Method and apparatus for selectively sharing and passively tracking communication device experiences

Abstract

The present invention includes methods and devices for passively tracking and selectively sharing user experiences with communication devices, including computers, web-enabled telephones, and PDAs. User rating or comments on their experiences can be captured. Particular aspects of the present invention are described in the claims, specification and drawings.

1. A method of sharing computer user experiences, including:
 communicating with a registration server to register a user, for automatic client-side collection of computer usage experiences for future sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include one or more of browsing URLs or visiting a location with a location-aware device that records the visited location;    accessing one or more of the user's messaging buddy lists and selecting one or more buddies with whom to share the automatically collected computer usage experiences;    defining categories of computer usage experiences to be shared with particular selected buddies;    tracking automatically on the client-side at least a portion of the user's computer usage experiences and reporting the user's computer usage experiences to a tracking server to be published to the particular buddies in accordance with their defined categories of sharing.    
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the registration server and the tracking server are a single server. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the registration server and the tracking server are distinct servers. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein registering the user excludes collection of the user's e-mail address. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein registering the user excludes collection of the user's actual name. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein registering the user excludes collection of the user's physical address. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , wherein registering the user excludes collection of any information that identifies a user in a manner adapted to direct marketing. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 1 , wherein registering the user further includes establishing an anonymous unique identifier for the user. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 8 , wherein reporting the tracking data includes reporting the anonymous unique identifier. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the messaging buddy list is maintained by AOL's Instant Messenger software. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the messaging buddy list is maintained by MSN Messenger software. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the messaging buddy list is maintained by Yahoo! Messenger software. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the messaging buddy list is maintained by America Online's ICQ software. 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the messaging buddy list is maintained by Odigo's instant messenger software. 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the messaging buddy list is maintained by Jabber's instant messenger software. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the rights of the buddies are defined by content category of the user's computer usage. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the rights of the buddies are defined by appearance of one or more keywords on pages corresponding to URLs viewed. 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the rights of the buddies are defined by activity type of the user's computer usage. 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the user utilizes a computer and tracking is carried out by a module resident on the computer. 
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the tracking is carried out by a device placed between a computer utilized by the user and an access point to the Internet. 
     
     
       21. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the computer usage experience tracked is filtered before it is reported to the tracking server. 
     
     
       22. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the computer usage reported is filtered after it is reported to the tracking server and before it is posted for the buddies to access. 
     
     
       23. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the messaging buddy list is maintained by an instant messenger software. 
     
     
       24. The method of  claim 1 , further including sending tracking data regarding one of a user's computer usage experiences to one or more buddies. 
     
     
       25. The method of  claim 1 , further including categorizing at least a portion of the tracking data by content and sorting the tracking data by content category. 
     
     
       26. The method of  claim 1 , further including categorizing at least a portion of the tracking data by content and making the tracking data searchable by content category and date range. 
     
     
       27. The method of  claim 1 , wherein posting further includes providing annotation tools for associating notes with individual tracking data entries. 
     
     
       28. The method of  claim 1 , wherein posting further includes providing annotation tools for associating ratings with individual tracking data entries. 
     
     
       29. The method of  claim 1 , wherein posting further includes indexing text portions of at least a portion of pages reported from tracking the user's Internet usage. 
     
     
       30. The method of  claim 29 , wherein text indexing is limited to pages reported from tracking as having been annotated or forwarded by the user. 
     
     
       31. A method of sharing Internet browsing experiences, including:
 tracking automatically with a client-side application at least a portion of a user's Internet usage and reporting the tracking data to a server;    categorizing at least a portion of the reported tracking data by content category;    presenting to the user a history of the reported tracking data, with tools for searching and forwarding the tracking data;    receiving from the user data identifying of one or more persons on the user's buddy lists and authorizing the persons to receive tracking data;    responsive to a user request, sending one or more entries from the history of the reported tracking data to the authorized persons.    
     
     
       32. A method of sharing computer user experiences, including:
 registering a user with a registration server to collect and share visited location data using a client-side application collected while visiting a location with a location-aware device that records the visited location;    accessing one or more of the user's messaging buddy lists to identify one or more buddies with whom the tracking data may be shared;    defining rights of the buddies to access the visited location data;    posting at least a portion of the user's visited location data for the buddies to access according to their defined rights.    
     
     
       33. A computer- implemented method of sharing computer usage experiences, including:      communicating with a registration server to register a user, for automatic and passive client - side collection of computer usage experiences for future sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include one or more of a group consisting of: listening to songs, viewing videos, purchasing items, browsing URLs, and visiting a geographic location with a location - aware device that automatically records geographic information for the visited geographic location;        accessing one or more lists of other users maintained on behalf of the user and selecting, under control of the user, one or more other users from the one or more lists of other users with whom to share the automatically collected computer usage experiences;        defining categories of computer usage experiences to be shared with particular selected other users among the selected one or more other users; and        tracking automatically and passively on the client - side at least a portion of the user's computer usage experiences and automatically reporting the user's computer usage experiences to a tracking server to be published to the particular selected other users in accordance with their defined categories of sharing.     
     
