HK1172110B - Hash tag management in a microblogging infrastructure - Google Patents

Description

Hash tag management in microblog infrastructure

Technical Field

The invention relates to microblogging, in particular to hash tag management in a microblog infrastructure.

Background

It is difficult for a user to find information about topics of interest from microblog feeds. Microblogs differ from blogs in that the content of a microblog is generally smaller than the content used in a blog. The user does not have to take the time to read a large few hundred words of blog-type message. For example, a microblog message may consist of, for example, no more than one sentence fragment, one image, as opposed to a blog message that generally contains more content. Moreover, the size of the content of the microblog message is smaller, and the size of the whole file is generally much smaller than that of the blog message.

Existing microblog infrastructure is limited; for example, when a user finds such a topic of interest, it is then difficult to receive updates about the latest utterance and discussion of that topic. Thus, in order to track all conversations (messages) on this topic, the user must continue to search for this topic or read each message in the feed.

Disclosure of Invention

The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some novel embodiments described herein. This summary is not an extensive overview, and it is not intended to identify key/critical elements or to delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

The disclosed architecture provides enhanced tag management in a microblog communication infrastructure. This architecture provides for efficient discovery and tracking of topics of interest to a particular user by enabling the user to focus on (track) the hash (#) tag (denoted as # tag) and receive and browse all messages in the user's personal feed that are tagged (or associated) with this hash tag. Each hash tag has a persistent tab page that aggregates all associated activities and includes a list including, for example, but not limited to, tag followers (tag followers), most frequent users (most frequently using the tag in a particular time frame), descriptions, and related tags. Focusing on the tag and dedicating the page to a particular topic (# tag) enables the user to receive all updates in the user's personal feed and view an aggregation of all messages and conversations associated with the tag in a single location (on the tag page). The user may also mask (mute) the tag to prevent receipt of tag information (e.g., content associated with the tag) via a feed (e.g., personal).

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, certain illustrative aspects are described herein in connection with the following description and the annexed drawings. These aspects are indicative of various ways in which the principles disclosed herein can be practiced, and all aspects and equivalents thereof are intended to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Other advantages and novel features may become apparent from the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the drawings.

Drawings

FIG. 1 illustrates a computer-implemented information system in accordance with the disclosed architecture.

Fig. 2 shows an interaction flow of various aspects of an information system using tag telemetry (tel telemetry) in a microblog platform.

FIG. 3 illustrates a tab page for tab management.

FIG. 4 shows a focus page for tag management.

FIG. 5 illustrates a computer-implemented informational method in accordance with the disclosed architecture.

FIG. 6 illustrates further aspects of the method of FIG. 5.

Fig. 7 shows an alternative information method.

FIG. 8 illustrates further aspects of the method of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of a computing system that executes tag telemetry in accordance with the disclosed architecture.

Detailed Description

Microblogging is an effective tool for short and brief communications such as conversations. The disclosed architecture provides the ability to select and focus on tags and receive messages associated with tags (e.g., with embedded tags) via a user's personal feed. The user may focus on the tag of interest and view the messages in the personal feed (the data pipe of the particular user through which the information is delivered) that contain this tag, thereby enabling the user to remain notified of the latest activities and news around this topic. And the user can enrich the tags with metadata, such as descriptions.

Referring now to the drawings, in which like numerals represent like elements throughout the several views, FIGS. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It may be evident, however, that the novel embodiments can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to facilitate describing them. The intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the claimed subject matter.

FIG. 1 illustrates a computer-implemented information system 100 in accordance with the disclosed architecture. The system 100 includes a tracking component 102 of the microblog platform that tracks hash tags 104 selected by a user. The hash tag 104 may be embedded in a microblog message. The system 100 can also include a merge component 106 of the microblog platform that merges instances 108 of the hash tag 104 and associated microblog messages 110 into a tag page 112 and provides access to this tag page 112 based on any instance of the hash tag in the microblog communications infrastructure (e.g., via a personal feed page 114 of the user). It should be noted that access to the tab page 112 may come from any of the contents mentioned for # tag. For example, access may come from content in the user's personal feed that mentions hash tags, from messages in a group feed (company feed), from search results, from pages containing a list of tags that the user is interested in, and so forth. Also, when a user creates a tag in a message, a page is automatically generated for that tag, and any user can follow this tag from then on.

