METHOD OF VIRALLY EXPANDING SOCIAL NETWORKS

摘要

Membership in a social network is virally expanded by suggesting to a user to invite contacts from the user's address book and, in addition, eligible contacts from other address books. Eligible contacts from other address books include those contacts that have e-mail addresses with the same e-mail domain as the user's e-mail address.

主权项

1. A method for expanding a user base of an online service that manages a plurality of client social networks, comprising:
examining an address book of a first user of the online service to identify a plurality of contacts in the address book who are not registered in any of the client social networks; communicating initial invitations to at least some of the plurality of contacts to join at least one of the plurality of client social networks; identifying at least two contacts of the plurality of contacts who decline the initial invitations, but who have a relationship with each other; and communicating subsequent invitations to the two contacts to join the online service and to form a client social network in the online service.