U.S. patent application number 14/526233 was filed with the patent office on 2015-05-07 for systems, methods, and media for content management and sharing.
The applicant listed for this patent is Mixonium Group Holdings, Inc.. Invention is credited to Marshall McLaury Monroe.
Application Number | 20150128014 14/526233 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 53005365 |
Filed Date | 2015-05-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150128014 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Monroe; Marshall McLaury |
May 7, 2015 |
SYSTEMS, METHODS, AND MEDIA FOR CONTENT MANAGEMENT AND SHARING
Abstract
Methods, systems, and media for creating a layout of digital
content are provided. In some embodiments, the method comprises:
presenting a layout of digital content, wherein the layout of
digital content includes a plurality of elements, and each element
can be associated with a piece of digital content; receiving a
selection of one of the elements; receiving a selection of a
digital content type to be associated with one of the plurality of
elements; presenting pieces of digital content that can be
associated with the selected elements; receiving a selection of one
of the pieces of digital content that can be associated with
selected element; retrieving the selection of the pieces of digital
content; converting the selection of the pieces of digital content
from a first form to a second form; storing the selection of the
pieces of digital content in the second form as stored content; and
linking the stored content and the selected element such that when
the selected element is selected for presentation, the stored
content will be accessed.
Inventors: |
Monroe; Marshall McLaury;
(Corrales, NM) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Mixonium Group Holdings, Inc. |
Corrales |
NM |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
53005365 |
Appl. No.: |
14/526233 |
Filed: |
October 28, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61896346 |
Oct 28, 2013 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
715/202 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 3/0482 20130101;
G06F 40/103 20200101; G06F 3/04842 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
715/202 |
International
Class: |
G06F 17/21 20060101
G06F017/21; G06F 3/0484 20060101 G06F003/0484; G06F 3/0482 20060101
G06F003/0482 |
Claims
1. A method for creating a layout of digital content, comprising:
receiving at a hardware processor a selection of a base form for
the layout of digital content; based on the selection of the base
form, presenting using the hardware processor the layout of digital
content on a display, wherein the layout of digital content
includes a plurality of elements, each element corresponds to a
region of the layout of digital content, and each element can be
associated with a piece of digital content; receiving a selection
of one of the plurality of elements; receiving a selection of a
digital content type to be associated with the selection of the one
of the plurality of elements; based on the selection of the digital
content type and on a characteristic of the layout of digital
content, presenting a plurality of pieces of digital content that
can be associated with the selection of the one of the plurality of
elements; receiving a selection of one of the plurality of pieces
of digital content that can be associated with the selection of the
one of the plurality of elements; retrieving the selection of the
one of the plurality of pieces of digital content; converting the
selection of the one of the plurality of pieces of digital content
from a first form to a second form; storing the selection of the
one of the plurality of pieces of digital content in the second
form as stored content; and linking the stored content and the
selection of the one of the plurality of elements such that when
the selection of the one of the plurality of elements is selected
for presentation, the stored content will be accessed.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a selection
of another of the plurality of elements; receiving a selection that
an advertisement is to be associated with the other of the
plurality of elements; and automatically selecting an advertisement
for the other of the plurality of elements based on the
characteristic of the layout of digital content.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a request
to copy the layout and at least one of the plurality of elements;
and creating a copy of the layout and the at least one of the
plurality of elements.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the characteristic of the layout
of digital content is a topic of the layout of digital content.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a selection
of another of the plurality of elements; receiving a selection of a
digital content type to be associated with the selection of the
other of the plurality of elements; and automatically selecting a
piece of digital content to be associated with the selection of the
other of the plurality of elements.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a selection
of another of the plurality of elements; receiving a selection of a
digital content type to be associated with the selection of the
other of the plurality of elements; and capturing a piece of
digital content to be associated with the selection of the other of
the plurality of elements using a sensor coupled to the hardware
processor.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: creating an image
that represents the selected one of the plurality of pieces of
digital content, wherein dimensions of the image are determined
based on dimensions of the associated one of the plurality of
elements; and causing the created image to be presented in
association with the layout of digital content.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying a file
type associated with the selected one of the plurality of pieces of
digital content; and causing an indication of the identified file
type to be presented in association with the one of the plurality
of elements associated with the selected one of the plurality of
pieces of digital content.
9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a title
corresponding to the selected one of the plurality of pieces of
digital content; and causing the received title to be presented in
association with the one of the plurality of elements associated
with the selected one of the plurality of pieces of digital
content.
10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: causing the layout
of digital content to be presented; receiving a second selection of
one of the plurality of elements; causing the piece of digital
content associated with the second selection of one of the
plurality of elements to be presented; receiving an input that
indicates a second piece of digital content is to be presented; and
in response to receiving the input, causing the second piece of
digital content to be presented.
11. The method of claim 1, further comprising causing information
related to a social networking service to be associated with the
layout of digital content.
12. The method of claim 1, further comprising: causing an image
that represents the digital layout to be created, wherein the image
is associated with a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that indicates
a location of the image; and in response to determining that the
URL has been selected, causing the image to be presented on a user
device.
13. The method of claim 12, further comprising: determining a
display size associated with a display of the user device; and
modifying dimensions of the presented image based on the display
size.
14. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, from a
user device, a request for digital content associated with an
element of the digital layout; and in response to receiving the
request, transmitting, to the user device, the digital content
associated with the element.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein a file type associated with at
least one of the plurality of pieces of digital content belongs to
at least one of a group consisting of: an image file, a video file,
an audio file, streaming Web content, a hyperlink, a live video
feed, and a Portable Document Format (PDF) file.
16. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one element of the
plurality of elements is selected based on an algorithmic software
computation.
17. A system for creating a layout of digital content, the system
comprising: a hardware processor that is programmed to: receive a
selection of a base form for the layout of digital content; based
on the selection of the base form, present the layout of digital
content on a display, wherein the layout of digital content
includes a plurality of elements, each element corresponds to a
region of the layout of digital content, and each element can be
associated with a piece of digital content; receive a selection of
one of the plurality of elements; receive a selection of a digital
content type to be associated with the selection of the one of the
plurality of elements; based on the selection of the digital
content type and on a characteristic of the layout of digital
content, present a plurality of pieces of digital content that can
be associated with the selection of the one of the plurality of
elements; receive a selection of one of the plurality of pieces of
digital content that can be associated with the selection of the
one of the plurality of elements; retrieve the selection of the one
of the plurality of pieces of digital content; convert the
selection of the one of the plurality of pieces of digital content
from a first form to a second form; store the selection of the one
of the plurality of pieces of digital content in the second form as
stored content; and link the stored content and the selection of
the one of the plurality of elements such that when the selection
of the one of the plurality of elements is selected for
presentation, the stored content will be accessed.
18. The system of claim 17, wherein the hardware processor is
further programmed to: receive a selection of another of the
plurality of elements; receive a selection that an advertisement is
to be associated with the other of the plurality of elements; and
automatically select an advertisement for the other of the
plurality of elements based on the characteristic of the layout of
digital content.
19. The system of claim 17, wherein the hardware processor is
further programmed to: receive a request to copy the layout and at
least one of the plurality of elements; and create copy of the
layout and the at least one of the plurality of elements.
20. The system of claim 17, wherein the characteristic of the
layout of digital content is a topic of the layout of digital
content.
21. The system of claim 17, wherein the hardware processor is
further programmed to: receive a selection of another of the
plurality of elements; receive a selection of a digital content
type to be associated with the selection of the other of the
plurality of elements; and automatically select a piece of digital
content to be associated with the selection of the other of the
plurality of elements.
22. The system of claim 17, wherein the hardware processor is
further programmed to: receive a selection of another of the
plurality of elements; receive a selection of a digital content
type to be associated with the selection of the other of the
plurality of elements; and capture a piece of digital content to be
associated with the selection of the other of the plurality of
elements using a sensor coupled to the hardware processor.
23. The system of claim 17, wherein the hardware processor is
further programmed to: create an image that represents the selected
one of the plurality of pieces of digital content, wherein
dimensions of the image are determined based on dimensions of the
associated one of the plurality of elements; and cause the created
image to be presented in association with the layout of digital
content.
24. The system of claim 17, wherein the hardware processor is
further programmed to: identify a file type associated with the
selected one of the plurality of pieces of digital content; and
cause an indication of the identified file type to be presented in
association with the one of the plurality of elements associated
with the selected one of the plurality of pieces of digital
content.
25. The system of claim 17, wherein the hardware processor is
further programmed to: receive a title corresponding to the
selected one of the plurality of pieces of digital content; and
cause the received title to be presented in association with the
one of the plurality of elements associated with the selected one
of the plurality of pieces of digital content.
26. The system of claim 17, wherein the hardware processor is
further programmed to: cause the layout of digital content to be
presented; receive a second selection of one of the plurality of
elements; cause the piece of digital content associated with the
second selection of one of the plurality of elements to be
presented; receive an input that indicates a second piece of
digital content is to be presented; and in response to receiving
the input, cause the second piece of digital content to be
presented.
27. The system of claim 17, wherein the hardware processor is
further programmed to cause information related to a social
networking service to be associated with the layout of digital
content.
