WO2013042133A1

WO2013042133A1 - System and method for tagging user status message with sms

Info

Publication number: WO2013042133A1
Application number: PCT/IN2011/000771
Authority: WO
Inventors: Rajan Mehta
Original assignee: Livemedia Pvt. Ltd.
Priority date: 2011-09-21
Filing date: 2011-11-09
Publication date: 2013-03-28

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a system and method for tagging status message of a user to an SMS sent by the user. The status messages either can be set at one or more social networking websites such as Linkedln, Google+, Facebook, SoundCloud, Myspace, and Twitter, or can be set at any other web-based communication medium such as chats, groups, and blogs. Status messages can also be directly written by a user without any web-based interface. In a preferred embodiment, the proposed system allows a mobile user to automatically tag his/her latest status update or social network message or personal choice message at the end or beginning or in the middle of every SMS sent by the user to one or a group of people. As the user changes his status message, newly updated status message gets updated and new status message is tagged to every SMS sent thereafter. One or more of Web, WAP, USSD, IVR, and SMS can be used by a user to tag his/her status message, which then automatically appended in every SMS the user sends to the other user.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TAGGING USER STATUS MESSAGE WITH SMS

FIELD OF INVENTION

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a system and method for tagging a user status message to an SMS sent by a user. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to tagging a user's status message on one or more web interfaces to an SMS sent by the user.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Internet has become an integral part of our lives. People are interconnecting with each other with the help of internet in a simple and cost efficient manner. More particularly, with the advent of social networking websites and web based interfaces/applications related thereto, that allow and promote allow such social interconnect and communication, a new social ecosystem is being built and becoming more and more prevalent. Social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Orkut among other applications such as Google and Yahoo chat applications are increasingly becoming indispensable for users and allow them to stay connected within their networks of friends, relatives, colleagues, among other entities. These social communication platforms also allow users to share their status messages giving updates on their current activities, their likes/dislikes, among other messages that they intend sharing.

[0003] At the same time, mobile phones, today, have also undoubtedly become the most significant medium of communication allowing instant verbal and textual modes of communication anytime and anywhere. User connects to each other via conventional call and short message sending methods. More particularly, short message service (SMS) is one of the most famous, simple and economical feature provided to the user, wherein user interacts with another user by text based sending short messages. Voice messages and multimedia message service (MMS) are also one the most advanced modes of the mobile communication, wherein a voice message contains verbal or audible message and

l multimedia message service (MMS) contains multimedia content such as audio, video and textual content. Apart from conventional message and call facilities provided by mobile phones, multiple applications are now being designed and developed to reach out to the masses and also make sure that a socio-economic platform is being built to give economic benefits to service providers and social benefit to the customers/users that use their services/applications. These applications can be combined with conventional message and call facilities to improve the service being provided to the user.

[0004] With social networking, usage and dependence on internet, and mobile phones becoming an integral part of our lives, it is becoming a necessity to converge as many applications as possible to allow users to keep themselves updated of recent activities at social, political, and economic level and at the same ensure that their status or recent activities are also known to their respective networks.

[0005] There is therefore a strong need to develop new systems and methods that allow implementation of converging applications and bring social networks and mobile phones closer and make them more interactive.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

[0006] It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a system and method for tagging and/or appending content dynamically in an SMS.

[0007] It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a system and method for tagging a user status message to SMS's being sent by him/her to one or a group of people.

[0008] It is another object of the present disclosure to tag text based status messages retrieved from one or more web platforms to SMS's and/or MMS's and/or voice messages being sent by a user. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The present disclosure relates to a system and method for tagging status message of a user to an SMS sent by the user. The status messages either can be set at one or more social networking websites such as Linkedln, Google+, Facebook, SoundCloud, Myspace, and Twitter, or can be set at any other web-based communication medium such as chats, groups, and blogs. Status messages can also be directly written by a user without any web-based interface. In a preferred embodiment, the proposed system allows a mobile user to automatically tag his/her latest status update or social network message or personal choice message at the end or beginning or in the middle of every SMS sent by the user to one or a group of people. As the user changes his status message, newly updated status message gets updated and new status message is tagged to every SMS sent thereafter. One or more of Web, WAP, USSD, IVR, and SMS can be used by a user to tag his/her status message, which then automatically appended in every SMS the user sends to the other user.

