WO2004084089A1

WO2004084089A1 - A method and system for assisting with compilation of a journal

Info

Publication number: WO2004084089A1
Application number: PCT/AU2004/000273
Authority: WO
Inventors: Anthony Thomas Logue; Greg Hayne
Original assignee: COMMERCIAL FOCUS Pty Ltd
Current assignee: COMMERCIAL FOCUS Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2003-03-17
Filing date: 2004-03-04
Publication date: 2004-09-30
Anticipated expiration: 2005-09-17
Also published as: AU2003901209A0

Abstract

A method for assisting a person with compilation of a journal, where the journal has a subject, including the steps of sending prompts to the person at predetermined time intervals, the prompts prompt the person to make an entry in the journal and suggest subject matter having relevance to the subject of the journal for inclusion in the journal entry.

Description

A METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ASSISTING WITH COMPILATION OF A

JOURNAL

Technical Field

This invention relates to a method and system for assisting with compilation of a journal.

Background to the Invention Many people compile journals. These are a collection of individual journal entries each describing, amongst other things, events, experiences and personal reflections of the author of the journal. Journals of any type may be intended for private use, such as in the case of a locked or protected diary, or may be published or otherwise made public such as in the case of an open diary, creative writing diary or journal, public commentary or a web-log.

Journals often have a subject. For instance, a person may keep a journal whilst travelling and the subject of the journal is their experiences on their travels. Other common journal subjects include, daily life, past childhood experiences, and a parent keeping a journal of their children growing up. A journal can be compiled on almost any subject. Entries in journals are made at a frequency that is appropriate for the subject of the journal. A journal of daily life would usually have daily entries. A travel journal would have entries made for significant events that occurred whilst travelling. A journal based on a child growing up might have monthly or yearly entries. People keeping journals often forget to regularly make journal entries and can also find it hard to think of new subject matter to include in a journal entry. All too often the journal is neglected and entries are made erratically or in the worst case the journal is abandoned altogether.

Summary of the Invention

In a first aspect the present invention provides a method for assisting a person with compilation of a journal including the steps of obtaining contact information for the person; obtaining journal information about a journal that at least includes details of the subject of the journal; and sending prompts to the person using their contact information at predetermined time intervals, the prompts prompt the person to make an entry in the journal and suggest subject matter for inclusion in the journal entry.

In this way, a person compiling a journal is regularly prompted to make an entry in the journal and is provided with a suggestion for subject matter for inclusion in the journal entry. This assists the person to make regular entries in the journal and reduces the chance of the journal being abandoned by the person.

The prompts may be in the form of questions.

The journal information may further include details of the age of the subject of the journal and the prompts are based on the age of the subj ect of the j ournal .

The journal information may further include details of the age of the person compiling the journal and the prompts are based on the age of the person compiling the j ournal . The predetermined time intervals may be based on the subj ect of the j ournal .

The predetermined time intervals may be based on a preference of the person compiling the journal.

The method may further include the step of printing and sending journals or journal entries to the person.

The prompts may be sent to a mobile device of the user.

The prompts may be selected for sending based on time specific triggers.

The prompts may include an image.

In a second aspect the present invention provides a system for assisting a person with compilation of a journal including: obtaining means for obtaining contact information for the person and for obtaining journal information about a journal that at least includes details of the subject of the journal; and sending means for sending prompts to the person using their contact information at predetermined time intervals, the prompts prompt the person to make an entry in the journal and suggest subject matter for inclusion in the journal entry.

In a third aspect the present invention provides a computer program arranged to instruct a computer system to implement a method in accordance with the first aspect of the invention. In a fourth aspect the present invention provides a computer readable medium carrying a software program according to the third aspect of the invention.

