U.S. patent application number 13/678404 was filed with the patent office on 2013-03-21 for method for relevant content discovery.
This patent application is currently assigned to BANJO, INC.. The applicant listed for this patent is BANJO, INC.. Invention is credited to Yann Landrin-Schweitzer, Damien Patton.
Application Number | 20130073631 13/678404 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 47294067 |
Filed Date | 2013-03-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130073631 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Patton; Damien ; et
al. |
March 21, 2013 |
METHOD FOR RELEVANT CONTENT DISCOVERY
Abstract
A method including: retrieving information, associated with an
account identifier, from a social network; generating a user
profile from the retrieved information, wherein the user profile
includes user interests; retrieving content from the social
network; extracting content parameters from each piece of retrieved
content, the content parameters including a content location and a
content time; evaluating relevance of the content by a degree of
similarity between the user profile and the content; in response to
receiving a device location and a filtering time, filtering the
content by the device location and the filtering time; and sending
the filtered content to a user device.
Inventors: |
Patton; Damien; (Palo Alto,
CA) ; Landrin-Schweitzer; Yann; (San Jose,
CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
BANJO, INC.; |
Redwood City |
CA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
BANJO, INC.
Redwood City
CA
|
Family ID: |
47294067 |
Appl. No.: |
13/678404 |
Filed: |
November 15, 2012 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
13491363 |
Jun 7, 2012 |
8341223 |
|
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13678404 |
|
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61494343 |
Jun 7, 2011 |
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61539359 |
Sep 26, 2011 |
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61620603 |
Apr 5, 2012 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
709/204 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 10/10 20130101;
G06F 16/9537 20190101; G06F 16/9535 20190101; G06Q 50/01
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
709/204 |
International
Class: |
G06F 15/16 20060101
G06F015/16 |
Claims
1. A method comprising: retrieving information stored by a first
account of a social network, the social network comprising a
plurality of accounts storing a plurality of posts; generating a
user profile comprising user interests extracted from the retrieved
information; retrieving posts from the social network; extracting
post parameters, comprising a post time and a post location, from
each retrieved post; evaluating a relevance of each post by a
degree of similarity between the generated user profile and the
retrieved post; and in response to receiving a device location and
a filtering time: filtering the retrieved posts based on the
respective relevance, the device location, and the filtering time;
and sending the filtered post to a user device.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein retrieving posts comprises
retrieving posts from a plurality of social networks.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the retrieved information
comprises public information associated with the first account,
wherein the user interests comprise interests extracted from the
public information.
4. The method of claim 3, further comprising receiving access
permissions to the first account, wherein retrieving information
stored in the first account comprises retrieving private
information accessed through the received access permissions,
wherein the user interests comprise interests extracted from the
private information.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein retrieving posts from the social
network comprises retrieving posts authored by accounts of social
network connections of the first account.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein retrieving posts authored by
accounts of social network connections comprises retrieving posts
associated with a plurality of locations.
7. The method of claim 5, wherein retrieving posts authored by
accounts of social network connections comprises retrieving posts
generated within a time range.
8. The method of claim 5, wherein retrieving posts authored by
accounts of social network connections comprises retrieving posts
associated with the device location.
9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying a second
account from each of the retrieved posts; retrieving a second set
of information stored by the second account from the social
network; and generating a connection profile from the second set of
information.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein evaluating the relevance of each
retrieved post further comprises evaluating the relevance of the
post according to a measured similarity between the user profile
and the respective connection profile.
11. The method of claim 9, wherein evaluating the relevance of each
post further comprises evaluating the relevance of the post based
on a degree of connection separation between the first account and
the respective second account.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein filtering the posts comprises
selecting a post according to a proximity of the post location to
the device location.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein extracting a post location from
a post comprises extracting a geotagged location of the post as the
post location.
14. The method of claim 1, wherein filtering the retrieved posts
comprises selecting a post according to a proximity of the
respective post time to the filtering time.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the post time is the time at
which the post was posted to the social network.
16. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the filtered post to a
user device comprises sending an identifier representative of the
filtered post and display instructions associated with the
identifier.
17. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying an icon
representative of the filtered post at the user device.
18. The method of claim 17, further comprising: identifying an
author account from the filtered post; and referencing a graphical
image associated with the author account, wherein the icon
comprises the referenced graphical image.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein the filtered post is displayed
on a map representative of a geographical location.
20. The method of claim 17, wherein sending the filtered post to
the user device comprises sending multiple filtered posts to the
user device, the method further comprising displaying the filtered
posts with a first and a second relevance indicator, comprising:
scoring each of the filtered posts based on the respective
relevance of each post; displaying posts having a score exceeding a
predetermined threshold with the first relevance indicator; and
displaying posts having a score below the predetermined threshold
with the second relevance indicator.
21. The method of claim 20, wherein the first relevance indicator
comprises a unique graphical icon representative of the respective
post, and the second relevance indicator comprises a non-unique
icon.
22. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying an alert
when the filtered post satisfies a rarity condition.
23. The method of claim 22, wherein extracting post parameters from
each post further comprises identifying an author account from each
retrieved post, wherein the alert condition is satisfied when the
combination of post parameters for a post occurs less frequently
than a predetermined frequency threshold.
24. The method of claim 23, wherein the alert condition is
satisfied when the author account historically authors posts in a
location disparate from the device location.
25. A method of location-based user discovery comprising: receiving
an account identifier for a social network; receiving, from the
social network, content associated with social network connections
associated with the account identifier; extracting content
parameters for each piece of content, the content parameters
comprising content location and content time; and in response to
receiving a device location and a filtering time: selecting content
having: an associated content location satisfying a location
condition; and an associated content time satisfying a time
condition; and sending references for the selected content to a
user device.
26. The method of claim 25, wherein the references comprise
references to connection accounts associated with the selected
content.
27. The method of claim 25, wherein selecting content comprises:
ranking the content according to proximity between the content
location and the device location; and ranking the content according
to proximity between the content time and the filtering time;
wherein satisfying a location condition comprises having a rank
beyond a location threshold, and satisfying a time condition
comprises having a rank beyond a time threshold.
28. The method of claim 25, further comprising: receiving a second
account identifier for the social network; retrieving, from the
social network, a second content set associated with social network
connections of the second account; extracting content parameters
for each piece of content of the second content set, the content
parameters comprising content location and content time; selecting,
from the second content set, content having: an associated content
location satisfying the location condition; and an associated
content time satisfying the time condition; and sending references
to connection accounts associated with the selected content of the
second content set.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Application No. 61/494,343, filed 7 Jun. 2011, U.S. Provisional
Application No. 61/539,359, filed 26 Sep. 2011, and U.S.
Provisional Application No. 61/620,603, filed 5 Apr. 2012, which
are incorporated in their entirety by this reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] This invention relates generally to the social media content
field, and more specifically to a new and useful method for
delivering location relevant content in the social media field.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Social networks have given people new ways of connecting
with others. Typically, people use social networks to connect to
others by messaging and sharing content through the social
networks. Furthermore, in recent years, mobile phones have enabled
social networks to branch out and associate a geographic location
with social network messages and content. Despite these new forms
of interactions that enable users to connect with others, and even
to do so while being mobile, there is still a large barrier to
connecting with those physically near by. Users are scattered
between numerous social networks, and the number of users creating
content can saturate users with information. This oversaturation
can lead to users overlooking relevant information that could
potentially be interesting to them, such as when a social
connection is nearby or when relevant content is generated nearby.
Thus, there is a need in the social media content field to create a
new and useful method for delivering location relevant content.
This invention provides such a new and useful method.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0004] FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a method for
delivering relevant content.
[0005] FIG. 2 is a block representation of a method for delivering
relevant content.
[0006] FIGS. 3A and 3B are exemplary representations of presenting
relevant content.
[0007] FIGS. 4-6 are schematic representations of a first, second,
and third variation of the method, respectively.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED VARIATIONS
[0008] The following description of the preferred variations of the
invention is not intended to limit the invention to these preferred
variations, but rather to enable any person skilled in the art to
make and use this invention.
[0009] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a method for delivering relevant
content of a preferred variation includes retrieving information
associated with an account identifier from a social network Block
S110; generating a user profile from the retrieved information
Block S120; receiving a user request Block S130; retrieving content
from the social network Block S140; evaluating relevance of the
retrieved content using the user profile Block S150; filtering the
content with the user request Block S160; and presenting relevant
content to the user Block S170. This method functions to connect
users 100 to other users 400 around them, and can additionally aid
in discovery of content 450 relevant to the user. In one variation,
the method functions to identify people 400 located near the user
100 by identifying authors of content 450 generated near the user's
location, wherein the content is content generated through a social
network platform 300. This can be particularly useful if the other
users 400 are not continuously or periodically broadcasting their
locations. In another variation, the method functions to identify
content 450 generated near the user (e.g. within a location region
600) by identifying location-associated content. The method is
preferably implemented through an application on a user device 120
and a communication connection to at least one social network. The
user device may be any suitable device such as a phone, tablet
computer, personal computer, gaming device, or any suitable user
device. The user device is preferably mobile, but may alternatively
be substantially stationary. The method can additionally include an
external computing device 200, such as a server or a second user
device, that communicates with the application on the first user
device. The method can alternatively be implemented by any suitable
computing device.
[0010] Retrieving information associated with an account identifier
from a social network Block S110 functions to obtain user
information for determining content relevance. More specifically,
the retrieved information is preferably used to generate a user
profile, which is used to determine content relevance. Retrieving
information preferably includes receiving account parameters and
retrieving information from the social network. Account parameters
for one or more social networks can be received, and user
information from one or more social networks can be retrieved.
[0011] Retrieving information associated with an account identifier
S110 preferably includes receiving user account parameters. The
account parameters preferably include at least one user account
identifier or name associated with a social network, and can
additionally include user account authentication, such as a
password or account authorization for the respective user account.
The user account parameters are preferably used to identify the
user account from which to draw the user parameters. The user
account parameters (e.g. the user account name) can additionally be
used to index and retrieve stored data associated with the user
(e.g. from a database that stores the user profile). The account
parameters are preferably provided by the user, but can
alternatively be provided by the device, wherein the device
preferably retrieves user account parameters stored within the
device. The user account parameters are preferably obtained a
single time and stored by a native application on the
user-associated user device. Alternatively, the user account
parameters can be stored on an external server. The user account
parameters can alternatively be obtained each time a search is
initialized, periodically obtained, obtained each time the native
application is launched, or obtained in response to any suitable
authorization condition being met.
[0012] Retrieving information S110 preferably further includes
retrieving information from the social network. Information is
preferably retrieved by the user device or server in response to
the receipt of an account parameter, and can additionally or
alternatively be retrieved periodically, in response to a
notification from the social network, each time the user accesses
the native application, or in response to any other suitable
information retrieval condition being met. Alternatively,
information can be received from the social network (e.g. wherein
the social network pushes the information to the server or user
device).
[0013] Public information associated with the account identifier is
preferably retrieved, but private information associated with the
account identifier can additionally be retrieved, particularly when
account authentication is provided. Information that is retrieved
can include a social network profile associated with the account
identifier; a content stream associated with the account identifier
that can include user-generated and/or connection-generated posts;
social network connections of the account identifier; and/or any
other suitable information associated with the account
identifier.
[0014] Furthermore, information associated with the social network
connections are preferably additionally retrieved. The retrieved
information associated with the social network connections
preferably includes public information (e.g. unprotected
information) associated with each social network connection. The
retrieved information associated with the social network
connections can also include protected information, such as
information to which access is allowed through the provided account
authorization. The retrieved information preferably includes a
connection account profile associated with the account identifier,
but can additionally include social network connections of the
connection, a content stream associated with the connection, or any
other suitable information associated with the connection.
[0015] Generating a user profile from the retrieved information
Block S120 can function to generate a user profile that can be used
to determine content relevance. The user profile is preferably
stored in a database within an external server or computing device,
but can alternatively be stored on the user device. The user
profile can be identified within the database by the account
identifier, by a unique identifier associated with the user of the
user device (e.g. a phone number, etc.), or by any other suitable
identifier. The user profile preferably includes user interests,
social network connections, and user settings, but can additionally
include user history or any other suitable data indicative of user
interests. The user profile is preferably updated each time content
is retrieved from a social network, but can additionally be updated
each time a user action is received (e.g. when the user location
changes, when the user settings change, when a query is received,
etc.), or in response to any suitable updating condition being met.
