Sharing of content associated with events

• US 8,595,629 B2
• Filed: 08/16/2011
• Issued: 11/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Dov Koren
• Original Assignee: Dov Koren
• Inventors: Koren, Dov
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Manglesh M
• Application Number:
  US13/211,184
• Publication Number:
  US 20110302246A1
• Time in Patent Office: 833 Days
• Field of Search: 715/234, 715/200, 715/212, 715/751
• US Class Current: 715/751
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3438 monitoring of user actions tracking the activity of the user H04L67/535
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/176 Support for shared access to files; File sharing support
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9558 Details of hyperlinks; Management of linked annotations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2119 Authenticating web pages, e.g. with suspicious links
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2149 Restricted operating environment
• 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: G06F 40/134 Hyperlinking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/206 Drawing of charts or graphs
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching

Abstract

Techniques are provided that allow users to collaborate in relationship to data views, application displays, applications or events. A user can type in a text view related to a specific view in an application display, and the information is shared with other users that take part in sharing that view. A user that expresses an interest in an event is notified about the event and has the capability to interact, in relation to the event, with other users (e.g. by text). The particular form of interaction (and sharing) can be selectively specified. This interaction is comparable to a dynamic bulletin board where the subject is event driven, and where a user can specify who are allowed to participate. In the case of an event interest(s), users specify their interest (e.g. in other user application events or system events) and the system automatically alerts them to the occurrence of the event.

Claims

1. A method for sharing content, the method comprising:

generating, for a first user, within a system, content for one or more application displays to be displayed on a first computing device of the first user;

sending, to at least one second computing device of at least one second user, a first message to share sharable content;

wherein the at least one second user includes a plurality of second users;

wherein the sharable content includes at least a portion of content from the one or more application displays that were generated for the first user;

wherein the first message includes an access identifier that provides access to the sharable content;

wherein the at least one second computing device is different from said first computing device of the first user;

in response to receiving an indication of acceptance of the first message by a particular second user, of the plurality of second users, the system using the access identifier to share with the particular second user said sharable content;

the system using the access identifier to determine which content within the system to share with the particular second user;

prior to sending the first message, enabling a plurality of users to share the sharable content;

enabling each user, in a set of users, to interact with at least one application, from one or more applications that are associated with the system, through at least one application display from a plurality of application displays;

wherein the plurality of application displays are associated with the system;

wherein the plurality of application displays include the one or more application displays;

wherein the plurality of application displays include a plurality of views;

wherein the plurality of users belong to the set of users;

wherein the first user and the at least one second user belong to the set of users;

monitoring, by the system, for occurrence of events from a plurality of events;

wherein each event, from the plurality of events, corresponds to at least one of;

a) interaction with the system, by at least one user from the set of users;

or

b) at least one information update to content of at least one view from the plurality of views;

wherein the first message is a first alert that was automatically sent in response to a first event, from the plurality of events;

wherein the first event is an event from the plurality of events that corresponds to an information update to the sharable content;

causing display of the first alert in a respective application display, from the plurality of application displays, of each of the plurality of second users;

wherein the respective application display of each of the plurality of second users includes at least one other alert, which is concurrently displayed with the first alert in the respective application display, about a different event from the plurality of events;

enabling each user, of the plurality of second users, to enter one or more comments in relation to the first alert and to share said one or more comments, among the plurality of second users, in relation to the first alert;

receiving, by the system, a comment, entered in a text entry interface that is related to the first alert, from the particular second user ;

causing display of the comment, in relation to the first alert, to each user from the plurality of second users; and

wherein the first alert was sent to the particular second user based on receiving from the particular second user, by the system prior to the first event, an expression of interest in being notified about information updates to the sharable content.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the sharable content is associated with a particular data set;

the particular data set includes a plurality of fields;

the method further comprises enabling updates to one or more fields, from the plurality of fields, by authorized users from the set of users;

