Method and apparatus for tracing users of online video web sites
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method for collecting viewer behavior data for at least one viewer of at least one video clip displayed on a web page, the method comprising:
- receiving the web page that makes use of a video player of the at least one viewer, a data collection agent (DCA) being embedded within the video player, and the web page providing access to the at least one video clip, said DCA communicatively coupled by using a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) to a viewership analytics server (VAS), said DCA containing a script code for collecting viewership information associated with said at least one video clip;
generating a first HTTP request by the DCA when the video player is in use, said first HTTP request including metadata associated with said at least one video clip, said metadata including (1) an identification for said at least one video clip, (2) a publisher identifier, (3) a web page identifier, and (4) at least one of a length of said at least one video clip or a current time;
generating a second HTTP request by the DCA, said second HTTP request including said viewership information associated with said at least one video clip of said web page, said viewership information including (1) an action performed on said video player that displays said at least one video clip on said web page and (2) a timestamp of start and end times for said at least one video clip displayed by said video player on said web page; and
sending said first HTTP request and said second HTTP request to said VAS such that said VAS (1) analyzes said metadata associated with said at least one video clip and said viewership information associated with said at least one video clip and (2) generates at least one report of said metadata associated with said at least one video clip and said viewership information associated with said at least one video clip.
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Abstract
The method and/or apparatus monitors and records the times when a user interacts with a network video player, e.g. a web video player, while watching an online video clip. Specifically, a data collection agent (DCA) is loaded to the player or to a web page that displays the video clip. The DCA collects detailed viewing information and periodically sends this information to a central server. The viewing information is processed by the central server to generate at least one of: a viewership attention span report, a viewership demographics report, and a viewership geographic report.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A method for collecting viewer behavior data for at least one viewer of at least one video clip displayed on a web page, the method comprising:
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receiving the web page that makes use of a video player of the at least one viewer, a data collection agent (DCA) being embedded within the video player, and the web page providing access to the at least one video clip, said DCA communicatively coupled by using a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) to a viewership analytics server (VAS), said DCA containing a script code for collecting viewership information associated with said at least one video clip; generating a first HTTP request by the DCA when the video player is in use, said first HTTP request including metadata associated with said at least one video clip, said metadata including (1) an identification for said at least one video clip, (2) a publisher identifier, (3) a web page identifier, and (4) at least one of a length of said at least one video clip or a current time; generating a second HTTP request by the DCA, said second HTTP request including said viewership information associated with said at least one video clip of said web page, said viewership information including (1) an action performed on said video player that displays said at least one video clip on said web page and (2) a timestamp of start and end times for said at least one video clip displayed by said video player on said web page; and sending said first HTTP request and said second HTTP request to said VAS such that said VAS (1) analyzes said metadata associated with said at least one video clip and said viewership information associated with said at least one video clip and (2) generates at least one report of said metadata associated with said at least one video clip and said viewership information associated with said at least one video clip. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A method for processing viewer behavior data for at least one viewer of at least one video clip, the method comprising:
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embedding a data collection agent (DCA) into a video player of a client for use by a web page, said DCA collecting at least (1) metadata associated with said at least one video clip and including at least one of a length of said at least one video clip or a current time, and (2) viewership information associated with said at least one video clip when said at least one video clip is displayed by the video player on said web page, said viewership information including (1) an action performed on said video player that displays said at least one video clip on said web page, and (2) a timestamp of start and end times for said at least one video clip displayed by said video player on said web page; receiving, at a viewership analytics server (VAS), a first hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) request including said metadata associated with said at least one video clip and a second HTTP request including said viewership information associated with said at least one video clip collected by the DCA when the video player is in use displaying said at least one video clip, said metadata and said viewership information associated with an individual viewer that views said at least one video clip displayed by the video player on said web page; associating said metadata and said viewership information with tracking information associated with said at least one video clip; processing said metadata, said viewership information, and said tracking information; and generating at least one report respective of viewership of said at least one video clip based on said metadata, said viewership information, and said tracking information. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A server system for collecting viewer behavior data for at least one viewer of at least one video clip, comprising:
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a data collection agent (DCA) implemented in at least one of a memory or a processing device, the DCA configured to be embedded into a video player of a web page of a client, said DCA configured to collect (1) metadata associated with said at least one video clip and including at least one of a length of said at least one video clip and a current time, and (2) viewership information associated with said at least one video clip when said at least one video clip is displayed by the video player on said web page, said viewership information including (1) an action performed on said video player that displays said at least one video clip on said web page, and (2) a timestamp of start and end times for said at least one video clip displayed by said video player on said web page, said DCA containing a script code for collecting said viewership information; an information collection component implemented in a viewership analytics server (VAS), the information collection component for receiving, from the DCA, a first hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) request including said metadata and a second HTTP request including said viewership information when the video player is in use displaying said at least one video clip; an analyzing component implemented in the viewership analytics server (VAS), the analyzing component for analyzing said metadata and said viewership information; and a graphical user interface (GUI) component for generating at least one report associated with said at least one video clip based at least in part on results of said analyzing of said metadata and said viewership information. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification