Cost-effective reuse of digital assets

• US 10,298,676 B2
• Filed: 01/20/2017
• Issued: 05/21/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyndryl Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Bhamidipaty, Anuradha, Kolluri Venkata Sesha, Saiprasad, Pingali, Gopal S., Podlaseck, Mark E., Sivakumar, Karthik
• Primary Examiner(s): Winder, Patrice L
• Application Number:
  US15/411,257
• Publication Number:
  US 20170134484A1
• Time in Patent Office: 851 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/101 Collaborative creation, e.g. joint development of products or services
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/234 for tracking messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1063 Discovery through centralising entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1074 for supporting data block transmission mechanisms file transfer H04L67/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services

Abstract

A method and associated systems for enabling digital asset reuse. Users are each associated with a collection of digital assets and each user and each asset is assigned an eminence value. When a first user initially accesses an asset, the asset is copied to the first user'"'"'s collection, thus indicating the first user'"'"'s favorable view of the asset. When a second user accesses the first user'"'"'s copy, the asset is copied to the second user'"'"'s collection, and the eminence of the first user and of the asset are increased. If a third user accesses the second user'"'"'s copy, the asset is copied to the third user'"'"'s collection and eminence values of the first and second users and of the asset increase. The second user may locate an asset in the first user'"'"'s collection through means that include the second user'"'"'s decision to “follow” the first user.

Claims

1. A method for cost-effectively reusing digital assets of a multiuser digital-content-hosting computer network, the method comprising:

a processor of a computerized multiuser networked digital-assets management system detecting that a first user has used a digital asset,

wherein the digital-assets management system manages digital assets organized into a set of digital-asset collections and associated with a set of user-eminence values and a set of asset-eminence values,

wherein each user-eminence value of the set of user-eminence values represents a relative importance of a corresponding user of the digital-assets management system,

wherein each asset-eminence value of the set of asset-eminence values represents a relative importance of a corresponding asset relative to other assets comprised by the set of digital-asset collections,

wherein a first collection of the set of digital-asset collections is a data structure that comprises;

a first set of assets that have each been used by a first user,

a first user-eminence value, of the set of user-eminence values, that characterizes the first user, and

a first set of asset-eminence values, of the set of asset-eminence values, that each characterize one asset of the first set of assets,

wherein the first user-eminence value is selected as a function of a weighted sum of asset-eminence values that characterize assets comprised by the first collection, and

wherein other users of the digital-asset management system are permitted by the digital-asset management system to identify and reuse assets stored in the first collection without requiring an action of the processor; and

the processor, in response to the detecting, automatically updating the first collection and the first user-eminence value by creating and adding a first instance of the digital asset to the first collection.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the processor further detecting that a second user has identified the first instance of the digital asset, that the second user has requested from the first user access to the first instance of the digital asset in response to the identifying, and that the second user has, upon receiving permission from the first user, subsequently reused the first instance, wherein the second user is associated with a second user-eminence value that represents a relative importance of the second user, and;

the processor responding to the further detecting by further automatically creating and adding a second instance of the digital asset to a second collection of digital assets for a purpose of allowing other users to identify and reuse the digital asset, wherein the second collection is a personal collection of the second user and is reusable by other users without requiring an action of the processor;

the processor revising, as a function of the further detecting, the asset-eminence value and the first user-eminence value, but not the second user-eminence value;

the processor receiving notice that a third user has further identified the second instance of the digital asset, that the third user has requested from the second user access to the second instance of the digital asset in response to the further identifying, and that the third user has, upon receiving permission from the second user, subsequently reused the second instance, wherein the third user is associated with a third user-eminence value that represents a relative importance of the third user, and;

the processor automatically creating and adding a third instance of the digital asset to a third collection of digital assets for a purpose of allowing other users to identify and reuse the digital asset, wherein the third collection is a personal collection of the third user and is reusable by other users without requiring an action of the processor; and

the processor further revising, as a function of the receiving notice, the asset-eminence value, the first user-eminence value, and the second user-eminence value, but not the third user-eminence value.

3. The method of claim 2,

wherein revising the first user-eminence value awards a first incentive to the first user,

wherein revising the second user-eminence value awards a second incentive to the second user, and

wherein a value of the first incentive is greater than a value of the second incentive.

4. The method of claim 3,

wherein the value of the first incentive and the value of the second incentive are determined as a function of a first time at which the first instance is reused by the second user and as a further function of a second time at which the second instance is reused by the third user, and

wherein a difference between the value of the first incentive and the value of the second incentive is proportional to a duration of time between the first time and the second time.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the second user identifies the first instance of the digital asset as a function of an affinity between the first user and the second user.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the affinity is a function of the second user'"'"'s self-identification as a follower of the first user.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the digital asset is associated with metadata that describes a characteristic of the digital asset, and wherein the second user identifies the first instance of the digital asset as a function of the metadata.