Generating a user profile Block S120 can include extracting user
interests from the retrieved information, retrieving the social
network connections of the account identifier, and/or storing user
settings, but can additionally include any other suitable actions
for generating a user profile.
[0016] Generating a user profile Block S120 can include extracting
user interests from the retrieved information, which functions to
determine subject matter that can be of interest to the user. User
interests are preferably derived from the retrieved information
associated with the one or more account identifiers provided for
one or more social networks in association with the user, but can
also be derived from information received from the user. User
interests are preferably derived from public information associated
with the account identifiers, but can additionally be derived from
protected or private information associated with the account
identifiers, particularly when authorization for the respective
account is received. User interests are preferably derived from
keywords, images, videos, or any other suitable form of media found
in the profile, location, profile picture, posts, social network
contacts, stated user interests, the account associated content
feed, or any other suitable public information associated with the
account. User interests preferably include positive interests, or
subject matter in which the user is interested in, and can
additionally include negative interests, or subject matter in which
the user is specifically not interested (e.g. interest exclusions).
As another variation, user interests may include either explicit
interests or alternatively implicit interests.
[0017] User interests preferably include explicit interests, which
are preferably directly extracted from the retrieved information.
Explicit interests preferably include interests that are explicitly
identified as interests in the retrieved information. Explicit
interests can be extracted from account profile information
associated with the account identifier, wherein the account profile
includes keywords, categories, and/or pages explicitly tagged as
interests (e.g. an "interested in" section that lists user
interests in bands, music genres, food categories, sport teams,
activities, etc.). Explicit interests can also be extracted from
content with which the user account has associated a positive
indicator (e.g. the user has tagged the content with a "Like" or
"+1"). However, explicit interests can be extracted from any other
suitable explicit indicator of user interest. Explicit interests
can additionally include negative interests, wherein the subject
matter has explicitly been tagged with a negative indicator (e.g. a
downvote).
[0018] User interests can additionally include implicit interests,
which include interests that are not explicitly identified as
interests in the retrieved information. Implicit interests are
assumed interests based on processing retrieved information.
Implicit interests are preferably obtained by scraping, running
learning algorithms, or otherwise processing the retrieved
information. Implicit interests can be indicated by subject matter
frequency, key phrases (e.g. "I like" or "I hate", as determined by
natural language processing), or any other suitable implicit
interest indicator. For example, a connection can be deemed highly
relevant if the user frequently interacts with the connection (e.g.
as determined from historical account information associated with
the account identifier). In another example, if multiple posts
referencing the user account include "San Francisco"-related
location tags, then "San Francisco" is preferably included in the
user interests. Furthermore, the interests of the user's social
network connections can additionally influence the derived user
interests.
[0019] Generating a user profile from the retrieved information
Block S120 can additionally or alternatively include retrieving the
social network connections of a user. More specifically, generating
a user profile preferably includes retrieving the social network
connections of an account associated with the received account
identifier. Retrieving social contacts of a user can include
requesting the social connections associated with the account
identifier from the associated social network, accessing the social
network using the account authentication and scraping the
connection information, or otherwise processing the user account to
retrieve the social contact information associated with the user
account. Furthermore, indirect contacts can additionally be
retrieved. This is preferably performed by analyzing contacts of a
contact of a user. For example, a friend of a friend of a user is
preferably identified as a second degree contact. Any suitable
level of indirect contact can be obtained (e.g., second degree
contact, third degree contact, etc.). Preferably, a user is able to
see the closeness of any social network connection (e.g., degrees
of separation) and can additionally see who or how the user is
connected to another user.
[0020] Retrieving the social network connections of the user can
additionally include generating a connection profile for each
social network connection from the retrieved information associated
with the social network connection. The connection profiles are
preferably generated in a similar manner as the user profile
generation.
[0021] Generating a user profile Block S120 can additionally or
alternatively include storing user settings. User settings are
preferably predetermined user settings, but can additionally or
alternatively be received from the user device, wherein the
received settings preferably override the predetermined default
settings. The user settings preferably include location region
settings, time settings, connection settings, media settings,
content aspect settings, content/connection volume settings, or any
other suitable setting to control what type of content is displayed
to the user. The settings preferably define thresholds, but can
alternatively define ranges, selections, conditions, or any other
suitable setting. Location region settings are preferably used to
filter the content by location. Location region settings can
include a radius threshold (e.g. 1 ml radius about the user
location), a political/geographical granularity selection (e.g.
district vs. city), a location selection (e.g. "San Francisco,"
"home"), or any other suitable location region setting. Time
settings are preferably used to filter the content by content time.
Time settings can include a time duration (e.g. display content
generated within the last 2 hours), a time period (e.g. display
content generated from 4 pm to 6 pm, yesterday), or any other
suitable time setting. Connection settings are preferably used to
filter the content by the connection associated with the content
and/or social network platform associated with the content.
Connection settings can include a connection exclusion, wherein
content generated by the excluded connection is not sent to the
device or displayed to the user; a connection inclusion, wherein
content generated by the included connection is sent to the device;
social network exclusion or inclusion, wherein content generated
within the excluded or included social network is excluded or
included in the content sent to the device, respectively; or any
other suitable connection setting. Media settings are preferably
used to filter the content by content media type. Media settings
can include selection for inclusion and/or exclusion of text posts,
images, video, audio, or any other suitable media type. Content
aspect settings are preferably used to determine which content
parameter is displayed to the user. For example, the content aspect
settings can allow connection notifications to be displayed, but
not content notifications. Furthermore, content aspect settings can
include display selections, which preferably control how different
content parameters are displayed to the user. For example, the
display selection can include an alert for a connection but a list
display for content. Content/connection volume settings are
preferably used to set a goal or limit for the number of displayed
content and/or connections. However, any other suitable settings
can be stored.
[0022] Receiving a user request Block S130 preferably functions to
receive transient parameters with which the content is filtered.
The user request preferably includes a user location and a request
time, wherein receiving a user request preferably includes
receiving the user location and determining the request time. The
user request can additionally include a query parameter, wherein
receiving a user request can additionally include receiving a query
parameter. The user request is preferably explicitly specified by
the user before being sent by the user's device to the server, but
can alternatively be automatically determined by a native
application on the device, or by an algorithm or set of rules on
the sever.
