System for intergrating an on-line service community with a foreign service

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A system for integrating on-line service content and interaction methods with foreign service content and interaction methods comprising:

a browser for establishing a connection to and interacting with a foreign service via a plurality of foreign servers;

an identifier for locating content from one of said foreign servers, said identifier processed by said browser;

a plurality of on-line service subscribers who are members of a community associated with said identifier;

on-line service content associated with said identifier; and

a client in communication with said browser for transmitting said identifier to an on-line service server, said on-line service server adapted to retrieve on-line service content associated with said identifier and facilitate interactions with said on-line service subscribers belonging to said community associated with said identifier.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said client is a toolbar running independently of said browser.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein said toolbar is comprised of buttons representing community interaction options available to a subscriber.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein said on-line service server is adapted to present on-line service content and facilitate interactions through a community viewer.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein said on-line service content comprises library files, comments, threaded messages, and help related to said identifier is subject matter.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein said client interactions with said on-line service subscribers comprise invitations, messaging, gaming, chat sessions, conferencing, and voting.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein said browser, said client, and said on-line service server communicate at the application level via an Internet protocol.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein said on-line service content is presented in and said interactions are facilitated with HyperText Markup Language pages.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein said identifier is a Uniform Resource Locator.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein said foreign service is the Internet.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein said foreign service is the World Wide Web.

12. A method for integrating on-line service content and interactions with a browser comprising the steps of:

(a) selecting an identifier for establishing a connection between said browser and a foreign server;

(b) transmitting said identifier to an on-line service server from a client in communication with said browser;

(c) retrieving on-line service content associated with said identifier, said on-line service server adapted to retrieve said content;

(d) creating a display page containing said retrieved on-line service content; and

(e) presenting said display page in a window independent from other windows displayed by said browser, said presentation performed by said client.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising the steps of:

(f) locating a plurality of members of a community associated with said identifier, said plurality of members located by said on-line service server; and

(g) initiating and managing interactions with one or more of said plurality of members of said community associated with said identifier, said interactions initiated and managed by said client and said on-line service server.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein said browser, said client, and said on-line service server communicate via an Internet protocol.

15. The method of claim 12 wherein said display page is created using hypertext markup language.

16. The method of claim 12 wherein said on-fine service content comprises help, threaded messages, library files, or archive files.

17. The method of claim 12 wherein said identifier is a uniform resource locator.

18. A method for integrating on-line service content and interaction options with foreign service content and interaction options comprising the steps of:

(a) defining at least one community identified by a uniform resource locator, said community comprising a list of on-line service subscribers, community content comprised of said on-line service content, and community interaction options comprised of said on-line service interaction options;

(b) displaying via a browser foreign service content identified by said uniform resource locator;

(c) displaying via said browser said community content; and

(d) facilitating said community interaction options between subscribers from said list of on-line service subscribers.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein a community viewer is adapted to present said community content and facilitate said community interaction options.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein said community content is comprised of help, archive files, library files, or threaded messages.

21. The method of claim 18 wherein said community interaction options include messaging, gaming, chat sessions, conferencing, invitations, and voting.

22. A system for integrating on-line service community content with foreign service content comprising:

a) a browser to access said foreign service content;

b) an identifier associated with said foreign service content for accessing said foreign service content, said identifier processed by said browser;

c) a plurality of on-line service users who access said foreign service content identified by said identifier;

d) a community server at said on-line service adapted to retrieve on-line service community content associated with said plurality of on-line service users; and

e) a community client in communication with said browser, said community client adapted to send said identifier to said server for retrieval of said on-line service community content associated with said plurality of on-line service users.

23. The system of claim 22 wherein said on-line service server is adapted to present on-line service community content and facilitate interactions through a community viewer operating on an on-fine service user's computer.

24. The system of claim 23 wherein said community viewer facilitates user requests to said on-line service for retrieval of content associated with said plurality of on-line service users to be presented by said community viewer.

25. The system of claim 24 wherein said community viewer formats and displays retrieved content on said on-line service user's computer.

26. The system of claim 23 wherein said community viewer appears as a toolbar executing independently of said browser.

27. The system of claim 26 wherein said toolbar is comprised of buttons representing community interaction options available to an on-line service user.

28. The system of claim 26 wherein at least one button on said toolbar may be used to process requests to an on-line service server for retrieval of selected content associated with said plurality of on-line service users and display by said community viewer.

29. The system of claim 28 further comprising a display page containing said selected content presented in a window independent of said browser and said button bar.

30. The system of claim 22 further comprising a persistent connection between said community client and said community server.

31. The system of claim 22 further comprising a secure communications channel between said community client and said community server.

32. The system of claim 22 wherein communications between said community client and said community server are in accordance with Internet protocols.

33. The system of claim 22 wherein communications between said community client and said community server are in accordance with HTTP and HTML.

