Patent ID: 8538458

Claim:
A method of determining positions of multiple users, the method employing a server, the method comprising: maintaining an account for a first individual, the account identifying a buddy list including the multiple users, the account accessible to the server; storing a last known position for each of the multiple users; in response to a first request from the first individual, retrieving at the server a map representing a first geography, the map selected in dependence on position of at least one of the first individual or one of the multiple users, based on correspondence if any between the last known position for each of the multiple users and the geography represented by the map, plotting positions on the map of each of the multiple users with the last known positions, and transmitting the map with plotted positions to the first individual for display; and in response to a second request from the first individual, changing the geography to a second geography, and transmitting a map representing the second geography with plotted position of at least one of the multiple users to the first individual for display; where the storing of the last known position for each of the multiple users, the transmitting of the map representing the first geography and the transmitting of the map representing the second geography are each performed in a manner not requiring concurrent voice communications.