System and method of a click event data collection platform

• US 10,296,919 B2
• Filed: 10/24/2007
• Issued: 05/21/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/07/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: comScore, Inc.
• Original Assignee: comScore, Inc.
• Inventors: Cancel, David, Gillett, Christopher C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Elfervig, Taylor A
• Application Number:
  US11/923,470
• Publication Number:
  US 20080183806A1
• Time in Patent Office: 4,227 Days
• Field of Search: 709203, 709224, 715744, 715704, 370252
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/34 Recording or statistical evaluation of computer activity, e.g. of down time, of input/output operation ; Recording or statistical evaluation of user activity, e.g. usability assessment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3438 monitoring of user actions tracking the activity of the user H04L67/535
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/86 Event-based monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• 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 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34

Abstract

An aspect of the present invention relates to tracking a computer user'"'"'s web browsing behavior by collecting web browser click events and determining which of the web browser click events are pertinent.

Claims

1. A method of recording web browser click events, the method comprising:

using a Data Collection Server (DCS) to receive a click-stream of transformed, pertinent web browser click events from a Data Collection Agent (DCA), wherein the DCA includes a browser event plug-in that, when running within a web browser on a client device, performs the following acts;

detecting web browser click events across a plurality of web sites, wherein the DCA connects with the DCS to obtain a time stamp to synchronize web browser click events from a plurality of users;

removing user personal information from the web browser click events, to produce transformed web browser click events;

transmitting the transformed web browser click events as the click-stream of transformed web browser click events to the DCS; and

sending a visual media segment to the client device, wherein a content of the visual media segment is determined based on an analysis of the click-stream and user demographic information,

wherein a presentation parameter under control of the user controls at least one of appearance, types of information presented, frequency of the visual media segment, and

wherein the visual media segment slides from a menu bar of a user interface, the visual media segment includes a text box configured to display text to a user and receive text from the user to implement a two-way communication with a service or product provider based on the content, the two-way communication comprises at least a first communication sent by the service or product provider to the user and a second communication sent by the user to the service or product provider in response to the first communication, and the first communication includes an offer for at least one of a good, a service, sale of a good, sale of a service, rental of a good, and rental of a service.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein removing user personal information comprises replacing, on a character by character basis, user personal information in the web browser click events with a plurality of characters, wherein user personal information includes at least one of a user name, a password, and an account number.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein removing user personal information comprises deleting at least one of a name, a password, and an account number.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the click-stream is used to draw a competitive comparison of web site viewing trends.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the transformed web browser click events are ordered into categories of collected events.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the click-stream is analyzed to obtain a pattern of user web browsing behavior.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein when the pattern of user web browsing behavior is detected, a new visual media segment is generated requesting further user action.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising tracking a usage pattern of the user, wherein the first communication is based on the usage pattern of the user.

9. A system of recording web browser click events, the system comprising:

a computer that includes a plurality of Data Collection Agents (DCA) that when running within a web browser on a client device each detect web browser click events across a plurality of web sites, wherein the DCA connects with a Data Collection Server (DCS) to obtain a time stamp to synchronize web browser click events from a plurality of users, remove user personal information from web browser click events to produce transformed web browser click events, and transmit the transformed web browser click events as a click-stream to the DCS, each of the plurality of DCA including a web browser plug-in, wherein;

the DCS receives the click-stream and sends a visual media segment back to at least one of the client devices, wherein a content of each visual media segment is determined by an analysis of the click-stream and user demographic information, wherein a presentation parameter under control of the user controls at least one of appearance, types of information presented, and frequency of the visual media segment, and

wherein the visual media segment slides from a menu bar of a user interface, the visual media segment includes a text box configured to transmit text to a user and receive text from the user to implement a two-way communication with a service or product provider based on the content, the two-way communication comprises at least a first communication sent by the service or product provider to the user and a second communication sent by the user to the service or product provider in response to the first communication, and the first communication includes an offer for at least one of a good, a service, sale of a good, sale of a service, rental of a good, and rental of a service.

10. The system of claim 9, further comprising a rules engine that processes the web browser click events to remove user personal information to produce transformed web browser click events.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein removing user personal information from the web browser click events comprises replacing user personal information in the transformed web browser click events on a character by character basis, wherein user personal information includes at least one of a user name, a password, and an account number.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein removing user personal information comprises deleting at least one of a name, a user name, a password, and an account number.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the click-stream is used to draw a competitive comparison of web site viewing trends.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the transformed web browser click events are ordered into categories of collected events.

15. The system of claim 9, further comprising a rules engine of the DCA that detects a pattern of user web browsing behavior.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein when the rules engine detects the pattern of user web browsing behavior, the rules engine initiates a new visual media segment requesting further user action.

17. The system of claim 9, wherein the transformed web browser click events comprise at least one of a Universal Resources Locator (URL) information of the web site visited, a user ID, a date, a time, and an event type.

18. The system of claim 9, further comprising a rules engine of the DCA that tracks a usage pattern of the user, wherein the first communication is based on the usage pattern of the user.