Method for creating a web-based contact book which includes multi-sourced contact-generated content (from social networks) in a custom and private stand-alone contact book with information selectively pulled from multiple outside sources, including multiple social networks, via a unique combination of a user decision node and a main and subordinated data tables structure, yielding no explicit or implicit source level value judgments or biases

摘要

The growth of the World Wide Web has yielded many new and diverse sources of contact information. These sources need to be properly synchronized in order to be effectively integrated and ultimately useful. It is also important to maintain the integrity, customization and privacy required of a proper contact book. Current contact book models and mechanisms for synchronization all rely on explicit, inherent or implicit value judgments on the validity of the sources (examples include: choosing one source exclusively over others, choosing the latest information input as the best, or creating a hierarchy of sources, or implicitly creating biases when a source synching sequence is required) which are then blindly applied across the synchronization process. Information is then placed directly into the contact book, often without consulting the user for a decision, and with the potential to overwrite correct information. These source level value judgments and biases yield problems which lead to loss of information and ultimately distrust of the content of the contact management system, among other problems. Our novel model consists of a stand-alone, custom and private contact book for each user; the content in this contact book is either entered directly by the user, or selectively pulled from exogenous sources (either outside offline contact management systems, outside online contact management systems or outside online social networks). This is achieved using multiple subordinated information tables (each for a different information source) and a main information table, and creating a user decision node located between the main table and the subordinated tables controlling the flow of information. Thus, our system harnesses all of the information sources and incorporates user discretion in dictating the flow of information. Our invention is not vulnerable to loss of information, and the user control over the process will lead to greater trust in the content. This innovation and system of combining the data table structure and the user decision node yields valuable improvements over the current technologies.