Abstract: Inspection of over the top (OTT) content to facilitate offering non-OTT content or other content and/or services as an alternative to the OTT content is contemplated. The OTT content may be inspected at an access point configured to provide a broadband or other connection between a device consuming the OTT content and a device sourcing the content. Data packets or other signaling may be added to the OTT content at the access point in order to announce the offer.

Abstract: Advertising targeting metrics for individuals can be derived from images associated with those individuals. Such advertising targeting metrics can include physical attributes, as well as preferences based on prior activity, or history. Public images associated with specific user identities can be processed and advertising targeting metrics can be derived therefrom to more accurately tailor the advertisements displayed to the individuals associated with those user identities. Additionally, non-public images can be likewise processed, either remotely or, for greater privacy, locally if so allowed by the user. Advertisers can then utilize the greater breath of advertising targeting metrics that can be derived from images to more accurately target advertisements to specific groups. In doing so, advertisers can submit their own images of exemplary targeted users, and the targeting metrics for those advertisers' advertisements can be automatically derived from the submitted images utilizing equivalent algorithms.

Abstract: A method and system for facilitating interaction with one or more advertisement functionalities is provided. An advertisement middleware provides advertisement functionalities for interfacing with one or more systems and components of an underlying device. The advertisement middleware includes a transport layer, an application programming interface and one or more functional modules. The functional modules may include a player module, a cache, a report module, a profile module, a loyalty module and a payment module. Each module may perform various advertising tasks for an advertisement application. In addition, use of a particular advertisement application may be tracked to provide incentives to developers to create advertisement applications.

Abstract: A system and method for providing access to and gaining access to document services using a printed coupon. The printed coupon contains one or more machine-readable symbols describing the document services to which a holder of the coupon is entitled. The document services include faxing, printing, copying, email, electronic file access, scan to email, scan to file and document services.

Abstract: A method and system for providing targeted applications within an electronic message interface. The method comprises retrieving content from a user's electronic message in the electronic message interface, parsing and interpreting the user's context from the content, and accepting bidding on the user's interpreted context from one or more applications, the one or more applications including triggering conditions related to the user's interpreted context. The one or more applications are ranked based on the bidding. The method further comprises loading the one or more applications into the electronic message interface based on the ranking, and providing one or more follow-up transactions associated with the one or more loaded applications based on the user's interpreted context.

Abstract: Techniques for providing information to a user of a mobile device based on an online or web-identity of the user and a geolocation of the mobile device are described herein. The user may be notified when a nearby merchant has a good or service for sale that matches a good or service in a list, such as a wish list, associated with the web-identity of the user. The users may also be provided access to a coupon within an electronic document when a mobile device storing the electronic document is located at a particular merchant. This convergence of geographical location of the user, as determined by the geolocation of his or her mobile device, with his or her web-identity can bring the online and off-line worlds closer together to provide relevant information for the user and improved marketing opportunities for merchants.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and system for inserting a digital advertisement into a window by a computer processor for display on a screen. First, an initial portion of the window containing only text is identified that is of sufficient size to accommodate the advertisement. Next the advertisement is inserted into the identified initial window portion behind the text so that the text is readable. Then, the color of the advertisement or of a portion of the text is subsequently adjusted so that the advertisement becomes more prominent. The text may contain text-related graphics and the advertisement may be placed as not to obstruct any such graphs. As a user scrolls the underlying content, the advertisement is then moved.

Abstract: A system and method for distributing information regarding a child abduction. More particularly, a system and method for distributing AMBER alert information via a computer system network to consumers at retail stores. AMBER alert distribution criteria is used to determine what retail stores to transmit the AMBER alert information to, and CID criteria is used to determine what consumers within those retail stores to transmit the information to. As time progresses the AMBER alert information is distributed to retail stores in a larger geographic scope.

Abstract: A maintenance management side manages machine information and the installed number of machines such as a copier, a printer, a facsimile, a digital multi-functional apparatus, and a scanner, and exchanges the usage number for each machine for a point value, based on the machine information and the installed number of machines. A service is provided to the user based on the point value. In addition, the service to the user can be utilized through each machine provided at the user side.

Abstract: A system for describing and analyzing service-related human experience in organizational or commercial environments based on a hierarchical model of needs (e.g. Maslow's hierarchy of needs) is provided herein. The system may include a classifier configured to classify experience states based on a predefined hierarchical model of needs, to yield a classification; a modeler configured to model a real-life environment into a model that includes a set of process instances associated with users; and an experience notation generator configured to: extract experience-related data associated with the users from the model, based on the classification; and represent the experience-related data of each one of the process instance as a non-textual time series, based on the classification. Optionally, the time series may be used to produce reports using an analyzer. The reports may be applied to a remedy engine to generate recommendations for improving the human experience.

Abstract: An embodiment of the invention is directed toward identifying a number of advocates. A social-connection map for users of a wireless communications network is determined. A number of heavy users is determined based on the number of connections in a social-connection map. Advocate criteria are evaluated and used to identify a number of advocates.

