System and Method for Generating Digital Content

Abstract

The described embodiments provide methods and systems for generating online dynamic content. The methods and systems enable content from online publications to be efficiently reused and repurposed in other data collections and publications.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A method of modifying and publishing a data collection, wherein the method is implemented at a publishing server connected to a network, wherein the publication server comprises a memory and a processor, and wherein the publishing server has access to a storage device:
 identifying a modifiable data collection, wherein the modifiable data collection is stored in the storage device;   providing a listing of one or more publication objects, wherein each publication object is associated with one or more publication targets and comprises one or more data collections and data items stored in the storage device;   receiving a first selected publication object from the listing of one or more publication objects;   displaying at least a portion of the one or more data collections and data items of the first selected publication object;   receiving a selected data collection or data item from the portion of the one or more data collections and data items of the first selected publication object;   adding the selected data collection or data item to the modifiable data collection stored in the storage device;   publishing, using the processor, the modifiable data collection as a publication object, wherein the publication object is associated with a publication target that is different than the one or more publication targets associated with the first selected publication object; and   storing the publication object in the storage device.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein identifying the modifiable data collection comprises creating a new data collection and storing the new data collection in the storage device, wherein the new data collection is the modifiable data collection. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  or  claim 2  wherein the selected data collection and data item is associated with a set of attributes, wherein the set of attributes includes a permissions attribute indicating whether the respective data collection or data item is permitted to be added to the modifiable data collection, and wherein the method further comprises:
 prior to adding the selected data collection or data item to the modifiable data collection, checking the permission attribute of the selected data collection or data item to determine whether the selected data collection or data item is permitted to be added to the modifiable data collection; and 
 upon determining that the selected data collection or data item is permitted to be added to the modifiable data collection, adding the selected data collection or data item to the modifiable data collection. 
 
     
     
         4 . The method of any one of  claims 1  to  3  wherein each data collection and data item of the first selected publication object is associated with a set of attributes, wherein the set of attributes includes a permissions attribute indicating whether the respective data collection or data item is permitted to be displayed and added to the modifiable data collection, and wherein the method further comprises:
 for each data collection or data item of the portion of the one or more data collections and data items:
 prior to displaying the respective data collection or data item in the portion, checking the permissions attribute of respective data collection or data item to determine whether the respective data collection or data item is permitted to be displayed and added to the modifiable data collection; and 
 upon determining that the respective data collection or data item is permitted to be displayed and added to the modifiable data collection, displaying the respective data collection or data item as part of the portion of the one or more data collections and data items of the first selected publication object. 
 
 
     
     
         5 . The method of any one of  claims 1  to  4  wherein each publication object is associated with a set of attributes, wherein the set of attributes includes a permissions attribute indicating whether the respective publication object includes at least one data collection or data item permitted to be added to the modifiable data collection, and wherein the method further comprises:
 for each publication object to be identified in the listing of one or more publication objects:
 prior to identifying the respective publication object in the listing, checking the permissions attribute of the respective publication object to determine whether the respective publication object includes at least one data collection or data item permitted to be added to the modifiable data collection; and 
 upon determining that the respective publication object includes at least one data collection or data item that is permitted to be added to the modifiable data collection, identifying the publication object in the listing. 
 
 
     
     
         6 . The method of any one of  claims 1  to  5  wherein adding the selected data collection or data item to the modifiable data collection comprises modifying the selected data collection or data item based on preferences for the modifiable data collection. 
     
     
         7 . The method of any one of  claims 1  to  6  wherein adding the selected data collection or data item to the modifiable data collection comprises reformatting the selected data collection or data item based on preferences for the modifiable data collection. 
     
