Patent ID: 8479103

Claim:
A computer implemented method for formatting a display of data corresponding to a current activity of a user on a network, the computer implemented method comprising: receiving by a server device a contact list, tags of interest, and visual indicators associated with the user from a client device via the network, wherein the user associates a visual indicator with each of the tags of interest, and wherein the visual indicator is one of a user-defined color or a user-defined shape, and wherein the visual indicator identifies data being browsed by the user and contacts listed in the contact list associated with the user; receiving by the server device a real time broadcast of a current activity of the user on the network; selecting by the server device a tag of interest associated with the user that is most relevant to the current activity of the user; receiving by the server device real time broadcasts of current activities on the network of the contacts listed in the contact list associated with the user; selecting by the server device tags of interest associated with each of the contacts in the contact list that are most relevant to the current activities of each of the contacts; comparing by the server device the tag of interest selected most relevant to the current activity of the user with the tags of interest selected most relevant to the current activities of the contacts; selecting by the server device contacts having a matching tag of interest with the tag of interest selected most relevant to the current activity of the user; calculating by the server device a priority score for each of the contacts having the matching tag of interest based on a strength of relationship between the user and the contacts regarding the current activity of the user; and transmitting by the server device the data corresponding to the current activity of the user to each of the contacts having the matching tag of interest and a priority score above a priority threshold, wherein the server device combines the visual indicator associated with the tag of interest selected most relevant to the current activity of the user with different visual indicators associated with the contacts having the matching tag of interest and the priority score above the priority threshold to form a single combined visual indicator providing visualization of cross-collaboration of the data being browsed by the user and each of the contacts having the matching tag of interest and the priority score above the priority threshold.