Patent Publication Number: US-10333871-B1

Title: Logged-out conversation invitations

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This disclosure relates to the field of content sharing platforms and, in particular, to logged-out conversation invitations. 
     BACKGROUND 
     On the Internet, social networks allow users to connect to and share information with each other. Many social networks include a content sharing aspect that allows users to upload, view, and share content, such as video content, image content, audio content, text content, and so on (which may be collectively referred to as “media items” or “content items”). Such viewable and shareable media items may include audio clips, movie clips, TV clips, and music videos, as well as amateur content such as video blogging, short original videos, pictures, photos, other multimedia content, etc. Users may use computing devices (such as smart phones, cellular phones, laptop computers, desktop computers, netbooks, tablet computers, network-connected televisions) to use, play, and/or consume media items (e.g., watch digital videos, and/or listen to digital music). 
     SUMMARY 
     The following is a simplified summary of the disclosure in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosure. This summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure. It is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of the disclosure, nor delineate any scope of the particular implementations of the disclosure or any scope of the claims. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of the disclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later. 
     In an aspect of the disclosure, a method includes receiving an indication of a content item to be shared by a sharing user with one or more recipient users, wherein the sharing user is not logged-in to a content sharing platform maintaining the content item, generating a token to represent a combination of the content item, information corresponding to a user device of the sharing user, information corresponding to one or more user devices of the one or more recipient users, and a conversation associated with the content item, and sending a link comprising the token to the one or more user devices of the one or more recipient users, the link providing access to the shared content item and an invitation to join the conversation by signing-in to the content sharing platform. 
     In one implementation, signing-in to the content sharing platform includes the one or more recipient users associating with a public identity on the content sharing platform. Furthermore, comments corresponding to the conversation may be hidden from the one or more recipient users who are not logged-in to the content sharing platform. In addition, the information corresponding to the user device of the sharing user may include a device identifier (ID) of the user device of the sharing user or may include a visitor ID of the user device of the sharing user. 
     In a further implementation, the method includes receiving an indication that a recipient user of the one or more recipient user joined the conversation, determining the information corresponding to the user device of the sharing user from the token corresponding to the conversation, providing, via communication path determined from the information corresponding to the user device of the sharing user, a notification to the user device of the sharing user that the recipient user joined the conversation and another invitation to the sharing user to join the conversation, and providing, to the user device of the sharing user, access to the conversation when another indication is received that the sharing user accepted the another invitation to join the conversation via signing-in to the content sharing platform. 
     In some implementations, the comments of the recipient user in the conversation are hidden from the sharing user when the sharing user is not logged-in to the content sharing platform. In addition, a comment of the sharing user corresponding to the shared content item is provided with the shared content item when initially shared with the one or more recipient users. Furthermore, the shared content item and the invitation to join the conversation may be provided to the one or more recipients via at least one of Short Message Service (SMS), email message, first-party network of the content sharing platform, or a third-party social network. 
     Computing devices for performing the operations of the above described method and the various implementations described herein are disclosed. Computer-readable media that store instructions for performing operations associated with the above described method and the various implementations described herein are also disclosed. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present disclosure is illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings. 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary network architecture in which implementations of the present disclosure may be implemented. 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating a content sharing conversation system in accordance with one implementation of the disclosure, according to an implementation. 
         FIGS. 3A through 3D  illustrate example screenshots of logged-out conversation invitations according to implementations of the disclosure 
         FIG. 4  is a flow diagram illustrating a method for initiating a logged-out conversation on a content sharing platform, according to an implementation. 
         FIG. 5  is a flow diagram illustrating a method for generating a conversation invitation for a logged-out sharing user of a content sharing platform, according to an implementation. 
         FIG. 6  is a block diagram illustrating one implementation of a computer system, according to an implementation. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Aspects and implementations of the disclosure are directed to logged-out conversation invitations. Implementations are described for a content sharing conversation system that enables logged-out users to share a content item and start a conversation around that shared content item without logging-in, creating an identity or verifying contact information. A logged-out user may include a user that interacts with the content sharing platform without providing an identity that is publicly-viewable by other users of the content sharing platform. In some implementations, an anonymous user is considered a logged-out user. 
     Implementations of the disclosure may engage the logged-out user to sign in to or sign up for (e.g., create a public identity) the content sharing platform by requesting the logged-out user to join the conversation in order to view replies and/or comments provided by recipients of an original share of the content item (e.g., initial share of content item from the logged-out user to the recipient users). A unique token may be generated and utilized by the content sharing conversation system as part of the original share of the content item. The unique token may be used to associate the original sharing user and the recipient users with the shared content item and the associated conversation, as well as to direct communications and invitations between users participating in the conversation. 
