Location-based event gallery

Abstract

The present invention relates to a geolocation-based event gallery. A computer-implemented method includes receiving a message and geolocation data of a device for sending the message. Determining whether the geolocation data corresponds to a geolocation fence associated with an event. When the geolocation data corresponds to a geolocation fence associated with the event, the message is posted to an event gallery associated with the event. The event gallery is provided in response to a request from a user.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application, the invention name of the parent case is “Geographically Based Event Gallery”, the application date is June 12, 2015, and the application number is 201580031616.8.

[0002] Priority declaration

[0003] This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 14 / 304,855, filed on June 13, 2014, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0004] The present invention relates generally to exchanging electronic messages in a computer network. More particularly, the present invention relates to a geographical location based gallery of messages associated with an event. Background Art

[0005] Messages are generated using mobile devices such as smart phones. The messages can be text messages, photos (with or without supplementary text), and videos. Users can share such messages with individuals in their social networks. However, there is no mechanism for sharing messages with strangers participating in public events. Summary of the invention

[0006] A computer-implemented method includes receiving a message and geolocation data of a device for sending the message. Determining whether the geolocation data corresponds to a geolocation fence associated with an event. When the geolocation data corresponds to a geolocation fence associated with the event, the message is posted to an event gallery associated with the event. The event gallery is provisioned in response to a request from a user. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] The present invention will be more fully appreciated in conjunction with the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0008] Figure 1 The figure illustrates a system configured in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

[0009] Figure 2 The diagram illustrates server-side processing associated with an embodiment of the present invention.

[0010] Figure 3 The diagram illustrates client-side processing associated with an embodiment of the present invention.

[0011] Figure 4 —8 illustrates a graphical user interface that may be associated with an embodiment of the present invention.

[0012] Like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0013] Figure 1 The diagram illustrates a system 100 configured in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The system 100 includes a set of client devices 102_1 to 102_N and at least one server 104 connected via a network 106. The network 106 may be any combination of wired or wireless networks.

[0014] Each client device 102 has standard components such as a central processing unit 110 and input / output devices 112 connected via a network 114. The input / output devices 112 may include a touch display, dedicated control buttons, physical connectors, speakers, etc. A network interface circuit 116 is also connected to the bus 114 and provides a connection to the network 106. A memory 120 is also connected to the bus 114. The memory 120 stores communication applications 122. The communication applications 122 include instructions that are executed by the CPU 110 to coordinate communications with the server 104 and / or other client devices. The client device may be in the form of a tablet, smart phone, wearable technology, laptop, or desktop computer.

[0015] The server 104 also includes standard components such as a central processing unit 130, a bus 132, input / output devices 134, and a network interface circuit 136. A memory 140 is connected to the bus 132. The memory 140 stores a communication module 142. The communication module 142 includes instructions executed by the CPU 130 to coordinate communications with the client device 102. The memory 140 also stores an event gallery module 144. The event gallery module 144 includes instructions executed by the CPU 130 to store messages from participants in a real-time event. The messages form an event gallery, which can be supplied to the client device 102 in response to a request from the client device 102.

[0016] Figure 2 The diagram illustrates operations associated with an embodiment of the event gallery module 144. The top portion of the diagram illustrates a group of message senders, namely sender_2 through sender_N. Each message sender is associated with a client device 102. The communication application 122 is configured to accompany the message with geographic location information. Typically, the geographic location information will be collected from a GPS chip resident in the client device. However, other geographic location information may also be used, such as cellular network geographic location information, self-reported geographic location information, etc.

[0017] The event gallery module 144 includes an administrative interface that allows a person to define an event. For example, the administrative interface can prompt the event planner to obtain an event name, event description, event date, event time, and event location. The event location is specified in physical coordinates (e.g., GPS coordinates) that define a geographic location fence associated with the event.

