Methods, systems, and computer program products for dynamically annotating web pages passed via a messaging application

• US 7,827,253 B2
• Filed: 07/24/2006
• Issued: 11/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/24/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: LinkedIn Corporation (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Jones, Angela Richards, Lyle, Ruthie D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Etienne; Ario
• Assistant Examiner(s): Halim; Sahera
• Application Number:
  US11/459,485
• Publication Number:
  US 20080021977A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,562 Days
• Field of Search: 709/217, 709/216, 709/218, 709/227
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/169 Annotation, e.g. comment data or footnotes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/08 Annexed information, e.g. attachments
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/216 Handling conversation history, e.g. grouping of messages in sessions or threads
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/56 Unified messaging, e.g. interactions between e-mail, instant messaging or converged IP messaging [CPM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display

Abstract

A method, system, and computer program product for dynamically annotating Web pages passed via a messaging application is provided. The method includes transmitting a Web page and a graphical user interface (GUI) to a requester of the Web page. The GUI directs the requester to provide annotations to at least a portion of the Web page content, which annotations are translated to instructions interpretable by a Web browser. The instructions are bundled with a uniform resource locator (URL) of the Web page at a computer processing device of the requester. The method also includes receiving a request for the Web page from a second requester who received the instructions bundled with the URL of the Web page within a message transmitted by the requester. The method further includes directing a Web browser of the second requester to apply the instructions as the Web page is being rendered. Application of the instructions causes the Web browser to render the Web page along with the annotations.

Claims

1. A method for dynamically annotating Web pages passed via a messaging application, comprising:

transmitting a Web page and a graphical user interface (GUI) to a requester of the Web page, the GUI including a content assist GUI, the content assist GUI transmitted from a server and directing the requester to provide annotations to at least a portion of the Web page content;

translating the annotations into instructions interpretable by a Web browser, the instructions bundled with a uniform resource locator (URL) of the Web page at a computer processing device of the requester, the annotations associated to the Web page by being appended to the URL;

receiving a request for the Web page from a second requester, the second requester receiving the instructions bundled with the URL of the Web page within a message transmitted by the computer processing device of the requester to a computer processing device of the second requester, the request from the second requester including the instructions bundled with the URL of the Web page;

transmitting the Web page to the second requester in response to the receiving of the request, the Web page transmitted in its original state without the annotations applied; and

directing a Web browser at the computer processing device of the second requester to apply the instructions as the Web page is being rendered, wherein application of the instructions causes the Web browser of the computer processing device of the second requester to render the Web page along with the annotations provided by the requester.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

notifying the second requester that the Web page requested includes annotations;

wherein the directing a web browser of the computer processing device of the second requester to apply instructions as the Web page is being rendered is performed in response to an acceptance by the second requester to receive the annotations.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the annotations include:

changing font characteristics of the Web page content; and

encapsulating an area of the Web page content with a geometric shape.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the instructions are bundled with the URL of the Web page by creating a package that includes at least one of:

appending the instructions to the URL as visible or hidden text; and

including the URL and the instructions as a package implemented via a structured markup language.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising saving the instructions bundled with the URL of the Web page for subsequent use.

6. A system for dynamically annotating Web pages passed via a messaging application, comprising:

a content server system; and

a content assist application executing on the content server system, the content assist application performing;

transmitting a Web page via a Web server implemented by the content server system and a graphical user interface (GUI) to a requester of the Web page, the GUI including a content assist GUI, the content assist GUI transmitted from a server and directing the requester to provide annotations to at least a portion of the Web page content;

translating the annotations into instructions interpretable by a Web browser, the instructions bundled with a uniform resource locator (URL) of the Web page at a computer processing device of the requester, the annotations associated to the Web page by being appended to the URL;

receiving a request for the Web page from a second requester, the second requester receiving the instructions bundled with the URL of the Web page within a message transmitted by the computer processing device of the requester to a computer processing device of the second requester, the request from the second requester including the instructions bundled with the URL of the Web page;

transmitting the Web page to the second requester in response to the receiving of the request, the Web page transmitted in its original state without the annotations applied; and

directing a Web browser at the computer processing device of the second requester to apply the instructions as the Web page is being rendered, wherein application of the instructions causes the Web browser of the computer processing device of the second requester to render the Web page along with the annotations provided by the requester.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the content assist application further performs:

notifying the second requester that the Web page requested includes annotations;

wherein the directing a web browser of the computer processing device of the second requester to apply instructions as the Web page is being rendered is performed in response to an acceptance by the second requester to receive the annotations.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the annotations include:

changing font characteristics of the Web page content; and

encapsulating an area of the Web page content with a geometric shape.

9. The system of claim 6, wherein the instructions are bundled with the URL of the Web page by creating a package that includes at least one of:

appending the instructions to the URL as visible or hidden text; and

including the URL and the instructions as a package implemented via a structured markup language.

10. The system of claim 6, wherein the instructions bundled with the URL are saved for subsequent use.

11. A computer program product for dynamically annotating Web pages passed via a messaging application, comprising:

a non-transitory tangible storage device storing instructions, the instructions executable by a machine for implementing a method, comprising;

transmitting a Web page and a graphical user interface (GUI) to a requester of the Web page, the GUI including a content assist GUI, the content assist GUI transmitted from a server and directing the requester to provide annotations to at least a portion of the Web page content;

translating the annotations translated to into instructions interpretable by a Web browser, the instructions bundled with a uniform resource locator (URL) of the Web page at a computer processing device of the requester, the annotations associated to the Web page by being appended to the URL;

receiving a request for the Web page from a second requester, the second requester receiving the instructions bundled with the URL of the Web page within a message transmitted by the computer processing device of the requester to a computer processing device of the second requester, the request from the second requester including the instructions bundled with the URL of the Web page;

transmitting the Web page to the second requester in response to the receiving of the request, the Web page transmitted in its original state without the annotations applied; and

directing a Web browser at the computer processing device of the second requester to apply the instructions as the Web page is being rendered, wherein application of the instructions causes the Web browser of the computer processing device of the second requester to render the Web page along with the annotations provided by the requester.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, further comprising instructions for implementing:

notifying the second requester that the Web page requested includes annotations;

wherein the directing a web browser of the computer processing device of the second requester to apply instructions as the Web page is being rendered is performed in response to an acceptance by the second requester to receive the annotations.

13. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the annotations include:

changing font characteristics of the Web page content; and

encapsulating an area of the Web page content with a geometric shape.

14. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the instructions are bundled with the URL of the Web page by creating a package that includes at least one of:

appending the instructions to the URL as visible or hidden text; and

including the URL and the instructions as a package implemented via a structured markup language.

15. The computer program product of claim 11, further comprising instructions for saving the instructions bundled with the URL of the Web page for subsequent use.