of worship, grocery store, hardware store, clothing store, sports arena, bar, park, city, or the like);   event data that describes the event being held at the POI at which the user  16  is located;   historical aggregate profile data for the current location of the user  16 ;   aggregate profile for a crowd of users in which the user  16  is located;   aggregate profiles of one or more crowds of users  16  near the current location of the user  16 ;   device IDs of devices located near the current location of the user  16 ;   friends in a social network of the user  16  (i.e., other users directly related to the user  16  in a social network such as that maintained by the social networking service  20 ) that are located at or near the current location of the user  16  (e.g., within a predefined distance from the user  16  or at the same POI);   number of friends in a social network of the user  16  that are located at or near the current location of the user  16 ;   friends-of-friends of the user  16  (i.e., other users that are indirectly related to the user  16  in a social network such as that maintained by the social networking service  20 ) that are located at or near the current location of the user  16 ; and   number of friends and friends-of-friends of the user  16  that are located at or near the current location of the user  16 .
 
Notably, a friend-of-friend of the user  16  may be a predefined maximum number of degrees of separation (e.g., limited to 2 degrees of separation such that the friends-of-friends only include friends of direct friends of the user  16  or limited to 3 degrees of separation such that the friends-of-friends include both friends of direct friends of the user  16  and friends-of-friends of direct friends of the user  16 ).
       

     As an example, the user  16  may define automatic check-in rules such as:
         do not perform automatic check-ins when located at a doctor&#39;s office because the user  16  deems being at a doctor&#39;s office as being too private to share with others;   do not perform automatic check-ins when located at a grocery store because the user  16  deems being at a grocery store as too boring to share with others;   perform automatic check-ins when located at any restaurant;   perform automatic check-ins when located at any POI where a concert or sporting event is being held;   perform automatic check-ins when located at any POI having a historical profile having defined characteristics;   do not perform automatic check-ins when located in or near a crowd having an aggregate profile having defined characteristics;   do not perform automatic check-ins when a device having a defined Bluetooth® ID is detected by a Bluetooth® interface of the mobile device  14  of the user  16 ;   perform automatic check-ins when one or more defined friends are near the current location of the user  16  (e.g., within a defined distance from the current location of the user  16  or at the same POI); or   perform automatic check-ins when at least a threshold number of friends or friends-of-friends of the user  16  are near the current location of the user  16  (e.g., within a defined distance from the current location of the user  16  or at the same POI).       

     In a similar manner, the automatic status update rules define social contexts for which automatic status updates are permitted. The automatic status update rules may be prioritized in order to, for example, resolve conflicting rules. More specifically, the automatic status update rules may positively define social contexts for which automatic status updates are permitted (e.g., a rule stating that automatic status updates are permitted for restaurants) or negatively define social contexts for which automatic status updates are not permitted (e.g., a rule stating that automatic status updates are not permitted for doctor&#39;s offices). Like the automatic check-in rules, the automatic status update rules may also be based on criteria including one or more of the following:
         POI type (e.g., restaurant, house of worship, grocery store, hardware store, clothing store, sports arena, bar, or the like);   event data that describes the event being held at the POI at which the user  16  is located;   historical aggregate profile data for the current location of the user  16 ;   aggregate profile for a crowd of users in which the user  16  is located;   aggregate profiles of one or more crowds of users  16  near the current location of the user  16 ;   device IDs of devices located near the current location of the user  16 ;   friends in a social network of the user  16  (i.e., other users directly related to the user  16  in a social network such as that maintained by the social networking service  20 ) that are located at or near the current location of the user  16 ;   number of friends in a social network of the user  16  that are located at or near the current location of the user  16 ;   friends-of-friends of the user  16  (i.e., other users that are indirectly related to the user  16  in a social network such as that maintained by the social networking service  20 ) that are located at or near the current location of the user  16 ; and   number of friends and friends-of-friends of the user  16  that are located at or near the current location of the user  16 .       

