Method of providing content items

• US 7,756,880 B2
• Filed: 10/02/2006
• Issued: 07/13/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: RealNetworks GmbH (RealNetworks, Inc.)
• Inventors: Inoto, Ruben, Sighart, Harald, Burgstaller, Rainer, Weiler, Christian
• Primary Examiner(s): Vo; Tim
• Assistant Examiner(s): Koo; Gary J
• Application Number:
  US11/540,578
• Publication Number:
  US 20070106672A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,380 Days
• Field of Search: 707/5, 707/6, 707/104.1, 705/35
• US Class Current: 707/751
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3326 using relevance feedback from the user, e.g. relevance feedback on documents, documents sets, document terms or passages
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9536 Search customisation based on social or collaborative filtering

Abstract

A method provides content items located on a server to a client, the server being able to communicate with the client via a communication network. The method includes generating a content recommendation list comprising several content recommendation list entries in dependence on a user feedback profile, each content recommendation list entry representing a content item, and transferring the content recommendation list from the server to the client. The method also includes providing a representation of the content recommendation list entries through a client user interface, each entry being selectable and arranged such that for each entry, user feedback may be generated and corresponding user feedback information sent to the server and that upon selection of an entry at a predetermined position in the content recommendation list, a recommendation list request is transferred to the server.

Claims

1. A method for providing content items located on a server to a client on a mobile device, the server being able to communicate with the client via a communication network, comprising the following steps:

a) transferring a first content recommendation list request from the client to the server;

b) generating a first portion of a content recommendation list comprising several content recommendation list entries arranged in an ordered sequence at the server in dependence on a user feedback profile, each content recommendation list entry representing a content item;

c) transferring the first portion of the content recommendation list from the server to the client;

d) providing a visual representation of the content recommendation list entries in the first portion of the content recommendation list through a client user interface, each entry being selectable and arranged such that for each entry, user feedback may be generated and corresponding user feedback information sent to the server;

e) expanding the partially transferred content recommendation list at the server by generating a second portion of the content recommendation list comprising a plurality of additional content recommendation list entries based on the user feedback information;

f) transferring from the client to the server, upon a user attempt to scroll past a last displayed entry in the first portion of the content recommendation list, a second recommendation list request for the second portion of the content recommendation list that was generated based on the user feedback information; and

g) in response to the second recommendation list request;

transferring the second portion of the content recommendation list that was generated based on the user feedback information from the server to the client on the mobile device;

automatically appending the second portion of the content recommendation list that was generated based on the user feedback information to the end of the first portion of the content recommendation list on the mobile device, wherein the client on the mobile device maintains the first portion with the second portion appended thereto such that the first portion and the appended second portion form part of an overall, selectable content recommendation list; and

providing a visual representation of the content recommendation list entries in the second portion of the content recommendation list through the client user interface,

wherein the client initiates at least one transfer process of content items from the server to the client based on user selections of recommendation list entries, and wherein the second portion of the content recommendation list is prepared at the server in advance of receiving the second recommendation list request from the client.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein step d) comprises a process of assigning feedback information to at least some content recommendation list entries in dependence on feedback given by the user to each of the content recommendation list entries presented on the client user interface.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the feedback assigned to the content recommendation list entries comprises explicit and implicit feedback.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein each individual explicit and/or implicit feedback given by the user to a specific content recommendation list entry is immediately transferred from the client to the server.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein the explicit feedback in particular represents conscious behavior of the user, whereas the implicit feedback in particular represents unconscious behavior of the user.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein said first content recommendation list and said second content recommendation list are parts of one overall content recommendation list which is stored on the server and maintained in dependence on the user feedback information received by the server.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the server stores first recommendation list information relating to content recommendation lists already transferred from the server to the client and/or second recommendation list information relating to content recommendation lists to be transferred from the server to the client, wherein the first content recommendation list information and the second content recommendation list information are part of content recommendation list information relating to the overall content recommendation list.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the second recommendation list information relating to content recommendation lists to be transferred from the server to the client is updated in dependence on the user feedback each time feedback is transferred from the client to the server.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the generation of the second recommendation list information relating to content recommendation lists to be transferred from the server to the client is based upon the user feedback transferred from the client to the server and on the first recommendation list information relating to content recommendation lists already transferred from the server to the client.