     Prior solutions typically do not allow any social component to be applied to logged-out users. From the content sharing platform point-of-view, logged-out users do not have connections with other users (e.g., friends), cannot interact with other logged-in users, and cannot make changes (e.g., enter or modify data) within a web browser or an application (e.g., a mobile application) associated with the content sharing platform. This state is even more pronounced in chat applications. A logged-out user cannot chat with users that are logged-in and the logged-in users cannot chat with users that are logged-out. This means that the logged-out user should first sign in or sign up for the application before the option of a conversation is even available. 
     Implementations of the disclosure overcome the limitations of the prior solutions for logged-out users by enabling logged-out users to start an in-application conversation without logging-in, creating an identity or verifying contact information (e.g., phone number). The logged-out user can be encouraged to sign-in to further reply to the conversation, but the specific conversation had already been initiated by the logged-out user. 
     Implementations of the disclosure often reference videos for simplicity and brevity. However, the teachings of the disclosure are applied to media items generally and can be applied to various types of content or media items, including for example, video, audio, text, images, program instructions, etc. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an example system architecture  100 , in accordance with one implementation of the disclosure. The system architecture  100  includes client devices  110 A through  110 Z, a network  105 , a data store  106 , a content sharing platform  120 , and a server  130 . In one implementation, network  105  may include a public network (e.g., the Internet), a private network (e.g., a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN)), a wired network (e.g., Ethernet network), a wireless network (e.g., an 802.11 network or a Wi-Fi network), a cellular network (e.g., a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network), routers, hubs, switches, server computers, and/or a combination thereof. In one implementation, the data store  106  may be a memory (e.g., random access memory), a cache, a drive (e.g., a hard drive), a flash drive, a database system, or another type of component or device capable of storing data. The data store  106  may also include multiple storage components (e.g., multiple drives or multiple databases) that may also span multiple computing devices (e.g., multiple server computers). 
     The client devices  110 A through  110 Z may each include computing devices such as personal computers (PCs), laptops, mobile phones, smart phones, tablet computers, netbook computers, network-connected televisions, etc. In some implementations, client device  110 A through  110 Z may also be referred to as “user devices.” Each client device includes a media viewer  111 . In one implementation, the media viewers  111  may be applications that allow users to view content, such as images, videos, web pages, documents, etc. For example, the media viewer  111  may be a web browser that can access, retrieve, present, and/or navigate content (e.g., web pages such as Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) pages, digital media items, etc.) served by a web server. The media viewer  111  may render, display, and/or present the content (e.g., a web page, a media viewer) to a user. The media viewer  111  may also display an embedded media player (e.g., a Flash® player or an HTML5 player) that is embedded in a web page (e.g., a web page that may provide information about a product sold by an online merchant). In another example, the media viewer  111  may be a standalone application that allows users to view digital media items (e.g., digital videos, digital images, electronic books, etc.). 
     The media viewers  111  may be provided to the client devices  110 A through  110 Z by the server  130  and/or content sharing platform  120 . For example, the media viewers  111  may be embedded media players that are embedded in web pages provided by the content sharing platform  120 . In another example, the media viewers  111  may be applications that are downloaded from the server  130 . 
     In general, functions described in one implementation as being performed by the content sharing platform  120  can also be performed on the client devices  110 A through  110 Z in other implementations, if appropriate. In addition, the functionality attributed to a particular component can be performed by different or multiple components operating together. The content sharing platform  120  can also be accessed as a service provided to other systems or devices through appropriate application programming interfaces, and thus is not limited to use in websites. 
     In one implementation, the content sharing platform  120  may be one or more computing devices (such as a rackmount server, a router computer, a server computer, a personal computer, a mainframe computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a desktop computer, etc.), data stores (e.g., hard disks, memories, databases), networks, software components, and/or hardware components that may be used to provide a user with access to media items and/or provide the media items to the user. For example, the content sharing platform  120  may allow a user to consume, upload, search for, approve of (“like”), dislike, and/or comment on media items. The content sharing platform  120  may also include a website (e.g., a webpage) or application back-end software that may be used to provide a user with access to the media items. 
     In implementations of the disclosure, a “user” may be represented as a single individual. However, other implementations of the disclosure encompass a “user” being an entity controlled by a set of users and/or an automated source. For example, a set of individual users federated as a community in a social network may be considered a “user”. In another example, an automated consumer may be an automated ingestion pipeline, such as a topic channel, of the content sharing platform  120 . 