Brief Description of the Drawings

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic view of an embodiment of a system for assisting with compilation of a journal according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing a site map of the website presented by the system of figure 1; and

Figure 3 illustrates part of a category of questions stored in the prompts database of the system of Figure 1.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment

Referring to Figure 1, a system 10 for assisting with compilation of a journal is shown. The system is embodied as a network server computer 12 loaded with suitably configured software . Network server 12 is connected to the internet and operates to present a web-site 13 to user 20. Network server 12 further includes storage means in the form of hard disk drive 14. Network server 12 further includes a software program 15 which operates to instruct operation of system 10.

User 20 interacts with system 10 by use of their personal computer and an internet connection to view website 13. Web site 13 assists user 20 with compiling journals. It includes information obtaining means in the form of a user interface which operates to obtain information from user 20. Software program 15 operates as a sending means to send prompts to users to prompt them to make an entry in their journal as will be explained below.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2 , operation of the system will now be described with reference to user 20 commencing compilation of a new journal. User 20 wishes to compile a new journal about their child growing up and uses their personal computer to view website 13 presented by network server 12. The user selects the option join 22 which causes them to be presented with a user interface page that requires input of user information. User 20 provides user information at the join page including the following:

• The name, gender and date of birth of the user

• Contact information for the user such as an email address

The information provided by user 20 is stored in a user database stored on hard drive 14.

During the join process user 20 is provided with a userlD/password combination that allows them to login 24 to the system. After logging in user 20 selects the option Create/Delete 26. This option allows user 20 to create a new journal or to delete existing journals that are associated with their userlD.

After selecting Create/Delete 26 the user is prompted by a user interface to provide information about the journal they wish to compile. They enter the following information:

The type of journal they wish to compile. In this example the user selects "My Child's History" from a drop down list • The subject of the journal they wish to compile. In this example the user is a father and wishes to compile a journal about their child as a baby and selects "Baby and Dad" from a drop down list • If the subject of the journal is a person, then the name and date of birth of that person and their relationship of the user to that person. For example, mother, father, niece, nephew etc. In this example, user 20 provides information that their child is called Amelia, the date of birth of their child, and that they are the father of the child.

• The frequency of prompts to make journal entries that the user requires .

Hard drive 14 stores a prompts database which includes a number of prompts in the form of pre-prepared questions for sending to users of the system to prompt them to make an entry in their journal. The questions include questions in the following categories:

• Questions specific to the age of the subject of the journal

• Questions specific to the age of the user compiling the journal • Questions specific to the subject's stage at school

• Questions specific to particular life experiences (eg pregnancy, vacation, divorce, marriage, death of spouse, being single, retirement, setting up home, becoming a grandparent or parent) • Questions specific to important topical or historical events

• Questions specific to calendar events such as birthdays and religious festivals

• Questions which are reflective in nature and are based on emotions

• Questions which encourage the user to record ideas or events that are important for them in terms of their personal, creative or business endeavours and interests

The system selects categories of questions to use as potential prompts based on the journal type previously selected by the user. User 20 has the option of adding or removing question categories from those pre-selected by the system. User 20 also has the option of creating their own prompts for storing in the prompts database.

The user's journal is now set up and user 20 now waits to be prompted to make a journal entry by the system.

The questions in the prompts database are indexed to allow searching and selection of an appropriate question to send to each user. The questions are indexed by the following fields as appropriate:

• Indexed by the subject of the journal • Indexed by the age of the subject of the journal if the subject is a person

• Indexed by the subject's stage at school if the subject is a person

• Indexed by the age of the user compiling the journal • Indexed by the life experiences of the subject or user

With reference to the present example, software program 15 operates to select a particular prompt for sending to the user at an appropriate time. The prompt database is searched for questions based on the user information provided by user 20. In the present example, a question is selected from the category "My Child' s History" because this is the type of journal being compiled by user 20.

Referring to Figure 3 , an example of part of a category of questions stored in the prompts database is shown. Each of the group of questions 30 are indexed by the fields type 32, lowest age 34 of subject, highest age 36 of subject, subject 38 and sequence number 40. Software program 15 selects the first question by sequence number that the user has not already been sent. If this is the first prompt being sent then the question indexed by Sequence number 1 is selected.

