JP5594965B2 - Method for subscribing to content, client system for subscribing to content, and computer-readable storage medium - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to content syndication, and more particularly to providing indirect subscriptions for feed content.

Background Content syndication is gaining popularity as a method for distributing information that is frequently updated on the Internet, such as news and blog posts. Using content syndication formats such as Really Simple Syndication (RSS), content providers can include content and / or links to content in a content feed. Users can subscribe to their content feeds using an application known as a reader or aggregator. When the content feed is updated with a new content item, the new content item is reflected in the user's reader.

  Passive users may refrain from managing their content feed subscriptions. One workaround is to delegate another user's responsibility to select a content feed for subscription by incorporating another user's content feed subscription as his own. A second user may export his content feed subscription list to a file. The first user may import the file into his aggregator application and subscribe to the content feed contained in the file. However, some subscription management is still required on the part of the first user, since the user still has the responsibility for unsubscribing from content feeds that no longer want to subscribe.

  Therefore, there is a need for a more efficient subscription scheme for feed content.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to an embodiment, a method for subscribing to a content includes causing a user to subscribe to a content feed group that includes a set of content feeds, presenting a first plurality of content items to the user according to the content feed group, And after the change to the content feed group, presenting a second plurality of content items to the user according to the changed content feed group.

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

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

  Like reference numerals refer to corresponding elements throughout the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS A content feed aggregation system may provide indirect subscriptions. Instead of subscribing directly to a content feed (or primary feed), a user can subscribe to a group of content items or a group of content feeds that are selected by another user or according to predefined criteria. The selected item or feed is “repackaged” into a “secondary” content feed, and the user can subscribe to it. The content item included in the secondary feed changes the content item or content feed selection target, and the content item presented by the user as part of the secondary feed subscription is changed according to the changed selection target When can be changed.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a content feed aggregation system according to an embodiment. The content feed aggregation system 100 includes a server system 104. Server system 104 is connected by network 106 to one or more client systems 102 and one or more hosts 120 (or “feed sources”). Network 106 may be any suitable wired and / or wireless network and includes a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), the Internet, and the like.

  Server system 104 accesses content feeds from feed source 120. Server system 104 includes a server 108 and a database 110. Server 108 serves as a front end for server system 104. Server 108 obtains a content feed from feed source 120 and also provides an interface between server system 104 and client system 102. In certain embodiments, the functionality of the server 108 may be divided or distributed between two or more servers.

  Server system 104 stores content items in a content feed in database 110. In some embodiments, the database 110 stores both metadata (eg, title, description, URL, date / time, and possibly other metadata) and the content of each content item. However, in certain other embodiments, the database 110 stores metadata but does not store content for each content item. Database 110 also stores user feed information 112 for multiple users. User feed information for a particular user identifies the content feed subscription as well as the source, filter, and reading status for that particular user. In other words, the user feed information associated with a user includes the content feed that the user subscribed to, any filters that the user has defined for the feed, any labels that the user has associated with individual feed items, and each feed item is Identifies the indication of whether it has been marked as done.

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

  A content feed (or channel) is a resource or service that provides a list of current, recently added, or recently updated content items in the feed source 120. A content item in a content feed includes content associated with the item itself (actual content specified by the content item), a title and / or content description, a content locator (eg, URL), or any combination thereof. obtain. For example, if the content item identifies a text article, the content item may include the article itself inline with a title and locator. Alternatively, the content item may include a title, description, and locator, but may not include article content. Thus, a content item may contain content associated with the item, while other content items contain links to related content, but not the full content of the item. The content item may also include additional metadata that provides additional information about the content. A full version of the content can be any machine-readable data including, but not limited to, web pages, images, digital audio, digital video, portable document format (PDF) documents, and the like.

  In some embodiments, the content feed is specified using a content syndication format such as RSS. RSS is an acronym that stands for “rich site summary”, “RDF site summary”, or “Really Simple Syndication”. “RSS” may refer to any of a set of formats based on Extensible Markup Language (XML) for specifying content feeds and content items included in the feed. In certain other embodiments, content feeds may be specified using other content syndication formats, such as the Atom delivery format or the VCALENDAR calendar format.

