Patent Publication Number: US-9405827-B2

Title: Playlist generation of content gathered from multiple sources

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to online services and communications tools and, more particularly, to social networks. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In its short history, Internet usage has been mainly driven by portals and search engines, such as Yahoo! and Google. Recently, the rapid growth of social networking sites, such as MySpace and Facebook, has revealed a new trend of Internet usage Social networking generally relates to services and tools that help users maintain and expand their circles of friends usually by exploiting existing relationships. Social networking sites have shown potential to become the places on the Internet where many people spend most of their time, thus making these sites the main entry point for online activity. Often times, these social networking sites can become the focal point of sharing information, such as links, multimedia, music, and the like. 
     In general, social networking sites and other online services of the Internet offer a mix of features and tools, such as message boards, games, journals or web logs (“blogs”). Many of these sites try to build communities around multi-media or popular culture, such as television, film, music, etc. These sites and their features are designed to keep users clicking on advertising-supported pages of the site. Thus, the known social networking sites employ a closed platform of services that attempt to keep their user-base captive to the site. 
     Unfortunately, it can be difficult for users to maintain their multiplicity of accounts for their social networks. For example, users can have multiple profiles at multiple sites for their music, email, instant messaging, etc. However, most users eventually do not keep up with all of their accounts. For example, many users have four or five e-mail addresses, but essentially may use only one or two of them. 
     In addition, the Internet is crowded with a large number of social networking sites and sharing tools. For example, the recent supremacy of iTunes has triggered a plethora of music service offerings. As another example, the recent success of YouTube and Google Video has sparked an explosion of video-sharing sites. 
     One of the most popular features of social networking is the gathering and sharing of music. However, most music services employ captive policies that discourage open, but legal, gathering and sharing of music across multiple services. 
     Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide methods and systems that allow users to openly and legally gather and share music. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the figures: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an exemplary system that is in accordance with embodiments of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates an exemplary architecture for an open overlay service that is consistent with the principles of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates an exemplary architecture for clients that are consistent with the principles of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     Embodiments of the present invention provide a mechanism for automatically creating a playlist for a user. In particular, data indicating music played by other users in the user&#39;s social network is collected. Music is then selected from this data and gathered from a music service in which the user subscribes, such as iTunes, Yahoo Music, etc. The service then builds the playlist with the gathered music. 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments of the invention, which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a system  100  that is consistent with the principles of the present invention. As shown, the system  100  may comprise one or more clients  102 , a plurality of services  104 , an open overlay service  106 , and a network  108 . In general, system  100  may be implemented on a widely available data network, such as the Internet. For example, system  100  may be implemented as a combination web site and client application that enables users and friends to participate in a live social context. These components will now be generally described. 
     Client  102  provides a user interface for system  100 . Client  102  may be implemented using a variety of devices and software. For example client  102  may be implemented on a personal computer, workstation, or terminal. In addition, client  102  may run under an operating system, such as the LINUX operating system, the Microsoft™ Windows operating system, and the like. Client  102  may also operate through an Internet browser application, such as Firefox by Mozilla, Internet Explorer by Microsoft Corporation, or Netscape Navigator by Netscape Communications Corporation. 
     One skilled in the art will also recognize that client  102  may be implemented with various peripheral devices, such as a display, one or more speakers, and other suitable devices. Client  102  may also be implemented with various peripherals for accepting input from a user, such as a keyboard, a mouse, and the like. Although  FIG. 1  shows a number of clients  102 , system  100  may include any number of clients. 
     Services  104  are the applications and services that users of system  100  already use. Services  104  may be implemented on one or more servers that are well known to those skilled in the art. Rather than recreating functionality, open overlay service  106  merely interfaces services  104  and allows users to seamlessly continue using the services, such as social networking services, instant messaging, etc., that they currently use. Examples of services  104  include iTunes, Yahoo Music Engine, MySpace, Friendster, AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, etc. Any sort of online service may be incorporated into the context provided by open overlay service  106 . 
     Open overlay service  106  serves as a social network service and stores, manages, and provides access control to the various services and social networks of clients  102 . In general, open overlay service  106  is essentially a web site and application service that stores and forwards information shared by users, as well as user profiles and social network information. Open overlay service  106  may be hosted as a public instance, similar in fashion to a service, such as Wikipedia. In addition, open overlay service  106  may provide various application programming interfaces that have an open specification so that anyone can create an interface. 
