MINING IMPLICIT BEHAVIOR

• US 20080319827A1
• Filed: 06/25/2007
• Published: 12/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Drucker, Steven, Yee, Dawson, Allard, James E., Finger, James C., Roup, Oliver R., Sloo, David H.
• Application Number:
  US11/767,720
• Publication Number:
  US 20080319827A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/10
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data

Abstract

The claimed subject matter relates to an architecture that can monitor transactions between a content consumer and a user-interface that provides the content. The architecture can also monitor environment variables that relate to a content consumption environment. From one or both of these potential sources, the architecture can identify implicit behavior on the part of the content consumer that relates to the consumption of the content. The implicit behavior can be employed to determine or infer effects of the consumed content, which can supplement, enhance, or replace conventional explicit consumer feedback.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented system that utilizes implicit behavior to gauge effects of consumed content, comprising:

a monitoring component that monitors transactions between a user-interface that provides content and a consumer of the content;

a behavior component that examines the transactions and identifies an implicit behavior associated with consumption of the content; and

a feedback component that employs the implicit behavior to determine an effect of the content on the consumer.

2. The system of claim 1, the content is at least one of entertainment content, service-based content, or advertising content.

3. The system of claim 1, the behavior component identifies the implicit behavior based at least in part upon a type of content.

4. The system of claim 1, the implicit behavior is at least one of a skip of portions of the content, a pause of portions of the content, a rewind of portions of the content, a fast forward of portions of the content, a speed adjustment of portions of the content, a volume adjustment, consuming the content more than once, a duration in which the content or portions of the content is consumed, a manner in which the user-interface is utilized to navigate the content, a manner in which the user-interface is utilized to navigate disparate content, a manner in which the user-interface is utilized to navigate or display metadata associated with or related to the content, an action that indicates the content is of present or future interest to the consumer or a member of a social network or circle associated with the consumer, a catalyst for initiating consumption of the content, a catalyst for terminating consumption of the content, or an indication of focus or attention.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising a detection component that obtains environment variables from an environment associated with the consumption of the content.

6. The system of claim 5, the behavior component examines the environment variables and identifies an implicit behavior.

7. The system of claim 1, the feedback component dynamically modifies the content based upon the determined effect.

8. The system of claim 1, the feedback component employs the implicit behavior to order or organize the content.

9. The system of claim 1, the feedback component employs the implicit behavior for micro-targeting an advertisement.

10. The system of claim 1, the feedback component supplies at least one of the implicit behavior or the determined effect to a qualifying party.

11. The system of claim 10, the qualifying party is at least one of a provider of the content, an author of the content, or an agent of the provider or the author.

12. The system of claim 10, the qualifying party employs an affiliated product or an affiliated service to provide or to author the content.

13. The system of claim 1, or a portion thereof, is a component of an electronic device.

14. The system of claim 1, or a portion thereof, is a component of an operating system.

15. The system of claim 1, or a portion thereof, is a component of an application.

16. The system of claim 15, the application is a content browser.

17. A computer-implemented method for assessing effects of consumed content by examining implicit behavior, comprising:

observing a set of interactions between a consumer of content and a user-interface providing the content;

classifying an implicit behavior from the set of interactions based at least in part upon a type of the content; and

utilizing the implicit behavior for ascertaining an effect of the content upon the consumer.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

receiving a set of environment variables; and

determining the implicit behavior from the set of environment variable.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising at least one of the following acts:

updating the content based upon the act of ascertaining an effect;

employing the ascertained effect for ordering a reference to the content;

or

providing at least one of the implicit behavior or the ascertained effect to a qualifying entity.

20. A computer-implemented system for employing implicit behavior to analyze effects of consumed content, comprising:

computer-implemented means for observing a set of transactions between a consumer of content and an interface providing the content;

computer-implemented means for detecting an implicit behavior from the set of transactions; and

computer-implemented means for employing the implicit behavior for determining an effect of the content upon the consumer.