Abstract:
A method and system for suggesting conversation topics to a participant in a social conversation. A conversation log is maintained for the participant, containing records of the times, durations, and parties of previous conversations. When the participant engages in a subsequent conversation with a party, the conversation log is searched to obtain the time of the most recent previous conversation with that party. Social media and other publications subsequent to that time are searched for subjects that can be presented to the participant as topics of conversation. In contrast to other schemes related to conversational topics, no voice analysis of the conversations is required.

Description:
FIELD 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to voice conversation, and in particular to voice conversation conducted via, or with the assistance of, computerized devices. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Voice communications are commonplace, in forms such as phone calls, voice over IP (VOIP), or video chats. Compared to other forms of interpersonal communication, such as emails, instant messages (IM) or short text messages (SMS), voice communications are often lengthier and more interactive. Generally speaking, voice communications are the most widespread form of remote social interaction, particularly in the form of social conversations. 
         [0003]    It is often desirable for a participant in a social conversation to have a set of topics around which to structure the conversation. Current solutions for suggesting topics for social conversation typically involve databases of topics and keywords and/or automatic machine analysis of social conversations to detect key words used by the participants, for determining topics of a previous or present social conversation. Drawbacks of these methods include lack of precision in automatic voice recognition and human language interpretation, as well as the fact that topics of previous conversations may not necessarily be of interest to the participants of a present conversation. 
         [0004]    Accordingly, it would be desirable and beneficial to have methods and systems for suggesting topics for a social conversation that do not require automated voice analysis, and which may be of interest to a participant of a social conversation, independent of previous conversational topics. This goal is met by embodiments of the present invention. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0005]    Embodiments of the present invention provide methods and systems for presenting suggested topics to a participant in a social conversation. The suggested topics are based on recent published events and status changes with respect to one or more participants of the conversation, where the events and changes have been published subsequent to the most recent previous conversation between the participants. According to certain embodiments of the invention, the events and status changes are published via social media associated with the respective participants, non-limiting examples of which include: publication on a web log (“blog”); posting via a social network service; and personal statuses as determined by data mining on public networks. 
         [0006]    According to an embodiment of the present invention, a conversation log is maintained for a conversation participant, which records a time of the conversation (a timestamp, non-limiting examples of which include the starting time of the conversation), the other participant(s) of the conversation, and the duration of the participant&#39;s involvement in the conversation. In various embodiments, the purpose of the conversation log is to determine when a particular set of conversation participants last conversed, and therefore to determine events and changes of prospective statuses that have transpired since these participants held their most recent previous conversation. 
         [0007]    Unlike current systems related to conversational topics, embodiments of the present invention operate independently of the topics discussed in previous and current conversations, and therefore, according to certain embodiments, no information about the topics of the conversations are recorded. In particular, unlike current systems related to conversational topics, certain embodiments of the present invention have no need to determine or identify the topics of any conversation, and therefore require no speech analysis or parsing of conversations. According to other embodiments, obtaining the text of a voice conversation can assist in determining various aspects of a voice conversation, and this can be of benefit in carrying out certain features of the present invention. In a non-limiting example, analyzing a brief voice communication to obtain a text representation thereof may enable determining the time of an anticipated upcoming social conversation, and/or the time of a recent previous social conversation which may not have been logged in any other manner. 
       DEFINITIONS 
       [0008]    The term “voice communication” herein denotes a human speech transmission from one individual to at least one other individual in real time, either directly in person (such as by a face-to-face encounter) or via electronic communication means including, but not limited to: telephony, wired or wireless; radio communications; and data communication, such as voice over IP (VOIP) or networked conferencing. 
         [0009]    The terms “voice conversation” and “conversation” are herein treated as synonymous and denote overlapping and/or interspersed interactive voice communications among two or more participants, all of whom are simultaneously able to hear voice communications of the other participant(s). In various embodiments of the present invention, a conversation may be spontaneous, i.e., the voice communication is not predetermined, but may be generated on an ad hoc basis by a participant. In a related embodiment, the voice communication of the participant is generated in response to a previous voice communication by another participant. In certain embodiments, as long as at least two participants remain in the conversation, a third participant may leave the conversation without terminating the conversation. In a related embodiment, a new participant may join the conversation after the conversation has begun. 
         [0010]    The term “starting time” in the context of a conversation, herein denotes the time (including both calendar date and clock time) when at least two participants begin the conversation. The term “ending time” similarly denotes the time (including both calendar date and clock time) when there are no longer at least two participants in the conversation. The term “duration” in the context of a conversation herein denotes the elapsed time between the starting time and the ending time of the conversation. 
         [0011]    The term “topic” in the context of a conversation herein denotes a heading or summary of a subject that is presented and/or proposed by a participant of the conversation, and/or is discussed among the participants during the conversation. In various embodiments of the invention, a topic is presented to a user, a participant or prospective participant of a social conversation, as a suggestion for discussion during the conversation. 
         [0012]    The term “subject” in the context of a conversation herein denotes published content from which a conversation topic may be derived. According to certain embodiments of the invention, a topic can be all of a subject or at least a portion of a subject, non-limiting examples of which include: a heading or title of the subject; a photograph or video clip embedded within the subject; and the first ten words of subject text. According to a related embodiment, the topic is a link to the subject, wherein a link to a subject is herein considered to be a portion of the subject. 
         [0013]    According to various embodiments of the present invention, certain potential subject sources, such as blogs and news feeds, are filtered according to predefined selection criteria in order to obtain suitable subjects. Non-limiting examples of selection criteria include: a party&#39;s name appears in a paragraph or headline (e.g., in the society pages of a newspaper); and a published reader communication (e.g., letter to the editor) is from a party. 
         [0014]    In an embodiment of the present invention, a subject also includes the publication data, such as an identifier of the publisher and the date-time of publication. The term “published” herein denotes that the content is available to members of the public, optionally including members of the general public without restriction as well as members of the public (such as individuals and organizations) who are specially-qualified to receive the content. Non-limiting means of being specially-qualified to receive content include: having a subscription to a publication service which distributes the content; having a membership in an association or group which publishes the content; having an account with a social media organization which posts the content; and being a member of a circle that exchange personal content only between peers. 
         [0015]    The term “social conversation” herein denotes a conversation dealing with topics of social interest to the participants, as opposed to business or operational conversations, which deal with topics of commercial, financial, professional, academic, institutional, or work-related interest. In certain embodiments of the present invention, participants of a social conversation are friends and/or relatives. In a related embodiment, participants of a social conversation discuss events, news, feelings, and/or opinions, both as new topics of conversation and as updated topics. 
         [0016]    In an embodiment of the present invention, for a conversation to be a social conversation, the conversation must have a duration that is at least a predefined minimum of time. As defined here, this is equivalent to having a duration that exceeds a predefined threshold. 
         [0017]    There is thus provided, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a method of operating a processor for suggesting to a first party a conversation topic for a social conversation with a second party, the method including: (a) retrieving, from a conversation log of the first party, a time of the most recent previous social conversation involving the first party and the second party; (b) obtaining a recently-published subject that was published subsequent to the time of the most recent social conversation; and (c) presenting, to the first party, at least a portion of the recently-published subject, as a suggested conversation topic. 
         [0018]    There is also provided, in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus for suggesting to a first party a conversation topic for a social conversation with a second party, the apparatus comprising: (a) a processor, for executing instructions; (b) a display screen coupled to the processor, for displaying information; (c) a non-transitory data storage coupled to the processor, and storing executable instructions, which instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform: (d) retrieving, from a conversation log of the first party, a time of the most recent social conversation involving the first party and the second party; (e) obtaining a recently-published subject that was published subsequent to the time of the most recent social conversation; and (f) presenting to the first party, via the display screen, at least a portion of the recently-published subject as a suggested conversation topic. 
         [0019]    There is moreover provided, in accordance with still another embodiment of the present invention, a computer product for suggesting to a first party a conversation topic for a social conversation with a second party, the computer product including non-transitory media containing a set of executable instructions, which instructions, when executed by a processor of a user device cause the user device to: (a) access a telephone log of the first party; (b) determine a time of the most recent social conversation between the first party and the second party from the telephone log; (c) request from a remote server a published subject of interest for the social conversation, such that the published subject of interest was published subsequent to the recent social conversation between the first party and the second party; and (d) present the published subject of interest to the first party as a suggested topic of social conversation. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0020]    The present invention will be understood and appreciated more fully from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the drawings in which: 
           [0021]      FIG. 1  illustrates the elements of a conversation and topics for suggestion according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0022]      FIG. 2  illustrates the participants of a conversation according to another embodiment of the invention. 
           [0023]      FIG. 3A  illustrates a conversation record of a conversation log according to various embodiments of the present invention. 
           [0024]      FIG. 3B  illustrates a subject which can be suggested as a topic for social conversation, according to various embodiments of the present invention. 
           [0025]      FIG. 4A  is a flowchart of a method for suggesting a topic for a social conversation according to certain embodiments of the present invention. 
           [0026]      FIG. 4B  is an expansion of a method step for a variation of the method shown in  FIG. 4A , according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0027]      FIG. 4C  is another expansion of a method step for a variation of the method shown in  FIG. 4A , according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0028]      FIG. 4D  is a further expansion of a method step for a variation of the method shown in  FIG. 4A , according to a further embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0029]      FIG. 5  conceptually illustrates a system and apparatus for suggesting social conversation topics to a user, according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0030]      FIG. 1  illustrates the elements of a conversation  101  and topics for suggestion according to an embodiment of the present invention. A first party  103  and a second party  105  interact via a voice communication  107  and a voice communication  109 , respectively. Voice communication channels  151  include, but are not limited to: a direct audible channel  153  when parties  103  and  105  are in voice proximity, such as during a face-to-face meeting; a landline telephony channel  155 ; a cellular telephony channel  157 ; a smartphone channel  159 ; a tablet computer channel  161 ; a portable computer channel  163 ; and a stationary computer channel  165 . Excluding direct audible channel  153 , the devices may involve the transport of signals over telephony networks and/or data networks, such as the Internet. In addition, it is understood that first party  103  and second party  105  may employ different types of devices. In a non-limiting example, first party  103  may employ a smartphone while second party  105  may employ a landline channel. 
         [0031]    As defined previously, according to various embodiments of the invention conversation  101  is characterized by a starting time  111 , an ending time  113 , and a duration  115 . 
         [0032]    According to various embodiments of the invention, a conversation log  121  is associated with first party  103 . Conversation log  121  includes one or more conversation records, illustrated in  FIG. 1  as a conversation record  123 , a conversation record  125 , and a conversation record  127 . According to certain embodiments of the present invention, data in a conversation log may be acquired from a variety of sources in a variety of ways, non-limiting examples of which are described herein below, and as illustrated in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 3A . Conversation records in conversation log  121  are not necessarily recording of actual conversations, but may be concise records that a conversation has been held, along with the time and duration of the conversation, as described herein below with reference to  FIG. 3A  and  FIG. 3B . Information about conversations may come from one or more of a variety of sources. In one embodiment of the invention, a record of a conversation log is based at least in part on data from a telephone log of a telephone  171 . In another embodiment, a record of a conversation log is based at least in part on a calendar entry of a calendar  173 . In still another embodiment, a record of a conversation log is based at least in part on contents of an e-mail message  175 . In a further embodiment, a record of a conversation log is based at least in part on an analysis of a voice communication  177 , whether recorded or not, whether analyzed automatically or not, and whether analyzed offline or in real time. In related embodiments of the invention, second party  105  also has an associated conversation log (not illustrated). 
         [0033]    Certain embodiments of the invention provide that first party  103  be associated with postings in social media  141 . In one related embodiment, first party  103  is the originator of a new posting in social media  141 . In another related embodiment, first party  103  is an updater of an existing posting in social media  141 . 
         [0034]    Certain further embodiments of the invention provide that second party  105  be associated with postings in social media  141 . In one related embodiment, second party  105  is the originator of a new posting in social media  141 . In another related embodiment, second party  105  is an updater of an existing posting in social media  141 . 
         [0035]    In other embodiments, a public news outlet  143  publishes a news subject that is related or may be of interest to first party  103 , and in further embodiments, public news outlet  143  publishes a news subject that is related or may be of interest to second party  105 . 
         [0036]    According to various embodiments of the invention, both social media in general and public news outlets in general are potential sources of subjects for conversation topics. In the illustrations herein, social media  141  and public news outlet  143  are fictitious, and are intended for purposes of illustration only. 
         [0037]      FIG. 2  illustrates a conversation  201  according to certain embodiments of the present invention, in which a third party  205  participates along with first party  103  and second party  105 . In conversation  201  first party  103  interacts with both second party  105  and third party  205  via a voice communication  207 ; second party  105  interacts with both first party  103  and third party  205  via a voice communication  209 ; and third party  205  interacts with both first party  103  and second party  105  via a voice communication  211 . Conversation  201  has a starting time  211 , an ending time  213 , and a duration  215 . As with conversation  101  of  FIG. 1 , the participants of conversation  201  may interact via direct audible channel  153 , or may interact via channels supported by devices  155 ,  157 ,  159 ,  161 ,  163 ,  165 , or by other devices capable of supporting remote voice communications. As before, different participants may utilize different device channels. In a non-limiting example, first party  103  may employ a tablet computer using a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), second party may employ a cellular telephone using a cellular telephony network, and third party  205  may employ a landline telephone using a landline telephony network. 