  Further information regarding the RSS syndication format known as “Really Simple Syndication” is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. This is disclosed in “RSS 2.0 Specification” by D. Winer. M.M. M. Nottingham et al. Disclose further information regarding the Atom delivery format in “The Atom Syndication Format”, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

  A user interfaces with the server system 104 and browses content items in a client system or device 102 (hereinafter referred to as a client system for ease of reference). The client system 102 includes a computer 118 or a computer control device such as a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone (hereinafter referred to as a client system for ease of reference). Computer 118 typically includes one or more processors (not shown), memory (which can include volatile memory (not shown) and non-volatile memory such as hard disk drive 119), and display 114. Including. The computer 118 may also have input devices (not shown) such as a keyboard and mouse.

  In certain embodiments, the user may communicate with the server system 104 via a feed reader user interface 116 that may be presented on the display 114. A user may create a feed subscription list via the feed reader user interface 116. In some embodiments, using the feed reader user interface 116, the user can also create a filter or label to be attached to the content feed and / or content item, and the reading status of the content feed and / or content item. Can change. The feed reader user interface sends the content feed subscription list or changes to the content feed subscription list to the server system 104 for storage in the database 110. The feed reader user interface 116 presents content items stored in the database 110 to the user based on the user's content feed subscription list. That is, the feed reader user interface 116 presents to the user content items specified in the content feed subscribed to by the user. A user may view a full version of the content item's content in the feed reader user interface 116 by selecting it (eg, by clicking on it with a mouse pointer). In some embodiments, a copy of the user's content feed subscription list and a copy of the presented content item may be cached locally at the client system 102.

  In some embodiments, the feed reader user interface 116 may be a web-based user interface. That is, the feed reader user interface 116 includes a plurality of web pages. The web page may be written in Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML), Extensible Markup Language (XML), or any other suitable language for creating web pages and interfaces with the server system 104. One or more scripts may be included for taking. Users may subscribe to content feeds, view content items, and interact with the server system 104 by interacting with the web page of the feed reader user interface 116. In other words, server system 104 provides a web-based content aggregation service, including feed reader user interface 116. Server system 104 aggregates and stores content items according to the user's content feed subscription. In some embodiments, the server system 104 can also filter or label content items or change their reading status according to user actions or instructions. When the user accesses the feed reader user interface 116, the content item is presented to the user via the feed reader user interface 116.

  In certain other embodiments, the feed reader user interface 116 may be part of a stand-alone application that runs on the client system 102. A stand-alone application may interface with the server system 104 via an application programming interface (API).

  FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a process 200 for presenting content selected by another user to a user in accordance with an embodiment. In a first client (for convenience, hereinafter referred to as “client A”), a first user (for convenience, hereinafter referred to as “user A”) may tag (or provide for) one or more content items in the feed reader user interface 116 (FIG. 1). "Label") is attached (202). The content items need not all be from the same content feed, and the content items may be from any content feed that user A subscribes to. The tag can be a default tag defined by the system or a tag created and defined by user A. In some embodiments, the user may automatically tag (or “label”) items on behalf of the user by defining filters or rules. For example, the user can define a rule to add a “sport” tag to all content items with at least one of the keywords “baseball”, “football”, “basketball”, “hockey”, and “soccer”. Can be attached.

  For purposes of this description, the terms “tag” and “label” are synonymous, regardless of whether they are used as nouns or verbs.

  At the server, one or more content items stored in the database 110 (FIG. 1) are tagged (204) according to the tagging of content items by user A. In some embodiments, tags are attached at the server by associating content items with tags in database 110. The tagged content item is associated with a content feed (hereinafter “secondary feed”) that includes the tagged content item (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 into a content feed document written in a content syndication format such as RSS or Atom. A content feed document is a secondary feed. In certain embodiments, the secondary feed is associated with the tag at the same time as it is associated with the tagged user (in this case user A).

  The secondary feed is made available for subscription by other users (208). In some embodiments, the secondary feed is added to a valid content feed subscription list accessible to other users. Other users can browse the list and select a secondary feed for subscription. In some embodiments, the availability of secondary feeds is limited to users selected or approved by client A. In certain embodiments, the set of users for which secondary feeds are available may be limited to clients A having the mutual presence registration in the instant messaging application or service at Client A's choice.

  In the second client (for convenience, hereinafter “Client B”), a second user (for convenience, hereinafter “User B”) subscribes to the secondary feed (210). The secondary feed content items (ie, content items tagged by user A) are presented to the user (212). In certain embodiments, items that have already been viewed by user B in the past may be hidden from the user, and thus the actual presented content items may be a subset of the items in the secondary feed.

