Dual/blind identification

• US 6,415,322 B1
• Filed: 02/26/1999
• Issued: 07/02/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: BEH Investments LLC
• Original Assignee: Engage
• Inventors: Jaye, Daniel J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sheikh, Ayaz
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dinh, Khanh Quang
• Application Number:
  US09/258,779
• Time in Patent Office: 1,222 Days
• Field of Search: 709/201, 709/221, 709/222, 709/224, 709/203, 379/127, 379/114, 379/19, 707/9, 345/327
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

A computer apparatus and a method is described for establishing a global interest profile of a user. At least one local server and an enterprise server communicate with the user via a communication channel. The local server assigns a local ID to the user. The enterprise server assigns to the user a global ID and links the local ID and local user information with the global ID to form a global interest profile of the user. The identity of the users is not shared between servers, thereby maintaining the privacy of the user.

Claims

1. In a computer network comprising at least one local server and an enterprise server in conmunication with the local server, a method for establishing a global interest profile of a user comprising:

at the local server;

establishing a local ID for the user; and

communicating to the enterprise server the local ID of the user and a local user profile based on user interaction with the local server;

at the enterprise server;

linking the local ID to a global ID assigned to the user by the enterprise server;

recording in an enterprise database under the global user ID information about local user profiles relating to the same user and generated from different local servers to form a global interest profile for each user within a subset of users in communication with one or more local servers; and

computing at least one score from the global interest profile of a user for comparing the at least one score with a score of another user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the information recorded in the enterprise database includes the local ID of the user.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the global ID is kept secret from the local servers.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the local user profile comprises demographic information supplied by the user.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the local user profile is communicated to the enterprise server at predetermined times.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein changes in the local user profile as a result of recent user interaction are determined and wherein the local user profile is communicated to the enterprise server when the determined changes are greater than a predetermined number of changes.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the global ID is assigned to the user when the user directly accesses the enterprise server.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the global ID is assigned to the user when the local server first communicates the local ID of the user to the enterprise server.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the local servers and the enterprise server sends state information to the client.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the enterprise server sends state information to the local server.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the enterprise server maps the local user ID from the local server to the global user ID.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the local server communicates the local user ID to the enterprise server by transmitting a URL on an HTML page.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein transmission of the URL is transparent to the user.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the URL includes a graphic symbol of zero width and height.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the local server communicates the local user ID to the enterprise server by temporarily redirecting the URL selected by the user to a local URL.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the local ID of the user is known only to the local server which assigned the local ID.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the scores represent an absolute number score.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the local ID and the global ID are persistent.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the local user profile is established incrementally by adding information about a most recent user interaction to a legacy user profile stored at the local server.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the local user profile is processed in real time.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the user profile is weighted according to the recency of the user interaction with the local server.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the global user profile is updated in real time.

23. The method of claim 1, wherein the global user profile for a plurality of users is updated in a single pass.

38. The method of claim 1, wherein the local user profile reflects subject matter selected by a user while interacting with the local server.

24. A computer apparatus for establishing a global interest profile of a user comprising:

at least one local server in communication with the user via communication channel, the local server assigning a local ID for the user during the first access by the use to the local server;

an enterprise server in communication with the user and the local server via the communication channel, the enterprise server assigning a global ID for the user;

wherein the local server communicates to the enterprise server the local ID of the user and a local user profile based on user interaction with the local server; and

wherein the enterprise server;

links the local ID to the global ID;

records in an enterprise database under the global ID information about the local ID and local user profiles relating to the same user and generated from different local servers to form a global interest profile for each user within a subset of users in communication with one or more local servers; and

computes at least one score from the global interest profile of a user for comparing the at least one score with a score of another user.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the enterprise server assigns the global ID when the user directly accesses the enterprise server.

26. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the enterprise server assigns the global ID when the local server communicates to the enterprise server the local ID of a user.

27. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the local ID and the enterprise ID are persistent.

39. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the local user profile reflects subject mater selected by a user while interacting with the local server.

43. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the local server communicates the local user ID to the enterprise server by transmitting a URL on an HTML page.

44. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein transmission of the URL is rent to the user.

28. A method for monitoring interactions between a client and a plurality of servers communicating with one another in a computer network, comprising:

designating one server of the plurality of servers as an enterprise server and the remaining servers as local servers;

a local server, upon interaction with the client, establishing a local ID for the client and communicating at least the local ID of the client to the enterprise server;

the enterprise server assigning a unique global ID to the client upon at least one of;

(i) receiving from the local server the local ID of the client, and

(ii) the client interacting directly with the enterprise server; and

the enterprise server;

(i) linking the local ID with the global ID;

(ii) storing the client interactions in an enterprise database under the global ID, thereby allowing the enterprise server to store the client interactions by the same client with different servers in the enterprise database under the global ID; and

(iii) computing at least one score from the stored interactions of a client for comparing the at least one score with the score of another client.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the enterprise server and the local servers form an enterprise group.

30. The method of claim 28, wherein the global ID is restricted to the enterprise server.

31. The method of claim 28, wherein the client receives state information from the server upon interaction with the server and transmits the state information during a subsequent interaction with the server.

32. The method of claim 28, wherein the local server receives from the enterprise server state information related to the client, and transmits the state information during a subsequent interaction with the enterprise server that relates to the same client.

33. The method of claim 31, wherein the state information is persistent and stored in form of a cookie.

34. The method of claim 32, wherein the state information is persistent and stored in form of a cookie.

35. The method of claim 28, wherein the local server communicates the local user ID to the enterprise server by transmitting a URL.

40. The method of claim 28, wherein the client interactions reflect subject matter selected from the client while interacting with a local server.

45. The method of claim 28, wherein the local server communicates the local ID of the client to the enterprise server by transmitting a UR on an HTML page.

46. The method of claim 45, wherein transmission of the URL is transparent to the client.

36. A computer program, residing on a computer-readable medium, comprising instructions for causing an enter server to:

establish a unique global ID for a client upon at least one of;

(i) receiving from a local server a local ID of the client, and

(ii) the client interacting directly with the enterprise server; and

link the global ID with the local ID and with local information associated with the local ID to form a global interest profile representative of information generated from interactions between the client and a plurality of local servers for each client within a subset of clients in communication with one or more local servers; and

compute at least one score from the global interest profile of a client for comparing the at least one score with a score of another client.

41. The computer program of claim 36, wherein local information associated with the local ID of a client reflects subject mater selected from the client while interacting with a local server.

47. The computer program of claim 36, further including instructions for causing the local server to communicate the local ID of the client to the enterprise server by transmitting a URL on an HTML page.

48. The computer program of claim 47, wherein transmission of the URL is transparent to the user.

37. A method implemented in a computer program application operating on an enterprise server, the enterprise server communicating with a client and at least one local server, the method causing the enterprise server to:

assign to the client a global ID upon at least one of;

(i) receiving from the local server a local ID of the client; and

(ii) the client interacting directly with the enterprise server;

link the global ID of the client with the local ID of the client;

record in a database the global ID, the linked local ID and local information about the client associated with the local ID to form a global interest profile representative of information generated from interactions between the client and a plurality of local servers for each client within a subset of clients in communication with one or more local servers; and

compute at least one score from the global interest profile of a client for comparing the at least one score with a score of another client.

42. The method of claim 37, wherein the local information about the client reflects subject matter selected from the client while interacting with a local server.

49. The method of claim 37, the local server communicates the local ID of the client to the enterprise server by transmitting a URL on an HTML page.

50. The method of claim 49, wherein transmission of the URL is transparent to the client.