WO2012129336A1

WO2012129336A1 - Methods, systems, and media for managing conversations relating to content

Info

Publication number: WO2012129336A1
Application number: PCT/US2012/029994
Authority: WO
Inventors: Shawn G. HOPWOOD; Mark A. SALES
Original assignee: Vincita Networks, Inc.
Priority date: 2011-03-21
Filing date: 2012-03-21
Publication date: 2012-09-27

Abstract

Methods, systems, and media for managing conversations relating to content are provided, hi some embodiments, a method for facilitating conversations relating to content are provided, the method comprising: displaying video content to a visitor user in a video window in response to accessing a website; displaying a timeline within the video window that indicates a current position of playing back the video content; and interactively displaying a commenting window adjacent to the video window and outside of the video window, wherein: the commenting window provides the visitor user with an opportunity to add a comment to a conversation relating to the video content that is associated with a time along the timeline; the commenting window appears beneath the video window based at least in part on a first interaction with the video content; and the commenting window is removed from beneath the video window based at least in part on a second interaction with the video content.

Description

METHODS, SYSTEMS, AND MEDIA FOR MANAGING

CONVERSATIONS RELATING TO CONTENT

Cross Reference to Related Applications

[0001] This application claims the benefit of United States Provisional Patent

Application No. 61/454,876, filed March 21, 201 1 and United States Provisional Patent

Application No. 61/540,792, filed September 29, 201 1, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

Technical Field

[0002] The disclosed subject matter relates to methods, systems, and media for managing comments, conversations, and/or advertisements relating to content.

Background

[0003] A website typically provides features that allow visitors to provide or post comments in response to content on the website. The owner of the website benefits from comments posted about that website's content. For example, commenting may improve visitor interest and engagement, provide annotation of the content, and/or spawn new relevant, related content. In some cases, a community may even emerge from the conversation surrounding a particular piece of content. However, multiple problems impede the ability of these websites looking to receive these benefits. For example, an abundance of posts or comments tends to lead to clutter and discontinuity, thereby stifling meaningful conversation. In another example, continuity of the conversation is further complicated by notifying participants of asynchronous conversation updates without annoying visitors with excessive messages. In yet another example, social media approaches provided on third party websites displace traffic to another website, thereby limiting the benefits of engagement on the website.

[0004] In a more particular example, websites that provide video content typically allow visitors to add a comment to a video presented on the website. However, an excess of comments creates visual clutter, making conversations discontinuous and difficult to follow. Some approaches for decreasing clutter include using threads to connect comments to their origins. Other approaches include using third-party social networking websites to post a conversation among friends that is separated from conversations about the content by other, thereby providing a private medium for conversation. However, this approach comes at the cost of using off-site services and disconnects the conversation from the video content itself. Moreover, the comments and conversation about the content is not available to the content owner. Even further, there is no chance of serendipitous contributions from other visitors watching the video content.

[0005] Accordingly, it is desirable to provide methods, systems, and media that overcome these and other deficiencies of the prior art.

Summary

[0006] Generally speaking, mechanisms are provided that tie comments, conversations, and/or advertisements with particular points in time or portions within a video. Comments, conversation, and/or advertisements frequently address particular moments or scene in video content. These comments, conversation, and/or advertisements can be more engaging when provided to a relevant portion of a video being played back.

[0007] In accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, a method for facilitating conversation relating to content, the method comprising: displaying video content to a visitor user in a video window in response to accessing a website; displaying a timeline within the video window that indicates a current position of playing back the video content; and interactively displaying a commenting window adjacent to the video window and outside of the video window, wherein: the commenting window provides the visitor user with an opportunity to add a comment to a conversation relating to the video content that is associated with a time along the timeline; the commenting window appears beneath the video window based at least in part on a first interaction with the video content; and the commenting window is removed from beneath the video window based at least in part on a second interaction with the video content.

[0008] In some embodiments, the comment is one of: a marker selected by the visitor user, a free form text comment generated by the visitor user, an answer to a question provided by the visitor user, an answer to a poll provided by the visitor user, and an answer selected by the visitor user from a list of answers. [0009] In some embodiments, the method further comprises transmitting a sharing request to a second website for sharing the video content and the comment to a plurality of viewers on the second website, wherein, in response to selecting a portion of the sharing request on the second website, at least one of the plurality of viewers is transmitted to the website for reviewing the comment at the associated time in the video content.

[0010] In some embodiments, the first interaction that causes the commenting window to appear beneath the video window is based on the current position in the timeline of the video content.

[0011] In some embodiments, the first interaction is an action performed by the visitor user and wherein the action includes at least one of: navigating within the video window, interacting with the video window, and selecting a button to add the comment.

[0012] In some embodiments, the first interaction is activity in the video window and wherein the activity includes a configuration by a publisher to cause the commenting window to appear based on the current position in the timeline of the video content.

[0013] In some embodiments, the second interaction includes at least one of: determining that the visitor user has navigated away from the video window and determining that the visitor user has not interacted with the video window.

[0014] In some embodiments, the method further comprises monitoring and storing the first interaction and the second interaction for transmission to a publisher. In some

embodiments, the method further comprises: aggregating activity data that includes one or more of the first interaction, the second interaction, and user activity within the commenting window; and applying the aggregated activity data to advertisements to determine which advertisements to present to the visitor user.

[0015] In some embodiments, the method further comprises allowing at least one of the plurality of viewers to provide a second comment to the conversation, wherein the second comment is associated with a second time along the timeline in the video content, and wherein, in response to playing back the video content, the comment is displayed when the current position of the timeline reaches the associated time and the second comment is displayed when the current position of the timeline reaches the second time.

[0016] In some embodiments, the method further comprises displaying a comment indicator on the timeline, wherein the comment indicator identifies the time along the timeline that the comment is to be associated with and displayed. In some embodiments, the method further comprises modifying the time associated with the comment indicator by allowing the visitor user to drag the comment indicator along the timeline. In some embodiments, the method further comprises receiving a user selection from a plurality of types of comment indicators for placement within the timeline. In some embodiments, the method further comprises sorting a plurality of comments in the conversation based on selecting one or more of the plurality of comment indicators.

