BRPI0616971A2 - client method and system for subscribing to content - Google Patents

Abstract

METHOD AND CLIENT SYSTEM TO SUBSCRIBE TO CONTENT. A user can subscribe to a content feed group that includes a set of content feeds. The content feed group includes a first set of content items from the included content feed set. Content items are displayed in response to a subscription to the content feed group. After a change to a content feed group, such as adding or removing a content feed from the set, a second set of content items, reflecting the changed set of content feeds, is displayed. In addition, a label can be applied to one or more content items by a user or according to predefined criteria, rules, or filters. Labeled content items are associated with a secondary feed associated with the label. Other users can subscribe to the secondary feed and be presented with the labeled content items. The label can be system-defined or user-defined.

Description

"METHOD AND CUSTOMER SYSTEM FOR SUBSCRIBING CONTENT"

TECHNICAL FIELD

The foregoing embodiments generally relate to content publishing, and more particularly to providing direct subscriptions to feed content.

BACKGROUND

Publishing content is growing in popularity as a way to distribute frequently updated information, such as news and blog posts, on the Internet. Using content publishing formats such as Really Simple Publishing (RSS), content providers can include content and / or links to it in a content feed. Users can subscribe to these content feeds using an app known as a reader or aggregator. When the content feed is updated with new content items, new content items are reflected in the user reader.

A passive user may want to avoid administering their content feed subscriptions. One way is to adopt subscriptions to another user's content feed as your own, thereby delegating the responsibility for selecting content feeds for that other user's subscription. A second user can export his list of content feed subscriptions to a file. The first user can import the file into their aggregator application and subscribe to the content feeds included in the file. However, this still requires some subscription management by the first user, since he is still responsible for unsubscribing from content feeds for which he no longer wants to subscribe. Therefore, there is a need for a more efficient way to subscribe to feed. content.

SUMMARY OF ACHIEVEMENTS

In some embodiments, a method of subscribing to content includes subscribing a user to a content feed group that includes a set of content feeds; present the user with a first plurality of content items according to the content feed group; and after a change to the content feed group, presenting to the user a second plurality of content items according to the changed content feed group.

In some embodiments, the above operations may be performed by a system having memory, one or more processors, and one or more modules stored in memory and configured for execution by the processors.

According to some embodiments, instructions for the above operations may be included in a computer program product for use in conjunction with a computer system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating a content feed aggregation system according to some embodiments.

Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating a process for presenting to a user content selected by another user, according to some embodiments.

Figures 3A - 3B are flowcharts illustrating a process for presenting to a user selected feeds of content by another user, according to some embodiments.

Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating a process for presenting to a user selected content feeds according to predefined criteria, according to some embodiments.

Figure 5 is a block diagram illustrating a sloping computer according to some embodiments.

Figure 6 is a block diagram illustrating a server computer according to some embodiments.

Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating a feed deletion user interface according to some embodiments.

Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating a page of labels according to some embodiments.

Figure 9 is a diagram illustrating a subscriptive page according to some embodiments.

Figure 10 is a diagram illustrating a subscriptions page available according to some embodiments.

Figure 11 is a diagram illustrating a data structure for feed content items, according to some embodiments.

Same reference numerals refer to corresponding parts throughout the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF ACHIEVEMENTS

A content feed aggregation system can provide indirect subscriptions. Rather than subscribing directly to content feeds (or primary feeds), a user can subscribe to a content item group or content group selected by another user or according to predefined criteria. Selected items or feeds are "repacked" into a "secondary" content feed to which the user can subscribe. Content items included in the secondary feed may change when the selection of content items or content feeds change, and items content presented by the user as part of the subscription to the secondary feed changes along with the changed selection.

Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating a content feed aggregation system according to some embodiments. Content feed aggregation system 100 includes a server system 104. Server system 104 is coupled to one or more client systems 102 and one or more hosts 120 (or "power supplies") by a network 106. network 106 may be any suitable wired and / or wireless network and may include a local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), the Internet, and the like.

Server system 104 accesses content feeds from power supplies 120. Server system 104 includes one server108 and database 110. Server 108 serves as a front end to server system 104. Server 108 retrieves content feeds from sources 120, and also provides an interface between server system 104 and client systems 102. In some embodiments, server functions 108 may be divided or allocated between two or more servers.

