Market Segmentation Patents (Class 705/7.33)
  • Patent number: 10045082
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus to correct errors in measuring audiences of over-the-top media are disclosed. In some examples, the methods and apparatus identify a first set of data from a first data source, the first set of data different from a second set of data from a second data source. In some examples, the methods and apparatus generate a third set of data based on the second set of data from the second data source. In some examples, the methods and apparatus generate a model based on a difference between the first set of data and the third set of data. In some examples, the methods and apparatus apply the model to the first set of data. In some examples, the methods and apparatus assign viewership to an impression associated with the first set of data by imputing viewership associated with the second set of data to the first set of data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2018
    Assignee: The Nielsen Company (US), LLC
    Inventors: Kumar Nagaraja Rao, Kamer Toker Yildiz, Jennifer Haskell, Cristina Ion, Mimi Zhang
  • Patent number: 10007927
    Abstract: A behavioral targeting system determines user profiles from online activity. The system includes a plurality of models that define parameters for determining a user profile score. Event information, which comprises on-line activity of the user, is received at an entity. To generate a user profile score, a model is selected. The model comprises recency, intensity and frequency dimension parameters. The behavioral targeting system generates a user profile score for a target objective, such as brand advertising or direct response advertising. The parameters from the model are applied to generate the user profile score in a category. The behavioral targeting system has application for use in ad serving to on-line users.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2018
    Assignee: EXCALIBUR IP, LLC
    Inventors: Joshua M. Koran, Christina Yip Chung, Abhinav Gupta, George H John, Hongfeng Yin, Long-ji Lin, Richard Frankel
  • Patent number: 9998552
    Abstract: On various networked mediums such as web pages, blogs and social networking pages, a user presence can be enhanced by automatically creating a medium. An application on a personal computing device of the user can execute to query local and remote user data, such as webpage ads a user has clicked on, internet surfing history, emails, calendar events, etc. The application processes query responses to determine the current interests of a user to suggest a topic of the medium to the user. The application then creates a medium with a topic and populates the medium with content generated from the query responses such as webpage links, photos, etc. Automatic and configurable updates of the medium can also be performed by processing the local and/or remote user data. Notifications to acquaintances about the medium and updates can also be automated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2018
    Assignee: Open Invention Network LLC
    Inventor: David Gerard Ledet
  • Patent number: 9934310
    Abstract: An approach for determining repeat website users via browser uniqueness tracking includes receiving browser information from a server based on a browser accessing a website. The approach includes creating a browser identifier based on the browser information. The approach includes determining the browser is one of a new visitor and a repeat visitor to the website by comparing the browser identifier to other browser identifiers associated with the website. The approach includes transmitting a message to the server indicating the browser is one of a new visitor and a repeat visitor to the website based on the determining.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2018
    Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Frank C. Fisk, Sri Ramanathan, Matthew A. Terry, Matthew B. Trevathan
  • Patent number: 9919708
    Abstract: A vehicle system includes a user interface device and an autonomous mode controller. The user interface device receives a user input representing a driving mode selection. The autonomous mode controller commands one or more vehicle subsystems to operate in accordance with characteristics associated with the driving mode selection. Examples of characteristics can include how aggressively the vehicle accelerates or decelerates, a minimum distance from the vehicle to a front vehicle, or how frequently the vehicle changes lanes, among others.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2018
    Assignee: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Tobias John Pallett, Jeffrey Allen Doering, Anthony David Tsakiris, Kyle Richard Post
  • Patent number: 9911139
    Abstract: A first computing device operated by a first user of a social networking system sends a quote attributed to a second user of the social networking system to a server device. The server device receives input from a second computing device operated by a second user indicating the consent of the second user to sharing the quote with selected other users of the social networking system. The server device shares the quote with the selected other users of the social networking system in response to receipt of the consent of the second user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2018
    Assignee: STATUSQUOTE, LLC
    Inventors: Jordan Sloan Nettleship, Michael Urtso
  • Patent number: 9900360
    Abstract: A distributed system processing a publisher's streaming data. The distributed system comprises multiple workers and publisher data stores, each publisher data store dedicated to a worker and a publisher. A sampling ratio (the fraction of data items for storage in the publisher's data store) is selected by a publisher data store's worker based on historical information. At least two workers select different sampling ratios. Data items representing an interaction between an entity and the publisher are received. Each data item is assigned to a worker for processing. A hash function is applied to the data item's identifier, resulting in a key value falling within the hash function's range. The scope of the publisher's data store is equal to the hash function's range multiplied by the sampling ratio of the publisher's data store. A data item with a key value within the scope of the publisher's data store is stored therein.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2018
    Inventors: Akshat Aranya, Mark Cooper
  • Patent number: 9900392
    Abstract: A social networking system selects a set of groups for presentation to a user of the social networking system. To select groups, the social networking system identifies candidate groups and selects the set of groups from the candidate groups. To identify certain candidate groups, the social networking system determines a location associated with various groups based on locations associated with users included in the group. For example, the social networking system determines a centroid of a group based on locations associated with users included in the group and associates the centroid with the group if at least a threshold percentage of distances between locations associated with users included in the group and the centroid do not exceed a threshold distance. Groups associated with locations within a threshold distance of a location associated with the user are identified as candidate groups.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2018
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Bradley Ray Green, Li Ju, Jireh Yiwei Tan, Chen Wang, Yi Miao
  • Patent number: 9838446
    Abstract: Among other things, we describe identifying, in first data available to a first user and not available to a second user, and in second data available to the second user not available to the first user, data pertaining to a common topic, and enabling the first user and the second user to communicate about the common topic based on the identification.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2017
    Assignee: MIMECAST SERVICES LTD.
    Inventor: Nathaniel S. Borenstein
  • Patent number: 9805125
    Abstract: A method at a server system includes: detecting presentation of a media content item, identifying the media content item and one or more entities related to the media content item, determining respective levels of interest in the identified entities based on one or more signals, selecting a subset of the entities based on the determined levels of interest, and sending to a client device of a user, for presenting at the client device, the selected subset of the entities.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2017
    Assignee: GOOGLE INC.
    Inventors: Ant Oztaskent, Yaroslav Volovich, Ingrid McAulay Trollope
  • Patent number: 9805415
    Abstract: A system, method, and software product for obtaining details on merchant data from customers purchasing goods or services at a merchant with a payment instrument. After customers make purchases, a server associated with a payment instrument network or payment instrument issuing bank sends a message in the form of a signal to open an application, an SMS, an e-mail, an electronic bank statement, or other electronic means to the customer offering the customer the opportunity to provide details on merchant data on the merchant where the purchase was just made, including the name and address of the merchant where the purchase was just made. The customer may be offered rewards for providing of details on merchant data. The payment instrument network and payment instrument issuing bank are thus presented with the opportunity to mine data in a crowdsourced manner from consumers who have just purchased from a merchant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2017
    Assignee: MasterCard International Incorporated
    Inventor: Justin Xavier Howe
  • Patent number: 9785953
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a system and method for generating demand groups. The system receives demand group modeling data including a product listing, point of sales data, available econometric data and product information. Attributes may then be assigned to the products based upon product identifiers, size, flavor, brand, and product descriptions utilizing natural language processing. The products may then be clustered according to the attributes and point of sales data. One or more decision trees may be generated for the product listings using the point of sales data. Demand rules may be received, which may be applied to the product clusters and the decision trees to generate demand groups. A confidence score may be generated for each product indicating how well that product fits within the demand group. These confidence scores may be compared against a threshold. Products with scores below the threshold may be flagged for user review.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2017
    Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Paritosh Desal, Kamal Gajendran
  • Patent number: 9773268
