Patent ID: 8468253

Claim:
A method for using a social network to establish a collaborative multimedia interaction, comprising: notifying, by a processor, a device of a member of the social network of the collaborative multimedia interaction, wherein the collaborative multimedia interaction is established by a conferencing system in response to receiving a request from a user device to establish the collaborative multimedia interaction, wherein the social network is hosted separately from the collaborative multimedia interaction by a social network system, wherein the notifying comprises: retrieving contact information for the member from the social network; determining a physical location of the device of the member, wherein the determining the physical location is based upon a past network usage pattern associated with the member; determining a rule pertaining to when to notify the device of the member; and sending a notification in accordance with the physical location of the device of the member and in accordance with the contact information, for inviting the device of the member to join the collaborative multimedia interaction, wherein the notification is sent at a time in accordance with the rule pertaining to when to notify the device of the member, and wherein the sending comprises contacting the device of the member in accordance with a prioritized list of contact methods.