Method and apparatus for tracking client interaction with a network resource and creating client profiles and resource database

• US 6,643,696 B2
• Filed: 12/11/1998
• Issued: 11/04/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nielsen Company (US) LLC (RR Donnelley & Sons Company)
• Original Assignee: NetRatings Australia Pty Ltd. (Nielsen Holdings plc)
• Inventors: Davis, Owen, Jain, Vidyut
• Primary Examiner(s): Harrell, Robert B.
• Application Number:
  US09/210,235
• Publication Number:
  US 20020099812A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,789 Days
• Field of Search: 705/7, 705/30, 705/10, 707/526, 707/104, 709/200, 709/202, 709/203, 709/213, 709/217, 709/218, 709/219, 709/223, 709/224
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3409 for performance assessment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3419 by assessing time
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3438 monitoring of user actions tracking the activity of the user H04L67/535
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3495 for systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/86 Event-based monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/875 Monitoring of systems including the internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/30 Managing network names, e.g. use of aliases or nicknames name-to-address mapping H04L61/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/35 involving non-standard use of addresses for implementing network functionalities, e.g. coding subscription information within the address or functional addressing, i.e. assigning an address to a function
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10015 Access to distributed or replicated servers, e.g. using brokers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A method for monitoring client interaction with a resource downloaded from a server in a computer network includes the steps of using a client to specify an address of a resource located on a first server, downloading a file corresponding to the resource from the first server in response to specification of the address, using the client to specify an address of a first executable program located on a second server, the address of the first executable program being embedded in the file downloaded from the first server, the first executable program including a software timer for monitoring the amount of time the client spends interacting with and displaying the file downloaded from the first server, downloading the first executable program from the second server to run on the client so as to determine the amount of time the client interacts with the file downloaded from the first server, using a server to acquire client identifying indicia from the client, and uploading the amount of time determined by the first executable program to a third server.

Claims

1. In a network having one or more servers connectable to one or more clients, a method of monitoring interaction through a first client of the one or more clients with a first resource, the first resource comprising a plurality of components and having a resource identifier associated therewith, the method comprising:

downloading to the first client a first component of the first resource from a first server;

executing on the first client an executable program to download one or more second components of the first resource;

monitoring interaction through the first client with the first component of the first resource and with the one or more second components of the first resource;

generating resource use data; and

transmitting from the first client to a second server information comprising resource use data and the resource identifier.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the monitoring is performed by one or more executable elements of the one or more second components.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more executable elements transfer resource use data to the executable program upon use of the one or more second components.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more executable elements store resource use data upon use of the one or more second components and transfer the stored resource use data to the executable program upon receipt of a request from the executable program.

5. The method of claim 2, comprising the executable program transferring the resource identifier to the one or more executable elements, and wherein the step of transmitting the resource use data and resource identifier is performed by the one or more executable elements.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the resource use data comprises data generated in response to predetermined interactions with the first component of the first resource and predetermined interactions with the one or more second components of the first resource.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the predetermined interactions with the first component comprise interactions with the first component other than interactions with the first component used by the first component or the one or more second components.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein the predetermined interactions with the one or more second components comprise interactions with the one or more second components other than interactions with the one or more second components used by the first component or by the one or more second components.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of transmitting the resource use data and resource identifier is performed by the executable program.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the monitoring is performed by one or more executable elements of the one or more second resources, and comprising the one or more executable elements transferring the resource use data to the executable program.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the resource use data comprises data other than data used by the first component.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the resource use data comprises data other than data used by the second or more components.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the resource use data comprises data other then data used by the first resource.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the first program is downloaded from the first server.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein the first program is downloaded to the first client as part of the first component of the first resource.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein the first component of the first resource comprises the first program.

17. The method of claim 1, comprising downloading the executable program from a third server.

18. The method of claim 1, comprising downloading the executable program from the second server.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the executable program is a part of the first component of the first resource.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the executable program is implemented in the Java programming language.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more second components are implemented in the Java programming language.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the resource use data comprises data representative of a duration of time for which the first resource was used by the first client.

23. The method of claim 1, wherein the resource use data comprises data representative of a duration of time for which the first component, or a part or parts thereof, was used by the first client.

24. The method of claim 1, wherein the resource use data comprises data representative of a duration of time for which the one or more second components, or a part or parts thereof, were used by the first client.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein the resource use data comprises data indicative of whether the first user used the resource.

26. The method of claim 1 wherein the network comprises a computer network.

27. The method of claim 1 wherein the network comprises a communications network.

28. In a computer network comprising one or more servers and one or more clients, a method of monitoring interaction through a first client of the one or more clients with a first resource or at least one component thereof obtained by the first client from at least one first server of the one or more servers, the method comprising:

downloading the first resource in a series of one or more components from the at least one first server to the first client;

downloading a tracking program from a server of the one or more servers to the first client, wherein the downloading of the first resource or at least one of the components thereof causes the downloading of the tracking program;

executing the tracking program on the client computer to monitor interaction through the client computer with at least one of the first resource, at least one of the components thereof, and one or more second resources, the one or more second resources having been obtained by the first client from at least one server of the one or more servers as a result of interaction through the first client with at least one of the first resource, at least one of the components thereof, and a second resource of the one or more second resources;

storing resource use data associated with the monitored interaction; and

communicating the resource use data to a server of the one or more servers.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein downloading the first resource comprises downloading a Web page.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the tracking program is embedded in the Web page.

