U.S. patent application number 17/020607 was filed with the patent office on 2020-12-31 for systems and methods for compiled video generation.
The applicant listed for this patent is Facebook, Inc.. Invention is credited to Justin David Aguilar, John Samuel Barnett.
Application Number | 20200410242 17/020607 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000005087008 |
Filed Date | 2020-12-31 |
United States Patent
Application |
20200410242 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Aguilar; Justin David ; et
al. |
December 31, 2020 |
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR COMPILED VIDEO GENERATION
Abstract
Systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable media can
determine one or more source video clips. A plurality of video
segments are selected from the one or more source video clips based
on video segment selection criteria. A compiled video is generated
comprising the plurality of video segments.
Inventors: |
Aguilar; Justin David; (San
Francisco, CA) ; Barnett; John Samuel; (Newark,
CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Facebook, Inc. |
Menlo Park |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
1000005087008 |
Appl. No.: |
17/020607 |
Filed: |
September 14, 2020 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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15387539 |
Dec 21, 2016 |
10839221 |
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17020607 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G11B 27/036 20130101;
G06K 9/00765 20130101; G06K 9/00718 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G06K 9/00 20060101
G06K009/00; G11B 27/036 20060101 G11B027/036 |
Claims
1. A computer-implemented method comprising: performing, by a
computing system, a characteristic analysis technique on media
content items associated with a user; identifying, by the computing
system, a theme based on a number of the media content items that
contain subject matter associated with the theme; selecting, by the
computing system, a plurality of segments from the media content
items, the plurality of segments containing the subject matter
associated with the theme; and generating, by the computing system,
a compiled media content item comprising the plurality of
segments.
2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the
selecting the plurality of segments from the media content items is
based on quality associated with the respective segments.
3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the
characteristic analysis technique comprises analysis of at least
one of visual characteristics, audio characteristics, movement
characteristics, or social engagement characteristics.
4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the social
engagement characteristics associated with a media content item of
the media content items include at least one of a number of viewers
or a number of responses associated with the media content item,
and the selecting the plurality of segments from the media content
items is based on the social engagement characteristics.
5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the media
content items comprise a live broadcast with which viewers can
interact in real-time, and the selecting the plurality of segments
from the media content items comprises selecting a segment from the
live broadcast based on social engagement characteristics
associated with the segment.
6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the
performing the characteristic analysis technique on the media
content items comprises determining a degree of stillness
associated with a media content item of the media content items
based on camera movement information associated with the media
content item, and the selecting the plurality of segments from the
media content items comprises selecting a segment from the media
content item based on the camera movement information.
7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein the camera
movement information is based on a sensor associated with a camera
that captured the media content item.
8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the
selecting the plurality of segments from the media content items
comprises ranking the plurality of segments based on results of the
characteristic analysis technique.
9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the
selecting the plurality of segments from the media content items
comprises selecting the plurality of segments based on at least one
of a time of capture or a location of capture associated with a
segment of the plurality of segments.
10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising
normalizing at least one of video aspects or audio aspects of the
plurality of segments of the compiled media content item.
11. A system comprising: at least one processor; and a memory
storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one
processor, cause the system to perform a method comprising:
performing a characteristic analysis technique on media content
items associated with a user; identifying a theme based on a number
of the media content items that contain subject matter associated
with the theme; selecting a plurality of segments from the media
content items, the plurality of segments containing the subject
matter associated with the theme; and generating a compiled media
content item comprising the plurality of segments.
12. The system of claim 11, wherein the selecting the plurality of
segments from the media content items is based on quality
associated with the respective segments.
13. The system of claim 11, wherein the characteristic analysis
technique comprises analysis of at least one of visual
characteristics, audio characteristics, movement characteristics,
or social engagement characteristics.
14. The system of claim 13, wherein the social engagement
characteristics associated with a media content item of the media
content items include at least one of a number of viewers or a
number of responses associated with the media content item, and the
selecting the plurality of segments from the media content items is
based on the social engagement characteristics.
15. The system of claim 11, wherein the media content items
comprise a live broadcast with which viewers can interact in
real-time, and the selecting the plurality of segments from the
media content items comprises selecting a segment from the live
broadcast based on social engagement characteristics associated
with the segment.
16. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including
instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a
computing system, cause the computing system to perform a method
comprising: performing a characteristic analysis technique on media
content items associated with a user; identifying a theme based on
a number of the media content items that contain subject matter
associated with the theme; selecting a plurality of segments from
the media content items, the plurality of segments containing the
subject matter associated with the theme; and generating a compiled
media content item comprising the plurality of segments.
17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim
16, wherein the selecting the plurality of segments from the media
content items is based on quality associated with the respective
segments.
18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim
16, wherein the characteristic analysis technique comprises
analysis of at least one of visual characteristics, audio
characteristics, movement characteristics, or social engagement
characteristics.
19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim
18, wherein the social engagement characteristics associated with a
media content item of the media content items include at least one
of a number of viewers or a number of responses associated with the
media content item, and the selecting the plurality of segments
from the media content items is based on the social engagement
characteristics.
20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim
16, wherein the media content items comprise a live broadcast with
which viewers can interact in real-time, and the selecting the
plurality of segments from the media content items comprises
selecting a segment from the live broadcast based on social
engagement characteristics associated with the segment.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 15/387,539, filed Dec. 21, 2016 and entitled
"Systems and Methods for Compiled Video Generation", which is
incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present technology relates to the field of content
generation. More particularly, the present technology relates to
generation of compiled videos.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Today, people often utilize computing devices (or systems)
for a wide variety of purposes. Users can use their computing
devices, for example, to interact with one another, create content,
share content, and view content. In some cases, a user can utilize
his or her computing device to access a social networking system
(or service). The user can provide, post, share, and access various
content items, such as status updates, images, videos, articles,
and links, via the social networking system.
[0004] User experience associated with a social networking system
can be enhanced as the social networking system becomes more
knowledgeable about the users that it serves. When knowledge of a
user is gained, content, advertising, tools, and other services can
be optimized for presentation to the user. Such potentially helpful
knowledge about the user can include information about the user as
an individual as well as the user's activity on the social
networking system. Knowledge about the user can be utilized to
provide features and content that increase user interest in and
engagement with the social networking system.
SUMMARY
[0005] Various embodiments of the present disclosure can include
systems, methods, and non-transitory computer readable media
configured to determine one or more source video clips. A plurality
of video segments are selected from the one or more source video
clips based on video segment selection criteria. A compiled video
is generated comprising the plurality of video segments.
[0006] In an embodiment, a first theme is identified, and the
plurality of video segments are selected based on the first
theme.
[0007] In an embodiment, the first theme is an automatically
determined theme based on video characteristics of the one or more
source video clips.
[0008] In an embodiment, the first theme is a user-specified
theme.
