samesurf: sharing in real-time

samesurf: surf the same sites together from same surf on Vimeo.

There are a plethora of web experiences that can’t be simultaneously and effectively shared, viewed, or fully interacted with by two or more persons seeking to share that content. Activities such as viewing pictures, watching videos, or shopping can’t currently be experienced in a simple, real time and fully interactive medium that enables two or more users connected on separate devices to all interact with and discuss that content simultaneously without having to take turns passing controls.

Furthermore and in direct reference to screen sharing, there is no modality that enables all of the two or more users engaged in a synchronized browsing session to (1) click on web links that become fully interactive tabs; (2) log into or register at certain sites separately; and/or (3) input and pass form data (site input fields) or other information to other users in a simultaneous manner.

There is no such modality that allows all users in a shared session to simultaneously log in or register into a certain web site, application, or experience with either or all of (1) their own credentials; (2) credentials passed to them by the host or leader; or (3) with no log-in credentials whatsoever. Accordingly, the current interactive landscape lacks technology that would simultaneously connect two or more users in a framework that would allow all of those users to both interact with one another and with the content itself in real time.

While some current methods such as desktop or screen sharing allow users to simply view screenshots of each other’s desktops, these methods don’t enable all users in a session to click, input and log into those experiences in a simultaneous or nearly simultaneous manner. Another key difference is that screen sharing doesn’t recognize more than one person in a screen sharing session and thus, there is no effective way to recognize and monetize that “grouped traffic.” samesurf enables each individual user in a group session to be counted separately in terms of delivering and measuring advertisements, clicks and consummated transactions.

Screen sharing methods are far less appealing because they work by broadcasting screenshots of the host screen in large files or packets that slow down device performance due to high bandwidth, graphics and computer processing power requirements. As a result of these requirements, screen sharing has inconsistent results, is non-effective in the mobile context and is highly inadequate for enabling larger groups to view and fully interact with content in a simultaneous manner.

Screen sharing also affords little protection for the broadcasting host’s private information since all participants see the host screen as s/he enters sensitive information such as user names and passwords or when hosts toggle back and forth in other areas of their desktop. samesurf protects against the disclosure of such sensitive information since it coordinates everyone into a shared session rather than broadcasting images of the actual desktop.