Patent ID: 8645463

Claim:
A method comprising: displaying a list representing a plurality of virtual rooms, wherein each virtual room of the plurality of virtual rooms is a virtual structure that includes: a content section that shows content associated with the virtual room; a news feed listing that displays news feeds associated with the virtual room; a conversation listing that displays messages exchange between participant devices associated with the virtual room; a calendar listing that displays events that are scheduled for the virtual room; and a task listing that displays tasks that are associated with the virtual room; displaying, by a participant device identified by a serial number, a visual status of each of the plurality of virtual rooms indicating whether each of the virtual rooms is available or unavailable and participant devices associated with the virtual rooms; receiving a selection of one of the plurality of virtual rooms and forming a selected virtual room; verifying that a profile associated with a user of the participant device is authorized to access the selected virtual room in response to receiving the selection by accessing a list of a plurality of authorized profiles associated with users that are allowed access to the selected virtual room; provided the profile associated with the user of the participant device is authorized to access the selected virtual room, determining that access to the virtual room is to be restricted based on an identity of the participant device that includes a serial number, wherein the identity of the participant device is independent from the profile associated with the user of the participant device; verifying that the serial number of the participant device belongs to one of a list of specific participant devices that are designated for the selected virtual room and allowed access to the selected virtual room and one of a list of controlling participant devices that have all access rights and privileges to the selected virtual room; and provided the serial number of the participant device belongs to the list of specific participant devices, selectively granting the participant device a type of access and control within the selected virtual room, from a plurality of different types of potential access and control, wherein the type of access and control is based on a profile associated with the selected virtual room.