[0009] In an embodiment, a second theme is identified. A second
plurality of video segments are selected from the one or more
source video clips based on the second theme. A second compiled
video is generated comprising the second plurality of video
segments.
[0010] In an embodiment, the compiled video and the second compiled
video are presented for selection by a user.
[0011] In an embodiment, the first theme is identified based on at
least one of objection recognition or facial recognition performed
using machine learning techniques.
[0012] In an embodiment, the plurality of video segments are
selected based on at least one of object recognition or facial
recognition performed using machine learning techniques.
[0013] In an embodiment, the plurality of video segments are
selected based on user characteristic information.
[0014] In an embodiment, video normalization of the plurality of
video segments in the compiled video is performed.
[0015] It should be appreciated that many other features,
applications, embodiments, and/or variations of the disclosed
technology will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and from
the following detailed description. Additional and/or alternative
implementations of the structures, systems, non-transitory computer
readable media, and methods described herein can be employed
without departing from the principles of the disclosed
technology.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] FIG. 1 illustrates an example system including a compiled
video module, according to an embodiment of the present
disclosure.
[0017] FIG. 2 illustrates an example video segment selection
module, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0018] FIG. 3 illustrates an example video characteristics module,
according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0019] FIG. 4 illustrates an example compiled video generation
module, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0020] FIG. 5 illustrates an example method associated with
generating compiled videos, according to an embodiment of the
present disclosure.
[0021] FIG. 6 illustrates a network diagram of an example system
including an example social networking system that can be utilized
in various scenarios, according to an embodiment of the present
disclosure.
[0022] FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a computer system or
computing device that can be utilized in various scenarios,
according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0023] The figures depict various embodiments of the disclosed
technology for purposes of illustration only, wherein the figures
use like reference numerals to identify like elements. One skilled
in the art will readily recognize from the following discussion
that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods
illustrated in the figures can be employed without departing from
the principles of the disclosed technology described herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Compiled Video Generation
[0024] People use computing devices (or systems) for a wide variety
of purposes. Computing devices can provide different kinds of
functionality. Users can utilize their computing devices to produce
information, access information, and share information. In some
cases, users can utilize computing devices to interact or engage
with a conventional social networking system (i.e., a social
networking service, a social network, etc.). For example, users can
add friends or contacts, provide, post, or publish content items,
such as text, notes, status updates, links, pictures, videos, and
audio, via the social networking system.
[0025] User experience associated with a social networking system
can be enhanced as the social networking system becomes more
knowledgeable about the users that it serves. When knowledge of a
user is gained, content, advertising, tools, and other services can
be optimized for presentation to the user. Such potentially helpful
knowledge about the user can include information about the user as
an individual as well as the user's activity on the social
networking system. Knowledge about the user can be utilized to
provide features and content that increase user interest in and
engagement with the social networking system.
[0026] It continues to be an important interest for a social
networking system to provide users with tools to easily post
interesting and high quality content to the social networking
system. Such tools can lead to greater numbers of interesting
content posts on the social networking system. Greater numbers of
interesting content posts lead to greater engagement and
interaction on the social networking system. However, it can be
difficult to provide users with such tools. This remains true
despite, and potentially partly due to, the ease with which users
can capture content using improving technologies, such as improved
cameras on mobile devices. While these improving technologies may
make it easier for users to capture content, users may be hesitant
to share this content on a social networking system. This may be
for various reasons. For example, users may be reluctant share
large amounts of content for fear of inundating or boring their
social networking system connections with uninteresting content.
Users may also be reluctant to take the time to comb through their
enormous content libraries to select the "best" content to share on
the social networking system. For these reasons, the ease with
which users are able to capture content may actually act as a
hindrance to user content posting on a social networking
system.
[0027] An improved approach rooted in computer technology overcomes
the foregoing and other disadvantages associated with conventional
approaches specifically arising in the realm of computer
technology. Based on computer technology, the disclosed technology
can generate compiled videos comprising a plurality of video
segments selected from one or more source video clips. A video
segment can be understood to represent a portion of a video clip. A
compiled video can include the most interesting or relevant video
segments of one or more source video clips. As such, a compiled
video can represent a condensed version of a single source video
clip, or a condensed compilation of multiple source video clips. In
certain embodiments, the compiled video may be of a fixed,
pre-defined duration. Source video clips and/or video segments can
be selected based on various selection criteria. For example,
source video clips and/or video segments may be selected based on
common items and/or themes present in the source video clips. For
example, if a user wishes to create a "friends"-themed compiled
video, video segments may be selected from source video clips such
that the video segments include portions of the source video clips
in which a user's connections on a social networking system are
depicted. In another example, if it is determined that a plurality
of source video clips depict various points of interest, the source
video clips can be cropped into only those video segments that
depict points of interest for inclusion in a "points of
interest"-themed compiled video. In various embodiments, video
segments in a compiled video may be edited and/or "normalized" to
create a consistent look and feel for the compiled video.
[0028] In certain embodiments, using a single set of source video
clips, multiple compiled videos may be generated and presented to a
user for potential selection. For example, based on a single set of
source video clips, a "friends"-themed compiled video may be
generated, and a "points of interest"-themed compiled video may be
generated, and an "animals"-themed compiled video may be generated.
The user can then select one or more of the compiled videos to, for
example, post to a social networking system. These concepts, and
others, will be discussed in greater detail herein.
[0029] FIG. 1 illustrates an example system 100 including an
example compiled video module 102 configured to generate compiled
videos, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In
certain embodiments, a set of one or more source video clips can be
determined. Video segments can be selected from the set of one or
more source video clips, and the video segments can be combined to
create a compiled video. Video segments may be selected so as to
create a compiled video of a fixed duration. For example, if a user
wishes to create a compiled video having a duration of one minute,
video segments totaling one minute in duration may be selected, or
video segments may be selected and edited so that the compiled
video is one minute long. Video segments can be selected based on
various video segment selection criteria. In certain embodiments,
source video clips can be analyzed to automatically determine a
common theme, and video segments can be selected based on the
common theme. In various embodiments, themes may be automatically
determined using machine learning techniques, such as object
recognition and/or facial recognition. In other embodiments, a user
may provide a user-specified theme, and video segments can be
selected based on the user-specified theme. Once a plurality of
video segments are selected, they can be combined into a compiled
video. Video segments in a compiled video may be edited and/or
normalized to create a consistent look and feel for the compiled
video. In certain embodiments, multiple compiled videos can be
generated and presented for possible selection by a user.
[0030] As shown in the example of FIG. 1, the compiled video module
102 can include a video segment selection module 104, a compiled
video generation module 106, and a compiled video presentation
module 108. In some instances, the example system 100 can include
at least one data store 110. The components (e.g., modules,
elements, etc.) shown in this figure and all figures herein are
exemplary only, and other implementations may include additional,
fewer, integrated, or different components. Some components may not
be shown so as not to obscure relevant details.
