IP Library Granted Patent US 8,775,355
Granted Patent B2
US 8,775,355 · App. 12/973,813 · Granted Jul 8, 2014

Dynamic online communities

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 8,775,355
App. No.
12/973,813
Granted
Jul 8, 2014
Kind
B2
Abstract

Methods, systems, and computer programs for triggering interaction with a Dynamic Online Community (DOC) are presented. In one embodiment, a method includes an operation for monitoring online activity of a user, which includes tracking user input on a web browser. The method further includes operations for detecting that the user is interested in a subject based on the online activity, and for determining whether there is a DOC topic that is associated with the subject. The DOC has members that have shown an interest in the DOC topic. In another operation, the method assigns the user to be a member of the DOC if the determination indicates that there is a DOC topic associated with the subject. The user is automatically recommended to join the DOC. DOC related information is provided to the user after the user is assigned to the DOC. In one embodiment, the online activity of the user is searching in a search provider's website.

Claims (48)

1. A method for triggering interaction with a dynamic online community (DOC), the method comprising:

detecting a search query entered by a user in a search website;

identifying a subject of the search query;

determining whether there is a DOC for a topic that is associated with the subject of the search query;

if there is a DOC then:

presenting search results and DOC related information in response to the search query, wherein the DOC related information is presented even if the user is not a member of the DOC;

recommending the user to become a member of the DOC; and

adding the user as a member of the DOC without having to register the user in the DOC when the user accepts the recommendation; and

if there is not a DOC then dynamically creating a new DOC without requiring user initiation to create the DOC when a plurality of users have performed search queries for the topic, wherein operations of the method are executed by a processor.

2. The method as recited in claim 1 , further including:

detecting a user request associated with the DOC related information; and

displaying DOC related information in a DOC webpage.

3. The method as recited in claim 2 , wherein the DOC related information includes curated rated content by the members of the DOC.

4. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein determining whether there is a DOC further includes:

normalizing the search query to determine whether the normalized search query is equal to any DOC topic, wherein normalizing includes selecting a representative normalized subject for a plurality of subjects that are substantially equal in meaning.

5. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the DOC topic is related to a category selected from a group consisting of health, finance, family, news, and dating.

6. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the DOC topic is related to buying and selling products or services, the DOC bringing together buyers and sellers.

7. A method for triggering interaction with a dynamic online community (DOC), the method comprising:

receiving from a user a search query in a search page of a search provider;

detecting a subject defined by the search query;

determining whether there is a DOC for a topic that is associated with the subject, wherein the user is not a member of the DOC;

if there is a DOC then:

assigning the user to be a member of the DOC, wherein the user is automatically assigned to the DOC without requiring an authorization of the user to join the DOC and without having to register the user in the DOC; and

providing DOC related information to the user in a search results page for the search query; and

if there is not a DOC then dynamically creating a new DOC without requiring user initiation to create the DOC when a plurality of users have performed search queries for the topic, wherein operations of the method are executed by a processor.

8. The method as recited in claim 7 , wherein the search results in the search results page are prioritized based on ratings of web pages by members of the DOC.

9. The method as recited in claim 7 , wherein the DOC related information includes one or more of number of members in the DOC, links to webpages rated by the members, tags embedded within search results, expert information, news, related topics, message board, and trends.

10. The method as recited in claim 7 , further including:

providing an option for the user to withdraw from the DOC.

11. The method as recited in claim 7 , further including:

monitoring user activity within the DOC; and

withdrawing the user from the DOC after a period of inactivity within the DOC.

12. The method as recited in claim 7 , wherein advertisers place advertisements related to the DOC topic when the DOC related information is presented to DOC members.

13. The method as recited in claim 7 , further including:

providing information to the user regarding DOCs that are currently associated with the user.

14. A computer program embedded in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, when executed by one or more processors, for triggering interaction with a dynamic online community (DOC), the computer program comprising:

program instructions for monitoring pages visited by a user while accessing a web browser;

program instructions for detecting that the user is interested in a subject based on the pages visited by the user in the web browser;

program instructions for determining whether there is a DOC for a topic that is associated with the subject;

if there is a DOC then:

program instructions for presenting DOC related information, wherein the DOC related information is presented even if the user is not a member of the DOC;

program instructions for recommending the user to become a member of the DOC;

program instructions for adding the user as a member of the DOC without having to register the user in the DOC when the user accepts the recommendation; and

if there is not a DOC then dynamically creating a new DOC without requiring user initiation to create the DOC when a plurality of users have visited pages associated with the topic.

15. The computer program as recited in claim 14 , wherein DOC related information is stored in a database, the database including information about members, curated documents, news, experts, and related topics.

16. The computer program as recited in claim 14 , wherein the DOC related information includes information available exclusively to members of the DOC.

17. The computer program as recited in claim 14 , wherein the computer program further includes:

program instructions for providing an application user interface (API), the API allowing integration of DOC related information in websites external to the DOC.

Assignments (5)
PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT (FIRST LIEN) Recorded Sep 29, 2022
From: YAHOO ASSETS LLC
To: ROYAL BANK OF CANADA, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 061571/0773 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 16, 2021
From: YAHOO AD TECH LLC (FORMERLY VERIZON MEDIA INC.)
To: YAHOO ASSETS LLC
Reel/Frame 058982/0282 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 26, 2020
From: OATH INC.
To: VERIZON MEDIA INC.
Reel/Frame 054258/0635 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 2, 2018
From: YAHOO HOLDINGS, INC.
To: OATH INC.
Reel/Frame 045240/0310 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 23, 2017
From: YAHOO! INC.
To: YAHOO HOLDINGS, INC.
Reel/Frame 042963/0211 →