System and method of presenting media content

• US 10,235,027 B2
• Filed: 11/24/2015
• Issued: 03/19/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Inventors: Trauth, Kurt
• Primary Examiner(s): Hailu, Tadesse
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hope, Darrin
• Application Number:
  US14/950,880
• Publication Number:
  US 20160080513A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,211 Days
• Field of Search: 715744, 715733
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0489 using dedicated keyboard keys or combinations thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/4038 Image mosaicing, e.g. composing plane images from plane sub-images
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/10 Multimedia information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4786 e-mailing message switching systems, e.g. electronic mail systems H04L51/00

Abstract

A method includes monitoring media content at media content locations to identify media content items. The media content locations are identified in social network data stored by a set-top box device. The method includes receiving, at the set-top box device, a command to present image cells to a display device. The command is responsive to an alert sent from the set-top box device. The method also includes presenting the image cells at the display device. At least one of the image cells includes an image corresponding to an identified media content item.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining, by at least one processor, that a first user account of a social network is to receive media content associated with one or more additional user accounts of the social network;

receiving, by the at least one processor, images from one or more client devices associated with the one or more additional user accounts;

sending, by the at least one processor, an alert to a client device associated with the first user account to inform the first user account of the images associated with the one or more additional user accounts received via the social network;

identifying an image that is selectable for directing to a website of a particular product or service for presentation to the first user account of the social network based on information about the first user account stored in the social network; and

providing the images associated with the one or more additional user accounts and the image that is selectable for directing to the website of the particular product or service to the client device associated with the first user account as part of a grid of media content.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein determining that the first user account is to receive media content associated with the one or more additional user accounts comprises identifying that the first user account and the one or more additional user accounts are connected on a social network.

3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein receiving, by the at least one processor, images associated with the one or more additional user accounts comprises receiving an upload of one or more of a digital photo or a video to the social network.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein sending, by the at least one processor, the alert to the client device associated with the first user account to inform the first user account of the images associated with the one or more additional user accounts comprises sending a notification to a mobile device associated with the first user.

5. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein providing the images associated with the one or more additional user accounts and the image that is selectable for directing to the website of the particular product or service to the client device associated with the first user account as part of a grid of media content comprises pushing the media content to the mobile device.

6. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein the notification comprises one or more of a pop-up notification, a text message notification, or an instant message notification.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein sending, by the at least one processor, the alert to the client device associated with the first user account to inform the first user account of the images associated with the one or more additional user accounts comprises providing an alert in connection with a website accessed by the client device associated with the first user account.

8. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein providing the images associated with the one or more additional user accounts and the image that is selectable for directing to the website of the particular product or service to the client device associated with the first user account as part of a grid of media content comprises posting the media content at a website location and sending the website to the client device in response to a request to from the client device to retrieve the website.

9. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein:

receiving images from one or more client devices associated with the one or more additional user comprises receiving a photo; and

providing the images associated with the one or more additional user accounts and the image that is selectable for directing to the website of the particular product or service as part of the grid of media content comprises providing a thumbnail version of the photo in the grid of media content.

10. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

receiving videos from the one or more client devices associated with the one or more additional user accounts; and

providing the videos associated with the one or more additional user accounts as part of the grid of media content, wherein providing the videos further comprises providing a frame of the video selected by a user in the grid of media content.

11. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein providing the videos associated with the one or more additional user accounts as part of the grid of media content comprises providing an icon in connection with the frame of the video that causes the video to play within the grid of media content when selected.

12. A system comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions thereon that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system to;

determine that a first user account of a social network is to receive media content associated with one or more additional user accounts of the social network;

send an alert to a client device associated with the first user account upon receiving images from one or more client devices associated with the one or more user accounts to inform the first user account of the images associated with the one or more additional user accounts received via the social network;

identify an image that is selectable for directing to a website of a particular product or service for presentation to the first user account of the social network based on information about the first user account stored in the social network; and

provide the image associated with the one or more additional user accounts and the image that is selectable for directing to the website of the particular product or service to the client device associated with the first user account as part of a grid of media content.

13. The system as recited in claim 12, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system to determine that the first user account is to receive images associated with the one or more additional user accounts by identifying that the first user account and the one or more additional user accounts are connected on a social network.

14. The system as recited in claim 13, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system to:

detect that the one or more additional user accounts has uploaded the images to the social network; and

send the alert to the client device associated with the first user account in response to the one or more additional user accounts uploading the images to the social network.

15. The system as recited in claim 14, further comprising instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system to identify an advertisement for presentation to the first user account based on information about the user stored in the social network.

16. The system as recited in claim 15, further comprising instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system to provide the advertisement in a first cell of the grid of media content and the media content associated with the one or more additional user accounts in a second cell of the grid of media content.

17. The system as recited in claim 16, wherein the grid of media content comprises rows and columns of images cells.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause a computing device to:

determine that a first user account of a social network is to receive media content associated with one or more additional user accounts of the social network;

receive images from one or more client devices associated with the one or more additional user accounts;

send an alert to a client device associated with the first user account to inform the first user account of the images associated with the one or more additional user accounts received via the social network;

identify an image that is selectable for directing to a website of a particular product or service for presentation to the first user account of the social network based on information about the first user account stored in the social network; and

provide the images associated with the one or more additional user accounts and the image that is selectable for directing to the website of the particular product or service to the client device associated with the first user account as part of a grid of media content.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the computing device to provide the images associated with the one or more additional user accounts and the image that is selectable for directing to the website of the particular product or service to the client device associated to the first user as part of a grid of media content by inserting the images associated with the one or more additional user accounts and the image that is selectable for directing to the website of the particular product or service in the grid of media content such that the image that is selectable for directing to the website of the particular product or service is not distinguishable from the other media content in the grid of media content.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the computing device to determine that the first user account is to receive media content associated with the one or more additional user accounts by identifying that the first user account and the one or more additional user accounts are connected on a social network.