Patent ID: 7984070

Claim:
A method for establishing a social connection, the method being implemented by one or more processors that combine to perform steps comprising: (a) maintaining a list comprising a plurality of participants and one or more participant classes, wherein the list includes information associated with each of the participants and participant classes, and wherein the information associated with each participant includes biographical information and a geographic region that is deemed to be a residence for the that participant, and wherein the information associated with each participant class includes a geographic region that is of pertinence to the participant class; (b) enabling the user to make a selection of a category from a plurality of categories; (c) in conjunction with the selection of the category by the user, receiving an electronic communication from the user for an unidentified respondent, wherein the electronic communication contains an inquiry of the user, the inquiry specifying a topic and a geographic region; (d) after receiving the selection of the category by the user, programmatically making a selection of a participant class for viewing the electronic communication, wherein the participant class corresponds to a plurality of individual participants that share an occupation and a geographic region of residence, wherein making the selection is based at least in part on (i) the selection of the category, (ii) the information associated with the participant class or individual participants that comprise the participant class, the information including the geographic region associated with the participant class or individual participants that comprise the participant class; (e) enabling individual participants that comprise the participant class to respond to the inquiry, wherein each response is provided information about the participant responding to the inquiry; wherein step (e) further comprises: establishing an online communication forum for the user and the individual participants that comprise the participant class to communicate on; and enabling the user and each participant of the participant class that responds to the inquiry to view the biographical information of the other; performing one or more actions to monitor a response provided by one or more of the participants of the participant class to the inquiry, the one or more actions include processing a feedback from the user about one or more participants of the participant class that responded to the inquiry, the feedback including an indication from the user about a quality of the response from the one or more participants of the participant class that responded to the inquiry.