Independent targeted sponsored content management system and method

• US 9,286,621 B2
• Filed: 12/26/2013
• Issued: 03/15/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LinkedIn Corporation (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Dubey, Sanjay Sureshchandra, Kshetramade, Sanjay, Kannan, Ashvin, Miyamoto, Carleton, Mehta, Nihar N
• Primary Examiner(s): Kucab, Jamie
• Assistant Examiner(s): ROBINSON, KYLE G
• Application Number:
  US14/141,314
• Publication Number:
  US 20150039406A1
• Time in Patent Office: 810 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0842 for multiprocessing or multitasking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/16 Combinations of two or more digital computers each having at least an arithmetic unit, a program unit and a register, e.g. for a simultaneous processing of several programs coordinating program control therefor G06F9/52; in regulating and control system G05B
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0242 Determining effectiveness of advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0246 Traffic
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking

Abstract

A system may include a database configured with individual partitions, one of the partitions corresponding to a sponsored content campaign of a social network. The system may further include multiple servers each communicatively coupled to the database, and each configured to implement a campaign having a campaign termination criterion. Each of the servers may include a processor configured to track sponsored content event data received from a user device based on the campaign and transmit the event data to the database and terminate the campaign based on a comparison of the event data as received from a partition of the database corresponding to the campaign and an estimation of event data not received from the database. The database may be configured to store the event data as received from the servers in the partition corresponding to the campaign upon receipt of the event data.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a database configured with individual partitions, one of the partitions corresponding to a sponsored content campaign of a social network, the sponsored content campaign having a campaign termination criterion;

a plurality of servers, each communicatively coupled to the database, and each configured to implement a portion of the sponsored content campaign corresponding to one of the partitions, each of the plurality of servers comprising;

a processor, configured to;

track sponsored content event data received from a user device based on the sponsored content campaign and transmit the sponsored content event data to the database; and

terminate the portion of the sponsored content campaign implemented on a corresponding one of the plurality of servers based on a comparison of a combination of (1) the sponsored content event data as received from a partition of the database corresponding to the sponsored content campaign and (2) an estimation of sponsored content event data received at the database from another server of the plurality of servers to (3) the termination criterion; and

wherein the database is configured to store the sponsored content event data as received from the plurality of servers in the partition corresponding to the sponsored content campaign upon receipt of the sponsored content event data and provide the received sponsored content data to each of the plurality of servers at fixed time intervals.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the database corresponds to multiple sponsored content campaigns, and wherein one of the partitions corresponds to multiple sponsored content campaigns associated with a sponsoring entity of the sponsored content campaigns.

3. The system of claim 2, where the one of the partitions corresponds to all sponsored content campaigns associated with the sponsoring entity.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein each sponsoring entity corresponding to at least one of the sponsored content campaigns stored in the database corresponds to a different one of the partitions;

and

wherein each of the sponsored content campaigns corresponding to the sponsoring entity corresponds to the partition corresponding to the sponsoring entity.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein each sponsored content campaign and each sponsoring entity individually correspond to only one of the partitions and wherein each partition corresponds to only one of the sponsoring entities.

6. The system of claim 1, the processor is further configured to generate a sponsored content group comprising a sponsored content item for transmittal to the user device based on the sponsored content campaign and wherein the sponsored content event data is based on the sponsored content item.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the processor is further configured to track the sponsored content event data by de-duplicating sponsored content event data that corresponds to a single sponsored content event, wherein a duplicate sponsored content event data is not transmitted to the database.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the processor is configured to de-duplicate the sponsored content event data based on at least one of a comparison between sponsored content event data and a comparison between sponsored content event data and an associated sponsored content item.

9. The system of claim 6, further comprising a campaign consumption module coupled to the servers configured to determine if the estimation of sponsored content event data received at the database from another server of the plurality of servers was accurate and in response to determining the estimate was inaccurate and the termination criterion were not met or exceeded, reopening the sponsored content campaign.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the estimation of sponsored content event data is based on sponsored content event data as stored in the database.

11. A memory device, the memory device communicatively coupled to a processor and comprising instructions which, when performed on the processor, cause the processor to:

track, from each of a plurality of servers, sponsored content event data received from a user device based on a sponsored content campaign and transmit the sponsored content event data to a database; and

store the sponsored content event data in one of a plurality of partitions of the database, one of the partitions corresponding to a sponsored content campaign of a social network;

transmit at least some of the sponsored content event data from the partition to at least some of the plurality of servers at fixed time intervals; and

terminate, individually on at the at least some of the plurality of servers, the sponsored content campaign based on a comparison of a combination of (1) the sponsored content event data as received from the partition of the database corresponding to the sponsored content campaign and (2) an estimation of sponsored content event data received at the database from another server of the plurality of servers to (3) campaign termination criterion.

12. The memory device of claim 11, wherein the database corresponds to multiple sponsored content campaigns, and wherein one of the partitions corresponds to multiple sponsored content campaigns associated with a sponsoring entity of the sponsored content campaigns.

13. The memory device of claim 12, where the one of the partitions corresponds to all sponsored content campaigns associated with the sponsoring entity.

14. The memory device of claim 12, wherein each sponsoring entity corresponding to at least one of the sponsored content campaigns stored in the database corresponds to a different one of the partitions;

and

wherein each of the sponsored content campaigns corresponding to the sponsoring entity corresponds to the partition corresponding to the sponsoring entity.

15. The memory device of claim 14, wherein each sponsored content campaign and each sponsoring entity individually correspond to only one of the partitions and wherein each partition corresponds to only one of the sponsoring entities.

16. The memory device of claim 11, further configured to generate, from one of the plurality of servers, a sponsored content group comprising a sponsored content item for transmittal to the user device based on the sponsored content campaign, wherein the sponsored content event data is based on the sponsored content item.

17. The memory device of claim 16, further configured to track the sponsored content event data by de-duplicating sponsored content event data that corresponds to a single sponsored content event, wherein a duplicate sponsored content event data is not transmitted to the database.

18. The memory device of claim 17, further configured to de-duplicate the sponsored content event data based on at least one of a comparison between sponsored content event data and a comparison between sponsored content event data and an associated sponsored content item.

19. The memory device of claim 16, further configured to determine if the estimation of sponsored content event data received at the database from another server of the plurality of servers was accurate and in response to determining the estimate was inaccurate and the termination criterion were not met or exceeded, reopening the sponsored content campaign.

20. The memory device of claim 19, wherein the estimation of sponsored content event data is based on sponsored content event data as stored in the database.