Personal Channel Management via Popularity-Based Content Pruning

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Managing a personal channel becomes increasingly difficult as it grows, with users losing oversight of their content items and taste changes over time, leading to a need for a solution to clean up and refine their channels.

Innovation Solution

An apparatus that determines popularity values for each content item type within a personal channel, suggesting items with low popularity for removal, thereby assisting users in maintaining a streamlined and relevant channel, with optional user confirmation for deletion.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If a personal channel automatically adds content items to grow the channel, then the channel becomes more comprehensive and diverse, but the channel becomes increasingly difficult to manage and users lose oversight of their content items

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvechannel comprehensivenessVSAvoidchannel manageability

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring content item popularity metrics and user interaction data, then automatically adjusting the personal channel composition based on this feedback. The server determines popularity values for content items and uses this information to dynamically add or remove content items, creating a closed-loop system that adapts to user preferences without requiring manual intervention.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The personal channel management system operates autonomously by automatically adding and removing content items based on popularity metrics. The server performs self-service functions including determining popularity values, selecting content items for addition, and removing unpopular content items without user intervention, thereby maintaining channel quality while eliminating manual management overhead.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

2Adaptability or versatility

If a personal channel continuously grows with more content items, then the channel offers more variety, but the data space and processing time required increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent varietyVSAvoiddata space consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The system applies discarding and recovering by automatically removing unpopular content items from the personal channel while preserving popular ones. The server continuously evaluates content item popularity and discards items that fall below popularity thresholds, thereby recovering data space and processing resources. This creates a dynamic equilibrium where the channel maintains optimal size and variety without excessive resource consumption.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #34Discarding and recovering

3Ease of operation

If manual management of personal channel is used, then users have full control over content items, but users spend significant time and effort maintaining their channels

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveuser controlVSAvoidmaintenance time

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system enables self-service by automatically performing channel maintenance tasks including adding new content items, removing unpopular items, and adjusting channel composition. The server autonomously manages the personal channel based on popularity metrics, completely eliminating the time and effort users would otherwise spend on manual channel maintenance while preserving user preferences through automated decision-making.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

4Loss of time

If popularity-based automatic management is implemented, then channel maintenance time is reduced, but the system requires additional server resources and processing

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemaintenance timeVSAvoidserver resources

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of timeVSPower

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements parameter changes by dynamically adjusting popularity thresholds and content item selection criteria based on channel size, user behavior patterns, and resource availability. The server modifies these parameters adaptively to optimize the balance between automated management efficiency and resource consumption, ensuring that popularity-based management remains computationally efficient while maintaining effective channel curation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentUS10028030B2Apparatus and method for managing a personal channel

Publication Date: 2018.07.17 FUNKE TV GUIDE GMBH

AI summary

The present invention relates to an apparatus (100), a video system, a method and a corresponding computer program and a computer readable medium for managing a personal channel (210) of a user (200). The apparatus (100) is configured to identify a personal channel data piece that specifies a content item that the user (200) of the personal channel might not like anymore. The apparatus (100) then suggests (142) to the user (200) to delete the corresponding identified personal channel data piece and thus assists the user (200) in keeping a clear personal channel (210).