U.S. patent application number 15/301393 was filed with the patent office on 2017-02-02 for enhanced messaging stickers.
The applicant listed for this patent is FABTALE PRODUCTIONS PTY LTD. Invention is credited to Frank J. SHAFFER.
Application Number | 20170031550 15/301393 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 54239479 |
Filed Date | 2017-02-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170031550 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
SHAFFER; Frank J. |
February 2, 2017 |
Enhanced Messaging Stickers
Abstract
Disclosed is a method for providing a messaging sticker, wherein
the sticker has at least one associated video component.
Inventors: |
SHAFFER; Frank J.;
(Queensland, AU) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
FABTALE PRODUCTIONS PTY LTD |
New South Wales |
|
AU |
|
|
Family ID: |
54239479 |
Appl. No.: |
15/301393 |
Filed: |
April 1, 2015 |
PCT Filed: |
April 1, 2015 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/IB2015/052382 |
371 Date: |
October 2, 2016 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 51/00 20130101;
G06F 3/0482 20130101; H04L 51/08 20130101; G06Q 50/10 20130101;
G06F 40/134 20200101; G06F 40/166 20200101; H04L 51/32
20130101 |
International
Class: |
G06F 3/0482 20060101
G06F003/0482; G06F 17/22 20060101 G06F017/22; H04L 12/58 20060101
H04L012/58; G06F 17/24 20060101 G06F017/24 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 2, 2014 |
AU |
2014901194 |
Claims
1. A method of providing an enhanced sticker within a messaging
application, including the steps of: (a) Permitting a user to
access a selection of stickers; (b) Permitting the user to select a
sticker; (c) Permitting the user to attach a selected sticker to a
message; (d) Wherein the sticker includes a link which enables
launch of a communication, said communication including at least
one video component.
2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the communication is
customised automatically by including content specific as to the
sender, receiver or both.
3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the customising is
selected from one or more of adding names of the recipient and/or
sender, adding specific images or video, adding specific text, or
adding specific audio.
4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the communication
includes a video selected automatically from within a
pre-determined set of videos, so that when the same sticker is used
again, a video from that set will be automatically selected.
5. A method according to claim 4, wherein the selection of the
video from the set is random.
6. A method according to claim 4, wherein the selection of the
video from the set follows an order set by the user or by the
operator.
7. A method according to claim 2, wherein the content of the
communication, apart from automated customisation, is provided and
selected by the operator.
8. A method according to claim 2, wherein the content of the
communication, apart from automated customisation, is provided and
selected by the user, in advance of the sticker being attached.
9. A method according to claim 1, wherein the communication further
includes one or more of text, audio, video or image data.
10. A method according to claim 1, wherein the communication
includes placeholders, into which the content is displayed.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to the provision of specific
features within messaging applications.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Messaging applications are an increasingly popular form of
communications. The recent electronic communications market has
been dominated by text (SMS) and voice, with a degree of messaging
via other social media applications, for example private messaging
(in-boxing) via Facebook.RTM. and LinkedIn.RTM.. In addition,
Twitter.RTM., SnapChat.RTM., Instagram.RTM. and other applications
have been used to send still images as well as video.
[0003] The increasing reach of wifi connected smartphones has led
to increasing use of messaging applications. Proprietary messaging
applications, such as Facetime.RTM., have been joined by a wide
variety of messaging apps. These in general provide superior
functionality to SMS, while having no call charges if the user is
connected to Wi-Fi. Even if carrier based data is used, these
application generally use relatively little charged data. Examples
of such messaging applications include WhatsApp, Kik, Line, WeChat
and Viber. Specialised live streaming video messaging apps, such as
Livestream, Qik, and Ustream are also available in the market. For
the purpose of this specification, messaging application includes
both proprietary and open instant messaging apps, operable via the
internet, including those via social media or as adjuncts to other
software applications.
[0004] One aspect of messaging applications which has grown greatly
in popularity are stickers. A sticker is an illustration which is
available to be placed on or added to a message. In its simplest
form, it is like an elaborate emoticon, developed to allow more
depth and breadth of expression than what is possible with
punctuation or `emojis`. They are used to quickly and simply convey
an emotion or thought. In some cases they are animated, derived
from cartoon-like characters, and are often intended to be witty,
cute, irreverent or creative, but in a canned kind of way.
[0005] Some stickers are available for free, whilst others are
available for a charge, from on-line stores or from within
applications. Stickers have also been used as promotional items for
movies and other aspects of popular media.
[0006] It is an object of the present invention to provide
additional functionality and personalisation for stickers for use
in messaging.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] In a first broad form, the present invention provides a
sticker which incorporates a link to a message including at least a
video. In a preferred form, the content of the sticker is
automatically personalised for the recipient and/or the sender.
