Patent Grant
9183291
The invention relates to systems and methods for capturing and discovering mobile content based on user identity.
Today, a tremendous number of online services and applications are available. The existing online services are related to virtually every aspect of life, including work, relationships, health, entertainment, news, etc. Access to these online services typically only requires an Internet connection. However, the abundance of services also causes information overload. As a result, disorganized information is floating around many users' lives and brains. Instead of positively influencing our lives, the services become cumbersome and are often neglected. In particular, the advent of social media has made it easier to share information with more people and make connections with people who we otherwise would not. However, the ubiquity of social media (such as through social networks) has created a further explosion in the information content of our lives and relationships. This information clutter reduces a user's productivity and shortens the user's attention span.
Typically, ideas begin with private thoughts that are later refined and shared to friends and, perhaps, the public at large. Who these ideas are to be shared with often evolve over time. Existing online services are not amenable to this process of developing ideas and deciding where to share them at a later time. For example, existing social media forces ideas immediately into the public domain. Information or media posted on social networks (e.g. Facebook.com, Twitter.com, and Flickr.com) or blogs (e.g. Wordpress.com and Blogger.com) are immediately accessible by other users. To post information in existing social media requires upfront cognitive decision-making related to the audience level of the information at the time the information was collected or generated. This process does not match the way human brains function.
Systems, such as emailing to oneself and note-taking applications (e.g. Evernote.com) exist for users to store private thoughts. However, these existing systems are not integrated with other services or applications. In other words, a user would have to access and sign on to multiple applications simultaneously to utilize information stored in the application storing the private thoughts. Because of the lack of integration and inconvenience of these systems, they are seldom used, therefore, ideas are often forgotten. In addition, existing note-taking applications require users to provide all of the information content to the note. By forcing a user to provide all of the information content, the note-taking process is typically tedious, error-prone, and incomplete.
The present invention addresses at least the above-described difficult problems and advances the art with a semantic note taking system and method.
The present invention is directed to a semantic note taking system and method for collecting information, enriching the information, and binding the information to services. A plurality of users are communicatively connected to an application server to create one or more notes that can be bound to one or more of a plurality of services and stored in a database. The application server operates a plurality of functions, including a note taking function for allowing each of the users to create one or more notes, a categorizing function for labeling each of the notes with one or more changeable categories, a context function for associating one or more context traits with each of the notes, a binding function to establish one or more changeable binding rules for each of the notes, wherein the binding rules determine one or more of the services where the note is to be bound, and wherein the binding rules are related to the content of the note, the categories of the note, the context traits of the note, a user binding selection, or any combination thereof, and a communication function for communicating each of the notes to one or more of the services where the note is to be bound.
A note includes text, audio media, visual media, audio-visual media, recorded data, a weblink, a pointer to an information source, or any combination thereof. In an embodiment, one or more of the context traits associated with the note includes a time, a location, physical data relating to the user device used to generate the note, or any combination thereof. In another embodiment, relevant data is derived based on one or more of the context traits and the relevant data is attached to the note. The relevant data can be derived by matching one or more of the context traits with data from an information module such as a calendar, an address book, a contact list, a user profile, a user history, or any combination thereof. In an embodiment, one or more of the context traits associated with the note is based on one or more categories of the note, the content of the note, a user history, or any combination thereof.
In a preferred embodiment, the binding rules include one or more publication properties, such as an audience level for the note and/or one or more locations to publish the note. The locations to publish the note can include a private domain of the user, one or more friends of the user, one or more computer-implemented social networks, a blog, an online discussion board, a website, or any combination thereof. In an embodiment, the binding rules are automatically determined based at least partially on one or more of the categories, one or more context traits, the note content, a user history, or any combination thereof.
The application server of an embodiment of the present invention operates a suggestion function for suggesting one or more services, binding rules, and/or categories. The suggestions can be based at least partially on one or more the categories, one or more of the context traits, the note content, a user history, one or more binding rules, or any combination thereof. In an embodiment, a note is automatically bound to one of the suggested services. Preferably, the suggestion function uses a user history of selections of services and/or categories.