     
         8 . The method of any one of  claims 1  to  8  further comprising:
 providing a rules engine of rules defining whether, for each data item and data collection of the selected publication object, the respective data item or data collection is permitted to be added to the modifiable data collection. 
 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8  further comprising:
 prior to adding the selected data collection or data item to the modifiable data collection, using the rules engine to determine whether the selected data collection or data item is permitted to be added to the modifiable data collection; and 
 upon determining that the selected data collection or data item is permitted to be added to the modifiable data collection, adding the selected data collection or data item to the modifiable data collection. 
 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8  or  claim 9  further comprising:
 prior to displaying the respective data collection or data item in the portion, using the rules engine to determine whether the respective data collection or data item is permitted to be added to the modifiable data collection; and 
 upon determining that the respective data collection or data item is permitted to be added to the modifiable data collection, displaying the respective data collection or data item as part of the portion of the one or more data collections and data items of the first selected publication object. 
 
     
     
         11 . The method of any one of  claims 1  to  10  further comprising:
 providing a rules engine of rules defining whether, for each publication object, the respective publication object includes at least one data collection or data item permitted to be added to the modifiable data collection; 
 for each publication object to be identified in the listing of one or more publication objects:
 prior to identifying the respective publication object in the listing, using the rules engine to determine whether the respective publication object includes at least one data collection or data item permitted to be added to the modifiable data collection; and 
 upon determining that the respective publication object includes at least one data collection or data item that is permitted to be added to the modifiable data collection, identifying the publication object in the listing. 
 
 
     
     
         12 . The method of any one of  claims 1  to  11  further comprising:
 associating the selected data collection or data item with a first source identifier referring to the selected publication object and with a second source identifier referring to the publication object publishing the modifiable data collection, wherein each source identifier is for tracking publication of the selected data collection or data item. 
 
     
     
         13 . The method of any one of  claims 1  to  12  wherein a publication object corresponds to a live event stream, wherein the live event stream is a real-time aggregate of content relating to an event, wherein the live event stream comprises data collections corresponding to live articles about the event, wherein the live articles have real-time updates. 
     
     
         14 . The method of any one of  claims 1  to  13  wherein a publication object corresponds to a live blog, wherein the live blog comprises data collections corresponding to blog posts. 
     
     
         15 . The method of any one of  claims 1  to  14  further comprising:
 receiving a second selected publication object of the listing of one or more publication objects; 
 displaying a portion of the one or more data collections and data items of the second selected publication object; 
 receiving a selected data collection or data item from the portion of the one or more data collections and data items of the second selected publication object; 
 adding the selected data collection or data item to the modifiable data collection; and 
 updating the publication object based on the modifiable data collection. 
 
     
     
         16 . The method of any one of  claims 1  to  15  wherein adding the selected data collection or data item to the modifiable data collection comprises adding a reference to the modifiable data collection, wherein the reference identifies a location of the selected data collection or data item in the storage device. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16  further comprising:
 modifying the selected data collection or data item in the storage device, wherein the first selected publication object reflects the modification to the selected data collection or data item, and wherein the modifiable data collection reflects the modification to the selected data collection or data item based on the reference. 
 
     
     
         18 . The method of any one of  claims 1  to  17  wherein adding the selected data collection or data item to the modifiable data collection comprises: making a copy of the original selected data collection or data item and adding the copy of the selected data collection or data item to the modifiable data collection. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising adding a reference to the modifiable data collection, wherein the reference identifies a location of the original selected data collection or data item in the storage device that the copy was made from. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18  or  claim 19  wherein the selected data collection or data item is associated with a set of attributes defining metadata for the respective data collection or data item, and wherein adding the selected data collection or data item to a new data collection comprises making a copy of the set of attributes and associating the copy of the set of attributes with the copy of the original selected data collection or data item. 
     
     
         21 . The method of any one of  claims 18  to  20  further comprising modifying the copy of the selected data collection or data item, wherein the original selected data collection or data item is not modified when the copy of the selected data collection or data item is modified. 
     
     
         22 . The method of any one of  claims 18  to  22  further comprising:
 linking the original selected data collection or data item to the copy of the selected data collection or data item; 
 modifying the copy of the selected data collection or data item; 
 modifying the original selected data collection or data item based on the modification to the copy of the selected data collection or data item using the linking. 
 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein prior to modifying the original selected data collection or data item based on the modification to the copy of the selected data collection or data item, the method further comprises prompting for approval of the modification to the original selected data collection or data item. 
     
