State change alerts mechanism

• US 8,473,572 B1
• Filed: 11/09/2009
• Issued: 06/25/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Inventors: Austin-Lane, Christopher Emery
• Primary Examiner(s): Vaughan, Michael R
• Application Number:
  US12/615,136
• Time in Patent Office: 1,324 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/046 Interoperability with other network applications or services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/226 Delivery according to priorities
• 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 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A communications system including one or more alert gates and an alert controller. Each alert gate is configured to detect a different type of alert feed corresponding to a particular kind of alert. The alert controller is connected to the alert gates and operable to receive detected alerts from the alert gates and to deliver the detected alerts to a user of the communications system.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

accessing a subscriber record that defines a plurality of different alert feeds desired by a subscriber associated with the subscriber record, alert message preferences related to sending each particular type of alert feed to the subscriber associated with the subscriber record, and a condition for tripping each particular type of alert feed, wherein the plurality of different alert feeds comprises a first type of alert feed and a second type of alert feed;

monitoring for changes in state that occur at a remote server and that are related to each particular type of alert feed desired by the subscriber, the remote server being a server that is located remote from a device operated by the subscriber;

based on the monitoring, detecting a change in state that is related to at least one particular type of alert feed desired by the subscriber, wherein detecting the change in state comprises detecting a condition for tripping the at least one particular type of alert feed; and

in response to detecting the change in state that is related to the at least one particular type of alert feed desired by the subscriber, sending, by at least one computer and to the device operated by the subscriber, an alert message corresponding to the detected change in state based on the alert message preferences defined by the subscriber record and the condition for tripping the at least one particular type of alert feed, wherein the alert message includes a selectable option that, when selected, allows the subscriber to access additional information associated with the alert message.

2. The method of claim 1:

wherein sending the alert message corresponding to the detected change in state based on the alert message preferences defined by the subscriber record comprises;

comparing the detected change in state that is related to at least one particular type of alert feed to the condition for tripping the particular type of alert; and

sending the alert message when the comparison reveals that the condition for tripping the particular type of alert has been met.

3. The method of claim 1:

wherein accessing the subscriber record that defines a plurality of different alert feeds desired by the subscriber associated with the subscriber record, associated with alert message preferences related to sending each particular type of alert feed to the subscriber associated with the subscriber record, and associated with a condition for tripping each particular type of alert feed, further comprises accessing a subscriber record that defines a timing of the particular type of alert feed; and

wherein sending the alert message corresponding to the detected change in state based on the alert message preferences defined by the subscriber record comprises sending the alert message based on the timing of the particular type of alert feed.

4. The method of claim 1:

wherein accessing the subscriber record that defines a plurality of different alert feeds desired by the subscriber associated with the subscriber record, associated with alert message preferences related to sending each particular type of alert feed to the subscriber associated with the subscriber record, and associated with a condition for tripping each particular type of alert feed, further comprises accessing a subscriber record that defines a presentation method for the particular type of alert feed; and

wherein sending the alert message corresponding to the detected change in state based on the alert message preferences defined by the subscriber record comprises;

generating an alert message in accordance with the presentation method for the particular type of alert feed; and

sending the alert message generated in accordance with the presentation method for the particular type of alert feed.

5. The method of claim 1:

wherein accessing the subscriber record that defines a plurality of different alert feeds desired by the subscriber associated with the subscriber record, associated with alert message preferences related to sending each particular type of alert feed to the subscriber associated with the subscriber record, and associated with a condition for tripping each particular type of alert feed, further comprises accessing a subscriber record that defines whether to provide an offline notification for the particular type of alert feed; and

wherein sending the alert message corresponding to the detected change in state based on the alert message preferences defined by the subscriber record comprises;

determining whether the subscriber is offline;

in response to a determination that the subscriber is offline, determining whether the alert message preferences indicate that an offline notification is to be provided for the particular type of alert feed; and

providing an offline notification for the particular type of alert feed in response to a determination that the alert preferences indicate that an offline notification is to be provided for the particular type of alert feed.

6. The method of claim 1:

wherein accessing the subscriber record that defines a plurality of different alert feeds desired by the subscriber associated with the subscriber record, associated with alert message preferences related to sending each particular type of alert feed to the subscriber associated with the subscriber record, and associated with a condition for tripping each particular type of alert feed, comprises accessing a subscriber record that defines a first type of alert feed desired by the subscriber and a second type of alert feed desired by the subscriber,

the first type of alert feed is at least one of an electronic message alert that indicates that the subscriber has received an electronic message and a calendar alert that indicates information associated with the subscriber'"'"'s electronic calendar, and

wherein the second type of alert feed is at least one of a stock alert that indicates information related to current stock prices, a weather alert that indicates information related to current weather, and a news alert that indicates information related to current news;

wherein monitoring for changes in state that occur at a remote server and that are related to each particular type of alert feed desired by the subscriber comprises monitoring for changes in state that occur at a remote server and that are related to the first type of alert feed desired by the subscriber and the second type of alert feed desired by the subscriber;

wherein detecting the change in state that is related to at least one particular type of alert feed desired by the subscriber comprises detecting a change in state that is related to the first type of alert desired by the subscriber or the second type of alert feed desired by the subscriber; and

wherein sending the alert message corresponding to the detected change in state based on the alert message preferences defined by the subscriber record comprises;

conditioned on detecting a change in state that is related to the first type of alert feed, sending a first alert message to the subscriber indicating at least one of receipt, by the subscriber, of an electronic message and information associated with the subscriber'"'"'s electronic calendar; and

conditioned on detecting a change in state that is related to the second type of alert feed, sending a second alert message to the subscriber indicating at least one of information related to current stock information, current weather information, and current news information.

