WO2015168734A1

WO2015168734A1 - Systems and methods for storing and retrieving information and story telling

Info

Publication number: WO2015168734A1
Application number: PCT/AU2015/050214
Authority: WO
Inventors: Stevce STOJANOVSKI; Leonard NG; Yuen Wai Christina KEING
Original assignee: Keptme Limited
Priority date: 2014-05-05
Filing date: 2015-05-05
Publication date: 2015-11-12

Abstract

Systems and methods for storing and retrieving information are disclosed. The systems include a database containing a plurality of presentation elements. Each of the plurality of presentation elements are operably linked to one or more presentation element descriptors. The systems also include a processor configured to incorporate one or more of the plurality of presentation elements into an electronic presentation, and substantially automatically generate an electronic presentation directed to a user-determined subject. The electronic presentation includes at least some of the plurality of the presentation elements. The presentation elements are selected with reference to the presentation element descriptors within the database.

Description

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR STORING AND RETRIEVING INFORMATION

AND STORY TELLING

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention is directed to the field of information technology. In particular, the present invention is directed to systems and methods for the generation of electronic information presentations.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

[0002] The prior art provides many software-based means for presenting information electronically. Products such as PowerPoint™ (Microsoft Inc), Prezi™ (Prezi Lie) Keynote™ (Apple Inc), Google Docs™ (Google Inc) and the like are used in business and in education. Such packages are also used in a domestic setting to provide presentations of holidays, family history, a child's milestones or other personal activities for display to friends and family members.

[0003] Typically, presentation packages are adapted to generate slides (i.e. a series of static screens) but may include the ability to generate a collage (i.e. a collection of graphics and text clippings disposed on a single page), video elements and the like.

[0004] Presentation packages typically include preloaded content adapted to assist the user in generating a presentation. For example, where the presentation is slide-based, the package may provide a range of templates allowing a user to select from predefined background layer, styles for heading and subheadings defined by certain fonts and indentation characteristics, color schemes and the like that assist in generating a clear and visually appealing prepared presentation. Larger organizations may prescribe the use of a certain template for the purposes of consistency.

[0005] A set of predefined graphics (typically termed "clip art") may also reside within a presentation software package to add visual interest to a slide. For example, where a presentation is intended to educate students in environmental studies, an opening slide having a photograph of the earth from space might be used on the first slide to engage students' interest.

[0006] However, even with such aids the generation of a presentation is a time consuming activity typically involving much typing and identifying suitable graphics. In addition, prior art presentation packages do not facilitate collaboration amongst individuals in an organization, family or other group to streamline the process of generating a presentation. [0007] The present invention overcomes and alleviates a problem of the prior art by providing improved methods and systems for the generation of an electronic presentation. The present invention also provides alternative methods and systems for generating electronic presentations.

[0008] The discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles and the like is included in this specification solely for the purpose of providing a context for the present invention. It is not suggested or represented that any or all of these matters formed part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present invention as it existed before the priority date of each provisional claim of this application.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] In a first aspect, the present invention provides a system for generating an electronic presentation, the system comprising: (i) a database comprising a plurality of a presentation elements, each of the plurality of presentation elements operably linked to one or more presentation element descriptor(s), and (ii) presentation software configured to incorporate one or more of the plurality of presentation elements into an electronic presentation, wherein the system is configured such that, in use, the presentation software substantially automatically generates an electronic presentation directed to a user-determined subject, the electronic presentation comprising all or some of the plurality of the presentation elements, the presentation elements selected by the presentation software with reference to the presentation element descriptors of the database.

[0010] In one embodiment, a presentation element is generated by a user, or by a member of a group for which the user is a member. The element may be an image, a movie, a graphic, an audio element, a text element, or any other observable elements.

[0011] In one embodiment, the presentation element descriptors are generated or selected by a user at the time the presentation element is generated or uploaded to the database.

[0012] In another embodiment, at least one presentation element descriptor comprises one or more keywords, icons, symbols, longer free text or other metadata (e.g., a combination of descriptive research questions, comparative research questions and relationship-based research questions with dependent and independent variable, as well as categorical and continuous variables), or time and location information generated or selected by a user or by a member of a group for which the user is a member. [0013] In yet another embodiment, each of the presentation elements is independently selectable for incorporation into the electronic presentation by the presentation software.