  After subscribing to the secondary feed by user B, user A may choose to tag additional content items or remove tags from the tagged one or more content items. The content item of the secondary feed is changed according to the user's tagging change. That is, the additional item tagged by the user A is added to the secondary feed, and the content item from which the tag is deleted is deleted from the secondary feed. In some embodiments, changes to the secondary feed are also reflected in the presentation of content items to user B.

  3A-3B are flow diagrams illustrating a process for presenting a user with a content feed selected by another user according to an embodiment. Turning now to process 300 of FIG. 3A, this is similar to process 200 of FIG. At client A, user A tags (or “label”) one or more content feeds subscribed to by user A in feed reader user interface 116 (FIG. 1) (302). The tag may be a default tag defined by the system or a tag created or defined by user A. Tagging content feeds, at least conceptually, creates a content feed group that includes a set of one or more content feeds. Content feed groups are referred to herein as secondary feeds.

  At the server, according to the tagging of the content feed by user A, the content item in the set of content feeds tagged by the user is tagged (304). In some embodiments, tags are attached at the server by associating content items with tags in database 110. The tagged content item is associated (306) with the secondary feed, similar to step 206 (FIG. 2). In some embodiments, tagged content items are aggregated and listed into a content feed document written in a content syndication format such as RSS or Atom. A content feed document is a secondary feed. The secondary feed corresponds to a content feed group, and the secondary feed includes content items included in content feeds belonging to the content feed group. In certain embodiments, the secondary feed is associated with the tag at the same time as it is associated with the tagged user (in this case user A).

  The secondary feed may be made available for subscription by other users (308). In some embodiments, the secondary feed is added to an available content feed subscription list accessible to other users. Other users can browse the list and select a secondary feed for subscription. In some embodiments, similar to process 200 (FIG. 2), the availability of secondary feeds is limited to users selected or approved by client A. In certain embodiments, the set of users for which secondary feeds are available may be limited to clients A having the mutual presence registration in the instant messaging application or service at client A's choice.

  At client B, user B subscribes to the secondary feed (310). User B subscribes to the content feed group corresponding to the secondary feed by subscribing to the secondary feed. Secondary feed content items (ie, content feed content items tagged by user A and belonging to a content feed group) are presented to the user (312). In some embodiments, items that have already been viewed in the past by user B may be omitted, and thus the content items that are actually presented may be a subset of the items in the tagged content feed.

  Turning now to FIG. 3B, this illustrates a process 320 for presenting a changed content feed selection target to the user. After process 300, user A may tag the additional content feed with the same tag and / or delete the tag from the one or more content feeds that have been tagged. The content item presented to user B can be changed according to the tagging change made by user A.

  User A changes the tagging on the content feed (322). User A attaches the same tag to additional content feeds and / or deletes tags from one or more content feeds that are tagged. Thereby, content feeds are added and deleted from the set of content feeds included in the content feed group, and the content feed group is changed.

  At the server, content item tagging is changed according to the tagging change made by user A (324). The content item to be tagged is associated (326) with the secondary feed, similar to step 306 (FIG. 3A). A tag is attached to the content item of the additional content feed newly tagged by the user A. In some embodiments, only content items with dates after tagging for additional content feeds in the additional content feed are tagged. In other words, only the content items of the additional content feed with the date after the secondary feed update are added to the secondary feed. In certain other embodiments, all content items in the additional content feed are tagged. That is, all content items of the newly tagged content feed are added to the secondary feed.

  In some embodiments, for content feeds with tags removed, content items with dates after the removal of tags from the content feed are not tagged. In other words, when a tag is deleted from the content feed, no tag is attached to the content item of the content feed from which the tag has been deleted. Thus, content items with a date after the content feed is deleted from the content feed group are not included in the secondary feed, while items with a date before the deletion remain in the secondary feed. In certain other embodiments, tags are deleted from all content items in the content feed from which the tags have been deleted. As a result, all content items of the deleted content feed are deleted from the secondary feed.

  Assuming that subscriptions to tagged content feeds after process 300 are still active, secondary feed content items are presented to user B (328). The presented content items include content items that are added to the secondary feed as a result of adding a content feed to the content feed group, and content that is deleted from the secondary feed as a result of removing the content feed from the content feed group May not contain items. As described above, content items read by the user may be omitted from the presentation.

  Although the processes 200, 300, and 320 are described as involving two users on different clients, the process described above includes a multi-user such as a computer having a user account and profile for each user of the computer. It should be understood that more than one user using a computer but using a content aggregation service at different times may be involved.

