Media object metadata association and ranking

• US 20060242178A1
• Filed: 02/08/2006
• Published: 10/26/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Yahoo! Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Schachter, Joshua Eli, Butterfield, Daniel Stewart, Mourachov, Serguei, Henderson-Begg, Callum James, Costello, Eric, Fake, Caterina
• Granted Patent: US 10,210,159 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/447 Temporal browsing, e.g. timeline
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/48 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0242 Determining effectiveness of advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0245 Surveys

Abstract

Metadata may be associated with media objects by providing media objects for display, and accepting input concerning the media objects, where the input may include at least two different types of metadata. For example, metadata may be in the form of tags, comments, annotations or favorites. The media objects may be searched according to metadata, and ranked in a variety of ways.

Claims

1. An apparatus for associating metadata with at least one image, the apparatus comprising:

logic for providing the at least one image for display to at least one user; and

logic for accepting input from a plurality of users concerning the at least one image, wherein the input comprises at least two different types of metadata.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least two different types of metadata comprises members of the group consisting of:

tags, comments, descriptions, favorites and annotations.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the tags include location metadata.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one image comprises video images.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is located at a server, and each user is associated with a corresponding client.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

search logic for performing a search of images using at least one metadatum; and

logic for ranking at least one image that returns from the search.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the apparatus is located at a server, and each user is associated with a corresponding client.

8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the logic for ranking is operable to rank an image based at least in part on user action related to the at least one image.

9. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the logic for ranking is operable to rank an image based at least in part on the quantity of user-entered metadata concerning the at least one image.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the user-entered metadata comprises a member of the group consisting of:

tags, comments, and annotations.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising logic for determining relevance of at least one tag to the at least one image based upon relevance input from at least one user, wherein the rank is based at least in part on the relevance of the at least one tag to the at least one image.

12. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the logic for ranking is operable to rank an image based at least in part on the number of users who have assigned metadata to the at least one image.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the user-entered metadata is based at least in part upon the number of users who have designated the at least one image as a favorite.

14. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the logic for ranking is further operable to rank the at least one image based at least in part on an access pattern related to the at least one image.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the access pattern is based at least in part upon the number of click throughs of the at least one image.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the access pattern is based at least in part upon the number of views of the at least one image.

17. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the logic for ranking is further operable to rank the at least one image according to a lapse of time related to the at least one image.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the lapse of time related to the at least one image is the lapse of time since the at least one image was uploaded.

19. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the logic for ranking is operable to rank the at least one image based at least in part upon the relationship between a poster of the at least one image and a user who initiated the search.

20. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising statistics logic for determining a metric based at least in part upon the frequency with which a first metadatum and a second metadatum are commonly assigned to the same image.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the statistics logic is operable to:

determine clusters of related metadata based upon the metrics for multiple metadata associated with multiple images; and

rank the associated multiple images within each cluster.

22. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the first and second metadata are tags.

23. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the statistics logic is operable to provide the first and second metadata for display as related metadata if the determined metric exceeds a threshold relatedness value.

24. The apparatus of claim 20, further comprising logic for determining the relevance of the first and second metadata to the image based at least in part upon a relevance input from at least one user, wherein the statistics logic is operable to vary the metric based at least in part upon the determined relevance.

25. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising logic for determining the frequency with which at least one particular metadatum has been assigned to images over a predetermined time period.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the at least one metadatum comprises at least one tag.

27. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising logic for determining the number of images to which at least one particular metadatum is assigned.

28. An apparatus for providing information for use by an ad server, the ad server for associating an advertisement with a media object, the apparatus comprising:

logic for providing the media object for presentation to at least one user;

logic for accepting metadata from a plurality of users concerning the media object; and

statistics logic for determining a metric based at least in part upon the frequency with which at least one metadatum is assigned to the media object, wherein the at least one metadatum is available to the ad server.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, the ad server for associating the advertisement with the media object based at least in part upon the at least one metadatum.

30. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the at least one metadatum and the metric are available to the ad server, the ad server for associating the advertisement with the media object based at least in part upon the metadatum and the metric.

31. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the statistics logic is operable to determine the metric based at least in part upon the frequency with which a first metadatum and a second metadatum are commonly assigned to the media object, wherein the first and second metadata are available to the ad server.

32. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the at least one metadatum comprises at least one tag.

33. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the media object is an image.

34. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the media object is an audio media object.

35. An apparatus for associating metadata with at least one audio media object, the apparatus comprising:

logic for providing the at least one audio media object for playback to at least one user; and

logic for accepting input from a plurality of users concerning the at least one audio media object, wherein the input comprises at least two different types of metadata.

36. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the at least two different types of metadata comprises members of the group consisting of:

tags, comments, descriptions, favorites and annotations.

37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the tags includes location metadata.

38. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the at least one audio media object comprises a soundtrack.

39. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the apparatus is located at a server and each user is associated with a corresponding client.

40. The apparatus of claim 35, further comprising:

search logic for performing a search of audio media objects using at least one metadatum; and

logic for ranking at least one audio media object that returns from the search.

41. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the apparatus is located at a server, and each user is associated with a corresponding client.

42. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the logic for ranking is operable to rank the at least one audio media object based at least in part on user action related to the at least one audio media object.

43. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the logic for ranking is operable to rank the at least one audio media object based at least in part on the quantity of user-entered metadata concerning the at least one audio media object.

44. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the user-entered metadata comprises a member of the group consisting of:

tags and comments.

45. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the logic for ranking is operable to rank an audio media object based at least in part on the number of users who have assigned metadata to the at least one audio media object.

46. The apparatus of claim 45, wherein the user-entered metadata is based at least in part upon the number of users who have added the at least one audio media object to their playlist.

47. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the logic for ranking is further operable to rank the at least one audio media object based at least in part on an access pattern related to the at least one audio media object.

48. The apparatus of claim 42, wherein the logic for ranking is further operable to rank the at least one audio media object according to a lapse of time related to the at least one audio media object.

49. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the logic for ranking is operable to rank the at least one audio media object based at least in part upon the relationship between a poster of the at least one audio media object and a user who initiated the search.

50. The apparatus of claim 35, further comprising statistics logic for determining a metric based at least in part upon the frequency with which a first metadatum and a second metadatum are commonly assigned to the same audio media object.

51. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the statistics logic is operable to:

determine clusters of related metadata based upon the metric for multiple metadata associated with multiple audio media objects; and

rank the associated multiple audio media objects within each cluster.

52. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the first and second metadata are tags.

53. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the statistics logic is operable to provide the first and second metadata for display as related metadata if the determined metric exceeds a threshold relatedness value.

54. The apparatus of claim 35, further comprising logic for determining the frequency with which at least one particular metadatum has been assigned to audio media objects over a predetermined time period.

55. The apparatus of claim 54, wherein the at least one metadatum comprises at least one tag.

56. The apparatus of claim 35, further comprising logic for determining the number of audio media objects to which at least one particular metadatum is assigned.

57. A method for associating metadata with at least one image, the method comprising:

providing the at least one image for display to at least one user; and

accepting input from a plurality of users concerning the at least one image, wherein the input comprises at least two different types of metadata.

58. The method of claim 57, wherein the at least two different types of metadata comprises members of the group consisting of:

tags, comments, descriptions, favorites and annotations.

59. The method of claim 57, wherein providing at least one image and accepting input occur at a server, and each user is associated with a corresponding client.

60. The method of claim 57, further comprising:

performing a search of images using at least one metadatum; and

ranking at least one image that returns from the search.

61. The method of claim 60, wherein ranking comprises ranking an image based at least in part on user action related to the at least one image.

62. The method of claim 60, wherein ranking comprises ranking an image based at least in part on the quantity of user-entered metadata concerning the at least one image.

63. The method of claim 62, wherein the user-entered metadata comprises a member of the group consisting of:

tags, comments and annotations.

