Abstract: A system and method for distribution of content items, such as video or other files, can provide for adjustable pricing for access to a content item based on the popularity of the content item. The price for access can be calculated by adjusting a base access price that is determined based on how many times the content item has been accessed. The adjustment can utilize rating and review data received from users who have previously accessed the content item. In some embodiments, rating and review data is withheld from disclosure during a hold-back period whereby the quality of a user's rating can be evaluated by comparing it to other ratings received during the hold-back period. Other incentives can be provided to drive viewing and reviewing content items by providing discounts for users that provide positively-rated reviews.

Abstract: A system and method for client-side watermarking of digital content using hybrid Intra-Frames (I-Frames) are provided. In general, a content source provides a compressed video stream and a hybrid I-Frame stream to a client device via a network. The hybrid I-Frame stream includes a number of low-loss I-Frames corresponding to select ones of the I-Frames in the compressed video stream to be used for client-side watermarking. The client device watermarks the I-Frames in the hybrid I-Frame stream, optionally compresses the watermarked I-Frames, and replaces the select ones of the I-Frames in the compressed video stream with the watermarked and optionally compressed I-Frames to provide a watermarked version of the compressed video stream.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for on-demand narration of a customized story. A user indicates a desire via a user device to listen to a narrated customized story. A story service receives personalization information relating to the user associated with the user device, and obtains localization information relating to information associated with a location of the user device. A customized story is generated based on the personalization information and the localization information, and is narrated to the user device.

Abstract: A system and method are provided that allow multiple crops to be defined for a single digital image without altering the digital image. Rather than actually cropping the digital image where a portion of the digital image is lost, the present invention generates and stores cropping information defining a desired area of the digital image for each of the crops. The cropping information is stored in metadata associated with the digital image or in an associated application file.

Abstract: A system and method for optimizing the uploading of digital assets from a client node to a central node in a digital asset sharing system are provided. Digital assets residing at a client node are each tagged with one or more keywords. The client node sends a list of the keywords used to tag the digital assets to the central node and requests that invitations including the list of keywords be sent to potential guests. The potential guests select one or more of the keywords and send responses to the central node identifying the selected keywords. The central node processes the responses to generate a list of desired keywords and requests the digital images tagged with one or more keywords from the list of desired keywords from the client node. In response, the client node uploads the requested digital assets to the central node where they are stored.

Abstract: A cross-layer architecture for a network device having a number of network interfaces is provided. Each of the network interfaces implements a number of low level layers of a protocol stack and includes an associated network based cross-layer agent. The network device also includes an application based cross-layer agent associated with one or more high level protocol stack layers including an application layer. When the application layer desires to form a network connection to another network device, an arbitration agent operates to identify one of the network interfaces for the network connection. The arbitration agent then effects interconnection of the application based cross-layer agent and the network based cross-layer agent of the network interface and interconnection of the high level protocol stack layers and the low level protocol stack layers of the network interface, thereby forming a complete protocol stack having a cross-layer architecture for the network connection.

Abstract: The present invention generally relates to communication and controlled sharing of digital content among networked users, and is more particularly concerned with creation of an improved sharing network for relaying data among linked nodal members of a social network. An ad hoc network may be a hybrid P2P network that conforms to a virtual peer representation accessible as a single node from outside the given social network nodes. Members of a pre-existing social network may selectively activate embedded latent peers and link to an aggregation node to form a hybrid P2P network. Content may be shared in a controlled distribution according to level rights among participating network nodes. Playlists and/or specialized user interfaces may also be employed to facilitate content sharing among social network members of a virtual peer.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and system for creating a bidirectional link between first and second online albums in a peer-to-peer photo sharing network. Exemplary embodiments include receiving on a first peer, a user request to create a bidirectional link, wherein the request includes an identification of a first online album on the first peer and a URL of a second online album on a second peer; automatically sending to the second peer, a URL of the first online album and a request to create a link on the second online album to the first album; and automatically creating a link on the first online album to the second online album using the URL of the second online album. In a further embodiment, the link to the second online album is displayed with information regarding the second online album, including an online status of the peer hosting the linked online album.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for influencing a viewer to select a second feed. A shared medium is loaded beyond a loading threshold. One or more high viewership feeds being provided over the shared medium are designated preferred feeds, and one or more user devices providing low viewership feeds to viewers are designated candidate user devices. The candidate user devices are instructed to influence their respective viewers to select one of the high viewership feeds. The candidate user devices select a second feed from one or more preferred feeds, and provide information pertaining to the second feed to the viewer.

Abstract: A method and system for connecting a guest browser with a proxy includes: sending a registration request for a proxy from a peer to a proxy director; selecting a proxy by the proxy director and sending a proxy name to the peer; sending a registration request with a peer name and the proxy name from the peer to a dynamic domain name server (DNS); and registering a dynamic DNS record with a DNS name server by the dynamic DNS to associate the peer name with the proxy name. Thus, the dynamic DNS is used to convert the registration request from the peer to standard DNS. When a guest browser wants to connect to the peer, it performs a standard DNS look-up for the peer name at the DNS name server, which tells it which proxy to connect to. No proprietary locator service is needed to accomplish this connection.

