Social aspects of media guides

• US 9,172,730 B2
• Filed: 07/07/2014
• Issued: 10/27/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Gossweiler, Richard C. III
• Primary Examiner(s): Alata, Yassin
• Application Number:
  US14/324,718
• Publication Number:
  US 20140325392A1
• Time in Patent Office: 477 Days
• Field of Search: 725/10, 725/32, 725 39- 40, 725/44, 725/58, 715/751, 715/758, 709/204, 370/260
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• 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 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• 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

A computer-implemented method, including receiving, at a computing device, a request from a user to display descriptors of media programming content for a time period; identifying people associated with the user employing information stored in a computer database, and identifying time-associated media programs electronically scheduled on behalf of the identified people; and providing for display, to the user, the descriptions of the identified people and of the time-associated media programs.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising

receiving information from a request from a user of a computing device to display, in an electronic program guide, descriptors of media programming content for a time period;

identifying people associated with the user, the identifying using predefined acquaintance relationships between users that are stored in a computer database of a central computer system in an account for the user, and identifying time-associated media programs scheduled for the identified people;

determining which of the identified people are currently available for contact by the user through the central computer system and are accessing media content; and

providing, for display to the user, descriptions of the identified people and of the time-associated media programs that are scheduled for the identified people, and adjusting the time-associated media programs that are displayed to the user in the electronic program guide based on determinations of which people associated with the user are currently available for contact by the user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the display comprises a presentation of status of the identified people including current media viewing or listening status.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising receiving a selection of an indicator of current media viewing or listening status for a first identified person and producing a command for matching the user'"'"'s viewing or listening status to the viewing or listening status for the first identified person.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the presentation of status is visually superimposed on a playing media program.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the display comprises a presentation of the electronic program guide containing personalized channels for one or more of the identified people.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the personalized channels are displayed in combination with non-personalized broadcast channels in a grid.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising receiving a request to copy a program from a personalized channel for a first identified person to a personalized channel for the user.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a request identifying a selected media program and generating a document that includes comments on the selected media program from the identified people.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the people are identified from a list of friends predetermined by the user.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising querying a social networking server with an identifier for the user and obtaining in return the list of friends.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the people are identified from a list of groups predetermined by the user.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a request from the user to schedule a media program from one of the identified people, and providing a notice to the one of the identified people of the request.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising coordinating communications between the user and one or more of the identified people while a common media program is played to the user and the one or more of the identified people.

14. A computer-implemented system, comprising:

an interface to receive requests for the provision of media programming content for a time period;

a processor programmed to identify individuals socially connected to a user by an acquaintance relationship reflected in a user account for the user; and

a grid generator to generate code for displaying media programming for the individuals for the time period, wherein the grid generator is programmed to show time-associated media programs, in a electronic program guide, that the individuals have previously scheduled to view, and where the grid generator is programmed to adjust media programming that is displayed in the electronic program guide based on determinations of which individuals are currently available for contact by the user.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the processor is programmed to identify individuals socially connected to the user by submitted an identifier for the user to a general social networking system.

16. The system of claim 14, further comprising code for displaying the media programming presents current or scheduled programming for a plurality of identified individuals for display to the user.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the grid generator is programmed to create a list of identified individuals currently receiving media programming.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the grid generator is programmed to create a multi-dimensional grid showing personalized channels for the identified individuals.

19. The system of claim 14, further comprising a channel changing module to match a played media program for the user to a played media program from an identified individual that is selected by the user.

20. One or more non-transitory tangible computer-readable media staring instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, perform operations comprising:

receiving information from a request from a user of a computing device to display, in an electronic program guide, descriptors of media programming content for a time period;

identifying people associated with the user, the identifying using predefined acquaintance relationships between users that are stored in a computer database of a central computer system in an account for the user, and identifying time-associated media programs scheduled for the identified people;

determining which of the identified people are currently available for contract by the user through the central computer system and are accessing media content; and

providing, for display to the user, the descriptions of the identified people and of the time-associated media programs that are schedule for the identified people, and adjusting the time-associated media programs that are displayed, in the electronic program guide, based on determinations of which people associated with the user are currently available for contact by the user.