     The content sharing platform  120  may include multiple channels (e.g., channels A through Z). A channel can be data content available from a common source or data content having a common topic, theme, or substance. The data content can be digital content chosen by a user, digital content made available by a user, digital content uploaded by a user, digital content chosen by a content provider, digital content chosen by a broadcaster, etc. For example, a channel X can include videos Y and Z. A channel can be associated with an owner, who is a user that can perform actions on the channel. Different activities can be associated with the channel based on the owner&#39;s actions, such as the owner making digital content available on the channel, the owner selecting (e.g., liking) digital content associated with another channel, the owner commenting on digital content associated with another channel, etc. The activities associated with the channel can be collected into an activity feed for the channel. Users, other than the owner of the channel, can subscribe to one or more channels in which they are interested. The concept of “subscribing” may also be referred to as “liking”, “following”, “friending”, and so on. 
     Once a user subscribes to a channel, the user can be presented with information from the channel&#39;s activity feed. If a user subscribes to multiple channels, the activity feed for each channel to which the user is subscribed can be combined into a syndicated activity feed. Information from the syndicated activity feed can be presented to the user. Channels may have their own feeds. For example, when navigating to a home page of a channel on the content sharing platform, feed items produced by that channel may be shown on the channel home page. Users may have a syndicated feed, which is a feed comprised of at least a subset of the content items from all of the channels to which the user is subscribed. Syndicated feeds may also include content items from channels that the user is not subscribed. For example, the content sharing platform  120  or other social networks may insert recommended content items into the user&#39;s syndicated feed, or may insert content items associated with a related connection of the user in the syndicated feed. 
     Each channel may include one or more media items  121 . Examples of a media item  121  can include, and are not limited to, digital video, digital movies, digital photos, digital music, website content, social media updates, electronic books (ebooks), electronic magazines, digital newspapers, digital audio books, electronic journals, web blogs, real simple syndication (RSS) feeds, electronic comic books, software applications, etc. In some implementations, media item  121  is also referred to as a content item. 
     A media item  121  may be consumed via the Internet and/or via a mobile device application. For brevity and simplicity, an online video (also hereinafter referred to as a video) is used as an example of a media item  121  throughout this document. As used herein, “media,” media item,” “online media item,” “digital media,” “digital media item,” “content,” and “content item” can include an electronic file that can be executed or loaded using software, firmware or hardware configured to present the digital media item to an entity. In one implementation, the content sharing platform  120  may store the media items  121  using the data store  106 . 
     In one implementation, the server  130  may be one or more computing devices (e.g., a rackmount server, a server computer, etc.). In one implementation, the server  130  may be included in the content sharing platform  120 . The server  130  may include a content sharing conversation system  140 . In one implementation, the content sharing conversation system  140  enables logged-out users to share a content item and start a conversation around that shared content item without logging-in, creating an identity or verifying contact information. A logged-out user may include a user that interacts with the content sharing platform without providing an identity that is publicly-viewable by other users of the content sharing platform. In some implementations, an anonymous user is considered a logged-out user. 
     Implementations of the disclosure may engage the logged-out user to sign in to or sign up for (e.g., create a public identity) the content sharing platform by requesting the logged-out user to join the conversation in order to view replies and/or comments provided by recipient users of the original share of the content item. A unique token may be generated and utilized by the content sharing conversation system  140  as part of the original share of the content item. The unique token may be used to associate the original sharer and the recipients with the shared content item and associated conversation, as well as to direct communications and invitations between users participating in the conversation. 
     In some implementations, content sharing conversation system  140  of server  130  may interact with content sharing platform  120  and/or with other third party social network servers  150  to provide implementations of the disclosure. Further description of the content sharing conversation system  140  and its specific functions is described in more detail below with respect to  FIG. 2 . 
     Although implementations of the disclosure are discussed in terms of content sharing platforms and promoting social network sharing of a content item on the content sharing platform, implementations may also be generally applied to any type of social network providing connections between users. Implementations of the disclosure are not limited to content sharing platforms that provide channel subscriptions to users. 
