Method and apparatus for recommending television programming through a celebrity or using a celebrity profile

• US 20020138836A1
• Filed: 03/23/2001
• Published: 09/26/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Zimmerman, John
• Application Number:
  US09/815,856
• Publication Number:
  US 20020138836A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/252 Processing of multiple end-users' preferences to derive collaborative data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/466 Learning process for intelligent management, e.g. learning user preferences for recommending movies services using the results of monitoring in broadcast systems H04H60/61
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4661 Deriving a combined profile for a plurality of end-users of the same client, e.g. for family members within a home user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4826 using recommendation lists, e.g. of programs or channels sorted out according to their score
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

A method for making a recommendation in a lifestyle recommendation machine. The method includes the steps of: generating a user profile based on explicit and/or implicit directions of a user; making a recommendation for an item, service, and/or event based on the user profile; and reporting the recommendation to the user through an agent, where the agent is preferably a celebrity. In another embodiment the method includes the steps of: substituting a user profile based on explicit and/or implicit directions of a user with a celebrity profile of a celebrity; making a recommendation for an item, service, and/or event based on the celebrity profile; and reporting the recommendation to the user.

Claims

1. A method for making a recommendation in a lifestyle recommendation machine, the method comprising the steps of:

generating a user profile based on explicit and/or implicit directions of a user;

making a recommendation for an item, service, and/or event based on the user profile; and

reporting the recommendation to the user through an agent.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the recommendation is a recommendation of television programming.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the agent is a celebrity.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the reporting step comprises displaying a video of the agent and playing accompanying audio which announces the recommendation.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the reporting step comprises displaying a still image of the agent.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the reporting step further comprises displaying a textual message which announces the recommendation.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the reporting step further comprises playing accompanying audio which announces the recommendation.

8. A lifestyle recommendation device comprising:

means for generating a user profile based on explicit and/or implicit directions of a user;

means for making a recommendation for an item, service, and/or event based on the user profile; and

reporting means for reporting the recommendation to the user through an agent.

9. The device of claim 8, wherein the lifestyle recommendation device is a television programming storage device.

10. The device of claim 8, wherein the agent is a celebrity.

11. The device of claim 8, wherein the reporting means comprises means for displaying a video of the agent and playing accompanying audio which announces the recommendation.

12. The device of claim 8, wherein the reporting means comprises means for displaying a still image of the agent.

13. The device of claim 12, wherein the reporting means further comprises means for displaying a textual message which announces the recommendation.

14. The device of claim 12, wherein the reporting means further comprises means for playing accompanying audio which announces the recommendation.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the substituting step comprises downloading the celebrity profile from an external source.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the reporting step comprises reporting the recommendation to the user through an agent.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the agent is the celebrity.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the reporting step comprises displaying a video of the celebrity and playing accompanying audio which announces the recommendation.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the reporting step comprises displaying a still image of the celebrity.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the reporting step further comprises displaying a textual message which announces the recommendation.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the reporting step further comprises playing accompanying audio which announces the recommendation.

15. A program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for making a recommendation in a lifestyle recommendation machine, the method comprising the steps of:

generating a user profile based on explicit and/or implicit directions of a user;

making a recommendation for an item, service, and/or event based on the user profile; and

reporting the recommendation to the user through an agent.

16. A computer program product embodied in a computer-readable medium for making a recommendation in a lifestyle recommendation machine, the computer program product comprising:

computer readable program code means for generating a user profile based on explicit and/or implicit directions of a user;

computer readable program code means for generating making a recommendation for an item, service, and/or event based on the user profile; and

computer readable program code means for generating reporting the recommendation to the user through an agent.

17. A method for making a recommendation in a lifestyle recommendation machine, the method comprising the steps of:

substituting a user profile based on explicit and/or implicit directions of a user with a celebrity profile of a celebrity;

making a recommendation for an item, service, and/or event based on the celebrity profile; and

reporting the recommendation to the user.