Patent ID: 7669213

Claim:
A method of informing a viewer of a video program of other viewers concurrently viewing the video program, the method comprising: determining a first video program that a viewing device associated with a viewer is receiving; based on the determined receipt of the first video program by the viewing device, identifying a group of other viewers associated with viewing devices that are presently receiving the first video program; storing trait information for the viewer, the trait information including a contact list of the viewer; determining whether each of the other viewers in the group of other viewers is a member of the contact list of the viewer; based on the determination of whether each of the other viewers in the group of other viewers is a member of the contact list of the viewer, identifying a subgroup of the group of the other viewers as members of the contact list of the viewer which are presently watching the first video program; causing presentation on the viewing device, to the viewer, of a first indicator that identifies at least one viewer as a member of the subgroup of the other viewers which are presently watching the first video program; identifying one or more recent viewers associated with viewing devices that were previously receiving the first video program and then were subsequently receiving a second video program; determining whether each of the one or more recent viewers is a member of the contact list of the viewer; based on the determination of whether each of the one or more recent viewers is a member of the contact list of the viewer, identifying at least one of the one or more recent viewers as members of the contact list of the viewer which were previously receiving the first video program and then were subsequently receiving a second video program; and causing presentation on the viewing device, to the viewer, of a second indicator that identifies at least one of the one or more recent viewers as previously receiving the first video program and then subsequently receiving a second video program and identifies the second video program.