System, method and apparatus for increasing website relevance while protecting privacy

• US 10,277,600 B2
• Filed: 02/19/2018
• Issued: 04/30/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Your Command LLC
• Original Assignee: Your Command LLC
• Inventors: Peckover, Douglas
• Primary Examiner(s): Popham, Jeffrey D.
• Application Number:
  US15/899,231
• Publication Number:
  US 20180191724A1
• Time in Patent Office: 435 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0807 using tickets, e.g. Kerberos cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using tickets or tokens H04L9/3213
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources

Abstract

The present invention provides a system, method and apparatus for increasing relevance of a content provided to a visitor by a content provider by providing one or more server computers and at least one data storage communicably coupled to the one or more server computers, receiving at least a portion of a visitor token and at least a portion of a content provider token at the one or more server computers from a content provider device, determining whether a release of an anonymous unfilled demand for the visitor is authorized based on the visitor token, the content provider token and one or more preferences stored in the at least one data storage, and sending at least a portion of the anonymous unfilled demand for the visitor to the content provider device when the release is authorized.

Claims

1. A computerized method for increasing relevance of a content provided to a visitor by a content provider, the method comprising:

providing a server computer and at least one data storage communicably coupled to the server computer;

receiving at least a portion of a visitor token and at least a portion of a content provider token at the server computer;

the server computer performs the following solely in response to receiving the visitor token and the content provider token without any request from the visitor;

determining whether a release of an anonymous unfilled demand for the visitor is authorized based on the visitor token, the content provider token and one or more preferences stored in the at least one data storage;

updating the visitor token and the content provider token to indicate that the release is not authorized;

updating the visitor token and the content provider token to include at least a portion of the anonymous unfilled demand for the visitor when the release is authorized; and

sending the updated visitor token and the updated content provider token.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

receiving one or more preferences from a visitor device or a content provider device;

storing the one or more preferences in the data storage;

creating the visitor token for the visitor or the content token for the content provider; and

sending the visitor token to the visitor device or the content token for the content provider.

3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the visitor token does not contain any personal information.

4. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the visitor token comprises a cookie, a digital certificate or an electronic passport.

5. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the one or more preferences comprise one or more general preferences, one or more payment preferences;

one or more contact preferences, or a combination thereof.

6. The method as recited in claim 5, wherein the one or more general preferences for the content provider comprise the content provider'"'"'s own privacy policy and terms of service, a preferred language, a preferred location, one or more requested categories of interest served by the content provider, a maximum number of consecutive unanswered messages permitted from a visitor, or a minimum visitor rating.

7. The method as recited in claim 5, wherein the one or more general preferences for the visitor comprise a language preference, location preference, an advertisement preference, one or more requested categories of interest, one or more requested category attributes of interest, a maximum number of consecutive unanswered messages permitted from the content provider, a minimum privacy score, or a minimum content provider rating.

8. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein the one or more requested categories of interest and the one or more requested category attributes of interest are selected using one or more drop down boxes, one or more check boxes, one or more radio buttons, one or more thumbnail pictures or videos, voice recognition, a fuzzy logic algorithm, or a neural network.

9. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein two or more of the requested categories of interest are grouped into one or more subject areas.

10. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein:

the subject areas comprise one of real estate, motor vehicles, employment, financial services, residential services, professional services, travel, vacation, computers, entertainment, dining, dating, hobbies, electronics, furniture, tools, home improvement, office supplies, household items, sporting goods, sporting events, recreation, or event tickets;

the requested categories of interest within the real estate subject area comprise houses, apartments, land, farms, commercial, insurance, finance or moving/storage;

the requested categories of interest within the motor vehicles subject area comprise cars, trucks, recreational, repairs, insurance or finance;

the requested categories of interest within the employment subject area comprise administrative, professional, education, healthcare, retail or manufacturing;

the requested categories of interest within the financial services subject area comprise mortgages, loans, brokerage accounts, mutual funds, small business or bill pay;

the requested categories of interest within the residential services subject area comprise plumber, electrician, lawn &

garden, appliance repair, remodeling or cleaning; and

the requested categories of interest within the professional services subject area comprise attorneys, accountants or computer services.

11. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the visitor device or the content provider device comprise a computer, a laptop, a handheld computer, a personal data assistant, a telephone, a mobile telephone, a portable media player, a portable communications device, a facsimile device, or a Web-enabled device.

12. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein:

the content comprises text, graphics, audio, video, hypertext links, music, video, applications, software, or a combination thereof; and

the content provider comprises a search engine, a website, a service provider, an equipment provider, a device, an individual, an organization, a company, a governmental entity.

13. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising updating a log file on the server computer or the data storage.

14. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

creating a regular content at a content provider device whenever the release was not authorized; and

sending the regular content from the content provider device to a visitor device.

15. The method as recited in claim 14, further comprising displaying a warning on the visitor device whenever the release was not authorized.

16. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

creating a relevant content based on the at least the portion of the anonymous unfilled demand for the visitor at a content provider device whenever the release was authorized; and

sending the relevant content from the content provider device to a visitor device.

17. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising preparing a customized seal for the content provider whenever the release is authorized.

18. The method as recited in claim 17, further comprising the sending the customized seal with the content from the content provider to a visitor device.

19. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising determining a privacy score for the content provider and sending the privacy score with the content from the content provider to a visitor device.

20. The method as recited in claim 19, further comprising incorporating the privacy score in a customized seal.

21. The method as recited in claim 19, wherein the privacy score is displayed on the visitor device as a number, a graphic or both along with the content from the content provider.

22. The method as recited in claim 19, wherein the privacy score is determined based on a content provider rating, how the content provider settles disputes, how the content provider uses visitor behavioral profiles, spyware, cookies, Web beacons, Web bugs, adware, spam, visitor personal information, or a combination thereof.

23. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising providing a messaging system between the visitor and the content provider.

24. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising creating and sending the visitor token and the content provider token by the server computer.

25. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the portion of the anonymous unfilled demand for the visitor does not reveal an identity of the visitor.

26. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein a receiving device of the visitor or the content provider controls a receipt of any messages from a sending device to the receiving device.

27. An apparatus for increasing relevance of a content provided to a visitor by a content provider comprising:

a server computer;

at least one data storage communicably coupled to the server computer; and

the server computer (a) receives at least a portion of a visitor token and at least a portion of a content provider token at the server computer, wherein the visitor token and the content provider token were previously created and sent by the server computer, and the following are performed solely in response to receiving the visitor token and the content token without any request from the visitor;

(b) determines whether a release of an anonymous unfilled demand for the visitor is authorized based on the visitor token, the content provider token and one or more preferences stored in the at least one data storage, (c) updates the visitor token and the content provider token to indicate that the release is not authorized, (d) updates the visitor token and the content provider token to include at least a portion of the anonymous unfilled demand for the visitor when the release is authorized, and (e) sends the updated visitor token and the updated content provider token.

28. The apparatus as recited in claim 27, wherein the server computer:

receives one or more preferences from a visitor device or a content provider device;

stores the one or more preferences in the data storage;

creates the visitor token for the visitor or the content token for the content provider; and

sending the visitor token to the visitor device or the content token for the content provider.

29. The apparatus as recited in claim 28, wherein the visitor token does not contain any personal information.

30. The apparatus as recited in claim 28, wherein the visitor token comprises a cookie, a digital certificate or an electronic passport.

31. The apparatus as recited in claim 28, wherein the one or more preferences comprise one or more general preferences, one or more payment preferences, one or more contact preferences, or a combination thereof.

32. The apparatus as recited in claim 27, wherein the server computer updates a log file on the server computer or the data storage.

33. The apparatus as recited in claim 27, wherein:

regular content is created at a content provider device whenever the release was not authorized; and

regular content is sent from the content provider device to a visitor device.

34. The apparatus as recited in claim 33, wherein a warning is displayed on the visitor device whenever the release was not authorized.

35. The apparatus as recited in claim 27, wherein:

a relevant content is created based on the at least the portion of the anonymous unfilled demand for the visitor at a content provider device whenever the release was authorized; and

the relevant content is sent from the content provider device to a visitor device.

36. The apparatus as recited in claim 27, wherein a customized seal is prepared for the content provider whenever the release is authorized.

37. The apparatus as recited in claim 36, wherein the customized seal is sent with the content from the content provider to a visitor device.

38. The apparatus as recited in claim 27, wherein a privacy score is determined for the content provider and the privacy score is sent with the content from the content provider to a visitor device.

39. The apparatus as recited in claim 38, wherein the privacy score is incorporated in a customized seal.

40. The apparatus as recited in claim 38, wherein the privacy score is displayed on the visitor device as a number, a graphic or both along with the content from the content provider.

41. The apparatus as recited in claim 38, wherein the privacy score is determined based on a content provider rating, how the content provider settles disputes, how the content provider uses visitor behavioral profiles, spyware, cookies, Web beacons, Web bugs, adware, spam, visitor personal information, or a combination thereof.

