Enhanced Online Collaboration System for Viewers of Video Presentations

• US 20080301232A1
• Filed: 05/30/2007
• Published: 12/04/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Cohen, Gabriel Aaron, Wanderski, Michael C., Mitchell, Gerald Laverte Jr., Facemire, Michael Dennis
• Granted Patent: US 8,898,316 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1818 Conference organisation arrangements, e.g. handling schedules, setting up parameters needed by nodes to attend a conference, booking network resources, notifying involved parties
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/252 Processing of multiple end-users' preferences to derive collaborative data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44213 Monitoring of end-user related data arrangements for monitoring the users' behaviour or opinions in broadcast systems H04H60/33
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/15 Conference systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/155 involving storage of or access to video conference sessions tracking arrangements for later retrieval of a computer conference content or participants activities H04L12/1831

Abstract

An enhanced collaboration system makes it possible for viewers of post-original video presentations to collaborate online with others who are viewing the same video presentation at the same time. A collaborate room controller establishes and maintains sets of online collaboration sessions for the post-original video presentation with each collaboration session being associated with a particular time slot in the presentation. Typically, a viewer is assigned to a collaboration session that is associated with the user'"'"'s current view point; i.e., the presentation time slot the user is currently viewing. A graphical user interface conveys information about existing collaboration sessions to the user to assist the user in selecting an appropriate collaboration session.

Claims

1. A method for enhancing online collaboration among viewers of an event presentation, said method comprising the steps of:

providing two or more online collaboration sessions, each collaboration session being associated with a different time slot in the event presentation;

receiving requests from one or more viewers to collaborate with other viewers about the event presentation; and

assigning each viewer to one of said two or more online collaboration sessions.

2. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the time slot associated with each collaboration session begins at a different time offset from the start of the event presentation.

3. The method as set forth in claim 2 wherein the step of assigning each viewer to an online collaboration session includes the additional steps of:

receiving a viewer request to join a specific one of said two or more online collaboration sessions; and

processing the received viewer request.

4. The method as set forth in claim 3 including the further step of receiving a viewer request to join an online collaboration session other than the viewer'"'"'s current online collaboration session.

5. The method as set forth in claim 4 including the further step of rejecting a viewer request to join an online collaboration session associated with a time slot closer to the start of the event presentation than the time slot associated with the viewer'"'"'s current online collaboration session.

6. The method as set forth in claim 4 including the further steps of:

determining whether the requesting viewer is identified as a trusted viewer; and

if the requesting viewer is determined to be a trusted viewer, granting the viewer request without regard to the properties of the time slot associated with the requested collaboration session.

7. The method as set forth in claim 4 including the further step of the identifying a moderator for each of the online collaboration sessions.

8. A method as set forth in claim 7 including the further step of enabling an identified moderator to decide whether or not to grant a viewer request to join a specific collaboration session.

9. A method as set forth in claim 8 including the further step of enabling the moderator to classify a viewer as a trusted viewer.

10. A method as set forth in claim 9 wherein the event presentation is a video presentation.

11. A method as set forth in claim 3 further including the step of creating a graphical user interface for viewers.

12. A method as set forth in claim 11 wherein the graphical user interface includes visual affordances associated with different ones of the online collaboration sessions, said visual affordances including properties of the different ones of the online collaboration sessions.

13. A method as set forth in claim 11 further including a visual affordance associated with the start of the event presentation.

14. A method as set forth in claim 13 further including the step of allowing a viewer to choose a particular online collaboration session by selecting the visual affordance associated with that collaboration session.

15. A system for providing enhanced online collaboration for viewers of an event presentation, said system comprising:

an online collaboration system for providing two or more collaboration sessions for the potential use of viewers of the event presentation, each of the collaboration sessions being associated with a different timeslot in the broadcast presentation;

a collaboration system controller for receiving and processing a viewer request to join one of said two or more collaboration sessions.

16. A system as set forth in claim 15 wherein the timeslot associated with each of said two or more collaboration sessions is at a different time offset from the start of the event presentation.

17. A system as set forth in claim 16 wherein said collaboration system controller further includes reassignment logic for receiving and processing a viewer request to join an online collaboration session other than the viewer'"'"'s current online collaboration session.

18. A system as set forth in claim 17 wherein said reassignment logic rejects a viewer request to join an online collaboration session associated with a time slot closer to the start of the event presentation than the time slot associated with the viewer'"'"'s current online collaboration session.

19. A system as set forth in claim 17 wherein said collaboration system controller further includes

a viewer profile memory for storing profiles of viewers, each of said profiles including an indication whether the viewer is restricted from joining predetermined collaboration sessions;

and

said reassignment logic further includes specific logic for accessing said viewer profile memory to determine whether a requesting viewer is restricted from joining a predetermined set of said two or more online collaboration sessions.

20. A system as set forth in claim 17 wherein said collaboration system controller further includes a moderator console for enabling a moderator to review viewer requests to join said online collaboration sessions.

21. A system as set forth in claim 20 wherein said moderator console includes viewer classification logic for allowing a moderator to designate a viewer as a trusted viewer.

22. A system as set forth in claim 17 further including a visual display device controller for creating a graphical user interface for an end user display, said graphical user interface including visual affordances associated with different ones of said online collaboration sessions.

23. A system as set forth in claim 22 wherein said graphical user interface wherein one of the visual affordances is associated with the start of the broadcast presentation.

24. A system as set forth in claim 23 wherein each of said visual affordances indicates the time slot of the associated online collaboration session relative to the start of the event presentation and one or more properties of the activity occurring in the collaboration session.

25. A system as set forth in claim 24 wherein the said one or more properties include one of more of the below-listed properties:

the current number of participants in the collaboration session;

the identity of participants known to the viewer;

the level of activity in the collaboration session; and

the turnover in collaboration session participants.

26. A computer program product comprising a computer usable medium embodying program instructions for providing enhanced online collaboration among viewers of an event presentation, said program instructions when executed in a computer causing the computer to:

provide two or more online collaboration sessions, each collaboration session being associated with a different timeslot in the event presentation;

receive requests from one or more viewers to collaborate with other viewers about the event presentation; and

assign each viewer to one of said two or more online collaboration sessions.

27. A computer program product as set forth in claim 26 wherein the timeslot associated with each collaboration session begins at a different time offset from the start of the event presentation.

28. A computer program product as set forth in claim 26 including additional program instructions that, when executed in the computer, cause the computer to:

receive a viewer request join a specific one of said two or more online collaboration sessions; and

process the received viewer request.

29. A computer program product as set forth in claim 28 including additional program instructions that, when executed in the computer, cause the computer to:

receive a viewer request to join an online collaboration session other than the collaboration session to which the viewer is currently assigned;

determine whether the requesting viewer is subject to restrictions as to which online collaboration session the viewer is allowed to join; and

grant the viewer request if the requesting viewer is not subject to restrictions or if the requesting viewer is subject to restrictions but the request complies with the restrictions.

30. A computer program product as set forth in claim 28 including additional program instructions that, when executed in the computer, cause the computer to create a graphical user interface for viewers.

31. A computer program product as set forth in claim 30 wherein the graphical user interface created by said further program instructions includes visual affordances associated with different ones of the online collaboration session, said visual affordances including properties of the different ones of the online collaboration session.

32. A computer program product as set forth in claim 31 wherein one of said visual affordances comprises an affordance associated with the start of the event presentation.

33. A computer program product as set forth in claim 32 including additional program instructions that, when executed in the computer, cause the computer to receive a viewer selection of one of said visual affordances and process the selection as a viewer request to join the online collaboration session associated with the selected affordance.