     
         24 . The method of any one of  claims 18  to  23  further comprising modifying the original selected data collection or data item, wherein the copy of the selected data collection or data item is not modified when the original selected data collection or data item is modified. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 15  further comprising:
 linking the original selected data collection or data item to the copy of the selected data collection or data item; 
 modifying the original selected data collection or data item; 
 modifying the copy of the selected data collection or data item based on the modification to the original selected data collection or data item using the linking. 
 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein prior to modifying the copy of the selected data collection or data item based on the modification to the original selected data collection or data item, the method further comprises prompting for approval of the modification to the copy of the selected data collection or data item. 
     
     
         27 . The method of any one of  claims 1  to  26  further comprising:
 detecting that a predetermined action occurs involving the selected data collection or data item and another data collection or data item in the modifiable data collection; 
 generating a slideshow comprising the selected data collection or data item and the other data collection or data item; 
 adding the slideshow to the modifiable data collection; and 
 updating the publication object based on the slideshow in the modifiable data collection. 
 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27  wherein predetermined action comprises the selected data collection or data item moved to a position on top of the other data collection or data item in the modifiable data collection. 
     
     
         29 . The method of any one of  claims 1  to  28  further comprising:
 publishing the modifiable data collection as the publication object for display on each of a plurality of client devices; 
 receiving at least one modification of the modifiable data collection; 
 storing the at least one modification of the modifiable data collection in the storage device; 
 detecting the at least one modification of the modifiable data collection in the storage device; 
 if the at least one modification is detected, generating a modification representation identifying the at least one modification of the modifiable data collection, wherein the modification representation is a data structure suitable for instructing each of the plurality of client devices to update the publication object with the modification to the modifiable data collection; 
 transmitting the modification representation to a server system; and 
 distributing the modification representation from the server system to the plurality of client devices, wherein the modification representation updates the previously published publication object independently for each of the plurality of client devices. 
 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29  further comprising, if the at least one modification is detected, generating at least one indication that the at least one modification has occurred. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 30 , further comprising transmitting the at least one indication to the server system for distribution. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 30  or  claim 31 , wherein the at least one indication is a file comprising a unique identifier. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the unique identifier is a timestamp. 
     
     
         34 . The method of any one of  claims 29  to  33 , wherein the modification representation identifies only modifications that occurred within a predetermined interval window. 
     
     
         35 . The method of any one of  claims 29  to  34 , wherein the modification representation comprises data for recreating the at least one modification. 
     
     
         36 . The method of any one of  claims 1  to  35 , further comprising associating a template with the modifiable data collection. 
     
     
         37 . The method of any one of  claims 29  to  35 , wherein the detecting occurs asynchronously to the generating the modification representation. 
     
     
         38 . The method of any one of  claims 29  to  35  and  claim 37 , wherein the detecting occurs asynchronously to the transmitting the modification representation. 
     
     
         39 . The method of any one of  claims 29  to  35  and  37  to  38  further comprising:
 periodically receiving a request from a client device for an indication that a modification to one or more data items has occurred; 
 after detecting the at least one modification, generating an indication comprising a unique identifier indicating when the at least one modification occurred; and 
 in response to the request and after generating the indication, transmitting the indication to the client device to notify the client device that the at least one modification has occurred. 
 
     
     
         40 . The method of any one of  claims 29  to  35  and  37  to  39  further comprising:
 periodically receiving a request for a modification representation at the server system from a client device; 
 wherein the distributing for the respective client device occurs in response to the request and after the modification representation is transmitted to the server system. 
 
     
     
         41 . The method of any one of  claims 29  to  35  and  37  to  40  wherein the publication object comprises a code object for periodically retrieving a modification representation to update the data collection. 
     
     
         42 . The method of any one of  claims 1  to  41  wherein the modifiable data collection is associated with an author, and wherein the method further comprises generating the listing of one or more publication objects based on the author of the modifiable data collection. 
     
     
         43 . The method of  claim 42  wherein each of the one or more publication objects is associated with an author, and wherein the method further comprises generating the listing of one or more publication objects based on the authors of the publication objects. 
     
     
         44 . The method of any one of  claims 1  to  43  wherein the modifiable data collection is associated with an author, and wherein the method further comprising selecting the portion of the one or more data collections and data items of the selected publication object to be displayed based on the author of the modifiable data collection. 
     
     
         45 . The method of  claim 44  wherein the each data collection or data item of the selected publication object is associated with an author, and wherein the method further comprising selecting the portion of the one or more data collections and data items of the selected publication object to be displayed based on the authors of the one or more data collections and data items of the selected publication. 
     
     
         46 . The method of any one of  claims 1  to  45  further comprising:
 identifying a second modifiable data collection, wherein the modifiable data collection is stored in the storage device; 
 adding the modifiable data collection to the second modifiable data collection; 
 publishing, using the processor, the second modifiable data collection as a publication object, wherein the publication object is associated with a publication target that is different than the one or more publication targets associated with the first selected publication object and the publication target of the modifiable data collection. 
 
     
     
         47 . A method of providing a user interface on a client device for modifying and publishing a data collection, wherein the client device comprises a processor and a memory coupled to the processor and configured to store instruction executable by the processor, wherein the client device is connected to a network to interact with a publishing server and a storage device, wherein the method comprises:
 displaying, as part of the user interface, a graphical representation of a modifiable data collection, wherein the modifiable data collection is stored in the storage device;   displaying, as part of the user interface, a graphical representation of a listing of one or more publication objects received from the publishing server, wherein each publication object is associated with one or more publication targets and comprises one or more data collections and data items stored in the storage device;   receiving, at the user interface, a first selected publication object from the listing of one or more publication objects;   providing the first selected publication object to the publishing server;   updating the user interface to display a graphical representation of a portion of the one or more data collections and data items of the first selected publication object;   receiving, at the user interface, a selected data collection or data item from the portion of the one or more data collections and data items of the first selected publication object;   updating the user interface to display a reproduction of the selected data collection or data item as part of the graphical representation of the modifiable data collection;   receiving, at the user interface, a command to publish the modifiable data collection as a publication object, wherein the publication object is associated with a publication target that is different than the one or more publication targets associated with the first selected publication object; and   transmitting the modifiable data collection with the selected data collection or data item to the publication server.   
     
     
         48 . The method of  claim 47  wherein the modifiable data collection comprises a new data collection. 
     
     
         49 . The method of  claim 47  or  claim 48  wherein the selected data collection and data item is associated with a set of attributes, wherein the set of attributes includes a permissions attribute indicating that the respective data collection or data item is permitted to be added to the modifiable data collection. 
     
     
         50 . The method of any one of  claims 47  to  49  wherein at least one data collection or data item of the first selected publication object is associated with a set of attributes, wherein the set of attributes includes a permissions attribute indicating that the respective data collection or data item is permitted to be added to the modifiable data collection. 
     
     
         51 . The method of any one of  claims 47  to  50  wherein each publication object in the listing of publication objects is associated with a set of attributes, wherein the set of attributes includes a permissions attribute indicating that the respective publication object includes at least one data collection or data item permitted to be added to the modifiable data collection. 
     
     
         52 . The method of any one of  claims 47  to  51  wherein a plurality of rules define whether, for each data item and data collection of the selected publication object, the respective data item or data collection is permitted to be added to the modifiable data collection. 
     
     
         53 . The method of any one of  claims 47  to  52  wherein a plurality of rules defining whether, for each publication object, the respective publication object includes at least one data collection or data item permitted to be added to the modifiable data collection. 
     
     
         54 . The method of any one of  claims 47  to  53  wherein the selected data collection or data item is associated with a first source identifier referring to the selected publication object and with a second source identifier referring to the publication object publishing the modifiable data collection, wherein each source identifier is for tracking publication of the selected data collection or data item. 
     
