The present system generally relates to web feed content aggregation systems of any web syndication type (e.g., RSS or Atom) and television content broadcast systems of any TV broadcasting type (e.g., cable or satellite). The present system more specifically relates to an interfacing between the web feed content aggregation system and the television content broadcast system to facilitate a television display of web feed content via an interactive feature of a television or set-top box, such as an on-demand feature, a widget or an application.
Web feed content is the textual/visual/aural content of any web syndication type including, but not limited to, web text content, web image content, web video content, web audio content and web animation content. A web feed content aggregation system is a system structurally configured on a web subscription account basis to retrieve syndicated web feed content (e.g., RSS, Atom and other XML formats) published by web servers.
Television content is the textual/visual/aural content of telecommunication systems including, but not limited to, TV text content, TV image content, TV video content, TV audio content and TV animation content. A television content broadcast system is a system structurally configured to receive and broadcast television content on a television subscription account basis.
Social networking involves a community of individuals and/or groups that facilitates social interaction among its members, including the sharing of information. A social network website is a website structurally configured to facilitate online social interaction among its members on an account subscription basis.
Mobile network operators are telephone companies that provide telephony services for mobile phone subscribers.
The present system provides a web feed content interface for facilitating an exchange of web feed content from a web feed content aggregation system to television content broadcast system for purposes of a television display of the web feed content via an interactive feature of a television or a set-top box (e.g., a digital receiver), such as an on-demand feature, a widget or an application.
In one form of the present system, the web feed content aggregation system is operable to facilitate user management of web feed content as a function of a web feed content aggregator subscription account of a user, and the television content broadcast system is operable to facilitate user management of a display of television content as a function of a television content broadcast subscription account of the user. The web feed content interface of the present system is established between the web feed content aggregation system and the television content broadcast system to facilitate an exchange of web feed content between the web feed content aggregation system and the television content broadcast system as a function of an account association between the user's web feed content aggregator subscription account and the television content broadcast subscription account whereby a television display of the web feed content can be managed by the user via an interactive feature of a television or a set-top box, such as an on-demand feature, a widget, or an application.
In one embodiment, the user management of the television display of the web feed content is based on the television content being viewed by the user. For example, in some forms of this embodiment, each celebrity identified in a program currently being viewed by the user or stored for future viewing by the user is utilized to provide web feed content about the celebrity. This web feed content may take the form of specific web page(s) about the celebrity (e.g., a biography web page) and/or bulletins generated from web feed content.
For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the present invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will, nevertheless, be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended; any alterations and further modifications of the described or illustrated embodiments, and any further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein, are contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which this disclosure relates.
While any of the current and future web feed content aggregation systems may be employed in accordance with the inventive principles of the present system, www.feedgazer.com is currently preferred in view of its capability to enable a user to manage individual web feeds of any type based on a web feed content aggregation subscription account established by www.feedgazer.com on behalf of the user and to read in lists of web feeds of any type from additional web feed content aggregation subscription accounts established by third party web feed content aggregation systems on behalf of the user. As such, web feed content aggregation system 10 is shown in
Further commercial examples of television content broadcast system 20 include, but are not limited to, satellite television providers such as (1) AlphaStar; (2) ART; (3) Astro; (4) Astro Nusantara; (5) Athina Sat; (6) Austar; (7) Bell ExpressVu; (8) Canal Digital; (9) CanalSat; (10) Cyfra+; (11) DialogTV; (12) Digital+; (13) Digiturk; (14) DirecTV; (15) Dish Network| Dish TV; (16) DStv; (17) Euro1080; (18) Freesat; (19) Freesat from Sky; (20) FreeView (NZ); (21) Foxtel; (22) GlobeCast World TV; (23) Globosat; (24) Glorystar; (25) Home2US; (26) NTV Plus; (27) NOVA Cyprus; (28) NOVA Greece; (29) Orbit; (30) Premiere; (31) PrimeStar; (32) SelecTV; (33) Showtime Arabia; (34) Sky Angel; (35) Sky Digital; (36) SKY Italia; (37) Sky PerfecTV!; (38) Sky TV (NZ); (39) Star Choice; (40) STAR TV; (41) Tata Sky; (42) TPS; (43) TV Cabo; (44) UBI World TV; (45) Viasat; (46) Voom; and (47) WOWOW.
While any of the current and future television content broadcast systems may be employed in accordance with the inventive principles of the present system, such systems having or capable of having an interactive feature (e.g., on-demand or a widget) are preferred in view of the ease and convenience a user would have in managing a television display of web feed content based on a remote control using these features as known in the art.
In view of the numerous and variety of possible commercial implementations of systems 10 and 20 in practice, the present system does not impose any limitations nor any restrictions as to the manner by which web feed content interface 30(1) is structurally configured to exchange and format web feed content WFC between systems 10 and 20.