34. The system of claim 22 wherein a tracking server logs activities of said plurality of on-line service users and provides membership information regarding said plurality of on-line service users to said community client.

35. A system for integrating community content from an on-line service with foreign service content comprising:

a) a browser to access said foreign service content;

b) an identifier associated with said foreign service content for accessing said foreign service content, said identifier processed by said browser;

c) a plurality of on-fine service users who access said foreign service content identified by said identifier;

d) a community server at said on-line service adapted to retrieve on-line service community content associated with said plurality of on-line service users;

e) a community client in communication with said browser, said community client adapted to send said identifier to said server for retrieval of said on-line service community content associated with said plurality of on-line service users; and

f) a community viewer for supporting an on-line service user's interactions with said on-line service community content associated with said plurality of on-line service users.

36. The system of claim 35 wherein said community viewer is a toolbar with buttons that support said on-line service user's interactions.

37. The system of claim 36 wherein actions associated with each button of said toolbar are performed in accordance with operations of an independent capability handler adapted to provide a capability.

38. The system of claim 37 wherein said operations of said capability handler are performed independently of said community client or said community server.

39. The system of claim 37 wherein said capability provided by said independent capability handler may be user definable via a scripting language.

40. The system of claim 37 wherein said capability is a definable object operable with community viewer communication facilities to obtain and manipulate on-line service community content and operable with community viewer display facilities to render on-line service community content.

41. The system of claim 40 wherein said definable object may be vendor defined, created, supplied, and downloaded.

42. The system of claim 36 wherein said toolbar may be edited by an on-line service user to customize it according to needs or preferences.

43. A system for integrating community content from an on-line service with foreign service content comprising:

a) a browser to access said foreign service content;

b) an identifier associated with said foreign service content for accessing said foreign service content, said identifier processed by said browser;

c) a plurality of on-line service users who access said foreign service content identified by said identifier;

d) a community server at said on-line service adapted to retrieve on-line service community content associated with said plurality of on-line service users;

e) a community client in communication with said browser, said community client adapted to send said identifier to said server for retrieval of said on-fine service community content associated with said plurality of on-line service users; and

f) a community viewer for supporting an on-line service user's interactions with said on-line service community content associated with said plurality of on-line service users,

said community viewer adapted to provide at least one set of capabilities to interact with said community server.

44. The system of claim 43 wherein said set of capabilities may be associated with a web page.

45. The system of claim 44 further comprising interaction facilities for initiating and participating in interactive activities, games, chats, and voting.

46. The system of claim 44 further comprising interaction facilities for acquiring access to library files, comments, threaded messages, archive files, and on-line help.

47. The system of claim 44 wherein information about said plurality of on-line service users is maintained in a database accessed using ODBC.

48. The system of claim 43 further comprising interaction facilities for communicating and viewing on-line service community content associated with said plurality of on-line service users, said content including messages and documents.

49. The system of claim 43 further comprising interaction facilities for on-line service users to join and leave community memberships associated with each of said plurality of on-line service users.

50. The system of claim 43 further comprising a database with an independent on-line service user profile in each community membership joined by an on-fine service user.

51. The system of claim 43 further comprising interaction facilities for displaying public components of on-line service users'profiles of users currently on-line.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to systems for human-computer interaction. In particular, the present invention relates to a system and method for enhancing a computer user's Internet browsing experience by determining a user's preferences and facilitating the user's interaction with a community of users (community members) sharing similar preferences via community content annotations related to on-line content and via synchronous and asynchronous interactions with community members sharing similar preferences.

2. Description of Related Art

Computer information services today offer a variety of services and content to their subscribers. For example, subscribers of the CompuServe.RTM. Information Service may retrieve information or content from a repository maintained by the service or possibly, by a third party provider. In addition, CompuServe subscribers may communicate with other subscribers. Communications may occur in real time as subscribers initiate and join ongoing conference room or "chat" sessions managed by the information service. CompuServe subscribers may also communicate directly with one another as well as with non-members via electronic mail (e-mail.) Special interest on-line discussion groups (i.e., message boards or forums) within CompuServe also provide opportunities for subscribers to communicate with one another. Forums are generally comprised of three major areas: a message area, a library, and a conference room for forum conferencing.

The message area serves as a place for posting and responding to messages relating to a specific topic. When a message is posted and someone responds to it, a thread is created. A thread is a string of two or more messages that are related to one another and that share a particular subject or topic heading (i.e., thread). The forum library serves as a storage area for documents, graphics, and other information that may be browsed, searched, or downloaded. Forum conferences, on the other hand, are live electronic conversations between two or more forum members. It is the facilitation of interaction via these various methods and in relation to shared areas or topics of interest that gives on-line information service subscribers a sense of belonging to a community.