64. The method of claim 60, wherein ranking comprises ranking an image based at least in part on the number of users who have assigned metadata to the at least one image.

65. The method of claim 64, wherein the user-entered metadata is based at least in part upon the number of users who have designated the at least one image as a favorite.

66. The method of claim 60, wherein ranking further comprises ranking the at least one image based at least in part on an access pattern related to the at least one image.

67. The method of claim 61, wherein ranking further comprises ranking the at least one image according to a lapse of time related to the at least one image.

68. The method of claim 60, wherein ranking comprises ranking the at least one image based at least in part upon the relationship between a poster of the at least one image and a user who initiated the search.

69. The method of claim 57, further comprising determining a metric based at least in part upon the frequency with which a first metadatum and a second metadatum are commonly assigned to the same image.

70. The method of claim 69, wherein determining a metric further comprises:

determining clusters of related metadata based upon the metrics for multiple metadata associated with multiple images; and

ranking the associated multiple images within each cluster.

71. The method of claim 69, further comprising providing the first and second metadata for display as related metadata if the determined metric exceeds a threshold relatedness value.

72. A method for providing information for use by an ad server, the ad server for associating an advertisement with an image, the method comprising:

providing the image for display to at least one user;

accepting metadata from a plurality of users concerning the image;

determining a metric based at least in part upon the frequency with which at least one metadatum is assigned to the image, and

making the at least one metadatum available to the ad server.

73. The method of claim 72, further comprising making the metric available to the ad server, the ad server for associating the advertisement with the image based at least in part upon the metadatum and the metric.

74. The method of claim 72, determining comprising determining the metric based at least in part upon the frequency with which a first metadatum and a second metadatum are commonly assigned to the image, wherein the first and second metadata are available to the ad server.

75. The method of claim 72, wherein the at least one metadatum comprises at least one tag.

76. A method for associating metadata with at least one audio media object, the method comprising:

providing the at least one audio media object for playback to at least one user; and

accepting input from a plurality of users concerning the at least one audio media object, wherein the input comprises at least two different types of metadata.

77. The method of claim 76, wherein the at least two different types of metadata comprises members of the group consisting of:

tags, comments, descriptions, and favorites.

78. The method of claim 76, wherein the at least one audio media object comprises a soundtrack.

79. The method of claim 76, wherein providing the at least one audio media object and accepting input occur at a server, and each user is associated with a corresponding client.

80. The method of claim 76, further comprising:

performing a search of audio media objects using at least one metadatum; and

ranking at least one audio media object that returns from the search.

81. The method of claim 80, wherein ranking comprises ranking the at least one audio media object based at least in part on user action related to the at least one audio media object.

82. The method of claim 80, wherein ranking comprises ranking the at least one audio media object based at least in part on the quantity of user-entered metadata concerning the at least one audio media object.

83. The method of claim 82, wherein the user-entered metadata comprises a member of the group consisting of:

tags and comments.

84. The method of claim 80, wherein ranking comprises ranking the at least one audio media object based at least in part on the number of users who have assigned metadata to the at least one audio media object.

85. The method of claim 84, wherein the user-entered metadata is based at least in part upon the number of users who have added the at least one audio media object to their playlist.

86. The method of claim 80, wherein ranking comprises ranking the at least one audio media object based at least in part on an access pattern related to the at least one audio media object.

87. The method of claim 81, wherein ranking comprises ranking the at least one audio media object according to a lapse of time related to the at least one audio media object.

88. The method of claim 81, wherein ranking comprises ranking the at least one audio media object based at least in part upon the relationship between a poster of the at least one audio media object and a user who initiated the search.

89. The method of claim 76, further comprising determining a metric based at least in part upon the frequency with which a first metadatum and a second metadatum are commonly assigned to the same audio media object.

90. The method of claim 89, wherein determining further comprises:

determining clusters of related metadata based upon the metric for multiple metadata associated with multiple audio media objects; and

ranking the associated multiple audio media objects within each cluster.

