US20140136310A1

Movatterモバイル変換

Info

Publication number: US20140136310A1
Application number: US14/162,117
Authority: US
Inventors: Sanjoy Paul; Anil Sarin; Santosh Krishnamurthy
Original assignee: Infosys Ltd
Current assignee: Infosys Ltd
Priority date: 2010-11-25
Filing date: 2014-01-23
Publication date: 2014-05-15
Also published as: US20120136943A1; US8676908B2

Abstract

A system and method for communication between a plurality of users in a communication network are disclosed. Each of the plurality of users is associated with at least one communication device. The method includes receiving a message from a sender intended for at least one recipient in the communication network wherein the sender has initiated sending of the message using the associated communication device. The message may be selected from a group comprising text, audio, video and multimedia. The method further includes customizing the message for at least one communication device associated with the at least one recipient based on a set of rules. Additionally, the method includes delivering the customized message to the at least one communication device associated with the at least one recipient based on the availability of the at least one recipient on the at least one communication device.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/071,960, filed on Mar. 25, 2011, and claims priority from Indian Patent Application No. 3558/CHE/2010 filed Nov. 25, 2010, all of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONTechnical Field of the Invention

The present technique relates in general to a method and system for seamless interaction and content sharing across multiple networks. More particularly, the present technique relates to a system and a method for enabling sharing message between multiple devices.

Description of the Related Art

Presently, the communication between people is the buzz of the world. Traditionally, telephones have been used to enable communication between people. Subsequently, the advent of mobile based communication has paced up the communication enormously. Further, the Internet has completed the lacunae of communication channel where a user of the Internet services, using a desktop or a laptop or any other similar device, is capable of communicating with other users. As evident, a mobile device has enabled users to interact between themselves seamlessly.

Presently, television has captured the place of the most entertaining device worldwide. At any point in time in a day, hundreds of programs are broadcasted on one or another channel. Television has become a major source of media presentation. While home, most people like to spend time watching one or another entertainment program. Software programming has enabled the viewers to select any of the broadcasted channels to watch an entertainment program of their choice. However, the television is more of an unintelligent device. While watching an entertainment program on a television, the viewer is virtually disconnected from the rest of the world as he may not be able to interact with other people. While watching a program, a viewer may wish to suggest to others to watch the entertainment program. However, then, he is required to use his communicating device i.e., a mobile phone, telephone and the like to convey his message. Consequently, the viewer may be required to stop watching the entertainment program if he desires to convey his message to other person. Also, many a time, for other persons, it becomes difficult to communicate to a television program viewer since he/she may not be available on a communicating device and television does not facilitate any interaction with other people. Also, other people may not have capability to know the presence of the viewer.

Therefore, there is a need to enable an entertainment program viewer on a television or a TV program enabled mobile phone to communicate with other persons. Also, there is a need to enable other persons to know the presence of the viewer for instant communication.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system and a method for social networking across multiple communication devices. The message communication between users of a social networking service/application is enabled based on a preferred communication device and device capabilities. The user of the social networking application can send and receive message communication from a set-top box, a mobile device, a personal desktop/laptop device and a telephone device. The user of the communication device may initiate a message communication using any of the associated communication devices and receive message communication based on a set of rules. One or more processing modules are implemented on a convergence gateway to facilitate seamless message communication. Additionally, one or more processing modules may be implemented on one or more communication devices.

The message communication can be an instant message, a multimedia message, a video message, stored content and the like. Additionally, the user can create a buddy list and interact with the members of the buddy list. A buddy group may be created from the buddy list where members of buddy the list can be grouped based on the user's interest.

Additionally, the user can refer a multimedia message to others or provide his own opinion on a multimedia content. On referring a multimedia message or providing an opinion, the user may be credited one or more credit points. The credited points can be used to obtain an item or a service.

DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present technique will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a system diagram enabling communication between a plurality of communication devices associated with users, in accordance with one embodiment of the present technique;

FIG. 2 illustrates a diagrammatic representation depicting a convergence gateway for social networking, in accordance with one embodiment of the present technique;

FIG. 3 illustrates a system diagram enabling social networking using a set-top box, in accordance with one embodiment of the present technique;

FIG. 4 illustrates a process flowchart providing presence based communication between a plurality of users, in accordance with one embodiment of the present technique;

FIG. 5 illustrates a process flowchart depicting communication device capability based message communication, in accordance with one embodiment of the present technique;

FIG. 6 illustrates a process flowchart depicting synchronization of entertainment channel of a recipient's STB device with a sender's STB device, in accordance with one embodiment of the present technique;

FIG. 7 illustrates a process flowchart depicting a rewarding mechanism for a social networking application user, in accordance with one embodiment of the present technique;

FIG. 8 illustrates a process flowchart depicting management of received and sent messages, in accordance with one embodiment of the present technique;

FIG. 9 illustrates a system diagram depicting a mechanism to reward a social network user on referring a multimedia message, in accordance with one embodiment of the present technique; and

FIG. 10 illustrates a system depicting a generalized computer network arrangement, in one embodiment of the present technique.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is full and informative description of the best method and system presently contemplated for carrying out the present invention which is known to the inventors at the time of filing the patent application. Of course, many modifications and adaptations will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant arts in view of the following description in view of the accompanying drawings and the appended claims. While the systems and method described herein are provided with a certain degree of specificity, the present technique may be implemented with either greater or lesser specificity, depending on the needs of the user. Further, some of the features of the present technique may be used to advantage without the corresponding use of other features described in the following paragraphs. As such, the present description should be considered as merely illustrative of the principles of the present technique and not in limitation thereof, since the present technique is defined solely by the claims.

Referring to drawings,FIG. 1 illustrates a system enabling message communication between a plurality of communication devices associated with users, in accordance with one embodiment of the present technique. For example, thesystem100 includes one more set-top boxes (STB devices)101a-101c, one or more communication devices, for example one or more mobile devices105a-105c, one or more personal desktop or laptop107a-107c, and one or more telephone machines109a-109c. Additionally, thesystem100 includes amedia content provider111, anetwork system115, and a public switched telephone network (PSTN)network113. TheSTB devices101ato101care connected to one ormore display devices103ato103c. Similarly, theSTB device101bis connected to TV103band theSTB device101cis connected to a television (TV)103c. Additionally, one or more STB devices, for example,STB device101ais connected to amedia content provider111 wherein themedia content provider111 includes, but is not limited to, IPTV, digital cable, available-on-demand service provider and the like. It should be noted that the STB device and the TV, such as theSTB device101aand theTV103amay be an integrated unit and such an integrated unit is within the scope of the present technique. For those skilled in the art, it will be apparent that the media content includes, but is not limited to, video content, audio content, multimedia content, image content, text content and the like. The concept of multimedia is well known to those skilled in the art and it includes video, audio, and the like.

In an embodiment, a message sender, for example a viewer associated with theSTB device101a, while watching an entertainment program that is being broadcasted on theTV103athrough theSTB device101a, may intend to initiate a message communication with a recipient associated with a communicating device, for example acomputing device104 or atelephone device109a. The types of message communication include, but are not limited to, an instant message, a short message service (SMS), an Instant Messaging (IM), a multimedia messaging service (MMS), audio, video, email and the like. The message communication initiated from theSTB device101ais routed through themedia content broadcaster111 andnetwork system115 to thecomputing device104. In other words, an entertainment program viewer on theTV103acan send a message to a computing device associated with the recipient.

In yet another embodiment, alternatively, a sender associated with acomputing device104, such as amobile device105aor a personal desktop/laptop device107a, initiates a message communication with a STB device, such as theSTB device101awherein the message is displayed on the associated display device, that is, theTV103a.

Further, the communication device capability is identified when the communication device is registered. For example, if the registered communication device is a mobile device103, the identification of capabilities ofmobile device103aincludes, but is not limited to, handling MMS, video, audio, bandwidth, screen resolution and the like. Based on the capability of the recipient's communication device, the message communication is customized. Video message to audio message, text to audio, audio to text conversions are few of the examples of message customization. For those skilled in the art, it will be apparent that message conversion from one format to another may be customized and is within the scope of the present technique. Additionally, a sender associated with a communicating device may communicate with a recipient based on the presence of the recipient. For example, a recipient may be associated with amobile device105a, a personal desktop/laptop device107a, atelephone device109aand aTV103athroughSTB device101a. Also, the recipient may have assigned themobile device105aas the preferred communication device. However, since the recipient is watching an entertainment program at the given moment, the recipient receives a message communication onTV103athroughSTB device101abased on his presence on theSTB device101a.

In yet another embodiment, a social networking application is implemented on a communication device that can execute a software application, for example, the social networking application may be implemented on a processing device, such as an application server (not shown inFIG. 1). Alternatively, the social networking application can be executed on themobile device105a, theSTB device101a, and personal desktop/laptop device107a. The social networking application facilitates interaction between the users using the associated communication device.

FIG. 2 illustrates a diagrammatic representation depicting a convergence gateway for social networking, in accordance with one embodiment of the present technique. AnSTB device201, acomputing device229 and atelephone device235 are enabled to interact bi-directionally with aconvergence gateway207. Further, theSTB device201 is enabled to take input instructions from aninput device203 and display user interaction information on adisplay device205. Theinput device203 may be selected from a group of a keyboard, a virtual keyboard, a remote device, a cell phone's keyboard, a microphone, a wireless device, a special device and the like. Theinput device203 is linked to theSTB device201 through one of Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID), Bluetooth, Infrared (IR), Wi-Fi, wired or non-wired channels and the like. The special device is any apparatus that can be enabled to act as an input device for theSTB device201. Thedisplay device205 may be selected from, but is not limited to, a television and a monitor.

In one embodiment, theconvergence gateway207 is communicatively coupled to aSTB device201, one ormore computing devices229, and thetelephone device235. Thecomputing device229 includes, but is not limited to, amobile device231 and a personal desktop/laptop device233. Themobile device231 may be any of a mobile phone, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a cell phone, a handheld device and the like. The personal desktop/laptop device233 may be any of a personal desktop, a laptop, a netbook, a notebook and the like. Theconvergence gateway207 facilitates seamless communication between theSTB device201, themobile device231 and the personal desktop/laptop device233. The seamless communication between thecomputing device229 and theSTB device201 is enabled by a network (237a-237c). The network (237a-237) may be Internet, Intranet, wireless area network (WAN), local area network (LAN), Ethernet, telephony network and a network service of media content service provider. In one embodiment, a social networking application is implemented as a web application and hosted on anapplication server225. The user of a communication device may access the social networking application using a URL of the social networking application. The user—a sender or a recipient—is enabled to interact with the social networking application through theconvergence gateway207. Theconvergence gateway207 comprises one or more modules to facilitate interaction, for example a preferreddevice identification module209, a buddylist management module211, apresence module213, atranslation module215, aconversion module217, a devicecapability identification module219, acommunication initiation module221, alocation module222, and amessage communication module223. It should be noted that one or more modules ofconvergence gateway207 can be integrated or may be stand-alone and the integrated modules or the stand-alone modules used as such are within the scope of the present technique.

The buddylist management module211 ofFIG. 2 facilitates the user in creating a list of friends using a unique identifier, for example, a mobile number, an email user, and unique customer identification number provided by a service provider, such as a unique customer identification number provided by the mediaservice content provider111 inFIG. 1 and the like. Additionally, thebuddy management module211 is configurable to manage a recipient list. The management of the recipient list comprises assigning screen name, avatar, smiley, icon, creating buddy groups and the like. Further, the user may create a group of recipients, for example, ‘FAMILY’ for family members, ‘CRICKET’ for cricket followers, ‘CLASSMATE’ for school mates and the like. The group of people may be referred to as a buddy group, for example ‘FAMILY’ may be a buddy group for family members.

