The development of computing networks such as the Internet has fostered communication based applications including email, internet messaging, web camera communications, social networking, etc. While some of these applications provide a place for users to communicate or a place for a user to establish a web presence, these applications remain isolated from each other with a limited dynamic sense of place, time or user reputation. Further, tools provided by these applications do not inspire exploration or play, nor do they reward or encourage users for efforts to develop an online presence, identity, reputation, etc.
Accordingly, various embodiments to display multiple user spaces and corresponding status levels are described below in the Detailed Description. For example, one embodiment comprises displaying multiple user spaces within a location or themed place where users can determine indications of status or reputation at a glance based upon placement, location, highlights, detail, etc.
This Summary is provided to introduce concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in any part of this disclosure.
System 100 includes a computing device 110 with an input, a memory 120, a computer program 130, and a processor 165 in communication with the input and the memory 120. System 100 includes a user space module 140 configured to receive an input 125 related to a first user space 170 and to update a status of the first user space 170, and an interface module 150 configured to generate a first status representation 194 related to the first user space 170 and a second status representation 196 related to a second user space. The status representations or other displays related to a user space, a place for multiple user spaces, etc. may then be sent to a GUI module 160 and prepared for display in user interface 192, for example in display 190.
It will be appreciated that the embodiments described herein may be implemented, for example, via computer-executable instructions or code, such as programs, stored on a computer-readable storage medium and executed by a computing device. Generally, programs include routines, objects, components, data structures, and the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. As used herein, the term “program” may connote a single program or multiple programs acting in concert, and may be used to denote applications, services, or any other type or class of program. Likewise, the terms “computer” and “computing device” as used herein include any device that electronically executes one or more programs, including, but not limited to, personal computers, gaming devices, servers, laptop computers, hand-held devices, cellular phones, microprocessor-based programmable consumer electronics and/or appliances, routers, gateways, hubs and other computer networking devices.
Referring to
In some embodiments, user space module 140 may receive an input 125 related to a first user space 170 and may determine a status 142, a reputation 144, etc. of a first user space 170 and forward the status 142 or reputation 144 to interface module 150. Additionally, user space module 140 may compile or process other meta data 146 related to one or more user spaces to provide a rich user experience by connecting or relating spaces, filtering spaces, etc.
Interface module 150 may include a place module 152 to generate a place for multiple user spaces or for status representations of multiple user spaces. For example, place module may generate places or themes 153, tags 154 to identify certain characteristics of a user space, search or filtering functionality 155 to search user spaces based on tags 154 or other meta data 146, or customization tools 156 to allow a user to change an interface style, add items representing a belief or action of a user, add functionality or otherwise change a user space, blog, status representation. For example, customization tools 156, edits, adding items, etc., may be provided as a drop down menu in user interface. Other embodiments are not so limited and interface module may include additional functionality to generate places or prepare user spaces for display according to user selected or added functionality, themes, privacy settings, etc.
In some embodiments, each user may choose to represent user spaces within a place such as a virtual location or themed place of their choice, and each of these places may be set by each respective user. In this way, a place may be customizable but may still dynamically represent activity, status, reputation, etc. of different user spaces accordingly. As non-limiting examples,
Next, method 200 comprises changing the first status representation or the second status representation based on a change in status for the first user space or the second user space, as indicated at block 230. In some embodiments, a change in status may be a change in reputation. For example, in block 240 the method 200 may illustrate a change in reputation by further representing at least one of how many views a user space receives from other users, how often a user space is updated, how many comments a user space receives, or how long a user space has existed, as non-limiting examples. For example, a change in reputation may be represented by a change in size of an icon or other depiction of a user space, a change in location or a change in detail of an icon or other depiction of a user space, wherein the change in reputation is represented in the user interface.
In some embodiments, method 200 may further comprise displaying a plurality of other user spaces in the user interface, each of the plurality with a status representation, and changing the status representation of at least one of the first user space, the second user space, or the other user spaces.
In some embodiments, method 200 may further comprise tagging the first user space or the second user space with a tag, wherein the tag describes meta data associated with the first user space or the second user space. For example, a user may have a selection of tags wherein a user space to be tagged includes an illustration, is interactive, relates to magazines, has a motion component, provides music content, has a specific packaging, includes photography, etc., as non-limiting examples. When multiple user spaces within a user interface such as a themed place or location are tagged, then method 200 may further comprise filtering the user interface to display one or more user spaces having an associated tag. An example of filtering user spaces according to a music tag is described with reference to
In some embodiments, method 200 may further comprise a customization tool menu, wherein a customization tool is an interactive icon that can be added to a user space within the user interface. As non-limiting examples, a customization tool menu may allow a user to edit a user space, add items to the user space such as music, news, packages, icons representing activities by the user, pictures, etc. In some embodiments, a customization tool may allow a user to change styles of their user space, for example by selecting between provided styles, naming a user space, adding items to a header of a user space, adding a menu of other selections to a user space, changing a background of a user space, randomly distributing items within a user space, saving or canceling style changes, etc.
