Sharing content in social networks

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to systems, methods, and software for sharing content in social networks. A request from a user of the social network to share content is received, the request comprising the content and at least one sharing parameter. A command is sent to the social network on behalf of the user to cause the content to be published to a profile related to the user on the social network, the command comprising an URL associated with the content. Requests to retrieve the content may then be received from the social network, the requests comprising the URL associated with the content. When requests to retrieve the content are received, it is determined whether the content is authorized for viewing based on the at least one sharing parameter. If the content is authorized for viewing, the content is returned in response to the request.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of sharing content in a social network, comprising:
 receiving, by a computer system, a first request from a user of the social network to share content on the social network, the first request comprising the content and at least one sharing parameter;   sending, by the computer system, a command to the social network on behalf of the user to cause the content to be published to a profile related to the user on the social network, the command comprising an URL associated with the content;   receiving, by the computer system, a second request to retrieve the content, the second request comprising the URL associated with the content;   determining, by the computer system, whether the content is authorized for viewing based on the at least one sharing parameter; and   upon determining that the content is authorized for viewing, returning the content in response to the second request.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one sharing parameter comprises an expiration date and wherein determining whether the content is authorized for viewing comprises determining whether the expiration date has expired. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one sharing parameter comprises a backpeddle status and wherein determining whether the content is authorized for viewing comprises determining whether the backpeddle status is set. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising:
 upon determining that the content is not authorized for viewing, returning a branded image indicating the content has been backpeddled.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 upon determining that the content is not authorized for viewing, returning an error in response to the second request.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the second request further comprises an identifier of a viewing user and wherein determining whether the content is authorized for viewing further comprises determining, by the computer system, whether a relationship exists between the viewing user and the user of the social network. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one sharing parameter comprises one of a backpeddle status, a future publishing date, an expiration time, an expiration time limit, or an expiration date. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving, by the computer system, user credentials associated with the user of the social network to authenticate the user as a registered user of the social network in conjunction with the command.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the social network is selected from the group consisting of Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. 
     
     
         10 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to:
 receive a request from a social network to retrieve content shared to the social network, the request comprising an URL associated with the content, the content being stored in the computer system;   determine whether the content is authorized for viewing based on one or more sharing parameters associated with the content, the one or more sharing parameters being specified by an author of the content; and   upon determining that the content is authorized for viewing, returning the content in response to the request.   
     
     
         11 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 10 , wherein the one or more sharing parameters comprises an expiration date and wherein determining whether the content is authorized for viewing comprises determining whether the content has expired based upon the expiration date. 
     
     
         12 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 10 , wherein the one or more sharing parameters comprises a backpeddle status and wherein determining whether the content is authorized for viewing comprises determining whether the backpeddle status is set. 
     
     
         13 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 10 , wherein the request further comprises an identifier of a viewing user and wherein determining whether the content is authorized for viewing further comprises determining whether a relationship exists between the viewing user and the author. 
     
     
         14 . A system for sharing content, the system comprising:
 one or more processors; and   a memory coupled to the one or more processors, wherein the memory stores executable instructions for causing the processors to
 receive a first request from a user to share content, the first request comprising the content and a sharing parameter, 
 send a command to a social network to cause the content to be published to a profile related to the user on the social network, the command comprising an URL associated with the content, 
 receive a second request to retrieve the content, the second request comprising the URL associated with the content, 
 determine whether the content is available for viewing based on the sharing parameter, and 
 upon determining that the content is available for viewing, return the content in response to the second request. 
   
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the sharing parameter comprises one of an expiration date, an expiration time, or an expiration time limit, and wherein determining whether the content is available for viewing comprises determining whether the content has expired based upon the sharing parameter. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the sharing parameter comprises a backpeddle status and wherein determining whether the content is available for viewing comprises determining whether the backpeddle status is set. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the second request further comprises an identifier of a viewing user and wherein determining whether the content is available for viewing further comprises determining whether a relationship exists between the viewing user and the user of the social network. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 14 , where the first request further comprises a specification of a plurality of social networks to which to share the content, a command being sent to each of the plurality of social networks to cause the content to be published to a profile related to the user on the social network. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the memory further executable instructions for causing the processors to:
 receive user credentials associated with the user to authenticate the user as a registered user of the social network in conjunction with the command.   
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the social network is selected from the group consisting of Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.