In an embodiment of the present invention, a user interface is provided to allow user entry of the categories and binding rules for a note, wherein the user interface includes a first symbol associated with the categories of the note and a second symbol associated with the binding rules of the note. Preferably, the user entry of the first symbol triggers a display of one or more of the categories suggested to the user and selectable by the user. Similarly, the user entry of the second symbol triggers a display of one or more of the binding rules suggested to the user and selectable by the user. In another embodiment, a user interface corresponding to each of the services where a note can be bound is provided. Each of the service-specific user interfaces includes one or more buttons for initiating an action for the service corresponding to the user interface. Preferably, a single click of one of the buttons initiates creation of the note, automatic addition of content to the note, automatic labeling of the note with categories, and communication of the note to the service corresponding to the user interface.
In an embodiment, the user device operated by users to access the application server is a mobile device that communicates with the application server over a wireless network. The services where a note can be bound are selected from the group consisting of a website, a web application, a computer-implemented social network, a blog, a review website, a product review website, an entertainment website, a health application, a medical application, an online retailer, an email application, a research application, a clinical application, a calendar, and an address book.
In an additional embodiment, a system and a method is provided for collecting information and discovery of the information based on an augmented user identity. A note creation function allows a user of a computer device to create notes. Examples of notes are text, audio media, visual media, audio-visual media, recorded data, a weblink, a pointer to an information source, or any combination thereof. In one embodiment, the user defines the note to be a private note, (ii) a shared note to be shared among a group of friends over the Internet or (iii) a public note to be made publically available over the Internet. The notes can be stored in a note database/store which could contain notes from the user as well as notes from others. An interaction function allows the user to interact with the (stored) notes and/or with Cloud information. Cloud information, accessible via the Internet, could pertain to personal or private information of the user or others, information from friends or social groups, publically available information, or a combination thereof.
An annotiation function is operable either on an application server or on the user computer device to associate or annotate information/content to the notes. In one aspect one or more context traits could be associated/annotated with the notes. Examples of such annotations are, for example, a location, a place, a time, a source, a related note, a person, people, a group, a tag, an identity, sensor data, a media file, an audio file, physical data relating to the computer device, derived data, or any combination thereof.
In another aspect, one or more user identity traits could be associated/annotated with the notes. User identity traits could be defined by the user, but could also be (preferably in an automatic fashion) augmented through information collected from and related to the creation process of notes, the interaction process with notes and/or Cloud information, or a combination thereof. In addition, such information could be related to personal content, privacy content, content from friends, global content, discovery terms, search terms, filter terms, or any combination thereof.
A note discovery function is provided to allow a user to discover notes from the note database. In the discovery process aspects of the context traits, the augmented user identity traits, or a combination thereof could be used to search or filter the database and retrieve the best matches for the user.
In one example one or more of services could be suggested and then (preferably automatically) bound to a created note, an interacted note, or a discovered note. Suggesting services could be at least partially based on one or more categories of the note, one or more of context traits of the note, one or more of the augmented user identity traits, the content of the note, a user history, or any combination thereof.
The present invention together with its objectives and advantages will be understood by reading the following description in conjunction with the drawings, in which:
The abundance of online services provides users with opportunities to perform many tasks and connect with numerous people from nearly any location. However, the large number of services often cause information overload and a user cannot efficiently organize the explosion of information content concerning the user's life, work, and relationships. The present invention is directed to a semantic note taking system and method to collect, enrich, and bind information to services. Semantic note taking allows users to effortless offload information from private thought streams for later determination of where to bind these thoughts. In addition, semantic note taking minimizes the friction to record and share ideas by automatically enriching the note and reducing unnecessary user input. In other words, the present invention is directed to a system and method to collect unscripted data, add more meaning and use out of the data, and bind the data to services.
