Abstract: A playback device includes a port configured to receive content from an external memory device, a device memory residing in the device, and a controller programmed to execute instructions that cause the controller to read a read data pattern from the defined region in the external memory device and determine if the read data pattern correlates to an expected data pattern to a predetermined level, wherein the expected data pattern is derived at least in part from a defect map of the defined region.

Abstract: Systems and methods provide for feature selection that combines semantic classification and generative filtering with forward selection. Features from an original feature set are divided into feature subsets corresponding to ranked semantic classes. Additionally, low quality features are removed from consideration. Features are selected for a reduced feature set by iteratively processing the feature subsets using forward selection in an order corresponding to the ranking of the semantic classes. The reduced feature set is used to generate a predictive model.

Abstract: The systems and methods described herein may be used to recommend an item to a consumer. The methods may comprise determining, based on a collaborative filtering algorithm, a consumer relevance value associated with an item, and transmitting, based on the consumer relevance value, information associated with the item to a consumer. A collaborative filtering algorithm may receive as an input at least one of: a transaction history associated with the consumer, a demographic of the consumer, a consumer profile, a type of transaction account, a transaction account associated with the consumer, a period of time that the consumer has held a transaction account, a size of wallet, a share of wallet, and/or the like.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for playing back a media content instance is disclosed. The method permits the use of downloadable variants to upgrade or change cryptographic functions performed by the playback device, thus permitting content protection schemes to be renewed.

Abstract: An approach to facilitating identity-recognition-based promotions using virtual containers is provided. A first virtual container may be associated with a first virtual item set and identified by a first container identifier. Container instances of the first virtual container that are purchased through a store interface during a first time period may be configured to be activated by users in a game space to obtain item instances of virtual items of the first virtual item set. The first virtual container may be modified to be associated with a second virtual item set and identified by the first container identifier. Container instances of the first virtual container that are purchased during a second time period may be container instances of the modified first virtual container that are configured to be activated by the users in the game space to obtain item instances of virtual items of the second virtual item set.

Abstract: Disclosed is a system and method for integrating email, SMS, and social media based transactions with interactive television or standard cable with Internet access to make payments. Disclosed is a method to tie together a vendor and a cable provider with an e-commerce system leveraging each entity's customer information to streamline the payment process. Also disclosed are multiple methods to allow customers to make messaging based payments via interactive cable television features. The messaging allows for payments based on various levels of convergence between Internet and cable television experiences.

Abstract: Classification of the user of an attention application is moved from the cloud, where the classification is performed by advertisers based on trackers that follow a user, to the attention application itself. A user of the attention application controls inputs to the classification model and can exclude sensitive privacy information from inclusion in the classification model. The classification model is applied locally at the attention application to a catalog of advertisements and without revealing to trackers and advertisers whether attention was paid to particular ads. An analytics provider may have increased access to attention applications and can form ad campaigns and provide performance data thereon to advertisers without infringing attention user privacy. The system directs value away from trackers and advertisers and to attention application users and publishers.

Abstract: For providing a targeted advertisement to a user, a referral server sends, to a financial platform server, a request for fetching the financial information of the user. The referral server receives, from the financial platform server, a reply containing the financial information of the user. The referral server analyses the financial information of the user to determine one or more behavioural attributes of the user. The referral server uses the one or more behavioural attributes of the user to define a behavioural profile of the user. The referral server may send to a device of the user a code sequence related to a marketing campaign selected according to the behavioural profile of the user. The marketing campaign may be selected by calculating a conversion rate for each of a plurality of marketing campaigns.

Abstract: This technology relates to requesting missing data associated with a geographic location. The system may comprise a memory for storing lists of information elements each associated with one or more physical types of geographic locations and a processor. The processor may be programmed to receive a current location of a client device and determine the current location is proximate to a first geographic location. The processor may determine a physical location type of the first geographic location and retrieve a list of information elements associated with the physical location type. The list of items may be compared to a set of information elements associated with the first geographic location and a determination of a missing information element may be made. A notification may be generated based on the missing information element and the determination that the client device is proximate to the first geographic location.

Abstract: Methods, computer program products, and systems are presented. The methods include, for instance: receiving, by one or more processor, floor area data, zone data, trigger interaction data, and notification data associated with the products offered for sale in the different zones. The method can include receiving, by the one or more processor, triggering event data regarding a product or products in response to user interaction with a mobile device in the venue and location data of the mobile device in the venue at the time of the triggering event data, automatically determining whether the received triggering event data and the received location data match an associated zone data and trigger interaction data, and automatically sending an associated notification to the mobile device regarding purchase of a product or products in the venue.