     As an example, the user  16  may define automatic status update rules such as:
         do not generate and send automatic status updates when located at a doctor&#39;s office because the user  16  deems being at a doctor&#39;s office as being too private to share with others;   do not generate and send automatic status updates when located at a grocery store because the user  16  deems being at a grocery store as too boring to share with others;   generate and send automatic status updates when located at any restaurant;   generate and send automatic status updates when located at any POI where a concert or sporting event is being held;   generate and send automatic status updates when located at any POI having a historical profile having defined characteristics;   do not generate and send automatic status updates when located in or near a crowd having an aggregate profile having defined characteristics;   do not generate and send automatic status updates when a device having a defined Bluetooth® ID is detected by a Bluetooth® interface of the mobile device  14  of the user  16 ;   generate and send automatic status updates when one or more defined friends are near the current location of the user  16  (e.g., within a defined distance from the current location of the user  16  or at the same POI); or   generate and send automatic status updates when at least a threshold number of friends or friends-of-friends of the user  16  are near the current location of the user  16  (e.g., within a defined distance from the current location of the user  16  or at the same POI).       

     The automatic status update rules may be global rules that apply to all automatic status updates from the corresponding user  16 . For example, the automatic status update rules may be a single set of rules that define when automatic status updates are to be tweeted from the user  16  via Twitter® to all of the Twitter® followers of the user  16 , when automatic status updates are to be posted to the Facebook® wall of the user  16  where the status updates are visible to all Facebook® friends of the user  16 , or the like. In addition or alternatively, the user  16  may define separate sets of automatic status update rules for different groups of users (e.g., different Facebook® groups; friends versus friends-of-friends; family versus friends; or the like) or different individuals (e.g., different friends). Note that the ACSU server  26  may interact with the social networking service  20  to obtain a listing of the different groups of users and friends of the user  16  if separate sets of automatic status update rules are to be provided for different groups of users or different friends of the user  16 . 
     Once the automatic check-in and automatic status update rules are received and stored, the social context function  32  determines whether it is time to update the social context of the user  16  (step  1002 ). For example, the social context function  32  may determine that it is time to update the social context of the user  16  in response to a triggering event. As discussed below, in one embodiment, the triggering event is the receipt of a location update and, optionally, social context data from the mobile device  14  of the user  16 . If it is not time to update the social context of the user  16 , the process returns to step  1002 . 
     If it is time to update the social context of the user  16 , the social context function  32  of the ACSU server  26  determines the social context of the user  16  (step  1004 ). In general, the social context function  32  determines the social context of the user  16  by obtaining social context data that defines the social context of the user  16  from the mobile device  14  of the user  16  and/or the one or more social context data sources  22 . More specifically, in one embodiment, the social context function  32  obtains the current location of the user  16  and maps the current location to a POI at which the user  16  is located. The current location of the user  16  may be mapped to the POI at which the user  16  is located using a local POI database stored by the server computer  12  or a remote POI database. The POI database stores, for each of a number of known POIs, information defining locations that map to the POI, a name of the POI (e.g., Sullivan&#39;s Steakhouse), and optionally information describing the POI (e.g., POI type). In one exemplary embodiment, the information that defines locations that map to a POI is a location (e.g., a latitude and longitude) and a geographic area that is centered at or otherwise encompasses the location such that the current location of the user  16  is mapped to the POI if the current location of the user  16  is within the geographic area for the POI. As a specific example, the information that defines locations that map to a POI may be a location and a radius (e.g., 50 meters) such that the current location of the user  16  is mapped to the POI if the current location of the user  16  is within the defined radius from the defined location for the POI. If no POI is found for the current location of the user  16 , the social context function  32  may assign the closest POI. Alternatively, the social context function  32  may create a new POI based on the current location of the user  16 . For example, the social context function  32  may determine the closest known street address to the current location and create a POI for that street address. In another example, the social context function  32  may also default to the closest zip code, city, etc. POIs may be nested. For example, there may be a POI for a city and several POIs within the city. In addition, if the POI to which the current location of the user  16  is mapped or assigned is a venue at which events are held, the social context function  32  may query or search one or more of the social context data sources  22  to obtain data describing the event that is being held at the venue at the current time, if any. The POI, information describing the POI, and data describing any event being held at the venue form social context data that may define, at least in part, the social context of the user  16 . 
     In addition or alternatively, the one or more social context data sources  22  may include a source of historical aggregate profile data by location, and the social context function  32  may obtain the current location of the user  16  and query the source of historical aggregate profile data for historical aggregate profile data for the current location of the user  16 . The historical aggregate profile data is generally an aggregation of user profiles for users previously located at or near the current location of the user  16 . For example, if the current location of the user  16  maps to a POI, the historical aggregate profile data may be an aggregation of interests defined in user profiles of users that were located at the POI during one or more historical time periods (e.g., the last week, weekday evenings from 7 pm to 11 pm, or the like). The historical aggregate profile data may be expressed as a list of user interests found in the user profiles of the users previously located at or near the current location of the user  16  and, for each interest, a value reflecting a degree to which the user interest is found in the user profiles of the users previously located at or near the current location of the user  16 . The historical aggregate profile data may define, at least in part, the social context of the user  16 . 
     In addition or alternatively, the one or more social context data sources  22  may include a source of crowd data, and the social context function  32  may query the source of crowd data for an aggregate profile of a crowd in which the user  16  is currently located and/or aggregate profiles of one or more crowds at or near the current location of the user  16 . The aggregate profile for a crowd is generally an aggregation of user profiles of a number of users in the crowd. For example, the aggregate profile of a crowd may be expressed as a list of user interests found in the user profiles of the users in the crowd and, for each user interest, a number of user matches for the interest among the users in the crowd and/or a ratio of the number of user matches for the interest among the users in the crowd over a total number of users in the crowd. The aggregate profile(s) of the crowd(s) may define, at least in part, the social context of the user  16 . 
     Still further, the social context function  32  may query the social networking service  20  for a list of friends that are currently located near the user  16  (e.g., friends within a defined distance from the user  16 , friends at the same POI as the user  16 , or the like). The friends located near the user  16  or the number of friends near the user  16  may define, at least in part, the social context of the user  16 . In a similar manner, the social context of the user  16  may include the friends and friends-of-friends or the number of friends and friends-of-friends located near the user  16 . 
     Lastly, the social context data that defines the social context of the user  16  may include social context data received from the ACSU client  38  of the mobile device  14  of the user  16 . The social context data received from the ACSU client  38  may include a list of devices detected by a wireless Local Area Network (LAN) or wireless Personal Area Network (PAN) interface (e.g., an IEEE 802.11x or Bluetooth® interface) of the mobile device  14  of the user  16 , calendar information from a calendar entry from a calendar application or feature of the mobile device  14  where the calendar entry includes information such as information that describes the location of the user  16  at the current time (e.g., calendar entry for Bill&#39;s birthday party) and/or identifies a number of users scheduled to be near the user  16  (e.g., the other participants in a scheduled meeting). 
     The data defining the social context may then be stored in the user record of the user  16 . In one embodiment, the user record includes a number of social context records that store the data defining the social context of the user  16  at corresponding points in time. In one embodiment, each social context record may include a unique record ID, an identifier of the user  16  (e.g., a username), a status (e.g., checked-in, checked-out, or status update) that indicates whether a check-in, check-out, and/or status update resulted from the social context defined by the social context record, a timestamp identifying a date and time at which the social context record was created, the POI at which the user  16  was located at that time, an activity being performed by the user  16  at that time (e.g., listening to song X by artist Y, purchased item Z, chatting with person A, or the like), a mode of transportation (e.g., walking, driving, bicycling, or flying), any calendar event data, and information identifying any website that the user  16  is logged into at that time. 
     Once the social context of the user  16  is determined, the automatic check-in function  34  determines whether to perform an automatic check-in for the user  16  based on the social context of the user  16  and the automatic check-in rules of the user  16  (step  1006 ). In addition, the automatic check-in function  34  may consider system-defined rules such as rules defining POI types from which automatic check-ins are always permitted (assuming that the user  16  has also permitted automatic check-ins from those POI types), POI types from which automatic check-ins are never permitted even if the user  16  has given permission to provide automatic check-ins from those POI types, or the like. Still further, if the current location of the user  16  does not map to a POI, then the automatic check-in function  34  determines that an automatic check-in is not to be performed. In some embodiments, if the current location of the user  16  does not map to a POI, a new POI may automatically be created at the current location of the user  16 . However, certain criteria may be required to be satisfied before a new POI is automatically created (e.g., the user  16  must have been at the POI for more than a threshold amount of time such as, for example, 30 minutes). 
