Patent ID: 7761383

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of social networking with contacts of people within groups or companies comprising the steps of: storing, on a server, a social network database comprised of different companies and/or groups to facilitate social networking; geographically segmenting, by a server controller at the social network database, the companies and/or groups; categorizing, by the server controller at the social network database, the companies and/or groups by industry; categorizing, by the server controller at the social network database, the companies and/or groups by services provided; categorizing, by the server controller at the social network database, the companies and/or groups by products made; categorizing, by the server controller at the social network database, the companies and/or groups by expertise; assigning, by the server controller at the social network database, one or more keywords to each category; searching by the server controller the social network database using the one or more keywords for one or more companies and/or groups having criteria matching a specific requirement; further searching by the server controller the social network database to identify one or more contacts, in the social network database, associated with the companies and/or groups found in a search result, wherein the one or more contacts are associated with the searcher; creating, by the server controller, a hierarchical chain between a searcher and each contact found during the search; assigning, by the server controller, a multibridge linking code to each link in the hierarchical chain between the server and each contact found during the search a the social network database that has criteria matching the specific data requirement; creating, by the server controller, a key comprising all of the multibridge linking codes that have been assigned during the search; passing, by the server controller, the key to a computing device of at least one of the contacts in the hierarchical chain; determining, by a controller of the computing device of the at least one contact, whether to forward the key to a computing device of a next sequential contact in the hierarchical chain based on an indication to forward the key received by the controller of the computing device from the contact; and forwarding, by the controller, the key to the computing device of the next sequential contact in the hierarchical chain based on the determination to forward the key.