A note taking function, operated by the application server 110, allows each of the users U1-UN to create one or more notes. Notes can include text, audio media, visual media, audio-visual media, recorded data, a weblink, a pointer to an information source (e.g. a bookmark), or any other type of data. Notes created by the users U1-UN are transmitted from the user devices to the application server 110 and stored in the database 120 for later binding to one or more of the services S1-SM.
The application server 110 also operates a categorizing function to label the notes with one or more categories. In an embodiment, the categorizing function allows users U1-UN to label the notes, though automatic or suggested note labeling is also possible. It is noted that one or more of the categories of each note is changeable. Labeling a note with categories enriches the note. The note is further enriched by the context function operated by the application server 110, which associates one or more context traits with the note. Context traits associated with a note can be based on one or more of the categories of the note, the content of the note, a user history, or any combination thereof. Examples of context traits include a time, a location, and physical data relating to the user device. For example, the mobile phone 140 of user U1 is capable of measuring the location where the note was created (e.g. by using GPS measurements) and this location can be automatically associated with the note without user input, thereby enriching the note.
Context information is not restricted to a time-stamp or location-stamp associated with the note. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, relevant data is derived based on one or more of the context traits. Relevant data can be derived by matching one or more of the context traits with data from an information module 130, such as a calendar, an address book, a contact list, a user profile, a user history, or any combination thereof. For example, a time context trait when the note is created is matched with a meeting time indicated by a calendar information module. Because the calendar includes relevant data, e.g. the participants of the meeting and the discussion topics of the meeting, this relevant data can be attached to the note to further enrich the note.
A binding function is provided to establish one or more binding rules for a note. The binding rules determine one or more services S1-SM or applications where the note is to be bound. The binding rules are related to the content of the note, the categories of the note, the context traits of the note, a user binding selection, or any combination thereof. In an embodiment, the binding rules of a note are automatically determined based at least partially on one or more categories of the note, one or more context traits, the content of the note, the user history, or any combination thereof.
The services S1-SM where a note can be bound can include a website, a web application, a computer-implemented social network, a blog, a review website, a product review website, an entertainment website, a health application, a medical application, an online retailer, an email application, a research application, a clinical application, a calendar, an address book, or any combination thereof. A note that is bound to a service is communicated to the service. What is done with the note after it is communicated depends on the particular functions of the service and the content of the note. For example, a note bound to a blog could be published on the blog and a note bound to a research application can include data for analysis by the research application. In addition to communicating a note to a service, in an embodiment of the present invention, data can be extracted from the service where the note is bound and the extracted data is added to the note.
The services S1-SM shown in
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the binding rules comprise one or more publication properties. The publication properties include an audience or privacy level for the note and the location to publish the note.
A note can be bound to any number of services at any time. Importantly, the binding of the note is changeable. In other words, a user can change the binding rules to alter the location where a note is to be bound. In
In an embodiment, the suggested services or binding rules are selectable by the user, where the user selection binds the note to the selected service. User selections can be stored for reference by the suggestion function. For example, a first note is created by a user, labeled with “Category 4”, and bound to “Service 5” by user selection. Because of this user selection, “Service 5” would be suggested for a second note also labeled with “Category 4”. It is noted that the first and second notes can be created by the same user, or they can be created by different users. In other words, the suggestion function 510 can rely on the user history of the same user or the user history of a community of users. It is noted that the association of a service to a category is mutable and evolvable depending on user behavior. For example, though “Category 4” and “Service 5” are associated in the above example, the association of services for “Category 4” could change to “Service 3” if users frequently alter the selection from “Service 5” to “Service 3” for notes having a label of “Category 4”.
In an embodiment, a note is automatically bound to one of the suggested services without user selection. In a preferred embodiment, the storage of past user selections enables intelligent and automatic binding of notes to services. Automatic binding of notes to services reduces the need for user input.