     If an automatic check-in is not to be performed, the process proceeds to step  1010 . If an automatic check-in is to be performed, the automatic check-in function  34  performs an automatic check-in for the user  16  at the POI corresponding to the current location of the user  16  (step  1008 ). More specifically, in this embodiment, the automatic check-in function  34  communicates with the check-in service  18  to automatically perform a check-in (i.e., an automatic check-in) for the user  16  at the POI corresponding to the current location of the user  16 . Notably, any credentials of the user  16  needed to perform the automatic check-in on behalf of the user  16  such as, for example, a username and password of the user  16  for the check-in service  18  may be provided to the ACSU server  26  by the user  16  in advance and stored in the user record of the user  16 . For instance, the credentials of the user  16  may be provided by the user  16  during a registration or initial configuration process. Preferably, the automatic check-in is performed without any interaction with the user  16 . However, in an alternative embodiment, a confirmation message may be provided to the user  16  to request confirmation from the user  16  that the user  16  desires to check-in to the POI before performing the check-in on behalf of the user  16 . 
     Before proceeding, it should be noted that at some point after the automatic check-in is performed, the user  16  will check-out of the POI or will be automatically checked-out of the POI such that the user  16  is no longer indicated as being at the POI. The check-out may be performed manually by the user  16 . Alternatively, the check-out may be performed automatically by the automatic check-in function  34 . The user  16  may be automatically checked-out of the POI, for example, when the user  16  is no longer at the POI, when the user  16  has been gone from the POI for at least a predefined threshold amount of time, when the user  16  is located more than a predefined threshold distance from the POI, or the like. 
     Next, in this embodiment, the automatic status update function  36  of the ACSU server  26  determines whether to send an automatic status update for the user  16  based on the social context of the user  16  and the automatic social update rules of the user  16  (step  1010 ). In addition, the automatic status update function  36  may consider system-defined rules such as rules defining POI types from which automatic status updates are always permitted (assuming that the user  16  has also permitted automatic status updates from those POI types), POI types from which automatic status updates are never permitted even if the user  16  has given permission to provide automatic status updates from those POI types, or the like. 
     If an automatic status update is not to be sent, the process returns to step  1002 . If an automatic status update is to be sent, the automatic status update function  36  generates and sends an automatic status update for the user  16  (step  1012 ) and then the process returns to step  1002 . More specifically, in this embodiment, the automatic status update function  36  automatically generates a status update for the user  16  based on the social context of the user  16 . For example, if the user  16  is located at a POI, the automatic status update function  36  may generate a status update stating that the user  16  is currently at the POI. Still further, if the user  16  is located at the POI with a number (M) of his friends, the status update may be generated to state that the user  16  is located at the POI with M of his friends. As another example, if the user  16  is located at a POI with his friends Bill, Tammy, and Susie, the status update may be generated to state that user  16  is at the POI with his friends Bill, Tammy, and Susie. As a final example, if the user  16  is listening to rock music and is near his friends Ken, Vicky, and Brad, the status update may be generated to state that the user  16  is “rocking out with Ken, Vicky, and Brad.” Note that the exemplary status updates generated above are exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Numerous other types of automatically generated status updates that are personalized based on the social context of the user  16  will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art upon reading this disclosure and are considered within the scope of the present disclosure. 
     The status update automatically generated by the automatic status update function  36  may automatically be sent to the social networking service  20  for distribution without interaction from the user  16 . Additionally, the status update automatically generated by the automatic status update function  36  may automatically update the user&#39;s profile. Alternatively, the generated status update may be sent to the ACSU client  38  of the mobile device  14  of the user  16  for confirmation and, optionally, editing by the user  16  before any automated actions are performed. Once confirmation and any edits are received from the user  16 , the automatic status update function  36  sends the status update to the social networking service  20  for distribution. Notably, any credentials of the user  16  needed to send the automatic status update on behalf of the user  16  such as, for example, a username and password of the user  16  for the social networking service  20  may be provided to the ACSU server  26  by the user  16  in advance and stored in the user record of the user  16 . For instance, the credentials of the user  16  may be provided by the user  16  during a registration or initial configuration process. 
