Techniques for sharing content information with members of a virtual user group in a network environment without compromising user privacy
View Patent ↗Techniques for sharing content information between members of a virtual user group without compromising the privacy of the members. A user can identify content information to be shared with other members of a virtual user group using a user computer system. The content information is then communicated to the other members of the virtual user group and can be accessed by members of the virtual user group in such a manner that the privacy of the user and of the other members of the virtual user group is not compromised. The present invention preserves user privacy by controlling and minimizing the amount of user-related information available/accessible to server systems hosting the virtual user groups.
1. A method of communicating content information related to one or more virtual user groups from a first user computer system, the method comprising:
storing, by the first user computer system, first information identifying a set of one or more virtual user groups subscribed to by a user of the first user computer system, the set of virtual user groups including a first virtual user group;
automatically identifying, by the first user computer system from content information accessed by a user using the first user computer system, content information that is relevant to any of the virtual user groups identified by the first information, the identified content information comprising content information that is relevant to the first virtual user group, wherein the identifying is done substantially free of any input from the user of the first user computer system; and
communicating, by the first user computer system, the identified content information that is relevant to the first virtual user group to a server hosting the first virtual user group to enable communication of the identified content information relevant to the first virtual user group to one or more other subscribers of the first virtual user group.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
communicating the identified content information from the server to a second user computer system, wherein the second user computer system stores second information identifying a set of one or more virtual user groups subscribed to by a user of the second user computer system;
determining, by the second user computer system, if the content information received from the server is relevant to a virtual user group identified by the second information; and
outputting, by the second user computer system, the content information received from the server upon determining that the content information received from the server is relevant to a virtual user group identified by the second information.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the content source is a document.
4. The method of claim 3 wherein the document is a web page.
5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
determining, by the first user computer system, a plurality of servers hosting the set of virtual user groups subscribed to by the user; and
determining, from the plurality of servers, the server hosting the first virtual user group.
6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
determining, by the first user computer system, a plurality of servers hosting the set of virtual user groups subscribed to by the user; and
communicating the content information relevant to the first virtual user group to each server in the plurality of servers.
7. A method of communicating content information from a user computer system, the method comprising:
by the user computer system:
storing information indicating that a user is a member of a plurality of virtual user groups;
identifying, from content information accessed by a user using the user computer system, content information relevant to a virtual user group from the plurality of virtual user groups, wherein the identifying is done substantially free of any input from the user of the user computer system;
determining a plurality of servers hosting the plurality of virtual user groups; and
communicating the identified content information from the user computer system to each server in the plurality of servers.
8. A system for communicating content information comprising:
a memory, the memory configured to store information identifying a plurality of virtual user groups; and
a processor coupled to the memory, the processor configured to:
identify, from content information accessed by a user, content information relevant to a virtual user group from the plurality of virtual user groups, wherein the identifying is done substantially free of any input from the user;
determine a plurality of servers hosting the plurality of virtual user groups; and
communicate the identified content information to each server in the plurality of servers.
9. A system for communicating information, the system comprising:
a memory configured to store membership information, the membership information identifying a set of one or more virtual user groups subscribed to by a user, the set of virtual user groups including a first virtual user group;
a processor coupled to the memory, the processor configured to:
automatically identify, from content information accessed by a user, content information that is relevant to any of the virtual user groups identified by the membership information, the identified content information comprising content information that is relevant to the first virtual user group, wherein the identifying is done substantially free of any input from the user; and
communicate the identified content information that is relevant to the first virtual user group to a server hosting the first virtual user group to enable communication of the identified content information relevant to the first virtual user group to one or more other subscribers of the first virtual user group.
10. The system of claim 9 wherein the content source is a document.
11. The system of claim 10 wherein the document is a web page.
12. The system of claim 9 wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine a plurality of servers hosting the set of virtual user groups subscribed to by the user; and
determine, from the plurality of servers, the server hosting the first virtual user group.
13. The system of claim 9 wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine a plurality of servers hosting the set of virtual user groups subscribed to by the user; and
communicate the content information relevant to the first virtual user group to each server in the plurality of servers.
14. A computer-readable medium storing a plurality of instructions for controlling a user system to communicate content information, the plurality of instructions comprising:
instructions that cause the user system to automatically identify, from content information accessed by a user using the user system, content information that is relevant to one or more virtual user groups subscribed to by a user of the user system, the identified content information comprising content information that is relevant to a first virtual user group subscribed to by the user, wherein the identifying is done substantially free of any input from the user; and
instructions that cause the user system to communicate the identified content information relevant to the first virtual user group to a server hosting the first virtual user group to enable communication of the content information relevant to the first virtual user group to one or more other subscribers of the first virtual user group.
15. The computer-readable medium of claim 14 wherein the plurality of instructions further comprises:
instructions that cause the user system to determine a plurality of servers hosting the set of virtual user groups subscribed to by the user; and
instructions that cause the user system to determine, from the plurality of servers, the server hosting the first virtual user group.
16. The computer-readable medium of claim 14 wherein the plurality of instructions further comprises:
instructions that cause the user system to determine a plurality of servers hosting the set of virtual user groups subscribed to by the user; and
instructions that cause the user system to communicate the content information relevant to the first virtual user group to each server in the plurality of servers.
17. A computer-readable medium storing a plurality of instructions for controlling a user system to communicate content information, the plurality of instructions comprising:
instructions that cause the user system to identify, from content information accessed by a user using the user system, content information relevant to a virtual user group from a plurality of virtual user groups subscribed to by a user of the user system, wherein the identifying is done substantially free of any input from the user of the user system;
instructions that cause the user system to determine a plurality of servers hosting the plurality of virtual user groups; and
instructions that cause the user system to communicate the identified content information from the user system to each server in the plurality of servers.
18. The computer-readable medium of claim 17 wherein the communicating the identified content information from the user system to each server in the plurality of servers is performed without revealing user-related information to the plurality of servers thereby preserving the user's privacy.
19. A method of communicating content information related to one or more virtual user groups from a first user system, the method comprising:
storing first information on the first user system, the first information identifying a set of one or more virtual user groups subscribed to by a user of the first user system, the set of virtual user groups including a first virtual user group;
automatically identifying, at the first user system from content information accessed by a user using the first user system, content information that is relevant to any of the virtual user groups identified by the first information, the identified content information comprising contents of a content source accessed using the first user system that is relevant to the first virtual user group, wherein the identifying is done substantially free of any input from the user of the first user system; and
communicating the identified content information that is relevant to the first virtual user group from the first user system to a server hosting the first virtual user group to enable communication of the identified content information relevant to the first virtual user group that is located on the first user system to one or more other subscribers of the first virtual user group.