The tag page 112 may include a message associated with the hash tag 104. The tab page 112 may also include at least one of the following list: tag followers, descriptions, associated hash tags, or tag user identities. The tag user may be included in the tag page 112 based on the frequency of use of the hash tag 104 by the tag user. The hash tag 104 is associated with metadata added by the user. The personal feed page 114 receives all microblog messages associated with the hash tag 104. The hash tag 104 may be masked to prevent receipt of associated microblog messages via the personal feed page 114.

The hash tag 104 can be focused on from a message in the personal feed page 114 or any content (or instance) in the system (e.g., microblog infrastructure) that mentions the hash tag. When a user chooses to focus (track) on a particular hash tag, all messages containing this hash tag will appear in the user's feed. The hash tags 104 can be searched from the personal feed page 112 and all instances of the hash tags 104 can be tracked by the tracking component 102.

FIG. 2 illustrates an interaction flow between various aspects of an information system 200 employing tag telemetry in a microblog platform. The system 200 includes a feed page 114 from which a search can be performed. The search results 202 list a plurality of tags, one or more of which may be selected for attention (tracking). In response, a tab page 112 is created for the selected tab, and all instances of the tab being used are presented on the tab page 112. In addition, updates to the tags can also be discovered and tracked on the tag page 112. The feed page 114 also provides selectable links to the tag page 112 for more comprehensive reading of instances of tags, metadata, and associated microblog messages. The feed page 114 can also include a link (represented by a topic menu item) that navigates the user to all topics that the user has selected to be focused on (referred to as the topic page 204).

If the user chooses to track a new topic (identified as a hash tag (e.g., one or more descriptive or identifying terms) followed by the topic), the new topic may be added to the user's topic page 204. The topic page 204 can also include pointers (or links) to all topics (and search capabilities) in the group 206. Thus, there may be not only a personal feed page, but also a group feed page 206 that includes all topics and tags of the group. Thus, the tab page 204 may further include an all topics link that points to a group feed page 206 that includes all topics and tabs. The topic page 204 can also include links or navigation back to the user's tab page 112. The user's topic page 204 can include a mix of people and tags.

Fig. 3 shows a tag page 300 for tag telemetry. The tab page includes selectable controls for the individual feeds 302 and the group feeds 304. Here, the user is interested in microblog information for the personal feed 302. The talk area 306 allows text to be entered as a message to others. The speaking area 306 also enables the user to enter a URL (uniform resource locator) as well as other media, such as images, when desired. The talk area 306 provides the ability to insert or associate URLs and other media such as image files and/or video files (using camera icon controls). Furthermore, the hash tag (here, # psf) appears automatically in the talk area box 307, thereby eliminating the need for manual input by the user.

The label control 308 allows the user to select a hash label to focus on and/or mask. Here, in the example of using a hash tag with an arbitrary name "psf," hash tag # psf is of interest along with all messages communicated using this # psf hash tag. The message area 310 displays a message associated with the selected hash tag (# psf).

The information area 312 provides status information. For example, users identified as civic leaders are presented. Other information presented includes the number of users who are interested in the selected hash tag (# psf), topics deemed similar to this hash tag, the rank of this hash tag over a given period of time (e.g., one week), popular (trending) topics, and RSS (simple information syndication) feed information.

A filter control 314 may also be provided that, when selected, displays a filter dialog box to allow filtering based on the following criteria: hottest, just added, in alphanumeric character (e.g., a-z, 0-9, special characters, etc.) order, as well as accessories, dates, users, etc.

FIG. 4 shows an attention page 400 for tag telemetry. The focus page 400 presents hash tags that the user has or can select to focus on (or track). The focus page 400 may include the talk area 306, and a list of topics of focus or no focus. As shown, the follow page 400 enables a user to browse RSS feeds, the hottest topics, and recently added topics.

Included herein is a set of flow charts representative of exemplary methodologies for performing novel aspects of the disclosed architecture. While, for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the one or more methodologies shown herein, e.g., in the form of a flow chart or flow diagram, are shown and described as a series of acts, it is to be understood and appreciated that the methodologies are not limited by the order of acts, as some acts may, in accordance with the present invention, occur in a different order and/or concurrently with other acts from that shown and described herein. For example, those skilled in the art will understand and appreciate that a methodology could alternatively be represented as a series of interrelated states or events, such as in a state diagram. Moreover, not all acts illustrated in a methodology may be required for a novel implementation.

