Context Based Virtual Area Creation

Abstract

Examples of systems and methods for context based virtual area creation are described. Some examples provide a quick and easy way for users to wrap virtual areas around contexts of interest. Examples of such contexts may be defined in terms of one or more of content, people, and real-world location. The virtual areas support realtime communications between communicants (e.g., one or more of text chat, voice, video, application sharing, and file sharing) and provide a persistent historical repository for interactions in the virtual area. Summaries of activities and other events in virtual areas typically are published in realtime so that other communicants can readily obtain a quick summary of the activities occurring in a particular context and decide whether or not to join or otherwise participate in those activities.

1 . A method, comprising:
 in a network communications environment supporting realtime communications between respective network nodes of a user and other communicants, receiving a request from the user's network node in connection with a content item;   based on the request, creating a virtual area that supports establishment of communicant presence and is associated with the content item; and   in connection with the content item, administering realtime communications between network nodes operated by respective communicants who are present in the virtual area.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the content item comprises image-based content. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the image-based content comprises video content. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the content item comprises conversation content. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the conversation content comprises a topic thread. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the content item comprises activity feed content describing activity of one or more communicants. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the content item comprises syndicated web feed content. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the receiving comprises receiving the request from a web browser component of the user's network node in connection with a universal resource locator (URL) value associated with the content item, and the creating comprises associating the URL with the virtual area. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the request comprises an identifier of the user, and the creating comprises designating the user as a member of the virtual area. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the request comprises a respective identifier of each of one or more other communicants, and the creating comprises designating each of the one or more other communicants as a respective member of the virtual area. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising sending a list of communicants to the user's network node, wherein the request includes the user's selection of one or more communicants in the list, and the creating comprises designating each of the one or more selected communicants as a respective member of the virtual area. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the request comprises an identifier of the content item, and the creating comprises associating the content item identifier with the virtual area. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the request comprises a topic label, and the creating comprises associating the topic label with the virtual area. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the creating comprises associating the virtual area with information relating to communicant interactions in the virtual area. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising recording text chat data transmitted between communicants in the virtual area, wherein the creating comprises associating the recorded text chat data with the virtual area. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising recording one or more data streams transmitted between communicants in the virtual area, wherein the creating comprises associating the one or more recorded data streams with the virtual area. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the recording comprises recording at least one application sharing data stream transmitted between communicants in the virtual area. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining a log of event descriptions from the information relating to communicant interactions in the virtual area, and transmitting the log of event descriptions to the network nodes of respective ones of the communicants who are present in the virtual area. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining summary data from information relating to communicant interactions in the virtual area, and publishing the summary data as an activity feed for subscribing network nodes. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the publishing comprises incorporating into the summary data a link for navigating to the virtual area. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising transmitting to the user's network node an activity feed of activity items describing respective activities of communicants in another virtual area, and based on user selection of a respective one of the activity items in the activity feed navigating the user to the other virtual area. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising, based on a second request received from the user in connection with a second content item, associating the second content item with the virtual area. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the administering comprises administering synchronous sharing of the content item by the network nodes of respective ones of the communicants who are present in the virtual area. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the administering comprises connecting complementary sources and sinks of respective ones of the network nodes of communicants who are present in the virtual area. 
     
     
         25 . Apparatus, comprising:
 a computer-readable memory storing computer-readable instructions; and   a data processor coupled to the memory, operable to execute the instructions, and based at least in part on the execution of the instructions operable to perform operations comprising
 in a network communications environment supporting realtime communications between respective network nodes of a user and other communicants, receiving a request from the user's network node in connection with a content item, 
 based on the request, creating a virtual area that supports establishment of communicant presence and is associated with the content item, and 
 in connection with the content item, administering realtime communications between network nodes operated by respective communicants who are present in the virtual area. 
   
     
     
         26 . At least one computer-readable medium having computer-readable program code embodied therein, the computer-readable program code adapted to be executed by a computer to implement a method comprising:
 in a network communications environment supporting realtime communications between respective network nodes of a user and other communicants, receiving a request from the user's network node in connection with a content item;   based on the request, creating a virtual area that supports establishment of communicant presence and is associated with the content item; and   in connection with the content item, administering realtime communications between network nodes operated by respective communicants who are present in the virtual area.   
     