the particular data set is maintained in a database in the system; and

the first event corresponds to an update to at least one field from the one or more fields.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the update to the at least one field is performed by a user.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the particular data set corresponds to a transaction.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein said transaction is a transaction involving an item.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein said item is a financial instrument.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the access identifier is a URL.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein:

within the respective application display of a user, from the plurality of second users, the at least one other alert is a plurality of other alerts;

a first other alert and a second other alert belong to the plurality of other alerts;

the first other alert is an alert about a second event, from the plurality of events, that corresponds to a second information update to the sharable content; and

the second other alert is an alert about a third event, from the plurality of events, that corresponds to a third information update to content of a particular view from the plurality of views.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving the expression of interest comprises receiving a specification of interest in being notified about information updates to the sharable content.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

in response, at least in part, to occurrence of a second event, of the plurality of events, associated with interaction with an application, of the one or more applications, by a particular user of the set of users, sending a second alert to each user of a plurality of third users, from the set of users, about the second event, to cause display of the second alert in a respective application display, from the plurality of application displays, of each of the plurality of third users;

wherein the second alert includes a second access identifier that provide access to one or more views that are associated with the second event;

wherein the plurality of third users is different from the plurality of second users;

wherein the particular second user belongs to the plurality of third users;

receiving, by the system, a second comment, entered in a text entry interface that is related to the second alert, from the particular second user;

causing display of the second comment, in relation to the second alert, to each user from the plurality of third users;

wherein causing display of the comment includes causing the comment to be displayed, in relation to the first alert, in the respective application display of the particular second user; and

wherein causing display of the second comment includes causing the second comment to be displayed, in relation to the second alert, in the respective application display of the particular second user.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the application is a financial application.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the application is associated with the system at least in that the system enables the particular user, at least in part, to interact with at least a portion of content of the application.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the application is provided by the system.

14. The method of claim 10 wherein sending the second alert to at least one third user, of the plurality of third users, is performed based on receiving from the at least one third user, by the system prior to the second event, a specification of interest in being notified about interactions of the particular user.

15. The method of claim 10 wherein:

the second event corresponds to input of a text, by the particular user, into a text entry interface that is related to a given view that is shared at least in part among the particular user and the plurality of third users;

the method further comprises maintaining at least a portion of content of the given view by the system; and

the second access identifier provides access to said given view.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein the text entry interface is a text view.

17. The method of claim 10 wherein:

the second event corresponds to the particular user loading at least a portion of a file to the system; and

the second access identifier provides access to the at least a portion of the file.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the second event corresponds to the particular user loading at least one table from the file.

19. The method of claim 10 wherein:

receiving the expression of interest comprises receiving a specification of interest in being notified about information updates to the sharable content; and

sending the second alert to the plurality of third users includes sending the second alert to the particular second user based on receiving from the particular second user, by the system prior to the second event, a specification of interest in being notified about interactions of the particular user.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein:

the second event corresponds to the particular user loading at least a portion of a file to the system;

the second access identifier provides access to the at least a portion of the file;

the sharable content is associated with a particular data set;

the particular data set includes a plurality of fields;

one or more fields from the plurality of fields are updateable by authorized users from the set of users;

the particular data set is maintained in a database in the system;

the particular data set corresponds to a transaction; and

the first event corresponds to an update to at least one field from the one or more fields.

21. The method of claim 1 wherein the information update was performed by the first user.

22. The method of claim 1 wherein the information update was performed by the system without receiving input from any user.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the information update was performed by the system in response to receiving information from a data source that is external to the system.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein the data source is a data feed.

25. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the respective application display of at least one user, of the plurality of second users, is associated with the system at least in that content of the respective application display of the at least one user, of the plurality of second users, includes content obtained from the system; and

said content obtained from the system includes the first alert and the at least one other alert.

26. The method of claim 1 wherein acceptance of the first message includes usage of the access identifier by the particular second user.