7. The method of claim 6:

wherein the first type of alert feed is an electronic message alert that indicates that the subscriber has received an electronic message and the second type of alert feed is a stock alert that indicates information related to current stock prices; and

wherein monitoring for changes in state that occur at a remote server and that are related to the first type of alert feed desired by the subscriber and the second type of alert feed desired by the subscriber comprises monitoring for both electronic messages received by the subscriber and current stock prices.

8. The method of claim 6:

wherein the first type of alert feed is an electronic message alert that indicates that the subscriber has received an electronic message and the second type of alert feed is a weather alert that indicates information related to current weather; and

wherein monitoring for changes in state that occur at a remote server and that are related to the first type of alert feed desired by the subscriber and the second type of alert feed desired by the subscriber comprises monitoring for both electronic messages received by the subscriber and current weather information.

9. The method of claim 6:

wherein the first type of alert feed is an electronic message alert that indicates that the subscriber has received an electronic message and the second type of alert feed is a news alert that indicates information related to current news; and

wherein monitoring for changes in state that occur at a remote server and that are related to the first type of alert feed desired by the subscriber and the second type of alert feed desired by the subscriber comprises monitoring for both electronic messages received by the subscriber and current news information.

10. The method of claim 6:

wherein the first type of alert feed is a calendar alert that indicates information associated with the subscriber'"'"'s electronic calendar and the second type of alert feed is a stock alert that indicates information related to current stock prices; and

wherein monitoring for changes in state that occur at a remote server and that are related to the first type of alert feed desired by the subscriber and the second type of alert feed desired by the subscriber comprises monitoring for both events related to the subscriber'"'"'s electronic calendar and current stock prices.

11. The method of claim 6:

wherein the first type of alert feed is a calendar alert that indicates information associated with the subscriber'"'"'s electronic calendar and the second type of alert feed is a weather alert that indicates information related to current weather; and

wherein monitoring for changes in state that occur at a remote server and that are related to the first type of alert feed desired by the subscriber and the second type of alert feed desired by the subscriber comprises monitoring for both events related to the subscriber'"'"'s electronic calendar and current weather information.

12. The method of claim 6:

wherein the first type of alert feed is a calendar alert that indicates information associated with the subscriber'"'"'s electronic calendar and the second type of alert feed is a news alert that indicates information related to current news; and

wherein monitoring for changes in state that occur at a remote server and that are related to the first type of alert feed desired by the subscriber and the second type of alert feed desired by the subscriber comprises monitoring for both events related to the subscriber'"'"'s electronic calendar and current news information.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the selectable option comprises a link to a uniform resource locator.

13. At least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with at least one computer program comprising instructions that, when executed, operate to cause a computer to perform operations comprising:

accessing a subscriber record that defines a plurality of different alert feeds desired by a subscriber associated with the subscriber record, alert message preferences related to sending each particular type of alert feed to the subscriber associated with the subscriber record, and a condition for tripping each particular type of alert feed, wherein the plurality of different alert feeds comprises a first type of alert feed and a second type of alert feed;

monitoring for changes in state that occur at a remote server and that are related to each particular type of alert feed desired by the subscriber, the remote server being a server that is located remote from a device operated by the subscriber;

based on the monitoring, detecting a change in state that is related to at least one particular type of alert feed desired by the subscriber, wherein detecting the change in state comprises detecting a condition for tripping the at least one particular type of alert feed; and

in response to detecting the change in state that is related to the at least one particular type of alert feed desired by the subscriber, sending, to the device operated by the subscriber, an alert message corresponding to the detected change in state based on the alert message preferences defined by the subscriber record and the condition for tripping the at least one particular type of alert feed, the alert message including alert information related to the condition for tripping the particular type of alert, and a selectable option that, when selected, allows the subscriber to access additional information associated with the alert message.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13:

wherein sending the alert message corresponding to the detected change in state based on the alert message preferences defined by the subscriber record comprises;

comparing the detected change in state that is related to at least one particular type of alert feed to the condition for tripping the particular type of alert; and

sending the alert message when the comparison reveals that the condition for tripping the particular type of alert has been met.

