Abstract: Real-time consumer feedback collection includes: receiving a unique product code from a device associated with a consumer of a product, the unique product code, when decoded, revealing an address of an on-line survey site; providing an interface within the on-line survey site for providing feedback about the product; receiving the feedback; storing the feedback; and supplying the feedback to the producer of the product.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method and system for navigating, by a browser executing on the computing device, to a web page; transmitting by a client-side module executing on the computing device to a server computer over a network a request to the server computer for topics associated with the web page; receiving, by the computing device, a set of (one or more) topics associated with the web page from the server computer; displaying by the browser in a first content area the web page; and displaying by the browser in a second content area the received set of topics associated with the web page.

Abstract: The present invention provides methods and systems for incorporating user information such as a user's errands, tasks, and/or online behavior in determining a preferred route between an origin and a destination using a web map planning service. Potential advertisers can use the user information to target particular users who are traveling near a particular route to give users various options to optimize their travel plans.

Abstract: A method, device and/or medium for generating a user profile based on an online user's self disclosed public status information. An indication may be received of updates self-published by the user at one or more sites. At least one context regarding the user may then be determined based on the published updates, and the context(s) may be employed to infer at least one attribute of the user. A profile of the user may then be determined based at least on the inferred attribute(s). The determined profile may be employed to enable an advertisement to be provided to the user. In this way, a heuristic may be provided for predicting advertising content that may be of interest to the user based on self-published information about the user. Thus, relevant advertisements may be more accurately targeted to those users who may be most interested in their content.

Abstract: Method, system, and programs for providing enhanced search term suggestions. A set of incomplete search terms indicating a sequence of search terms entered may be received. It may be detected that the sequence contains a descending phase followed by an ascending phase. In response to the detection, a pair of misinput term and corresponding corrected term may be identified in the set of incomplete search terms. A probability with respect to the misinput term is a misinput of the corresponding corrected term may be determined based on a historical context. Using such a probability, an incomplete search term containing the misinput term may be corrected. One or more proposed search terms may be determined based on the corrected incomplete search term for suggestion to the user.

Abstract: A system and method to facilitate word-of-mouth advertising and sales support associated with displayed media objects on distributed networks is described. The system provides one or more advocates to a network user accessing advertising of a brand, product, or service. One or more of the advocates may be socially related to the user. User interactions with the advocates are facilitated through a real-time communication network, follow-on commercial activity is tracked, and the value of word-of-mouth advocacy is captured and distributed.

Abstract: Described herein are techniques and systems for online ad campaign pacing. The techniques described herein use budget allocation along with the estimations of bids and response rates. With use of budget allocation, the techniques can use budget pacing to enhance impressions and maximize desired responses, such as desired click-through rates. These techniques focus on enhancing pacing and performance of ad campaigns, such as enhancing performance across distinct and/or unified online ad marketplaces. These techniques are especially useful in the context of a demand-side platform (DSP). In some examples, the techniques assume that impression supply is much larger than advertiser demand for impressions of their ads, so such techniques focus on selecting high performing inventory of ad space. Yet, with such a focus, a smooth or consistent delivery of ads over time is used.

Abstract: A system and method is described by which a business entity provides an incentive to a third party to develop and publish a Web application that facilitates access to a Web service hosted by the business entity. In accordance with the system and method, a user attempts to use the third-party Web application via a Web browser executing on a client device, but fails because the user is unauthorized to use the service. Responsive to attempting to use the third-party Web application, tracking information is downloaded to the client device via the Web browser. The user then accesses a Web application hosted by the business entity to subscribe to the Web service. The Web application hosted by the business entity detects the tracking information stored on the client device and initiates a process for issuing payment to the third party responsive to detecting the tracking information.

Abstract: A method, apparatus, and system are directed towards seeding a user's contacts for their online social network. The invention is arranged to automatically recommend to the user a set of seed contacts that the user may employ to invite to join their social network. The set of seed contacts may be harvested from the user's existing portal activities, as well as other sources. In one embodiment, the invention analyzes portal activity, such as email exchanges with the user, and the like, to determine a frequency of contact with the user. Other sources may include but not be limited to emails, names within an address book of the user, names within an address book of another person, a buddy list, an instant messaging list, an activity, a mailing list, an online discussion group, a membership in a category, chat group, and the like.

Abstract: A system and method for database storage may be dynamically optimized for entity-attribute-value (EAV) data. In one embodiment, this dynamic EAV database may include one column for the entity identification (“ID”) and a second column for the serialized data for that ID (each attribute and the values for those attributes). The database may be dynamically updated to move or copy certain attributes to a separate column. The dynamic updating of one or more attributes may be based on certain factors (seasonal, temporal, usage, etc.), such as frequent requests for a particular attribute. This dynamic updating and indexing of particular attributes may improve certain queries and data requests.

