Method and system for collecting data on the internet

• US 6,883,032 B1
• Filed: 02/02/2000
• Issued: 04/19/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nokia of America Corporation (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Dempski, David R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kang, Paul H.
• Application Number:
  US09/497,006
• Time in Patent Office: 1,903 Days
• Field of Search: 709/201, 709/202, 709/203, 709/206, 709/216, 709/217, 709/218, 709/219, 709/223, 709/224, 709/225, 709/247, 709/228, 709/100, 701/48, 715/501.1, 715/10, 707/5, 707/501.1, 713/2, 713/201, 717/173
• US Class Current: 709/229
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• 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]

Abstract

A method and system for using a computer to gather information of an end user'"'"'s visits to web pages and the duration and date of each visit, and then pairing this data with the user'"'"'s demographic data. The method and system include the steps of monitoring the web pages the end user visits; recording the duration and date of each visit to a web page; and saving the recorded information in the end user'"'"'s computer. The method and system further include the steps of providing a data processing computer for storing demographic data of the end user; storing the end user'"'"'s demographic data in the data processing computer; uploading upon selective operation by the end user'"'"'s computer in one direction from the end user'"'"'s computer to the data processing computer, the duration and date of visit information saved to the end user'"'"'s computer; matching the information uploaded with the end user'"'"'s demographic data; collating based on the end user'"'"'s demographic information, the information resulting from the previous step, and saving this information in the data processing computer. The above steps are then repeated for more than one end user.

Claims

1. A method for using a computer to gather information of an end user'"'"'s visits to web pages and a duration of each visit, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) monitoring the web pages the end user visits;

(b) recording the duration and date of each visit monitored in said step (a);

(c) saving information recorded in said step (b) in the end user'"'"'s computer;

(d) acquiring the end user'"'"'s consent to upload saved information; and

(e) uploading saved information upon selective operation by the end user from the end user'"'"'s computer to a data processing computer, the information saved to the end user'"'"'s computer in said step (c).

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

classifying a subject matter of each web page visited; and

recording the subject matter in step (b).

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the information saved in step (c) is compressed and encrypted.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the information saved in said step (c) is stored under an end user'"'"'s user identification code.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the user identification code is an alpha-numeric character.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of uploading saved information upon selective operation by the end user further comprises:

requesting the end user to upload the saved information upon expiration of a user defined time interval, the saved information further including URLs the user has previously visited and the duration of time the user has spent visiting these URLs;

selecting to upload the saved information;

prompting the end user for his or her user identification code or user name;

inputting the end user information on the end user'"'"'s computer; and

uploading the user identification code and the saved information to a data processing computer without receiving any information from the data processing computer to be displayed to the end user.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising the step:

rewarding the end user for choosing to upload the saved information.

8. A computer connected to the Internet for gathering information as to which web pages an end user visits, the date of each visit, and the duration of each visit, the end user visiting web pages through a web browser, the system comprising:

a user interface;

a processor for running program code to monitor information from the web pages visited by the web browser, the monitored information including URLs visited by the end user and the duration of time spent visiting these URLs; and

a first user database for storing the monitored information, said processor saving the monitored information to said first user database, said processor operating to periodically request the user at the expiration of a predefined time interval to consent to uploading the monitored information to a data processing computer through the Internet, said user interface displaying the periodic requests to the user.

9. The computer of claim 8 wherein monitored information is paired with an end user'"'"'s user identification code.

10. The computer of claim 8 wherein the processor passively monitors a TCP/IP stack protocol to retrieve the monitored information.

11. The computer of claim 8 wherein the processor monitors the web browser cache to retrieve the monitored information.

12. The computer of claim 8 wherein the monitored information is compressed and encrypted before being uploaded.

13. The computer of claim 8 further comprising:

a second database for storing user identification information including a user identification code, said user identification code being used as a key to relate corresponding monitored information in the first user database with the user identification information.

14. A data system accessed through the Internet for processing end users'"'"' Internet visits to web pages and the duration of these visits, the system comprising:

a first database storing user demographic information, said first database populated with user demographic information off-line and with end users'"'"' consent;

a processor for receiving uploaded monitored information from an end user'"'"'s computer, said monitored information including the URLs visited by end users and the duration of time spent visiting these URLs, said monitored information being received after acquiring consent to upload said monitored information from an end user, said processor organizing the received monitored information according to user demographic information stored in said first database; and

a second database for storing the organized information.

15. The data system of claim 14, wherein the processor is operative to receive monitored information without transmitting any information which would be displayed to an end user.

16. The data system of claim 14 wherein the demographic information and the monitored information include an end user identification code for matching monitored information with demographic information.

17. The data system of claim 14 wherein the demographic information comprises the end user'"'"'s age, sex, ethnicity, nationality, physical disability, and address.

18. A method for using a data processing system for processing end users'"'"' Internet visits to web pages and the duration of these visits, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) storing end users'"'"' demographic data in a first database of the data processing computer;

(b) receiving uploaded monitored information from an end user'"'"'s computer wherein said monitored information including the URLs visited by end users and the duration of time spent visiting these URLs, said monitored information being received after acquiring consent to upload said monitored information from an end user;

(c) matching the monitored information with the stored end user information; and

(d) organizing the received monitored information according to the stored end user demographic data,

(e) repeating steps (b) to (d) for more than one end user.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein in said matching step comprises the step of:

comparing an end user identification code stored with the end user information with an end user identification code carried in the uploaded monitored information.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein end users'"'"' demographic data comprises an end user'"'"'s age, sex, ethnicity, nationality, physical disability, and address.