Real time sharing of user updates

• US 8,984,387 B2
• Filed: 06/08/2011
• Issued: 03/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Dov Koren
• Original Assignee: Dov Koren
• Inventors: Koren, Dov
• Primary Examiner(s): HUYNH, CONG LAC T
• Application Number:
  US13/156,291
• Publication Number:
  US 20110239131A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,378 Days
• Field of Search: 715/200, 715/255, 715/205, 715/751, 709/245, 709/204, 709/205
• US Class Current: 715/200
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3438 monitoring of user actions tracking the activity of the user H04L67/535
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/176 Support for shared access to files; File sharing support
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9558 Details of hyperlinks; Management of linked annotations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2119 Authenticating web pages, e.g. with suspicious links
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2149 Restricted operating environment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/134 Hyperlinking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/206 Drawing of charts or graphs
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching

Abstract

Techniques for sharing user updates in real time are disclosed. A user can type in a text view related to a specific view and that text can be shared with other users that take part in sharing of that view. Other users can specify interest in user application events and be automatically alerted to the occurrence of the events. A user can effectively share content with a group of users in one action by using sharing controls associated with the content. Sharing controls can be implemented as links or voice activated commands.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

enabling a set of users to interact with a system over a network, wherein a first user and a plurality of second users belong to the set of users;

generating, for the first user, within the system, content for one or more application displays to be displayed to the first user;

receiving, by the system, from each user from the plurality of second users, a corresponding specification of interest in being notified about interactions of the first user;

in response to receiving first text that was input by the first user, the system performing the steps of;

adding the first text to sharable content, wherein the sharable content includes at least a portion of content from the one or more application displays that were generated for the first user; and

causing display of first information, in a respective application display of each user from the plurality of second users, based, at least in part, on the corresponding specification of interest of each user of the plurality of second users, wherein the first information includes an access identifier that provides access to the sharable content;

receiving, from a particular second user of the plurality of second users, a specification of interest in being notified about interactions of another user, wherein the other user is a different user than the first user and the particular second user;

in response to receiving particular text that was input by the other user, the system causing display of another information in the respective application display of the particular second user, based, at least in part, on the specification of interest in being notified about interactions of the other user, wherein the other information includes at least a portion of the particular text; and

wherein the other information is concurrently displayed with the first information in the respective application display of the particular second user.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the respective application display of the particular second user is generated by a locally installed client-based program that is not a web browser;

the locally installed client-based program is a program that is downloaded to a wireless PDA from an application storage that is remote relative to the wireless PDA;

the respective application display of the particular second user is displayed by the wireless PDA; and

the application storage is maintained remote from said system.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the access identifier is a URL.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising the system receiving input, from the first user, that controls which users belong to the plurality of second users.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising enabling the first user to control whether the first information can be further shared by any user from the plurality of second users with other users from the set of users.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving the first text comprises receiving text that was input in a text entry interface that is related to the sharable content.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the text entry interface is a text view.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the access identifier points to the sharable content.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein:

receiving the first text comprises receiving text that was input in a text entry interface that is related to the sharable content; and

the access identifier is a URL.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the sharable content includes identity of each user of the plurality of the second users.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein content of the first information that was displayed to one of the plurality of second users differs from content of the first information that was displayed to at least one other of the plurality of second users.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the access identifier that was included in the first information that was displayed to the one of the plurality of second users differs from the access identifier that was included in the first information that was displayed to the at least one other of the plurality of second users.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the access identifier of the one of the plurality of second users was generated based, at least in part, on identity of the one of the plurality of second users.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the sharable content includes content from one or more alert views.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the sharable content includes content from one or more of news views; and

content of a particular news view of the one or more news views is obtained from a data source that is remote relative to the first user, the plurality of second users and the system.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the sharable content includes content from one or more of message views.

17. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the sharable content contains, at least in part, dynamically updated information; and

the access identifier provides access to a dynamically updated version of the sharable content.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the sharable content contains, at least in part, real-time information; and

the access identifier provides access to a real-time version of the sharable content.

19. The method of claim 1 wherein the access identifier provides to a particular user of the plurality of second users access rights to the sharable content that are different than the access rights of the first user to the sharable content.

20. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of causing display of the first information in response to receiving the first text is performed in real time.

21. The method of claim 1 wherein the first information includes text that provides context of the first information.

44. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method recited in any one of claims 1, 22 27, 30, 31, 2, 26, 34, 43, 21.

45. An apparatus comprising one or more processors, including a plurality of means, wherein the plurality of means includes means for performing each step of the method recited in any one of claims 1, 22, 23, 24, 2, 34, 43.

