Patent Publication Number: US-2023162294-A1

Title: System and Method of Sharing Content Consumption Information

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/931,572, filed Jul. 17, 2020, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/552,780, filed Jul. 19, 2012 (now U.S. Pat. No. 10,762,582), each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD OF ART 
     Features described herein relate generally to, among other aspects, sharing content consumption information. 
     BACKGROUND 
     As technology develops, more and more devices for sharing interests and opinions have emerged. Social networking services, such as Plaxo, Tunerfish, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc., are one type of communication platform that has allowed interests and opinions to be shared. Social networking services are formed from a network of computers operated by various users. Often, users must opt-in to the social networking services. Typically, users wishing to be a part of a particular social networking service select or are assigned a specific username and password. These usernames and passwords are used by the user to log-in and log-out of their social networking services. Entering usernames and passwords is often tedious, and therefore, can be a deterrent to users logging into their social networking services. Further, it is common for each user to belong to more than one social networking service. For users that belong to multiple social networking services, it may be annoying to log into or maintain connections with each social networking service. In addition, users may not belong to or utilize multiple social networking services because they may not want to remember or maintain additional usernames and passwords. Aspects of this disclosure may provide solutions to the foregoing and other shortcomings. 
     SUMMARY 
     Some of the various features described herein may facilitate sharing content consumption information. In particular, some aspects provide the ability to authenticate users of content to one or more social network services and allow the users to share the identity of the consumed content and other information via the one or more social network services. Herein, a social network service may be, for example, a social network communication service. 
     One illustrative embodiment relates to a method, including identifying a user consuming content, determining an identity of the content, detecting a reaction of the user to the content, and sharing the reaction with others. In some embodiments, the reaction information may be translated into evaluation information, which is subsequently shared via a social network communication service. Additionally, some aspects of the present disclosure allow for automatic access to one or more social network communication services associated with the user. Also, the disclosure relates to a computing device, including a processor, and memory, storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the computing device to perform steps of the above mentioned and other methods. 
     Other details and features will also be described in the sections that follow. This summary is not intended to identify critical or essential features of the inventions claimed herein, but instead merely summarizes certain features and variations thereof. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Some features herein are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in which like reference numerals refer to similar elements. 
         FIG.  1    illustrates an example network on which various features described herein may be used. 
         FIG.  2    illustrates an example computing hardware and software configuration that can be used to implement any of the methods, servers, entities, and computing devices described herein. 
         FIG.  3    illustrates a system architecture according to one or more illustrative aspects described herein. 
         FIG.  4    shows an example interface embodiment in accordance with an aspect of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  5    is a flow diagram illustrating an example method according to one or more aspects of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  6    is a flow diagram illustrating an example method according to one or more aspects of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  7    is a flow diagram illustrating an example method according to one or more aspects of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  8    is a flow diagram illustrating an example method according to one or more aspects of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In the following description of various illustrative embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which is shown, by way of illustration, various embodiments in which aspects of the disclosure may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized, and structural and functional modifications may be made, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. 
     By way of introduction, the various features described herein may allow a user to consume content, such as watching a streaming movie, and to automatically share the user&#39;s personal reactions to the content with the user&#39;s friends. In one example, the user may identify his/her friends by registering one or more social network friends list with the system described herein, and the system may automatically capture the user&#39;s reaction to content while the user is viewing the content. For example, the system may employ a facial recognition camera system to recognize the user, automatically log the user in to the various social networks to which the user is subscribed, capture the user&#39;s reaction to content (e.g., laughter, crying, whimpers of fear, etc.), and share the user&#39;s reactions with the user&#39;s social network friends, subject to the user&#39;s approval. 
       FIG.  1    illustrates an example communication network  100  on which many of the various features described herein, such as the requesting and retrieval of content and/or the delivery of user reactions to social networks, may be implemented. Network  100  may be any type of information distribution network, such as satellite, telephone, cellular, wireless, etc. One example may be an optical fiber network, a coaxial cable network, or a hybrid fiber/coax distribution network. Such networks  100  use a series of interconnected communication links  101  (e.g., coaxial cables, optical fibers, wireless, etc.) to connect multiple premises  102  (e.g., businesses, homes, consumer dwellings, etc.) to a local office or headend  103 . The local office  103  may transmit downstream information signals onto the links  101 , and each premises  102  may have a receiver used to receive and process those signals. 
     There may be one link  101  originating from the local office  103 , and it may be split a number of times to distribute the signal to various premises  102  in the vicinity (which may be many miles) of the local office  103 . The links  101  may include components not illustrated, such as splitters, filters, amplifiers, etc. to help convey the signal clearly, but in general each split introduces a bit of signal degradation. Portions of the links  101  may also be implemented with fiber-optic cable, while other portions may be implemented with coaxial cable, other lines, or wireless communication paths. By running fiber optic cable along some portions, for example, signal degradation may be significantly minimized, allowing a single local office  103  to reach even farther with its network of links  101  than before. 
     The local office  103  may include an interface, such as a termination system (TS)  104 . More specifically, the interface  104  may be a cable modem termination system (CMTS), which may be a computing device configured to manage communications between devices on the network of links  101  and backend devices such as servers  105 - 107  (to be discussed further below). The interface  104  may be as specified in a standard, such as the Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) standard, published by Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. (a.k.a. CableLabs), or it may be a similar or modified device instead. The interface  104  may be configured to place data on one or more downstream frequencies to be received by modems at the various premises  102 , and to receive upstream communications from those modems on one or more upstream frequencies. 
     The local office  103  may also include one or more network interfaces  108 , which can permit the local office  103  to communicate with various other external networks  109 . These networks  109  may include, for example, networks of Internet devices, telephone networks, cellular telephone networks, fiber optic networks, local wireless networks (e.g., WiMAX), satellite networks, and any other desired network, and the network interface  108  may include the corresponding circuitry needed to communicate on the external networks  109 , and to other devices on the network such as a cellular telephone network and its corresponding cell phones. 
     As noted above, the local office  103  may include a variety of servers  105 - 107  that may be configured to perform various functions. For example, the local office  103  may include a push notification server  105 . The push notification server  105  may generate push notifications to deliver data and/or commands to the various premises  102  in the network (or more specifically, to the devices in the premises  102  that are configured to detect such notifications). The local office  103  may also include a content server  106 . The content server  106  may be one or more computing devices that are configured to provide content to users at their premises. This content may be, for example, video on demand movies, television programs, songs, text listings, etc. The content server  106  may include software to validate user identities and entitlements, to locate and retrieve requested content, to encrypt the content, and to initiate delivery (e.g., streaming) of the content to the requesting user(s) and/or device(s). 
     The local office  103  may also include one or more application servers  107 . An application server  107  may be a computing device configured to offer any desired service, and may run various languages and operating systems (e.g., servlets and JSP pages running on Tomcat/MySQL, OSX, BSD, Ubuntu, Redhat, HTML5, JavaScript, AJAX and COMET). For example, an application server may be responsible for collecting television program listings information and generating a data download for electronic program guide listings. Another application server may be responsible for monitoring user viewing habits and collecting that information for use in selecting advertisements. Another application server may be responsible for formatting and inserting advertisements in a video stream being transmitted to the premises  102 . Although shown separately, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the push server  105 , content server  106 , and application server  107  may be combined. Further, here the push server  105 , content server  106 , and application server  107  are shown generally, and it will be understood that they may each contain memory storing computer executable instructions to cause a processor to perform steps described herein and/or memory for storing data, such as information for identifying a user, information for identifying content, and authentication information for authenticating a user to a social network communication service, as a result of performing steps described herein. 