[00010] In an embodiment, the system includes a set status module, a status retrieval module, and a tag status module. In the set status module, a user can, either after login or directly, update his/her current status message on social networking websites or other allied internet based applications/platforms. For instance, a status message can be set by a user at the Google Talk application or can be set at social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter among others. A status message can include, but is not limited to, user's current activity such as "I am watching Ice Age today", user's recent activities "I watched Ice Age yesterday", user's forthcoming activity "I would be going for Ice Age tomorrow", user's likes or dislikes such as "I am a fan of Bryan Adams", user's comments/feedback on recent social activities such as "It was depressing to hear about another accident in my society", among any other customized messages. In an embodiment, the proposed system can also provide a web interface such as a website, which allows its user's to login and set in a proposed text based status update, wherein the text based status update is then converted in the user's status by the set status module. [00011] In another embodiment, the status retrieval module retrieves the status set in the set status module. The status retrieval module can, in one embodiment, be installed within the mobile handset of a user, wherein the mobile handset is connected to Internet through well known mechanisms such as GPRS and Wi-Fi, further wherein the status retrieval module connects to the internet and automatically, at run time, retrieves status messages of user's. The status retrieval module can, in a second embodiment, be installed within a web interface provided by the proposed system, and retrieve the status message set by a user and subsequently send the retrieved message to the mobile phone/handset of the user. In another embodiment, in case the status message is set in voice, the status retrieval module can also be configured to convert the voice to text through well known speech to text converting mechanisms. In another embodiment, in case multiple status messages have been set by a user using the set status module across multiple applications, the status retrieval module can retrieve one or all status messages based on user's configuration. For instance, in case the user has configured the proposed system so as to only use the Facebook status and not the status set on Google talk, the status retrieval module would only retrieve Facebook status as and when the same is set. In another example, a user can also configure the proposed system to retrieve all status messages set by the user and then prioritize the retrieved status messages as to which one would finally be tagged at the end of every SMS. In a preferred embodiment, the status retrieval module would be executed in real-time and would dynamically and instantly retrieve all status messages as and when they are set by the user.

[00012] In another embodiment, tag status module is configured to automatically tag retrieved status message to one or more SMS's sent by a user. The status message can be tagged anywhere in the SMS. For instance, the status message can be tagged at the end of every SMS or can be tagged at the beginning of every SMS. Position of the status message in the SMS can be varied and set anywhere in the message display without distracting actual SMS content. Position of the tagged status message can be configured and changed at any time by a user and can also be varied by the user for one or more persons that he sends the SMS to. For instance, in case a user A is sending an SMS to his friends B-E, A can configure the tagged status message to be displayed on the top of the message for B and D and at the bottom of the message for C and E. In another embodiment, a user A can also configure whether or not to send tagged status message to one or more specific recipients of the message. In case multiple status messages are retrieved, a user can prioritize the sources of status messages and then the highest priority status message is tagged to SMS sent by the user. Multiple other combinations can also be used while tagging SMS with the status message. For instance, in a case, multiple retrieved status messages can also be concatenated and then tagged at the end of every SMS, so that the user receiving the SMS can sequentially read all the different status messages that the SMS sending person has set. All other possible embodiments, even though not mentioned explicitly, would be within the scope of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[00013] Fig. 1 illustrates a system configured to retrieve one or more status messages set by a user and tag the status message(s) with the SMS sent by the user as a first embodiment of the present disclosure.

[00014] Fig. 2 illustrates a system having a web application configured to tag a user's status message with an SMS sent by the user as a second embodiment of the present disclosure.

[00015] Fig. 3 illustrates snapshot of a status message that is appended to an SMS.

