Patent Application
20230377031
The present disclosure generally relates to mobile computing device communications, and more specifically, to systems and methods for facilitating asynchronous interaction by multiple mobile computing devices with a time-limited, image or video-based social post from another mobile computing device user.
Technological improvements to mobile computing devices, such as smartphones, smart tablets, and the like, have offered opportunities to make various interactive electronic services available via mobile computing devices, where previously such services might have only been available at most via desktop and/or laptop computers. Such electronic services have included, for example, auctions of consumer goods, including collectible items such as trading cards, toys, figurines, comic books, video games etc.
In particular, a system offered by Whatnot Inc. provides a mobile software application “Whatnot” that is available on Android and iOS devices, and which enables a seller or “host” user to offer one, two, three or more items consecutively for auction via a live auction event. IN the live auction event, the host's device records a real-time video/audio stream, which prospective bidders or “guests” can view in conjunction with a graphical user interface (GUI) that enables the guests to send and receive communications regarding the auction(s) (e.g., bids, comments, updates to items, etc.) substantially in real-time. At least these aspects of live auction events provide substantial benefits over conventional systems for online auctions, for example by enabling hosts and guests to send and receive updated information substantially in real-time without the devices having to reload or refresh the GUI by which the devices participate in the event, thus providing uninterrupted, social access to the live auction event. Further description, including system implementation details for live auction events, is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 11,196,577, filed Apr. 22, 2021, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
Although the live auction events described in the foregoing provide technical and practical advantages, the present description identifies reasons that both “hosts” and “guests” in live auction events may alternatively want certain items to be made available for sale (e.g., for auction or for direct purchase) outside of the context of a live auction event. That is, it might be most optimal for a given host or guest to be able to disperse and view real-time information associated with direct purchases or auctions in an easily accessible and social manner, without needing the host or guest's device to connect to a live auction event and remain connected to the live auction event for a potentially significant duration of time (e.g., for at least a portion of a live auction event for a guest participating in an auction of an item, or an entire live auction event for a host).
In view of these needs, the present description describes systems and methods utilizing a mobile software application by which a seller may publish, to a unique user profile associated with the seller, time-limited image or video posts (referred to herein as “stories”), and associate each story with one or more items available for sale from an item inventory of the seller. Via various graphical user interfaces and other system functionalities that will be described in the present description, the published stories become visible, for a limited duration of time (e.g., 24 hours), in an easily and socially accessible “story view” associated with the seller's user profile. Other users (potential buyers or simply “buyers”) view the story view of the seller via a GUI at their respective devices, the GUI displaying a given story by displaying the image(s)/video(s) included in the story in conjunction with real-time information for the sale of one or more items associated with the story (e.g., auction information or direct purchase information). Using the GUI at their respective devices, each of the buyers can participate in the sale of the one or more items, e.g. via placing a bid or making a direct purchase, entirely within the story view of the seller. The item sale information displayed in the GUI can be automatically updated, substantially in real-time via communications with one or more servers, such that any buyer viewing the story has access to real-time item sale information, which may change over the limited duration of time (or “lifetime” of the story) based upon bids, purchases, etc. Each story posted by a seller remains publicly accessible or “active” for the limited duration of time, after which the story disappears from the seller's story view, thereby making the seller's story view an accessible conduit for time-relevant information and sales of items in the seller's item inventory.
In embodiments, one or more servers are provided. The one or more servers may include one or more processors, and one or more memories storing non-transitory computer executable instructions. The instructions, when executed via the one or more processors, may cause the one or more servers to (1) obtain, from a first client computing device operating on behalf of a first user, first information defining one or more images or videos to be included in a time-limited social post associated with a unique user profile of the first user, (2) obtain, from the first client computing device, second information defining one or more items to be made available for sale in association with the time-limited social post, the one or more items being among an item inventory associated with the unique user profile, (3) generate the time-limited social post based upon the first and second information to thereby make the post available to be viewed, via the one or more servers and for a limited duration of time, at each of a plurality of second client computing devices, and/or (4) cause an indication of availability of the time-limited social post to be displayed via a first graphical user interface (GUI) at each of the plurality of second client computing devices, wherein a user interaction with the indication via the first GUI at a particular client device from among the plurality of second client computing devices causes the particular client device to display the time-limited social post by displaying the one or more images or videos in conjunction with real-time information associated with the sale of the one or more items. The one or more servers may be configured to perform additional, fewer, and/or alternate actions, in various embodiments.
In other embodiments, a computer-implemented method is provided, the method being performed via one or more processors. The computer-implemented method may include (1) obtaining, from a first client computing device operating on behalf of a first user, first information defining one or more images or videos to be included in a time-limited social post, (2) obtaining, from the first client computing device, second information defining one or more items to be made available for sale in association with the time-limited social post, the one or more items being associated with an inventory of a unique user profile associated with the user, (3) generating the time-limited social post based upon the first and second information to thereby make the post available to be viewed, via the one or more servers and for a limited duration of time, at each of a plurality of second client computing devices, and/or (4) causing an indication of availability of the time-limited social post to be displayed via a first graphical user interface (GUI) at each of the plurality of second client computing devices, wherein a user interaction with the indication via the first GUI at a particular client device from among the plurality of second client computing devices causes the particular client device to display the time-limited social post by displaying the one or more images or videos in conjunction with real-time information associated with the sale of the one or more items. The computer-implemented method may include additional, fewer, and/or alternate actions, in various embodiments.
In yet other embodiments, one or more non-transitory computer readable media are provided. The one or more non-transitory computer readable media may store non-transitory computer executable instructions that, when executed via one or more servers, cause the one or more servers to (1) obtain, from a first client computing device operating on behalf of a first user, first information defining one or more images or videos to be included in a time-limited social post associated with a unique user profile of the first user, (2) obtain, from the first client computing device, second information defining one or more items to be made available for sale in association with the time-limited social post, the one or more items being among an item inventory associated with the unique user profile, (3) generate the time-limited social post based upon the first and second information to thereby make the post available to be viewed, via the one or more servers and for a limited duration of time, at each of a plurality of second client computing devices, and/or (4) cause an indication of availability of the time-limited social post to be displayed via a first graphical user interface (GUI) at each of the plurality of second client computing devices, wherein a user interaction with the indication via the first GUI at a particular client device from among the plurality of second client computing devices causes the particular client device to display the time-limited social post by displaying the one or more images or videos in conjunction with real-time information associated with the sale of the one or more items. The one or more non-transitory computer readable media may include additional, fewer, and/or alternate instructions, in various embodiments.
