SEARCHING RECENT CONTENT PUBLICATION ACTIVITY

• US 20120324003A1
• Filed: 04/23/2012
• Published: 12/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AOL Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Armstrong, Christopher, Keister, Alan, Dunham, Lark, Granito, Jennifer, Greenberg, Steven, Agrawal, Rakesh, Sommers, Michael, Glover, Carol A.
• Application Number:
  US13/453,650
• Publication Number:
  US 20120324003A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services

Abstract

Collecting and distributing information related to recent content publication activity of an instant messaging (IM) user provides other users in a network with timely, relevant information about people known to the user or within the same social network. A user participating in a social network can quickly and efficiently perceive new information related to other users (referred to as co-users) in a social network by reviewing the co-users'"'"' recent content publication activity. A user may be made able to do so without requiring the co-user to send a communication directly to the user regarding the new facts or new content, and also without requiring the user to actively browse or request information about the co-user.

Claims

1-23. -23. (canceled)

24. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving a request from a user of a communications network;

obtaining, in response to the request, information identifying first electronic content published by co-users associated with profile information;

identifying, using at least one processor, at least a portion of the first electronic content corresponding to the received request, the first electronic content portion being published by a subset of the co-users, and being unrelated to the profile information associated with the subset of the co-users;

generating a first instruction to transmit information identifying at least the first electronic content portion to a device of the user;

obtaining information identifying second electronic content published by the subset of co-users, the second electronic content being published subsequent to the first electronic content portion;

determining, using the at least one processor, that a portion of the second electronic content corresponds to the received request and is unrelated to the profile information associated with the subset of co-users; and

generating, based on the determination, a second instruction to transmit information identifying at least the second electronic content portion to the device of the user.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the received request comprises information identifying the user.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the identifying information comprises at least one of a screen name associated with the user, a login credential associated with the user, an Internet protocol address associated with the user, or an email address associated with the user.

27. The method of claim 24, further comprising receiving information indicative of a modification to the co-user list.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising:

generating a modified co-user list in accordance with the received information; and

generating an update to at least one of the first electronic content or the second electronic content, based on the modified co-user list.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein:

generating the modified co-user list comprises identifying at least one co-user to be added to the co-user list;

generating the update comprises obtaining electronic content published by the identified co-user.

30. The method of claim 28, wherein:

generating the modified co-user list comprises identifying at least one co-user to be deleted from the co-user list; and

generating the update further comprises deleting electronic content published by the identified co-user from at least one of the first electronic content or the second electronic content.

31. The method of claim of claim 24, wherein obtaining the first electronic content comprises obtaining an index of electronic content published by at least one of the co-users.

32. The method of claim 24, wherein obtaining the first electronic content comprises obtaining a transcript of an instant messaging session between the user and at least one of the subset of co-users.

33. The method of claim 24, further comprising generating an instruction to store information associated with the received request within a query log.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the determining comprises:

retrieving the information associated with the received request from the query log; and

determining that the second electronic content portion corresponds to the retrieved information and is unrelated to the profile information associated with the subset of co-users.

35. An apparatus, comprising:

a storage device; and

at least one processor coupled to the storage device, wherein the storage device stores a program for controlling the at least one processor, and wherein the at least one processor, being operative with the program, is configured to;

receive a request from a user of a communications network;

obtain, in response to the request, information identifying first electronic content published by co-users associated with profile information;

identify at least a portion of the first electronic content corresponding to the received request, the first electronic content portion being published by a subset of the co-users, and being unrelated to the profile information associated with the subset of the co-users;

generating a first instruction to transmit information identifying at least the first electronic content portion to a device of the user;

obtaining information identifying second electronic content published by the subset of co users, the second electronic content being published subsequent to the first electronic content portion;

determine that a portion of the second electronic content corresponds to the received request and is unrelated to the profile information associated with the subset of co-users; and

generate, based on the determination, a second instruction to transmit information identifying at least the second electronic content portion to the device of the user.

36. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the received request comprises information identifying the user.

37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the identifying information comprises at least one of a screen name associated with the user, a login credential associated with the user, an Internet protocol address associated with the user, or an email address associated with the user.

38. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the processor is further configured to receive information indicative of a modification to the co-user list.

39. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein the processor is further configured to:

generate a modified co-user list in accordance with the received information; and

generate an update to at least one of the first electronic content or the second electronic content, based on the modified co-user list.

40. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the processor is further configured to:

identify at least one co-user to be added to the co-user list; and

obtain electronic content published by the identified co-user.

41. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the processor is further configured to identify at least one co-user to be deleted from the co-user list;

and

delete electronic content published by the identified co-user from at least one of the first electronic content or the second electronic content.

42. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the processor is further configured to obtain an index of electronic content published by at least one of the co-users.

43. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the processor is further configured to obtain a transcript of an instant messaging session between the user and at least one of the subset of co-users.

44. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the processor is further configured to generate an instruction to store information associated with the received request within a query log.

45. The apparatus of claim 45, wherein the processor is further configured to:

retrieve the information associated with the received request from the query log; and

determine that the second electronic content portions corresponds to the retrieved information and is unrelated to the profile information associated with the subset of co-users.

46. A tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, perform a method identifying associated video content, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving a request from a user of a communications network;

obtaining, in response to the request, information identifying first electronic content published by co-users associated with profile information;

identifying, using at least one processor, at least a portion of the first electronic content corresponding to the received request, the first electronic content portion being published by a subset of the co-users, and being unrelated to the profile information associated with the subset of the co-users;

generating a first instruction to transmit information identifying at least the first electronic content portion to a device of the user;

obtaining information identifying second electronic content published by the subset of co users, the second electronic content being published subsequent to the first electronic content portion;

determining, using the at least one processor, that a portion of the second electronic content corresponds to the received request and is unrelated to the profile information associated with the subset of co-users; and

generating, based on the determination, a second instruction to transmit information identifying at least the second electronic content portion to the device of the user.