[0018] As previously indicated, messages from senders include geolocation information. Server 104 receives such messages and geolocation data 200 from many senders. For each message, the geolocation data is compared to the geolocation fence. If the message is not sent from within the geolocation fence, it is not from a permitted location and is therefore discarded (202—No). If the message is from a permitted location (202—Yes), the message is posted to the event gallery 204.

[0019] The event gallery module 144 may include an organization interface that allows an event planner to optionally curate the event gallery 206. For example, the organization interface may allow an event planner to delete inappropriate or redundant messages. Figure 2 The final operation serves an event gallery in response to requests 208 from any number of users.

[0020] Figure 3 The figure illustrates processing associated with a communication application 122 resident on a client device 102. The communication application 122 sends a registration request 300. The registration request can be an explicit request to join or follow an event. Alternatively, the registration request can be triggered by sending geolocation data to the server 104. The event gallery module 144 determines whether the geolocation data corresponds to a geolocation fence associated with the event. Event gallery prompt information is received 302 in response to the request. The event gallery prompt information can be a tag of the event, such as a brand, a text description, etc. The event gallery prompt information is added to a selectable destination list 304. The selectable destination list 304 includes individuals in the user's social network. In this case, the selectable destination list is augmented with the tag of the event.

[0021] If the user generates a message (306—yes), a destination list 308 is provided. The destination list includes individuals in the user's social network and tags of events and / or event galleries. If the event gallery is selected (310), the user is added as a follower of the event 312. Thus, for example, in a case where the user receives an event gallery prompt in response to simply transmitting geolocation data, the user can formally follow the event by posting a message (shared story) to the event gallery. That is, the event gallery module 144 adds the user to a list of event followers in response to the user posting the message to the event gallery. Finally, the message is sent to the recipients specified on the selectable destination list 314. These recipients are typically individuals in the user's social network.

[0022] Figure 4 is an example of a message obtained at an event. In this example, the message is a photo, which can be supplemented with text. Figure 5The diagram shows a selectable destination list 500. The selectable destination list 500 includes an entry for a real-time event 502 and an entry 504 for an individual in a social network. Selecting a real-time event 502 from the selectable destination list 500 may result in the following: Figure 6 The prompt may explain the terms associated with posting content to the event gallery. Figure 7 The diagram illustrates an interface that lists friends in a social network and one or more events being followed.

[0023] Figure 8 is an example of an event gallery 800. The event gallery 800 includes a single posted message 802. The message can be a photo, a video, or a text message. The event gallery can be available for a specified temporary period. For example, the specified temporary period can be the duration of the event. A marker for the event gallery can appear in a friend list (e.g., a destination list) for the duration of the event. In one embodiment, the event gallery has single ephemeral messages shown in sequence. For example, a first image is shown for five seconds, then a second image is shown for three seconds, etc.

[0024] An event gallery may be open to all event attendees. Alternatively, an event gallery may be formed for a subset of attendees selected from a destination list or some other list (e.g., a list of colleagues at the event). Embodiments of the invention maintain an ongoing event gallery (shared story) for a geographic location. For example, a shared story may extend over several months. Alternatively, a shared story may be updated every twenty-four hour period at a specified geographic location.

[0025] Embodiments of the present invention relate to a computer storage product having a non-temporary computer-readable storage medium having thereon computer codes for performing various computer-implemented operations. The medium and computer code may be specially designed and constructed for the purposes of the present invention, or they may be well-known species and may be used by technicians in the field of computer software. Examples of computer-readable media include, but are not limited to, magnetic media, optical media, magneto-optical media, and hardware devices that are specially configured to store and execute program codes, such as application-specific integrated circuits ("ASICs"), programmable logic devices ("PLDs"), and ROM and RAM devices. Examples of computer codes include machine codes such as those generated by a compiler and files containing high-level codes executed by a computer using an interpreter. For example, JAVA®, C++, or other object-oriented programming languages ​​and development tools may be used to implement embodiments of the present invention. As an alternative to or in combination with machine-executable software instructions, another embodiment of the present invention may be implemented with hard-wired circuits.