Server system 104 stores content items and content feeds in database 110. In some embodiments, database 110 stores both metadata (for example, title, description, URL, date / time, and possibly other metadata) and content. each content item. However, in some other embodiments, database 110 stores the metadata, but not the content for each content item. Database 110 also stores user feed information 112 for a plurality of sanctuaries. User feed information for a particular user identifies content feed subscriptions, as well as sources, filters, and states read for that particular user. That is, user feed information associated with a user identifies the content feeds the user has subscribed to, any filter the user has set for feeds, any label the user has associated with individual feed items, and an indication of whether each feed item has been marked as "read" by the user.

It should be appreciated that server system 104, including server 108 and database 110, may be implemented as a distributed multi-computer system. However, for convenience of explanation, server system 104 is described below as being deployed on a single computer, which can be considered a single logical system.

A content feed (or channel) is a service feature that provides a list of content items that are present, recently added, or recently updated to a 120 feed source. A content item in a content feed may include content associated with the item itself (the current content that contains the same number of content), a title and / or description of the content, a content locator (eg URL), or any combination thereof.

For example, if the content item identifies a text item, the content item may include the inline item itself, along with the title and locator.

Alternatively, a content item may include the title, description, but not the item content. Thus, some content items may include the content associated with these items, while others contain links to the associated content, but not the full content of the items. Content can also include additional metadata that provides additional information about the content. The full version of the content may be any machine readable data, including but not limited to web pages, images, digital audio, digital video, Portable Document Format (PDF) documents, etc. In some embodiments, a content feed is specified. Using a content publishing format, such as RS S.RSS is an acronym meaning "rich site summary", "RDF site summary" or "Really Simple Publishing". "RSS" can refer to any of a family of Extensible Markup Language (XML) -based formats to specify a content feed and content items included in the feed. In some other embodiments, other content publishing formats, such as the Atom publishing format or VCALENDAR calendar format, may be used to specify content feeds.

Additional information regarding the SSR publishing format known as "Really Simple Publishing" is set forth in D. Winer RSS 2.0 Specification, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. M. Nottingham et al. Set forth additional information regarding the Atom publication format in "The Atom SyndicationFormat", which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

A user connects to server system 104 and content views to a client system or device 102 (hereinafter called the client system for ease of reference). The slope system 102 includes a computer 118 or computer controlled device such as a personal digital assistant, mobile phone or similar (hereinafter called the client system for ease of reference). Computer 118 typically includes one or more processors (not shown); memory, which may include volatile memory (not shown) and non-volatile memory such as a hard disk drive unit119; and a display 114. Computer 118 may also have input devices such as a keyboard and mouse (not shown).

In some embodiments, a user may interact with server system 104 via a feed reader user interface116, which may be shown on display 114. The user may create a list of feed subscriptions by the feed reader user interface 116. In In some embodiments, using the feed reader user interface 116, the user may also create filters or labels to be applied to content feeds and / or content items, and modify the read states of content feeds and / or content items. The feed reader user interface passes a list of content feed subscriptions, or modifications to a list of content feed subscriptions, to server system 104 for storage in database 110. The feed reader user interface 116 presents content items stored in database110 to the user based on the user list of content feed subscriptions. That is, feed reader user interface 116 presents the user with content items specified in the content feeds to which the user subscribed. A user can see the full version of the content of a content item in the feed deletion UI 116 by selecting it (for example, clicking it with a mouse pointer). In some embodiments, a copy of the content feed subscriptions user list and copies of the displayed content items may be cached locally on client system 102.

In some embodiments, the feed reader user interface 116 may be a web-based user interface. Querdizer, the feed reader 116 user interface includes a plurality of web pages. Web pages may be written in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), Extensible Markup Language (XML), or any other language suitable for preparing web pages, and may include one or more texts to connect to server system 104. The user may subscribe to content feeds, content veritens, and otherwise interact with server system 104 by interacting with the web pages of the feed reader 116 user interface. In other words, server system 104, including the user interface of feed reader 116, provides a web-based content aggregation service. Server system 104 aggregates and stores content items according to the user's content feed subscriptions. In some embodiments, server system 104 may also apply filters or labels, or change the read states of content items according to user actions or instructions. When the user accesses the feed reader user interface 116, the content items are presented to the user by the feed reader user interface 116.

In some other embodiments, the feed-deleting user interface 116 may be part of a standalone application that runs on client system 102. The standalone application may disconnect with server system 104 through an application programming interface (API).

Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating a process 200 for presenting to a user content selected by another user, according to some embodiments. To a first customer (hereinafter "Customer A" for convenience), a first user (then "User A" for convenience) applies a tag (or "label") to one or more content items in the feed reader UI 116 (Figure 1) (202). Content items need not all be from the same content feed; Content items may be of any number of content feeds to which User A is subscribed. The tag can be a prefixed, system predefined tag or a created tag set by User A. In some embodiments, the user can set a filter or rule to automatically tag (or "label") items under their name. For example, a user might define a rule to apply a "Sport" label to all content items with at least one of the "baseball", "football", "basketball", "hockey", and "soccer" keywords.

For purposes of this description, the words "tag" and "label" whether used as a noun or as a verb, are interchangeable.

At the server, the tag is applied to one or more content items, which are stored in database 110 (Figure 1), according to how the tag is applied to content items by User A (204). In some embodiments, the tag is applied to the server by associating content items with the tag in database 110. Tagged content items are associated with a content feed that includes tagged content items (hereinafter "secondary feed") ( 206). In other words, the secondary feed is a content feed generated from tagged content items. In some embodiments, tagged content items are aggregated and listed in a content feed document written according to a content publishing format such as RSS or Atom. The content feed document is the secondary feed. In some embodiments, the secondary feed is associated with the user who applied the tag (User A in this case), as well as being associated with the tag.

Secondary power is made available for subscription by other users (208). In some embodiments, the secondary feed is added to a list, which is accessible to other users by available content feed subscriptions. Other users can view the list and select the secondary feed for subscription. In some embodiments, the availability of secondary power is limited to selects selected or approved by Customer A. In some embodiments, the set of users for whom secondary power is available may be limited, in the election of Customer A, to users whose Customer A has a subscription to. mutual presence in an application or immediate messaging service.

To a second customer (then "Customer B" for convenience), a second user (then "User B" for convenience) subscribes to the secondary feed (210). Secondary feed content items (that is, content items tagged by User A) are presented to the user (212). In some embodiments, items already viewed by User B in the past may be hidden from the user, and indeed the content items actually presented may be a subset of all items in the secondary feed.

After subscribing to the secondary feed by User B, User A may choose to apply the tag to additional content items or to remove the tag from one or more content items to which the tags were applied. Content items in the secondary feed are changed according to user tagging changes. That is, additional items tagged by User A are added to the secondary feed, and content items from which the label was removed are removed from the secondary feed. In some embodiments, changes to the secondary feed are also reflected in the presentation of content items to User B.

Figures 3A - 3B are flowcharts illustrating a process for presenting to a user selected feeds of content by another user, according to some embodiments. Attention is now directed to process 300 in Figure 3A, which is similar to process 200 in Figure 2. In Customer A, User A applies a tag (or "label") to one or more content feeds to which User A is subscribed to the user interface of power reader 116 (Figure 1) (302). The tag can be a system-predefined, prefixed tag or a user-defined tag created A. Applying the tag to content feeds conceptually, at least conceptually, a content feed group that includes a set of one or more content feeds. The content feed group is called a secondary feed here.

At the server, the tag is applied to content items in the set of user-tagged content feeds, according to the application of the tag to the content feeds by User A (304).

In some embodiments, the tag is applied to the server by associating content items with the tag in database 110. Tagged content items are associated with a secondary feed (306), similar to operation 206 (Figure 2). In some embodiments, tagged content items are aggregated and listed in a content feed document written according to a content publishing format such as RSS or Atom. The content feed document is the secondary feed. The secondary feed represents the content feed group; the secondary feed includes the content items included in the content feeds that belong to the content feed group. In some embodiments, the bypass is associated with the user who applied the tag (User A in this case), as well as being associated with the tag.

Secondary power is made available for subscription by other users (308). In some embodiments, the secondary feed is added to a list, which is accessible to other users by available content feed subscriptions. Other users can view the list and select the secondary feed for subscription. In some embodiments, such as process 200 (Figure 2), the availability of secondary feed is limited to users selected or approved by Customer A. In some embodiments, the set of users for whom secondary feed is available may be limited, in choosing Customer A, to users with whom Customer A has a mutual presence subscription in an instant messaging application or service.

At Client B, User B subscribes to the secondary feed (310). User B subscribing to the secondary feed subscribes to the content feed group represented by the secondary feed. Secondary content content items (that is, content items in content feeds tagged by User A and belonging to the content feed group) are presented to the user (312). In some embodiments, items already viewed by User B in the past may be omitted, and actually presented content items may be a subset of all items in the tagged content feed.