    Abstract: Systems herein relate to acquiring shopper insights from home product use and influencing shoppers to make additional future purchases of products. Further, the invention relates to electronically communicating with the shopper at the second moment of truth to provide the shopper with one or more influential messages including, but not limited to product information, e-coupons, discounts, surveys, ingredients, ingredient suggestions, recipe suggestions, entertaining, consumer reports, shopping list suggestions, wish list suggestions, and inventory list suggestions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2017
    Assignee: SUNRISE R&D HOLDINGS, LLC
    Inventors: Brett Bracewell Bonner, Titus Arthur Jones, Gregory Michael Menz, John Edward Osborne, II, Dion Brent Perkins, Christopher Todd Hjelm
  • Patent number: 9767491
    Abstract: Embodiments of systems and methods for the aggregation, analysis, display and monetization of pricing data for commodities in general, and which may be particularly useful applied to vehicles are disclosed. In certain embodiments, one or more models may be applied over a set of historical transaction data associated with a vehicle configuration to determine pricing data. Some models may leverage incremental data in various conditions, including cases where fewer than a desired number of historical transactions are present in the bin of a specified vehicle, where fewer than, equal to, or more than a certain number of list prices for the specified vehicle available, and where no historical transaction data for new models is available.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: TrueCar, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael Swinson, Lin O'Driscoll, Scott Painter
  • Patent number: 9747349
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and computer readable media for expediting data access. The method embodiment may comprise the steps returning a result to a query for information requested from a hybrid database.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2017
    Assignee: Execue, Inc.
    Inventors: Sreenivasa Rao Pragada, Viswanath Dasari, Abhijit A Patil
  • Patent number: 9734244
    Abstract: Systems and methods are described herein for returning search results that may be rare or surprising to what a user would expect a search performed on a user-input symbol would yield. As an example, if a user were searching for media related to the television show “It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia” by entering the search symbol “It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” the user would typically expect the search results to yield media related to that television show. However, if the user's profile indicates that the user is fascinated by astronomy, for example, the search result may also yield a result corresponding to a documentary discussing the composition of the sun.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2017
    Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc.
    Inventor: Vanessa Wickenkamp
  • Patent number: 9729908
    Abstract: Apparatus and methods for segmenting television audience data are disclosed. The methods include receiving program level viewing data for one or more individuals. The methods also include creating one or more segments for the one or more individuals based upon the program level viewing data. The methods further include combining the one or more segments into one or more groups by applying a grouping function and performing analysis on the one or more groups, and generating reports based upon the analysis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2017
    Assignee: Discovery Communications, LLC
    Inventors: Elizabeth Rockwood Fulton, David Ernst, Steve Ozzano
  • Patent number: 9626830
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention are directed to methods and apparatus in which a player plays one of a plurality of networked gaming devices. Game awards below a predefined level are tracked and stored on the network. If the game awards are less than a predefined criterion, a pay command is sent over the network to the player's gaming device, which may be used for a free game. Implementation in a single gaming device is also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2017
    Assignee: PATENT INVESTMENT & LICENSING COMPANY
    Inventor: John F. Acres
  • Patent number: 9619117
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatuses, including computer programs encoded on computer-readable media, for receiving information regarding a plurality of conversion paths. Each conversion path includes one or more user interactions, corresponds to a user, and ends with a conversion interaction. A list of channel groups is received. Each channel group includes a name and one or more group rules that refer to the characteristics of one or more user interactions of the plurality of conversion paths. Each user interaction in the plurality of conversion paths is grouped based upon the list of channel groups. A selection of channels to visualize is received and for each of the selected channels to visualize the user interactions are aggregated based upon the channel group of the user interaction and a position of the user interaction within the conversion path. Information regarding the aggregated user interactions for each of the selected channels is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2017
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Sissie Ling-le Hsiao, Eric Ewald, Theodore Nicholas Choc, Cameron Michael Tangney
  • Patent number: 9569510
