Generating content recommendations from an online game

• US 8,028,022 B2
• Filed: 10/31/2008
• Issued: 09/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Activision Publishing Incorporated (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Brownholtz, Elizabeth A., Dugan, Casey, Geyer, Werner, Millen, David R., Moore, Martin T., Muller, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Lazaro, David
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kim, Edward J
• Application Number:
  US12/262,931
• Publication Number:
  US 20100113155A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,061 Days
• Field of Search: 709/201, 709/204, 709/205, 709/213, 709/214, 709/217, 709/219, 709/200, 463/42, 463/9, 463/27, 463/43, 463/34
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/12 involving interaction between a plurality of game devices, e.g. transmisison or distribution systems protocols for networked virtual reality, networked games H04L29/06034
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/30 Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/795 for finding other players; for building a team; for providing a buddy list
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/87 Communicating with other players during game play, e.g. by e-mail or chat
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/552 for downloading to client devices, e.g. using OS version, hardware or software profile of the client device
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/556 Player lists, e.g. online players, buddy list, black list
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/61 Score computation

Abstract

A content recommendation method can include retrieving contacts for a player of a content recommendation game and listing content associated with the retrieved contacts and prompting the player in response to a selection of a particular one of the listed content to identify a specific one of the retrieved contacts as a source associated with the particular one of the listed content. The particular one of the listed content can be recommended to the identified specific one of the retrieved contacts when the player has incorrectly identified the specific one of the retrieved contacts as a source associated with the particular one of the listed content. Otherwise, the player can be awarded points in the game to a game score for the player for having correctly identified the specific one of the retrieved contacts as a source associated with the particular one of the listed content.

Claims

1. A content recommendation method comprising:

retrieving contacts for a player of a content recommendation game;

listing content associated with the retrieved contacts;

prompting the player in response to a selection of a particular one of the listed content to identify a specific one of the retrieved contacts as a source associated with the particular one of the listed content; and

,

recommending the particular one of the listed content to the identified specific one of the retrieved contacts when the player has incorrectly identified the specific one of the retrieved contacts as a source associated with the particular one of the listed content, and otherwise awarding points in the game to a game score for the player for having correctly identified the specific one of the retrieved contacts as a source associated with the particular one of the listed content.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein listing content associated with the retrieved contacts comprises listing content associated with the retrieved contacts and corresponding meta-data for the listed content.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein prompting the player in response to a selection of a particular one of the listed content to identify a specific one of the retrieved contacts as a source associated with the particular one of the listed content, comprises prompting the player in response to a selection of a particular one of the listed content to identify a specific one of the retrieved contacts as a source associated with the particular one of the listed content within a threshold period of time.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising deducting points from the game score when the player fails to respond to the prompting within the threshold period of time.

5. A social media data processing system configured for generating content recommendations from an online game, the system comprising:

a host computing platform configured for communicative coupling to multiple different clients over a computer communications network, each of the clients comprising a browser providing access to interact with content and corresponding meta-data for the content;

a social media/content repository coupled to the host computing platform managing tags applied through the clients to content viewed within respective ones of the browsers; and

,

a content recommendation game executing in the host computing platform, the game comprising program code enabled to retrieve contacts for a player of the game, to list content associated with the retrieved contacts, to prompt the player in response to a selection of a particular one of the listed content to identify a specific one of the retrieved contacts as a source associated with the particular one of the listed content, and to recommend the particular one of the listed content to the identified specific one of the retrieved contacts when the player has incorrectly identified the specific one of the retrieved contacts as a source associated with the particular one of the listed content, and otherwise to award points in the game to a game score for the player for having correctly identified the specific one of the retrieved contacts as a source associated with the particular one of the listed content.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the content is a bookmark to a Web site.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the content is an image.

8. The system of claim 5, wherein the content is a video.

9. The system of claim 5, wherein the content is audio.

10. A computer program product comprising a computer storage device embodying computer usable program code for content recommendation, the computer program product comprising:

computer usable program code for retrieving contacts for a player of a content recommendation game;

computer usable program code for listing content associated with the retrieved contacts;

computer usable program code for prompting the player in response to a selection of a particular one of the listed content to identify a specific one of the retrieved contacts as a source associated with the particular one of the listed content; and

,

computer usable program code for recommending the particular one of the listed content to the identified specific one of the retrieved contacts when the player has incorrectly identified the specific one of the retrieved contacts as a source associated with the particular one of the listed content, and otherwise awarding points in the game to a game score for the player for having correctly identified the specific one of the retrieved contacts as a source associated with the particular one of the listed content.

11. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the computer usable program code for listing content associated with the retrieved contacts comprises computer usable program code for listing content accessed by the retrieved contacts and corresponding meta-data for the listed content.

12. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the computer usable program code for prompting the player in response to a selection of a particular one of the listed content to identify a specific one of the retrieved contacts as a source associated with the particular one of the listed content, comprises computer usable program code for prompting the player in response to a selection of a particular one of the listed content to identify a specific one of the retrieved contacts as a source associated with the particular one of the listed content within a threshold period of time.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, further comprising computer usable program code for deducting points from the game score when the player fails to respond to the prompting within the threshold period of time.