91. The method of claim 89, wherein the first and second metadata are tags.

92. The method of claim 89, further comprising providing the first and second metadata for display as related metadata if the determined metric exceeds a threshold relatedness value.

93. The method of claim 76, further comprising determining the frequency with which at least one particular metadatum has been assigned to audio media objects over a predetermined time period.

94. The method of claim 93, wherein the at least one metadatum comprises at least one tag.

95. The method of claim 76, further comprising determining the number of audio media objects to which at least one particular metadatum is assigned.

96. A method for providing information for use by an ad server, the ad server for associating an advertisement with an audio media object, the method comprising:

providing the audio media object for playback to at least one user;

accepting metadata from a plurality of users concerning the audio media object;

determining a metric based at least in part upon the frequency with which at least one metadatum is assigned to the audio media object, and

making the at least one metadatum available to the ad server.

97. The method of claim 96, further comprising making the metric available to the ad server, the ad server for associating the advertisement with the audio media object based at least in part upon the metadatum and the metric.

98. The method of claim 96, determining comprising determining the metric based at least in part upon the frequency with which a first metadatum and a second metadatum are commonly assigned to the audio media object, wherein the first and second metadata are available to the ad server.

99. The method of claim 96, wherein the at least one metadatum comprises at least one tag.

100. A computer program product including computer-executable program code for associating metadata with at least one image, the product comprising program code for:

providing the at least one image for display to at least one user; and

accepting input from a plurality of users concerning the at least one image, wherein the input comprises at least two different types of metadata.

101. The computer program product of claim 100, wherein the at least two different types of metadata comprises members of the group consisting of:

tags, comments, descriptions, favorites and annotations.

102. The computer program product of claim 100, wherein providing at least one image and accepting input occur at a server, and each user is associated with a corresponding client.

103. The computer program product of claim 100, further comprising program code for:

performing a search of images using at least one metadatum; and

ranking at least one image that returns from the search.

104. The computer program product of claim 103, wherein ranking comprises ranking an image based at least in part on user action related to the at least one image.

105. The computer program product of claim 103, wherein ranking comprises ranking an image based at least in part on the quantity of user-entered metadata concerning the at least one image.

106. The computer program product of claim 105, wherein the user-entered metadata comprises a member of the group consisting of:

tags, comments and annotations.

107. The computer program product of claim 103, wherein ranking comprises ranking an image based at least in part on the number of users who have assigned metadata to the at least one image.

108. The computer program product of claim 107, wherein the user-entered metadata is based at least in part upon the number of users who have designated the at least one image as a favorite.

109. The computer program product of claim 103, wherein ranking further comprises ranking the at least one image based at least in part on an access pattern related to the at least one image.

110. The computer program product of claim 104, wherein ranking further comprises ranking the at least one image according to a lapse of time related to the at least one image.

111. The computer program product of claim 103, wherein ranking comprises ranking the at least one image based at least in part upon the relationship between a poster of the at least one image and a user who initiated the search.

112. The computer program product of claim 100, further comprising program code for determining a metric based at least in part upon the frequency with which a first metadatum and a second metadatum are commonly assigned to the same image.

113. The computer program product of claim 112, wherein the program code for determining a metric further comprises code for:

determining clusters of related metadata based upon the metrics for multiple metadata associated with multiple images; and

ranking the associated multiple images within each cluster.

114. The computer program product of claim 112, further comprising program code for providing the first and second metadata for display as related metadata if the determined metric exceeds a threshold relatedness value.

115. A computer program product including computer-executable program code for providing information for use by an ad server, the ad server for associating an advertisement with an image, the product comprising program code for:

providing the image for display to at least one user;

accepting metadata from a plurality of users concerning the image;

determining a metric based at least in part upon the frequency with which at least one metadatum is assigned to the image, and

making the at least one metadatum available to the ad server.

116. The computer program product of claim 115, further comprising program code for making the metric available to the ad server, the ad server for associating the advertisement with the image based at least in part upon the metadatum and the metric.