Abstract: A system for producing a configured construction specification for a construction product includes a website and an unconfigured specification accessible by the website, the unconfigured specification including a plurality of portions of construction specification information relating to the at least one construction product, each of the plurality of portions corresponding to at least one of a plurality of characteristics that define the at least one construction product. A webpage is displayed on the website, the webpage containing a plurality of indicia selectable by a user via the website, each of the plurality of indicia corresponding to at least one of the plurality of characteristics. Software executing on the website prepares a configured specification based at least in part upon the construction specification information contained in the unconfigured specification and the indicia selected by the user via the webpage.

Abstract: Systems and computer-implemented methods include a validation phase in which validation projects are submitted to an online crowdsourcing system. The validation projects each have different combinations of the two validation control parameters, payment per human intelligence task (“HIT”) and number of solutions per HIT. By analyzing the solutions for the validation projects, final control parameters can be selected from the validation project having the best combination of high quality, low cost, and short time to completion. The final control parameters can be submitted along with a final project to the online crowdsourcing system. In addition, a novel outlier detection algorithm enables the system to detect outlier workers based on the distribution of non-experts' agreement probabilities, reject outlier workers' results, and thus save labeling cost.

Abstract: A system being monitored generates alerts directed at participants as events to be resolved occur. As a participant resolves an alerted event, the system logs the steps taken by the participant to resolve the event and stores the event resolution log associated with the event. From that event resolution log, a template for a workflow process can be automatically generated. When similar events occur again, the participant for those future events can be provided with the prior stored event resolution log and/or automatically generated templates for a workflow processes corresponding to the stored event resolution log. Iterative generation and editing of templates can be provided for, wherein subsequent event resolutions for similar events are used to modify the workflow process templates developed from previous event resolutions. Events can include conditions being met in data stored by the system or events representing the lack of occurrence of expected events.

Abstract: A system and method for measuring or at least detecting the effect of at least implicit communication on transactions within a social group, optionally such as consumer purchases for example. The group may optionally comprise a social network, a pair, 3 or more individuals and so forth. By “implicit communication” it is meant communication for which there is no record, for example in a database. The aftereffects of such communication may optionally be determined, detected and/or measured through detection and/or measurement of influence, as described in greater detail below. For example, if a first consumer performs purchase of an item and a second consumer later purchases the same or similar item within a given time period, the two purchases may optionally be linked through influence which may in turn have optionally occurred through implicit communication.

Abstract: A method of providing personal service assistance in a virtual universe is disclosed. The method provides a customer avatar (CA) access to a personal assistance avatar or personal customer service representative (PCSR) avatar, hereinafter PCSR avatar. Through the PCSR avatar, the CA communicates a need or requests for personal service assistance from a business or organization. The communication of the received request is processed to identify an appropriate business, organization or vendor that meets the need or request. The identified business, organization or vendor is contacted for a representative from the business to accede to the request from the CA. The representative from the business is allowed to assume control of the PCSR avatar to conduct the session necessary for rendering the assistance or transaction. Upon completion of the session, control of the PCSR avatar is reverted to that prior to the session.

Abstract: A system and method for automated customer feedback allows for automatically collecting and analyzing customer feedback data regarding customer satisfaction and customer task completion with respect to self-service applications and live agents. When contacting a customer service center, customers provide one or more customer tasks. The customers are routed within the customer service center based on the customer task and/or one or more customer characteristics. While interacting with the customer service center, the customers are automatically asked one or more specific survey questions relating to the customers' interaction with the customer service center and the customers' satisfaction levels. The customers provide one or more survey responses to the survey questions. The survey responses are recorded and analyzed in order to modify and update the customer service center and the survey questions in order to increase customer satisfaction and increase customer task completion.

Abstract: A system and method for measuring or at least detecting the effect of at least implicit communication on transactions within a social group, optionally such as consumer purchases for example. The group may optionally comprise a social network, a pair, 3 or more individuals and so forth. By “implicit communication” it is meant communication for which there is no record, for example in a database. The aftereffects of such communication may optionally be determined, detected and/or measured through detection and/or measurement of influence, as described in greater detail below. For example, if a first consumer performs purchase of an item and a second consumer later purchases the same or similar item within a given time period, the two purchases may optionally be linked through influence which may in turn have optionally occurred through implicit communication.

Abstract: Computer-implemented systems and methods generate forecasts or estimates with respect to one or more attributes contained in an attribute-based hierarchy. Physical hierarchical data and attribute input data are received so that an attribute-based hierarchy can be created. A mapping table is created that indicates relationships between the attribute-based hierarchy and the physical hierarchy, wherein the attribute-based hierarchy is accessed during model forecasting analysis or model estimation analysis.

Abstract: A method for integrating airplane operation related services provided by ground-based systems is described. The method includes receiving information from a plurality of airplane service functions, the airplane service functions including airlines, airplanes, regulatory authorities, maintenance repair organizations, and aircraft manufacturers, the received information relating to airplane operation. The method further includes determining which of the received airplane operation information is applicable to each of the airplane service functions, and distributing the applicable airplane operation information to each of the airplane service functions.