Method and apparatus for content presentation in association with a telephone call

Abstract

A method and apparatus are provided for presenting multimedia content to a caller and/or a called party in association with a telephone call. Content may be presented pre-ring (before the called party's telephone rings), in-call, and/or post-call. Content presented to a party may be related to another party participating in the call or may be related to a third party (e.g., an advertiser that paid for the ability to have its content presented). Presented content may be actuable, to allow a caller to change the destination of a call, take advantage of an offer presented to him or her, redeem a coupon, schedule or queue a subsequent call, etc. To find a desired destination party, a caller may initiate a manual or automatic search of his or her local contacts (on his telephone) and/or a central or global directory or contact list.

What is claimed is:  
     
       1. A method of controlling presentation of content on a communication device, the method comprising:
 receiving electronic notification of initiation of a call from a first communication device operated by a first private individual to a second communication device operated by a second private individual; 
 transmitting a signal to the first communication device to delay dialing the call, without soliciting action by the first private individual; and 
 for at least one of the first private individual and the second private individual:
 retrieving social media content associated with the one private individual; and 
 transmitting the social media content to the communication device operated by the other of the first private individual and the second private individual. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the social media content is transmitted to the other of the first communication device and the second communication device after receiving the electronic notification and before the call rings at the second communication device. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the social media content is transmitted to the other of the first communication device and the second communication device during the call. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the social media content is transmitted to the other of the first communication device and the second communication device after the call. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the social media transmitted to one of the first communication device and the second communication device is received from the other of the first communication device and the second communication device. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the social media comprises a previous communication between the first private individual and the second private individual. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the social media is a most-recent social posting by the one private individual. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the social media is retrieved from a social networking site. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the social media is obtained during the delay. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the social media identifies a location of the one private individual. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the social media includes custom content configured by the one private individual. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 11 , wherein:
 each of the first communication device and the second communication device store multiple sets of custom content; and 
 a given set of custom content stored on a given communication device is provided by the given communication device for transmission to other communication devices operated by predetermined other private individuals. 
 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 retrieving, from one of the first communication device and the second communication device, a contact card of the first private individual or the second private individual, respectively; and 
 transmitting the contact card to the other of the first communication device and the second communication device. 
 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 refreshing the social media content during or after the call. 
 
     
     
       15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method of controlling presentation of content on a communication device, the method comprising:
 receiving electronic notification of initiation of a call from a first communication device operated by a first private individual to a second communication device operated by a second private individual; 
 transmitting a signal to the first communication device to delay dialing the call, without soliciting action by the first private individual; and 
 for at least one of the first private individual and the second private individual:
 retrieving social media content associated with the one private individual; and 
 transmitting the social media content to the communication device operated by the other of the first private individual and the second private individual. 
 
 
     
     
       16. Apparatus for controlling presentation of content on a communication device external to the apparatus, the apparatus comprising:
 one or more processors; and 
 memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to:
 receive electronic notification of initiation of a call from a first communication device operated by a first private individual to a second communication device operated by a second private individual; 
 transmit a signal to the first communication device to delay dialing the call, without soliciting action by the first private individual; and 
 for at least one of the first private individual and the second private individual:
 retrieve social media content associated with the one private individual; and 
 transmit the social media content to the communication device operated by the other of the first private individual and the second private individual. 
 
 
 
     
     
       17. The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the social media content is transmitted to the other of the first communication device and the second communication device after receiving the electronic notification and before the call rings at the second communication device. 
     
     
       18. The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the social media content is transmitted to the other of the first communication device and the second communication device during the call. 
     
     
       19. The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the social media content is transmitted to the other of the first communication device and the second communication device after the call. 
     
     
       20. The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the social media transmitted to one of the first communication device and the second communication device is received from the other of the first communication device and the second communication device. 
     
     
       21. The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the social media comprises a previous communication between the first private individual and the second private individual. 
     
     
       22. The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the social media is a most-recent social posting by the one private individual. 
     
     
       23. The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the social media is retrieved from a social networking site. 
     
     
       24. The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the social media is obtained during the delay. 
     
     
       25. The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the social media identifies a location of the one private individual. 
     
     
       26. The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the social media includes custom content configured by the one private individual. 
     
     
       27. The apparatus of  claim 26 , wherein:
 each of the first communication device and the second communication device store multiple sets of custom content; and 
 a given set of custom content stored on a given communication device is provided by the given communication device for transmission to other communication devices operated by predetermined other private individuals. 
 
     
     
       28. The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the memory further stores instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to:
 retrieving, from one of the first communication device and the second communication device, a contact card of the first private individual or the second private individual, respectively; and 
 transmitting the contact card to the other of the first communication device and the second communication device. 
 
     
     
       29. The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the memory further stores instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to:
 refreshing the social media content during or after the call.