Supplemental content determinations for varied media playback

Various embodiments allow, as an alternative to skippable content, creation and delivery of secondary or supplemental content which renders differently in fast-forward or another adjusted-speed mode and presents a call for interaction. When primary content on a client device is determined fast-forwarded, through indicators such as embedded markers, an overlay, replacing, or otherwise enhancing supplemental content is selected from a plurality of options and displayed on the device such that it provides a perceptible message and an opportunity for interaction through hyperlinks in the supplemental content. Supplemental content may be in the form of an icon or other static images, a banner display, a series of still images from the primary content, a hyperlinked landing page for interaction, animations, a video clip, or text. Assisting in supplemental content selection, metrics including number of views, quartile reporting, or click-through rates are compiled.

BACKGROUND

One of the core challenges facing the television and home video-oriented advertising industry was created when home videocassette recorders first appeared and allowed viewers to “time shift” and record programming to a storage medium for viewing after the original broadcasts, with the added ability to “fast-forward” or advance the recordings at speed higher than normal playing speed. The fast-forward capability allowed viewers to bypass, or at least gloss, over advertisements, which tremendously de-valued the advertisement inventory with respect to television and home video. This challenge has been exacerbated by the advent and popularity of the digital video recorder (DVR), a commonly-encountered electronic device with its advanced recording and video manipulation capabilities, capable of recording video in a digital format to a disk drive, flash drive, memory card, or a local or networked mass storage device.

With the growing features and capabilities of DVRs, smart televisions, smartphones, tablets, and other computing devices, as well as exponentially increasing streaming media and video-on-demand offerings, users are increasingly utilizing such devices and services to partake of video content. Commercials are easily skippable on DVRs and these other devices by fast forwarding through them and, in so doing, the viewer at most will perceive a logo or some other snippet of information, but certainly no brand message. The only industry response so far is to allow viewers to skip to the end of a “pre-roll” type of initial advertisement or content after watching so many seconds of it. Providers of supplemental content such as visual advertisers, as well as those offering advertising space and looking for new sources of inventory, thus need a video content format which is perceptible even in a fast-forwarded mode, while remaining customer-centric and not off-putting to the viewing consumer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Systems and methods in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure may overcome one or more of the aforementioned and other deficiencies experienced in conventional approaches to delivering secondary or supplemental content when the primary content is being fast-forwarded. In particular, various embodiments provide a video or audio format allowing the advertiser or other provider of “mid-roll”-type, polymorphic or multi-format, longer-form supplemental content to create and deliver such content that renders differently in fast-forward mode, and presents a call to action with which the user can interact, even in that fast-forward mode. The supplemental content will be an alternative to skippable content and capable of still delivering a clear brand message to catch the viewers' attention, but remain “friendly” to the viewer and potential customers and saving some of their valuable time. Also being suited for fast-forwarded mode, this format will preserve the value of advertising and other content which is secondary or supplemental to the primary content, be it a motion picture, television program, or some other sort of video or audio presentation.

Enticing the viewer to release the fast-forward button, the supplemental content will be “intelligent” in the modern sense of the word. The injected supplemental message will be different from the commercial normally seen and can be applied in a variety of ways. In one illustrative embodiment, for example, the supplemental content will, in essence, replace the primary content stream based on metadata regarding the primary video feed, specifically as to when the supplemental content may begin and when it must end. The party offering supplemental content may need to obtain the legal right to inject its content, by contracted placement or the like, which is a practice well known in the broadcast industry. In another illustrative embodiment, rather than a wholesale replacement of primary content, the supplemental content may enhance the primary content.

To assist the fast-forwarding viewer, there may be graphic and/or textual elements conveying to the viewer that the currently-displayed content is advertising or other supplemental content, how far along the viewer is in the fast-forwarding process, and how much time remains until the primary content resumes. Such indicators can be in the form of an on-screen icon, displayed while the primary content is simultaneously showing on the majority of the viewer's screen in one embodiment.