     An example premises  102   a , such as a home, may include an interface  120 . The interface  120  can include any communication circuitry needed to allow a device to communicate on one or more links  101  with other devices in the network. For example, the interface  120  may include a modem  110 , which may include transmitters and receivers used to communicate on the links  101  and with the local office  103 . The modem  110  may be, for example, a coaxial cable modem (for coaxial cable lines  101 ), a fiber interface node (for fiber optic lines  101 ), twisted-pair telephone modem, cellular telephone transceiver, satellite transceiver, local wi-fi router or access point, or any other desired modem device. Also, although only one modem is shown in  FIG.  1   , a plurality of modems operating in parallel may be implemented within the interface  120 . Further, the interface  120  may include a gateway interface device  111 . The modem  110  may be connected to, or be a part of, the gateway interface device  111 . The gateway interface device  111  may be a computing device that communicates with the modem(s)  110  to allow one or more other devices in the premises  102   a , to communicate with the local office  103  and other devices beyond the local office  103 . The gateway  111  may be a set-top box (STB), digital video recorder (DVR), computer server, or any other desired computing device. The gateway  111  may also include (not shown) local network interfaces to provide communication signals to requesting entities/devices in the premises  102   a , such as display devices  112  (e.g., televisions), additional STBs  113 , personal computers  114 , laptop computers  115 , wireless devices  116  (e.g., wireless routers, wireless laptops, notebooks, tablets and netbooks, cordless phones (e.g., Digital Enhanced Cordless Telephone—DECT phones), mobile phones, mobile televisions, personal digital assistants (PDA), etc.), landline phones  117  (e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol—VoIP phones), and any other desired devices. Examples of the local network interfaces include Multimedia Over Coax Alliance (MoCA) interfaces, Ethernet interfaces, universal serial bus (USB) interfaces, wireless interfaces (e.g., IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.16), analog twisted pair interfaces, Bluetooth interfaces, and others. 
       FIG.  2    illustrates general hardware elements that can be used to implement any of the various computing devices discussed herein. The computing device  200  may include one or more processors  201 , which may execute instructions of a computer program to perform any of the features described herein. The instructions may be stored in any type of computer-readable medium or memory, to configure the operation of the processor  201 . For example, instructions may be stored in a read-only memory (ROM)  202 , random access memory (RAM)  203 , removable media  204 , such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) drive, compact disk (CD) or digital versatile disk (DVD), floppy disk drive, or any other desired storage medium. Instructions may also be stored in an attached (or internal) hard drive  205 . The computing device  200  may include one or more output devices, such as a display  206  (e.g., an external television), and may include one or more output device controllers  207 , such as a video processor. There may also be one or more user input devices  208 , such as a remote control, keyboard, mouse, touch screen, microphone, etc. The computing device  200  may also include one or more network interfaces, such as a network input/output (I/O) circuit  209  (e.g., a network card) to communicate with an external network  210 . The network input/output circuit  209  may be a wired interface, wireless interface, or a combination of the two. In some embodiments, the network input/output circuit  209  may include a modem (e.g., a cable modem), and the external network  210  may include the communication links  101  discussed above, the external network  109 , an in-home network, a provider&#39;s wireless, coaxial, fiber, or hybrid fiber/coaxial distribution system (e.g., a DOCSIS network), or any other desired network. 
     The  FIG.  2    example is a hardware configuration. Modifications may be made to add, remove, combine, divide, etc. components of the computing device  200  as desired. Additionally, the components illustrated may be implemented using basic computing devices and components, and the same components (e.g., processor  201 , ROM storage  202 , display  206 , etc.) may be used to implement any of the other computing devices and components described herein. For example, the various components herein may be implemented using computing devices having components such as a processor executing computer-executable instructions stored on a computer-readable medium, as illustrated in  FIG.  2   . Some or all of the entities described herein may be software based, and may co-exist in a common physical platform (e.g., a requesting entity can be a separate software process and program from a dependent entity, both of which may be executed as software on a common computing device). Additionally, for the authenticating and information sharing processes described herein, the computing device  200  may include a social network information manager  201   a , which can perform the various authenticating and information sharing functions described herein as a replacement for, or augment to, any other processor  201  that the computing device  200  may include. That is, the social network information manager  201   a  may include a separate set of computer-executable instructions stored on a computer-readable medium that, when executed by a processor (e.g., processor  201 ), cause the processor (or the computing device  200  as a whole) to perform the various authenticating and information sharing functions described herein. The social network information manager  201   a  may also include secure memory (not shown), which can store the various criteria for authenticating and social network authentication information described herein. The secure memory can be any desired type of memory, and can have enhanced security features to help restrict access (e.g., can only be accessed by the social network information manager  201   a , can be internal to the social network information manager  201   a , etc.). Where the social network information manager  201   a  includes a separate set of computer-executable instructions, these instructions may be secured such that only authorized users may be allowed to modify, augment, or delete them. 
     In some embodiments, the social network information manager  201   a  may be implemented as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). That is, the social network information manager  201   a  may be a chip designed specifically for performing the various authenticating and information sharing functions described herein. Further, the ASIC may be implemented within or in communication with various computing devices provided herein. 
     One or more aspects of the disclosure may be embodied in a computer-usable data and/or computer-executable instructions, such as in one or more program modules, executed by one or more computers or other devices. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types when executed by a processor in a computer or other data processing device. The computer executable instructions may be stored on one or more computer readable media such as a hard disk, optical disk, removable storage media, solid state memory, RAM, etc. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or distributed as desired in various embodiments. In addition, the functionality may be embodied in whole or in part in firmware or hardware equivalents such as integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), and the like. Particular data structures may be used to more effectively implement one or more aspects of the disclosure, and such data structures are contemplated within the scope of computer executable instructions and computer-usable data described herein. 
       FIG.  3    is a high-level diagram showing an example system architecture  300  on which various features described herein may be performed. The system  300  may include an input device for capturing a user&#39;s reaction to content, an interface  120  to communicate with a local office  103 , which in turn may communicate with one or more social network communication services  301  (e.g.,  301   a  and  301   b ) to, e.g., report the user&#39;s reaction to his/her friends, and one or more content distribution networks (CDN)  310  and  320  that supply the content to the user (e.g., a network offering a particular movie or streaming video). 
     Referring to  FIG.  3   , users (e.g., subscribers) may consume content at a premises  102   a  (e.g., a home, business, etc.) or outside the premises  102   a . Consuming content may include, for example, watching and/or listening to content, such as a television program on a display device  112  (e.g., a television), computer (e.g., a laptop computer  115 ), or a remote device (e.g., a smartphone  116 ). The premises  102   a  may include the interface  120  to connect to the local office  103  so that content can be accessed. The premises  102   a  may further include a media hub  302  connected to the interface  120 . The media hub  302  may provide one or more local device interfaces to communicate with local devices in the premises, and to allow users to select, modify, and/or interact with content retrieved from the local office  103 .  FIG.  3    illustrates some examples of input devices, namely a tablet or smartphone  116 , a laptop computer  115 , a remote control device  302   a  (e.g., a remote controller for the media hub  302 , a television remote, etc.), a camera  303 , and a microphone  304 . Each input device may be configured to collect or receive information or data regarding a user&#39;s identity and/or a user&#39;s reactions or opinions in response to content. Although  FIG.  3    shows some example input devices, different embodiments may utilize different combinations and numbers of input devices. Therefore, in some embodiments, only one input device may be used, while other embodiments may use multiple input devices of the same type. For example, multiple cameras  303  or multiple microphones  304  may be implemented in the same embodiment. 
     Also, each of the input devices may be configured to communicate wirelessly (e.g., using WiFi) with each other or a designated device (e.g., the media hub  302 ). For example, two or more cameras  303  may be used to capture a panoramic image, or a microphone  304  may capture audio data which is transmitted to a camera  303  for synchronizing the audio data with an image captured by the camera  303 . Further, for example, the remote control device  302   a  may be WiFi enabled to communicate a fingerprint or image captured through its own touch screen or camera  303  to the media hub  302  to allow the device to recognize the user and log in to or otherwise access the user&#39;s social networks, and/or to passively identify and report user reactions to content (e.g., automatically recognizing a facial expression of fear on a viewer&#39;s face). The input devices may also allow the users to provide their reactions actively, such as by pressing buttons or typing in commentary. In one or more arrangements, the remote control device  302   a  may be specially designed to include designated buttons for indicating a reaction, such as whether a user likes or dislikes certain content. In some embodiments, such buttons may be implemented as buttons on a touch screen. Further, in other embodiments, a smartphone with a particular software application downloaded thereon may be used to interface with the designated device (e.g., the media hub  302 ) to indicate the identity of the user consuming the content and/or a reaction of such a user. 