Attention is now directed to Figure 3B, which illustrates a process320 of presenting to a user a changed selection of content feeds. After process 300, User A may apply the same tag to additional content feeds and / or remove the tag from one or more content feeds to which the tag has been applied. Content items submitted to User B may change depending on the tagging changes made by User A.

User A changes the labeling on the content feeds (322). User A applies the same tag to additional content feeds and / or removes the tag from one or more content feeds to which the tag was applied. This changes the content feed group by adding and removing content feeds from the content feed set included in the content feed group.

On the server, the tagging of content items is changed according to the tagging changes made by User A (324). Content items that are tagged are associated with the secondary feed (326), as in operation 306 (Figure 3A). The tag is applied to content items in additional content feeds that have been recently tagged by User A. In some embodiments, the tag is only applied to content items, in additional content feeds, dated after the tag is applied to the additional content feeds. In other words, only additional content feed content items dated after the secondary feed update are added to the secondary feed. In some other embodiments, the tag is applied to all content items in the additional content feeds. That is, all content items in newly tagged content feeds are added to the secondary feed.

For content feeds from which the tag has been removed, in some embodiments, content items dated after removing the tag from the content feeds are not labeled. In other words, the tag is not applied to content items in a content feed from which the tag was removed from time to remove the content feed tag. Thus, while content items dated after the content feed has been removed from the content feed group are not included in the secondary feed, items dated prior to removal may remain in the secondary feed. In some other embodiments, the tag is removed from all content items in the content feed from which the tag is removed. As a result, all content items in the removed content feed are removed from the secondary feed.

Content items in the secondary feed are presented to User B (328), assuming that the subscription to the tagged content feed is still active since process 300. The displayed content items include content items added to the secondary feed as a result of adding a content feed to content feed group and can delete content items removed from the secondary feed as a result of removing a content feed from the content feed group. As described above, user-readable content items may be omitted from the presentation.

While processes 200, 300, and 320 are described as involving two users in separate clients, it should be appreciated that the processes described above may involve two or more users using a multiuser computer, such as a computer that has user accounts and profiles for each computer user, but using the content syndication service at different times.

Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating a process for presenting to a user selected content feeds according to predefined criteria, according to some embodiments. Some embodiments, rules, filters, or criteria for tagging content feeds may be predefined. These rules, filters, or criteria can be used to automatically generate secondary feeds to which users can subscribe. For example, one rule might be one to tag the five most subscribed content feeds. This rule would generate a secondary feed that includes items from the top five content feeds in terms of global subscriptions. When subscription numbers change, the content feeds on the top five content feeds may change. List of content items in the tagged content feed changes to reflect changes in the list of five top content feeds.

A tagging criterion, rule, or filter is identified (402). A tag is applied to content items in content feeds that satisfy the criteria / rule / tag filter (404). For example, using the previous example of the rule to tag the top five subscribed feeds, content items in the five most subscribed content feeds are tagged. The labeling criteria / rule / filter defines a content feed group that includes content feeds that meet the criteria / rule / filter. Tagged content items are associated with a secondary feed that represents the content feed group defined by the criteria / rule / filter (406), similar to operations 206 (Figure 2) and 306 (Figure 2). Secondary feed is made available for subscription by users (408), as in operations 208 (Figure 2) and 308 (Figure 3).

A user on a client subscribes to the secondary feed (410). It is noted that the subscription operation 410 may occur before or after operations 402-408. Content items in the secondary feed are presented to the user (412). As described above, content items already viewed by the user may be omitted from the presentation.

Just as a user can add our remove content feed tags, so can the same by the predefined criteria, rule, or tagging filter. Taking again the example of the rule that labels the five most subscribed content feeds, the list of the five subscribed top content feeds may change over time. When this list changes, content feeds are automatically added and removed from the content feed group. As a result, content items can be added and removed from the secondary feed, similar to adding and removing secondary feed content items in process 320.

In addition, tagging criteria or rules or filters for tagging individual content items from any number of content feeds, similar to tagging a user of content items from any number of content feeds (as described in relation to process 200), can be created. . For example, a rule for tagging content items having a particular keyword might be created. Such a rule may be particularly useful for aggregating content items related to a person, place, or event of journalistic interest.

