Methods and Systems for Ranking Items on a Presentation Area Based on Binary Outcomes

• US 20150254246A1
• Filed: 03/06/2014
• Published: 09/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yahoo Assets LLC
• Original Assignee: Yahoo! Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Sheth, Asad, Hamad, Ferras
• Granted Patent: US 9,529,858 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24578 using ranking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/438 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents

Abstract

A method includes accessing a number of cards from a database. The cards are ranked in the database based on a test conducted on a number of users. The cards are associated with one or more rule states. The one or more rule states provide binary outcomes of one or more rules. Each rule is identified using a code. The test is conducted by presenting different random sequences of the cards to different users and receiving inputs from the number of users. The method further includes receiving a request for a presentation area from a client device operated by a user. The presentation area is used for displaying the number of cards in an order, which is determined based on the test. The method includes providing the number of cards for display in the order within the presentation area on the client device of the user in response to the request.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

accessing a number of cards from a database, the cards ranked in the database based on a test conducted on a number of users, the cards associated with one or more rule states, the one or more rule states providing binary outcomes of one or more rules, each rule identified using a code, the test conducted by presenting different random sequences of the cards to different ones of the users and receiving inputs from the number of users;

receiving a request for a presentation area from a client device operated by a user, the presentation area for displaying the number of cards in an order, the order determined based on the test; and

providing the number of cards for display in the order within the presentation area on the client device of the user in response to the request.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the number of cards includes one or more cards, wherein the number of users includes one or more users, wherein conducting the test comprises:

determining whether one or more relevance actions are performed by the one or more users with respect to the one or more cards, the one or more cards displayed on the presentation area, the one or more rule states including the one or more binary outcomes of application of the one or more rules;

for each combination of two or more of the features of the one or more cards, determining a relationship between a number of the one or more relevance actions to a number of visits of the presentation area by the one or more users;

ranking the one or more cards based on the relationship; and

sending the one or more cards for display based on the ranking.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the relationship includes a ratio of the number of the one or more relevance actions to the number of visits of the presentation area by the one or more users.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

determining a binary outcome of one of the rules based on a demographic of the one or more users; and

determining a binary outcome of another one of the rules based on one or more conditions of an environment.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the environment includes a weather environment, or a sports environment, or a finance environment, or an image environment, or a videos environment, or a birthday environment, or a horoscopes environment, or a comics environment.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the code assigned to one of the features is independent of a meaning of the one of the rules.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the presentation area includes a web page or a presentation area within a mobile application.

8. A method comprising:

receiving a plurality of cards, each card having multimedia content to be displayed on a presentation area, the multimedia content having one or more features, the cards associated with one or more rules;

sending the plurality of cards for arrangement on the presentation area in a random order for a plurality of users that are capable of viewing the cards arranged in a user-specific order, the random order being different for different users;

identifying user interactivity with the features of any one of the cards, the interactivity with one of the features in one of the cards sets a binary outcome for the card; and

sending for display the plurality of cards ordered in accordance with a ranking defined based on the binary outcomes for the plurality of cards,

wherein the method is executed by a processor.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the binary outcome for the card includes a true outcome or a false outcome, wherein each of the one or more rules is assigned a binary outcome.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising defining the ranking based on the binary outcome for the card, wherein defining the ranking based on the binary outcome comprises:

for each combination of binary outcomes of rules associated with each card, determining whether a relevance event occurred, wherein the relevance event includes a click, or a hover, or a view, or a combination thereof;

for each combination of binary outcomes of rules associated with each card, assigning a relevance score to the card based on a ratio of a number of relevance events on the presentation area received from a number of the users to a total number of page visits of the presentation area by the users; and

assigning a rank to the cards based on the relevance score.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the multimedia content includes text, or photos, or videos, or animations, or audio, or a combination thereof.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the presentation area includes a home page, wherein the home page is a page on a website.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the features include hyperlinks, wherein the features include text, or photos, or videos, or animations, or audio, or a combination thereof.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein each card is configured to receive a close selection from a user via an input device to close the card on the presentation area, wherein upon receiving the close selection, a prompt to save the close selection in a user account is displayed, wherein upon receiving the close selection after the prompt the closed card is reopened on the presentation area, wherein the multimedia content of one of the cards is displayed having an increased size upon selecting the multimedia content.

15. The method of claim 8, wherein each card is displayed by executing a corresponding computer application.

16. The method of claim 8, wherein the random order includes a random sequence, the random sequence is created by a random number generator, wherein the random sequence includes multiple random numbers, wherein each random number is unknown before the random number is generated.

17. The method of claim 8, wherein the plurality of users operate a plurality of client devices, or have a plurality of user accounts, or a combination thereof.

18. The method of claim 8, wherein the user interactivity includes a click by a user, or a hover by the user, or a view by the user, or a combination thereof.

19. The method of claim 8, wherein the ranking defines an arrangement of the cards on a display device of a client device.

20. The method of claim 8, wherein the cards include categories, the categories including weather, or finance, or sports, or images, or videos, or birthdays, or comics, or horoscopes, or a combination thereof.

21. A method for arranging a plurality of categories, the method comprising:

receiving the categories, the categories to be presented on a presentation area, one of the categories different than another one of the categories, each category for presentation of a combination of features, the categories associated with a number of combinations of binary outcomes of a number of combinations of rules;

sending for display to a number of client devices the categories, each category is associated with a corresponding one of the combinations of binary outcomes;

determining a number of the client devices from which indications of relevance actions are received when the categories based on the combinations of binary outcomes are presented on the client devices; and

ranking the categories for presentation on the presentation area based on the number of client devices from which the indications of the relevance actions are received,

wherein the method is executed by a processor.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein ranking the categories for presentation on the presentation area based on the number of client devices from which the indications of the relevance actions are received comprises:

determining a ratio of the number of client devices from which the indications of the relevance actions are received to the number of client devices on which the categories are displayed; and

ranking the categories based on the ratio.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein one of the relevance actions includes hovering on one of the features presented based on the binary outcomes using a pointer, or selecting one of the features presented based on the binary outcomes using the pointer, or viewing one of the features presented based on the binary outcomes, or a combination thereof.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein the categories including weather, or finance, or sports, or images, or videos, or birthdays, or comics, or horoscopes, or a combination thereof.

25. A server comprising:

a memory device for storing a computer program; and

a processor coupled to the memory device for retrieving the computer program from the memory device and executing the computer program, the processor for executing the computer program for;

receiving a plurality of cards, each card having multimedia content to be displayed on a presentation area, the multimedia content having one or more features, the cards associated with one or more rules;

sending the plurality of cards for arrangement on the presentation area in a random order for a plurality of users that are capable of viewing the cards arranged in a user-specific order, the random order being different for different users;

identifying user interactivity with the features of any one of the cards, the interactivity with one of the features in one of the cards sets a binary outcome for the card; and

sending for display the plurality of cards ordered in accordance with a ranking defined based on the binary outcomes for the plurality of cards.

26. The server of claim 25, wherein the processor is further configured for defining the ranking based on the binary outcome, wherein to define the ranking based on the binary outcome:

for each combination of binary outcomes of rules associated with each card, determining whether a relevance event occurred, wherein the relevance event includes a click, or a hover, or a view, or a combination thereof;

for each combination of binary outcomes of rules associated with each card, assigning a relevance score to the card based on a ratio of a number of relevance events on the presentation area received from a number of the users to a total number of page visits of the presentation area by the users; and

assigning a rank to the cards based on the relevance score.