     Once the status update is received by the social networking service  20 , the social networking service  20  delivers the status update according to the normal operation of the social networking service  20  (e.g., post the status update to the Facebook® wall of the user  16 , send the status update to the Twitter® followers of the user  16 , or the like depending on the particular implementation of the social networking service  20 ). Alternatively, the social networking service  20  may provide global or individualized filtering in order to reduce the number of or types of automatic status updates received by users of the social networking service  20 . For example, the social networking service  20  may filter automatic status updates such that automatic status updates are not delivered to recipients at a rate greater than a predefined maximum rate (e.g., no more than 1 automatic status update per 30 minutes). As another example, the social networking service  20  may enable the users of the social networking service  20  to define individual filtering criteria to control the number and types of automatic status updates received from other users (e.g., maximum rate of automatic status update receipt, no status updates from users located at bars, or the like). Any conflicts between filtering criteria may be resolved by assigning priorities to the filtering criteria. 
     It should be noted that while  FIGS. 1 and 2  illustrate an embodiment where the ACSU server  26  provides both automatic check-ins and automatic status updates for the users  16 , the present disclosure is not limited thereto. More specifically, in one embodiment, the ACSU server  26  includes the automatic check-in function  34  and not the automatic status update function  36  such that the ACSU server  26  performs automatic check-ins for the users  16  but does not send automatic status updates for the users  16 . In another embodiment, the ACSU server  26  includes the automatic status update function  36  but not the automatic check-in function  34  such that the ACSU server  26  sends automatic status updates for the users  16  but does not perform automatic check-ins for the users  16 . In yet another embodiment, the ACSU server  26  includes both the automatic check-in function  34  and the automatic status update function  36 , but each of the users  16  may choose to have the ACSU server  26  only perform automatic check-ins for the user  16  or only send automatic status updates for the user  16  by, for example, defining automatic check-in rules but not automatic status update rules or vice versa or by activating/deactivating automatic check-ins and/or automatic status updates via a corresponding feature of the ACSU server  26 . 
     In addition, the ACSU server  26  may enable the users  16  to review and edit automatic check-ins previously performed for the users  16  and automatic status updates previously sent for the user  16 . For example, the ACSU server  26  may enable the user  16  to view a log of automatic check-ins performed for the user  16  and enable the user  16  to delete previous check-ins performed by the user  16  such that those check-ins are no longer available via the check-in service  18 . In response to such deletions, the ACSU server  26  may automatically update the automatic check-in rules to prevent automatic check-ins in the future for the user  16  when in the same or similar social contexts as the social contexts of the user  16  at the time of performing the deleted automatic check-ins. In a similar manner, the ACSU server  26  may enable the user  16  to view a log of automatic status updates sent for the user  16  and enable the user  16  to edit and/or delete those status updates. If status updates are deleted, the ACSU server  26  may automatically update the automatic status update rules of the user  16  to prevent automatic status updates in the future for the user  16  when in the same or similar social contexts as the social contexts of the user  16  at the time of performing the deleted automatic social updates. 