As described above, a secondary feed and content items included in the secondary feed can be associated with a tag and the user who applied the tag. More precisely, the secondary feed may be associated with a user-tag pair. In some embodiments, the content aggregation service may include privacy options that control whether such secondary feeds may be revealed to other users in general (for example, in a list). subscriptions available) and thus available to other subscribing users, or only disclosed to the user with whom the secondary feed is associated. In some embodiments, another privacy setting is to limit visibility of a secondary feed to a set of users selected or approved by the user who created the secondary feed. By setting privacy options, a user can control the distribution of their tagged content items or content feeds. with other users. In some embodiments, privacy options are set on a per tag basis. In some embodiments, the prefixed placement of placement for each label is a maximum privacy setting. As a result, a secondary feed associated with a label applied by a first user is only made available to other users when the first user has selected restrictive privacy settings rather than the prefixed privacy setting.

In some embodiments, the predefined criteria or rules or filters for tagging content feeds or content items may be implemented logically on the server as an "imaginary user" tagging content items or content feeds as a real user of the service. That is, an imaginary user representing the criteria / rule / filter is created and associated data is stored on the server. In some embodiments, the options for the imaginary user are always set to share their secondary feed with other users in general. The secondary feed generated as a result of the criteria / rule / labeling filter is associated with the imaginary user. By implementing the labeling criteria / rule / filter as an imaginary user, data in the content aggregation service can share a uniform structure, making data storage more efficient.

By allowing tagging of content items and content feeds and generating secondary feeds for them, the content aggregation service enables indirect subscriptions. A user can tag content items or content feeds of interest to them. A user may subscribe to a secondary feed, whether generated by another user or a predefined rule for tagging items or feeds, to delegate responsibility for subscribing to content for another user or entity, and / or for content that may be of interest or attractive to some reason. (for example, being popular in terms of having many subscribers, being a hot topic with respect to a person of journalistic interest, and etc.).

Figure 5 is a block diagram illustrating a sloping computer according to some embodiments. Client computer 500 typically includes one or more processing units (CPU) 502, one or more network or other communication interfaces 506, memory 504, and one or more communication buses 514 to interconnect these components. The client computer 500 may also include a user interface 508 including a display device 510 and a keyboard and / or mouse (or some other pointing device) 512. Memory 504 includes high speed random access memory such as DRAM, SRAM, DDR RAM or other solid state random access memory devices; and may include nonvolatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices, optical disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or other nonvolatile solid state storage devices. Memory 504 may optionally include one or more remotely located storage devices from CPU (s) 502. In some embodiments, memory 504 stores the following programs, modules, and data structures, or a subset thereof:

a 516 operating system that includes procedures for operating various basic system services and for performing hardware dependent tasks;

a network communication module 518 that is used to connect client system 500 to other computers through one or more communication network interfaces 506 and one or more communication networks, such as the Internet, other wide area networks, area networks. local, metropolitan area networks, and so on; and

520 power reader module to operate

a 530 client application, such as a web browser.

Feed reader module 520 includes a content labeling module 522 for tagging content items and content feeds in response to user input.

In some embodiments, the feed reader module 520 may be a text-based module embedded in a server system web page 104 (Figure 1). The web page can be made by a 530 client application, such as a web browser, 500 client computer. When the web page is represented, the power reader module 520 is executed, thereby providing a web-based interface. to server system 104. The text-based reader module can be written in JavaScript, ECMAScript or any other satisfactory text authoring language.

In some other embodiments, the feed reader module 520 may be a standalone application stored in memory 504 of client computer 500. The standalone application may include, but is not limited to, a feed aggregator application. 520 power reader may be an add-on or a plug-in to another application. For example, the 520 feed reader module can be a plug-in to a web browser application or an email application.

In some embodiments, received content items may be cached locally in memory 504. Similarly, a user's list of content feed subscriptions may also be cached locally in memory504.

Each of the elements identified above may be stored in one or more of the previously mentioned memory devices. Each of the modules identified above corresponds to a set of instructions for performing a function described above. The modules or programs identified above (ie instruction sets) need not be implemented as separate software programs, procedures, or modules, and thus various subsets of these modules may be combined or otherwise rearranged into various embodiments. In some embodiments, memory 504 may store a subset of the modules and data structures identified above. In addition, memory 504 can store additional modules and data structures not described above.