Abstract: Systems, apparatus, and methods for providing promotions to consumers based on search queries are discussed herein. Some embodiments may include a system including circuitry configured to receive a search query from a consumer device. The circuitry may be further configured to determine a related promotion to the search query based on having received the search query from consumers in connection with promotion purchase data indicating purchase of the related promotion, such as may be indicated by historical data. Furthermore, the circuitry may provide an impression of the related promotion to the consumer device based on the search query. Consumer interactions with the system may be tracked as historical data and leveraged to provide one or more related promotions that are relevant and/or related to the search query.

Abstract: A system and method are disclosed for providing an in-game offer to one or more users of an online game. The offer is provided to users that have parameters and/or characteristics meeting administrator defined parameters and/or characteristics. In some implementations, the offer may be meant to incentivize purchase of the offer by providing one or more bonus items upon the offer being selected by the player. Both the offer and the bonus may be presented to the user prior to selection of the offer. The offer and the bonus item may only be available to the user for a defined period of time.

Abstract: The disclosure relates to securing and enabling user control of profiling data, blockchain-driven matching of users and advertiser-identified anonymous profiling data records of interest, and smart contracts encoded by blockchain for executing transactions. The system may include an anonymized database of profiling data, which is unlinked to any user. The system may implement a private blockchain to store user-defined settings that provide user control over whether and how the profiling data may be used. If a grant to use the data is received, a link is stored that allows the system to identify a user associated with the anonymous profiling data records. If the grant is revoked, the link may be removed. The system may also implement public blockchain technology to record a public information relating to grants, online marketing transactions, making them verifiable, immutable, and transparent for various stakeholders including advertisers, publishers, and users.

Abstract: A system may include a memory that includes a database of retailer-supplied promotions associated with a first plurality of brand items, and a database of promotions associated with a second plurality of brand items. The system also includes a communications interface configured to communicate with a remote device and a processor coupled to the memory and the communication interface. The processor is configured to determine whether a given promotion matches any retailer-supplied promotion, and when the given promotion matches, then not send a corresponding digital promotion via the communications interface to the remote device. The processor is also configured to, when the given promotion does not match, then send the corresponding digital promotion via the communications interface to the remote device for redemption.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an interactive advertising system and method of using the system. A plurality of removable RFID devices are disposed on a panel which is separate from an advertising graphic that is supported in an illuminated frame. Activation of one of the RFID devices illuminates a portion of the advertising graphic.

Abstract: Embodiments of a system method and computer program product for selecting an advertisement and presenting it to a user are described. Products and services offered by various merchants are read using a merchant specific catalog and stored in a common format. Categories for such products and services are normalized and virtual categories are created using various product attributes. Visual creatives, termed as ad-templates are created to control the visual and interactive aspects of the ad, including ad-size, color, as well as product attributes that are displayed in the ad. Ad-templates may be constrained to specific products or product categories. A learning algorithm uses an adaptive sampling process to sample various products, product categories and ad-templates independently for different learning units such as individual users, groups of users determined by some demographics, individual web pages and groups of web pages grouped using various similarity criteria.

Abstract: In non-limiting examples of the present disclosure, systems, methods and devices for recommending content are presented. An electronic communication between a plurality of members of a common entity may be received. A link to web content in the electronic communication may be identified. A number of instances that the link has been electronically shared with members of the common entity may be determined. A determination may be made as to whether a content propagation threshold has been exceeded based on electronic sharing of the link amongst members of the common entity. The link may be provided for propagation upon determining that the content propagation threshold has been exceeded.

Abstract: Disclosed is a system and method for email management that leverages information derived from automatically generated templates in order to identify types of message and message content. The systems and methods discussed herein involve identifying messages matching specific template types and structures, and automatically extracting important data from email messages matching those templates. The extracted data enables improvements for a user's experience and increased monetization. That is, templates can be analyzed to determine a type of email message, which in turn can be presented to a receiving user within an automatic folder or tag designation. Additionally, email snippets or previews can be generated from the extracted data for display within a user's inbox. Also, the extracted data can be used for monetization purposes, by serving targeted advertisements based upon the data extracted from such messages.

Abstract: Content presented to a user of an online system is presented along with an option allowing the user to view one or more reasons for presentation of the advertisement content to the user and one or more characteristics of the user satisfying targeting criteria associated with the content. For example, a description identifying one or more selected characteristics of the user satisfying the targeting criteria is presented along with the content. The online system selects the one or more characteristics presented along with the content by applying one or more rules to characteristics of the user satisfying targeting criteria included in the content. The rules may account for accuracy of models used to determine whether the user has characteristics, revenue received by the online system from presenting content associated with targeting criteria identifying various characteristics, or prevalence of characteristics among users or targeting criteria of content.

Abstract: According to the present invention, a user device can obtain together, from an advertisement server for providing an advertisement service, via a neighbor access point device, update condition information on advertisement information in the course of obtaining the advertisement information. In addition, if the update condition information is satisfactory, the user device requests the advertisement information from the advertisement server via an AP and stores the advertisement information received in response to the request, thereby being capable of updating the advertisement information.