SYSTEM FOR INTEGRATING MULTIPLE IM NETWORKS AND SOCIAL NETWORKING WEBSITES
Systems and methods are described herein that provide for the integration of instant messaging applications and social networking websites. In some embodiments, a user can chat with individuals or groups of individuals that are logged in to a variety of different instant messaging applications or social networking websites, of which the user is a member. Thus, the user is able to use a single application to chat with any contact appearing on any of the user's contact lists across multiple different IM or social networks.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/092,542, entitled “System For Integrating Multiple IM Networks And Social Networking Websites,” filed Aug. 28, 2008, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUNDThe invention generally relates to Internet chat applications and social networking websites, and particularly to integrating the multitude of applications and websites available on the Internet into a single user chat experience.
Systems and methods are generally known for allowing an Internet user to communicate with other individuals via an online chat room. Software applications such as America Online's Instant Messenger (AIM), Microsoft Corp.'s MSN Messenger, Yahoo!, Inc.'s Yahoo! Messenger, and others allow users to communicate instantly with other users over a peer network. This type of communication, called instant messaging, allows simple, but limited access to a user's preferred contacts. Instant messaging applications permit users to track other users that are currently logged in and to send those users real time text messages. Users typically maintain a contact or buddy list of preferred contacts that are, for example, friends, family, co-workers, or others having common interests, etc. Users are able to participate in one-on-one chat sessions or in multi-user chat rooms.
In addition to instant messaging applications, social networking websites have increased in popularity in recent years. Websites such as Friendster, Facebook, and MySpace allow users to create personal, customizable web pages to leave messages, share photos, etc. Like instant messaging, social networking websites allow a user to maintain a list of preferred contacts. Unlike instant messaging, however, social networking is not typically used for instant communication. Instead, users maintain their list of contacts as a means to view the web pages of those contacts. Although these web pages are interactive and may contain their own chat applications, they are typically not used for real-time communication.
Current instant messaging applications and social networking websites are limited. One such limitation is the inability for the user of one application, such as AIM, to communicate with the user of another application, such as MSN Messenger. Another limitation is the inability for multiple users to chat using video and audio feeds. Video and audio chat, as opposed to text-based chat, is typically only available for one-on-one chat sessions. Users in a multi-user chat room are unable to use the audio and video functionality of instant messaging applications and are instead left with only text-based chat. Yet another limitation is the inability to communicate with individuals that are not logged into an instant messaging application or social networking website. Disclosed embodiments address these shortcomings in a single software application.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONSystems and methods are described herein that provide for the integration of instant messaging applications and social networking websites. In some embodiments, a user can chat with individuals or groups of individuals that are logged in to a variety of different instant messaging applications or social networking websites, of which the user is a member. Thus, the user is able to use a single application to chat with any contact appearing on any of the user's preferred contact lists, across multiple different IM or social networks.
The systems and methods provided herein allow for the integration of multiple instant messaging (IM) software applications and social networking websites. In some embodiments, a group chat room can be created to include all of a user's preferred contacts (“friends”) from all social networks to which the user belongs. All users within that group chat room can communicate with one another via various communication methods such as, for example, text messaging, audio and video chat, short message service (SMS), and/or Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP or voice over IP). As a result, users are able to communicate with one another across various social networks.
In some embodiments, one-to-one chat (i.e. a private chat between only two users) can be available. One-to-one communication may have the same functionality as multi-user/group communication such as, for example, the ability to turn on a user's own audio and/or video feed, turn on the other user's audio and/or video feed with that user's permission, and/or send files to the other user.
In some embodiments, public chat rooms can be available for any user wanting to join. In some embodiments, private chat rooms can be available for invited users only. In some embodiments, users may automatically be joined to a chat room if the room contains friends of the user (i.e. semi-private). In some embodiments, private chat rooms can be subscription-based. Chat rooms, whether private, semi-private, or public, can include a limit on the number of people allowed to join.
