Content display monitor

• US 7,716,326 B2
• Filed: 12/29/2006
• Issued: 05/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: comScore, Inc., Nielsen Company (US), LLC, Nuweb
• Original Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Inventors: Blumenau, Trevor
• Primary Examiner(s): Najjar; Saleh
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kim; Edward J
• Application Number:
  US11/618,055
• Publication Number:
  US 20070106755A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,229 Days
• Field of Search: 709/224, 709/225
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/34 Recording or statistical evaluation of computer activity, e.g. of down time, of input/output operation ; Recording or statistical evaluation of user activity, e.g. usability assessment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/348 Circuit details, i.e. tracer hardware
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3485 for I/O devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/875 Monitoring of systems including the internet
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/103 Formatting, i.e. changing of presentation of documents automatic justification G06F40/189; automatic line break hyphenation G06F40/191
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/106 Display of layout of documents; Previewing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0256 User search
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0625 Directed, with specific intent or strategy
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/08 Monitoring or testing based on specific metrics, e.g. QoS, energy consumption or environmental parameters

Abstract

The invention can enable monitoring of the display of content by a computer system. Moreover, the invention can enable monitoring of the displayed content to produce monitoring information from which conclusions may be deduced regarding the observation of the displayed content by an observer. The invention can also enable monitoring of the display at a content display site of content that is provided by a content provider site over a network to the content display site. Additionally, the invention can enable the expeditious provision of updated and/or tailored content over a network from a content provider site to a content display site so that the content provider'"'"'s current and appropriately tailored content is always displayed at the content display site. Aspects of the invention related to transfer of content over a network are generally applicable to any type of network. However, it is contemplated that the invention can be particularly useful with a computer network, including private computer networks (e.g., America Online™) and public computer networks (e.g., the Internet). In particular, the invention can be advantageously used with computer networks or portions of computer networks over which video and/or audio content are transferred from one network site to another network site for observation, such as the World Wide Web portion of the Internet.

Claims

1. A method for detecting display of content by a browser, comprising:

sending a request for a web page identified by a first universal resource locator from a content display site to a content provider server via a public computer network;

receiving an HTML file from the content provider site at the content display site, the HTML file including at least one computer executable display instruction that causes display of content associated with the HTML file and providing access to at least one computer executable monitoring instruction that causes display of the content to be detected at the content display site;

executing the at least one computer executable display instruction at the content display site to cause display of the content;

executing the at least one computer executable monitoring instruction received via the HTML file at the content display site, the at least one monitoring instruction performing monitoring responsive to an event notification passed from a host environment at the content display site to cause generation of a data signal indicating that the content was displayed; and

transmitting the data signal from the content display site to a remote site which is different from the content provider site and which did not transfer the HTML file from the content provider site to the content display site.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the data signal indicating that the content was displayed identifies at least one user input.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the user input comprises a mouse click.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the user input comprises a keyboard input.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the user input is monitored by monitoring at least one event transmitted by an operating system of the content display site.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the data signal indicating that the content was displayed identifies at least one user selection relating to the content displayed at the content display site.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the user selection comprises a hyperlink selection.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the user selection comprises selection of a user interface.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the user selection comprises selection of a graphical pushbutton.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the user selection is monitored by monitoring at least one event transmitted by an operating system of the content display site.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the data signal indicating that the content was displayed identifies at least one user event relating to the content displayed at the content display site.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the user event is an event transmitted by an operating system of the content display site.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the host environment comprises an operating system.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the event notification comprises an operating system event.