         [0038]    In further embodiments of the invention, more than three parties may participate in a voice conversation in similar fashion. 
         [0039]      FIG. 3A  illustrates a conversation record  301  of a conversation log (illustrated herein in a non-limiting example as conversation log  121  of  FIG. 1 ) according to various embodiments of the present invention. In  FIG. 3A , conversation record  301  is a new record to be added to conversation log  121  at the conclusion of conversation  101 . Conversation record  301  includes starting time  111  (including calendar date), ending time  113  (including calendar date), and duration  115  of conversation  101 . 
         [0040]    In a related embodiment, both starting time  111  and ending time  113  are stored in conversation record  301 , and duration  115  is not explicitly stored in conversation record  301 , but is computed when needed, as the difference between ending time  113  and starting time  111 . In another embodiment, only a single time (such as starting time  111 ) is stored, and duration  115  is preferably stored explicitly. Whether stored explicitly as a separate data item (e.g., duration  115 ) or computed as needed from starting time  111  and ending time  113 , the effect is functionally the same, and therefore a conversation duration is herein considered to preferably exist as a definite value regardless of whether it is explicitly stored or computed as needed. 
         [0041]    Conversation record  301  also contains a reference  305  to second party  105 . In cases where a conversation involves a third party (as illustrated in  FIG. 2 ) or an arbitrary number of additional parties, a reference to each of the additional parties is included in the conversation record. As described previously, the data of conversation record  301  can be based on a telephone log of telephone  171  or on an entry of calendar  173 . 
         [0042]      FIG. 3B  illustrates a subject  351  which can be suggested as a topic for social conversation, according to various embodiments of the present invention. In these embodiments, subject  351  includes subject content  353 , publication time  355 , and a publisher identifier  357 . In a related embodiment, subject content  353  includes text identifying the subject matter. In another embodiment, subject  351  includes a subject digest  359 , which is a concise text description of subject content  353 . In a related embodiment, subject digest  359  is a headline or text heading for subject content  353 , and may be pre-existing as part of subject content  353 . In another related embodiment, subject digest  359  is derived from subject content  353  and is not included in subject  351 , but is obtained therefrom when needed. 
         [0043]      FIG. 4A  is a flowchart of a method for suggesting a topic for a social conversation between first party  103  and second party  105  according to certain embodiments of the present invention. The method starts at a step  401 , which retrieves the time of the most recent social conversation between first party  103  and second party  105  from a conversation log of first party  103 , exemplified by conversation log  121 . Conversation record  127  of conversation log  121  indicates the most recent conversation between first party  103  and second party  105  as having been held at a time  403 , and having lasted a duration  405 . In a related embodiment, time  403  is chosen as the starting time of the conversation of conversation record  127 . In another related embodiment, time  403  is chosen as the ending time of the conversation. In still another embodiment, time  403  is a time between the starting time of the conversation and the ending time of the conversation. In a further embodiment, time  403  is an approximate time relative to the starting time and the ending time of the conversation. 
         [0044]    In other embodiments of the present invention (detailed below), step  401  is augmented by further steps for selecting the most recent social conversation. 
         [0045]    After step  401 , a step  407  receives time  403  from step  401  and continues by obtaining a subject  409  having a publication time subsequent to time  403 . In a related embodiment, obtained subject  409  is related to first party  103 ; in another related embodiment, obtained subject  409  is related to second party  105 . Subject  409  is obtained from a set  491  of subject sources. 
         [0046]    According to various embodiments of the invention, in a step  411 , subject  409  is presented to first party  103  as a suggested topic for a conversation. In a related embodiment, a subject digest  413  is displayed on the screen of a personal device  415  of first party  103 . 
         [0047]    According to a further embodiment of the present invention, in a step  431  first party  103  and second party  105  hold a telephone conversation  433 . In this embodiment, step  411  is performed prior to the holding of conversation  433  in step  431 . In a related embodiment, step  411  is performed during conversation  433 . 
         [0048]    In another embodiment of the invention, a step  435  is performed at the conclusion of conversation  433  to add a conversation record  437  of conversation  433  to conversation log  121 . Conversation record  437  includes a starting time  421 , an ending time  423 , and a duration  425 . 