[0017] In some embodiments, the method further comprises generating a conversation identifier that is inserted into the uniform resource locator by modifying the uniform resource locator to include a random plurality of characters that is unique to the website. In some embodiments, the method further comprises creating a private conversation relating to the video content displayed in the video window using the generated conversation identifier.

[0018] In some embodiments, the method further comprises: receiving search terms for searching through the conversation associated with the video content; displaying one or more comments matching the received search terms; and displaying a portion of the video content in response to selecting one of the displayed comments.

[0019] In some embodiments, the method further comprises displaying the comment in a comment window adjacent to the timeline in response to playing back the video content and in response to the current position in the timeline reaching the time associated with the comment.

[0020] In some embodiments, the method further comprises simultaneously displaying a comment list including one or more comments, wherein the comment list is placed adjacent to the video window presenting the video content. In some embodiments, the method further comprises scrolling comments in the comment list corresponding to the current position of the timeline of the video content during playback. In some embodiments, the method further comprises identifying at least one comment from the comment list based at least in part on the current position of the timeline of the video content during playback.

[0021] In some embodiments, the method further comprises displaying an advertisement based on the current position of the timeline of the video content during playback, wherein the advertisement is placed at least one of: within the website, within the commenting window, and beneath the commenting window. [0022] In some embodiments, the displayed timeline is a heatmapped timeline that is displayed concurrently with the playback of the video content in the video window. In some embodiments, the heatmapped timeline identifies at least one of: user popularity of viewed portions of the video content, user commenting of portions of the video content, user sharing of portions of the video content to third party websites, and click backs to the portions of the video content from the third party websites. In some embodiments, the heatmapped timeline is overlaid over the timeline displayed with the video content.

[0023] In some embodiments, the method further comprises: receiving authorization to access a user account associated with the visitor user on a social networking website; accessing the user account to determine users having an established relationship with the visitor user; and creating a private conversation among the visitor user and users having an established relationship with the visitor user relating to the video content.

[0024] In accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, a system for facilitating conversations relating to content is provided. The system comprises a processor that: displays video content to a visitor user in a video window in response to accessing a website; displays a timeline within the video window that indicates a current position of playing back the video content; and interactively displays a commenting window adjacent to the video window and outside of the video window, wherein: the commenting window provides the visitor user with an opportunity to add a comment to a conversation relating to the video content that is associated with a time along the timeline; the commenting window appears beneath the video window based at least in part on a first interaction with the video content; and the commenting window is removed from beneath the video window based at least in part on a second interaction with the video content.

[0025] In accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, a non- transitory computer-readable medium containing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method for facilitating conversation relating to content is provided. The method comprises: displaying video content to a visitor user in a video window in response to accessing a website; displaying a timeline within the video window that indicates a current position of playing back the video content; and interactively displaying a commenting window adjacent to the video window and outside of the video window, wherein: the commenting window provides the visitor user with an opportunity to add a comment to a conversation relating to the video content that is associated with a time along the timeline; the commenting window appears beneath the video window based at least in part on a first interaction with the video content; and the commenting window is removed from beneath the video window based at least in part on a second interaction with the video content.

[0026] In some embodiments, a method for facilitating conversation relating to content is provided, the method comprising: displaying video content to a visitor user in response to accessing a website using a uniform resource locator; receiving an indication from the visitor user to create a conversation associated with the displayed video content; generating a conversation identifier that is inserted into the uniform resource locator; receiving a user- generated comment relating to the video content and associating the first comment with the conversation, wherein the user-generated comment is associated with a time slot in the video content and wherein the user-generated comment is concurrently displayed at the time slot when the video content is played back; and transmitting a sharing request to a second website that displays the uniform resource locator and the conversation identifier for sharing the video content and the created conversation to a plurality of viewers on the second website, wherein, in response to selecting the uniform resource locator on the second website, at least one of the plurality of viewers is transmitted to the first website for reviewing the conversation.

[0027] In accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, a system for facilitating conversations relating to content is provided. The system comprises a processor that: displays video content to a visitor user in response to accessing a website using a uniform resource locator; receives an indication from the visitor user to create a conversation associated with the displayed video content; generates a conversation identifier that is inserted into the uniform resource locator; receives a user-generated comment relating to the video content and associating the first comment with the conversation, wherein the user-generated comment is associated with a time slot in the video content and wherein the user-generated comment is concurrently displayed at the time slot when the video content is played back; and transmits a sharing request to a second website that displays the uniform resource locator and the conversation identifier for sharing the video content and the created conversation to a plurality of viewers on the second website, wherein, in response to selecting the uniform resource locator on the second website, at least one of the plurality of viewers is transmitted to the first website for reviewing the conversation. [0028] In accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, a non- transitory computer-readable medium containing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method for facilitating conversation relating to content is provided. The method comprising: displaying video content to a visitor user in response to accessing a website using a uniform resource locator; receiving an indication from the visitor user to create a conversation associated with the displayed video content;

generating a conversation identifier that is inserted into the uniform resource locator; receiving a user-generated comment relating to the video content and associating the first comment with the conversation, wherein the user-generated comment is associated with a time slot in the video content and wherein the user-generated comment is concurrently displayed at the time slot when the video content is played back; and transmitting a sharing request to a second website that displays the uniform resource locator and the conversation identifier for sharing the video content and the created conversation to a plurality of viewers on the second website, wherein, in response to selecting the uniform resource locator on the second website, at least one of the plurality of viewers is transmitted to the first website for reviewing the conversation.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0029] The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

[0030] FIG. 1 illustrates a flow diagram for managing comments relating to video content in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter;

[0031] FIG. 2 is an illustrative video window presenting video content to content visitors in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter;

[0032] FIG. 3 is an illustrative commenting window displayed with video content for creating a conversation or adding a comment to a conversation associated with the video content in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter;

[0033] FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the commenting window shown in FIG. 3; [0034] FIG. 5 is an illustrative commenting window along with a list of comments (e.g., comments to public users, comments to private users, etc.) presented along with video content in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter;

[0035] FIG. 6 is an alternative embodiment of comments shown in the timeline of a particular piece of video content and in a list of comments adjacent to the video window in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter;

[0036] FIG. 7 is an illustrative video player embedded on a website that provides video content to content visitors in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter;

[0037] FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the commenting window shown in FIG. 7;

