Sharing Television and Video Programming through Social Networking

Abstract

In particular embodiments, a social TV dongle receives a first video stream from a content source using a first interface and receives social content from a social-networking system using a second interface. The social TV dongle generates a modified video stream using at least the first video stream and the social content and sends the modified video stream to a display device using a third interface.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system, comprising:
 a first interface operable to communicate with a content source;   a second interface operable to communicate with a display device;   a third interface operable to communicate with a social-networking system;   wherein the system is operable to:
 receive a first video stream from the content source using the first interface; 
 receive social content from the social-networking system using the second interface; 
 generate a modified video stream using at least the first video stream and the social content; and 
 send the modified video stream to the display device using the third interface. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second interfaces comprise a High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI). 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the social content comprises one or more of:
 an advertisement;   a notification;   a newsfeed;   a post;   a photo;   a ticker;   another video stream; and   a chat message.   
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the content source comprises one of:
 a set-top box (STB);   a digital video recorder (DVR);   a gaming console; and   a device configured to provide access to content from an over-the-top (OTT) content provider.   
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the social content is from a social graph of the social-networking system, the social graph comprising a plurality of nodes and edges connecting the nodes, the nodes comprising user nodes that are each associated with a particular user of the social-networking system. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the social content is time-stamped with a time corresponding to a particular point of video content; and   generating the modified video stream comprises placing the time-stamped social content at the particular point of the video content within the first video stream.   
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the system is further operable to:
 determine whether the received social content is relevant to video content within the first video stream; and   place the received social content in the program within the first video stream if it is determined that the received social content is relevant to the video content.   
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a fourth interface operable to communicate with a mobile device of a user of the social-networking system. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the system is further operable to:
 receive an indication from the user via the fourth interface that the user has checked in; and   send information to the social-networking system via the third interface indicating that the user has checked in.   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the system is further operable to:
 capture a unique identifier of a user product of a user; and   send the captured unique identifier of the user product to the social-networking system.   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the social content comprises an advertisement relevant to the user product associated with the captured unique identifier. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the unique identifier comprises one of:
 a Media Access Control (MAC) address captured via BLUETOOTH;   a MAC address captured via WIFI; and   an identification captured via High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI).   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising one or more infrared (IR) interfaces operable to receive first IR instructions from a remote control device and to send second IR instructions to the content source. 
     
     
         14 . A method comprising:
 by a dongle of a social-networking system, receiving a first video stream from a content source communicatively coupled to the dongle;   by the dongle of the social-networking system, receiving social content from the social-networking system;   by the dongle of the social-networking system, generating a modified video stream using at least the first video stream and the social content; and   by the dongle of the social-networking system, sending the modified video stream for display on a display device communicatively coupled to the dongle.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the dongle of the social-networking system comprises:
 a first High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) operable to communicatively couple the dongle to the content source;   a second HDMI operable to communicatively couple the dongle to the display device; and   a transceiver operable to communicatively couple the dongle to the social-networking system.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 determining whether the social content is relevant to video content within the first video stream; and   placing the social content in the program within the first video stream if it is determined that the social content is relevant to the video content.   
     
     
         17 . One or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media in a computing system, the media embodying logic that is operable when executed to:
 receive a first video stream from a content source communicatively coupled to the computing system;   receive social content from a social-networking system;   generate a modified video stream using at least the first video stream and the social content; and   send the modified video stream for display on a display device communicatively coupled to the computing system.   
     
     
         18 . The media of  claim 17 , the logic further operable to capture a unique identifier of a user product of a user; and
 send the captured unique identifier of the user product to the social-networking system.   
     
     
         19 . The media of  claim 18 , wherein the social content comprises an advertisement relevant to the user product associated with the captured unique identifier. 
     
     
         20 . The media of  claim 18 , wherein the unique identifier comprises one of:
 a Media Access Control (MAC) address captured via BLUETOOTH;   a MAC address captured via WIFI; and   an identification captured via a High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI).