Systems and methods for presenting event notifications, based on trending communications, on devices notwithstanding a user instruction to disable event notifications

1. A method comprising:

receiving a command, on a device associated with a user, to place the device in a do not disturb mode;

receiving, while the device is in the do not disturb mode, information about an event;

retrieving preferences of the user; determining, based on the preferences of the user and the information about the event, whether the event is relevant to the user;

based on determining that the event is relevant to the user, determining whether the event is trending among a plurality of users that share membership in a social group with the user by:

retrieving information about a plurality of communications about the event that is relevant from the plurality of users; and

determining whether a threshold number of the plurality of communications were sent within a predetermined time interval of one another;

in response to determining that the event is trending among the plurality of users that share membership in the social group with the user, overriding the do not disturb mode; and

displaying, while the device is in the do not disturb mode, a notification about the event to the user on the device.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein overriding the do not disturb mode further comprises:

generating for display on the device an option that indicates modifications to the do not disturb mode;

receiving a selection of the option from the user; and

in response to receiving the selection of the option, modifying the do not disturb mode to allow information about the event to be presented to the user.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein modifying the do not disturb mode to allow information about the event to be presented to the user further comprises modifying the do not disturb mode to allow presentation of information about communications originating from the plurality of users that share membership in the social group with the user.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein modifying the do not disturb mode to allow presentation of information about communications further comprises:

receiving a second selection of a second option from the user; and

in response to receiving the selection of the second option, modifying the do not disturb mode to allow presentation of information communications originating from the plurality of users that share membership in the social group with the user for a time interval indicated by a selection of a second option.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein displaying, while the device is in the do not disturb mode, the notification about the event to the user on the device further comprises:

determining a context of the event based on a keyword extracted from the information about the event;

retrieving a plurality of icons;

identifying a context icon from the plurality of icons based on the determined context of the event; and

generating, for presentation on the device, the context icon.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein identifying the context icon from the plurality of icons based on the determined context of the event further comprises:

determining a priority level for the notification based on the number of the plurality of communications and a time interval between the origination of a first of the plurality of communications and a last of the plurality of communications;

identifying a set of icons from the plurality of icons based on the determined context, the plurality of icons comprising the context icon;

identifying attributes associated with each icon of the set of icons;

comparing the determined priority level with the attributes associated with each icon of the set of icons; and

selecting the context icon from the set of icons based on the comparison of the determined priority level with the attributes associated with each icon of the set of icons.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein displaying, while the device is in the do not disturb mode, the notification about the event to the user on the device further comprises:

generating, for presentation on the device, an icon that indicates a notification is available;

receiving, from the user, a user interface gesture;

determining whether the user interface gesture indicates the notification should be cancelled; and

in response to determining that the user interface gesture indicates the notification should be cancelled, cancelling additional notifications related to events trending within the social group, by:

storing an indication of the cancellation of the notification in association with the social group; and

in response to receiving information about a second event that is determined to be trending within the social group, maintaining the mode of operation that prevents presentation of information about events.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein displaying, while the device is in the do not disturb mode, the notification about the event to the user on the device further comprises:

identifying a primary source from the plurality of users based on the number of first-level social connections the primary source has to other users of the plurality of users;

identifying a communication from the plurality of communications that originated from the primary source; and

generating the notification to contain contents of the communication that originated from the primary source.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

generating, for presentation on the device, a configuration interface comprising interface elements for receiving configuration settings corresponding with the threshold number of the plurality of communications and the predetermined time interval required to determine the event is trending;

receiving, by user interactions with the configuration interface, the configuration settings; and

storing the configuration settings in a datastore.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

generating, for presentation on the device, a configuration interface comprising interface elements for receiving configuration settings indicating a plurality of social groups to which the user is a member and whether trending events from each of the plurality of social groups can override the mode of operation that prevents presentation of information about events;

receiving, by user interactions with the configuration interface, the configuration settings;

storing the configuration settings in a datastore; and

wherein, overriding the mode of operation that prevents presentation of information about events further comprises, determining whether events trending in the social group of the plurality of the users are configured, based on the configuration settings, to override the mode of operation that prevents presentation of information about events.