  FIG. 4 is a flow diagram that illustrates a process for presenting a user with a content feed that is selected according to predefined criteria, according to an embodiment. In certain embodiments, rules, filters, or criteria for tagging content feeds may be predefined. These rules, filters, or criteria may be used to automatically generate a secondary feed that the user can subscribe to. For example, the rules may be for tagging the top five subscribed content feeds. This rule could generate a secondary feed that includes content items from the top five content feeds in the overall subscription. As the number of subscriptions changes, the content feeds of the top 5 content feeds can change. The list of content items in the tagged content feed is changed to reflect changes in the list of the top five content feeds.

  Tagging criteria, rules, or filters are identified (402). A tag is attached to the content item of the content feed that satisfies the tagging criteria / rule / filter (404). For example, using the top five subscribed feed tagging rules in the above example, the top five subscribed content feed content items are tagged. Tagging criteria / rules / filters define content feed groups that contain content feeds that meet the criteria / rules / filters. Tagged content items are associated (406) with secondary feeds corresponding to content feed groups defined by criteria / rules / filters, similar to steps 206 (FIG. 2) and 306 (FIG. 2). The secondary feed is made available for subscription by the user (408), similar to operations 208 (FIG. 2) and 308 (FIG. 3).

  A client user subscribes to a secondary feed (410). Note that the subscription operation 410 can occur before or after the operations 402-408. Secondary feed content items are presented to the user (412). As described above, content items that have already been viewed by the user may be omitted from the presentation.

  The same can be done with predefined tagging criteria, rules, or filters, just as users can add or remove tags from content feeds. Again, given an example of a rule for tagging the top 5 subscribed content feeds, the list of top 5 subscribed content feeds can change over time. Content feeds are automatically added and removed from content feed groups in response to changes in the list. As a result, content items are added and removed from the secondary feed, similar to additions and deletions from the secondary feed in process 320.

  Furthermore, tagging criteria or rules or filters for tagging individual content items from any content feed are similar to user tagging of content items from any content feed (as described with respect to process 200). Can be created. For example, rules can be created for tagging content items with specific keywords. Such rules may be particularly useful for aggregating content items relating to newsworthy people, places, or events.

  As described above, secondary feeds and content items included in secondary feeds can be associated with tags and tagged users. More precisely, the secondary feed can be associated with a user-tag pair. In some embodiments, the content aggregation service may include a privacy option, which may allow such secondary feeds to be published to other general users (eg, in an available subscription list), and thus other users. Control whether the secondary feed is only available to associated users or may be available for subscription. In certain embodiments, another privacy setting restricts the visibility of the secondary feed to the set of users selected or approved by the user who created the secondary feed. By setting privacy options, users can control sharing 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 default privacy setting for each tag is the highest privacy setting. As a result, the secondary feed associated with the tag attached by the first user is valid for other users only when the first user selects a privacy setting that is less restrictive than the default privacy setting.

  In some embodiments, a predefined criterion or rule or filter for tagging a content feed or content item tags a content item or content feed at the server as if it were a real user of that service. It can be logically implemented as a “user”. That is, a virtual user corresponding to the criterion / rule / filter is created and related data is stored in the server. In some embodiments, the virtual user's privacy option is always set to share its secondary feed with other general users. Secondary feeds generated as a result of tagging criteria / rules / filters are associated with virtual users. By implementing tagging criteria / rules / filters as virtual users, data storage is more efficient because the data of the content aggregation service can share a uniform structure.

  By enabling the tagging of content items and content feeds and the generation of secondary feeds from them, the content aggregation service enables indirect subscriptions. Users can tag content items or content feeds of interest to them. A user subscribes to a secondary feed regardless of whether it is generated by another user or by a predefined rule for tagging an item or feed, so that another user or entity is responsible for subscribing to content And / or may be of interest or for some reason (eg, popular in terms of having a large number of subscribers, or talking about a person with news value) Content may be acquired.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a client computer according to an embodiment. The client computer 500 typically has one or more processing units (CPUs) 502, one or more networks or other communication interfaces 506, a memory 504, and one for interconnecting these components. Alternatively, a plurality of communication buses 514 are included. Client computer 500 may also include a user interface 508 that includes 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 random access solid state storage, and one or more magnetic disk storage devices, optical disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or others Nonvolatile memories such as non-volatile solid-state storage devices can also be mentioned. In some cases, the memory 504 can include one or more storage devices installed remotely from the CPU 502. In some embodiments, memory 504 stores the following programs, modules and data structures, or a subset thereof:
An operating system 516 that includes procedures for handling various basic system services and performing hardware dependent tasks;
To connect the client system 500 to other computers via one or more communication network interfaces 506 and one or more communication networks such as the Internet, other wide area networks, local area networks, metropolitan area networks, etc. A network communication module 518 used for: a feed reader module 520 for processing content items from content feeds; and a client application 530 such as a web browser.