     
         55 . The method of any one of  claims 47  to  54  wherein a publication object corresponds to a live event stream, wherein the live event stream is a real-time aggregate of content relating to an event, wherein the live event stream comprises data collections corresponding to live articles about the event, wherein a live article comprises a plurality of articles with real-time updates about the event. 
     
     
         56 . The method of any one of  claims 47  to  55  wherein a publication object corresponds to a live blog, wherein the live blog comprises data collections corresponding to blog posts. 
     
     
         57 . The method of any one of  claims 47  to  56  further comprising:
 receiving, at the user interface, a second selected publication object of the listing of one or more publication objects; 
 providing the second selected publication object to the publishing server; 
 updating the user interface to display a graphical representation of a portion of the one or more data collections and data items of the second selected publication object; 
 receiving, at the user interface, a selected data collection or data item from the portion of the one or more data collections and data items of the second selected publication object; and 
 updating the user interface to display a reproduction of the selected data collection or data item as part of the graphical representation of the modifiable data collection. 
 
     
     
         58 . The method of any one of  claims 47  to  57  further comprising:
 updating the user interface to display a modification to the selected data collection or data item in the storage device. 
 
     
     
         59 . The method of any one of  claims 47  to  58  further comprising:
 detecting that a predetermined action occurs involving the selected data collection or data item and another data collection or data item in the modifiable data collection; 
 generating a slideshow comprising the selected data collection or data item and the other data collection or data item; and 
 updating the user interface to display the slideshow as part of the modifiable data collection. 
 
     
     
         60 . The method of  claim 59  wherein predetermined action comprises the selected data collection or data item moved to a position on top of the other data collection or data item in the modifiable data collection. 
     
     
         61 . A system for modifying and publishing a data collection,
 a storage device storing at least one modifiable data collection and a plurality of publication objects, wherein each publication object is associated with one or more publication targets and comprises one or more data collections and data items; and   a publishing server comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the publishing server is configured to:
 identify the modifiable data collection;
 provide a listing of one or more publication objects 
 receive a first selected publication object from the listing of one or more publication objects; 
 provide a portion of the one or more data collections and data items of the first selected publication object; 
 receive a selected data collection or data item from the portion of the one or more data collections and data items of the first selected publication object; 
 add the selected data collection or data item to the modifiable data collection by using the content management module to update the database; 
 publish, using the processor, the modifiable data collection as a publication object, wherein the publication object is associated with a publication target that is different than the one or more publication targets associated with the first selected publication object; and 
 store the publication object and the modifiable data collection in the database using the content management module. 
 
   
     
     
         62 . The system of  claim 61  further comprising:
 a network to connect the publishing server and the storage device. 
 
     
     
         63 . The system of  claim 61  or  claim 62  wherein the publishing server is configured to identify the modifiable data collection by creating a new data collection and storing the new data collection in the storage device, wherein the new data collection is the modifiable data collection. 
     
     
         64 . The system of any one of  claims 61  to  63  wherein the selected data collection and data item is associated with a set of attributes, wherein the set of attributes includes a permissions attribute indicating whether the respective data collection or data item is permitted to be added to the modifiable data collection, and wherein the publishing server is configured to:
 prior to adding the selected data collection or data item to the modifiable data collection, check the permission attribute of the selected data collection or data item to determine whether the selected data collection or data item is permitted to be added to the modifiable data collection; and 
 upon determining that the selected data collection or data item is permitted to be added to the modifiable data collection, add the selected data collection or data item to the modifiable data collection. 
 
     
     
         65 . The system of any one of  claims 61  to  64  wherein each data collection and data item of the first selected publication object is associated with a set of attributes, wherein the set of attributes includes a permissions attribute indicating whether the respective data collection or data item is permitted to be displayed and added to the modifiable data collection, and wherein the publishing server is configured to:
 for each data collection or data item of the portion of the one or more data collections and data items:
 prior to displaying the respective data collection or data item in the portion, check the permissions attribute of respective data collection or data item to determine whether the respective data collection or data item is permitted to be displayed and added to the modifiable data collection; and 
 upon determining that the respective data collection or data item is permitted to be displayed and added to the modifiable data collection, display the respective data collection or data item as part of the portion of the one or more data collections and data items of the first selected publication object. 
 
