Personalization engine for building a dynamic classification dictionary

• US 8,234,263 B2
• Filed: 01/29/2010
• Issued: 07/31/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CBS Interactive Inc. (ViacomCBS Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: CBS Interactive Inc. (ViacomCBS Incorporated)
• Inventors: Pradhan, Tushar, Osborne, Thomas, Potter, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Vo, Tim T
• Assistant Examiner(s): TRAN, ANHTAI V
• Application Number:
  US12/696,115
• Publication Number:
  US 20100131507A1
• Time in Patent Office: 914 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 707/706
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/285 Clustering or classification
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/335 Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles filtering in web context G06F16/9535, G06F16/9536
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/353 into predefined classes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking

Abstract

A dynamic classification dictionary is built for use in profiling and targeting users for additional relevant content. Behavioral data is gathered from user activity, and user documents and actions are categorized. Author-generated document classification information is analyzed and assigned a first taxonomic noun to characterize the document. User-generated tags characterizing a portion of the document are assigned a second taxonomic noun. Search terms that resulted in the user accessing the document are identified and assigned a third taxonomic noun. Attributes related to the manner in which the document was accessed are evaluated and assigned a fourth taxonomic noun. The document is processed using pattern rules to extract a fifth taxonomic noun. The taxonomic nouns are aggregated into a composite set of taxonomic nouns, and the dynamic classification dictionary is build by storing the composite set of taxonomic nouns.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for building a dynamic classification dictionary, the method comprising:

analyzing, with a computing device, author-generated classification information regarding a document and assigning a set of first taxonomic nouns to characterize the document based upon the author-generated classification information;

examining, with a computing device, a user-generated tag from a client computer characterizing a portion of the document and assigning a set of second taxonomic nouns to characterize the document based upon the user-generated tag characterization;

identifying, with a computing device, a method of access through which the document has been accessed from a content provider and assigning a set of third taxonomic nouns to characterize the document based upon the method of access;

evaluating, with a computing device, attributes related to the method of access and assigning a set of fourth taxonomic nouns to characterize the document based upon the attributes related to the method of access;

processing, with a computing device, the document to extract a set of fifth taxonomic nouns to characterize the document based upon a predetermined pattern rule;

aggregating, with a computing device, the set of first taxonomic nouns, the set of second taxonomic nouns, the set of third taxonomic nouns, the set of fourth taxonomic nouns, and the set of fifth taxonomic nouns into a composite set of taxonomic nouns; and

building, with a computing device, a dynamic classification dictionary by storing the composite set of taxonomic nouns.

2. The computer-implemented method for building a dynamic classification dictionary of claim 1, wherein the composite set of taxonomic nouns includes a list of taxonomic nouns and a document and occurrence count.

3. The computer-implemented method for building a dynamic classification dictionary of claim 1, further comprising:

filtering the nouns in the dynamic classification dictionary using statistical attributes and heuristic filtering rules.

4. The computer-implemented method for building a dynamic classification dictionary of claim 1, wherein characteristics of the taxonomic nouns include at least one of a term type, a flag, a document count, and an occurrence count.

5. The computer-implemented method for building a dynamic classification dictionary of claim 1, further comprising:

analyzing the aggregate set of taxonomic nouns identified for all documents; and

creating a term table based upon the analyzed aggregate set of taxonomic nouns.

6. The computer-implemented method for building a dynamic classification dictionary of claim 1, further comprising:

entering nouns in the dynamic classification dictionary.

7. The computer-implemented method for building a dynamic classification dictionary of claim 1, further comprising:

editing nouns in the dynamic classification dictionary.

8. The computer-implemented method for building a dynamic classification dictionary of claim 1, further comprising:

clustering related nouns;

adding a topic to the dynamic classification dictionary based on the clustered related nouns; and

selecting a single term to represent the cluster.

9. The computer-implemented method for building a dynamic classification dictionary of claim 1, further comprising:

editing a topic in the dynamic classification dictionary.

10. The computer-implemented method for building a dynamic classification dictionary of claim 2, further comprising:

updating a dictionary database of known taxonomic nouns from the list of taxonomic nouns.

11. The computer-implemented method for building a dynamic classification dictionary of claim 4, wherein the term type includes at least one of a company name, a company type, a product name, a product type, a person name, a person type, a place name, a place type, an event name, or an event type.

12. The computer-implemented method for building a dynamic classification dictionary of claim 4, wherein the term type includes a topic name, the topic name including a single term that represents a cluster of related terms.

13. The computer-implemented method for building a dynamic classification dictionary of claim 5, further comprising:

identifying candidate terms to add to the dynamic classification dictionary based upon the analyzed aggregate set of taxonomic nouns.

14. The computer-implemented method for building a dynamic classification dictionary of claim 5, further comprising:

classifying a document based upon the analyzed aggregate set of taxonomic nouns; and

mapping the document to a topic table based upon the classification of the document.

15. A system for building a dynamic classification dictionary, the system comprising:

a computing device configured to analyze author-generated classification information regarding a document and assigning a set of first taxonomic nouns to characterize the document based upon the author-generated classification information;

a computing device configured to examine a user-generated tag from a client computer characterizing a portion of the document and assigning a set of second taxonomic nouns to characterize the document based upon the user-generated tag characterization;

a computing device configured to identify a method of access through which the document has been accessed and assigning a set of third taxonomic nouns to characterize the document based upon the method of access;

a computing device configured to evaluate attributes related to the method of access and assigning a set of fourth taxonomic nouns to characterize the document based upon the attributes related to the method of access;

a computing device configured to process the document to extract a set of fifth taxonomic nouns to characterize the document;

a computing device configured to aggregate the set of first taxonomic nouns, the set of second taxonomic nouns, the set of third taxonomic nouns, the set of fourth taxonomic nouns, and the set of fifth taxonomic nouns into a composite set of taxonomic nouns; and

a computing device configured to build a dynamic classification dictionary by storing the composite set of taxonomic nouns.