  The feed reader module 520 includes a content tagging 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 script-based module that is embedded in a web page served from the server system 104 (FIG. 1). The web page may be displayed on the client computer 500 by a client application 530 such as a web browser. When the web page is displayed, the feed reader module 520 is executed, thereby providing a web-based interface to the server system 104. The script-based feed reader module may be written in JavaScript, ECMAScript, or any other suitable scripting language.

  In certain other embodiments, the feed reader module 520 may be a stand-alone application stored in the memory 504 of the client computer 500. Stand-alone applications include, but are not limited to, feed aggregator applications. In still other embodiments, the feed reader module 520 may be an add-on or plug-in to another application. For example, the feed reader module 520 may be a plug-in to a web browser application or an email application.

  In certain embodiments, received content items may be cached locally in memory 504. Similarly, the user's content feed subscription list may also be cached locally in memory 504.

  Each of the elements shown above may be stored in one or more of the storage devices described above. Each of the modules shown above corresponds to a set of instructions for performing the functions described above. The modules or programs shown above (ie, a set of instructions) need not be implemented as separate software programs, procedures or modules, and thus various subsets of these modules may be combined in various embodiments, Alternatively, it may be reconfigured. In certain embodiments, memory 504 may store a subset of the modules and data structures shown above. Further, the memory 504 may store additional modules and data structures not described above.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a server computer according to an embodiment. Server computer 600 typically has one or more processing units (CPUs) 602, one or more networks or other communication interfaces 606, memory 604, and one for interconnecting these components. Alternatively, a plurality of communication buses 610 are included. 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 random access solid state storage, and one or more magnetic disk storage devices, optical disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or others. Nonvolatile memories such as non-volatile solid-state storage devices can be given. In some cases, the memory 604 can include one or more storage devices installed remotely from the CPU 602. In some embodiments, the memory 604 stores the following programs, modules and data structures, or a subset thereof:
An operating system 612 that includes procedures for handling various basic system services and performing hardware dependent tasks;
To connect the server system 600 to other computers via one or more communication network interfaces 606 and one or more communication networks such as the Internet, other wide area networks, local area networks, metropolitan area networks, etc. Network communication module 614 used,
A feed tracking module 616 for obtaining content items for storage periodically and / or when the content feed is updated,
A feed content providing module 617 for identifying content items from subscribed feeds and sending them to the user;
User data 618, including data for each user of the service,
A feed content item 620 containing content items from the content feed,
A content item tagging module 624 for tagging content items, and a tagging criteria 626 including criteria, rules or filters for automatically tagging content items.

  Feed content item 620 includes a content item 622 associated with one or more tags. A content item may be associated with one or more tags. In some embodiments, the feed content item 620 may be stored as a database of content items and tags.

  User data 618 includes user data for services such as login information and user preferences. User data 618 may include a subscription list (not shown), including the user's feed subscription list. Each user has a corresponding list of content feed subscriptions.

  The feed content providing module 617 identifies the content item according to the user's feed subscription and transmits it to the user. The feed content providing module 617 may update the user data 618 to identify content items viewed by the user, thereby avoiding retransmitting those same items to the user. Optionally, according to the characteristics of the service selected by the user, for example, the feed content providing module 617 may also identify information items that have been bookmarked by the user or marked or selected by the user as of particular interest to the user. The user data 618 is updated to record other information such as.

  Each of the elements shown above may be stored in one or more of the storage devices described above. Each of the modules shown above corresponds to a set of instructions for performing the functions described above. The modules or programs shown above (ie, the set of instructions) need not be implemented as separate software programs, procedures or modules, and thus various subsets of these modules can be combined in various embodiments, Alternatively, it can be reconfigured. In certain embodiments, memory 604 may store a subset of the modules and data structures shown above. Further, the memory 604 may store additional modules and data structures not described above.