Referring now toFIGS. 1A and 1B, shown is a typical result under the prior art when a primary content100, video content in this case, is fast-forwarded. Under normal playback, as inFIG. 1A, the primary video content100is discernible. During a fast-forward or skipping playback mode, as illustrated inFIG. 1B, all that an observer can discern on the client device110video player display screen120is a series of muddled or noisy image content130, with no easily perceptible message or meaning during the fast-forwarding. However, approaches in accordance with various embodiments herein enable display of perceptible supplemental content140when primary content100is advancing on a fast-forward basis, as illustrated inFIG. 2andFIG. 3, where representative client devices110display supplemental content140as an overlay atop the primary content100presented on a screen120.

The supplemental content140can be an enhancement of primary content100being played, such as through an overlay150, or implemented directly in the video feed which replaces the content being played. The supplemental content140can include one or more icons or other static images, an interactive banner-type display, a series of still images from the primary content, a landing page for viewer interaction, animations, a video clip, text messages, or other content suitable for the situation, which can include factoring in the viewer's device110and may or may not relate to the substance of the primary content100. The supplemental content140may be in the form of previews or motion picture trailers, and can even be content along the lines of current social media timelines and feeds, news updates, weather forecasts, and sports scores. While the supplemental content140may be related in some way to the topic or substance of the primary content100, such by no means required. The supplemental content140can be also customized for a particular viewer, based on demographics and other mined data, including that compiled as discussed herein.

With respect to creation of digital supplemental content140, at a code level, the familiar Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) can be involved in the creation of content such as animations, banner advertisements, and interactive landing pages, as can Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) files and the JavaScript programming language. Many advertisers, for example, already generate video-based commercials. In one self-service embodiment, supplemental content140, including that which is sponsored, can be uploaded directly by content producers where a broadcast or streaming service can then add fingerprints or markers and otherwise implement the supplemental content140into a collection for enhancing viewers' experiences. In the interests of efficiency and scalability, a software tool may be made available to content creators and used to at least generate template static supplemental content140, perhaps in an appealing landing page-style arrangement, from supplemental content140in a straightforward video format. More specifically, a content creator would upload video content, and software can automatically copy one or more frames from the uploaded content, to serve as static supplemental content140, and provide the ability for the content creator to add text to the static supplemental content140and, for example, select a running length from a variety of defaults.

The systems and methods will entail certain client (as opposed to server) side work and recognize a supplemental content140placement opportunity, communicating with at least one server160to obtain the appropriate supplemental content140in time to render it for the viewer on the client device110side. More particularly, when primary content100is viewed on a supported DVR or video streaming service, backend content-serving providers and technology can be employed to determine and dynamically match the speed at which the viewer is fast-forwarding (4×, 8×, 16×, etc.) and determine which supplemental content140to provide to the viewer's device110.

There are multiple ways of determining the fast-forward speed, including the use of software to detect local-distribution markers embedded in a broadcast television stream (often used in the advertisement insertion process) and referencing a predetermined programming guide to ascertain which primary content100was showing at the time of fast-forwarding. An alternate way is to use the embedded markers to “fingerprint” the primary content100video and compare such fingerprints to a database of primary content100fingerprints, and, if there is a match, then supplemental content140may be used to enhance the primary content100.

Intelligence behind the fast-forwarding determination may further recognize the type of fast-forwarding performed, particularly if the fast-forward mechanism consists of skipping a certain amount of content (rather than continuous fast-forwarding advancing at a set speed and then being manually stopped by the viewer). Should, for example, such a fast-forward command button or option be pressed or otherwise selected on a client device110ten times, the systems and methods herein will not necessarily present the viewer with ten different instances of supplemental content140, but make an intelligent, informed decision as to the amount of supplemental content140to deliver. In one embodiment, should a viewer consecutively select a fast-forward option beyond a threshold number of times, no supplemental content140will be shown, and the primary content100resumed.

