Social network Friendster announced Tuesday that it has been awarded its fourth U.S. patent, called "Compatibility Scoring of Users in a Social Network." It does pretty much exactly what it sounds like--it parses user profile data to find people who might be compatible as friends.
The social network, considered an also-ran in the U.S. but a much bigger phenomenon in a number of Asian countries--it has 65 million registered users in Asia--had its first patent granted in July 2006 and says that more are on the way.
"In just six years, social networking has become both an industry--since 8 of the top 20 largest Web sites in the world are social networks--and a critical platform for over half a billion Internet users globally to share, communicate, connect, and be entertained with existing and new friends, family, and colleagues," Friendster CEO Richard Kimber, whom the company hired from Google in August, said in a release.
"A core component of the evolution of social networks is the ability of the online 'social graph' to represent our real social life. Understanding the common interests between people establishes common ground to build and enhance relationships," he added.
In case you were keeping track, this patent is No. 7,451,161 and it was granted on November 11.
A peek at an Apple patent filing that seems to indicate the company is working on a 'digital lifestyle' product.
(Credit: AppleInsider)Are you disappointed that your iPhone still hasn't made you sexier in the eyes of potential mates? Hey, don't give up yet. AppleInsider has unearthed a series of patent filings that seem to indicate the company is working on a new "digital lifestyle" product to help track and manage a fitness routine.
In a move that could rival Google's upcoming health initiatives, the Apple screenshots show that health information could also be shared with a user's authorized physicians.
The filings were submitted on Thursday.
The iPhone/iPod Touch interface in Apple's new patent filing.
(Credit: AppleInsider)The product appears to be an application that would require both a personal computer (reportedly both Mac and Windows) and one of Apple's iPod Touch and iPhone devices. The desktop-based software would initially ask the user to fill out an extensive survey pertaining to health and lifestyle, as well as workout goals and preferences, and then determine a workout regimen that would then synchronize to the mobile handset for trips to the gym.
Also in the filings were hints that there may be some new hardware components, too, as with the Nike+ iPod add-on that Apple released back in 2006. Like that product, this one could allow users to challenge their friends to workout competitions, and then keep track of rank with a points system.
Privacy wonks might freak out when (and if) this new product hits: according to the AppleInsider post, the survey in the desktop software includes questions about occupation, religious belief, identity, income level, familial status, and other things that go far beyond what the average Facebook profile discloses. Apple could potentially have a whole lot of information on a whole lot of people--right on down to whether they think they're fat.
On the bright side, maybe it really does take Steve Jobs & Co. to turn thousands of pasty geeks into toned, buff gym rats.
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