Method and apparatus for selectively sharing and passively tracking communication device experiences
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A computer-implemented method of sharing computer user experiences, including:
- communicating with a registration server to register a user, for automatic client-side collection of computer usage experiences for future sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include one or more of browsing URLs or visiting a location with a location-aware device that records the visited location;
accessingenabling access to one or more of the user'"'"'s messaging buddy lists and selectingselection of one or more buddies with whom to share the automatically collected computer usage experiences;
definingenabling definition of categories of computer usage experiences to be shared with particular selected buddies;
and tracking automatically on the client-side at least a portion of the user'"'"'s computer usage experiences and reporting information indicating the user'"'"'s computer usage experiences to a tracking server to be published to the particular buddies in accordance with their defined categories of sharing to enable sharing of the computer usage experiences with the particular selected buddies in accordance with the defined categories.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention includes methods and devices for passively tracking and selectively sharing user experiences with communication devices, including computers, web-enabled telephones, and PDAs. User rating or comments on their experiences can be captured. Particular aspects of the present invention are described in the claims, specification and drawings.
30 Citations
267 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method of sharing computer user experiences, including:
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communicating with a registration server to register a user, for automatic client-side collection of computer usage experiences for future sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include one or more of browsing URLs or visiting a location with a location-aware device that records the visited location; accessingenabling access to one or more of the user'"'"'s messaging buddy lists and selectingselection of one or more buddies with whom to share the automatically collected computer usage experiences; definingenabling definition of categories of computer usage experiences to be shared with particular selected buddies;
andtracking automatically on the client-side at least a portion of the user'"'"'s computer usage experiences and reporting information indicating the user'"'"'s computer usage experiences to a tracking server to be published to the particular buddies in accordance with their defined categories of sharing to enable sharing of the computer usage experiences with the particular selected buddies in accordance with the defined categories. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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31. A method of sharing Internet browsing experiences, including:
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tracking automatically with a client-side application at least a portion of a user'"'"'s Internet usage and reporting the tracking data to a server; categorizing at least a portion of the reported tracking data by content category; presenting to the user a history of the reported tracking data, with tools for searching and forwarding the tracking data; receiving from the user data identifying of one or more persons on the user'"'"'s buddy lists and authorizing the persons to receive tracking data; responsive to a user request, sending one or more entries from the history of the reported tracking data to the authorized persons.
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32. A method of sharing computer user experiences, including:
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registering a user with a registration server to collect and share visited location data using a client-side application collected while visiting a location with a location-aware device that records the visited location; accessing one or more of the user'"'"'s messaging buddy lists to identify one or more buddies with whom the tracking data may be shared; defining rights of the buddies to access the visited location data; posting at least a portion of the user'"'"'s visited location data for the buddies to access according to their defined rights.
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44. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software for instructing a controller of a computing device to:
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communicate with a registration server to register a user for automatic and passive client-side collection of computer usage experiences for sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include one or more of a group consisting of;
listening to songs, viewing videos, purchasing items, browsing URLs, and visiting a geographic location with a location-aware device that automatically records geographic information for the geographic location;enable access to one or more lists of other users and selection of one or more other users from the one or more lists of other users with whom to share the computer usage experiences; enable definition of categories of computer usage experiences to be shared with particular selected other users among the one or more other users selected from the one or more lists of other users; and track automatically and passively on the client-side at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user and automatically report information indicating the at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user to a tracking server to enable sharing of the computer usage experiences with the particular selected other users in accordance with the defined categories. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82)
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83. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software for instructing a controller of a computing device to:
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communicate with a registration server to register a user for automatic and passive client-side collection of computer usage experiences for sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include one or more of a group consisting of;
browsing URLs and visiting a geographic location with a location-aware device that automatically records geographic information for the geographic location;enable access to one or more lists of other users and selection of one or more other users from the one or more lists of other users with whom to share the computer usage experiences; enable definition of categories of computer usage experiences to be shared with particular selected other users among the one or more other users selected from the one or more lists of other users; and track automatically and passively on the client-side at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user and automatically report information indicating the at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user to a tracking server to enable sharing of the computer usage experiences with the particular selected other users in accordance with the defined categories. - View Dependent Claims (84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121)
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122. A method of operation of a registration and tracking server for sharing computer usage experiences, comprising the following computer-implemented steps:
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receiving, at the registration and tracking server, a registration of a user for automatic client-side collection of computer usage experiences for sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include one or more of browsing URLs or visiting a location with a location-aware device that records the location; enabling access to one or more of the user'"'"'s messaging buddy lists and selection of one or more buddies with whom to share the computer usage experiences; obtaining defined categories of computer usage experiences to be shared with particular selected buddies; receiving, at the registration and tracking server, tracking information for the user from a client-side application that automatically tracks the computer usage experiences of the user, the tracking information comprising information indicating at least a portion of the user'"'"'s computer usage experiences; and publishing the at least a portion of the user'"'"'s computer usage experiences to the particular selected buddies in accordance with the defined categories of sharing. - View Dependent Claims (123, 124, 125, 126, 127)
