Modifying redistribution sets of users based on expiration time

• US 8,880,672 B2
• Filed: 11/01/2011
• Issued: 11/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Kuzmin, Dmytro, Feng, Zhengzhu, Aggarwal, Alok
• Primary Examiner(s): Gillis, Brian J
• Assistant Examiner(s): Keller, Michael A
• Application Number:
  US13/389,645
• Publication Number:
  US 20130191521A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,099 Days
• Field of Search: 709201-207, 709212-226, 709238-246, 709/200
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0272 Period of advertisement exposure
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46

Abstract

Methods, computer-readable media, and systems for modifying redistribution sets of users based on expiration time. A redistribution set including multiple present users to whom selected content is presentable for a pre-defined duration is received. Multiple past users who were included in the redistribution set have previously been removed from the redistribution set based on an expiration of the pre-defined duration. In response to detecting a modification to the pre-defined duration, the redistribution set of users is modified to include one or more past users or to exclude one or more present users. The redistribution set thus modified is used to target content to users in the modified redistribution set.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving a redistribution set including a plurality of present users and excluding a plurality of past users who were previously included in the redistribution set, wherein each user of the plurality of present users and the plurality of past users is associated with a corresponding inclusion time specifying when the respective user was included in the redistribution set, wherein the redistribution set is associated with a pre-defined duration for which selected content is to be presented to each user of the plurality of present users for the pre-defined duration starting from the corresponding inclusion time associated with the respective user, and wherein each user of the plurality of past users was previously removed from the redistribution set after expiration of the pre-defined duration starting from the corresponding inclusion time associated with the respective user, and wherein the selected content includes one or more advertisements;

detecting a modification to the pre-defined duration, wherein the modification to the pre-defined duration results in a modified duration including one of an extended duration or a shortened duration;

in response to detecting the modification, determining, for each user of the plurality of present users and the plurality of past users, whether the modified duration starting from the corresponding inclusion time associated with the respective user has expired;

modifying the redistribution set of users to include one or more past users of the plurality of past users or to exclude one or more present users of the plurality of present users based on the determining, resulting in a modified redistribution set of users; and

using the modified redistribution set of users to target content to the plurality of present users in the modified redistribution set.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein modifying the redistribution set of users occurs at a present time, and wherein the method further comprises, for each user of the plurality of present users and the plurality of past users, determining a sum of the inclusion time and the modified duration.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein modifying the redistribution set of users to include the one or more past users comprises, for each of the plurality of past users, identifying a user for whom the sum is greater than the present time as one of the one or more past users to be included in the redistribution set.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein modifying the redistribution set of users to exclude the one or more present users comprises, for each of the plurality of present users, identifying a user for whom the sum is less than the present time as one of the one or more present users to be excluded from the redistribution set.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the present time is a time of detecting the modification to the pre-defined duration.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the present time is a previously defined time to determine whether the pre-defined duration has been modified.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the modification is an extension to the pre-defined duration resulting in the extended duration, and wherein modifying the redistribution set of users comprises determining that the one or more past users are includable in the redistribution set based on the extended duration.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the modification is a shortening of the pre-defined duration resulting in the shortened duration, and wherein modifying the redistribution set of users comprises determining that the one or more present users are excludable in the redistribution set based on the shortened duration.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting a modification to the pre-defined duration comprises receiving an instruction to modify the pre-defined duration from a provider of the selected content.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing the plurality of present users in a first list; and

storing the plurality of present users and the plurality of past users in a second list.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein modifying the redistribution set of users to include one or more past users comprises:

identifying the one or more past users from the second list; and

including the identified one or more past users in the first list as new present users.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein modifying the redistribution set of users to exclude one or more present users comprises:

removing the excluded one or more present users from the first list; and

including the excluded one or more present users in the second list as new past users.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising periodically detecting for the modification to the pre-defined duration.

14. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving a redistribution set including a plurality of users, wherein each user of the plurality of users is associated with a corresponding inclusion time specifying when the respective user was included in the redistribution set, and wherein the redistribution set is associated with a pre-defined duration for which selected content is to be presented to each user of the plurality of users for the pre-defined duration starting from the corresponding inclusion time associated with the respective user, and wherein the selected content includes one or more advertisements;

for each user of the plurality of users, determining whether the pre-defined duration starting from the corresponding inclusion time associated with the respective user has expired;

excluding a subset of the plurality of users from the redistribution set based on determining that the pre-defined duration starting from the inclusion times associated with the subset of the plurality of users has expired;

receiving a new duration for which the selected content is presentable to users in the redistribution set, wherein the new duration is greater than the pre-defined duration;

determining, for each user of the subset of the plurality of users excluded from the redistribution list, whether the new duration starting from the corresponding inclusion time associated with the respective user of the subset has expired;

identifying one or more users from users in the subset to whom the selected content is presentable based on the determining;

including the identified one or more users in the redistribution set resulting in a modified redistribution set; and

using the modified redistribution set to target content to the plurality of users in the modified redistribution set.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein pre-defined duration and the new duration are specified by a provider of the selected content.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein excluding the subset of the plurality of users from the redistribution set comprises, for each user in the subset, determining that a sum of the inclusion time and the pre-defined duration is greater than a present time.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein including the identified one or more users in the redistribution set comprises, for each of the one or more users who are included, determining that a sum of the inclusion time and the new duration is less than a present time.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the present time is a previously defined time to determine whether the pre-defined duration has been modified.

19. A system comprising:

a first computer-readable memory storing a redistribution set including a plurality of present users, wherein each user of the plurality of present users is associated with a corresponding inclusion time specifying when the respective user was included in the redistribution set, and wherein the redistribution set is associated with a pre-defined duration for which selected content is to be presented to each user of the plurality of present users for the pre-defined duration starting from the corresponding inclusion time associated with the respective user, and wherein the selected content includes one or more advertisements;

a second computer-readable memory storing the redistribution set and a plurality of past users who were included in the redistribution set and have previously been removed from the redistribution set, wherein each user of the plurality of past users is associated with a corresponding inclusion time specifying when the respective user was included in the redistribution set, and wherein each user of the plurality of past users was previously removed from the redistribution set after expiration of the pre-defined duration starting from the corresponding inclusion time associated with the respective user;

data processing apparatus; and

a computer-readable medium storing computer program instructions executable by the data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising;

detecting a modification to the pre-defined duration, wherein the modification to the pre-defined duration results in a modified duration including one of an extended duration or a shortened duration;

in response to detecting the modification, determining, for each user of the plurality of present users and the plurality of past users, whether the modified duration starting from the corresponding inclusion time associated with the respective user has expired;

modifying the redistribution set of users stored in the first computer-readable memory to include one or more past users of the plurality of past users stored in the second computer-readable memory or to exclude one or more present users of the plurality of present users stored in the first computer-readable memory based on the determining, resulting in a modified redistribution set of users;

storing the modified redistribution set of users in the first computer-readable memory in place of the redistribution set of users; and

utilizing the modified redistribution set of users to target content to the plurality of present users in the modified redistribution set.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein modifying the redistribution set of users to exclude one or more present users comprises storing the one or more excluded present users with the plurality of past users on the second computer-readable memory.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein the first computer-readable memory stores the pre-defined duration time, and, for each user of the plurality of present users included in the redistribution set, a corresponding user identifier and the inclusion time when a respective user was included in the redistribution set.

22. The system of claim 19, wherein the second computer-readable memory stores, for each user of the plurality of past users who have previously been removed from the redistribution set, a corresponding user identifier and the inclusion time when a respective user was included in the redistribution set.