Personalized interactive digital catalog profiling

• US 20030028451A1
• Filed: 07/26/2002
• Published: 02/06/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intentionize LLC
• Original Assignee: Haven Networks Incorporated
• Inventors: Ananian, John Allen
• Granted Patent: US 7,013,290 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/27
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6254 by anonymising data, e.g. decorrelating personal data from the owner's identification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0615 Anonymizing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2463/102 applying security measure for e-commerce
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

An interactive and enhanced digital Instant Catalog of products, services, and information that is personalized or personally profiled, to each unique user of the catalog. The catalog instantly and intelligently captures, stores, manages, and processes self-selected, reusable and “re-distributable” catalog groupings anonymously, for personalizing, enhancing, monitoring, tracking, and peer sharing through multiple mediums and platforms by intelligent agents for a variety of user and vendor specified purposes. The personally profiled cataloged information can be viewed instantaneously and simultaneously by each effected component or member of a supply chain, at the time the product or service has been cataloged, without identifying the cataloger. The user, who preferably employs a Web browser over the Internet, personalizes the interactively produced intelligent catalog content. Products, services, and information groupings are digitally captured and stored by an intelligent catalog agent for enhanced personalized interaction and networking through a peer sharing network, or through an open catalog exchange. The user has the ability to create their own individualized world of products, services, and information that is contextually tailored to each user'"'"'s unique environment in real-time. Web services hosted within a personal Extranet can anonymously assist and facilitate a context specific task or service insightfully and spontaneously. Through the selective cataloging of multi-vendor products, services, and information, a user is able to fully control, personalize, enhance and share, any lifestyle interest captured from ITV, print, the World Wide Web, businesses, and peers.

Claims

1. A cataloging method, comprising:

providing a catalog server system having a vendor interface and a user interface, the vendor interface being configured to enable a plurality of vendors to register catalog entries for a plurality of products with the catalog server system, the user interface being configured to enable a user to perform a cataloging action related to one or more of the product catalog entries, the catalog server system including a data store configured to store a user profile for each user of the catalog server system;

registering a plurality of product catalog entries via the vendor interface of the catalog server system;

receiving a user command via the user interface of the catalog server system to perform a cataloging action for a selected product;

creating a personalized user catalog including the product catalog entry for the selected product;

displaying the user catalog on the user interface of the user communication device;

updating a corresponding user profile based on the cataloging action; and

sharing information related to the user profile with vendors via the vendor interface in an anonymous manner that does not reveal a user'"'"'s identity.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each catalog entry includes product attributes that are cross-referenced with products attributes of products of other vendors.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying the user interface on a user communication device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the user communication device is a computing device.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the user communication device is a portable computing device.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the user communication device includes a wireless transceiver.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the user communication device includes a scanner, and wherein receiving a user command to catalog a product includes scanning a reference identifier on a product.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein information related to a particular product is accessible via the vendor interface by manufacturers, suppliers, and retailers of the product.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the user command is made at the point of purchase of a product.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the user command is made by selecting a selector on an interactive audiovisual site.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the interactive audiovisual site is a web site.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the interactive audiovisual site is an interactive television site.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining recommended products to appear in the user personalized catalog, based on the product attributes and the user profile.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting the user profile to a task-specific service application, and personalizing the output of the task-specific service application based on the user profile.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising identifying peers of a user.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising providing the peers access to at least a portion of the user personalized catalog.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising storing peer data for each user of the catalog system, the peer data including a list of a user'"'"'s peers and settings specifying which, if any, of the user personalized catalog entries to share with a user'"'"'s peers.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising sharing information related to the peer data with third parties in an anonymous manner that does not reveal a user'"'"'s identity.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving and storing personal data of a user in a corresponding user profile.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the personal data describes the user demographically but does not reveal the identity of the user.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the user catalog is created at least in part based on the personal data in the user profile.

22. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving and storing asset data for the user in the user profile.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the asset data includes information regarding assets owned or purchased by the user.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the user catalog is created at least in part based on the asset data in the user profile.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein at least a portion of the asset data is determined from purchase records related to the user.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein at least a portion of the asset data is related to assets already owned by the user, and is input into the catalog server system by the user.