     In  FIG.  3   , the input devices are shown separately for convenience, but one or more of the input devices may be combined. Further, one or more of the input devices may be combined with the media hub  302 . For example, the camera  303  may be incorporated into the media hub  302 , display device  112 , or remote control device  302   a . Similarly, the media hub  302  may be incorporated into the interface  120  and/or display device  112 . In sum, one skilled in the art would understand that the devices of  FIG.  3    may be implemented in many different arrangements. 
     Still referring to  FIG.  3   , the local office  103  may contain a router  305  configured to receive and forward digital signals such as requests for content and the content itself; a social network information managing platform  306  for storing and executing computer-executable instructions for performing functions described herein and for providing a web portal described herein; and a database  307  for storing authentication information. Although the router  305 , social network information managing platform  306 , and database  307  are shown within the local office  103 , these components may be external to the local office  103 . Where the router  305 , social network information managing platform  306 , and database  307  are external to the local office  103 , the local office  103  may include interfaces for communicating with them. Further, the router  305 , social network information managing platform  306 , and database  307  may comprise multiple elements. For instance, the database  307  may include multiple blocks of memory that may be in the same location or spread out among any number of locations. The social network information managing platform  306  is shown as a single element, but may include a number of computing devices  200  having one or more social network information managers  201   a . Also, the router  305  may include several routers to perform the function of routing content and/or authentication information between a premises  102 , one or more CDNs  310  and  320 , and devices on the external network  109 , including devices belonging to the social network communication services  301   a  and  301   b.    
     The router  305  of the local office  103  may be used to communicate with the one or more social network communication services  301 . Further, the router  305  may forward requests for content from users and/or devices at a premises  102  to one or more CDNs  310  and  320  that can supply the requested content. That is, the router  305  may be used to route upstream data received from the premises  102 . Vice versa, the router  305  may also be used to distribute content from the CDNs  310  and  320  to one or more premises  102  in response to the requests. 
     As illustrated in  FIG.  3   , each of the CDNs  310  and  320  may include one or more routers  311  and  321 , whose purpose is to receive requests from users (e.g., via their local offices) and route them to servers within its network that may store the requested content and be able to supply it in response to the request. A CDN  310  for a given piece of content might have a hierarchy of one primary source, and a plurality of lower-level servers that can store (e.g., cache) the content and respond to requests. The lower-level servers that ultimately service the request may be referred to as edge servers, such as one or more edge servers  312  and  322 . The various servers may include one or more content databases  313  and  323 , which store content that the respective CDN  310  and  320  manages. In some embodiments, the CDNs  310  and  320  may provide the same or similar content. In other embodiments, the content of the CDNs  310  and  320  may offer different content from one another. Also, the CDNs  310  and  320  may be maintained/operated by the same or different content providers. Although only two CDNs  310  and  320  are shown, many CDNs may be included in the system architecture  300  of  FIG.  3   . 
     Additionally, the local office  103  may communicate with one or more social network communication services  301  through the network  109  to sign a user in and to report a user&#39;s reactions to the user&#39;s friends. The network  109  may be any type of network, including a LAN and/or WAN (e.g., the Internet). The social network communication services  301   a  and  301   b  represent different social network communication services, which may be any service, whether opt-in or not, that provides a communication platform to its members. Each social network communication service  301  may include a plurality of computing devices  200 , such as personal computers, laptops, tablets, smartphones, PDAs, servers, etc. Any computing device  200  on which a member is signed-in or logged-in on may be considered a part of the social network communication service  301 . That is, a member may sign-in to the social network communication service  301   a  using a laptop, and that laptop may be considered a part of the social network communication service  301  as long as the member is signed-in on the laptop. 
     Each social network communication service  301   a  and  301   b  may include one or more social network servers  308   a  and  308   b , respectively. The social network servers  308   a  and  308   b  may store authentication information for each member in their respective social network communication service  301   a  and  301   b . For example, if one million members belong to social network service  301   a , the social network server(s)  308   a  may store usernames, corresponding passwords, and other information for each of the one million members. 
       FIG.  4    is a high-level diagram illustrating an example web portal  400  that a user may access to configure the reaction reporting service described herein. The web portal  400  may include one or more webpages provided by a server of the local office  103 . Using the web portal  400 , users may register for a service that can automatically authenticate the user while they are consuming content and share information related to the user and the content they are consuming via a social network communication service  301 . This service may be available to any user whether or not they are a customer of the content provider. Thus, a person who might not be a customer of the content provider may still be able to share information related to the content they have consumed that was provided by the content provider. For example, a friend of a customer of the content provider may share information regarding the content consumed at the customer&#39;s house. 
     To register for the service, a user may access the web portal  400  using a computing device  200 . For example, a user can access the web portal  400  using a display device  112  (e.g., television) by selecting an option from an electronic program guide. Or, the user may direct a web browser on a computer to a website that hosts the web portal  400 . It should be understood that numerous methods may be used to access the web portal  400 . Further, it is not necessary that the web portal  400  be accessed from the same premises  102  at which the content is consumed. A user may access the web portal  400  using a computing device  200  at one premises  102 , and consume content at another premises  102 . 
     Once at the web portal  400 , a user may select whether to create a new profile or access an existing profile. Profiles may refer to any collection of information that is specific to a particular user. When the user is accessing the web portal  400  for the first time he/she may desire to create a new profile. Various methods may be used to create a profile. In some embodiments, creating a new profile may include capturing an image of the user with a camera or inputting an image of the user from another device. Additionally, or alternatively, creating a profile may include recording the user&#39;s voice or inputting a recording of the user&#39;s voice from another device. Or, in some embodiments, creating a profile may include collecting fingerprint information. An aspect of the profile may be that it includes some information for automatically identifying a user consuming content. 
     Using the web portal  400 , the user may associate the profile with a name or other identifying information. Further, the user&#39;s profile may be populated with authentication information for one or more social network communication services  301  to which the user belongs. That is, through the web portal  400 , a user may indicate which social network communication services  301  he/she belongs to. As a result, a server of the local office  103  (e.g. a social network authenticating platform  306 ), having access to the profile, may be configured to sign onto (e.g., register with) or otherwise access certain social network communication services  301  on behalf of the user. For example, if the user associated with the profile belongs to Facebook, the user may provide his/her Facebook log-in information to his/her profile. As a result, the profile may be accessed in the future to automatically authenticate the user to a social network communication service  301  without the user having to input his/her log-in information each time. 
       FIG.  5    is a flow diagram illustrating an example method of the disclosure that may follow the initial configuration discussed above. In particular,  FIG.  5    describes an example process of sharing content consumption information on a social network communication service  301 . The process in  FIG.  5    may be initiated automatically upon power-up of a device in the premises  102  or a device connected to a network enabled in the premises  102   a , such as the media hub  302  or display device  112 , and/or upon tuning to a particular channel. Alternatively, the process in  FIG.  5    may be initiated by a user when that user wishes to share information regarding the content he/she is consuming. For example, the user may use a remote control device  302   a  to initiate the method. Further, the method may begin when it is determined that content is being streamed or in response to a tag detected within the stream. For example, a device (e.g., a media hub  302 ) may detect whether a television is streaming content (e.g., a television program, on-demand movie, etc.) or whether a tag exists within the streaming content, and may initiate the process of  FIG.  5    in response to the detection. In some embodiments, the process of  FIG.  5    may only be performed once content is streamed. As disclosed herein, content may be any type of media, including images, video content, audio content, audio-video content, textual content, Internet pages, etc. 
     Once initiated, the method begins with step  501  in which one or more users consuming the content are identified. Herein, a user who consumes content may be any user who views, listens, or otherwise receives the benefits of the content. For example, a person watching a streaming video program may be a user consuming content. The identification of users in step  501  may be restricted to identifying customers in some cases. However, in other cases, any user, whether they are a customer of the content provider or not, may be identified. Various processes may be used to determine the identity of a user. The processes for identifying users should not be limited to those described herein. It is contemplated that the methods described herein may be compatible with many other processes for identifying users, including those developed in the future. 
     In some embodiments, image processing may be performed in step  501 . For example, a camera  303  may be used to take a picture of whoever is in front of the display device  112  (e.g., television). Facial recognition may be used to evaluate the captured image and determine the identity of those in the image. Any facial recognition process may be used to identify the users. Where multiple users are consuming content at the same time, image processing can be performed to distinguish the multiple users. 
     In some embodiments, a microphone  304  may be used to record audio signals in proximity to the display device  112  streaming the content. Then, voice recognition may be performed to determine whose voices were recorded. The results of the voice recognition may be used to identify the users who are consuming the content. 
     Another process for identifying the user in step  501  may include detecting biometric data, such as the fingerprint of a person holding a remote control device  302   a  (e.g., television remote), which may be configured to operate the display device  112  streaming the content, or other device (e.g., a smartphone). The remote control device  302   a , or other device, may be equipped with a camera, such as a fingerprint reader, for detecting the fingerprint, and the detected fingerprint may be used to identify the user. 
     Still another process may implement a camera, such as a retinal scanner, for scanning the eyes of users to identify them. The retinal scanner may be incorporated into the remote control device  302   a , display device  112 , media hub  302 , smartphone, or any other device. 
     Further, in some embodiments, the user may have the option of identifying themselves. For example, a user may speak their name to a certain device (e.g., a media hub  302 ) at a certain time (e.g., when a display device  112  is turned on or when prompted). In another example, users may identify themselves by operating a remote control device  302   a  to select their identity from a list of identities. 
     It should be understood that any of the above processes for identifying a user may be used in combination. Additionally, the devices used in the different processes for identifying the user may be implemented in various manners. For example, the camera  303  or microphone  304  may be a camera or microphone on a smartphone  116  or other computing device (e.g., laptop  115 ) that is in communication with a media hub  302 , which is also in communication with the display device  112 . 
     Next, at step  502 , the process determines whether a user was identified. Step  502  may begin at some predetermined time after step  501  begins. That is, it is not necessary for step  502  to wait until step  501  is completed. In some cases, no users may be identified in step  501  at the time of the determination in step  502 , and therefore, step  502  may end the process of  FIG.  5    or, as shown in  FIG.  5   , may return the process back to step  501  to attempt to identify users again. On the contrary, if users are identified (Yes at step  502 ), then the process may proceed to step  503 . 
     In some embodiments, step  502  may determine whether the users identified in step  501  are a member to a particular service for sharing information related to their content consumption or have given permission for such information to be shared. Therefore, even if a user is identified in step  501 , step  502  may end the process of  FIG.  5    or cause step  501  to repeat, if the user identified does not wish to share information regarding their content consumption. Where the identified user has previously declined to give permission or never signed-up for the service that allows sharing of their content consumption information, step  502  may prevent the process of  FIG.  5    from continuing to obtain content consumption information. 
     Also, in some cases, a user may temporarily disable the process from sharing its consumption information. For example, a user may use the web portal  400  to prevent reactions to be detected when he/she is consuming content that he/she does not wish others to know about. If the user disables the process from sharing consumption information, step  502  may also prevent the process from continuing to obtain the content consumption information and end the process of  FIG.  5   , or repeat steps  501  and  502  until a user is identified who is willing to share their content consumption information. 
     In step  503 , a reaction of a user may be detected. Herein, a reaction may refer to any movement, noise, or other manner of indicating a user&#39;s opinion or response (whether intentional or not). For example, a reaction may be an action, such as walking away, turning away, closing one&#39;s eyes, etc. or gestures, such as giving a thumbs-up sign or thumbs-down sign, indicating a number with one&#39;s fingers, etc. Other example reactions include crying, laughing, smiling, nodding, head shaking, sleeping, yawning, screaming, etc. A reaction may be detected using, for example, image recognition processes or audio recognition processes similar to those discussed above for identifying a user. For example, step  503  may include capturing an image using a camera  303  and performing image recognition processes, such as pattern recognition, to detect whether a person is smiling or yawning. Or, for example, step  503  may include capturing audio using a microphone  304  and performing an audio recognition process to detect whether a person is laughing or snoring. 
     When reactions are detected while content is being consumed, it may be assumed that the reaction is in response to the content. However, in some embodiments, only certain reactions may be detected. The method may be tailored to detect only a set of reactions that are expected to be in response to content. For example, smiling and laughing, but not reactions of fear (e.g., screaming), may be detected during a comedy program. Thus, in some embodiments, the method may avoid sharing reactions that are not related to the content being consumed. Specifically, the genre and/or rating of the content, as indicated by an electronic program guide for example, may be extracted and used to determine a list of acceptable reactions. Based on this list, the detected reactions may be filtered so that only those reactions determined to be acceptable are recorded and/or reported. For example, image processing techniques may be used to filter captured images so that images of laughter as opposed to images of screaming are recorded and/or reported during a comedy program. 
     Moreover, the web portal  400  may also be used to set which types of reactions may be detected and/or reported. Therefore, if a user is watching a sad movie, he may customize settings through the web portal  400  to prevent the process from reporting that he cried while allowing the process to report that he laughed. If the user has entered such settings, step  503  may be optimized to detect only certain reactions and may repeat until a reaction the user is willing to share is detected. 
     To facilitate image recognition processes for determining a user&#39;s reaction, a training process may be employed to teach the system  300  how to recognize certain reactions of a specific user. For example, a user may train the system to recognize when he/she is smiling by smiling when prompted so that characteristics of the particular user&#39;s smile may be obtained. Alternatively, a user may upload various photos exhibiting a variety of reactions. For example, a user may upload photos of the user smiling, expressing anger, screaming, expressing sadness, etc. Image recognition techniques may then be implemented to determine a degree of confidence based on a comparison of the reactions captured while the user is consuming content and previously uploaded photos. The degree of confidence may then be compared with a threshold to determine whether the reaction should be deemed to have occurred. If the degree of confidence is higher than the threshold value, then the reaction may be deemed to have occurred. This training process may be performed through the web portal  400  and the results may be stored in a specific user&#39;s profile for future use in detecting whether the user is smiling. 
     Similarly, the audio recognition processes may be trained to detect the particulars of a user&#39;s laugh or scream. That is, a training process may be performed in which the user laughs, screams, or makes other sounds that might aid the voice recognition process to determine a user&#39;s reaction. 
     To detect a reaction, step  503  may utilize a database with predefined reactions and associated characteristics. Accordingly, once data is obtained in step  503 , the data can be compared to data in a database to determine if there is a match. In this manner, step  503  may determine which of the predefined reactions correspond to the obtained data. For example, if an image is input in step  503 , the image may be processed to extract a pattern from the image and that pattern may be compared to patterns stored in the database. If the pattern extracted matches a pattern in the database, then step  503  determines that the reaction associated with the matching pattern in the database was detected. 
     Next, at step  504 , whether a reaction was detected at step  503  is determined. If it is determined that no reaction is detected in step  503  (No at step  504 ), whether because the process performed did not detect a reaction or because a user did not have a reaction, the process of  FIG.  5    may proceed to step  505 . In step  505 , whether a certain amount of time has passed from the time that step  503  was first performed in the present iteration may be determined. Step  505  may be implemented to prevent the process of  FIG.  5    from endlessly looping back to detect a reaction. In some cases, where the user is not reacting or his/her reactions are not successfully detected in step  503  after a certain time (Yes at step  505 ), the process may proceed to step  507 . Until this certain time is up, however; step  505  may cause step  503  to be repeated. 