[0038] FIG. 9 is an illustrative commenting window along with a list of comments presented along with video content in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter;

[0039] FIG. 10 is an illustrative example of a social networking permission message in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter;

[0040] FIG. 1 1 is an illustrative drop down commenting window along with a list of comments that are presented concurrently with video content in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter;

[0041] FIG. 12 is an illustrative drop down commenting window that allows the content visitor to add a comment to a conversation and drag the comment along the timeline to modify its placement in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter;

[0042] FIGS. 13 and 14 illustrate a heatmapped timeline for a particular piece of video content in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter;

[0043] FIG. 15 is an illustrative analytical data report provided to a publisher or an advertiser user (e.g., for advertisement insertion and/or placement) in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter;

[0044] FIG. 16 is a diagram of an illustrative system on which a commenting and conversation management application can be implemented in accordance with some

embodiments of the disclosed subject matter; and

[0045] FIG. 17 is a diagram of an illustrative computing device and server as provided, for example, in FIG. 16 in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. Detailed Description

[0046] In accordance with various embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, mechanisms for managing conversations, comments, and/or advertisements relating to content are provided. More particularly, conversations, comments, and/or advertisements can be tied to particular points in time or particular portions within a video.

[0047] It should be noted that these mechanisms can be used in a variety of applications.

For example, these mechanisms can be used to present relevant comments, conversations, and/or advertisements during playback of video content provided on a website. In another example, these mechanisms can be used to display comments, conversations, and/or advertisements that refer to a particular portion of the video content. In a more particular example, these

mechanisms can provide a list of comments, conversations, and/or advertisements that relate to the video content and, in response to selecting one of the comments, conversations, and/or advertisements, can direct the user to the portion of the video associated with the selected comment, conversation, and/or advertisement. In yet another example, these mechanisms can be used to provide the user with the opportunity to scan and search through textual comments, conversations, and/or advertisement descriptions to find relevant portions of video content. Once the textual comment or conversation is found by the user, the user can jump from the comment to the corresponding portion of the video content.

[0048] Turning to FIG. 1, FIG. 1 illustrates a flow diagram 100 for managing

conversations, comments, and/or advertisements relating to video content in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter.

[0049] At step 1 10, process 100 begins by causing video content to be displayed. For example, a user may access a website that is displaying video content. In a more particular example, FIG. 2 shows that a content visitor is provided with a video on the website

www.surfline.com. In another more particular example, a content visitor using a web browsing application can instruct the web browsing application to load a website, where the website includes multiple pages and each page can include one or more videos.

[0050] It should also be noted that although some of the following embodiments are described as relating to the consumption of video content, these embodiments are not limited only to video content. Rather, the present invention may also be applied to any suitable web content or media, such as videos (e.g., user-recorded videos, user-uploaded videos, user-selected television channels or feeds, movies, and other suitable videos), audio, text (e.g., news content, advertisements, etc.), while simultaneously providing interfaces for managing a conversation relating to the content in accordance with the present invention. For example, in connection with an audio clip, the user can search through text comments that identify one or more words in a song or a particular portion of a song, such as the chorus, the bridge, the first verse, etc. (or a comment relating to the particular portion). In another example, in connection with video content, an advertiser can create an advertisement that is associated with particular time period within the video content.

[0051] Referring back to FIG. 1, in response to accessing video content on a webpage, an indication can be received to add a comment associated with a particular time in the video content at 120. For example, rather than posting a comment that indicates "look at what happens @ 1 :24" and is listed among a number of other comments on the bottom of a webpage, the user can be provided with an opportunity to create a conversation or add a comment to the

conversation associated with the video content being played back. The indication can be, for example, selecting a "Discuss This" button 320 as shown in FIG. 3. Alternatively, the indication can include determining that the user is hovering over the video content and selecting an option to initiate a conversation relating to the video content. In response to receiving the indication (e.g., selecting "Discuss This" button 320), a conversation URL can be created at 130 (e.g., www.surfline.com?conversation=3oFtwl0) and a conversation window or comment interface is displayed at 140.

[0052] More particularly, these mechanisms can be used to create a unique and persistent uniform resource locator (URL) that identifies each conversation relating to a particular piece of content initiated by a content visitor. These mechanisms can, for example, facilitate

conversation and/or commenting related to particular content. These mechanisms can also facilitate the sharing of content between friends in a social network, between users with an established relationship (e.g., linked on a third party website for enthusiasts), publicly with any user, etc.

[0053] In some embodiments, a conversation identifier can be created for a conversation relating to a particular piece of web content at 130. More particularly, the conversation identifier can be created when these conversation mechanisms have been added or installed to a particular piece of content (e.g., a publisher adding socialization and/or management features to a media player embedded on the publisher's page). For example, a default identifier for a conversation managed by the publisher can be created for the content at the time of the installation.

Alternatively, in another example, the conversation identifier can be created in response to receiving the first comment for the particular piece of web content. In response to receiving an indication to create a conversation for the web content, a conversation identifier, which may be unique to the website providing the web content, can be created. In a more particular example, a conversation identifier can be created in response to the content visitor selecting a badge or any other suitable representation on the page providing the web content. In some embodiments, the conversation identifier can be integrated into the URL of the presented content - e.g., for a piece of content displayed or played back at the address http://some_blog.wordpress.org, a

conversation identifier, such as "2hYs82," can be created. Accordingly, the conversation relating to the particular web content can be accessed by the content visitor and other users with the following URL (sometimes referred to herein as a "conversation URL"):

http://some_blog.wordpress.org?conversation=2hYs82

[0054] Upon creating the conversation URL, commenting, conversation, and/or advertising features can be provided to the content visitors and other users accessing the webpage having the content. For example, at 140, a commenting window or commenting interface can be provided to the content visitor. The commenting window can include, for example, the web content embedded in the window or any suitable portion of the web content (e.g., a screenshot, a portion of video, etc.), user controls for indicating a portion of the web content for providing a comment (e.g., a sentence in an article, a particular scene in a video, the chorus in an audio clip, etc.), user controls for sharing the comment, and/or any other suitable controls for managing and sharing comments relating to particular web content. It should be noted that, as shown in FIGS. 8, 9, 1 1, 12, and 14, the commenting window can be in the form of a drop down interface that appears below the video (e.g., in response to the user mouse placement or user selection of the video content). Any suitable commenting window can be provided, such as, for example, a drop down window that does not obstruct the video or media content, a commenting interface overlaid over the timeline of the video or media content, etc.

