Patent ID: 7917447

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for connecting no more than a plurality of customers using a domain accessible through a communications network, each of said plurality having a billing address and an account associated with a service provider, said service provider communicatively linked to said domain, said method comprising: notifying said each of said plurality about said domain by including information in a billing statement for said each of said plurality; providing said each of said plurality with access to said domain; providing said each of said plurality with a customer profile questionnaire; receiving responses to said questionnaire from at least a portion of said plurality of customers; receiving an inquiry about a community of interest (COI) from one customer in said portion; determining existence of said COI with which other customers in said portion are associated; sending by operation of said computer a generated status message to only said other customers, if said COI exists, as confirmation that said one customer has joined said COI; and allowing at least a subset of said portion of said plurality of customers giving common answers to said questionnaire, to communicate with each other using said domain while not disclosing true identity of each customer of said subset to others of said plurality, said subset comprising said one customer and said other customers.