As noted, part of the backend determinations can involve selecting, from a plurality of options, which supplemental content140to show to the viewer. On the server side, at least one server160will ping, or contact, a database170, content platform, data store, or similar compilation of supplemental content140options and, if necessary or even just desired, may reformat or convert selected supplemental content140for proper display on a client device110. When it comes to selecting a particular supplemental content140, the algorithm or routine can be polymorphic, or utilizing content of different types and different running lengths, capable of adjusting to different fast-forward speeds. In an illustrative embodiment, the supplemental content140collection in a database170consists of a series of viewable experiences which can be played for multiple lengths of time on a client device110and can be adjusted for particular viewers. One supplemental content140display option is to use an animated banner advertisement which is agnostic to, or does not consider, how long it is seen by the viewer. Another possibility for supplemental content140is essentially a video which is slowed such that, based on the determined fast-forwarding speed, it appears to be playing at normal speed. In the commercial viewing context, as in the television industry, the running time or length of the supplemental content140does not exceed a standard commercial break.

For animated supplemental content140for which the viewer changes fast-forwarding speed during the viewing, flexibility is desired, and, in one embodiment, the supplemental content140is “smart” enough to detect and dynamically match the fast-forwarding speed. For supplemental content140producers not wishing to invest in developing such intelligent content, though, it remains an option for the supplemental content140to be static and not synchronize with the fast-forwarding speed.

The supplemental content140selection logic can further be configured to ascertain that, based on a higher fast-forwarding speed, a particular viewer is less receptive to advertisements and other supplemental content140and accordingly provide a different experience for such a viewer or no supplemental content140at all at that time.

As would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, the client device110screen120may comprise or include a touch screen, electronic ink (e-ink), light emitting diode (LED) display, liquid crystal display (LCD), or cathode ray tube (CRT) display, although devices such as portable media players might additionally or alternatively be utilized to convey information via other means, such as through audio speakers. The client device110can include at least one networking component as well and may include one or more components enabling communication across at least one network180, such as a cellular network, internet, intranet, extranet, local area network, Wi-Fi, and the like.

Specifications and features of the client device110on which supplemental content140is shown may be detected and factored into the supplemental content140selection process, as, say, an older television will have limited interaction and navigation functionality when compared to a modern television or a tablet computer. For example, should the client device110not be internet-connected or not be a “smart” device, it is likely that static supplemental content140will be selected. So having a static, default version of each animated or interactive supplemental content140instance is desirable. Obtainable device110data for online devices will be useful in this regard. A feature-rich, potentially high-definition, supplemental content140stream will include, and load on such an online viewing device, data capable of facilitating interactivity, including that conducted offline.

In addition, in some embodiments, viewers' advertising-blocking software on certain electronic client devices110may be detected and either bypassed through techniques known in the advertising and software industries or requested to be deactivated.

As noted, the selected supplemental content140may be related in some way to the primary content100, but need not be, and may be customized for particular viewers. The signal used for personalizing or customizing the supplement content140may include, for example, a date field which could restrict an expired offer from being presented to the viewer and instead lead to the showing of date-generic supplemental content140. Standard practices and procedures known in the digital advertising industry regarding viewer demographics, standard viewing patterns, selling sponsored commercials, targeting advertisements, and the like can be applied in the supplemental content140selection process. Patterns arising over time, based on mined viewing and fast-forwarding data, can assist in this regard and identify viewers less receptive to supplemental content140intrusions as well as viewers more likely to interact with supplemental content140capable of such. This information can further be utilized in the selection of supplemental content140best suited for a particular viewer.

To accomplish the desired playback speed for delivering the selected supplemental content140, the determined primary content100fast-forward speed is considered, such that the supplemental content140display speed is reduced in order to appear at a normal speed on the client device110during the fast-forward playback mode. Such consideration may include reformatting the selected supplemental content140for display on the client device110, based on the determined fast-forward speed.

