Patent ID: 8219916

Claim:
A method for generating a visual representation of user activity, the method comprising the computer-implemented steps of: storing, in association with an information resource, information that is based on one or more user activities conducted by one or more users; wherein each user of the one or more users conducted at least one user activity of the one or more user activities; storing information that represents a mapping between each of the one or more user activities and a set of visual attributes; for each of the one or more users, generating a visual representation of the user activities that the each user conducted by applying the visual attributes mapped to the user activities that the each user conducted to a symbolic representation of the each user; and causing the visual representations to be displayed on the information resource such that content of the information resource is not visibly obstructed by the visual representations; wherein the visual attributes applied to a symbolic representation of a particular user of the one or more users indicates that the particular user is a friend of a current viewer of the information resource.