Personalizing an Online Service Based on Data Collected for a User of a Computing Device

• US 20120330980A1
• Filed: 06/22/2012
• Published: 12/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Xobni Incorporated
• Inventors: Hein, Brian, Rubin, Mark
• Granted Patent: US 8,620,935 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/754
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24578 using ranking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/335 Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles filtering in web context G06F16/9535, G06F16/9536
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9536 Search customisation based on social or collaborative filtering
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles

Abstract

An Internet or other online service is personalized or customized based on data collected for a user of a computing device. In one embodiment, a method includes: storing a plurality of person profiles for persons associated with communications received by a user of a computing device; receiving data associated with an online service; and filtering, using at least one processor, the data based on the plurality of person profiles, wherein the filtered data is for display to the user on the computing device.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

storing a plurality of person profiles for persons associated with communications received by a user of a computing device;

receiving data associated with an online service; and

filtering, using at least one processor, the data based on the plurality of person profiles, wherein the filtered data is for display to the user on the computing device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the computing device is a mobile device, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, or a computing apparatus for presenting information on an advertising display or electronic billboard.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the persons associated with the communications received by the user is a person selected from the group consisting of:

a person copied on one of the communications;

a person blind-copied on one of the communications;

a sender of one of the communications;

a recipient of one of the communications; and

a person referenced in the body, text, or other content of one of the communications.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein a server includes the at least one processor, and the method further comprising sending the filtered data to the computing device for display.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing data associated with prior activities of the user on the computing device, and wherein the filtering the data is further based on the stored data.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the computing device includes the at least one processor, and the method further comprising presenting, using a display of the computing device, the filtered data to the user.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the presenting comprises displaying a feed of persons provided from an online service.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising using message addresses and online service identifiers to determine persons of the plurality of person profiles that are active on the online service.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising suggesting to the user a list of persons to be followed on the online service based on the persons determined to be active.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising ranking the plurality of person profiles, and wherein the filtering uses the ranking.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer-readable instructions, which when executed, cause a computing apparatus to:

store, using at least one processor, a plurality of person profiles for persons associated with communications received by a user of a computing device;

create a list of persons available on an online service;

receive a feed from the online service that is based on the list of persons; and

customize the feed based on the plurality of person profiles.

12. The storage medium of claim 11, wherein a server includes the at least one processor, and the instructions further cause the computing apparatus to send the customized feed to the computing device for display.

13. The storage medium of claim 11, wherein the instructions further cause the computing apparatus to store data associated with prior activities of the user on the computing device, and wherein the customizing of the feed is further based on the stored data.

14. The storage medium of claim 11, wherein the instructions further cause the computing apparatus to rank the plurality of person profiles, and wherein the customizing uses the ranking.

15. The storage medium of claim 14, wherein the ranking is a relevancy ranking.

16. A system, comprising:

at least one processor; and

memory storing instructions configured to instruct the at least one processor to;

store a plurality of person profiles for persons associated with communications received by a user of a computing device;

determine a set of persons of the person profiles that are active on an online service;

filter the set of persons to provide a plurality of highly-ranked persons, the filtering based on the plurality of person profiles; and

create a list using the highly-ranked persons, wherein the list is for presentation to the user on the computing device.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the instructions are further configured to instruct the at least one processor to collect communications associated with the computing device.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the list comprises messages from the highly-ranked persons.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein the system further comprises a display, and wherein the instructions are further configured to instruct the at least one processor to present, using the display, the list to the user.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein the list comprises data for each of the highly-ranked persons, and wherein the data is selected from the plurality of person profiles.

21. The system of claim 16, wherein the filtering uses a relevancy ranking for each of the plurality of person profiles.

22. The system of claim 16, further comprising a database storing the plurality of person profiles.