     In situations in which the systems discussed here collect personal information about users, or may make use of personal information, the users may be provided with an opportunity to control whether the content sharing platform  120  collects user information (e.g., information about a user&#39;s social network, social actions or activities, profession, a user&#39;s preferences, or a user&#39;s current location), or to control whether and/or how to receive content from the content server that may be more relevant to the user. In addition, certain data may be treated in one or more ways before it is stored or used, so that personally identifiable information is removed. For example, a user&#39;s identity may be treated so that no personally identifiable information can be determined for the user, or a user&#39;s geographic location may be generalized where location information is obtained (such as to a city, ZIP code, or state level), so that a particular location of a user cannot be determined. Thus, the user may have control over how information is collected about the user and used by the content sharing platform  120 . 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating a content sharing conversation system  140  in accordance with one implementation of the disclosure. As discussed above, the content sharing conversation system  140  may interact with a single social network, or may be utilized among multiple social networks (e.g., provided as a service of a content sharing platform that is utilized by other third party social networks). In one implementation, the content sharing conversation system  140  includes a content sharing module  210 , a token generation module  220 , a content sharing conversation module  230 , and a UI generation module  240 . More or less components may be included in the content sharing conversation system  140  without loss of generality. For example, two of the modules may be combined into a single module, or one of the modules may be divided into two or more modules. In one implementation, one or more of the modules may reside on different computing devices (e.g., different server computers, on a single client device, or distributed among multiple client devices, etc.). Furthermore, one or more of the modules may reside on different content sharing platforms, third party social networks, and/or external servers. 
     The content sharing conversation system  140  is communicatively coupled to the data store  106 . For example, the content sharing conversation system  140  may be coupled to the data store  106  via a network (e.g., via network  105  as illustrated in  FIG. 1 ). In another example, the content sharing conversation system  140  may be coupled directly to a server where the content sharing conversation system  140  resides (e.g., may be directly coupled to server  130 ). The data store  106  may be a memory (e.g., random access memory), a cache, a drive (e.g., a hard drive), a flash drive, a database system, or another type of component or device capable of storing data. The data store  106  may also include multiple storage components (e.g., multiple drives or multiple databases) that may also span multiple computing devices (e.g., multiple server computers). The data store  106  includes content item data  290 , token data  291 , conversation data  292 , and social graph data  293 . 
     As discussed above, the content sharing conversation system  140  enables logged-out users to share a content item and start a conversation around that shared content item without logging-in, creating an identity or verifying contact information. The content sharing module  210  may enable a user, such as a logged-out user or a logged-in user, to start a conversation regarding shared content item using token invites. For purposes of the following description, the user initiating a content item share and associated conversation is discussed as being a logged-out user. However, in other implementations, a logged-in user may initiate a content item share and associated conversation, which, in turn, may engage another logged-out user to sign-in or sign-up to participant in the conversation. Furthermore, the following description discusses the content item sharing and associated conversation around a content item in a mobile device context using a native application of the content sharing platform executing on the mobile device. However, other environments may support the content item sharing and conversations discussed herein, such as via a web browser environment of a desktop computing device. 
     The content sharing module  210  may provide a user interface (UI), such as a graphical UI (GUI), that enables a user, referred to herein as the “sharing user”, to share a content item of the content sharing platform with one or more other users and construct a conversation around that shared content item. The sharing user may identify a content item to share (e.g., via browsing or searching of content items of the content sharing platform) with one or more other users. The content sharing module  210  may provide the UI to a user device of the sharing user, where the UI enables the sharing user to share the content item via private sharing through a first-party network of the content sharing platform, via other networks and/or platforms than the content sharing platform, and/or with individual contacts of the user via Short Message Service (SMS) or any other telecommunication protocol. 
       FIG. 3A  is a screenshot of a graphical user interface (GUI) of a share content UI  300  providing sharing options for a content item to a logged-out sharing user. In one implementation, the content sharing module  210  works in conjunction with the UI generation module  240  to provide data to a user device to render the share content UI  300 . Share content UI  300  may include a menu and content item section  301  showing a content item, such as a video, that the sharing user selected for sharing. When the sharing user selected a sharing option for the content item, share sections  302 ,  303 ,  304  may slide up from the bottom of the share content UI  300 . 
     Section  302  may include a text entry area for the sharing user to type in a comment regarding the shared content item. Section  303  may include individual users curated from the user device (e.g., via a list of contacts stored on the user device) that the sharing user may select for sharing. Section  304  may include other sharing environments and platforms that the sharing user may select for sharing the content item. For example, the other sharing environment and platforms may include a first-party network of the content sharing platform, third-party social networks separate from the content sharing platform, email, SMS, and so on. 
     Referring back to  FIG. 2 , in one implementation, the content sharing module  210  may work in conjunction with a native application of the content sharing platform executing on the user device of the sharing user to determine which applications on the user device are capable of receiving a sharing action from the native application. For example, applications may be installed on the user device corresponding to one or more third-party social networks with which the sharing user might share a content item from the content sharing platform. In one implementation, the native application utilizes an operating system (OS)-level call to identify the other applications on the user device for sharing, as well as the particular calls used by those identified applications to invoke the sharing action from the native application. 
