Sharing digital content on a social network

• US 10,284,512 B2
• Filed: 02/08/2017
• Issued: 05/07/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Inventors: Wang, James H., Wable, Akhil, Cuervo, Oswald Soleio
• Primary Examiner(s): Greene, Joseph L
• Application Number:
  US15/428,056
• Publication Number:
  US 20170149727A1
• Time in Patent Office: 818 Days
• Field of Search: 709204
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34

Abstract

Embodiments of the invention provide techniques for more effectively and easily sharing on a social networking system digital content obtained from an external system. In one embodiment a user selects a control for sharing content from the external system that causes a sharing request to be sent. The sharing request is received by the social networking website, and an interface is presented to the user requesting sharing parameters. The user provides sharing parameters through the interface that are received by the social networking website. Content is retrieved from the external system and is transmitted to one or more destinations in the social networking website based at least in part on the sharing parameters. The sharing parameters may include selection parameters for indicating which content to share, formatting parameters for specifying how to format the content, and destination parameters indicating particular destinations in the social networking website for the content.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method comprising:

receiving a sharing request for sharing content hosted external to an online system, the sharing request initiated by a sharing user of the online system via a sharing control external to the online system;

responsive to receiving the sharing request via the sharing control, providing for display an interface to the sharing user, wherein the interface displays to the sharing user a plurality of sharing parameters from which the user can select, the plurality of sharing parameters specifying destinations that the user can choose between to indicate where the content will be posted within the online system;

receiving, via the interface, the sharing user'"'"'s selection of one or more sharing parameters for communicating the content hosted external to the online system to other users of the online system, the one or more sharing parameters selected by the sharing user identifying one or more of the other users of the online system as destinations within the online system;

transmitting the content to the online system; and

providing for display to the one or more other users of the online system at least a portion of the content communicated from external to the online system for sharing subject to the one or more sharing parameters.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the sharing control external to the online system is within a software application hosted external to the online system.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the sharing control external to the online system is on a web page hosted external to the online system.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the sharing control is located on a toolbar of a browser application used by the sharing user to view the web page.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the interface comprises an element enabling the sharing user to provide login information for the sharing user'"'"'s account with the online system.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the interface comprises an element enabling the sharing user to provide a comment, and wherein the transmitted communication comprises the comment.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitted communication comprises an element enabling a viewer to re-share the content.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

tracking a measure of popularity of the shared content and displaying the tracked

measure of popularity to one or more users of the online system.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more sharing parameters further specify which content the sharing user desires to share.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more sharing parameters further specify formatting to apply to the content the sharing user desires to share.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more sharing parameters further specify channels within the online system that comprise a member profile channel, a newsfeed channel, a wall profile channel, or any combination thereof.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more destination parameters selected by the sharing user identify the one or more of the other users of the online system, to whom at least a portion of the content is provided for display.

20. The method of claim 10, wherein providing for display to the one or more other users of the online system at least a portion of the content communicated from external to the online system for sharing subject to the one or more sharing parameters comprises:

condensing, summarizing, rearranging, or resizing pieces of the content based on the formatting parameters.

12. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium containing computer program code that comprises:

a formatting module configured to;

receive a sharing request for sharing content hosted external to an online system, the sharing request initiated by a sharing user of the online system via a sharing control external to the online system,

responsive to receiving the sharing request via the sharing control, provide for display an interface to the sharing user, wherein the interface displays to the sharing user a plurality of sharing parameters from which the user can select, the plurality of sharing parameters specifying destinations that the user can choose between to indicate where the content will be posted within the online system,

receive, via the interface, the sharing user'"'"'s selection of one or more sharing parameters for communicating the content hosted external to the online system to other users of the online system, the one or more sharing parameters selected by the sharing user identifying one or more of the other users of the online system as destinations within the online system; and

a transmission module configured to;

transmit the content to the online system, and

provide for display to the one or more other users of the online system at least a portion of the content communicated from external to the online system for sharing subject to the one or more sharing parameters.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the sharing control external to the online system is within a software application hosted external to the online system.

14. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the sharing control external to the online system is on a web page hosted external to the online system.

15. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the interface comprises an element enabling the sharing user to provide login information for the sharing user'"'"'s account with the online system.

16. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the transmitted communication comprises an element enabling a viewer to re-share the content.

17. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the one or more sharing parameters further specify formatting to apply to the content the sharing user desires to share.

18. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the one or more sharing parameters further specify channels within the online system that comprise a member profile channel, a newsfeed channel, a wall profile channel, or any combination thereof.