     For example, open overlay service  106  may process requests to retrieve an object, document, image file, web page, and the like. Open overlay service  106  may be implemented using a variety of devices and software. For example, open overlay service  106  may be implemented as a web site running on one or more servers that support various application programs and stored procedures. 
     The components of system  100  may be coupled together via network  108 . Network  108  may comprise one or more networks, such as a local area network, the Internet, or other type of wide area network. In addition, network  108  may support a wide variety of known protocols, such as the transport control protocol and Internet protocol (“TCP/IP”) and hypertext transport protocol (“HTTP”). 
       FIG. 2  illustrates an exemplary architecture for open overlay service  106  that is consistent with the principles of the present invention. As shown, open overlay service  106  may comprise an operating system  200 , an application server  202 , a messaging server  204 , a messaging agent  206 , a web server  208 , and a user database  210 . These components may be implemented as software, firmware, or some combination of both, which may be loaded into memory of the machine embodying open overlay service  106 . The software components may be written in a variety of programming languages, such as C, C++, Java, etc. These components will now be generally described. 
     Operating system (OS)  200  is an integrated collection of routines that service the sequencing and processing of programs and applications running in open overlay service  106 . OS  200  may provide many services, such as resource allocation, scheduling, input/output control, and data management. OS  200  may be predominantly software, but may also comprise partial or complete hardware implementations and firmware. Well known examples of operating systems that are consistent with the principles of the present invention include the Linux operating system, the UNIX operating system. In addition, OS  200  may operate in conjunction with other software, such as an application server, such as JBoss, to implement various features of open overlay service  106 . 
     Application server  202  provides the logic for analyzing and managing the operations of open overlay service  106 . As previously noted, application server  202  may be written in a variety of programming languages, such as C, C++, Java, etc. 
     For example, one responsibility of application server  202  may be managing the various identities of the users of open overlay service  106 . As noted previously, a single person may have multiple identities that they use for various online services and social networks. For example, a person named, John Smith, may use jsmith@domain.com as an identity one service, but use smithj@domain2.com as his identity on another service. 
     In one embodiment, in order to track the various users of open overlay service  106 , application server  202  may assign each user a unique identifier, such as a numeric identifier. Application server  202  may then utilize this unique identifier with the identity resources (i.e., email address, account names, screen names, etc.) used by services  104  to identify a person. In some embodiments, application server  202  generates a graph of each social network within open overlay service  106  in terms of person&#39;s names and the identity resources from the point of view of a particular user based on what is trusted by that user. 
     For example, given information about a person&#39;s name, their unique identifier assigned by application server  202 , and associations to identity resources trusted by other users, application server  202  can generate a list of person names and identity resources (i.e., email address, account names, etc.) that should be visible to a particular user. Hence, the particular user will only be allowed to see identity resources they happen to (or only) know about that user and identity resources that have been verified by application server  202 . For example, a user A may have a unique identifier of  2345 , and email address # 1  and email address # 2  as identity resources. A user B may only know about email address # 1  for user A. Meanwhile, a user C may similarly only know about email address # 2  for user A. Thus, for user B, application server  202  will only allow user B to view and use email address # 1  as an identity resource for user A. Likewise, application server  202  will only allow user C to view and use email address # 2  as an identity resource for user A. However, if user A subsequently explicitly indicates to application server  202  that both users B and C can be trusted, then users B and C will then be also allowed to view both email addresses # 1  and  2 , as well. The primary uses of this information by open overlay service  106  may be for sharing a link with person by addressing that person either by an email address or by a short nickname, or for viewing a list of persons in open overlay service  106  that they think they know. 
     Application server  202  may also determine what information of a user should be public or private. In some embodiments, application server  202  may default to making information public, but provide an option, such as a checkbox, that allows the user to designate information as private. Application server  202  may also employ per page settings, such as all private or all public. Other privacy policies may be implemented by application server  202 . 
     Application server  202  may further provide various search features. For example, application server  202  may allow users to search for other users based on various criteria, such as age, gender, school, etc. Application server  202  may also allow searches for various resources, such as email addresses, topics, links, etc. 