[0055] It should be noted that the commenting interface provides the user with various features for starting a conversation, adding a comment to a conversation, and/or associating the comment with a particular time in the video comment. In response to adding a comment to a conversation, the comment or the conversation associated with a particular time in the video can be displayed during the playback of the video content at that particular time at 150. For example, if a first comment assigned to a first time period within the video timeline and a second comment assigned to a second time period are created for a particular piece of video content on a webpage, the first comment and the second comment can be displayed to content visitors at their respective time periods. In a more particular example, if the first comment is associated with a time window between 0:30 minutes and 0:45 minutes, the first comment can remain hidden during the initial playback of the video comment and appear during the 0:30 minute mark and the 0:45 minute mark of the video content. Accordingly, as shown further by the illustrative display screens herein, the content visitor can be provided with features relating to providing comments to video content and, more particularly, conversations and comments can be interwoven with particular portions of video content.

[0056] In some embodiments, the conversation URL can be shared on any suitable website at 160. For example, upon creating a conversation for a particular piece of web content, the content visitor can post or share the conversation with members of a social networking website or any other suitable web-based service.

[0057] At 170, in response to a member of the social networking website or any other suitable web-based service (e.g., a friend of the content visitor) selecting the conversation URL, the member can be directed to the conversation created on the website that provided the content (e.g., some_blog.wordpress.org). In a more particular example, the conversation can be presented as an overlaid window on the original website. In another example, for the

embodiment that includes a drop down window or interface (see, e.g., FIG. 8), the drop down interface can be pre-opened below the corresponding content when the conversation URL includes a conversation identifier for that content.

[0058] In some embodiments, the member or any other suitable user reviewing the content can be provided with viewing options. For example, in one suitable embodiment, the member can select to review all comments related to a particular piece of content. Alternatively, the member can select to review those comments made by friends or users with an established relationship on a particular website.

[0059] Accordingly, the member can provide a response or additional comment to the particular piece of content. The one or more responses can then be associated with the same conversation URL. That is, in response to accessing the conversation URL, the conversation including comments (or a subset of comments) relating to a particular piece of content is provided and a member is provided with an opportunity to review and/or insert a comment. Moreover, in some embodiments, the original comment, responses, and/or additional comments to a particular time window for a particular piece of content can be displayed at that particular time.

[0060] In some embodiments, in response to receiving one or more additions to the conversation, such as comments made by one or more users relating to the particular piece of content, these additions can be automatically shared on the social networking website or any other suitable third party website where the content and original comment were shared. In another suitable embodiment, the additions can be shared on the social networking website at a predetermined time (e.g., every hour, upon receiving five comments, upon receiving comments from at least three different users, etc.). In a more particular embodiment, the additions shared on the social networking website can be provided by displaying a summary of the comments and a conversation URL that directs a user to the website that provided the particular piece of content.

[0061] It should be noted that although some of the following embodiments are described as posting or sharing comments relating to a particular piece of content, this is merely illustrative. Any suitable approach for sharing comments and/or conversation can be provided. For example, in some embodiments, the content visitor and other users can chat or send instant messages while a synchronized video or other suitable content is simultaneously provided. The chat history can be associated with a conversation URL created for the presented content. In another example, in response to requesting that comments be designated as private, the chat history can be emailed to the chat participants.

[0062] In some embodiments, the content visitor can be provided with privacy features for comments. In one illustrative example, the content visitor can determine which users can browse and/or respond to the comment made by the content visitor. In a more particular example, the content visitor can require that the comments be viewable only by friends or those users having an established relationship with the content visitor on a third party website, such as a social networking website. That is, a user can review and/or respond to a comment made by the content visitor in response to logging into the social networking website, which verifies the relationship status. Alternatively, the content visitor can specify that any suitable user can review the comment. In this example, any suitable user reviewing the particular content can be provided with access to the comment made by the content visitor.

[0063] It should be understood that the above steps of the flow diagram of FIG. 1 may be executed or performed in any order or sequence not limited to the order and sequence shown and described in the figure. Also, some of the above steps of the flow diagram of FIG. 1 may be executed or performed substantially simultaneously where appropriate or in parallel to reduce latency and processing times.

[0064] Illustrative display screens that can be used to provide commenting and/or conversation features along with video content are shown in FIGS. 2-15.

[0065] As shown in FIG. 2, a content visitor can be provided with a video 210 on the website www.surfline.com. The content visitor can be provided with the opportunity to create a comment interwoven within the particular video being played back. As shown in FIG. 3, a "Discuss This" button 320 is displayed concurrently with the video content. In response to selecting the "Discuss This" button 320, a conversation URL can be created (for example, www.surfline.com?conversation=3oFtwl0) and a conversation window 310 can be displayed. An example of a conversation window is shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 5. The conversation window 310 allows the content visitor to create a conversation, add a comment to an existing

conversation, and/or chat regarding a particular portion of the video content. As shown in FIG. 5, the content visitor can place or designate a bookmark 510 to indicate a particular point in the video content for commenting or to indicate a particular point that the comment can be displayed during the playback of the video content. In a more particular example, the user- generated comment can be displayed during the playback of the video content for a

predetermined amount of time upon reaching the designated bookmark. Alternatively, the user- generated comment can be displayed during the playback of the video content until other comments displace the user-generated comment outside of commenting area 550. As also shown, the content visitor can indicate a start time and/or an end time 520 along the timeline of the video content in video window 530 that the content visitor desires to provide a comment in comment area 540.

[0066] As also shown in FIG. 5, in some embodiments, multiple public and/or private comments can be displayed in area 550 to the content visitor while the content visitor is providing a comment regarding the content or a particular portion of the content. For example, the content visitor can determine whether to add the comment to a public conversation, thereby displaying the comment in a conversation window during the playback of the video content to public users accessing the video content. In another example, the content visitor can determine whether to add the comment to a private conversation, thereby displaying the comment in a conversation window during the playback of the video content to private users accessing the video content (e.g., users with an established relationship with the comment provider). In a more particular example, in response to sharing a conversation URL associated with a piece of video content to friend-designated users on a social networking website, the private conversation can include one or more comments relating to that particular piece of video content and, more particularly, to particular time periods within the video content from users with an established relationship with the content visitor that shared the conversation URL.