In still other embodiments, one or more non-transitory computer readable media are provided. The one or more non-transitory computer readable media may store non-transitory computer executable instructions that, when executed via one or more processors of a client computing device operating on behalf of a first user, cause the client computing device to (1) receive, via one or more graphical user interfaces (GUIs), a first one or more user interactions defining one or more images or videos to be included in a time-limited social post associated with a unique user profile of the first user, (2) receive, via the one or more GUIs, a second one or more user interactions defining one or more items to be made available for sale in association with the time-limited social post, the one or more items being among an item inventory associated with the unique user profile, and/or (3) transmit, to one or more servers, communications indicating the one or more images or videos and the one or more items to cause the time-limited social post to be generated and made available for viewing at each of a plurality of second client computing devices via the one or more servers. The one or more non-transitory computer readable media may include additional, fewer, and/or alternate instructions, in various embodiments.
In still yet other embodiments, a computer-implemented method is provided, the method being executed via one or more processors. The computer-implemented method may include (1) receiving, via one or more graphical user interfaces (GUIs) of a client computing device of a first user, a first one or more user interactions defining one or more images or videos to be included in a time-limited social post associated with a unique user profile of the first user, (2) receiving, via the one or more GUIs, a second one or more user interactions defining one or more items to be made available for sale in association with the time-limited social post, the one or more items being among an item inventory associated with the unique user profile, and/or (3) transmitting, to one or more servers, communications indicating the one or more images or videos and the one or more items to cause the time-limited social post to be generated and made available for viewing at each of a plurality of second client computing devices via the one or more servers. The computer-implemented method may include additional, fewer, and/or alternate actions, in various embodiments.
In still other embodiments, a client computing device is provided. The computing device may include one or more processors, and one or more memories storing non-transitory computer executable instructions. The instructions when executed via the one or more processors, cause the client computing device, operating on behalf of a first user, to (1) receive, via one or more graphical user interfaces (GUIs), a first one or more user interactions defining one or more images or videos to be included in a time-limited social post associated with a unique user profile of the first user, (2) receive, via the one or more GUIs, a second one or more user interactions defining one or more items to be made available for sale in association with the time-limited social post, the one or more items being among an item inventory associated with the unique user profile, and/or (3) transmit, to one or more servers, communications indicating the one or more images or videos and the one or more items to cause the time-limited social post to be generated and made available for viewing at each of a plurality of second client computing devices via the one or more servers. The client computing device may be configured to perform additional, fewer, and/or alternate actions, in various embodiments.
In other embodiments, one or more non-transitory computer readable media are provided. The one or more non-transitory computer readable media may store non-transitory computer executable instructions that, when executed via one or more processors of a client computing device operating on behalf of a first user, cause the client computing device to (1) display, via a first graphical user interface (GUI) an indication of availability of time-limited social post associated with a unique user profile of a second user, the time-limited social post being associated with (i) one or more images or videos, and (ii) a sale of one or more items, (2) receive a first one or more user interactions with the indication, (3) in response to the first one or more user interactions with the indication, and via communications with one or more servers, obtain (i) the one or more images or videos, and (ii) real-time information defining one or more parameters associated with the sale of the one or more items, and/or (4) display the time-limited social post via a second GUI, the displaying of the time-limited social post (i) comprising displaying the one or more images or videos in conjunction with real-time information associated with the sale of the one or more items, and (ii) enabling the client computing device to participate in the sale of the one or more items via the post. The one or more non-transitory computer readable media may include additional, fewer, and/or alternate instructions, in various embodiments.
In still other embodiments, a computer-implemented method is provided, the method being executed via one or more processors. The computer-implemented method may include (1) displaying, via a first graphical user interface (GUI) of a client computing device of a first user, an indication of availability of time-limited social post associated with a unique user profile of a second user, the time-limited social post being associated with (i) one or more images or videos, and (ii) a sale of one or more items, (2) receiving a first one or more user interactions with the indication, (3) in response to the first one or more user interactions with the indication, and via communications with one or more servers, obtaining (i) the one or more images or videos, and (ii) real-time information defining one or more parameters associated with the sale of the one or more items, and/or (4) displaying the time-limited social post via a second GUI, the displaying of the time-limited social post (i) comprising displaying the one or more images or videos in conjunction with real-time information associated with the sale of the one or more items, and (ii) enabling the client computing device to participate in the sale of the one or more items via the post. The computer-implemented method may include additional, fewer, and/or alternate actions, in various embodiments.
In still other embodiments, a client computing device is provided. The computing device may include one or more processors, and one or more memories storing non-transitory computer executable instructions. The instructions when executed via the one or more processors, cause the client computing device, operating on behalf of a first user, to (1) display, via a first graphical user interface (GUI) an indication of availability of time-limited social post associated with a unique user profile of a second user, the time-limited social post being associated with (i) one or more images or videos, and (ii) a sale of one or more items, (2) receive a first one or more user interactions with the indication, (3) in response to the first one or more user interactions with the indication, and via communications with one or more servers, obtain (i) the one or more images or videos, and (ii) real-time information defining one or more parameters associated with the sale of the one or more items, and/or (4) display the time-limited social post via a second GUI, the displaying of the time-limited social post (i) comprising displaying the one or more images or videos in conjunction with real-time information associated with the sale of the one or more items, and (ii) enabling the client computing device to participate in the sale of the one or more items via the post. The client computing device may be configured to perform additional, fewer, and/or alternate actions, in various embodiments.
Embodiments of the present description relate to computing systems and methods that, broadly speaking, utilize a software application implemented at mobile electronic computing devices and/or other electronic computing devices, the application facilitating auctions and/or direct purchases of collectible items such as trading cards, card packs, toys, figurines, comic books, manga, vintage video games, clothing, etc.
