System and method for discovering and publishing of presence information on a network

Abstract

A system and method is provided for publication and discovery of the presence of nearby users on a network. When the system is enabled, the presence of the local user is published on the network. Nearby users that also have a similar system enabled can discover the local user's presence on the network. Furthermore, the local user may discovery the presence of the other nearby users that are currently publishing their presence on the network.

1 . A method for displaying presence information, comprising:
 displaying a graphical user interface that displays presence information on a display of a computing device;   presenting an option within the graphical user interface to input an alias that is published to other users on a network;   populating the graphical user interface with a number of nearby users on the network as determined by monitoring for presence of contacts representing the nearby users on the network that are within a determined proximity to a local user; and   when determined, displaying more detailed information relating to the number of users nearby that comprises presence information along with contact information provided by a contacts application associated with the computing device.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein presenting the option within the graphical user interface to input the alias that is published to other users on a network comprises in response to receiving an entry of the alias within the graphical user interface publishing the alias to the other users on the network. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising displaying a selection within the graphical user interface that when selected displays the more detailed information relating to the number of users. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein populating the graphical user interface with the number of nearby users on the network comprises dynamically updating the number of nearby users. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein displaying more detailed information relating to the number of users comprises displaying the more detailed information in a different window from the display of the number of nearby users. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein populating the graphical user interface with the number of nearby users on the network as determined by monitoring for presence of contacts representing the nearby users on the network that are within a determined proximity to a local user occurs in response to a selection of a start selection. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising displaying an indication of when the network is unavailable and an option to troubleshoot the network within the graphical user interface. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising associating a lifetime property that indicates a predetermined period of time of how long the alias of is published to the other users on the network. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein monitoring for presence of contacts representing the nearby users on the network that are within the determined proximity comprises monitoring for alive messages sent from other computing devices. 
     
     
         10 . A computer-readable storage medium that includes computer-executable instructions for displaying presence information, comprising:
 displaying a graphical user interface that displays presence information;   populating the graphical user interface with a number of nearby users on the network as determined by monitoring for presence of contacts representing the nearby users on the network that are within a determined proximity to a local user;   presenting an option within the graphical user interface to input an alias that is published to other users on a network when determined; and   when determined, displaying more detailed information relating to the number of users nearby that comprises presence information along with contact information provided by a contacts application associated with the computing device.   
     
     
         11 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 10 , wherein presenting the option within the graphical user interface to input an alias that is published to other users on the network when determined comprises receiving an entry of the alias within the graphical user interface and in response to receiving the entry of the alias publishing the alias to the other users on the network. 
     
     
         12 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 10 , further comprising displaying a selection within the graphical user interface that when selected displays the more detailed information relating to the number of users. 
     
     
         13 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 10 , wherein populating the graphical user interface with the number of nearby users on the network comprises dynamically updating the number of nearby users. 
     
     
         14 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 10 , wherein displaying more detailed information relating to the number of users comprises displaying the more detailed information in a different window from the display of the number of nearby users. 
     
     
         15 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 10 , further comprising displaying an indication of when the network is unavailable and an option to troubleshoot the network within the graphical user interface. 
     
     
         16 . An apparatus for displaying presence information, comprising:
 a processor;   a display;   an application configured to perform operations, comprising:
 displaying a graphical user interface on the display that displays presence information; 
 populating the graphical user interface with a number of nearby users on the network as determined by monitoring for presence of contacts representing the nearby users on the network that are within a determined proximity to a local user; 
 presenting an option within the graphical user interface to input an alias that is published to other users on a network; and 
 in response to receiving a selection to display more detailed information, displaying more detailed information relating to the number of users nearby that comprises presence information along with contact information provided by a contacts application. 
   
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein presenting the option within the graphical user interface to input an alias that is published to other users on the network when determined comprises receiving an entry of the alias within the graphical user interface and in response to receiving the entry of the alias publishing the alias to the other users on the network. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , further comprising displaying a selection within the graphical user interface that when selected displays the more detailed information relating to the number of users. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus medium of  claim 16 , wherein populating the graphical user interface with the number of nearby users on the network comprises dynamically updating the number of nearby users. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein displaying more detailed information relating to the number of users comprises displaying the more detailed information in a different window from the display of the number of nearby users.