In one embodiment, web feed content interface 30(1) is structurally configured as a database manager of any type operable to exchange web feed content WFC between systems 10 and 20 in a format suitable for the transmission via the world wide web. Alternatively or concurrently, web feed content interface 30(1) is structurally configured as a database manager of any type operable to exchange web feed content WFC between systems 10 and 20 in a format suitable for the broadcast of the web feed content WFC in a television content format. For either embodiment, television content broadcast system 20 preferably, although not necessarily, employs a cache 22 for storing a portion or an entirety of web feed content WFC for each individual television content broadcast subscription account TCBSA.
Web feed content interface 30(1) is considered a front end interface. To further enable television display of the web feed content WFC that is managed by a user of a television content broadcast subscription account TCBSA, a back end web feed content interface 30(2) is structurally configured to exchange web feed content WFC between television content broadcast system 20 and either a television 40 via its television receiver 41 (e.g., a cable or Internet based receiver) as shown in
In one embodiment, web feed content interface 30(2) is structurally configured as an interactive feed manager (e.g., on-demand or a widget) operable to enable a user of the television content broadcast subscription account TCBSA to control a display of the web feed content WFC via a remote control whereby television content broadcast system 20 is responsive to remote control commands to provide the web feed content WFC interactively in either a world wide web format and/or in a television content format to television receiver 41 or to set top box 50 based on the account association.
In practice, the structural configuration of interfaces 30 is within the skill of those having ordinary skill in the art of web and television formatting and communication protocols, particularly those having skill in database management, video on demand and widget programming.
Back end web feed content interface 30(2) (
Referring to
For example,
Specifically, web feed content catalog 81 encompasses a web feed directory table and a table for each web feed on a syndicated feed item basis. The web feed directory table is designed on a feed category basis whereby the web feed directory table is updated upon the discovery of a new web feed source fitting within a category and a table for a particular listed web feed is updated each time a listed web feed syndicates a new web feed item.
Targeted advertisement inventory 82 encompasses an advertisement directory table and a table for each subscriber of domain 80 on a solicited targeted basis. Thus, any advertisement installed in domain 80 (e.g., uploaded, downloaded or streamed) is tracked in the directory table and communicated to each subscriber for purposes of facilitating a selection of viewing the advertisement by each subscriber on a item or category basis.
Web feed aggregator account directory 83 and cable/satellite television account directory 84 encompass a listing of each subscriber to domain 80 for purposes of facilitating a viewing of subscripted web feed content via client 87 or television 88, respectively. The account association of each directory 83 and 84 enables the viewing to be accomplished in a cooperative manner between the content systems that monitors when and where each feed items has been viewed by each subscriber, saves viewed feed items at the discretion of a subscriber and further dynamically updates the viewing of feed items based on any change in a web feed subscription by a subscriber.
For purposes of the present system, the term “feed category basis” is broadly defined herein as any group listing of individual web feeds by a categorization of the web feeds as opposed to a genre of the associated websites. Examples include, but are not limited to, a football folder listing of all football feed subscriptions irrespective of the genre of the associated websites or a financial folder listing all financial feed subscriptions irrespective of the genre of the associated website.
By comparison, for purposes of the present system, the term “web genre tree” is broadly defined herein as having root nodes branching to one or more website nodes, with each website node listing one or more individual websites on the basis of a genre of the corresponding root node and with each listed website listing all of its associated web feeds. Examples are provided herein in connection with the description of
A media root node 210 lists all websites primarily designed for the reporting of a variety of information from various sources (e.g., television, radio, newspapers, publications, blogs) and may be further branched into local websites node 211, national websites node 212 and international websites node 213 as shown in
A government/political root node 220 lists all websites primarily designed for the reporting of political information from various sources (e.g., government branches, organizations, political parties, publications, and blogs) and may be further branched into local websites node 221, national websites node 222 and international websites node 213 as shown in
An educational/training root node 230 lists all websites primarily designed for the reporting of educational/training information from various sources (e.g., K-12, collegiate, vocational, publications, blogs) and may be further branched into local websites node 231, national websites node 232 and international websites node 233 as shown in
A consumer root node 240 lists all websites primarily designed for the online sale of products and services from various sources (e.g., stores, organizations, publications and blogs) and may be further branched into local websites node 241, national websites node 242 and international websites node 243 as shown in
A sports root node 250 lists all websites primarily designed for the reporting of sports information from various sources (e.g., general sports reporting, specific sports reporting, publications and blogs) and may be further branched into local websites node 251, national websites node 252 and international websites node 253 as shown in
A video root node 260 lists all websites primarily designed for the viewing of videos from public sources or privates sources. An example includes, but is not limited to, www.youtube.com.
A business/financial root node 270 lists all websites primarily designed for the reporting of business/financial information from various sources (e.g., general business/financial reporting, specific business/financial reporting, publications and blogs) and may be further branched into local websites node 271, national websites node 272 and international websites node 273 as shown in
An entertainment root node 280 lists all websites primarily designed for the reporting of entertainment information from various sources (e.g., general entertainment reporting, specific entertainment reporting, publications and blogs) and may be further branched into local websites node 281, national websites node 282 and international websites node 283 as shown in
A science/technology root node 290 lists all websites primarily designed for the reporting of scientific and technological information from various sources (e.g., general science/technology reporting, specific science/technology reporting, publications and blogs) and may be further branched into local websites node 291, national websites node 292 and international websites node 293 as shown in
A health root node 300 lists all websites primarily designed for the reporting of health information from various sources (e.g., general health reporting, specific health reporting, publications and blogs) and may be further branched into local websites 301, national websites 302 and international websites 303 as shown in
A special interest root node 310 lists all websites primarily designed for a particular interest from various sources, and may be further branched into arts/humanities websites 311, automotive websites 312, home/garden websites 313, real estate websites 314, travel websites 315, recreation websites 316, gaming websites 317, fashion/beauty websites 318, reference websites 319, career/job websites 320, social networking websites 321 and miscellaneous websites 322 as shown in
A personal root node 330 lists all websites primarily designed for a selective group for a particular purpose, such as, for example, each website having a personal login to view web feed content.
In practice, website library server 141 may employ website genre tree 100 for each user of system 140 as a public library and may allow for a modification of website genre tree 100 to some extent by users to form private libraries.
Referring to
For management and display purposes, website genre tree 200 may be organized in a manner that facilitates navigation within tree 200 via a mouse or a remote control, such as, for example, a page 210 shown in
An exemplary display navigation as shown in
Referring to
Still referring to
Both website server 150 and TV site 160 are structurally configured to facilitate a synchronized content display of journals for website subscriptions, topics for results of term searching, previews of unsubscribed websites and chronicles of links to saved bulletins. An example of a synchronized viewing is shown in
Ads 500 and 501 shown in
In general terms for television display, website 800 is interfaced with a television content broadcast system (e.g., DirecTV, Bright House, DISH, Comcast, Time Warner, AT&T, etc.) to facilitate a television display of the bulletins as individually managed by each subscriber of the cable/satellite television provider. For example,
In general terms for a computer display, website 800 is interfaced with social networking website 810 (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Classmates.com, etc.) to facilitate a computer display of the bulletins as shared on social networking website 810 and as individually managed by each subscriber of social network website 810. For example,
In general terms for a mobile phone display, website 800 is interfaced with a mobile network operator (e.g., Apple iPhone, Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, etc.) to facilitate a mobile phone display of the bulletins as individually managed by each subscriber of the mobile network operator. For example,
The bulletins are derived by reader 904 from a library 902 of 500K+ web feeds that is organized in a hierarchy that (1) enables a viewer management of a personal portfolio of website feeds selected from the library 902 by means of website class cataloging, feed category cataloging and topic cataloging, and (2) synchronizes viewing between the computer 120, the television 130 and mobile phone 121 to ensure new web feed content is being presented at each viewing.
Specifically, for the cataloging,
The second level is a geographic division level for each root node that divides websites under an associated root node by a geographic location of the subscriber in terms of local websites 952(1) (e.g., a state), national websites 952(2) and international websites 952(3).
The third level is a web class level having a number X of web class nodes 953, where X>1, with web class nodes 953 encompassing specific description of each website listed within an associated root node 951. For example, for a media root node, the website classes may be television stations, newspapers, radio stations, publications and media domains whereby all websites listed under the media root node is assigned to one of the website classes.
The fourth level is a feed category level having a number Y of feed categories 954, where Y≧1, with feed categories encompassing categories explicitly or implicitly stated on an associated website. For example, USATODAY.com has feed categories including news, sports, tech, travel, money, life, weather and other.
The fifth level is a feed subcategory level having a number Z of feed categories 955, where Z≧1, with feed subcategories encompassing a detailed description or grouping of each feed within the category listing of an associated website. For example, with the sports category of USATODAY, the NFL feed and the college football feed may be assigned to a football subcategory. Also by example, with the sports category of USATODAY, the NFL feed, the NBA feed, the AL baseball feed, the NL baseball need and the hockey feed may be assigned to professional sports subcategory while the college football feed and the college basketball feeds may be assigned to the collegiate sports subcategory.
