Processing media items in location-based groups

Abstract

Processing a plurality of media items that are associated with a respective plurality of locations includes: obtaining the plurality of media items; selecting a first media item that defines a first region on a map; determining a first set of media items that are located within the first region; selecting a second media item that defines a second region on the map, the second media item being selected among media items that are not located within the first region; determining a second set of media items that are located within the second region; and processing the first set of media items and the second set of media items as distinct groups.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of displaying groups of media items on a map, the method comprising:
 obtaining a plurality of media items from a plurality of sources, wherein each media item includes associated location metadata;   determining a first set of media items and a second set of media items, based at least in part on the location metadata of the plurality of media items, wherein the first set of media items is located within a first region on the map and the second set of media items is located within a second region on the map;   processing the first set of media items and the second set of media items as distinct groups, including determining a name for the first set of media items and a name for the second set of media items; and   displaying a representative media item for the first set of media items and a representative media item for the second set of media items on a visible portion of the map.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising defining the first region using the location is metadata of a media item in the first set of media items. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising defining the first region using the location metadata of a media item in the first set of media items, wherein the first region is defined as a circle centered on the location of the media item in the first set of media items. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising reclassifying media items into a new region based at least in part on the number of media items associated with a region being below a threshold. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising reclassifying media items into a new region based at least in part on the number of media items associated with a region being below a threshold, wherein the new region is of a greater size to encompass a greater number of media items. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the name for the first set of media items is determined based at least in part on a user-entered name. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the name for the first set of media items is determined based at least in part on a user-selected name selected from among pre-configured names assigned to a geographical location. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the name for the first set of media items is determined based at least in part on a most common name used for the media items in the first set. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein media items in the first set of media items are displayed in order. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the items associated with different names in separate groups on the map are displayed to a plurality of users. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least two media items in a set of media items are taken at different times. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a media item is shared by a user to a user-selected geographical location. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the displaying media items associated with different is names in separate groups on the map includes presenting an option to a user to select by location to see media items uploaded for the selected location. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the displaying media items associated with different names in separate groups on the map includes:
 initially displaying a representative thumbnail of a set of media items; and   in response to user selection of a group, displaying additional media items in the group.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the additional media items in the group are displayed in response to a scroll command. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of sources include a plurality of user accounts. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising applying a filter to media items in at least one of the first set of media items and the second set of media items. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein different groups on the map are visually differentiated from each other based on content of a respective group. 
     
     
         19 . A system, comprising:
 a processor configured to:
 obtain a plurality of media items from a plurality of sources, wherein each media item includes associated location metadata; 
 determine a first set of media items and a second set of media items, based at least in part on the location metadata of the plurality of media items, wherein the first set of media items is located within a first region on the map and the second set of media items is located within a second region on the map; 
 process the first set of media items and the second set of media items as distinct groups, including determining a name for the first set of media items and a name for the is second set of media items; and 
 display a representative media item for the first set of media items and a representative media item for the second set of media items on a visible portion of the map; and 
   a memory coupled to the processor and configured to provide the processor with instructions.   
     
     
         20 . A computer program product embodied in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium and comprising computer instructions for:
 obtaining a plurality of media items from a plurality of sources, wherein each media item includes associated location metadata;   determining a first set of media items and a second set of media items, based at least in part on the location metadata of the plurality of media items, wherein the first set of media items is located within a first region on the map and the second set of media items is located within a second region on the map;   processing the first set of media items and the second set of media items as distinct groups, including determining a name for the first set of media items and a name for the second set of media items; and   displaying a representative media item for the first set of media items and a representative media item for the second set of media items on a visible portion of the map.