28. The system of claim 17, wherein the hardware processor is
further programmed to: cause an image that represents the digital
layout to be created, wherein the image is associated with a
Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that indicates a location of the
image; and in response to determining that the URL has been
selected, cause the image to be presented on a user device.
29. The system of claim 28, wherein the hardware processor is
further programmed to: determine a display size associated with a
display of the user device; and modify dimensions of the presented
image based on the display size.
30. The system of claim 17, wherein the hardware processor is
further programmed to: receive, from a user device, a request for
digital content associated with an element of the digital layout;
and in response to receiving the request, transmit, to the user
device, the digital content associated with the element.
31. The system of claim 17, wherein a file type associated with at
least one of the plurality of pieces of digital content belongs to
at least one of a group consisting of: an image file, a video file,
an audio file, streaming Web content, a hyperlink, a live video
feed, and a Portable Document Format (PDF) file.
32. The system of claim 17, wherein at least one element of the
plurality of elements is selected based on an algorithmic software
computation.
33. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing computer
executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause
the processor to perform a method for creating a layout of digital
content, the method comprising: receiving a selection of a base
form for the layout of digital content; based on the selection of
the base form, presenting the layout of digital content on a
display, wherein the layout of digital content includes a plurality
of elements, each element corresponds to a region of the layout of
digital content, and each element can be associated with a piece of
digital content; receiving a selection of one of the plurality of
elements; receiving a selection of a digital content type to be
associated with the selection of the one of the plurality of
elements; based on the selection of the digital content type and on
a characteristic of the layout of digital content, presenting a
plurality of pieces of digital content that can be associated with
the selection of the one of the plurality of elements; receiving a
selection of one of the plurality of pieces of digital content that
can be associated with the selection of the one of the plurality of
elements; retrieving the selection of the one of the plurality of
pieces of digital content; converting the selection of the one of
the plurality of pieces of digital content from a first form to a
second form; storing the selection of the one of the plurality of
pieces of digital content in the second form as stored content; and
linking the stored content and the selection of the one of the
plurality of elements such that when the selection of the one of
the plurality of elements is selected for presentation, the stored
content will be accessed.
34. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 33,
wherein the method further comprises: receiving a selection of
another of the plurality of elements; receiving a selection that an
advertisement is to be associated with the other of the plurality
of elements; and automatically selecting an advertisement for the
other of the plurality of elements based on the characteristic of
the layout of digital content.
35. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 33,
wherein the method further comprises: receiving a request to copy
the layout and at least one of the plurality of elements; and
creating a copy of the layout and the at least one of the plurality
of elements.
36. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 33,
wherein the characteristic of the layout of digital content is a
topic of the layout of digital content.
37. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 33,
wherein the method further comprises: receiving a selection of
another of the plurality of elements; receiving a selection of a
digital content type to be associated with the selection of the
other of the plurality of elements; and automatically selecting a
piece of digital content to be associated with the selection of the
other of the plurality of elements.
38. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 33,
wherein the method further comprises: receiving a selection of
another of the plurality of elements; receiving a selection of a
digital content type to be associated with the selection of the
other of the plurality of elements; and capturing a piece of
digital content to be associated with the selection of the other of
the plurality of elements using a sensor coupled to the
processor.
39. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 33,
wherein the method further comprises: creating an image that
represents the selected one of the plurality of pieces of digital
content, wherein dimensions of the image are determined based on
dimensions of the associated one of the plurality of elements; and
causing the created image to be presented in association with the
layout of digital content.
40. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 33,
wherein the method further comprises: identifying a file type
associated with the selected one of the plurality of pieces of
digital content; and causing an indication of the identified file
type to be presented in association with the one of the plurality
of elements associated with the selected one of the plurality of
pieces of digital content.
41. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 33,
wherein the method further comprises: receiving a title
corresponding to the selected one of the plurality of pieces of
digital content; and causing the received title to be presented in
association with the one of the plurality of elements associated
with the selected one of the plurality of pieces of digital
content.
42. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 33,
wherein the method further comprises: causing the layout of digital
content to be presented; receiving a second selection of one of the
plurality of elements; causing the piece of digital content
associated with the second selection of one of the plurality of
elements to be presented; receiving an input that indicates a
second piece of digital content is to be presented; and in response
to receiving the input, causing the second piece of digital content
to be presented.
43. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 33,
wherein the method further comprises causing information related to
a social networking service to be associated with the layout of
digital content.
44. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 33,
wherein the method further comprises: causing an image that
represents the digital layout to be created, wherein the image is
associated with a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that indicates a
location of the image; and in response to determining that the URL
has been selected, causing the image to be presented on a user
device.
45. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 44,
wherein the method further comprises: determining a display size
associated with a display of the user device; and modifying
dimensions of the presented image based on the display size.
46. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 33,
wherein the method further comprises: receiving, from a user
device, a request for digital content associated with an element of
the digital layout; and in response to receiving the request,
transmitting, to the user device, the digital content associated
with the element.
47. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 33,
wherein a file type associated with at least one of the plurality
of pieces of digital content belongs to at least one of a group
consisting of: an image file, a video file, an audio file,
streaming Web content, a hyperlink, a live video feed, and a
Portable Document Format (PDF) file.
48. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 33,
wherein at least one element of the plurality of elements is
selected based on an algorithmic software computation.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Patent Application No. 61/896,346, filed Oct. 28, 2013, which is
hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The disclosed subject matter relates to methods, systems,
and media for creating a layout of digital content.
BACKGROUND
[0003] People are increasingly interested in creating and sharing
digital content, such as photos, videos, audio content, games,
hyperlinks to Web sites, text, documents, etc. Furthermore, people
are interested in presenting multiple pieces of such content in one
post that contains the multiple types of content. For example, a
person might want to create a post that contains multiple photos
and videos from a vacation, a link to a Web site describing the
vacation location, and a link to another Web site listing hotel
options at the vacation location. However, it can be difficult to
easily create and manage posts with multiple types of digital
content.
[0004] Accordingly, it is desirable to provide new methods,
systems, and media for creating a layout of digital content.
SUMMARY
[0005] Methods, systems, and media for creating a layout of digital
content are provided. In accordance with some embodiments of the
disclosed subject matter, a method for creating a layout of digital
content is provided, the method comprising: receiving at a hardware
processor a selection of a base form for the layout of digital
content; based on the selection of the base form, presenting using
the hardware processor the layout of digital content on a display,
wherein the layout of digital content includes a plurality of
elements, each element corresponds to a region of the layout of
digital content, and each element can be associated with a piece of
digital content; receiving a selection of one of the plurality of
elements; receiving a selection of a digital content type to be
associated with the selection of the one of the plurality of
elements; based on the selection of the digital content type and on
a characteristic of the layout of digital content, presenting a
plurality of pieces of digital content that can be associated with
the selection of the one of the plurality of elements; receiving a
selection of one of the plurality of pieces of digital content that
can be associated with the selection of the one of the plurality of
elements; retrieving the selection of the one of the plurality of
pieces of digital content; converting the selection of the one of
the plurality of pieces of digital content from a first form to a
second form; storing the selection of the one of the plurality of
pieces of digital content in the second form as stored content; and
linking the stored content and the selection of the one of the
plurality of elements such that when the selection of the one of
the plurality of elements is selected for presentation, the stored
content will be accessed.
[0006] In accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject
matter, a system for creating a layout of digital content is
provided, the system comprising: a hardware processor that is
programmed to: receive a selection of a base form for the layout of
digital content; based on the selection of the base form, present
the layout of digital content on a display, wherein the layout of
digital content includes a plurality of elements, each element
corresponds to a region of the layout of digital content, and each
element can be associated with a piece of digital content; receive
a selection of one of the plurality of elements; receive a
selection of a digital content type to be associated with the
selection of the one of the plurality of elements; based on the
selection of the digital content type and on a characteristic of
the layout of digital content, present a plurality of pieces of
digital content that can be associated with the selection of the
one of the plurality of elements; receive a selection of one of the
plurality of pieces of digital content that can be associated with
the selection of the one of the plurality of elements; retrieve the
selection of the one of the plurality of pieces of digital content;
convert the selection of the one of the plurality of pieces of
digital content from a first form to a second form; store the
selection of the one of the plurality of pieces of digital content
in the second form as stored content; and link the stored content
and the selection of the one of the plurality of elements such that
when the selection of the one of the plurality of elements is
selected for presentation, the stored content will be accessed.