In some embodiments, the supplemental content140will be delivered as part of primary content100being delivered via an online stream or cloud-based, DVR-type services (which saves desired primary content100to a playlist, as opposed to a true recording scheme). This would include any advertisement-funded video stream and, for example, services such as the familiar ones offered by providers such as the Hulu® and Netflix® subscription video-on-demand services, the YouTube™ video community, the Dailymotion® video hosting service, and the PlayStation™ Vue live television streaming service. The delivered supplemental content140can be stored in a variety of ways, such as locally, and offline, on a viewer's DVR or hard drive, along with the primary content100.

The selected supplemental content140may provide an opportunity for interaction through one or more navigational elements190contained within the selected supplemental content140, including, but not limited to, techniques such as the use of hyperlinks, linking a hypertext file or document to another location or file, typically activated by clicking on a highlighted word or image appearing on the client device110screen120. Should a viewer notice something of interest in supplemental content140, as noted, he or she can interact with the hyperlinked material190in many embodiments, in a manner akin to web browsing. If the viewer's attention is so drawn to the supplemental content140, and he or she desires to engage with it, the system200can return to normal-speed playing of the secondary140content and/or the primary content100. Similarly, if the supplemental content140is stopped or paused, play of primary content100will resume, with options including restarting the segment which was fast-forwarded, such as a commercial, from the beginning or opting out to another source of related product or service information, such as a website landing page. Should the viewer wish to engage with the supplemental content140through the navigational elements190, in some illustrative embodiments, the primary content100will be automatically paused until the viewer has the occasion to return to it.

Should the viewer miss the opportunity to interact with the supplemental content140, a rewind option can be included to permit the viewer to return to the supplemental content140and the interactivity option190. The well-known media constructs for rewinding and fast-forwarding may be employed in this regard. Another, similar option for missed interactivity is, at the conclusion of the primary content100, to provide the viewer with an opportunity to see all of the supplemental content140which was shown during the primary content100, potentially through a list, slides, or thumbnail images210. Accordingly, some sort of list of supplemental content140shown during a specific primary content100viewing may be maintained, and such a list may be provided to the viewer in a number of ways for interaction, including that conducted offline.

Robust industry-standard measurements, including those required or at least coveted by potential advertisers, can be tracked and preserved, including analytics and metrics such as number of supplemental content140views, video quartile reporting (such as what percentage of viewers reached particular quarters of the supplemental content140), click-through rates (what percentage of viewers interacted with the supplemental content140by taking some action with the navigation elements190). In the sponsored advertising realm, a backend module may track data needed for billing, including that pursuant to advertising insertion contract relationships established and means known in the industry. For example, supplemental content140space may be sold on a “cost per click” (CPC) basis, a “cost per thousand impressions” (CPM), or a “cost per acquisition” or “cost per action” (CPA) basis.

Various environments may be utilized to implement the embodiments herein.FIG. 4illustrates an example of a system200environment for such an implementation. As will be appreciated, although an internet or web-based environment180is used for purposes of explanation, different environments may be used, as appropriate, to implement various embodiments. An electronic client device110can include any appropriate device operable to send and receive requests, messages, or information over an appropriate network and convey content and other information back to a user of the device, particularly through a display screen120. The network180can include any appropriate network, including an intranet, the internet, a cellular network, a local area network, or any other such network or combination thereof. Components used for such a system200can depend at least in part upon the type of network180and/or environment selected. Protocols and components for communicating via such a network180are well known and will not be discussed herein in detail. Communication over the network180can be enabled by wired or wireless connections, and combinations thereof. In this example, the network180includes the internet, as the environment includes a web server160for receiving requests and serving content in response thereto, although for other networks an alternative device serving a similar purpose could be used as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art.