       FIGS. 3A through 5  illustrate exemplary Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) that enable the users  16  to define automatic check-in and automatic status update rules according to one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. These GUIs may be provided by the ACSU clients  38  of the mobile devices  14  of the users  18  or provided by the ACSU server  26  for presentation to the users  16  via the ACSU clients  38  of the mobile devices  14  of the users  16 . More specifically,  FIGS. 3A through 3C  illustrate a first exemplary GUI  42  presented to the user  16  according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The GUI  42  includes an Accounts tab  44 , a Settings tab  46 , and a Rules tab  48 . In  FIG. 3A , the Accounts tab  44  is selected such that the GUI  42  presents a corresponding Accounts screen  50  to the user  16 . The Accounts screen  50  includes buttons  52  through  58  for corresponding check-in and/or social network services with which the user  16  is or may be registered. The user  16  can select the buttons  52  through  58  to enter his login information for the corresponding check-in and/or social networking services. For example, the user  16  can select the Facebook Connect button  52  to enter his login information for the Facebook® social networking service in order to enable the ACSU server  26  to perform automatic check-ins and/or automatic status updates for the user  16  via the Facebook® social networking service. In addition, the Accounts screen  50  includes check boxes  60  through  66  that enable the user  16  to select whether automatic check-ins are to be performed for the corresponding services. In this example, the user  16  has chosen to permit automatic check-ins for Facebook® and FourSquare™ by selecting the corresponding check boxes  60  and  64 . In a similar manner, the Accounts screen  50  includes check boxes  68  through  74  that enable the user  16  to select whether automatic status updates are to be performed for the corresponding services. In this example, the user  16  has chosen to permit automatic status updates for Twitter® and Black Planet by selecting the corresponding check boxes  70  and  74 . The user  16  can select an OK button  76  to accept the configurations set via the GUI  42  or a Cancel button  78  to cancel without accepting any changes to the configurations set via the GUI  42 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 3B , when the user  16  selects the Settings tab  46 , a Settings screen  80  is presented to the user  16 . The Settings screen  80  generally enables the user  16  to configure a number of settings to be used by the ACSU server  26  when performing automatic check-ins and/or sending automatic status updates on behalf of the user  16 . In this example, the Settings screen  80  includes a minimum check-in interval slider bar  82  having a corresponding slider  84  for configuring a minimum check-in interval. The minimum check-in interval is a minimum amount of time between automatic check-ins for the user  16 . Here, the minimum check-in interval can be configured to be anywhere from 1 hour to 1 week. The Settings screen  80  also includes a maximum interval activity slider bar  86  having a corresponding slider  88  for configuring a maximum interval activity. The maximum interval activity limits the number of automatic check-ins and/or automatic status updates per day when radio button  90  is selected, per week when radio button  92  is selected, and per month when radio button  94  is selected. Still further, the Settings screen  80  includes a proximate distance slider bar  96  having a corresponding slider  98  for configuring a proximate distance definition. The proximate distance definition defines a threshold distance to be used when determining whether the user  16  is spatially proximate to a location, a POI, a friend, or the like, depending on the particular implementation. For example, POIs may be defined as a location rather than a geographic area. The user  16  may then be determined to be at the POI when the user  16  is within the defined proximate distance from the location of the POI. Lastly, the Settings screen  80  includes an OK button  100  that can be selected to accept the configurations set via the GUI  42  and a Cancel button  102  that can be selected to cancel without accepting any changes to the configurations set via the GUI  42 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 3C , when the Rules tab  48  is selected, a Rules screen  104  is presented to the user  16 . In general, the Rules screen  104  enables the user  16  to define automatic check-in rules and/or automatic status update rules. Specifically, in this example, the user  16  has already created rules  106  through  112 . Notably, the order of the rules  106  through  112  from top to bottom corresponds to priorities of the rules from  106  through  112  from highest to lowest. The Rules screen  104  includes buttons  114  through  120 , buttons  122  through  128 , and buttons  130  through  136 . The buttons  114  through  120  enable the user  16  to delete the corresponding rules  106  through  112  (e.g., the user  16  can select the button  114  to delete the rule  106 ). The buttons  122  through  128  enable the user  16  to create new rules using a rule builder dialog. More specifically, the buttons  122  through  128  enable the user  16  to create a new rule immediately below the corresponding rules  106  through  112  (e.g., the user  16  can select the button  122  to create a new rule between the rules  106  and  108 ). Lastly, the buttons  130  through  136  enable the user  16  to open a rule builder dialog to modify the corresponding rules  106  through  112 . Lastly, the Rules screen  104  includes an OK button  138  that can be selected to accept the configurations set via the GUI  42  and a Cancel button  140  that can be selected to cancel without accepting any changes to the configurations set via the GUI  42 . 