Software program 15 verifies that the character string in subject field 38 is relevant to the subject of the journal being compiled. If not, then that question is passed over and the question with the next highest sequence number is considered.

Software program 15 calculates the current age of the child the subject of the journal from the date of birth information previously supplied by user 20 and verifies that the current age of the child exceeds the value in lowest age field 34 and does not exceed the value in highest age field 36 for that particular question. If these conditions are met then the question is selected for sending. If the value does exceed the current age of the child then the user is sent a notice explaining that they have now received all relevant questions and their journal is concluded.

After selection, the prompt may be tailored to include the name of the subject of the journal . For instance, the question "What did Amelia enjoy most about Christmas day?" might be prepared by the system. The name "Amelia" is obtained from the user information.

The prompt may be tailored so that it is written in the correct tense. For instance, in the present example for the journal type "My Child's History", the questions are written in the past tense .

After a suitable question is selected from the prompts database, an email is prepared for sending to the email address of user 20 at an appropriate time. The appropriate time depends on the frequency of prompts previously specified by user 20.

The appropriate time also depends on whether the selected question is associated with a time specific trigger. A time specific trigger can override the desired frequency of prompts selected by the user. For instance, the question "What did you enjoy most about Christmas day?" has a time specific trigger of 26^th December. The prompts may be "pre-emptive" in that they encourage the user to do something on a day and then capture the outcome in the journal. For instance, a user may be sent the prompt "Why don't you go to the zoo today?" (sent in the morning) followed by the prompt "How was your day at the zoo? What happened?" (sent in the afternoon) . Or "Why not take an MMS photo today of your child doing something they enjoy and add it to your My Child Journal?".

After receiving the email containing the question the user reads the email and is motivated to make a journal entry in their journal. User 20 does this by clicking on a hyperlink in the email which directs the person to the login page of website 13. After logging in the user selects option update 46 and the question that was previously sent to them is presented to them. They can append their response to the presented question, or they can delete the question. The response they provide need not even be related to the question if the user would rather make an entry unrelated to the question.

Journal entries made by the user are stored in the user database and can be edited or deleted by the user by selecting option edit 28.

A journal presentation screen displays the journal of a user in their preferred format. The user can specify preferred colours, fonts, images and background artwork for their journal. The user may give other users permission to view their journal.

The user may upload their own images for storage in the user database for inclusion in their journal. They may similarly upload sound files and associate these sound files with particular images in their journal to create a voiceover for the image. This could be done my mobile telephone or PC etc . A prompt sent to a user may include an image from their journal and may prompt them to record a voiceover relating to the image.

By selecting option services 44, the user may choose to have any journal entry, or their entire journal, converted to a Portable Document Format ("PDF") file and transmitted to them such as by sending to their email address. The user may then locally print these transmitted PDF files to produce their own printed version of their journal. Any PDF files that the user requests are also stored in the user database for subsequent online viewing by the user. A user can view stored PDF files by selecting option retrieve 27.

The user may choose to have their entire journal, or particular journal entries, printed by the system 10 by selecting option print 29. Journals or journal entries are printed using high quality paper and printing machinery 42. This high quality print is then mailed to a postal address of the user.

The user may keep their locally printed and remotely printed journal entries in their own binder. This builds up over time to form their own hard copy version of their journal. Alternatively, they may elect to have their entire journal bound 42 remotely and delivered to them.

In the above example the prompt is sent to the user by email. Similarly, other delivery options may be used such as through proprietary messaging software installed on the personal computer of the user, via SMS, to the Mobile Cell Phone or PDA of the user, via an automated voice to a telephone/Mobile Phone or voice mailbox of the user, via written prompts sent to the user by mail or by fax.

