Abstract: Announcing new users of an electronic communications system includes receiving an indication of a new user of an electronic communications system. The new user has an identifier for the electronic communications system. Existing users of the electronic communications system that are known to the new user are identified. The identified existing users are sent a message notifying the identified existing users of the identifier of the new user. The identified existing users may be enabled to add the identifier of the new user to participant lists used by the identified existing users. The new user may be enabled to add identifiers of the identified existing users to a participant list of the electronic communications system used by the new user.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for providing location-based communication services, such as location-based chat sessions and location based-data feeds. Access to a chat session or data feed may be provided to a user of a mobile device when the current location of the mobile device is determined to be within a predetermined geographic region. In one implementation, the chat session or data feed relates to content provided by members of a group or social network. In other implementations, the content related to chat session or data feed is provided by members of the general public.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for protecting consumer privacy. According to one implementation, a method is provided for protecting consumer privacy in an online advertising environment. The method includes receiving an ad-related communication with associated ad notice metadata containing information about the ad-related communication, analyzing the ad notice metadata, and executing a consumer privacy response based on the analysis.

Abstract: Advertisement delivery capable of providing data to satisfy advertising requests for displaying information to a user accessing an online computer system, generally includes using a first server that is structured and arranged to deliver advertisements to a first region of a display, and a second server that is structured and arranged to deliver advertisements to a second region of a display that is different from the first region.

Abstract: A first content selection stored on a portable media device is associated with a first tag. In addition, a second tag that is associated with a second content selection and that indicates that supplemental content related to the second content selection is stored on a peer device is accessed from a peer device. The first tag is compared to the second tag, and, if a commonality shared by the first content selection and the second content selection is identified, an exchange of the supplemental content from the peer device to the portable media device is initiated.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for ranking documents. In accordance with certain implementations, a user selects one or more documents for viewing from a set of documents. Documents selected by the user for viewing within a predetermined time period are maintained in a profile associated with the user. At least one positive word vector is generated using words contained in at least a segment of at least one of the documents stored in the profile. At least one negative word vector is generated using words contained in at least a segment of at least one of the documents that was not selected by the user for viewing. Document word vectors are generated for documents to be ranked. A vector space relationship analysis of the positive word vector, the negative word vector, and the document word vectors is performed. The documents are ranked based on the performed vector space relationship analysis.

Abstract: Similar faces may be determined within images based on human perception of facial similarity. The user may provide an image including a query face to which the user wishes to find faces that are similar. Similar faces may be determined based on similarity information. Similarity information may be generated from information related to a human perception of facial similarity. Images that include faces determined to be similar, based on the similarity information, may be provided to the user as search result images. The user then may provide feedback to indicate the user's perception of similarity between the query face and the search result images.

Abstract: A method for personalizing content for a particular user in a computing system comprising a user interface configured to display content. The method comprises identifying a content item accessed by a user, identifying features associated with the content item; using the features of the content item to identify one or more third party profiles that substantially match a content profile of the content item, and displaying a list of the identified third party profiles.

Abstract: Network connectivity is selectively established by monitoring, on a client, communications activity incident to accessing a network, the communications activity including a request to access the network. An application associated with the communications activity is be identified. A communications configuration associated with the application is accessed, the communications configuration indicating how the application is configured to access the network. Network connectivity is selectively established based on the communications configuration, and the application may be enabled to access the network to support the communications activity.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to systems and methods customizing electronic communications. A future event associated with a first user may be determined, and a second user that is associated with the first user and the future event may be identified. A plurality of communications involving the first user and the second user may be analyzed. A selection rule may be applied based on the analyzed plurality of communications, the selection rule identifying content from the database. Content from the database may be selected based on the application of the selection rule. An electronic message may be provided to the first user identifying the future event, and the selected content may be provided to the first user.

Abstract: An entity acting as a parent (e.g., a parent, a guardian, a school, an athletic organization, or a combination thereof—referred to as a parent or a supervising entity) may restrict a mobile device (e.g., a mobile telephone, a laptop, a PDA, a text messaging device, a two-way radio, a hand-held computer, or an mp3 player), or certain functionalities of a mobile device (e.g., text messaging, instant messaging, telephone calls, email capabilities, or playing music), that is being used by a child (referred to as a child or a supervised entity) while the child is at a current location. Similar mobile device restrictions may be used with other users, such as, for example, an employer and an employee, a secure government site and a visitor to the site, and a business and a customer.