 
     
     
         66 . The system of any one of  claims 61  to  65  wherein each publication object is associated with a set of attributes, wherein the set of attributes includes a permissions attribute indicating whether the respective publication object includes at least one data collection or data item permitted to be added to the modifiable data collection, and wherein the publishing server is configured to:
 for each publication object to be identified in the listing of one or more publication objects:
 prior to identifying the respective publication object in the listing, check the permissions attribute of the respective publication object to determine whether the respective publication object includes at least one data collection or data item permitted to be added to the modifiable data collection; and 
 upon determining that the respective publication object includes at least one data collection or data item that is permitted to be added to the modifiable data collection, identify the publication object in the listing. 
 
 
     
     
         67 . The system of any one of  claims 61  to  66  wherein the publishing server is configured to add the selected data collection or data item to the modifiable data collection by modifying the selected data collection or data item based on preferences for the modifiable data collection. 
     
     
         68 . The system of any one of  claims 61  to  67  wherein the publishing server is configured to add the selected data collection or data item to the modifiable data collection by reformatting the selected data collection or data item based on preferences for the modifiable data collection. 
     
     
         69 . The system of any one of  claims 61  to  68  wherein the publishing server is configured to:
 provide a rules engine of rules defining whether, for each data item and data collection of the selected publication object, the respective data item or data collection is permitted to be added to the modifiable data collection. 
 
     
     
         70 . The system of  claim 69  wherein the publishing server is configured to:
 prior to adding the selected data collection or data item to the modifiable data collection, use the rules engine to determine whether the selected data collection or data item is permitted to be added to the modifiable data collection; and 
 upon determining that the selected data collection or data item is permitted to be added to the modifiable data collection, add the selected data collection or data item to the modifiable data collection. 
 
     
     
         71 . The system of  claim 69  or  claim 70  wherein the publishing server is configured to:
 prior to displaying the respective data collection or data item in the portion, use the rules engine to determine whether the respective data collection or data item is permitted to be added to the modifiable data collection; and 
 upon determining that the respective data collection or data item is permitted to be added to the modifiable data collection, display the respective data collection or data item as part of the portion of the one or more data collections and data items of the first selected publication object. 
 
     
     
         72 . The system of any one of  claims 61  to  71  wherein the publishing server is configured to:
 provide a rules engine of rules defining whether, for each publication object, the respective publication object includes at least one data collection or data item permitted to be added to the modifiable data collection; 
 for each publication object to be identified in the listing of one or more publication objects:
 prior to identifying the respective publication object in the listing, use the rules engine to determine whether the respective publication object includes at least one data collection or data item permitted to be added to the modifiable data collection; and 
 upon determining that the respective publication object includes at least one data collection or data item that is permitted to be added to the modifiable data collection, identify the publication object in the listing. 
 
 
     
     
         73 . The system of any one of  claims 61  to  72  wherein the publishing server is configured to:
 provide a rules engine of rules defining whether, for each publication object, the respective publication object is permitted to be included in the listing of publication objects; 
 for each publication object to be identified in the listing of one or more publication objects:
 prior to identifying the respective publication object in the listing, use the rules engine to determine that the respective publication object is permitted to be included in the listing of publication objects, identify the publication object in the listing. 
 
 
     
     
         74 . The system of any one of  claims 61  to  73  wherein the publishing server is configured to associate the selected data collection or data item with a first source identifier referring to the selected publication object and with a second source identifier referring to the publication object publishing the modifiable data collection, wherein each source identifier is for tracking publication of the selected data collection or data item. 
     
     
         75 . The system of any one of  claims 61  to  74  wherein a publication object corresponds to a live event stream, wherein the live event stream is a real-time aggregate of content relating to an event, wherein the live event stream comprises data collections corresponding to live articles about the event, wherein the live articles have real-time updates. 
     
     
         76 . The system of any one of  claims 61  to  75  wherein a publication object corresponds to a live blog, wherein the live blog comprises data collections corresponding to blog posts. 
     