[0023] Receiving a user request S130 preferably includes receiving
a user location, which functions to determine a geographic location
with which to filter content. The user location is preferably the
geographic location of the user. More preferably, the user location
is the device location, whether the substantially instantaneous
device location or the most recent saved device location. The
device location is preferably obtained through a location service
of the device, such as by using the GPS of the user device, using
cell phone tower triangulation, near-field identification, IP
location lookup, (e.g. identification of a location using
Bluetooth, QR code scanning, etc), or any other suitable
geolocation method. Alternatively, the location can be a saved
location, a location input, a location derived from the locations
of events pertaining to the interests of the user. For example, a
user can be able to save the location of a favorite location. The
user location is preferably periodically obtained at a
predetermined interval, but can be obtained in response to a user
action (e.g. when the user accesses the native application, etc.),
obtained in response to a social network action (e.g. when a first
degree connection generates content that reveals a location), or
obtained at any suitable time.
[0024] The user location is preferably used to establish a location
region that is used to filter the content. The location region is
preferably associated with the user location, wherein the location
region preferably encompasses the user location. Alternatively, the
location region can be unassociated with the user location, such as
when a location query is used. The location region is preferably an
area defined by a distance from a geographic location (e.g. the
user location), but can alternatively be a politically or
culturally defined area (e.g., a city, district, location moniker
specific to a subculture), a location region associated with the
user through historical user actions (e.g. "home," "work," etc.),
an area defined by an action-defined distance from a geographic
location (e.g. within walking distance, biking distance, etc.) a
geometrically defined area, a location query, a plurality of
regions, or any suitable defined region. The location region is
preferably defined by a default setting, but can alternatively be
defined by the location region parameter/section of the user
settings.
[0025] In one variation of the method, the location region can be
adjusted to achieve a desired number of nearby users, wherein
nearby users are the authors of the location-associated content.
The users are preferably unique; for example, if multiple pieces of
content are generated by a single user, only one user is preferably
identified. Additionally, content generated by a single user across
multiple social network platforms are preferably associated with
only one user, wherein the multiple social network accounts
associated with said user are preferably consolidated into a single
user identifier. The location region is preferably increased to
find more proximal users, and decreased to find less proximal
users. The location region can be adjusted by adjusting the search
distance away from the user location (e.g. searching within a 2
block radius instead of a 1 mile radius), by adjusting the level of
predefined region categorization (e.g. searching within a city
instead of searching within a district), or adjusting any other
suitable location region parameter. The location region is
preferably incrementally expanded and/or contracted until the
desired numbers of users are found. For example, if 20 users are
desired and there are not 20 users within 400 meters of the current
user, then the location region is expanded to a radius of 800
meters, wherein the location region is continually expanded until
20 users are found.
[0026] In another variation of the method, the location region is
adjusted to reach a desired volume of content. For example, the
radius of a circle defining a location region can continue to
expand until a certain number of posts or status updates is
reached. For example, to obtain the first 20 posts from a social
network, a location region with a distance of at most 100 meters
from the user location is used. To obtain the next 20 posts, a
location region with a distance of at most 500 meters from the user
location is used.
[0027] The desired volume of retrieved data is preferably preset so
as to ensure that the application presents an adequate number of
contextual results to be useful to the current user. However, the
desired volume of retrieved data (connections and/or content) can
be defined by a user-defined content and/or connection volume
setting.
[0028] Receiving a user request S130 preferably additionally
includes determining a request time, which functions to determine a
time with which to filter content. The request time can be
determined by the user device and received by the server (e.g. as a
user request-associated timestamp), or can be determined by the
server. The request time is preferably the time at which the user
request is generated, as determined by the user device, but can
alternatively be the time at which the user request is sent, or the
time at which the user request is received. The time is preferably
a timestamp associated with the user request, but can alternatively
be any other suitable time indicator. The time is preferably
received concurrently with the user location, but can alternatively
be received before or determined after.
[0029] Receiving a user request S130 can additionally include
receiving query parameters. The query parameters preferably
function as additional inputs to the filtering of retrieved
content. The query parameters are preferably received by the user
device from the user, and are preferably sent by the user device
and received by the server. The query parameters are preferably
sent with an associated user location (device location) and request
time, wherein the request time is preferably the time of query
receipt from the user. Additionally or alternatively, query
parameters can be processed and stored within the user profile as a
user interest. A query parameter can include a time input, a text
input, a location selection, a media input, or any other suitable
query parameter. A query parameter preferably limits any displayed
content to items that satisfy or match the query, but can
alternatively be used directly in computing how relevant the
content is. The time input can limit the retrieved content to
content generated within the input time period. The time input can
include a selection from a list, the receipt of a time entry, or
any other suitable time input. The text input can include a search
string, a category keyword, a location name (e.g. a symbolic
location input), or any suitable text input. The text input can
additionally be processed to abstract the received text, preferably
by using a hierarchical language/meaning tree, but alternatively by
using any other suitable natural language processing technique. For
example, "Baseball" can be abstracted to "Sports." The location
selection can include a selection from a list (e.g. one presented
by the native application on the user's user device), a selection
of a pre-defined area on a map (e.g. a politically bounded area, a
geographically bounded area, a culturally bounded area, etc.), a
selection of a user-drawn area on a map, a selection of a distance,
or any other suitable location selection. The media input
preferably includes audio input, image input, and/or video input.
The media input is preferably device-generated (e.g. a photo taken
by the device), but can alternatively be media from an external
source (e.g. a video found on the Internet). The media input is
preferably processed to extract the query parameter. In one
variation of the method, the title of the media input is extracted
as the query parameter. In another variation of the method, facial
image recognition and/or voice recognition is performed on the
media to generate a person identity from the media. This can be
used in processing content to identify content from people matching
or likely matching that person identity. For example, a user can
take a photo of a person in a location. A person identity (e.g., an
encoding that represents the facial patterns of the person) is used
in combination with the user location to identify content
associated with the person. In this variation, person identities
are preferably initially associated with social media accounts. A
data structure is created that stores this association. Preferably,
the author or entity responsible for the social media content is
identified through media associated with an account. For example,
the profile picture of a user is used to create the primary person
identity associated with the account. Additionally or
alternatively, person identities can be matched to user accounts
that include public content, such as media references, of a person
identity. For example, a sports-focused news account can include
numerous photos of professional athletes. After processing media
posted from the sports-focused news account and identifying several
person identities that correspond to popular athletes, the person
identities of the athletes can be associated with the
sports-focused news account (e.g. added as an attribute of that
account). The person identity is then matched against person
identities associated with connections associated with retrieved
content. The retrieved content will preferably be content generated
by or associated with the matched connection. For example, taking a
photo of a user will preferably return content posted by that user
on a social network. Alternatively, taking a photo of a popular
athlete can return content about that celebrity.