[00016] Fig. 4 illustrates a flowchart for tagging a user's status message with an SMS sent by the user.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[00017] The present disclosure relates to a system and method for automatically and dynamically tagging a status message of a user with Short Message Service (SMS) sent by the user. The status message can be set at multiple platforms such as at web based applications including social networking websites, at dedicated status messages based portals, at chat applications such as Google Talk, Hotmail, and Yahoo, among all other possible platforms that allow status of the user to be set. In a preferred embodiment, status message can be set by a user on his/her profile page which can be retrieved and then tagged at the end of every SMS like a signature at the end of every message.

[00018] Multiple embodiments are discussed herein describing various possible methods used to use the proposed system to tag a user's status message with an SMS he/she sends. The embodiments described below are not limitations and a person who is skilled in the art can modify the methods and use the methods with other systems or methods to meet the requirement.

[00019] A detailed description of the present disclosure is provided with reference to Fig 1. A system 100 includes a user 102, a mobile device 104, and a website and/or web interface 106. In an embodiment, the mobile device 104 used by a user 102 can be any mobile device with features having one or more Web, WAP, IRDA, IVR, SMS and the like. Even though website and/or web interface 106 is being referred and used in the disclosure, it would be appreciated that any mechanism that allows a user to set a status message such as a chat application or any other standalone application would also be included within the proposed scope. The website 106 can also include all social networking websites including but not limited to Facebook, Linkedln, Twitter, MySpace, G-talk, Google+ etc. For reference, Facebook is described in the embodiments of this disclosure. A person skilled in the art can use the mobile device 104 with various other features and any other social network site used in the world.

[00020] In an embodiment, the system 100 comprises of a set status module 108, a status retrieval module 110, and a tag status message to every SMS module 112. The set status module 108, implemented by the website 106, allows a user to log into his/her social network profile and write a status message on user profile. The status message can be anything that the user writes and may depend on his mood, like/ dislike, recent social happening, or work. Status message can also be a customized message entered by the user. For example, if a user is happy and wants to share his happiness, he may write the status message as "I am happy today", and if the user is likes watching some movie, he may write the status as "I am watching Ice Age and enjoying it". Status message can also be an audio message or a video message and the combination thereof. Once the user sets the status message, illustrated as 114 in Fig. 1, using the set status module 108, the message gets updated on his social network profile.

[00021] In an embodiment, after a status message has been set, a mobile device 104 can retrieve the status message through a status retrieval module 110 of the system 100. The retrieval module 110, implemented through the mobile device 104, can access the status message of the user via internet or any other communication method such as WAP, IVR, Wi-Fi, GPRS etc. The retrieved status message can be verified for its authenticity format, and appropriateness, and if the status message is found to be in audio format, it can be converted into an textual format using speech-to-text converter. If the user's status message is already in textual format, the textual message is retained as it is.

[00022] In an embodiment, in the tag status module 112 implemented by the mobile device 104, the device 100 identifies a retrieved textual user status message and tags the status message of the user 102 with an SMS that the user sends. In another embodiment, the tag status module 112 can automatically tag the retrieved textual user status message at the end of every SMS that the user sends, without prior consent of the user 104. In another embodiment, a user can configure position of the status message in the SMS for one or a group of recipients. In yet another embodiment, a user can also configure whether or not to tag the SMS with a status message for one or more recipients. As the tag retrieval module 110 dynamically retrieves the status message as and when it changes, the tag status module 112 always tags the latest set status message each time an SMS is sent.

[00023] In an embodiment, a user would see the status message as appended while writing the SMS, which would eventually be sent. In another embodiment, a user would write an SMS and the status message would automatically get appended during the time when the SMS is being sent, thereby making the status message not visible to the user while writing the SMS. [00024] Fig. 2 illustrates a system 200 having a web application 202 configured to interface tagging of a status message with an SMS as a second embodiment of the present disclosure. In the second embodiment, a user registers at the web application 202. A user can, after registering and logging in, enter his/her mobile device 104 number and select one or more social networking websites or applications such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Google Talk. Once selected, status message present in these selected websites and/or applications can be automatically and dynamically retrieved and eventually tagged to every SMS that the user sends by clicking the button named: "Click here to Tag Status Message to SMS". As the user changes his status message, newly updated status message gets updated and new status message is tagged to every SMS sent thereafter. In case of multiple status messages, the user can also prioritize or customize the messages based on personal preferences.