The suggestion function 510 is also capable of suggesting categories to label a note in addition to or replacement of suggesting binding rules. Suggestions of categories can be analogous to the suggestions of services described in the previous paragraphs. In particular, suggestions of categories can be based on the content of the note, the context traits of the note, other categories of the note, a user history, the binding rules established for the note, the services determined by the binding rules, or any combination thereof. For example, a note contains a description of a product. Based on this note content, a category named “product” is suggested to the user for labeling the note. In another example, the association of a service and a category based on a user history can be used to suggest one or more categories for notes having binding rules with that particular service. In an embodiment, a note is automatically labeled with one or more suggested categories.
In a preferred embodiment, entry of the first symbol 610 triggers a list of previously used categories to be displayed to the user. In particular, the list can be filtered to only include categories that may be relevant to the note, such as based on the content of the note or the context traits of the note. In an embodiment, users can override suggestions and label the note with non-suggested category or a new category. Similarly, entry of the second symbol 620 triggers a list of services or binding rules to be displayed to the user. In a preferred embodiment, user selection of a category to label the note triggers a display of suggested services where the note can be bound. Conversely, user selection of a binding rule triggers a display of suggested categories to label the note. The suggestions can be based on previously stored user selections, i.e. a user history, or any other bases as described herein with respect to the suggestion function.
The user interface 600 also includes a list of categories 630 used in all stored notes. A user can select a category from the list 630 to view notes labeled with the selected category. In an embodiment, a search box 640 is also available to find previously saved notes.
Embodiments of the present invention are also directed to user interfaces corresponding to services to facilitate simple collection of data and binding to services. In an embodiment, a user interface is provided for each of the services where a note can be bound. The user interface corresponding to a particular service includes one or more buttons for initiating an action specific to that service. Service specific user interfaces are referred to as semantic skins. In a preferred embodiment, a single click of a button on a semantic skin initiates the creation of a note, automatic content generation and addition to the note, automatic labeling of the note with one or more categories appropriate to the service, and communication of the note to the service.
In a preferred embodiment, buttons in user interfaces and semantic skins are programmable. The buttons serve the purpose of providing simple or single click entry of data and minimizes the friction for a user to collect information and bind the information to services.
The following examples demonstrate exemplary applications for the embodiments of the present invention. It is noted that applications for the present invention are not limited by these examples; other applications of the present invention can be identified by one of ordinary skill in the art.
A user enjoys a product, such as a glass of wine. During a dinner engagement The user jots down information related to the wine, such as the brand, vintage, variety, etc., by accessing a user interface to the semantic note taking system. The note includes a label of “#wine” for future reference to the note. Context traits, including the GPS coordinates where the note was created is associated with the note. Using the GPS coordinates and accessing a directory information module, the name of the restaurant is derived and automatically associated with the note. The note is saved in the database.
At a later date, the user chooses to discuss the wine with friends of the user who may be wine enthusiasts. By binding the wine review note to a social network or an email application, the note is communicated to one or more friends of the user. One of the friends writes a brief review of the wine and attaches that review to the note. After the note has been shared to friends of the user, the user decides to write a wine review to be posted on a wine website. The user refines the note and binds it to the wine review website to be published to the world.
The present invention can be directed to a dietary, health, or medical service. For example, with minimal friction, a user can submit his or her dietary behavior to be tracked by a diet service. In another example, medical information can be collected at a hospital visit or doctor's appointment and submitted to an electronic medical record (EMR) application.
The semantic note taking system of the present invention can also be applied to a research study. In an embodiment of the present invention, research data is collected in a note. The research data can be collected from the field via a mobile device. The research data is enriched with time and location context traits. For repetitive data collection, a semantic skin would provide simple one click user entry of data. For example, the present invention can facilitate frictionless data gathering from door-to-door surveys. A door-to-door surveyor would need not enter the address of each participant of the survey as location context traits would be automatically associated with the note. Relevant data (e.g. resident names and demographics) can be automatically accessed based on the location context traits.