    Abstract: Embodiments relate to interacting with a collection of user opinion documents associated with a topic. One aspect includes obtaining opinion data for the collection of opinion documents associated with the topic. The opinion data includes one or more features discussed in the opinion documents, one or more key phrases included in each feature, one or more text snippets included in each feature, and at least one sentiment expressed in each text snippet. A visual interface is provided in which a feature summary view of the opinion documents acts a top level of a navigational hierarchy. The visual interface allows user navigation from the top level to a lower level of the navigational hierarchy in order to display more details about a text snippet, as compared to the feature summary view, while continuing to provide the feature summary view.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2017
    Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Liang Gou, Eben Haber, Mengdie Hu, Eser Kandogan, Yunyao Li, Huahai Yang, Michelle Xue Zhou
  • Patent number: 9569788
    Abstract: A method executes at a server system with one or more processors and memory. The server receives demographic information for a plurality of household members. The demographic information includes at least age and gender. The server receives web activity information for the household. The server identifies one or more web activity sessions from the web activity information and selects one of the web activity sessions. The server identifies one or more web sites visited during the selected web activity session and accesses demographic skew data for at least a subset of the web sites visited. The demographic skew data for a web site identifies fractions of visitors to the web site from predefined demographic segments. The server associates a household member with the web activity session at least in part by correlating the demographic skew data of the web sites visited with the demographic information of the first household member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2017
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventor: Nick Arini
  • Patent number: 9537963
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for tracking sharing of an electronic content. An exemplary method may include receiving a request to access content associated with a web address by a user. Based on a unique identity assigned to the user and the web address, a unique tracking web address may be generated. This tracking web address may be shared with additional users. As other users request content associated with the tracking web address, information regarding the sharing of the electronic content may be determined and stored, allowing for tracking of sharing behavior of users.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2017
    Assignee: AOL Inc.
    Inventors: Huan-Ling Chen, Dmytro Solomakha
  • Patent number: 9530166
    Abstract: A social networking system includes a mechanism for incorporating nodes in the social graph, where the nodes are associated with a web page. Each web page includes one or more tags, which contain meta-information for defining the node in the social networking system, such as the type of the node. The social networking system retrieves the tags from the markup language document and stores their information in connection with the node for the web page. The web page may be outside of the social networking system's domain and may be operated by an entity other than the social networking operator; thus, third parties can define, create, and maintain nodes that are then used by the social networking system. Users may then interact with the nodes on websites outside of the social networking system, and these interactions are tracked by and reflected back within the social networking system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2016
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Bret Steven Taylor, Michael Steven Vernal, Gerald Richard Cain, Mark William Kinsey
  • Patent number: 9524512
    Abstract: An advertisement delivery management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a prediction information storage unit, an acquisition unit and an allocation unit. The prediction information storage unit stores information including user attributes of a plurality of delivery target users predicted as future advertisement delivery destinations. The acquisition unit acquires a plurality of order requests designating user attributes and the numbers of deliveries. The allocation unit allocates the delivery target users to the plurality of order requests, on the basis of the user attributes and the numbers of deliveries designated by the plurality of order requests, such that the number of predetermined user attributes of the delivery target users who have not been allocated to the order requests is the maximum.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2016
    Assignee: YAHOO JAPAN CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kazuhiko Shimura, Akira Tajima, Koji Tsukamoto, Hiroyuki Kato, Takenobu Dei
  • Patent number: 9525687
    Abstract: The present disclosure extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for establishing an attribute template for a customer for distribution to third party recipients. In operation, customer information is received and placed as attributes in a template that is then made available to predetermined recipients.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2016
    Assignee: WAL-MART STORES, INC.
