Calendar App Social Context Integration via API
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users of mobile communication devices face difficulties in gathering relevant information about contacts before meetings, as existing calendar and address book functions do not provide a cohesive social context, requiring manual searches through historical communications and interactions.
Innovation Solution
An application program interface (API) is developed to couple the calendar application on mobile devices with social or business network systems, allowing users to retrieve and display information about upcoming meeting contacts, including common connections, interests, and conversation topics, by transmitting requests to social or business network servers and storing this information for later use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If users manually search through historical communications and calendar pages to gather information about contacts, then they can obtain relevant meeting information, but this process is time-consuming and cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-loads and stores social context information (common connections, interests, conversation topics) from social network systems into local databases before meetings occur. When a user views a calendar event, this information is immediately displayed without requiring manual searches through historical communications, thus providing complete information while saving time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer (social context module) that sits between the calendar application and the user. This module automatically retrieves social context data from social network systems and presents it in a consolidated format, eliminating the need for users to manually search through multiple historical communications and calendar pages.
2Ease of operation
If calendar and address book functions operate independently, then each function maintains its simplicity, but they fail to provide a cohesive social context for meetings
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the calendar application with social network system capabilities through an integrated social context module. This module combines event information from the calendar with social context data (common connections, interests, conversation topics) from the social network system, creating a cohesive view that maintains operational simplicity while providing comprehensive social context.
Solution Approach 2:
The calendar application is enhanced with multi-functionality by integrating social context retrieval and display capabilities. The same interface that displays calendar events also presents social context information, allowing the system to serve multiple functions (scheduling, social networking, information retrieval) without increasing operational complexity for the user.
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile communication device includes an application program interface and a computer processor configured with a calendar application and calendar database. The computer processor and/or application programming interface are configured to identify an event in the calendar database that is associated with a first person, and transmit a request to a social network server and/or a business network server. The request includes an identification of the first person and a user of the mobile communication device. The computer processor and/or application programming interface is further configured to receive from the social network server and/or the business network server information relating to the first person and the user of the mobile communication device.