[0007] In accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject
matter, non-transitory computer-readable media containing computer
executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause
the processor to perform a method for creating a layout of digital
content are provided, the method comprising: receiving a selection
of a base form for the layout of digital content; based on the
selection of the base form, presenting the layout of digital
content on a display, wherein the layout of digital content
includes a plurality of elements, each element corresponds to a
region of the layout of digital content, and each element can be
associated with a piece of digital content; receiving a selection
of one of the plurality of elements; receiving a selection of a
digital content type to be associated with the selection of the one
of the plurality of elements; based on the selection of the digital
content type and on a characteristic of the layout of digital
content, presenting a plurality of pieces of digital content that
can be associated with the selection of the one of the plurality of
elements; receiving a selection of one of the plurality of pieces
of digital content that can be associated with the selection of the
one of the plurality of elements; retrieving the selection of the
one of the plurality of pieces of digital content; converting the
selection of the one of the plurality of pieces of digital content
from a first form to a second form; storing the selection of the
one of the plurality of pieces of digital content in the second
form as stored content; and linking the stored content and the
selection of the one of the plurality of elements such that when
the selection of the one of the plurality of elements is selected
for presentation, the stored content will be accessed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] Various objects, features, and advantages of the disclosed
subject matter can be more fully appreciated with reference to the
following detailed description of the disclosed subject matter when
considered in connection with the following drawings, in which like
reference numerals identify like elements.
[0009] FIGS. 1A and 1B show examples of user interfaces for
creating posts and for overlaying titles on content included in a
post in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject
matter.
[0010] FIG. 2 shows an example of a user interface for including a
video and an advertisement in a post in accordance with some
embodiments of the disclosed subject matter.
[0011] FIG. 3 shows an example of presenting a post in a Web page
in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject
matter.
[0012] FIG. 4 shows an example of a user interface for presenting
transparent indicators which indicate multiple elements within a
post in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject
matter.
[0013] FIG. 5 shows an example of a user interface for allowing a
retailer to create a post in accordance with some embodiments of
the disclosed subject matter.
[0014] FIG. 6 shows an example of a user interface for presenting a
post within a dedicated application in accordance with some
embodiments of the disclosed subject matter.
[0015] FIG. 7 shows an example of a user interface for presenting
an order of a sequence of posts and for receiving user input
indicating a re-ordering of the sequence of posts in accordance
with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter.
[0016] FIG. 8 shows a schematic diagram of an illustrative system
suitable for implementation of mechanisms described herein for
creating a layout of digital content in accordance with some
embodiments of the disclosed subject matter.
[0017] FIG. 9 shows a detailed example of hardware that can be used
in a server and/or a user device of FIG. 8 in accordance with some
embodiments of the disclosed subject matter.
[0018] FIG. 10 shows an example of a process for creating a post,
providing the post for sharing, and creating a new post containing
at least part of the original post in response to a request in
accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject
matter.
[0019] FIG. 11A shows an example of a process for creating a new
post in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject
matter.
[0020] FIGS. 11B and 11C show examples of processes for receiving
selections of user-created content and advertising content,
respectively, to be included in a post in accordance with some
embodiments of the disclosed subject matter.
[0021] FIG. 12 shows an example of a user interface for presenting
analytics associated with a post in accordance with some
embodiments of the disclosed subject matter.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0022] Mechanisms (which can be systems, methods, and/or media) for
creating a layout of digital content are provided.
[0023] In accordance with some embodiments, these mechanisms enable
users to create, enrich, modify, share, curate, and/or copy data
structures each having a plurality of logical elements that can be
used to represent content that can be presented to a user. Each of
these data structures may be referred to herein as a "post." In
some embodiments, any suitable types of content (which can be
referred to herein as "digital content") can be represented by an
element of a post. For example, an element of a post can represent
content such as text (which can be for any suitable purpose, such
as a story, a news piece, a description, lyrics, a blog type entry,
user comments (whether the user is the author or another person),
log data, etc.), an image, a video, audio, an animation, a symbol,
a hypertext link (e.g., a Uniform Resource Locator (URL)), a .pdf
file, a link to a Web or application media widget (e.g., a
YouTube.TM. player, a Vimeo.TM. player, etc.) and/or any other
suitable content.
[0024] An example 100 of a post in accordance with some embodiments
is shown in FIG. 1A. As illustrated, post 100 can include elements
102, 104, 106, 108, 110, 112, 114, 116, and 118, and these elements
can be arranged in a layout within the post. In some embodiments,
these elements can behave like compartments each having a specified
shape and size. Although these elements are each rectangular in the
sample post, and the post is rectangular, any suitable shape can be
used for the post and for each of the elements, in some
embodiments. For example, an element within a post can be a circle,
a square, a rectangle, an ellipse, a trapezoid, an irregular shape,
a 3-D perspective volume, and/or any other suitable shape. As
another example, a post can have any suitable shape that is defined
by a combination of the shapes of its elements. Any suitable number
of elements can be included in a post, in some embodiments.
[0025] As stated above, an element of a post can contain any
suitable type of content, in some embodiments. For example, as
shown in FIG. 1A, element 102 contains a graphic logo combined with
text, element 104 contains a map which is referenced as a URL,
element 106 contains text, element 108 contains an image, element
110 contains a video, element 102 contains a satellite photograph,
element 114 contains another image, element 116 contains a link to
a Web site, and element 118 contains a title.
[0026] As another example, as shown in example post 150 of FIG. 1B,
an element of a post can include a corresponding title (e.g., title
154 corresponding to element 152). A corresponding title can be
associated with an element of a post in any suitable manner. For
example, in some embodiments, the title can be overlaid on the
element. Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, a
title (e.g., title 156 of FIG. 1B) can be associated with two or
more elements of a post, for example, by spanning a compartment
containing the two or more elements. In some embodiments, title 154
and/or title 156 can be hidden from a user viewing post 150 until
it is determined that a user has interacted with post 150 and/or an
element associated with title 154 and/or 156 (e.g., by clicking on
a post and/or an element, by tapping a portion of a screen
corresponding to a post and/or an element, and/or any other
suitable interaction input).
[0027] In some embodiments, the elements can contain the actual
content to be presented, a thumbnail of the content, a link to the
content (e.g., URL-hyperlink, pointer, IP address, any other
suitable identifier, etc.), text representing the content, overlays
that provide information about the content type and/or status of
the content (e.g., an overlay can indicate if an audio file is
currently playing), and/or any other suitable content or indicator
of content. A link to content may link to direct assets, to Web
files (HTML), or to assets that can stream in a temporal fashion to
the device displaying the post, in some embodiments.
[0028] The post can have any suitable characteristics associated
with it, in some embodiments. For example, the post can have
characteristics including topic information, categorization
information, author identification information, copyright notice
information, security information (e.g., encryption protocol
identifiers, digital rights management information, digital
signatures, authorized user lists or groups and/or corresponding
access controls (e.g., limits on who can read, view, save, copy,
edit, share, delete, etc.), etc.), creation date information,
expiration information, post identification serial numbers,
references to folders or associations to other digital list
constructs, etc. Any one or more of these characteristics can be
identified in a meta-tag associated with the post, and together
these characteristics can be referred-to as meta-information for
the post, in some embodiments.
[0029] A post can be provided for any suitable purpose in
accordance with some embodiments. For example, a post can be for
personal use, for business use, for commercial use, for government
use, for charitable use, for religious use, and/or for any other
suitable use. As a few more particular examples, a post can be used
to show and describe highlights of a vacation, to show a commercial
offering (e.g., products or services for sale), to provide
entertainment (e.g., video content, book content, audio content,
etc.), to provide information (e.g., from a news source, from an
educational provider, as a tutorial, etc.), etc.
[0030] Each post can have a basic form that specifies one or more
characteristics of the post and/or its elements, in some
embodiments. For example, the basic form can specify geometries and
relational geometries of one or more elements (e.g., visual
reference compartments), characteristics of one or more elements,
etc. For example, the basic form of a post can define that the post
will include a given number of elements, can define the shape,
size, and location of each element, can define characteristics of
such elements, etc. Such characteristics can define any suitable
aspects of the element(s), such as what type of content (e.g.,
images, video, text, hyperlinks, etc.) can be included in each
element, attribution associated with each element, copy protection
or notices associated with each element, commercial nature of each
element (indicating that the item represented by the element is for
sale, for example), advertisement or promotional status of each
element, indication that an element is a live or near-live media
feed, and/or any other suitable aspects, in some embodiments.
[0031] In some embodiments, a user can interact with one or more
elements of a post. For example, by clicking or tapping an element
of a post, the user can cause content associated with the element
to be presented at a larger size. As another example, if the
content of an element is video or audio, clicking on the element
can cause the video or audio to begin playing. As yet another
example, if the content of an element is a link, clicking on the
element may cause a Web page corresponding to the link to be opened
in a Web browser or "Viewer." As still another example, in some
embodiments, selecting a post and/or an element within a post can
cause a window or widget for receiving payment information (e.g.,
credit card information, bank account information, PayPal.TM.
account information, and/or any other suitable payment information)
from a user to appear. In instances in which a window or widget for
receiving payment information is presented, the window or widget
can further indicate whether payment is associated with an item
that is for sale, an item that is being auctioned, a fundraiser
and/or a donation to a particular cause, and/or any other suitable
information.
[0032] In accordance with some embodiments, advertising content can
be provided in one or more elements of a post. For example, as
shown in FIG. 2, a post 200 can include a video 202 and an
advertisement 204. Additionally or alternatively to providing
advertising content in a separate element from other,
non-advertising content of a post, advertising content and
non-advertising content can be presented in the same element by
presenting the advertising content before, during, and/or after the
presentation of the non-advertising content, in some embodiments.