     
         77 . The system of any one of  claims 61  to  76  wherein the publishing server is configured to:
 receive a second selected publication object of the listing of one or more publication objects; 
 display a portion of the one or more data collections and data items of the second selected publication object; 
 receive a selected data collection or data item from the portion of the one or more data collections and data items of the second selected publication object; 
 add the selected data collection or data item to the modifiable data collection; and 
 update the publication object based on the modifiable data collection. 
 
     
     
         78 . The system of any one of  claims 61  to  77  wherein the publishing server is configured to add the selected data collection or data item to the modifiable data collection by adding a reference to the modifiable data collection, wherein the reference identifies a location of the selected data collection or data item in the storage device. 
     
     
         79 . The system of  claim 78  wherein the publishing server is configured to:
 modify the selected data collection or data item in the storage device, wherein the first selected publication object reflects the modification to the selected data collection or data item, and wherein the modifiable data collection reflects the modification to the selected data collection or data item based on the reference. 
 
     
     
         80 . The system of any one of  claims 61  to  79  wherein the publishing server is configured to add the selected data collection or data item to the modifiable data collection by: making a copy of the original selected data collection or data item and adding the copy of the selected data collection or data item to the modifiable data collection. 
     
     
         81 . The system of  claim 80 , wherein the publishing server is configured to add a reference to the modifiable data collection, wherein the reference identifies a location of the original selected data collection or data item in the storage device that the copy was made from. 
     
     
         82 . The system of  claim 80  or  claim 81  wherein the selected data collection or data item is associated with a set of attributes defining metadata for the respective data collection or data item, and wherein the publishing server is configured to add the selected data collection or data item to a new data collection by making a copy of the set of attributes and associating the copy of the set of attributes with the copy of the original selected data collection or data item. 
     
     
         83 . The system of any one of  claims 80  to  82  wherein the publishing server is configured to modify the copy of the selected data collection or data item, wherein the original selected data collection or data item is not modified when the copy of the selected data collection or data item is modified. 
     
     
         84 . The system of any one of  claims 80  to  83  wherein the publishing server is configured to:
 link the original selected data collection or data item to the copy of the selected data collection or data item; 
 modify the copy of the selected data collection or data item; and 
 modify the original selected data collection or data item based on the modification to the copy of the selected data collection or data item using the linking. 
 
     
     
         85 . The system of  claim 84 , wherein prior to modifying the original selected data collection or data item based on the modification to the copy of the selected data collection or data item, the publishing server is configured to prompt for approval of the modification to the original selected data collection or data item. 
     
     
         86 . The system of any one of  claims 79  to  85  wherein the publishing server is configured to modify the original selected data collection or data item, wherein the copy of the selected data collection or data item is not modified when the original selected data collection or data item is modified. 
     
     
         87 . The system of  claim 77  wherein the publishing server is configured to:
 link the original selected data collection or data item to the copy of the selected data collection or data item; 
 modify the original selected data collection or data item; 
 modify the copy of the selected data collection or data item based on the modification to the original selected data collection or data item using the linking. 
 
     
     
         88 . The system of  claim 87 , wherein prior to modifying the copy of the selected data collection or data item based on the modification to the original selected data collection or data item, the publishing server is configured to prompt for approval of the modification to the copy of the selected data collection or data item. 
     
     
         89 . The system of any one of  claims 61  to  88  wherein the publishing server is configured to:
 detect that a predetermined action occurs involving the selected data collection or data item and another data collection or data item in the modifiable data collection; 
 generate a slideshow comprising the selected data collection or data item and the other data collection or data item; 
 add the slideshow to the modifiable data collection; and 
 update the publication object based on the slideshow in the modifiable data collection. 
 
     
     
         90 . The system of  claim 89  wherein predetermined action comprises the selected data collection or data item moved to a position over top of the other data collection or data item in the modifiable data collection. 
     
