Content management using a website

• US 8,396,924 B2
• Filed: 06/23/2008
• Issued: 03/12/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Baldwin, James A., Potrebic, Peter J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Ashok
• Assistant Examiner(s): Desrosiers, Evans
• Application Number:
  US12/144,605
• Publication Number:
  US 20090319603A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,723 Days
• Field of Search: 709201-203
• US Class Current: 709/205
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/252 Processing of multiple end-users' preferences to derive collaborative data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4227 Providing Remote input by a user located remotely from the client device, e.g. at work
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4668 for recommending content, e.g. movies
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• 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 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

Content management using a website is described. In an implementation, one or more computer readable media include instructions that are executable to provide an option, via a website, that is selectable by a first user though interaction with a website to specify that a second user is permitted, through interaction with the website, to cause content to be recorded locally at a client of the first user.

Claims

1. One or more computer-readable storage media devices comprising instructions that are executable to:

collect content lists from users of a website that describe which media content was viewed by the users;

provide an option that is selectable by a first user at a first client device via a particular webpage of the website to permit a second user at a second client device that is remote from the first client device to cause the first client device of the first user to record media content locally at the first client device of the first user, the particular webpage including at least a portion of a respective said content list that references a particular said media content item for selection by the second user to cause the first client device to record the particular said media content item based on permission given by the first user via the selectable option provided via the particular webpage;

form a recommendation to view particular said media content by comparing a first said content list associated with the first user to a second said content list associated with the second user; and

recommend the particular said media content to be viewed by the first user at the client device of the first user based on the particular media content being included on the second said content list but not on the first said content list.

2. One or more computer-readable storage media devices as described in claim 1, wherein the second user is specified such that the second user is uniquely identified by the first user.

3. One or more computer-readable storage media devices as described in claim 1, wherein the second user is specified as being included in a particular group of users.

4. One or more computer-readable storage media devices as described in claim 3, wherein:

the website is a social network website; and

the particular group of users includes users that are specified as being in a user group by the first user through interaction with the social network website.

5. One or more computer-readable storage media devices as described in claim 4, wherein the user group is defined such that users within the group are permitted to exchange messages, one with another, which otherwise would not be permitted if the users were not within the group.

6. One or more computer-readable storage media devices as described in claim 4, wherein the user group is defined such that users within the group are permitted to post one or more messages that are displayable on one said webpage of the social network website of another one of the users of the particular group.

7. One or more computer-readable storage media devices as described in claim 1, wherein the client device of the first user is a personal video recorder (PVR).

8. One or more computer-readable storage media devices as described in claim 1, wherein:

the website is accessible by the second user using a browser that is executable at a client device of the second user; and

the client device of the first user and the client device of the second user are each communicatively coupled to the website via a wide area network and are not communicatively coupled to each other via a local area network.

9. A method comprising:

collecting a content list from each of a plurality of client devices that describes which media content was output by a respective said client device;

configuring at least a portion of a respective said content list to be output via a respective one of a plurality of web pages of a social network website, the portion of the respective said content list referencing a particular media content item that is selectable, via a particular said webpage that output the portion, by a user at a first client device to cause a second client device that is remote from the first client device and associated with a second user to record the particular said media content item locally at the second client device, the particular media content item being selectable by the user to cause the second client device to record the particular said media content item based on permission given by the second user via a selected option on the particular said webpage; and

forming a recommendation to view particular said media content by comparing a respective said content list from each of the plurality of client devices, one with another, and recommending the particular said media content to be viewed by the second user at the second client device based on inclusion of the particular said media content on at least one respective said content list but not on a content list associated with the second user.

10. A method as described in claim 9, wherein the media content is music.

11. A method as described in claim 9, wherein the collecting is performed automatically and without intervention of a respective user at the respective said client device.

12. A method as described in claim 9, wherein the user is a member of a group of users that include a particular said user that corresponds to the particular said webpage.

13. An apparatus comprising:

a processor; and

memory that is configured to maintain one or more modules that are executable on the processor to;

collect content lists from users of a social network website that describe which media content was output by client devices associated with the users;

provide the social network website having a plurality of web pages that are accessible via a network;

present one or more recommendations for a first user, via one or more of the web pages, regarding one or more items of content based on which content was viewed by other users according to respective said content lists of the other users and in part on which content was not included on a content list of the first user, the one or more recommendations including a user review of viewed content by the other users; and

provide an option, via a particular web page of the social network website, that is selectable by the first user at a first client device to permit a second user at a second client device that is remote from the first client device to cause at least one of the one or more items of content to be recorded on behalf of the first user at the first client device of the first user, the particular web page including at least a portion of a respective said content list that references a particular said media content item for selection by the second user to cause the first client device to record the particular media said content item based on permission given by the first user via the selectable option provided via the particular web page.

14. The apparatus as described in claim 13, wherein at least one of the users of the social network website has an account that associates at least one said web page with the at least one of the users.

15. The apparatus as described in claim 13, wherein the one or more of the web pages correspond to one or more users that viewed the content.

16. The apparatus as described in claim 13, wherein the one or more web pages correspond to another user that did not view the content.

17. The apparatus as described in claim 13, wherein the one or more modules are executable on the processor to form a notification that describes a change in which items of the content are to be recorded on behalf of the first user.

18. The apparatus as described in claim 13, wherein the users of the social network website are associated with a respective content list that describes which media content was output by a client device associated with a respective said user.

19. The apparatus as described in claim 18, wherein the one or more modules are further configured to compare content lists of respective said users one with another, to recommend particular media content to be viewed by a respective said user.

20. A method as described in claim 13, wherein the client device of the first user is a personal video recorder (PVR).