Determining an influence on a person by web pages

• US 20080270473A1
• Filed: 06/29/2007
• Published: 10/30/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Searete LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Searete LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Tegreene, Clarence T., Flake, Gary W., Lord, Robert W., Hillis, W. Daniel, Whitmer, Charles, Levien, Royce A., Malamud, Mark A., Rashid, Richard F., Mundie, Craig J., Gounares, Alexander G., Wood, Lowell L., Payne, Christopher D., Gates, William H.
• Application Number:
  US11/824,580
• Publication Number:
  US 20080270473A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/104.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

Embodiments include a system, a device, an apparatus, a method, and a computer program product. A user-side influence reporting method includes collecting data indicative of a computing device environment of a user-side computing device facilitating a person accessing Web pages and facilitating the person communicating with a third-party via a computer network. The method also includes transforming the collected data to indicate an involvement between the third-party and the person. The method further includes transforming the collected data to indicate the Web pages accessed by the person. The method also includes correlating the indicated involvement between the third-party and the person with the indicated Web pages accessed by the person. The method further includes outputting from the user-side computing device data indicative of the correlation.

Claims

1. A user-side influence reporting method, the method comprising:

collecting data indicative of a computing device environment of a user-side computing device facilitating a person accessing Web pages and facilitating the person communicating with a third-party via a computer network;

transforming the collected data to indicate an involvement between the third-party and the person;

transforming the collected data to indicate the Web pages accessed by the person;

correlating the indicated involvement between the third-party and the person with the indicated Web pages accessed by the person; and

outputting from the user-side computing device data indicative of the correlation.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the collecting data indicative of a computing device environment of a user-side computing device facilitating a person accessing Web pages and facilitating the person communicating with a third-party via a computer network further includes:

collecting data indicative of at least one of a hardware environment, a software environment, and/or a state of a computing device environment of a user-side computing device facilitating a person accessing Web pages and facilitating the person communicating with a third-party via a computer network.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the collecting data indicative of a computing device environment of a user-side computing device facilitating a person accessing Web pages and facilitating the person communicating with a third-party via a computer network further includes:

collecting data indicative of a computing device environment of a user-side computing device facilitating a person accessing Web pages and facilitating the person communicating with a third-party via a computer network, the data collected using a process included in a platform of the user-side computing device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the collecting data indicative of a computing device environment of a user-side computing device facilitating a person accessing Web pages and facilitating the person communicating with a third-party via a computer network further includes:

collecting data indicative of a computing device environment of a user-side computing device facilitating a person accessing Web pages and facilitating the person communicating with a third-party via a computer network, the data collected using a process running on a platform of the user-side computing device and associated with a search engine site.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the collecting data indicative of a computing device environment of a user-side computing device facilitating a person accessing Web pages and facilitating the person communicating with a third-party via a computer network further includes:

collecting data indicative of a computing device environment of a user-side computing device facilitating a person accessing Web pages and facilitating the person communicating with a third-party via a computer network, the Web pages including a first electronic content and a second electronic content.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the transforming the collected data to indicate an involvement between the third-party and the person further includes:

transforming the collected data for information corresponding to an involvement between the third-party and the person.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the transforming the collected data to indicate an involvement between the third-party and the person further includes:

transforming the collected data to indicate at least one of a possible involvement, a confirmed involvement, or inferred involvement between the third-party and the person.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the transforming the collected data to indicate an involvement between the third-party and the person further includes:

transforming the collected data to indicate at least one of a purchase, a pledge, a membership, an activity, an interaction, a vote, a contribution, and/or a relationship between the third-party and the person.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the transforming the collected data to indicate an involvement between the third-party and the person further includes:

at least one of massaging, aggregating, and/or annotating the collected data to indicate an involvement between the third-party and the person.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the transforming the collected data to indicate the Web pages accessed by the person;

further includes;

transforming the collected data for information corresponding to the Web pages accessed by the person.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the correlating the indicated involvement between the third-party and the person with the indicated Web pages accessed by the person further includes:

at least one of approximating, estimating, and/or determining a correlation of the indicated involvement between the third-party and the person with the indicated Web pages accessed by the person.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the correlating the indicated involvement between the third-party and the person with the Web pages accessed by the person further includes:

correlating the indicated involvement between the third-party and the person with the Web pages accessed by the person, wherein a characteristic of the correlating includes a differentiating between