In the above example the user submitted their journal entry by either email, or by entering text at an internet web page. Similarly, the user can submit their journal entry by SMS, by written instructions that are converted to electronic form by the operator of system 10, or- by providing voice instructions that are either manually or automatically transcribed by the operator of the system. In the above described example the computer system used was a network file server computer. Similarly, any suitably configured combination of computer software and hardware can be used such as a personal computer, mainframe computer or portable computing device.

In the above described example system 10 stored information in a combination of user database, journal database and prompts database on hard drive 14. The invention is not limited to this database structure. Similarly, one combined database could be used and this may be stored remotely from the computer system which runs software program 15. Where methods and apparatus of the present invention may be implemented by software applications, or partly implemented by software, then they may take the form of program code stored or available from computer readable media, such as CD-ROMS or any other machine readable media, the program code comprising instructions which, when loaded onto a machine such as a computer, the machine then becomes an apparatus for carrying out the invention. The computer readable media may include transmission media, such as cabling, fibre optics or any other form of transmission media.

It will be seen that the above described system provides an improved system for assisting a user with compiling a database that motivates the user to make regular journal entries and provides the user with inspiration for subject matter to include in their journal entries.

Any reference to prior art contained herein is not to be taken as an admission that the information is common general knowledge, unless otherwise indicated. Finally, it is to be appreciated that various alterations or additions may be made to the parts previously described without departing from the spirit or ambit of the present invention.

Claims

THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1. A method for assisting a person with compilation of a journal, where the journal has a subject, including the steps of : sending prompts to the person at predetermined time intervals, the prompts prompt the person to make an entry in the journal and suggest subject matter having relevance to the subject of the journal for inclusion in the journal entry.

2. A method according to claim 1 wherein the prompts are in the form of questions.

3. A method according to either claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the subject is a person and the prompts are based on the age of the subject of the journal.

4. A method according to any preceding claim wherein the prompts are based on the age of the person compiling the journal .

5. A method according to any preceding claim wherein the predetermined time intervals are based on the subject of the journal.

6. A method according to any preceding claim wherein the predetermined time intervals are based on a preference of the person compiling the journal.

7. A method according to any preceding claim further including the step of printing and sending journals or journal entries to the person.

8. A method according to any preceding claim further including the step of facilitating printing and storing of journals or journal entries by the person.

9. A method according to any preceding claim wherein the prompts are sent to a mobile device of the user.

10. A method according to any preceding claim wherein the prompts are selected for sending based on time specific triggers.

11. A method according to any preceding claim wherein the prompt includes an image .

12. A system for assisting a person with compilation of a journal, where the journal has a subject, including: sending means for sending prompts to the person at predetermined time intervals, the prompts prompt the person to make an entry in the journal and suggest subject matter having relevance to the subject of the journal for inclusion in the journal entry.

13. A system according to claim 12 wherein the prompts are in the form of questions.

14. A system according to either claim 12 or claim 13 wherein the subject is a person and the prompts are based on the age of the subject of the journal.

15. A system according to any one of claims 12 to 14 wherein the prompts are based on the age of the person compiling the journal.

16. A system according to any one of claims 12 to 15 wherein the predetermined time intervals are¹ based on the subject of the journal.

17. A system according to any one of claims 12 to 16 wherein the predetermined time intervals are based on a preference of the person compiling the journal.

18. A system according to any one of claims 12 to 17 further including means for printing and sending journals or journal entries to the person.

19. A system according to any one of claims 12 to 18 further including means for facilitating printing and storing of journals or journal entries by the person.

20. A system according to any one of claims 12 to 19 wherein the sending means is arranged to send prompts to a mobile device of the user.

21. A system according to any one of claims 12 to 20 arranged to select the prompts for sending based on time specific triggers.

22. A system according to any one of claims 12 to 21 wherein the prompt includes an image.

23. A computer program arranged to instruct a computer system to implement a method in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 11.

24. A computer readable medium carrying a software program according to claim 23.