16. The system for building a dynamic classification dictionary of claim 15, wherein the composite set of taxonomic nouns includes a list of taxonomic nouns and a document and occurrence count.

17. The system for building a dynamic classification dictionary of claim 15, further comprising a computing device configured to filter the nouns in the dynamic classification dictionary using statistical attributes and heuristic filtering rules.

18. The system for building a dynamic classification dictionary of claim 15, wherein characteristics of the taxonomic nouns include at least one of a term type, a flag, a document count, and an occurrence count.

19. The system for building a dynamic classification dictionary of claim 16, further comprising:

a computing device configured to analyze the aggregate set of taxonomic nouns identified for all documents; and

a computing device configured to create a term table based upon the analyzed aggregate set of taxonomic nouns.

20. The system for building a dynamic classification dictionary of claim 15, further comprising a computing device configured to enter nouns in the dynamic classification dictionary.

21. The system for building a dynamic classification dictionary of claim 15, further comprising a computing device configured to edit nouns in the dynamic classification dictionary.

22. The system for building a dynamic classification dictionary of claim 15, further comprising:

a computing device configured to cluster related nouns;

a computing device configured to add a topic to the dynamic classification dictionary based on the clustered related nouns; and

a computing device configured to select a single term to represent the cluster.

23. The system for building a dynamic classification dictionary of claim 15, further comprising a computing device configured to edit a topic in the dynamic classification dictionary.

24. The system for building a dynamic classification dictionary of claim 16, further comprising a computing device configured to update a dictionary database of known taxonomic nouns from the list of taxonomic nouns.

25. The system for building a dynamic classification dictionary of claim 18, wherein the term type includes at least one of a company name, a company type, a product name, a product type, a person name, a person type, a place name, a place type, an event name, or an event type.

26. The system for building a dynamic classification dictionary of claim 18, wherein the term type includes a topic name, the topic name including a single term that represents a cluster of related terms.

27. The system for building a dynamic classification dictionary of claim 19, further comprising a computing device configured to identify candidate terms to add to the dynamic classification dictionary based upon the analyzed aggregate set of taxonomic nouns.

28. The system for building a dynamic classification dictionary of claim 19, further comprising:

a computing device configured to classify a document based upon the analyzed aggregate set of taxonomic nouns; and

a computing device configured to map the document to a topic table based upon the classification of the document.

29. A computer program product with instructions recorded on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium for building a dynamic classification dictionary, the computer program product storing instructions comprising:

instructions for analyzing author-generated classification information regarding a document and assigning a set of first taxonomic nouns to characterize the document based upon the author-generated classification information;

instructions for examining a user-generated tag from a client computer characterizing a portion of the document and assigning a set of second taxonomic nouns to characterize the document based upon the user-generated tag characterization;

instructions for identifying a method of access through which the document has been accessed from a content provider and assigning a set of third taxonomic nouns to characterize the document based upon the method of access;

instructions for evaluating attributes related to the method of access and assigning a set of fourth taxonomic nouns to characterize the document based upon the attributes related to the method of access;

instructions for processing the document to extract a set of fifth taxonomic nouns to characterize the document based upon a predetermined pattern rule;

instructions for aggregating the set of first taxonomic nouns, the set of second taxonomic nouns, the set of third taxonomic nouns, the set of fourth taxonomic nouns, and the set of fifth taxonomic nouns into a composite set of taxonomic nouns; and

instructions for building a dynamic classification dictionary by storing the composite set of taxonomic nouns.

30. The computer program product of claim 29, wherein the composite set of taxonomic nouns includes a list of taxonomic nouns and a document and occurrence count.

31. The computer program product of claim 29, further comprising instructions for filtering the nouns in the dynamic classification dictionary using statistical attributes and heuristic filtering rules.

32. The computer program product of claim 29, wherein characteristics of the taxonomic nouns include at least one of a term type, a flag, a document count, and an occurrence count.

33. The computer program product of claim 29, further comprising:

instructions for analyzing the aggregate set of taxonomic nouns identified for all documents; and

instructions for creating a term table based upon the analyzed aggregate set of taxonomic nouns.

34. The computer program product of claim 29, further comprising instructions for entering nouns in the dynamic classification dictionary.

35. The computer program product of claim 29, further comprising instructions for editing nouns in the dynamic classification dictionary.

36. The computer program product of claim 29, further comprising:

instructions for clustering related nouns;

instructions for adding a topic to the dynamic classification dictionary based on the clustered related nouns; and

instructions for selecting a single term to represent the cluster.

37. The computer program product of claim 29, further comprising instructions for editing a topic in the dynamic classification dictionary.

38. The computer program product of claim 30, further comprising instructions for updating a dictionary database of known taxonomic nouns from the list of taxonomic nouns.

39. The computer program product of claim 32, wherein the term type includes at least one of a company name, a company type, a product name, a product type, a person name, a person type, a place name, a place type, an event name, or an event type.

40. The computer program product of claim 32, wherein the term type includes a topic name, the topic name including a single term that represents a cluster of related terms.

41. The computer program product of claim 33, further comprising instructions for identifying candidate terms to add to the dynamic classification dictionary based upon the analyzed aggregate set of taxonomic nouns.

42. The computer program product of claim 33, further comprising:

instructions for classifying a document based upon the analyzed aggregate set of taxonomic nouns; and

instructions for mapping the document to a topic table based upon the classification of the document.