[0030] Retrieving content from the social network, Block S140,
functions to gather content that is potentially relevant to the
user. Retrieved content preferably includes content generated by
the social network connections of the account identifier, but can
include any suitable content from the social network. Content can
be retrieved in response to a receipt of a user request, retrieved
in response to a notification from the social network (e.g. of new
content), or in response to any other suitable retrieval condition.
The content is preferably retrieved by the external server, but can
alternatively be retrieved by the user device.
[0031] In one variation of the method, the retrieved content is
preferably time-dependent, wherein recently generated content is
preferably retrieved, and older content is preferably not
retrieved. Recently generated content preferably includes content
that was generated within a predetermined time period from the time
of content retrieval. For example, content generated within the
past five hours of the content retrieval time is preferably
retrieved, while content generated beyond the five-hour limit is
preferably not retrieved. However, content generated during any
suitable time period can be retrieved. Alternatively or
additionally, the external server and/or user device can delete any
stored content older than a given time threshold.
[0032] In another variation of the method, retrieved content is
limited to content associated with a location region. Content is
preferably associated with the location region if the content was
generated within the location region (e.g. as indicated by a
geotag). However, content can also be associated with the location
region if the content mentions or references a location region, or
mentions or references a place identifier (e.g. the name of a
restaurant) located within and/or associated with the location
region. The content can be otherwise associated with the location
region.
[0033] The content is preferably retrieved from one or more social
networks, wherein the one or more social networks preferably
includes, but are not limited to, the social network with which the
received user account parameter is associated. For example, even
though the user only provides a Facebook account identifier,
location-associated content from other social networks, such as
Twitter, Foursquare, or Yelp can be retrieved. The set of social
networks from which content is retrieved is preferably
predetermined, but can alternatively be determined and/or selected
by the user.
[0034] In a first variation of the method, the one or more social
networks are queried with a location associated with the location
region (e.g. through a social network API), wherein content
associated with the location is received. This variation can
additionally include querying the social network with the received
query, such that the received content is related to both the
location region and the query. This variation can be performed in
response to a user action (e.g. accessing the native application on
the user device, selection of a "search" or "refresh" icon, receipt
of a query, etc.).
[0035] In another variation of the method, social network content
for a plurality of locations can be initially acquired and then
formatted for fast querying and processing with the user request
and/or user profile. In this variation, content of the social
network is preferably acquired for a plurality of select locations,
such as popular locations (e.g. locations with a high volumes or
relative densities of content generation), locations of high
interest to the user (e.g. locations with high volumes of content
generation by the user or the user's connections, locations that
the user typically generates content from, locations that the user
generates content around, etc.), or any suitable given location.
The content is preferably then organized or processed such that
user location and/or user parameters can be used to select a
portion of the content.
[0036] In another variation of the method, all social network
content is retrieved and formatted for querying and processing with
the user request and/or user profile. Alternatively, social network
content associated with the account identifier can be retrieved and
formatted. Alternatively, social network content associated with
the account identifier and the social network connections of the
account identifier can be retrieved and formatted.
[0037] In another variation of the method, newly generated social
network content is retrieved and formatted for querying and
processing with the user request and/or user profile in response to
a notification from the social network. This variation can
additionally include setting social network API settings to notify
the server and/or user device of newly generated content. However,
any suitable method of retrieving location-associated content can
be used.
[0038] In another variation of the method, multiple social network
queries with tiered query parameters based on the user request can
be used. For example, the first tier searches the location region
for any content generated by social network connections with a
connection to the user. A second tier searches the location region
for content from users with a similar connection profile. A third
tier searches for any content in the location region. A fourth tier
can search for any content associated with the location based on
time. Alternatively, the content of a location can be gathered and
processed in isolation to determine relevance.
[0039] Evaluating relevance of the retrieved content, Block S150,
functions to organize and/or score the retrieved content.
Evaluating relevance of content with the user parameters preferably
includes extracting content parameters and defining a measure of
content relevance. Additionally, evaluating relevance may include
organizing the content according to the content relevance. The
content is preferably organized after the content's relevance is
determined, but content organization can be performed during
content relevance definition. Furthermore, the content is
preferably processed after content retrieval S140, but can
alternatively be processed during content retrieval.
[0040] Extracting content parameters from the retrieved content
functions to determine the values of the factors of interest.
Content parameters that are extracted can include the location
associated with the content; an account associated with the
content; a time associated with the content; any keywords or media
(images, audio clips, video) associated with the content; or any
other suitable content parameter. The location associated with the
content can include the tagged location of the content, a location
referenced in the content, a location extrapolated from the content
(e.g. "Bay Area" can be extracted from a mention of "Philz"), or
any other suitable location. The account associated with the
content can include the account of the content author, an account
referenced within the content, or any other suitable account. The
time associated with the content can be the time of content
creation, the time of content posting to the respective social
network, a time extrapolated from the content (e.g. "December" can
be extrapolated from a mention of "Christmas"), or any other
suitable time associated with the content.
[0041] Defining content relevance functions to determine relevance
between the content and the user interests. Content relevance is
preferably determined when the content is retrieved. A relevance
score, a relevance threshold, relevance criteria, or any suitable
manner of comparing the relevance of content can be used.