Thepresence module213 assists in identifying availability of the users in the buddy list and the preferred communication device associated with the users. According to one embodiment of the present technique, thepresence module213 assists in identifying availability of users. For example, a user of social networking application may associate amobile device231, aSTB device201, a personal desktop/laptop computer device233 and atelephone device235. Further, the user may set status presence information voluntarily, for example, theSTB device201. If the recipient accesses the social networking application using more than one associated device, such as theSTB device201, themobile device231, and the desktop/laptop device233, the recipient will appear online on theSTB device201 only. Alternatively, the presence information of the recipient is determined by thepresence module217. Such as, if the recipient accesses the social networking application through the multiple associated communication devices such asmobile device231,STB device201 and desktop/laptop233, the recipient status is displayed online on all the associated communication devices. Alternatively, the recipient may send a request to the sender to communicate the message on any of the other associated communication devices, for example on themobile device231 or on the personal desktop/laptop device233. Optionally, the receiver may respond to the sender using communication devices other than the communication device on which the recipient has received the message. Additionally, if a user, say a sender or a recipient, accesses a particular communication device, for example theSTB device201, thepresence module213 enables the user to select his status as offline for the members of certain defined buddy groups, for example ‘CRICKET’ buddy group, while the user may appear online for other buddy group members, for example ‘FAMILY’ buddy group or ‘CLASSMATE’ buddy group.

In one embodiment, if the user is using theSTB device201 as a communication device andinput device203 is employed for interacting withSTB device201, the user may enable an autosensing mode to receive or not to receive a message on adisplay device205. The autosensing functionality enables the user to receive and/or reject the message from restricted buddy groups or members of the buddy group. For example, from the ‘CLASSMATE’, the ‘FAMILY’ and the ‘CRICKET’ buddy groups, the user may select not to present any message from the ‘CLASSMATE’ buddy group to theTV205 through theSTB device201. While enabling the autosensing, the user is required to decide type of theinput device203 linked for autosensing. Disconnection of the linkedinput device203 from theSTB device201 may result into not receiving any message from a member of the restricted buddy group or the restricted member of the buddy list whereas connection of the linkedinput device203 to theSTB device201 may result into receiving the message from the member of the restricted buddy group. In one embodiment, the restricted member may be an individual of the buddy group or an external community group. It should be noted that autosensing may also be enabled using a webcam wherein the webcam can be integrated with the STB device, a personal/laptop computing device, and a mobile device. If autosensing is enabled using the webcam, the presence of the user and whether the user is available alone or with other people is detected through known biometric techniques, for example, using face detection and such an enablement is within the scope of the present invention. Thus, the environment around the user of the webcam is identified using the webcam. Based on the environment around the user, the message may be delivered or not delivered wherein the user of the webcam, using the social networking application, has defined the buddy group and/or the buddy members from whom the message should not be received if the user of the webcam is not alone. It should be noted that the user of thecomputing device229 may also be enabled to define the environment and the message delivery restriction thereof wherein themobile device231 with camera and/or the desktop/laptop with webcam are capable of identifying the environment around the user of the associated device users. The autosensing mode can be enabled throughpresence module213 or through a stand-alone module (not shown in theFIG. 2) and such an enablement is within the scope of present technique.

Theinput device203 may be selected from a keyboard, a virtual keyboard, a remote device, a cell phone's keyboard, a microphone, a wireless device, a special device and the like. The special device is any device which may link to theSTB device201 through a network system and may be used for input requirements. Theinput device203 is linked to theSTB device201 through one of known technologies such as RFID, Bluetooth, IR, Wi-Fi, wired or non-wired channels, and the like. Theinput device203 enables the user to perform various functionalities such as browsing entertainment channels, selecting any channel, browsing social networking services, providing voice/audio/video/text message inputs or providing inputs for received message, browsing stored contents such as DVD/recorded contents and other services that are provided by the media content broadcaster or social networking application. In other words, theinput device203 enables the user to control and manipulate various services and capabilities provided by the social networking application or the media content provider. Additionally, theinput device203 facilitates entering text message using predictive text methodology. The predictive text methodology assists in determining what sentence, phrase or word has been intended by the user, and subsequently the predictive text entering helps the user to type the message faster. The predictive text methodology also helps in spelling prediction and correction of the words. The predictive text is providing using a large word list and the ability to increase that list based on the frequency of word usage. In one embodiment, the user of theSTB device201 is provided with an option to appear ‘offline’ or ‘away’ if the link between theinput device203 and theSTB device201 is disconnected. For example, if theinput device203 is a mobile device and theinput device203 is linked to theSTB device201 through Bluetooth, when the user ofinput device203 moves away by a defined range,input device203 and theSTB device201 get disconnected and the user status may be displayed as ‘away’ or ‘offline’. Subsequently, theconvergence gateway207 stops delivery of any message to theSTB device201. Additionally, the user of the social networking application has the option of deciding whichinput device203 should enable autosensing functionality. For example, from the list of multiple linkedinput devices203 i.e., a mobile device, a remote, a special device, the user may select the autosensing capability to be enabled for the mobile device and the special device and not for the remote. Thus, if the mobile device or the special device gets disconnected, themessage communication module223 of the convergence gateway stops delivery of a message initiated by a restricted recipient or member of a buddy group. Therefore, no message is delivered to theSTB device201 from the restricted recipient or a member of any restricted buddy group (for example ‘CRICKET’). Based on autosensing capabilities, the user may not receive any message in his absence on the said device, though another user can watch theTV205 using theSTB device201 and remote as theinput device203.