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128. A method of operation of a client-side application to share computer usage experiences, including:
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communicating with a registration server to register a user for automatic client-side collection of computer usage experiences for sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include one or more of browsing URLs or visiting a location with a location-aware device that records the location; enabling selection of one or more buddies with whom to share the computer usage experiences from one or more of the user'"'"'s messaging buddy lists; enabling definition of categories of computer usage experiences to be shared with particular selected buddies; tracking automatically on the client-side at least a portion of the user'"'"'s computer usage experiences; and reporting information indicating the at least a portion of the user'"'"'s computer usage experiences to a tracking server to enable sharing of the computer usage experiences with the particular selected buddies in accordance with the defined categories. - View Dependent Claims (129, 130, 131, 132)
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133. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software for instructing a controller of a user device to:
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communicate with a registration server to register a user for automatic and passive client-side collection of computer usage experiences for sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include one or more of a group consisting of;
listening to songs, viewing videos, purchasing items, browsing URLs, and visiting a geographic location with a location-aware device that automatically records geographic information for the geographic location;enable the user to select one or more other users with whom to share the computer usage experiences from one or more lists of other users; enable the user to define categories of computer usage experiences to be shared with particular selected other users among the one or more other users selected from the one or more lists of other users; and track automatically and passively on the client-side at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user and automatically report information indicating the at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user to a tracking server to enable sharing of the computer usage experiences with the particular selected other users in accordance with the defined categories. - View Dependent Claims (134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142)
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143. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software for instructing at least one controller of a registration and tracking server to:
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receive, at the registration and tracking server, a registration of a user for automatic and passive client-side collection of computer usage experiences for sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include one or more of a group consisting of;
browsing URLs and visiting a geographic location with a location-aware device that automatically records geographic information for the geographic location;enable the user to select one or more other users with whom to share the computer usage experiences from one or more lists of other users; obtain defined categories of computer usage experiences to be shared with particular selected other users among the one or more other users selected from the one or more lists of other users; receive, at the registration and tracking server, tracking information for the user from a client-side application that automatically and passively tracks at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user; and publish information indicating the at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user to the particular selected other users in accordance with their defined categories of sharing. - View Dependent Claims (144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149)
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150. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software for instructing a controller of a user device to:
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communicate with a registration server to register a user for automatic and passive client-side collection of computer usage experiences for sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include one or more of a group consisting of;
browsing URLs and visiting a geographic location with a location-aware device that automatically records geographic information for the geographic location;enable the user to select one or more other users with whom to share the computer usage experiences from one or more lists of other users; enable the user to define categories of computer usage experiences to be shared with particular selected other users among the one or more other users selected from the one or more lists of other users; track automatically and passively on the client-side at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user; and automatically report information indicating at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user to a tracking server to enable sharing of the computer usage experiences with the particular selected other users in accordance with the defined categories. - View Dependent Claims (151, 152, 153, 154)
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155. A method of operation of a server to share computer experiences, comprising the following server-implemented steps:
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receiving at the server a registration of a user for automatic client-side application collection and sharing of computer usage experiences of the user for sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include listening to songs; enabling access to one or more messaging buddy lists of the user and selection of one or more buddies with whom the computer usage experiences may be shared from one or more messaging buddy lists of the user; obtaining defined rights of the one or more buddies to access the computer usage experiences; and posting information indicating at least a portion of computer usage experiences for the one or more buddies to access according to the rights defined for the one or more buddies. - View Dependent Claims (156, 157, 158)
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159. A method of operation of a server to share computer experiences, comprising the following server-implemented steps:
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receiving at the server a registration of a user for automatic client-side application collection and sharing of computer usage experiences of the user for sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include viewing videos; enabling access to one or more messaging buddy lists of the user and selection of one or more buddies with whom the computer usage experiences may be shared from one or more messaging buddy lists of the user; obtaining defined rights of the one or more buddies to access the computer usage experiences; and posting information indicating at least a portion of the computer usage experiences for the one or more buddies to access according to the rights defined for the one or more buddies. - View Dependent Claims (160, 161)
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162. A method of operation of a server to share computer experiences, comprising the following server-implemented steps:
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receiving at the server a registration of a user for automatic client-side application collection and sharing of computer usage experiences of the user for sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include purchasing items; enabling access to one or more messaging buddy lists of the user and selection of one or more buddies with whom the computer usage experiences may be shared from one or more messaging buddy lists of the user; obtaining defined rights of the one or more buddies to access the computer usage experiences; and posting information indicating at least a portion of the computer usage experiences for the one or more buddies to access according to the rights defined for the one or more buddies. - View Dependent Claims (163, 164)