To interact with the CompuServe Information Service, a subscriber's computer may be equipped with communication or connection software that has a graphical user interface such as the CompuServe Information Manager for Windows.RTM. (WinCIM). The communication software allows the subscriber to establish and maintain a connection with the information service and to perform tasks and retrieve information content from the service as well as interact with other subscribers. Typically, the communication software is designed to support all of the features and functionality of the information service and is tailored to a user's interaction with the on-line service. Content at the on-line service is typically organized or categorized according to areas of interest among groups of users (e.g., Windows Users' Forum, CNN Online, Entrepreneur's Small Business Forum). Content is generally presented or displayed in a similar manner regardless of the area of interest. Users are able to locate content easily and communicate easily with others who share similar interests (e.g., via forums, email, conferencing or chat) thereby creating communities.

The Internet and World Wide Web (Web), comprised of a vast array of international computer networks, provide on-line service subscribers with additional content or resources to search. These international computer networks may be comprised of foreign host computers or servers (i.e., not part of the on-fine service network) that users access to locate resources. Typically, these resources are accessed using a Web browser, such as Spry's Mosaic, Microsoft's Internet Explorer, or Netscape's Navigator, capable of understanding the HyperText Markup Language (HTML) used to create the documents (Web pages) found on the Web and the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) (as well as other protocols and/or applications such as File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Internet Relay Chat (IRC), telnet, etc., collectively "Internet protocols") used to navigate or locate sites on the Web from which the HTML and other documents may be accessed. Although Web browsers typically have varying levels of functionality or sophistication, retrieved content is displayed according to views or presentations specific to the Web page currently presented by the Web browser. Each screenful of information includes menu choices, highlighted words, or graphics through which users may locate further information, either from the same computer or by linking automatically to another computer somewhere else on the Internet. Typically, the views and presentations of the Web pages are different than those provided by the communication software from the on-line service because the Web browser is, in fact, a separate client application displaying Web pages containing presentation directives in the form of HTML or another protocol/application such as FTP, IRC, etc.

Web sites are typically linked to one another via Uniform Resource Locators (URLs). Users may navigate or browse within a site or between sites simply by selecting or clicking on menu choices, highlighted words, or graphics (i.e., links on Web pages) that represent URLs. Despite the fact that navigating the Web is easy (users simply point and click), as it exists today, the Web is a huge, daunting, mostly disorganized space in which people wander aimlessly from link to link (i.e., URL) in hopes of finding meaningful content. Browsing the Web is essentially a solitary experience. Most Web pages are designed to present information to users rather than to promote interactions with other humans. Most interaction with other humans consists of, "check out this URL" by word of mouth, an e-mail message, or some other printed medium. Few, if any opportunities for interacting with others are presented to Web users.

What is further confusing to many computer users is the fact that they must learn and use different user interface software for interacting with or navigating/browsing the information service (i.e., information service communication software) than they use for interacting with or navigating/browsing the Web. Users' on-line experiences are compromised because they must switch between applications to access information service content and then Internet/Web content. Switching between applications requires users to change not only the method of interaction, but also changes the context of interactions from community-oriented on the on-fine service to solitary, less socially oriented interactions on the Internet/Web. Therefore, there is a need for an integrated method of interaction that allows computer users to access the Internet/Web using a commercially available browser, but also enjoy community-oriented activities and interactions of an on-line service that typically may be accomplished only by leaving the Internet/browser and switching to the on-line service content/on-line service communication software. Web users need the ability to form on-line relationships with others and to communicate with others of similar interests or background.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention--the Community Browser--enhances a user's on-line experience by enabling those with similar interests or shared circumstances to enjoy on-going social relations. Social relations in an on-line environment translate to both real-time interactive methods or options, such as chat and gaming, and static interaction methods, such as viewing annotations (e.g., threaded messaging) and shared bookmarks. The enabling technology of the Community Browser augments the available content on the Internet/Web that is accessed via a browser with interaction opportunities for on-line service members and for Community-created content by on-line service members. The on-line community environment is integrated with a user's browser so that messaging and interaction components of the on-line service are available while the user browses the Internet.

The Community Browser is a set of tools and capabilities that enable Web users to benefit from a focused view of the Web based on shared interest, an available group of people accessible for interactions, and a repository for relevant and pertinent information discovered while browsing or navigating the Web. The tools may be segmented into two groups: core components and interaction components. The core components enable a community to exist and are generally transparent to the user. Interaction components enable various capabilities and user interactions and facilitate the creation of community content by users.

The core components comprise a Community Server and a Community Client. The Community Server maintains communications with the Community Client which operates on the user's computer. Together the Community Server and Community Client notify the user of annotations by community members affiliated with whatever Web page (as identified by a particular URL) he or she happens upon. The Community Server serves requests from the Community Client by initiating sessions between the appropriate annotation components and the Community Client, thus enabling annotations to be created and interactions with community members to occur in conjunction with navigating the Web. The primary function of the Community Server is as a community communication hub for facilitating interaction with a community while the user's browser is running.

The Commu