Searching Recent Content Publication Activity

• US 20070162432A1
• Filed: 01/10/2007
• Published: 07/12/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AOL LLC (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Agrawal, Rakesh, Granito, Jennifer, Greenberg, Steven, Armstrong, Christopher, Sommers, Michael, Dunham, Lark, Keister, Alan, Glover, Carol
• Granted Patent: US 8,166,061 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services

Abstract

Collecting and distributing information related to recent content publication activity of an instant messaging (IM) user provides other users in a network with timely, relevant information about people known to the user or within the same social network. A user participating in a social network can quickly and efficiently perceive new information related to other users (referred to as co-users) in a social network by reviewing the co-users'"'"' recent content publication activity. A user may be made able to do so without requiring the co-user to send a communication directly to the user regarding the new facts or new content, and also without requiring the user to actively browse or request information about the co-user.

Claims

1. A method for searching recent content publication activity, the method comprising:

receiving a query submitted by an online identity and an identifier associated with the online identity;

identifying co-user online identifiers that are associated with the identifier;

accessing information associated with content publication activity associated with the co-user online identifiers;

based on the accessed information, identifying content publication activities that relate to the query and indications of co-user online identifiers that are associated with the identified content publication activities; and

enabling the online identity to perceive indications of the identified content publication activities and the indications of the co-user online identifiers associated with the identified content publication activities for presentation as search results for the query.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein accessing information associated with content publication activity associated with the co-user online identifiers includes accessing one or more indexes for content publication activity associated with the co-user online identifiers.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein accessing information associated with content publication activity associated with the co-user online identifiers includes directly accessing content included in the content publication activity associated with the co-user online identifiers.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving an identifier associated with the online identity includes receiving a screen name for the online identity and which the online identity used to log in to an instant messaging application.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving an identifier associated with the online identity includes receiving an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the online identity.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein identifying co-user online identifiers that are associated with the identifier includes identifying co-user online identifiers that are included in a co-user list that reveals to the online identity an online availability of co-user online identities corresponding to the co-user online identifiers within the co-user list.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising presenting the indications of the identified content publication activities and the indications of the co-user online identifiers associated with the identified content publication activities based on the co-user online identifiers.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising presenting the indications of the identified content publication activities and the indications of the co-user online identifiers associated with the identified content publication activities based on a type associated with the identified content publication activities.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

storing the query;

at a later moment in time, accessing the information associated with the content publication activity and associated with the co-user online identifiers, the accessed information having not been published at a time when the query was executed;

based on the accessed information, newly identifying content publication activities that relate to the query and indications of co-user online identifiers that are associated with the newly identified content publication activities; and

enabling the online identity to perceive the indications of the newly identified content publication activities and the indications of the co-user online identifiers associated with the newly identified content publication activities.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein storing the query comprises:

automatically storing the query in a query log associated with the online identity; and

discarding the query from the query log after at least one of a particular amount of time or until more than a threshold number of additional queries have been stored in the query log.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising enabling the online identity to interact with the query log by adding, removing, or editing queries stored in the query log.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein enabling the online identity to perceive the indications of the newly identified content publication activities and the indications of the co-user online identifiers associated with the newly identified content publication activities includes providing a notification to the user that recent content publication activity is related to the query.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein enabling the online identity to perceive the indications of the newly identified content publication activities and the indications of the co-user online identifiers associated with the newly identified content publication activities includes displaying a recent content publication activity icon and a search notification icon in association with the co-user online identifiers in a co-user list.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving an indication that a particular co-user online identifier has been removed from a co-user list; and

removing information associated with content publication activity associated with the particular co-user online identifier from the accessed information.

15. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving an indication that a particular co-user online identifier has been added to a co-user list; and

adding information associated with content publication activity associated with the particular co-user online identifier to the accessed information.

16. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

accessing information associated with instant message transcripts of conversations between the online identity and co-user online identities that are associated with the identified co-user online identifiers;

based on the accessed information, identifying instant message transcripts that relate to the query and indications of co-user online identifiers that are associated with the identified instant message transcripts; and

enabling the online identity to perceive indications of the identified instant message transcripts and the indications of the co-user online identifiers associated with the identified instant message transcripts for presentation as search results for the query.

17. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving a question from the online identity and directed to co-user online identities that are associated with the identified co-user online identifiers;

determining a topic related to the received question;

identifying one or more co-user online identities associated with the identified co-user online identifiers that are experts in the topic; and

enabling the identified one or more co-user online identities to respond to the received question.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein identifying one or more co-user online identities that are experts in the topic includes identifying one or more co-user online identities that have engaged in more than a threshold degree of content publication activity related to the topic.

19. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving the query includes:

receiving information associated with the query, at a client, from the online identity; and

based on the received information, generating the query.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising transmitting the generated query from the client to a host.

21. A method for searching recent content publication activity, the method comprising:

receiving a query submitted by an online identity and an identifier associated with the online identity;

identifying co-user online identifiers that are associated with the identifier;

accessing information associated with content publication activity associated with the co-user online identifiers;

based on the accessed information, identifying content publication activities that relate to the query and indications of co-user online identifiers that are associated with the identified content publication activities;

enabling the online identity to perceive indications of the identified content publication activities and the indications of the co-user online identifiers associated with the identified content publication activities for presentation as search results for the query;

storing the query;

at a later moment in time, accessing the information associated with the content publication activity and associated with the co-user online identifiers, the accessed information having not been published at a time when the query was executed;

based on the accessed information, newly identifying content publication activities that relate to the query and indications of co-user online identifiers that are associated with the newly identified content publication activities; and

enabling the online identity to perceive indications of the newly identified content publication activities and the indications of the co-user online identifiers associated with the newly identified content publication activities.

22. A computer program product for searching recent content publication activity, the computer program product including instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:

receive a query submitted by an online identity and an identifier associated with the online identity;

identify co-user online identifiers that are associated with the identifier;

access information associated with content publication activity associated with the co-user online identifiers;

based on the accessed information, identify content publication activities that relate to the query and indications of co-user online identifiers that are associated with the identified content publication activities; and

enable the online identity to perceive indications of the identified content publication activities and the indications of the co-user online identifiers associated with the identified content publication activities for presentation as search results for the query.

23. A computer program product for searching recent content publication activity, the computer program product including instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:

receive a query submitted by an online identity and an identifier associated with the online identity;

identify co-user online identifiers that are associated with the identifier;

access information associated with content publication activity associated with the co-user online identifiers;

based on the accessed information, identify content publication activities that relate to the query and indications of co-user online identifiers that are associated with the identified content publication activities;

enable the online identity to perceive indications of the identified content publication activities and the indications of the co-user online identifiers associated with the identified content publication activities for presentation as search results for the query;

store the query;

at a later moment in time, access the information associated with the content publication activity and associated with the co-user online identifiers, the accessed information having not been published at a time when the query was executed;

based on the accessed information, newly identify content publication activities that relate to the query and indications of co-user online identifiers that are associated with the newly identified content publication activities; and

enable the online identity to perceive indications of the newly identified content publication activities and the indications of the co-user online identifiers associated with the newly identified content publication activities.