A first user of the application, referred to herein as a “seller,” may create and publish (or “post”) to their unique user profile a time-limited, image and/or video-based social post (“story”) associated with one or more items available for auction or direct purchase from an item inventory of the seller's profile. Via various graphical user interfaces and other system functionalities that will be described in the present description, the published stories become visible, for a limited duration of time (e.g., 24 hours), in an easily and socially accessible “story view” associated with the seller's user profile. Other users (potential buyers or simply “buyers”) view the story view of the seller via a GUI at their respective devices, the GUI displaying a given story by displaying the image(s)/video(s) included in the story in conjunction with real-time information for the sale of one or more items associated with the story (e.g., auction information or direct purchase information). Using the GUI at their respective devices, each of the buyers can participate in the sale of the one or more items, e.g. via placing a bid or making a direct purchase, entirely within the story view of the seller. The item sale information displayed in the GUI can be automatically updated, substantially in real-time via communications with one or more servers, such that any buyer viewing the story has access to real-time item sale information, which may change over the limited duration of time (or “lifetime” of the story) based upon bids, purchases, etc. Each story posted by a seller remains publicly accessible or “active” for the limited duration of time, after which the story disappears from the seller's story view, thereby making the seller's story view an accessible conduit for time-relevant information and sales of items in the seller's item inventory. Moreover, as will be described in the present description, various functionalities of the mobile software application described herein may make the seller's user profile and story view easily and intuitively accessible to other users of the application.
These story-based features of the mobile software application may be integrated with various other features, which can include for example the “live auction events” described in the foregoing background section of the present description. Through a live auction event, the seller (or “host” of the event) may auction (and/or offer for direct purchase) one or more items from the seller's inventory by transmitting a real-time video stream for display at devices of buyers (or “guests” of the event) in conjunction, the real-time video being displayed at buyers' devices in conjunction with real-time information associated with the one or more items. Further description regarding these live auction events is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 11,196,577, filed Apr. 22, 2021. Generally speaking, though, live auction events may make various interactive graphical user interfaces (GUIs) available to guest devices, via which guests may competitively bid on or directly purchase items, post comments for viewing by other guests and/or the host, explore other items available from the host, and/or access various other social features in conjunction while viewing the real-time video stream at a guest device. The implementation of live auction events may involve a “publish/subscribe” messaging architecture, via which one or more servers act as a message broker to distribute messages to hosts and guests, based upon stored registry information and publish/subscribe logic that defines which devices (i.e., which hosts and/or guests) are to receive particular classes of messages published or generated at the server(s) during progression of the live auction event. Each host and guest forms a persistent connection to the server(s) while participating in the live auction event, and connected hosts and guests are able to exchange substantially real-time information in the event without interrupting the transmitting or displaying of the real-time video stream (e.g., without needing to refresh or reload pages), thus providing a robust and stable social environment via which users may participate in auction/purchase of items.
While the live auction events described in the foregoing provide technical and practical advantages over conventional online auction systems, the present description identifies reasons that both hosts and guests might additionally or alternatively want certain items to be made available for sale (e.g., for auction or for direct purchase) outside of the context of a live auction event. A guest, for example, may find that participating in the live auction event requires their personal attention (and their device's attention) for a significant duration of time (e.g., for at least the length of an auction of a given item). Additionally or alternatively, limitations of the guest's device itself may prevent the device from participating in the live auction event for as long as the guest would like (e.g., due to limited processing power, data rate availability or stability to persistently connect to the server(s), and/or remaining battery capacity available to the device). Hosts may encounter at least the same considerations, exacerbated by the fact that the host may need to be persistently connected to the live auction event for the entirety of the event.
Still, hosts and guests would optimally wish to be able to disperse and view real-time information associated with direct purchases or auctions in an easily accessible and social manner (as would be achieved in a live auction event), without requiring the persistent attention and device resources associated with participating in a live auction event. Hosts (or “sellers”) may wish to spotlight their items in an accessible and social manner, even if they are unable or unavailable to host a live auction event. Similarly, guests (or “buyers”) may wish to explore, bid on, and/or purchase spotlighted items from various sellers, without needing to connect to a live auction event for any duration of time (e.g., the buyer may instead only want to use the mobile software application for short intervals of time to “check on” items, for example ten seconds, thirty seconds, one to two minutes, etc.).
In view of these observed needs, the story-based features of the present description enable implementation of auctions and/or direct purchases through a seller's “story view” that is easily and intuitively accessible via various graphical user interfaces, but which does not require connection to a live auction event. These story-based features will be understood from the present description in reference to example systems diagrams, signal diagrams, GUIs, and block diagrams. Each time-limited story posted by a seller to their respective profile may remain viewable in their story view for a limited duration of time, during which buyers may view item information, place bids, and/or perform purchases within the seller's story view. Moreover, various GUIs made available to prospective buyers enable buyers to navigate among two, three or more stories in a story view of a same seller, and/or navigate among story views two, three, or more sellers in which the buyers are interested.
The computing environment includes a first mobile computing device 110a associated with a first user 112a, and a plurality of second mobile computing devices 110b associated with respective ones of a plurality of second users 112b. Mobile computing devices 110a and 110b may include, for example, smartphones, smart tablets, smart wearable devices, other suitable mobile devices, or some combination thereof. Although mobile computing devices 110a and 110b are discussed herein, it should be understood that the mobile computing devices 110a and 110b may, in some embodiments, be substituted for desktop computers and/or other non-mobile devices.
In the example environment 100, the first user 112a represents a seller, e.g., a person or entity making one or more items for auction or direct purchase via the story features of the present description. Accordingly, the first mobile computing device 110a is generally referred to herein as a seller device 110a. The second users 112b in this example represent prospective buyers (or simply “buyers”) who may access the seller's story view to view one or more stories posted by the seller, to bid on and/or purchase items via the one or more stories, etc. Accordingly, the mobile computing devices 110b are referred to herein buyer devices 110b.
Each of the mobile computing devices 110a and 110b may respectively comprise one or more computer processors and one or more non-transitory computer memories storing instructions that, when executed via the one or more processors, cause the device 110a or 110b to perform the actions attributed to the device 110a or 110b in the present description. In the case of the host device 110a, the one or more non-transitory memories may store one or more software applications 114 (“seller application”) including one or more sets of non-transitory computer executable instructions that, when executed via the one or more processors, cause the seller device 110a to perform actions described herein. Similarly, the one or more memories of each buyer device 110b may store one or more software applications 116 (“buyer application”) including one or more sets of non-transitory computer executable instructions that, when executed via the one or more processors of the buyer device 110b, cause the buyer device 110b to perform actions described herein. Although seller application 114 and buyer application 116 are illustrated as separate blocks in
The seller device 110a (and, in some instances, the buyer devices 110b) may comprise one or more camera devices, which may for example capture still images and/or video content to be included in a story of a seller 112a, or capture a real-time video stream for a live auction event. Additionally, in some embodiments, the seller device 110a (and in some instances, the buyer devices 110b) includes one or more microphones and/or speaker, which may capture, transmit, and/or play audio (e.g., accompanying audio in a video, or audio to be played in conjunction with display of one or more still images in a story). The one or more camera devices, microphones, and/or speakers may include integrated devices (e.g., a camera, microphone, or speaker natively included in a mobile computing device) and/or devices otherwise communicatively tethered to the seller device 110a or buyer device 110b (e.g., a peripheral webcam, speaker, or microphone connected wiredly or wirelessly to the mobile computing device). Additionally, each of the seller device 110a and buyer devices 110b may include one or more interactive I/O units (e.g., touchscreens, touchpads, keyboard, etc.) enabling navigation of graphical user interfaces, viewing of images and/or videos in the context of a story or a real-time video stream, and/or interactive functionalities described herein.
An auction server 124 (i.e., one or more servers) may facilitate communications among devices 110a and 110b, and may store various information associated with implementation of the story features described herein. For example, the auction server 124 may store and distribute information relating to items, implement logic relating to auctions and/or direct purchases of items via stories, receive and host stories posted by seller devices 110a, and/or provide access to stories at respective buyer devices 110b=. The auction server 124 may include one or more processors and one or more non-transitory computer readable memories storing instructions that, when executed via the one or more processors, cause the auction server 124 to perform the actions described herein. The one or more non-transitory memories of the auction server 124 may include a story database 126 storing information including, for example, images, videos, and/or item information for stories posted to seller's story views, status information regarding ongoing auctions and/or direct purchases of items via stories (e.g., current bid prices, bid histories, remaining quantities of items for sale, buyer offers for direct purchase, view metrics, etc.), device configuration information associated with devices 110a and/or 110b, and/or user profile information regarding users 112a and/or 112b.
The auction server 124 may communicate with still additional servers to facilitate other functions described herein. For example, an image/video server 128 may facilitate operations of the auction server 124 by storing images/videos posted by a seller 112a as a story, and/or additional images/videos associated with items (e.g., stored images/videos that the seller 112a may elect to use in a story, rather than taking their own images/videos at device 110a). Additionally or alternatively, an item catalogue server 132 may store a listing of known items, from among which sellers 112a may designate items to be listed in their respective item inventors and to be included for auction or purchase via posted stories. Still additionally or alternatively, a payment server 134 may store and process payment information relating to sellers 112a and/or buyers 112b. Although each of the auction server 124, image/video server 128, item catalogue server 132, and payment server 134 are described in singular herein, it should be understood that each of the servers 124, 128, 132, and 134 may respectively comprise one or more server devices, with functions thereof being distributed among the one or more servers.
Arrows in
Generally, each of the image/video server 128, the item catalogue server 132, and the payment servers 134 may respectively comprise one or more processors and one or more non-transitory memories storing computer executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the server(s) to perform actions described herein. Although arrows in
Subsequent portions of the present description, with reference to
It should be noted that the description of the process of
The process as illustrated in
The process of
Once the one or more images/videos are selected for the story and the one or more items are associated therewith, the seller device 202 may publish (or “post”) the story to the auction server 224 (238). Posting the story to the auction server 224 makes the story able to be discovered and viewed at each of the buyer devices 204a, 204b, and 204c (e.g., via the buyer application 116 executing at devices 204a, 204b, and 204c) via communication with the auction server 224. Specifically, the story is accessible via the auction server 224 for a limited duration of time, referred to herein as a “lifetime” of the story (e.g., 24 hours, or alternatively one hour, two hours, four hours, eight hours, twelve hours, 48 hours, etc.). In embodiments, while the auction server 224 sets and enforces an upper limit on the lifetime of the story, the seller device 202 may cause the story to be deleted at any time within the story's lifetime. In some embodiments, the auction server 224 automatically notifies one or more of the buyer devices 204a-204c of the new story being posted by the seller, e.g., when a user of one of the buyer devices 204a-204c has “followed” the seller or followed a category relevant to the seller.
In any case, the buyer devices 204a, 204b, and 204c may access the posted story (240.1, 240.2, 240.3) while the story is active (i.e., within the limited duration of time provided that the seller has not deleted the story). Accessing the story at a buyer device 204a-204c, generally speaking, includes displaying the one or more images/videos (or at least a portion thereof) at the buyer device 204a-204c in conjunction with real-time information associated with the sale of the one or more items. If the story includes an auction of an item, accessing the story can include displaying real-time auction information (e.g., the most recent bid price for the item, time remaining in the auction), and/or placing a bid in the auction. Similarly, if the story includes an offer for direct purchase of an item, accessing the story displaying real-time purchase information (e.g., price, quantity remaining, etc.), and/or communicating with the auction server 224 to purchase the item. While the story remains active, the auction server 224 maintains real-time information associated with the auction or offer for direct purchase of the item, such that each buyer device 204a-204c accessing the story pulls real-time auction or purchase information from the auction server 224 associated with the item(s). Functionalities associated with accessing stories will be illuminated further in subsequent portions of the present description, particularly with respect to example GUIs illustrated in
After the “lifetime” of the posted story has elapsed, the story expires at the auction server 224 (242), and thus the story is no longer viewable publicly at the buyer devices 204a-204c. In embodiments, the auction server 224 may continue to store the story and make the expired story still visible to the seller device 202, within a dedicated story archive available to the seller. In some embodiments, expiration with the story coincides with conclusion of an auction for an item featured in the story, and accordingly, the auction server 224 may execute additional logic associated with concluding the auction (e.g., identifying the highest bid and bidder for the item, notifying a buyer device of the highest bidder for the item, facilitating shipment of the item and/or payment for the item based upon stored profile information of the highest bidder, etc.).