[0031] The compiled video module 102 can be implemented, in part or
in whole, as software, hardware, or any combination thereof. In
general, a module as discussed herein can be associated with
software, hardware, or any combination thereof. In some
implementations, one or more functions, tasks, and/or operations of
modules can be carried out or performed by software routines,
software processes, hardware, and/or any combination thereof. In
some cases, the compiled video module 102 can be implemented, in
part or in whole, as software running on one or more computing
devices or systems, such as on a server computing system or a user
(or client) computing system. For example, the compiled video
module 102, or at least a portion thereof, can be implemented as or
within an application (e.g., app), a program, or an applet, etc.,
running on a user computing device or a client computing system,
such as the user device 610 of FIG. 6. In another example, the
compiled video module 102 or at least a portion thereof can be
implemented using one or more computing devices or systems that
include one or more servers, such as network servers or cloud
servers. In some instances, the compiled video module 102 can, in
part or in whole, be implemented within or configured to operate in
conjunction with a social networking system (or service), such as
the social networking system 630 of FIG. 6. It should be understood
that there can be many variations or other possibilities.
[0032] The compiled video module 102 can be configured to
communicate and/or operate with the at least one data store 110, as
shown in the example system 100. The data store 110 can be
configured to store and maintain various types of data. In some
implementations, the data store 110 can store information
associated with the social networking system (e.g., the social
networking system 630 of FIG. 6). The information associated with
the social networking system can include data about users, user
identifiers, social connections, social interactions, profile
information, demographic information, locations, geo-fenced areas,
maps, places, events, pages, groups, posts, communications,
content, feeds, account settings, privacy settings, a social graph,
and various other types of data. In some embodiments, the data
store 110 can store information that is utilized by the compiled
video module 102. For example, the data store 110 can store source
video clips, video segment selection criteria, user engagement
information, video filter information, and the like. It is
contemplated that there can be many variations or other
possibilities.
[0033] The video segment selection module 104 can be configured to
select video segments from one or more source video clips based on
video segment selection criteria. A set of one or more source video
clips can be determined. For example, the one or more source video
clips may include video clips selected by a user, or video clips
that have been grouped together based on video clip selection
criteria. Video clips can be grouped based on any relevant video
characteristics, such as time of capture, location of capture, or
content depicted in the video clips, to name a few examples. In
various embodiments, one video segment can be selected from each
source video clip, multiple video segments can be selected from a
single source video clip, multiple video segments can be selected
from each source video clip, and/or one or more video segments can
be selected from a subset of the source video clips.
[0034] Video segments can be selected from the one or more source
video clips based on video segment selection criteria. In certain
embodiments, video segments can be assigned video segment scores
based on the video segment selection criteria, and video segments
can be selected based on video segment scores. Video segment
selection criteria can include a number of considerations. In one
example, video segments can be selected based on duration
information to generate a compiled video of a pre-defined duration.
Duration information can define a compiled video duration and/or a
video segment duration. Video segments can also be selected based
on various video characteristics. Video characteristics can include
visual characteristics, audio characteristics, movement
characteristics, and/or social engagement characteristics, as will
be described in greater detail below. Video segments may be
selected based on a particular theme. In certain embodiments,
themes may be user-defined. For example, a user may wish to create
a "travel"-themed compiled video, and source video clips may be
analyzed to identify video segments that are associated with
travel. In other embodiments, themes may be automatically and
dynamically determined. In certain embodiments, themes can be
automatically determined based on video characteristics of the
source video clips. For example, a set of source video clips can be
analyzed to determine one or more common themes that occur in the
source video clips. For example, if a set of source video clips
each include segments which depict nature, this theme may be
identified and video segments selected based on the identified
theme. A compiled video can then be generated for each identified
theme. If multiple themes are identified, multiple compiled videos
can be generated (e.g., one for each identified theme). In various
embodiments, automated theme determination and/or selection of
video segments based on themes may be performed using machine
learning techniques. For example, machine learning techniques can
be used to identify various people (e.g., via facial recognition)
and/or objects depicted in videos (e.g., via object recognition) to
determine commonalities that may be used as themes. Once a theme is
established, machine learning techniques can be used to identify
video segments that are associated with the theme. The video
segment selection module 104 is described in greater detail herein
with reference to FIG. 2.
[0035] The compiled video generation module 106 can be configured
to generate a compiled video from a plurality of video segments.
Video segments that have been selected by the video segment
selection module 104 can be combined into a compiled video. In
certain embodiments, video segments in a compiled video may be
edited and/or normalized. For example, visual and/or audio features
may be edited for each video segment to create a consistent look
and feel for the compiled video. The compiled video generation
module 106 is described in greater detail herein with reference to
FIG. 4.
[0036] The compiled video presentation module 108 can be configured
to present one or more compiled videos for selection by a user. In
certain embodiments, one or more compiled videos can be presented
to a user. The user can select a compiled video for, for example,
posting to a social networking system. For example, a user may be
presented with multiple compiled videos, each compiled video
corresponding to a particular theme. The user can select one
compiled video and can edit the compiled video. Editing options may
include applying a visual and/or audio filter to the compiled
video, or modifying the duration of the compiled video, or applying
effects to one or more video segments in the compiled video. The
user can then post the compiled video to a social networking
system.
[0037] FIG. 2 illustrates an example video segment selection module
202 configured to select a plurality of video segments from one or
more source video clips based on video segment selection criteria,
according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In some
embodiments, the video segment selection module 104 of FIG. 1 can
be implemented as the example video segment selection module 202.
As shown in FIG. 2, the video segment selection module 202 can
include a source video clip selection module 204, a duration module
206, a user characteristics module 208, and a video characteristics
module 210.
[0038] The source video clip selection module 204 can be configured
to determine one or more source video clips. In certain
embodiments, source video clips may be defined by a user. For
example, a user can select one or more source video clips from
which to create a compiled video. In other embodiments, source
video clips may be automatically determined based on video clip
selection criteria. For example, if a user selects a particular
theme for a compiled video, all source video clips containing video
segments that relate to the theme may be selected. Source video
clips may also be selected, for example, based on time of capture
(e.g., all video clips captured in the past 24 hours, or the past
week, or the past month, or the past year, or captured during a
particular date range, etc.) and/or based on location of capture
(e.g., based on geo-tag information).
[0039] The duration module 206 can be configured to select video
segments based on duration information. Video segments may be
selected based on video segment duration information specifying a
video segment duration and/or compiled video duration information
specifying a duration for a compiled video. For example, if a user
specifies that he or she would like a compiled video containing
three-second video segments, one three-second video segment can be
selected from each source video clip. Or if a user specifies that
he or she would like a one-minute compiled video generated from a
set of source video clips, video segments may be selected that
total one minute in duration. In certain embodiments, a user may
define a compiled video duration, and video segments of equal
duration may be selected from each source video clip so as to total
the compiled video duration. For example, if a user specifies that
he or she would like a compiled video having a duration of
30-seconds, and there are six source video clips, a five-second
video segment can be selected from each source video clip. In
certain embodiments, certain video segments may be excluded on the
basis of a duration characteristic. For example, if a particular
video segment includes a user speaking for six seconds, that video
segment may be excluded, so as not to cut off the user's speech, if
the duration characteristic specifies a video segment duration of
less than six seconds. In certain embodiments, the duration of a
compiled video may be determined by a maximum video duration set by
a social networking system.