In some embodiments, users in a multi-user chat room can use audio and/or video feeds to communicate with one another. That is, users in a multi-user chat room are not restricted to text-based messaging only, but can also communicate via audio, video, or both. In some embodiments, audio feeds to the chat room can be split and evenly distributed to all audio channels.
In some embodiments, a user is able to use a computer to place a telephone call (e.g., a Voice Over IP call) directly to another individual's phone via a chat room. For example, if the participants in a chat room want to communicate with another person that is not currently online within that chat room, one of those participants can dial the offline user's phone number to connect that user with the chat room. In such a case, the added participant (via the call) can chat with the other participants of the chat room. Conversely, an offline user can “dial-in” to a chat room and chat with the participants of that room. Other third party individuals can also be called and invited to join the chat room.
In some embodiments, a user is able to send a file to one or more users. In some embodiments, a user has its own whiteboard which it can share with any other user. The whiteboard can be used to open and share different types of files such as, for example, documents, spreadsheets, audio, video, pictures, etc. In some embodiments, a user's whiteboard can be seen by invitation only. In another embodiment, a user's whiteboard can be seen automatically by anyone in the chat room. In some embodiments, other users can draw on the whiteboard. In some embodiments, a user can post to their whiteboard, audio and/or video recorded using a cell phone.
In some embodiments, participants in a chat room can make a video playlist. The videos can be played back in a queued fashion wherein all users in the chat room can watch those videos. In some embodiments, a user can play games, individually or interactively with one or more other users.
In some embodiments, a user can set up greetings to be sent to himself or herself, a friend, or a group of friends. The greeting can be sent via various methods such as, for example, SMS, electronic mail, or an automated phone call. Additionally a user can customize greetings by, for example, setting or overlaying it with a tune, sending it out at a certain day and time, or embedding an advertisement. The user's message can also be selected from a prerecorded list or can use the user's voice.
As used herein the term “friend” can mean an immediate friend of a user or a mutual friend of a user. A “mutual friend” means similar to a friend of a friend. For example, if John is a friend of Mary (who is a subscriber/user of Yahoo Messenger) and also a friend of Jane (who is a subscriber/user of Facebook), and Mary is also a friend of Doug (who is a subscriber./user of MySpace), and Jane is also a friend of Jack (who is a subscriber/user of AIM), then Mary is a mutual friend of John and Doug and Jane is a mutual friend of Jack and John. The system of the present invention can allow security settings to be set to allow all these individuals/users of different networking systems to chat in a single chat room. This enables a larger group of people to participate in a chat room.
As used herein the terms “user” refers to a person who has an association with the integrated communication network. For example, a user can have credentials to allow the user to log-in and use the integrated communications network. A “user” can be connected to and “online” the integrated communication network or can be “offline” at a given time. For example, an offline user can be included in a list of friends of another user who is online at a given time. A “user” or a “participant” can each refer to a person that is online and participating in a chat room of the integrated communication network.
Once connected to the integrated communication system 112, the user 100 can communicate with other users 104, 106, and 108 over the network 110. For example, user 100 can connect to the network 110 using a computer, laptop, or other known electronic computing device and log in to the integrated communication system 112 as described in more detail below. The user 100 can communicate with other users also connected to the integrated communication system 112 via the network 110. For example, as shown in
The integrated communication system 112 includes a computer or computers. As used herein, the term computer is intended to be broadly interpreted to include a variety of systems and devices including personal computers, laptop computers, mainframe computers, set top boxes, digital versatile disc (DVD) players, and the like. A computer can include for example, processors, memory components for storing data (e.g., read only memory (ROM) and/or random access memory (RAM), other storage devices, various input/output communication devices and/or modules for network interface capabilities, etc.
