Methods and Apparatus for Sending Content to a Media Player

• US 20080092182A1
• Filed: 08/09/2007
• Published: 04/17/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/09/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mediafly, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Carson Conant
• Inventors: Conant, Carson
• Granted Patent: US 8,752,086 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/109
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0272 Period of advertisement exposure
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/252 Processing of multiple end-users' preferences to derive collaborative data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2543 Billing , e.g. for subscription services payment schemes, architectures or protocols G06Q20/00; e-commerce G06Q30/00; arrangements for billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/21
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; 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 21/41265 having a remote control device for bidirectional communication between the remote control device and client device unidirectional remote control device H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44213 Monitoring of end-user related data arrangements for monitoring the users' behaviour or opinions in broadcast systems H04H60/33
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4722 for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8405 represented by keywords
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

The present disclosure provides methods and apparatus for sending content to a media player. In general, a user of the disclosed system consumes a plurality of media content (e.g., audio content, visual content, audiovisual content, etc.) distributed from a media server. The content preferably include advertising content and non-advertising content. Some or all of the content is selected by the system based on the user'"'"'s specific requests, profile, preferences, and/or feedback, in conjunction with the profiles, preferences, requests, and feedback of other users, (e.g. using social media, social matching and/or collaborative filtering techniques). Preferably, the feedback includes statistical data indicative of partial experiences (e.g., user listened to 50%) of the content by one or more media consumers.

Claims

1. A method of sending content to a media player, the method comprising:

receiving a plurality of non-advertising content;

determining selected non-advertising content from the plurality of non-advertising content;

receiving a plurality of advertising content;

determining selected advertising content from the plurality of advertising content for a media consumer based on (i) at least one of (a) first profile data associated with the media consumer, (b) second profile data associated with the selected non-advertising content, and (c) third profile data associated with the selected advertising content, and (ii) statistical data associated with the selected advertising content, the selected advertising content having a duration, the statistical data being indicative of partial experiences of the duration consumed by a plurality of media consumers;

associating the selected advertising content with the selected non-advertising content in at least one media file; and

sending the at least one media file to the media player associated with the media consumer.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the selected advertising content is partially consumed by the media consumer for a portion of the duration, and a fee is charged in an amount that is based on a length associated with the portion.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the media consumer performs a predefined action, and a fee is charged in response to the predefined action.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the predefined action is at least one of a request to buy and a request for additional information.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the selected non-advertising content is partially consumed by the media consumer, and a fee is paid in an amount that is based on a length associated with the partial consumption.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the selected non-advertising content includes determining the selected non-advertising content based on at least one of (a) the first profile data associated with the media consumer, and (b) the second profile data associated with the selected non-advertising content.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first profile data associated with the media consumer includes data manually selected by the user.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the first profile data associated with the media consumer includes data automatically selected by a software program based on feedback data.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first profile data associated with the media consumer includes data automatically selected by a software program based on feedback data.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the selected advertising content includes determining the selected advertising content based on collaborative filtering.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the selected non-advertising content includes determining the selected non-advertising content based on feedback metadata associated with the non-advertising content.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the selected non-advertising content includes determining the selected non-advertising content based on velocity metadata associated with the non-advertising content.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the selected non-advertising content includes determining the selected non-advertising content based on karma metadata associated with the non-advertising content.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the selected advertising content includes determining the selected advertising content based on metadata associated with the plurality of advertising content.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the metadata associated with the plurality of advertising content is indicative of at least one of a previous success rate, a bid level, a number of impressions, a time of day, a user age, and a language.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the metadata associated with the plurality of advertising content is contextual metadata.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the contextual metadata is indicative of at least one of a title, a product, a product category, and a company.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the metadata associated with the plurality of advertising content is social metadata.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the social metadata is indicative of at least one of a user feedback and user comments.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the selected advertising content includes determining the selected advertising content based on metadata associated with the selected non-advertising content.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the metadata associated with the selected non-advertising content is indicative of at least one of a previous success rate, a bid level, a number of impressions, a time of day, a user age, and a language.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the profile data associated with the media consumer is updated by feedback.

23. The method of claim 1, wherein associating the selected advertising content with the selected non-advertising content in at least one media file includes sequencing the selected non-advertising based on chapter data.

24. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the selected advertising content is based on a sequenced advertising campaign.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein a second advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign is selected for the media consumer after a first advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign if the first advertising segment is consumed by the media consumer above a predetermined threshold.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein a second advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign is selected for the media consumer for playback after a after a first advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign if the first advertising segment is consumed by the media consumer below a predetermined threshold.

27. The method of claim 24, wherein a second advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign is selected for the media consumer for playback after a first advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign if the media consumer performs a first action associated with the first advertising segment, and a third different advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign is selected for the media consumer for playback after the first advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign if the media consumer performs a second different action associated with the first advertising segment.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the first action includes at least one of a request for additional information associated with the first advertising segment, an offer to purchase associated with the first advertising segment, and a skip command associated with the first advertising segment.

29. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the at least one media file to the media player associated with the media consumer includes sending the at least one media file to a portable media player via a personal computer.

30. The method of claim 1, further comprising posting an advertising concept to an electronic marketplace, the advertising concept being indicative of the selected advertising content.

31. The method of claim 1, further comprising converting text to at least one of an audio file, a visual file, and an audiovisual file to produce the selected non-advertising content.

32. The method of claim 1, wherein associating the selected advertising content with the selected non-advertising content in at least one media file includes a first media file for the selected advertising content, a second different media file for the selected non-advertising content, and sequencing data indicating an order for playback of the selected advertising content and the selected non-advertising content.

33. The method of claim 1, wherein associating the selected advertising content with the selected non-advertising content in at least one media file includes a single media file for the selected advertising content and the selected non-advertising content.

34. A method of sending content to a media player, the method comprising:

receiving a plurality of non-advertising content;

determining selected non-advertising content from the plurality of non-advertising content;

receiving a plurality of advertising content;

determining a plurality of related advertising content from the plurality of advertising content;

determining selected advertising content from the plurality of related advertising content for a media consumer based on (i) at least one of (a) first profile data associated with the media consumer, (b) second profile data associated with the selected non-advertising content, and (c) third profile data associated with the selected advertising content, and (ii) statistical data associated with the plurality of related advertising content, the plurality of related advertising content having a plurality of associated durations, the statistical data being indicative of partial experiences of the durations consumed by a plurality of media consumers;

associating the selected advertising content with the selected non-advertising content in at least one media file; and

sending the at least one media file to the media player associated with the media consumer.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the selected advertising content is partially consumed by the media consumer for a portion of the duration, and a fee is charged in an amount that is based on a length associated with the portion.

36. The method of claim 34, wherein the selected non-advertising content is partially consumed by the media consumer, and a fee is paid in an amount that is based on a length associated with the partial consumption.

37. The method of claim 34, wherein the first profile data associated with the media consumer includes data manually selected by the user and data automatically determined by a software program based on partial playback data.

38. The method of claim 34, wherein determining the selected advertising content is based on a sequenced advertising campaign.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein a second advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign is selected for the media consumer after a first advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign if the first advertising segment is consumed by the media consumer above a predetermined threshold.

40. The method of claim 38, wherein a second advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign is selected for the media consumer for playback after a after a first advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign if the first advertising segment is consumed by the media consumer below a predetermined threshold.

41. The method of claim 38, wherein a second advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign is selected for the media consumer for playback after a first advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign if the media consumer performs a first action associated with the first advertising segment, and a third different advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign is selected for the media consumer for playback after the first advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign if the media consumer performs a second different action associated with the first advertising segment.

74. The method of claim 34, wherein the plurality of media consumers is selected based on at least one interest associated with the media consumer.

42. A method of sending content to a media player, the method comprising:

receiving a plurality of non-advertising content;

determining selected non-advertising content from the plurality of non-advertising content;

receiving a plurality of advertising content;

determining a plurality of related advertising content from the plurality of advertising content;

determining selected advertising content from the plurality of related advertising content for a media consumer based on (i) at least one of (a) first profile data associated with the media consumer, (b) second profile data associated with the selected non-advertising content, and (c) third profile data associated with the selected advertising content, and (ii) statistical data associated with the plurality of related advertising content, the plurality of related advertising content having a plurality of associated durations, the statistical data being indicative of partial experiences of the plurality of associated durations consumed by the media consumer;

associating the selected advertising content with the selected non-advertising content in at least one media file; and

sending the at least one media file to the media player associated with the media consumer.