     The content sharing module  210  may receive, via the UI, an indication of a selection by the sharing user of one or more users with which to share the content item. The users selected by the sharing user may be referred to herein as “recipient users.” The content sharing module  210  may then create a link, such as a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), with a unique token to identify the shared content item and a conversation associated with the shared content item. A token may refer to an object that represents a unique identifier of an interaction. The token generation module  220  may be responsible for generating the unique token for the conversation. The token may include, but is not limited to, information of the shared content item, information of the sharing user, and/or information of the recipient users. In one implementation, data corresponding to the generated token may be stored as token data  291  in data store  106 . 
     The information of the shared content item may be an identifier (ID) corresponding to the content item that is stored in content item data  290  and can be used to look up and access the content item. The information of the sharing user may include a device ID or a visitor ID associated with the user device that originating the sharing request. In other implementations, the information of the sharing user may be a cookie associated with a browsing session that originated the sharing request. If the sharing user is logged-in, then the information of the sharing user may include a user ID (UID) associated with a profile of the sharing user on the content sharing platform. The information of the recipient users may include, but is not limited to, content sharing platform UID, an email address, a phone number, and so on. 
     The content sharing module  210  may provide the generated link to the selected recipient users via, for example, the sharing action invoked via specialized calls to other application, via sharing through the first-party network of the content sharing platform, and/or via direct sharing such as SMS, email, etc. For example, the generated link may be provided as a text string via the invoked sharing action. The generated link may act as an invitation to the recipient users to view the shared content item and join a conversation associated with the shared content item. 
     The content sharing conversation module  230  may provide data for a conversation UI that enables a conversation to occur around the shared content item between the sharing user and the recipient user(s). The content sharing conversation module  230  may receive an indication that the recipient user is requesting to access the shared content item and conversation invitation. The content sharing conversation module  230  may extract the token ID from the received indication in order to identity the shared content item and the participating users (e.g., sharing user and other recipient users) that are part of a conversation associated with the shared content item. Token data  291  of data store  106  may be accessed to identify this information. Content sharing conversation module  230  may then create and/or access a conversation space for the participating users that is represented by the conversation UI. In one implementation, data corresponding to the conversation space and conversation UI may be stored as conversation data  292  in data store  106 . 
     When a user device of a recipient user receives and accesses the link, the conversation UI may be provided by the content sharing conversation module  230  via a native application executing on the recipient user device. In other implementations, if the link does not open in the native application, but rather opens in a web browser environment of the recipient user device, then the browser page opened via the link may direct the recipient user to the native application in order to view the conversation UI. 
     The conversation UI enables the recipient user to view the shared content item and provides an ability to respond to the other participant users in the conversation. If the recipient user is not already logged-in or signed-up for a public identity with the content sharing platform, the content sharing conversation module  230  encourages, via the conversation UI, the recipient user to sign-in or sign-up in order to view comments of one or more of the participant users in the conversation (also referred to as “joining the conversation”). In other implementation, the recipient user may be able to view the conversation even though he or she is not signed-in, but may not be able to participate (reply or comment) in the conversation. 
       FIG. 3B  is a screenshot of a GUI of a join conversation UI  310  illustrating a shared content item and an invitation to participate in a conversation associated with the shared content item. In one implementation, the content sharing conversation module  230  works in conjunction with the UI generation module  240  to provide data to a user device to render the join conversation UI  310 . Join conversation UI  310  includes an identifier section  311  providing a name or other identifier of the sharing user that originated a shared content item and conversation. Section  312  is a content item player that enables playback and/or viewing of a shared content item. Section  313  identifies all participant users in a shared content item conversation. Section  314  is a conversation space displaying the comments of participating users in the conversation associated with a shared content item. As shown in  FIG. 3B , the sharing user of the content item is a logged-out user, and as such, does not have a public profile or identity to display. In this case, the sharing user may be identified as “Original Sender” or any other generic identifier, or may not be identified at all. 
     When the recipient user is not logged-in to the content sharing platform, implementations of the disclosure may hide the comments associated with the conversation until the recipient user signs-in or signs-up for a public profile on the content sharing platform. As such, section  314  hides the comment from the sharing user and in its place displays generic text such as “Join the conversation to see original sender&#39;s comment” or something similar. This provides an incentive to the recipient user to sign-in or sign-up to the content sharing platform in order to view comments in a conversation. Section  315  provides an action area that allows the recipient user to sign-in or sign-up for the content sharing platform. When the recipient user takes an affirmative action indicated in section  315  (e.g., swiping the bar across the screen in the indicated direction), the recipient user may be directed through a sign-in or enrollment process for the content sharing platform. 