Alternatively, the relevance of content may be pre-determined, or
obtained as the output of an algorithm, either statically or
dynamically adjusted according to user activity and/or as part of
the user profile (e.g. produced by the selection of a set of rules
by the user or as the effect of a learning algorithm). Determining
content relevance can include ranking, sorting, rating, filtering,
scoring, or any other suitable manner of determining the relevance
of one piece of content relative to another. In one variation,
defining content relevance includes assigning weights to each piece
of content, wherein content is then sorted according to the
assigned weights. The assigned weights can be additive for each
factor, or can be adjusted when considering each factor. A high
score, weight, or ranking is preferably indicative of highly
relevant content, while a low score, weight, or ranking is
indicative of less relevant content. Content relevance can be
determined across multiple factors, wherein the multiple factors
can impact the ordering or filtering of content. More preferably,
content relevance is preferably determined for persistent or
semi-persistent factors (e.g. user profile), wherein the persistent
and/or semi-persistent factors are preferably not transient
factors, such as user location or time. A shared social network
connection can be a relevance factor. For example, content is
preferably considered more relevant (e.g. assigned a higher weight)
if the connection associated with the content (e.g. author or
mentioned connection) has a direct or indirect social network
connection to the user. The degree of connection separation between
the user and the content-associated connection can be another
relevance factor. The degree of separation is preferably
proportional to the relevance, wherein content generated by closer
connections are preferably more relevant than content generated by
further connections. Level of shared interests between the user
profile and the connection profile can be another factor. The
similarity in interests can be proportional to the relevance of
content. For example, content can have higher relevance if the
content is generated by a connection account including shared
demographics or interests with the stored user profile of the
primary user. The geographical distance between the user and the
content can be another factor. The degree of interest in the
connection can be another relevance factor. For example, content
can be considered more relevant if the user is highly interested in
the connection associated with the content. The popularity of the
content author (e.g., number of followers) can be another factor.
This factor is an example of a factor that is independent of the
relationship of the author of content and the primary user. The
popularity of the content author is preferably proportional to the
relevance. For example, content posted by a famous athlete is
preferably more relevant than a user with few followers. The rarity
of the content parameter combination for the given piece of content
can be another factor. For example, content generated in San
Francisco by a connection that typically generates content in
Berlin is preferably more relevant than content generated in San
Francisco by a connection that typically generates content within
San Francisco. However, any other suitable factor can be used to
determine relevance. Weighting of content along these factors can
be used to determine an overall relevance. Furthermore, different
factors can confer higher relative weights than others. For
example, the degree of connection separation can confer more weight
than the level of shared interests.
[0042] In another variation of the method, defining content
relevance includes categorizing the content by types of relevance.
Content is preferably categorized as a given category and/or group
when the content surpasses or satisfies a categorization condition.
Content can be organized into a contact group, wherein the
categorization condition is preferably a connection separation
threshold, such that the contact group includes content generated
by authors with a direct or indirect social network connection to
the user. Content can alternatively be organized into an interest
group, wherein the categorization condition is preferably a
popularity threshold or degree of interest threshold, such that the
interest group includes content generated by popular users or
authors with interests similar to those of the user. Content can
alternatively be organized as an around me group, wherein the
categorization condition preferably includes a location proximity
threshold and a time proximity threshold, such that the around me
group includes the most recently generated content by authors that
do not fit in the other groups. Content can alternatively be
organized into a notification group (e.g. an alert group), wherein
the categorization condition can include a rarity condition, such
as the combination of content parameters having a historical
occurrence rate of below a rarity threshold, or any suitable
combination of parameter thresholds. For example, content can be
categorized into the notification group if the content satisfies a
set of parameter conditions, including the associated connection
being within a connection degree threshold, the content time being
within a time threshold, the content location being within a
location region, and the content generation frequency of the
associated connection being within a frequency threshold.
[0043] Filtering the content functions to filter the content with
the user request. More preferably, filtering the content includes
filtering the content with the user location and the request time.
However, filtering the content can additionally include filtering
the content with the query parameter. Content is preferably
filtered after or concurrently with content retrieval, but can
alternatively be filtered at any suitable time. Content is
preferably filtered before the content is evaluated for relevance,
but can alternatively be filtered during or before evaluating
content relevance. Content is preferably filtered in response to
receipt of a user request, wherein the user location and request
time is preferably used to filter the content. Filtering the
content preferably includes adjusting a relevance score assigned to
each item of content, and then selecting the items according to
relative scores. Selection of items may be based on the score of an
item satisfying a certain threshold, having the highest scores up
to a certain number, matching a certain criteria, by removing
results that match another criteria or by any suitable selection
technique. Alternatively, filtering the content can include sorting
the weighted content by time or distance or any suitable method of
filtering the content may be used. Alternatively, filtering the
content can include sorting the weighted content by relevance to
the query parameters. Alternatively, filtering the content can
include selecting content that satisfies the user settings.
However, any other suitable method of filtering the content can be
used.
[0044] In one variation of the method, filtering the content
includes adjusting the relevance scores of the content based on the
distance and/or time. The distance between the content location of
a piece of content and the user location is preferably indirectly
proportional to the relevance score (e.g. content from a closer
location--more proximal to the primary user--is more relevant).
Additionally, the duration of time between the content time and the
request time is preferably indirectly proportional to the relevance
score, wherein newer content is preferably scored as more relevant
than older content.
[0045] In another variation of the method, the content is filtered
by distance between the user location and the content location,
wherein content satisfying a location threshold are preferably
selected for display. In yet another variation of the method, the
content is filtered by the duration of time between the request
time and the content time, wherein content satisfying a time
threshold are preferably selected for display.
[0046] In another variation of the method, the content is filtered
according to its relationship with the query parameters, such as a
search term or media type. The relevance between the query
parameter and the content is preferably directly proportional to
the relevance score adjustment, wherein the more similar content is
preferably scored as more relevant than less similar content.
Alternatively, content having high relevance with the query
parameters can be selected for display.
[0047] In another variation of the method, content is filtered by
selecting content that satisfies the user settings. Selecting
content that satisfies the user settings can include selecting
content located within the location region defined by the location
region setting (e.g. location threshold); selecting content
generated within the time period defined by the time setting (e.g.
within a time threshold measured from the receipt time, within a
user defined time period); selecting content that satisfies the
connection settings (e.g. excluding content from connections that
are blocked by the user, including content from connections that
the user explicitly wants to see content from); and/or selecting
content that satisfies the query parameters (e.g. content that
matches or is related to the query parameters). However, any other
suitable user setting can be used to select content.
[0048] Presenting relevant content to the user, Block S170,
functions to create a representation of the content to deliver to
the user. The content is preferably displayed by a native
application on the user device. The server preferably sends the
content to be displayed to the native application on the user
device. The server can additionally indicate the order in which to
display the content. The server can additionally send display
instructions with the content. Alternatively, the user device can
determine the order in which to display the content. The server
preferably sends the user device an ordered list of references
(e.g. URLs) to the content, but can alternatively send the content
itself. Alternatively, the server can send the user device an
ordered list of references to a content parameter, such as a list
of references to the connections that authored the content. The
server preferably sends a single list, but can alternatively send
multiple lists, each with different content order or display
instructions (e.g. content to be displayed as a map has different
rankings than content to be displayed as a list). The server can
additionally generate and send the native application or user
device any content representations (e.g. icons) or pointers (e.g.