     Returning to step  504 , if a reaction is detected in step  503  (Yes at step  504 ), then the reaction may be translated into evaluation information at step  506 . Translating a reaction into evaluation information in step  506  may include generating data that indicates the user&#39;s reaction. Specifically, data representing an alphanumeric string may be generated. For example, if the reaction detected in step  503  is that the user laughed, then step  504  may be performed to generate data representing a message such as “laughing out loud” or an abbreviated message, such as “lol.” Or, for example, if the reaction detected in step  503  is that the user put his/her thumb up, then step  504  may be performed to generate data representing a message such as “one thumb up.” 
     In some embodiments, the evaluation information may be data representing a certain predefined expression that is specifically used within a social network communication service  301 . In other words, the evaluation information may be data including instructions for causing a social network communication service  301  to post a predefined expression used by that particular social network communication service. For example, on Facebook one can “like” or “dislike” certain objects, and thus, if the evaluation information is to be sent to Facebook, the evaluation information may be data that instructs Facebook to indicate whether the user likes or dislikes the content consumed. To facilitate this, the database used for translation may include predefined instructions for one or more social network communication services  301 . For example, if the Facebook application has a predefined gesture of “Thumbs Up”=“Like” and “Thumbs Down”=“Dislike”, then the reporting of the thumbs up/down may result in a corresponding like/dislike on the user&#39;s profile. 
     In some aspects of the present disclosure, the evaluation information may be sent to multiple social communication services  301 . Accordingly, where different expressions are used in different social communication services  301 , the evaluation information may be generated to include instructions for each of the social communication network services  301 . The evaluation information may be generated in a standard format regardless of the social communication network service  301  and later parsed by the social communication network service  301  or another device in the network (e.g., the social network information managing platform  306 ), or may be embedded into separate messages (e.g., packets) addressed to the different social network communication services  301 . 
     In some embodiments, rather than posting each individual reaction, a plurality of reactions may be aggregated to determine a number of laughs, a number of thumbs up/down gestures, a number of screams, etc. The aggregated data may then be translated into a summary, which may be posted to the social network communication service  301 . By reporting a summary, reporting of outlier reactions may be suppressed. For example, if one user consuming content tells another user consuming the content a joke causing that user to laugh, the user&#39;s laugh could be incorrectly detected as a laugh in response to the content. To address this and similar scenarios, the reactions may be aggregated, so that reactions are only reported if statistical results of the aggregate data indicate the reactions are representative of the user&#39;s reactions to the content. It should be understood that various statistical models may be implemented to achieve this goal and that the statistical models may evolve as data is collected. 
     In step  507 , authentication information may be retrieved from storage (e.g., from a local cache at the media hub  302  or the database  307 ) or otherwise obtained to allow the server to post a social network message on behalf of the user. The authentication information may be specific to the user identified in step  501 . Moreover, the authentication information may include log-in (or sign-in) information, such as a username and password, of the specific user for a certain social network communication service  301  that the specific user belongs to (e.g., is a member of). For example, if the user identified in step  501  belongs to Twitter, the user&#39;s log-in information for their Twitter account may be retrieved from storage. 
     In step  508 , the identity of the content is determined. Determining the identity of the content may include, for example, determining the name of a television program or on-demand movie, or determining the opponents in a televised sporting event. Step  508  may be performed by detecting a service identifier (e.g., a channel number, content provider code, etc.) of the content being consumed at a certain time, and converting the service identifier to obtain the identity of the streamed content based on a region code (e.g., a zip code) in which the user is consuming the content and a provider&#39;s content schedule. In one or more arrangements, the identity of the content may be determined by the media hub  302  or display device  112  through which the content is streamed. Alternatively, the service identifier and region code may be transmitted upstream to the local office  103 , which may compare the received service identifier and region code with the provider&#39;s schedule and determine the identity of the content. Further, the reaction may be tied to a scene of the content being consumed by bookmarking the time within the content the reaction was detected and posting it to the social network communication service  301 . In some examples, the posting may include a link such that a person clicking on the link would be directed to the scene that prompted the user&#39;s reaction. 
     In step  509 , the authentication information and information identifying the content may be transmitted from the premises  102  or local office  103  to a specific social network communication service  301 . Additionally, the evaluation information may also be transmitted to the social network communication service  301  in step  509 . In some embodiments, where the user belongs to multiple social network communications services  301 , different authentication information related to each social network communication service  301  may be transmitted in step  509 . For example, authentication information for one social network communication service  301   a  may be transmitted to a server  308   a  of that social network communication service  301   a  while authentication information for another social network communication service  301   b  may be transmitted to a server  308   b  of that other social network communication service  301   b . Meanwhile, the same information indicating the identity of the content and/or evaluation information may be transmitted to the different social network communication services  301 . Thus, it is possible for a user to share what content they are watching and/or their reactions to such content on multiple social network communication services  301 . For example, as a result of steps  501 - 509 , a user may share their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the content they are consuming on their social network communication service(s)  301  for others to see. 
     Furthermore, at step  509 , the evaluation information and/or information identifying the content may be transmitted to a third party, such as a content creator. For example, the evaluation information and/or content identity information may be routed by the router  305  of the local office  103  to a content creator (e.g., the creator/administrator of a television show, television network, or advertisement). Thus, a content creator can evaluate what type of reactions their content is generating. In some embodiments, a computing device  200  at the local office  103  may process the reactions for the specific content and generate statistics (e.g., most common reaction, least common reaction, etc.), which it subsequently provides to the content creator or provider. Specifically, the computing device  200  at the local office  103  may aggregate reactions from a plurality of users (e.g., on a scene by scene basis), generate statistics from the aggregate data, and transmit the statistics to content creators. 
     An aspect of the present disclosure is to authenticate multiple users, who are consuming the same content at the same time in the same location (e.g., via the same display device  112 ), to their respective social network communication services  301 . Further, another aspect of the present disclosure is to detect the reactions of the multiple users. Accordingly, after step  509 , the process may proceed to step  510  in which it is determined whether reaction information has been detected and posted to a social network communication service  301  for each user identified in step  501 . If, at step  510 , it is determined that the process has not been completed for all identified users (No at step  510 ), then the process may loop back to repeat steps  503 - 509  for a next user. While the process may return to step  503 , it should be understood that in some cases the reaction of another user may be detected from the same information previously obtained in step  503 . Therefore, for example, if an image was captured in step  503  to detect a reaction, another image might not be captured when step  503  is repeated because the reaction information for each of the identified users might be obtained from the same image. 
     Meanwhile, if it is determined that the process has been completed for each user at step  510  (Yes at step  510 ), the process may proceed to step  511 . Aspects of this disclosure further recognize that a user may have multiple reactions to different segments of the same content. In other words, it is recognized that a user may like one segment of content and may dislike another segment of the same content. Accordingly, steps  501  through  509  may be repeated. As shown in  FIG.  5   , in step  511 , the process may wait a set period of time T (e.g., a predetermined time) before returning to step  501 . Moreover, at step  511 , the process may determine whether it is time to check for a new reaction. That is, the system may record a running time to keep track of how much time has passed since the last time detection of a reaction was performed (e.g., how much time has passed since performing step  503 ). In step  511 , this recorded time may be compared to a predetermined time or to one of a number of predetermined times depending on the type of content. The predetermined times may be set by a user consuming the content, system administrator, system architect, content provider, or content creator according to how much time is desired to pass between collection of a reaction to the same content. Thus, the predetermined times may help to manage congestion and to avoid receiving multiple consecutive reports of what is essentially the same reaction. For example, the predetermined time may be set so that a reaction to the same content can be detected every 10 minutes. Also, the predetermined time may be different depending on the content. For example, in a half hour television show, the time between reaction determinations may be shorter than that of an hour long television show. Therefore, it should be understood that the set wait time T may vary. 
