Independent actionscript analytics tools and techniques

• US 9,614,927 B2
• Filed: 05/29/2014
• Issued: 04/04/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/25/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Adobe Inc.
• Original Assignee: Adobe Systems Incorporated (Adobe Inc.)
• Inventors: Hammond, Stephen
• Primary Examiner(s): HUYNH, THU V
• Application Number:
  US14/290,878
• Publication Number:
  US 20140280684A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,041 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/134 Hyperlinking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/143 Markup, e.g. Standard Generalized Markup Language [SGML] or Document Type Definition [DTD]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44526 Plug-ins; Add-ons
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/08 Monitoring or testing based on specific metrics, e.g. QoS, energy consumption or environmental parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• 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: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching

Abstract

Tools and techniques are provided to support presentation analytics, such as Flash or Flex analytics, independently of embedded JavaScript web analytics code used in web pages. A presentation analytics engine, which may be implemented in ActionScript, includes code for capturing information about user interaction with a multimedia presentation, code for dynamically generating a string or other data structure reflecting such captured information, and code for sending the data structure to an analytics server without using a getURL( ) call or embedded JavaScript. Functionality is also provided for tracking objects without object-specific code, for dynamically sending such tracking information, and for supporting a visual presentation analytics overlay report illustrating such information. The Flash presentation analytics may use the same visitor ID as standard JavaScript analytics, without synchronizing the two analytics codes.

Claims

1. A method for independently tracking ActionScript presentation activity, comprising:

receiving on a device a multimedia presentation containing ActionScript objects;

using the multimedia presentation at runtime to;

capture on the device presentation analytics data that reflects user interaction with ActionScript objects of the multimedia presentation, wherein said user interaction occurs on said device; and

send presentation analytics data to an analytics server from said device;

wherein the method operates free of reliance on any object-specific user action tracking code within the presentation to capture the presentation analytics data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the sending step comprises at least one of:

making an image request;

making a GET request;

making a POST request;

making a port 80 request;

making an FTP request;

writing data to a shared file; and

writing data to shared memory.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the method operates free of reliance on each and all of the following:

getURL( ) or FSCommand invocation, JavaScript code embedded in a web page, and VBScript code embedded in a web page.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing data metrics for creating a visual analytics overlay report about user interaction with the multimedia presentation.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

receiving on the device a web page having an embedded web tracking mechanism;

capturing, with the embedded web tracking mechanism, web analytics data that reflects user interaction with the web page; and

sending web analytics data toward the analytics server.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of sending web analytics data toward the analytics server sends it in correlation with a corresponding visitor ID, and the step of sending presentation analytics data sends that data toward the analytics server in correlation with the same visitor ID, without requiring communication between code performing the web analytics steps and code performing the presentation analytics steps.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising dynamically generating at the device a data structure that contains presentation analytics data.

8. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon a presentation analytics engine comprising instructions that, when implemented by a multimedia presentation containing ActionScript objects, causes a processor of a computer to:

use the multimedia presentation containing ActionScript object at runtime to;

capture on the computer presentation analytics data that reflects user interaction with ActionScript objects of the multimedia presentation; and

send presentation analytics data to an analytics server;

wherein the presentation analytics engine, implemented by the multimedia presentation, operates free of reliance on any object-specific user action tracking code within the presentation to capture the presentation analytics data.

9. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the multimedia presentation further comprises importing code for implementing the presentation analytics engine at runtime.

10. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the presentation analytics engine is also free of reliance on a script embedded in a web page.

11. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the presentation analytics data reflects at least one of:

user page-viewing activity, user link-following activity, user clip-viewing activity, user button-pressing activity, user percentage of playback completion, and presentation impressions count.

12. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the computer comprises a presentation player that is compatible with the multimedia presentation and that provides user interaction with the ActionScript objects.

13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein at least one of the following holds:

the player comprises a Flash presentation player;

the player comprises a Flex presentation player;

the player comprises a plug-in to a web browser; and

the presentation is at least partially embedded in a web page.

14. A computer, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory configured by a multimedia presentation containing ActionScript objects, wherein the processor uses the multimedia presentation containing ActionScript objects at runtime to;

capture presentation analytics data that reflects user interaction with ActionScript objects of the multimedia presentation on said computer; and

send the presentation analytics data to an analytics server that is located remotely from said computer;

wherein the multimedia presentation is free of reliance on any object-specific user action tracking code within the presentation to capture the presentation analytics data.

15. The computer of claim 14, wherein the memory is further configured by the multimedia presentation to provide visual analytics overlay reporting.

16. The computer of claim 14, in combination with a unique visitor ID that is stored in at least one of:

a browser cookie, a local shared object, and a transmission header.

17. The computer of claim 14, wherein sending the presentation analytics data comprises at least one of:

making an image request;

making a GET request;

making a POST request;

making a port 80 request;

making an FTP request;

writing data to a shared file; and

writing data to shared memory.

18. The computer of claim 14, wherein the multimedia presentation implements, at runtime, a presentation analytics engine comprising ActionScript code.

19. The computer of claim 18, in combination with:

a web browser;

a web page displayed in the browser; and

script code embedded in the web page to capture web page analytics data that reflects user action within the web page outside the multimedia presentation, wherein the presentation analytics engine has no code for synchronizing presentation analytics data with the script code embedded in the web page.

20. The computer combination of claim 19, wherein the script code embedded in the web page comprises at least one of:

JavaScript code and VBScript code.