Online content tabulating system and method
First Claim
1. A method of identifying popular subject matter content within a community of online members of an electronic content provider, the method comprising:
- (a) receiving member content from the community of online members, including subject matter queries and/or text postings provided by the community of online members, directed to content categorized in one or more subject matter areas on a website operated by the electronic content provider;
(b) processing said subject matter queries and/or text postings for the entire community of online members, to determine a ranking of first content topics of interest for the community of online members;
(c) generating a first list identifying said first content topics and their associated first popularity ranking as determined at step (b);
(d) processing said subject matter queries and/or text postings for the community of online members, including by tabulating keywords in text therein, to identify second topics for the community of online members which are changing in popularity, and to determine a ranking of such second content topics of interest;
(e) generating a second list identifying said second content topics and their associated second popularity ranking as determined at step (d);
wherein said first list measures popularity of content during a first time period, and said second list measures a change in popularity of content over such period.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A tabulating system and method analyzes content posted and/or queried by an online community. The content can be searched based on a search filter executed at defined intervals, and the system can also reach through to locate and extract content from other remote systems. Community postings and queries can be tabulated to determine “hot topics” of interest to the community, to enhance the appeal and stickiness of a website. Furthermore, subscribers can also formulate and define their own custom searches to be run on their behalf to identify the existence of particular content on the website.
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Citations
36 Claims
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1. A method of identifying popular subject matter content within a community of online members of an electronic content provider, the method comprising:
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(a) receiving member content from the community of online members, including subject matter queries and/or text postings provided by the community of online members, directed to content categorized in one or more subject matter areas on a website operated by the electronic content provider;
(b) processing said subject matter queries and/or text postings for the entire community of online members, to determine a ranking of first content topics of interest for the community of online members;
(c) generating a first list identifying said first content topics and their associated first popularity ranking as determined at step (b);
(d) processing said subject matter queries and/or text postings for the community of online members, including by tabulating keywords in text therein, to identify second topics for the community of online members which are changing in popularity, and to determine a ranking of such second content topics of interest;
(e) generating a second list identifying said second content topics and their associated second popularity ranking as determined at step (d);
wherein said first list measures popularity of content during a first time period, and said second list measures a change in popularity of content over such period. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method of tabulating preference information for an online community of members of an online service provider system, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) monitoring queries made by members for locating content on the online content system;
(b) analyzing said queries to identify community interest in a first set of topics for which content is searchable on the online service provider system within the online community of members;
(c) ranking said first set of topics based on an overall total number of members expressing interest in said first set of topics through queries to such first set of topics during a first time period;
(d) tabulating text words in said queries to identify community interest in second topics that are different from said first topics during said first time period;
wherein said tabulating includes counting a useage of said text words in said queries;
(e) ranking said second topics for the online community of members;
wherein said ranking of said second topics is based generating a numerical ranking of said words as used in said queries and said second ranking measures a change in popularity of topics over said first time period;
(f) presenting at least a list of said ranking of said first set of topics to the online community of members. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of identifying content which is of interest to a community of online members of an electronic content provider, the method comprising:
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(a) processing a first set of search queries and/or postings from the community of online members concerning one or more subject matter areas;
(b) processing a second set of search queries and/or postings from another community of online members concerning said one or more subject matter areas, wherein said second set of search queries and/or postings are stored in an electronic file on an online computing system that is different from that used by the community of online members, and said processing is performed by examining said electronic file and without directly monitoring search/query activities of all online members of said another community;
(c) processing said first and second sets of search queries and/or postings for both communities of online members, including by tabulating instances of words contained in text therein, to determine;
1) a popularity ranking of topics of interest for the community of online members;
2), a popularity ranking of topics of interest for said another community of online members; and
3) a popularity ranking of topics of interest as reflected by combined files from both communities of online members;
(d) generating a visible list for the community of online members identifying topics and their popularity ranking as determined at step (b);
(e) updating said visible list by repeating step (b) at regular internals to identify new topics of interest in both said communities of online members. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of tabulating selected content for display to subscribers of a first Internet website, the method comprising:
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(a) extracting selected content directly from one or more second Internet websites that are separate from said first Internet website, said selected content including data items having text content authored by a community of subscribers of the one or more second Internet websites and which is extracted without directly monitoring search/query activities of online members of said another community;
(b) reviewing said text content retrieved by said content locating routine to identify keywords in said text content;
(c) generating a tabulation of said data items, wherein said tabulation includes counting instances of one or more keywords in said data items;
(d) communicating said tabulation to one or more subscribers of the first Internet website;
wherein an overall popularity of topics associated with said one or more keywords can be measured for said community of subscribers of the one or more second Internet websites and presented to said one or more subscribers of the first Internet website.