     
         27 . A method, comprising by a network node of a user:
 displaying content items received from one or more network nodes in a network communications environment supporting realtime communications between respective network nodes of the user and other communicants;   in connection with user selection of a respective one of the content items, transmitting to a virtual area platform a request to create a virtual area that supports establishment of communicant presence and is associated with the selected content item;   establishing a presence in the virtual area for the user;   presenting respective representations of the content item, the user, and any other communicants who are present in the virtual area; and   providing controls for interacting with the selected content item and managing realtime communications with one or more of the communicants who are present in the virtual area.   
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the displaying is performed by a web browsing component of the user's network node navigating to the one or more network nodes responsive to user input. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the selected content item comprises image-based content. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29 , further comprising by a web browsing component of the user's network node:
 browsing to network resource sourcing image-based content items;   displaying graphical representations of respective ones of the image-based content items in a user interface; and   based on user selection of a respective one of the graphical representations in the user interface providing an interface control for requesting the virtual area platform to associate the image-based content item corresponding to the selected graphical representation with the virtual area.   
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 29 , further comprising by a web browsing component of the user's network node:
 browsing to a network resource sourcing image-based content items;   displaying graphical representations of respective ones of the image-based content items in a user interface; and   based on user selection of a respective one of the graphical representations in the user interface providing an interface control for requesting the virtual area platform to create another virtual area that supports establishment of communicant presence and is associated with the image-based content item corresponding to the selected graphical representation.   
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the selected content item comprises a conversation topic thread. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 32 , further comprising:
 displaying graphical representations of conversation topic threads in a user interface; and   based on user selection of a respective one of the graphical representations in the user interface providing an interface control for requesting the virtual area platform to associate the conversation topic thread corresponding to the selected graphical representation with the virtual area.   
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 32 , further comprising:
 displaying graphical representations of conversation topic threads in a user interface; and   based on user selection of a respective one of the graphical representations in the user interface providing an interface control for requesting the virtual area platform to create another virtual area that supports establishment of communicant presence and is associated with the conversation topic thread corresponding to the selected graphical representation.   
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the selected content item comprises activity feed content describing activity of one or more communicants. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 35 , further comprising receiving an activity feed of activity items describing respective activities of communicants in another virtual area, showing respective ones of the activity feed content items in a user interface, and based on user selection of a respective one of the activity items in the user interface transmitting to the virtual area platform a request to navigate the user to the other virtual area. 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 36 , wherein the user interface comprises a first section and a second section, and the showing comprises by default showing the activity items in the second section of the user interface; and further comprising providing an interface control for designating selected ones of the activity items for display in the first section in the user interface. 
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 37 , wherein the showing comprises showing a time-based listing of respective ones of the activity items in the second section. 
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 36 , wherein each of respective ones of the activity items comprises at least one of: a respective label; a respective status indication; and a respective link to data associated with the activity item. 
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 35 , further comprising receiving an activity feed of activity items describing respective activities of users of a social network environment, displaying respective ones of the activity items in a user interface, and based on user selection of a respective one of the activity items in the user interface providing an interface control for requesting the virtual area platform to associate the selected activity item with the virtual area. 
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 35 , further comprising receiving an activity feed of activity items describing respective activities of users of a social network environment, displaying respective ones the activity items in a user interface, and based on user selection of a respective one of the activity items in the user interface providing an interface control for requesting the virtual area platform to create another virtual area that supports establishment of communicant presence and is associated with the selected activity item. 
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the selected content item comprises syndicated web feed content. 
     
     
         43 . The method of  claim 42 , further comprising receiving one or more syndicated web feed items in web feeds subscribed to by the user, displaying respective ones of the syndicated web feed items in a user interface, and based on user selection of a respective one of the syndicated web feed items in the user interface providing an interface control for requesting the virtual area platform to associate the selected syndicated web feed content item with the virtual area. 
     
     
         44 . The method of  claim 42 , further comprising receiving one or more syndicated web feed items in web feeds subscribed to by the user, displaying respective ones of the syndicated web feed items in a user interface, and based on user selection of a respective one of the syndicated web feed items in the user interface providing an interface control for requesting the virtual area platform to create another virtual area that supports establishment of communicant presence and is associated with the selected syndicated web feed item. 
     
     
         45 . The method of  claim 27 , further comprising providing an interface showing graphical representations of communicants associated with the user, and based on user selection of one or more of the graphical representations providing an interface control for requesting the virtual area platform to transmit a respective message to each of the communicants corresponding to respective ones of the selected graphical representations and create another virtual area that supports establishment of communicant presence and is associated with the message. 
     
     
         46 . The method of  claim 45 , wherein for respective ones of the communicants who are present in virtual areas being administered by the virtual area platform, the showing comprises displaying locations of presence and realtime activities of the respective communicants in the virtual areas. 
     
     
         47 . The method of  claim 45 , wherein the showing comprises showing the graphical representations of the respective communicants arranged into groups according to their respective locations of presence in the virtual areas, wherein the graphical representations and realtime activities of the respective communicants are shown in different sections of the user interface according to the respective groups, and each section corresponds to a respective location of presence. 
     
     
         48 . The method of  claim 27 , further comprising:
 providing a user interface comprising a first section, a second section, and a third section;   in the first section of the user interface, displaying a visualization that shows graphical representations and presence states of communicants associated with the user;   in the second section of the user interface, presenting a first interface area for text chat communications between the user and other communicants who are present in the virtual area, and a second interface area for interfacing with the selected content item in the virtual area;   wherein the displaying comprises displaying respective ones of the content items in the third section of the user interface.   
     
