Sharing of information associated with events

• US 9,098,829 B2
• Filed: 06/02/2011
• Issued: 08/04/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dov Koren
• Original Assignee: Dov Koren
• Inventors: Koren, Dov
• Primary Examiner(s): Huynh, Cong-Lac
• Application Number:
  US13/151,659
• Publication Number:
  US 20110231777A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,524 Days
• Field of Search: 715/200, 715/733, 715/743, 709/203, 709/207, 709/224
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 system, comprising one or more processors configured to execute instructions that cause the system to perform a method comprising steps of:

receiving, from a first user, a first expression of interest in being notified about updates to particular information;

receiving, from a second user, a second expression of interest in being notified about interactions of the first user;

based, at least in part, on the first expression of interest, sending to the first user first information about a particular update to the particular information to cause display of the first information to the first user in a view, wherein the first information includes a link that provides access to the particular information; and

in response, at least in part, to receiving a request from the first user to share the first information, sending the first information to the second user based, at least in part, on the second expression of interest.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the particular update causes a first link to be added to the particular information, wherein the first link provides access to a web page that is external to the system.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the particular information includes at least a web page.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the method further comprises:

receiving a first comment from the second user; and

based, at least in part, on the first information having been sent to the first user, sending the first comment to the first user to cause display of the first comment, in relation to the first information, to the first user.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the method further comprises:

receiving a first comment from the second user; and

sending the first comment to the first user to cause the comment to be displayed in relation to the first information.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the expression of interest in interactions of the first user comprises a specification of interest in being notified about interactions of the first user.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the first information includes a description of the particular update.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the link is a URL.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein:

the step of sending the first information to the first user comprises sending the first information to a first application which is installed on a first wireless PDA, wherein the first application is not a browser; and

the step of receiving the request comprises receiving the request from the first application.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein:

the step of sending the first information to the second user comprises sending the first information to a second application which is installed on a second wireless PDA, wherein the second application is not a browser.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein:

the first application is downloaded to the first wireless PDA from an application storage that is remote to the system; and

the second application is downloaded to the second wireless PDA from the application storage.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein the particular update includes addition of news information to the particular information, wherein the news information is obtained from a data source that is remote relative to the system.

13. The system of claim 1 wherein the method further comprises enabling the first user to control whether the first information can be further shared, by the second user, with at least one other user.

14. The system of claim 1 wherein the method further comprises:

in response, at least in part, to receiving a first text entered by the first user, sending the first text to the second user based, at least in part, on the second expression of interest.

15. The system of claim 1 wherein the method further comprises:

in response, at least in part, to receiving indication of the first user loading at least a portion of a file to the system, sending second information about the particular interaction to the second user based, at least in part, on the second expression of interest; and

wherein the second information includes at least a portion of the file.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the method further comprises:

causing the first information and the second information to be concurrently displayed in an application display of the second user.

17. The system of claim 1 wherein:

the particular information comprises a particular view that includes a plurality of fields;

the particular update is associated with changes to data of at least one field from the plurality of fields; and

the method further comprises;

maintaining the plurality of fields in a data record in a database; and

storing the particular update in the database.

18. A method comprising:

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

based, at least in part, on the first expression of interest, sending, by the computer-based service to the first user, first information about a particular change to the particular information, wherein the first information includes a link that provides access to the particular information;

receiving, by the computer-based service, an indication of activation, by the first user, of a control which enables sharing of the first information; and

in response, at least in part, to receiving the indication, the computer-based service sending to a second user second information, without requiring any explicit indication, by the first user, of to whom to send the second information, wherein the second information enables the second user to access the first information.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the second information includes the first information.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein the second information includes a particular link that provides access to the first information.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein the step of receiving the indication includes receiving the particular link.

22. The method of claim 20 wherein the activation of the control, by the first user, causes the particular link to be sent automatically to the computer-based service.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the control contains the particular link.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein the activation of the control is performed by a single action.

25. The method of claim 18 wherein the particular change corresponds to addition of at least a portion of a file to the particular information.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein the file is a spreadsheet.

27. The method of claim 18 wherein the step of sending the second information is performed based, at least in part, on history of sharing, by the first user, with the second user.

28. The method of claim 18 wherein to whom to send the second information is determined by the computer-based service, based, at least in part, on a default value established prior to the activation of the control.

29. The method of claim 18 further comprising:

prior to receiving the indication, receiving, by the computer-based service from the second user, a second expression of interest in being notified about interactions of the first user;

wherein the second information includes the first information; and

wherein sending the second information is performed based, at least in part, on the second expression of interest.

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

receiving, from a first user, a first specification of interest in being notified about updates to particular information;

receiving, from a second user, a second specification of interest in being notified about updates to the particular information;

based, at least in part, on the first specification of interest, sending to the first user first information about a particular update to the particular information;

based, at least in part, on the second specification of interest, sending the first information about the particular update to the second user;

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

receiving, from the first user, a first comment entered in a first text entry interface, wherein the first text entry interface is related to the first information; and

causing display of the first comment, in relation to the first information, to the second user; and

wherein the step of causing display of the first comment to the second user is performed without receiving, by the system from the first user, any explicit indication as to whom to send the first comment.