Abstract: In a computerized search system, a document corpus is searched according to a query and results of the search are presentable as an ordered search result set comprising one or more search hits, a search hit being a document of the document corpus or reference thereto. Based on content of the search result set, a number of suggested queries and/or parameter options are presented to a querier, thereby allowing the querier to select a suggested query and/or provide values for the parameters and those selections can be used to reorder the hits of the search result set. The particular suggested queries and/or parameters presented depend on the page elements of the search result set's documents and their categorization. The categorization might be done using concept networks.

Abstract: Techniques are provided for improving the accuracy of analytics on big data using sketches and fixed-size buckets. In a technique for enhancing a unique count (cardinality) estimate of a large data set, a request for a cardinality estimate for the large data set is received. An initial cardinality estimate is determined using a sketch or a fixed-size bucket. If the initial cardinality estimate is within a range where the initial estimate could be further enhanced, the initial estimate is used for a lookup into a lookup table. Based on retrieved values from the lookup table and the initial estimate, an enhanced cardinality estimate is calculated.

Abstract: Techniques are provided for a peer-to-peer web traffic management. A first mapping between identifiers and peers in a network is established. Upon receiving a first request associated with a first identifier and classifiers, based, at least in part, on the first identifier, a first peer retrieves a first global counter snapshot and a first local increment counter, and uses them to determine whether the first peer can service the first request. If the determination is positive, then the first peer services the first request, and updates the first local increment counter. If the first local increment counter exceeded a threshold value, then the first local increment counter is transmitted to a second peer, and then reset to zero. In response to the first peer receiving a first global counter associated with the first global counter snapshot, the first global counter snapshot is updated with the first global counter.

Abstract: A system and method for providing a more relevant user viewing experience on a mobile device includes providing a video application providing access to a virtual video channel store with selectable tiles representing digital video content sources (channels). A user is able to select channels from the virtual channel store and interact with the selections within a graphical user interface that enhances the channel viewing experience.

Abstract: A device, system, and method are directed towards facilitating monetization of mobile devices. A click action server determines click actions that are to be sent to a client device based on one or more factors. The click actions are sent to the client device as links. An action handler receives requests indicating a selected action, and facilitates the performance of the action.

Abstract: A user device is enabled by an audio-visual assistant for audio-visual interaction with a user. The audio-visual assistant enables the user device to track the user's eyes and face to determine objects on the screen that the user is currently observing. Various tasks can be executed on the objects based on further input provided by the user. The user can provide further inputs via facial gestures, voice or combinations thereof for executing the various tasks.

Abstract: Systems and methods for rewriting queries based on data features are disclosed. A data source contains a history of queries and results associated with the queries. A source query is received and a subset of the data source is extracted that is related to the query. Costs are then associated with the associations of the queries and results, and an absorbed cost is determined for each query. The queries having the lowest absorbed cost are recommended for rewrites.

Abstract: A method, apparatus, and system are directed towards seeding a user's contacts for their online social network. The invention is arranged to automatically recommend to the user a set of seed contacts that the user may employ to invite to join their social network. The set of seed contacts may be harvested from the user's existing portal activities, as well as other sources. In one embodiment, the invention analyzes portal activity, such as email exchanges with the user, and the like, to determine a frequency of contact with the user. Other sources may include but not be limited to emails, names within an address book of the user, names within an address book of another person, a buddy list, an instant messaging list, an activity, a mailing list, an online discussion group, a membership in a category, chat group, and the like.

Abstract: A system for serving an advertisement in a networked environment receives data that defines a user selection of an image. The system also selects an advertisement associated with the user selection and communicates the selected advertisement to the user. The data that defines the user selection includes an x selection coordinate, a y selection coordinate, a width, and a height that defines a region of an image. The user selection defines also defines a scene of a video. The system also includes circuitry and logic configured to extract text and to detect objects from an image region defined by the user selection and to select an advertisement associated with any extracted text and/or detected object.

Abstract: Geo-referenced and oriented media items may be used to determine a location of one or more points of interest depicted by the media items. A difference between an actual capture location and orientation and a reported location and orientation may be modeled according to one or more distributions, which distribution(s) may be used to assign one or more weights to each location in the world where such weight(s) may be considered to be a likelihood that a point of interest might have been seen by a capturing device. A density map may be acquired by superimposing the derived likelihoods, and a maximum, e.g., local maximum, may be determined to represent a location of a point of interest.