Abstract: The present invention provides a system and method for recommending templates for electronic or online photo albums. In general, digital images are selected to form a photo album. The metadata associated with the digital images is analyzed to provide selection criteria. Using the selection criteria, one or more templates are selected from a template database as recommended templates. One of the recommended templates is selected and applied to the photo album.

Abstract: A system and method are provided for creating social networks, such as text, video, or audio chat sessions, around recorded media. More specifically, a social network server operates to logically divide the recorded media into a number of time slices, which may be thought of as sliding time windows. When a user within a time slice desires to join a social network during playback of the recorded media, the social network server operates to either add the user to a pre-existing social network associated with the time slice or establish a new social network between the user and additional users within the time slice. As a result, the user may have meaningful social interactions with other users that are at similar points during playback of the recorded media.

Abstract: A system and method for bypassing an access point in a wireless Local Area Network (LAN) for direct point-to-point data transfers are provided. A user device in the wireless LAN is equipped with a primary local wireless interface establishing a wireless communication link with an access point of the wireless LAN, a secondary local wireless interface used for direct point-to-point (P2P) file transfers, and a P2P file transfer application. When the P2P application desires to transfer a data file to another user device within the wireless LAN, the user device determines whether the other user device is within a coverage area of the secondary local wireless interface and whether the file transfer meets one or more alternate transfer criterion. If so, the data file is transferred to the other user device via a direct P2P wireless communication link, thereby bypassing the access point of the wireless LAN.

Abstract: An optimization server with associated databases for use in social networks utilizes previous interactions and other factors and parameters to optimize a user's level in a social network. The optimization server may be configured to proactively and/or reactively optimize a user's level in a social network by selecting previous social network instances, merging data from the selected instances into a single social network data representation, determining the shortest path between originating and recipient nodes in the network, and assigning a default level for the recipient node based on the shortest path. Additional optimization parameters may be applied to increase or decrease the recipient node's default network level (within certain optionally established limits for change).

Abstract: A method and system for serving content from a peer server in a photosharing peer-to-peer network is disclosed, wherein the peer server stores a web album and at least one associated digital image. Aspects of the invention include prior to the peer server going off-line, the peer server initiates a synchronization with a proxy server and a guest content server in which the web page a web page descriptor defining the web album is copied from the peer server to the guest content server, and the image associated with the web album is copied from the peer server to the proxy server. In response to a request from a requesting computer to view content stored in the peer computer when the peer server is off-line, the request is fulfilled by forwarding the web page from the guest content server to the requesting computer, and forwarding the image associated with a web page from the proxy server to the requesting computer, thereby successfully serving content from the peer server even when the peer server is off-line.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and products are disclosed for tagging files. Metadata is associated to files, and subjective metadata is assigned to the metadata. Any metadata common to multiple files may have different subjective metadata. Tags, for example, may be associated to the files, and a subjective level of importance may be assigned to each tag. Any tag that is commonly assigned to different files may thus have different levels of importance.

Abstract: The present invention provides an improved technique for accessing information in a peer-to-peer network. According to specific embodiments of the present invention, each file accessible in the peer-to-peer network is assigned a respective hash ID or fingerprint ID which is used to describe the contents of that file. Files in the peer-to-peer network may be identified and/or accessed based upon their associated hash ID values. In this way it is possible to identify identical files stored in the peer-to-peer network which have different file names and/or other metadata descriptors. Since the content of all files having the same hash ID will be identical, an automated process may be used to retrieve the desired content from one or more of the identified files.

Abstract: A system and method for bypassing an access point in a wireless Local Area Network (LAN) for direct point-to-point data transfers are provided. A user device in the wireless LAN is equipped with a primary local wireless interface establishing a wireless communication link with an access point of the wireless LAN, a secondary local wireless interface used for direct point-to-point (P2P) file transfers, and a P2P file transfer application. When the P2P application desires to transfer a data file to another user device within the wireless LAN, the user device determines whether the other user device is within a coverage area of the secondary local wireless interface and whether the file transfer meets one or more alternate transfer criterion. If so, the data file is transferred to the other user device via a direct P2P wireless communication link, thereby bypassing the access point of the wireless LAN.

Abstract: A method and system for providing a digital file marketplace is disclosed, where the digital marketplace includes a plurality of digital files for access by consumers over a network. The method and system include allowing a content owner to post a file on the marketplace for access by users by, providing information about the file, setting a retail price that users will be charged for downloading the file, and setting a reseller commission for the file. A first user may then search for files posted on the digital marketplace for one to resell on a third party website. A second user may further search the files posted on the digital marketplace for one to download. If the second user selects a particular file to download, then the user is charged the retail price set for the file. If the second user downloads the particular file from the third party website, then the first user is paid the reseller commission set for the file.

Abstract: An optimization server with associated databases for use in social networks utilizes previous interactions and other factors and parameters to optimize a user's level in a social network. The optimization server may be configured to proactively and/or reactively optimize a user's level in a social network by selecting previous social network instances, merging data from the selected instances into a single social network data representation, determining the shortest path between originating and recipient nodes in the network, and assigning a default level for the recipient node based on the shortest path. Additional optimization parameters may be applied to increase or decrease the recipient node's default network level (within certain optionally established limits for change).