Method and system for enabling the creation and maintenance of proximity-related user groups

摘要

Techniques are described for providing location-based information and functionality to people and computing devices in various ways. In at least some situations, the techniques include enabling multiple people in a common geographic area to interact in various ways, such as via devices capable of communications (e.g., cellular telephones, computing devices with wired and/or wireless communications capabilities, etc.), while in other situations at least some users who are remote from a particular geographic area may be allowed to inter-communicate with one or more other users or other entities in or related to that geographic area. In addition, the techniques include enabling the creation and maintenance of location-based virtual groups of users (also referred to as “clouds”), such as for users of mobile and/or fixed-location devices. Such clouds may enable various types of interactions between group members, and may be temporary and/or mobile.

主权项

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:
receiving, by one or more configured computing systems, an indication of a location-based virtual group of users that has one or more anchor points around which a geographical area of the virtual group is defined and one or more associated interaction rules that define allowable types of user activities, wherein the one or more interaction rules are based at least in part on user settings and virtual group settings; determining, by the one or more configured computing systems, multiple users to participate in the virtual group, each of the multiple users having a mobile communication-capable device that provides information regarding a current geographical location of the user, at least some of the multiple users having current geographical locations within the one or more associated geographical areas of the virtual group, the determining of one or more of the multiple users being made in response to requests received from the one or more users; enabling, by the one or more configured computing systems, communications for the virtual group with the mobile communication-capable devices of the multiple users in accordance with the interaction rules; determining an additional user to participate in the virtual group who has a geographical location outside the one or more associated geographical areas of the virtual group; and enabling the determined additional user to participate in the communications for the virtual group while the geographical location of the determined additional user is outside the one or more associated geographical areas of the virtual group.