  Although FIG. 6 shows a “server computer”, FIG. 6 provides a more functional description of the various features that may be present in a set of servers than as a structural overview of the embodiments described herein. Is intended. In practice, and as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the items shown separately could be combined and some items could be separated. For example, the items shown separately in FIG. 6 could be implemented on a single server, and a single item could be implemented by one or more servers.

  FIG. 7 illustrates a feed reader user interface according to an embodiment. Users can view content items from the content feed they subscribed to, among other things, through the feed reader user interface 116. The feed reader user interface 116 (hereinafter “UI”) includes one or more buttons, menus, links, etc. 710 for activating and deactivating various functions and features.

  The user can view the content item in a “generic view”. The generic view includes a list 702 of content items from all users' subscribed feeds that have new content items that have not yet been viewed by the user. The list 702 may be generated by the feed content providing module 617 of the server computer 600, for example. In some embodiments, various criteria are used (by the feed content provision module 617) to limit the items included in the list 702, such as the date and time of publication, and the number of items published by the same source that have not yet been viewed by the user. Can do. For example, items issued before X (for example, 7) days may be excluded. In another example, when there are more than Y (eg, 10) unviewed items from the same source, only the most recent Y unviewed items from that source may be included in the list 702.

  Content items 704 shown in list 702 are interleaved regardless of the source. In one embodiment, the list is stored by issue date and time, for example, in order of newness. In some embodiments, the list may only show content items that the user has not browsed. The list presents identification information about the content item so that the user can identify and select the content item he / she wants to browse. Because the UI 116 may be finite size and the list may contain more items than can fit in the UI, the UI 116 may display a subset of content items at a given time and the user may scroll through the list to view other content items. You may seek out. The list may also include an indicator 706 for how many content items are in the list in total. Alternatively, indicator 706 may indicate the number of content items that are not yet viewed.

  From the list, the user can select a content item. When the user selects an item from the list in the general view, the UI 116 displays the full version of the content in the viewer area 708. For example, if a selected content item (indicated by a bold box) includes a link to an article on a news website or a link to a blog post, the article or blog post may be displayed in the viewer area 708, respectively. .

  The UI 116 may also include a label button 712 that, when selected by the user, opens a label page that allows the user to create, view, edit, and delete tags (hereinafter “labels”). Become. The UI 116 may include a pull down menu 714. The user can label the currently selected content item using pull-down menu 714.

  FIG. 8 shows a label page according to an embodiment. Label page 800 includes a list 802 of labels (or “tags”). The list of labels 802 may include one or more default system-defined labels, such as a star (or “favorite” label) 802-A. The list of labels 802 may also include one or more labels created by the user, such as a “technology” label 802 -B. A link 804 to the label editing function is provided for user-defined labels. The user can select a link 804 corresponding to a particular user-defined label to edit or delete that label. The link 804 to the label editing function is not provided for system-defined labels because such labels may not be edited or deleted by the user. The label page 800 also includes a link 806 for viewing a content feed associated with the label (ie, a content feed group content feed represented by the label) and a content item associated with the label (ie, a secondary associated with the label). Also included is a link 808 for browsing the feed content item). Also included is a button 810 that the user can select to create a new label and a cancel button 812 for canceling the label page 800. In some embodiments, the label may be a string or an icon (or symbol) with a corresponding string.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an active subscription page according to an embodiment. Active subscription page 900 includes a user's active subscription list 904. Active subscription 904 includes content feeds subscribed to by the user, including content feeds (primary feeds) provided by feed source 120 (FIG. 1), such as content feed 904-A, and secondary feeds 904-B, among others. Secondary feeds. In some embodiments, the name of secondary feed 904-B associated with a label attached by a real user (as described above for a virtual user) is the secondary feed (one or Include the name of the “created” user and the label itself (by labeling multiple content feeds and / or content items). Subscription page 900 also includes a label 902 associated with the subscribed content feed 904, if any. Each subscribed content feed 904 may have zero or more labels. In some embodiments, even a subscribed secondary feed can have zero or more labels.