The integrated communication system 112 (also referred to herein as “system” or “communication system”) can be based in software and/or hardware. The system 112 can provide for streaming of data in real-time. For example, an open source flash server can be used that can support, streaming of audio and video (e.g., FLV and MP3), recording client streams (e.g., FLV), shared objects, live streaming publishing and/or remoting (e.g., AMF). The system 112 can also include additional functionality, such as, for example, allowing users in a chat room to stream their video from a webcam to the server and the server can relay that to all users watching that video feed. In another example of added functionality, the system 112 allows for the users to be able to initiate audio conversations. For example, audio can be streamed to the server and the server can relay it to all users listening to that audio feed.
Various protocols for chat and also to communicate with the different IM networks (e.g., Yahoo, MSN, AOL, Google, ICQ, Skype, etc.) can be used. For example, the server can use Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) protocols. XMPP is an open XML technology for presence and real-time communications. XMPP can also support integration with many IM networks. Additional features included with the system 112 can include, for example, automatic creation of chat rooms, automated room assignment to users based on the user's friends and single-sign on to multiple chat room, IM networks, and/or external websites. The system 112 can include various combinations of features and functionalities described herein.
The system 112 can also include a module 128 (e.g., an Apache module) that can run, for example, a PHP (hypertext preprocessor) scripting language. The module 128 can be connected to a system database 130, which can include, for example, a Structured Query Language (SQL) server 144, as shown in
As shown in
At 208, the system 112 retrieves and displays the user's pre-selected list of friends (also referred to as “buddies”) from each social network for which the user provided login information. The user can sort the list of friends in various ways including, for example, by social network or by participant status (e.g. friend is online, offline, away). Additionally, the user may filter its friends list by, for example, showing only those friends from certain social networks or by showing only a selected number of social network friends. The system 112 then examines each list of friends or mutual friends at 210 and determines whether any of the user's friends have created a chat room. At 212, the system 112 allows the user to join each chat room created by the user's friends or mutual friends. For each chat room the user joins, a visual indicator may be created to aid the user in switching between chats. For example, when the user is added to a chat room, a tab for that chat room may be displayed on the user interface. The user is then able to switch between chat rooms and communicate with the participants of each chat by clicking on the desired chat room tab. When a tab for a particular chat room is clicked, that chat room becomes active.
Additionally, to keep track of multiple chat rooms, each chat room the user joins can be identified by, for example, the name of the user that created that particular chat room. At 214, after examining the user's list of friends, the system 112 can create a chat room for the user. For example, if it is determined that there are no existing chat rooms created by the user's friends (e.g., at 210), the system can create a new chat room at 214. The system 112 can also optionally create a new chat room even if it is determined that there are existing chat rooms created by friends. The newly created chat room can be named, for example, the same name as the user. Whenever a friend or mutual friend of the user signs onto a social network (e.g., IM networks and/or social networking websites) registered by the user, that friend will be able to join the user's chat room. As a result, there can possibly be a mix of friends and mutual friends from different IM and social network websites in a single chat room.
In some embodiments, an individual that is not currently participating in the chat room can be invited to join the chat room via call. For example, at 216 (referring back to
In some embodiments, a user can define a phone number for himself or herself. The user can then give the phone number to friends or publish it in a directory. Additionally, a user can define a phone number for a particular friend. When calling a friend, a user can choose which phone number to use, the one defined by the user or the one defined by the friend.
In some embodiments, the participants can also communicate via text-based communication. When using text-based communication, in some embodiments, speech-to-text translation methods can be used to translate the voice of an individual on the phone to text. Conversely, text-to-speech translation methods can be used to translate text from chat room participants to speech for the person on the phone. In some embodiments, at 218, an individual participating in the chat room via a phone can communicate with other participants in the chat room via SMS. For example, a participant in the chat room can enter a text message in the chat room and the text message can be sent via SMS to the participant on the phone. The person to whom the SMS message is sent can be automatically connected to the chat room as a participant. If a user does not want to communicate via SMS text, however, that user can set a privacy setting that prevents the user from being automatically joined to a chat via SMS. Each message sent via SMS can contain information identifying the speaker such as, for example, a prefix indicating the speaker's username. The same is true when an IM network friend or mutual friend participates in a chat room. The IM friend/mutual friend will receive the messages of the chat room prefixed with the sender's username. Conversely, an individual participating in the chat room via a phone can send a text message via SMS that can be displayed in the chat room for viewing by all other participants in the chat room. In some embodiments, the individual sending the text message via phone can designate the message to be viewed by only some participants.
