Method and system for automatically providing notifications regarding interesting content from shared sources based on important persons and important sources for a user

• US 20060123084A1
• Filed: 12/02/2004
• Published: 06/08/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/02/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SINOEAST CONCEPT LIMITED (Tencent Holdings Limited)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Heidloff, Niklas, O'Brien, Michael R.
• Granted Patent: US 9,563,875 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1831 Tracking arrangements for later retrieval, e.g. recording contents, participants activities or behavior, network status
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/224 providing notification on incoming messages, e.g. pushed notifications of received messages

Abstract

A system for automatically providing notifications to a user regarding interesting content, which automatically collects information regarding persons that are important to the user, as well as indications of important content sources. The important content sources are then monitored for actions performed by one of the important persons for the user, and notifications are generated to the user in the event that the important person performs an action on a document or other information item stored in the important content source. Important persons for a user may be determined through a communication application used by the user, such as an electronic mail program, instant messaging program, or the like, in response to indications of persons that the user has either sent messages to and/or received messages from. The notifications may be provided through the user'"'"'s communication application, by electronic mail messages, instant messages, or the like. The notification may include a name, identifier, or other indication of the important person that performed the action on the important content source. Notifications may be provided to the user in response to any specific kind of action by the important persons on an important content source, such as create operations, modify operations, and/or delete operations.

Claims

1. A method for automatically providing notifications to a user regarding interesting content, comprising:

determining at least one important person for said user;

determining at least one important content source for said user;

monitoring said important content source for actions performed by said important person; and

in the event that said important person performs an action on said important content source, generating a notification to said user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said determining said at least one important person for said user comprises determining said at least one important person using a communication application, wherein said at least one important person is someone said user has communicated with through said communication application.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said communication application is an electronic mail application.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said notification to said user comprises an electronic mail message.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said notification includes an indication of said at least one important user that performed said action on said important content source.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said action on said important content source comprises one of the set consisting of a create operation, a modify operation, and a delete operation.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said determining said at least one content source comprises monitoring an application program for accesses by said user to said at least one important content source.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said determining said at least one content source comprises inputting said at least one important content source from an administrator user.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing indication of said notification to said user in a log; and

responsive to said log, limiting said sending of said notification to said user such that only one notification regarding an action on a content document in said important content source is sent per a predetermined time period.

10. A computer program product, wherein said computer program product includes a computer readable medium, said computer readable medium having a computer program for automatically providing notifications to a user regarding interesting content stored thereon, said computer program comprising:

program code operative to determine at least one important person for said user;

program code operative to determine at least one important content source for said user;

program code operative to monitor said important content source for actions performed by said important person; and

program code operative to generate a notification to said user in the event that said important person performs an action on said important content source.

11. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein said program code operative to determine said at least one important person for said user comprises program code operative to determine said at least one important person using a communication application, wherein said at least one important person is someone said user has communicated with through said communication application.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein said communication application is an electronic mail application.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein said notification to said user comprises an electronic mail message.

14. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein said notification includes an indication of said at least one important user that performed said action on said important content source.

15. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein said action on said important content source comprises one of the set consisting of a create operation, a modify operation, and a delete operation.

16. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein said program code operative to determine said at least one important content source comprises program code operative to monitor an application program for accesses by said user to said at least one important content source.

17. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein said program code operative to determine said at least one content source comprises program code operative to input said at least one important content source from an administrator user.

18. The computer program product of claim 10, further comprising:

program code operative to store indication of said notification to said user in a log; and

program code operative to, responsive to said log, limit said sending of said notification to said user such that only one notification regarding a content document in said important content source is sent per a predetermined time period.

19. A computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave, said computer data signal including at least one computer program for automatically providing notifications to a user regarding interesting content stored thereon, said computer program comprising:

program code operative to determine at least one important person for said user;

program code operative to determine at least one important content source for said user;

program code operative to monitor said important content source for actions performed by said important person; and

program code operative to generate a notification to said user in the event that said important person performs an action on said important content source.

20. A system for automatically providing notifications to a user regarding interesting content, comprising:

means for determining at least one important person for said user;

means for determining at least one important content source for said user;

means for monitoring said important content source for actions performed by said important person; and

means for, in the event that said important person performs an action on said important content source, generating a notification to said user.