In managing one's account with tree 950, a subscriber will be provided with three (3) catalog mode of navigating tree 950. The first catalog mode is a website class mode encompassing a sequential navigation of nodes 951-952-953-954-955. This website mode is premised on the subscriber's desire to view the all of the feeds of a particular website of interest. For example, the subscriber may desire to view all of the feeds offered by the Wall Street Journal.
The second catalog mode is a feed category mode encompassing a sequential navigation of nodes 951-952-954-955. This feed category mode is premised on the subscriber's desire to view a particular feed category of interest for each website within a particular genre. For example, the subscriber may desire to view diabetes feeds all websites within the health/fitness genre having such a feed.
The third catalog mode is a topic mode encompassing a navigation of the website class mode or feed category mode based on a particular topic of interest. This topic mode is premised on the subscriber's desire to view the topic of interest within bulletins derived from all websites within a particular genre or genre(s) or a particular website class or classes, or to view the topic of interest within bulletins derived from one or more feed categories or one or more feed subcategories. For example, the subscriber may desire to view bulletin's including the term “health care” for all websites within the government genre or all websites within an executive branch website class within the government genre. Also by example, the subscriber may desire to view bulletins including the term “Nicholas Cage” for a movie news feed category or an actor feed subcategory of the movie news feed category.
Referring still to
Specifically, a stage S1001 of flowchart 1000 encompasses an identification of a celebrity within the television program. In one exemplary embodiment, information about the television program within an electronic program guide is parsed to identify each celebrity. Upon identification of the celebrity, content about the identified celebrity is automatically retrieved and/or generated for the viewer. Alternatively, the content about the identified celebrity is retrieved and/or generated for the viewer if the viewer has specified an interest in the celebrity (e.g., a selection of the celebrity via a website that implements part of the present system).
A stage S1002 of flowchart 1000 thereafter encompasses an interactive provision of celebrity content for each celebrity identified during stage S1001. In one exemplary embodiment, a web page containing a biography of a celebrity is interactively provided to the viewer. An example of such a biography may be found at the Internet Movie Database (www.imbd.com). In another exemplary embodiment, additional programming including the celebrity is interactively provided to the viewer. An example of such additional programming may be additional movies starring the celebrity within the electronic program guide, the DVR, the on-demand service and/or the online services. Linking to other assets that are immediately available to the consumer on the television is a compelling feature and shows value to both the distributor and consumer. For example, an electronic program guide ID (TMS) from the actual program as known in the art may be linked to other assets that are available that can be tied to the same ID (e.g., all things related to the show including, but not limited to actors, directors, other episodes, etc.). These IDs are being incorporated into metadata feeds for on-demand services and online services as would be appreciated by those having ordinary skill in the art.
In yet another exemplary embodiment, bulletins in accordance with
Upon an interactive activation of celebrity guide 1101, the viewer is presented with a name 1102 of the celebrity, an interactive biography 1103 of the celebrity, an interactive programming 1104 associated with the celebrity, and an interactive bulletin reader 1105. For example, while a viewer is watching an episode of “Star Trek,” the viewer may activate celebrity guide 1101 to obtain a biography of William Shatner (e.g., an IMBD webpage for William Shatner), to view other programming within the electronic program guide having William Shatner (e.g., an upcoming episode of Boston Legal or T J Hooker), and to view bulletins containing William Shatner (e.g., RSS feeds of William Shatner from websites including People.com, E!Online, TV Guide, etc.).
As known in the art, servers include processors and memories. For the purposes of the present system, the term “processor” as used herein is broadly defined as one or more processing units of any type for performing all arithmetic and logical operations and for decoding and executing all instructions related to facilitating an implementation of the present system. Additionally, the term “memory” as used herein is broadly defined as encompassing any and all program and data storage in the form of computer readable media of any type.
While the embodiments of the system disclosed herein are presently considered to be preferred, various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present system. The scope of the system is indicated in the appended claims, and all changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalents are intended to be embraced therein.
All publications, prior applications, and other documents cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety as if each had been individually incorporated by reference and fully set forth. While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only the preferred embodiment has been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention are desired to be protected.
The present application is a continuation-in-part of and claims the benefit of U.S. application Ser. Nos. 12/851,773, filed Aug. 6, 2010, pending, and 12/299,471, filed Nov. 4, 2008, pending, which claimed the benefit of International Application No. PCT/US07/68250, filed May 4, 2007, now expired, which claimed the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/797,779, filed May 4, 2006, now expired; the present application is also a nonprovisional of and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/237,777, filed on Aug. 28, 2009, pending. The entirety of each of these applications is hereby incorporated by reference, and priority is claimed to each.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60797779 | May 2006 | US | |
61237777 | Aug 2009 | US | |
61237777 | Aug 2009 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 12851773 | Aug 2010 | US |
Child | 12870813 | US | |
Parent | 12299471 | Nov 2008 | US |
Child | 12851773 | US |