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165. A method of operation of a server to share computer experiences, comprising the following sever-implemented steps:
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receiving at the server a registration of a user for automatic client-side application collection and sharing of computer usage experiences of the user for sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include Internet browsing; enabling access to one or more messaging buddy lists of the user and selection of one or more buddies with whom the computer usage experiences may be shared from the one or more messaging buddy lists of the user; obtaining defined rights of the one or more buddies to access the computer usage experiences; and posting information indicating at least a portion of the computer usage experiences for the one or more buddies to access according to the rights defined for the one or more buddies. - View Dependent Claims (166, 167)
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168. A method of operation of a computing device, comprising:
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communicating with a registration server to register a user for automatic and passive client-side collection of computer usage experiences for sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include one or more of a group consisting of;
listening to songs, viewing videos, purchasing items, browsing URLs, and visiting a geographic location with a location-aware device that automatically records geographic information for the geographic location;enabling access to one or more lists of other users and selection of one or more other users from the one or more lists of other users with whom to share the computer usage experiences; enabling definition of categories of computer usage experiences to be shared with particular selected other users among the one or more other users selected from the one or more lists of other users; and tracking automatically and passively on the client-side at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user and automatically reporting information indicating the at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user to a tracking server to enable sharing of the computer usage experiences with the particular selected other users in accordance with the defined categories. - View Dependent Claims (169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206)
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207. A method of operation of a computing device, comprising:
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communicating with a registration server to register a user for automatic and passive client-side collection of computer usage experiences for sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include one or more of a group consisting of;
browsing URLs and visiting a geographic location with a location-aware device that automatically records geographic information for the geographic location;enabling access to one or more lists of other users and selection of one or more other users from the one or more lists of other users with whom to share the computer usage experiences; enabling definition of categories of computer usage experiences to be shared with particular selected other users among the one or more other users selected from the one or more lists of other users; and tracking automatically and passively on the client-side at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user and automatically reporting information indicating the at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user to a tracking server to enable sharing of the computer usage experiences with the particular selected other users in accordance with the defined categories. - View Dependent Claims (208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 240, 241, 242, 243, 244, 245)
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246. A method of operation of a user device, comprising:
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communicating with a registration server to register a user for automatic and passive client-side collection of computer usage experiences for sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include one or more of a group consisting of;
listening to songs, viewing videos, purchasing items, browsing URLs, and visiting a geographic location with a location-aware device that automatically records geographic information for the geographic location;enabling the user to select one or more other users with whom to share the computer usage experiences from one or more lists of other users; enabling the user to define categories of computer usage experiences to be shared with particular selected other users among the one or more other users selected from the one or more lists of other users; and tracking automatically and passively on the client-side at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user and automatically reporting information indicating the at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user to a tracking server to enable sharing of the computer usage experiences with the particular selected other users in accordance with the defined categories. - View Dependent Claims (247, 248, 249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255)
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256. A method of operation of a registration and tracking server, comprising:
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receiving, at the registration and tracking server, a registration of a user for automatic and passive client-side collection of computer usage experiences for sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include one or more of a group consisting of;
browsing URLs and visiting a geographic location with a location-aware device that automatically records geographic information for the geographic location;enabling the user to select one or more other users with whom to share the computer usage experiences from one or more lists of other users; obtaining defined categories of computer usage experiences to be shared with particular selected other users among the one or more other users selected from the one or more lists of other users; receiving, at the registration and tracking server, tracking information for the user from a client-side application that automatically and passively tracks at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user; and publishing information indicating the at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user to the particular selected other users in accordance with their defined categories of sharing. - View Dependent Claims (257, 258, 259, 260, 261, 262)
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263. A method of operation of a user device, comprising:
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communicating with a registration server to register a user for automatic and passive client-side collection of computer usage experiences for sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include one or more of a group consisting of;
browsing URLs and visiting a geographic location with a location-aware device that automatically records geographic information for the geographic location;enabling the user to select one or more other users with whom to share the computer usage experiences from one or more lists of other users; enabling the user to define categories of computer usage experiences to be shared with particular selected other users among the one or more other users selected from the one or more lists of other users; tracking automatically and passively on the client-side at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user; and automatically reporting information indicating at least a portion of the computer usage experiences of the user to a tracking server to enable sharing of the computer usage experiences with the particular selected other users in accordance with the defined categories. - View Dependent Claims (264, 265, 266, 267)
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Specification