15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13:

wherein accessing the subscriber record that defines a plurality of different alert feeds desired by a subscriber associated with the subscriber record, associated with alert message preferences related to sending each particular type of alert feed to the subscriber associated with the subscriber record, and associated with a condition for tripping each particular type of alert feed, further comprises accessing a subscriber record that defines a timing of the particular type of alert; and

wherein sending the alert message corresponding to the detected change in state based on the alert message preferences defined by the subscriber record comprises sending the alert message based on the timing of the particular type of alert feed.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13:

wherein accessing the subscriber record that defines a plurality of different alert feeds desired by the subscriber associated with the subscriber record, associated with alert message preferences related to sending each particular type of alert feed to the subscriber associated with the subscriber record, and associated with a condition for tripping each particular alert feed, further comprises accessing a subscriber record that defines a presentation method for the particular type of alert feed; and

wherein sending the alert message corresponding to the detected change in state based on the alert message preferences defined by the subscriber record comprises;

generating an alert message in accordance with the presentation method for the particular type of alert feed; and

sending the alert message generated in accordance with the presentation method for the particular type of alert feed.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13:

wherein accessing the subscriber record that defines a plurality of different alert feeds desired by the subscriber associated with the subscriber record, associated with alert message preferences related to sending each particular type of alert feed to the subscriber associated with the subscriber record, and associated with a condition for tripping each particular type of alert feed, further comprises accessing a subscriber record that defines whether to provide an offline notification for the particular type of alert feed; and

wherein sending the alert message corresponding to the detected change in state based on the alert message preferences defined by the subscriber record comprises;

determining whether the subscriber is offline;

in response to a determination that the subscriber is offline, determining whether the alert message preferences indicate that an offline notification is to be provided for the particular type of alert feed; and

providing an offline notification for the particular type of alert feed in response to a determination that the alert preferences indicate that an offline notification is to be provided for the particular type of alert feed.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13:

wherein accessing the subscriber record that defines a plurality of different alert feeds desired by the subscriber associated with the subscriber record, associated with alert message preferences related to sending each particular type of alert feed to the subscriber associated with the subscriber record, and associated with a condition for tripping each particular type of alert feed, further comprises accessing a subscriber record that defines a first type of alert feed desired by the subscriber and a second type of alert feed desired by the subscriber,

wherein the first type of alert feed is at least one of an electronic message alert that indicates that the subscriber has received an electronic message and a calendar alert that indicates information associated with the subscriber'"'"'s electronic calendar, and

wherein the second type of alert feed is at least one of a stock alert that indicates information related to current stock prices, a weather alert that indicates information related to current weather, and a news alert that indicates information related to current news;

wherein monitoring for changes in state that occur at a remote server and that are related to each particular type of alert feed desired by the subscriber comprises monitoring for changes in state that occur at a remote server and that are related to the first type of alert feed desired by the subscriber and the second type of alert feed desired by the subscriber;

wherein detecting the change in state that is related to at least one particular type of alert feed desired by the subscriber comprises detecting a change in state that is related to the first type of alert desired by the subscriber or the second type of alert feed desired by the subscriber; and

wherein sending the alert message corresponding to the detected change in state based on the alert message preferences defined by the subscriber record comprises;

conditioned on detecting a change in state that is related to the first type of alert feed, sending a first alert message to the subscriber indicating at least one of receipt, by the subscriber, of an electronic message and information associated with the subscriber'"'"'s electronic calendar; and

conditioned on detecting a change in state that is related to the second type of alert feed, sending a second alert message to the subscriber indicating at least one of information related to current stock information, current weather information, and current news information.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18:

wherein the first type of alert feed is an electronic message alert that indicates that the subscriber has received an electronic message and the second type of alert feed is a stock alert that indicates information related to current stock prices; and

wherein monitoring for changes in state that occur at a remote server and that are related to the first type of alert feed desired by the subscriber and the second type of alert feed desired by the subscriber comprises monitoring for both electronic messages received by the subscriber and current stock prices.

22. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the selectable option comprises a link to a uniform resource locator.

20. A system comprising:

at least one computer; and

at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium coupled to the at least one computer having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the at least one computer, cause the at least one computer to perform operations comprising;

accessing a subscriber record that defines a plurality of different alert feeds desired by a subscriber associated with the subscriber record, alert message preferences related to sending each particular type of alert feed to the subscriber associated with the subscriber record, and a condition for tripping each particular type of alert feed, wherein the plurality of different alert feeds comprises a first type of alert feed and a second type of alert feed;

monitoring for changes in state that occur at a remote server and that are related to each particular type of alert feed desired by the subscriber, the remote server being a server that is located remote from a device operated by the subscriber;

based on the monitoring, detecting a change in state that is related to at least one particular type of alert feed desired by the subscriber, wherein detecting the change in state comprises detecting a condition for tripping the at least one particular type of alert feed; and

in response to detecting the change in state that is related to the at least one particular type of alert feed desired by the subscriber, sending, to the device operated by the subscriber, an alert message corresponding to the detected change in state based on the alert preferences defined by the subscriber record and the condition for tripping the at least one particular type of alert feed, the alert message including alert information related to the condition for tripping the particular type of alert, and a selectable option that, when selected, allows the subscriber to access additional information associated with the alert message.

23. The system of claim 20, wherein the selectable option comprises a link to a uniform resource locator.