System and method for community centric resource sharing based on a publishing subscription model

Abstract

The invention provides a Web service which enables a publisher to share his digital resources such as an address card or a calendar with a number of subscribers based on different sharing relationships. The Web service includes a host-based interface called “My Community”, for example, with which the publisher manages the share-relationships with his community members. The community members are organized into different groups. Each group includes a number of community members who have a common sharing relationship with the publisher with respect to one or more views of the shared resources. A resource may have multiple views. Each of the views has Metadata describing sharing-styles, as well as version, creation date, size, and the like. Each sharing style corresponds to a specific sharing relationship between a community member and the publisher.

1 . A system for sharing digital resources based on a publishing-subscribing model, comprising:
 at least one computing device;   a computer program executing on said at least one computing device, said computer program comprising computer code means for:   designating a subscriber as a member of a publisher's community;   creating groups within said publisher's community, each of said groups being based on a sharing relationship between said publisher and members of said publisher's community; and   delivering different views of a resource to different groups based on at least one sharing relationship with said publisher, each view having metadata associated thereto describing at least one of said sharing relationships.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a network of registered users. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein a sharing relationship is based on any of:
 a privilege to receive a copy of a resource from said publisher;   a privilege to read a resource in a central repository; and   a privilege to update a resource; and   wherein said metadata includes metadata describing version, creation date and size of said resource.   
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 at least one publisher-agent to serve as a gateway for said publisher to send out announcements and process all requests and for automatically generating responses according to publisher preferences; and;   at least one subscriber-agent to serve as a gateway for managing a community member's requests from publishers and other subscribers and for automatically generating responses according to community member preferences.   
     
     
         5 . A computer-implemented method for sharing digital resources through a network comprising the steps of:
 via a computational device, creating groups within a publisher's community, each group being based on at least one sharing relationship between said publisher and members of said each group; and   via a computational device, delivering different views of a resource to one or more of said groups based on different sharing relationships, each view having metadata associated thereto describing at least one of said sharing relationships.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising any of the steps of:
 via a computational device, designating a subscriber as a member of said publisher's community;   via a computational device, announcing availability of one or more views of said resource to one or more subscribers of said network; and   via a computational device, designating a subscriber who subscribes to one or more views of said resource to one or more of said groups.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein a sharing relationship is based on any of:
 a privilege to receive a copy of said resource from said publisher;   a privilege to read said resource in a central repository; and   a privilege to update said resource.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising any of the steps of:
 via a computational device, processing a non-subscriber user's request for sharing;   via a computational device, processing a subscriber's request to join any of said groups; and   via a computational device, terminating a subscriber or non-subscriber user from any sharing relationship.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising the steps of:
 via a computational device, using at least one publisher-agent on behalf of said publisher for sending announcements and processing requests from subscribers and non-subscriber users;   via a computational device, using at least one subscriber-agent on behalf of a community member for processing requests from said publisher and other subscribers.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein said at least one publisher-agent automatically generates responses according to publisher preferences; and
 wherein said at least one subscriber-agent automatically generates responses according to said community member preferences.   
     