[0040] The user characteristics module 208 can be configured to
select video segments based on user characteristic information. In
certain embodiments, a user's interests, tendencies, and/or
preferences can be determined to inform video segment selection. If
a user is attempting to generate a compiled video, the user's
previous content postings to a social networking system can be
analyzed to determine the user's interests and preferences.
Different users having different interests and preferences may
result in different compiled videos based on the users' differing
characteristics, even if the same set of source video clips are
used. Consider the example scenario of a set of source video clips
which depict users camping. If it is determined that a first user
posts a large number of content items about nature without people
being depicted in them, video segments may be selected from the set
of source video clips which depict nature without depicting people.
However, a second user may have a tendency to post portrait-type
content items that focus on people. If the second user creates a
compiled video from the same set of source video clips, the second
user's compiled video may include only those video segments from
the source video clips that include close-ups of people.
[0041] The video characteristics module 210 can be configured to
select video segments based on video characteristic information.
Video characteristics can include visual characteristics (e.g.,
objects and/or people depicted in a video), audio characteristics
(e.g., audio content detected in a video), movement characteristics
(e.g., camera movement information during capture of a video),
and/or user engagement characteristics (e.g., user engagement with
video clips on a social networking system). The video
characteristics module 210 will be described in greater detail
herein with reference to FIG. 3.
[0042] FIG. 3 illustrates an example video characteristics module
302 configured to select one or more video segments based on video
characteristic information, according to an embodiment of the
present disclosure. In some embodiments, the video characteristics
module 210 of FIG. 2 can be implemented as the example video
characteristics module 302. As shown in FIG. 3, the video
characteristics module 302 can include a visual characteristics
module 304, an audio characteristics module 306, a movement
characteristics module 308, and a social engagement characteristics
module 310.
[0043] The visual characteristics module 304 can be configured to
select video segments based on visual information. In certain
embodiments, the visual characteristics module 304 can be
configured to perform object recognition to identify objects
depicted in video clips and segments. Video segments can be
selected based on objects depicted in video segments. For example,
if it is determined that each source video clip includes a video
segment in which a landmark is depicted, video segments depicting
landmarks can be selected to generate a landmark-theme compiled
video. In certain embodiments, the visual characteristics module
304 can be configured to perform facial recognition to identify
people depicted in video clips and segments. Video segments can be
selected based on people depicted in video segments. For example,
if it is determined that each source video clip includes a video
segment depicting a particular person, a compiled video can be
generated of video segments depicting the person. In various
embodiments, visual characteristic analysis, such as object
recognition and facial recognition, can be performed using machine
learning techniques. In certain embodiments, video segments may be
selected based on a visual quality determination such that video
segments having higher visual quality are selected and/or
upranked.
[0044] The audio characteristics module 306 can be configured to
select video segments based on audio information. For example, if
video segments are being selected that relate to a particular
topic, audio analysis can be performed to determine video segments
in which the particular topic is being discussed. In various
embodiments, audio analysis can be performed using machine learning
techniques. In certain embodiments, video segments may be selected
based on an audio quality determination such that video segments
having higher audio quality are selected and/or upranked.
[0045] The movement characteristics module 308 can be configured to
select video segments based on camera movement information. For
example, in certain embodiments, video segments may be selected
based on how still a camera is during video capture. Camera
stillness may be an indication of higher video quality, and/or an
indication that the subject matter being captured is of particular
importance. For example, a user might have their camera turned on
because they have been told that a celebrity is nearby, and the
user may run over to find the celebrity, during which the camera
would be shaking, and then the user may steady the camera to
capture video of the celebrity. In this case, the stillness of the
camera is a positive indicator of importance. In other examples,
movement of the camera may be a positive indicator of importance.
For example, if an action is being captured (e.g., running),
movement of the camera may indicate that an action is taking place,
while stillness indicates an end to the action. Camera movement
information may be captured by a movement detection device
associated with the camera, such as a gyroscope.
[0046] The social engagement characteristics module 310 can be
configured to select video segments based on social engagement
information. In certain embodiments, social engagement information
may be measured by a social networking system. For example,
consider a scenario where a source video clip is a live social
networking system broadcast in which viewers are able to interact
with the broadcast in real-time during the broadcast (e.g., by
clicking on various reaction icons). Social engagement information
can be used to determine which video segments had the highest
number of viewers and/or the highest number of responses. In the
example of the real-time social networking system broadcast, a
"summary" video can be created by gathering all the video segments
that had the highest user engagement and merging them into a
compiled video.
[0047] While several examples of video segment selection criteria
have been discussed in the present disclosure (e.g., video segment
selection criteria based on duration information, user
characteristic information, visual information, audio information,
movement information, social engagement information, etc.), it
should be understood that other video segment selection criteria
not specifically discussed herein can also be utilized.
[0048] FIG. 4 illustrates an example compiled video generation
module 402 configured to generate compiled videos, according to an
embodiment of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the
compiled video generation module 106 of FIG. 1 can be implemented
as the example compiled video generation module 402. As shown in
FIG. 4, the compiled video generation module 402 can include a
visual normalization module 404 and an audio normalization module
406.
[0049] The visual normalization module 404 can be configured to
normalize visual aspects of video segments in a compiled video. It
may be desirable to create a consistent look and feel across video
segments in a compiled video so as to create a more polished
finished product. The visual normalization module 404 can be
configured to create visual consistency between video segments in a
compiled video. For example, the visual normalization module 404
can be configured to perform white balancing to adjust color
temperatures in video segments to be substantially similar to one
another, and/or to adjust exposures and/or brightness settings in
video segments so that one video segment is not significantly
brighter than another. In certain embodiments, visual
characteristics of a first set of video segments of a compiled
video may be adjusted to match visual characteristics of a second
set of video segments of the compiled video. In certain
embodiments, a visual filter can be applied to the plurality of
video segments in a compiled video.
[0050] The audio normalization module 406 can be configured to
normalize audio aspects of video segments in a compiled video.
Again, just as it may be desirable to create a consistent visual
look and feel across video segments in a compiled video, it may be
desirable to create a consistent audio experience across the
compiled video. This may include, for example, adjusting volume
settings in different video segments to create a substantially
consistent volume level between video segments. In certain
embodiments, an audio portion of a single video segment may be
selected to play across the plurality of video segments in a
compiled video. For example, a user may wish to create a slide show
and/or compilation video. The user could include a plurality of
source video clips that he wants to include in the compiled video,
and could select another source video clip that includes an audio
portion (e.g., a song) that he wants to play throughout the
compiled video. Or if the user would like to create an
instructional video, the user can create a single source video clip
that narrates the instructions, while the remaining source video
clips visually depict each step in the instructions. The narration
audio can play through the plurality of video segments in the
compiled video. In certain embodiments, audio characteristics of a
first set of video segments of a compiled video may be adjusted to
match audio characteristics of a second set of video segments of
the compiled video.
