Content sharing

• US 9,336,276 B2
• Filed: 03/02/2012
• Issued: 05/10/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/01/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Start Project, LLC
• Original Assignee: Start Project, LLC
• Inventors: Wilder, Nicholas, Rocherolle, Narendra, Davidson Rocherolle, Julie
• Primary Examiner(s): ALAM, SHAHID AL
• Application Number:
  US13/411,317
• Publication Number:
  US 20120166544A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,530 Days
• Field of Search: 707/627, 707/706, 707/802, 709/203, 709/204, 709/205, 709/215, 709/228, 705/7.18, 705/14.49, 715/751, 715/753, 715/758, 715/733
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/21 Design, administration or maintenance of databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24573 using data annotations, e.g. user-defined metadata
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2477 Temporal data queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/252 between a Database Management System and a front-end application
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking

Abstract

Disclosed are embodiments of systems and methods that allow for the robust, flexible, and efficient sharing of content. In embodiments, content items may be associated with labels, tags, or other identifiers, third parties may be associated with labels, tags, or other identifiers, and sharing with the third party may be based upon comparisons of the labels, tags, or other identifiers associated with the content items and the labels, tags, or other identifiers associated with the third parties.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for facilitating sharing of content items in a social network service, the method comprising:

receiving data, via one or more processing devices, from a first user of the social network service for forming at least some users of the social network service associated with the user into a plurality of groups, each group comprising a group identifier and an associated set of one or more identified users;

receiving from the first user, via one or more processing devices, a content item and an access identifier associated with the content item; and

responsive to a group identifier satisfying an access rule that defines a relationship between the access identifier of the content item and a group identifier and is used to ascertain access rights to the content item by comparing the group identifier with the access identifier according to the access rule, allowing the set of one or more identified users associated with the group identifier access to the content item.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein at least one of the group identifiers and the access identifier comprises one or more identifiers.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2 wherein the access rule is a default rule in which the set of one or more identified users is allowed access to the content item responsive to at least one identifier in the access identifier being common with at least one identifier of the group identifier.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein at least one identifier of the group identifier is a descriptor of the group.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4 wherein the descriptor describes a relationship or relationships between the first user and the associated set of identified users of the group.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein an identified user is a member of a plurality of groups.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the access identifier grants access to the content item to more than one group.

8. At least one non-transitory tangible computer-readable medium comprising one or more sequences of instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform the method of claim 1.

9. A computer-implemented method for facilitating sharing of content items in a social network service, the method comprising:

receiving from a user of the social network service, via one or more processing devices, one or more labels for categorizing at least some third parties of the social network service associated with the user;

responsive to receiving from the user an assignment of one or more of the labels to a third party, associating the third party with the one or more labels;

receiving from the user, via one or more processing devices, a content item and a content label associated with the content item; and

responsive to a label and a content label satisfying a privileges rule that is used to ascertain privileges to the content item by comparing the label with the content label according to the privileges rule, allowing a third party associated with the label one or more privileges to the content item.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9 further comprising:

providing one or more user interfaces to the user to facilitate the assignment of a third party to one or more of the labels.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 9 wherein at least one of the labels and the content label comprises one or more terms.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11 wherein the privileges rule grants the third party privileges to the content item responsive to at least one term in the content label being common with at least one term of the one or more labels associated with the third party.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 11 wherein at least one term of the one or more labels for categorizing at least some third parties of the social network service is descriptive of a characteristic of the third parties associated with the at least one term.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 9 wherein the privileges comprise one or more of viewing privileges, downloading privileges, and edit privileges.

15. A computer-implemented method for sharing content items with one or more third parties, the method comprising:

receiving from a user, via one or more processing devices, one or more tags associated with a content item;

receiving from the user, via one or more processing devices, one or more tags associated with a third party;

storing in one or more storage media the one or more tags associated with the content item and the one or more tags associated with the third party;

using an access rule to determine access to the content item for the third party by comparing, using at least one processor unit, the one or more tags associated with the content item with the one or more tags associated with the third party; and

responsive to the one or more tags associated with the content item and the one or more tags associated with the third party satisfying the access rule, granting the third party access to the content item.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the access rule is defined by the user.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 16 wherein the access rule comprises one or more logical operations.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 15 wherein the one or more tags associated with the content item are descriptive of the content item.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 15 wherein the one or more tags associated with the third party are descriptive of a relationship or relationships between the user and the third party.

20. The computer-implemented method of claim 15 wherein the access rule grants a third party access responsive to at least one tag being common between the one or more tags associated with the calendar event and the one or more tags associated with the third party.