    Inventor: David Patterson
  • Patent number: 9501478
    Abstract: A method includes accessing, at a device, data identifying a plurality of categories of media content. The data includes a first value associated with a first category of the plurality of categories of media content and a second value associated with a second category of the plurality of categories of media content. The method also includes modifying the data to remove the first category in response to determining that the first value does not satisfy a threshold. The method further includes adjusting the second value after modifying the data to remove the first category.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2016
    Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.
    Inventor: Randolph Wohlert
  • Patent number: 9489429
    Abstract: A computer system comprising a plurality of computers coupled through a network, the computer system performing service by using a database constructed by a storage area of each of the plurality of computers, wherein a plurality of pieces of data are located in the plurality of computers constructing the database based on a distributed algorithm for distributing and locating the plurality of pieces of data in the plurality of computers, wherein the computer system comprises: a load information management part to manage load information on a load of each of the plurality of computers constructing the database; an algorithm management part to switch the distributed algorithm of the computer system based on the load information; and a relocation processing part to relocate the plurality of pieces of data stored in each of the plurality of computers based on the switched distributed algorithm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2016
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventor: Akihiro Matsumoto
  • Patent number: 9491509
    Abstract: The present invention relates generally to a method of providing an on-line assessment of digital content, such as video clips (10), across a network, such as the internet. In general terms the steps involved an this embodiment of the methodology include: 1. presenting a stimulant video clip (10); 2. providing means for rating the video clip in real time, in this example a rating bar (12) and slider (14) driven by a computer peripheral device (not shown); 3. collecting rating data relevant to the viewed video clip such as (10).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2016
    Assignee: IPOWOW! DEVELOPMENT PTY LTD.
    Inventors: Gary Samuel Davis, Eric Joseph Gyors, Peter David Tippett
  • Patent number: 9460219
    Abstract: Targeted location-based search results can be provided to a user of a travel system based on one or more tribes of users to which the user belongs. A user can provide a search query, and a set of locations can be identified in response. A subset of the set of locations is selected for display based on a correlation between a tribe vector associated with the user and tribe vectors associated with each identified location. A user can also request content objects from the travel system, for instance by navigating to a page associated with a location including portions for displaying content objects. A set of content objects is identified in response to a request for content, and a subset of the content objects is selected for display based on a correlation between the tribe vector associated with the user and tribe vectors associated with each content object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2016
    Assignee: Gogobot, Inc.
    Inventors: Ori Zaltzman, Travis Katz
  • Patent number: 9443382
    Abstract: Disclosed is a method for enabling a user in an augmented reality gaming venue to use an augmented reality gaming venue component and a mobile device to find a particular game or gaming machine. The method includes: controlling a camera on the mobile device using the augmented reality gaming venue component, once the component is activated; determining the location of the mobile device; determining the orientation of the mobile device; querying a casino management system to retrieve data for the augmented reality gaming venue; generating a list of gaming machines and other objects currently visible to the camera; rendering a camera-captured image on a display of the mobile device; and overlaying icons on the image for each visible object to display additional visual information to a user on the display of the mobile device in response to the user aiming the mobile device at gaming machines or other objects of interest in the augmented reality gaming venue.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2016
    Assignee: Bally Gaming, Inc.
    Inventor: Martin S. Lyons
  • Patent number: 9438480
    Abstract: A method includes performing operations as follows on a processor: communicating with a data processing system to collect empirical data associated with operations of the data processing system, communicating with a customer feedback system to collect user sentiment data associated with the data processing system, generating an operational status of the data processing system based on the empirical data, generating a sentimental status of the data processing system based on the user sentiment data, and generating a composite status of the data processing system based on the operational status and the sentimental status.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2016
    Assignee: CA, Inc.
