With the growing volume of content available over the Internet, people are increasingly seeking answers to their questions or problems online. Due to the overwhelming amount of information that is available online, however, it is often difficult for a lay person to browse over the Web and find the content that actually addresses his/her problem. Even when the user is able to find content that is relevant to address his/her problem, such content is most likely to be of “one size fits all” type that addresses concerns of the general public while it does not target the specific needs or experiences of the user as an individual. It happens quite often that when the user raises the same problem multiple times under different circumstances, his/her emotions associated the problem have also changed over time and thus the problem needs to be addressed appropriately with specific content that suits his/her emotional feelings at the time. In addition, the user's problem may be so convoluted or deep-rooted that it cannot be addressed by one experience alone and has to be explored more in depth.
The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings.
The approach is illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements. It should be noted that references to “an” or “one” or “some” embodiment(s) in this disclosure are not necessarily to the same embodiment, and such references mean at least one.
A new approach is proposed that contemplates systems and methods to enable a user to explore his/her problems and/or linkages associated with them in a series of steps and presents a set of content (also known as a user experience) each comprising one or more content items to the user. Here, each of the set of content is not only relevant to addressing the problem at the moment in time, but is also customized and tailored to the specific needs and preferences of the user based on the user's profile. A psycho-spiritual map is constructed for the user to explore, wherein each node in the map represents a problem, a sub-problem/factor/issue, and an emotion related to it. The map includes links between problems to allow the user to select additional areas for exploration and the map can be dynamically managed and expanded along a path of the user's exploration by a personal “agent” that understands the user's specific needs and interests by maintaining a personal profile of the user. Based on such in-depth personal knowledge and understanding, the agent is capable of identifying potential linkages between issues and problems and providing the user with a visual representation of his/her issues via the PS-map. The agent further identifies, retrieves, customizes, and presents the set of content to the user that specifically and continuously addresses his/her problem or concern as the user seeks solutions to his/her problem.
In the example of
As used herein, the term engine refers to software, firmware, hardware, or other component that is used to effectuate a purpose. The engine will typically include software instructions that are stored in non-volatile memory (also referred to as secondary memory). When the software instructions are executed, at least a subset of the software instructions is loaded into memory (also referred to as primary memory) by a processor. The processor then executes the software instructions in memory. The processor may be a shared processor, a dedicated processor, or a combination of shared or dedicated processors. A typical program will include calls to hardware components (such as I/O devices), which typically requires the execution of drivers. The drivers may or may not be considered part of the engine, but the distinction is not critical.
As used herein, the term library or database is used broadly to include any known or convenient means for storing data, whether centralized or distributed, relational or otherwise.
In the example of
In the example of
In the example of
In the example of
In some embodiments, the user interaction engine 102 presents a pre-determined list of problems that could possibly be raised by the user in the form of a list, such as a pull down menu, and the user may submit his/her problem by simply picking and choosing a problem in the menu. The menu can be organized by various categories or topics in more than one level. By organizing and standardizing the potential problems from the user, the menu not only saves the user's time and effort in submitting the problems, but also makes it easier to identify relevant script templates and/or content of the problem submitted.
In some embodiments, the user interaction engine 102 is configured to enable the user to provide feedback to the content presented to him/her via the user interface 104. Here, such feedback can be, for non-limiting examples, ratings or ranking of the content, indication of preference as whether the user would like to see the same or similar content in the same category in the future, or any written comments or suggestions on the content that eventually drive the customization of the content. For non-limiting examples, a rating can be from 0-10 where 0 is worst and 10 is best, or 5 stars. There can also be a comment by a user that he/she does not want to see poetry.
In the example of
Administrative information includes account information such as name, region, email address, and payment options of the user.
Static profile contains information of the user that does not change over time, such as the user's gender and date of birth to calculate his/her age and for potential astrological consideration.
Dynamic profile contains information of the user that may change over time, such as parental status, marital status, relationship status, as well as current interests, hobbies, habits, and concerns of the user.