In one embodiment, a sender, using the associated communication device, may send a message to a communication device although the recipient appears offline on one or more of the associated communication devices. The user, for example a sender, may select a recipient from the buddy list though the status of the recipient does not appear ‘available’ and sends a message that is intended to be delivered to the associated communication device of the recipient. The message is stored atstorage device227. When the recipient accesses the social networking application through any of the associated communication devices, for example through any of theSTB device201 and thecomputing device229, thepresence module213 identifies the communication device based on the set of rules as discussed inFIG. 1 and/orFIG. 5. Subsequently, the message is delivered to the available associated communication device using themessage communication module223.

In one embodiment, a communication devicecapability identification module219 enables theconvergence gateway207 to identify the capabilities of the associated communication device. The communication device capability can be identified based on one or more parameters such as type of communication device, type of message, bandwidth capability, screen resolution and the like. The identification of the capabilities of the associated communication device facilitates the delivery of message in an appropriate format. For example, if the associated communication device is a low endmobile device231, there is a possibility that an intended received video message may not be executed on it. However, a video message may be easily played onTV205 wherein the video message is provided through the linkedSTB device201. Therefore, the video message is delivered on more capable device i.e.,TV205. Similarly, if the intended received message is an audio message, and the mobile device is a low end device and not capable to execute audio message, then the audio message may be converted into a text message using theconversion module217 and presented to themobile device231.

In one embodiment, atranslation module215 is provided to enable multilingual message communication. For example, for a text based message, if the preferred language of the recipient communication device is different from the language of the sender, thetranslation module215 determines the language of the sender message and the preferred language of the recipient communication device. Subsequently, the received text message is translated into the preferred language of the recipient communication device and the translated message is displayed at the recipient communication device.

In another embodiment, theconversion module217 ofconvergence gateway207 may transform the message format based on communication device capability or user's selection. For example theconversion module217 may transform an audio message into a text message and vice versa. After conversion of the message into the targeted format, the message is delivered to the recipient usingmessage communication module223. For example, if the intended received message is an audio message, the recipient may choose to receive the message in text format wherein theconversion module217 is instructed, using the associated communicated device, to transform the message from the audio message to the text message and delivered to the associated communication device of the recipient. Similarly, if the intended received message is a text message, the recipient may receive the intended message as an audio message. Alternatively, the sender may record a voice message and instruct theconversion module217 to convert the voice message into a text message wherein audio message include voice message. Subsequently, the text message is delivered to the intended recipient wherein the instruction for transforming the message is initiated by the associated and converted by theconversion module217.

In one embodiment, the messagecommunication initiation module221 of theconvergence gateway207 assists in initiating the process of sending the message using a message communication device, for example theSTB device201, themobile device231, the personal desktop/laptop communicating device233 and thetelephone device235. For the message communication through theSTB device201, the user, such as a sender accesses the social networking application using theinput device203 and may send a message to a recipient in the buddy list. The sender interactions and the message are displayed on thedisplay device205. Similarly, a user, such as a sender associated with amobile device231 or the personal desktop/laptop communication device233 may login to the social networking application and initiate the process of sending a message to any recipients in the buddy list. It should be noted that sender's initiated message may be selected from a group of SMS, MMS, audio, video and the like. It should be noted that audio message includes voice message of the sender. The message may be transformed into another format such as from the audio/voice to text message and vice versa wherein the format may be transformed using theconversion module217 and instructed using associated communication device. For example, the sender may initiate sending of a message using associatedmobile device231, or microphone linked toSTB device201 or desktop/laptop233 wherein the message is a voice message. The sender is provided the option of sending the voice message without any transformation or transformation into text format using theconversion module217. When a sender selects the option of sending the message in a transformed format, the voice message is transmitted toconvergence gateway207 which transforms the message into an appropriate format such as text using theconversion module217. Thus, the message may be delivered as text message to a recipient.

In one embodiment, thelocation module222 enables the sender or the recipient to provide a geographical location of the associated communication device of the recipient or the sender. For example, if the message sender is a TV viewer and the message recipient is associated with amobile device231, the social networking application enables the sender to provide the location of the recipient. The location of the recipient may be identified through voluntary disclosure by the user of the associated device or using known techniques, such as GPS. In voluntary disclosure of location by the user of the associated device, such as the recipient associated with amobile device231, the recipient may access the social networking application using themobile device231 and input in the application his location such as at City CLUB, at OFFICE, HOME, and the like. Alternatively, thelocation module222 may automatically identify the location of the recipient using known technique such as GPS, GSM based positioning and the like. Techniques such as GPS, GSM based positioning, and the like are well known in the art and are not described herein for the sake of brevity.

In one embodiment, themessage communication module223 enables the user, using aSTB device201, acomputing device229, and atelephone device235, to deliver and receive the message. The message, being delivered or received, is transferred using any of instant messaging (IM), short message service (SMS), multimedia messaging service (MMS), e-mail, video session. Thestorage device227 stores the information relevant to buddy list, groups of buddy list, messages and the like. Thestorage device227 may be a database, a memory device, a flash memory and the like.

In one embodiment, theSTB device201 may be configured to synchronize the entertainment channel in response to receiving a message from the sender and record predefined content. The predefined content may be any multimedia content such as audio or video that is broadcasted on a channel by amedia content provider111 ofFIG. 1. A user, such as a sender, may send an invite message to a recipient to watch the channel wherein the message is transmitted using the associated communication device. It should be noted that the message is delivered based on the presence information of the recipient. If the recipient receives the message onSTB device201, he may accept the invite and subsequently watch the same channel as invited by the sender. If the recipient is available on a communication device other thanSTB device201, such as onmobile device231 or desktop/laptop233, the recipient may accept the invite message and instruct theSTB device201 to record the content broadcasted on the channel. The recorded content is stored on memory or storage hardware of theSTB device201 and may be played (executed) later at any time as selected by the recipient.

In one embodiment, a user ofSTB device201 may initiate a message communication by accessing the URL of the social networking application hosted on theapplication server225. The message communication is facilitated by theconvergence gateway207. On accessing the social networking application through theSTB device201, thepresence module213 of theconvergence gateway207 determines that message communication is initiated from theSTB device201. Subsequently, theconvergence gateway207 sends an XML request to theapplication server225 which responds with an XML response comprising application specific information. Subsequently, these XML pages comprising the application specific information are converted into XHTML pages and rendered to the end user on theTV display205.