[0008] According to one aspect, the present invention provides a
method of providing an enhanced sticker within a messaging
application, including the steps of: permitting a user to access a
selection of stickers; permitting the user to select a sticker;
permitting the user to attach a selected sticker to a message;
wherein the sticker includes a link which enables launch of a
communication, said communication including at least one video
component.
[0009] In some implementations, the communication may be customised
automatically by including information specific to the sender, to
the receiver or both. This may be, for example, adding names of the
recipient and/or sender, adding specific images or video, adding
specific text, or adding specific audio.
[0010] In one form, the communication may include a video selected
automatically from pre-determined set, so that when the same
sticker is used again, a different video may be automatically
selected from the set, either from a shuffle, randomly, or using a
selection algorithm. In this way, using the same sticker remains
none the less fresh.
[0011] In suitable implementations, the content of the
communication, apart from some level of automated customisation,
may be provided by the operator. Alternatively, it may be provided
by the user, with the content selected and defined in advance of
the sticker being attached. In some implementations, the content is
a mixture of the above. The image on the sticker may similarly be
provided by the user, by the operator, or either at the user's
option.
[0012] It will be apparent that the present invention accordingly
provides a way for a sticker to entail a much richer, elaborate set
of content than the existing uses of stickers. Moreover,
implementations of the present invention allow for the user to have
much more control over what material is presented, and to whom it
is presented.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] Illustrative examples of the present invention will now be
described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in
which:
[0014] FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating the logical process by
which communications can be created and displayed according to one
implementation of the present invention;
[0015] FIG. 2 is a screenshot illustrating selection of an app
within a messaging program;
[0016] FIG. 3 is a screenshot illustrating selection of a
sticker;
[0017] FIG. 4 is a screenshot illustrating how the message appears
to the sender after selection;
[0018] FIG. 5 is close up of the message as it is being reviewed by
the sender; a screenshot showing the incoming message with sticker
attached;
[0019] FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 4, in which the option to
take a photo is shown;
[0020] FIG. 7 is a screenshot illustrating the selection of the
party to whom the message is sent;
[0021] FIG. 8 is a screenshot illustrating a conversation between
parties with various stickers attached;
[0022] FIG. 9 is a screenshot showing the message from the sticker
as it appears to the recipient;
[0023] FIG. 10 is a screenshot showing suggested possible replies
to the QuickZing;
[0024] FIG. 11 illustrates the a screen where the layouts and
frames are selected;
[0025] FIGS. 12, 13 and 14 illustrates the layout as it has been
selected in FIG. 11, at various times illustrating how it is
assembled for the recipient; and
[0026] FIG. 15 is an example of a QuickZing using a random gif.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0027] The present invention will be described mainly with
reference to several specific implementations, and in relation to
particular applications to products. It will be understood that the
present invention in principle is adapted for implementation on
many products, and that the specific type of product may influence
the types of content and uses for the present invention. Further,
the implementation at the content, social media and network side
may be variable and adapted to the requirements and norms of that
facility. The present invention is intended to encompass all such
implementations.
[0028] The term `network` is intended in its broadest sense. It
includes public and private networks, illustratively those applying
TCP/IP protocols such as the internet, but not limited to such
networks. They may be local area networks (LANs), wide area
networks (WANs). The physical implementation of such networks may
be fixed, wireless, optical, satellite, mobile or any other
suitable form.
[0029] The present invention may be conveniently implemented using
a server based virtual facility, such as the facility operated by
the applicant as FabZing. Details of the implementation of this
system are provided in the applicant's patent application No s WO
20112041827 (U.S. 61/272,545) and U.S. provisional application No.
61/746,774 by J Frank Shaffer. These disclosures are hereby
incorporated by reference. A suitable implementation of a server
based, user controlled multimedia messaging system is the FabZing
system, which is available at www.fabzing.com and is commercially
operated by the present assignee. Of course, any other suitable
system may be used to implement the invention.
[0030] The messaging application chosen may be any suitable one,
such as the specific examples mentioned above, social media or any
other type of online messaging. Sticker is meant is the broadest
sense, as a predefined icon or image (or gif or video) which can be
selected and attached or added to a message by a user. The present
invention is not limited to any particular mode of selection, and
in general it is preferred that the normal mode within the selected
messaging system is used.
[0031] The term operator is used to refer to the party which is
providing the server and associated software to deliver the
enhanced stickers. This may be multiple parties, depending upon
commercial arrangements, and may or may not be the operator of the
messaging application. The term is intended to encompass both those
in operational control and overall ownership or control.