    Inventors: John P Kane, Vincent Re, Daniel Holmes, Darryl Bond
  • Patent number: 9430471
    Abstract: A dynamic classification dictionary is built for use in profiling and targeting users for additional relevant content. Behavioral data is gathered from user activity, and user documents and actions are categorized. Author-generated document classification information is analyzed and assigned a first taxonomic noun to characterize the document. User-generated tags characterizing a portion of the document are assigned a second taxonomic noun. Search terms that resulted in the user accessing the document are identified and assigned a third taxonomic noun. Attributes related to the manner in which the document was accessed are evaluated and assigned a fourth taxonomic noun. The document is processed using pattern rules to extract a fifth taxonomic noun. The taxonomic nouns are aggregated into a composite set of taxonomic nouns, and the dynamic classification dictionary is build by storing the composite set of taxonomic nouns.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2016
    Assignee: CBS Interactive Inc.
    Inventors: Tushar Pradhan, Thomas Osborne, John Potter
  • Patent number: 9430775
    Abstract: A method for permitting a program to be analyzed and tuned includes the steps of receiving a program which itself includes a plurality of stages, where execution of the program follows a plurality of distinct paths, each of the distinct paths including one or more of the stages. The method further includes determining unique paths of the program and determining execution boundaries of the program. In addition, the method includes persisting the unique paths and the execution boundaries in a database, and changing an execution of the program based on the persisted unique paths and execution boundaries.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2016
    Assignee: Responsys, Inc.
    Inventor: Dayanand Dudyala
  • Patent number: 9432419
    Abstract: Among other things, we describe identifying, in first data available to a first user and not available to a second user, and in second data available to the second user not available to the first user, data pertaining to a common topic, and enabling the first user and the second user to communicate about the common topic based on the identification.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2016
    Assignee: Mimecast North America, Inc.
    Inventor: Nathaniel S. Borenstein
  • Patent number: 9424237
    Abstract: In an approach for selecting a version of a webpage to present to a user, a processor receives a request to access a webpage from a device, wherein the webpage includes a plurality of versions of the webpage. A processor receives information about the device. A processor determines a version of the webpage to present, based on the information about the device and a predefined goal associated with the webpage. A processor causes the version of the webpage to be presented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2016
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Taylor J. Anderson, Thomas S. Brugler, Richard Chen, Randall A. Craig, Kristin S. Moore
  • Patent number: 9330420
    Abstract: A method and computer for managing analysis of sentiment is disclosed. A computer retrieves data used to perform the analysis of sentiment. The computer analyzes the data and the analysis of sentiment to determine if a gap exists requiring further processing to improve the analysis of sentiment. Responsive to a determination that the gap exists requiring further processing to improve the analysis of sentiment, the computer generates a task to address the gap. The computer then uses crowdsourcing to submit the generated task for processing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2016
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Sheng H. Bao, Yu Deng, Hong L. Guo, Qi Hu, Jim A. Laredo, Roman Vaculin, Maja Vukovic
  • Patent number: 9311653
    Abstract: The present disclosure includes a system, method, and article of manufacture for measuring the effectiveness of an advertisement. In various embodiments, the system may compare exposed data indicating that a first customer was exposed to a targeted advertisement to a first spending activity associated with the first customer. The system may further compare unexposed data indicating that a second customer was exposed to a neutral advertisement to a second spending activity associated with the second customer. Further still, the system may, in various embodiments, generate a spend report based on the comparing the exposed data to the first spending activity and the comparing the unexposed data to the second spending activity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2016
    Assignee: AMERICAN EXPRESS TRAVEL RELATED SERVICES COMPANY, INC.