31. The system of claim 30 wherein the first text entry interface is related to the first information at least in that the first comment entered in the first text entry interface is shared with users that are authorized to access the first information.

32. The system of claim 30 wherein the step of causing display of the first comment is performed based, at least in part, on the first information having been sent to the second user.

33. The system of claim 30 wherein the first text entry interface is a text view.

34. The system of claim 30 wherein sending the first comment to the second user is performed without resending the first information to the second user.

35. The system of claim 30 wherein the method further comprises maintaining the particular information.

36. The system of claim 30 wherein the particular update includes addition of news information to the particular information, wherein the news information is obtained from a data source that is remote relative to the system.

37. The system of claim 30 wherein the particular update was caused by recalculation of numeric content that is included in with the particular information.

38. The system of claim 30 wherein:

the particular information includes a table view that contains numeric information; and

the particular update was caused by recalculation of the numeric information by the system.

39. The system of claim 30 wherein the particular information includes a table view and the particular update was caused by rearrangement of the table view.

40. The system of claim 30 wherein:

the step of sending the first information to the first user comprises sending the first information to a first application which is installed on a first wireless PDA, wherein the first application is not a browser; and

the step of receiving the first comment comprises receiving the first comment from the first application.

41. The system of claim 30 wherein the step of causing display of the first comment is performed automatically in response to the step of receiving the first comment.

42. The system of claim 30 wherein the method further comprises:

receiving, from the second user, a second comment entered in a second text entry interface, wherein the second text entry interface is related to the first information; and

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

43. The system of claim 42 wherein the first comment is displayed to the first user below the first information, and the second comment is displayed below the first comment.

44. The system of claim 30 wherein:

the particular information comprises a particular view that includes a plurality of fields;

the particular update is associated with changes to data of at least one field from the plurality of fields; and

the method further comprises;

maintaining the plurality of fields in a data record in a database; and

storing the particular update in the database.

45. The system of claim 30 wherein the link enables the first user to update the particular information.

46. The system of claim 30 wherein:

the particular update is a particular type of update, and

the link enables the first user to make the particular type of update to the particular information.

47. The system of claim 46 wherein the type of update is entry of text.

48. The system of claim 30 wherein the step of causing display of the first comment is performed based, at least in part, on the second specification of interest.

49. 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 a method comprising:

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

receiving, by the computer-based service from a second user, a second expression of interest in being notified about interactions of the first user;

adding, by the computer-based service, given information to the particular information;

based, at least in part, on the first expression of interest, sending, by the computer-based service to the first user, the given information to cause display of the given information to the first user in a view; and

in response, at least in part, to receiving by the computer-based service a request from the first user to share the given information, the computer-based service sending the given information to the second user based, at least in part, on the second expression of interest.

50. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 49, wherein the given information includes news information, wherein the news information is obtained from a data source that is remote relative to the computer-based service.

51. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 49 wherein the given information includes an image.

52. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 51 wherein the image is a chart or graph.

53. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 49 wherein the given information includes a given link that provides access to a web page that is remote relative to the computer-based service.

54. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 49 wherein the given information is obtained from a web page that is remote relative to the computer-based service.

55. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 49 wherein the method further comprises:

prior to adding the given information, obtaining, by the computer-based service, the given information from a web page that is remote relative to the computer-based service.

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

receiving, from a first user, a first expression of interest in being notified about updates to particular information;

receiving, from a second user, a second expression of interest in being notified about interactions of the first user;

adding a first link to the particular information, wherein the first link provides access to a web page that is external to the system;

based, at least in part, on the first expression of interest, sending to the first user first information which includes the first link;

receiving an indication of activation, by the first user, of a control which causes sharing of the first information; and

in response, at least in part, to receiving the indication, sending to the second user the first information based, at least in part, on the second expression of interest.

57. The system of claim 56 wherein the first link is added to the particular information in response to user request.

58. The system of claim 56 wherein the first link is added to the particular information automatically.

59. The system of claim 56 wherein the activation of the control is performed by a single action.

60. The system of claim 56 wherein the first information further includes at least a portion of information contained in the web page.

61. A method comprising:

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

in response, at least in part, to receiving, by the computer-based service, an indication of a particular update to the particular information, the computer-based service sending first information about the particular update to each user of the plurality of first users, wherein the first information includes a link that provides access to the particular information and wherein the step of sending the first information to each user of the plurality of first users includes sending the first information to the particular first user based, at least in part, on the first specification of interest;

receiving, by the computer-based service, a first comment, entered in a text entry interface that is related to the first information, from a given first user from the plurality of first users;

causing display of the first comment, in relation to the first information, to each of other users of the plurality of first users; and

wherein the step of causing display of the first comment to the second user is performed without receiving, by the system from the first user, any explicit indication as to whom to send the first comment.