     In some implementations, a recipient user is prompted to join the conversation prior to trying to type or enter any text (e.g., a reply or comment). In other implementations, the recipient user is prompted to join the conversation after he or she has tried to type and enter text as a comment or reply to the conversation. The recipient user may join the conversation by performing an action (e.g., swiping a bar, selecting a button, etc.) that indicates the recipient user&#39;s acceptance to join the conversation. Joining a conversation may refer to the act of a user (sharing user, recipient user, or any other participant user) becoming a co-participant with all other users in the conversation. A user who joins a conversation may be notified of any actions performed by other participant users in the conversation. In some implementations, conversations may be generated on a one-to-one basis between a sharing user and a recipient user. In this case, when a sharing user shares a content item with multiple recipient users, the content sharing conversation module  230  may generate unique conversations between the sharing user and each recipient user, so that each recipient user is not part of conversations with other invited recipient users. 
     In one implementation, the recipient user is not shown the name or identifying information of the sharing user on the conversation UI. This may be the case even when the recipient user may have accessed the conversation UI directly from an SMS application that would have included the sharing user&#39;s name and phone number. 
     Referring back to  FIG. 2 , after a recipient user signs-in or signs-up for the content sharing platform, the content sharing conversation module  230  may provide a conversation UI that allows the recipient user to participate in the conversation associated with the shared content item.  FIG. 3C  is a screenshot of a conversation UI  320  illustrating a shared content item and a conversation associated with the shared content item. In one implementation, the content sharing conversation module  230  works in conjunction with the UI generation module  240  to provide data to a user device to render the conversation UI  320 . Similar to join conversation UI  310  described with respect to  FIG. 3B , conversation UI  320  includes an identifier section  311  providing a name or other identifier of the sharing user that originated a shared content item and conversation, a content item player section  312  that enables playback and/or viewing of a shared content item, and a participant user section  313  that identifies all participant users in a shared content item conversation. 
     The conversation page UI  320  also includes a comments section  321  that is a conversation space displaying all of the comments and/or actions of the participating users in association with the shared content item and corresponding conversation. As shown in  FIG. 3C , when the recipient user is signed-in to the content sharing platform, the actual comment text of the conversation is viewable. A comment submission section  322  includes a text entry box where the recipient user can type in and submit text relating to the shared content item for sharing with the other participant users in the conversation. 
     Referring back to  FIG. 2 , when the content sharing conversation module  230  receives an indication that a recipient user joins the conversation, the content sharing conversation module  230  notifies the sharing user that the recipient user has joined the conversation and/or otherwise sent feedback to the conversation. In one implementation, the content sharing conversation module  230  accesses information of the sharing user maintained in the token corresponding to the conversation (e.g., in token data  291 ). The information may include a device ID, a visitor ID, or a cookie corresponding to a user device of the sharing user. The content sharing conversation module  230  can utilize this information to determine where to direct the notification to the sharing user. 
     In one implementation, the notification may be a mobile notification directing the sharing user to a conversation UI in a native application of the user device of the sharing user. In other implementations, the notification may be a pop-up notification in a web browser application directing the sharing user to a conversation UI. The conversation UI may be similar to the conversation UI sent to the recipient user to notify the recipient user of the shared content item and conversation and provide the recipient user an opportunity to join the conversation. 
       FIG. 3D  is a screenshot of another join conversation UI  330  illustrating a notification that a recipient user has joined a conversation corresponding to a content item shared by the sharing user, as well as an invitation to participate in the conversation. In one implementation, the content sharing conversation module  230  works in conjunction with the UI generation module  240  to provide data to a user device to render the join conversation UI  330 . Join conversation UI  330  is similar to join conversation UI  310  of  FIG. 3B  in that it includes an identifier section  311  providing a name or other identifier of the sharing user that originated a shared content item and conversation, a content item player section  312  that enables playback and/or viewing of a shared content item, and a participant user section  313  that identifies all participant users in a shared content item conversation. 
     In addition, join conversation UI  330  provided to the sharing user includes a comments section  321  that shows the original comment of the sharing user. Recipient user comments are shown in section  331  with the actual comment text hidden and generic text displayed in order to encourage the sharing user to sign-in or sign-up to view the comment text. For example, the generic text in section  331  may inform the sharing user that a particular recipient user has provided a comment and request the sharing user to sign-in or sign-up to view the comment (e.g., “Join the conversation to see Nick&#39;s comment”). Section  332  provides an action area that allows the sharing user to sign-in or sign-up for the content sharing platform. When the sharing user performs an affirmative action indicated in section  332  (e.g., swiping the bar across the screen in the indicated direction), the sharing user may be directed through a sign-in or enrollment process for the content sharing platform. Once signed-in, a user device of the sharing user may then be directed to the conversation UI, such as conversation UI  320  described with respect to  FIG. 3C . 
