Digital asset management system (DAMS)

Abstract

A digital asset management system (DAMS) provides an integrated user experience for the rapid and facile manipulation of a users digital assets in an online environment. Spanning the spectrum of digital assets, the DAMS system set forth herein enables users to tag, filter, collect, and show such digital assets in a manner which requires preferably minimal user interaction in order to achieve digital asset management and exhibition. Sharing among friends and family becomes much easier and incoming digital assets may be automatically segregated according to user choices or history to enable easier management of such assets. Recognition of relationships, characteristics, features, and the like between different assets may occur automatically and develop an ongoing fashion to enable association of such similar assets into “collections” or the like.

1 . A method for managing digital assets, the steps comprising:
 recognizing a new digital asset;   determining a tag associated with said digital asset; and   associating said digital asset with a collection of digital assets according to said tag; whereby   digital assets with similar tags may be quickly sorted by choosing a filter for said tag.   
   
   
       2 . A method for managing digital assets as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein said step of recognizing a new digital asset further comprises:
 recognizing said digital asset according to a source for said digital asset.   
   
   
       3 . A method for managing digital assets as set forth in  claim 2 , wherein said source for said digital asset further comprises:
 a source selected from the group consisting of webpages/webgrabs, e-mails, shared assets, e-mail dropbox, shopping history, manual uploads, and combinations thereof.   
   
   
       4 . A method for managing digital assets as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein said step of recognizing a new digital asset further comprises:
 recognizing said digital asset upon the addition of said tag.   
   
   
       5 . A method for managing digital assets as set forth in  claim 4 , further comprising:
 prompting a user to confirm said associating said digital asset with a collection when said tag is similar or identical to tags existing with said digital assets in said collection.   
   
   
       6 . A method for managing digital assets as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein said step of determining a tag associated with said digital asset further comprises:
 said digital asset being a saved e-mail;   recognizing a code or string in said e-mail; and   assigning a tag to said digital asset according to said code.   
   
   
       7 . A method for managing digital assets as set forth in  claim 6 , wherein said code or string further comprises:
 said code or string is in a subject line of said email; and   said code or string is an assigned and user-editable personal identification number (PIN).   
   
   
       8 . A method for managing digital assets as set forth in  claim 7 , wherein said code or string further comprises:
 a code associated with e-mails transmitting pictures from mobile devices.   
   
   
       9 . A method for managing digital assets as set forth in  claim 6 , further comprising:
 said code or string being one or more order-related words; and   send e-mail is received from an Internet retailer.   
   
   
       10 . A method for managing digital assets as set forth in  claim 9 , further comprising:
 set Internet retailer be one of a top 100 Web retailers.   
   
   
       11 . A method for managing digital assets as set forth in  claim 6 , wherein said code or string further comprises:
 said code or string is in a field of said email, said Field selected from the group consisting of senders, subject line keywords, attachment types, and combinations thereof; and   said code or string is chosen by a user.   
   
   
       12 . A method for managing digital assets as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein said step of determining a tag associated with said digital asset further comprises:
 said digital asset being information associated with a URL from the Internet;   saving information associated with said URL; and   assigning a tag to said digital asset indicating that the Internet is the source for said digital asset.   
   
   
       13 . A method for managing digital assets as set forth in  claim 12 , wherein said step of saving information associated with said URL further comprises:
 saving information selected from the group consisting of said URL, a webpage associated with said URL, associated with said URL, and combinations thereof.   
   
   
       14 . A method for managing digital assets as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein said step of determining a tag associated with said digital asset further comprises:
 receiving tag information from a user.   
   
   
       15 . A method for managing digital assets as set forth in  claim 14 , wherein said step of receiving tag information from a user further comprises:
 receiving a tag designation or tag indication from a user.   
   
   
       16 . A method for managing digital assets as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein said collection further comprises:
 a collection of media files that may be played back as a show.   
   
   
       17 . A method for managing digital assets as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein said digital asset further comprises:
 a digital asset selected from the group consisting of audio files, audio/video media files, digital asset containers, digital media files, directories, disk drives, e-mails, files, folders, instant message logs, pictures, removable storage media, video files, voice mails, webpages, webpage URLs, and combinations thereof.   
   
   
       18 . A method for managing digital assets, the steps comprising:
 recognizing a new digital asset, said digital asset selected from the group consisting of audio files, audio/video media files, digital asset containers, digital media files, directories, disk drives, e-mails; files, folders, instant message logs, pictures, removable storage media, video files, voice mails, webpages, webpage URLs, and combinations thereof;   determining a tag associated with said digital asset; and   associating said digital asset with a collection of digital assets according to said tag such that digital assets with similar tags may be quickly sorted by choosing a filter for said tag; whereby   said new digital asset is more easily organized and more easily available in the future to a user.   
   
   
       19 . A method for managing digital assets as set forth in  claim 18 , wherein said step of recognizing a new digital asset further comprises:
 recognizing said digital asset according to a source for said digital asset, said source selected from the group consisting of webpages/webgrabs, e-mails, shared assets, e-mail dropbox, shopping history, manual uploads, and combinations thereof.   
   
   
       20 . A method for managing digital assets as set forth in  claim 18 , the steps further comprising:
 said step of recognizing a new digital asset including recognizing said digital asset upon the addition of said tag; and   prompting a user to confirm said associating said digital asset with a collection when said tag is similar or identical to tags existing with said digital assets in said collection.   
   
   
       21 . A method for managing digital assets as set forth in  claim 18 , wherein said step of determining a tag associated with said digital asset further comprises:
 said digital asset being a saved e-mail; and then   recognizing a code or string in said e-mail and assigning a tag to said digital asset according to said code.   
   
   
       22 . A method for managing digital assets as set forth in  claim 21 , further comprising:
 said code or string being in a subject line of said email and said code or string being an assigned and user-editable personal identification number (PIN).   
   
   
       23 . A method for managing digital assets as set forth in  claim 22 , wherein said code or string further comprises:
 a code associated with e-mails transmitting pictures from mobile devices.   
   
   
       24 . A method for managing digital assets as set forth in  claim 21 , further comprising:
 said code or string being one or more order-related words;   send e-mail is received from an Internet retailer, said Internet retailer be one of a top 100 Web retailers.   
   
   
       25 . A method for managing digital assets as set forth in  claim 21 , wherein said code or string further comprises:
 said code or string is in a field of said email, said field selected from the group consisting of senders, subject line keywords, attachment types, and combinations thereof and said code or string is chosen by a user.   
   
   
       26 . A method for managing digital assets as set forth in  claim 18 , wherein said step of determining a tag associated with said digital asset further comprises:
 said digital asset being information associated with a URL from the Internet;   saving information associated with said URL, said information selected from the group consisting of said URL, a webpage associated with said URL, associated with said URL, and combinations thereof;   assigning a tag to said digital asset indicating that the Internet is the source for said digital asset.   
   
   
       27 . A method for managing digital assets as set forth in  claim 18 , wherein said collection further comprises:
 a collection of media files that may be played back as a show.