[0067] Upon providing comments that are associated with a particular portion of the video content, a number of features can be provided to users viewing the same video content. In some embodiments, comments associated with a particular portion of the video content can be displayed to the users during the playback of that particular portion of video content. That is, while viewing the video content, relevant comments (e.g., comments provided by other users, comments provided by users with an established relationship to the content visitor, etc.) can be displayed to the users.

[0068] In another suitable embodiment, while reviewing comments in commenting area

550, a user may come across a comment that refers to a particular portion of the video content (e.g., "If you want to see the good part, jump to 1 :23"). In response to the user selecting that comment, the user can be automatically directed to the particular portion of the video content referred to by the comment. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, in response to selecting the comment from the commenter that states "Check out how low he gets in the curve . . . " in area 550, the user can be automatically directed to the 0:44 minute mark of the video content in video window 530 associated with that comment.

[0069] In yet another suitable embodiment, users can be provided with the ability to search through comments associated with video content. By searching through these comments, a user can find an interested portion of video. For example, when accessing the surfing video on the website surfline.com shown in FIG. 5, a user can search through the text comments that mention the term "drop in." In reviewing the search results, the user can select one of the relevant comments in the search results to view the associated portion of the video content. This is generally quicker and more efficient than panning through the entire video.

[0070] Alternative display screens for initiating a conversation, adding a comment, and/or reviewing comments are shown in FIGS. 6-15. As shown in FIG. 6, each comment created by various users is indicated by a conversation bubble icon placed along the playback timeline of the video content. In response to placing a cursor over a conversation bubble icon, hovering or mousing over the conversation bubble icon, selecting the conversation bubble icon, or any other suitable indication, the comment associated with the conversation bubble icon can be displayed and/or highlighted within the commenting region. For example, an overlay window including the comment can be placed over the video window. In addition, the comment can be highlighted or indicated among a list of comments. Alternatively, in response to a user selecting the comment from the list of comments, the user can be directed to the starting point of the video associated with the selected comment.

[0071] It should be noted that, in some embodiments, the user can select an icon for display along the playback timeline. For example, the video player shown in FIGS. 6 and 8 can display different user-selected icons along the timeline. In a more particular example, when adding a comment to a conversation, the user can select from various icons or indicators to place in the timeline - e.g., a heart-shaped icon to indicate that the user loved the particular portion of the video, a thumbs-up icon to indicate that the user liked the particular portion of the video, an X-shaped icon to indicate that nudity or other adult-oriented content appears during the particular portion of the video, an A-shaped icon to indicate an advertisement associated with the particular portion of the video, an F-shaped icon to indicate a comment inserted by a user with an established relationship with the content visitor (e.g., a user designed as a friend on a social networking website by the content visitor), or any other suitable icon that represents the scene in the video or the user's opinion of the scene. This is sometime referred to herein as

"SceneMarks."

[0072] In some embodiments, the commenting interface can allow the user to display comments based on particular SceneMarks. For example, the user can indicate that only comments having thumbs-up icons are shown. In another example, the user can indicate that comments having X-shaped icons are not to be displayed. In yet another example, the user can sort the comments and/or conversations based on SceneMarks.

[0073] It should be noted that these embodiments can provide publishers with the ability to add socialization and/or management features to the media players embedded on the publishers' pages. For example, FIG. 7 shows an illustrative video player embedded on a page that the website "comingsoon.net" has added the socialization and conversation management features. In response to a user hovering over the embedded video player (whether prior to playing back the video or during playback of the video), a conversation window that is attached to the embedded video player is provided to the user for commenting or reviewing comments on the corresponding video. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, a conversation window that drops down from and attaches to the embedded video player is displayed. As described previously, the conversation window can provide the user with various conversation features, such as initiating or adding to a comment relating to a particular portion of the video content (e.g., a particular portion of video content having a start point and an end point, a particular portion of video that begins at a particular time, etc.) to a public or private conversation, associating with a social networking or social messaging website (e.g., concurrently linking or posting to Facebook, Linkedln, Twitter, YouTube, and/or Google+), starting a public conversation, etc.

[0074] It should be noted that the comments added using the conversation window can be any suitable comments, such as, for example, a marker selected by the user, a free form text comment generated by the visitor user, an answer to a question provided by the user, an answer to a poll provided by the user, or an answer selected by the user from a list of answers.

[0075] It should also be noted that, in some embodiments, the drop down controls relating to the conversation features can be configured to appear (e.g., drop down, fade in, etc.) underneath the video content when the user hovers or mouses over the video content. In addition, in some embodiments, a preset delay can be configured such that the drop down controls appear after hovering or mousing over the video content for a predetermined time (e.g., two seconds, five seconds, etc.). By providing such controls, these socialization features can be provided without interfering with the visual design or layout of the particular page or website as the drop down controls do not occupy any real estate on the screen when the user's attention is not directed to the content. That is, these socialization features can make the presence of the conversation controls visible to the user when the user's attention is directed or focused on the video content. Moreover, the context of public comments can be made visible to users prior to selecting options on the interface and the drop down controls or any other suitable interface can be associated with a particular piece of content (e.g., different control options can be provided for different pieces of content).

[0076] FIG. 8 illustrates an enlarged drop down window 810 that allows the user to insert or post a comment relating to the video content. Similar to the commenting or conversation window described in other figures herein, the conversation window can provide the user with various conversation features, such as initiating or adding to a comment relating to a particular portion of the video content (e.g., a particular portion of video content having a start point and an end point, a particular portion of video that begins at a particular time, etc.) to a public or private conversation, associating or sharing with a social networking or social messaging website, reviewing comments associated with the video content along the video timeline, etc. In a more particular embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, the enlarged drop down window 810 allows the user to create add a comment associated with a designated time window of the video content into his or her own private conversation to be shared with other users on a social networking website.

