
A Hint of What Google's Social Network Might Look Like - nowsourcing
http://www.seobythesea.com/?p=5442
======
jpadvo
I understand that Google is big on defensive patents, but this one seems over
the top. Here is the abstract of the patent application Google has filed -- it
has lots of big words, but doesn't seem to describe anything that is in any
way non-obvious. Ditto for the claims...

"Hubs for social interaction via electronic devices are described.

In one aspect, a data processing device includes a display screen displaying a
social interaction hub, the social interaction hub including a collection of
records. Each record includes a counterparty identifier identifying a
counterparty of a past social interaction event, a mode indicium identifying a
mode by which the past social interaction event with the counterparty
occurred, and a collection of mode indicia each identifying a mode by which a
future, outgoing social interaction event with the counterparty can occur.

The counterparty identifier, the mode indicium, and the collection of mode
indicia are associated with one another in the records of the social
interaction hub."

The full text of the patent application is here:
[http://appft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-
Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sec...](http://appft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-
Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-
adv.html&r=1&p=1&f=G&l=50&d=PG01&S1=20110099486.PGNR.&OS=dn/20110099486&RS=DN/20110099486)

~~~
vnorby
Right, exactly. So they're basically trying to patent something that any app
with a UITableView and some social feeds does?

~~~
jpadvo
That's what it seems like. Unless I'm missing something, it seems like there
has got to be a ton of prior art that would invalidate this, forget the fact
that it is obvious.

------
alanh
Is this old? Isn’t that Buzz?

I’m being sarcastic, but there is nothing new to see here!