  The subscription page further includes a link 906 for viewing content items associated with the corresponding subscribed content feed 904, a pull-down menu 908 for adding a label to the subscribed content feed 904, and any subscribed content feed 904. A link 910 for unsubscribing may be included. When the cancel button 912 is selected by the user, the subscription page 900 can be canceled.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an available subscription page according to an embodiment. Available subscription page 1000 lists content feeds that the user has not subscribed to and may subscribe to. Available subscription page 1000 includes a list of available content feeds 1002 and links 1004 that a user can select to subscribe to the corresponding content feed. Available content feeds 1002 in the list may include any content feeds and any secondary feeds from feed source 120 (FIG. 1). A cancel button 1006 for canceling the available subscription page 1000 may be included. In some embodiments, a search box 1008 and a search button 1010 may be included. The user may type one or more keywords or other parameters into the search box 1008 and select the search button 1010 to search for content feeds that match the entered keywords and / or parameters.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a data structure for a feed content item according to an embodiment. As described above, server computer 600 (FIG. 6) may store a plurality of feed content items 620. Feed content items may be stored in a data structure, such as a table data structure 960. Feed content item 620 includes tagged content items 622 (content items each associated with one or more tags) along with content items that are not associated with any tags. The feed content table 960 includes a row 970 for each content item from each feed source. Each row includes one or more fields (971, 972) that identify content items such as a content ID 971 and a feed ID 972 (identifying the feed source of the content item). In some embodiments, the content ID may include information that uniquely identifies the feed source, in which case the feed ID 972 may be omitted. Each row 970 may further include content 973 of the content item. Content 973 may include content item metadata (eg, title, description, URL, date / time, and possibly other metadata) and may further include the actual content of the content item. In addition, each row 970 includes a column 975 or field for each registered user of the system. The user data in this column may include a viewed flag 976 that indicates whether the user corresponding to this column has viewed the content item associated with the row 970 containing the user data, and optionally one or more. Additional user information such as user-specified labels or flags 978 may be included. The user may tag or label the content item as well as the content feed, and a tag or label record that the user associated with each labeled content item is stored in the user data 975. In some embodiments, the system allows a user to tag or label individual content items with predefined tags or labels (eg, star, red, blue, etc.), and in some embodiments, the user can further Can tag or label individual content items with user-defined labels. Further, the content item represented by row 970 can be tagged by any user.

  As described above, the user may set privacy options to control the publishing (and the extent available for subscription) of his tagged content items and content feeds to other general users. In some embodiments, the content aggregation service may be incorporated into the user's address book or contact list. As part of the integration, finer privacy options may be available to the user. Users use more granular privacy options to publish tagged content items or feeds to specific contacts or contact groups in the user's address book or contact list, not just to other regular users It can also be controlled. This provides a wider range of publications ranging from full publication, limited publication to approved contacts, or non-publication to users. In certain other embodiments, the content aggregation service may be further incorporated into a social networking service that includes, among other things, a profile of user interests and affiliations. In addition, privacy controls can be adapted to control the publication of tagged content items or feeds to other users who may share common interests, affiliations, and the like.

  The foregoing description has been described with reference to specific embodiments for purposes of illustration. However, the above exemplary discussion is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments have been selected and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, so that those skilled in the art will be aware of various modifications as may be appropriate for the particular use contemplated. The present invention and various embodiments can be best utilized.

Brief Description of Drawings
1 is a block diagram illustrating a content feed aggregation system according to an embodiment. FIG. FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a process for presenting content selected by another user to a user according to an embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a process for presenting a user with a content feed selected by another user, according to an embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a process for presenting a user with a content feed selected by another user, according to an embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a process for presenting a user with a content feed that is selected according to predefined criteria, according to an embodiment. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a client computer according to an embodiment. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the server computer which concerns on a certain embodiment. It is a figure which shows the feed reader user interface which concerns on a certain embodiment. It is a figure which shows the label page which concerns on a certain embodiment. FIG. 6 illustrates an active subscription page according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 illustrates an available subscription page according to an embodiment. FIG. 6 illustrates a data structure for a feed content item, according to an embodiment.

Claims (23)