[0014] In another embodiment, the present invention provides a computer-implemented method for generating an electronic presentation, the method comprising the steps of: (i) generating a presentation element, (ii) operably linking one or more presentation element descriptor(s) to the presentation element, and (iii) uploading the presentation element with the operably-linked presentation element descriptor(s) to a database.

[0015] In one embodiment, the presentation element and the presentation element descriptor(s) are generated by a user or by a member of a group for which the user is also a member, and the presentation element may be an image element, a movie element, a graphical element, an audio element, or a text element.

[0016] In another embodiment, presentation element descriptors are generated or selected by a user at the time the presentation element is generated or uploaded to the database.

[0017] In yet another embodiment, presentation element descriptors comprise one or more keywords, icons, symbols, longer free text or other metadata (for example, in the form of descriptive or comparative research questions with dependent and independent variable, as well as categorical and continuous variables), or time and location information, generated or selected by the user or by a member of a group for which the user is a member.

[0018] In an additional embodiment, each of the presentation elements is independently selectable for incorporation into the electronic presentation by the presentation software.

[0019] In a further aspect the present invention provides software configured to be operable in the system as described herein, or the method as described herein.

[0020] Yet a further aspect of the present invention provides a database configured to be operable in the as described herein, or the method as described herein.

[0021] Still a further aspect of the present invention provides a computer-implemented method for generating an electronic presentation, the system comprising use of the software as described herein and/or the database as described herein. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Fig. 1 is a flow chart showing the flow of information in a system having a single user, and where a predefined presentation or story framework is used, where a dynamic presentation is generated, based on three stages in the system of 'capture', 'preserve' and 'present', and where a push notification can be generated to link the 'preserve' stage back to a 'capture' stage.

[0023] Fig. 2 is a flow chart showing the flow of information in a system having multiple users.

[0024] Fig. 3 is a flow chart showing the flow of information in a system where the different stages of 'capture', 'preserve' and 'present' can be modularized and generated or incorporated by different users, such that a third party's story framework can be incorporated in a user's story framework.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0025] After considering this description it will be apparent to one skilled in the art how the invention is implemented in various alternative embodiments and alternative applications. However, although various embodiments of the present invention are described herein, these embodiments are presented by way of example only, and not limitation. As such, the description of various alternative embodiments should not be construed to limit the scope or breadth of the present invention. Furthermore, statements of advantages or other aspects apply to specific exemplary embodiments and not necessarily to all embodiments covered by the claims.

[0026] Throughout the description and the claims of this specification, the word

"comprise" and variations of the word, such as "comprising" and "comprises," are not intended to exclude other additives, components, integers, or steps.

[0027] Reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, but may. [0028] The present invention is predicated at least in part on Applicant's finding that electronic presentation of elements such as images may be generated substantially

automatically where the elements are personalized, linked or tagged with a descriptor. The descriptor may be a keyword, symbol, or icon which is attached to an image at the time the user takes the image is taken, or it may be a title, paragraph or other text, or a time stamp or location metadata which provides more detailed context and meaning to the image. The descriptor may be personalized by use of a metadata question and a metadata answer generated or selected by the user. Thus, a first aspect the present invention provides a system for generating an electronic presentation, the system comprising: a database comprising a plurality of a presentation elements, each of the plurality of presentation elements operably linked to one or more presentation element descriptors, and presentation software configured to incorporate one or more of the plurality of presentation elements into an electronic presentation, wherein the system is configured such that, in use, the presentation software substantially automatically generates an electronic presentation directed to a user-determined subject, the electronic presentation comprising all or some of the plurality of the presentation elements, the presentation elements selected by the presentation software by reference to the presentation element descriptors of the database.

[0029] In accordance with the present system, a user is enabled to upload a presentation element to a database, with the presentation software automatically generating a new presentation based on the descriptor attached to the presentation element. Alternatively, the presentation software may add the photograph to an existing presentation. The system can be described as a "Story Telling System" which presents a new approach for collecting, organizing, retrieving, and presenting structured and meaningful information. The invention decouples the data collection process typically applicable to data collectors and producers under various contexts, making it feasible to collect structured and meaningful data using a simple and efficient process which is logically detached from other components of the system such as the "Present" layer. Data structure and context are retained during preservation, improving the efficiency of the subsequent retrieval and presentation processes. Also, the collected data is more structured and meaningful. The system can also de-couple the presentation layer which enables a user to dynamically retrieve meaningful and structured data to present different stories in any layouts or formats as they need.

