Maintaining a user profile based on dynamic data

• US 20090133069A1
• Filed: 11/21/2007
• Published: 05/21/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: UV Corporation (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: United Video Properties Incorporated (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Dawson, Mark Frederick, Conness, Jason William
• Granted Patent: US 8,856,833 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/252 Processing of multiple end-users' preferences to derive collaborative data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44226 on social networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• 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 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6582 Data stored in the client, e.g. viewing habits, hardware capabilities, credit card number arrangements where receivers interact with the broadcast H04H20/38
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/173 with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal

Abstract

The present invention allows users to interact with people, who have interacted with other people, and obtain media files and recommendations from those having common interests, thereby creating interactive media communities and spawning electronic social networks based on media and other types of electronic entertainment.

Claims

1. A method for utilizing user profile data maintained by an interactive media guidance application, comprising:

accessing user profile data associated with television programming;

receiving a user input, wherein the user input is associated with a command to search for one or more friendly profiles that comprise friendly profile data associated with television programming;

generating search criteria associated with the user profile data;

accessing at least one storage device that is used to store the friendly profile data;

searching the at least one storage device for friendly profile data that matches the search criteria;

generating search results including at least one friendly profile that comprises friendly profile data that matches the search criteria; and

displaying the search results to the user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein accessing the at least one storage device further comprises:

uploading the user profile data from user television equipment to the at least one storage device, wherein the interactive media guidance application implemented on the user television equipment facilitates the uploading of the user profile data to a remote server.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein searching the at least one storage device further comprises:

determining that there is no matching data stored on a first storage device; and

in response to the determination, accessing a second storage device used to store additional friendly profile data.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the search criteria includes data associated with a mood.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the friendly profile data includes data associated with television programming that one or more friends previously watched.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

associating a first friendly profile with a friends list, wherein the first friendly profile is included in the search results.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising:

providing a viewing recommendation of television programming based on friendly profile data associated with the first friendly profile.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

automatically updating the user profile data in response to the user viewing different television programming;

accessing the user profile data associated with the different television programming; and

generating new search criteria associated with the updated user profile data.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising:

determining that a first friendly profile does not match the new search criteria; and

in response to the determination, deleting the association of the first friendly profile with a friends list.

10. The method of claim 8 further comprising:

determining that a new friendly profile matches the new search criteria; and

associating the new friendly profile with a friends list.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining that the at least one friendly profile included in the search results is associated with additional data that the user profile designates as being dangerous; and

in response to the determination, blocking the at least one friendly profile, wherein blocking the at least one friendly profile prevents the at least one friendly profile from being associated with a friends list.

12. A system that utilizes user profile data maintained by an interactive media guidance application, comprising:

a user storage device that stores user profile data;

a second storage device that stores friendly profile data associated with television programming;

user equipment on which a user media guidance application is implemented, wherein the user media guidance application is configured to;

access user profile data associated with television programming;

receiving a user input, wherein the user input is associated with a command to search for one or more friendly profiles that are based on the friendly profile data;

generate search criteria associated with the user profile data;

request friendly profile data that matches the search criteria;

receive the friendly profile data from the second storage device; and

generate search results including at least one friendly profile that comprises friendly profile data that matches the search criteria; and

a display screen that displays the search results to the user.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein request for the friendly profile data further comprises:

uploading the user profile data from the user equipment to a server that has access to the one or more friendly profiles.

14. The system of claim 13 further comprising:

friendly equipment on which a friendly media guidance application is implemented, wherein the friendly media guidance application is configured to;

upload the friendly profile data from the second storage device to the server.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the second storage device is a server database that is electronically coupled to the user equipment and friendly equipment.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the search criteria includes data associated with a mood.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein the friendly profile data includes data associated with television programming that one or more friends previously watched.

18. The system of claim 12, wherein the user media guidance application is further configured to:

associate a first friendly profile with a friends list, wherein the first friendly profile is included in the search results.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the user media guidance application is further configured to:

provide a viewing recommendation of television programming based on friendly profile data associated with the first friendly profile.

20. The system of claim 12, wherein the user media guidance application is further configured to:

automatically update the user profile data in response to the user viewing different television programming; and

generate new search criteria associated with the updated user profile data.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the user media guidance application is further configured to:

determine that a first friendly profile does not match the new search criteria; and

in response to the determination, deleting the association of the first friendly profile with a friends list.

22. The system of claim 20, wherein the user media guidance application is further configured to:

determine that a new friendly profile matches the new search criteria; and

associate the new friendly profile with a friends list.

23. The system of claim 12, wherein the user media guidance application is further configured to:

determine that the at least one friendly profile included in the search results is associated with additional data that the user profile designates as being dangerous; and

in response to the determination, block the at least one friendly profile, wherein blocking the at least one friendly profile prevents the at least one friendly profile from being associated with a friends list.

24. A system that utilizes user profile data maintained by an interactive media guidance application, comprising:

means for accessing user profile data associated with television programming;

means for receiving a user input, wherein the user input is associated with a command to search for one or more friendly profiles that comprise friendly profile data associated with television programming;

means for generating search criteria associated with the user profile data;

means for accessing at least one storage device that is used to store the friendly profile data;

means for searching the at least one storage device for friendly profile data that matches the search criteria;

means for generating search results including at least one friendly profile that comprises friendly profile data that matches the search criteria; and

means for displaying the search results to the user.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein means for accessing the at least one storage device further comprises:

means for uploading the user profile data from user television equipment to the at least one storage device, wherein the interactive media guidance application implemented on the user television equipment facilitates the uploading of the user profile data to a remote server.

26. The system of claim 24, wherein means for searching the at least one storage device further comprises:

means for determining that there is no matching data stored on a first storage device; and

in response to the determination, means for accessing a second storage device used to store additional friendly profile data.

27. The system of claim 24, wherein the search criteria includes data associated with a mood.

28. The system of claim 24, wherein the friendly profile data includes data associated with television programming that one or more friends previously watched.

29. The system of claim 24 further comprising:

means for associating a first friendly profile with a friends list, wherein the first friendly profile is included in the search results.

30. The system of claim 29 further comprising:

means for providing a viewing recommendation of television programming based on friendly profile data associated with the first friendly profile.

31. The system of claim 24 further comprising:

means for automatically updating the user profile data in response to the user viewing different television programming;

means for accessing the user profile data associated with the different television programming; and

means for generating new search criteria associated with the updated user profile data.

32. The system of claim 31 further comprising:

means for determining that a first friendly profile does not match the new search criteria; and

in response to the determination, means for deleting the association of the first friendly profile with a friends list.

33. The system of claim 31 further comprising:

means for determining that a new friendly profile matches the new search criteria; and

means for associating the new friendly profile with a friends list.

34. The system of claim 24 further comprising:

means for determining that the at least one friendly profile included in the search results is associated with additional data that the user profile designates as being dangerous; and

in response to the determination, means for blocking the at least one friendly profile, wherein blocking the at least one friendly profile prevents the at least one friendly profile from being associated with a friends list.