     After the set period of time T, the process may proceed to step  501  to identify users again. As a result, additional reactions from the same user(s) (i.e., previously determined users) may be obtained. Also, because the process returns to step  501  after the set wait time, the process can check to see if a new user has begun consuming content. That is, the process of  FIG.  5    takes into consideration the fact that another person may later join the initial person in consuming content (e.g., watching a television program or otherwise streaming video content). 
     In some embodiments, an input device (e.g., the camera  303 , microphone  304 , etc.) may be configured to capture inputs (e.g., images, sound recordings, etc.) periodically with constant intervals of time equivalent to the set period of time T. That is, firmware of the input device may include instructions that when executed cause the input device to capture inputs periodically, and transmit the captured inputs to a server at the local office  103 . Alternatively, a device at the local office  103  (e.g., the social network information managing platform  306 ) may include a clock and counter for determining time intervals equivalent to the set period of time T and transmitting a signal at the time intervals to cause an input device to capture inputs for detecting a reaction. For example, the social network information managing platform  306  may generate a signal that instructs the firmware of the camera  303  to capture an image periodically at intervals equivalent to the set period of time T. Although constant intervals are described by way of example above, it should be understood that inputs may also be captured at irregular intervals. Further, in some embodiments, a device at the local office  103  may send the input device a set of times when content is started so that the input device may record inputs according to the received set of times. 
     Also, because the process may loop back to step  501 , step  501  may monitor the presence of an identified user. In some embodiments, it may be of interest to monitor a user&#39;s presence to determine whether the user is still consuming content. In such cases, a subsequent step  501  may determine whether the same user, who was previously identified in step  501 , is still consuming content. In other words, when the process loops back to step  501 , it may determine whether one of the users currently consuming content matches one of the users previously identified. If a match is not found, then the process may determine that the user has stopped consuming the content. In this case, the process may end. Alternatively, if no match is found, the process may transmit information indicating that the user has stopped consuming the content to the social network communication service(s)  301 , which were communicated with in step  509 , or to a third party. For example, if a user walks away from a television after a previous iteration of step  501  and is not present when step  501  is repeated, the process may determine that the user has stopped consuming the content and may record this determination or transmit this determination so that others may be informed that the user has stopped consuming the content. 
     From the above description, it should be understood that the process may perform steps  503 - 509  for each user before returning to step  501  to identify users again. Therefore, for example, where a group of friends and/or a family is watching the same television program on the same television, the reaction of each user may be detected and posted to social network communication services  301  of each user by performing steps  503 - 509  for each user. Thus, a first user&#39;s reaction to a television program may be reflected on the first user&#39;s social network communication service  301 , while a second user watching the same television program at the same location (e.g., premises  102 ) may have a second reaction which is reflected on the second user&#39;s social network communication service  301 . Here, the first user&#39;s reaction may be different than the second user&#39;s reaction. 
     Referring to step  511 , in some embodiments, step  511  may monitor the content being consumed. Aspects of this disclosure recognize that a user may select different content to consume, and that it may be desirable to capture a user&#39;s reaction to more than one piece of content. Still other aspects of the disclosure may aim to detect a scenario in which a user does not change a channel, but the content being streamed on the channel changes. To accommodate for these observations, step  511  may include other manners of controlling when to return to step  501 . 
     At step  511 , instead of waiting a set period of time T before causing step  501  to be repeated, the process may determine the identity of the content and determine whether the content has changed. For example, the identity of a streaming video program (e.g., name and/or description of a television program or name and/or description of an on-demand movie) may be determined at step  511 . Step  511  may include any of the manners explained with respect to step  508  herein. 
     In some embodiments, instead of detecting the identity of the content, step  511  may simply monitor a service identifier (e.g., channel number) and determine if the service identifier has been changed. Because the content will likely change if the service identifier is changed, the determination that the content has changed may be made more quickly and/or less costly in terms of processing power by inferring a content change from detecting a change in the service identifier. 
     If the process at step  511  determines that the content has changed, then the process of  FIG.  5    may return to step  501  and may repeat steps  501 - 509 . In some embodiments, step  501  might not be repeated for every change in content. That is, step  511  may detect when a user is channel surfing so as not to cause steps  501 - 509  to repeat. For example, step  511  may only cause the process to proceed to step  501  after determining that the user has been consuming the same content for a certain period of time (e.g., a predetermined period of time). 
     Although  FIG.  5    shows that the process may return to step  501  when the predetermined time is exceeded, it may be assumed that the users consuming the content have not changed, and thus, the process may proceed directly to step  503  to detect a reaction (as opposed to step  501 ). 
     Further, in some embodiments, step  511  may simply end the process. Although the current process may end in step  511 , it should be understood that the process may be re-initiated as described above. 
     The steps in  FIG.  5    may be performed in the order as shown, or may be rearranged. For example, determining the identity of the content in step  508  may be performed before step  501 . Further, one or more steps may be omitted, added, or repeated. Also, the steps of  FIG.  5    may be performed by one or more computing devices  200 . For example, steps  501 - 511  may all be performed by a device at the premises  102  (e.g., a display device  112 , media hub  302 , or other device). Alternatively, all of the steps may be performed by a device at the local office  103  (e.g., at the social network information managing platform  306 ). That is, all of the data inputted at the premises  102 , such as an image captured by a camera  303 , may be transmitted to the local office  103  for performing the steps  501 - 511 . Still, in other embodiments, some of the steps may be performed at the premises  102 , while other steps are performed at the local office  103 . For example, steps  501 - 505  may be performed by a device at the premises  102  (e.g., a media hub  302 ), and the evaluation information and/or user identification information may be transmitted to the local office  103 , where another computing device  200  (e.g., the social network information managing platform  306 ) may perform steps  506 - 511 . 
       FIG.  6    illustrates an example process for identifying content. In some embodiments, the process of  FIG.  6    may be implemented in step  508  and/or step  511  of  FIG.  5   . An aspect of this disclosure may be to prevent excessive processing when a user is channel surfing. In other words, when a user is channel surfing, it may be undesirable to identify and share reactions to content that the user only views for a short period of time. In light of this observation, the process of  FIG.  6    and other processes may be implemented in some embodiments of the methods of sharing content consumption information. 
     The process of  FIG.  6    begins with step  601  in which a current service identifier (e.g., identification of the program, video provider, or television station that is being watched) is determined. This information may be obtained from a remote control device  302   a  (e.g., television remote), a display device  112  (e.g., television), or a media hub  302 . Once the current service identifier is determined, this service identifier is stored (e.g., in a buffer) along with a timestamp at step  602 . The timestamp may be generated using a clock that provides a real time (e.g., Universal time) or a clock signal from an internal or external clock generator. Then, in step  603 , the process determines whether the current service identifier is the same as a previously stored service identifier. If the service identifiers are the same, the process proceeds to step  604 . At step  604 , it is determined whether a channel surfing threshold time has been exceeded. Exceeding the channel surfing threshold time as described herein indicates that the user is not channel surfing. Step  604  is performed by comparing the difference in time between a previous timestamp and the current timestamp. If this difference exceeds the channel surfing threshold time, then it is determined that the user is not channel surfing and the process proceeds to step  605 . In step  605 , the identity of the content is determined based on the service identifier, a region code (e.g., a zip code) associated with a location (e.g., a premises  102 ) where the content is consumed, and a content distribution schedule corresponding to the region code. 
     If the process determines that the current service identifier and the previous service identifier are not the same at step  603  (No at step  603 ), then the previous service identifier and previous timestamp are set to the current service identifier and current timestamp, respectively at step  606 . From step  606 , the process proceeds back to step  601  after a delay of a predetermined time at step  607 . Depending on the predetermined time of the delay at step  607 , a user may flip back and forth between two or more channels without causing the process to determine that the user is channel surfing. In some embodiments, the process may be performed so that the user can flip back and forth between several channels without resulting in a determination that the user is channel surfing, and thereby allow the remaining steps of the process to authenticate the user and share information regarding the user&#39;s content consumption. 