46. An apparatus comprising one or more processors, one or more memories, and one or more sequences of instructions that are stored in the one or more memories, wherein each memory from the one or more memories is operatively coupled to at least one of the one or more processors, and wherein the one or more sequences of instructions, when performed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to execute the steps of the method recited in any one of claims 1, 22, 23, 24, 27, 28, 2, 4, 5, 6, 32, 34, 37, 9, 33, 10, 15, 17, 18, 20, 43.

22. A method comprising:

enabling a set of users to interact with a system over a network, wherein a first user and a plurality of second users belong to the set of users;

generating, for the first user, within the system, content for one or more application displays to be displayed to the first user;

receiving, by the system, from each user from the plurality of second users, a corresponding specification of interest in being notified about interactions of the first user;

in response, at least in part, to receiving first text that was input by the first user, the system performing the steps of;

adding the first text to sharable content, wherein the sharable content includes at least a portion of content from the one or more application displays that were generated for the first user; and

causing display of first information, to each user from the plurality of second users, based, at least in part, on the corresponding specification of interest of each user of the plurality of second users, wherein the first information includes at least a portion of the first text;

the system receiving from a particular second user, of the plurality of second users, a request to share the first information;

in response, at least in part, to the request, causing sharing of the first information with a plurality of third users from the set of users;

wherein the plurality of second users is different from the plurality of third users;

wherein the first information is shared with the plurality of third users without having received, from the particular second user, an indication with whom to share the first information; and

based, at least in part, on the first information being shared with the plurality of third users, causing the at least a portion of the first text to be displayed to the plurality of third users.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the system receives the request in response to activation, by the particular second user, of a sharing control that is associated with the first information.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein the activation of the sharing control is performed by one action.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the activation is performed by selecting a link.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein the activation is performed by voice command.

27. The method of claim 22 further comprising:

receiving, by the system, from each user from the plurality of third users, prior to the request, a corresponding specification of interest in being notified about interactions of the particular second user; and

selecting, by the system, with whom to share the first information based, at least in part, on the corresponding specification of interest of each user of the plurality of third users in being notified about interactions of the particular second user.

28. The method of claim 22 further comprising:

receiving, by the system, prior to the request, a comment entered in relation to the first information, from the particular second user; and

in response, at least in part, to the request, causing sharing of the comment and first information with the plurality of third users.

29. The method of claim 22 wherein the system receiving the request includes the system receiving the request, in response to the particular second user selecting a link.

30. The method of claim 22 wherein the plurality of third users includes only those users with whom the particular second user has a history of sharing of at least one other information.

31. The method of claim 22 wherein the plurality of third users includes only those users with whom the particular second user had shared information prior to sharing the first information.

32. The method of claim 22 wherein:

the step of causing display of the first information to the particular second user includes causing the first information to be displayed in an application display of the particular second user; and

the method further comprises the system enabling the plurality of third users to access the application display of the particular second user.

33. The method of claim 32 wherein the step of enabling the plurality of third users to access the respective application display of the particular second user is performed in response to receiving input from the particular second user.

34. A method comprising:

enabling a set of users to interact with a system over a network, wherein a first user and a plurality of second users belong to the set of users;

generating, for the first user, within the system, content for one or more application displays to be displayed to the first user;

receiving, by the system, from each user from the plurality of second users, a corresponding specification of interest in being notified about interactions of the first user;

in response, at least in part, to receiving first text that was input by the first user, the system performing the steps of;

adding the first text to sharable content, wherein the sharable content includes at least a portion of content from the one or more application displays that were generated for the first user; and

causing display of first information, to each user from the plurality of second users, based, at least in part, on the corresponding specification of interest of each user of the plurality of second users, wherein the first information includes at least a portion of the first text;

in response, at least in part, to receiving a request from the first user to share a view that corresponds to at least a portion of a file, sending second information, to each user from the plurality of second users, about sharing the view, based, at least in part, on the corresponding specification of interest of each user of the plurality of second users;

wherein the second information is shared with the plurality of second users without having received, from the first user, an indication with whom to share the second information; and

wherein the second information includes an access identifier that provides access to the at least a portion of the file.

35. The method of claim 34 wherein the method further comprises the system maintaining the file.

36. The method of claim 34 wherein the file comprises at least one table.

37. The method of claim 34 wherein:

the step of causing display of the first information to each of the plurality of second users includes causing the at least a portion of the first text to be displayed in a respective application display, of each of the plurality of second users;

the step of sending the second information to each of the plurality of second users includes causing the access identifier to be displayed, in the respective application display, of each of the plurality of second users;

the method further comprises, prior to causing display of the first information to a particular second user of the plurality of second users and sending the second information to the particular second user, the system sending another information to the particular second user to cause display of the other information in the respective application display of the particular second user;

the other information includes at least a portion of particular text that was input by another user, from the set of users;

the particular second user is a different user than the first user;

the other user is a different user than the first user and the particular second user; and

the other information was sent to the particular second user based on receiving a specification of interest, from the particular second user, in being notified, about interactions of the other user.