Psycho-Spiritual Dimension describes the psychological, spiritual, and religious component of the user, such as the user's belief system (a religious, philosophical or intellectual tradition, e.g., Christian, Buddhist, Jewish, atheist, non-religious), degree of adherence (e.g., committed/devout, practicing, casual, no longer practicing, “openness” to alternatives) and influences (e.g., none, many, parents, mother, father, other relative, friend, spouse, spiritual leader/religious leader, self).
Community Profile contains information defining how the user interacts with the online community of experts and professionals (e.g., which of the experts he/she prefers or blocks in the community and which problems to which the user is willing to receive request for wisdom (RFW) and to provide his/her own input on the matter).
In some embodiments, the profile engine 110 initiates one or more questions to the user via the user interaction engine 102 for the purpose of soliciting and gathering at least part of the information listed above to establish the profile of the user. Here, such questions focus on the aspects of the user's life that are not available through other means. The questions initiated by the profile engine 110 may focus on the personal interests or the spiritual dimensions as well as dynamic and community profiles of the user. For a non-limiting example, the questions may focus on the user's personal interest, which may not be truly obtained by simply observing the user's purchasing habits.
In some embodiments, the profile engine updates the profile of the user via the profiling component 114 based on the prior history/record and dates of one or more of:
problems that have been raised by the user;
relevant content that has been presented to the user;
script templates that have been used to generate and present the content to the user;
feedback from the user to the content that has been presented to the user.
In the example of
In the example of
In some embodiments, the profile engine 110 may gather the sub-problems as part of the user's profile outlined above by interviewing the user about his/her background and issues he/she encountered in childhood and/or adulthood. Based on the information gathered, the profile engine 110 may identify the sub-problems, as well as the associated emotions most likely related to the user's problems, and establish the connections among them accordingly. In addition, the profile engine 110 may facilitate the construction of the PS-Map for the user by dynamically including and/or deducing from any existing node in the PS-Map a new problem node, a sub-problem node, a emotion node, and edges/connections between the nodes at any time by, for a non-limiting example, interviewing the user with new questions about his/her personal history or preferences. In essence, the profile engine 110 may choose to play a role of an online therapist, counselor, or problem solver.
In some embodiments, the user interaction engine 102 is configured to enable the user to identify sub-problems and associated emotions as well as to establish connections among the corresponding nodes in the PS-Map by him/herself. More specifically, the user interaction engine 102 enables the user to create a new sub-problem and/associated emotion node in his/her PS-Map, and to draw a connection between any pair of the problem, sub-problem, or emotion node that the user deemed as related. If the user is not sure if a certain factor has caused his/her problem, or if certain problems or emotions are related, he/she may tag relevant nodes in the PS-Map and optionally provide a query asking for further assistance or help by the profile engine 110 to create certain sub-problem or emotion nodes in the PS-Map and to establish appropriate connections among the corresponding nodes in the PS-Map.
In some embodiments, the user interaction engine 102 also enables the user to dynamically change the configuration of his/her PS-Map by adding, expanding or shrinking the map at certain nodes. If a user intends to explore one or more of the sub-problems as the possible causes of his/her problem by choosing that node, he/she may click on an expand button or image associated with the problem node. The profile engine 110 may then confirm the user's choice, and deduce and expand a set of sub-problem nodes from that problem node in the PS-Map dynamically to offer more options to explore one or more emotions associated with the sub-problem or cause and to further generate and provide customized content to address the user's problem based on this specific cause of problem the user has chosen. Likewise, the profile engine 110 enables the user to explore a set of emotion nodes expanded from a chosen sub-problem node by click of a button.
In some embodiments, the profile engine 110 may group problems from the user that fall within the same category in the same area of the user's PS-Map, as these problems often share a similar set of causes (sub-problems) and emotions. For a non-limiting example, problems related to the user's psychological and spiritual needs are often together, as these problems may often be attributed to causes or solutions in the user's spiritual awareness, such as his/her belief system. Causes that are mainly related to the user practical concerns in daily life can then be placed in areas further away from the his/her spiritual concerns in the PS-Map.