     
         91 . The system of any one of  claims 61  to  90  wherein the publishing server is configured to:
 publish the modifiable data collection as the publication object for display on each of a plurality of client devices; 
 receive at least one modification of the modifiable data collection; 
 store the at least one modification of the modifiable data collection in the storage device; 
 detect the at least one modification of the modifiable data collection in the storage device; 
 if the at least one modification is detected, generate a modification representation identifying the at least one modification of the modifiable data collection, wherein the modification representation is a data structure suitable for instructing each of the plurality of client devices to update the publication object with the modification to the modifiable data collection; and 
 transmit the modification representation to a server system, wherein the server system distributes the modification representation to the plurality of client devices, wherein the modification representation updates the previously published publication object independently for each of the plurality of client devices. 
 
     
     
         92 . The system of  claim 91  wherein the publishing server is configured to, if the at least one modification is detected, generate at least one indication that the at least one modification has occurred. 
     
     
         93 . The system of  claim 92 , wherein the publishing server is configured to transmit the at least one indication to the server system for distribution. 
     
     
         94 . The system of  claim 92  or  claim 93 , wherein the at least one indication is a file comprising a unique identifier. 
     
     
         95 . The system of  claim 94 , wherein the unique identifier is a timestamp. 
     
     
         96 . The system of any one of  claims 91  to  95 , wherein the modification representation identifies only modifications that occurred within a predetermined interval window. 
     
     
         97 . The system of any one of  claims 91  to  96 , wherein the modification representation comprises data for recreating the at least one modification. 
     
     
         98 . The system of any one of  claims 61  to  97 , wherein the publishing server is configured to associate a template with the modifiable data collection. 
     
     
         99 . The system of any one of  claims 91  to  98 , wherein the detecting occurs asynchronously to the generating the modification representation. 
     
     
         100 . The system of any one of  claims 91  to  99 , wherein the detecting occurs asynchronously to the transmitting the modification representation. 
     
     
         101 . The system of any one of  claims 91  to  100  wherein the publishing server is configured to:
 periodically receive a request from a client device for an indication that a modification to one or more data items has occurred; 
 after detecting the at least one modification, generate an indication comprising a unique identifier indicating when the at least one modification occurred; and 
 in response to the request and after generating the indication, transmit the indication to the server system for distribution to the client device to notify the client device that the at least one modification has occurred. 
 
     
     
         102 . The system of any one of  claims 91  to  101  wherein the publishing server is configured to:
 periodically receive a request for a modification representation at the server system from a client device; 
 wherein the distributing for the respective client device occurs in response to the request and after the modification representation is transmitted to the server system. 
 
     
     
         103 . The system of any one of  claims 91  to  102  wherein the publication object comprises a code object for periodically retrieving a modification representation to update the data collection. 
     
     
         104 . The system of any one of  claims 61  to  103  wherein the modifiable data collection is associated with an author, and wherein the publishing server is configured to generate the listing of one or more publication objects based on the author of the modifiable data collection. 
     
     
         105 . The system of  claim 104  wherein each of the one or more publication objects is associated with an author, and wherein the publishing server is configured to generate the listing of one or more publication objects based on the authors of the publication objects. 
     
     
         106 . The system of any one of  claims 61  to  105  wherein the modifiable data collection is associated with an author, and wherein the wherein the publishing server is configured to select the portion of the one or more data collections and data items of the selected publication object to be displayed based on the author of the modifiable data collection. 
     
     
         107 . The system of  claim 106  wherein the each data collection or data item of the selected publication object is associated with an author, and wherein the publishing server is configured to select the portion of the one or more data collections and data items of the selected publication object to be displayed based on the authors of the one or more data collections and data items of the selected publication. 
     
     
         108 . The system of any one of  claims 61  to  107  wherein the publishing server is configured to:
 identify a second modifiable data collection, wherein the modifiable data collection is stored in the storage device; 
 add the modifiable data collection to the second modifiable data collection; and 
 publish, using the processor, the second modifiable data collection as a publication object, wherein the publication object is associated with a publication target that is different than the one or more publication targets associated with the first selected publication object and the publication target of the modifiable data collection.