[0030] As one example of an application of the system, a user desires to generate a presentation consisting of a series of photographs (the presentation elements) taken of dishes consumed during a holiday. Whilst in a restaurant, the user takes a photograph of each dish using the camera on his smart phone. The photograph is stored within the smart phone memory (volatile or non- volatile). Dedicated software on the smart phone (such as an App) allows the user to link a descriptor to the photograph, such as "holiday meals" or other more detailed text metadata, or using a metadata question and answer generated or selected by the user (for example, the question may be "How was this holiday meal?" and the answer may be "Very tasty," "Too salty" or even a symbol or icon such as a smiley face emotion icon). The photograph (with linked descriptor) is uploaded to a cloud server on which the user has an account.

[0031] The user repeats the process for each dish consumed and for each photograph taken. The same descriptor (such as "holiday meals" or other metadata text or icon) is linked to each photograph taken. A presentation software package (which may be the same as the software allowing linkage of a descriptor described supra) incorporates each photograph into an electronic presentation automatically. For example, the presentation may be a slide show of photographs, each slide having a background theme consistent with the subject "holiday meals." With the addition of each photograph having the descriptor "holiday meals" and/or other metadata text or icon, the presentation "holiday meals" is automatically updated upon upload of each new photograph. Thus, a completely up to date presentation is always available to the user, and without any need for the user to manually update the presentation.

[0032] The present systems differ from prior art systems whereby a user lakes a series of photographs and then manually imports the photographs into a presentation. If the user desires a completely up to date presentation, then this manual importation must be undertaken after each photograph is taken. Such an arrangement is clearly cumbersome, and so users of prior art systems typically import photographs batch-wise into a presentation. This results in the presentation not being completely up to date.

[0033] Users of prior art systems may also be forced to selectively upload certain photographs into certain presentations. For example, a user may desire to have a diary of meals consumed and beaches visited while on holiday. Accordingly, when uploading photographs the user must select only photographs of dishes for importation into a first presentation "holiday meals", and only photographs of beaches for importation into a second presentation "beaches visited".

[0034] The present systems avoid the need to select photographs for importation. A user links the descriptor "holiday meals" to photographs of dishes. When a photograph of a beach is taken on the same holiday, the user links the descriptor "holiday beaches" to the photograph. Thus, the photograph of the dish is automatically incorporated into the "holiday meals" presentation, while the beach photograph is automatically incorporated into the "holiday beaches" presentation. The user can also link other metadata to each photograph with other descriptors that they may have in common, such as a date, location, emotion information ("Feeling happy [smiley face icon]"), or other free text. Thus, the photograph of the dish and the photograph of a beach can be automatically incorporated into a third presentation entitled "What I did in April this year," "Things that make me happy," or any number of other presentations.

[0035] It will be appreciated that the present systems provide incremental advantage for each descriptor that is used given that a larger number of descriptors save the user work required to selectively import a large number of photographs into a presentation. In prior art systems, when importing each photograph into a presentation, there being a large number of presentations from which the user may select, for each photograph the user must decide which of the large number of presentations the photograph is to be imported.

[0036] Thus, in one embodiment of the system, a minimum number of presentation element descriptors are required.

[0037] The presentation element descriptors may be a keyword or metadata generated by the user, and may comprise free text, icons, symbols, time or location information, or questions and answers entered by the user. Alternatively, the descriptors may be selected by the user from a predetermined set of descriptors. The predetermined set of descriptors may have been previously generated by the user, or a third party.

[0038] In an embodiment of the present invention, a predetermined set of descriptors is used in the system such that each presentation element is incorporated into the desired presentation. Use of free text descriptors may lead to a presentation element being either (i) unassigned to a presentation or (ii) assigned to an incorrect presentation. Thus, the software allowing the user to link a descriptor to a presentation element may comprise a drop down menu or similar as part of the user interface to facilitate selection of a metadata descriptor appropriate for the photograph. The metadata descriptor may comprise answers to questions but is not limited to text and may consist of multiple choices, date and time selections, or even a decoration.

[0039] The predetermined set of descriptors will typically be set according to the presentations desired by the user. In the system each descriptor may be identifiable by the presentation software to facilitate incorporation of a presentation element into a desired presentation. Alternatively, the system may be configured such that a given descriptor facilitates incorporation of the presentation element into multiple presentations. As an example, the descriptor "holiday meals" (or other detailed metadata or icon et cetera) may dictate that any element linked with that descriptor is automatically incorporated into a first presentation "holiday meals" in addition to a second presentation entitled "memorable meals" which includes photographs of meals taken on holiday and in the user's home city.