The illustrative environment includes at least one server160and can comprise a plurality of resources, servers, hosts, instances, routers, switches, data stores, and/or other such components defining what will be referred to herein as a data plane, although it should be understood that resources of this plane are not limited to storing and providing access to data. It should be understood that there can be several application servers, layers, or other elements, processes, or components, possibly chained or otherwise configured, which can interact to perform tasks such as obtaining data from an appropriate data store. As used herein the term “data store” refers to any device or combination of devices capable of storing, accessing, and retrieving data, which may include any combination and number of databases170, data servers, data storage devices, and data storage media, in any standard, distributed, or clustered environment. The server160can include any appropriate hardware and software for integrating with the data store as needed to execute aspects of one or more applications for the client device110, handling a majority of the data access and business logic for an application. The server160provides admission control services in cooperation with the data store and is able to generate content such as text, graphics, audio, and/or video to be transferred to the user, which may be served to the user by the web server in the form of HTML, XML, or another appropriate structured language in this example. In some embodiments, the server160, a web server, and similar components can be considered to be part of the data plane. The handling of all requests and responses, as well as the delivery of content between the client device110and the server160, can be handled by a web server. It should be understood that web and application servers are not required and are merely example components, as structured code can be executed on any appropriate device or host machine as discussed elsewhere herein.

The data stores of the data plane can include several separate databases170, data tables, or other data storage mechanisms and media for storing primary content100, supplemental content140, and other data relating to a particular aspect. For example, the data plane can include mechanisms for storing production data and user information, which can be used to serve content for the production side. The data plane also may employ a mechanism for storing log data, which can be used for purposes such as reporting and analysis. It should be understood that there can be many other aspects that may need to be stored in a data store, such as for page image information and access right information, which can be stored in any of the above listed mechanisms as appropriate or in additional mechanisms in the data plane. The data plane is operable, through logic associated therewith, to receive instructions from one or more servers160and obtain, update, or otherwise process data, instructions, or other such information in response thereto. In one example, a user might submit a search request for a certain type of content item. In this case, components of the data plane might access user information to verify the identity of a user and access the catalog detail information to obtain information about content items of that type. The information then can be returned to the user, such as in primary content100, supplemental content140, and other information on a web page that the user is able to view via a browser on the client device110. Information for a particular item of interest can be viewed in a dedicated page or window of a browser on a client device110.

The environment in some embodiments is a distributed computing environment utilizing several computer systems and components that are interconnected via communication links, using one or more computer networks180or direct connections. However, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that such a system200could operate equally well in a system having fewer or a greater number of components than are illustrated inFIG. 4. Thus, the depiction of the system200inFIG. 4should be taken as being illustrative in nature, and not limiting to the scope of the disclosure.

An environment such as that illustrated inFIG. 4can be useful for various supplemental content140providers or other entities, wherein multiple hosts and various types of resources might be used to perform tasks such as serving content, authenticating users, allocating resources, or performing any of a number of other such tasks. Some of these hosts may be configured to offer similar functionality, while other servers might be configured to perform at least some different functions. It should be noted the electronic environment in such cases might include additional components and/or other arrangements, discussed in detail above.

As discussed, the various embodiments can be implemented in a wide variety of operating environments, which in some cases can include one or more DVRs, smartphones or other computing devices, or processing devices which can be used to operate any of a number of applications. Client devices110can include any of a number of general purpose personal computers, such as desktop or laptop computers running a standard operating system, tablet computers, as well as smartphones and other cellular, wireless, and handheld devices running mobile software and capable of supporting a number of networking and messaging protocols. Such a system200also can include a number of workstations running any of a variety of commercially-available operating systems and other known applications for purposes such as development and database170management. These devices also can include other electronic devices, such as dummy terminals, thin-clients, gaming systems, handheld messaging devices, set-top boxes, personal data assistants, electronic book readers, and other devices capable of communicating via a network180.

Most embodiments utilize at least one network180that would be familiar to those skilled in the art for delivering and supporting communications, including those using any of a variety of commercially-available protocols, such as TCP/IP, OSI, FTP, UPnP, NFS, CIFS, and AppleTalk. The network180can include, for example, a broadcast television network, a cable television network, a satellite television network, a local area network, a wide-area network, a virtual private network, the internet, an intranet, an extranet, a public switched telephone network, an infrared network, a wireless network, and any combination thereof.