For example, flowers may have a different appearance according to size, place, depth in the theme, detail, highlight, proximity to other flowers, etc. More complicated flowers and/or larger flowers may be used to represent greater activity, higher reputation, etc. In flower theme 300, flower 310 is large relative to flower 330 and is also displayed prominently in the foreground of the theme while flower 330 is displayed behind other flowers. In some embodiments, a Z-axis depth to a screen may be used to represent what is new, what is popular, a level of reputation, a degree of activity, etc. Additionally, flowers may be shown randomly by refreshing the theme or user interface, or user spaces can be filtered based on a search, etc. In some embodiments, user spaces may be filtered based upon user selected settings, such as preferred settings including showing most frequently contacted user spaces, showing only messenger favorite contacts, showing contacts according to some external service or filtering scheme, etc.
In some embodiments an update to a user space may be represented in a visually distinctive manner. Flower 320 is illustrated as surrounded with a dotted line representing a glowing highlight. In this example, a user may visually distinguish flower 320 from the other flowers and know that something significant has happened, such as an update to that user space.
In one example, reputation may be indicated by placing active or frequently visited user spaces with more reputation in the sky portion of virtual earth theme 500. In another example, reputation may be represented by icon size. For example, smiley face icon 560 may represent a user space that is frequently visited by other users while bicycle icon 530 may represent a new user space that has not been visited yet. In some embodiments, the graphical representation or icon may also change in relation to reputation, status, activity, etc. For example, a user space with a high reputation may include an animation or movie as opposed to a static picture or icon.
In some embodiments, user spaces may be overlaid on existing themes, graphics, etc., and toggled on or off. For example, the virtual earth theme 500 may be an actual image from a city, and user interface 192 may include a show space button. By clicking the show space button, the user spaces may be placed within the city image. When a user selects to show spaces, they can view all or a portion of the spaces that other users have placed within the city image. Additionally, icons may also illustrate other information, such as indicators of reputation similar to graphical representation 420 in flower theme 300, such as user name, the last activity or time by the user depicted by the user space, etc. In some embodiments, such as a 3-dimensional virtual earth theme 500, icons may be multiple sided with different information represented on different sides. Also, a user may be able to rotate or move a theme within an interface to provide a different view of the theme and represented user spaces.
In some embodiments, users can search user spaces in a theme to customize a view within user interface 192. For example, user spaces may be tagged by a user, automatically, by other users, etc., and a user may filter a view or theme based on these tags. In the present example, available tags for virtual earth theme 500 may be placed in a drop down search menu 550. In drop down search menu 550, one example tag is music. A user may access the drop down search menu 550, and can tag a user space as having music. In this way, a user may have a multitude of tags representing different information over a range of user space icons, and may filter a theme based on one or more of the tags. In the present example, a user may have tagged bicycle icon 530 and lightening icon 520 with a music tag.
Similar to the flower theme 300, a user may then move their input device over a depicted icon and see more detailed information about the user space depicted by the icon. In this example, a user see songs that the music tagged lightening icon 520 user space has recently added, or has stored within a shared space, etc. Upon hovering over an icon, a user may see a user space name, reputation, a friends list, etc. If a user hovers over their own space they may be presented with an indication this it is their own space, options to move or resize their space, an option to update their space, an indication of recent messages or postings by other users, etc.
In some embodiments, a theme, place, or user interface may provide a customization tool. Referring to
Although a user may optionally change their user space, the user space may also update based on reputation, status, activity, etc. Additionally, a drop down menu 705 allows a user to preview an item before actually adding it to their user space. Some embodiments may provide a randomize option to randomly change a user space or theme between styles, filters, etc. In this way, a user space can evolve based upon user selection or based upon user space activity, reputation, status, etc. In some cases, a user space may be adorned with additional decorations or applications based upon a user earning them through activity, postings, length of time in a theme, length of time of a user space, etc.
It will further be understood that the configurations and/or approaches described herein are exemplary in nature, and that these specific embodiments or examples are not to be considered in a limiting sense, because numerous variations are possible. The specific routines or methods described herein may represent one or more of any number of processing strategies. As such, various acts illustrated may be performed in the sequence illustrated, in other sequences, in parallel, or in some cases omitted. Likewise, the order of any of the above-described processes is not necessarily required to achieve the features and/or results of the embodiments described herein, but is provided for ease of illustration and description. The subject matter of the present disclosure includes all novel and nonobvious combinations and subcombinations of the various processes, systems and configurations, and other features, functions, acts, and/or properties disclosed herein, as well as any and all equivalents thereof.