     
       34. The method of  claim 33 , wherein the registration server and the tracking server are a single server. 
     
     
       35. The method of  claim 33 , wherein the registration server and the tracking server are distinct servers. 
     
     
       36. The method of  claim 33 , wherein registering the user excludes collection of the user's e- mail address.   
     
     
       37. The method of  claim 33 , wherein registering the user excludes collection of the user's actual name. 
     
     
       38. The method of  claim 33 , wherein registering the user excludes collection of the user's physical address. 
     
     
       39. The method of  claim 33 , wherein registering the user excludes collection of any information that identifies the user in a manner adapted to direct marketing. 
     
     
       40. The method of  claim 33 , wherein registering the user further includes establishing an anonymous unique identifier for the user. 
     
     
       41. The method of  claim 40 , wherein reporting the tracking data includes reporting the anonymous unique identifier. 
     
     
       42. The method of  claim 33 , wherein at least one of the lists of other users is a messaging buddy list. 
     
     
       43. The method of  claim 42 , wherein the messaging buddy list is maintained by AOL's Instant Messenger software. 
     
     
       44. The method of  claim 42 , wherein the messaging buddy list is maintained by MSN Messenger software. 
     
     
       45. The method of  claim 42 , wherein the messaging buddy list is maintained by Yahoo! Messenger software. 
     
     
       46. The method of  claim 42 , wherein the messaging buddy list is maintained by America Online's ICQ software. 
     
     
       47. The method of  claim 42 , wherein the messaging buddy list is maintained by Odigo's instant messenger software. 
     
     
       48. The method of  claim 42 , wherein the messaging buddy list is maintained by Jabber's instant messenger software. 
     
     
       49. The method of  claim 33 , wherein at least one of the lists of other users is an e- mail contact list.   
     
     
       50. The method of  claim 33 , wherein at least one of the lists of other users is a contact list maintained by a software application. 
     
     
       51. The method of  claim 33 , wherein at least one of the lists of other users is a network registry. 
     
     
       52. The method of  claim 33 , wherein the rights of the other users are defined by content category of the user's computer usage. 
     
     
       53. The method of  claim 33 , wherein the rights of the other users are defined by appearance of one or more keywords on pages corresponding to URLs viewed. 
     
     
       54. The method of  claim 33 , wherein the rights of the other users are defined by activity type of the user's computer usage. 
     
     
       55. The method of  claim 33 , wherein the user utilizes a computer and tracking is carried out by a module resident on the computer. 
     
     
       56. The method of  claim 33 , wherein the tracking is carried out by a device placed between a computer utilized by the user and an access point to the Internet. 
     
     
       57. The method of  claim 33 , wherein the computer usage experience tracked is filtered before it is reported to the tracking server. 
     
     
       58. The method of  claim 33 , wherein the computer usage reported is filtered after it is reported to the tracking server and before it is posted for the selected other users to access. 
     
     
       59. The method of  claim 33 , wherein at least one of the lists of other users is a messaging buddy list maintained by an instant messenger software. 
     
     
       60. The method of  claim 33 , further including sending tracking data regarding one of a user's computer usage experiences to one or more of the other users identified by the one or more lists of other users. 
     
     
       61. The method of  claim 33 , further including categorizing at least a portion of the computer usage experiences by content and sorting the computer usage experiences by content category. 
     
     
       62. The method of  claim 33 , further including categorizing at least a portion of the computer usage experiences by content and making the computer usage experiences searchable by content category and date range. 
     
     
       63. The method of  claim 33 , wherein reporting further includes providing annotation tools for associating notes with individual tracking data entries. 
     
     
       64. The method of  claim 33 , wherein reporting further includes providing annotation tools for associating ratings with individual tracking data entries. 
     
     
       65. The method of  claim 33 , wherein reporting further includes indexing text portions of at least a portion of pages reported from tracking the user's Internet usage. 
     
     
       66. The method of  claim 65 , wherein text indexing is limited to pages reported from tracking as having been annotated or forwarded by the user. 
     