43. The method of claim 42, wherein the selected advertising content is partially consumed by the media consumer for a portion of the duration, and a fee is charged in an amount that is based on a length associated with the portion.

44. The method of claim 42, wherein the selected non-advertising content is partially consumed by the media consumer, and a fee is paid in an amount that is based on a length associated with the partial consumption.

45. The method of claim 42, wherein the first profile data associated with the media consumer includes data manually selected by the user and data automatically determined by a software program based on partial playback data.

46. The method of claim 42, wherein determining the selected advertising content is based on a sequenced advertising campaign.

47. The method of claim 46, wherein a second advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign is selected for the media consumer after a first advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign if the first advertising segment is consumed by the media consumer above a predetermined threshold.

48. The method of claim 46, wherein a second advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign is selected for the media consumer for playback after a after a first advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign if the first advertising segment is consumed by the media consumer below a predetermined threshold.

49. The method of claim 46, wherein a second advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign is selected for the media consumer for playback after a first advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign if the media consumer performs a first action associated with the first advertising segment, and a third different advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign is selected for the media consumer for playback after the first advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign if the media consumer performs a second different action associated with the first advertising segment.

50. A method of sending content to a media player, the method comprising:

receiving a plurality of non-advertising content;

receiving a plurality of advertising content;

determining selected non-advertising content from the plurality of non-advertising content;

determining selected advertising content from the plurality of advertising content,

wherein at least one of determining selected non-advertising and determining selected advertising content is based on (i) at least one of (a) first profile data associated with a media consumer, (b) second profile data associated with the selected non-advertising content, and (c) third profile data associated with the selected advertising content, and (ii) statistical data associated with at least one of the selected advertising content and the selected non-advertising content, the at least one of the selected advertising content and the selected non-advertising content having a duration, the statistical data being indicative of partial experiences of the duration consumed by at least one of a plurality of media consumers and the media consumer;

associating the selected non-advertising content with channel data, the channel data being indicative of at least one genre;

associating the selected advertising content, the selected non-advertising content, and the channel data in at least one media file; and

sending the at least one media file and the associated channel tag to the media player associated with the media consumer.

51. The method of claim 50, wherein the selected advertising content is partially consumed by the media consumer for a portion of the duration, and a fee is charged in an amount that is based on a length associated with the portion.

52. The method of claim 50, wherein the selected non-advertising content is partially consumed by the media consumer, and a fee is paid in an amount that is based on a length associated with the partial consumption.

53. The method of claim 50, wherein the first profile data associated with the media consumer includes data manually selected by the user and data automatically determined by a software program based on partial playback data.

54. The method of claim 50, wherein determining the selected advertising content is based on a sequenced advertising campaign.

55. The method of claim 54, wherein a second advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign is selected for the media consumer after a first advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign if the first advertising segment is consumed by the media consumer above a predetermined threshold.

56. The method of claim 54, wherein a second advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign is selected for the media consumer for playback after a after a first advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign if the first advertising segment is consumed by the media consumer below a predetermined threshold.

57. The method of claim 54, wherein a second advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign is selected for the media consumer for playback after a first advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign if the media consumer performs a first action associated with the first advertising segment, and a third different advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign is selected for the media consumer for playback after the first advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign if the media consumer performs a second different action associated with the first advertising segment.

