REMOTE METERING FOR PANELIST WEB USAGE

• US 20150365310A1
• Filed: 11/13/2013
• Published: 12/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Rowe, Simon Michael
• Granted Patent: US 9,639,817 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34

Abstract

A method for remotely recording Web usage by a panelist includes receiving at a remote processor, a command from a local client to display a Web page; identifying the local client and the panelist operating the local client; accessing the Web page; rendering the Web page in a remote browser; sending an image of the Web page to a local browser of the local client; and recording Web usage metrics associated with a display of the image on the local browser.

Claims

1. A method, implemented on a processor, for remote metering of resource usage by a panelist, comprising;

initiating a first resource access using a local media device;

sending a resource access signal to a remote media device;

receiving, from the remote media device, an image of the first resource;

sending second and subsequent resource access requests to the remote media device;

receiving, from the remote media device, images of the second and subsequent resources; and

recording access data for the first, second, and subsequent resource access requests at the remote media device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the local media device comprises a thin browser and the remote media device comprises a fat browser.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the fat browser accesses and renders the first, second, and subsequent resources, and wherein the images provided by the fat browser are images of the rendered first, second, and subsequent resources.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing an identity of the first media device and the panelist to the remote media device.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising storing the identity with the recorded access data as panelist resource usage.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the resources are Internet Web sites.

7. A system for remote metering of Internet Web usage by a panelist, comprising:

a computer readable storage medium including remote metering instructions and remote navigation instructions;

a thin browser installed on a local media device, the local media device comprising a local processor;

a fat browser installed on a remote server, the remote server comprising a remote processor;

wherein the local processor executes the instructions to

send navigation signals to the fat browser, and

receive and display in the thin browser images of Web resources accessed by the fat browser; and

the remote processor;

receives the navigation signals from the local processor,

directs the fat browser to access resources as indicated by the navigation signals,

render the accessed resources in the fat browser,

send images of the rendered resources to the thin browser, and

record the resource accesses as Web usage by the panelist.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the resources include encrypted resources, and wherein the remote processor further operates to decrypt the encrypted resources.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the remote processor further operates to record resource urls, length of visit, day and time of visit, and actions taken from the thin client during display of the resource images on the thin client.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the images include videos, wherein the videos include video advertisements, and wherein the actions include skipping one or more video advertisements.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the remote processor logs impressions contained in the images.

12. A method for remotely recording Web usage by a panelist, comprising:

receiving at a remote processor, a command from a local client to display a Web page;

identifying the local client and the panelist operating the local client;

accessing the Web page;

rendering the Web page in a remote browser;

sending an image of the Web page to a local browser of the local client; and

recording Web usage metrics associated with a display of the image on the local browser.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the local client is a mobile media device and wherein the image is reduced in size from the rendered Web page.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the local client is a mobile media device, and wherein the remote browser renders the resource with a size matching a display of the mobile media device.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the resource includes a streaming video, and wherein the image is an image of the streaming video.

16. A computer readable storage medium comprising instructions for remote metering of resource usage by a panelist that when implemented by a processor, cause the processor to:

initiate a first resource access using a local media device;

send a resource access signal to a remote media device;

receive, from the remote media device, an image of the first resource;

send second and subsequent resource access requests to the remote media device;

receive, from the remote media device, images of the second and subsequent resources; and

record access data for the first, second, and subsequent resource access requests at the remote media device.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the local media device comprises a thin browser and the remote media device comprises a fat browser.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein the fat browser accesses and renders the first, second, and subsequent resources, and wherein the images provided by the fat browser are images of the rendered first, second, and subsequent resources.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the processor provides an identity of the first media device and the panelist to the remote media device.

20. The computer readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the processor stores the identity with the recorded access data as panelist resource usage.