Although the process of
Subsequent sections of the present description include description of example GUIs illustrated in
Starting with
Turning now to
Similarly to the image capturing GUI of
Associating an Item with a Story
First,
Referring to
Moving to the portion 450 of the GUI 440 as illustrated in
Finally,
First,
Still referring to
The profile GUI 540 of
In embodiments, the buyer may interact with the GUI 560 to navigate between two or more images and/or videos included in the story, or between multiple active stories from the seller. For example, the buyer may swipe left or tap the left side of the display 518 to navigate to a previous image/video from the same story, or to a previous story from the seller. Similarly, the buyer may swipe right or tap the right side of the display 518 to navigate to a next image/video in the same story, or to a next story from the seller. In some embodiments, the GUI 560 automatically progresses the buyer through the seller's stories (e.g., by advancing forward after viewing a still image for a predetermined amount of time or after completing a video). Tapping and holding a location on the display 518 may pause to prevent automatically advancing through the story. Furthermore, other user interactions to bid on or purchase the item (e.g., opening interfaces that will be described with respect to
As the buyer navigates between one, two, three or more images and/or videos of a same story, the item name and description 563, price 564, and bid option 566 remain displayed. Moreover, the item name and description 563 and price 564 may be automatically updated at the GUI 560 in real-time (e.g., to reflect the most recent bid posted to the auction server from another buyer device, or updates to the item information by the seller). Real-time updating of these fields may be enabled, for example, via the auction server (e.g., server 124 or 224) automatically communicating with the buyer device 510, e.g. by implementing a publish/subscribe channel that connects the buyer device 510 to automatically receive updates for the viewed story while the buyer views the story. Further detail regarding implementation of a publish/subscribe channel via an auction server is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 11,196,577.
First,
Moving to
Moving next to
The mobile computing device 810 may include a memory 822, which may include one or more non-transitory memories (e.g., ROM) and/or one or more volatile memories (e.g., RAM). In particular, non-transitory portions of the memory 822 may store non-transitory, computer executable instructions that are executable by a processor 824 (i.e., one or more processors) to cause the mobile computing device 810 to perform actions described in this detailed description. Non-transitory portions of the memory 822 may include one or more applications 826. Each respective application 826 may include one or more sets of non-transitory computer executable instructions that, when executed by the processor 824, cause the mobile computing device 810 to perform operations associated with the respective application 826 (e.g., operations involving the processor 824, a communication module 828, and/or other components of the mobile computing device 810 discussed herein). The one or more applications may include an auction application 830 (“Buyer/Seller App”) usable to access live auction events and/or post/access stories as described herein.
The mobile computing device 810 may include a display unit 832 (i.e., one or more display devices, such as a touch-enabled visual display (“touchscreen”) or other visual display). The mobile computing device may further include an input unit 834 (i.e., one or more user input devices, e.g., a touchscreen or touchpad, a keyboard, a mouse, etc.). In some embodiments, aspects of the display unit 832 and 834 are integrated (e.g., as a touchscreen with both touch input and display capability). The display unit 832 and/or the input unit 834 may be physically included within the mobile computing device 810 (e.g., a fixedly installed touchscreen), or may be operatively coupled with the mobile computing device 810 by other means (e.g., a peripheral touch pad, mouse, keyboard, etc. connected to the mobile computing device 810 by wired and/or wireless means).
The mobile computing device 810 may include a speaker 842, a microphone 844, and/or a camera 846. In some embodiments, the mobile computing device 810 may include still other sensor components, e.g., a positioning unit (e.g., GPS), an accelerometer, a gyroscope, etc. The speaker 842, microphone 844, camera 846, and/or other sensor component(s) may be physically included within the mobile computing device 810 (e.g., a natively installed speaker, microphone, or camera), and/or may be operatively coupled with the mobile computing device 810 by other means (e.g., a peripheral camera, speaker, or microphone connected to the mobile computing device 810 by wired and/or wireless means).
Collectively, the display unit 832, input unit 834, speaker 842, microphone 844, camera 846, and/or other sensing component(s) may provide one or more user interfaces of the mobile computing device 810. For example, the display unit 832 may display/present one or more graphical user interfaces (GUIs) which may include interactive controls that the user of the mobile computing device 810 can activate via the input device 834 to cause functionalities described herein to be performed (e.g., via a touchscreen tap or swipe, a mouse click, a keyboard stroke, etc.). Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, similar user interfaces may be provided at least partially by the speaker 842, microphone 844, camera 846, and/or other sensing components of the mobile computing device 810 (e.g., an interactive audio interface, a gesture-based user interface, or a user interface responsive to physical movement of the mobile computing device 810). In some embodiments, a user of the live auction application 830 at the mobile computing device 810 may configure device permissions defining components of the mobile computing device 810 the live auction application 830 may use to provide GUIs, provide notifications, and/or perform other functionalities.
The server 814 (i.e., one or more servers, e.g., the auction server 124 and/or other servers of
The network 818 may include any suitable one or more communications networks, e.g., the Internet, a wired or wireless local area network (LAN), etc. Communications over the network 818 may include communications according to any suitable one or more communications protocols, including for example a mobile cellular communications protocol (e.g., CDMA, GSM, EV-DO, LTE, IP, etc.), one or more IEEE 802.11 protocols (e.g., Wi-Fi), Bluetooth, and/or other suitable protocols in accordance with the computing capabilities of the mobile computing device 810 and/or the server 814.