In some embodiments, the profile engine 110 may compare PS-Maps of users having similar profiles and/or sharing similar problems or concerns in order to construct a map for deeper understanding of a user's problem and to trace his/her path of progress. If user A has raised a specific problem many times and has already explored causes and emotions associated with it extensively with multiple pieces of content generated over time, his/her PS-Map can be used as an anonymous reference to build and expand a PS-Map for user B, who may have only submitted the same problem for the first time. Through such comparison, the profile engine 110 may have a better understanding of what kind of experience user B may go through in the future, and what kind of content will most likely address his/her problem along the way so that user B's problem can be dealt with more accurately and efficiently. As a result of such comparison, the profile engine 110 may copy a certain portion of the PS-Map of user A, including both nodes and edges as well as the content items associated with the nodes, over to the PS-Map for user B to serve as at least a starting point for user B, subject to further exploration and customization by user B. In some embodiments, the profile engine 110 may choose to copy only those content items that have been highly rated or positively commented,
In the example of
In some embodiments, the user interaction engine 102 enables the user to choose a different cause or a different emotion associated with the same cause when dealing with the same problem he/she has previously encountered. The user may explore a different path in the PS-Map from the problem node, sub-problem node, to the emotion node during each of his/her visits. For the non-limiting example of
For a non-limiting example,
In the example of
In the example of
In some embodiments, each of a text, image, video, and audio item can include one or more elements of: title, author (name, unknown, or anonymous), body (the actual item), source, type, and location. For a non-limiting example, a text item can include a source element of one of literary, personal experience, psychology, self help, and religious, and a type element of one of essay, passage, personal story, poem, quote, sermon, speech, and summary. For another non-limiting example, a video, an audio, and an image item can all include a location element that points to the location (e.g., file path or URL) or access method of the video, audio, or image item. In addition, an audio item may also include elements on album, genre, or track number of the audio item as well as its audio type (music or spoken word).
In some embodiments, the content engine 118 can associate each of a text, image, video, and audio item that is purchasable with a link to a resource of the item where such content item can be purchased from an affiliated vendor of the item, such as Amazon Associates, iTunes, etc. The user interaction engine 102 can then present the link together with the corresponding item in the content to the user and enable the user to purchase a content item of his/her interest by clicking the link associated with the content item.
In some embodiments, the content engine 118 may customize the content based on the user's profile including one or more of: the user's prior visits, his/her recent comments and ratings on content related to the same or relevant problems, and his/her response to request for wisdom. For a non-limiting example, content items that do not appeal to the user in the past based on his/her feedback will likely be excluded. In some situations when the user is not sure what he/she is looking for, the user may simply choose “Get me through the day” from the problem list and the content engine 118 will automatically retrieve and present content to the user based on the user's profile. When the user is a first time visitor or his/her profile is otherwise thin, the content engine 118 may automatically identify and retrieve content items relevant to the problem.
In some embodiments, the content engine 118 may customize the content based on an “experience path” of the user in his/her PS-Map. Here, the user experience path contains a list of path nodes in the PS-Map from the problem node representing the problem submitted, the sub-problem node representing the potential cause of the problem, and the emotion node representing the emotions of the user at the time. By associating the user experience path and path nodes with a content item, the content engine 118 can select appropriate content items for the user that are appropriate to his/her current experience level and mental state.
In some embodiments, the content engine 118 may identify and retrieve the content in response to the problem raised by the user by identifying a script template for the problem submitted by the user, populating the script template based on the profile of the user, and generating a script of the content by retrieving the content based on the script template. Here, a script template defines a sequence of media types with timing information for the corresponding content items to be composed as part of the multi-media content. For each type of content item in the content, the script template may specify whether the content item is repeatable or non-repeatable, how many times it should be repeated (if repeatable) as part of the script, or what the delay should be between repeats. For repeatable content items, more recently viewed content Items should have a lower chance of selection than less recently viewed (or never viewed) content items.