In another embodiment, a user of personal desktop orlaptop233 may initiate a message communication by accessing the URL of the social networking application hosted onapplication server225. The message communication is facilitated by theconvergence gateway207. On accessing the social networking application through the personal desktop orlaptop233, thepresence module213 ofconvergence gateway207 determines that message communication is initiated from the personal desktop orlaptop233. On identifying that the request for accessing the social networking application has been initiated from the personal desktop orlaptop233, theapplication server225 renders HTML pages to the personal desktop orlaptop233.

In one embodiment, a user of themobile device231 may initiate a message sending by accessing the URL of the social networking application hosted onapplication server225. The message communication is facilitated by theconvergence gateway207. On accessing the social networking application through themobile device231, thepresence module213 ofconvergence gateway207 determines that the process of sending the message is initiated from themobile device231. Subsequently, theconvergence gateway207 sends an XML request to theapplication server225 which responds with an XML response comprising application specific information. Subsequently, these XML pages comprising the application specific information are converted into XHTML pages and rendered to the end user onmobile device231.

In one embodiment, the social networking application ofapplication server225 may be integrated with an external social networking application and enables a user to provide micro-blogging or blog-posting. Such an external social networking website may be selected from the ORKUT, TWITTER, FACEBOOK and the like. It should be noted that the external social networking website is not controlled by the social networking application hosted on theapplication server225. The micro-blogging service allows the user to provide a rating or an opinion posted on the external social networking website. The opinion may be a text-based message or an update in response to micro-blogging. It should be noted that while the user have accessed the social networking application hosted onapplication server225, the user may continue viewing a program on theTV205 through theSTB device201. Thus, the user may access the external social networking website and post micro-blogging and receive updates from the micro-blogging. Also, the user of social networking application hosted onapplication server225 may provide micro-blogging for members of his/her buddy list that may not be displayed to the members of external social networking websites.

It should be noted that a user of the social networking application, whether a sender or a recipient, may not require to login to the social networking application every time the user intends to access the social networking application. The user may save and store his credentials. Also, the user is enabled to modify and delete his social networking profile. Additionally, a service provider, for example a media content broadcaster or an IPTV service provider, may enable a default social networking access on a device, for example on theSTB device201. Therefore, the user of theSTB device201 may not need to provide his credentials to access the social networking application. Additionally, one or more modules ofconvergence gateway207 may be implemented in a communication device and such an enablement is within the scope of the present technique.

Referring to the next drawing,FIG. 3 illustrates a system diagram enabling social networking using a set-top box, in accordance with one embodiment of the present technique. Thesocial networking system300 includes aSTB device301, adisplay device317, acomputing device319, and atelephone device325. It should be noted that theSTB device301, thedisplay device317, thecomputing device319 and thetelephone device325 are linked through anetwork115 as described inFIG. 1. TheSTB device301 comprises aninput receiving module303, a buddylist management module305, apresence module307, acommunication initiation module309, amessage communication module311 and astorage module313. Theinput receiving module303 receives instruction from aninput device315. Theinput receiving module303 initializes other modules of theSTB device301, forexample presence module307, the buddylist management module305 and the like. Further, theinput device315 enables usage of various functions of theSTB device301, such as creating a buddy list using buddylist management module305, browsing entertainment channels, selecting any channel, browsing social networking services, providing voice/audio/video/text message inputs or providing inputs for received message, browsing stored contents such as DVD/recorded contents and other services that are provided by the media content broadcaster or social networking application. In one embodiment, theinput device315 may be selected from a keyboard, a virtual keyboard, a remote device, a cell phone's keyboard, a microphone, a wireless device, a special device and the like. Additionally, the instruction initiated though theinput device315 provides control capabilities for theSTB device301, that is, the capabilities to change entertainment channel, record a program, execute an application and the like. For example, theinput device315 assists in implementing the social network application on theSTB device301. Additionally, the social networking application may be implemented on anapplication server225 ofFIG. 2 and accessed through a URL. In one embodiment, the social networking application may be implemented on one or more communication devices. For example, the social networking application may be implemented on theSTB device301. The buddylist management module305 enables the user to create and manage a list of recipients. An invitation to join the social network is sent by a sender using the associated communication device to a recipient associated with a communication device wherein each communication device is assigned with a unique identifier. As apparent to those skilled in the art, the unique identifier can be, but not limited to, a mobile number, a user login ID, customer identification number and the like. The buddy list comprises name of the recipient, the unique identifier, the associated communication device of the recipient and other information relevant to the user. Additionally, the buddylist management module305 is configurable to manage the recipient list. The management of the recipient list comprises assigning screen name, avatar, smiley, and the like. Further, the user may create groups of the recipients which can be termed as buddy groups, for example ‘FAMILY’ for family members, ‘CRICKET’ for cricket followers, ‘CLASSMATE’ for school mates and the like. Additionally, the management of the list of the recipients includes, but is not limited to, buddy group creation, defining one or more restricted members of buddy list or the buddy group for a communication device.

In one embodiment, thepresence module307 is configurable to provide availability information of the recipient. The availability information comprises information on whether the recipient is present online that is whether he/she is available to receive messages any on the associated devices. For example, on accessing the social networking application through an associated communication device, for example theSTB device301, the user may view the online status of the recipients. The recipients are presented as ‘online’ based on presence status set by himself or determined by thepresence module307. Additionally, if a user accesses a particular communication device, for example theSTB device301, thepresence module307 enables the user to select an option of not displaying him/her as online for certain defined buddy groups, for example, for ‘CRICKET’ buddy group, while the user may appear online for other buddy group members for example ‘FAMILY’ buddy group or ‘CLASSMATE’ buddy groups.