     Further, a determination at step  604  that the channel surfing threshold time is not exceeded (No at step  604 ), is an indication that the process has not ruled out the possibility that the user is channel surfing. Therefore, if the threshold is not exceeded, the process returns to step  601  after a delay at step  608 . Although  FIG.  6    shows the process proceeding through the delay  608 , which is separate from the delay  607 , when the threshold is not exceeded, the delays  607  and  608  may be the same in some embodiments. 
     The example implementation discussed above includes a looping, continuous process of checking for user reactions. In some embodiments, the content may include (or be associated with) data triggers that indicate when certain reactions are expected or desired.  FIG.  7    is a flow diagram illustrating another example method of the present application, in which tags are used to trigger a reaction detection process. The process in  FIG.  7    may begin when a user begins to consume content. For example, step  701  may be initiated when a user turns on a display device and/or when content is presented, e.g., starts streaming Additionally, or alternatively, step  701  may only be initiated after the same piece of content has been continuously consumed or streamed for a certain period of time. In some embodiments, step  701  may be triggered by the completion of step  604  in  FIG.  6    (e.g., after it is determined that a user is consuming content and not channel surfing). 
     Step  701  may identify one or more users consuming the content (e.g., one or more people watching the television). Step  701  may perform any of the processes discussed herein to identify the user(s), such as audio recognition processes (e.g., voice recognition) and image recognition processes (e.g., facial recognition). 
     Next, in step  702 , whether the identified user(s) is a valid user is determined. A valid user may be any user who has signed-up for, or has otherwise given permission to be a part of, a specific service that collects information about a user&#39;s content consumption. Additionally, or alternatively, the determination at step  702  may simply determine whether or not a user was even identified at step  701 . For example, if step  701  is performed but a user is not identified, step  702  may return the process to step  701  until a user is identified. This part of the process may account for a scenario in which a user has initiated the streaming of content but is not actually consuming the content. For example, a user may turn on a television and immediately walk away. In such an example scenario, steps  701  and  702  may be performed repeatedly until the user returns. 
     Step  703  determines whether a tag has been detected. Effectively, step  703  monitors the content to detect a tag. Tags may be data packets inserted into content by content providers or content creators for the purpose of triggering the collection of reaction information. A content creator (or content provider) may insert a tag at a particular point in the content where the content creator would like to learn the reaction of the users to the content. Specifically, for example, a content creator or content provider may operate a computing device  200  to identify segments within content as reaction-generating segments. In other words, a content creator or content provider may identify segments of content that they would like to capture a reaction for or expect to generate a reaction. For example, a content creator or content provider may insert a tag in an advertisement to facilitate collection of user reactions to the advertisement. In another example, a tag may be inserted into a particularly scary scene of a horror movie, such as at a point where a suspected killer is shown suddenly jumping out from hiding. 
     In one or more embodiments, the timing of each tag may be transmitted to an input device (e.g., a camera  303 , a microphone  304 , etc.) instructing firmware of the input device to capture inputs (e.g., images, sound recordings, etc.) so that reactions of the users can be correlated with the tags as described herein. Further, the tags may be positioned within the content at appropriate points so that input devices may capture the appropriate reaction. For example, a tag may be placed in content at a point five seconds prior to when the reaction is desired so as to allow time for a media hub  302  to instruct an input device to capture the reaction desired. Also, tags may be configured to cause a specific input device (e.g., a camera  303 , a microphone  304 , etc.) to capture a specific type of reaction. For example, in the case of the horror movie, a tag may be inserted into the horror movie to capture audio data via a microphone  304  during a particularly scary point to detect whether a user screams. In another example, a tag may be inserted during a reality game show at a particular point to trigger a camera  303  to capture a user&#39;s hand gesture so that the user may vote for a contestant. 
     As shown in  FIG.  7   , step  703  may be performed repeatedly to continuously monitor the content until a tag is detected. In some embodiments, a delay may be implemented between each repetition of step  703  to reduce processing power. Also, step  703  may be modified to stop monitoring the content after a certain amount of time to prevent an endless search for tags, which might not exist in the particular content or which might go undetected. 
     In response to detecting a tag (Yes in step  703 ), the process proceeds to step  704  in which a reaction is detected. Detecting a reaction may comprise performing an image recognition process or audio recognition process. For example, step  704  may trigger a camera to capture an image of the user(s), and that image may be analyzed to determine whether a user is giving a thumbs-up or thumbs-down sign. 
     In some embodiments, the tag may be designed to instruct a device (e.g., the media hub  302 ) to look for a particular reaction. For example, the tag may cause the media hub  302  to detect whether a user consuming content has laughed or not. Where the tag is designed for a specific reaction, step  704  may only search for that reaction. Therefore, for example, if a tag designed to detect whether a user is laughing is received, step  704  may not detect if the user just smiles. Similarly, the tag may also be designed to detect only reactions from a particular type of user (e.g., a female user). For example, a tag may be designed to see how only female users responded to a particular segment of content that is targeted for females (e.g., advertisements for female beauty products). Thus, step  704  may only be performed for a specific user where such user is of the type specified by the tag. Accordingly, tags may assist in collecting and classifying different users&#39; reactions to content. 
     Moreover, operations of devices at a premises  102  may be controlled in response to receiving a tag that is specially designed to acquire certain reaction information. For example, if a tag is designed to capture laughter, the media hub  302  may operate only the microphone  304  to capture audible reactions. Alternatively, if a tag is designed to ascertain a user&#39;s attention to particular content, only the camera  303  may be operated to capture an image which may then undergo facial recognition to determine whether the user was facing the content (or camera  303  which may be positioned at a known point with respect to the content). In this case, a microphone  304  may not be turned on or otherwise operated to acquire audio reactions. 
     Once step  704  is completed, step  705  is executed to determine whether a reaction was detected. If a reaction was detected (Yes at step  705 ), the process proceeds to step  706 . However, if a reaction was not detected (No at step  705 ), the process skips step  706  and proceeds directly to step  707 . 
     In step  706 , the detected reaction may be translated into evaluation information. The evaluation information may be any type of data that indicates the reaction. For example, evaluation information may be a string, such as “two thumbs-up” or “I give it a 10,” or an image, such as a graphic of a smiley face. A database may be employed to execute this translation. The database may store typical characteristics (e.g., typical image or audio patterns) and/or user specific characteristics (e.g., patterns obtained from performing training processes or previous determinations with respect to a specific user) in association with evaluation information, such as a descriptive text and/or image. This database may be configured to be searchable so that the characteristics of the database can be compared with characteristics obtained from the detected reaction. Further, the database may be configured so that when a match is found, the evaluation information may be read. 
     In some embodiments, it may be more practical, efficient, and/or desirable to translate the reaction detected into data indicating the reaction. For example, a user may not want a picture of their reaction to be shared, but may be willing to share other information indicating the user&#39;s reaction, such as a smiley face. 
     Additionally, step  706  may also associate a tag identifier (e.g., tag ID) with the evaluated information. For example, step  706  may generate a packet that includes a tag ID and evaluation information. Fields within the packet may be predefined so that it can be determined which part of the packet corresponds to the tag ID and which part corresponds to the evaluation information. For example, the packet may include eight bytes, where the first four bytes contain the tag ID and the last four bytes contain the evaluation information. 
     Subsequently, in step  707 , information may be transmitted from a premises  102  to a local office  103 . In some cases, for example, where step  707  is performed directly after step  705 , the information may only include the tag identifier (e.g., tag ID). In other cases, even where step  707  is performed directly after step  705 , the information may include a tag identifier and an indication that no reaction was detected. Still, in some cases, for example, where step  707  is performed in response to the completion of step  706 , the information may include the tag identifier and an associated reaction or the evaluation information indicating the reaction. Further, in some cases, the evaluation information may be transmitted without the tag identifier. Transmission at step  707  may include generating a header including a network address (e.g., an IP address) and combining the header with the evaluation information and/or tag identifier. 