Various additional or alternative computing elements may be envisioned, in various embodiments. In particular, it should be understood that the server 814 may communicate over the network 818 with many mobile computing devices 814, e.g., belonging to various combinations of sellers and/or buyers.
In various embodiments, one or more memories of a computing device may store non-transitory, computer executable instructions that, when executed via one or more processors of the computing device, cause the computing device to perform actions of the computer-implemented methods described herein. Furthermore, in some embodiments, one or more non-transitory computer readable media may be provided (e.g., a non-removable computer memory, a removable flash drive, etc.), the one or more non-transitory computer readable media storing instructions that, when executed by one or more computing devices, cause the one or more computing devices to perform actions of the methods described herein. Order of actions of the methods described in this section vary from the order illustrated, and actions of the methods may be combined and/or substituted with other actions described in this detailed description, in various embodiments.
First referring to
The method 900 includes obtaining, from a first client computing device operating on behalf of a first user, first information defining one or more images or videos to be included in a time-limited social post (902, a “story”). In some embodiments, the first information includes the one or more images or videos themselves, where the one or more images or videos were previously captured or stored by the first client computing device. Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, the first information may include a selection of one or more images or videos stored by the one or more servers.
The method 900 further includes obtaining, from the first client computing device, second information defining one or more items to be made available for sale in association with the time-limited social post, the one or more items being associated with an inventory of a unique user profile associated with the user (904). In some embodiments, the second information includes a selection of one or more items previously added to the item inventory associated with the unique user profile of the first user. Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, the second information includes information defining a new one or more items to be added to the item inventory associated with the first user. In these instances, the method 900 may further include adding the new one or more items to the item inventory associated with the unique user profile of the first user.
The method 900 still further includes generating the time-limited social post based upon the first and second information (906). Generating the time-limited social post may thereby make the post available to be viewed, via the one or more servers and for a limited duration of time, at each of a plurality of second client computing devices.
The method 900 still yet further includes causing an indication of availability of the time-limited social post to be displayed via a first graphical user interface (GUI) at each of the plurality of second client computing devices (908). User interaction with the indication via the first GUI at a particular client device from among the plurality of second client computing devices may cause the particular client device to display the time-limited social post by displaying the one or more images or videos in conjunction with real-time information associated with the sale of the one or more items.
In some embodiments, the indication of the availability of the time-limited social post presented via the first GUI is a first indication from among a plurality of indications displayed via the first GUI, each of the plurality of indications respectively indicating a time-limited social media post being available from different respective users from among a plurality of users. That is, many sellers may post stories and the potential buyer may navigate among the respective story views of the many sellers.
The method 900 may include additional actions, in some embodiments. Particularly, in embodiments, the method 900 may include, via communications with the particular client device from among the plurality of client computing devices, and responsive to the interaction with the indication, causing the particular client device to display a second GUI to display the time-limited social post. The second GUI may enable the particular client device to participate in the sale of the one or more items while displaying the one or more images or videos in conjunction with real-time information associated with the sale of the one or more items.
In some embodiments, the method 900 still further includes, via communications with the particular client device, and responsive to a second one or more user interactions received via the second GUI at the particular client device, cause the particular client device to display a further one or more time-limited social posts associated with the first user, wherein displaying each of the further one or more time-limited social posts comprises displaying a respective one or more images or videos in conjunction with real-time information associated with a sale of a respective one or more items.
In some embodiments, the sale of the one or more items includes an auction of the one or more items. In these embodiments, the method 900 may further include (1) receiving, from the particular client device via the second GUI, a third one or more user interactions indicating a bid for the one or more items, (2) responsive to receiving the one or more third user interactions, determining whether the received bid exceeds a current highest bid for the one or more items, and/or (3) responsive to determining that the bid exceeds the current highest bid, updating stored auction information associated with the auction of the one or more items, the updated stored auction information reflecting the received bid as the current highest bid. Moreover, in these embodiments, the method 900 may still further include (4) identifying a further one or more client computing devices viewing the time-limited social post via the second GUI respectively displayed at each of the further one or more client computing devices, and/or (5) transmitting real-time communications to each of the further one or more client computing devices to cause the real-time information to be automatically updated on the second GUI based upon the updated stored auction information.
In some embodiments, the sale of the one or more items includes an offer for direct purchase of the one or more items. In these embodiments, the method 900 may further include (1) via communications with the particular client device via the second GUI, executing a purchase of the one or more items by a second user of the particular client device, and/or (2) responsive to the purchase, updating stored purchase information associated with the auction of the one or more items, the updated stored purchase information reflecting the purchase by the second user. Moreover, in these embodiments, the method 900 may still further include (3) identifying a further one or more client computing devices viewing the time-limited social post via the second GUI respectively displayed at the further one or more client computing devices, and/or (4) transmitting real-time communications to each of the further one or more client computing devices to cause the real-time information to be automatically updated on the second GUI based upon the updated stored purchase information.
Referring next to
The method 920 includes receiving, via one or more graphical user interfaces (GUIs) of a client computing device of a first user, a first one or more user interactions (922). The first one or more user interactions may define one or more images or videos to be included in a time-limited social post (“story”) associated with a unique user profile of the first user. In some embodiments, the one or more images or videos include one or more images or videos retrieved from a storage unit of the client computing device (e.g., the first one or more user interactions may include uploading the one or more images and/or videos). In some embodiments, the first one or more user interactions include operation of a camera application to capture at least one of the one or more images or videos. Still additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, the first one or more user interactions include a selection of one or more images or videos from an item database at the one or more servers (e.g., item catalogue server 132 of
The method 920 further includes receiving, via the one or more GUIs, a second one or more user interactions (924). The second one or more user interactions may define one or more items to be made available for sale in association with the time-limited social post, the one or more items being among an item inventory associated with the unique user profile. In some embodiments, the second one or more interactions include a selection of the one or more items previously added to the item inventory. Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, the second one or more user interactions include interactions to define a new one or more items to be added to the item inventory.
The method 920 still further includes transmitting, to one or more servers, communications indicating the one or more images or videos and the one or more items (926). Transmitting the communications to the one or more servers may cause the time-limited social post to be generated and made available for viewing at each of a plurality of second client computing devices via the one or more servers.
