Dynamic Webpage Generation Including Request-Time Auctioned Web Content

• US 20100324973A1
• Filed: 06/18/2010
• Published: 12/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DigitalScirocco, Inc.
• Original Assignee: DigitalScirocco, Inc.
• Inventors: Wellman, Michael, D'Ambrosio, Bruce D.
• Granted Patent: US 8,799,080 B2
• 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 30/0246 Traffic
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0273 Determination of fees for advertising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0275 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/184 Intellectual property management

Abstract

Embodiments include methods, apparatus, and systems associated with providing request-time auctioning of web content and web services. The auction may be performed by a request-time web content auctioning service, which may accept bids of content and/or services from content and/or service providers, and may auction these bids against offers of space on webpages in websites. The auction may, in various embodiments, be performed in real time, such as, for example, during generation of a webpage in response to a request to view a webpage from a visitor to the webpage. The auction service may, in various embodiments, also provide for the auctioning of web services for webpages, such as, for example, content filtering. Other embodiments may be described and claimed

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for generating a webpage, comprising:

receiving in real time from an auction service, by a computing device, one or more pieces of content, links to the content or identities of the content, that are authorized to be included in offered space on a webpage, wherein the one or more pieces of content, links to the content or identities of the content are provided by the auction service as a result of a content auction conducted in real time in response to a dissemination of one or more offers of space on the webpage to contain content, wherein the dissemination is made in real time in response to a request for the webpage; and

generating, by the computing device, the webpage containing some or all of the one or more authorized pieces of content for response to the request for the webpage.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving in real time from an auction service, by a computing device, one or more pieces of content comprises receiving advertising.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving in real time from an auction service, by a computing device, one or more pieces of content comprises receiving editorial content.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising disseminating in real time, by the computing device, the one or more offers of space on the webpage to contain content, in response to a request for the webpage.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising receiving, by the computing device, the request for the webpage.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein receiving the request for the webpage comprises receiving the request, by the computing device, from a visitor to a website to which the webpage is associated or linked.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving one or more pieces of content or links to the content comprises receiving responsive bids for the offered space from an online content auction service.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, by the computing device from the auction service, one or more links to services or identities of services to be performed for the webpage.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein generating the webpage comprises utilizing one or more services which are linked to or identified to provide services for the webpage.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein receiving from the auction service, one or more links to services or identities of services comprise receiving a content filtering service.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein receiving, by the computing device from the auction service, one or more links to services or identities of services comprise receiving a context-modeling service.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more offers of space comprise non-price information.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the non-price information comprises visitor information associated with the webpage or a website to which the webpage is associated.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the non-price information comprises performance metrics associated with the webpage or a website to which the webpage is associated.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the non-price information comprises domain or content information associated with the webpage or a website to which the webpage is associated.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein non-price information comprises probability information about future content performance predictions associated with the webpage or a website to which the webpage is associated.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein non-price information comprises one or more constraints associated with the webpage or a website to which the webpage is associated.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising, at the computing device, facilitating payment of a monetary value for publishing the contained one or more pieces of content with a positive price.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising, at the computing device, facilitating payment of a monetary value for publishing the contained one or more pieces of content with a price to sell the content.

20. A method for facilitating generation of a webpage, comprising:

receiving, at a computing device, one or more bids respectively associated with one or more pieces of content to place the one or more pieces of content onto one or more webpages having space for bid for placement of content;

receiving, in real time at the computing device, an offer of space on a webpage, the webpage provided in real time in response to a request for the webpage;

matching in real time, at the computing device, a bid to the offer to determine a winning piece of content for the webpage; and

authorizing in real time, at the computing device, the winning piece of content for one or more instances of inclusion in the to be generated webpage.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein receiving one or more bids comprises receiving at least one of the one or more bids having non-price information.

22. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

receiving, at the computing device, one or more service bids for web services to be performed for one or more webpages;

matching in real time, at the computing device, a service bid to the offer to determine a winning web service for the webpage; and

authorizing, at the computing device, the winning web service for one or more instances of inclusion in the to be generated webpage.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein matching a bid comprises matching a bid with a price to buy space for the content.

24. The method of claim 20, wherein matching a bid comprises matching a bid with a price to sell the content.

25. A system for generating a webpage containing auctioned content, comprising:

one or more computer processors;

a bid acceptor configured to, in response to operation by the one or more computer processors, accept one or more bids respectively associated with one or more pieces of content to place the one or more pieces of content onto one or more webpages having space for bid for placement of content;

a webpage space offer acceptor configured to, in response to operation by the one or more computer processors, accept, in real time, an offer of space on a webpage, the webpage provided in real time in response to a request for the webpage; and

a web content auction resolver configured to, in response to operation by the one or more computer processors;

match, in real time, a matched bid to the offer; and

authorize, in real time, a piece of content associated with a matched bid for one or more instances of inclusion in the to be generated webpage associated with the offer.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the web content auction resolver is configured to, in response to operation by the one or more computer processors, match bids and offers according to non-price information.

27. The system of claim 25, wherein the web content auction resolver is configured to match a bid with a price to buy space for the content.

28. An article of manufacture, comprising:

a tangible computer-readable medium; and

a plurality of computer-executable instructions stored on the tangible computer-readable medium, wherein the computer-executable instructions, in response to execution by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform operations for generating a webpage, the operations comprising;

receiving a request for a webpage;

receiving, in real time from an auction site, one or more pieces of content, links to the content or identities of the content, that are authorized to be included in offered space on the webpage, wherein the one or more pieces of content, links to the content or identities of the content are provided by the auction service as a result of a content auction conducted in real time in response to a dissemination of one or more offers of space on the webpage to contain content, wherein the dissemination is made in real time in response to the request for the webpage; and

generating the webpage containing some or all of the one or more authorized pieces of web content for response to the request for the webpage.

29. The article of claim 28, wherein the operations further comprise, in response to a request for the webpage, disseminating, in real time, the one or more offers of space on the webpage to contain content in response to an auction for one or more pieces of web content.

30. The article of claim 28, wherein the operations further comprise receiving, from the auction service, one or more links to services or identities of services to be performed for the webpage.

31. The article of claim 30, wherein generating the webpage comprises utilizing the one or more services which are linked to or identified to provide services on the webpage.

32. The article of claim 28, wherein the one or more offers of space comprise non-price information.

33. The article of claim 28, wherein the operations further comprise facilitating payment of a monetary value for publishing the contained one or more pieces of content.

34. The article of claim 28, wherein facilitating payment of a monetary value comprises receiving a monetary value for publishing the contained one or more pieces of content.

35. An article of manufacture, comprising:

a tangible computer-readable medium; and

a plurality of computer-executable instructions stored on the tangible computer-readable medium, wherein the computer-executable instructions, in response to execution by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform operations for facilitating generation of online composite content, the operations comprising, during generation of a piece of online composite content;

receiving one or more bids respectively associated with one or more pieces of content to place the one or more pieces of content onto one or more pieces of online composite content having space for bid placement of content;

receiving, in real time, an offer of space on the online composite content, the online composite content provided in real time in response to a request for the online composite content;

matching, in real time, a bid to the offer to determine a winning piece of content for the online composite content; and

authorizing, in real time, the winning piece of content for one or more instances of inclusion in the to be generated online composite content.

36. The article of claim 35, wherein the online composite content comprises a webpage.

37. The article of claim 35, wherein receiving one or more bids comprises receiving at least one of the one or more bids having non-price information.

38. The article of claim 35, wherein matching a bid comprises matching a bid with a price to buy space for the content.

39. The article of claim 35, wherein matching a bid comprises matching a bid with a price to sell the content.

40. The article of claim 35, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving one or more service bids respectively associated with one or more services to be performed for the webpage; and

authorizing, in real time, a winning service bid whose associated service is to be used for providing services on the webpage when the webpage is generated.