Patent ID: 8620828

Claim:
A system for use in a social network environment comprising: a first computer system accessible via a first computer network, said first computer system comprising a data processor and a memory; a first user account record stored in said memory, said first user account record being associated with a first social group, wherein said first social group is one of a multitude of different social groups within said social network environment and wherein each social group has an associated respective real-time news ticker; a real-time news ticker of said first social group, said real-time news ticker of said first social group comprising a plurality of real-time news items pertaining to said first social group; and a second user account record, said second user account record comprising a first subscription to said real-time news ticker of said first social group, said first user account record being different from said second user account record, wherein: an association between said first user account record and said first social group is verified as a condition for said first user account record being permitted to distribute news items through said real-time news ticker of said first social group.