[0026] For the purpose of explanation, the foregoing description uses specific terms to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these specific details are not required in order to practice the present invention. Therefore, the foregoing description of specific embodiments of the present invention is presented for the purpose of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present invention to the precise form disclosed; obviously, many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings. The embodiments are selected and described in order to best explain the principles of the present invention and its practical application, which thereby enables others in the art to best utilize the present invention and various embodiments with various modifications suitable for the specific purpose envisioned. It is intended that the following claims and their equivalents define the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method comprising: determining, by a computing device, a geographic location of the computing device; sending, by the computing device, the geographic location to a server computer to determine that the geographic location of the computing device corresponds to a geo-fence associated with a plurality of galleries; providing, by the computing device, user-selectable gallery information including indicia for each of a plurality of galleries corresponding to the geofence; detecting, by the computing device, selection of a tag for a gallery from the plurality of galleries of user-selectable gallery information; displaying, by the computing device, a gallery associated with a selection of a tag for the gallery, the gallery comprising a plurality of messages presented as having a photograph with or without supplemental text for each message, wherein the plurality of messages comprises individual ephemeral messages shown in sequence; providing, by the computing device, a user interface for generating, in response to a message in the gallery, a message containing the photo with or without supplemental text; receiving, by the computing device, a generated message including a photograph of the generated message with or without supplemental text; as well as causing, by the computing device, the generated message to be added to a gallery associated with a selection of a tag for the gallery of the plurality of galleries of user-selectable gallery information, and wherein the generated message is accessible by other computing devices accessing the gallery information; Wherein the gallery is available during a temporal period specified for the duration of an event associated with the gallery.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the user-selectable gallery information is added to a list of selectable galleries accessible by the user. The method of claim 2 , wherein the user can send a message to another user. The method of claim 1 , wherein the messages are organized to delete inappropriate messages. The method of claim 1 , wherein the user-selectable gallery information is provided based on a geographic location associated with the computing device.

6. A computing device comprising: processor; as well as a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, configure the computing device to perform operations including: determining a geographic location of the computing device; sending the geographic location to a server computer to determine that the geographic location of the computing device corresponds to a geo-fence associated with a plurality of galleries; providing user-selectable gallery information including an indicia for each of a plurality of galleries corresponding to the geofence; detecting selection of a marker for a gallery from the plurality of galleries of user-selectable gallery information; displaying a gallery associated with a selection of a tag for the gallery, the gallery comprising a plurality of messages presented as photographs with or without supplemental text for each message, wherein the plurality of messages comprises individual ephemeral messages shown in sequence; providing a user interface for generating a message containing the photo with or without supplemental text in response to a message in the gallery; receiving a generated message, the generated message including a photograph of the generated message with or without supplemental text; as well as causing the generated message to be added to a gallery associated with selection of a tag for the gallery of the plurality of galleries of user-selectable gallery information, and wherein the generated message is accessible by other computing devices accessing the gallery information; Wherein the gallery is available during a temporal period specified for the duration of an event associated with the gallery.

7. The computing device of claim 6, wherein the user-selectable gallery information is added to a list of selectable galleries accessible by a user.