       FIG. 4  illustrates an exemplary rule builder dialog  142  presented to the user  16  in response to selecting one of the buttons  122  through  128  to create a new rule or in response to selecting one of the buttons  130  through  136  to modify one of the corresponding rules  106  through  112 . The rule builder dialog  142  enables the user  16  to select an action via an action pull-down menu  144 , select a condition via a condition pull-down menu  146  that defines when the action is to be performed, and select a qualifier via a qualifier pull-down menu  148 . The rule builder dialog  142  includes check box  150  that enables the user  16  to define whether confirmation is to be obtained from the user  16  before performing the action and a check box  152  that enables the user  16  to enable sharing of the rule with other users  16 . Text box  154  enables the user  16  to enter a description for the rule. Lastly, the rule builder dialog  142  includes an OK button  156  that enables the user  16  to complete the creation or modification of the rule and a Cancel button  158  that enables the user  16  to cancel creation or modification of the rule. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates an exemplary syntax for the rule builder dialog  142 . More specifically,  FIG. 5  illustrates exemplary actions (e.g., check-in, status update, block check-in, and block status update) and conditions (e.g., person, proximate friends, POI, location, event, crowd, timer interval, and date/time) that may be available to the user  16  via the rule builder dialog  142 . Notably, the qualifiers available in the qualifier pull-down menu  148  depend on the selected condition.  FIG. 6  illustrates the rules  106  through  112  of  FIG. 3C  having been defined by the rule builder dialog  142 . 
       FIG. 7  illustrates an exemplary status update automatically generated by the automatic status update function  36  of the ACSU server  26  according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. In this embodiment, each of the users  16  may choose or select a predefined personal style (also referred to herein as “persona”) for his status updates. The personal style chosen or selected by the user  16  or information defining the personal style chosen or selected by the user  16  may be stored in the user record of the user  16 . The user  16  chooses or selects his personal style in advance before the ACSU server  26  operates to generate and send status updates based on the social context of the user  16 . Some exemplary personal styles are a Police Report style, a Hollywood Reporter or Paparazzi style, a Tattle Tale style, a Private Investigator style, a Young Child style, a Religious Zealot style, a Valley Girl style, an Obituary style, a Tabloid style, a Network Nightly News style, a Commercial style, or the like. The user  16  may select his desired personal style from a number of predefined styles provided by the ACSU server  26  or define his own personal style using, for example, an authoring tool provided by the ACSU server  26  or the ACSU client  38 . A personal style generally includes a template that may be personalized by the user  16  by inserting, for example, a picture and text. Thereafter, when the social context of the user  16  is such that the automatic status update function  36  generates an automatic status update to be sent on behalf of the user  16 , the automatic status update is generated according to the personal style of the user  16 . For instance, a natural language generation engine may be utilized to generate text to be entered into the template for the personal style of the user  16  based on the social context of the user  16 . 
     Turning to the specific example of  FIG. 7 , an exemplary status update  160  is illustrated, where the status update  160  has been generated according to a personal style of the user  16  for which the status update is to be sent. In this example, the personal style is a Tabloid style that has been personalized with a picture of the user  16  and the text “THE SHAME OF AARON ROGERS” and “CAUGHT AT  ——————  AGAIN!”, where the space “ —————— ” represents the name of the current location or POI of the user  16  to be inserted into the status update by the automatic status update function  36 . In this example, the current location of the user  16  corresponds to the home of a person named “Bianca,” which may be a friend of the user  16 . The current location of the user  16  is matched to Bianca&#39;s home address using, for example, an address book maintained by the mobile device  14  of the user  16 . This may be reported to the ACSU server  26  by the ACSU client  38  as social context data for the user  16 . The automatic status update function  36  then inserts “BIANCA&#39;S” into the space in the template for the Tabloid style to thereby generate the status update  160  for the user  16 . In this example, the status update  160  is returned to the mobile device  14  for presentation to the user  16  before sending the status update  160 . The user  16  may choose to cancel the status update  160  by selecting a “Delete” button  162 , edit the status update  160  by selecting an “Edit” button  164 , or send the status update  160  by selecting a “Send” button  166 . 
     Notably, in the example above, the user  16  has selected the desired personal style. However, in another embodiment, the personal style for a status update may be automatically selected by the ACSU server  26  based on the context of the user  16  (e.g., location, nearby friends, time of day, day of the week, POI type, or the like) or a target audience for the status update (e.g., friends, family, co-workers, or the like). For example, the user  16  may pre-define a number of personal styles and corresponding contexts for which the personal styles are to be used. For instance, the user  16  may define one personal style to be used when at work or during work hours, another personal style to be used when the user  16  is at church, another personal style to be used when the target audience of a status update includes the friends of the user  16 , or the like. 