Thus, an integrated communication as described herein can be used to create chat rooms and allow users to join multiple chat rooms across multiple IM networks and social networking sites. The participants in such chat rooms can communicate using text, audio and video chat methods. Participants can also communicate using text messages and talk via VOIP phone calls. When communicating via audio and video, a user can have the ability to turn on its own audio and/or video feed. Additionally, users can have the ability to turn on any other user's video and audio feeds with the other user's permission. The audio can be set such that audio from all participants in a chat room will be audible for the active room only. If the user switches to a different room, the audio for the previous chat room will stop playing and audio from the currently active room will begin. The video can be set in a similar manner or, alternatively, the user can see video from all users in all chat rooms in which the user is currently participating.
As described above, the integrated communication system 112 can include a variety of different functionalities to enhance the communication capabilities of the system. It should be understood that some or all of the functionalities can be included in an integrated communication system 112 as described herein. Thus, the communication system 112 can have a variety of different configurations.
As shown in
Alternatively, if system 112 finds one or more friends or mutual friends of the user participating in one or more chat rooms, system 112 maintains a list of those chat rooms and cycles through (e.g., reviews/examines) each room beginning at 306. For each chat room on the list, the system checks for any security settings that have been placed on the chat room by a user at 308. For example, the system 112 can determine whether any participant has a security setting that denies access to, for example, mutual friends. If access is denied by at least one participant, system 112 goes back to 306 to check the next chat room on the list. If none of the participants has a security setting that denies access to the user, the user's security settings are checked at 310. For example, the system 112 checks the user's security settings to determine whether the user has defined a setting that prohibits system 112 from joining the user to a chat room with mutual friends. If the user's security settings contain a setting that prohibits adding the user to a chat room in which a mutual friend is participating, then the user is not added to that chat room and system 112 cycles back to 306 to check the next chat room on the list.
Alternatively, if the user does not define such a security setting, system 112 allows the user to join that chat room at 312. System 112 continues to cycle through this loop 306, 308, 310, and 312 until it reaches the end of chat room list (e.g., identified at 306). After cycling through each chat room on the list, at 314, the chat room that contains the greatest number of the user's friends is identified, and the user is placed in that chat room at 318. In other words, of all the chat rooms system 112 allows the user to join (at 312), the user is placed in the room that contains the highest number of friends.
As described above, in some embodiments, the integrated communication system can also provide for a user to join in a chat room via telephone.
In some embodiments, the integrated communication system 112 can also include the ability for a user within a chat room to call other users to join in the chat room. The system 112 can assign a telephone number for the chat room and optionally a pin code. Users in the chat room can send the phone number (and pin code if applicable) to his or her friends and those friends can then call into the chat room. For example, as shown in the flowchart of
The first user can determine if the second user answers the call at 504, and if not, can terminate the call at 506. For example, the first user can press a disconnect button or click a disconnect icon on the screen. In some embodiments, at 504, the system 112 can make a determination as to whether the second user answers the call, for example, after a certain number of rings. If the second user does not answer the call, the system 112 can automatically terminate the call at 506. If the second user does answer the call, at 508, the second user joins the chat room. Once joined within the chat room, other participants (in addition to the first user) in that room can also hear and communicate with the second user.
