Finding and consuming web subscriptions in a web browser

• US 9,104,773 B2
• Filed: 06/21/2005
• Issued: 08/11/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Gandhi, Amar S., Kim, Jane T, Lyndersay, Sean O., Stevens, Warren G, Choi, Wayne Wy, Gould, William, Lueders, John H, Morgan, Bruce A
• Primary Examiner(s): ALVESTEFFER, STEPHEN D
• Application Number:
  US11/158,911
• Publication Number:
  US 20060288011A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,703 Days
• Field of Search: 715/760, 707/10
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services

Abstract

A content syndication platform, such as a web content syndication platform, manages, organizes and makes available for consumption content that is acquired from the Internet. In at least some embodiments, the platform can acquire and organize web content, and make such content available for consumption by many different types of applications. These applications may or may not necessarily understand the particular syndication format. An application program interface (API) exposes an object model which allows applications and users to easily accomplish many different tasks such as creating, reading, updating, deleting feeds and the like. Further, in at least some embodiments, a user can subscribe to a particular web feed, be provided with a user interface that contains distinct indicia to identify new feeds, and can efficiently consume or read RSS feeds using both an RSS reader and a web browser.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

presenting a user interface having a subscription control that is configured to enable a user upon navigation to a website to first express an intent to both subscribe to a feed and initiate a feed subscription process, the subscription control being configured to enable initiation of the feed subscription process without requiring a user preview of additional feeds provided by the website, the subscription control enabling the user to subscribe to at least one feed of multiple feeds associated with a webpage of the website that the user is currently viewing while not being visually associated with any one particular feed provided by the website;

receiving, via the user interface, the user selection of the subscription control;

responsive to receiving the user'"'"'s selection of the subscription control, selecting the at least one feed and initiating the feed subscription process for the at least one feed without requiring any additional user actions to select the at least one feed and initiate the feed subscription process.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said act of initiating is performed by a web content syndication platform.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said initiating comprises calling a content syndication platform effective to cause the at least one feed to be added to a feed list maintained by the content syndication platform.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said act of initiating further comprises making the at least one feed available, via the content syndication platform, to applications that have not subscribed to the at least one feed.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the user interface comprises a web browser interface.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising initiating the feed subscription process responsive to a user clicking on a link associated with the at least one feed.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the feed list has a hierarchical organization of feeds to which the user is subscribed;

and

responsive to initiating the feed subscription process for the at least one feed, presenting a user interface instrumentality to enable the user to customize the hierarchical organization of feeds to which the user is subscribed by at least selecting a location for the at least one feed to be included in the hierarchical organization of feeds.

8. A computer-readable hardware storage medium having computer-readable instructions stored thereon which, when executed, implement a method comprising:

presenting a user interface having a subscription control that is configured to enable a user upon navigation to a website to first express an intent to both subscribe to a feed and initiate a feed subscription process, the subscription control being configured to enable initiation of the feed subscription process without requiring a user preview of additional feeds provided by the website, the subscription control enabling the user to subscribe to at least one feed of multiple feeds associated with a webpage of the website that the user is currently viewing while not being visually associated with an address of the website offering the feed;

receiving, via the user interface, the user selection of the subscription control;

responsive to receiving the user'"'"'s selection of the subscription control, selecting the at least one feed and initiating the feed subscription process for the at least one feed without requiring any additional user actions to select the at least one feed and initiate the feed subscription process, wherein said initiating comprises calling a content syndication platform effective to cause the at least one feed to be added to a feed list maintained by the content syndication platform.

9. A computer-readable hardware storage medium as recited in claim 8, wherein said act of initiating is performed by a web content syndication platform.

10. A computer-readable hardware storage medium as recited in claim 8, wherein said content syndication platform comprises an RSS platform.

11. A computer-readable hardware storage medium as recited in claim 8, wherein said act of initiating further comprises making the at least one feed available, via the content syndication platform, to applications that have not subscribed to the at least one feed.

12. A computer-readable hardware storage medium as recited in claim 8, wherein the user interface comprises a web browser interface.

13. A computer-readable hardware storage medium as recited in claim 8, wherein the instructions, when executed, further implement a method comprising initiating the feed subscription process responsive to a user clicking on a link associated with the at least one feed.

14. A computer-readable hardware storage medium as recited in claim 8, wherein the feed list has a hierarchical organization of feeds to which the user is subscribed;

and

responsive to initiating the feed subscription process for the feed, enabling the user to customize the hierarchical organization of feeds to which the user is subscribed by at least presenting a user interface instrumentality configured to receive user selection of a location for the at least one feed to be included in the hierarchical organization of feeds.

15. A computing device comprising:

a display;

one or more computer-readable media, the one or more computer-readable media comprising computer-readable instructions thereon which, when executed, implement a method comprising;

presenting a user interface on the display, the user interface having a subscription control that is configured to enable a user upon navigation to a website to first express an intent to both subscribe to a feed and initiate a feed subscription process, the subscription control enabling the user to subscribe to a at least one feed of multiple feeds associated with a webpage of the website that the user is currently viewing while not being visually associated with any one particular feed provided by the website and configured to enable initiation of the feed subscription process without requiring a user preview of additional feeds provided by the website;

receiving, via the user interface, the user selection of the subscription control;

responsive to receiving the user'"'"'s selection of the subscription control, selecting the at least one feed and initiating the feed subscription process for the at least one feed without requiring any additional user actions to select the at least one feed and initiate the feed subscription process, said initiating comprising calling a content syndication platform effective to cause the at least one feed to be added to a feed list maintained by the content syndication platform.

16. A computing device as recited in claim 15, wherein the computing device is configured to communicate to a web content syndication platform to select the at least one feed and initiate the feed subscription process for the feed without requiring the user to preview other feeds.

17. A computing device as recited in claim 15, wherein the content syndication platform comprises a web content syndication platform.

18. A computing device as recited in claim 15, wherein the content syndication platform comprises an RSS platform.

19. A computing device as recited in claim 15, wherein the content syndication platform is further configured to make the at least one feed available to applications on the computing device that have not subscribed to the feed.

20. A computing device as recited in claim 15, wherein the user interface comprises a web browser interface.

21. A computing device as recited in claim 15, wherein the feed list has a hierarchical organization of feeds to which the user is subscribed;

and

responsive to initiating the feed subscription process for the feed, presenting a user interface instrumentality to enable the user to customize the hierarchical organization of feeds to which the user is subscribed by at least selecting a location for the at least one feed to be included in the hierarchical organization of feeds.