Figure 6 is a block diagram illustrating a server computer according to some embodiments. Server computer 600 typically includes one or more processing units (CPUs) 602, one or more network or other communication interfaces 606, memory 604, and one or more communication buses 610 to interconnect these components. Server system 600 may optionally include a user interface 608, which may include a display device (not shown), and a keyboard and / or mouse (not shown). Memory 604 includes high speed random access memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, DDR RAM, or other solid state random access memory devices; and may include nonvolatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices, optical disc storage devices, flash memory devices, or other solid state nonvolatile storage devices. Memory 604 may optionally include one or more storage devices located remotely from CPU (s) 602. In some embodiments, memory 604 stores the following programs, modules and data structures, or a subset thereof:

an operating system 612 that includes procedures for operating various basic system services and for performing hardware dependent tasks;

a network communication module 614 that is used to connect server system 600 to other computers through one or more network communication interfaces 606 and one or more communication networks, such as the Internet, other wide area networks, area networks. local, metropolitan area network, and so on;

a feed tracker module 616 for retrieving content items for periodic storage and / or when content feeds are updated;

a feed content provisioning module 617 for identifying and sending to users feed content items to which they subscribed;

618 user data, which includes data for each user of the service;

620 feed content items, which include content feed content items;

content item tagging module 624 for tagging content items; and

626 tagging criteria, which includes criteria, rules, or filters for automatically tagging content items.

Feed content items 620 include content items 622 that are associated with one or more tags. A content item may be associated with one or more tags. In some embodiments, feed content items 620 may be stored as a content item and label database.

618 user data includes data for service users, such as registration information and user preferences. User data 618 may include subscription lists (not shown), which include lists of user feed subscriptions. Each user has a corresponding list of content feed subscriptions.

The feed content provisioning module 617 identifies and sends content items to a user according to the user's feed subscriptions. The feed content provisioning module 617 can update user data 618 to identify user-viewed content items, thus to avoid sending those same items to the user again. Optionally, for example according to user-selected service characteristics, the feed content provisioning module 617 may also update user data 618 to record other information, such as information identifying user-marked content or otherwise marked or selected by the user as being of special interest to the user.

Each of the elements identified above may be stored in one or more of the previously mentioned memory devices. Each of the modules identified above corresponds to a set of instructions for performing a function described above. The modules or programs identified above (that is, instruction sets) need not be implemented as separate software programs, procedures, or modules, and thus various subsets of these modules may be combined or otherwise rearranged into various embodiments. In some embodiments, memory 604 may store a subset of the modules and data structures identified above. In addition, memory604 can store additional modules and data structures not described above.

Although Figure 6 shows a "server computer", Figure 6 is intended more as a functional description of the various features that may be present in a set of servers than as a structural schematic of the embodiments described herein. In practice, and as recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art, items shown separately could be combined and some items could be separated. For example, some items shown separately in Figure 6 could be implemented on single servers and single items could be implemented by one or more servers.

Figure 7 illustrates a feed reader user interface according to some embodiments. The user, through the feed reader user interface 116, can view, among other things, items from their subscribed content feeds. The power reader user interface 116 (hereinafter "UI") includes one or more buttons, menus, links, and the like 710 to enable and disable various features and functions.

The user can see content items in a "universal view". The universal view includes a 702 list of content items from all user subscribed feeds that have new content items not yet viewed by the user. List 702 may be generated, for example, by the content feed module 617 of the server 600. In some embodiments, various criteria may be used (by the content feed module 617) to limit the items included in list 702. , such as date and time of publication, and number of items not yet seen by the user that were published by the same source.

For example, items published more than X (for example, 7) days ago may be deleted. In another example, when there are more than Y (for example, 10) unseen items from the same source, only the most recent Y unseen items from the source may be included in list 702.

Content items 704 shown in list 702 are merged without regard to source. In some embodiments, the list is ordered by date and time of publication, for example in reverse chronological order. Also, in some embodiments, the list may only show items that the user has not seen. The list presents identifying information for content items so that the user can identify a content item they want to view and select it. Because UI 116 can be finite in size and the list can include more items than can fit in the UI, UI116 can display a subset of content items at a given time and the user can scroll through the list to find other content items. The list may also include an indicator 706 of how many content items are in the list in total. Alternatively, indicator 706 may indicate the number of content items yet to be viewed.

From the list, the user can select a content item. When the user selects a list item in the universal view, UI 116 may display the full version of the content in a 708 viewer region. For example, if the selected content item ( (indicated by a box with a thick border) include a link to an article to a news website or a link to a blog post, the blog item or post respectively may be displayed in the viewer region 708.

UI 116 can also include a 712 labels button that the user can select to open a labels page, which allows the user to create, view, edit, and remove labels (hereinafter "labels"). The UI116 may include a 714 download menu. The user may use the 714 download menu to apply a label to the currently selected content item.