       FIG. 8  is a block diagram of the server computer  12  according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated, the server computer  12  includes a controller  168  connected to memory  170 , one or more secondary storage devices  172 , and a communication interface  174  by a bus  176  or similar mechanism. The controller  168  is a microprocessor, digital Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or similar hardware component. In this embodiment, the controller  168  is a microprocessor, and the ACSU server  26  ( FIG. 1 ) is implemented in software and stored in the memory  170  for execution by the controller  168 . Further, the user records repository  28  ( FIG. 1 ) may be stored in the one or more secondary storage devices  172 . The secondary storage devices  172  are digital data storage devices such as, for example, one or more hard disk drives. The communication interface  174  is a wired or wireless communication interface that communicatively couples the server computer  12  to the network  24  ( FIG. 1 ). For example, the communication interface  174  may be an Ethernet interface, local wireless interface such as a wireless interface operating according to one of the suite of IEEE 802.11 standards, or the like. 
       FIG. 9  is a block diagram of one of the mobile devices  14  according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated, the mobile device  14  includes a controller  178  connected to memory  180 , one or more communication interfaces  182 , one or more user interface components  184 , and the location function  40  by a bus  186  or similar mechanism. The controller  178  is a microprocessor, digital ASIC, FPGA, or similar hardware component. In this embodiment, the controller  178  is a microprocessor, and the ACSU client  38  is implemented in software and stored in the memory  180  for execution by the controller  178 . In this embodiment, the location function  40  is a hardware component such as, for example, a GPS receiver. The one or more communication interfaces  182  include a wireless communication interface that communicatively couples the mobile device  14  to the network  24  ( FIG. 1 ). For example, the one or more communication interfaces  182  may include a local wireless interface such as a wireless interface operating according to one of the suite of IEEE 802.11 standards, a mobile communications interface such as a cellular telecommunications interface, or the like. The one or more communication interfaces  182  may also include a Bluetooth® interface or other local wireless interface to, for example, detect nearby devices. Note that the same local wireless interface may be utilized to both connect the mobile device  14  to the network  24  and detect nearby devices. The one or more user interface components  184  include, for example, a touchscreen, a display, one or more user input components (e.g., a keypad), a speaker, or the like, or any combination thereof. 
       FIG. 10  is a block diagram of a server computer  188  hosting the check-in service  18  according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated, the server computer  188  includes a controller  190  connected to memory  192 , one or more secondary storage devices  194 , and a communication interface  196  by a bus  198  or similar mechanism. The controller  190  is a microprocessor, digital ASIC, FPGA, or similar hardware component. In this embodiment, the controller  190  is a microprocessor, and the check-in service  18  is implemented in software and stored in the memory  192  for execution by the controller  190 . The one or more secondary storage devices  194  are digital storage devices such as, for example, one or more hard disk drives. The communication interface  196  is a wired or wireless communication interface that communicatively couples the server computer  188  to the network  24  ( FIG. 1 ). For example, the communication interface  196  may be an Ethernet interface, local wireless interface such as a wireless interface operating according to one of the suite of IEEE 802.11 standards, a mobile communications interface such as a cellular telecommunications interface, or the like. 
       FIG. 11  is a block diagram of a server computer  200  operating to host the social networking service  20  according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated, the server computer  200  includes a controller  202  connected to memory  204 , one or more secondary storage devices  206 , and a communication interface  208  by a bus  210  or similar mechanism. The controller  202  is a microprocessor, digital ASIC, FPGA, or similar hardware component. In this embodiment, the controller  202  is a microprocessor, and the social networking service  20  is implemented in software and stored in the memory  204  for execution by the controller  202 . The one or more secondary storage devices  206  are digital storage devices such as, for example, one or more hard disk drives. The communication interface  208  is a wired or wireless communication interface that communicatively couples the server computer  200  to the network  24  ( FIG. 1 ). For example, the communication interface  208  may be an Ethernet interface, local wireless interface such as a wireless interface operating according to one of the suite of IEEE 802.11 standards, a mobile communications interface such as a cellular telecommunications interface, or the like. 
     Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure. All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein and the claims that follow.

Technology Classification (CPC): 6