Sharing content using selection and proposal

• US 7,953,796 B2
• Filed: 04/02/2008
• Issued: 05/31/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Tee, Kimberly Eleanor, Quinn, Kori Marie, Brush, Alice Jane Bernheim
• Primary Examiner(s): Backer; Firmin
• Assistant Examiner(s): EDWARDS, JAMES A
• Application Number:
  US12/060,882
• Publication Number:
  US 20090254614A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,154 Days
• Field of Search: 709/204
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• 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

Abstract

A system may facilitate “almost automatic” sharing of content by regularly selecting content to be shared, and by publishing the content to certain entities if a person agrees, or does not object, to the sharing. A content item may be selected based on a criterion. A proposal to share the content item then may be displayed to a person. The proposal may specify a time by which the content item will be published if the proposal is not rejected. The person may explicitly accept or reject the proposal, or may passively allow the content to publish by not rejecting the proposal before the specified time. The content may be published so as to be receivable by a set of one or more entities that have been designated to receive shared content items.

Claims

1. One or more computer-readable storage memories that store executable instructions to perform a method, the method comprising:

automatically and without direct user intervention, recurrently selecting items of content based on a fact that said items have not previously been selected to be proposed for sharing, there being an item of content that is one of said items;

displaying a proposal to approve sharing of said item of content;

allowing a time to elapse without receiving a rejection of said proposal; and

based on a lack of said rejection, publishing said item of content to an entity that has been previously designated to receive shared content items.

2. The one or more computer-readable storage memories of claim 1, wherein said item of content is associated with a first date, and wherein said selecting comprises:

determining that said first date is more recent than a second date.

3. The one or more computer-readable storage memories of claim 1, wherein said selecting takes place on a first date defined by a first day and a first year, wherein said item of content is associated with a second date that comprises a second day and a second year, and wherein said selecting comprises:

determining that a relationship between said first day and said second day satisfies a proximity criterion; and

determining that second first year and said second year are different years.

4. The one or more computer-readable storage memories of claim 1, wherein said item of content comprises an image, and wherein said selecting comprises:

determining that said image comprises a face.

5. The one or more computer-readable storage memories of claim 1, wherein said item of content comprises a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that has been accessed, and wherein said selecting comprises:

choosing, based on a record of previously-accessed URLs, a URL that is associated with an access date that satisfies a recentness criterion.

6. The one or more computer-readable storage memories of claim 1, wherein said item of content comprises an identification of a video that has been viewed, and wherein said selecting comprises:

consulting a video delivery system to determine dates on which videos have been viewed; and

choosing said video from among said videos, based on a finding that a date associated with said video satisfies a recentness criterion.

7. The one or more computer-readable storage memories of claim 1, wherein there is a calendar that comprises a plurality of events, wherein said item of content is one of said events, and wherein said selecting does not select recurring events from said calendar.

8. The one or more computer-readable storage memories of claim 1, wherein there is a calendar that comprises a plurality of events, wherein said item of content is one of said events, and wherein said selecting selects events from said calendar that are scheduled to occur over more than one day.

9. The one or more computer-readable storage memories of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

prior to said displaying of said proposal, receiving, from a person, a designation of said entity as a recipient of shared content items.

10. The one or more computer-readable storage memories of claim 1, there are a plurality of directories in which content items are stored, said item of content being one of said content items, wherein said item of content is located in a first directory that is one of said plurality of directories, and wherein said selecting comprises:

determining that said first directory satisfies a constraint concerning how many times, or how frequently, said first directory has previously been used as a source of content.

11. One or more computer-readable storage memories that store executable instructions to perform a method, the method comprising:

automatically, and without direct user intervention, recurrently first selecting items of content based on a criterion, wherein an item of content is one of said items of content, wherein said first selecting of said item of content takes place on a first date defined by a first day and a first year, wherein said item of content is associated with a second date that comprises a second day and a second year, and wherein said criterion comprises said items of content not having been previously selected to be proposed for sharing;

displaying a proposal to share said item of content;

receiving, from a person, an first indication that said item of content is to be shared;

second selecting an entity with which said item of content is to be shared; and

publishing said item of content to said entity, wherein said first selecting comprises;

determining that a relationship between said first day and said second day satisfies a proximity criterion; and

determining that said first year and said second year are different years.

12. The one or more computer-readable storage memories of claim 11, further comprising:

receiving, from said person, a second indication that said entity is to receive shared content items; and

based on said second indication, storing a record that that said entity is to receive shared content items;

wherein said second selecting selects said entity to receive said item of content based on said record.

13. The one or more computer-readable storage memories of claim 11, wherein said criterion comprises a metadata tag, and wherein said first selecting comprises:

determining that said metadata tag is associated with said item of content.

14. The one or more computer-readable storage memories of claim 11, wherein said item of content comprises an image, wherein said criterion comprises a level of image quality according to a metric, and wherein said first selecting comprises:

determining that said image has at least said level of quality according to said metric.

15. The one or more computer-readable storage memories of claim 11, wherein said criterion comprises a first date, and wherein said first selecting comprises:

determining that said item of content is associated with a second date that is at least as recent as said first date.

16. A system comprising:

a first component that executes on a processor and that receives a selection of one or more entities with whom content is to be shared;

a second component that executes on said processor, and that, automatically and without direct user intervention, recurrently (a) selects, from a content store, an item of content based on a fact that said second component has not previously selected said item to be proposed for sharing, and (b) communicates, on a display, a proposal to share said item of content; and

a third component that executes on said processor, that publishes said item of content to said one or more entities in a circumstance in which said proposal has not been rejected but has not been acted upon, and that does not publish said item of content when said proposal has been rejected.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein said item of content comprises a first image, wherein the system receives a rejection of said proposal and, in response to said rejection, selects, and proposes sharing of, a second image from said content store.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein said item of content comprises a first event from a calendar, wherein the system receives a rejection of said proposal, and wherein the system selects a second event from said calendar that is scheduled to occur later than said first event.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein said item of content comprises an event from a calendar, and wherein said second component, in selecting items of content, selects events on said calendar that are scheduled to occur over a period that is longer than one day.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein said second component selects said item of content from among content items in said content store based, at least in part, on a pseudo-random factor.