27. The method of claim 1 wherein the sharable content is at least one view from the plurality of views.

28. The method of claim 1 wherein a particular application display of the one or more application displays includes at least two views;

and

the sharable content includes at least one but not all of the at least two views.

29. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

maintaining said sharable content, by the system, in at least one database; and

wherein the information update corresponds to an update to database information, that corresponds to the sharable content, in the at least one database.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein the sharable content includes a table view;

and

said updated database information corresponds to at least cell in the table view that was updated by the information update.

31. The method of claim 1, wherein the sharable content includes content from one or more table views, and the information update includes an update to the one or more table views.

32. The method of claim 1, wherein the sharable content includes content from one or more chart views, and the information update includes an update to the one or more chart views.

33. The method of claim 1, wherein the sharable content includes content from one or more alert views, and the information update includes an update to the one or more alert views.

34. The method of claim 1, wherein the sharable content includes content from one or more of news views, and the information update includes an update to the one or more news views.

35. The method of claim 1, wherein the sharable content includes content from one or more of message views, and the information update includes an update to the one or more message views.

36. The method of claim 1 wherein the sharable content contains, at least in part, financial information.

37. The method of claim 1 wherein the sharable content contains, at least in part, dynamically updated information.

38. The method of claim 1 further comprising, in response to a second information update to the sharable content, sending the second information update, in real-time, to the plurality of second users.

39. The method of claim 9 wherein receiving the specification of interest comprises receiving a specification of interest in a particular view.

42. The method of claim 10 further comprising, causing display of at least one update, in real-time, in the one or more views.

43. The method of claim 1 wherein the information update was caused by recalculation of numeric content that is associated with the sharable content.

44. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of causing display of the comment comprises causing display of the comment, in real-time, to each user from the plurality of second users.

45. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of sending the first message comprises sending the first message to a given second user, of the plurality of second users, based on receiving by the system prior to the first event, from the particular second user, a request to notify the given second user about information updates to the sharable content, wherein the given second user is a different user than the particular second user.

61. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method recited in any one of claims 1,3,4,10,11,15,17,19,39,44-45,52,54,55,56.

62. An apparatus, comprising one or more processors, including a plurality of means, wherein the plurality of means includes means for performing each step of the method recited in any one of claims 10,11,15,19,39,44-45,52.

63. An apparatus comprising one or more processors, one or more memories, and one or more sequences of instructions that are stored in the one or more memories, wherein each memory from the one or more memories is operatively coupled to at least one of the one or more processors, and wherein the one or more sequences of instructions, when performed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to execute the steps of the method recited in any one of claims 1,3-5,8,9-11,14,15,17,19-20,23,31-35, 39-43,44-45,52,53,56,59.

40. The method of 39 wherein receiving the specification of interest in the particular view includes specification of at least one condition, that is associated with the particular view, to be monitored.

41. The method of claim 40 further comprising, providing, by the system, in the first alert, a description of change in the at least one condition.

46. A system, comprising one or more processors configured to execute instructions that cause the system to perform a method comprising steps of:

providing a computer-based service over a network to a set of users, wherein a first user and a second user belong to the set of users;

receiving, by the computer-based service from the first user, a first specification of interest in being notified about information updates to first information;

receiving, by the computer-based service from the second user, a second specification of interest in being notified about information updates to the first information;

receiving, by the computer-based service from the first user, a third specification of interest in being notified about information updates to second information;

wherein the second information is different from the first information;

after receiving the first specification, the second specification and the third specification, in response, at least in part, to at least one information update to the second information, the computer-based service performing the step of;

without sending third information to the second user, sending the third information to the first user based, at least in part, on the third specification, to cause display of the third information in a first application display of the first user;

after receiving the first specification, the second specification and the third specification, in response, at least in part, to at least one information update to the first information, the computer-based service performing the steps of;