Additionally, thecommunication initiation module309 assists a user in initiating a message session. The message content may be a text message, a multimedia message, content provided by a media service provider, audio/video/DVD content, pre-recorded content, images and the like. The initiation of message session enables a user to send a message communication through an instant messaging session, an SMS session, an MMS session and the like. The received message communication or the sent message communication may be stored using astorage module313. It should be noted that the message content may be stored locally at thestorage module313 or atstorage device227 ofFIG. 2. Further, the sent message or the received message, stored in thestorage module313, may be accessed and deleted at a later period, as desired by the user.

Thedisplay device317 enables a user to view the message communicated bymessage communication module311. Themessage communication module311 enables the sender to provide message content to a recipient. Thedisplay device317 may be any of a TV, a monitor and the like that can display the output of theSTB device301. Similarly, the social networking application can be accessed by thecomputing devices319 and may initiate message communication thereof. It should be noted that the social networking application may be implemented on theapplication server225 ofFIG. 2 or hardware module/software may be implemented oncomputing device319. Thecomputing device319 may be, but is not limited to, amobile device321 and a personal desktop/laptop device323. Further, it should be noted that themobile device321 can be, for example, a PDA, a smart phone, a mobile phone, a cell phone and the like. The personal desktop/laptop device323 can be, for example, a personal desktop computer, a netbook, a notebook, a laptop and the like. On implementing the social networking application on any of thecomputing devices319, the user of the computing device, for example a sender or receiver, may create a buddy list, manage the buddy list, send and/or receive message, display presence based information, and the like. In one embodiment, a user is enabled to interact with social networking application using the associatedtelephone device325. Thetelephone device325 would be capable of replying to a received message communication. The received message communication is displayed at an interface (not shown in the figure). For example if the received message is a text message, it is displayed at the interface wherein thetelephone device325 is provided with an interface to display message and keypad to reply to a received message. Additionally, the associated interface of thetelephone device325 displays the list of recipients. The user of thetelephone device325 may toggle through the list of recipients, select one of the recipients and initiate a new message communication.

FIG. 4 is a process flowchart illustrating a method to provide presence-based communication between users, in accordance with one embodiment of the present technique. The process starts when a user accesses the social networking application using the communication device as represented bystep401. On accessing the social networking application, a user may initiate a message with one or more recipients or send a message in response to the received message communication. In one embodiment, the user may initiate a new message communication using a set-top box and send a message to recipient's communication device, for example, to a mobile device, a personal desktop/laptop or a telephone device.

Atstep403, a user of the associated communication device may access a buddy list, which is facilitated by buddylist management module211 ofFIG. 2. The buddylist management module211 assists in creation and management of the buddy list. While creating the buddy list, the user may add various details such as name, unique identifier, mobile number, and the like in his buddy list. Additionally, the user may assign a screen name, an avatar, a smiley, an icon etc to any person listed in the buddy list. Further, the user may creates various groups of the member in the list, for example the user may create a ‘CLASSMATE’ group for his school mates, a ‘CRICKET’ group for cricket follower, a ‘FAMILY’ group for family members and the like. The group of people may be referred to as a buddy group. For initiating a message communication, the user may select a member from the group of the buddy list and send a message communication. Additionally, the user may send a message communication to a group of members, for example, the user may send a lunch invite message to all cricket followers through one message. For example, the user may send a communication “Let us meet at 12.00 PM at LaTerrace” to the ‘CRICKET’ group in the buddy list. All the members of ‘CRICKET’ group will receive the lunch invitation at the associated communication device of the users. It should be noted that a message communication can be a text message, a multimedia message, an audio message and the like.

When a user, such as a sender accesses the social networking application, a recipient in the buddy list will appear ‘online’ if the recipient has also accessed the social networking application using the associated communication device. Once a recipient logs into the social networking application, the presence information is transmitted to the sender as represented bystep405. The presence information is transmitted through the presence module, for example, through thepresence module213 ofconvergence gateway207 inFIG. 2. The presence information includes type of device on which the recipient is available, the buddy group he belongs to, and the like. On transmission of recipient presence, the recipient is displayed as ‘online’ to the sender as shown bystep407. Subsequently, a communication session is established between the sender and the recipient using the associated communication device and message is exchanged thereof. The exchange of message may direct to beginning of message communication between the sender and the recipient as represented bystep409.

Additionally, if a user, say a sender or a recipient, accesses a particular communication device, for example theSTB device201 inFIG. 2, the user may select not to display himself as online for members of certain defined buddy groups, for example, ‘CLASSMATE’ buddy group, while the user may appear online for other buddy group members, for example, ‘FAMILY’ buddy group or ‘CRICKET’ buddy groups. The application may be configured by the user to flag a user as ‘online’ depending on the type of the device, time of the day, personal choice, presence information, location of the user, environment of the user, user's other appointments and the like.

Before delivering a message to the associated device, the capability of the device such as the ability to handle the type of message, type of communication device, bandwidth capability, screen resolution etc., is identified as represented bystep503. For example, if the associated communication device of a recipient is a low end mobile device, then the communication device may not be able to display a multimedia message, for example a video message. The social networking application enables customization of the message based on the communication device capability and delivering the message in on other mode thereafter i.e., a text message or a audio message and the like as represented bystep505 andstep507. Thus, the message is customized based on the associated communication device and delivered to the associated communication device of the recipient. For example, based on customization requirements, the message is converted into an appropriate format i.e., for a low-end mobile phone, the audio message is converted to a text message or just an alert that rich content has been directed at the user and he/she may access it via a device capable of rendering it. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that a television has better screen resolution and capability to display video content than a mobile device. Therefore, if the received message is a video message, then the video message is preferably delivered to the TV through the STB. However, if the recipient desires to receive the video message on a mobile device, then he may specifically select an option to receive the video message on the mobile device wherein the social networking application provides the user an option to select the associated communication device.

