User profile aggregation

• US 20090083367A1
• Filed: 09/20/2007
• Published: 03/26/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Law, David, McQuillan, Gilbert, Kumar, Rahul, Li, Karvell, Marconi, Jamie, Borkenhagen, Miriam, Garuda, Gupta, Mahmood, Munir
• Granted Patent: US 7,958,142 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/202
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

User profile data that may be spread across different service providers and that may vary across different service providers can be aggregated to provide an aggregate user profile. An aggregate user profile can be generated regardless of, among other things, varying user profile semantics, differing data formats, data item conflicts, evolving server protocols and interfaces, and updates to the number, identity, location, and type of servers upon which the service providers are maintained.

Claims

1. A method of aggregating a user profile comprising at least one user profile data item from one or more user profile servers having respective user profile data sets, the method comprising:

reading a user profile map comprising an aggregating logic specifying retrieval of respective user profile data items from the respective user profile data sets of the one or more user profile servers;

retrieving at least one user profile data item from the one or more user profile servers according to the aggregating logic of the user profile map; and

aggregating the user profile from the at least one retrieved user profile data item.

2. The method of claim 1, the user profile map comprising a user profile server map identifying the location of at least one of the one or more user profile servers, and the retrieving comprising locating at least one user profile server according to the user profile server map.

3. The method of claim 1, the retrieving comprising retrieving at least one of the data items from at least one of the one or more user profile servers through at least one user profile server type accessor configured to retrieve at least one user profile data item from a user profile server type.

4. The method of claim 3, the user profile map comprising a user profile server type map identifying the user profile server type of at least one user profile server, and the retrieving comprising retrieving at least one of the user profile data items from at least one of the one or more user profile servers through the user profile server type accessor configured to retrieve at least one user profile data item from the user profile server type of the user profile server according to the user profile server type map.

5. The method of claim 1, the aggregating comprising aggregating the user profile from the at least one retrieved user profile data item according to a user profile type.

6. The method of claim 5, the retrieving comprising retrieving at least one user profile data item from the one or more user profile servers according to the aggregating logic of the user profile map for the at least one user profile data item according to the user profile type.

7. The method of claim 5, the user profile type selected from one of an account user profile type, a shared user profile type, and an aggregate user profile type.

8. The method of claim 5, the user profile type selected according to the identity of a user profile consumer.

9. A computer-readable medium comprising processor-executable instructions configured to perform the method of claim 1.

10. A system for aggregating a user profile comprising at least one user profile data item from one or more user profile servers having respective user profile data sets, the system comprising:

a user profile map comprising an aggregating logic specifying retrieval of respective user profile data items from the respective user profile data sets of the one or more user profile servers; and

a user profile aggregator component configured to aggregate the user profile by retrieving at least one user profile data item from the one or more user profile servers according to the aggregating logic of the user profile map.

11. The system of claim 10, the user profile map comprising a user profile server map identifying the location of at least one of the one or more user profile servers, and the user profile aggregator component configured to locate at least one user profile server according to the user profile server map.

12. The system of claim 10, the user profile aggregator component comprising at least one user profile server type accessor configured to retrieve at least one user profile data item from a user profile server type.

13. The system of claim 12, the user profile map comprising a user profile server type map identifying the user profile server type of at least one of the one or more user profile servers, and the user profile aggregator component configured to retrieve at least one of the user profile data items from at least one of the one or more user profile servers through the user profile server type accessor configured to retrieve at least one user profile data item from the user profile server type of the user profile server according to the user profile server type map.

14. The system of claim 10, the user profile aggregator component configured to aggregate the user profile according to a user profile type.

15. The system of claim 14, the user profile aggregator component configured to retrieve the data items comprising the user profile type.

16. The system of claim 14, the user profile type selected from one of an account user profile type, a shared user profile type, and an aggregate user profile type.

17. The system of claim 14, the user profile type selected according to the identity of a user profile consumer.

18. The system of claim 10, comprising:

a user profile map server configured to provide the user profile map to at least one user profile consumer.

19. A computer-readable medium comprising processor-executable instructions configured to implement the system of claim 10.

20. A method of aggregating a user profile comprising at least one user profile data item from one or more user profile servers having respective user profile data sets, the method comprising:

reading a user profile map comprising;

an aggregating logic specifying retrieval of respective user profile data items from the respective user profile data sets of the one or more user profile servers,

a user profile server map identifying the location of at least one of the one or more user profile servers, and

a user profile server type map identifying the user profile server type of at least one of the one or more user profile servers;

retrieving at least one user profile data item from the one or more user profile servers located according to the user profile server map, through at least one user profile accessor configured to retrieve at least one of the user profile data items from the user profile server type of the one or more user profile servers according to the user profile server type map, and according to a user profile type selected from one of an account user profile type, a shared user profile type, and an aggregate user profile type according to the identity of a user profile consumer; and

aggregating the user profile from the at least one retrieved user profile data item according to the user profile type.