Abstract: The present invention provides methods and systems for use in advertising campaigns and advertisement targeting. Techniques are provided in which streams of data, including communications data, are sampled, such as during transmission to intended recipients. Sampled data may be analyzed and used to determine topics of interest. Sampled data may be analyzed or filtered to determine data suspected of being of particular significance or relevance in determining topics of interest. Determined topics of interest may be used in advertisement targeting as part of an advertising campaign.

Abstract: A modular search object framework provides modular search results including entity and non-entity search results. The framework includes circuitry that outputs an interactive entity section based on an online search. The interactive section includes a plurality of moveable visual objects, such as cards that can be shuffled, flipped, or swiped around.

Abstract: Briefly, embodiments disclosed herein may relate to formulating synthetic questions, such as in response to a search query, for example. Candidate synthetic questions may be presented to a user who may initiate a search at least in part by selecting one or more candidate synthetic questions, for example, in an embodiment.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a location of a mobile device may be obtained. A direction of movement of the mobile device may be ascertained. A field of vision of a user of the mobile device may be determined based, at least in part, on the location of the mobile device and the direction of movement of the mobile device. A user profile associated with the user and/or the mobile device may be identified. A notification may be provided via the mobile device based, at least in part, upon the user profile and the field of vision of the user.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided for better web ad matching by combining relevance with consumer click feedback. In one example, the method includes receiving a query page, extracting features from the query page, re-weighting the query page, evaluating the query page in light of each ad in order to score each ad and pick substantially best ad matches of the indexed ads, and returning the substantially best ad matches to the consumer computer.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a search query may be obtained. A set of one or more use cases may be determined based, at least in part, upon the search query. A set of one or more search results may be identified based, at least in part, upon the search query. Information that answers the search query for at least one of the set of use cases may be obtained, where the information has been derived from at least a subset of the set of search results. An indication of at least a portion of the information may be provided.

Abstract: The present invention provides techniques for use in association with online advertising, relating to use of serving thresholds, associated with predicted click through rates, and delivery policies, associated with advertising inventory serving and distribution. An offline-trained machine learning-based model may be utilized in advertising serving decision-making in connection with serving opportunities. However, serving thresholds and delivery policies, for use in association with the model in serving decision-making, may be adjusted online, such as in real-time or near real-time, based on information obtained online affecting factors such as predicted click through rates and advertising inventory distribution.

Abstract: A method of indicating the popularity of the subject of a search query comprising receiving a search query from a user, the search query being received by a search server; determining whether the search query is likely to be related to a particular thing; obtaining popularity information for the particular thing; and, transmitting an indicator of the popularity information to a user computer for display. Some embodiments may also include targeted information about the search query subject, including a map showing the search query subject's location, the location of similar things in the same region as the search query subject, one or more advertisements, and the like. The targeted information and/or the popularity information indicator may be displayed with, or separate from search results associated with the search query.

Abstract: A user is authenticated based on feature data of a target such as a body-part or other object obtained by a touchscreen of a computing device. When the user positions the target to interact with the touchscreen, interaction data is gathered. Feature data of the target is determined from the gathered interaction data. The feature data is used to identify one or more of the target and the user. Various actions are executed based on the identification and authentication of the user.

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, is 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.

Abstract: Disclosed is a system and method for analyzing, by a server computer, closed captioning text associated with a media program being experienced by a user having a client device. The server computer obtains, based on the analyzing, a subject matter of a portion of the media program from the closed captioning text. The server computer constructs a query associated with the determined subject matter and submits the query to a computer network as a search query. The server computer receives, in response to the submitting of the query, content relating to the subject matter and measures an elapsed time period between the receiving of the content and the obtaining of the subject matter. If the elapsed time period is less than a predetermined period of time, the server computer communicates, to the client device, information related to the content.

