USER-CONTROLLED PROFILE SHARING

• US 20080000964A1
• Filed: 06/29/2006
• Published: 01/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Dumais, Susan T., Ozzie, Raymond E., Flake, Gary W., Goodman, Joshua T., Brill, Eric D., Hurst-Hiller, Oliver, Griffin, Trenholme J., Horvitz, Eric J., Gounares, Alexander G., Brunell, Bradly A.
• Granted Patent: US 7,552,862 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/380
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/188 Electronic negotiation

Abstract

Architecture is provided that facilitates user-controlled access to user profile information. A user is allowed to selectively expose (or mask) portions of his/her profile to third parties. Additionally, advertisers and/or content providers can offer incentives or enticement in response to the acceptance of which a user exposes larger portions of their profile. The architecture comprises a system that facilitates profile management utilizing a profile component that facilitates creation and storage of an electronic profile of a user, and a control component under control of the user for controlling access to the profile. Machine learning and reasoning is provided to make inferences and automate aspects thereof.

Claims

1. A computer readable storage medium that facilitates user profile management, comprising:

a profile component that facilitates creation and storage of an electronic profile of a user based in part on user interaction via electronic-based tools; and

a control component that dynamically controls access to portions of the profile as part of an information exchange session based on an active negotiation with a merchant requesting access thereto, the merchant providing an incentive based on an amount of the profile exposed to the merchant.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the control component increases access to the profile in response to a reward from the merchant requesting access thereto.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a shared control component that facilitates sharing of control of the profile between the user and a website.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising an enticement component that provides an enticement in exchange for access to the profile.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the enticement component offers an enticement that includes an article of commerce that is at least one of a free, reduced in cost, and an extension of an existing service.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising an aggregation component that receives and stores user interaction data in the profile for control by the control component.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the control component facilitates user control of all aspects of the profile, which is website-based, such that the website requests access to the profile from the user.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the control component facilitates selective user control by the user of a client-based user profile the access to which is requested by an online entity.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising a machine learning and reasoning component that employs a probabilistic and/or statistical-based analysis to prognose or infer an action that a user desires to be automatically performed.

10. A computer-implemented method of managing a user profile, comprising:

selecting an entity with which to conduct online information exchange session; and

dynamically exposing a portion of a user profile to the entity in response to an active negotiation with the selected entity, the entity providing an incentive based on an amount the portions of the profile exposed to the entity.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the entity is a web-based transaction system that requests user profile information as part of an online purchase.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the enticement includes at least one of a coupon, a free service, free content, and discounted content.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising exposing the portion of the user profile in response to requesting further access to a website of the entity.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising transmitting targeted advertising to a user of the user profile in response to the act of exposing.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising filtering spam as the enticement in the act of exposing.

16. The method of claim 10, further comprising editing advertisements as the enticement, the editing includes at least one of stripping and replacing advertisements associated with the session.

17. The method of claim 10, further comprising exposing the portion of the user profile related to personal information that allows personalized presentation of at least one of an advertisement and content.

18. The method of claim 10, further comprising dynamically controlling a spam filter based on temporally-based exposure of the profile.

19. The method of claim 10, further comprising negotiating value of the enticement based on quality of the user information exposed.

20. A computer readable storage medium, comprising:

means for receiving a request for information regarding a user from an electronic user profile;

means for dynamically exposing the user information to a website;

means for receiving a request for additional information regarding the user from the electronic user profile based in part on an amount of the exposed user information;

means for actively negotiating with the website based in part on the user information;

means for dynamically exposing additional user information to a website based in part on the active negotiation; and

means for communicating targeted content to the user based on the user information.