The integrated communications system 112 can also include various features that can further enhance the chat room experience for the participants. In one example, the system 112 can include an enhanced visual effects feature that allows the particular speaker during a chat session to be viewed in a larger video screen space or format than the other participants. As shown in
If the Speaker stops talking for a specified time period (e.g., n number of seconds), then the floor becomes open for someone else to become the Speaker. At that point, if a new Speaker begins talking, at 606, the system 112 will perform a visual effect of fading out the previous Speaker and fading in the new Speaker's video feed, which will be displayed in a larger format to all users in the chat room as indicated at 608. A variety of different special effects can be used and selected by each user, for example, during a user set-up procedure with the system 112.
At 610, in some embodiments, the system 112 can also make the audio feed of the Speaker dominant in the chat room. For example, the system 112 will prevent the stream of audio from other users if they start talking while the Speaker is talking. This can enable a meeting or chat session to take place without sudden interruptions. The system 112 can optionally be configured to allow the Owner to override this feature. In this case, the audio of the Owner will be streamed in regardless of who else is talking. The system 112 can also be configured to allow the Owner to change settings to allow the audio of all the users to be streamed at all times. At 612, the system 112 can determine if there is a pause in the audio stream of the Speaker. For example, if the audio feed for the Speaker ceases for a specified time period (e.g., n number of seconds) then the system 112 can fade out the Speaker. At that time, a new user can start talking and become the Speaker, at 604. If there is no pause in the audio feed of the Speaker, then the Speaker continues to be displayed in a larger video format than the other users, at 608.
Another example of an enhanced feature of the system 112 is described with reference to
If, at 708, it is determined that the user does have a surround sound system, then the system 112 can calculate the type of encoding needed based on the number of participants and the number of speakers the user has at 714. At 716, the system 112 can relay or distribute the audio by encoding the sound across the speakers with an equal number of participants.
As stated above,
If one or more designated recipients did not receive the text message, at 906 the system 112 checks the sending user's defined parameters to determine if the sending user has designated that translation of any mnemonics be performed prior to sending the text message. If the parameters of the sending user do not indicate a request for translation, the text message is sent to the designated recipient user or users at 908. If the sending user designated translation, then at 910, the text message is translated as described above. The translated text message is then sent to the designated recipient user or users at 908.
The system 112 can also be configured to allow a user to receive RSS feeds via the system 112. A user can select from a list of predefined RSS feeds that can be subscribed to, such as for example, sports news, markets, celebrity news, etc. A user can also define their own RSS feed. A user can set up alerts on the RSS feeds that can be sent to the user via, for example, SMS text messaging or emails. An alert can optionally be setup based on specific keywords or other filter parameters. For example, the user can specify how often the system should pull the source of the RSS feed.
At 1108, the user can select a day and time for the message to be sent. For example, the user can select to send the message immediately, or can select a later day and/or time to send the message. At 1110, the user types the text message and initiates the system to send the message to the designated recipients. At 1112, the user can select to send the message via an IM chat, rather than or in addition to, via SMS.
At 1208, a user can hover over an icon (e.g., place the pointing arrow over the icon) next to another user's name (or other indicator of the user) and see relationships that user has with other users. For example, if the first user hovers over the icon associated with the third user, he can see if the third user is a friend of the second user and if the second user is a friend of the first user. There can be a variety of different visual representations to illustrate various relationships. For example, one visual presentation can be a tree diagram structure showing the relationships between users. In the above example, the tree diagram can show the relationship between the first user, the second user and third user. In another example, the visual representation can show all mutual friends, but only highlight a path between the first user, the second user and the third user. At 1210, the system 112 checks for other users logged into the system to determine if they are friends of the first user, the second user or the third user, in this example. If a friend of one of the users is identified, the integration icon will be displayed next to that user's name at 1206.