[0051] FIG. 5 illustrates an example method 500 associated with
generating a compiled video, according to an embodiment of the
present disclosure. It should be appreciated that there can be
additional, fewer, or alternative steps performed in similar or
alternative orders, or in parallel, based on the various features
and embodiments discussed herein unless otherwise stated.
[0052] At block 502, the example method 500 can determine one or
more source video clips. At block 504, the example method 500 can
select a plurality of video segments from the one or more source
video clips based on video segment selection criteria. At block
506, the example method 500 can generate a compiled video
comprising the plurality of video segments. Other suitable
techniques that incorporate various features and embodiments of the
present technology are possible.
[0053] It is contemplated that there can be many other uses,
applications, features, possibilities, and variations associated
with various embodiments of the present technology. For example,
users can choose whether or not to opt-in to utilize the present
technology. The present technology also can ensure that various
privacy settings, preferences, and configurations are maintained
and can prevent private information from being divulged. In another
example, various embodiments of the present technology can learn,
improve, and be refined over time.
Social Networking System--Example Implementation
[0054] FIG. 6 illustrates a network diagram of an example system
600 that can be utilized in various scenarios, according to an
embodiment of the present disclosure. The system 600 includes one
or more user devices 610, one or more external systems 620, a
social networking system (or service) 630, and a network 650. In an
embodiment, the social networking service, provider, and/or system
discussed in connection with the embodiments described above may be
implemented as the social networking system 630. For purposes of
illustration, the embodiment of the system 600, shown by FIG. 6,
includes a single external system 620 and a single user device 610.
However, in other embodiments, the system 600 may include more user
devices 610 and/or more external systems 620. In certain
embodiments, the social networking system 630 is operated by a
social network provider, whereas the external systems 620 are
separate from the social networking system 630 in that they may be
operated by different entities. In various embodiments, however,
the social networking system 630 and the external systems 620
operate in conjunction to provide social networking services to
users (or members) of the social networking system 630. In this
sense, the social networking system 630 provides a platform or
backbone, which other systems, such as external systems 620, may
use to provide social networking services and functionalities to
users across the Internet.
[0055] The user device 610 comprises one or more computing devices
that can receive input from a user and transmit and receive data
via the network 650. In one embodiment, the user device 610 is a
conventional computer system executing, for example, a Microsoft
Windows compatible operating system (OS), Apple OS X, and/or a
Linux distribution. In another embodiment, the user device 610 can
be a device having computer functionality, such as a smart-phone, a
tablet, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone,
etc. The user device 610 is configured to communicate via the
network 650. The user device 610 can execute an application, for
example, a browser application that allows a user of the user
device 610 to interact with the social networking system 630. In
another embodiment, the user device 610 interacts with the social
networking system 630 through an application programming interface
(API) provided by the native operating system of the user device
610, such as iOS and ANDROID. The user device 610 is configured to
communicate with the external system 620 and the social networking
system 630 via the network 650, which may comprise any combination
of local area and/or wide area networks, using wired and/or
wireless communication systems.
[0056] In one embodiment, the network 650 uses standard
communications technologies and protocols. Thus, the network 650
can include links using technologies such as Ethernet, 802.11,
worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), 3G, 4G,
CDMA, GSM, LTE, digital subscriber line (DSL), etc. Similarly, the
networking protocols used on the network 650 can include
multiprotocol label switching (MPLS), transmission control
protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP),
hypertext transport protocol (HTTP), simple mail transfer protocol
(SMTP), file transfer protocol (FTP), and the like. The data
exchanged over the network 650 can be represented using
technologies and/or formats including hypertext markup language
(HTML) and extensible markup language (XML). In addition, all or
some links can be encrypted using conventional encryption
technologies such as secure sockets layer (SSL), transport layer
security (TLS), and Internet Protocol security (IPsec).
[0057] In one embodiment, the user device 610 may display content
from the external system 620 and/or from the social networking
system 630 by processing a markup language document 614 received
from the external system 620 and from the social networking system
630 using a browser application 612. The markup language document
614 identifies content and one or more instructions describing
formatting or presentation of the content. By executing the
instructions included in the markup language document 614, the
browser application 612 displays the identified content using the
format or presentation described by the markup language document
614. For example, the markup language document 614 includes
instructions for generating and displaying a web page having
multiple frames that include text and/or image data retrieved from
the external system 620 and the social networking system 630. In
various embodiments, the markup language document 614 comprises a
data file including extensible markup language (XML) data,
extensible hypertext markup language (XHTML) data, or other markup
language data. Additionally, the markup language document 614 may
include JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) data, JSON with padding
(JSONP), and JavaScript data to facilitate data-interchange between
the external system 620 and the user device 610. The browser
application 612 on the user device 610 may use a JavaScript
compiler to decode the markup language document 614.
[0058] The markup language document 614 may also include, or link
to, applications or application frameworks such as FLASH.TM. or
Unity.TM. applications, the SilverLight.TM. application framework,
etc.
[0059] In one embodiment, the user device 610 also includes one or
more cookies 616 including data indicating whether a user of the
user device 610 is logged into the social networking system 630,
which may enable modification of the data communicated from the
social networking system 630 to the user device 610.
[0060] The external system 620 includes one or more web servers
that include one or more web pages 622a, 622b, which are
communicated to the user device 610 using the network 650. The
external system 620 is separate from the social networking system
630. For example, the external system 620 is associated with a
first domain, while the social networking system 630 is associated
with a separate social networking domain. Web pages 622a, 622b,
included in the external system 620, comprise markup language
documents 614 identifying content and including instructions
specifying formatting or presentation of the identified
content.
[0061] The social networking system 630 includes one or more
computing devices for a social network, including a plurality of
users, and providing users of the social network with the ability
to communicate and interact with other users of the social network.
In some instances, the social network can be represented by a
graph, i.e., a data structure including edges and nodes. Other data
structures can also be used to represent the social network,
including but not limited to databases, objects, classes, meta
elements, files, or any other data structure. The social networking
system 630 may be administered, managed, or controlled by an
operator. The operator of the social networking system 630 may be a
human being, an automated application, or a series of applications
for managing content, regulating policies, and collecting usage
metrics within the social networking system 630. Any type of
operator may be used.
[0062] Users may join the social networking system 630 and then add
connections to any number of other users of the social networking
system 630 to whom they desire to be connected. As used herein, the
term "friend" refers to any other user of the social networking
system 630 to whom a user has formed a connection, association, or
relationship via the social networking system 630. For example, in
an embodiment, if users in the social networking system 630 are
represented as nodes in the social graph, the term "friend" can
refer to an edge formed between and directly connecting two user
nodes.
