Patent ID: 8661058

Claim:
An apparatus including a server coupled to a communication network and configured to establish and update relationships between members registered to a relationships registering system coupled to the communication network, the apparatus comprising: a database configured to store personal attribute information of the members and direct relationship data indicating a direct relationship between at least some of the members; a message communicator configured to communicate via the communication network a relationship request from a first member to another member indicating that the first member wishes to establish a direct relationship with the another member, and a relationship acceptance from the another member to the first member indicating acceptance of the first member's relationship request, thereby establishing a direct relationship between the first member and the another member; and a relationship identifier configured to search the database specifically for one or more introducing members that are directly related to both the first member and a second member, and communicate to the first member via the communication network at least a portion of the personal attribute information of at least a subset of the one or more introducing members, and after a third member that is already directly related to the first member becomes directly related to at least one fourth member, search the database specifically for the at least one fourth member and communicate to the first member via the communication network at least a portion of the personal attribute information of the at least one fourth member and also an indication of the direct relationship established between the third member and the at least one fourth member.