[0077] In some embodiments, the drop down controls, such as the ones shown in drop down window 810, can be displayed in response to user activity with the video content or user interactions with the website. In one example, the drop down controls can appear and be placed adjacent to the video window displaying the video content in response to detecting that the user has navigated a cursor (e.g., using a mouse, a finger, or any other suitable user input device) over the video window presenting the video content. In another example, the drop down control can appear and be placed adjacent to the video window displaying the video content in response to detecting that the user has selected to playback the video content. In yet another example, the drop down control can appear and be placed adjacent to the video window displaying the video content in response to detecting that the user has selected a social networking link that directed the user to the video content on the website.

[0078] In some embodiments, the drop down controls, such as the ones shown in drop down window 810, can be displayed in response to a publisher or advertiser configuration. For example, the drop down controls can appear and be placed adjacent to the video window in response to an advertisement that has been linked by the advertiser to a particular time of the video content. In response to the current position of the timeline reaching the particular time associated with the advertisement, the drop down controls can appear concurrently with the displayed advertisement (e.g., indicating that the user can comment on the advertisement displayed with the video content. In another example, the drop down controls can appear and be placed adjacent to the video window in response to a particular comment, conversation, and/or advertisement placed by a publisher or an advertiser. In a more particular example, a publisher can associate a textual question with a particular time of the video content and, in response to reaching that particular time during video playback, the textual question can appear and provide the user with an opportunity to respond to the textual question.

[0079] In some embodiments, the drop down controls, such as the ones shown in drop down window 810, can be caused to appear beneath the video window based on the current position in the timeline of the video content. For example, in response to determining that a comment has been added and associated with the current position in the timeline, the drop down commenting window 810 can be caused to appear.

[0080] In some embodiments, the comments associated with a particular conversation can be displayed during the playback of the video content. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, a conversation list 910 is displayed adjacent to the embedded video player that includes at least a portion of the comments associated with a particular conversation. During playback of the video content, the comments, such as the comment "pretty cool here!" can be displayed at its associated time. For example, the comment can be displayed as a pop-up window that indicates the conversation bubble icon associated with the comment. In another example, the comment can be displayed in the conversation list such that the conversation list highlights the displayed comment or comments during playback at their designated time or bookmark. The conversation list can automatically scroll and highlight a particular comment during playback.

[0081] In some embodiments, an advertiser or any other suitable entity can provide an advertisement or any other suitable media content to be displayed upon reaching a particular time of the playback of the video content. For example, the advertiser can create an advertisement relating to sporting goods equipment that appears adjacent to the video content and outside the video window when a portion of the video content relates to playing a baseball game. In yet another example, the advertiser can create an advertisement relating to a particular brand of clothing, where the advertisement appears within the website and outside of the video content window in particular instances when the particular brand of clothing is worn within the video content.

[0082] It should be noted that, in some embodiments, the user can concurrently link or post the comment to a social networking or social messaging website. For example, as shown in FIGS. 8, 9, and 10, the user can provide login information to a social networking website and provide permission such that comments made using the application or comments made to a particular website are posted on the user's page on the social networking website. In another example, providing such permission with the social networking website can then provide the user with the opportunity to create a private conversation between the user and particular designated users associated with the user on the social networking website. Alternatively, the authorization provided by the user can allow the socialization features to access social networking information associated with the user (e.g., a list of users connected to the user) and transmit notifications to the user in response to receiving a response or additional comment to the initial comment generated by the user for a particular piece of video content.

[0083] FIGS. 1 1 and 12 illustrate the creation and submission of a comment in the conversation window attached to the embedded video player in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. As shown in FIG. 1 1, the user can select a particular time on the video timeline to insert a comment. The user is then provided with an input interface for entering the comment. As shown in FIG. 12, the user has selected the time 0:49 in the video and entered the comment "wait for it...". In addition, the conversation window 1110 indicates the location 1 120 in the list of comments that the newly entered comment is to be displayed. As shown, in response to initiating a comment into an existing conversation, the conversation list provides a list area with the indication "your comment will appear here." Any other suitable indication of the location where the newly entered is to be displayed can be provided.

[0084] In some embodiments, the user can input a comment and then drag or move the comment along the timeline to place the comment. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, the user may have provided an indication to enter a comment at the 0:56 second mark of the video. The user can then drag the comment to the desired portion of the video (e.g., the 0:49 second mark of the video in FIG. 12). Alternatively, the user can input a particular time along the video timeline to associate with the user-generated comment. [0085] In some embodiments, the playback timeline displayed along with the video can be modified to provide a visual indication of the popularity or interaction with particular portions of the video. For example, a casual observer of the video with modified timeline can determine which scenes of the video have been most watched, most commented, most interacted, etc. As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, upon interacting with a video for playback in an embedded video player, the playback timeline can be modified to include a heatmapped timeline. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 14, which illustrates an enlarged version of a portion 1410 of the heatmapped timeline, the heatmapped timeline is attached along with the conversation window to the embedded video player. Alternatively, the heatmapped timeline can replace or overlay the timeline provided by the embedded video player. As shown in FIG. 14, the heatmapped timeline provides the user with a visual indication of where other users went, interacted, or commented in the video. Alternatively, upon providing authorization to a social networking website or any other suitable third party website, the heatmapped timeline can provide the user with a visual indication of where users connected to or otherwise associated with the user viewed, interacted, and/or commented in the particular piece of video content.

[0086] In some embodiments, a publisher (e.g., the owner of comingsoon.net or an advertiser on comingsoon.net) can be provided with analytical data responsive to the

conversation window. For example, in response to adding the socialization and conversation management features to the embedded video player on a page, the publisher or any other suitable entity can be provided with data on the number of views of the video, the number of clicks of the video, the number of comments posted on a video, the number of links or shares to social networking websites, the number of clickbacks from those links or shares, the most popular users, the users that provide the most comments, website information for websites visited prior to viewing the page with the embedded video player, etc.

[0087] In a more particular embodiment, the analytical data can include information on the content visitor's location (or play time) in the video content when an action is performed (e.g., adding a comment, viewing a comment, playing video content, replaying video content, searching for a particular portion of the video content, etc.). In response to receiving such analytical data, the publisher can make decisions on advertisement placement or advertisement delivery. In one example, based on analytical data describing actions performed by content visitors, a publisher can determine whether to place an advertisement on the publisher's website. In another example, based on analytical data describing user-generated comments associated with video content, a publisher can determine where to embed an advertisement within the video content - e.g., search for keywords in comments and, upon finding matching keywords, place advertisements relating to the keywords that are displayed during the playback of the video content along with the related comments. In yet another example, based on analytical data describing actions performed by content visitors, a publisher can determine whether to embed an advertisement in video content or to place an advertisement on another location of the publisher's website - e.g., placing an advertisement adjacent to the video content as opposed to embedding the advertisement for playback at a particular portion of the video content.

