BINARY INTEREST VECTOR FOR BETTER AUDIENCE TARGETING

• US 20100313139A1
• Filed: 06/03/2009
• Published: 12/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yahoo AD Tech LLC
• Original Assignee: Yahoo! Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Watfa, Allie K., Nussel, Dale
• Granted Patent: US 8,214,390 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/745
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/337 Profile generation, learning or modification
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation

Abstract

A binary interest vector is herein described, which represents information in a string of bits about user interest in a set of topics. The binary interest vector may represent the interests of a particular user, or the interests of users associated with a particular client machine. Such a binary interest vector can store a large amount of information in a very small space by assigning bit subsets of the string of bits to represent interest in respective topics of the set of topics based on the positions of the bits in the subsets. Additionally, the bits of a particular binary interest vector may include a version indicator identifying the pattern of topics assigned to the bits of the particular vector. The user interest information in a particular binary interest vector may be utilized in selecting content to display to the user that is associated with the particular vector.

Claims

1. A computer-executed method comprising:

detecting activity, of a user associated with a particular entity, related to a particular topic of a set of topics;

in response to detecting the activity, modifying a particular subset of bits, of a first set of bits associated with the particular entity, to reflect the activity related to the particular topic;

wherein the first set of bits includes a plurality of distinct subsets of bits;

wherein the position of each bit of the particular subset of bits indicates which topic of the set of topics that the particular subset of bits reflects;

selecting a particular content item from a plurality of available content items based at least in part on the first set of bits; and

displaying the particular content item to the user;

wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.

2. The computer-executed method of claim 1, wherein each bit of the first set of bits reflects activity related to a different topic of the set of topics.

3. The computer-executed method of claim 1, wherein the step of selecting the particular content item from the plurality of available content items further comprises:

determining a value represented by the particular subset of bits;

determining a weight for the particular topic;

modifying the value based at least in part on the weight to produce a modified value;

selecting the particular content item based at least in part on the modified value;

wherein the weight is based, at least in part, on a content item that is displayed to the user at the time that the particular content item is displayed to the user, other than the particular content item.

4. The computer-executed method of claim 3, wherein the step of determining the value represented by the particular subset of bits further comprises:

determining whether the particular subset of bits comprises two or more bits;

in response to determining that particular subset of bits comprises two or more bits;

linearly concatenating the two or more bits to produce the value; and

normalizing the value based at least in part on a number of bits in the particular subset of bits.

5. The computer-executed method of claim 1,

wherein the activity indicates interest of the user in the particular topic;

wherein the activity is one of;

(a) viewing, by the user, a document related to the particular topic,

(b) submitting, by the user, a query related to the particular topic,

(c) receiving, by the user, a set of search results including the document related to the particular topic, and

(d) submitting, by the user, information evidencing interest in the particular topic; and

wherein the particular entity is one of;

(a) a user profile,

(b) an Internet Protocol (IP) address, and

(c) a Media Access Control (MAC) address.

6. The computer-executed method of claim 1,

wherein each subset of bits of the plurality of distinct subsets of bits reflects activity related to a different topic of the set of topics;

wherein the first set of bits is associated with a first set of identifier bits that identifies a first format;

wherein the topic represented in each of the plurality of distinct subsets of bits is determined according to the first format; and

wherein the method further comprises;

generating a second set of bits based on the first set of bits wherein the second set of bits conveys at least the same information as the first set of bits,

wherein the second set of bits is associated with a second set of identifier bits that identifies a second format,

wherein the second set of bits comprises a second plurality of distinct subsets of bits,

wherein each subset of bits of the second plurality of distinct subsets of bits corresponds to a different topic of a second set of topics,

wherein the topic represented in each of the second plurality of distinct subsets of bits is determined according to the second format, and

wherein the first format is different than the second format.

7. The computer-executed method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an overwrite value for a second subset of bits of the plurality of distinct subsets of bits; and

modifying the bits of the second subset of bits to represent the overwrite value.

8. The computer-executed method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a privacy setting for the particular entity; and

based on the privacy setting, performing one of;

discarding the first set of bits, and

overwriting each bit of the first set of bits with zero.

9. The computer-executed method of claim 1, wherein the step of modifying the particular subset of bits, of the first set of bits associated with the particular entity, to reflect the activity related to the particular topic further comprises;

determining whether the particular entity is associated with a particular set of bits;

in response to determining that the particular entity is associated with the particular set of bits, checking whether a version of the particular set of bits is current;

in response to determining that the version of the particular set of bits is not current;

retrieving the particular set of bits, and

generating a modified set of bits based at least in part on the particular set of bits; and

executing the step of modifying the particular subset of bits, of the first set of bits associated with the particular entity, to reflect the activity related to the particular topic, with the modified set of bits as the first set of bits.

11. One or more storage media storing instructions which, when executed by one or more computing devices, cause performance of the method recited in claim 1.

12. One or more storage media storing instructions which, when executed by one or more computing devices, cause performance of the method recited in claim 2.

13. One or more storage media storing instructions which, when executed by one or more computing devices, cause performance of the method recited in claim 3.

14. One or more storage media storing instructions which, when executed by one or more computing devices, cause performance of the method recited in claim 4.

15. One or more storage media storing instructions which, when executed by one or more computing devices, cause performance of the method recited in claim 5.

16. One or more storage media storing instructions which, when executed by one or more computing devices, cause performance of the method recited in claim 6.

17. One or more storage media storing instructions which, when executed by one or more computing devices, cause performance of the method recited in claim 7.

18. One or more storage media storing instructions which, when executed by one or more computing devices, cause performance of the method recited in claim 8.

19. One or more storage media storing instructions which, when executed by one or more computing devices, cause performance of the method recited in claim 9.

10. A computer-executed method comprising:

detecting activity, of a user associated with a particular entity, that indicates interest in a particular topic of a set of topics;

in response to detecting the activity, modifying a particular subset of bits of a set of bits that is associated with the particular entity;

wherein the set of bits includes a plurality of distinct subsets of bits;

wherein each distinct subset of bits of the plurality of distinct subsets of bits reflects activity related to a different topic of the set of topics;

wherein the position of each bit of the particular subset of bits relative to the other bits in the set of bits is a sole indicator of which topic of the set of topics that the particular subset of bits reflects;

selecting a particular content item from a plurality of available content items based at least in part on the set of bits; and

displaying the particular content item to the user;

wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.

20. One or more storage media storing instructions which, when executed by one or more computing devices, cause performance of the method recited in claim 10.