11. A system comprising:

communication circuitry; and

control circuitry configured to:

receive a command, on a device associated with a user, to place the device in a do not disturb mode;

receive, while the device is in the do not disturb mode, information about an event;

retrieving preferences of the user; determine, based on the preferences of the user and the information about the event, whether the event is relevant to the user;

based on determining that the event is relevant to the user, determine whether the event is trending among a plurality of users that share membership in a social group with the user by:

retrieving information about a plurality of communications about the event that is relevant from the plurality of users; and

determining whether a threshold number of the plurality of communications were sent within a predetermined time interval of one another;

in response to determining that the event is trending among the plurality of users that share membership in the social group with the user, override the do not disturb mode; and

display, while the device is in the do not disturb mode, a notification about the event to the user on the device.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured, when overriding the do not disturb mode, to:

generate for display on the device an option that indicates modifications to the do not disturb mode that prevents presentation of information about events;

receive a selection of the option from the user; and

in response to receiving the selection of the option, modify the do not disturb mode to allow information about the event to be presented to the user.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured, when modifying the do not disturb mode to allow information about the event to be presented to the user, to modify the do not disturb mode to allow presentation of information about communications originating from the plurality of users that share membership in the social group with the user.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured, when modifying the do not disturb mode to allow presentation of information about communications, to:

receive a second selection of a second option from the user; and

in response to receiving the selection of the second option, modify the do not disturb mode to allow presentation of information communications originating from the plurality of users that share membership in the social group with the user for a time interval indicated by a selection of a second option.

15. The system of claim 11 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured, when displaying, while the device is in the do not disturb mode, the notification about the event to the user on the device, to:

determine a context of the event based on a keyword extracted from the information about the event;

retrieve, using the communication circuitry, a plurality of icons;

identify a context icon from the plurality of icons based on the determined context of the event; and

generate, for presentation on the device, the context icon.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured, when identifying the context icon from the plurality of icons based on the determined context of the event, to:

determine a priority level for the notification based on the number of the plurality of communications and a time interval between the origination of a first of the plurality of communications and a last of the plurality of communications;

identify a set of icons from the plurality of icons based on the determined context, the plurality of icons comprising the context icon;

identify attributes associated with each icon of the set of icons;

compare the determined priority level with the attributes associated with each icon of the set of icons; and

select the context icon from the set of icons based on the comparison of the determined priority level with the attributes associated with each icon of the set of icons.

17. The system of claim 11 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured, when displaying, while the device is in the do not disturb mode, the notification about the event to the user on the device, to:

generate, for presentation on the device, an icon that indicates a notification is available;

receive, from the user, a user interface gesture;

determine whether the user interface gesture indicates the notification should be cancelled; and

in response to determining that the user interface gesture indicates the notification should be cancelled, cancel additional notifications related to events trending within the social group, by:

storing an indication of the cancellation of the notification in association with the social group; and

in response to receiving information about a second event that is determined to be trending within the social group, maintaining the mode of operation that prevents presentation of information about events.

18. The system of claim 11 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured, when displaying, while the device is in the do not disturb mode, the notification about the event to the user on the device, to:

identify a primary source from the plurality of users based on the number of first-level social connections the primary source has to other users of the plurality of users;

identify a communication from the plurality of communications that originated from the primary source; and

generate the notification to contain contents of the communication that originated from the primary source.

19. The system of claim 11 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

generate, for presentation on the device, a configuration interface comprising interface elements for receiving configuration settings corresponding with the threshold number of the plurality of communications and the predetermined time interval required to determine the event is trending;

receive, by user interactions with the configuration interface, the configuration settings; and

store the configuration settings in a datastore.

20. The system of claim 11 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

generate, for presentation on the device, a configuration interface comprising interface elements for receiving configuration settings indicating a plurality of social groups to which the user is a member and whether trending events from each of the plurality of social groups can override the mode of operation that prevents presentation of information about events;

receive, by user interactions with the configuration interface, the configuration settings;

store the configuration settings in a datastore; and

when overriding the mode of operation that prevents presentation of information about events further comprises, determine whether events trending in the social group of the plurality of the users are configured, based on the configuration settings, to override the mode of operation that prevents presentation of information about events.