while the first application display includes the third information, sending fourth information to the first user, based, at least in part, on the first specification, to cause display of the fourth information in the first application display concurrently with the third information;

based, at least in part, on the second specification of interest, sending the fourth information to the second user to cause display of the fourth information in a second application display of the second user, wherein the second application display does not include the third information; and

wherein the fourth information includes a first access identifier that provides access to the first information;

in response, at least in part, to receiving, by the computer-based service from the first user, a first comment entered in a first text entry interface that is related to the fourth information, the computer-based service sending the first comment to the second user; and

causing display of the first comment, in the second application display, in relation to the fourth information.

47. The system of claim 46 wherein the method further comprises limiting access to the first comment to users in the set of users who are authorized to access the fourth information.

48. The system of claim 46 wherein the method further comprises:

causing display of the first comment, in the first application display, in relation to the fourth information;

in response, at least in part, to receiving, by the computer-based service from the second user, a second comment, entered in a second text entry interface that is related to the fourth information, the computer-based service sending the second comment to the first user; and

causing display of the second comment, in the first application display, in relation to the fourth information and the first comment.

49. The system of claim 46 wherein the third information includes a description of the at least one information update to the second information and a second access identifier that provides access to the second information.

50. The system of claim 46 wherein the step of causing display of the first comment is performed in response, at least in part, to receiving, by the computer-based service from the first user, the first comment.

51. The system of claim 46 wherein the method further comprises maintaining, by the computer-based service, the first information.

52. A method comprising:

providing a computer-based service over a network to a set of users, wherein a first user and a second user belong to the set of users;

receiving, by the computer-based service from the first user, a first specification of interest in being notified about information updates to particular information;

receiving, by the computer-based service from the second user, a second specification of interest in being notified about information updates to the particular information;

receiving, by the computer-based service from the first user, a third specification of interest in being notified about information updates to given information;

wherein the given information is different from the particular information;

after receiving the first specification, the second specification and the third specification, in response, at least in part, to at least one information update to the given information, the computer-based service performing the step of;

without sending first information to the second user, sending the first information to the first user based, at least in part, on the third specification, to cause display of the first information in a first application display of the first user, wherein the first information includes a given link that provides access to the given information;

after receiving the first specification, the second specification and the third specification, in response, at least in part, to at least one information update to the particular information, the computer-based service performing the steps of;

while the first application display includes the first information, sending second information to the first user, based, at least in part, on the first specification, to cause display of the second information in the first application display concurrently with the first information;

based, at least in part, on the second specification of interest, sending the second information to the second user to cause display of the second information in a second application display of the second user, wherein the second application display does not include the first information; and

wherein the second information includes a particular link that provides access to the particular information;

in response, at least in part, to receiving, by the computer-based service from the first user, a first comment entered in a first text entry interface that is related to the second information, the computer-based service sending the first comment to the second user; and

causing display of the first comment, in the second application display, in relation to the second information.

53. The method of claim 52 wherein the particular information is information that is maintained, by the computer-based service, for a particular application display.

54. The method of claim 52 wherein the particular information is information that is maintained, by the computer-based service, for at least one view.

55. The method of claim 52 wherein the computer-based service sending the first comment to the second user without resending the second information to the second user.

56. The method of claim 52 wherein the computer-based service sending the first comment to the second user without receiving from the first user any explicit indication of to whom to send the first comment.

57. The method claim 52 wherein the first text entry interface is related to the second information at least in that the first comment entered in the first text entry interface is shared with the second user without receiving, from the first user, any indication of identity of the second user.

58. The method of claim 52 wherein the computer-based service sending the first comment to the second user based, at least in part, on the second specification of interest.

59. The method of claim 52 wherein:

receiving the first specification of interest includes receiving specification of interest in occurrence of a particular change to the particular information; and

the at least one information update caused the particular change to the particular information.

60. The method of claim 59 wherein the second information includes description of the particular change.