8. The method of claim 2, wherein the first user is associated with a user characteristic, and wherein the second user identifies the first instance of the digital asset as a function of the user characteristic.

9. The method of claim 2, wherein the using the first instance comprises creating a new digital asset that comprises at least a portion of the digital asset.

10. The method of claim 2, wherein the first collection is stored on a cloud-computing platform.

11. The method of claim 2,

wherein each instance of the digital asset is associated with a weighted asset-eminence of a set of weighted asset-eminence values,

wherein a particular instance of the digital asset is stored in a personal collection of a particular user and is associated with a particular weighted asset-eminence of the set of weighted eminence values,

wherein a value of the particular weighted eminence is determined as a function of a type of an initial usage of the digital asset by the particular user, and

wherein the asset-eminence value of the digital asset is a sum of all eminence values of the set of weighted eminence values that are associated with the digital asset.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein an asset-eminence weighting of a particular instance of the digital asset is a function of number of generations of instances of the digital asset separating the particular instance from the earliest-created instance of the digital asset to have been added to a personal collection.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing at least one support service for at least one of creating, integrating, hosting, maintaining, and deploying computer-readable program code in the computer system, wherein the computer-readable program code in combination with the computer system is configured to implement the detecting and the automatically updating the first collection.

14. A computer program product, comprising a computer-readable hardware storage device having a computer-readable program code stored therein, said program code configured to be executed by a processor of a computerized multiuser networked digital-assets management system to implement a method for cost-effectively reusing digital assets of a multiuser digital-content-hosting computer network, the method comprising:

the processor detecting that a first user has used a digital asset,

wherein the digital-assets management system manages digital assets organized into a set of digital-asset collections and associated with a set of user-eminence values and a set of asset-eminence values,

wherein each user-eminence value of the set of user-eminence values represents a relative importance of a corresponding user of the digital-assets management system,

wherein each asset-eminence value of the set of asset-eminence values represents a relative importance of a corresponding asset relative to other assets comprised by the set of digital-asset collections,

wherein a first collection of the set of digital-asset collections is a data structure that comprises;

a first set of assets that have each been used by a first user,

a first user-eminence value, of the set of user-eminence values, that characterizes the first user, and

a first set of asset-eminence values, of the set of asset-eminence values, that each characterize one asset of the first set of assets,

wherein the first user-eminence value is selected as a function of a weighted sum of asset-eminence values that characterize assets comprised by the first collection, and

wherein other users of the digital-asset management system are permitted by the digital-asset management system to identify and reuse assets stored in the first collection without requiring an action of the processor; and

the processor, in response to the detecting, automatically updating the first collection and the first user-eminence value by creating and adding a first instance of the digital asset to the first collection;

the processor further detecting that a second user has identified the first instance of the digital asset, that the second user has requested from the first user access to the first instance of the digital asset in response to the identifying, and that the second user has, upon receiving permission from the first user, subsequently reused the first instance, wherein the second user is associated with a second user-eminence value that represents a relative importance of the second user, and;

the processor responding to the further detecting by further automatically creating and adding a second instance of the digital asset to a second collection of digital assets for a purpose of allowing other users to identify and reuse the digital asset, wherein the second collection is a personal collection of the second user and is reusable by other users without requiring an action of the processor;

the processor revising, as a function of the further detecting, the asset-eminence value and the first user-eminence value, but not the second user-eminence value;

the processor receiving notice that a third user has further identified the second instance of the digital asset, that the third user has requested from the second user access to the second instance of the digital asset in response to the further identifying, and that the third user has, upon receiving permission from the second user, subsequently reused the second instance, wherein the third user is associated with a third user-eminence value that represents a relative importance of the third user, and;

the processor automatically creating and adding a third instance of the digital asset to a third collection of digital assets for a purpose of allowing other users to identify and reuse the digital asset, wherein the third collection is a personal collection of the third user and is reusable by other users without requiring an action of the processor; and

the processor further revising, as a function of the receiving notice, the asset-eminence value, the first user-eminence value, and the second user-eminence value, but not the third user-eminence value.

15. The computer program product of claim 14,

wherein revising the first user-eminence value awards a first incentive to the first user,

wherein revising the second user-eminence value awards a second incentive to the second user,

wherein a value of the first incentive is greater than a value of the second incentive,

wherein the value of the first incentive and the value of the second incentive are determined as a function of a first time at which the first instance is reused by the second user and as a further function of a second time at which the second instance is reused by the third user, and

wherein a difference between the value of the first incentive and the value of the second incentive is proportional to a duration of time between the first time and the second time.