FIG. 5 illustrates a computer-implemented informational method in accordance with the disclosed architecture. At 500, a hash tag of personal interest is selected via a microblog platform. At 502, the hash tag is tracked in a microblog communication infrastructure. At 504, a message associated with the hash tag is received. At 506, the hash tag and associated message are aggregated onto a tag page according to any instances of the hash tag in the microblog communications infrastructure.

FIG. 6 illustrates further aspects of the method of FIG. 5. It should be noted that this flow indicates that each block may represent a step, either alone or in combination with other blocks, as additional aspects of the method represented by the flow chart of fig. 5. At 600, metadata is added to the hash tag, the metadata including at least one from the list of: tag followers, descriptions, associated hash tags, or tag user identities. At 602, the most frequent user of the tab is computed and presented on the tab page. At block 604, the hash tag may be masked to prevent reception via the personal feed. It should be noted, however, that although this tag will not be displayed on the user's feed, the user may still go to the tag page and get an update of all new messages related to the hash tag. The group feed still receives all instances and associated messages. Thus, masking this hash tag does not affect the tag page. At 606, all instances of the new hash tag are searched and tracked via the personal feed. At 608, a new hash tag page is created and instances of the new hash tag and associated new messages are aggregated onto the new tag page. At 610, the new hash tag is updated when a new message associated with the new hash tag is delivered.

Fig. 7 illustrates an alternative information method. At 700, a hash tag of personal interest is selected via a microblog platform. At 702, a hash tag page is created for presenting associated hash tag information. At 704, the hash tag is tracked in the microblog communication infrastructure. At 706, messages associated with the hash tag are retrieved via the personal feed. At 708, the hash tag and associated messages are aggregated on the tag page. At 710, metadata is added to the hash tag, the metadata including at least one of the following list: tag followers, descriptions, associated hash tags, or tag user identities. At 712, the most frequent user of the hash tag is computed and presented on the tag page.

FIG. 8 illustrates further aspects of the method of FIG. 7. It should be noted that this flow indicates that each block may represent a step, either alone or in combination with other blocks, as additional aspects of the method represented by the flow chart shown in fig. 7. At 800, the hash tag is masked to prevent receipt of the hash tag and associated messages via the personal feed. At 802, all instances of the new hash tag are searched and tracked via the personal feed. At 804, a new hash tag page is created and instances of the new hash tag and associated new messages are aggregated onto the new tag page. The new hash tag (and associated new tag page) is updated when a new message associated with the new hash tag is communicated in the micro-blogging communication infrastructure.

As used in this application, the terms "component" and "system" are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, either hardware, a combination of software and tangible hardware, software, or software in execution. For example, a component can be, but is not limited to, tangible components such as a processor, chip memory, mass storage devices (e.g., optical drives, solid state drives, and/or magnetic storage media drives), and computers, and software components such as a process running on a processor, an object, an executable, a data structure (stored on volatile or non-volatile storage media), a module, a thread of execution, and/or a program. By way of illustration, both an application running on a server and the server can be a component. One or more components can reside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component may be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers. The word "exemplary" may be used herein to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any aspect or design described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs.

Referring now to FIG. 9, there is illustrated a block diagram of a computing system 900 that performs tag telemetry in accordance with the disclosed technology. However, it is understood that some or all aspects of the disclosed methods and/or systems may be implemented as a system-on-a-chip, where analog, digital, mixed-signal, and other functions are fabricated on a single chip substrate. In order to provide additional context for various aspects thereof, FIG. 9 and the following discussion are intended to provide a brief, general description of a suitable computing system 900 in which the various aspects can be implemented. While the description above is in the general context of computer-executable instructions that may run on one or more computers, those skilled in the art will recognize that a novel embodiment also can be implemented in combination with other program modules and/or as a combination of hardware and software.

The computing system 900 for implementing various aspects includes a computer 902 having a processing unit 904, a computer-readable storage such as a system memory 906, and a system bus 908. The processing unit 904 can be any of various commercially available processors, such as a single processor, multiple processors, a single core unit, and a multi-core unit. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the novel methods can be practiced with other computer system configurations, including minicomputers, mainframe computers, as well as personal computers (e.g., desktop, laptop, etc.), hand-held computing devices, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, and the like, each of which can be operatively coupled to one or more associated devices.

The system memory 906 may include computer-readable storage (physical storage media) such as a Volatile (VOL) memory 910 (e.g., Random Access Memory (RAM)) and NON-volatile memory (NON-VOL)912 (e.g., ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, etc.). A basic input/output system (BIOS) can be stored in the non-volatile memory 912, and includes the basic routines that facilitate the transfer of data and signals between components within the computer 902, such as during start-up. The volatile memory 910 can also include a high-speed RAM such as static RAM for caching data.

