Distributing personalized content

• US 8,014,407 B2
• Filed: 08/09/2010
• Issued: 09/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Oath Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AOL Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Bill, David S.
• Primary Examiner(s): PHAN, MAN U
• Application Number:
  US12/852,873
• Publication Number:
  US 20100306050A1
• Time in Patent Office: 393 Days
• Field of Search: 370254-338, 370352-393, 370400-452, 709203-219, 709223-238, 715 76- 87, 715 91- 95, 705 14- 26
• US Class Current: 370/400
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/27 Replication, distribution or synchronisation of data between databases or within a distributed database system; Distributed database system architectures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/435 Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/611 for multicast or broadcast systems for broadcast or conference H04L12/18; arrangements for broadcast or distribution combined with broadcast H04H20/00; arrangements for broadcast applications with a direct linkage to broadcast information or to broadcast space-time H04H60/00; selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS], H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/762 at the source reformatting of additional data in video distribution servers H04N21/2355
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99939 Privileged access

Abstract

The invention provides a method and system for distributing personalized content to potentially large numbers of recipients. A pool is selected, from among all content available for distribution, of those content elements that will be made available for simultaneous distribution, and personalized content is selected for distribution from that pool. The content of the pool can change with new selections over time. For each individual recipient, content elements in the pool are examined to determine if they are predicted to be of sufficient interest to that recipient for distribution, and if so, those content elements are distributed. If not, successive content elements in the pool are examined, relaxing the standard for sufficient interest, until at least one content element is found and distributed to the individual recipient.

Claims

1. A method of enabling access to songs through one or more theme-based channels over a communications network, the method comprising:

accessing, on a host, a library of content;

loading, from the library of content, a pool of songs for access within a theme-based channel, wherein the pool of songs includes a first song and a second song;

enabling a community of users to access the theme-based channel from across the communications network, wherein loading the pool of songs includes content determined to be responsive to the community of users accessing the theme-based channel;

receiving a request from a first individual recipient for the theme-based channel;

receiving a request from a second individual recipient for the theme-based channel;

providing, as the first individual recipient is accessing the theme-based channel, the first individual recipient with the first song, the first song being provided to the first individual recipient in response to determining that the first song is more responsive to a predicted interest of the first individual recipient than the second song;

providing, as the second individual recipient is accessing the theme-based channel, the second individual recipient with the second song;

providing, after providing the first song, a third song to the first individual recipient; and

providing, after providing the second song, the third song to the second individual recipient.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising removing the first song from the pool in response to providing the first song to the first individual recipient and removing the second song from the pool in response to providing the second song to the second individual recipient.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising removing the third song from the pool in response to providing the third song to the first individual recipient.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising replacing the pool on a periodic basis.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising replacing one or more songs in the pool in response to user feedback.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising replacing one or more songs in the pool in response to determining that the one or more songs are not responsive to the predicted interest of the community of users.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising identifying the third song in response to determining that the third song complies with a requirement that an artist may not be selected for consecutive songs.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising identifying the third song in response to determining that the third song complies with a requirement that the third song may not be played more than a threshold number of times in a threshold period of time.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising identifying the third song in response to determining that the third song has a different mood than the first song and the second song.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising identifying the third song in response to determining that the third song has a different tempo than the first song and the second song.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising identifying the third song independent of predicted interest in the third song from the first individual recipient.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising identifying the third song independent of predicted interest in the first song from the first individual recipient.

13. The method of claim 1 further comprising identifying the third song in response to determining that the third song has a threshold degree of interest from the community of users.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the first individual recipient receives the first song at substantially the same time that the second individual recipient receives the second song.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein the first individual recipient receives the third song at substantially the same time that the second individual recipient receives the third song.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein providing the third song to the first individual recipient includes providing an advertisement.