System and method for creating user profiles

• US 20080077614A1
• Filed: 09/22/2006
• Published: 03/27/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: R2 Solutions LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Yahoo! Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Roy, Howard Scott
• Granted Patent: US 8,655,916 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/104.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/337 Profile generation, learning or modification
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/56 Unified messaging, e.g. interactions between e-mail, instant messaging or converged IP messaging [CPM]

Abstract

A computer-implemented method for constructing a profile for a target user is disclosed. The method comprises monitoring electronic communications across a network to identify at least one electronic communication that identifies a target user as an intended message recipient, extracting metadata from content associated with the at least one electronic communication; and constructing a user profile for the target user on the basis of the extracted metadata. It is assumed that the message senders send their messages, including associated content, to a given target user with the belief that the content is of some interest to the target user on the basis of some knowledge regarding the target user'"'"'s personality, preferences, tastes and the like. In this manner, a profiling entity may indirectly construct a profile of the target user based on the content sent by one or more message senders to the target user.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for constructing a profile for a target user, the method comprising:

monitoring electronic communications across a network to identify at least one given electronic communication based on a particular sender and intended receiver of said communication, wherein said intended receiver is a target user for constructing said profile;

extracting metadata from content associated with said at least one identified electronic communication; and

constructing a user profile for the target user on the basis of the extracted metadata.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the extracted metadata comprises at least one of a topic, a source, an author, a locality and a language.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining whether said user profile for the target user may be constructed based on the extracted metadata.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said determination is based on a statistical threshold test.

5. The method of claim 3, further comprising, upon determining that said user profile for the target user may not be constructed from the extracted metadata, returning to said monitoring step to monitor additional electronic communications.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said constructing step is based on a machine learning technique.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the extracted metadata in a profiling database, indexed by target user.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the content is at least one of an article, music, a video, artwork.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising suggesting other content to the target user based on the constructed user profile.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said content associated with the electronic communication is an e-mail attachment.

11. A profiling system for indirectly profiling a user over a distributed network, the system comprising:

a monitoring module configured to monitor electronic transmissions transmitted across a network to identify at least one electronic transmission identifying a target user as an intended message recipient;

a metadata extraction module configured to extract metadata from content associated with the given transmission;

a profile creation module for constructing a user profile for the target user based on said extracted metadata.

12. The profiling system of claim 11, further comprising a user profile determination module for determining whether the extracted metadata is sufficient to create a user profile for the target user.

13. The profiling system of claim 12, wherein a test for determining whether the extracted metadata is sufficient to form a user profile of the target user is a statistical threshold test.

14. The profiling system of claim 11, further comprising a profiling database for storing the extracted metadata.

15. The profiling system of claim 11, wherein the profile creation module constructs said user machine learning technique.