[0063] Connections may be added explicitly by a user or may be
automatically created by the social networking system 630 based on
common characteristics of the users (e.g., users who are alumni of
the same educational institution). For example, a first user
specifically selects a particular other user to be a friend.
Connections in the social networking system 630 are usually in both
directions, but need not be, so the terms "user" and "friend"
depend on the frame of reference. Connections between users of the
social networking system 630 are usually bilateral ("two-way"), or
"mutual," but connections may also be unilateral, or "one-way." For
example, if Bob and Joe are both users of the social networking
system 630 and connected to each other, Bob and Joe are each
other's connections. If, on the other hand, Bob wishes to connect
to Joe to view data communicated to the social networking system
630 by Joe, but Joe does not wish to form a mutual connection, a
unilateral connection may be established. The connection between
users may be a direct connection; however, some embodiments of the
social networking system 630 allow the connection to be indirect
via one or more levels of connections or degrees of separation.
[0064] In addition to establishing and maintaining connections
between users and allowing interactions between users, the social
networking system 630 provides users with the ability to take
actions on various types of items supported by the social
networking system 630. These items may include groups or networks
(i.e., social networks of people, entities, and concepts) to which
users of the social networking system 630 may belong, events or
calendar entries in which a user might be interested,
computer-based applications that a user may use via the social
networking system 630, transactions that allow users to buy or sell
items via services provided by or through the social networking
system 630, and interactions with advertisements that a user may
perform on or off the social networking system 630. These are just
a few examples of the items upon which a user may act on the social
networking system 630, and many others are possible. A user may
interact with anything that is capable of being represented in the
social networking system 630 or in the external system 620,
separate from the social networking system 630, or coupled to the
social networking system 630 via the network 650.
[0065] The social networking system 630 is also capable of linking
a variety of entities. For example, the social networking system
630 enables users to interact with each other as well as external
systems 620 or other entities through an API, a web service, or
other communication channels. The social networking system 630
generates and maintains the "social graph" comprising a plurality
of nodes interconnected by a plurality of edges. Each node in the
social graph may represent an entity that can act on another node
and/or that can be acted on by another node. The social graph may
include various types of nodes. Examples of types of nodes include
users, non-person entities, content items, web pages, groups,
activities, messages, concepts, and any other things that can be
represented by an object in the social networking system 630. An
edge between two nodes in the social graph may represent a
particular kind of connection, or association, between the two
nodes, which may result from node relationships or from an action
that was performed by one of the nodes on the other node. In some
cases, the edges between nodes can be weighted. The weight of an
edge can represent an attribute associated with the edge, such as a
strength of the connection or association between nodes. Different
types of edges can be provided with different weights. For example,
an edge created when one user "likes" another user may be given one
weight, while an edge created when a user befriends another user
may be given a different weight.
[0066] As an example, when a first user identifies a second user as
a friend, an edge in the social graph is generated connecting a
node representing the first user and a second node representing the
second user. As various nodes relate or interact with each other,
the social networking system 630 modifies edges connecting the
various nodes to reflect the relationships and interactions.
[0067] The social networking system 630 also includes
user-generated content, which enhances a user's interactions with
the social networking system 630. User-generated content may
include anything a user can add, upload, send, or "post" to the
social networking system 630. For example, a user communicates
posts to the social networking system 630 from a user device 610.
Posts may include data such as status updates or other textual
data, location information, images such as photos, videos, links,
music or other similar data and/or media. Content may also be added
to the social networking system 630 by a third party. Content
"items" are represented as objects in the social networking system
630. In this way, users of the social networking system 630 are
encouraged to communicate with each other by posting text and
content items of various types of media through various
communication channels. Such communication increases the
interaction of users with each other and increases the frequency
with which users interact with the social networking system
630.
[0068] The social networking system 630 includes a web server 632,
an API request server 634, a user profile store 636, a connection
store 638, an action logger 640, an activity log 642, and an
authorization server 644. In an embodiment of the invention, the
social networking system 630 may include additional, fewer, or
different components for various applications. Other components,
such as network interfaces, security mechanisms, load balancers,
failover servers, management and network operations consoles, and
the like are not shown so as to not obscure the details of the
system.
[0069] The user profile store 636 maintains information about user
accounts, including biographic, demographic, and other types of
descriptive information, such as work experience, educational
history, hobbies or preferences, location, and the like that has
been declared by users or inferred by the social networking system
630. This information is stored in the user profile store 636 such
that each user is uniquely identified. The social networking system
630 also stores data describing one or more connections between
different users in the connection store 638. The connection
information may indicate users who have similar or common work
experience, group memberships, hobbies, or educational history.
Additionally, the social networking system 630 includes
user-defined connections between different users, allowing users to
specify their relationships with other users. For example,
user-defined connections allow users to generate relationships with
other users that parallel the users' real-life relationships, such
as friends, co-workers, partners, and so forth. Users may select
from predefined types of connections, or define their own
connection types as needed. Connections with other nodes in the
social networking system 630, such as non-person entities, buckets,
cluster centers, images, interests, pages, external systems,
concepts, and the like are also stored in the connection store
638.
[0070] The social networking system 630 maintains data about
objects with which a user may interact. To maintain this data, the
user profile store 636 and the connection store 638 store instances
of the corresponding type of objects maintained by the social
networking system 630. Each object type has information fields that
are suitable for storing information appropriate to the type of
object. For example, the user profile store 636 contains data
structures with fields suitable for describing a user's account and
information related to a user's account. When a new object of a
particular type is created, the social networking system 630
initializes a new data structure of the corresponding type, assigns
a unique object identifier to it, and begins to add data to the
object as needed. This might occur, for example, when a user
becomes a user of the social networking system 630, the social
networking system 630 generates a new instance of a user profile in
the user profile store 636, assigns a unique identifier to the user
account, and begins to populate the fields of the user account with
information provided by the user.
[0071] The connection store 638 includes data structures suitable
for describing a user's connections to other users, connections to
external systems 620 or connections to other entities. The
connection store 638 may also associate a connection type with a
user's connections, which may be used in conjunction with the
user's privacy setting to regulate access to information about the
user. In an embodiment of the invention, the user profile store 636
and the connection store 638 may be implemented as a federated
database.
[0072] Data stored in the connection store 638, the user profile
store 636, and the activity log 642 enables the social networking
system 630 to generate the social graph that uses nodes to identify
various objects and edges connecting nodes to identify
relationships between different objects. For example, if a first
user establishes a connection with a second user in the social
networking system 630, user accounts of the first user and the
second user from the user profile store 636 may act as nodes in the
social graph. The connection between the first user and the second
user stored by the connection store 638 is an edge between the
nodes associated with the first user and the second user.