URLs) to the content representations that should be used.
Alternatively, the content can be both processed and displayed by
the user device.
[0049] Preferably, the most relevant content is selected for
preferential presentation to the user. In one variation, all
content can be displayed to the user, wherein the content can be
loaded and displayed in batches (e.g. display the first 10 most
relevant pieces of content, then the next 10 most relevant pieces
of content, etc.).
[0050] In another variation, content having relevance scores beyond
a predetermined threshold are displayed to the user. However, any
suitable amount of location-associated content can be selected for
display to the user.
[0051] The relevant content is preferably organized into a
graphical representation of the content. In one variation of the
method, the content is directly displayed. In this variation, the
content is preferably organized into a feed, as shown in FIG. 3A.
The feed preferably includes a list of relevant content, preferably
ordered by relevance (e.g. with the most relevant at the top of the
list). In one alternative, the feed is ordered first by distance
away from the user location, then by relevance. In another
alternative, the feed is ordered first by proximity between the
content time and request time, then by relevance. In another
alternative, the feed is ordered by proximity between the content
location and user location, then by relevance. The feed preferably
additionally includes an identifier for the associated content
author, such as a name and/or picture, and can additionally include
the distance away from the user location, the time of content
generation, or any other indicator of any other suitable parameter
of the content.
[0052] In another variation of the method, the content is
preferably represented by an icon, wherein selection of the icon
reveals the associated content (e.g. on a separate page or as a
popup). The icon is preferably indicative of the associated
content, and unique to the associated content. The icon preferably
includes an image associated with the content, but can
alternatively include a screenshot, a video, an audio clip, or any
other suitable media associated with the content. In one
alternative of the variation, the icon can include an image
associated with the connection associated with the content (e.g. an
image associated with the content author), wherein the image is
preferably pulled from a connection account associated with the
connection (e.g. from the social network that the content was
generated on).
[0053] Alternatively or additionally, the icon can include a
non-unique icon representative of the number of pieces of content
in said area. In one variation of the method, the non-unique icon
includes a number representative of the number of pieces of content
in the given area. For example, if multiple pieces of content are
generated in close geographical proximity, multiple pieces of
content can be grouped together and represented as a single icon
with a number representing the respective number of pieces of
content. Upon receipt of a user selection of the number icon, the
user device can display icons more representative of the individual
pieces of content (e.g. images of the content authors), display the
multiple pieces of content, preferably in order of relevance, or
perform any other suitable action. Content is preferably displayed
as a non-unique icon when the number of icons in the display area
reaches a density threshold.
[0054] Additionally or alternatively, as shown in FIG. 3B, content
deemed highly relevant (e.g. has a relevance score above a given
threshold) can be displayed as an icon 502 uniquely associated with
the content (e.g. an image of the content author), whereas content
deemed less relevant can either be displayed as a unique icon or be
grouped together with other pieces of content into a non-unique
icon 504 when a density condition is met.
[0055] Additionally or alternatively, the icon can include a symbol
representative of the social network in which the content was
generated. Alternatively, when the content includes an image or
video, the icon can be the image or a frame of the video. However,
any suitable icon indicative of the content or content author can
be used.
[0056] In this variation, the content is preferably organized into
a map, as shown in FIG. 3B, wherein the icons representing the
content are preferably arranged according to proximity to the user.
Alternatively, the icons representing the content can be arranged
in a grid, wherein the icons are preferably arranged in order of
relevance, with the icons representing the most relevant content at
the top. For example, images of the authors of the
location-associated content can be displayed as a grid of images.
Alternatively, the icons can be arranged in any suitable
manner.
[0057] However, the content can be represented in any suitable
form, and organized in any suitable organization.
[0058] As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the graphical representation of
the content can additionally include relevance indicators 510,
which can function to indicate the degree of relevance to the user
or the type of relevance of the content. The relevance indicator
can include a relevance degree indicator 512, wherein the graphical
representation preferably includes at least two relevance
indicators: a first relevance indicator indicative of content
having a relevance score over a predetermined threshold, and a
second relevance indicator indicative of content having a relevance
score under the threshold. Relevance degree indicators can include
variations in the color, size, shape, font, or any other suitable
aspect of the content representation. For example, content having a
relevance score above a predetermined threshold can be larger
and/or bordered in red, whereas content having a relevance score
below a second predetermined threshold can be smaller and/or
bordered in blue. The relevance degree indicator can also be
different types of content representation, such as the unique and
non-unique icons as described above. Additionally or alternatively,
relevance indicators 510 can include relevance type indicators 514,
and include one or more symbols (e.g. a star, exclamation point,
etc.) overlaid or incorporated into the content representation,
representative of the reason why the content is deemed relevant.
Relevance type indicators can include a contact symbol, which can
indicate that the content was authored by a social network contact
(e.g. include a symbol or color representative of the social
network); an interest symbol, which can indicate that the content
can be of interest to the user; a nearby symbol, which can indicate
that the content was recently posted in the very near vicinity of
the user (e.g., within 25 meters), or any other suitable indicator
of why the user should be interested in the content.
[0059] Additionally or alternatively, the method can include
generating an alert of content satisfying an alert condition. In
this variation, the location-associated content is periodically or
continuously updated. Alternatively, a subset of content is
continuously updated, such as content posted by the social network
connections of the user. The content can additionally be updated
based on changes in the user location.
[0060] The alert is preferably triggered when the retrieved content
meets an alert condition, and the user is notified of the new
content. The alert can be triggered when a contact of the user
generates content within a set distance from the user location. In
this way, a user will be notified when a contact is around them.