[0032] The term video is used to refer to any kind of moving image
format, including for example Mpeg and images format that can be
used to form a moving image, such as gifs. In suitable contexts, it
may refer to live video or stored video.
[0033] The present invention is envisaged as being implemented
primarily as an application which is selected or sold in the usual
way for the messaging application. The example provided is in this
context. However, the functionality could be incorporated within
the functions of the messaging system itself in a suitable
implementation.
[0034] A quickZing is a particular form of enhanced message which
can be associated with a sticker and attached to a message, as will
be explained in more detail below. It represents one example of an
implementation of the present invention.
[0035] With reference to FIG. 1, the process by which a quickZing
is created, stored, selected and then delivered to a recipient will
be described.
[0036] At step 10, the author selects the general layout of their
quickZing. In one implementation, this may be a person authorised
by the operator, in order to maximise the simplicity of the system.
However, it can also be the user, as will be described in more
detail below.
[0037] At step 11, the layout code is then saved to a database,
given a name, and the quickZing assigned a unique URL.
[0038] At step 12, the sender has available a list of available
quick Zings, for example as a screen on the smartphone, and selects
one. At this stage, the sticker or quickZing is attached to the
draft message. In some cases, the sender can modify at step 13 the
content within one or more of the placeholders. For example, they
may add a photo such as a selfie, or add some text.
[0039] The sender then sends the quickZing to the recipient, using
the messaging app and with the unique URL associated with the
sticker on the message. The recipient then receives their instant
message, and clicks the quickZing inside the messaging
application.
[0040] At the server addressed by the url, the quickZing is
assembled and played for the recipient. The layout code defines the
various components that must be assembled. These may include, for
example, media 21 selected by the author, media 22 from the
internet picked by a search tag, a profile picture 23 of the sender
retrieved from the Messaging app account, the name and/or image of
the recipient 24 retrieved from the messaging app account, and
media selected as part of the layout by the server 25.
[0041] FIGS. 2 to 8 are screenshots illustrating an implementation
of the present invention adapted to operate as an app within the
kik messaging app. It will be appreciated that these are merely
provided to illustrate one example, and they are in no sense
limitative of the scope of the invention. In particular, the
invention may be implemented with any suitable messaging
application.
[0042] FIG. 2 illustrates a conventional smartphone screen. It will
be appreciated that the present invention could be accessed using
any suitable device, for example a tablet, PC, or any other
suitable device. The screen shows a list of apps available,
including quickZing, the illustrative app which will be described.
It will be appreciated that a list such as shown is reasonably
conventional in commonly used smartphone operating systems, such as
iOs and Android.
[0043] Selecting quickZing takes the user to the screen in FIG. 3.
This allows the user to select from a list of available quickZings,
including a list of the most recent.
[0044] In FIG. 4, the users has selected `Can we Dance`. At the
top, a preview shows the components. A blank placeholder appears
where the image of the recipient will appear, from the image (if
any) in the sender's contact list. At the bottom of the quickZing,
an option appears to take a photo to replace the profile picture
shown at top left.
[0045] The shuffle button allows the sender to shuffle through
content, which already exists as a library, in order to select
alternative content if they prefer. Shuffled content is shown in
the appropriate placeholder screen. The back arrow will move to the
previous content or version.
[0046] Although it is not apparent from the images, and it is
optional, in most cases music or some other audio component will
also accompany the quickZing. This is also previewed at this
screen.
[0047] The k button is a feature within kik which allows the user
to share with their other friends, not just the recipient.
[0048] FIG. 5 illustrates the quickZing in more detail. The top
left is an image of the sender, and the middle image will be the
recipient. The other frames are playing videos associated with the
message `Thanks (friend) for the dance!`. The name of the friend
will be inserted from the contact list.
[0049] FIG. 6 illustrates the option to take an alternative
picture. In this quickZing, the sender image would change. In
suitable other quickZings, other parts may change, or live video
may be added. An example would be `wish you were here` with a short
video or image of a group of friends at an event. This option also
allows the sender to insert a photo from their library, for example
from on their phone.
[0050] FIG. 7 shows the screen whereby the recipient can be
selected from the list of contacts, in the form of a list of
conversations with other members. As is conventional in messaging,
the most recent conversations are listed first. The top party, Tony
Barbetta, is selected.
[0051] FIG. 8 illustrates the selected conversation, in which
messages are shown, some with a quickZing, some without. The bottom
image is the message which is about to be sent, which the send
button at bottom right is actuated by the sender. The quickZing at
the top has already been sent. FIG. 9 shows the sent quickZing at
top left of the conversation in FIG. 8, from the perspective of the
recipient.
[0052] FIG. 10 is a reply screen, which provides options including
two suggested response quickZings, selecting more quickZings, and a
text reply.