More particularly, for example, when presented before or after
non-advertising content, the advertising content may be exclusively
presented, whereas when presented during the presentation of the
non-advertising content, the advertising content may be presented
alongside the non-advertising content, over the non-advertising
content (e.g., as an overlay), as a break in the non-advertising
content (e.g., like a commercial break in a television program),
etc.
[0033] In some embodiments, advertisements presented during a
user's post may cause the advertiser to owe an advertising fee to
the author. A player presenting the post or a server delivering the
advertising content may automatically report the advertisement
presentation to a server that tracks the presentation of
advertisements so that the fees owed to the authors can be tracked,
in some embodiments.
[0034] A post, or a portion of the post, can be presented in any
suitable space capable of presenting the post in some embodiments.
For example, in some embodiments, a post, such as post 302, can be
presented in a Web page, such as Web page 300, as shown in FIG.
3.
[0035] In some embodiments, the content of all elements of a post
need not be visible at the same time. For example, as shown in FIG.
4, a post 402 on a Web site 400 can include semi-transparent visual
"bars" 404, 406, and 408 (or any other suitable indicator, such as
one or more overlay icons, border features, etc.) to indicate that
the post has more than a single element, and that the content of
the other element(s) can be presented in response to a user
clicking on the bar (or other indicator).
[0036] In some embodiments, elements of a post can be presented and
interacted with within a player, for example, in a Web browser. In
some embodiments, the player can be opened (e.g., as a pop-up
within a display) when an element in a post is selected. For
example, a post may be presented as shown in FIG. 1A, and then when
any element in the post is selected, the player can be presented in
a pop-up on the display. In some embodiments, the player can allow
the elements of a post to be presented as items in a gallery,
sequenced gallery, carousel, grid, etc. A viewer of such a gallery,
sequenced gallery, carousel, grid, etc. can step, swipe, pan, etc.
through the items as they are presented. By swiping, pressing a
right arrow (button or icon), panning, etc., a viewer can then view
a next piece of content associated with a next element of the post
for viewing. In some embodiments, the individual items of content
corresponding to the different elements of the post can be
associated with different file types.
[0037] As mentioned above, in some embodiments, a post can be
created by a company to advertise its products or services. For
example, as shown in FIG. 5, a post 502 can be created by a wine
maker, distributor, retailer, or third-party, so that the post can
be included in a retailer's Web page 500. This post can have any
suitable security characteristics so that the post cannot be
altered by any party other than the wine maker (or those authorized
by the wine maker), in some embodiments.
[0038] In some embodiments, a post can be presented in a dedicated
application or Web page. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, a post
602 can be presented in an application or Web page 600. Application
or Web page 600 can also include a play list 604 of available posts
to be presented (and this list may be filtered to only show
related, trending, and/or any other class of post), one or more
advertisements 610, one or more comment sections 608 for posting
comments, one or more category selectors for selecting categories
of posts, and/or any other suitable features, in some
embodiments.
[0039] In some embodiments, a post can be presented with analytics
corresponding to elements within the post. For example, as shown in
FIG. 12, a post 1200 can be presented with indicators of the
numbers of views corresponding to individual elements of post 1200
and/or with indicators of the numbers of views associated with
different geographical locations.
[0040] As shown, post 1200 can include one or more elements (e.g.,
element 1202), which can be presented with a number of views
indicator (e.g., number of views indicator 1204) in accordance with
some embodiments. Number of views indicator 1204 can indicate a
number of views associated with element 1202 over any suitable time
period (e.g., a number of views within the last hour, a number of
views within the last day, and/or any other suitable time period)
and/or a total number of views. Additionally or alternatively, in
some embodiments, number of views indicator 1204 can represent a
number of views filtered with any other suitable criteria (e.g., a
number of views originating from a particular geographic location,
a number of views originating from a particular device, a number of
views originating from users within a particular demographic group,
and/or any other suitable criteria). Note that, in some
embodiments, some elements within a post can be presented without
an associated number of views indicator, as shown in FIG. 12.
[0041] In some embodiments, post 1200 can include a map 1206, which
can be used to present one or more number of views indicators
corresponding to one or more locations of map 1206. Map 1206 can
represent a geographic region of any suitable size (e.g., a state,
a country, a continent, a hemisphere, and/or any suitable
combination of geographic regions). Furthermore, in some
embodiments, the scope of the geographic region can be adjusted to
present a larger or smaller region, for example, by zooming in or
zooming out within map 1206.
[0042] As shown in FIG. 12, map 1206 can include number of views
indicators 1208 and 1210, which can indicate numbers of views
associated with the geographic locations at which the indicator is
presented. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, number of views
indicator 1208 can represent a number of views associated with
Washington state. The number of views associated with a particular
geographic location can be determined using any suitable technique
or combination of techniques. For example, in some embodiments, a
geographic location associated with a particular view and/or
impression of a post and/or of an element can be determined based
on an Internet Protocol (IP) address from which the view
originated, and views from the determined geographic location can
be tallied over any suitable time period.
[0043] Number of views indicators 1208 and 1210 can have any
suitable appearance. For example, in some embodiments, a color of
an indicator can be associated with a magnitude of a number of
views. As a more particular example, as shown in FIG. 12, number of
views indicator 1210 can be presented in a different manner (e.g.,
a different color, a different size, and/or any other suitable
difference) relative to the other indicators on map 1206 to
indicate that the location(s) associated with number of views
indicator 1210 produced a larger number of views relative to other
locations. Note that the number of views associated with indicators
1208 and/or 1210 can be determined based on any suitable criteria.
For example, in some embodiments, the number of views can represent
a number of views of a particular element contained in post 1200.
As another example, in some embodiments, the number of views can
represent a number of views summed over all of the elements of post
1200. As yet another example, in some embodiments, the number of
views can represent a number of views of a particular element
and/or all of the elements over a particular time period.
[0044] Although not shown in FIG. 12, in some embodiments, analytic
information can be presented with respect to time. For example, in
some embodiments, an indication of a number of views associated
with a post and/or a compartment can be presented in a graph
showing the number of views as a function of time. In some
embodiments, information indicating the number of views can be
filtered based on both times associated with the views as well as
geographic information associated with the views. For example, in
some embodiments, a graph indicating views originating from a
particular location as a function of time can be presented.
[0045] Note that, in some embodiments, presentation of post 1200,
which contains analytics corresponding to a post and/or elements
within the post, can be restricted to one or more particular users.
For example, in some embodiments, viewing analytics can require
entry of a password.
[0046] In some embodiments, content from one or more posts can be
caused to be presented in a predetermined order. For example, the
content from the elements of a single post can be caused to be
presented in a given order. As another example, the content of
multiple posts can be caused to be presented in a given order.
[0047] Any suitable mechanism can be provided in some embodiments
for specifying the order in which content from the elements of a
post, or from multiple posts, is to be presented. For example, as
shown in FIG. 7, a user interface 700 can be presented for showing
the order of presentation of a series of posts (represented by post
icons 706) for an educational course. As shown in this example, a
course can be made up of an introduction and multiple lessons 702.
Within the introduction and each lesson of this example there can
be one or more lesson pages 704, each represented by a post icon
706. In some embodiments, a user can re-order the posts in the
course by dragging the post icons 706 to a new position and
dropping them at a desired location.
[0048] In some embodiments, such an interface can present the posts
in a dynamic visual carousel, or cover-flow, or other visual
portrayal of one or more sequences of posts.
[0049] In some embodiments, such an interface can additionally or
alternatively be used to graphically represent a syllabus for a
course.
[0050] An interface like that of FIG. 7 can be used for other
purposes as well, in some embodiments. For example, such an
interface can be used to represent a table of contents for a book,
"chapters" or segments of a movie, episodes of a television series,
acts of a play, etc.
[0051] Turning to FIG. 8, an example 800 of hardware that can be
used in accordance with some embodiments is shown. In some
embodiments, hardware 800 can be used to present the user
interfaces of FIGS. 1-7 and to receive user responses thereto, and
to execute the processes of FIGS. 10, 11A, 11B, and 11C, as
described further below.
[0052] As illustrated, the hardware can include one or more content
processing servers 802, one or more content storage servers 804,
one or more third party servers 806, a communication network 808,
and one or more user devices 810, such as a mobile phone 812, a
tablet computer 814, and/or a laptop computer 816, in some
embodiments.
[0053] Content processing server(s) 802 can be any suitable servers
for processing content for use in connection with the posts, in
some embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, content
processing server(s) 802 can be any suitable servers capable of
encoding content, transcoding content, converting content,
compressing content, resizing content, ripping content, changing
content resolution, cropping content, zooming content, panning
content, re-coloring content, perform thumbnail creation on
content, backing-up content, compressing content, and/or perform
any other suitable processing on the content. In some embodiments,
content processing server(s) 802 can be omitted. In some
embodiments, content can additionally or alternatively be processed
by a hardware processor on user device 810.