The system bus 908 provides an interface for system components including, but not limited to, the system memory 906 to the processing unit 904. The system bus 908 can be any of several types of bus structure that can further interconnect to a memory bus (with or without a memory controller), and a peripheral bus (e.g., PCI, PCIe, AGP, LPC, etc.), using any of a variety of commercially available bus architectures.

The computer 902 also includes a machine-readable storage subsystem 914 and a storage interface 916 for interfacing the storage subsystem 914 to the system bus 908 and other required computer components. Storage subsystem 914 (physical storage media) may include, for example, one or more of a Hard Disk Drive (HDD), a magnetic Floppy Disk Drive (FDD), and/or an optical disk storage drive (e.g., CD-ROM drive, DVD drive). The storage interface 916 may include interface technologies such as, for example, EIDE, ATA, SATA, and IEEE 1394.

One or more programs and data can be stored in memory subsystem 906, machine-readable and removable memory subsystem 918 (e.g., flash drive form factor technology), and/or storage subsystem 914 (e.g., optical, magnetic, solid state), including an operating system 920, one or more application programs 922, other program modules 924, and program data 926.

One or more application programs 922, other program modules 924, and program data 926 can include, for example, the entities and components of system 100 of FIG. 1, the entities and components of the flow diagrams of information system 200 of FIG. 2, tab page 300 of FIG. 3, attention page 400 of FIG. 4, and the methods represented by the flow diagrams of FIGS. 5-8.

Generally, programs include routines, methods, data structures, other software components, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. All or portions of the operating system 920, applications 922, modules 924, and/or data 926 can also be cached in memory such as the volatile memory 910, for example. It is to be appreciated that the disclosed architecture can be implemented with various commercially available operating systems or combinations of operating systems (e.g., as virtual machines).

Storage subsystem 914 and memory subsystems (906 and 918) serve as computer-readable media for the volatile and nonvolatile storage of data, data structures, computer-executable instructions, and the like. Such instructions, when executed by a computer or other machine, may cause the computer or other machine to perform one or more acts of a method. The instructions to perform the acts can be stored on one medium, or can be stored across multiple media, such that the instructions appear collectively on the one or more computer-readable storage media, regardless of whether all of the instructions are on the same medium.

Computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by computer 902 and includes both volatile and nonvolatile, internal and/or external media that is removable or non-removable. For the computer 902, the media accommodate the storage of data in any suitable digital format. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other types of computer readable media can be used such as zip drives, magnetic tape, flash memory cards, flash drives, cartridges, and the like, for storing computer executable instructions for performing the novel methods of the disclosed architecture.

A user can interact with the computer 902, programs, and data using external user input devices 928 such as a keyboard and mouse. Other external user input devices 928 can include a microphone, an IR (infrared) remote control, a joystick, a game pad, camera recognition systems, a stylus pen, touch screen, gesture systems (e.g., eye movement, head movement, etc.), and/or the like. Where the computer 902 is a portable computer, for example, a user can interact with the computer 902, programs, and data using onboard user input devices 930 such as a touchpad, microphone, keyboard, and the like. These and other input devices are connected to the processing unit 904 via the system bus 908 via an input/output (I/O) device interface 932, but can be connected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, IEEE 1394 serial port, a game port, a USB port, an IR interface, short-range wireless (e.g., Bluetooth) and other Personal Area Network (PAN) technologies, and so forth. The I/O device interface 932 also facilitates use of output peripherals 934 such as printers, audio devices, camera devices, etc., such as sound cards, and/or onboard audio processing capabilities.

One or more graphics interfaces 936 (also commonly referred to as a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)) provide graphics and video signals between the computer 902 and an external display 938 (e.g., LCD, plasma) and/or an on-board display 940 (e.g., for portable computers). Graphics interface 936 may also be manufactured as part of a computer system board.

The computer 902 can operate in a networked environment (e.g., IP-based) using logical connections via a wired/wireless communications subsystem 942 to one or more networks and/or other computers. The other computers can include workstations, servers, routers, personal computers, microprocessor-based entertainment appliances, peer devices or other common network nodes, and typically include many or all of the elements described relative to the computer 902. Logical connections may include wired/wireless connections to Local Area Networks (LANs), Wide Area Networks (WANs), hotspots, and the like. LAN and WAN networking environments are commonplace in offices and companies, and facilitate enterprise-wide computer networks, such as intranets, all of which may connect to a global communications network, e.g., the Internet.

When used in a networking environment, the computer 902 connects to the network via a wired/wireless communication subsystem 942 (e.g., a network interface adapter, onboard transceiver subsystem, etc.) to communicate with wired/wireless networks, wired/wireless printers, wired/wireless input devices 944, and so on. The computer 902 can include a modem or other means for establishing communications over the network. In a networked environment, programs and data can be stored in the remote memory/storage device, as opposed to the computer 902, as is associated with a distributed system. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers may be used.

The computer 902 is operable to communicate with wire/wireless devices or entities using the radio technologies such as the IEEE 802.xx family of standards, such as wireless devices operatively disposed in wireless communication (e.g., IEEE 802.11 over-the-air modulation techniques) with, for example, a printer, scanner, desktop and/or portable computer, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), communications satellite, any piece of equipment or location associated with a wirelessly detectable tag (e.g., a kiosk, news stand, restroom), and telephone. This includes at least Wi-Fi (i.e., Wireless Fidelity), WiMax, and Bluetooth for hotspots^TMWireless technology. Thus, the communication may be a predefined structure as for a conventional network, or simply an ad hoc (ad hoc) communication between at least two devices. Wi-Fi networks use radio technologies called IEEE 802.11x (a, b, g, etc.) to provide secure, reliable, fast wireless connectivity. A Wi-Fi network can be used to connect computers to each other, to the Internet, and to wired networks (which use IEEE 802.3-related media and functions).

The illustrated and described aspects may be practiced in distributed computing environments where certain tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in local and/or remote storage and/or memory system.

What has been described above includes examples of the disclosed architecture. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components and/or methodologies, but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that many further combinations and permutations are possible. Accordingly, the novel architecture is intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, to the extent that the term "includes" is used in either the detailed description or the claims, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term "comprising" as "comprising" is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim.

Claims (10)

1. A computer-implemented information system (100), comprising:

means for providing a personal feed page for a user, the personal feed page including a link to a topic page of the user and a microblog message having an embedded hash tag for a topic;

in response to the user selecting the embedded hash tag from the microblog message in the user's personal feed page:

means for adding the hash tag to the topic of the user; and

means for tracking instances of the hash tag in microblog messages communicated via a microblog communications infrastructure;

means for aggregating instances of the hash tag in the microblog message into a tag page (506) of the topic;

means for providing access to the tab page from the user's personal feed page and from the topic page of the user;

means for updating the tag page when a new microblog message associated with the hash tag is communicated in a microblog communication infrastructure; and

means for receiving the new microblog message associated with the hash tag in the user's personal feed page.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the tag page includes a message associated with the hash tag, and the hash tag is associated with added metadata.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the tab page comprises at least one of the following list: tag followers, descriptions, associated hash tags, or tag user identities.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein a personal feed page receives all microblog messages associated with the hash tag, and masks the hash tag from receiving associated microblog messages via the personal feed page.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the hash tag is focused on by any content that mentions the hash tag, and the hash tag can be searched from a personal feed page, and all instances can be tracked by the tracking component.

6. A computer-implemented information method comprising the acts of:

providing a personal feed page of a user, the personal feed page including a link to a topic page of the user and a microblog message having an embedded hash tag for a topic;

in response to the user selecting the embedded hash tag from the microblog message in the user's personal feed page:

adding the hash tag to the topic of the user; and

tracking instances of the hash tag in microblog messages communicated via a microblog communications infrastructure;

aggregating instances of the hash tag in the microblog message into a tag page of the topic (506);

providing access to the tab page from the user's personal feed page and from the topic page of the user;

updating the tag page when a new microblog message associated with the hash tag is communicated in a microblog communication infrastructure; and

receiving the new microblog message associated with the hash tag in the user's personal feed page.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising adding metadata to the hash tag, the metadata comprising at least one of the following list: tag followers, descriptions, associated hash tags, or tag user identities.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising calculating a most frequent user of the tab and presenting the most frequent user on the tab page.

9. The method of claim 6, further comprising masking the hash tag in a personal feed to prevent reception via the personal feed.

10. The method of claim 6, further comprising searching all instances of a new hash tag and tracking the new hash tag via a personal feed, and creating a new hash tag page and aggregating the instances of the new hash tag and associated new messages on the new tag page.