10. The method according to claim 7, wherein the second recommendation list information relating to content recommendation lists to be transferred from the server to the client is only transferred from the server to the client upon reception of a recommendation list request from the client.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein each recommendation list request and each recommendation list is assigned to a specific content item data channel such that user feedback given to content recommendation list entries of a specific data channel only affects the second recommendation list information of said specific data channel, and does not affect second recommendation list information of a further data channel.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the server comprises a managing unit, a recommending unit and a streaming unit, the managing unit being connectable to the recommending unit, the streaming unit and the client, and the streaming unit being connectable to the client.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein:

between the managing unit and the client, the recommendation list requests, the content recommendation lists and the user feedback is exchanged;

between the managing unit and the recommending unit, recommendation list correlated information and user feedback correlated information is exchanged;

between the managing unit and the streaming unit, content item correlated information is exchanged;

between the streaming unit and the client, content items and content item correlated information is exchanged; and

the first recommendation list information relating to content recommendation lists already transferred from the server to the client, and the second recommendation list information relating to content recommendation lists to be transferred from the server to the client are stored/maintained by the managing unit.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein:

between the managing unit and the client, the user feedback is exchanged;

between the managing unit and the recommending unit, recommendation list correlated information and user feedback correlated information is exchanged;

between the managing unit and the streaming unit, recommendation list correlated information is exchanged;

between the streaming unit and the client, content items, content item correlated information, the recommendation list requests, and the recommendation lists are exchanged;

the first recommendation list information relating to content recommendation lists already transferred from the server to the client is stored/maintained by the managing unit; and

the second recommendation list information relating to content recommendation lists to be transferred from the server to the client is stored/maintained by the streaming unit.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein each content recommendation list comprises less than ten content recommendation list entries.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein at least two content items are transferred as concatenated common content item from the server to the client.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the at least one transfer process of content items from the server to the client initiated by the client based on user selections of recommendation list entries is a streaming process.

18. A client-server system adapted to provide content items located on the server to the client, the server being able to communicate with the client via a communication network, comprising:

a) a client transmission interface controlled to transfer a first content recommendation list request from the client to the server;

b) a server processor operable to generate a first portion of a content recommendation list comprising several content recommendation list entries arranged in an ordered sequence in dependence on a user feedback profile, each content recommendation list entry representing a content item;

c) a server transmission interface controlled to transfer the first portion of the content recommendation list from the server to the client;

d) a client processor operable to provide a visual representation of the content recommendation list entries in the first portion of the content recommendation list through a client user interface, each entry being selectable for a user, the client processor having the ability to generate user feedback on the selectable content recommendation list entries under the control of the user and to send corresponding feedback information to the server, wherein upon a user attempt to scroll past a last displayed entry in the first content recommendation list, a second recommendation list request is transferred to the server, the second recommendation list request requesting a second portion of the content recommendation list generated based on the user feedback information;

e) the server processor further operable to generate the second portion of the content recommendation list comprising a plurality of additional ordered content recommendation list entries based on the user feedback information; and

f) the server transmission interface further controlled to transfer the second portion of the content recommendation list that was generated based on the user feedback information from the server to the client in response to the second recommendation list request and, while maintaining the first portion with the second portion on the client as an overall, selectable content recommendation list, providing a visual representation of the content recommendation list entries in the second portion of the content recommendation list through the client user interface, wherein the client initiates at least one transfer process of content items from the server to the client based on user selections of recommendation list entries, and wherein the second portion of the content recommendation list is prepared at the server in advance of receiving the second recommendation list request from the client.

19. A method for sequentially receiving portions of a content recommendation list, the method comprising:

receiving and storing in a computer readable medium, in response to a first request, a first portion of the content recommendation list based on a user profile, the first portion of the content recommendation list comprising a first subset of content recommendation entries arranged in an ordered sequence;

displaying the entries in the first subset on a display device;

transmitting user feedback information related to the first subset;

transmitting a second request upon detecting a user attempt to scroll past a last displayed entry in the first subset, the second request requesting a second portion of the content recommendation list generated based on the user feedback information; and

in response to the second request, while maintaining the first portion of the content recommendation list, receiving and storing the second portion of the content recommendation list based at least in part on the user feedback information, the second portion of the content recommendation list comprising a second subset of content recommendation entries arranged so as to continue the ordered sequence, the first subset and the second subset each comprising a plurality of the content recommendation entries.

20. A method for sequentially providing portions of a content recommendation list to a playback device, the method comprising:

generating and storing in a computer readable medium a first portion of the content recommendation list based on a user profile, the first portion of the content recommendation list comprising a first subset of content recommendation entries arranged in an ordered sequence;

transferring the first portion of the content recommendation list to the playback device in response to a first request;

receiving user feedback information related to the first subset from the playback device;

receiving a second request from the playback device, the second request indicating a user attempt to scroll past a last displayed entry in the first subset, the second request requesting a second portion of the content recommendation list generated based on the user feedback information; and

upon receiving the second request from the playback device, while maintaining the first portion of the content recommendation list on the playback device, transferring to the playback device the second portion of the content recommendation list based at least in part on the user feedback information, the second portion of the content recommendation list comprising a second subset of content recommendation entries arranged so as to continue the ordered sequence, the first subset and the second subset each comprising a plurality of the content recommendation entries.