In the example of
In the example of
In some embodiments, the content items in the content library 128 can be tagged and organized appropriately to enable the content engine 118 to access and browse the content library 128. Here, the content engine 118 may browse the content items by problems, types of content items, dates collected, and by certain categories such as belief systems to build the content based on the user's profile and/or understanding of the items' “connections” with the problem submitted by the user. For a non-limiting example, a sample music clip might be selected to be included in the content because it was encoded for a user with issue of sadness.
In some embodiments, the content engine 118 may allow the user to add self-created content items (such as his/her personal stories, self-composed or edited images, audios, or video clips) into the content library 128 and make them available either for his/her own use only or more widely available to other users who may share the same problem with the user.
In some embodiments, each content item in the content library 128 can be associated with multiple tags for the purpose of easy identification, retrieval, and customization by the content engine 118 based on the user's profile. For a non-limiting example, a content item can be tagged as generic (default value assigned) or humorous (which should be used only when humor is appropriate). For another non-limiting example, a pair of (belief system, degree of adherence range) can be used to tag a content item as either appropriate for all Christians (Christian, 0-10) or only for devout Christians (Christian, 8-10). Thus, the content engine 118 will only retrieve a content item for the user where the tag of the content item matches the user's profile.
In some embodiments, the content engine 118 incorporates wisdom from a community of users and experts into the customized content. Here, the wisdom can simply be content items such as expert opinions and advice that have been supplied in response to a request for wisdom (RFW) issued by the user. The content items are treated just like any other content items once they are reviewed and rated/commented by the user.
In the example of
While the system 100 depicted in
In the example of
In the example of
In the example of
In the example of
In the example of
In the example of
In the example of
One embodiment may be implemented using a conventional general purpose or a specialized digital computer or microprocessor(s) programmed according to the teachings of the present disclosure, as will be apparent to those skilled in the computer art. Appropriate software coding can readily be prepared by skilled programmers based on the teachings of the present disclosure, as will be apparent to those skilled in the software art. The invention may also be implemented by the preparation of integrated circuits or by interconnecting an appropriate network of conventional component circuits, as will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.
One embodiment includes a computer program product which is a machine readable medium (media) having instructions stored thereon/in which can be used to program one or more hosts to perform any of the features presented herein. The machine readable medium can include, but is not limited to, one or more types of disks including floppy disks, optical discs, DVD, CD-ROMs, micro drive, and magneto-optical disks, ROMs, RAMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, DRAMs, VRAMs, flash memory devices, magnetic or optical cards, nanosystems (including molecular memory ICs), or any type of media or device suitable for storing instructions and/or data. Stored on any one of the computer readable medium (media), the present invention includes software for controlling both the hardware of the general purpose/specialized computer or microprocessor, and for enabling the computer or microprocessor to interact with a human viewer or other mechanism utilizing the results of the present invention. Such software may include, but is not limited to, device drivers, operating systems, execution environments/containers, and applications.
The foregoing description of various embodiments of the claimed subject matter has been provided for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the claimed subject matter to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to the practitioner skilled in the art. Particularly, while the concept “interface” is used in the embodiments of the systems and methods described above, it will be evident that such concept can be interchangeably used with equivalent software concepts such as, class, method, type, module, component, bean, module, object model, process, thread, and other suitable concepts. While the concept “component” is used in the embodiments of the systems and methods described above, it will be evident that such concept can be interchangeably used with equivalent concepts such as, class, method, type, interface, module, object model, and other suitable concepts. Embodiments were chosen and described in order to best describe the principles of the invention and its practical application, thereby enabling others skilled in the relevant art to understand the claimed subject matter, the various embodiments and with various modifications that are suited to the particular use contemplated.
This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ being filed concurrently; and entitled “A system and method for content customization based on user profile,” by Louis Hawthorne et al., and is hereby incorporated herein by reference.