The method 920 may include additional actions, in some embodiments. For example, the method 920 may further include, subsequent to transmitting the communications indicating the one or more images or videos and the one or more items, (1) receive, via the one or more GUIs, a third one or more user interactions indicating an update to one or more parameters associated the sale of the one or more items, and/or (2) transmitting further communications to the one or more servers indicating the update to the one or more parameters to cause the one or more servers to update the time-limited social post as viewed at the second plurality of client computing devices.
In embodiments where the sale of the one or more items includes an auction of the one or more items, the method 920 may further include causing the client computing device to receive, via the one or more GUIs, a third one or more user interactions defining one or more auction parameters for the one or more items. In embodiments, where the sale of the one or more items includes an offer for direct purchase of the one or more items, the method 920 may further include receiving, via the one or more GUIs, a third one or more user interactions defining one or more purchase parameters for the one or more items. Auction or purchase parameters for the items may be displayed at buyer devices as part of the story, enabling buyers to view the detailed item information while potentially bidding on and/or purchasing items via the story.
Referring now to
The method 940 includes displaying, via a first graphical user interface (GUI) of a client computing device of a first user, an indication of availability of time-limited social post (“story”) associated with a unique user profile of a second user (942). The time-limited social post is associated with (1) one or more images or videos, and (2) a sale of one or more items.
In some embodiments, the indication is a first indication from among a plurality of indications displayed via the first GUI, each of the plurality of indications respectively indicating a time-limited social media post being available from different respective ones of a plurality of users. That is, different sellers may each post stories to their story view, and the client computing device may display indications of each seller's respective story view. The displayed plurality of indications may be based upon users and/or categories followed by the first user.
The method 940 further includes receiving a first one or more user interactions with the indication (944).
The method 940 still further includes, in response to the first one or more user interactions with the indication, and via communications with one or more servers, obtaining (1) the one or more images or videos, and (2) real-time information defining one or more parameters associated with the sale of the one or more items (946).
In embodiments where the sale includes an auction for the one or more items, the real-time information may define one or more parameters associated with the auction (e.g., item name, item description, starting bid price, current bid price, highest bidder, time remaining in the auction, categories/subcategories, etc.). In these embodiments, the method 940 may further include (1) receiving a second one or more user interactions via the second GUI, the second one or more user interactions indicating a bid for the one or more items, and/or (2) in response to the second one or more user interactions, transmitting communications to the one or more servers indicating the received bid.
In embodiments where the sale includes an offer for direct purchase for the one or more items, the real-time information may define one or more parameters associated with the offer for direct purchase (e.g., item name, item description, current price, quantity of the item available, categories/subcategories, etc.). In these embodiments, the method 940 may further include (1) receiving a second one or more user interactions via the second GUI, the second one or more user interactions indicating a purchase of the one or more items, and/or (2) in response to the second one or more user interactions, transmitting communications to the one or more servers indicating the purchase.
The method 940 still yet further includes displaying the time-limited social post via a second GUI (948). The displaying of the time-limited social post may (1) include displaying the one or more images or videos in conjunction with real-time information associated with the sale of the one or more items, and (2) enable the client computing device to participate in the sale of the one or more items via the post.
The method 940 may include additional actions, in some embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, the method 940 further includes, while displaying the second GUI, automatically receiving, from the one or more servers, further communications indicating an update to the one or more parameters associated with the sale of the one or more items. In these embodiments, the method 940 may still further include automatically updating the display of the second GUI to reflect the updated one or more parameters.
In some embodiments, the method 940 involves navigating between two or more stories from a same user. That is, the time-limited social post from the first user may be a first post from among a plurality of time-limited social posts available from the first user, each of the plurality of time-limited social posts being associated with a respective one or more images or videos and a sale of a respective one or more items. In these embodiments, the method 940 may further include receiving a further one or more user interactions in the second GUI and, in response to the further one or more user interactions, display a second one of the plurality of time-limited social posts via the second GUI.
Although the text herein sets forth a detailed description of numerous different embodiments, it should be understood that the legal scope of the invention is defined by the words of the claims set forth at the end of this patent. The detailed description is to be construed as exemplary only and does not describe every possible embodiment, as describing every possible embodiment would be impractical, if not impossible. One could implement numerous alternate embodiments, using either current technology or technology developed after the filing date of this patent, which would still fall within the scope of the claims. By way of example, and not limitation, the disclosure herein contemplates at least the following aspects:
Thus, many modifications and modifications and variations may be made in the techniques and structures described and illustrated herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present claims. Accordingly, it should be understood that the methods and apparatus described herein are illustrative only and are not limiting upon the scope of the claims.
It should also be understood that, unless a term is expressly defined in this patent using the sentence “As used herein, the term ‘______’ is hereby defined to mean . . . ” or a similar sentence, there is no intent to limit the meaning of that term, either expressly or by implication, beyond its plain or ordinary meaning, and such term should not be interpreted to be limited in scope based upon any statement made in any section of this patent (other than the language of the claims). To the extent that any term recited in the claims at the end of this disclosure is referred to in this disclosure in a manner consistent with a single meaning, that is done for sake of clarity only so as to not confuse the reader, and it is not intended that such claim term be limited, by implication or otherwise, to that single meaning. Unless a claim element is defined by reciting the word “means” and a function without the recital of any structure, it is not intended that the scope of any claim element be interpreted based upon the application of 35 U.S.C. § 112(f). The systems and methods described herein are directed to an improvement to computer functionality, and improve the functioning of conventional computers.
Throughout this specification, plural instances may implement components, operations, or structures described as a single instance. Although individual operations of one or more methods are illustrated and described as separate operations, one or more of the individual operations may be performed concurrently, and nothing requires that the operations be performed in the order illustrated. Structures and functionality presented as separate components in example configurations may be implemented as a combined structure or component. Similarly, structures and functionality presented as a single component may be implemented as separate components. These and other variations, modifications, additions, and improvements fall within the scope of the subject matter herein.