[0088] In some embodiments, the analytical data can be monitored and stored in a storage device, such as memory 1726 of FIG. 17. Alternatively, the analytical data can be provided as a feed to an advertiser computer. More particularly, the analytical data can include aggregated activity data (e.g., user interaction data, user activity within a conversation window, etc.) and an advertiser or any other suitable entity can apply the aggregated activity data to multiple advertisements to determine which advertisements to provide to users on a website with the video content.

[0089] It should be noted that, in some embodiments, these mechanisms can provide a publisher with the ability to add or install these socialization and/or management features to the media players across the publisher's entire website by adding a single script into a header. This can be performed as the design of each page of a website remains unchanged when the drop down control or any other suitable commenting interface is not visible (e.g., when the user is not focusing on the video content). Accordingly, these mechanisms can automatically activate the socialization and/or management features for each of the videos (or other content) on a page or website. In some embodiments, the publisher can be provided with the opportunity to disable the socialization and/or management features for particular videos (e.g., videos that are flagged by the publisher).

[0090] FIG. 16 is a generalized schematic diagram of a system 1600 on which the interactive inventory management application may be implemented in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. As illustrated, system 1600 may include one or more computing devices 1602. Computing devices 1602 may be local to each other or remote from each other. Computing devices 1602 are connected by one or more communications links 1604 to a communications network 1606 that is linked via a communications link 1608 to a server 1610.

[0091] System 1600 may include one or more servers 1610. Server 1610 may be any suitable server for providing access to the application, such as a processor, a computer, a data processing device, or a combination of such devices. For example, the application can be distributed into multiple backend components and multiple frontend components or interfaces. In a more particular example, backend components, such as data collection and data distribution can be performed on one or more servers 1610. Similarly, the graphical user interfaces displayed by the application, such as a commenting interface and an advertising interface, can be distributed by one or more servers 1610 to computing device 1602.

[0092] More particularly, for example, each of the client 1602 and server 1610 can be any of a general purpose device such as a computer or a special purpose device such as a client, a server, etc. Any of these general or special purpose devices can include any suitable components such as a hardware processor (which can be a microprocessor, digital signal processor, a controller, etc.), memory, communication interfaces, display controllers, input devices, etc. This hardware and/or software can be implemented as part of other equipment or can be implemented as stand-alone equipment (which can be coupled to other equipment).

[0093] In some embodiments, any suitable computer readable media can be used for storing instructions for performing the processes described herein. For example, in some embodiments, computer readable media can be transitory or non-transitory. For example, non- transitory computer readable media can include media such as magnetic media (such as hard disks, floppy disks, etc.), optical media (such as compact discs, digital video discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), semiconductor media (such as flash memory, electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), etc.), any suitable media that is not fleeting or devoid of any semblance of permanence during transmission, and/or any suitable tangible media. As another example, transitory computer readable media can include signals on networks, in wires, conductors, optical fibers, circuits, any suitable media that is fleeting and devoid of any semblance of permanence during transmission, and/or any suitable intangible media.

[0094] Referring back to FIG. 16, communications network 1606 may be any suitable computer network including the Internet, an intranet, a wide-area network ("WAN"), a local-area network ("LAN"), a wireless network, a digital subscriber line ("DSL") network, a frame relay network, an asynchronous transfer mode ("ATM") network, a virtual private network ("VPN"), or any combination of any of such networks. Communications links 1604 and 1608 may be any communications links suitable for communicating data between computing devices 1602 and server 1610, such as network links, dial-up links, wireless links, hard- wired links, any other suitable communications links, or a combination of such links. Computing devices 1602 enable a user to access features of the application. Computing devices 1602 may be personal computers, laptop computers, mainframe computers, dumb terminals, data displays, Internet browsers, personal digital assistants ("PDAs"), two-way pagers, wireless terminals, portable telephones, any other suitable access device, or any combination of such devices. Computing devices 1602 and server 1610 may be located at any suitable location. In one embodiment, computing devices 1602 and server 1610 may be located within an organization. Alternatively, computing devices 1602 and server 1610 may be distributed between multiple organizations.

[0095] Referring back to FIG. 16, the server and one of the computing devices depicted in FIG. 16 are illustrated in more detail in FIG. 17. Referring to FIG. 17, computing device 1602 may include processor 1702, display 1704, input device 1706, and memory 1708, which may be interconnected. In a preferred embodiment, memory 1708 contains a storage device for storing a computer program for controlling processor 1702.

[0096] Processor 1702 uses the computer program to present on display 1704 the application and the data received through communications link 1604 and commands and values transmitted by a user of computing device 1602. It should also be noted that data received through communications link 1604 or any other communications links may be received from any suitable source. Input device 1706 may be a computer keyboard, a cursor-controller, dial, switchbank, lever, or any other suitable input device as would be used by a designer of input systems or process control systems.

[0097] Server 1610 may include processor 1720, display 1722, input device 1724, and memory 1726, which may be interconnected. In a preferred embodiment, memory 1726 contains a storage device for storing data received through communications link 1608 or through other links, and also receives commands and values transmitted by one or more users. The storage device further contains a server program for controlling processor 1720. [0098] In some embodiments, the application may include an application program interface (not shown), or alternatively, the application may be resident in the memory of computing device 1602 or server 1610. In another suitable embodiment, the only distribution to computing device 1602 may be a graphical user interface ("GUI") which allows a user to interact with the application resident at, for example, server 1610.

[0099] In one particular embodiment, the application may include client-side software, hardware, or both. For example, the application may encompass one or more Web-pages or Web-page portions (e.g., via any suitable encoding, such as HyperText Markup Language ("HTML"), Dynamic HyperText Markup Language ("DHTML"), Extensible Markup Language ("XML"), JavaServer Pages ("JSP"), Active Server Pages ("ASP"), Cold Fusion, or any other suitable approaches).

