Apple Making Their Own Social Network? New Patent Indicates the Possibility.
A new patent granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today has given Apple the right of use to a social networking system that institutes a number of data-base level features to ensure reliable friend states and how users interact with each other (says AppleInsider)
As far as what this patent will really mean for Apple customers (iDevice users) is still unclear. According to AppleInsider,
The “Apparatus and method for efficiently managing data in a social networking service” should not be confused with a full-fledged social network, instead being a method of managing data within a so-called “friend service.”
Furthermore,
“The main goal of any social network is connecting to other users. Apple’s invention notes that the initial relationship state between two users as “none,” meaning the two account holders have not yet interacted or sent friend requests to one another. In some embodiments, the “none” state is set as the default. A second “handshake” state is described when one of the users initiates contact, or sends a friend request, while a final “friend state” is achieved when the recipient accepts the request.
The invention also describes a stalker count and a spammer count, which are attached to a user’s DSID. Each time a user sends a request, their spammer count value is upped by 1 until a predefined threshold is reached. The system can cut off further requests if the frequency of requests passes this threshold. As for the stalker count, a DSID is assigned a “+1” value each time a friend request is denied by a second user. If the sender of the request reaches a predefined stalker count threshold, additional attempts will be ignored. In addition, an ignore flag can be set from the recipient wherein further requests are blocked by the system.
To maintain consistency over the databases, a write-ahead log generator is employed to track “transactions” like accepting a friend request, removing a friend or merging two handles on an account, among others user actions. For example, a key is generated for a given transaction that requires multiple updates to a certain user’s friend state records. Once the updates are finished, the entry associated with the log key is deleted. When the system detects log keys that have not been erased over a given amount of time, it can determine that there is an inconsistency in the database. In this scenario, a log reaper is used to step through the write-ahead log database and rectify any inconsistencies.”
The system is said to be implemented in an API which can then be integrated with a variety of mobile apps. Looking at history, Apple’s last attempt at social networking (the music-centric Ping) was first introduced in 2010 and fell short after failing to get traction. Whether or not this wil be some type of recreation of that, or a new ‘network’ entirely is still unclear.
Kevin is an Online and Mobile Marketing Strategist who has worked with companies of all sizes over the last 6 years. You can follow Kevin on any of the social platforms below.