[00025] In another mode of working, a user can, after registering and logging in, enter his/her mobile device 104 number and enter the status which he/she intends make as his/her tag message for every SMS that he sends. Once the status message is entered in the web application 202 at the text box 204, the user can click the button named: "Click here to Tag Status Message to SMS" to make the entered status message as his/her tag message.

[00026] In an embodiment, in case there exist multiple status messages across web applications, a user can always prioritize and customize one or all of the status messages in the manner desired through options available at the web application 202. In another embodiment, in case a voice message is being sent, the user status message can always be converted into corresponding voice through well known text to voice converters, wherein the voice converted user status message can be appended to the actual voice message being sent by the user. In yet another embodiment, in case an MMS is being sent and the user status message includes certain pictures or graphic representations, such representations can also be appended to the actual message being sent by the user.

[00027] Fig. 3 illustrates a snapshot 300 of a status message that is appended to an SMS. The snapshot 300 illustrates main SMS message 302 along with user status message 304 appended at the end of the SMS 302. As disclosed above, position of the user status message 304 can be configured and changed by the user at any time. User can also, at anytime, choose not to display the user status message 304 for certain specific users. All other combinations possible within the scope of the present disclosure are also covered.

[00028] Fig 4 shows a flowchart describing steps involved in tagging a user status message with an SMS sent by the user. Flowchart 400 in Fig. 4 is described with respect to the steps involved in an embodiment described in Fig 1. At step 402, a user enters into a website such as a social networking website by entering his/her user name and password.

[00029] At 404, the user writes and/or sets a status message on his/her profile and publishes the status message through the set status module 108. At 406, the published status message of the user is retrieved by the user's mobile phone 104 through the status retrieval module 110. At 408, the tag status module 112 tags the retrieved status message with the SMS that the user sends, such that the status message is appended to the actual message written by the user.

ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION

[00030] The present disclosure provides a system and method for tagging and/or appending content dynamically in an SMS.

[00031] The present disclosure provides a system and method for tagging a user status message to SMS's being sent by him/her to one or a group of people.

[00032] The present disclosure provides tagging of text based status messages retrieved from one or more web platforms to SMS's and/or MMS's and/or voice messages being sent by a user.

Claims

CLAIMS We Claim:

1. A system for tagging a user status message to an SMS comprising:

a set status module configured to allow a user to set the status message;

a status retrieval module configured to retrieve the set status message; and a tag status module configured to tag the retrieved status message with the SMS sent by the user.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the set status module is implemented at one or more of a website, a web-based application, an IVR system, or the mobile phone.

3. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the status message comprises of one or more of user's current activity, user's recent or forthcoming activities, social messages, famous quotes, and random messages.

4. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the status retrieval module and the tag status module are implemented in the mobile phone, further wherein the status retrieval module automatically and dynamically retrieves the set status message in real-time, further wherein the tag status module automatically tags the retrieved status message with the SMS.

5. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the status retrieval module and the tag status module are implemented in a web-based application, further wherein based on user's mobile phone number and status message retrieval preferences, the web-based application retrieves the status message through the status retrieval module and tags the retrieved status message with the SMS.

6. The system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the set status module is implemented in the web-based application and is configured to allow the user to set the status message in the web-based application itself.

7. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the status message is tagged in voice message, multimedia message service (MMS), and flash message.

8. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tag status module positions the retrieved at any location of the SMS display, further wherein the location is determined by the user.

9. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the user configures the tag status module not to tag the status message with the SMS for one or a group of recipients.

10. A method for tagging a user status message with an SMS to be sent by a user comprising the steps of:

allowing the user to set the status message;

retrieving the set status message; and

tagging the retrieved status message with the SMS.