Multi-point social media geotracker

• US 9,215,285 B2
• Filed: 03/15/2012
• Issued: 12/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Target Brands Inc. (Target Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Targets Brands Incorporated
• Inventors: Whiting, Jacob A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Maikhanh
• Application Number:
  US13/421,594
• Publication Number:
  US 20130132808A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,370 Days
• Field of Search: 715/202, 715/205, 715/234, 715/244, 715/245, 715/247, 715/712, 715/763, 715/809, 715/818, 715/855, 715/859, 701/400, 701/409, 701/412, 701/416, 701/418, 701/425, 701/440, 701/446, 701/447, 701/453, 701/454, 701/461
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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: H04W 4/185 by embedding added-value information into content, e.g. geo-tagging

Abstract

A database server stores information about content posted to multiple content storage servers. A client device makes a reading request for information from the database server about content posted to content storage servers within a span of locations selected by a user and within a span of time selected by a user. The database server stores information about content posted to multiple content storage servers in response to a loading request for content posted within a distance of multiple locations.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving from a content posting recipient content posting location parameters including one or more set distances from a plurality of locations within which content postings must be posted before the content posting can be transmitted to a content posting receiving and viewing device of the content posting recipient wherein the one or more set distances from a plurality of locations include a set distance from a first location and a set distance from a second location;

receiving information about content postings from at least one content storage server wherein the information about content postings is posted by a content poster, and wherein the received information is limited to content postings that are posted from within a set distance of at least one of the first and second locations such that information for at least one excluded content posting is excluded from being received because the excluded content posting was posted farther than the set distance from the first location and the set distance from the second location;

storing the received information in a database;

searching the database for information about content postings that were posted within a first time span set by the content posting recipient to identify a plurality of content postings, wherein a first identified content posting was posted within the set distance of the first location and a second identified posting was posted within the set distance of the second location; and

generating, using a processor, a first web page to be displayed to the content postings recipient, wherein the first web page displays icons for each of the plurality of content postings that were identified during the searching.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein searching the database further comprises searching the database for information about content postings that contain a term provided by the content posting recipient.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the first time span is adjustable by the content posting recipient.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising:

receiving a request for a second web page, the request comprising a second time span;

performing a second search of the database for information about content postings that were posted within the second time span to identify a second plurality of content postings; and

generating, using a processor, the second web page to display icons for each of the plurality of content postings that were identified during the second search of the database.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the first time span is longer than the second time span and the first web page comprises more icons than the second web page.

6. The method of claim 4 further comprising during a time period between generating the first web page and receiving the request for the second web page:

receiving information about additional content postings, wherein the information is limited to additional content postings that are posted from within the set distance of at least one of the plurality of locations; and

storing the received information about the additional content postings in the database.

7. The method of claim 4 wherein the request for a second web page comprises a second term provided by the content posting recipient.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein performing a second search of the database for information about content postings that were posted within the second time span to identify a second plurality of content postings further comprises requiring that the content postings include the second term provided by the content posting recipient.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the content postings comprise three separate content types consisting of text, photograph, and video.

10. A system comprising:

at least one processor that receives from a content posting recipient content posting location parameters including one or more set distances from a plurality of locations within which content postings must be posted before the content posting can be transmitted to a content posting receiving and viewing device of the content posting recipient wherein the one or more set distances from a plurality of locations include a set distance from a first location and a set distance from a second location;

a database server that receives information about content postings from at least one content storage server wherein the information about content postings is posted by a content poster, and wherein the received information is limited to content postings that are posted from within a set distance of at least one of the first and second locations such that information for at least one excluded content posting is excluded from being received because the excluded content posting was posted farther than the set distance from the first location and the set distance from the second location;

a content posting recipient device that makes a reading request for information from the database server about content posted to the at least one content storage server with the content posting location parameters set by the content posting recipient and within a span of time selected by the content posting recipient, the content posting recipient device being separate from the data base server, and wherein the span of time is a time period during which the information was posted to the at least one content storage server; and

,

the at least one processor, in response to the reading request, searches a database of the database server for information about content postings that were posted within a first time span set by the content posting recipient to identify a plurality of content postings, wherein a first identified content posting was posted within the set distance of the first location and a second identified posting was posted within the set distance of the second location.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein the database server constructs a web page and returns the web page to the content posting recipient device in response to the reading request for information.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the database server defines positions on the web page for icons representing the content posted to a plurality of content storage servers.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein at least two of the plurality of content storage servers store different types of posted content.

14. The system of claim 10 wherein the reading request comprises a request for posted content that contains search terms provided by the content posting recipient.

15. The system of claim 10 wherein the content posting recipient device is further configured to receive a second span of time selected by the content posting recipient and in response make a second reading request for information from the database server about content posted to the plurality of content storage servers within the second span of time.

16. A method comprising:

providing a database server that stores information about content postings posted to multiple content storage servers from only posting locations that are positioned within a radius of a plurality of preset locations, wherein the radius and the plurality of preset locations are provided by a content posting recipient;

providing a content posting recipient device that makes a reading request for information from the database server about content postings posted to the multiple content storage servers within a span of time selected by a content posting recipient, the content posting recipient device being separate from the database server, and wherein the span of time is a time period during which the information was posted to the multiple data base servers, the time period is from a first time to a second time where the first time is a time no earlier than a time of the reading request and the second time is a time prior to the first time; and

,

using at least one processor, providing a user interface on the content posting recipient device, the user interface allowing a content posting recipient receiving information about content postings to independently vary each of the following;

(i) the radius of each of the plurality of preset locations; and

(ii) the span of time for a reading request for information within the radius of each of the plurality of preset locations wherein the span of time is a time period during which the content postings must have been posted.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the user interface includes a map having a plurality of sections, each of the plurality of sections includes a graphical representation of an area around one of the plurality of preset locations defined by the content posting recipient and each of the plurality of sections further includes a first icon and a second icon, the first icon representing a first form of content posted and the second icon representing a second form of content posted wherein the first form of content posted is different from the second form of content posted.

18. The method of claim 17 further including the step of:

providing a display area on the map when a content posting recipient interacts with the first icon, the display area includes each of the following;

(i) information identifying a person that posted content corresponding to the first icon;

(ii) information identifying by time and by date when content was posted corresponding to the first icon; and

(iii) content corresponding to the first icon in at least one of the following forms;

text, picture and video.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein the user interface includes a search icon button and a filter icon button, the search icon button when activated by a content posting recipient generates on the user interface a search box for adding on the map one or more graphical representations of one or more additional areas from which information about content postings is to be captured provided that the information is posted within the one or more additional areas and the filter icon button when activated by a content posting recipient generates on the user interface a filter window for filtering out undesired content posted.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the search box further allows a content posting recipient to create different filtering parameters for each additional area added by a content posting recipient using the search box.