Additionally, certain embodiments are described herein as including logic or a number of routines, subroutines, applications, or instructions. These may constitute either software (code embodied on a non-transitory, tangible machine-readable medium) or hardware. In hardware, the routines, etc., are tangible units capable of performing certain operations and may be configured or arranged in a certain manner. In example embodiments, one or more computer systems (e.g., a standalone, client or server computer system) or one or more modules of a computer system (e.g., a processor or a group of processors) may be configured by software (e.g., an application or application portion) as a module that operates to perform certain operations as described herein.
In various embodiments, a module may be implemented mechanically or electronically. Accordingly, the term “module” should be understood to encompass a tangible entity, be that an entity that is physically constructed, permanently configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarily configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a certain manner or to perform certain operations described herein. Considering embodiments in which modules are temporarily configured (e.g., programmed), each of the modules need not be configured or instantiated at any one instance in time. For example, where the modules comprise a general-purpose processor configured using software, the general-purpose processor may be configured as respective different modules at different times. Software may accordingly configure a processor, for example, to constitute a particular module at one instance of time and to constitute a different module at a different instance of time.
Modules can provide information to, and receive information from, other modules.
Accordingly, the described modules may be regarded as being communicatively coupled. Where multiple of such modules exist contemporaneously, communications may be achieved through signal transmission (e.g., over appropriate circuits and buses) that connect the modules. In embodiments in which multiple modules are configured or instantiated at different times, communications between such modules may be achieved, for example, through the storage and retrieval of information in memory structures to which the multiple modules have access. For example, one module may perform an operation and store the output of that operation in a memory device to which it is communicatively coupled. A further module may then, at a later time, access the memory device to retrieve and process the stored output. Modules may also initiate communications with input or output devices, and can operate on a resource (e.g., a collection of information).
The various operations of example methods described herein may be performed, at least partially, by one or more processors that are temporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured to perform the relevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanently configured, such processors may constitute processor-implemented modules that operate to perform one or more operations or functions. The modules referred to herein may, in some example embodiments, comprise processor-implemented modules.
Similarly, the methods or routines described herein may be at least partially processor-implemented. For example, at least some of the operations of a method may be performed by one or more processors or processor-implemented modules. The performance of certain of the operations may be distributed among the one or more processors, not only residing within a single machine, but deployed across a number of machines. In some example embodiments, the processor or processors may be located in a single location (e.g., within a home environment, an office environment or as a server farm), while in other embodiments the processors may be distributed across a number of locations.
The performance of certain of the operations may be distributed among the one or more processors, not only residing within a single machine, but deployed across a number of machines. In some example embodiments, the one or more processors or processor-implemented modules may be located in a single geographic location (e.g., within a home environment, an office environment, or a server farm). In other example embodiments, the one or more processors or processor-implemented modules may be distributed across a number of geographic locations.
Unless specifically stated otherwise, discussions herein using words such as “processing,” “computing,” “calculating,” “determining,” “presenting,” “displaying,” or the like may refer to actions or processes of a machine (e.g., a computer) that manipulates or transforms data represented as physical (e.g., electronic, magnetic, or optical) quantities within one or more memories (e.g., volatile memory, non-volatile memory, or a combination thereof), registers, or other machine components that receive, store, transmit, or display information. Some embodiments may be described using the expression “coupled” and “connected” along with their derivatives. For example, some embodiments may be described using the term “coupled” to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact. The term “coupled,” however, may also mean that two or more elements are not in direct contact with each other, but yet still co-operate or interact with each other. The embodiments are not limited in this context.
As used herein any reference to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular element, feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. In addition, use of the “a” or “an” are employed to describe elements and components of the embodiments herein. This is done merely for convenience and to give a general sense of the description. This description, and the claims that follow, should be read to include one or at least one and the singular also includes the plural unless it is obvious that it is meant otherwise.
Throughout the present disclosure, embodiments are described in which various elements are optional—present in some, but not all, embodiments of the system. Where such elements are depicted in the accompanying figures and, specifically, in figures depicting block diagrams, the optional elements are generally depicted in dotted lines to denote their optional nature.
As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” “including,” “has,” “having” or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Further, unless expressly stated to the contrary, “or” refers to an inclusive or and not to an exclusive or. For example, a condition A or B is satisfied by any one of the following: A is true (or present) and B is false (or not present), A is false (or not present) and B is true (or present), and both A and B are true (or present).
This detailed description is to be construed as exemplary only and does not describe every possible embodiment, as describing every possible embodiment would be impractical, if not impossible. One could implement numerous alternate embodiments, using either current technology or technology developed after the filing date of this application. Upon reading this disclosure, those of skill in the art will appreciate still additional alternative structural and functional designs for generating dynamic user experience applications through the disclosed principles herein. Thus, while particular embodiments and applications have been illustrated and described, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are not limited to the precise construction and components disclosed herein. Various modifications, changes and variations, which will be apparent to those skilled in the art, may be made in the arrangement, operation and details of the method and apparatus disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope defined in the appended claims.
The particular features, structures, or characteristics of any specific embodiment may be combined in any suitable manner and in any suitable combination with one or more other embodiments, including the use of selected features without corresponding use of other features. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular application, situation or material to the essential scope and spirit of the present invention. It is to be understood that other variations and modifications of the embodiments of the present invention described and illustrated herein are possible in light of the teachings herein and are to be considered part of the spirit and scope of the present invention.
While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been described, it should be understood that the invention is not so limited, and modifications may be made without departing from the invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims, and all devices that come within the meaning of the claims, either literally or by equivalence, are intended to be embraced therein. It is therefore intended that the foregoing detailed description be regarded as illustrative rather than limiting, and that it be understood that it is the following claims, including all equivalents, that are intended to define the spirit and scope of this invention.
By way of example, and not limitation, the disclosure herein contemplates at least the following aspects:
This application claims priority to, and the benefit of the filing date of, U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/344,382, filed May 20, 2022 and titled “Systems and Methods for Asynchronous Interaction with Time-Limited Social Image or Video Posts,” the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63344382 | May 2022 | US |