         [0049]    According to a further embodiment of the present invention, a party may simultaneously utilize several devices with respect to a social conversation. In a non-limiting example, party  103  may utilize smartphone  415  for conducting the voice call of the conversation, and may also utilize another device, such as notebook computer  163  ( FIG. 1 ), to present suggested topics of conversation before or during the conversation. In this embodiment, information related to the voice call is transferred as needed between smartphone  415  and notebook computer  163 . 
         [0050]    In a related embodiment of the invention, duration  425  is an input to step  435 , as described below. 
         [0000]    Discriminating Social Conversations from Non-Social Voice Communications 
         [0051]    Various embodiments of the present invention discriminate social conversations from non-social voice communications. As an example, consider the following interactive voice communication between a first party (“Alice”) and a second party (“Bob”):
       Alice: “Hi Bob, just getting back to let you know it&#39;s OK to borrow my car this afternoon.”   Bob: “Thanks. Like I said, I&#39;ll only need it for about an hour.”   Alice: “All right, I&#39;ll leave the keys with the receptionist at the front desk. She&#39;ll be expecting you.”   Bob: “Great. I&#39;ll be over to get them in about five minutes, and I&#39;ll drop them off with her when I&#39;m done. Thanks again.”       
 
         [0056]    The above is an example of a commonplace and useful voice communication, but it does not fit into the scheme of social conversation in the context of discussing a subject. In particular, the information exchanged by the participants in the above voice communication is ephemeral and of no lasting interest; the participants are not discussing a subject with a meaningful conversation topic. Therefore, according to certain embodiments of the invention, a voice communication of this sort does not qualify as a social conversation. 
         [0057]    In a related embodiment, a voice communication is considered to be a social conversation if the duration reaches or exceeds a predetermined threshold of time. According to this embodiment, shorter voice communications tend not to be social conversations, whereas longer voice communications tend to be social conversations. Thus, in a non-limiting example, a voice communication is considered to be a social conversation if it has a duration of at least five minutes. 
         [0058]      FIG. 4B  is an expansion of step  401  for a variation of the method shown in  FIG. 4A , according to an embodiment of the present invention. In a step  453  the most recent record in conversation log  121 , record  127 , is obtained. The conversation of record  127  has a duration  405 , which is compared against a social conversation duration threshold  451  at a decision point  455 . If duration  405  meets or exceeds threshold  451 , then step  401  concludes with the result that the most recent social conversation is the social conversation of record  127 , and the method of  FIG. 4A  continues at step  407 . If, however, duration  405  is less than threshold  451 , in a step  457  the next most recent conversation record in conversation log  121 , record  125 , is obtained, for a conversation held at a time  404  with a duration  406 . If duration  406  meets or exceeds threshold  451 , then step  401  concludes with the result that the most recent social conversation is the social conversation of record  125 , and the method of  FIG. 4A  continues at step  407 . If, however, duration  406  is also less than threshold  451 , then step  457  is repeated as needed to obtain the record of the most recent social conversation. In a related embodiment of the invention, if no record of a social conversation is found, then the present conversation is considered to be the first social conversation, and the time input to step  407  in  FIG. 1  is the current time. 
         [0059]      FIG. 4C  is an expansion of step  435  for another variation of the method shown in  FIG. 4A , according to an embodiment of the present invention. This expansion also relates to discriminating social conversations from non-social voice communications, and handles the discrimination in a different manner from that illustrated in  FIG. 4B  as described above. In this embodiment, conversation log  121  contains only records of social conversations and excludes records of voice communications which are not social conversations. Therefore, according to this embodiment, all records retrieved from conversation log  121  are guaranteed to be records of social conversations and do not require filtering, such as illustrated in  FIG. 4B . To accomplish this, step  435  includes a decision point  461 , which compares duration  425  of the current conversation (conversation  433  in  FIG. 4A ) against threshold  451 . If duration  425  meets or exceeds threshold  451 , then in a step  463  the record of the current conversation (conversation  433  in  FIG. 4A ) is placed in the conversation log (conversation log  121  of  FIG. 4A ). If, however,  425  is less than threshold  451 , then step  435  terminates at an end-point  465  without adding the record to the conversation log. 
       Selecting Fresh Subjects 
       [0060]    According to various embodiments of the present invention, topics for discussion should be current and up-to-date. It may happen, however, that the most recent social conversation involving the parties was held a long time ago, in which case a subject published subsequent to the time of that social conversation (such as a subject obtained by step  407  in FIG.  4 A) may be dated and no longer recent. To avoid such a situation, a further embodiment of the present invention provides for selecting a subject that was published at a suitably-recent time. 