Abstract: A digital content distribution and subscription system for digital data files provides subscribers with music or video from streaming digital data or locally-stored digital files on demand for a fee. After registration onto the system, a subscriber may select from a relatively wide variety of available digital content from the streaming digital data or the locally-stored digital files. The subscriber may then select songs from various playlists which causes encrypted digital audio files for the selected music to be downloaded to the subscriber's personal computer (pc). A license key is downloaded to the subscriber's pc to unlock the selected songs to enable them to be decoded and played on the subscriber's pc or remote audio equipment for a predetermined period of time. At the expiration of the predetermined time period, the license key expires, thereby preventing further playback of the encrypted audio data files.

Abstract: A system and method allows a user to view communications exchanged between other participants within an online chat room without the user becoming a participant within the online chat room. The online chat room enables ongoing exchanges of electronic communications between two or more participants whose participation within the chat room are mutually revealed to each other. A user is enabled to perceive the existence of the online chat room without the user becoming a participant within the online chat room. Selection of the online chat room by the user is received. Responsive to user selection of the online chat room and without the user becoming a participant within the online chat room, at least some of the communications exchanged between the participants within the online chat room are made perceivable to the user as the communications are exchanged.

Abstract: A network address assigned a shared designation by a first client computer is received, in a first data format, automatically, at a host computer from the first client computer. The network address is categorized and published. Publishing the network address includes converting the network address into a second data format, receiving, at the host computer, a subscription request from a second client computer, and sending the network address to the second client computer in response to receiving the subscription request.

Abstract: The present invention relates generally to client-server architectures for allowing generic upload and download functionality between a web application at a server and a client. One exemplary method includes sending a download/upload request to a web application at the server, where the download/upload request specifies at least one file to download/upload; receiving a transmission from the server; parsing the transmission to identify a download/upload command and an associated download/upload manifest, where the download/upload manifest includes executable code that, when executed on the client, will perform the download/upload of the at least one file.

Abstract: Systems and methods for sorting electronic messages using attributes of senders or of sender addresses. An electronic messaging server sorts electronic messages using attributes associated with the senders or sender addresses of the electronic messages. The sender addresses and associated attributes are stored in an accept list. A sorting module uses the accept list to sort the electronic messages into various folders. The sorting module can also access other data sources, such as a contact list, to assist in sorting the electronic messages. The attributes can be determined independently of the user or can be set directly by the user. The attributes can also identify a status of a sender such as whether the sender is authorized, unauthorized, or unconfirmed.

Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed for manipulating electronic multimedia content to a user. One method includes generating a plurality of biometric models, each biometric model corresponding to one of a plurality of people; receiving electronic media content over a network; extracting image or audio data from the electronic media content; detecting biometric information in the image or audio data; and calculating a probability of the electronic media content involving one of the plurality of people, based on the biometric information and the plurality of biometric models.

Abstract: A facility is described for server-side evaluation of client-side script, such as to crawl and index dynamically generated links. In various embodiments, the facility provides an object that emulates a browser object. The provided object exposes a function for performing steps comprising receiving a first link and storing the received first link in a list of links to be processed. The facility receives a second link to be processed, loads a second document identified by the received second link, and assigns the provided object to a global variable so that a script associated with the loaded second document invokes the function exposed by the provided object instead of a function with a similar name that is exposed by the emulated browser object. The function with the similar name exposed by the emulated browser object handles the received first link without storing it in the list of links to be processed.

Abstract: Enabling access to user-specific content includes maintaining data indicating a social network that indicates a first user and a second user that are connected by one or more relationships through zero or more intermediary users. At least one of the relationships that connect the first and second users is categorized. A request for access to content maintained by the second user is received from the first user. One or more of the relationships that connect the first user to the second user are identified using the data indicating the social network. A category of at least one of the identified relationships is identified. A type of access to the content to be provided to the first user is identified based on the identified category. The first user is enabled to access the content in accordance with the identified type of access.

Abstract: A distribution of a content selection being distributed throughout a wireless mesh network may be tracked. A wireless device in the wireless mesh network enables the content selection to be exchanged. Wireless devices then exchange the content, and a network topology is recorded in response. Finally, the network topology is reported to a reporting agent.