     At the local office  103  the information may be routed to a social network communication service  301  and/or a third party, such as a content provider or content creator. Where the information is transmitted to a social network communication service  301 , the information may be shared with others, such as the user&#39;s friends and/or family. Also, where the information is transmitted to a third party, such as a content creator, the content creator may evaluate the information to determine whether the content is causing the intended/desired reactions. Such information may be valuable to some entities, such as advertisers. Content creators may also receive aggregated information based on a gender of users that consumed the content. In some examples, image recognition techniques may automatically classify users as male or female. Accordingly, the tags may be aggregated on the basis of gender for reactions provided to the content creator. Similarly, some embodiments may implement image recognition techniques that can determine a person&#39;s age, and thus, reaction information may be aggregated on the basis of age as well. 
     After step  707  is completed, the process may determine whether reaction information (including the absence of a reaction) to the detected tag has been obtained for each of the identified users at step  708 . If reaction information for each identified user has not been detected (No at step  708 ), then the process may loop back to step  704  to detect a reaction of another identified user. While the process may return to step  704 , it should be understood that in some cases the reaction of another user may be detected from the same information previously obtained in step  704 . For example, if an image was captured in step  704 , another image might not be captured when step  704  is repeated because the reaction information for each of the identified users might be obtained from the same image. 
     If reaction information for each identified user has been detected (Yes at step  708 ), then the process may proceed to step  709  in which the process may wait for a set period of time T before returning to step  701 . In some embodiments, the step  709  may wait until a change in the content is detected before returning the process to step  701 . Still, in other embodiments, step  709  may simply end the process. Step  709  may be performed in a similar manner as step  511  of  FIG.  5   . 
     There may be multiple tags in any one piece of content. That is, a streaming video program may include a plurality of tags at different points within the stream where reaction information is desirable. From the multiple reactions, a reaction model may be constructed to reflect the varying reactions of a user throughout a piece of content. Accordingly, in some embodiments, where a plurality of reactions throughout a piece of content is desirable, step  709  may return the process to step  703  thereby only identifying users once at step  701  so as not to collect reaction information for users who began consuming the content after it started streaming. 
     In another aspect of the present disclosure, information from input devices, such as cameras  303 , microphones  304 , or other sensors, may be continuously monitored to detect reactions and subsequently identify users to whom those reactions belong to.  FIG.  8    is a flow diagram illustrating another example method for carrying out this aspect. The method of  FIG.  8    may authenticate a user to his/her own social network communication service  301  and allow the user to share content consumption information, such as a reaction to content the user is consuming, via the social network communication service  301 . 
     In step  801 , one or more inputs are monitored to detect a reaction of a user to content that he/she is currently consuming. For example, image data obtained through a video camera may be monitored to detect a reaction of a user, such as signaling a thumbs-up or thumbs-down sign, to a television program. Additionally, or alternatively, step  801  may monitor audio inputs to detect, for example, laughing, screaming, or a user&#39;s speech. For example, the system may monitor audio inputs received through a microphone  304  to detect whether a user has spoken certain words indicating a reaction, such as “I like this show” or “this movie is funny.” In some embodiments, step  801  may monitor inputs made through a remote control device  302   a , such as pressing a particular button or sequence of buttons. For example, the system may monitor inputs made on a television remote to detect when a user presses one or more designated buttons on the remote indicating how a user feels about the content he/she is consuming. Meanwhile, step  802  determines whether a reaction has been detected. If no reaction is detected (No at step  802 ), the system may continue to monitor inputs. In some embodiments, the system will monitor inputs as long as content is being streamed. 
     Once a reaction is detected (Yes at step  802 ), reaction information may be obtained, and the process may proceed to step  803  in which user identifying data is captured. Capturing user identifying data may include capturing an image of a user, capturing a voice of a user, capturing a fingerprint of a user, capturing a retinal scan of a user, etc. In some embodiments, the user identifying data may be the same input data from which the reaction is determined. For example, if an image is used for detecting a reaction, that same image may be used as the user identifying data from which the user&#39;s identity may be subsequently determined. 
     In one or more arrangements, step  803  may require capturing user identifying data in addition to the data inputted for monitoring in step  801 . For example, if a user indicates a reaction by pressing a button on a remote control device  302   a , the user may then take a picture of himself/herself using the remote control device  302   a  at step  803 . The image data from such a picture may later be used to identify the user. Also, although step  803  is shown as occurring after steps  801  and  802 , it should be realized that step  803  may be performed before step  801 . 
     In step  804 , the service identifier is determined. The service identifier may be detected by any user device, such as the remote control device  302   a , media hub  302 , display device  112 , etc. In some embodiments, the detected service identifier may be associated with a timestamp indicating a time at which the service identifier was detected. Further, the service identifier may also be associated with a region code (e.g., zip code) representing the location of premises  102  at which the user is consuming content. This region code may be retrieved from any user device, such as the remote control device  302   a , media hub  302 , or display device  112 , located at the premises  102 . 
     In step  805 , the reaction information (e.g., image data, audio data, fingerprint data, etc. used to capture the reaction), service identifier and its associated information, and/or the user identifying data may be transmitted to a backend server (e.g., the social network information managing platform  306  of the local office  103 ). By transferring the reaction information, service identifier and its associated information, and user identifying data upstream to the backend server, user devices (e.g., media hub  302 , display devices  112 , laptops, smartphones, etc.) can be relieved from having to execute some of the processing. By distributing some of the processing to the backend server, the overall efficiency of the system may be improved. Additional benefits of performing processing on the backend server may include enhanced security, reduced power consumption of user devices, increased processing speeds, and lower costs. 
     At step  806 , the backend server (e.g., the social network information managing platform  306  of the local office  103 ) processes the user identifying data and/or reaction information to identify one or more users. Step  806  may be implemented using software for performing facial recognition, voice recognition, fingerprint recognition, etc. This software may utilize a database (e.g., the database  307  of the local office  103 ) or generate results that may be compared with data in the database. In either case, step  806  may determine the identity of one or more users. 
     For each user identified in step  806 , authentication information for authenticating the respective user to a social network communication service  301  may be retrieved at step  807 . Step  807  may be implemented using a database that stores user identities, which may be represented by names or alphanumeric reference characters, in association with authentication information for particular social network communication services  301  that the user belongs to. In one or more arrangements, such a database may be combined with the database used to identify a user so that when a user is identified the corresponding authentication information can be retrieved. In some cases, where a user belongs to multiple social network communication services  301 , step  807  may retrieve the authentication information for each of the multiple social network communication services  301 . 
     In step  808 , the backend server may determine the identity of the content. For example, the backend server may determine the name of the television program or other information identifying the content consumed by the user. The backend server may use the service identifier, region code, and/or timestamp received from the premises  102  and a content distribution schedule stored at the backend server or a device in communication with the backend server. 
     Then, at step  809 , the authentication information, content identity information, and reaction information may be transmitted from the backend server to one or more social network communication services  301 . In one or more arrangements, the reaction information may be translated into evaluation information before being transmitted. For example, where the reaction information is an image of the user holding up ten fingers, the reaction information may be translated into evaluation information, which may be a message stating “I give it a ten.” 
     Further, in some embodiments, at step  809 , the authentication information may be sent first, and the content identity information and reaction information may be sent subsequently. Depending on the protocol used, the backend server may wait until it receives confirmation that the authentication information was received and approved by the social network communication service  301 , before sending the content identity information and reaction information. Upon receipt of the content identity information and/or reaction information, the social network communication service  301  may then post the content identity information and/or reaction information on a webpage of the social network communication service  301  associated with the user who has been authenticated. 
     Although example embodiments are described above, the various features and steps may be combined, divided, omitted, rearranged, and/or augmented in any desired manner, depending on the specific secure process desired. For example,  FIG.  8    may be modified to include features of  FIG.  6    to prevent sharing a user&#39;s reaction to content while the user is channel surfing. Further, it should be understood that each of the steps in each of the processes described herein may be performed when one or more processors in one or more computing devices  200  execute computer-executable instructions. This patent should not be limited to the example embodiments described, but rather should have its scope determined by the claims that follow.