A method of subscribing to content,
In the first client, the first set of content feeds, the content feed group comprising one or more content items tag by the second user in the second client is attached, first The steps to let other users subscribe,
Presenting, in the first client, the first plurality of content items from the content feed group simultaneously to the first user in a single view on a user interface, the first client comprising: A plurality of content items are a plurality of individual content items from the first set of content feeds and an individual of the one or more content items tagged by the second user at the second client. The tag at the first client in response to a tagging change for the content item included in the content feed group made by the second user at the second client. According to the change in the date, the first user How to step including the flop to present a second plurality of content items from the serial content feed group all at once.   The method of claim 1, wherein the first plurality of content items includes content items from two or more sets of the first content feeds.   The method of claim 1, wherein the second plurality of content items includes a plurality of individual content items included in a modified content feed set of the modified content feed group.   A tagging change to the content feed group made by the second user may include one or more different content items from at least one content feed not in the first set of content feeds. The method of claim 1 comprising adding to: The tagging change includes adding a new content item to the content feed group;
The method of claim 1, wherein the second plurality of content items presented to the first user includes the new content item. The tagging change includes excluding a tag from individual content items from the content feed group;
The method of claim 1, wherein the second plurality of content items presented to the first user excludes individual content items that have been excluded due to the tagging change.   The content feed group further includes one or more content items that are automatically tagged according to a rule, wherein the one or more content items that are automatically tagged according to the rule include the first The method of claim 1, wherein the method is selected from at least one content feed that is not in the set of one content feed. A client system for subscribing to content,
memory,
A first client comprising one or more processors and one or more modules stored in the memory and configured for execution by the one or more processors;
The one or more modules are:
A first set of content feeds, the content feed group comprising one or more content items tag by the second user in the second client is assigned, in order to subscribe to the first user Instructions,
Instructions for simultaneously presenting to the first user a first plurality of content items from the content feed group in a single view on a user interface, wherein the first plurality of content items are A plurality of individual content items from the first set of content feeds and individual content items of the one or more content items tagged by the second user at the second client. order,
In response to a tagging change for a content item included in the content feed group performed by the second user in the second client, the content feed group is sent to the first user according to the tagging change. instruction to be presented to the simultaneous multiple content items a second from the,
including,
system.   The system of claim 8, wherein the first plurality of content items includes content items from two or more sets of the first content feeds.   The system of claim 8, wherein the second plurality of content items includes content items that are included in a set of modified content feeds of the modified content feed group.   The tagging change for the content feed group made by the second user may include one or more different content items from at least one content feed not in the first set of content feeds. 9. The system of claim 8, comprising adding to. The tagging change includes adding a new content item to the content feed group;
The system of claim 8, wherein the second plurality of content items presented to the first user includes the new content item. The tagging change includes excluding a tag from individual content items from the content feed group;
9. The system of claim 8, wherein the second plurality of content items presented to the first user exclude individual content items that have been excluded due to the tagging change.   The content feed group further includes one or more content items that are automatically tagged according to a rule, wherein the one or more content items that are automatically tagged according to the rule include the first 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the system is selected from at least one content feed that is not within a set of one content feed. A computer-readable storage medium storing one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are
In the first client, the first set of content feeds, the content feed group comprising one or more content items tag by the second user in the second client is attached, first Order to subscribe users of
In the first client, instructions for simultaneously presenting the first plurality of content items from the content feed group to the first user within a single view on a user interface, the first client comprising: A plurality of content items are a plurality of individual content items from the first set of content feeds and an individual of the one or more content items tagged by the second user at the second client. The tag at the first client in response to a change in tagging for the content item included in the content feed group made by the second user at the second client According to the change in the attachment, the first user is notified of the container. Instruction to be presented simultaneously a second plurality of content items from Ntsu feed group,
A computer-readable storage medium including:   The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the first plurality of content items includes content items from one or more sets of the first content feeds.   The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the second plurality of content items includes a content item included in a modified content feed set of the modified content feed group.   A tagging change to the content feed group made by the second user may include one or more different content items from at least one content feed not in the first set of content feeds. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, comprising adding to. The tagging change includes adding a new content item to the content feed group;
The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the second plurality of content items presented to the first user includes the new content item. The tagging change includes excluding a tag from individual content items from the content feed group;
The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the second plurality of content items presented to the first user excludes individual content items that have been excluded due to the tagging change.   The content feed group further includes one or more content items that are automatically tagged according to a rule, wherein the one or more content items that are automatically tagged according to the rule include the first The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, selected from at least one content feed that is not in a set of one content feed. A client system for subscribing to content,
In the first client, the first set of content feeds, the content feed group comprising one or more content items tag by the second user in the second client is attached, first Means to let other users subscribe,
Means for simultaneously presenting, in the first client, the first plurality of content items from the content feed group in a single view on a user interface to the first user, the first client comprising: A plurality of content items are a plurality of individual content items from the first set of content feeds and an individual of the one or more content items tagged by the second user at the second client. Means including a content item;
In response to a tagging change for a content item included in the content feed group made by the second user at the second client, the first client according to the tagging change, the user, and means to provide a second plurality of content items from the content feed group simultaneously,
A client system comprising:   23. The change to the content feed group includes adding one or more different content items to the content feed group from at least one content feed that is not in the first set of content feeds. The client system described.

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