Organizing network-stored content items into shared groups

• US 9,892,203 B2
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Issued: 02/13/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dropbox, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Dropbox, Inc.
• Inventors: Houston, Drew, Beckmann, Chris
• Primary Examiner(s): Mofiz, Apu
• Assistant Examiner(s): Agharahimi, Farhad
• Application Number:
  US13/839,528
• Publication Number:
  US 20140122471A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,796 Days
• Field of Search: 709296
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking

Abstract

Systems, methods, and computer-readable storage media for adding users to groups of content items organized into events based on a common attribute. An example system configured to practice the method can receive, from a client device, content items uploaded to a synced online content management system, wherein the content items are associated with an account of a first user. The system can cluster at least some of the content items as an event, wherein the event is associated with a common attribute, and identify a second user satisfying a minimum similarity threshold for the event based on the common attribute. The system can provide a suggestion to share the event with the second user. Upon receiving a confirmation of the suggestion, the system can make content items clustered in the event available to the second user.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a processor;

a computer-readable storage medium having stored therein processor-executable instructions for causing the processor to;

receive, from a client device, a plurality of content items uploaded to a synced online content management system, the plurality of content items being associated with a first user account;

automatically cluster at least some of the plurality of content items, having a common attribute, as an event, to yield an event content collection;

exclude a subset of the plurality of content items from the event content collection based on input received at the first user account;

automatically reassign the excluded subset of the plurality of content items to a new cluster having a second common attribute;

generate a suggestion to the first user account to share the event content collection with a second user account that satisfies a minimum similarity threshold for the event based on the common attribute of the event; and

make the event content collection available to the second user account when the first user account accepts the suggestion.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable storage medium further contains instructions for causing the processor to:

provide the suggestion to the first user account in association with a content item import operation for importing one or more content items from the client device to the synced online content management system.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable storage medium further contains instructions for causing the processor to:

determine a probable label for the event based on an analysis of content items clustered in the event; and

include the probable label with the suggestion.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable storage medium further contains instructions for causing the processor to:

determine a plurality of probable labels for the event based on an analysis of content items clustered in the event;

present the plurality of probable labels to the first user account and the second user account;

receive selections from the first user account and the second user account from the probable labels; and

based on the selections, assign one of the probable labels to the event.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable storage medium further contains instructions for causing the processor to:

present to the second user account a list of content items associated with the event;

receive an indication of additional content items from a third user account; and

include the additional content items in the event content collection.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable storage medium further contains instructions for causing the processor to:

receive additional content items from the first user account;

identify that the additional content items are within a threshold similarity to the event;

cluster the additional content items into the event content collection; and

notify the second user account of the additional content items.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the computer-readable storage medium further contains instructions for causing the processor to:

mark the event content collection as closed to adding more content items after elapsing of a predetermined amount of time since a last content item was added to the event.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable storage medium further contains instructions for causing the processor to:

join the second user account to the event content collection when the first user account accepts the suggestion;

after joining the second user account to the event content collection, scan the second user account for content from the second user account to contribute to the event content collection;

identify one or more content items from the second user account to contribute to the event content collection, the one or more content items having the common attribute; and

add the one or more content items from the second user account to the event content collection.

21. The system of claim 1, wherein the event content collection is shared with the second user account via a generated uniform resource locator and the first user account can deactivate the generated uniform resource locator to deny second user account access to the shared event content collection.

22. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable storage medium further contains instructions for causing the processor to:

receive from the first user account on the client device, an updated plurality of content items uploaded to a synced online content management system, wherein the updated plurality of content items are automatically added to the event content collection when the updated plurality of content items satisfies the minimum similarity threshold for the event based on the common attribute of the event.

9. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving, by a processor, from a client device, content items uploaded to a synced online content management system, wherein the content items are associated with a first user account;

automatically clustering, by a processor, at least some of the content items, having a common attribute, as an event, to yield an event content collection;

exclude a subset of the content items from the event content collection based on input received at the first user account;

automatically reassign the excluded subset of the content items to a new cluster having a second common attribute;

identifying, by a processor, a second user account satisfying a minimum similarity threshold for the event based on the common attribute of the event;

providing, by a processor, a suggestion to the first user account to share the event content collection with the second user account; and

enabling, by a processor, the event content collection to be available to the second user account when the first user account accepts the suggestion.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

providing, by a processor, the suggestion to the second user account upon approval by the first user account.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

determining, by a processor, a probable label for the event based on an analysis of images clustered in the event and on the common attribute; and

including, by a processor, the probable label when transmitting the confirmation.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

determining, by a processor, a plurality of probable labels for the event based on an analysis of images clustered in the event and on the common attribute;

presenting, by a processor, the plurality of probable labels to the second user account;

receiving, by a processor, from the second user account a selection of one of the plurality of probable labels; and

including, by a processor, the probable label when transmitting the confirmation.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

presenting, by a processor, to the second user account a list of images associated with the second user account that are within the minimum threshold similarity;

receiving, by a processor, from the second user account a selection from the list of images; and

contributing, by a processor, images to the event content collection based on the selection.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

processing, by a processor, additional images in the second user account that are generated after transmitting the confirmation;

identifying, by a processor, that the additional images are within a threshold similarity to the event; and

contributing, by a processor, the additional images to the event content collection.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

after a threshold amount of time has passed since a last image was added to the event content collection, marking the event content collection as closed to adding more images.

16. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

joining the second user account to the event content collection when the first user account accepts the suggestion;

after joining the second user account to the event content collection, scanning the second user account for content from the second user account to contribute to the event content collection;

identifying one or more content items from the second user account to contribute to the event content collection, the one or more content items having the common attribute; and

adding the one or more content items from the second user account to the event content collection.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein processor-executable instructions for causing a processor to:

receive, from a client device, images uploaded to a synced online content management system, wherein the images are associated with a first user account associated with a first user;

automatically cluster at least some of the images, having a common attribute, as an event;

identify a second user account satisfying a minimum similarity threshold for the event based on the common attribute of the event;

exclude a subset of the images from the event based on input received at the first user account;

automatically reassign the excluded subset of the images to a new cluster having a second common attribute;

provide a suggestion to share the event with the second user account; and

make images clustered in the event available to the second user account when the first user account accepts the suggestion.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the computer-readable storage medium further contains instructions for causing a processor to:

provide the suggestion to the first user account in association with an image import operation.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the computer-readable storage medium further contains instructions for causing a processor to:

determine a probable label for the event based on an analysis of images clustered in the event; and

include the probable label with the suggestion.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the computer-readable storage medium further contains instructions for causing the processor to:

determine a plurality of probable labels for the event based on an analysis of images clustered in the event;

present the plurality of probable labels to the first user account and the second user account;

receive selections from the first user account and the second user account from the probable labels; and

assigning at least one of the selected probable labels to the event.