62. The method of claim 61 wherein the first text entry interface is related to the first information at least in that the first comment entered in the first text entry interface is shared, by the computer-based service, with users to whom the first information was sent by the computer-based service.

63. The method of claim 61 wherein the first text entry interface is related to the first information at least in that the first comment entered in the first text entry interface is shared with each of other users of the plurality of first users without receiving, from the first user, any indication of identity of any user of the plurality of first users.

64. The method of claim 61 wherein the given first user is a different user than the particular first user.

65. The method of claim 61 wherein the step of sending the first information to each user of the plurality of first users includes sending the first information to the given first user based on receiving by the computer-based service, prior to the particular update, from the particular first user, a request to notify the given first user about updates to the particular information, wherein the given first user is a different user than the particular first user.

66. The method of claim 61 wherein:

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

the particular update caused the particular change to the particular information.

67. The method of claim 66 wherein the first information includes description of the particular change.

68. The method of claim 61 wherein:

the particular information comprises a particular view that includes a plurality of fields;

the plurality of fields are maintained, in a database, by the computer-based service;

the particular update is associated with changes to data of at least one field from the plurality of fields; and

the particular update is stored in the database.

69. The method of claim 68 wherein the plurality of fields is maintained in a data record in the database.

70. The method of claim 68 wherein receiving the first specification of interest comprises receiving a specification of interest in being notified about specific updates to the particular view.

71. The method of claim 68 wherein receiving the first specification of interest includes specification of at least one condition, that is associated with the particular view, to be monitored.

72. The method of claim 71 wherein the particular update causes occurrence of the at least one condition, wherein sending of the first information to the first user is triggered by the occurrence of the at least one condition.

73. The method of claim 71 wherein the first information includes information regarding at least one change in the at least one condition.

74. The method of claim 61 wherein the step of causing display of the first comment is performed based, at least in part, on the second specification of interest.

75. A method comprising:

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

receiving, by the computer-based service from a second user, a second expression of interest in being notified about interactions of the first user;

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

based on the first expression of interest, sending, by the computer-based service to the first user, first information about a particular update to the particular information, to cause display of the first information in a first application display of the first user;

based on the third expression of interest, sending, by the computer-based service to the first user second information about a given update to the given information, to cause display of the second information in the first application display;

while the first information and the second information are concurrently displayed in the first application display, receiving, by the computer-based service, an indication of activation in a single action, by the first user, of a control which causes sharing of the first information; and

in response, at least in part, to receiving the indication, the computer-based service sending to the second user the first information without sending the second information to the second user, wherein sending the first information to the second user is based, at least in part, on the second expression of interest.

76. The method of claim 75 wherein the activation is performed by a voice command.

77. The method of claim 75 wherein the activation is performed by click of a mouse.

78. The method of claim 75 wherein the first information includes a first link that provides access to a web page that is remote relative to the computer-based service.

79. The method of claim 75 wherein the first information includes news information, wherein the news information is obtained from a data source that is remote relative to the computer-based service.

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

receiving, from a first user, a first specification of interest in being notified about updates to particular information;

receiving, from a second user, a second specification of interest in being notified about updates to the particular information;

based, at least in part, on the first specification of interest, sending to the first user first information about a particular update to the particular information;

based, at least in part, on the second specification of interest, sending the first information about the particular update to the second user;

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

receiving, from the first user, a first comment entered in a first text entry interface, wherein the first text entry interface is related to the first information;

causing display of the first comment, in relation to the first information, to the second user;

wherein the step of sending the first information to the first user includes causing display of the first information in a first application display of the first user; and

wherein the method further comprises;

receiving, from the first user, a third specification of interest in being notified about interactions of a third user; and

based, at least in part, on receiving an indication of a particular interaction of the third user, sending second information about the particular interaction to the first user to enable concurrent display of the first information and the second information in the first application display of the first user, wherein the second information includes one or more links that provide access to one or more views that are associated with the particular interaction.

81. The system of claim 80 wherein the step of sending the second information to the first user automatically causes display of the second information in the first application display of the first user.

82. The system of claim 80 wherein:

the first application display includes a first view that is organized as a bulletin board;

the first view concurrently includes a first portion and the second portion;

the first portion corresponds to the first information and the first comment; and

the second portion corresponds to the second information.

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

receiving, from a first user, a first specification of interest in being notified about updates to particular information;

receiving, from a second user, a second specification of interest in being notified about updates to the particular information;

based, at least in part, on the first specification of interest, sending to the first user first information about a particular update to the particular information;

based, at least in part, on the second specification of interest, sending the first information about the particular update to the second user;

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

enabling each of the first user and the second user to enter one or more comments and to cause said one or more comments to be displayed, in relation to the first information, to the other of the first user and the second user based, at least in part, on the specification of interest of the other of the first user and the second user in being notified about updates to the particular information.

84. The system of claim 83 wherein the first information includes a link that provides access to a snapshot of the particular information upon occurrence of the particular update.