System and method for correlating user data from a content provider and user data from an advertising provider that is stored on autonomous systems

• US 7,257,546 B2
• Filed: 09/04/2001
• Issued: 08/14/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pinterest, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Yahoo! Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ebrahimi, Armin, Weitzman, Jeffrey W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Janvier; Jean D.
• Application Number:
  US09/946,772
• Publication Number:
  US 20030046159A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,170 Days
• Field of Search: 705/14, 705/26, 705/27
• US Class Current: 705/14.73
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement

Abstract

An autonomous correlation system correlates user data from a content provider and advertising view data from an advertising provider, wherein the user data is present on one autonomous system and the advertising view data is present on another autonomous system distinct from the one autonomous system, the systems being autonomous in that each is normally secured against unconstrained access by another. The autonomous correlation system comprises logic to accept a first message from a user, wherein the first message contains an indication of an object being presented to the user, the object being at least one of a content page and an advertisement, a first user identifier associated with the user by a presenter of the object; a reference database for storing an association between the first user identifier and the user; logic to accept a second message from the user, wherein the second message contains an indication of an object being presented to the user, the object being at least one of a content page and an advertisement, a second user identifier associated with the user by a presenter of the object; wherein the reference database stores an association between the second user identifier and the user.

Claims

1. A method for correlating user data from a content provider and advertising view data from an advertising provider, wherein the user data of the content provider is present on a first autonomous system and the advertising view data of the advertising provider is present on a second autonomous system distinct from the first autonomous system, the first and second autonomous systems being autonomous in that each is normally secured against unconstrained access by another, the method comprising:

receiving a first message from a user at an autonomous correlation system that is autonomous from the content provider and the advertising provider, the first message comprising an indication of a first object being presented to the user and a first user identifier associated with the user, the first object comprising content from the content provider;

storing an association between the first user identifier and the user;

receiving a second message from the user at the autonomous correlation system, the second message comprising an indication of a second object being presented to the user and a second user identifier associated with the user, the second object comprising an advertisement from the advertising provider;

storing an association between the second user identifier and the user, wherein the first and second identifier are different; and

generating a report based on the stored associations between the first and second user identifiers and the user, the report indicating that the content from the content provider from the first object and the advertisement from the advertising provider from the second object were presented to the user.

2. A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions for correlating user data from a content provider and advertising view data from an advertising provider, wherein the user data of the content provider is present on a first autonomous system and the advertising view data of the advertising provider is present on a second autonomous system distinct from the first autonomous system, the first and second autonomous systems being autonomous in that each is normally secured against unconstrained access by another, the set of instructions to direct a computer system to perform acts of:

receiving a first message from a user at an autonomous correlation system that is autonomous from the content provider and the advertising provider, the first message comprising an indication of a first object being presented to the user and a first user identifier associated with the user, the first object comprising content from the content provider;

storing an association between the first user identifier and the user;

receiving a second message from the user at the autonomous correlation system, the second message comprising an indication of a second object being presented to the user and a second user identifier associated with the user, the second object comprising an advertisement from the advertising provider;

storing an association between the second user identifier and the user, wherein the first and second identifier are different; and

generating a report based on the stored associations between the first and second user identifiers and the user, the report indicating that the content from the content provider from the first object and the advertisement from the advertising provider from the second object were presented to the user.