[0054] Content storage server(s) 804 can be any suitable servers
for storing content and for delivering the content to a user device
810 in some embodiments. For example, content storage server(s) 804
can be one or more servers that stream content to a user device 810
via communication network 808. Content provided by content storage
server(s) 804 can be any suitable content such as video content,
audio content, television programs, movies, cartoons, music, sound
effects, audiobooks, streaming live content (e.g., a streaming
radio show, a live concert, etc.), etc., in some embodiments. In
some embodiments, content storage server(s) 804 can be omitted. In
some embodiments, content can additionally or alternatively be
stored and/or delivered from memory on user device 810.
[0055] Third-party server 806 can be any suitable server for
storing content from a third party, such as an advertiser, a Web
site, etc., in some embodiments. This content may be accessible by
a user or a post for creation of the post or presentation of the
post, in some embodiments.
[0056] Communication network 808 can be any suitable combination of
one or more wired and/or wireless networks in some embodiments. For
example, communication network 808 can include any one or more of
the Internet, a mobile data network, a satellite network, a local
area network, a wide area network, a telephone network, a cable
television network, a WiFi network, a WiMax network, and/or any
other suitable communication network.
[0057] User devices 810 can include any suitable one or more user
devices for creating, sharing, presenting, copying, and/or
performing any other suitable function with respect to a post, in
some embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, user devices
810 can include mobile devices, such as a mobile phone 812, a
tablet computer 814, a laptop computer 816, a vehicle (e.g., car,
boat, airplane, etc.) entertainment system, a portable media
player, etc. Although not shown in FIG. 8, as another example, in
some embodiments, user devices 810 can include non-mobile devices,
such as a desktop computer, a set-top box, a smart television, a
streaming media player, a game console, etc.
[0058] Although content processing server(s) 802, content storage
server(s) 804, third party server(s) 806 are illustrated as
separate devices, these devices can be combined into one or more
devices in some embodiments.
[0059] Although three user devices 812, 814, and 816 are shown in
FIG. 8 to avoid over-complicating the figure, any suitable number
(including none) of each of these devices, and any suitable types
of these devices, can be used in some embodiments.
[0060] In some embodiments, a user of a user device, such as user
devices 812, 814, and 816, can select that a presentation of
content from an element of a post, or a presentation of the entire
post, be presented on another of devices 812, 814, or 816, or
another device not shown in FIG. 8 (e.g., such as a large
television), so that the content or post can be viewed on a larger
screen or a different screen and/or by my multiple people.
[0061] Content processing server(s) 802, content storage server(s)
804, third party server(s) 806, and user devices 810 can be
implemented using any suitable hardware in some embodiments. For
example, in some embodiments, devices 802, 804, 806, and 810 can be
implemented using any suitable general purpose computer or special
purpose computer. For example, mobile phone 812 may be implemented
using a special purpose computer. Any such general purpose computer
or special purpose computer can include any suitable hardware, in
some embodiments. For example, as illustrated in example hardware
900 of FIG. 9, such hardware can include a hardware processor 902,
memory and/or storage 904, an input device controller 906, an input
device 908, display/audio drivers 910, display and audio output
circuitry 912, communication interface(s) 914, an antenna 916, and
a bus 918.
[0062] Hardware processor 902 can include any suitable hardware
processor, such as a microprocessor, a micro-controller, a digital
signal processor, dedicated logic, and/or any other suitable
circuitry for controlling the functioning of a general purpose
computer or a special purpose computer in some embodiments.
[0063] Memory and/or storage 904 can be any suitable memory and/or
storage for storing programs, data, content, posts, post and/or
element characteristics, etc. in some embodiments. For example,
memory and/or storage 904 can include random access memory,
read-only memory, flash memory, hard disk storage, optical media,
etc.
[0064] Input device controller 906 can be any suitable circuitry
for controlling and receiving input from one or more input devices
908 in some embodiments. For example, input device controller 906
can be circuitry for receiving input from a touch screen, from one
or more buttons, from a voice recognition circuit, from a
microphone, from a camera, from an optical sensor, from an
accelerometer, from a temperature sensor, from a near field sensor,
etc.
[0065] Display/audio drivers 910 can be any suitable circuitry for
controlling and driving output to one or more display/audio output
circuitries 912 in some embodiments. For example, display/audio
drivers 910 can be circuitry for driving an LCD display, a speaker,
an LED, etc.
[0066] Communication interface(s) 914 can be any suitable circuitry
for interfacing with one or more communication networks, such as
network 808 as shown in FIG. 8, in some embodiments. For example,
interface(s) 914 can include network interface card circuitry,
wireless communication circuitry, etc.
[0067] Antenna 916 can be any suitable one or more antennas for
wirelessly communicating with a communication network in some
embodiments. In some embodiments, antenna 916 can be omitted when
not needed.
[0068] Bus 918 can be any suitable mechanism for communicating
between two or more components 902, 904, 906, 910, and 914 in some
embodiments.
[0069] Any other suitable components can be included in hardware
900, and any un-needed components of hardware 900 can be omitted,
in accordance with some embodiments.
[0070] Turning to FIG. 10, an example 1000 of a process for
creating a post, providing the post for sharing, receiving a
request related to the post, providing content for the post, and
copying at least part of a post and creating a new post in
accordance with some embodiments is shown. This process and process
1100 (described below in connection with FIGS. 11A, 11B, and 11C)
can be performed by any suitable hardware, in some embodiments. For
example, in some embodiments, this process can be performed by one
or more hardware processors on one or more of a user device and/or
a server as described herein.
[0071] As illustrated, at 1002, process 1000 can create a post.
This post can be created in any suitable manner. For example, as
described further below in connection with FIGS. 11A, 11B, and 11C,
a process 1100 can be used to create the post as part of 1002.
[0072] Next, at 1004, process 1000 can provide the post for
sharing, uploading, emailing, etc. In accordance with some
embodiments, the post can be provided to and/or shared with any
suitable device, application, program, storage, communication
channels, etc. Providing a post for sharing can include
transferring the post (or a post identifier) between applications
on a user device and/or a server, transmitting the post (or a post
identifier) over a communication network via a communication
interface, etc., in some embodiments. In some embodiments, the post
identifier can include a representation of the post as a single
image. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the single image
representing the post can be associated with a URL such that, in
response to determining that the URL has been selected, the post
represented by the single image can be presented (e.g., by
redirecting a browser to a page hosting the post, by opening a new
window containing the post, and/or in any other suitable
manner).
[0073] In some embodiments, in order to facilitate sharing of a
post, the post can be represented by thumbnail images combined with
underlying links. For example, such a post can be represented using
java script and/or hyper-text markup language (HTML). In this way,
a post will likely be presentable on any java script and/or HTML
compatible platform, such as a Web browser. For example, in some
embodiments, when a user clicks on a thumbnail in an element of the
post, the link underlying that thumbnail image can cause the
content for that element to be retrieved and presented to the
user.
[0074] At 1006, process 1000 can next receive a request related to
the post. Any suitable requests can be received, in some
embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, the request can be a
request generated in response to a user clicking on a thumbnail
image in a shared post and thereby following the underlying link.
As another example, in some embodiments, the request can be a
request to copy the post.
[0075] Process can determine at 1008 whether the request is to
provide content or copy the post. If the request is a request to
provide content for the post, process 1000 can branch to 1010 and
retrieve the requested content. This content can be retrieved in
any suitable manner and from any suitable location, in some
embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, this content can be
retrieved from storage on a content storage server such as content
storage server 804 of FIG. 8. Next, process 1000 can provide the
content in response to the request at 1012. The content can be
provided in any suitable manner, in some embodiments. For example,
in some embodiments, the content can be provided as part of a Web
page that is provided to the requesting process. Step 1012 may
include the option for the user to "dismiss," or remove the content
from view, thus returning to an overall post view, in some
embodiments. Process 1000 can then loop back to 1006.
[0076] If it is determined at 1008 that the request is a request to
copy the post, at 1014, process 1000 can determine the amount of a
post to be copied. This determination can be made in any suitable
manner, in some embodiments. For example, after a user indicates
that the user wants to copy a post (e.g., by selecting "copy" from
a context menu while right-clicking on a post), a pop-up menu can
be presented asking the user if the user wants to copy the entire
post, only a portion of the post, only the base form of the post,
or some combination thereof. As another example, in instances in
which a user indicates that the user wants to copy a post created
by another user, process 1000 can determine which portions of the
post, if any, the user has permission to copy (e.g., by verifying
permissions associated with the post to be copied, and/or using any
other suitable technique). Next, at 1016, process 1000 can create a
partially completed post (or a fully completed post if it is
determined that the entire post is to be copied). This can be
performed in any suitable manner, in some embodiments. For example,
process 1000 can receive selections of portions of the post to be
copied and replicate those portions in a new post. After the
partially completed post has been created, process 1000 can finish
creating the post and then loop back to 1004. The process can
finish creating the post in any suitable manner, in some
embodiments. For example, the process can finish creating the post
by branching to 1128 of FIG. 11B (which is described further
below).
[0077] In some embodiments, when creating a copy of a post, process
1000 may skip copying the content for the elements of the post
being copied and instead provide links to that content. In this
way, duplicate copies of content need not be made.