31. The method of claim 28, comprising storing the resource use data in a server of the one or more servers.

32. The method of claim 31, comprising storing the resource use data in a database.

33. The method of claim 28, wherein monitoring user interaction comprises monitoring input device events.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the input device events comprise at least one of keyboard events and mouse events.

35. The method of claim 28, comprising downloading the first resource as a result of a request initiated by input from a user of the first client.

36. The method of claim 28, comprising downloading the tracking program from a second server of the one or more servers.

37. The method of claim 28, comprising monitoring details of choices made by a user of the first client using an input device of the first client, the choices being associated with at least one of the first resource, at least one of the one or more components thereof, and the one or more second resources.

38. The method of claim 28, comprising storing the resource us data in the client computer.

39. The method of claim 28, comprising communicating the resource use data from the first client to a server of the one or more servers.

40. In a network having one or more servers connectable to one or more clients, a method of monitoring interaction through a client of the one or more clients with a first resource which is stored on a first server and which may be stored in a cache, the method comprising:

downloading from one or more source servers one or more files containing embedded references to the first resource and a second resource;

the client requesting or using the first resource one or more times from the first server or from the cache;

downloading the second resource from a second server to the client, the first server and second server comprising two servers and the second resource not being part of the first resource; and

using the second resource to monitor interaction through the client with the first resource.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the second resource is an applet.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein the applet is implemented in the Java programming language.

43. The method of claim 40, wherein the step of requesting or using one or more files comprises requesting from one or more source servers a plurality of files each containing embedded references to the first resource and a second resource.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein the step of the client requesting or using the first resource comprises the client retrieving the first resource from cache for one or more files following a first file in the plurality of files.

45. The method of claim 43, wherein the step of requesting a plurality of files comprises requesting the files from a plurality of source servers.

46. The method of claim 40, wherein the step of requested the second resource comprises requesting the second resource each time the one or more files is requested.

47. The method of claim 46, wherein the step of using the second resource to monitor the number of times the first resource is requested or used comprises monitoring at the second server the number of times the second resource is requested to thereby monitor the number of times a file containing an embedded reference to the first resource is requested or used.

48. The method of claim 40, wherein the second resource is an executable program, comprising using the second resource to monitor a number of times the first resource is requested or used, wherein using the second resource comprises executing the second resource on the client to monitor each time the first resource is retrieved from the first server or from the cache.

49. The method of claim 40 wherein the network comprises a computer network.

50. The method of claim 40 wherein the network comprises a communications network.

51. In a network having one or more servers connectable to one or more clients, a method of monitoring interaction through a first client of the one or more clients with a first resource by a user, the first resource comprising a plurality of components and having a resource identifier associated therewith, the method comprising:

downloading to the first client a first component of the first resource from a first server;

executing on the first client an executable program to download one or more second components of the first resource;

monitoring interaction through the first client with the first component of the first resource and interaction through the first client with the one or more second components of the first resource;

generating resource use data; and

transmitting from the first client to a second server information comprising resource use data and the resource identifier.

52. The method of claim 51 wherein the resource use data comprises data representative of a plurality of preferences of the user.

53. The method of claim 51 wherein the resource use data comprises data representative of a plurality of interests of the user.

54. The method of claim 51 wherein the resource use data comprises data which does not affect the user'"'"'s contemporaneous experience of the resource.

55. The method of claim 51 wherein the step of generating resource use data does not require the active participation of a user.

56. The method of claim 51 wherein the step of generating resource use data comprises the automatic determination of a user'"'"'s preferences.

57. In a network having one or more servers connectable to one or more clients, a method of monitoring interaction through a first client of the one or more clients with a first resource comprising a plurality of components, the first resource having a resource identifier associated therewith, the method comprising:

downloading to the first client a first component of the first resource from a first server;

monitoring interaction through the first client with the first component of the first resource to generate resource use data; and

transmitting from the first client to a second server the resource use data and the resource identifier.

58. The method of claim 57, comprising downloading the executable program from a third server.

59. In a network having one or more servers connectable to one or more clients, a method of monitoring interaction through a first client of the one or more clients with a first resource comprising a plurality of components, the first resource having a resource identifier associated therewith, the method comprising:

downloading to the first client a first component of the first resource from a first server;

executing on the first client an executable program to download one or more second components of the first resource;

monitoring interaction through the first client with the first component of the first resource to generate resource use data;

monitoring interaction through the first client with the one or more second components to generate resource use data;

executing on the first client one or more of the second components to download one or more third components of a second resource;

monitoring interaction through the first client with the one or more third components to generate resource use data; and

transmitting from the first client to a second server the resource use data and the resource identifier.