     
         49 . At least one computer-readable medium having computer-readable program code embodied therein, the computer-readable program code adapted to be executed by a computer to implement a method comprising:
 displaying content items received from one or more network nodes in a network communications environment supporting realtime communications between respective network nodes of the user and other communicants;   in connection with user selection of a respective one of the content items, transmitting to a virtual area platform a request to create a virtual area that supports establishment of communicant presence and is associated with the selected content item;   establishing a presence in the virtual area for the user;   presenting respective representations of the content item, the user, and any other communicants who are present in the virtual area; and   providing controls for interacting with the selected content item and managing realtime communications with one or more of the communicants who are present in the virtual area.   
     
     
         50 . A method, comprising:
 in a network communications environment supporting realtime communications between respective network nodes of a user and other communicants, sending a list of communicants to the user's network node;   from the user's network node receiving a request comprising the user's selection of one or more communicants in the list;   based on the request, creating a virtual area that supports establishment of communicant presence and is associated with the user and the one or more communicants in the user's selection, wherein the creating comprises designating the user and each of the one or more communicants in the user's selection as a respective member of the virtual area; and   administering realtime communications between network nodes operated by respective communicants who are present in the virtual area.   
     
     
         51 . The method of  claim 50 , wherein the request comprises a message; and further comprising sending a respective communication comprising the message to each of the one or more communicants in the user's selection. 
     
     
         52 . The method of  claim 51 , wherein the creating comprises associating the message with the virtual area. 
     
     
         53 . The method of  claim 52 , wherein each communication comprises a link for accessing the virtual area. 
     
     
         54 . A method, comprising:
 in a network communications environment supporting realtime communications between respective network nodes of a user and other communicants, creating a virtual area that supports establishment of communicant presence and is associated with a real-world location;   determine communicants who are present in the real-world location;   invite respective ones of the determined communicants to the virtual area; and   administering realtime communications between network nodes operated by respective ones of the invited communicants who are co-present in the virtual area.   
     
     
         55 . The method of  claim 54 , wherein the creating is performed in response to a request received from the user's network node in connection with the real-world location. 
     
     
         56 . The method of  claim 54 , wherein the creating comprises creating the virtual area based on a determination that a real-world location of each of one or more of the communicants satisfies a location-based predicate. 
     
     
         57 . The method of  claim 56 , wherein the creating comprises creating the virtual area based on a determination that real-world locations of two or more of the communicants satisfies a proximity predicate. 
     
     
         58 . The method of  claim 57 , wherein the creating comprises creating the virtual area for communicants operating respective network nodes at locations that are separated by at most a threshold distance from one another. 
     
     
         59 . The method of  claim 56 , wherein the creating comprises creating the virtual area based on a determination that at least one of the communicants is located within a designated real-world space. 
     
     
         60 . The method of  claim 54 , wherein the creating is conditioned on a determination that the real-world location is in a state that satisfies one or more predicates. 
     
     
         61 . The method of  claim 54 , wherein the creating is conditioned on a determination that a communicant has entered the real-world location. 
     
     
         62 . The method of  claim 54 , wherein the creating is conditioned on a determination that at least two communicants have entered the real-world location. 
     
     
         63 . The method of  claim 54 , wherein the creating is conditioned on a determination that a device in the real-world location has been turned on. 
     
     
         64 . The method of  claim 53 , wherein the inviting comprises automatically inviting to the virtual area all of the communicants who are determined to be present in the real-world location. 
     
     
         65 . The method of  claim 54 , wherein the inviting comprises:
 sending a list of the determined communicants to the user's network node;   from the user's network node receiving a request comprising the user's selection of one or more communicants in the list; and   inviting the one or more communicants in the user's selection to the virtual area.   
     
     
         66 . Apparatus, comprising:
 a computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions; and   a data processor coupled to the memory, operable to execute the instructions, and based at least in part on the execution of the instructions operable to perform operations comprising
 in a network communications environment supporting realtime communications between respective network nodes of a user and other communicants, creating a virtual area that supports establishment of communicant presence and is associated with a real-world location; 
 determine communicants who are present in the real-world location; 
 invite respective ones of the determined communicants to the virtual area; and 
 administering realtime communications between network nodes operated by respective ones of the invited communicants who are co-present in the virtual area. 
   
     
     
         67 . At least one computer-readable medium having computer-readable program code embodied therein, the computer-readable program code adapted to be executed by a computer to implement a method comprising:
 in a network communications environment supporting realtime communications between respective network nodes of a user and other communicants, creating a virtual area that supports establishment of communicant presence and is associated with a real-world location;   determine communicants who are present in the real-world location;   invite respective ones of the determined communicants to the virtual area; and   administering realtime communications between network nodes operated by respective ones of the invited communicants who are co-present in the virtual area.