     Messaging server  204  manages communications between open overlay service  106  and clients  102  via network  108 . For example, messaging server  204  may be configured to periodically poll clients  102  on a regular basis and have them request information from services  104 . Messaging server  204  may be implemented based on well-known hardware and software and utilize well-known protocols, such as TCP/IP, hypertext transport protocol, etc. 
     Messaging server  204  may be configured to handle a wide variety of data and may handle data that is in any format. For example, information from clients  102  may be in the form of an extensible markup language (XQM) file or a network location, such as a uniform resource locator (URL) on the Internet. Alternatively, messaging server  204  may be configured to obtain information from services  104  directly in a peer-to-peer fashion. 
     Messaging agent  206  serves as an interface between open overlay service  106  and online services  104  and may operate to monitor the activity of clients  102  at these services. In particular, messaging agent  206  may be a relatively small and focused computer application (or “bot”) that runs continuously, in the background simultaneously for each of clients  102 , as other programs are being run, and responds automatically to activity on services  104  that may be of interest to clients  102 , such as new messages, postings, and the like. 
     Messaging agent  206  may be created by open overlay service  106  (i.e., by application server  202 ) for the benefit of the users at clients  102 . Alternatively, for example, messaging server  204  may send information to clients  102  upon request, perform automated searches, or monitor messages or events at services  104 . 
     In one embodiment, messaging server  204  and/or messaging agent  206  may work in conjunction to perform client-side data scraping on services  104 . Client-side data scraping may be desirable in some instances where services  104  refuse or block a direct interface with open overlay service  106 . For example, MySpace and AOL&#39;s instant messaging service may be implemented as one of services  104 , but is known to block proxy requests for a client. 
     Client-side data scraping may be initiated by messaging server  204  or using information provided by messaging server. Messaging server  204  may poll client overlay client  302  to trigger a request to one of services  104 . Accordingly, overlay client  302  may cause one of service applications  306  to interface with service  104  and request data from that service, such as web page refresh. Since the request originated from client  102 , service  104  will provide a response. Overlay client  302  may detect this response and forward it to messaging server  204 . Messaging server  204  may then pass this response. Of course, the polling may be configured at overlay client  302  based on information provided to messaging server  204 . 
     Messaging server  204  evaluates the response and determines if a notification event is needed. If notification is needed, messaging server  204  send a message to overlay client  302 . The notification may then be displayed to the user using, for example, browser  304  or service application  306 . 
     One application of client-side data scraping may be used to detect when messages or postings have been entered on one of services  104 . For example, on MySpace, users often repeatedly refresh their pages in anticipation of receiving a post or message from a friend. With client-side data scraping, open overlay service  106  may automatically perform this function, and more conveniently, indicate when the user has received activity on their MySpace page. This notification may appear in the form of a pop-up bubble or may be displayed as a link on the user&#39;s page in open overlay service  106 . Of course, other applications of client-side data scraping are consistent with the principles of the present invention. 
     Web server  208  provides a communications interface between open overlay service  106 , clients  102 , and services  104 . For example, web server  208  may be configured to provide information that indicates the status of client  102 . Such communications may be based on well known protocols and programming languages, such as HTTP, TCP/IP and Java. Interfaces provided by web server  208  may be implemented using well known Internet technologies, such as web pages, which are well known to those skilled in the art. 
     User database  210  maintains information identifying users and clients  102 . User database  210  may be implemented using well known database technology, such as relational databases, or object oriented databases. 
     For example, user database  210  may include information indicating one or more operating systems and applications installed on clients  102  as well as services subscribed to by users. User database  210  may also comprise information related to authenticating a user determining the respective rights of a user relative to other users. For example, a user may select various groups or channels of content in which they are interested in receiving information. User database  210  may further include information that indicates the permissions and delivery of the information to clients  102 . Other information that may be included in user database  210  may comprise information, such as system and individual permissions of clients  102  on services  104 , activation keys, registration information, and payment information (such as credit card information). 