[0053] It can accordingly be seen that the quickZings are able to
be customised to the sender and recipient automatically, for
example with their respective names and images inserted into the
quickZing. The sender can readily customise a pre-prepared
quickZing from the operator, or readily create their own, ready for
use as required.
[0054] The quickZing may be a simple, pre-packaged set of audio,
video and images which is simply selected and sent with
customisation of sender, recipient and their images. It may be a
pre-formatted layout, in which videos and images can be selected
from a search, shuffled within a library, or created as required by
the user. The intention is that in many cases, publicly available
material will be used. The operation of the implementation
disclosed is to simply access URLs, not to copy the material. To
further simplify matters, the users may prefer to use public domain
material, or their own stored user generated material.
[0055] Implementations of the present invention accordingly allow a
user to very quickly create a communication including choreographed
imagery, sounds, gifs, video, and text passages, all or some of
which are personalized and particular to that moment in time
between the two parties in a conversation thread. By including
variable components such as shuffle, recent, or trending content as
one or more of the place holders of the composite messaging, an
even more dynamic format is then created with further elements of
discovery and serendipity which would potentially add to the
interest or engagement level for both the user and the recipient.
The user is further enabled to modify the messages and content
associated with a sticker. For example, the QuickZing in that
implementation could be changed to substitute a different gif, in
response to current events. The user can change the content,
without the recipient having to take any action. The communication
that the sticker is linked to is changed, and hence the recipient
who activates the sticker will receive the current linked
communication. Thus, real time changes are possible.
[0056] The present invention has the capacity, in suitable
implementations, to allow very creative content to be produced from
sources which have typically been difficult to work with. For
example, the present invention can readily use one or more gif
files to move in time to a selected music track. FIG. 15 is an
illustration of this in which a randomly selected gif of Justin
Bieber (for example) may be set to music. In this instance, a photo
may be added or not at the user's choosing. This illustrates the
very light hearted, simple meme-like imagery to which the present
invention is particularly suited.
[0057] FIG. 11 illustrates a screen from which a quickZing can be
created, from the FabZing website noted above, the contents of
which are hereby incorporated by reference.
[0058] This allows the user to select placeholders, move them
around the screen, change their specific content and adjust
parameters. These include font, color, size etc for text, quotes
and messages; where the personalised features are inserted; what
video, image, audio and other resources from the network are used,
and in what timing and combination. The sequencing and speed can
also be controlled.
[0059] It will be appreciated that although the quickZing is
created within a particular messaging app, the sticker so created
may be sent to another messaging app or communicated to social
media or via other means.
[0060] FIG. 12 illustrates the quickZing created in FIG. 11,
roughly 2 seconds into playback. At this stage, there are two
background images and a text box. The text box has been set so that
the number of smiles shuffles at random between 5 and 99.
[0061] FIG. 13 illustrates the quickZing of FIG. 12, 4 second in.
The image of the sender has been inserted, as well as another text
box. The quotes in the second text box shuffle to show a new quote
each time the quickZing is used.
[0062] FIG. 14 shows the quickZing of FIG. 12, 6 seconds in. Two
further gifs/videos have now appeared. The images are on a shuffle,
from a database of appropriate (e.g. happy and smiling) gifs.
[0063] Implementations of quickZings could use specific criteria
for the rotation, for example trending images with respect to a
social media or image sharing website.
[0064] It will be appreciated that the use of shuffling or random
selection of images from a database (or the network) creates
freshness and a feeling of discovery for the sender and recipient.
For example, to illustrate a quickZing dealing with getting back
after a setback, gifs showing people tripping over and getting up
could be cycled, the first time it is a baseball player tripping,
the next time it is a fashion model tripping, then a President,
then the most recent/popular gif that day and so on.
[0065] Similarly, this could be done with the user's own library of
images, either for their personal image, or for other images in the
quickZing.
[0066] A further implementation could effectively gamify (make into
a game) everyday messaging conversations by creating unique
combinations of a particular randomly generated quote with a
winning number of `smiles` to reward users with prizes or points
toward further enhancements. Similarly, in this manner any unique
combination of images, videos, gifs, quotes, songs, and or numbers
could in effect yield such an outcome.
[0067] The selection algorithm for images could include a variety
of characteristics in suitable implementations, including for
example sender and recipient's tastes and preferences; a certain
weighting to popular gifs with another weighting to what's
trending, or any other appropriate criteria.
[0068] It will be appreciated that a particular feature of this
implementation of the present invention is that the sender can very
quickly select a sticker with personalised multimodal content and a
message that takes the sender much longer to view and experience
than it does to create and send. This is the reverse of the usual
situation with a complex communication.
* * * * *
References