System and method for enabling a user to control a context of a client device of a buddy in a social network

• US 20060271959A1
• Filed: 08/01/2006
• Published: 11/30/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Jacoby, Ronald, O'Kane, Brenda
• Application Number:
  US11/497,911
• Publication Number:
  US 20060271959A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2353 specifically adapted to content descriptors, e.g. coding, compressing or processing of metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/258 Client or end-user data management, e.g. managing client capabilities, user preferences or demographics, processing of multiple end-users preferences to derive collaborative data arrangements for services using the result on the distributing side of broadcast systems H04H60/66; profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25841 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; arrangements for identifying locations of receiving stations in broadcast systems H04H60/51; location of the user terminal in data switching networks H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2668 Creating a channel for a dedicated end-user group, e.g. insertion of targeted commercials based on end-user profiles information retrieval from the Internet by querying with filtering and personalisation G06F16/9535; arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast H04H20/10; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; adaptation of message content in packet-switching networks H04L51/063
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4227 Providing Remote input by a user located remotely from the client device, e.g. at work
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4524 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; systems specially adapted for using geographical information in broadcast systems H04H60/70; protocols in which the network application is adapted for the location of the user terminal in communication control or processing H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4668 for recommending content, e.g. movies
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4781 Games
• 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 21/63 Control signaling related to video distribution between client, server and network components; Network processes for video distribution between server and clients or between remote clients, e.g. transmitting basic layer and enhancement layers over different transmission paths, setting up a peer-to-peer communication via Internet between remote STB's; Communication protocols; Addressing real-time session protocols H04L65/1101; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/858 Linking data to content, e.g. by linking an URL to a video object, by creating a hotspot
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A method comprises retrieving a profile of a given user; using the profile to identify a buddy of the given user; delivering a shared control request of the given user to a buddy device of the buddy; enabling the buddy to accept or reject the shared control request; and allowing the given user to control a context of the buddy device when the buddy accepts the shared control request.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

retrieving a profile of a given user;

using the profile to identify a buddy of the given user;

delivering a shared control request of the given user to a buddy device of the buddy;

enabling the buddy to accept or reject the shared control request; and

allowing the given user to control a context of the buddy device when the buddy accepts the shared control request.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the using the profile to identify the buddy comprises:

identifying one or more instant messaging applications to which the given user subscribes as indicated in the profile;

identifying one or more other users in the one or more instant messaging applications; and

designating one of the other users as the buddy.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising selecting the buddy from the one or more other users by the given user.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the using the profile to identify the buddy comprises:

retrieving one or more characteristics of the given user as indicated in the profile;

examining one or more other user profiles to identify another user with characteristics similar to the given user; and

designating the other user with the similar characteristics as the buddy.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the shared control request comprises a request to allow the given user to control one or more content items displayed on the buddy device.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising propagating the context of the given user to the buddy that accepted the shared control request.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the context comprises a notion of the action that the user is performing at a given point in time.

7. The method of claim 7, wherein the propagating comprises propagating a change in context of the given user to the buddy that accepted the shared control request.

9. A system comprising:

a content store for storing content items;

a given user device coupled to the content store and operative to enable selection and presentation of content items stored in the content store to a given user;

an other-user device coupled to the content store and operative to enable selection and presentation of content items stored in the content store to another user; and

a content distribution server operative to identify the other user as being a buddy of the given user, to receive a shared control request from the given user device, to deliver the shared control request to the other-user device, to receive an acceptance or a rejection to the shared control request from the other-user device, and to allow the given user to control a context of the other-user device when an acceptance is received.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein at least a portion of the content store is maintained on the content distribution server.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein at least a portion of the content store is maintained external to the content distribution server.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein at least one of the given user device and the other-user device includes one of a personal computer, a set top box, or a personal digital assistant.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the content distribution server includes a profile data store for storing identification of buddies of a given user.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the content distribution server is operative to propagate a content item selected by the given user to the given user device and the other-user device.

15. The system of claim 9,

further comprising a second other-user device coupled to the content store and operative to enable selection and presentation of content items stored in the content store to a second other user;

and

wherein the content distribution server is operative to identify the second other user as being a second buddy of the given user, to receive a second shared control request from the given user device, to deliver the shared control request to the second other-user device, to receive an acceptance or a rejection to the shared control request from the second other-user device, and to allow the given user to control the context of the second other-user device when an acceptance is received.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the content distribution server is operative to propagate a content item selected by the given user to the other-user device and to the second other-user device.

17. A system comprising:

retrieving means for retrieving a profile of a given user;

identifying means for identifying a buddy in a social network with the given user;

delivering means for delivering a shared control request of the given user to the buddy;

enabling means for enabling the buddy to accept or reject the shared control request; and

allowing means for allowing the given user to control a client device context of the buddy when the buddy accepts the shared control request.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the retrieving means includes a profile component coupled to a profile store that stores profiles of users.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the identifying means includes a messaging component in communication with a messenger application on the given user device.

20. The system of claim 17,wherein the identifying means includes a messaging component that examines the other user profiles to identify the subset of the other users having characteristics in common with the given user.

21. The system of claim 17, wherein the delivering means, enabling means and allowing means each include at least a portion of a TV application component, the TV application component being in communication with the given user device and the other-user device, the TV application component having access to a content data store and controlling the distribution of content items from the content data store to the given user device and the other-user device.