As shown in
If the user selects email, at 1308, the user can record a greeting in audio, video and/or text format. In this scenario, at 1310, the system 112 sends the email to the intended recipient or recipients at the specified time (e.g., selected at 1304). If the greeting includes an audio/video attachment, the email can include instructions for the recipient to open the recorded audio/video greeting. In some embodiments, the system 112 can automatically include such instructions in the email. If the user, at 1306, selects to send a greeting via SMS, at 1312, the user can type a message in text format. At 1314, the system 112 sends the greeting to the intended recipient or recipients via SMS at the specified time (e.g., selected at 1304). If at 1306 the user selects to send a greeting via phone, at 1316, the user can record a greeting in audio format. At 1318, the system 112, at the specified time (e.g., selected at 1304), calls the intended recipient via VOIP and plays the recorded audio greeting.
As shown in
If the user selects email, at 1408, the user can record a reminder in audio, video, and/or text format. At 1410, the system 112 sends the reminder to the user or other intended recipient at the specified time selected at 1404. If the reminder includes an audio or video format portion, the email can include instructions for the recipient to open the recorded audio or video reminder. In some embodiments, the system 112 can automatically include such instructions in the email. If the user, at 1406, selects to send a reminder via SMS, at 1412, the user can type a message in text format. At 1414, the system 112 sends the reminder to the intended recipient or recipients via SMS at the specified time (e.g., selected at 1404). If at 1406 the user selects to send a reminder via phone, at 1416, the user can record a greeting in audio format. At 1418, the system 112, at the specified time (e.g., selected at 1404), calls the intended recipient(s) via VOIP and plays the recorded audio reminder.
One example method of such a feature is described with reference to
As shown in
At 1606, the user starts the presentation and requests the system 112 to record the presentation. At 1608, upon receipt of the request, the system 112 begins recording the presentation. The recording can include audio and/or video of the user. At 1610, as the user moves to the next page/slide/animation in the presentation, the system 112 inserts a cue point into the recorded video matching the exact time this took place. This continues until the user completes the presentation at 1612.
As shown in
The above process can be repeated for other users requesting to watch user A's video feed. Each time a user makes a request to watch the video feed the system 112 evaluates the bandwidth and connection speed to see if there is enough to stream to the new user. When a threshold is reached, the new users will be streamed through the server of the system 112, while for users already receiving the video feed the video will still be streamed directly from user A's computer.
The integrated communication system 112 described herein (also referred to herein as “system” or “communication system”) can be embodied in a computer storage product with a computer-readable medium (also can be referred to as a processor-readable medium) having instructions or computer code thereon for performing various computer-implemented operations. The media and computer code (also can be referred to as code) may be those specially designed and constructed for the specific purpose or purposes. Examples of computer-readable media include, but are not limited to: magnetic storage media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape; optical storage media such as Compact Disc/Digital Video Discs (CD/DVDs), Compact Disc-Read Only Memories (CD-ROMs), and holographic devices; magneto-optical storage media such as optical disks; carrier wave signals; and hardware devices that are specially configured to store and execute program code, such as Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), and ROM and RAM devices. Examples of computer code include, but are not limited to, micro-code or micro-instructions, machine instructions, such as produced by a compiler, and files containing higher-level instructions that are executed by a computer using an interpreter. For example, an embodiment of the invention can be implemented using Java, C++, or other object-oriented programming language and development tools. Additional examples of computer code include, but are not limited to, control signals, encrypted code, and compressed code.
While various embodiments have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. Where methods and steps described above indicate certain events occurring in certain order, those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure would recognize that the ordering of certain steps may be modified and that such modifications are in accordance with the variations of the invention. Additionally, certain of the steps may be performed concurrently in a parallel process when possible, as well as performed sequentially as described above. The embodiments have been particularly shown and described, but it will be understood that various changes in form and details may be made.
For example, although various embodiments of an integrated communications system 112 have been described as having particular features and/or combinations of features and/or components, other embodiments are possible having any combination or sub-combination of any features and/or components from any of embodiments/figures as discussed above.