These additional embodiments, referred to as Compass by Catch.com, intend to help you capture and create content that matters to you and discover pre-existing content from your history, friends, and the public (notes and/or Cloud information). Content that one creates is tagged with rich context and identity annotations. Content one discovers is filtered by the same set of context and identity parameters. The result is the first integration of private memory and history with shared and public content, with strong relevance filtering.
Augmented user identity is used to annotate user content and to filter third party content. The user interaction with content creation and consumption functions contributes to an evolving and changing augmented user identity that includes both the user profile and the time-based feeds of content creation and consumption.
Such embodiments solve the current fragmentation in content management where different channels are optimized for private, shared, and public content, enabling a context-aware, intention-based unified view. Rich context-awareness is enabled by cloud-based Smartphone implementation not previously accessible or possible.
The following description addresses different aspects of the invention. Further examples or additional teachings related to embodiments of this invention are described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/924,094 filed Sep. 20, 2010 (Context-Aware Prompts and Alerts in a Note-Sharing System), U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/802,740 filed Jun. 11, 2010 (Semantic Note Enriching System), U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/381,594 filed Mar. 13, 2009 (Semantic Note Taking System), and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/322,046 filed Jan. 27, 2009 (Semantic Note Taking System), which are all hereby incorporated by reference for all that they teach.
Augmented Identity
The following description relates to aspects or processes of an augmented identity. For example:
Identity—The current profile at this moment in time, which for example relates to:
With respect to “What you Capture”, a Smartphone can capture nearly everything, so the challenge is knowing what data matters. All captured data is annotated with context, from for example, your surroundings & sensor data, your history & past experiences, and/or your interests & relationships. Each unit of information will carry annotations with all available context.
With respect to “What You Discover”, it is a challenge knowing how to filter for relevance, especially with the explosion of data. Discoverable data can be filtered based on context. Examples of filtering based on context are based on surroundings and sensor data, based on history and past experiences, and/or based on interests and relationships. Filtering is accomplished by matching identity and profile data with contextual annotations.
The kind of problems for the Compass App and the Catch system to solve are for example:
Enhanced Memory
In the current ecosystem, there are gaps regarding the lack of effective integration of private, shared and public space. For example,
In Facebook information is shared with friends and received from friends. There is a lack of a private story. There is a tendency for people to put on their “public face” as they manage their own identity.
Twitter, Wordpress, Tumblr, Posterous, Blogger global content is published and information is discovered from the world. There is a lack of effective relevance filters based on identity. These systems work only for truly public content and requires an internal editor.
Catch captures and recalls private content. There are no inhibitions because content is personal and private. People can selectively share and publish, but there is no discovery path of the captured content.
In the Compass solution, according to embodiments of the invention, content capture and content consumption is integrated with identity. Content capture (e.g. video, sound, text, sensor data) is done in context to record all available contextual data as annotations to the content. Connection to identity is part of context: Shared content carries with it a link to shared profile data of content source. Content consumption is based on filtering available data from self, friends, and world based on current context. Profile data (interests, relationships, history) is used as a content filter to rank for relevance.
In a solution example,
Rather than this:
One or more examples of the invention can be embodied as computer software or computer-implemented methods operable on computer devices and/or systems, especially mobile devices or Smart phones. One or more examples of the invention can also be embodied as a system integrating Smart phones, mobile devices, computer servers for data storage and/or processing, data communication systems and/or the Internet. As one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, various changes, substitutions, and alterations could be made or otherwise implemented without departing from the principles of the present invention, e.g. notes can be communicated to any service capable of being connected to the network, and any network, such as a WAN or LAN, can be used in addition to or in replacement of the Internet. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined by the following claims and their legal equivalents.
This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application 61/461,120 filed Jan. 13, 2011, which is incorporated herein by reference. This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/322,046 filed Jan. 27, 2009 now U.S. Pat. No. 8,200,757, which is incorporated herein by reference.
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