     Implementations of the disclosure may engage users, such as the logged-out sharing user and any logged-out recipient users to sign-in to or sign-up for (e.g., create a public identity) the content sharing platform by requesting these users to join the conversation in order to view replies and/or comments provided by participating users in the conversation. In some implementations, a user may have a light-weight account with the content sharing platform, where the user is technically signed-in to the content sharing platform but does not have a publicly-discoverable identity on the content sharing platform. In this case, the user may be requested to join the conversation by upgrading his or her account to have a publicly-discoverable profile. 
     As additional users are encouraged to sign-in and/or sign-up for the content sharing platform, implementations of the disclosure enable the content sharing platform to grow and build a social graph of users. A social graph refers to a graph (e.g., representation of a set of objects where some pairs of objects are connected by links) that depicts relationships between users. In one implementation, the content sharing conversation system  140  may work in conjunction with a social graph generator  250  to build and maintain the social graph for the content sharing platform. Social graph generator  250  may be part of a server that is separate from or part of the content sharing platform. 
       FIG. 4  is a flow diagram illustrating a method  400  for initiating a logged-out conversation on a content sharing platform according to some implementations of the disclosure. The method  400  may be performed by processing logic that comprises hardware (e.g., circuitry, dedicated logic, programmable logic, microcode, etc.), software (e.g., instructions run on a processing device to perform hardware simulation), or a combination thereof. 
     For simplicity of explanation, the methods of this disclosure are depicted and described as a series of acts. However, acts in accordance with this disclosure can occur in various orders and/or concurrently, and with other acts not presented and described herein. Furthermore, not all illustrated acts may be required to implement the methods in accordance with the disclosed subject matter. In addition, those skilled in the art will understand and appreciate that the methods could alternatively be represented as a series of interrelated states via a state diagram or events. Additionally, it should be appreciated that the methods disclosed in this specification are capable of being stored on an article of manufacture to facilitate transporting and transferring such methods to computing devices. The term “article of manufacture,” as used herein, is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device or storage media. In one implementation, method  400  may be performed by content sharing conversation system  140  as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
     Method  400  begins at block  410  when an indication of a content item to be shared by a sharing user is received. The content item may be maintained on a content sharing platform. In addition, the indication may include identification of one or more recipient users with which to share the content item. In one implementation, the sharing user is not logged-in to the content sharing platform. At block  420 , information corresponding to a user device of the sharing user is determined. In one implementation, the information may include a device ID or a visitor ID associated with the user device. 
     At block  430 , information corresponding to the user device of the recipient user is determined. In one implementation, the information may be included as part of the original indication received at block  410  (e.g., a SMS phone number, an email address, an UID of the recipient user on a social network, etc.). At block  440 , a token is generated to represent the combination of the shared content item, the information corresponding to the user device of the sharing user, the information corresponding to the user devices of the recipient users, and a conversation associated with the shared content item between the users. The token may be a small number of random characters used to index a table where the combination of information is maintained. 
     Lastly, at block  450 , the shared content item and an invitation to join the conversation are provided to the recipient using the information corresponding to the user devices of the recipients. In one implementation, for any of the recipient users that are not logged-in to the content sharing platform, the invitation to join the conversation encourages the logged-out recipient users to sign-in or sign-up for a public profile in the content sharing platform by hiding comments of participating users in the conversation from the logged-out recipient users. 
       FIG. 5  is a flow diagram illustrating a method  500  for generating a conversation invitation for a logged-out sharing user of a content sharing platform according to an implementation of the present disclosure. The method  500  may be performed by processing logic that comprises hardware (e.g., circuitry, dedicated logic, programmable logic, microcode, etc.), software (e.g., instructions run on a processing device to perform hardware simulation), or a combination thereof. In one implementation, method  500  may be performed by content sharing conversation system  140  as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
     Method  500  begins at block  510  when an indication that a recipient user joined a conversation pertaining to a shared content item is received. The shared content item is shared by a sharing user that is not logged-in to a content sharing platform maintaining the shared content item. At block  520 , a token associated with the conversation is accessed. Then, at block  530 , information corresponding to a user device of the sharing user is determined from the token. In one implementation, the information corresponding to the user device of the sharing user may be a device ID, a visitor ID, or a cookie associated with the user device of the shared user (e.g., determined when the sharing user originally shared the content item). 