Continuing this example, the second user may then send the first
user a message within the social networking system 630. The action
of sending the message, which may be stored, is another edge
between the two nodes in the social graph representing the first
user and the second user. Additionally, the message itself may be
identified and included in the social graph as another node
connected to the nodes representing the first user and the second
user.
[0073] In another example, a first user may tag a second user in an
image that is maintained by the social networking system 630 (or,
alternatively, in an image maintained by another system outside of
the social networking system 630). The image may itself be
represented as a node in the social networking system 630. This
tagging action may create edges between the first user and the
second user as well as create an edge between each of the users and
the image, which is also a node in the social graph. In yet another
example, if a user confirms attending an event, the user and the
event are nodes obtained from the user profile store 636, where the
attendance of the event is an edge between the nodes that may be
retrieved from the activity log 642. By generating and maintaining
the social graph, the social networking system 630 includes data
describing many different types of objects and the interactions and
connections among those objects, providing a rich source of
socially relevant information.
[0074] The web server 632 links the social networking system 630 to
one or more user devices 610 and/or one or more external systems
620 via the network 650. The web server 632 serves web pages, as
well as other web-related content, such as Java, JavaScript, Flash,
XML, and so forth. The web server 632 may include a mail server or
other messaging functionality for receiving and routing messages
between the social networking system 630 and one or more user
devices 610. The messages can be instant messages, queued messages
(e.g., email), text and SMS messages, or any other suitable
messaging format.
[0075] The API request server 634 allows one or more external
systems 620 and user devices 610 to call access information from
the social networking system 630 by calling one or more API
functions. The API request server 634 may also allow external
systems 620 to send information to the social networking system 630
by calling APIs. The external system 620, in one embodiment, sends
an API request to the social networking system 630 via the network
650, and the API request server 634 receives the API request. The
API request server 634 processes the request by calling an API
associated with the API request to generate an appropriate
response, which the API request server 634 communicates to the
external system 620 via the network 650. For example, responsive to
an API request, the API request server 634 collects data associated
with a user, such as the user's connections that have logged into
the external system 620, and communicates the collected data to the
external system 620. In another embodiment, the user device 610
communicates with the social networking system 630 via APIs in the
same manner as external systems 620.
[0076] The action logger 640 is capable of receiving communications
from the web server 632 about user actions on and/or off the social
networking system 630. The action logger 640 populates the activity
log 642 with information about user actions, enabling the social
networking system 630 to discover various actions taken by its
users within the social networking system 630 and outside of the
social networking system 630. Any action that a particular user
takes with respect to another node on the social networking system
630 may be associated with each user's account, through information
maintained in the activity log 642 or in a similar database or
other data repository. Examples of actions taken by a user within
the social networking system 630 that are identified and stored may
include, for example, adding a connection to another user, sending
a message to another user, reading a message from another user,
viewing content associated with another user, attending an event
posted by another user, posting an image, attempting to post an
image, or other actions interacting with another user or another
object. When a user takes an action within the social networking
system 630, the action is recorded in the activity log 642. In one
embodiment, the social networking system 630 maintains the activity
log 642 as a database of entries. When an action is taken within
the social networking system 630, an entry for the action is added
to the activity log 642. The activity log 642 may be referred to as
an action log.
[0077] Additionally, user actions may be associated with concepts
and actions that occur within an entity outside of the social
networking system 630, such as an external system 620 that is
separate from the social networking system 630. For example, the
action logger 640 may receive data describing a user's interaction
with an external system 620 from the web server 632. In this
example, the external system 620 reports a user's interaction
according to structured actions and objects in the social
graph.
[0078] Other examples of actions where a user interacts with an
external system 620 include a user expressing an interest in an
external system 620 or another entity, a user posting a comment to
the social networking system 630 that discusses an external system
620 or a web page 622a within the external system 620, a user
posting to the social networking system 630 a Uniform Resource
Locator (URL) or other identifier associated with an external
system 620, a user attending an event associated with an external
system 620, or any other action by a user that is related to an
external system 620. Thus, the activity log 642 may include actions
describing interactions between a user of the social networking
system 630 and an external system 620 that is separate from the
social networking system 630.
[0079] The authorization server 644 enforces one or more privacy
settings of the users of the social networking system 630. A
privacy setting of a user determines how particular information
associated with a user can be shared. The privacy setting comprises
the specification of particular information associated with a user
and the specification of the entity or entities with whom the
information can be shared. Examples of entities with which
information can be shared may include other users, applications,
external systems 620, or any entity that can potentially access the
information. The information that can be shared by a user comprises
user account information, such as profile photos, phone numbers
associated with the user, user's connections, actions taken by the
user such as adding a connection, changing user profile
information, and the like.
[0080] The privacy setting specification may be provided at
different levels of granularity. For example, the privacy setting
may identify specific information to be shared with other users;
the privacy setting identifies a work phone number or a specific
set of related information, such as, personal information including
profile photo, home phone number, and status. Alternatively, the
privacy setting may apply to all the information associated with
the user. The specification of the set of entities that can access
particular information can also be specified at various levels of
granularity. Various sets of entities with which information can be
shared may include, for example, all friends of the user, all
friends of friends, all applications, or all external systems 620.
One embodiment allows the specification of the set of entities to
comprise an enumeration of entities. For example, the user may
provide a list of external systems 620 that are allowed to access
certain information. Another embodiment allows the specification to
comprise a set of entities along with exceptions that are not
allowed to access the information. For example, a user may allow
all external systems 620 to access the user's work information, but
specify a list of external systems 620 that are not allowed to
access the work information. Certain embodiments call the list of
exceptions that are not allowed to access certain information a
"block list". External systems 620 belonging to a block list
specified by a user are blocked from accessing the information
specified in the privacy setting. Various combinations of
granularity of specification of information, and granularity of
specification of entities, with which information is shared are
possible. For example, all personal information may be shared with
friends whereas all work information may be shared with friends of
friends.
[0081] The authorization server 644 contains logic to determine if
certain information associated with a user can be accessed by a
user's friends, external systems 620, and/or other applications and
entities. The external system 620 may need authorization from the
authorization server 644 to access the user's more private and
sensitive information, such as the user's work phone number. Based
on the user's privacy settings, the authorization server 644
determines if another user, the external system 620, an
application, or another entity is allowed to access information
associated with the user, including information about actions taken
by the user.
[0082] In some embodiments, the social networking system 630 can
include compiled video module 646. The compiled video module 646
can, for example, be implemented as the compiled video module 102,
as discussed in more detail herein. As discussed previously, it
should be appreciated that there can be many variations or other
possibilities. For example, in some embodiments, one or more
functionalities of the compiled video module 646 can be implemented
in the user device 610.