This alert can additionally occur when a popular user or a similar
user posts content. A user can preferably set the alerts for
particular users. Additionally, users can establish a type of
social network relationship or agreement to have alerts generated
when they come within a set distance from each other. These alerts
can be generated based on updates of a user and/or be generated
automatically based on location of a user. For example, two users
can agree to be notified when the two users are within a set
distance from each other. The two users can be alerted whenever the
two users come within the set distance. The alert can alternatively
be triggered when a rarity condition is met. The rarity condition
is preferably satisfied when the combination of content parameters
has a historical occurrence rate of below a rarity threshold. In
one variation of the method, the rarity threshold includes a
location rarity threshold, wherein an alert is displayed to the
user when the content is generated in a location by a connection
that historically generates content in a disparate location (e.g. a
different politically or culturally defined location, a location
outside of a predetermined radius, etc.). However, any suitable
rarity condition can be used. Alternatively, the alert can be
triggered when the content meets a display setting. Alternatively,
the alert can be triggered by the satisfaction of any other
suitable alert condition.
[0061] The alerts are preferably pop-up notifications, such that
the user does not have to be actively using the native application
to be alerted. However, the alerts can be notifications within the
application. The alerts preferably include a text notification, but
can additionally or alternatively include audio, video, an image,
tactile alerts (e.g. vibration) or any other suitable notification.
Furthermore, the types of alert mediums employed by each alert can
be dependent on the degree of relevance of the alerted content.
[0062] In one variation, as shown in FIG. 4, the method includes:
receiving an account identifier associated with a social network
from a user device S110; generating a user profile from social
network information associated with the account identifier S120;
retrieving content from the social network associated with the
account identifier S130; extracting content location, content time,
and content connections (e.g. the content author) from the
retrieved content; evaluating relevance of the retrieved content
S150; in response to receipt of a user request including a device
location and request time S130, filtering the evaluated content
with the device location and request time S160; and sending the
user device the filtered content as a list sorted by relevance. The
user device then preferably displays the content as a list sorted
by relevance. Alternatively, the user device retrieves connection
account images from the social network based on the references
(e.g. URLs) received from the server, and displays the account
images as icons overlaid on a map, wherein the icons are located
substantially near their respective content locations on the map.
The user device can additionally display the icons with relevance
indicators (e.g. social network indicators, stars for highly
relevant connections or content, different colors or shapes
referencing different levels of relevance, etc.). The content is
preferably evaluated for relevance based on the degree of
similarity between the user profile and the content parameters,
wherein the content parameters include the body of the content and
the social network connection associated with the content. For
example, content can be evaluated based on the body of the content,
degree of connection between the content connection and the account
identifier, and/or the degree of shared interests between the user
profile and the content connection. Filtering the evaluated content
with the device location and request time preferably includes
selecting content having a content location encompassed by a
location region derived from the device location and a content time
encompassed by a time period extending backwards from the request
time.
[0063] In another variation, as shown in FIG. 5, the method
includes: receiving an account identifier associated with a social
network S110; generating a user profile from social network
information associated with the account identifier S120; setting
notifications settings for the account identifier through a social
network API, the setting notifications including a time setting,
such that the server is notified of content newly generated by the
social network connections of the account; in response to receiving
a social network notification, retrieving the notified content from
the social network S140; extracting the content location, content
time, and content connections (e.g. the content author) from the
retrieved content; evaluating relevance of the retrieved content
S150; in response to receipt of a user request including a device
location and request time S130, filtering the evaluated content
with the device location and request time S160; and displaying the
filtered content according to the respective evaluated relevance of
the content S170. Alternatively, a content parameter, such as the
connection that generated the content or a representation thereof
(e.g. an image), can be displayed. The method can additionally
include sending the filtered content as an ordered list to the user
device.
[0064] In another variation, the method includes: receiving an
account identifier associated with a social network S110;
generating a user profile from social network information
associated with the account identifier S120; receiving a user
request including a device location and a request time S130;
retrieving content from the social network, the retrieved content
associated with a location region derived from the device location
and generated within a predetermined time period derived from the
request time (e.g. by using an API of the social network) S140;
evaluating relevance of the location-associated content according
to similarity with the user profile S150; and displaying the
location-associated content on the user device according to the
respective content evaluation S170. Alternatively, a content
parameter, such as the connection that generated the content or a
representation thereof (e.g. an image), can be displayed in lieu of
the content itself. The method can additionally include sending the
filtered content as an ordered list to the user device.
[0065] In another variation, the method includes: receiving an
account identifier associated with a social network from a user
device S110; generating a user profile from social network
information associated with the account identifier S120;
determining a plurality of locations of interest from the social
network information associated with the account identifier;
retrieving content from the social network, the retrieved content
associated with at least one of the plurality of locations S140;
evaluating relevance of the location-associated content according
to similarity with the user profile S150; and sending the
evaluated, location-associated content to the user device.
[0066] In another variation, as shown in FIG. 6, the method
includes: receiving a first and a second account identifier from a
first and second device S110; generating a first and second user
profile from social network information associated with the first
and second account identifiers, respectively S120; retrieving a
first and second set of social network connections associated with
the first and second account identifiers, respectively; generating
connection profiles for each of the first and second social network
connection sets from public information associated with each social
network connection; receiving a content set associated with the
second account identifier S140; extracting content location and
content time from the received content; in response receipt of a
device location and a receipt time from the first device S130,
selecting content from the second content set that satisfies a
location condition and a time condition of the first profile S160;
and sending the selected content to the first device S170.
Additionally, the selected content can be evaluated prior to
sending to the device. This variation can permit users to discover
previously unknown users or content generated by said unknown
users.
[0067] Aspects of the system and method of the preferred embodiment
can be embodied and/or implemented at least in part as a machine
configured to receive a computer-readable medium storing
computer-readable instructions. The instructions are preferably
executed by computer-executable components preferably integrated
with the user device, external server, and the various components
thereof. Other systems and methods of the preferred embodiment can
be embodied and/or implemented at least in part as a machine
configured to receive a computer-readable medium storing
computer-readable instructions. The instructions are preferably
executed by computer-executable components preferably integrated by
computer-executable components preferably integrated with a central
computer or external server or user device of the type described
above. The computer-readable medium can be stored on any suitable
computer readable media such as RAMs, ROMs, flash memory, EEPROMs,
optical devices (CD or DVD), hard drives, floppy drives, or any
suitable device. The computer-executable component is preferably a
processor but any suitable dedicated hardware device can
(alternatively or additionally) execute the instructions.
[0068] As a person skilled in the art will recognize from the
previous detailed description and from the figures and claims,
modifications and changes can be made to the preferred variations
of the invention without departing from the scope of this invention
defined in the following claims.
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