Patent ID: 8346864

Claim:
A method for initiating a conference, the method comprising: receiving, by a messaging server, a request from a first user to initiate a real-time instant messaging conference, the request including a separation degree identifier identifying a desired degree of separation from the first user, wherein the desired degree of separation is at least two degrees of separation; accessing, by the messaging server, social network data that identifies acquaintance designations made by users of the messaging server, each acquaintance designation identifying a designating user and a designee user; identifying, based on the social network data, a plurality of other users that is within the desired degree of separation from the first user, each user of the plurality of other users being identified as the designee user within a chain of acquaintance designations starting from the first user, each designee user in the chain of acquaintance designations comprising one degree of the desired degree of separation; automatically initiating, by the messaging server, the real-time instant messaging conference between the first user and at least some of the plurality of other users; receiving, by the messaging server, a message from the first user; distributing, by the messaging server, the message to the at least some of the plurality of other users; receiving from the first user a second message and metadata identifying a second separation degree identifier identifying a second desired degree of separation from the first user, wherein the second separation degree identifier is different from the separation degree identifier, identifying a second plurality of other users that is within the second desired degree of separation from the first user, wherein the second plurality of other users is a subset of the plurality of other users; and sending the second message only to the second plurality of other users.