Patent ID: 8825493

Claim:
A device, comprising: a memory to store executable instructions; a speech capture element for capturing speech messages; a user interface; and a processor coupled to the memory, the speech capture element, and the user interface, wherein the processor, responsive to executing the executable instructions, performs operations comprising: detecting a stimulus at the user interface for initiating a communication session with a member device of a social network to exchange communications, wherein the communications are associated with a television program presented by way of a media processor communicatively coupled to the processor; responsive to the stimulus, accessing a user profile for a user that is associated with the stimulus, the user profile including a determination of a pattern of prior speech messages of the user captured by the speech capture element; determining a speech capture time period based on a time between an activation of the stimulus and a period after a detection that a voice of the user has stopped speaking based on prior speech messages in accordance with the pattern of prior speech messages of the user profile; activating the speech capture element in response to the stimulus, wherein the speech capture element is maintained in an active state independent of a characteristic of the stimulus, and wherein the speech capture element is maintained in the active state for the speech capture time period; transmitting a request for initiating the communication session with the member device of the social network; capturing a speech message at the speech capture element; and transmitting a message representative of the speech message to the member device of the social network.