38. A system, comprising one or more processors configured to execute instructions that cause the system to perform a method comprising steps of:

enabling a set of users to interact with the system over a network, wherein a first user and a plurality of second users belong to the set of users;

receiving from each user from the plurality of second users, a corresponding specification of interest in being notified about interactions of the first user;

in response, at least in part, to receiving first text that was input by the first user, performing the steps of;

adding the first text to first content that is maintained by the system; and

based, at least in part, on the corresponding specification of interest of each user of the plurality of second users, sending first information to each user from the plurality of second users, wherein the first information includes text that provides context of the first information and a link that provides access to the first content;

receiving from a particular second user, from the plurality of second users, a request to share the first information;

in response, at least in part, to the request, causing sharing of the first information with a plurality of third users from the set of users, without having received, from the particular second user, an indication with whom to share the first information; and

wherein the plurality of second users is different from the plurality of third users.

39. The system of claim 38 wherein the system receives the request in response to activation, by the particular second user, of a sharing control that is associated with the first information.

40. A system, comprising one or more processors configured to execute instructions that cause the system to perform a method comprising steps of:

receiving, from a second user, a specification of interest in being notified about interactions of a first user with the system;

receiving, from the second user, a specification of interest in being notified about interactions of a third user with the system;

in response to receiving first text that was input by the first user, performing steps of;

adding the first text to first content that is maintained by the system; and

based, at least in part, on the specification of interest in being notified about interactions of the first user, causing display of first information in a particular application display of the second user, wherein the first information includes a link that provides access to the first content;

in response to receiving second text that was input by the third user, causing display of second information in the particular application display of the second user, based, at least in part, on the specification of interest in being notified about interactions of the third user, wherein the second information includes at least a portion of the second text;

wherein the second information is concurrently displayed with the first information in the particular application display of the second user.

41. The system of claim 40 wherein the system includes a wireless PDA, and wherein the step of causing display of the first information in the particular application display of the second user is performed by a client-based program that is not a web browser and that is locally installed on the wireless PDA, wherein the locally installed client-based program is a program that is downloaded to the wireless PDA from an application storage that is remote relative to the wireless PDA, and wherein the application storage is maintained remote from said system.

42. The system of claim 40 wherein the first information includes text that provides context of the first information.

43. A method comprising:

enabling a set of users to interact with a computer-based service over a network, wherein a first user and a plurality of second users belong to the set of users;

receiving, by the computer-based service, from each user from the plurality of second users, a corresponding specification of interest in being notified about interactions of the first user;

in response, at least in part, to receiving first text that was input by the first user, the computer-based service performing the steps of;

adding the first text to first content that is maintained by the computer-based service; and

based, at least in part, on the corresponding specification of interest of each user of the plurality of second users, causing display of first information to each user from the plurality of second users, wherein the first information includes at least a portion of the first text;

receiving, by the computer-based service, an indication of a particular interaction of the first user, wherein the particular interaction corresponds to loading of at least a portion of a file to the computer-based service;

causing display of second information, to each user from the plurality of second users, based, at least in part, on the corresponding specification of interest of each user of the plurality of second users, wherein the second information includes a link that provides access to at least a portion of the file; and

wherein the second information is concurrently displayed with the first information to each of the plurality of second users.

47. The method of claim 43 wherein the file is a spreadsheet.

48. The method of claim 43 wherein the file comprises at least one table.

49. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method comprising:

providing a computer-based service over a network to a set of users, wherein a first user, a second user and a third user belong to the set of users;

receiving, from the second user, a specification of interest in being notified about interactions of the first user with the computer-based service;

receiving, from the second user, a specification of interest in being notified about interactions of the third user with the computer-based service;

in response to receiving first text that was input by the first user, the computer-based service performing steps of;

adding the first text to first content that is maintained by the computer-based service; and

based, at least in part, on the specification of interest in being notified about interactions of the first user, causing display of first information in a particular application display of the second user, wherein the first information includes a link that provides access to the first content;

in response to receiving second text that was input by the third user, the computer-based service causing display of second information in the particular application display of the second user, based, at least in part, on the specification of interest in being notified about interactions of the third user, wherein the second information includes at least a portion of the second text;

wherein the second information is concurrently displayed with the first information in the particular application display of the second user;

wherein the particular application display is generated by a locally installed client-based program that is not a web browser;

wherein the locally installed client-based program is a program that is downloaded to a wireless PDA from an application storage that is remote relative to the wireless PDA;

wherein the particular application display of the second user is displayed by the wireless PDA; and

wherein the application storage is maintained remote from said computer-based service.