[0040] The linkage of a descriptor to a photograph at (or around) the time the photograph is taken provides further advantages. For example, a composite photograph may be taken while on holiday, the photograph including a number of potential subjects of interest such as a church, a street vendor, and car. The user may have taken the photograph only to record the car, with the subject church and subject street vendor being of no particular interest at the time. In that circumstance, the user may only add the descriptor "holiday cars" to the photograph, and the photograph is added automatically to the presentation "holiday cars."

[0041] By comparison, where a prior art system is used, the user (when importing a photograph into a presentation at a later time) may not recall for which of the three subjects the photograph was taken, and may mistakenly import the photograph into a presentation called "holiday churches" which was intended to display photographs of only churches with aesthetic appeal. The church in the composite photograph has little aesthetic appeal, and the user may question why he took the photograph in the first instance.

[0042] In some embodiments, the system is configured such that at least one of the descriptors is generated automatically upon generation or upload of the presentation element. For example, many smart phones and cameras "geotag" photographs with the location being automatically used a descriptor by the system. The GPS data of the geotag may be translated by the system into a location (e.g. "Rome, Italy") or may be more descriptive based on third party information services such as Google MapsTM to identify a specific premises (e.g. "Hilton Hotel, Rome, Italy) or a tourist attraction (e.g. "The Forum, Rome, Italy"). Date information may also be automatically included as a descriptor.

[0043] Alternatively, an image recognition algorithm may be incorporated into a software of the system to automatically link an image with a descriptor such as "beach", "forest", "building", or "car".

[0044] Some embodiments of the system allow for multiple descriptors to be operable and linked to a presentation element. The user may select the descriptors "holiday car", "holiday church", and "holiday interesting local person" for the photograph. The descriptors may be ranked, such that the primary descriptor is "holiday car" given the car was the primary reason the photograph was taken, with the second and third descriptors being ranked as subsidiary. [0045] In some embodiments, the system is configured to allow for a user to add a free text note to the presentation element, the free text note being independent of the descriptor. The system may also include a rating option whereby the user is enabled to rate the subject of the presentation element.

[0046] The software may allow for the linkage of the descriptor or a free text note or rating. In one embodiment, the presentation software embeds the free text note or rating into the presentation. The note or rating may be continuously viewable in the presentation or may be selectively viewable by hovering a cursor over the element, for example.

[0047] The presentation software is configured for the incorporation of presentation elements into an electronic presentation. The software may be configured to generate a presentation in the form of a slide show, a collage, a diary, a story board, or any other visually appealing, useful, or logical output. The presentation software may be configured such that the presentation comprises visual elements as well as non-visual elements (such as audio).

[0048] The presentations generated by the presentation software are directed to a certain subject or theme or descriptors. The presentation software may comprise a number of templates, themes or similar which are designed for the presentation of certain subjects. For example, for the "holiday meals" presentation, a template may comprise a background having graphics related to dining such as eating utensils, menus, and a wine bottle. The template may further comprise graphics relating to travel, such as a map and an aeroplane. Audio template elements such as music of the country visited may be added. For the "holiday cars" template, graphics such as roads, engine parts may be used along with audio elements of car engine sounds may be added.

[0049] A template or theme may be incorporated in the presentation software or generated by a third party and imported into the software. Alternatively an existing template or theme may be customized by a user or may be created de novo by a user.

[0050] The third party designer of a template or theme can stipulate a set of descriptors for operably linking presentation elements. For example, a designer may develop a visually appealing notebook design and define the relevant descriptors and push notifications. The template/theme is thus paired with a set of descriptors to facilitate use by the end user. The push notifications generated by the template can request or remind the end user to capture a particular presentation element and/or to select certain metadata descriptors to link one or more presentation elements. [0051] The presentation software may be on a device from which the presentation element is generated, for example a mobile device (such as a smart phone, or a digital camera), a laptop computer, or a desktop computer.

[0052] In another embodiment of the system, the presentation software is on a device which has had no part in generating a presentation element. In such circumstances the system may be configured such that the presentation software is capable of importing presentation elements directly from an existing database of elements.

[0053] The database of the system comprises a plurality of presentation elements, each element operably linked to one or more descriptors. The presentation software may be configured to comprise a plurality of presentation frameworks. In such an embodiment, the system has a "many-from-many" architecture such that any one of the presentation elements may be independently incorporated into any one of the plurality of presentation frameworks. In these embodiments, the presentation element descriptors may be utilized to generate a plurality of presentations using a single database of presentation elements.

[0054] As an example, a database of the present system may comprise a first subset of photographs taken while a user was on a first holiday in Italy and a second subset while the same user was on a second holiday in China. The user can link one or more descriptors to each photograph of the first and second subsets to identify the relevant country. From the database, based on the descriptors operably linked to the photographs, a number of separate presentations may be generated, such as: all meals eaten while on holiday, all meals eaten while in China, all bad meals eaten in Italy, all meals eaten in the first week in Italy, the last meals eaten both Italy and China, etc.

[0055] The present systems have been so far described by reference to a single user. However, the systems may be configured to be usable by multiple users. Such embodiments may find utility in work place applications. For example, members of a group of academic research scientists may be required to regularly present research findings. Each member of the group generates presentation elements such as graphs, tables, flow charts and the like in the course of the group's research. Such presentation elements are typically generated on a desktop computer. For presentations (such as a slide show) the elements are generally converted by the user into graphical elements (such as a .jpg or bitmap file), at which point one or more presentation element descriptors are generated or selected by the user and operably linked to the element. [0056] As an example, a histogram showing a positive dose response of a human cohort to a pharmaceutical test substance "X" may be created by a first user. This presentation element might be linked by the user with the following three descriptors: "human trial", "substance X", "positive result". Another member of the research group might have conducted the same trial but using a mouse cohort, with the results being indeterminate. That member (being a second user) uploads his histogram with the descriptors: "mouse trial", "substance X", "indeterminate result". A third user repeats the same trial as the first user, but the results (shown in a third histogram) are negative. The descriptors are selected by drop down menu in each case.

[0057] All three histograms are uploaded to a database, with their respective descriptors operably linked thereto.

[0058] The head of the research group (the fourth user) desires to prepare a slide presentation of showing all results of human trials of substance X. According to the present system, the fourth user launches presentation program and from a user interface therein, selects "create new presentation." The fourth user is then presented with a drop down menu offering a selection of templates each of which has a predetermined background, text specifications (font, size, placement, etc.).

[0059] Upon selection of the desired template, the fourth user is presented with a series of drop down menus allowing for the selection of graphs held in the database. The first interface allows selection of test substance ("A" through to "Z"), test subject ("human" or "mouse" or "hamster"), and result ("positive" or "negative" or "^determinate"). The fourth user selects "substance X", "human trial" and makes no selection with regard to the result field. Upon clicking the "OK" button, the presentation software automatically generates two slides. The slides both have the selected template, the first slide showing the first histogram, and the second slide having the third histogram. By this process and using the present system the head of the research group has been able to generate the desired presentation without the need to search any computer directory or even confer with any of the first, second, or third users. As for other examples described herein, the system relies on the operable linkage of one or more descriptors to a presentation element by a user to the presentation element.

[0060] The present system may be configured to allow for the classification of a user as a "super user" who is able to operate the accounts of other users. For example, a mother (who is a first user) can operate an account for her baby son. The father (who is a second user) may be a collaborator of the same user account belonging to that baby son to contribute baby photos together. [0061] As another example, a teacher can operate a class account as a super user for a group consisting of multiple students (multiple users).

[0062] Groups of users can operate another user account in parallel, via the group or directly by an individual user. Such an arrangement will allow a teacher to share presentation elements with a student in another class or with another entire class.

[0063] In one embodiment, the system is configured to allow users to transmit messages to each other to alert the activities within the group. For example, a teacher may leave a comment for an event photograph taken (the comment may be treated as a descriptor), with another teacher and/or parent will receive a notification about the comment. He can then can click and open the photograph and leave a reply to that comment.

[0064] The present invention will now be further described by way of the following non-limiting embodiments.

EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0065] Reference is made to Fig. 1, showing the flow of information in a system for the automatic generation of a presentation comprising a series of photographic image files as the presentation elements (although the presentation elements may consist of other documents and/or data and not necessarily only photographic image files). In this exemplary embodiment, the presentation software comprises a template ("story framework") into which image files are incorporated.

[0066] The images may be captured by a camera 10, or uploaded from existing storage 12. If necessary, the images are conferred to a standard format 14 before being saved to memory of a device 16. The device is in operable bidirectional communication with cloud server 18.

[0067] For each image captured or uploaded, contextual data ("descriptor") 20 is added. The contextual data is selected from keywords A, B, . . . N.

[0068] The system comprises a plurality of story frameworks A, B, . . . N 22, each of which is configured to incorporate image files only with the corresponding descriptor to produce an automatically generated presentation file 24. Thus, where an image file is linked with contextual data A, the file is automatically incorporated into story framework A to produce presentation A; where an image file is linked with contextual data B, the file is automatically incorporated into story framework B, and so on. [0069] When new image files are added to the internal storage 16, each of the presentation files can be automatically regenerated if and when required by the user to provide a completely up to date presentation virtually instantaneously, or they can be generated into a new brand new presentation as and when required by the user.

[0070] The dashed line shows that the content of the "Contextual Data A" may be influenced, affected, or defined by the contextual data defined by "Presentation A".

[0071] Thus, the system may be configured such that the contextual data (presentation element descriptor) is defined initially, and the presentation created or adapted to recognize that contextual data. In addition, the system may be configured such that the presentation defines the contextual data (presentation element descriptor) and that contextual data is then linked to a presentation element.

[0072] It will be appreciated that by this arrangement a closed or partially closed information loop results with the descriptors influencing, affecting or defining me

presentation, and vice- versa. This looping process may be automatic, requiring substantially no input from the user.

[0073] Reference is also made in Fig. 1 to having the ability to dynamically and automatically generate a presentation in response to a user-operated contextual data filter. In this exemplary embodiment, the filter selects images having keywords A and B, with those images being automatically incorporated into a virtual album 28 before incorporation into an automatically generated presentation 30.

[0074] The virtual album provides the system with the ability to generate a presentation without the need to manually or automatically attach a descriptor to a presentation element. Once Contextual Data A, B, or a combination of these is linked, the system is configured to automatically generate dynamic content for a new presentation without defining the context of this presentation in the first place. Therefore, the process does not start from the presentation and work backwards along the dashed line, but instead makes use of all the existing contextual data (which was defined for some other presentation originally) to form a meaningful presentation dynamically and automatically.

[0075] For example, a presentation is entitled "Child's English class," with contextual data relating to a child in English class at school, such as school reports, learning stories, awards given, subject topics covered, and books read during class. The presentation elements are captured or uploaded by a single user or multiple users. In the case of multiple users, the child' s mother might be the "super user" operating the account whilst the child's father, grandparents and/or school might each be collaborators for the same account. Each user (or group member) collects and/or produces relevant presentation elements and links one or more descriptors to those elements in order to create contextual data (such as reports, drawings, certificates, photographs, videos, reports, audio files and other documents, or information regarding the child's learning development or emotions on any particular day, or ratings given by the child on how it liked certain topics covered in class) that is captured or uploaded into the "Child's English class" story framework. The story framework may also contain metadata questions that need to be answered by a user who produces relevant contextual data for that story framework, for example in relation to the metadata descriptor of "book name," a user can be requested to select the topics relevant to that book from a drop down menu (which can be generated by a super user or another group member) or to select a particular rating for that book.

[0076] The same super user (the child' s mother) has a second presentation entitled "Child's physical education" which, similar to first story framework, contains contextual data relating to the child but in respect of the child's sporting activities only. The contextual data might include information on the child's sporting awards, extracurricular classes taken, health information, statistics on how high the child can jump or run, etc. The child itself might also be added as a member of the group to allow him or her to collect and/or produce contextual data for this story framework, such as his or her favorite activities or sporting moments.

[0077] The super user (again, the child's mother) has yet a third presentation entitled "Child's savings," with contextual data relating to the child's bank and savings accounts. The data might include money deposits made into the accounts by the child's parents or grandparents, and the accrual of interest on each account.

[0078] The three presentations comprise a portfolio of different assets and raw data relating to the child, but the data is dynamic, structured, and meaningful. Where there is a group of members for a particular presentation, the "super user" can set different data level access permissions or security settings for each group member/user, depending on their roles, that dictates which data can and cannot be viewed, accessed, or changed by each group member and the level of access which is granted to them (for example, input only, read only, read and write etc.). The system enables a granular level of access and security settings for both individual users and group users. In this example, the "super user" (the child's mother) may decide to allow the child to have full read and write access to all three presentations once the child reaches a certain age, so that the child itself can enable the dynamic massing of the raw data and automatically generate new presentations as and when required.

[0079] By the embodiment of this system, filtering logic may be used to dynamically create a new presentation, for example, relating to a virtual album of the child's favourite books and sporting activities, simply by combining certain contextual data of the presentations of "Child's English class" and "Child's physical education". The presentation is not limited to an album, and can comprise charts and slideshows and other forms of presentation. In this embodiment, the term "virtual album" is used because the user did not produce the contextual data in order to create the album. Instead, the system generates this album virtually for the user. This is essentially what is described in the Fig 1.

[0080] Referring to Fig. 2, contributor devices 32 communicate while also contributing images to a group 34. Users 36 may draw from the group 34 as well as the contributor devices 32, selecting images for conferring to a standard format 14.

[0081] Referring to Fig. 3, the system may involve a third party's story framework incorporated in a user's story framework. For example, the presentation entitled "Child's savings" described above may be a presentation containing contextual data that is captured and generated by a third party, such as a bank. The user can access or view the third party presentation through a third party portal.

[0082] Reference is also made to Fig. 3 having a push notification function to the mobile device 10 based on contextual data. The push notification is for the purpose of reminding a user to capture a presentation element. For example, the contextual data may be "daily photograph of child," with each daily photograph being incorporated into a presentation, "My child's journal". The software of this exemplary system is configured to send a push notification every day at 7PM to the mobile device capturing photographs having the contextual data "daily photograph of child". In Fig. 3, the contextual push notification originates from a third party contextual data 38, third party contextual data generated from a third party presentation design 42 but it can also originate from a user's own contextual data and presentation design as described in Fig. 1.

[0083] The present invention has been described mainly by reference to photographic images and graphical elements as the presentation elements. It will be understood however that the invention is not so limited. A presentation element may be a movie element, an audio element, or a text element, for example. [0084] It should be appreciated that in the above description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, various features of the invention are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof, for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in me understanding of one or more of the various inventive aspects. This method of disclosure, however, is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed invention requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the claims following the Detailed Description are hereby expressly incorporated into this Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of this invention.

[0085] Furthermore, while some embodiments described herein include some but not other features included in other embodiments, combinations of features of different embodiments are meant to be within the scope of the invention, and form different embodiments, as would be understood by those skilled in the art. For example, in the following claims, any of the claimed embodiments can be used in any combination.

[0086] In the description provided herein, numerous specific details are set forth.

However, it is understood that embodiments of me invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, structures and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of this description.

[0087] Thus, while there has been described what are believed to be the embodiments of the invention, those skilled in the art will recognize that other and further modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is intended to claim all such changes and modifications as falling within the scope of the invention. For example, components and functionality may be added or deleted from diagrams and operations may be interchanged among functional blocks. Steps may be added or deleted to methods described within me scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A system for generating an electronic presentation, the system comprising:

a database containing a plurality of presentation elements, each of the plurality of presentation elements operably linked to one or more presentation element descriptors; and a processor configured to:

incorporate one or more of the plurality of presentation elements into an electronic presentation; and substantially automatically generate an electronic presentation directed to a user-determined subject, wherein the electronic presentation includes at least some of the plurality of presentation elements, the presentation elements being selected with reference to the presentation element descriptors within the database.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein one of the presentation elements is generated by a user or by a member of a group for which the user is a member.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein one of the presentation elements is an image element, a movie element, a graphical element, an audio element, or a text element.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the presentation element descriptors are generated or selected by a user at the time the presentation element is generated or uploaded to the database.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the presentation element descriptors comprise one or more keywords generated or selected by a user, or by a member of a group for which the user is a member.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the presentation elements is independently selectable for incorporation into the electronic presentation.

7. A computer-implemented method for generating an electronic presentation, the method comprising: generating a presentation element; operably linking one or more presentation element descriptors to the presentation element; and uploading the presentation element with at least one operably-linked presentation element descriptors to a database.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the presentation element and at least one presentation element descriptor are generated by a user, or by a member of a group for which the user is also a member.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the presentation element is an image element, a movie element, a graphical element, an audio element, or a text element.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein at least one presentation element descriptor is generated or selected by a user at the time the presentation element is generated or uploaded to the database.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein present element descriptors include one or more keywords generated or selected by a user or by a member of a group for which the user is a member.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein each of the presentation elements are independently selectable for incorporation into the electronic presentation.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program for causing a computer to perform the steps of claim 7.