[0078] In some embodiments, the characteristics for a post created
from a copy can be assigned multiple layers of attribution. These
layers can be used for sharing and affiliate recognition in some
embodiments.
[0079] Turning to FIG. 11A, an example of a process 1100 for
creating (or "authoring") a new post in accordance with some
embodiments is illustrated. As shown, at 1102, process 1100 can
receive an indication that a user wishes to create a new post. This
indication can be received in any suitable manner from any suitable
source, in some embodiments. For example, this indication can be
received as a menu selection in an application on a user
device.
[0080] Next, at 1104, process 1100 can optionally ask the user to
specify how the basic form of the post is to be created. The basic
form of the post can be created in any suitable manner, in some
embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, the basic form of
the post can be created from a template. As another example, in
some embodiments, the basic form of the post can be created from a
layout designed separately, or interactively by the user. Process
1100 can then receive at 1106 a user specification of the basic
form of the post that is consistent with the user's specification
of how the user wants to specify the basic form of the post, in
some embodiments.
[0081] For example, when receiving a specification of the basic
form of a post from a template from a user, process 1100 can
receive a selection of the template from the user in any suitable
manner. More particularly, for example, the process can receive the
user's selection of a template from a menu of templates. This menu
can organize templates into categories, subcategories, etc. As
another more particular example, the process can receive the user's
selection of a template from a set of icons showing an illustration
of the basic form of the template.
[0082] As another example, when receiving a specification of the
basic form of a post from a layout designed by a user, process 1100
can receive from the user information defining the layout using
basic graphic elements such as squares, rectangles, triangles,
circles, lines, 3D volumes, and/or any other suitable graphic
elements. The process can enable the user to select such elements
and arrange them in a design space on a display, in some
embodiments. Then process 1100 can then allow the user to specify
any suitable characteristics associated with different portions of
the basic form as further defined herein--colors, visual effects,
security, source information, etc., in some embodiments.
[0083] At 1106, process 1100 can also receive from the user
characteristics of the post. Any suitable characteristics of the
post can be received in some embodiments. For example,
characteristics can include a topic of the post, an author of the
post, security associated with the post, meta-tags or
meta-information associated with the post, user group associations
for the post, collection associations for the post, security levels
for the post, business or enterprise preferences for the post,
permissions indicating which elements of a post can be copied in a
post created by another user, and/or any other suitable
characteristics of the post.
[0084] After a user has specified the basic form of a post and
characteristics of the post, an element of the post can be selected
as to be populated with content at 1108. The element can be
selected in any suitable manner, in some embodiments. For example,
an element of the post can be selected based on the user clicking
(or double-clicking, tapping, double-tapping, etc.) on the element
in a display of the basic form of the post. As another example, an
element of the post can be automatically selected based upon it
being the first element of the basic form of the post that was
created, based upon it being in a certain position in the post
(e.g., top left), etc. Note that, in some embodiments, the element
can be selected automatically (e.g., based on an algorithm). For
example, in some embodiments, the algorithm can select an element
randomly, can select an element corresponding to a particular area
of the post (e.g., the top-most element, the left-most element,
and/or any other particular area), and/or based on any other
suitable criteria.
[0085] Then, at 1110, process 1100 can receive a selection of the
manner in which content for the element of the post will be
specified. This selection can be received in any suitable manner,
in some embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, the
selection can be received from a user selection of a pop-up menu, a
context menu, etc. At 1112, process 1100 can then branch based on
the user selection of the manner in which content for the element
of the post will be specified.
[0086] For example, if process 1100 receives a selection that the
content will be user-created, process 1100 can branch to A of FIG.
11B. As another example, if process 1100 receives a selection that
the content will be selected from pre-existing, non-advertising
content, process 1100 can branch to B of FIG. 11B. As yet another
example, if process 1100 receives a selection that the content will
be selected from pre-existing, advertising content, process 1100
can branch to C of FIG. 11C.
[0087] Turning to FIG. 11B, if process 1100 receives a selection
that the content will be user-created, at 1114, the process can
next present content capture options to the user and receive a
selection of one of those options. Any suitable capture options can
be presented, and these options can be presented and selected in
any suitable manner, in some embodiments. For example, options to
capture audio, video, images, gestures, handwriting, drawings,
geo-location, etc. can be presented, and these options can be
presented as icons in a pop-up menu. A user can then select one of
these options by clicking or tapping on the option, in some
embodiments.
[0088] Based on the option selected at 1114, process 1100 can next
capture content at 1116. This content can be captured in any
suitable manner using any suitable sensor (e.g., such as an image
sensor, a video sensor, an audio sensor, a gesture sensor, a
handwriting sensor, a drawing sensor, a location sensor, etc.), in
some embodiments. In some embodiments, process 1100 may enable a
user to preview captured content and indicate whether the content
is suitable or desirable. In the event that a capture is unsuitable
or undesirable to the user, process 1100 may enable new content to
be captured and used instead, in some embodiments.
[0089] As mentioned above, if it is determined at 1112 that the
content to be specified is pre-existing, non-advertising content,
then process 1100 can receive a selection of such content at 1118.
Process 1100 can receive a selection of existing content in any
suitable manner, in some embodiments. For example, in some
embodiments, the process can receive a selection of existing
content at 1118 by presenting a mechanism for selecting existing
content to the user and allowing the user to select content
presented via that mechanism. Any suitable mechanism can be used in
some embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, a user
interface for selecting files (e.g., image files, video files,
audio files, documents, and/or any other suitable files) on a user
device can be provided. As a more particular example, in some
embodiments, the user interface can allow for selection of files of
any suitable type and associated with any suitable entity, such as
Vimeo.TM. videos, Microsoft.TM. Office.TM. files (e.g., Word.TM.,
Excel.TM., Powerpoint.TM., and/or any other suitable file types),
Apple.TM. iWork.TM. files (e.g., Pages.TM., Numbers.TM.,
Keynote.TM., and/or any other suitable file type), and/or any other
suitable type of file. As another example, a Web browser can be
provided for finding and selecting content available on the
Internet or any other suitable communication network. Any suitable
content available on the Internet or other suitable communication
network can be selected in some embodiments. For example, content
can be an entire Web page or a portion of a Web page (e.g., the
portion can be one or more images, pieces of text, videos, pieces
of audio, animations, characters, symbols, and/or any other
suitable content on the Web page). As yet another example, content
can be one or more files stored in any suitable storage on the
Internet or other suitable communication network. As still another
example, content can be one or more files and/or links to files
from an online retailer, a social networking site, a search engine,
and/or any other suitable Web site. As a more particular example,
content can be a link to an iTunes U.TM. course, a link to a
Dropbox.TM. file, and/or any other suitable link and/or file.
[0090] In some embodiments, the received selection of content can
include interactive content. For example, in some embodiments, the
content can include a link to a phone number and/or a link to an
e-mail address, and selection of the link can cause the associated
phone number to be called and/or an e-mail message addressed to the
e-mail address to be created and/or opened. As another example, in
some embodiments, the content can include content associated with
an online meeting, such as Web conference, a video player streaming
live video content, an interactive game session, a chat room, an
instant messenger chat, an interactive writing and/or drawing pad,
and/or any other suitable content associated with an online
meeting. In some such embodiments, the content can include a link
to the online meeting, and selection of the link can cause a window
associated with the online meeting to be opened. As yet another
example, in some embodiments, the content can include a recording
of digital events, such as movement of a mouse, selection of menus,
and/or any other suitable digital events. As still another example,
in some embodiments, the content can include a script, which can be
executed, for example, when the post containing the script is first
displayed, when a compartment containing the script is interacted
with, and/or at any other suitable time.
[0091] In some embodiments, to select content, process 1100 can
receive content when it is determined that a user has dragged an
icon associated with the content into a post and/or a compartment
in which the content is to be presented. The icon can be dragged in
any suitable manner (e.g., by a mouse, by a finger on a
touchscreen, and/or any other suitable technique). In some
embodiments, any suitable technology can be used to associate the
dragged icon and the post and/or compartment into which the icon is
dragged (e.g., Object Linking and Embedding, or "OLE," and/or any
other suitable technology). Upon receiving the dragged icon, the
associated content can be uploaded, transcoded, and processed
(e.g., a thumbnail representing the content can be created, the
content can be compressed, and/or any other suitable processing) in
any suitable manner. In instances where a dragged icon represents a
file and/or any other type of content that is stored in storage on
a network, the Internet, or an intranet, a pointer to the content
(e.g., a URL, and/or any other suitable type of pointer to the
content) can be associated with the post and/or the compartment to
which the icon was dragged.
[0092] In some embodiments, to select content, whether stored
locally, on the Internet, or on any other suitable communication
network, process 1100 may receive a user specified identifier of a
topic, subject, date, time, source, Uniform Resource Locator (URL),
search criteria, group or type associations, recent geo-location
data, or other identifier of the content, in some embodiments. This
identifier may be received in any suitable manner, such as from a
menu, from direct input (e.g., using a keyboard, voice recognition,
etc.), based on frequently selected identifiers, based on a topic
of the post that has been previously specified (e.g., as in the
case of a meta-tag), etc., in some embodiments. Based on the
specified identifier, process 1100 may then automatically identify
relevant content and present that content to the user, in some
embodiments. For example, process 1100 may retrieve all images from
a Web page corresponding to a URL selected by a user and present
those images to the user for selection as content for the selected
element of the post. As another example, in some embodiments,
process 1100 can retrieve results from a search query based on the
specified identifier and present the retrieved results to the user.
In some such embodiments, a search engine Application Programming
Interface (API) can be used to submit a query to and retrieve any
suitable search results from any suitable search engine or search
engine interface (e.g., Google.TM. Images, YouTube.TM. videos,
and/or any other suitable search results).
[0093] In the case of a user selecting a URL or Web page for
inclusion as a "Link" type element, the selecting may include
analyzing the page for images, and presenting the user with those
images so that the user may select one of the images for use as the
link thumbnail, in some embodiments. Additionally, a user may be
given the option to "capture" or screen-grab an image of the entire
Web page, for use as the thumbnail for that element, in some
embodiments.
[0094] In some embodiments, process 1100 can receive selected
content automatically, that is, without user input. For example, in
some embodiments, process 1100 can receive content when it is
determined that a particular event has occurred. As a more
particular example, in some embodiments, process 1100 can receive
content when it is determined that an internal calendar and/or
clock indicate a particular date and/or time. As another more
particular example, in some embodiments, process 1100 can receive
content when it is determined that an event specified on a calendar
is occurring and/or has occurred. As a specific example, process
1100 can receive video content associated with a Web conference
when it is determined that the Web conference is occurring and/or
has ended.
[0095] Process 1100 can next retrieve the selected content at 1120.
This process can be retrieved in any suitable manner, in some
embodiments. For example, in some embodiments this process can be
retrieved by downloading the content from a suitable storage device
(e.g., such as one or more of servers 804 and 806 of FIG. 8) on the
Internet or any other suitable communication network.
[0096] With some content, it may be necessary or desirable to
perform processing on the content to improve some aspect of the
content, to improve the manner in which it is transmitted, to
improve the manner in which it is displayed, and/or for any other
suitable purpose, in some embodiments. For example, in some
embodiment, process 1100 can encode, transcode, convert,
compresses, resize, rip, change resolution, crop, zoom, pan,
re-color, perform thumbnail creation, apply visual or audio
effects, and/or perform any other suitable processing on the
content. Such processing can be performed for any suitable effect
in some embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, this
processing can be performed such that it improves performance when
the content is transmitted over a communication network (e.g., due
to file size, file format, etc.). As another example, in some
embodiments, this processing can be performing such that it
improves a presentation of the content as part of the post (e.g.,
due to image/video size, image/video shape, image/video/audio
resolution, image/video zoom, etc.). As a more particular example,
in some embodiments, the processing can create a thumbnail of video
or image content so that the thumbnail can be presented in the
post. As yet another example, in some embodiments, the processing
can include extracting a location associated with the content
(e.g., a place associated with creation of the content, a place
associated with upload of the content, and/or any other suitable
location information). In such embodiments, location information
can be stored in any suitable format (e.g., latitude and/or
longitude information, time zone information, a name of a place,
and/or any other suitable information). In some embodiments, the
processing can be performed based on a user device on which the
post and/or an element associated with the post is to be presented.
For example, in some embodiments, dimensions of an image associated
with the post can be resized based on a display size associated
with the user device that is to present the image.
[0097] In the case of files being directly selected, either from a
local storage location, or from a network or Web-based location,
some embodiments can automatically detect the type of file
selected, and process the content accordingly. For example, if the
user selects an .mp3 audio file, then that content element can be
processed with appropriate encoding, transcoding, etc. to
facilitate subsequent presentation with thumbnail or overlay
graphic in an element of a post. If the file selected is a .pdf,
then other suitable processing can be applied. In some embodiments,
a thumbnail or overlay graphic associated with the content can
indicate the detected file type.
[0098] The processing of content may include commercial or
transaction functionality, including representing an item or
represented item as "for sale" providing one or more options for a
user to add the item or the represented item to a virtual shopping
cart for subsequent purchase, and providing an interface for the
user to purchase the item or the represented item as in the case of
retail or wholesale commerce, in some embodiments. For example,
this processing may include the preparation of a file for digital
rights management, as in the case of a song, or video, or movie, or
eBook for sale, and it may optionally include the establishing of
an affiliate identifier, so the author is paid a share of revenue
or set fee, or other commission, if a viewer purchases the item.
The affiliate identifier may then be used to track volume of sales,
times of sales, conditions of sales, for purposes of commercial
use, in some embodiments.
[0099] After the content has been retrieved at 1120 or captured at
1116, process 1100 can determine whether processing is to be
performed on the content at 1122. The determination can be made on
any suitable basis, criterion, etc. For example, the determination
can be made based on whether the content can be properly presented
in a post, or if the content will have commercial or transaction
functionality within the post.
[0100] If it is determined at 1122 that the content is to be
processed, process 1100 can perform any suitable processing (as
described above) on the content at 1124. This processing can be
performed on any suitable device. For example, in some embodiments,
this processing can be performed on content processing server 802
and/or user device 810 of FIG. 8.
[0101] After performing the processing on the content at 1124, or
after determining at 1122 that no processing is to be performed on
the content, process 1100 can next store the content (whether
processed or not) for subsequent use in a post at 1126. The content
can be stored in any suitable manner and on any suitable one or
more devices, in some embodiments. For example, in some
embodiments, the content can be stored on a user device 810 of FIG.
8 for subsequent presentation on that device. As another example,
in some embodiments, the content can be stored on one or more
content storage servers 804 of FIG. 8 for subsequent streaming to
one or more user devices. As yet another example, in some
embodiments, a thumbnail that is generated at 1124 can be stored on
a user device for display on that device, and the remainder (or
some other part) of the content (whether processed or not) and/or
the thumbnail can be stored one or more servers for storage. In
some embodiments, the act of storing content on one or more of the
user device and the server(s) may include storing the content
locally (e.g., when process 1100 is being performed on the user
device or server(s)) or causing another device to store the content
(e.g., when process 1100 is not being performed on the user device
or server(s)) by sending any suitable instructions or requests to
the other device.
[0102] Process 1100 can then determine at 1128 whether there are
any one or more elements of the post for which content needs to be
selected. This determination can be made in any suitable manner, in
some embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, this
determination can be made by determining whether all user-defined
content elements in a template for a basic form of the post have
been specified.
[0103] If it is determined at 1128 that there are more elements,
then process 1100 can select the next element at 1130 and then loop
back to 1110. The selection made at 1130 can be made in any
suitable manner, in some embodiments. For example, an element of
the post can be selected based on the user clicking (or
double-clicking, tapping, double-tapping, etc.) on the element in a
display of the basic form of the post. As another example, an
element of the post can be automatically selected based upon it
being the next element of the basic form of the post that was
created, based upon it being in a next position in a sequence of
positions in the post (e.g., next to the right), etc.
[0104] As can be appreciated, a user may choose to select a variety
of pieces, and types of pieces, of content to present in a post in
some embodiments. For example, for a post related to the Missouri
River, in one element of a post, a user may select (e.g., import)
locally stored images taken from a trip to the river with the
user's family. In another element of the post, the user may select
a Web page from Wikipedia.TM. that has facts about the Missouri
River. Any other suitable pieces of content can be presented in one
or more other elements of the post.
[0105] As stated above, if it is determined at 1112 that the
content for an element of a post is going to be pre-existing,
advertising content, process 1100 can proceed from 1112 of FIG. 11A
to 1132 of FIG. 11C. As shown in FIG. 11C, at 1132, process 1100
can determine whether the pre-existing, advertising content is to
be manually or automatically selected. This determination can be
made in any suitable manner. For example, in some embodiments, this
determination can be made by receiving a user selection of an
automatic option or a manual option from a pop-up menu that is
presented to the user. If it is determined that the pre-existing,
advertising content will be selected manually, process 1100 can
branch at 1134 to 1136. Otherwise, process 1100 can branch at 1134
to 1140.
[0106] At 1140, process 1100 can receive a user selection of
advertising content. Process 1100 can receive this selection in any
suitable manner, in some embodiments. For example, in some
embodiments, the process can receive a selection of advertising
content at 1140 by presenting a mechanism for selecting advertising
existing content to the user and allowing the user to select
advertising content presented via that mechanism. Any suitable
mechanism can be used in some embodiments. For example, in some
embodiments, a user interface for selecting advertising content
files on a user device can be provided. As another example, a Web
browser can be provided for finding and selecting advertising
content available on the Internet or any other suitable
communication network. Any suitable advertising content available
on the Internet or other suitable communication network can be
selected in some embodiments. For example, content can be one or
more files stored in any suitable storage (such as server(s) 806 of
FIG. 8) on the Internet or other suitable communication network.
This advertising content can be created in any suitable manner, in
some embodiments. For example, this advertising content can be
created using known Internet advertisement methods.