[0100] Although the application is described herein as being implemented on a computing device and/or server, this is only illustrative. The application may be implemented on any suitable platform (e.g., a personal computer ("PC"), a mainframe computer, a dumb terminal, a data display, a two-way pager, a wireless terminal, a portable telephone, a portable computer, a palmtop computer, an H/PC, an automobile PC, a laptop computer, a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant ("PDA"), a combined cellular phone and PDA, etc.) to provide such features.

[0101] It will also be understood that the detailed description herein may be presented in terms of program procedures executed on a computer or network of computers. These procedural descriptions and representations are the means used by those skilled in the art to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art.

[0102] A procedure is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps leading to a desired result. These steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared and otherwise manipulated. It proves convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like. It should be noted, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. [0103] Further, the manipulations performed are often referred to in terms, such as adding or comparing, which are commonly associated with mental operations performed by a human operator. No such capability of a human operator is necessary, or desirable in most cases, in any of the operations described herein which form part of the present invention; the operations are machine operations. Useful machines for performing the operation of the present invention include general purpose digital computers or similar devices.

[0104] The present invention also relates to apparatus for performing these operations.

This apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purpose or it may comprise a general purpose computer as selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. The procedures presented herein are not inherently related to a particular computer or other apparatus. Various general purpose machines may be used with programs written in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may prove more convenient to construct more specialized apparatus to perform the required method steps. The required structure for a variety of these machines will appear from the description given.

[0105] Accordingly, methods, systems, and media for managing conversations relating to content are provided.

[0106] It is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

[0107] Although the invention has been described and illustrated in the foregoing illustrative embodiments, it is understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example, and that numerous changes in the details of implementation of the invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Features of the disclosed embodiments can be combined and rearranged in various ways.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A method for facilitating conversation relating to content, the method comprising: displaying video content to a visitor user in a video window in response to accessing a website;

displaying a timeline within the video window that indicates a current position of playing back the video content; and

interactively displaying a commenting window adjacent to the video window and outside of the video window, wherein:

the commenting window provides the visitor user with an opportunity to add a comment to a conversation relating to the video content that is associated with a time along the timeline;

the commenting window appears beneath the video window based at least in part on a first interaction with the video content; and

the commenting window is removed from beneath the video window based at least in part on a second interaction with the video content.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the comment is one of: a marker selected by the visitor user, a free form text comment generated by the visitor user, an answer to a question provided by the visitor user, an answer to a poll provided by the visitor user, and an answer selected by the visitor user from a list of answers.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting a sharing request to a second website for sharing the video content and the comment to a plurality of viewers on the second website, wherein, in response to selecting a portion of the sharing request on the second website, at least one of the plurality of viewers is transmitted to the website for reviewing the comment at the associated time in the video content.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first interaction that causes the commenting window to appear beneath the video window is based on the current position in the timeline of the video content.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first interaction is an action performed by the visitor user and wherein the action includes at least one of: navigating within the video window, interacting with the video window, and selecting a button to add the comment.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first interaction is activity in the video window and wherein the activity includes a configuration by a publisher to cause the

commenting window to appear based on the current position in the timeline of the video content.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second interaction includes at least one of: determining that the visitor user has navigated away from the video window and determining that the visitor user has not interacted with the video window.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising monitoring and storing the first interaction and the second interaction for transmission to a publisher.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

aggregating activity data that includes one or more of the first interaction, the second interaction, and user activity within the commenting window; and

applying the aggregated activity data to advertisements to determine which advertisements to present to the visitor user.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising allowing at least one of the plurality of viewers to provide a second comment to the conversation, wherein the second comment is associated with a second time along the timeline in the video content, and wherein, in response to playing back the video content, the comment is displayed when the current position of the timeline reaches the associated time and the second comment is displayed when the current position of the timeline reaches the second time.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising displaying a comment indicator on the timeline, wherein the comment indicator identifies the time along the timeline that the comment is to be associated with and displayed.

12. The method of claim 1 1, further comprising modifying the time associated with the comment indicator by allowing the visitor user to drag the comment indicator along the timeline.

13. The method of claim 1 1, further comprising receiving a user selection from a plurality of types of comment indicators for placement within the timeline.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising sorting a plurality of comments in the conversation based on selecting one or more of the plurality of comment indicators.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a conversation identifier that is inserted into the uniform resource locator by modifying the uniform resource locator to include a random plurality of characters that is unique to the website.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising creating a private conversation relating to the video content displayed in the video window using the generated conversation identifier.

17. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving search terms for searching through the conversation associated with the video content;

displaying one or more comments matching the received search terms; and displaying a portion of the video content in response to selecting one of the displayed comments.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying the comment in a comment window adjacent to the timeline in response to playing back the video content and in response to the current position in the timeline reaching the time associated with the comment.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising simultaneously displaying a comment list including one or more comments, wherein the comment list is placed adjacent to the video window presenting the video content.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising scrolling comments in the comment list corresponding to the current position of the timeline of the video content during playback.

21. The method of claim 19, further comprising identifying at least one comment from the comment list based at least in part on the current position of the timeline of the video content during playback.

22. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying an advertisement based on the current position of the timeline of the video content during playback, wherein the advertisement is placed at least one of: within the website, within the commenting window, and beneath the commenting window.

23. The method of claim 1 , wherein the displayed timeline is a heatmapped timeline that is displayed concurrently with the playback of the video content in the video window.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the heatmapped timeline identifies at least one of: user popularity of viewed portions of the video content, user commenting of portions of the video content, user sharing of portions of the video content to third party websites, and click backs to the portions of the video content from the third party websites.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the heatmapped timeline is overlaid over the timeline displayed with the video content.

26. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving authorization to access a user account associated with the visitor user on a social networking website;

accessing the user account to determine users having an established relationship with the visitor user; and

creating a private conversation among the visitor user and users having an established relationship with the visitor user relating to the video content.

27. A system for facilitating conversations relating to content, the system comprising: a processor that:

displays video content to a visitor user in a video window in response to accessing a website;

displays a timeline within the video window that indicates a current position of playing back the video content; and

interactively displays a commenting window adjacent to the video window and outside of the video window, wherein:

28. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method for facilitating conversation relating to content, the method comprising:

displaying video content to a visitor user in a video window in response to accessing a website;