    Inventors: David S. Bonalle, Brian C. Bender, Mehmet E. Dedeoglu, Rajendra R. Rane, Tamara F. Odinec, Patrick R. Lowery
  • Patent number: 9292598
    Abstract: A system for extracting customer feedback from a microblog site includes a retrieval unit coupled to the microblog site to capture microblog updates. A filter unit coupled to the retrieval unit filters the captured microblog updates according to filter criteria that remove non-actionable items from the captured microblog updates. A learning unit coupled to the filter unit prioritizes the filtered microblog updates, and a classification unit coupled to the learning unit classifies the filtered and prioritized microblog updates. An action unit coupled to the classification unit performs appropriate actions based on the classified, filtered and prioritized microblog updates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2016
    Assignee: Benbria Corporation
    Inventors: Wojciech Fraczak, Ying Du
  • Patent number: 9262768
    Abstract: A system for determining preference, including a client device with feedback controls, a server and addressable URIs; the device and server in communication over an electronic network and the URIs' content retrievable over the network; the server automatically receiving and storing ratings, tracking URIs, using ratings to create a preference model for URIs, and using the preference model to suggest URIs; the stored ratings include a record having a rated item URI, a rater having a unique identification, a rating value provided by the rater, and at least one metadatum for creating subsets of ratings. Also, a method for automatically creating a chimeric preference vector, the method steps including identifying a multiplicity of datasets of rated items; automatically combining the datasets to form a combined dataset; automatically identifying ratings collisions; treating ratings collisions to form a data subset; and generating a chimeric preference vector based on the data subset.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2016
    Assignee: Joseph Anthony Carsanaro
    Inventors: Joseph Anthony Carsanaro, Christopher Lawrence Mills
  • Patent number: 9195988
    Abstract: The method of processing an analysis cycle to determine interest merchants may include selecting a seed merchant relevant to a topic interest, identifying consumers that have completed a transaction with the seed merchant to generate a list of identified consumers, determining merchants visited by the identified consumers, scoring all the merchants based on network connectivity, activity, and merchant over-index, updating the seed merchant in response to the list of scored merchants relative to a scoring threshold, and scoring the list of identified consumers based on the number of distinct merchants in transaction and over-indexing. Additionally, the method may further comprise producing a list of updated interest merchants and a list of updated identified consumers, where the updated interest merchants and the updated identified consumers are relevant to the topic interest.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2015
    Assignee: AMERICAN EXPRESS TRAVEL RELATED SERVICES COMPANY, INC.
    Inventors: Terrence Fischer, Anthony Harry Mavromatis, Monique M. Navarro, Benjamin Schulte, Venkat Varadachary
  • Patent number: 9195703
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for predicting context-relevant information based on large-scale aggregations of data. One of the methods includes receiving a user context of a user, wherein the user context specifies a location of a user device being used by the user. Data that represents counts of websites visited by users matching the user context is obtained. Data that represents counts of websites visited by users in general is obtained. Using the obtained counts, one or more likely websites visited by users matching the user context more frequently than by users in general is determined. Information identifying the one or more likely websites in response to receiving the user context is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2015
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Andrew Kirmse, Kenny J. Leftin, Ivan Young Lee, Andrew T. Wansley, Emanuel Taropa, Alec W. Berryman, Yaxin Liu, Rajesh Venkataraman
  • Patent number: 9189551
    Abstract: Embodiments of the invention relate to a category based navigation system obtaining user data related to a plurality of users relevant to the primary user. The method further comprises obtaining entity data associated with an entity in a plurality of entities. The category based navigation system then determines one or more entities relevant to the primary user, and determines an initial order of relevance of a set of relevant entities. The method further comprises categorizing and displaying the set of relevant entities with an initial categorization on a user device to the primary user. The category based navigation system may then obtain, via the user device, user feedback, adjust the initial categorization and initial order of relevance based on the user feedback; and display the adjusted categorization and adjusted order of relevance of the set of relevant entities to the primary user on the user device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2015
    Assignee: OPENTABLE. INC.
    Inventors: Scott Paul Goodson, Sourav Chatterji, Jeremy Ryan Schiff, Corey Layne Reese, Paul Kenneth Twohey
  • Patent number: 9177332
    Abstract: A method and/or system for managing media library merchandising promotions may include determining one or more current promotions from a plurality of promotions. A universal score may be assigned to each of the one or more current promotions, wherein the universal score is updated dynamically based on interactions with the one or more current promotions by one or more users. A personal score for each of the one or more current promotions may be assigned for a particular user, wherein the personal score is updated dynamically based on interactions with the one or more current promotions by the particular user. Personalized digital content promotions may be determined for the particular user from the current promotions based on the personal score and/or the universal score. The personalized promotions may be presented to the particular user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2015
    Assignee: GOOGLE INC.
