SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ENHANCED MESSAGING AND COMMERCE

• US 20080065997A1
• Filed: 11/08/2007
• Published: 03/13/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/23/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Energetic Power Investment Limited
• Original Assignee: Yahoo! Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Szeto, Christopher, Beaupre, Todd, Schiro, Pierre, Dhomse, Vinod
• Granted Patent: US 7,725,533 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/753
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]

Abstract

A system and method for enhancing the experience of a user using a communication program over the Internet or other network. The system and method according to one embodiment utilizes a user'"'"'s status indicator in a communication program to share content such as music or videos among users, and provides access to an electronic commerce application through which content may be obtained. One system and method according to the present invention allows a user to display an indicator and to set an actionable status message which indicates to other users the media content that the first user is experiencing. In another embodiment, a user is given the ability to access content that other users are listening to or viewing at that time. The system and method in an alternate embodiment broadcast metadata about the user'"'"'s content to other users and the other users are able to utilize that metadata to receive and experience the same or similar content that the first user is experiencing. Access to an electronic commerce application through which content may be obtained is also facilitated.

Claims

1. An instant messaging computer program user interface comprising:

a displayed list of selected users and a media player wherein the list of selected users further comprises a visible status indicator displayed with a selected user identifier in the selected user list, which status indicator is representative of media that the selected user is experiencing at a time the visible status indicator is displayed; and

a commerce icon via which a commerce program may be accessed through which the media may be obtained.

2. A system for providing an enhanced experience to a communication program user comprising:

a first user communication program embodied in a computer readable medium made available by a service provider;

a second user communication program embodied in a computer readable medium made available by the service provider;

a messaging server in communication with said first and second programs, which messaging server provides to a second user a status indicator associated with an identifier of a first user in a selected user list displayed to the second user, the status indicator associated with the first user and indicating media content being experienced by the first user at a time the status indicator is provided, the status indicator displayed to the second user being changed dynamically based on a change in media content being experienced by the first user;

a media server that communicates with said messaging server and selectively sends media content to the second user after the second user interacts with the indicator; and

an additional server by way of which either the first user or the second user or both of them may, by interacting with a commerce icon made available by each user'"'"'s respective communication program, gain access to a commerce program through which the media content may be obtained.

3. An instant messaging user interface comprising:

a list of selected users and a media player wherein the list of selected users further comprises a status indicator associated with a selected user in the selected user list, which status indicator is representative of media that the selected user is experiencing at the time the status indicator is associated, and which status indicator is changed dynamically based on a change in media being experienced by the selected user; and

a commerce icon via which a commerce program may be accessed through which the media may be obtained.