     
         11 . A network-based system for hosting an address card service comprising:
 a processor programmed for setting up an address card having multiple views by a publisher;   a processor programmed for managing said address card, wherein said publisher designate at least one sharing relationship to one or more groups of subscribers by means of metadata associated to at least one of said views; and   a processor programmed for publishing said address card to a number of selected subscribers based on at least one sharing relationship.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein said network comprises a plurality of registered users, wherein each of said registered users is one or both of a publisher to publish his information to at least one subscribed and a subscriber to subscribe to information shared by at least one publisher;
 wherein said metadata includes metadata describing version, creation date and size of said address card; and   wherein each of said views is associated with a unique label which, responsive to being selected, brings said associated view to the front of a stack on a screen.   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein said address card comprises a page for centrally entering said publisher's contact information, and wherein at least a portion of said entered contact information is automatically populated to one or more of said views;
 wherein one of said views is designated as a default view;   wherein each of said views can be published separately or in combination with other one or more of said views;   wherein each of said views is based on a template containing a set of predefined fields; and   wherein at least one of said views is customizable.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein said processor programmed for setting up an address card further is programmed for providing any of:
 a virtual button wherein said publisher sets his preferences; and   a virtual button wherein said publisher accesses help information;   a dropdown menu showing categories of contacts in an address book of said publisher that contains said address card;   a look up window for searching a subscriber by name;   a virtual button for adding a new contact;   a virtual button for editing said publisher's address card; and   a preview hyperlink for each view of said address card, said preview hyperlink linking to a list of subscribers selected for accepting said view.   
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 11 , further comprising a processor programmed for:
 adding said publisher's self-expression elements into said address card; and   setting parental control to prevent children from accessing said address card.   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein said publisher can view any of:
 an accepted subscription;   a rejected subscription;   a pending subscription; and   wherein said publisher can un-publish to any subscriber.   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 11 , further comprising a processor programmed for any of:
 a subscriber rejecting a publish offer;   said subscriber accepting said publish offer by subscribing said publisher's address card; and   said subscriber accepting said publish offer and, at the same time, reciprocating with an offer to publish said subscriber's address card to said publisher.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 11 , further comprising a processor programmed for:
 a subscriber of said publisher's address card can editing published information in a local copy of said address card, said edited published information being overwritten by any update published by said publisher based on an on-going subscription.   
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 11 , further comprising a processor programmed for providing an address book containing at least one address card, said address book comprising a virtual button, wherein responsive to selection of a screen name from said address book, a user is prompted to a screen of an editable address card where said user completes contact information of a new contact associated with said selected screen name. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 11 , further comprising a processor programmed for:
 responsive to a subscriber un-subscribing a publisher's address card, said publisher is automatically un-subscribed from said subscriber's address card.   
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 11 , further comprising a processor programmed for:
 a publisher setting a parameter on said address card to prevent a subscriber from forwarding said publisher's address card.   
     
     
         22 . In a network of computational devices, a method for hosting an address card service comprising:
 via a computing device, setting up an address card having multiple views by a publisher;   via a computing device, managing said address card, wherein said publisher designate at least one sharing relationship to one or more groups of subscribers by means of metadata associated to at least one of said views; and   via a computing device, publishing said address card to a number of selected subscribers based on at least one sharing relationship.   
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein said network comprises a plurality of registered users, wherein each of said registered users is one or both of a publisher to publish his information to at least one subscribed and a subscriber to subscribe to information shared by at least one publisher;
 wherein said metadata includes metadata describing version, creation date and size of said address card; and   wherein each of said views is associated with a unique label which, responsive to being selected, brings said associated view to the front of a stack on a screen.   
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein said address card comprises a page for centrally entering said publisher's contact information, and wherein at least a portion of said entered contact information is automatically populated to one or more of said views;
 wherein one of said views is designated as a default view;   wherein each of said views can be published separately or in combination with other one or more of said views;   wherein each of said views is based on a template containing a set of predefined fields; and   wherein at least one of said views is customizable.   
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein said step of setting up an address card further comprises any of the steps of:
 said publisher setting his preferences via a user interface elements; and   said publisher accesses help information via a user interface element;   via a computational device, displaying categories of contacts in an address book of said publisher that contains said address card as a dropdown menu ;   via a computational device, searching a subscriber by name using a lookup window;   via a computational device, adding a new contact using a user interface element;   via a computational device, editing said publisher's address card by means of a user interface elements; and   via a computational device, linking to a list of subscribers selected for accepting said view.   
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising the steps of:
 via a computational device, adding, said publisher's self-expression elements into said address card; and   via a computational device, setting parental control to prevent children from accessing said address card.   
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein said publisher can view any of:
 an accepted subscription;   a rejected subscription;   a pending subscription; and   wherein said publisher can un-publish to any subscriber.   
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising the steps of:
 via a computational device, a subscriber rejecting a publish offer;   via a computational device, said subscriber accepting said publish offer by subscribing said publisher's address card; and   via a computational device, said subscriber accepting said publish offer and, at the same time, reciprocating with an offer to publish said subscriber's address card to said publisher.   
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 22 , further the steps of:
 via a computational device, a subscriber of said publisher's address card can editing published information in a local copy of said address card, said edited published information being overwritten by any update published by said publisher based on an on-going subscription.   
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising the step of, via a computational device, providing an address book containing at least one address card, said address book comprising a virtual button, wherein responsive to selection of a screen name from said address book, a user is prompted to a screen of an editable address card where said user completes contact information of a new contact associated with said selected screen name. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising the steps of:
 via a computational device, responsive to a subscriber un-subscribing a publisher's address card, said publisher is automatically un-subscribed from said subscriber's address card.   
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising the steps of:
 via a computational device, a publisher setting a parameter on said address card to prevent a subscriber from forwarding said publisher's address card.