58. An apparatus for sending content to a media player, the apparatus comprising:

a processor;

a memory device operatively coupled to the processor;

an input device operatively coupled to the processor; and

an output device operatively coupled to the processor, wherein the processor;

causes the input device to receive a plurality of non-advertising content;

determines selected non-advertising content from the plurality of non-advertising content;

causes the input device to receive a plurality of advertising content;

determines a plurality of related advertising content from the plurality of advertising content;

selects data indicative of a plurality of media consumers based on at least one interest associated with the media consumer;

determines selected advertising content from the plurality of related advertising content for a media consumer based on (i) at least one of (a) first profile data associated with the media consumer, (b) second profile data associated with the selected non-advertising content, and (c) third profile data associated with the selected advertising content, and (ii) statistical data associated with the plurality of related advertising content, the plurality of related advertising content having a plurality of associated durations, the statistical data being indicative of partial experiences of the plurality of associated durations consumed by the plurality of media consumers;

associates the selected advertising content with the selected non-advertising content in at least one media file; and

sends the at least one media file to the media player associated with the media consumer.

59. The apparatus of claim 58, wherein the selected advertising content is partially consumed by the media consumer for a portion of the duration, and the processor causes a fee to be charged in an amount that is based on a length associated with the portion.

60. The apparatus of claim 58, wherein the selected non-advertising content is partially consumed by the media consumer, and the processor causes a fee to be paid in an amount that is based on a length associated with the partial consumption.

61. The apparatus of claim 58, wherein the first profile data associated with the media consumer includes data manually selected by the user and data automatically determined by a software program based on partial playback data.

62. The apparatus of claim 58, wherein the processor determines the selected advertising content based on a sequenced advertising campaign.

63. The apparatus of claim 62, wherein the processor causes a second advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign to be selected for the media consumer after a first advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign if the first advertising segment is consumed by the media consumer above a predetermined threshold.

64. The apparatus of claim 62, wherein the processor causes a second advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign to be selected for the media consumer for playback after a after a first advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign if the first advertising segment is consumed by the media consumer below a predetermined threshold.

65. The apparatus of claim 62, wherein the processor causes a second advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign to be selected for the media consumer for playback after a first advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign if the media consumer performs a first action associated with the first advertising segment, and a third different advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign is selected for the media consumer for playback after the first advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign if the media consumer performs a second different action associated with the first advertising segment.

66. A computer readable medium storing software instructions structured to cause at least one computing device to:

receive a plurality of non-advertising content;

determine selected non-advertising content from the plurality of non-advertising content;

receive a plurality of advertising content;

determine a plurality of related advertising content from the plurality of advertising content;

select data indicative of a plurality of media consumers based on at least one interest associated with the media consumer;

determine selected advertising content from the plurality of related advertising content for a media consumer based on (i) at least one of (a) first profile data associated with the media consumer, (b) second profile data associated with the selected non-advertising content, and (c) third profile data associated with the selected advertising content, and (ii) statistical data associated with the plurality of related advertising content, the plurality of related advertising content having a plurality of associated durations, the statistical data being indicative of partial experiences of the plurality of associated durations consumed by the plurality of media consumers;

associate the selected advertising content with the selected non-advertising content in at least one media file; and

send the at least one media file to the media player associated with the media consumer.

67. The computer readable medium of claim 66, wherein the selected advertising content is partially consumed by the media consumer for a portion of the duration, and the software instructions are structured to cause the at least one computing device to charge a fee is in an amount that is based on a length associated with the portion.

68. The computer readable medium of claim 66, wherein the selected non-advertising content is partially consumed by the media consumer, and the software instructions are structured to cause the at least one computing device to pay a fee in an amount that is based on a length associated with the partial consumption.

69. The computer readable medium of claim 66, wherein the first profile data associated with the media consumer includes data manually selected by the user and data automatically determined by a software program based on partial playback data.

70. The computer readable medium of claim 66, wherein determining the selected advertising content is based on a sequenced advertising campaign.

71. The computer readable medium of claim 70, wherein a second advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign is selected for the media consumer after a first advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign if the first advertising segment is consumed by the media consumer above a predetermined threshold.

72. The computer readable medium of claim 70, wherein a second advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign is selected for the media consumer for playback after a after a first advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign if the first advertising segment is consumed by the media consumer below a predetermined threshold.

73. The computer readable medium of claim 70, wherein a second advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign is selected for the media consumer for playback after a first advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign if the media consumer performs a first action associated with the first advertising segment, and a third different advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign is selected for the media consumer for playback after the first advertising segment in the sequenced advertising campaign if the media consumer performs a second different action associated with the first advertising segment.