     Furthermore, user database  210  may include other information related to the manner in which open overlay service  106  communicates with clients  102 . For example, this information may relate to periodicity of notifications, email addresses, format of the information, and the like. User database  210  may include data structures to log the activities and transactions of its users. Activities, such as recent links, history of operations, etc., that may be logged in user database  210  are well known to those skilled in the art. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates an exemplary architecture for clients  102  that are consistent with the principles of the present invention. As noted, clients  102  may be implemented on a conventional device, such as personal computer, laptop, and the like. Such devices are well known to those skilled in the art and may typically include hardware, such as a processor, a memory, a display, a storage device, a keyboard, a mouse, and a network interface for network  108 . Such hardware supports the operation of various components software. As shown, the software running on client  102  may comprise an operating system  300 , an overlay client  302 , a browser  304 , one or more service applications  306 , and a user data cache  308 . Each of these software components will now be generally described. 
     Operating system (OS)  300  is an integrated collection of routines that service the sequencing and processing of programs and applications running in open overlay service  106 . OS  300  may provide many services, such as resource allocation, scheduling, input/output control, and data management. OS  300  may be predominantly software, but may also comprise partial or complete hardware implementations and firmware. Well known examples of operating systems that are consistent with the principles of the present invention include Mac OS by Apple Computer, the Windows family of operating systems by Microsoft Corporation, and the Linux operating system. 
     Overlay client  302  maintains an inventory of the software and service applications  306  installed on client  102  and archives one or more states of activity on client  102 . In some embodiments, overlay client  302  may be configured to periodically connect to open overlay service  106  and perform various operations requested by open overlay service  106 . 
     Browser  304  is an application that runs on client  102  and provides an interface to access information on network  108 , such as information on services  104 . Browser  304  may be implemented as well known programs, such as Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, and the like. 
     Service applications  306  run on client  102  to support the services provided by services  104 . For example, service applications  306  may be applications, such as a browser, an instant messaging client, a music player (such as iTunes), and the like that are provided from services  104 . Other examples for applications  306  are well known to those skilled in the art. 
     User data cache  308  provides a cache that indicates the activity of a user at client  102 . For example, user data cache  308  may include information that indicates documents, such as HTML pages, images, URL links, web site access times, and the like. 
     In order to illustrate some of the features of open overlay service  106  that provide a live social context, several examples will now be described. One feature of open overlay service  106  may be a service allows one or more users to automatically gather music played by other users in the social network. 
     Initially and continuously, open overlay service  106  monitors the preferences and behaviors of its users and their social networks. Of note, open overlay service  106  may monitor the music being played by its users and share this information with other users of the social network. In particular, open overlay client  302  may be coupled to a music application and record the playback information from the music application. In addition, open overlay client  302  may store this information in data cache  308 . Periodically or continuously this information in data cache  308  may be sent to application server  202 . 
     Clients  102  then send this preference data to open overlay service  106 . Open overlay service  106  may, for example, periodically poll for this music playback data from clients  102 . Alternatively, clients  102  may be configured to provide music playback data at defined intervals or in real-time as it&#39;s collected. 
     Open overlay service  106  may then publish this information publicly to all or most of the users or only to the social network of the users. Open overlay service  106  may publish this information on a small scale or a larger scale. 
     As the playback data is published to clients  102 , the users may selectively choose which of the music is tagged for a playlist. Clients  102  may be configured to have all music by one or more users in their social network automatically added to a playlist, or some subset of the music, such as a random selection or filtering. For example, clients  102  may add music to the playlist based on various criteria, such as performer, genre, the user playing the music, the content of the music, etc. 
     Application server  202  may also filter the recommendations at clients  102  based on that client&#39;s profile or other criteria. For example, application server  202  may filter music added to the playlist based on age, location, recent sharing activity, etc. 
     Furthermore, application server  202  may send various accompanying information with the recommendations. For example, this accompanying information may be information that indicates the location of where the music can be obtained, comments by users about the music, the number of other users that also have the music, etc. 
     While building the playlist, application server  202  may also determine various sources that the user may employ to obtain the music. For example, these sources may be online music services, such as iTunes, Yahoo, etc., that open overlay service  106  may interface. Alternatively, some of these sources may be other clients  102  having music stored on their local hard drives. Other sources, such as a public peer-to-peer storage services and devices, may also be sources of music used by the friends. 
     For each source, open overlay service  106  then retrieves the music on the playlist across all of these sources. In order to retrieve the content, open overlay service  106  may utilize the client-side data scraping techniques described above. This ensures that open overlay service  106  only retrieves music that is properly accessible by the user. 
     Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.