Creating social prints from photographs maintained by a social networking system

• US 9,841,714 B2
• Filed: 02/05/2013
• Issued: 12/12/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/05/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Inventors: Pridmore, Keenan, MacGregor, IV, Philip John, Biddle, Stephen
• Primary Examiner(s): Mishra, Richa
• Application Number:
  US13/759,971
• Publication Number:
  US 20140218759A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,771 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/5075 Remote control machines, e.g. by a host
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1206 resulting in increased flexibility in input data format or job format or job type
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1242 Image or content composition onto a page
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1268 Job submission, e.g. submitting print job order or request not the print data itself
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1288 in client-server-printer device configuration
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking

Abstract

A social networking system user may request physical prints of digital photographs stored in connection with the user'"'"'s user profile on the social networking system. The physical prints are generated by a photograph developer, such as a retail store, and retrieved by the user. The user may request the physical prints from an application executing on a user device that allows the user to identify social context information associated with a digital photograph for inclusion on the physical print. The social networking system may notify users connected to the user and/or to the digital image of the physical print generation.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

storing, at a social networking system, a user profile for a user of the social networking system, the user connected to other users of the social networking system;

persistently storing, at the social networking system, social context information of digital photographs associated with the user;

receiving a request to generate one or more prints of a digital photograph associated with the user, and to include social context information describing one or more characteristics of the digital photograph that are associated with the user;

retrieving, by the social networking system, the social context information that is associated with the digital photograph and persistently stored at the social networking system, the social context information naming both another user connected to the user in the social networking system that is shown in the digital photograph and another user connected to the user in the social networking system that commented on the digital photograph in the social networking system; and

transmitting the digital photograph and the social context information to a photograph developer, the photograph developer generating a physical print including the digital photograph and the social context information printed on the physical print, the printed social context information naming on the physical print both the other user connected to the user in the social networking system that is shown in the digital photograph and the other user connected to the user in the social networking system that commented on the digital photograph in the social networking system.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the one or more characteristics of the digital photograph described by the social context information is further selected from a group consisting of:

a geographical location at which the digital photograph was taken, an event associated with the digital photograph, an indicated interest in the digital photograph by a user of the social networking system connected to the user, and any combination thereof.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

presenting a notification to one or more of the other users of the social networking system connected to the user indicating receipt of a request to generate the one or more prints from the user.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the notification is presented to a user of the social networking system that is associated with the digital photograph.

23. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the printed social context information naming the other user includes a name that represents the other user in the social networking system.

5. A computer-implemented method comprising:

storing, at a social networking system, a user profile for a user of the social networking system, the user connected to other users of the social networking system;

storing, at the social networking system, social context information of digital photographs associated with the user;

selecting, by the social networking system, one or more candidate digital photographs associated with the user and stored by the social networking system;

presenting the selected candidate digital photographs to the user via a user device;

receiving, at the social networking system, a request from the user device to generate a physical print including a selected candidate digital photograph and social context associated with the selected candidate digital photograph;

retrieving, by the social networking system, the social context information associated with the selected candidate digital photograph and stored at the social networking system, the social context information naming both another user connected to the user in the social networking system that is shown in the selected candidate digital photograph and another user connected to the user in the social networking system that commented on the selected candidate digital photograph in the social networking system; and

transmitting the selected candidate digital photograph and the social context information to a photograph developer, the photograph developer generating the physical print including the digital photograph and the social context information printed on the physical print, the printed social context information naming on the physical print both the other user connected to the user in the social networking system shown in the selected candidate digital photograph and the other user connected to the user in the social networking system that commented on the selected candidate digital photograph in the social networking system.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein the social context information associated with the selected candidate digital photograph is further selected from a group consisting of:

a geographical location at which the selected candidate digital photograph was taken, an event associated with the selected candidate digital photograph, comments on the selected candidate digital photograph from the other user of the social networking system connected to the user that commented on the selected candidate digital photograph, an indicated interest in the selected candidate digital photograph by a user of the social networking system connected to the user, and any combination thereof.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein selecting one or more candidate digital photographs associated with the user and stored by the social networking system comprises:

selecting digital photographs stored by the social networking system having a tag identifying the user.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein selecting one or more candidate digital photographs associated with the user and stored by the social networking system comprises:

selecting digital photographs stored by the social networking system identifying the user and at least one additional user connected to the user are included in the digital photographs.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, further comprising

accessing user profiles associated with one or more of the other users connected to the user;

determining one or more events associated with at least one of the other users connected to the user; and

notifying the user of a determined event and of another user associated with the determined event and connected to the user.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein determining one or more events associated with at least one of the other users connected to the user comprises:

determining one or more events associated with one or more of the other users that are associated with a date within a threshold time from a current date.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein determining one or more events associated with at least one of the other users connected to the user comprises:

determining actions performed by one or more of the other users within a threshold time from a current date; and

identifying one or more events associated with at least one of the determined actions.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein determining one or more events associated with at least one of the other users connected to the user comprises:

retrieving historical events associated with one or more of the other users connected to the user stored by the social networking system; and

identifying one or more events based on the retrieved historical events.

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

retrieving one or more digital photographs from the social networking system associated with the determined event; and

transmitting a recommendation to generate a physical print including one of the retrieved digital photographs associated with the determined event to the user device.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, further comprising:

providing an incentive to generate an additional physical print to an additional user associated with the selected candidate digital photograph via the social networking system.

15. A computer-implemented method comprising:

transmitting, from a client device, a request to a social networking system for candidate digital photographs associated with a user of the client device, the candidate digital photographs persistently stored at the social networking system;

receiving, at the client device, the candidate digital photographs associated with the user and social context information associated with the candidate digital photographs from the social networking system, the social context information persistently stored at the social networking system;

displaying the received candidate digital photographs via the client device;

receiving, via the client device, a selection of a digital photograph from the received candidate photographs;

displaying, via the client device, social context information associated with the selected digital photograph, the social context information naming another user connected to the user in the social networking system that commented on the selected digital photograph in the social networking system;

receiving, via the client device, a request to generate a print of the selected digital photograph that includes the social context information associated with the selected digital photograph;

transmitting, via the client device, the request to a photograph developer, the photograph developer generating a physical print based on the selected digital photograph and including the social context information associated with the selected digital photograph, the social context information printed on the physical print and naming on the physical print the other user connected to the user in the social networking system that commented on the selected digital photograph in the social networking system.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein the social context information associated with selected digital photograph is further selected from a group consisting of:

a geographical location at which the selected candidate digital photograph was taken, an event associated with the selected digital photograph, comments on the selected candidate digital photograph from the other user of the selected digital photograph connected to the user that commented on the selected digital photograph, an indicated interest in the selected digital photograph by a user of the social networking system connected to the user, and any combination thereof.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein transmitting the request for candidate digital photographs associated with the user of a client device from the social networking system comprises:

transmitting a request for digital photographs stored by the social networking system identified as including the user.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein transmitting the request to the social networking system for candidate digital photographs associated with the user comprises:

transmitting a request for digital photographs stored by the social networking system identified as including the user and at least one additional user connected to the user in the social networking system.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, further comprising:

displaying a notification of one or more events associated with one or more additional users connected to the user via the social networking system having a date within a threshold date of a current date.

20. The computer-implemented method of claim 19, wherein the notification identifies one or more photographs associated with an event associated with one or more of the additional users connected to the user via the social networking system.

21. The computer-implemented method of claim 19, further comprising:

receiving a status of generation of the physical print from the photograph developer; and

displaying the status on the client device.

22. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving a request to generate a physical print from a social networking system, the request identifying a digital photograph associated with a user of the social networking system and social context information associated with the digital photograph, and wherein the social networking system retrieved the digital photograph and the social context information associated with the digital photograph from a persistent storage at the social networking system to generate the request, the social context information naming both another user connected to the user in the social networking system that commented on the digital photograph in the social networking system and another user connected to the user in the social networking system that is shown in the digital photograph;

generating a physical print based on the digital photograph and including a representation of the social context information printed on the physical print, the representation of the social context information naming on the physical print both the other user connected to the user in the social networking system that commented on the digital photograph in the social networking system and the other user connected to the user in the social networking system that is shown in the digital photograph; and

notifying the user of the social networking system of the physical print.