27. A cataloging method, comprising:

providing a catalog server system;

assigning a user an anonymous token that permits access to the catalog server system;

storing one or more user characteristics in a data store accessible to the catalog server system;

receiving a request from the user via a user communication device to create a catalog personalized to the user characteristics;

transmitting a user personalized catalog based on the user characteristics to the user communication device;

creating a profile of the user based on the user personalized catalog and/or other associated user transactions;

transmitting portions of the user profile, alone or in aggregate with other user profiles, to a vendor in an anonymous manner that does not reveal the identity of a user.

28. A catalog server system for use with a user communication device and a vendor communication device, the system comprising:

a server having a catalog generation engine and a market research engine;

a data store accessible to the server, the data store being configured to store a user profile for each user of the catalog server system;

a vendor interface served by the server, the vendor interface being configured to enable a plurality of vendors to register catalog entries for a plurality of products with the server;

a user interface served by the server, the user interface being configured to enable a user to input a command for a cataloging action related to one or more of the product catalog entries;

a catalog engine configured to generate a user-personalized catalog in response to the user'"'"'s command, the user-personalized catalog containing information on products selected by the user, the catalog generation system being further configured to update the user profile based on the user-personalized catalog; and

a market research engine configured to create anonymous market research data based on the user profile data;

wherein the vendor interface is configured to share the anonymous market research data with vendors in an anonymous manner that does not reveal a user'"'"'s identity.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein each catalog entry includes product attributes that are cross-referenced with products attributes of products of other vendors.

30. The system of claim 28, wherein the user interface is displayed on a user communication device.

31. The system of claim 30, wherein the user communication device is a computing device.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein the user communication device is a portable computing device.

33. The system of claim 32, wherein the user communication device includes a wireless transceiver.

34. The system of claim 31, wherein the user communication device includes a scanner, and wherein receiving a user command to catalog a product includes scanning a reference identifier on a product.

35. The system of claim 28, wherein information related to a particular product is accessible via the vendor interface by manufacturers, suppliers, and retailers of the product.

36. The system of claim 35, wherein the user command is made at the point of purchase of a product.

37. The system of claim 35, wherein the user command is made by selecting a selector on an interactive audiovisual site.

38. The system of claim 37, wherein the interactive audiovisual site is a web site.

39. The system of claim 37, wherein the interactive audiovisual site is an interactive television site.

40. The system of claim 28, wherein the catalog engine is configured to determine recommended products to appear in the user personalized catalog, based on the product attributes and the user profile.

41. The system of claim 28, wherein the user interface is configured to identify peers of a user.

42. The system of claim 41, wherein the server is configured to provide the peers access to at least a portion of the user personalized catalog.

43. The system of claim 42, wherein the server is configured to store peer data for each user, the peer data including a list of a user'"'"'s peers and settings specifying which, if any, of the user personalized catalog entries to share with a user'"'"'s peers.

44. The system of claim 43, wherein the marketing engine is configured to calculate market research data based at least in part on the peer data.

45. The system of claim 28, wherein the user interface is configured to receive and store personal data of a user in a corresponding user profile.

46. The system of claim 45, wherein the personal data describes the user demographically but does not reveal the identity of the user.

47. The system of claim 45, wherein the catalog engine is configured to create the user catalog at least in part based on the personal data in the user profile.

48. The system of claim 28, wherein the user interface is configured to receive and store asset data for the user in the user profile.

49. The method of claim 48, wherein the asset data includes information regarding assets owned or purchased by the user.

50. The method of claim 49, wherein the catalog engine is configured to create the user catalog at least in part based on the asset data in the user profile.

51. The method of claim 50, wherein at least a portion of the asset data is determined from purchase records related to the user.

52. The method of claim 50, wherein at least a portion of the asset data is related to assets already owned by the user, and is input into the catalog server system by the user.

53. The method of claim 50, wherein the market research engine is configured to calculate the market research data based at least in part on the user asset data.