     Subsequently, at block  540 , the information corresponding to the user device of the sharing user is utilized to determine a communication path to contact the user device of the sharing user. At block  550 , a notification is provided to the user device via the determined communication path. In one implementation, the notification informs the sharing user that the recipient user has joined the conversation about the shared content item and invites the sharing user to join the conversation. Comments from other participating users in the conversation may be hidden from the sharing user as part of the notification. Lastly, at block  560 , the user device of the sharing user is provided access to the conversation when the sharing user accepts the invitation to join the conversation. In on implementation, the sharing user accepts the invitation to join the conversation by signing-in or signing-up for a public profile on the content sharing platform. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the exemplary form of a computer system  600  within which a set of instructions, for causing the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, may be executed. In alternative implementations, the machine may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines in a local area network (LAN), an intranet, an extranet, or the Internet. The machine may operate in the capacity of a server or a client machine in a client-server network environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The machine may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a web appliance, a server, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. Further, while only a single machine is illustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include any collection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. In one implementation, computer system  600  may be representative of a server, such as server  102 , executing a content sharing conversation system  140 , as described with respect to  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
     The exemplary computer system  600  includes a processing device  602 , a main memory  604  (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, dynamic random access memory (DRAM) (such as synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) or Rambus DRAM (RDRAM), etc.), a static memory  606  (e.g., flash memory, static random access memory (SRAM), etc.), and a data storage device  618 , which communicate with each other via a bus  608 . Any of the signals provided over various buses described herein may be time multiplexed with other signals and provided over one or more common buses. Additionally, the interconnection between circuit components or blocks may be shown as buses or as single signal lines. Each of the buses may alternatively be one or more single signal lines and each of the single signal lines may alternatively be buses. 
     Processing device  602  represents one or more general-purpose processing devices such as a microprocessor, central processing unit, or the like. More particularly, the processing device may be complex instruction set computing (CISC) microprocessor, reduced instruction set computer (RISC) microprocessor, very long instruction word (VLIW) microprocessor, or processor implementing other instruction sets, or processors implementing a combination of instruction sets. Processing device  902  may also be one or more special-purpose processing devices such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP), network processor, or the like. The processing device  602  is configured to execute processing logic  626  for performing the operations and steps discussed herein. 
     The computer system  600  may further include a network interface device  622 . The computer system  600  also may include a video display unit  610  (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT)), an alphanumeric input device  612  (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor control device  614  (e.g., a mouse), and a signal generation device  620  (e.g., a speaker). 
     The data storage device  618  may include a computer-readable storage medium  624  (also referred to as a machine-readable storage medium), on which is stored one or more set of instructions  626  (e.g., software) embodying any one or more of the methodologies of functions described herein. The instructions  626  may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory  604  and/or within the processing device  602  during execution thereof by the computer system  600 ; the main memory  604  and the processing device  602  also constituting machine-readable storage media. The instructions  626  may further be transmitted or received over a network  674  via the network interface device  622 . 
     The computer-readable storage medium  624  may also be used to store instructions to perform a method for generating logged-out conversation invitations, as described herein. While the computer-readable storage medium  624  is shown in an exemplary implementation to be a single medium, the term “machine-readable storage medium” should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more sets of instructions. A machine-readable medium includes any mechanism for storing information in a form (e.g., software, processing application) readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). The machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, magnetic storage medium (e.g., floppy diskette); optical storage medium (e.g., CD-ROM); magneto-optical storage medium; read-only memory (ROM); random-access memory (RAM); erasable programmable memory (e.g., EPROM and EEPROM); flash memory; or another type of medium suitable for storing electronic instructions. 
     The preceding description sets forth numerous specific details such as examples of specific systems, components, methods, and so forth, in order to provide a good understanding of several implementations of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art, however, that at least some implementations of the present disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known components or methods are not described in detail or are presented in simple block diagram format in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present disclosure. Thus, the specific details set forth are merely exemplary. Particular implementations may vary from these exemplary details and still be contemplated to be within the scope of the present disclosure. 
     Reference throughout this specification to “one implementation” or “an implementation” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the implementation is included in at least one implementation. Thus, the appearances of the phrase “in one implementation” or “in an implementation” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same implementation. In addition, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive “or.” 
     Although the operations of the methods herein are shown and described in a particular order, the order of the operations of each method may be altered so that certain operations may be performed in an inverse order or so that certain operation may be performed, at least in part, concurrently with other operations. In another implementation, instructions or sub-operations of distinct operations may be in an intermittent and/or alternating manner.