16. The computer program product of claim 14,

wherein each instance of the digital asset is associated with a weighted asset-eminence of a set of weighted asset-eminence values,

wherein a particular instance of the digital asset is stored in a personal collection of a particular user and is associated with a particular weighted asset-eminence of the set of weighted eminence values,

wherein a value of the particular weighted eminence is determined as a function of a type of an initial usage of the digital asset by the particular user, and

wherein the asset-eminence value of the digital asset is a sum of all eminence values of the set of weighted eminence values that are associated with the digital asset.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein an asset-eminence weighting of a particular instance of the digital asset is a function of number of generations of instances of the digital asset separating the particular instance from the earliest-created instance of the digital asset to have been added to a personal collection.

18. A computerized multiuser networked digital-assets management system comprising a processor, a memory coupled to said processor, and a computer-readable hardware storage device coupled to said processor, said storage device containing program code configured to be run by said processor via the memory to implement a method for cost-effectively reusing digital assets of a multiuser digital-content-hosting computer network, the method comprising:

the processor detecting that a first user has used a digital asset,

wherein the digital-assets management system manages digital assets organized into a set of digital-asset collections and associated with a set of user-eminence values and a set of asset-eminence values,

wherein each user-eminence value of the set of user-eminence values represents a relative importance of a corresponding user of the digital-assets management system,

wherein each asset-eminence value of the set of asset-eminence values represents a relative importance of a corresponding asset relative to other assets comprised by the set of digital-asset collections,

wherein a first collection of the set of digital-asset collections is a data structure that comprises;

a first set of assets that have each been used by a first user,

a first user-eminence value, of the set of user-eminence values, that characterizes the first user, and

a first set of asset-eminence values, of the set of asset-eminence values, that each characterize one asset of the first set of assets,

wherein the first user-eminence value is selected as a function of a weighted sum of asset-eminence values that characterize assets comprised by the first collection, and

wherein other users of the digital-asset management system are permitted by the digital-asset management system to identify and reuse assets stored in the first collection without requiring an action of the processor; and

the processor, in response to the detecting, automatically updating the first collection and the first user-eminence value by creating and adding a first instance of the digital asset to the first collection;

the processor further detecting that a second user has identified the first instance of the digital asset, that the second user has requested from the first user access to the first instance of the digital asset in response to the identifying, and that the second user has, upon receiving permission from the first user, subsequently used the first instance, wherein the second user is associated with a second user-eminence value that represents a relative importance of the second user; and

the processor responding to the further detecting by further automatically creating and adding a second instance of the digital asset to a second collection of digital assets for a purpose of allowing other users to identify and use the digital asset, wherein the second collection is a personal collection of the second user and is accessible by other users without requiring an action of the processor;

the processor revising, as a function of the further detecting, the asset-eminence value and the first user-eminence value, but not the second user-eminence value;

the processor receiving notice that a third user has further identified the second instance of the digital asset, that the third user has requested from the second user access to the second instance of the digital asset in response to the further identifying, and that the third user has, upon receiving permission from the second user, subsequently used the second instance, wherein the third user is associated with a third user-eminence value that represents a relative importance of the third user, and;

the processor automatically creating and adding a third instance of the digital asset to a third collection of digital assets for a purpose of allowing other users to identify and use the digital asset, wherein the third collection is a personal collection of the third user and is accessible by other users without requiring an action of the processor; and

the processor further revising, as a function of the receiving notice, the asset-eminence value, the first user-eminence value, and the second user-eminence value, but not the third user-eminence value.

19. The computer system of claim 18,

wherein revising the first user-eminence value awards a first incentive to the first user,

wherein revising the second user-eminence value awards a second incentive to the second user,

wherein a value of the first incentive is greater than a value of the second incentive,

wherein the value of the first incentive and the value of the second incentive are determined as a function of a first time at which the first instance is reused by the second user and as a further function of a second time at which the second instance is reused by the third user, and

wherein a difference between the value of the first incentive and the value of the second incentive is proportional to a duration of time between the first time and the second time.

20. The computer system of claim 19,

wherein each instance of the digital asset is associated with a weighted asset-eminence of a set of weighted asset-eminence values,

wherein a particular instance of the digital asset is stored in a personal collection of a particular user and is associated with a particular weighted asset-eminence of the set of weighted eminence values,

wherein a value of the particular weighted eminence is determined as a function of a type of an initial usage of the digital asset by the particular user, and

wherein the asset-eminence value of the digital asset is a sum of all eminence values of the set of weighted eminence values that are associated with the digital asset.