         [0061]      FIG. 4D  is an expansion of step  407  for a variation of the method shown in  FIG. 4A , according to a further embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, candidate subjects (prospective subjects) are first selected and then examined to see if they are eligible as subjects according to their age of publication, with a goal of assuring that subjects presented as conversation topic suggestions are recent enough to be suitable as conversation topics. In a step  473 , a candidate subject  481  having a publication time  482  (calendar date and optionally a clock time) is selected from a set of candidate subjects  493  obtained from sources  491 , such that all candidate subjects  493  were published subsequent to time  403  ( FIG. 4A ). At a decision point  475  the age of candidate subject  481  is compared against a predetermined subject age threshold  471 . In this embodiment, the age of a subject is the subject&#39;s publication time subtracted from the current time. This calculated age is input into decision point  475 . If the age of candidate subject  481  is less than threshold  471 , then candidate subject  481  is selected as subject  409  ( FIG. 4A ) and the method continues with step  411  ( FIG. 4A ). If, however, the age of candidate subject  481  is equal to or greater than threshold  471 , the method continues with a step  477 , in which a different candidate subject is selected, such as a candidate subject  483 , with a publication time  484 , or a candidate subject  485  with a publication time  486 . If the age of the candidate subject is less than threshold  471 , then the candidate subject is selected as subject  409  ( FIG. 4A ) and the method continues with step  411  ( FIG. 4A ). If, however, the age of the candidate subject is equal to or greater than threshold  471 , the method returns to step  477 , until a candidate subject is found whose age is less than threshold  471 , and this suitable candidate subject is then presented as subject  409  ( FIG. 4A ). 
         [0062]      FIG. 5  conceptually illustrates a system and apparatus for suggesting social conversation topics to a user, according to an embodiment of the present invention. User device apparatus  415  of party  103  provides voice communication capability to party  103 , and includes a processor  521  with a non-transitory data storage  523 , non-transitory active memory  525 , and a data connection  527  to Internet  502 . A social conversation topic app  541  is contained in active memory  525  and runs on processor  521  to perform methods as described previously for other embodiments of the present invention. In particular for this embodiment, app  541  maintains a conversation log  547  for party  103  and has access all or some of the following resources which are maintained by user device  415 : a telephone log  543  of party  103 ; a calendar  545  of party  103 ; e-mail messages  548  of party  103 , and the content thereof; and voice communication content  549 , gathered in whole or in part by user device  415 . In a related embodiment, a server  501  is connected to Internet  502  and has access to prospective subject sources  491 , which are also connected to Internet  502 , so that server  501  can establish virtual connections  504  to prospective subject sources  491  as shown. In this related embodiment, server  501 , by a request from app  541 , compiles one or more subject digests relating to first party  103  and/or second party  105 , resulting in exemplary subjects  571 ,  573 , and  575 . In a related embodiment, subjects  571 ,  573 , and  575  are or contain subject digests. Server  501  sends subject digests to app  541  for a display  561  on a display screen  551  of user device  415  as suggestions for topics for first party  103  when holding a social conversation with second party  105 . 
         [0063]    In another related embodiment, user device  415  performs all the steps of the methods without requiring server  501 . In still another embodiment, server  501  maintains conversation log  547 . 
         [0064]    An additional embodiment of the invention provides a first computer product including a set of executable instructions stored on non-transitory storage media, which instructions, when executed by a user device with a processor, cause the processor of the user device to present a suggested topic to a first party for a current or anticipated social conversation with a second party. In this embodiment, the executable instructions of the first computer product cause the processor to access a telephone log of the first party, to find the time of the most recent social conversation between the first party and the second party, and to request from a remote server a published subject of interest for the current or anticipated social conversation, such that the published subject of interest was published subsequent to the most recent social conversation between the first party and the second party. 
         [0065]    A further embodiment of the invention provides a second computer product including a set of executable instructions stored on non-transitory storage media, which instructions, when executed by a server, cause the server to receive from a user device a date of a recent social conversation between a first party and a second party, and then to obtain, from a source of published subjects of interest, a subject of interest for a current or anticipated social conversation between the first party and the second party which was published subsequent to the date of the recent social conversation, and to send the subject of interest to the user device. 
         [0066]    While the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, it will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited by what has been particularly shown and described herein. Rather the scope of the present invention includes both combinations and sub-combinations of the various features described herein, as well as variations and modifications which would occur to persons skilled in the art upon reading the specification and which are not in the prior art.