FIG. 6 is a process flowchart depicting synchronization of entertainment channel of a recipient's STB device with a sender's STB device, in accordance with one embodiment of the present technique. Thepresence module213 ofFIG. 2 enables the viewer of a TV associated with an STB device to identify presence information of people in the buddy list and the type of associated communication devices on which they are online. Additionally, the social networking application implemented enables the viewer to know the entertainment program that is being watched by the recipients in buddy list wherein the recipients are displayed ‘online’ on the associated STB device. It should be noted that a person appears ‘online’ when he accesses the social networking application. If a recipient in the buddy list is displayed ‘online’ on a STB device connected to a TV, the viewer may send an invitation request to the recipient as displayed bystep601 wherein the invitation request is provided for watching an entertainment program on the TV. The invitation request is displayed on the TV linked to the STB device of the recipient. The invitation request includes a message about an entertainment program and an option to switch to the same entertainment program as represented bystep603. For example, a sender may send a message that “Are you interested in watching Lord of the Rings” when the movie ‘Lord of the Rings’ is being broadcasted on one of the entertainment channels at the given period of time. Additionally, the message may contain tabs “Yes”, “No” or “Record” to accept, reject the invite request or record the entertainment program as shown bystep605. If the recipient accepts “Yes” or “Record”, the entertainment channel of the recipient's STB device is synchronized with the sender's entertainment channel as represented bystep607 and subsequently the same entertainment program may be viewed on the TV or recorded and stored at the STB device as represented bystep611. If the recipient selects “No”, then the recipient's entertainment channel is not synchronized with the sender's entertainment channel as represented bystep609. Optionally, a message may be transmitted to the sender whether the recipient has accepted i.e., selected from “Yes” and “Record or has rejected the invite request.

In yet another embodiment, the user may be presented with an option of recording the entertainment program in response to receiving an invite message. The invite message may be received on any of the associated devices based on presence information provided bypresence module213 ofFIG. 2. For example the recipient may be ‘online’ onmobile device231 ofFIG. 2 and he receives the invite message to view an entertainment program from a sender. The recipient may decline the invite message or record the entertainment program which may be viewed later. On selecting the option of recording the entertainment program, the entertainment program channel of the sender and the recipient are synchronized and the program is recorded at local storage ofSTB device201 ofFIG. 2.

Referring to the next figure,FIG. 7 is a process flowchart illustrating a rewarding mechanism for a social networking application user, in accordance with one embodiment of the present technique. Instep701, a sender may refer a multimedia message, for example, a video to one or more recipients wherein the sender and the recipient(s) are enabled to access the social networking applications. While referring a video to the other recipients, the sender may request the recipients to provide their opinion on it. The opinion may be provided in the form of a ranking, for example ranking between 1(low end) and 5 (high end), comments, feedback, opinion and the like. Also, the sender may provide his opinion for a video. When the sender or the recipient(s) provides his opinion for a video, one or more predetermined credit points are credited into the account of the referrer (i.e., the sender) and opinion provider (i.e., the recipient) as represented bystep703. The multimedia message, i.e. the video, may be referred to one or more recipients through a hypertext link of the multimedia message or other techniques known in the art. The opinion may include, but is not limited to, text based comments, rating the content and the like. The account of the sender or the recipient comprises profile information, credit point information including total accumulated credit points and the like. The accumulation of credit points includes summation of the credit points as represented bystep705. Atstep707, the accumulated credit points may be used for purchasing one or more items. The item for exchange can be a video, a game, a voucher and the like. In other words, the accumulated points can enable the sender or the recipient to exchange it with a video, a game, a voucher or any other item available on social networking application as represented by step709.

FIG. 8 is a process flowchart illustrating management of received and sent messages, in accordance with one embodiment of the present technique. Atstep801, a recipient receives a message on an associated communication device. For example, the recipient may receive a message communication on theSTB device201 wherein the STB device is linked to atelevision device205 to display the message communication. In one option, the recipient may be watching an entertainment program when he receives the video. While watching the entertainment program, the recipient may not be interested in viewing the received video. The recipient of the social networking application may ‘save’ or ‘reject’ the received message communication, for example the received video, as represented in thestep803. On selecting the ‘save’ option, the video is stored at a local data store, for example, at a data storage capability device of the STB device. Alternatively, the social networking application enables the recipient to store the video at a data store linked to the social networking application. Also, the recipient may select the ‘reject’ option to ignore the message. On selecting the ‘reject’ option, the message is deleted.

The stored video may be selected for playing it using theinput device203 of theSTB device201 and played the video at any time, for example during an advertisement break of the entertainment program as depicted in thestep805. Optionally, the recipient may play the video after completion of the entertainment program. The saved video, as represented in thestep803, may be stored for any period of time, deleted at any moment of time or forwarded further to other recipients as shown in thestep807.

FIG. 9 illustrates a system diagram depicting a mechanism to reward a social network user on referring a multimedia message, in accordance with one embodiment of the present technique. In asocial networking environment900, a multimedia reference module enables a user, for example, a sender, to refer a multimedia message to a recipient. The multimedia message may be about a product and can be, but not limited to, a video, an audio, an image and the like. The multimedia message may be referred to one or more recipients. The multimedia message may be a video, an advertisement and the like. In one embodiment, the multimedia message is referred as hypertext link of the multimedia message. On referring a multimedia message, stipulated credit points are credited into the account of the sender as represented bymultimedia referring module901. For example, referring a song may earn five credit points for the sender, while referring an image may earn two points for the sender. On referring a multimedia message, the stipulated credit points are credited into the account of the sender. Similarly, stipulated credit points may be credited into the account of the sender when an opinion of the sender is captured by theopinion capturing module903. The creditpoint allocation module905 allocates one or more credit points into the account of the referring sender or an opinion providing sender or recipient. The creditpoint collation module907 collates credit points for a sender or a recipient and provides a mathematical sum of the credit points. It should be noted that the multimedia content may available for purchase on exchange of credit points. For example, a movie download may be available in exchange of twenty credit points. If a user, for example, a sender or a recipient, accumulates twenty or more credit points in his account, for example twenty eight credit points, the user may exchange the movie for a twenty credit points and equivalent credit points are debited from the account of the user i.e., eight credit points will remain in the account of the user as represented byblock907, block909 and block911. Adatabase913 is provided to store account information of the users, multimedia message and the like.