Figure 8 illustrates a page of labels according to some embodiments. Label page 800 includes a list of labels (or "labels") 802. Label list 802 may include one or more prefixed system-defined labels, such as a star (or "favorites" label) 802-A. The 802 label list can also include one or more user-created labels, such as an 802-B "Tech" label. 804 bindings for label editing functions are provided for user-defined labels. The user can select an 804 binding corresponding to a particular user-defined label to edit or delete that label.

An 804 binding for label editing functions is not provided for system-defined labels because such labels cannot be edited or deleted by the user. Label page 800 also includes links 806 for content feeds associated with the label (i.e., content feeds in the content feed group represented by the label) 808 eligibilities to view content items associated with the label (i.e. items secondary feed content associated with the label).

Also included are: an 810 button that the user can select to create a new label, and an 812 cancel button to override the label page 800. In some embodiments, a label can be a character row or an icon (or symbol) with a corresponding character row.

Figure 9 is a diagram illustrating a subscriptive page according to some embodiments. The active subscriptions page900 includes a list 904 of the user's active subscriptions. Subscriptions 904 include content feeds to which you subscribe, which may include content feeds (primary feeds) provided by feeds 120 (Figure 1), such as content feed 904-A, and secondary feeds, such as secondary power904-B. In some embodiments, the name of a secondary feed904-B associated with a label applied by a real user (rather than an imaginary user as described above) includes a user name that "created" the secondary feed (labeling one or more feeds). content and / or content items) and the character career of the label itself. Subscriptions page 900 also includes labels 902, if any, associated with subscribed content feeds 904. Each subscribed content feed 904 can have zero or more labels. . In some embodiments, even a subscribed secondary feed may have zero or more labels.

The subscriptions page may also include links 906 to view content items associated with the corresponding subscribed content feed 904, download menus 908 to add labels to subscribed content feeds 904, and links 910 to unsubscribe from any subscribed content feeds 904. Cancel button 912 can be selected by the user to cancel the 900 subscription page.

Figure 10 is a diagram illustrating a subscriptions page available according to some embodiments. The available subscriptions page 1000 lists content feeds that the user has not subscribed to and can subscribe to. The Available Subscriptions Page 1000 includes the list of available content feeds 1002 and links 1004 that the user can select to subscribe to the corresponding content feed. The content feeds available in list 1002 may include any number of content feeds from feed sources 120 (Figure 1) and any number of secondary feeds. An unsubscribe button 1006 for overriding available subscriptions page 1000 may be included. In some embodiments, a search box 1008 and a search button 1010 may be included. The user can enter one or more keywords or other parameters in the search box 1008 and select search button 1010 to search content feeds matching the keywords and / or parameters entered.

Figure 11 is a diagram illustrating a data structure for feeding content items, according to some embodiments. As described above, a server computer 600 (Figure 6) can store a plurality of feed content items 620. Feed content items can be stored in a data structure, such as a table data structure 960. Feed content items 620 include tagged content items 622 (content items that are each associated with one or more tags) as well as unassociated content items. with any label. Feed content table 960 includes one row 970 for each content item of each power supply. Each queue includes one or more fields (971, 972) that identify the content item, such as a content ID 971 and a feed ID 972 (identifying the content item power supply). In some embodiments, the content ID may include information that uniquely identifies the power supply, in which case the feed ID 972 may be omitted. Each row 970 may also include content 973 from the content item. Content 973 may include content item metadata (for example, title, description, URL, date / time, and possibly other metadata), and may also include the current content item content. In addition, each queue 970 includes a column 975 or field for each registered user of the system. The user data in this column may include a check mark 976, which indicates whether the user corresponding to this column has viewed the content item associated with taper 970 containing user data and may optionally include additional user information, such as one or more labels or user specified indicators 978. A user can tag or label content items, as well as content feeds, and a tag or label record that the user associated with each labeled content item is stored in user data 975. In some embodiments, the system may allow users to tag or label individual content items with predefined tags or labels (e.g., star, red, blue, etc.), and some embodiments further allow users to tag or label individual content items with user-defined labels. content item, represented by a queue 970, can be tagged by any number of users.