     
       67. A computer- implemented method of sharing computer usage experiences, including:      communicating with a registration server to register a user, for automatic and passive client - side collection of computer usage experiences for future sharing, wherein the computer usage experiences include one or more of a group consisting of: browsing URLs and visiting a geographic location with a location - aware device that automatically records geographic information for the visited geographic location;        accessing one or more lists of other users maintained on behalf of the user and selecting, under control of the user, one or more other users from the one or more lists of other users with whom to share the automatically collected computer usage experiences;        defining categories of computer usage experiences to be shared with particular selected other users among the selected one or more other users; and        tracking automatically and passively on the client - side at least a portion of the user's computer usage experiences and automatically reporting the user's computer usage experiences to a tracking server to be published to the particular selected other users in accordance with their defined categories of sharing.     
     
     
       68. The method of  claim 67 , wherein the registration server and the tracking server are a single server. 
     
     
       69. The method of  claim 67 , wherein the registration server and the tracking server are distinct servers. 
     
     
       70. The method of  claim 67 , wherein registering the user excludes collection of the user's e- mail address.   
     
     
       71. The method of  claim 67 , wherein registering the user excludes collection of the user's actual name. 
     
     
       72. The method of  claim 67 , wherein registering the user excludes collection of the user's physical address. 
     
     
       73. The method of  claim 67 , wherein registering the user excludes collection of any information that identifies the user in a manner adapted to direct marketing. 
     
     
       74. The method of  claim 67 , wherein registering the user further includes establishing an anonymous unique identifier for the user. 
     
     
       75. The method of  claim 74 , wherein reporting the tracking data includes reporting the anonymous unique identifier. 
     
     
       76. The method of  claim 67 , wherein at least one of the lists of other users is a messaging buddy list. 
     
     
       77. The method of  claim 76 , wherein the messaging buddy list is maintained by AOL's Instant Messenger software. 
     
     
       78. The method of  claim 76 , wherein the messaging buddy list is maintained by MSN Messenger software. 
     
     
       79. The method of  claim 76 , wherein the messaging buddy list is maintained by Yahoo! Messenger software. 
     
     
       80. The method of  claim 76 , wherein the messaging buddy list is maintained by America Online's ICQ software. 
     
     
       81. The method of  claim 76 , wherein the messaging buddy list is maintained by Odigo's instant messenger software. 
     
     
       82. The method of  claim 76 , wherein the messaging buddy list is maintained by Jabber's instant messenger software. 
     
     
       83. The method of  claim 67 , wherein at least one of the lists of other users is an e- mail contact list.   
     
     
       84. The method of  claim 67 , wherein at least one of the lists of other users is a contact list maintained by a software application. 
     
     
       85. The method of  claim 67 , wherein at least one of the lists of other users is a network registry. 
     
     
       86. The method of  claim 67 , wherein the rights of the other users are defined by content category of the user's computer usage. 
     
     
       87. The method of  claim 67 , wherein the rights of the other users are defined by appearance of one or more keywords on pages corresponding to URLs viewed. 
     
     
       88. The method of  claim 67 , wherein the rights of the other users are defined by activity type of the user's computer usage. 
     
     
       89. The method of  claim 67 , wherein the user utilizes a computer and tracking is carried out by a module resident on the computer. 
     
     
       90. The method of  claim 67 , wherein the tracking is carried out by a device placed between a computer utilized by the user and an access point to the Internet. 
     
     
       91. The method of  claim 67 , wherein the computer usage experience tracked is filtered before it is reported to the tracking server. 
     
     
       92. The method of  claim 67 , wherein the computer usage reported is filtered after it is reported to the tracking server and before it is posted for the selected other users to access. 
     
     
       93. The method of  claim 67 , wherein at least one of the lists of other users is a messaging buddy list maintained by an instant messenger software. 
     
     
       94. The method of  claim 67 , further including sending tracking data regarding one of a user's computer usage experiences to one or more of the other users identified by the one or more lists of other users. 
     
     
       95. The method of  claim 67 , further including categorizing at least a portion of the computer usage experiences by content and sorting the computer usage experiences by content category. 
     
     
       96. The method of  claim 67 , further including categorizing at least a portion of the computer usage experiences by content and making the computer usage experiences searchable by content category and date range. 
     
     
       97. The method of  claim 67 , wherein reporting further includes providing annotation tools for associating notes with individual tracking data entries. 
     
     
       98. The method of  claim 67 , wherein reporting further includes providing annotation tools for associating ratings with individual tracking data entries. 
     
     
       99. The method of  claim 67 , wherein reporting further includes indexing text portions of at least a portion of pages reported from tracking the user's Internet usage. 
     
     
       100. The method of  claim 99 , wherein text indexing is limited to pages reported from tracking as having been annotated or forwarded by the user. 
     
     
       101. The method of  claim 67 , wherein the computer usage experiences further include listening to songs. 
     
     
       102. The method of  claim 67 , wherein the computer usage experiences further include viewing videos. 
     
     
       103. The method of  claim 67 , wherein the computer usage experiences further include purchasing items.