Patent ID: 7877082

Claim:
Apparatus for facilitating direct communications between persons having similar interests comprising, in combination, a long range communications network, a plurality of portable electronic devices, each given one of said portable electronic devices comprising: a short range radio transmitter for transmitting a unique identification code value that identifies said given one of said devices, a short range radio receiver capable of detecting and storing received identification code values transmitted by other ones of said devices that are nearby, a long range communications interface coupled to said long range communications network comprising: a long range transmitter responsive to the detection and storage of a newly received identification code value by said short range receiver for transmitting a notification message over said long range communication network, said notification message including said newly received identification code value and the unique identification code value identifying said given one of said electronic devices, a long range receiver for receiving an alert message transmitted to said given one of said portable electronic devices via said long range communication network, and a display screen for displaying information contained in said alert message to the user of said given portable electronic device, and a server connected to a long range communication network, said server comprising: a database for storing profile data which describes each of said devices or one or more users of each of said devices, a message receiver coupled to said long range communications network for receiving one or more notification messages from said devices, a comparator responsive to the reception by said message receiver of a notification message containing identification code values identifying first and second nearby ones of said portable electronic devices for comparing the profile data in said database that describes said first portable electronic device with the profile data in said database that describes said second portable electronic device to produce a calculated value indicating the extent to which the profile data describing said first and second portable electronic devices are similar, and a message transmitter coupled to said comparator for transmitting an alert message via said long range communications network to said first portable electronic device when said calculated value exceeds a predetermined threshold value, said alert message containing displayable information derived from the profile data in said database that describes said second portable electronic device.