METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SYNCHRONOUS, COLLABORATIVE MEDIA CONSUMPTION

• US 20110035683A1
• Filed: 08/07/2009
• Published: 02/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Purdy, Kermit, Stead, Larry, Amento, Brian, Abella, Alicia
• Application Number:
  US12/537,763
• Publication Number:
  US 20110035683A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/753
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4015 where at least one of the additional parallel sessions is real time or time sensitive, e.g. white board sharing, collaboration or spawning of a subconference
• 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 65/612 for unicast

Abstract

In one embodiment, the present invention is a method and apparatus for synchronous, collaborative media consumption. In one embodiment, a method for providing media to a plurality of users includes delivering synchronously the media to a plurality of devices operated by the plurality of users via a communications channel and enabling a substantially real-time interaction among the plurality of users on the communications channel while delivering the media.

Claims

1. A method for providing media to a plurality of users, the method comprising:

delivering synchronously the media to a plurality of devices operated by the plurality of users via a communications channel; and

enabling a substantially real-time interaction among the plurality of users on the communications channel while delivering said media.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the media is provided in accordance with at least one item of feedback received from at least one of the plurality of users.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the at least one item of feedback comprises a request to provide at least one specific item of media.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the at least one item of feedback comprises at least one request to provide individual items of the media in a specific order.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the at least one item of feedback comprises a request to not provide a specific item of media.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the at least one item of feedback comprises a vote related to a previously consumed item of the media.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the communications channel is created on an ad-hoc basis.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the communications channel is created on a persistent basis.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing at least one of;

a list of the media or a record of the substantially real-time interaction.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein a level of access to the media and to the substantially real-time interaction is based on a payment of a subscription fee.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein a level of access to the media and to the substantially real-time interaction is based on a level of user participation on the communications channel.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein a membership of the communications channel is restricted.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the media is at least one of:

audio, video, image, or text.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is implemented as a web-based application.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is implemented as a stand-alone application.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the media is distributed across at least one of:

one or more of the plurality of devices or at least one server coupled to the communications channel.

17. A computer readable storage medium containing an executable program for providing media to a plurality of users, where the program performs the steps of:

delivering synchronously the media to a plurality of devices operated by the plurality of users via a communications channel; and

enabling a substantially real-time interaction among the plurality of users on the communications channel while delivering said media.

18. The computer readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the media is provided in accordance with at least one item of feedback received from at least one of the plurality of users.

19. The computer readable storage medium of claim 17, further comprising:

storing at least one of;

a list of the media or a record of the substantially real-time interaction.

20. A system for providing media to a plurality of users, comprising:

a server; and

a network for communicatively coupling the server to a plurality of devices operated by the plurality of users,

where the server hosts an application that;

delivers synchronously the media to the plurality of devices via a communications channel; and

enabling a substantially real-time interaction among the plurality of users on the communications channel while delivering said media.