In embodiments utilizing a web server160, the web server can run any of a variety of server or mid-tier applications, including HTTP servers, FTP servers, CGI servers, data servers, Java servers, and business application servers. The server(s)160also may be capable of executing programs or scripts in response requests from client devices110, such as by executing one or more web applications that may be implemented as one or more scripts or programs written in any programming language, such as Java®, C, C# or C++, or any scripting language, such as Perl, Python, or TCL, as well as combinations thereof. The server(s)160may also include database servers, including without limitation those commercially available from Oracle®, Microsoft®, Sybase®, and IBM®.

The system200environment can include a variety of database170compilations, data stores, and other memory and storage media as discussed above. These can reside in a variety of locations, such as on a storage medium local to (and/or resident in) one or more of the computers or remote from any or all of the computers across the network180. In a particular set of embodiments, the information may reside in a storage-area network (SAN) familiar to those skilled in the art. Similarly, any necessary files for performing the functions attributed to the computers, servers, or other network180devices may be stored locally and/or remotely, as appropriate. Where a system200includes computerized devices, each such device can include hardware elements that may be electrically coupled via a bus, the elements including, for example, at least one central processing unit (CPU), at least one input device (e.g., a mouse, keyboard, controller, touch screen, or keypad), and at least one output device (e.g., a display device, printer, or speaker). Such a system200may also include one or more storage devices, such as disk drives, optical storage devices, and solid-state storage devices such as random access memory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM), as well as removable media devices, memory cards, flash cards, etc.

FIG. 5illustrates an example process220for detecting when a primary content100is fast-forwarded and selecting and displaying a supplemental content140in accordance with various embodiments. It should be understood that, for any process discussed herein, there can be additional, fewer, or alternative steps performed in similar or alternative orders, or in parallel, within the scope of the various embodiments unless otherwise stated. In this example, the process commences230by determining a location and playback speed of a primary content100being shown on a client device110. As discussed, determining the playback speed may involve software detecting markers embedded in a stream and cross-referencing a primary content100programming guide or “fingerprinting” the primary content and comparing the fingerprints to a database170or data store fingerprints. Further analysis may recognize a type of fast-forwarding performed, such as if a certain amount of content is skipped in the process.

When it is determined that the playback on the client device100is in a fast-forward mode, the process moves on240to selecting a supplemental content140from one or more options, with this selection based at least in part on the determined playback speed and an anticipated duration of the fast-forwarding. The selection process algorithm or logic may follow that discussed herein. In particular, at least one server160can contact, a database170, content platform, data store, or other compilation of supplemental content140options, which may be played for varying lengths of time and be adjustable or customizable for specific viewers. Further steps are to deliver250, by at least one server160, the supplemental content140for display on the client device110and cause260the selected supplemental content140to be displayed on the client device110screen120, as an overlay150with respect to the primary content100. The playback speed for the selected and displayed supplemental content140can be reformatted or otherwise based on the primary content100fast-forward speed, so that the display speed of the supplemental content140appears to be occurring at a normal speed on the client device110during the fast-forward mode.