117. The computer program product of claim 115, determining comprising determining the metric based at least in part upon the frequency with which a first metadatum and a second metadatum are commonly assigned to the image, wherein the first and second metadata are available to the ad server.

118. The computer program product of claim 115, wherein the at least one metadatum comprises at least one tag.

119. A computer program product including computer-executable program code for associating metadata with at least one audio media object, the product comprising program code for:

providing the at least one audio media object for playback to at least one user; and

accepting input from a plurality of users concerning the at least one audio media object, wherein the input comprises at least two different types of metadata.

120. The computer program product of claim 119, wherein the at least two different types of metadata comprises members of the group consisting of:

tags, comments, descriptions, and favorites.

121. The computer program product of claim 119, wherein the at least one audio media object comprises a soundtrack.

122. The computer program product of claim 119, wherein providing the at least one audio media object and accepting input occur at a server, and each user is associated with a corresponding client.

123. The computer program product of claim 119, further comprising program code for:

performing a search of audio media objects using at least one metadatum; and

ranking at least one audio media object that returns from the search.

124. The computer program product of claim 123, wherein ranking comprises ranking the at least one audio media object based at least in part on user action related to the at least one audio media object.

125. The computer program product of claim 123, wherein ranking comprises ranking the at least one audio media object based at least in part on the quantity of user-entered metadata concerning the at least one audio media object.

126. The computer program product of claim 125, wherein the user-entered metadata comprises a member of the group consisting of:

tags and comments.

127. The computer program product of claim 123, wherein ranking comprises ranking the at least one audio media object based at least in part on the number of users who have assigned metadata to the at least one audio media object.

128. The computer program product of claim 127, wherein the user-entered metadata is based at least in part upon the number of users who have added the at least one audio media object to their playlist.

129. The computer program product of claim 123, wherein ranking comprises ranking the at least one audio media object based at least in part on an access pattern related to the at least one audio media object.

130. The computer program product of claim 124, wherein ranking comprises ranking the at least one audio media object according to a lapse of time related to the at least one audio media object.

131. The computer program product of claim 124, wherein ranking comprises ranking the at least one audio media object based at least in part upon the relationship between a poster of the at least one audio media object and a user who initiated the search.

132. The computer program product of claim 119, further comprising program code for determining a metric based at least in part upon the frequency with which a first metadatum and a second metadatum are commonly assigned to the same audio media object.

133. The computer program product of claim 132, wherein determining further comprises:

determining clusters of related metadata based upon the metric for multiple metadata associated with multiple audio media objects; and

ranking the associated multiple audio media objects within each cluster.

134. The computer program product of claim 132, wherein the first and second metadata are tags.

135. The computer program product of claim 132, further comprising program code for providing the first and second metadata for display as related metadata if the determined metric exceeds a threshold relatedness value.

136. The computer program product of claim 119, further comprising program code for determining the frequency with which at least one particular metadatum has been assigned to audio media objects over a predetermined time period.

137. The computer program product of claim 136, wherein the at least one metadatum comprises at least one tag.

138. The computer program product of claim 119, further comprising determining the number of audio media objects to which at least one particular metadatum is assigned.

139. A computer program product including computer-executable program code for providing information for use by an ad server, the ad server for associating an advertisement with an audio media object, the product comprising program code for:

providing the audio media object for playback to at least one user;

accepting metadata from a plurality of users concerning the audio media object;

determining a metric based at least in part upon the frequency with which at least one metadatum is assigned to the audio media object, and

making the at least one metadatum available to the ad server.

140. The computer program product of claim 139, further comprising program code for making the metric available to the ad server, the ad server for associating the advertisement with the audio media object based at least in part upon the metadatum and the metric.

141. The computer program product of claim 139, determining comprising determining the metric based at least in part upon the frequency with which a first metadatum and a second metadatum are commonly assigned to the audio media object, wherein the first and second metadata are available to the ad server.

142. The computer program product of claim 139, wherein the at least one metadatum comprises at least one tag.