Exemplary Computing Environment

One or more of the above-described techniques can be implemented in or involve one or more computer systems.FIG. 10 illustrates a generalized example of acomputing environment1000. Thecomputing environment1000 is not intended to suggest any limitation as to scope of use or functionality of described embodiments.

With reference toFIG. 10, thecomputing environment1000 includes at least oneprocessing unit1010 andmemory1020. InFIG. 10, this mostbasic configuration1030 is included within a dashed line. Theprocessing unit1010 executes computer-executable instructions and may be a real or a virtual processor. In a multi-processing system, multiple processing units execute computer-executable instructions to increase processing power. Thememory1020 may be volatile memory (e.g., registers, cache, RAM), non-volatile memory (e.g., ROM, EEPROM, flash memory, etc.), or some combination of the two. In some embodiments, thememory1020

stores software

1080 implementing described techniques.

A computing environment may have additional features. For example, thecomputing environment1000 includesstorage1040, one ormore input devices1050, one ormore output devices1060, and one ormore communication connections1070. An interconnection mechanism (not shown) such as a bus, controller, or network interconnects the components of thecomputing environment1000. Typically, operating system software (not shown) provides an operating environment for other software executing in thecomputing environment1000, and coordinates activities of the components of thecomputing environment1000.

Thestorage1040 may be removable or non-removable, and includes magnetic disks, magnetic tapes or cassettes, CD-ROMs, CD-RWs, DVDs, USB drive, or any other medium which can be used to store information and which can be accessed within thecomputing environment1000. In some embodiments, thestorage1040 stores instructions for thesoftware1080.

The input device(s)1050 may be a touch input device such as a keyboard, mouse, pen, trackball, touch screen, or game controller, a voice input device, a scanning device, a digital camera, or another device that provides input to thecomputing environment1000. The output device(s)1060 may be a display, printer, speaker, or another device that provides output from thecomputing environment1000.

The communication connection(s)1070 enable communication over a communication medium to another computing entity. The communication medium conveys information such as computer-executable instructions, audio or video information, or other data in a modulated data signal. A modulated data signal is a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media include wired or wireless techniques implemented with an electrical, optical, RF, infrared, acoustic, or other carrier.

Implementations can be described in the general context of computer-readable media. Computer-readable media are any available media that can be accessed within a computing environment. By way of example, and not limitation, within thecomputing environment1000, computer-readable media includememory1020, storage440, communication media, and combinations of any of the above.

Having described and illustrated the principles of our invention with reference to described embodiments, it will be recognized that the described embodiments can be modified in arrangement and detail without departing from such principles. It should be understood that the programs, processes, or methods described herein are not related or limited to any particular type of computing environment, unless indicated otherwise. Various types of general purpose or specialized computing environments may be used with or perform operations in accordance with the teachings described herein. Elements of the described embodiments shown in software may be implemented in hardware and vice versa.

In view of the many possible embodiments to which the principles of our invention may be applied, we claim as our invention all such embodiments as may come within the scope and spirit of the following claims and equivalents thereto.

Claims

1. A system for social networking between a plurality of users in a communication network, each of the plurality of users being associated with at least one communication device, the system comprising:

a social network creation module configured to create a buddy list by registering at least one recipient associated with at least one communication device;

a communication session initiation module configured to initiate a communication session between the users associated with the communication device wherein at least one message is initiated to be delivered to the communication device of the recipient wherein the message is delivered based on a set of rules, wherein the set of rules comprises identifying a preferred communication device from the at least one communication device of the at least one recipient, and device capabilities of the at least one communication device; and

a delivery module configured to deliver the message to the at least one communication device associated with the at least one recipient.

2. The system for social networking according toclaim 1, wherein the at least one communication device associated with the sender is selected from a group comprising a computing device, a set-top box, and a telephone.

3. The system for social networking according toclaim 1, wherein the at least one communication device associated with the recipient is selected from a group comprising a computing device, a set-top box and a telephone.

4. The system for social networking according toclaim 1, wherein at least one buddy list presenting module to present a buddy list at a interface of the at least one communication device associated with the sender , wherein the buddy list comprises at least one of a name, contact number, unique identifier, and presence information.

5. The system for social networking according toclaim 1, further comprising a delivery module configured to deliver the message to the preferred communication device when the at least one recipient is available on the preferred communication device.

6. The system for social networking according toclaim 1, wherein the preferred communication device is selected based on at least one of type of message, personal choice, time of the day, environment and location of the recipient.

7. The system for social networking according toclaim 1, wherein the message is selected from a group comprising IM, SMS, MMS, audio, video, and email.

8. The system for social networking according toclaim 1, wherein the social networking is configured for integration with one or more external applications for one or more micro-blogging and blog posting.

9. The system for social networking according toclaim 8, wherein the social networking application is configured to receive update from the one or more external applications.

10. The system for social networking according toclaim 1, wherein the message is delivered based on autosensing of the recipient.

11. The system for social networking according toclaim 1, further comprises rewarding the sender, comprising:

a credit point allocation module to allocate a credit point to the sender on referring a multimedia message to the recipient or providing an opinion on the multimedia message;

a credit point collation module to collate the credit points for the sender wherein the collated credit points are being utilized to exchange an item; and

an exchange module to exchange collated credit points for the item, wherein a minimum credit point value associated to the second multimedia is provided to exchange for the collated credited points.

12. The system for social networking according toclaim 11, wherein a credit point debit module is provided to debit credit points from the collated credited points.