Claims
1. A method, comprising:
- identifying registered social networks and instant messaging networks associated with a user of an integrated communication network;
- logging the user into all identified social networks and instant messaging networks associated with the user;
- identifying pre-selected friends of the user within the identified social networks and instant messaging networks and displaying a list of the preselected friends to the user;
- determining whether one or more of the preselected friends of the user has created a chat room in one or more of the instant messaging networks and social networks associated with the user; and
- if during the determining a chat room is identified and upon request by the user, connecting the user to one or more of the identified chat rooms.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
- after the determining, and upon request by the user, creating a chat room for the user in the integrated communication network.
3. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:
- connecting a user to a chat room within the integrated communication network via a voice over internet protocol call.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
- sending a voice over internet protocol call initiated by a first user within a chat room of the integrated communication network to a second user within the chat room or to a third party.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
- sending a text message created by a first user within a chat room of the integrated communication network to a second user of the chat room or to a third party.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
- displaying a list of participants within a chat room of the integrated communication network; and
- providing relationship information associated with each participant within the chat room.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
- displaying within a chat room of the integrated communication network a video feed of a first user in a larger format than a video feed associated with each of the remaining users when the first user is communicating with the other users via audio or text communications.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
- translating a mnemonic included within a text message sent by a user of a chat room of the integrated communication network.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining includes determining whether one or more mutual friends of the preselected friends of the user has created a chat room in one or more of the social networks associated with the user,
- if during the determining, a chat room of a mutual friend is identified and upon request by the user, connecting the user to a chat room of a mutual friend.
10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
- encoding the audio output at the electronic device to distribute the audio for each participant within the chat room to a selected speaker from a plurality of speakers coupled to the electronic device.
11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
- automatically pausing an audio output of an audio or video file playing within a chat room upon voice recognition of a participant in a chat room.
12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
- during a presentation, inserting a cue point into a recorded video of the presentation to indicate a time and a location within the video where a page of the presentation has been changed.
13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
- streaming a video feed directly from a first electronic device in communication with the integrated communication network to a second electronic device in communication with the integrated communication system bypassing a video server of the integrated communication system.
14. A method, comprising:
- sending from an electronic device to an integrated communication system information associated with a user's identification and password associated with one or more instant messaging networks or social networks;
- receiving at the electronic device a list of preselected friends associated with the instant messaging networks and social networks associated with the user;
- receiving at the electronic device a list of chat rooms initiated by one or more of the preselected friends, the list of chat rooms including one of no chat rooms or at least one chat room; and
- if at least one chat room is listed, selecting to join one or more of the at least one chat rooms listed.
15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:
- sending a request from the electronic device to the integrated communication system to create a chat room.
16. The method of claim 14, further comprising:
- receiving a list of participants within a chat room and an indication of the participants associated instant messaging or social networks; and
- receiving relationship information associated with each participant within the chat room.
17. The method of claim 14, further comprising:
- receiving at the electronic device a RSS feed from the integrated communication network.
18. The method of claim 14, further comprising:
- sending from the electronic device a text message created by a participant in a chat room to be sent to another participant in the chat room.
19. The method of claim 14, further comprising:
- sending from the electronic device a greeting to at least one of a participant in the chat room or a third party.
20. The method of claim 14, further comprising:
- sending from the electronic device a reminder to the user of the electronic device, the reminder being displayed at a specified time and date within the user's calendar program.
21. An integrated communications system, comprising:
- a server configured to integrate communications within a chat room created by the server between a plurality of electronic devices and across a plurality of different instant messaging and social networks,
- the server configured to connect a first electronic device from the plurality of electronic devices to one or more instant messaging or social networks associated with a user of the first electronic device,
- upon receipt of a request by the first electronic device, the server configured to at least one of connect the first electronic device to one or more chat rooms created by preselected friends of the user of the first electronic device or create a chat room.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 30, 2020
Publication Date: Feb 18, 2021
Inventors: Lawrence A. Jonas (Beverly Hills, CA), Farshad Toobi (Los Angeles, CA)
Application Number: 16/862,883