8. The computing device of claim 6, wherein the user can send a message to another user.

9. The computing device of claim 6, wherein the messages are organized to delete inappropriate messages.

10. The computing device of claim 6, wherein the user-selectable gallery information is provided based on a geographic location associated with the computing device.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructions for causing a computing device to perform operations including: determining a geographic location of the computing device; sending, by the computing device, the geographic location to a server computer to determine that the geographic location of the computing device corresponds to a geo-fence associated with a plurality of galleries; providing user-selectable gallery information including an indicia for each of a plurality of galleries corresponding to the geofence; detecting selection of a marker for a gallery from the plurality of galleries of user-selectable gallery information; displaying a gallery associated with a selection of a tag for the gallery, the gallery comprising a plurality of messages presented as photographs with or without supplemental text for each message, wherein the plurality of messages comprises individual ephemeral messages shown in sequence; providing a user interface to generate a message containing the photo with or without supplemental text in response to a message in the gallery; receiving the generated message, the generated message including the photo with or without supplemental text of the generated message; as well as causing the generated message to be added to a gallery associated with selection of a tag for the gallery of the plurality of galleries of user-selectable gallery information, and wherein the generated message is accessible by other computing devices accessing the gallery information; Wherein the gallery is available during a temporal period specified for the duration of an event associated with the gallery.

12. A method comprising: receiving, by the server computer, geographic location data from the computing device; determining, by the server computer, that the geographic location data corresponds to a geo-fence associated with a plurality of galleries; providing, by the server computer in response to receiving the geographic location data from the computing device, user-selectable gallery information to the computing device, the user-selectable gallery information including a label for each of the plurality of galleries corresponding to the geofence; receiving, by the server computer, a first message in response to a second message in a first gallery of the plurality of galleries, the first message including a photograph with or without supplemental text for the message, wherein the first gallery includes individual ephemeral messages shown in sequence; as well as adding, by the server computer, the first message to the first gallery, the first gallery being associated with selection of an indicia for a first gallery of the plurality of galleries by the user-selectable gallery information; wherein the first message is accessible to other computing devices that access the gallery information to view the first message, the first message including a photograph of the first message with or without supplemental text; Wherein the first gallery is available during a temporary period specified for a duration of an event associated with the first gallery.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the user selectable gallery information is added to a selectable gallery list.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the first messages are organized to delete inappropriate messages.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the method further comprises: receiving a third message from the computing device; as well as The third message is sent to a designated individual.

16. A server computer comprising: processor; as well as a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, configure the server computer to perform operations including: receiving geographic location data from a computing device; determining that the geographic location data corresponds to a geo-fence associated with a plurality of galleries; providing user-selectable gallery information to the computing device in response to receiving the geographic location data from the computing device, the user-selectable gallery information including a label for each of the plurality of galleries corresponding to the geofence; receiving a first message in response to a second message in a first gallery of the plurality of galleries, the first message comprising a photograph with or without supplemental text for the message, wherein the first gallery comprises individual ephemeral messages shown in sequence; as well as adding the first message to the first gallery, the first gallery being associated with selection of a marking for a first gallery of the plurality of galleries of the user-selectable gallery information; wherein the first message is accessible to other computing devices that access the gallery information to view the first message, the first message including a photograph of the first message with or without supplemental text; Wherein the first gallery is available during a temporary period specified for a duration of an event associated with the first gallery.

17. The server computer of claim 16, wherein the user selectable gallery information is added to a selectable gallery list.

18. The server computer of claim 16, wherein the user-selectable gallery information is provided to the computing device based on a geographic location associated with the computing device.

19. The server computer of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise: receiving a third message generated by the computing device; as well as The third message is sent to a designated individual.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructions for causing a computer to perform operations including: receiving geographic location data from a computing device; determining that the geographic location data corresponds to a geo-fence associated with a plurality of galleries; providing user-selectable gallery information to the computing device in response to receiving the geographic location data from the computing device, the user-selectable gallery information including a label for each of the plurality of galleries corresponding to the geofence; receiving a first message in response to a second message in a first gallery of the plurality of galleries, the first message comprising a photograph with or without supplemental text for the message, wherein the first gallery comprises individual ephemeral messages shown in sequence; as well as adding the first message to the first gallery, the first gallery being associated with selection of a marking for a first gallery of the plurality of galleries of the user-selectable gallery information; wherein the first message can be accessed by other computing devices that access the gallery information to view the first message, The first message includes a photograph of the first message with or without supplemental text; Wherein the first gallery is available during a temporary period specified for a duration of an event associated with the first gallery.

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