Hardware Implementation
[0083] The foregoing processes and features can be implemented by a
wide variety of machine and computer system architectures and in a
wide variety of network and computing environments. FIG. 7
illustrates an example of a computer system 700 that may be used to
implement one or more of the embodiments described herein according
to an embodiment of the invention. The computer system 700 includes
sets of instructions for causing the computer system 700 to perform
the processes and features discussed herein. The computer system
700 may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a
networked deployment, the computer system 700 may operate in the
capacity of a server machine or a client machine in a client-server
network environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or
distributed) network environment. In an embodiment of the
invention, the computer system 700 may be the social networking
system 630, the user device 610, and the external system 620, or a
component thereof. In an embodiment of the invention, the computer
system 700 may be one server among many that constitutes all or
part of the social networking system 630.
[0084] The computer system 700 includes a processor 702, a cache
704, and one or more executable modules and drivers, stored on a
computer-readable medium, directed to the processes and features
described herein. Additionally, the computer system 700 includes a
high performance input/output (I/O) bus 706 and a standard I/O bus
708. A host bridge 710 couples processor 702 to high performance
I/O bus 706, whereas I/O bus bridge 712 couples the two buses 706
and 708 to each other. A system memory 714 and one or more network
interfaces 716 couple to high performance I/O bus 706. The computer
system 700 may further include video memory and a display device
coupled to the video memory (not shown). Mass storage 718 and I/O
ports 720 couple to the standard I/O bus 708. The computer system
700 may optionally include a keyboard and pointing device, a
display device, or other input/output devices (not shown) coupled
to the standard I/O bus 708. Collectively, these elements are
intended to represent a broad category of computer hardware
systems, including but not limited to computer systems based on the
x86-compatible processors manufactured by Intel Corporation of
Santa Clara, Calif., and the x86-compatible processors manufactured
by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Inc., of Sunnyvale, Calif., as
well as any other suitable processor.
[0085] An operating system manages and controls the operation of
the computer system 700, including the input and output of data to
and from software applications (not shown). The operating system
provides an interface between the software applications being
executed on the system and the hardware components of the system.
Any suitable operating system may be used, such as the LINUX
Operating System, the Apple Macintosh Operating System, available
from Apple Computer Inc. of Cupertino, Calif., UNIX operating
systems, Microsoft.RTM. Windows.RTM. operating systems, BSD
operating systems, and the like. Other implementations are
possible.
[0086] The elements of the computer system 700 are described in
greater detail below. In particular, the network interface 716
provides communication between the computer system 700 and any of a
wide range of networks, such as an Ethernet (e.g., IEEE 802.3)
network, a backplane, etc. The mass storage 718 provides permanent
storage for the data and programming instructions to perform the
above-described processes and features implemented by the
respective computing systems identified above, whereas the system
memory 714 (e.g., DRAM) provides temporary storage for the data and
programming instructions when executed by the processor 702. The
I/O ports 720 may be one or more serial and/or parallel
communication ports that provide communication between additional
peripheral devices, which may be coupled to the computer system
700.
[0087] The computer system 700 may include a variety of system
architectures, and various components of the computer system 700
may be rearranged. For example, the cache 704 may be on-chip with
processor 702. Alternatively, the cache 704 and the processor 702
may be packed together as a "processor module", with processor 702
being referred to as the "processor core". Furthermore, certain
embodiments of the invention may neither require nor include all of
the above components. For example, peripheral devices coupled to
the standard I/O bus 708 may couple to the high performance I/O bus
706. In addition, in some embodiments, only a single bus may exist,
with the components of the computer system 700 being coupled to the
single bus. Moreover, the computer system 700 may include
additional components, such as additional processors, storage
devices, or memories.
[0088] In general, the processes and features described herein may
be implemented as part of an operating system or a specific
application, component, program, object, module, or series of
instructions referred to as "programs". For example, one or more
programs may be used to execute specific processes described
herein. The programs typically comprise one or more instructions in
various memory and storage devices in the computer system 700 that,
when read and executed by one or more processors, cause the
computer system 700 to perform operations to execute the processes
and features described herein. The processes and features described
herein may be implemented in software, firmware, hardware (e.g., an
application specific integrated circuit), or any combination
thereof.
[0089] In one implementation, the processes and features described
herein are implemented as a series of executable modules run by the
computer system 700, individually or collectively in a distributed
computing environment. The foregoing modules may be realized by
hardware, executable modules stored on a computer-readable medium
(or machine-readable medium), or a combination of both. For
example, the modules may comprise a plurality or series of
instructions to be executed by a processor in a hardware system,
such as the processor 702. Initially, the series of instructions
may be stored on a storage device, such as the mass storage 718.
However, the series of instructions can be stored on any suitable
computer readable storage medium. Furthermore, the series of
instructions need not be stored locally, and could be received from
a remote storage device, such as a server on a network, via the
network interface 716. The instructions are copied from the storage
device, such as the mass storage 718, into the system memory 714
and then accessed and executed by the processor 702. In various
implementations, a module or modules can be executed by a processor
or multiple processors in one or multiple locations, such as
multiple servers in a parallel processing environment.
[0090] Examples of computer-readable media include, but are not
limited to, recordable type media such as volatile and non-volatile
memory devices; solid state memories; floppy and other removable
disks; hard disk drives; magnetic media; optical disks (e.g.,
Compact Disk Read-Only Memory (CD ROMS), Digital Versatile Disks
(DVDs)); other similar non-transitory (or transitory), tangible (or
non-tangible) storage medium; or any type of medium suitable for
storing, encoding, or carrying a series of instructions for
execution by the computer system 700 to perform any one or more of
the processes and features described herein.
[0091] For purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are
set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the
description. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the
art that embodiments of the disclosure can be practiced without
these specific details. In some instances, modules, structures,
processes, features, and devices are shown in block diagram form in
order to avoid obscuring the description. In other instances,
functional block diagrams and flow diagrams are shown to represent
data and logic flows. The components of block diagrams and flow
diagrams (e.g., modules, blocks, structures, devices, features,
etc.) may be variously combined, separated, removed, reordered, and
replaced in a manner other than as expressly described and depicted
herein.
[0092] Reference in this specification to "one embodiment", "an
embodiment", "other embodiments", "one series of embodiments",
"some embodiments", "various embodiments", or the like means that a
particular feature, design, structure, or characteristic described
in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one
embodiment of the disclosure. The appearances of, for example, the
phrase "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" in various places
in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same
embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually
exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover, whether or not there is
express reference to an "embodiment" or the like, various features
are described, which may be variously combined and included in some
embodiments, but also variously omitted in other embodiments.
Similarly, various features are described that may be preferences
or requirements for some embodiments, but not other
embodiments.
[0093] The language used herein has been principally selected for
readability and instructional purposes, and it may not have been
selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter.
It is therefore intended that the scope of the invention be limited
not by this detailed description, but rather by any claims that
issue on an application based hereon. Accordingly, the disclosure
of the embodiments of the invention is intended to be illustrative,
but not limiting, of the scope of the invention, which is set forth
in the following claims.
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