Mobile contextual SMS advertising

• US 9,430,772 B2
• Filed: 06/14/2007
• Issued: 08/30/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: R2 Solutions LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Yahoo! Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Sderstrm, Gustav
• Primary Examiner(s): Cai, Wayne
• Application Number:
  US11/763,320
• Publication Number:
  US 20080311934A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,365 Days
• Field of Search: 455/466, 705/14.1, 725/37, 725/42
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1859 adapted to provide push services, e.g. data channels
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication

Abstract

A mobile device, system, and method are directed towards employing a social SMS question and response interaction to identify and provide an advertisement to questioner, along with the response. In one embodiment, the questioner may register for discounts to the SMS server in return for receiving advertisements. As the questioner sends a question to another user, the question may be intercepted and a copy stored. When the other user provides a response to the question, the response may be intercepted and used to socially refine the question. The refined question may then be used to select a contextual advertisement sent with the response. In one embodiment, the questioner may receive a discount for receiving the contextual advertisement.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer readable storage media embodying instructions which when executed cause a processor to perform the steps of:

receiving a text message from a user of the mobile device that is directed towards another user of another computing device, the user and the other user having a social connection;

examining the received text message to detect a question from the user to the other user;

if a question from the user is detected in the received text message;

storing a copy of the detected question comprised in the received message;

monitoring for a response text message from the other user for a timeout time period;

employing the response text message to the detected question to refine the detected question from the user if the response text message is received within the timeout time period, refining the detected question from the user comprising rephrasing the detected question and clarifying the intent of the user;

employing the refined detected question to search for a contextual advertisement;

modifying the response text message to include link information to the contextual advertisement; and

providing the modified response text message to the user of the mobile device.

2. The non-transitory computer readable storage media of claim 1, wherein employing the response text message to refine the question further comprises:

extracting at least one keyword from the response text message;

modifying the question to include the at least one extracted keyword to generate the refined question.

3. The non-transitory computer readable storage media of claim 1, wherein examining the received text message to detect a question further comprises, searching the received text message for at least one of question mark, or a question-oriented keyword.

4. The non-transitory computer readable storage media of claim 1, wherein execution of the instructions enable further actions, including:

providing compensation to the user of the mobile device based on at least one of receipt of the contextual advertisement, or selection of the contextual advertisement by the user.

5. The non-transitory computer readable storage media of claim 1, wherein the text message and the response text message employ Short Message Service (SMS).

6. A network device to manage a display of an advertisement at a mobile device, comprising:

a transceiver to send and receive data over the network; and

a processor;

a processor-readable storage medium comprising programming logic that comprises logic for;

receiving a text message from a user of the mobile device to another user of another computing device the user and the other user having a defined social connection;

examining the received text message to detect a question from the user to the other user;

if a question from the user is detected in the received text message;

storing a copy of the detected question comprised in the received text message;

monitoring for a response text message from the other user for a timeout time period;

refining the detected question from the user by combining at least a portion of the response text message to the detected question received from the other user with at least a portion of the detected question from the user, if the response text message is received within the timeout time period, refining the detected question from the user comprising rephrasing the detected question and clarifying the intent of the user;

employing the refined detected question to select a contextual advertisement;

modifying the response text message to include link information to the contextual advertisement; and

providing the modified response text message to the user of the mobile device.

7. The network device of claim 6, wherein programming logic for detecting a question comprises:

logic for analyzing the received text message for at least one of a defined symbol, or a question-oriented keyword.

8. The network device of claim 6, wherein programming logic for refining the detected question further comprises logic for:

selecting at least one keyword from the response text message;

selecting at least one keyword from the detected question; and

combining the at least one selected keyword from the response with the at least one selected keyword from detected question to refine the detected question.

9. The network device of claim 6, wherein the contextual advertisement further comprises a sponsored advertisement.

10. The network device of claim 6, wherein the link information further comprises at least one of a hyperlink, a phone number, or a text instruction indicating how to access the contextual advertisement.

11. A method comprising:

receiving, by a processor over a network, an Short Message Service (SMS) message from a user of the client device, the SMS message being directed to another user of another client device, the user and the other user having a defined social connection;

analyzing, by the processor, the SMS message to detect a question from the user to the other user;

if a question from the user is detected in the received text message;

storing, by the processor, a copy of the detected question comprised in the received text message;

monitoring, by the processor, for a response text message to the detected question from the other user for a timeout time period;

intercepting, by the processor, a response SMS from the other user of the other client device if the response text message is received within the timeout time period;

refining, by the processor, the detected question from the user by combining at least a portion of the response SMS message to the detected question with at least a portion of the detected question from the user, refining the detected question from the user comprising rephrasing the detected question and clarifying the intent of the user;

employing, by the processor, the refined detected question to select a contextual advertisement;

modifying, by the processor, the response SMS message to include link information to the contextual advertisement; and

providing, by the processor, the modified response SMS message to the mobile device.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein analyzing the SMS message further comprises:

analyzing, by the processor, the SMS message using heuristics to detect at least one of a question-oriented phrase, or question-oriented keyword.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein refining the detected question further comprises:

employing, by the processor, a social context of the response to modify the detected question.

14. The method of claim 11, the timeout time period is based on maintenance of relevancy between the detected question and a prospective response to the detected question.