Patent ID: 8095408

Claim:
A computer system for facilitating user connectivity in a computer network, comprising: an attention manager configured to monitor actions exhibited by a first user in the computer network and to generate attention data that is indicative of current user attention, the attention data based on the monitored actions exhibited by the first user; an identity manager configured to generate and evaluate user preference data indicative of user interests and the attention data and generate user profile data for the first user based on the user preference data and the attention data, the user profile data indicative of user interests, and further configured to adaptively update the user preference data in response to changes in user interests; and an introduction manager configured to receive the user profile data of the first user and user profile data related to a plurality of other users and evaluate the user profile data of the first user and the user profile data related to the plurality of other users, the profile data of each respective user in the plurality of other users indicative of user interests and further configured to adaptively update the user preference data in response to changes in user interests of the respective user, and provide a bilaterally secure introduction between the first user and with one or more other users based on the evaluation; wherein the identity manager comprises: a user profiler configured to receive the user preference data indicative of user interests and further configured to receive adaptive definition data defining adaptive preferences and source definition data defining adaptive preference sources; and a preference adapter configured to modify the user preference data of the adaptive preferences based on a monitoring of the adaptive preference sources to adaptively update the user preference data in response to changes in user interests; and wherein the introduction manager comprises: a match engine configured to receive user profile data defined as public user profile data and to evaluate the public user profile data of the first user and the public user profile data related to the plurality of other users; and a bilateral introduction manager configured to provide the bilaterally secure introduction between the first user and one or more other users.