FIG. 6illustrates another example process270for selecting and displaying a supplemental content140when a primary content100is advancing in a fast-forward mode. An initial step280is to detect one or more content markers embedded or otherwise contained in primary video content100being played or displayed on a client device110. As mentioned previously, this step280can involve cross-referencing a primary content programming guide or a database170of primary content100“fingerprints.” Based at least in part upon the timing of the content markers or other referenced content marker-related information, the primary video content100location and playback speed are determined as process steps290, including detecting when the primary video content100is being fast-forwarded. When the primary content100is detected to be in a fast-forward playback mode, a supplemental content140provider is presented300with specific information about the primary video content100and the fast-forward playback mode, such as the primary content100topic and the speed of the fast-forward advancement. The supplemental content140provider will offer310one or more options for supplemental content140to be displayed over, and thereby enhance, the primary video content100while the fast-forward playback mode continues. As noted, the various supplemental content140options may include an icon or other static images, an interactive banner-type display, a series of still images from the primary content, a hyperlinked190landing page for interaction, animations, a video clip, or text relating to the primary content100. At that point320, based at least in part on the determined playback speed, an anticipated duration of the fast-forwarding playback mode, and targeting demographics of the expected content consumer, a particular supplemental content option140is selected and displayed on the client device110, as an overlay150with respect to the primary video content100. The targeting demographics which are utilized at this step can be grouping traits known in the advertising industry, such as gender, age, location, and annual income, and they can include the industry-standard analytics and metrics referenced herein. As discussed, the selected supplemental content140can then330provide an opportunity for viewer interaction through one or more navigational elements, such as hyperlinks190, embedded or contained within the selected supplemental content140.

It should be noted that, while the present disclosure often refers to videos, viewers, and DVRs, such is by no means limiting, and the supplemental content140and primary content100may be in alternative forms, such as an audio-only stream, including podcasts and that delivered by intelligent personal assistants on electronic devices110. Moreover, for the avoidance of doubt, the supplemental content140need not consist of advertising; it instead could consist of any sort of content. For example, supplemental content140could summarize the fast-forwarded primary content100or otherwise enhance the primary content100, such as through a map illustrating where the primary content100action is taking place or displaying an indication of bonus content to come after the conclusion of the primary content100. Further, while the term “fast-forwarding” is used for convenience, it is also not intended to be limiting, and the term should be construed to encompass any sort of adjusted-speed play of content.

FIG. 7illustrates a set of basic components of a computing device700that can be used to implement aspects of the various embodiments, including a client device110. In this example, the device includes at least one processor702for executing instructions that can be stored in a memory device or element704. As would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, the device can include many types of memory, data storage or computer-readable media, such as a first data storage for program instructions for execution by the at least one processor702, the same or separate storage can be used for images or data, a removable memory can be available for sharing information with other devices, and any number of communication approaches can be available for sharing with other devices. The device typically will include at least one type of display element706, such as a touch screen, electronic ink (e-ink), organic light emitting diode (OLED) or liquid crystal display (LCD), although devices such as portable media players might convey information via other means, such as through audio speakers. The device in many embodiments will include at least one image capture element708, such as at least one image capture element positioned to determine a relative position of a viewer and at least one image capture element operable to image a user, people, or other viewable objects in the vicinity of the device. An image capture element can include any appropriate technology, such as a CCD image capture element having a sufficient resolution, focal range and viewable area, to capture an image of the user when the user is operating the device. Methods for capturing images or video using an image capture element with a computing device are well known in the art and will not be discussed herein in detail. It should be understood that image capture can be performed using a single image, multiple images, periodic imaging, continuous image capturing, image streaming, etc. The device can include at least one networking component710as well, and may include one or more components enabling communication across at least one network180, such as the internet, a cellular network, intranet, extranet, local area network, Wi-Fi, and the like.

The device can include at least one motion and/or orientation determining element, such as an accelerometer, digital compass, electronic gyroscope, or inertial sensor, which can assist in determining movement or other changes in orientation of the device. The supplemental content140can, at least in part, depend on readings from such motion and/or orientation determining element. The device can include at least one additional input device712able to receive conventional input from a user. This conventional input can include, for example, a push button, touch pad, touch screen, wheel, joystick, keyboard, mouse, trackball, keypad or any other such device or element whereby a user can input a command to the device. These input/output (I/O) devices could even be connected by a wireless infrared or Bluetooth or other link as well in some embodiments. In some embodiments, however, such a device might not include any buttons at all and might be controlled only through a combination of visual and audio commands such that a user can control the device without having to be in contact with the device.

As noted, the various embodiments can be implemented in a wide variety of operating environments, which in some cases can include one or more user computers or computing devices which can be used to operate any of a number of applications. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereunto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.