(i) an involvement between the third-party and the person resulting from the person activating a link to another Web page owned by the third-party that is included in at least one of the Web pages, and

(ii) another involvement between the third-party and the person.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the outputting from the user-side computing device data indicative of the correlation further includes:

outputting from the user-side computing device data indicative of the correlation, the data indicative of the correlation being receivable by a site operable to facilitate delivery of a benefit to an owner of at least one Web page of the Web pages.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the outputting from the user-side computing device data indicative of the correlation further includes:

outputting data indicative of the correlation via the computer network from the user-side computing device.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

anonymizing the data indicative of the correlation in response to a privacy policy.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the anonymizing the data indicative of the correlation in response to a privacy policy further includes:

anonymizing the data indicative of the correlation in response to a privacy policy by at least significantly reducing a presence of data useable in identifying the person.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the anonymizing the data indicative of the correlation in response to a privacy policy further includes:

anonymizing the data indicative of the correlation in response to a selected privacy policy, the privacy policy selection indicated by at least one of the person, a process present in the user-side computing device, an owner of a platform of the user-side computing device, the third-party, another party, and/or an information broker.

18. A system comprising:

a computing device couplable with a computer network;

a monitor circuit operable to collect data indicative of a computing device environment of a user-side computing device facilitating a person accessing Web pages and facilitating the person communicating with a third-party via a computer network;

a conversion circuit operable to

(i) transform the collected data to indicate an involvement between the third-party and the person; and

(ii) transform the collected data to indicate the Web pages accessed by the person;

an evaluation circuit operable to discern a relationship between

(i) the indicated involvement between the third-party and the person and

(ii) the indicated Web pages accessed by the person; and

a broadcast circuit operable to output via the computer network data indicative of the discerned relationship.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the evaluation circuit further includes:

an evaluation circuit operable to discern a correlation between (i) the indicated involvement between the third-party and the person and(ii) the indicated Web pages accessed by the person.

20. The system of claim 18, further comprising:

a privacy circuit operable to anonymize the data indicative of the discerned relationship in response to a privacy policy.

21. The system of claim 18, further comprising:

a storage circuit operable to save data indicative of the discerned relationship.

22. A computer program product comprising:

(a) program instructions operable to perform a process in a user-side computing device, the process comprising;

collect data indicative of a computing device environment of the user-side computing device facilitating a person accessing Web pages and facilitating the person communicating with a third-party via a computer network;

transform the collected data to indicate an involvement between the third-party and the person;

transform the collected data to indicate the Web pages accessed by the person;

examine the transformed collected data for a relationship between

(i) the indicated involvement between the third-party and the person; and

(ii) the Web pages accessed by the person; and

output data corresponding to the examined relationship between the indicated involvement and the Web pages accessed by the person; and

(b) a computer-readable signal-bearing medium bearing the program instructions.

23. The computer program product of claim 22, wherein the program instructions operable to perform a process in a user-side computing device further include:

program instructions incorporated into a platform of the user-side computing device and operable to perform a process in the computing device.

24. The computer program product of claim 22, wherein the program instructions operable to perform a process in a user-side computing device further include:

program instructions operable to collaborate with a search engine and operable to perform a process in the user-side computing device.

25. The computer program product of claim 22, wherein the program instructions operable to perform a process in a user-side computing device further comprising:

anonymize in response to a confidentiality policy the relationship between the indicated involvement and the Web pages accessed by the person.

26. The computer program product of claim 22, wherein the computer-readable signal-bearing medium includes a computer storage medium.

27. The computer program product of claim 22, wherein the computer-readable signal-bearing medium includes a communication medium.

28. An apparatus comprising:

means for collecting data indicative of a computing device environment of a user-side computing device facilitating a person accessing Web pages and communicating with a third-party via a computer network;

means for transforming the collected data to indicate an involvement between the third-party and the person;

means for transforming the collected data to indicate the Web pages accessed by the person;

means for correlating the indicated involvement and the accessed Web pages; and

means for transmitting via the computer network and from the user-side computing device the correlation of the indicated involvement and the accessed Web pages.