Initiating content capture invitations based on location of interest

• US 9,131,028 B2
• Filed: 09/25/2013
• Issued: 09/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LinkedIn Corporation (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Nguyen, Bill, Mallet, Vincent, Woods, Nicholas, Cheng, Jessica, Chokshi, Sandip, Ramanarayanan, Ganesh, Streich, Megan
• Primary Examiner(s): HOANG, HIEU T
• Application Number:
  US14/036,871
• Publication Number:
  US 20140025787A1
• Time in Patent Office: 713 Days
• Field of Search: 709/205, 709/224, 709/227
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• 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 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1822 Conducting the conference, e.g. admission, detection, selection or grouping of participants, correlating users to one or more conference sessions, prioritising transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/06 Generation of reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0811 by checking connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/19 at layers above the network layer network arrangements for networked applications for scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/60 Network streaming of media packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/61 for supporting one-way streaming services, e.g. Internet radio
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1006 with static server selection, e.g. the same server being selected for a specific client
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1008 based on parameters of servers, e.g. available memory or workload monitoring of computer activity G06F11/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/101 based on network conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1012 based on compliance of requirements or conditions with available server resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1019 Random or heuristic server selection
• 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 67/55 : Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2187 : Live feed
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23103 : using load balancing strategies, e.g. by placing or distributing content on different disks, different memories or different servers storage management G06F3/0604; allocation of resources considering the load in multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/505; techniques for rebalancing the load in a distributed system G06F9/5083; access to distributed or replicated servers, e.g. load balancing, in data networks H04L67/1001
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2402 : Monitoring of the downstream path of the transmission network, e.g. bandwidth available traffic monitoring in data switching networks H04L43/00; monitoring data switching networks utilization H04L43/0876
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2743 : Video hosting of uploaded data from client
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 : embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4314 : for fitting data in a restricted space on the screen, e.g. EPG data in a rectangular grid
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47205 : for manipulating displayed content, e.g. interacting with MPEG-4 objects, editing locally
• 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 21/488 : Data services, e.g. news ticker systems specially adapted for using meteorological information in broadcast systems H04H60/71

Abstract

Example systems and methods of content sharing via social networking are presented. In one example, availability of a first user device to provide media content over a communication network is detected. A second user device is identified via an association of the first user device with the second user device that is specified in a social network. An acceptance by the second user device to receive the media content from the first user device is determined. In response to the acceptance, transmission of the media content provided by the first user device over the communication network to the second user device is initiated.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

detecting availability of a first user device to broadcast content generated by the first user device over a communication network, the first user device operated by a first user;

receiving, at a server, a current location of the first user device;

identifying, using at least one processor of the server, a second user device via an association, specified in a social network, of the first user device with the second user device;

causing the first user device to send the content to the second user device; and

based on the determination at the server that the current location is a location of interest to users other than the first user, the location of interest being a location of a newsworthy event occurring during the receiving, issuing host invitations to a plurality of user devices in proximity of the current location requesting indications of willingness to capture content from the current location.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to receiving, from a third user device, an indication of willingness to capture content from the current location, causing the third user device to send the content to the second user device.

3. The method of claim 1, the detecting of the availability of the first user device to broadcast the content comprising receiving an indication of the content being captured at the first user device.

4. The method of claim 1, the detecting of the availability of the first user device to broadcast the content comprising receiving from the first user device a command to initiate a transfer of the content.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting to the second user device a notification indicating availability of the content;

receiving an indication of a desire to receive the content from the second user device;

the causing of the first user device to send the content to the second user device being in response to the receiving of the indication of a desire to receive the content from the second user device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the content includes streaming live video.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

accessing user preference data corresponding to the second user device; and

wherein the causing the first user device to send the content to the second user device is based on the user preference data.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the user preference data includes a communication relating to registration of the second user device with a service.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the user preference data includes an indication of types of content the second user device is to receive.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the user preference data is automatically generated based on previous actions by the second user device.

11. The method of claim 10, the previous actions including previous indications of interest in particular types of content.

12. The method of claim 10, the previous actions describing activities within the social network by a user of the second user device.

13. A system comprising:

a processor configured to execute instructions in the form of modules located on a server, the modules comprising;

a social network contacts module, executable by a processor, configured to access logical relationship information describing logical relationships between a plurality of users;

a status module configured to detect availability of a first user device to broadcast content generated by the first user device over a communication network, to receive a current location of the first user device, and to cause the first user device to send the content to a second user device selected based on the logical relationship information, the first user device operated by a first user;

a content module configured to cause the first user device to send the content to the second user device; and

an invitation module configured to, based on a determination that the current location is a location of interest to users other than the first user, the location of interest being a location of a newsworthy event occurring during the receiving, issue host invitations to a plurality of user devices in proximity of the current location requesting indications of willingness to capture content from the current location.

14. The system of claim 13, further comprising:

a user preferences module configured to access user preference data corresponding to the second user device, the status module configured to cause the first user device to send the content based on the user preference data.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the user preference data includes a communication relating to registration of the second user device with a service.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the user preference data includes an indication of types of content the second user device is to receive.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

detecting availability of a first user device to broadcast content generated by the first user device over a communication network, the first user device operated by a first user;

receiving, at a server, a current location of the first user device;

identifying, using at least one processor of the server, a second user device via an association, specified in a social network, of the first user device with the second user device;

causing the first user device to send the content to the second user device; and

based on the determination at the server that the current location is a location of interest to users other than the first user, the location of interest being a location of a newsworthy event occurring during the receiving, issuing host invitations to a plurality of user devices in proximity of the current location requesting indications of willingness to capture content from the current location.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the operations further comprise:

in response to receiving, from a third user device, an indication of willingness to capture content from the current location, causing the third user device to send the content to the second user device.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, the detecting of the availability of the first user device to broadcast the content comprising receiving an indication of the content being captured at the first user device.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, the detecting of the availability of the first user device to broadcast the content comprising receiving from the first user device a command to initiate a transfer of the content.