Abstract: Techniques are provided that include targeting a user of a mobile electronic device with an interest-based advertisement, based at least in part on various call logs on a user device. Techniques are provided in which a set of calls from a user's call log from a mobile device are assigned to one or more categories indicative of potential user interests for the purposed of targeted advertisements. The usage pattern of the user's call log takes into account the time of the day, week, and/or month that the user tends to make particular calls to determine recurring patterns and calculate individual metrics for comparison with other users.

Abstract: Disclosed is a system and method for obtaining ad-hoc the spatial layout and setup of installed radio-based indoor tracking systems at particular locations. The systems and methods can be implemented via an installed or web-based application that performs the ad-hoc detection of indoor beacons, which includes detecting the signal strength of all beacons at a location while the user performs a previously configured gesture. From the trajectory of the gesture and the recorded signal strengths, the disclosed systems and methods derive the distance and direction of all beacons, which are laid out in a 2D map. Thus, the present disclosure can implicitly calibrate signal strengths to high-accuracy distances, thereby producing the spatially accurate 2D setup of the previously unknown space, in addition to indoor tracking on a decimeter level, which is efficient and increasingly cost effective for device tracking and advertising purposes.

Abstract: This disclosure describes systems and methods for audibly presenting metadata. Audibly presentable metadata is referred to as audible metadata. Audible metadata may be associated with one or more media objects. In one embodiment, audible metadata is pre-recorded requiring little or no processing before it can be rendered. In another embodiment, audible metadata is text, and a text-to-speech conversion device may be used to convert the text into renderable audible metadata. Audible metadata may be rendered at any point before or after rendering of a media object, or may be rendered during rendering of a media object via a dynamic user request.

Abstract: Techniques are provided that include generating a single script block for placement at a single location on an HTML document in response to a creation of one or more ad units for the HTML document, the single script block including one or more section codes that correspond to one or more content blocks of the HTML document. A syndication script for obtaining logic and metadata is generated for injecting native advertisements in the HTML document based on the one or more section codes. The syndication script is provided in response to a request generated by the single script block, and one or more native advertisements are provided in response to an ad call generated by the syndication script, the one or more native advertisements for injection in the one or more content blocks of the HTML document based on the logic and metadata.

Abstract: A system and method for data privacy in URL based context queries. A reference to a data object is received from a user. At least one entity that controls the data object is identified via the network. At least one permission for the data object is retrieved via the network, wherein the permission is associated with the entity that controls the data object. It is then determined, via the network, if the user is permitted to access to the data object using the permission for the data object and spatial data, temporal data social data and logical data available to the network that relates to the user and to the permission for the data object. If the user is permitted access to the data object, access is granted to the data object, and if the user is nor permitted access to the data object, access is denied to the data object.

Abstract: Techniques are described herein for determining whether to provide an advertisement to a user of a social network. The determination is based on a click probability and a social network value for the user. The click probability indicates a likelihood of the user to select the advertisement if provided to the user via the social network. The social network value is based on a subscription probability of the user and further based on subscription probabilities of other users in the social network that are included in an affinity set of the user. Each subscription probability indicates a likelihood of a respective user to subscribe to a paid service with respect to the social network.

Abstract: Methods and/or systems are provided that may be utilized to recommend a contextual walking route for a number of venues, for example.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method monitors a video-based graphic. The method includes displaying a video-based graphic. A position of a pointer interaction is monitored. The method includes determining a designation of a pixel of the video-based graphic at a location of the pointer interaction. An action is performed based on the designation of the pixel of the video-based graphic at a location of the pointer interaction.

Abstract: The present teaching relates to providing a search result. In one example, a search request is received from a user. A plurality of content items is determined based on the search request. One or more content items are selected from the plurality of content items. A framed structure having at least one sub-component is generated. A correspondence is determined between the one or more content items and the at least one sub-component. Each of the one or more content items is arranged with respect to a corresponding sub-component. A search result is generated based on the one or more content items and the framed structure. The search result is provided.