[0107] With some advertising content, it may be necessary or
desirable to perform processing on the advertising content to
improve some aspect of the content, to improve the manner in which
it is transmitted, to improve the manner in which it is displayed,
and/or for any other suitable purpose, in some embodiments. For
example, in some embodiment, process 1100 can encode, transcode,
convert, compresses, resize, rip, change resolution, crop, zoom,
pan, re-color, perform thumbnail creation, and/or perform any other
suitable processing on the advertising content. Such processing can
be performed for any suitable effect in some embodiments. For
example, in some embodiments, this processing can be performed such
that it improves performance when the content is transmitted over a
communication network (e.g., due to file size, file format, etc.).
As another example, in some embodiments, this processing can be
performing such that it improves a presentation of the advertising
content as part of the post (e.g., due to image/video size,
image/video shape, image/video/audio resolution, image/video zoom,
etc.). As a more particular example, in some embodiments, the
processing can create a thumbnail of video or image advertising
content so that the thumbnail can be presented in the post.
[0108] After the advertising content has been selected at 1136,
process 1100 can determine whether processing is to be performed on
the content at 1138. The determination can be made on any suitable
basis, criterion, etc., in some embodiments. For example, the
determination can be made based on whether the advertising content
can be properly presented in a post.
[0109] If it is determined at 1138 that the content is to be
processed, process 1100 can perform any suitable processing (as
described above) on the content at 1140. For example, in some
embodiments, this processing can be performed on content processing
server 802 and/or user device 810 of FIG. 8.
[0110] After performing the processing on the content at 1140, or
after determining at 1138 that no processing is to be performed on
the content, process 1100 can next store the content (whether
processed or not) for subsequent use in a post at 1142. The
advertising content can be stored in any suitable manner and on any
suitable one or more devices, in some embodiments. For example, in
some embodiments, the advertising content can be stored on a user
device 810 of FIG. 8 for subsequent presentation on that device. As
another example, in some embodiments, the advertising content can
be stored on one or more content storage servers 804 of FIG. 8 for
subsequent streaming to one or more user devices. As yet another
example, in some embodiments, a thumbnail that is generated at 1140
can be stored on a user device for display on that device, and the
remainder (or some other part) of the content (whether processed or
not) and/or the thumbnail can be stored one or more servers for
storage. The act of storing advertising content on one or more of
the user device and the server(s) may include storing the content
locally (e.g., when process 1100 is being performed on the user
device or server(s)) or causing another device to store the content
(e.g., when process 1100 is not being performed on the user device
or server(s)) by sending any suitable instructions or requests to
the other device, in some embodiments.
[0111] As stated above, if it is determined at 1132 that the
pre-existing, advertising content is to be selected automatically,
process 1100 can branch at 1134 to 1144 at which the process can
determine whether the advertising content is to be statically or
dynamically assigned. Statically assigned advertising content can
be selected during the creation of a post and remain with the post
until a user chooses to change the advertising content, and
dynamically assigned advertising content can be automatically
selected at the time of presentation based on any suitable
advertising criteria, in some embodiments. The determination of
whether the advertising content is to be statically or dynamically
assigned can be made in any suitable manner, in some embodiments.
For example, in some embodiments, this determination can be made by
receiving a user selection of a static option or a dynamic option
from a pop-up menu that is presented to the user.
[0112] If it is determined that the pre-existing, advertising
content will be statically assigned, process 1100 can branch at
1146 to 1148 at which the process can automatically select the
advertising content. This selection can be made in any suitable
manner, in some embodiments. For example, this selection can be
made based on meta-tags associated with a post, based on post or
element characteristics, based on user-selected content in a post,
based on an auction among advertisers for the space, etc. After the
selection has been made at 1148, process 1100 can proceed to 1138
to determine whether to process the content, to 1140 to process the
content based on the determination at 1138, and to 1142 to store
the content, all as described above.
[0113] Otherwise, if it is determined that the pre-existing,
advertising content will be dynamically assigned, process 1100 can
branch at 1146 to 1150 at which the process can set advertising
criteria for the element. Any suitable advertising criteria can be
set in some embodiments. For example, the criteria can specify a
topic of the advertisement, allowed companies for the
advertisement, disallowed companies for the advertisement, minimum
revenue that is to be given to the author of the post for
presentation of the advertisement, a manner of selecting which
advertisement will be dynamically selected for the advertisement
(e.g., a presentation-time auction, a time period based selection,
time-of-day based selection, geo-location based selection, user
preferences based selection, etc.), and/or any other suitable
criteria.
[0114] After storing the advertising content at 1142 or setting the
advertising criteria at 1150, process 1100 can proceed to 1128 of
FIG. 11B to determine whether there are any one or more elements
for which content needs to be selected and to proceed accordingly
as described above.
[0115] As can be appreciated, presenting advertising content along
with user captured and/or pre-existing, non-advertising content can
provide many advantages to both users and advertisers, in some
embodiments. For example, if a user has a post about a wedding that
the user attended, the user may select to include an automatically
selected wedding-related advertisement to be included in an element
of the post. This advertisement may be selected on any suitable
basis, such as being based on meta-tag information associated with
the post (e.g., that the bride wore a dress from a specific
designer), and can contain any suitable advertising content (e.g.,
such as an image of an advertisement and a link to a wedding
magazine in which the dress is described and/or a location at which
the dress can be purchased), in some embodiments.
[0116] As another example, for a post relating to an entertainment
event (e.g., such as a concert, a sporting event, a play, a
musical, a circus, etc.), a user may include in elements of the
post pictures, reviews, videos, audio, etc. A party involved with
the presentation of the event (e.g., an artist, a promoter, a
production company, etc.) may provide content that can be selected
by the user as pre-existing, non-advertising content and/or as
pre-existing, advertising content relating to future events or to
products (e.g., memorabilia, DVDs, sound tracks, etc.) or services
(e.g., subscriptions, fan clubs, etc.) related to the event that
can be purchased, in some embodiments.
[0117] In some embodiments, once a post is created, or authored,
the mechanisms can allow a user to change and/or modify a thumbnail
representing content contained within an element of the post. For
example, in some embodiments, the element can include a selectable
input mechanism (e.g., a selectable icon, and/or any other suitable
type of selectable input element), selection of which can cause a
user interface that allows a user to specify an alternate thumbnail
to be opened.
[0118] In some embodiments, once a post is created, or authored,
the mechanisms may prepare the post for sharing on the Web. In this
preparation, after a user elects to share the post, a process can
automatically generate an HTML Web page that contains the post's
"player" embedded in it, in some embodiments. That page may be
accessible by only a secure URL link, in some embodiments. The user
may also be prompted with an option to email a link to the page
using an email application or client. For example, a real estate
broker can authorize a post that describes a property, including a
voice recording element that explains why the property is of
particular interest to a potential purchaser. The broker can then
"share" the post by emailing an automatically generated link to the
potential purchaser. The potential purchaser can then click on the
link in the email, and be presented with the post in a browser.
[0119] In some embodiments, the mechanisms may enable a user to
elect to "share" the post by sending it to any one or more suitable
social networks, such as Facebook.TM., Twitter.TM., or
Pinterest.TM.. In some such embodiments, a Web-based landing page
for the post can be created, a thumbnail encapsulating the post can
be auto-generated, and the thumbnail can be sent to a user-selected
network. In some embodiments, the thumbnail can be associated with
a Uniform Resource Locator associated with the Web-based landing
page. When another user clicks on the thumbnail or the shared
listing, the user can be presented with a Web page with the full
post. In some embodiments, metadata related to a social networking
service (e.g., a name of a social networking service, an icon
associated with a social networking service, a link to a social
networking service, a username corresponding to a social networking
service for the creator of the post, and/or any other suitable
information) can be associated with the post.
[0120] It should be understood that at least some of the above
described blocks of the processes of FIGS. 10, 11A, 11B, and 11C
can be executed or performed in any order or sequence not limited
to the order and sequence shown and described in the figures. Also,
some of the above blocks of the processes of FIGS. 10, 11A, 11B,
and 11C can be executed or performed substantially simultaneously
where appropriate or in parallel to reduce latency and processing
times.
[0121] In some embodiments, any suitable computer readable media
can be used for storing instructions for performing the functions
and/or processes described herein. For example, in some
embodiments, computer readable media can be transitory or
non-transitory. For example, non-transitory computer readable media
can include media such as magnetic media (such as hard disks,
floppy disks, etc.), optical media (such as compact discs, digital
video discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), semiconductor media (such as
flash memory, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM),
electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM),
etc.), any suitable media that is not fleeting or devoid of any
semblance of permanence during transmission, and/or any suitable
tangible media. As another example, transitory computer readable
media can include signals on networks, in wires, conductors,
optical fibers, circuits, any suitable media that is fleeting and
devoid of any semblance of permanence during transmission, and/or
any suitable intangible media.
[0122] Although the invention has been described and illustrated in
the foregoing illustrative embodiments, it is understood that the
present disclosure has been made only by way of example, and that
numerous changes in the details of implementation of the invention
can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the
invention, which is limited only by the claims that follow.
Features of the disclosed embodiments can be combined and
rearranged in various ways.
* * * * *