42. The apparatus as recited in claim 27, further comprising a messaging system between the visitor and the content provider.

43. The apparatus as recited in claim 27, wherein the visitor token and the content provider token are created and sent by the server computer.

44. The apparatus as recited in claim 27, wherein the portion of the anonymous unfilled demand for the visitor does not reveal an identity of the visitor.

45. The apparatus as recited in claim 27, wherein a receiving device of the visitor or the content provider controls a receipt of any messages from a sending device to the receiving device.

46. A system for increasing relevance of a content provided to a visitor by a content provider comprising:

a network;

one or more visitor devices communicably coupled to the network;

one or more content provider devices communicably coupled to the network;

server computer communicably coupled to the network;

at least one data storage communicably coupled to the server computer; and

the server computer (a) receives at least a portion of a visitor token and at least a portion of a content provider token at the server computer from the content provider device, and the following are performed solely in response to receiving the visitor token and the content token from the content provider device without any request from the visitor;

(b) determines whether a release of an anonymous unfilled demand for the visitor is authorized based on the visitor token, the content provider token and one or more preferences stored in the at least one data storage, (c) updates the visitor token and the content provider token to indicate that the release is not authorized, (d) updates the visitor token and the content provider token to include at least a portion of the anonymous unfilled demand for the visitor when the release is authorized, and (e) sends the updated visitor token and the updated content provider token to the content provider device.

47. The system as recited in claim 46, wherein the server computer:

receives one or more preferences from a visitor device or a content provider device;

stores the one or more preferences in the data storage;

creates the visitor token for the visitor or the content token for the content provider; and

sending the visitor token to the visitor device or the content token for the content provider.

48. The system as recited in claim 47, wherein the visitor token does not contain any personal information.

49. The system as recited in claim 47, wherein the visitor token comprises a cookie, a digital certificate or an electronic passport.

50. The system as recited in claim 47, wherein the one or more preferences comprise one or more general preferences, one or more payment preferences, one or more contact preferences, or a combination thereof.

51. The system as recited in claim 46, wherein the server computer updates a log file on the server computer or the data storage.

52. The system as recited in claim 46, wherein:

regular content is created at a content provider device whenever the release was not authorized; and

regular content is sent from the content provider device to a visitor device.

53. The system as recited in claim 52, wherein a warning is displayed on the visitor device whenever the release was not authorized.

54. The system as recited in claim 46, wherein:

a relevant content is created based on the at least the portion of the anonymous unfilled demand for the visitor at a content provider device whenever the release was authorized; and

the relevant content is sent from the content provider device to a visitor device.

55. The system as recited in claim 46, wherein a customized seal is prepared for the content provider whenever the release is authorized.

56. The system as recited in claim 55, wherein the customized seal is sent with the content from the content provider to a visitor device.

57. The system as recited in claim 46, wherein a privacy score is determined for the content provider and the privacy score is sent with the content from the content provider to a visitor device.

58. The system as recited in claim 57, wherein the privacy score is incorporated in a customized seal.

59. The system as recited in claim 57, wherein the privacy score is displayed on the visitor device as a number, a graphic or both along with the content from the content provider.

60. The system as recited in claim 57, wherein the privacy score is determined based on a content provider rating, how the content provider settles disputes, how the content provider uses visitor behavioral profiles, spyware, cookies, Web beacons, Web bugs, adware, spam, visitor personal information, or a combination thereof.

61. The system as recited in claim 46, further comprising a messaging system between the visitor and the content provider.

62. The system as recited in claim 46, wherein the visitor token and the content provider token are created and sent by the server computer.

63. The system as recited in claim 46, wherein the portion of the anonymous unfilled demand for the visitor does not reveal an identity of the visitor.

64. The system as recited in claim 46, wherein a receiving device of the visitor or the content provider controls a receipt of any messages from a sending device to the receiving device.

65. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a computer program for increasing relevance of a content provided to a visitor by a content provider, the computer program comprising program instructions that when executed by a processor cause the processor to:

receive at least a portion of a visitor token and at least a portion of a content provider token at the processor;

determine whether a release of an anonymous unfilled demand for the visitor is authorized based on the visitor token, the content provider token and one or more preferences stored in at least one data storage communicably coupled to the processor;

the processor performs the following solely in response to receiving the visitor token and the content provider token without any request from the visitor;

updates the visitor token and the content provider token to indicate that the release is not authorized;

updates the visitor token and the content provider token to include at least a portion of the anonymous unfilled demand for the visitor when the release is authorized; and

sends the updated visitor token and the updated content provider token.