METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR AUGMENTING AND TRACKING WEB CONTENT

• US 20080021895A1
• Filed: 07/17/2007
• Published: 01/24/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/02/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vibrant Media Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Vibrant Media Incorporated
• Inventors: Gooding, Craig, Stevenson, Douglas
• Granted Patent: US 7,698,311 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/5
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9566 URL specific, e.g. using aliases, detecting broken or misspelled links
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/959 Network
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/966 Distributed
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation

Abstract

A system for augmenting data from a source data file with data from a reference database to generate an augmented data file and tracking the augmented data file is provided. The system includes a reference database including at least one reference datum. A handler component is configured to retrieve a source data file including the structured datum. A locator component is configured to locate the structured datum in the source data file; an analyzer component configured to associate the identified structured datum to one reference datum to create an association according to an analyzing strategy. A generating component is configured to generate a hyperlink based upon the association and embeds the generated hyperlink and an identification code in the source file to create and track an augmented data file.

Claims

1. A system for augmenting and tracking data files, comprising:

a reference database including a reference datum;

a handler component configured to retrieve a source data file including a structured datum;

a locator component configured to locate the structured datum in the source data file;

an analyzer component configured to associate the structured datum to the reference datum;

a generating component configured to embed an association of the structured datum and the reference datum in the source data file to generate an augmented data file, the embedded association including an identification code; and

a communication component configured to transmit the augmented data file to a computing device, receive a first identifier from the computing device corresponding to a pointer being positioned over the structured datum in the computing device, the first identifier including the identification code, responsive to receiving the first identifier, transmit additional information from the reference database according to the association to the computing device, the additional information being displayable as an overlay in an area proximate to the structured datum simultaneous to the pointer being positioned over the structured datum, receive a second identifier from the computing device corresponding to a user selection of the additional information, and responsive to receiving the second identifier, track the user selection of the additional information.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the source data file is stored at an address on a network.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the network is a public network.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the network is the Internet.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the source data file comprises a first web page, the augmented data file comprises a second web page generated based on the first web page, and the structured datum comprises at least one word.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the reference datum includes a first uniform resource locator address.

7. The system as defined in claim 6, wherein the first uniform resource locator address is the location of an advertisement.

8. A software program stored on a computer-readable medium for augmenting and tracking data files, comprising:

a reference database including a reference datum;

a handler component configured to retrieve a source data file including a structured datum;

a locator component configured to locate the structured datum in the source data file;

an analyzer component configured to associate the structured datum to the reference datum;

a generating component configured to embed an association of the structured datum and the reference datum in the source data file to generate an augmented data file, the embedded association including an identification code; and

a communication component configured to transmit the augmented data file to a computing device, receive a first identifier from the computing device corresponding to a pointer being positioned over the structured datum in the computing device, the first identifier including the identification code, responsive to receiving the first identifier, transmit additional information from the reference database according to the association to the computing device, the additional information being displayable as an overlay in an area proximate to the structured datum simultaneous to the pointer being positioned over the structured datum, receive a second identifier from the computing device corresponding to a user selection of the additional information, and responsive to receiving the second identifier, track the user selection of the additional information.

9. The software program of claim 8, wherein the source data file is stored at an address on a network.

10. The software program of claim 9, wherein the network is a public network.

11. The software program of claim 9, wherein the network is the Internet.

12. The software program of claim 8, wherein the source data file comprises a first web page, the augmented data file comprises a second web page generated based on the first web page, and the structured datum comprises at least one word.

13. The software program of claim 8, wherein the reference datum includes a first uniform resource locator address.

14. The software program as defined in claim 13, wherein the first uniform resource locator address is the location of an advertisement.

15. A method for augmenting and tracking data files, comprising:

augmenting a source data file, comprising;

reading a structured datum from the source data file,

locating a reference datum in a reference database corresponding to the structured datum,

generating an association of the reference datum and the structured datum, the association including an identification code, and

augmenting the source data file with the generated association to create an augmented data file;

transmitting the augmented data file to a computing device;

receiving a first identifier from the computing device corresponding to a pointer being positioned over the structured datum in the computing device, the first identifier including the identification code;

responsive to receiving the first identifier, transmitting additional information from the reference database according to the association to the computing device, the additional information being displayable as an overlay in an area proximate to the structured datum simultaneous to the pointer being positioned over the structured datum;

receiving a second identifier from the computing device corresponding to a user selection of the additional information; and

responsive to receiving the second identifier, tracking the user selection of the additional information.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the source data file is stored at an address on a network.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the network is a public network.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the network is the Internet.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the source data file comprises a first web page, the augmented data file comprises a second web page generated based on the first web page, and the structured datum comprises at least one word.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the reference datum includes a first uniform resource locator address.