    Inventors: Brandon Bilinski, Curtis Glenn Hawthorne
  • Patent number: 9148680
    Abstract: Apparatus and methods for segmenting television audience data are disclosed. The methods include receiving program level viewing data for one or more individuals. The methods also include creating one or more segments for the one or more individuals based upon the program level viewing data. The methods further include combining the one or more segments into one or more groups by applying a grouping function and performing analysis on the one or more groups, and generating reports based upon the analysis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 29, 2015
    Assignee: Discovery Communications, LLC
    Inventors: Elizabeth Rockwood Fulton, David Ernst, Steve Ozzano
  • Patent number: 9141589
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus to provide a personalized page to a user have been disclosed. In one embodiment, a user is identified as a member of a first group and a member of a second group. The first group's level of interest (LOI) in a first item is identified, as well as the second group's LOI in a second item. The user's LOI in at least one of the first and the second items is identified.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2015
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Noam M. Shazeer, Georges Harik
  • Patent number: 9105048
    Abstract: A behavioral targeting system determines user profiles from online activity. The system includes a plurality of models that define parameters for determining a user profile score. Event information, which comprises on-line activity of the user, is received at an entity. To generate a user profile score, a model is selected. The model comprises recency, intensity and frequency dimension parameters. The behavioral targeting system generates a user profile score for a target objective, such as brand advertising or direct response advertising. The parameters from the model are applied to generate the user profile score in a category. The behavioral targeting system has application for use in ad serving to on-line users.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2015
    Assignee: Yahoo! Inc.
    Inventors: Joshua M. Koran, Christina Yip Chung, Long-Ji Lin, Hongfeng Yin
  • Patent number: 9087339
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, are provided for computing performance estimates. Performance estimates are provided for resources based on candidate targeting criteria included in requests for the performance estimates. The performance estimates are computed based on previously received resource requests that are included in a relevant request group. The relevant request group is defined to include resource requests that include request criteria that match reference targeting criteria. The request criteria can include data characterizing a user for which the resource is being selected. In some implementations, request groups can be defined by analyzing previously-received resource requests and including the resource requests in request groups having reference targeting criteria that are matched by the request criteria.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2015
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Xiaofeng Guo, Tong Liu
  • Patent number: 9064258
    Abstract: A method and system for reserving future purchases of goods or services or events. A sub-set of reservations from a set of available reservations used to reserve a spot in a facility or at an event are associated with and selectable with plural electronic options. The plural electronic options are also associated with reservation requests if no actual available reservation are available and automatically converted to electronic options for actual reservation if a reservation later becomes available at the facility or event.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2015
    Assignee: Smart Options, LLC
    Inventors: Christian S. Pappas, Charles P. Brown
  • Patent number: 9053424
    Abstract: This disclosure relates to relates to systems and methods that facilitate generating an ordered list of a set of elements based upon user demographics or granular reordering of an ordered list of elements over a subset size based upon demographic information to increase likelihood of selection of at least one element of the set of elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2015
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Justin Lewis, Luke Ravitch
  • Publication number: 20150149252
    Abstract: A method for psychographically classifying a respondent based upon the respondents' health values. The method includes receiving a respondent's answers to a series of queries relating to health and analyzing the answers to determine a psychographic characteristic of the respondent. The method further includes providing information to the respondent based upon the results of the analyzing step.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 26, 2013
    Publication date: May 28, 2015
    Applicant: C2B SOLUTIONS, LLC
    Inventors: Brent Neil Walker, James Casey Albertson, Robert J. Freeberg