System and method for providing media content having attributes matching a user's stated preference

• US 8,427,303 B1
• Filed: 12/16/2011
• Issued: 04/23/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intellectual Ventures II LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Geomass LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Brady, James V. Jr., Sohr, Dana M.
• Primary Examiner(s): POPE, DARYL C
• Application Number:
  US13/328,851
• Time in Patent Office: 494 Days
• Field of Search: 340/988, 340/990, 340/991, 701/200, 701/207, 701/211
• US Class Current: 340/539.11
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/32 Structuring or formatting of map data
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3679 Retrieval, searching and output of POI information, e.g. hotels, restaurants, shops, filling stations, parking facilities G01C21/3611 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3682 output of POI information on a road map G01C21/3614, G01C21/3685 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0962 having an indicator mounted inside the vehicle, e.g. giving voice messages
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096838 where the user preferences are taken into account or the user selects one route out of a plurality
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0969 having a display in the form of a map
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/20 Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/207 with respect to certain areas, e.g. forbidden or allowed areas with possible alerting when inside or outside boundaries
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 27/00 Combined visual and audible advertising or displaying, e.g. for public address
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• 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: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 : using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 : Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 : for social networking applications

Abstract

A location-based and preference-based system and method for matching media content about persons, places and things with the expressed preferences of mobile users to notify users about and provide users with access to media content about persons, places and things that match the user'"'"'s expressed preferences. The system thus provides information such as stories or articles that match the user'"'"'s interests and relate to their location. The system may assign ranks to all of the media content that meets that user'"'"'s preferences wherein, in one embodiment, it will automatically play them in the assigned order. Comparison of the user'"'"'s preferences with the various profiles of the media content allows the user only to be informed of the media content for those persons, places or things that the user is likely to be interested in. The system and method thus provides for a mobile real-time point of interest exchange network.

Claims

1. A method of notifying a user using a device about media content about people, places or things having attributes that match explicit preferences of the user, and which are within a selected geographic area, the method comprising:

accessing a user preference profile created by the user;

accessing profiles of media content about the people, places or things;

receiving a selected geographic area;

comparing the user preference profile and the profiles of media content about the people, places or things to determine if the media content has attributes that match the preferences of the user, wherein comparing the user preference profile with the profiles of media content comprises determining whether the people, places or things in the media content are within the selected geographic area; and

notifying the user of all of the media content about the people, places or things that match the user'"'"'s explicit preferences and are within the selected geographic area.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing additional information, if requested by the user, about the media content about the people, places or things having a profile that matches the user preference profile.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the profile of the media content about the people, places or things includes keywords.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising permitting updating of the user preference profile.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the selected geographic area is a destination area.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising ranking the media content about the people, places or things having a profile that matches the user'"'"'s explicit preferences, and which are within the selected geographic area.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising providing the media content to the user based on the ranking.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising automatically playing the media content in the order of its ranking.

9. The method of claim 6, further comprising determining the user'"'"'s level of interest in the media content.

10. A method of notifying a user using a device about media content about people, places or things having attributes that match explicit preferences of the user, the method comprising:

accessing a user preference profile created by the user;

accessing a profile of the media content about people, places or things;

determining the location of the user;

using the location of the user to determine a geographic area;

comparing the user preference profile and the profile of the media content about the people, places or things to determine if any of the people, places or things has attributes that match the preferences of the user, wherein comparing the user preference profile with the profile of the media content about the people, places or things comprises determining whether at least one of the people, places or things is within the geographic area; and

notifying the user of the at least one of the people, places or things that match the user'"'"'s explicit preferences and are within the geographic area.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the geographic area is a desired proximity to the location of the user.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising providing additional information, if requested by the user, about the people, places or things from media content having a profile that matches the user preference profile.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the profile of the media content about the people, places or things includes keywords.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising permitting updating of the user preference profile.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising ranking the media content about the people, places or things having a profile that matches the user'"'"'s explicit preferences, and which are within the selected geographic area.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising providing the media content to the user based on the ranking.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising automatically playing the media content in the order of its ranking.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising determining the user'"'"'s level of interest in the media content.

19. A method of notifying a user using a device about media content about people, places or things having attributes that match explicit preferences of the user, and which are within a selected geographic area, the method comprising:

accessing a user preference profile created by the user;

accessing profiles of media content about the people, places or things;

receiving a selected geographic area;

comparing the user preference profile and the profiles of media content about the people, places or things to determine if the media content has attributes that match the preferences of the user, wherein comparing the user preference profile with the profiles of media content comprises determining whether the people, places or things in the media content are within the selected geographic area; and

ranking the media content about the people, places or things that match the user'"'"'s explicit preferences, and which are within the selected geographic area.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising providing the media content to the user based on the ranking.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising automatically playing the media content in the order of its ranking.

22. The method of claim 19, further comprising determining the user'"'"'s level of interest in the media content.

23. An apparatus comprising:

a database configured to store profiles of people, places, and/or things having associated media content; and

a server coupled to the database, wherein the server is configured to;

access a user preference profile of a user;

obtain a geographic area corresponding to the user;

compare the user preference profile to the stored profiles to determine if the people, places, and/or things have attributes that match the preference profile of the user, including determining whether the people, places, and/or things having attributes that match the preference profile of the user are also within the geographic area corresponding to the user; and

communicating to the user information about the media content corresponding to one or more people, places, and/or things having attributes that match the preference profile of the user, and which are also within the geographic area corresponding to the user.

24. The apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the server is configured to obtain the geographic area corresponding to the user by receiving a geographic area selected by the user.

25. The apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the server is configured to obtain the geographic area corresponding to the user by determining a location of the user and using the location of the user to determine the geographic area.

26. The apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the server is further configured to rank the media content corresponding to the people, places, and/or things having attributes that match the preference profile of the user, and which are also within the geographic area corresponding to the user.

27. The apparatus according to claim 26, wherein the server is further configured to provide to the user media content corresponding to the people, places, and/or things having attributes that match the preference profile of the user, and which are also within the geographic area corresponding to the user, based at least in part on rankings of the media content corresponding to the people, places, and/or things having attributes that match the preference profile of the user, and which are also within the geographic area corresponding to the user.

28. The apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the server is further configured to provide to the user media content corresponding to the people, places, and/or things having attributes that match the preference profile of the user, and which are also within the geographic area corresponding to the user.

29. The apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the server is further configured to ascertain the user'"'"'s level of interest in the media content corresponding to the people, places, and/or things having attributes that match the preference profile of the user, and which are also within the geographic area corresponding to the user.

30. The apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the server is further configured to permit the user to update the user preference profile.

31. The apparatus according to claim 23, wherein respective profiles of people, places, and/or things include one or more keywords.

32. The apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the server is further configured to communicate with a device of the user located at a user location not collocated with the server.

33. The apparatus according to claim 32, wherein the server is configured to communicate with the device of the user using wireless communications.

34. The apparatus according to claim 23, further comprising a router coupled to the server and interposed between the server and at least one communication network.

35. The apparatus according to claim 24, further comprising a firewall interposed between the router and the at least one communication network.