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17. A method of tabulating selected content at a first Internet website based on member interactions with one or more second Internet websites that are separate from the first Internet website, the method comprising:
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(a) defining a data filter to be used by a content locating routine operating on the first content server for identifying the selected content stored on the one or more second Internet websites, said data filter specifying one or more keywords;
(b) defining a schedule to be used for executing said content locating routine;
(c) reviewing member content retrieved by said content locating routine with said data filter to locate data items containing said one or more keywords, said member content being generated by a community of members of the one or more second Internet websites;
(d) generating a tabulation of said member content based on said data filter, wherein said tabulation includes counting instances of said one or more keywords in said set of data items, and said tabulation does not directly monitor online activities of all community members of the one or more second Internet websites;
(e) communicating said tabulation to one or more subscribers of the first Internet website;
wherein statistical information for said one or more keywords can be measured for said community of members of the one or more second Internet websites and presented to said one or more subscribers of the first Internet website. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
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20. A method of identifying content which is popular within a community of online members of an electronic content provider, the method comprising:
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(a) receiving member content from the community of online members concerning one or more content subject matter areas, said member content including subject matter queries and/or text postings provided by the community of online members;
wherein said text postings are tagged with a context identifier indicating a context in which a member provided said text posting, including a content subject matter area being accessed by the member when said text posting was made;
(b) processing said subject matter queries and/or text postings for the entire community of online members, including by tabulating instances of words contained in text therein and any context identifier, to determine a ranking of content topics of interest for the community of online members;
(c) generating a list identifying content topics and their popularity ranking as determined at step (c);
(d) presenting said list to one or more of the online members.
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21. A method of identifying search preferences of a community of online members of an electronic content provider, the method comprising:
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(a) receiving content preference data from the community of online members, including search queries and/or postings concerning one or more subject matter areas, as well as individual personalized content preferences from each member which are identified by such member;
(b) generating a profile for each member based on said content preference data, said profile identifying a set of first customized search parameters used by such member of the community of online members to conduct said search queries and/or postings;
wherein said profile is continually updated by tracking said set of first customized search parameters as they are used by each member during separate interactive sessions with the electronic content provider;
(c) tabulating said set of first customized search parameters to determine a prevalence of use for said set of first customized search parameters across the community of online members;
(d) generating a list identifying a frequency of use for said set of first customized search parameters within the community of online members as determined at step (c). - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method of identifying profile data for a community of online members of an electronic content provider, the method comprising:
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(a) monitoring and storing queries and text postings made by the community of online members concerning one or more subject matter areas;
(b) monitoring and storing context information associated with said queries and text postings, including a particular subject matter identifier for content being reviewed by a member while performing a query and/or posting to said one or more subject matter areas;
(c) monitoring and storing content information indicating particular content viewed by a member, as well as individual personalized content preferences from each member which are identified by such member;
(d) generating a profile for a member, said profile being based on said queries, said text postings, said context information and said content information;
(e) tabulating said profile and other member profiles to identify a community wide prevalence for said profile and said other member profiles. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29)
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30. A method of identifying advertising materials which arc most likely to be of interest to a community of online members of an electronic content provider, the method comprising:
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(a) receiving search queries and/or postings from the community of online members concerning one or more subject matter areas;
(b) creating a profile for each member of the community of online members on an individual member basis, including one or more specific subject matter areas and text words associated with each such member, by processing said search queries and/or postings for the entire community of online members;
wherein said profile also includes context information associated with said search queries and/or postings, including an identification of a category of content being reviewed by the user during said search queries and/or postings;
(c) determining a community-wide current following of one or more topics within the community of online members by processing said search queries and/or postings for the entire community of online members, including by tabulating instances of words contained in text therein;
(d) determining demographics data for the community of online members, wherein at least a portion of said demographics data for each member is identified indirectly from monitoring an online behavior of such member including content query and reviewing activities;
(e) selecting and presenting advertising material online to the community of online members based on said demographics data, said profiles, and the results of step (c). - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A method of identifying advertising materials which are most likely to be of interest to a community of online members of an electronic content provider, the method comprising:
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(a) receiving search queries and/or postings from the community of online members concerning one or more subject matter areas;
(b) collecting demographics information for the community of online members wherein at least a portion of said demographics data for each member is identified indirectly from monitoring an online behavior of such member including content query and reviewing activities;
(c) determining a current following of one or more particular company names and/or product brand names across the entire community of online members by processing said search queries and/or postings for the entire community of online members, including by tabulating instances of words contained in text therein;
(d) customizing and delivering advertising material for the community of online members based on said demographics information and the results of step (c). - View Dependent Claims (36)
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Specification