As described above, a user can set deprivation options to control exposure (and availability for subscription) of their content items and tagged content feeds to other users in general. In some embodiments, a content aggregation service can be integrated with user calendars or contact lists. As part of the integration, better privacy options can be made available to the user. The user can use the best privacy options to control exposure of tagged content items or feeds not only to other users in general, but also to specific contacts or contact groups that are on the user's calendar or contact list. This provides a wider spectrum of exposure, ranging from full exposure, limited exposure to approved contacts, or to no user. In some other embodiments, the content aggregation service may be further integrated with a social networking service that includes profiles of users' interests and affiliations, among other things. Privacy controls may also be adapted to control the exposure of tagged content items or feeds to other users who may share common interests, affiliations, or the like.

The foregoing description, for purposes of explanation, has been written with reference to specific embodiments. However, the illustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms set forth. Many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings. Embodiments have been chosen and described in order to further explain the principles of the invention and their practical applications, thereby enabling others skilled in the art to make better use of the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suitable for the particular use contemplated.

Claims (15)

1. Method for subscribing to content, characterized in that it comprises: subscribing a first user to a content feed group, the content feed group comprising a first set of content feeds and one or more content items labeled by a second user, in whereas one or more labeled content items are selected from at least one content feed that is not present in the content feed group, concomitantly presenting to the first user, in a single view in a user interface, a first plurality of content items of the content feed group, including a plurality of respective content items from the first set of content feeds and a respective content item from one or more second-user-labeled content items that have been selected from at least one non-group content feed of feeds content content; After a label change in the content feed group made by the second user on a second client, concurrently present to the first user a second plurality of items from the content feed group modified according to the labeling change. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the first plurality of content items comprises content items from two or more of the first set of content feeds. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the presentation of the second plurality of content items comprises presenting a plurality of respective content items included in a modified set of content feeds of the modified content feed group. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the change of labeling in the content feed group made by the second user comprises adding to the content feed group one or more content items other than at least one content feed that is not is present in the content feed group. 5. Client system for subscribing to content, characterized by understanding: memory, one or more processors; and one or more modules stored in memory and configured for execution by one or more processors, modules including instructions: to subscribe a first user to a content feed group, the content feed group comprising a first set of content feeds and one or more feed items. content labeled by a second user, where the one or more labeled content items are selected from at least one content feed that is not present in the content feed group, to present concurrently to the first user, in a single view in one interface a first plurality of content feed group content items, including a plurality of respective content items from the first set of content feeds, and a respective content item from one or more second-labeled content items that have been selected from dapel least one content feed that is not in the content feed group; and after a content feed group labeling change made by the second user on a second client, to concurrently present to the first user a second plurality of modified content feed group content items according to the labeling change. System according to claim 5, characterized in that the first plurality of content items comprises content items from two or more of the first set of content feeds. System according to claim 5, characterized in that it includes instructions for displaying a plurality of respective content items included in a modified set of content feeds of the modified content feed group. System according to claim 5, characterized in that the change in the content feed group comprises adding to the content feed group one or more content items other than at least one content feed that is not present in the feed group. of content. 9. Content subscribing client system, characterized in that it comprises: means for subscribing a first user to a content feed group, the content feed group comprising a first set of content feeds and one or more content items labeled for a second where one or more labeled content items are selected from at least one content feed that is not present in the content feed group; means for concomitantly presenting to the first user, in a single view in a user interface, a first plurality of content items from the content feed group, including a plurality of respective content items from the first set of content feeds and a respective content item from one or more second-tagged content items that were selected from at least one content feed what not o is in the content feed group; and then, after a label change in the content feed group made by the second user on a second client, concomitantly present to the first user a second plurality of content items according to the modified content feed group. System according to claim 9, characterized in that the change in the content feed group comprises adding to the content feed group one or more content items other than at least one content feed that is not present in the content feed group. of content feed. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that: the change of labeling comprises the addition of a new content item 20 to the content feed group; and the second plurality of content items presented to the first user includes the new content item. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that: changing the labeling comprises removing a label from a respective content item from the content feed group; and the second plurality of content items presented to the first user deletes the respective content item deleted by the labeling change. System according to claim 5, characterized in that: the change of labeling comprises the removal of a label of a respective content item from the content feed group; and the second plurality of content items presented to the first user deletes the respective content item deleted by the labeling change. A method according to claim 1, wherein the content feed group additionally comprises one or more automatically labeled content items according to a rule, wherein one or more content items automatically labeled according to the rule From at least one content feed is selected that is not present in the content feed group. System according to claim 5, characterized in that the content feed group additionally comprises one or more content items automatically labeled according to a rule, wherein one or more content items are automatically labeled according to the rule. From at least one content feed is selected that is not present in the content feed group.