U.S. patent application number 09/791268 was filed with the patent office on 2001-08-16 for metering of internet content using a control.
This patent application is currently assigned to Nielsen Media Research, Inc.. Invention is credited to Blumenau, Trevor.
Application Number | 20010014915 09/791268 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 22341392 |
Filed Date | 2001-08-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20010014915 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Blumenau, Trevor |
August 16, 2001 |
Metering of internet content using a control
Abstract
Web content received by a computer is processed such that a
reference to a control is inserted in HTML received by the computer
and the control is executed in response to the reference in order
to process the web content in the received HTML. The control
interfaces with a meta-level of program code, such as a browser, in
order to process the web content. The control, for example, may be
executed in order to meter exposure of an object, such as an
advertising image object.
Inventors: |
Blumenau, Trevor; (Redwood
City, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MARSHALL, O'TOOLE, GERSTEIN, MURRAY & BORUN
6300 SEARS TOWER
233 SOUTH WACKER DRIVE
CHICAGO
IL
60606-6402
US
|
Assignee: |
Nielsen Media Research,
Inc.
|
Family ID: |
22341392 |
Appl. No.: |
09/791268 |
Filed: |
February 22, 2001 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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09791268 |
Feb 22, 2001 |
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09111963 |
Jul 8, 1998 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
709/224 ;
707/E17.112; 709/203; 715/205; 715/234 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/02 20130101;
G06Q 30/0277 20130101; H04M 2215/22 20130101; G06F 16/955
20190101 |
Class at
Publication: |
709/224 ;
709/203; 707/513 |
International
Class: |
G06F 015/173; G06F
015/16; G06F 017/00 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method of metering web content received by a computer, the
method being implemented through execution of program code by the
computer, the method including the following steps: a) obtaining a
list of objects in the web content by use of a meta-level of the
program code; and, b) metering exposure of the listed objects.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein step b) includes the following
step; detecting an image contained in the HTML.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein step b) includes the following
step; detecting an HREF in the HTML.
4. The method of claim 2 wherein step b) includes the following
step; detecting a cgi script URL in the HTML.
5. The method of claim 2 wherein step b) includes the following
step; detecting an identification tag in the HTML.
6. The method of claim 2 wherein step b) includes the following
step; c) determining when the image is displayed.
7. The method of claim 6 wherein step c) includes the following
step; determining an amount of the image being displayed.
8. The method of claim 6 wherein step c) includes the following
step; determining an amount of time that the image is being
displayed.
9. The method of claim 6 wherein step c) includes the following
step; determining an amount of the image being displayed.
10. The method of claim 1 wherein step b) includes the following
step; detecting an image having a predetermined size.
11. The method of claim 10 wherein step b) includes the following
step; determining when the image is displayed.
12. The method of claim 10 wherein step b) includes the following
step; determining an amount of the image being displayed.
13. The method of claim 10 wherein step b) includes the following
step; determining an amount of time that the image is being
displayed.
14. The method of claim 13 wherein step b) includes the following
step; determining an amount of the image being displayed.
15. The method of claim 10 wherein step b) includes the following
step; detecting an HREF in the HTML.
16. The method of claim 10 wherein step b) includes the following
step; detecting a cgi script URL in the HTML.
17. The method of claim 10 wherein step b) includes the following
step; detecting an identification tag in the HTML.
18. A method of processing web content received by a computer, the
method being implemented through execution of program code by the
computer, the method including the following steps: a) inserting a
reference to a control in HTML received by the computer; and, b)
executing the control in response to the reference in order to
process the web content in the received HTML.
19. The method of claim 18 wherein the control is plug-in of a
browser.
20. The method of claim 19 wherein the control accesses methods
from a meta-level of the browser.
21. The method of claim 18 wherein the control accesses methods
from a meta-level of the program code.
22. The method of claim 18 wherein step b) comprises the step of
detecting an image contained in the HTML.
23. The method of claim 22 wherein step b) comprises the step of
detecting an HREF in the image.
24. The method of claim 22 wherein step b) comprises the step of
detecting a cgi script URL in the image.
25. The method of claim 22 wherein step b) comprises the step of
detecting an identification tag in the image.
26. The method of claim 22 wherein step b) comprises the step of
determining when the image is displayed.
27. The method of claim 26 wherein step b) comprises the step of
determining an amount of the image being displayed.
28. The method of claim 26 wherein step b) comprises the step of
determining an amount of time that the image is being
displayed.
29. The method of claim 28 wherein step b) comprises the step of
determining an amount of the image being displayed.
30. The method of claim 18 wherein step b) comprises the step of
detecting an image having a predetermined size.
31. The method of claim 30 wherein step b) comprises the step of
determining when the image is displayed.
32. The method of claim 31 wherein step b) comprises the step of
determining an amount of the image being displayed.
33. The method of claim 31 wherein step b) comprises the step of
determining an amount of time that the image is being
displayed.
34. The method of claim 33 wherein step b) comprises the step of
determining an amount of the image being displayed.
35. The method of claim 30 wherein step b) comprises the step of
detecting an HREF in the image.
36. The method of claim 30 wherein step b) comprises the step of
detecting a cgi script URL in the image.
37. The method of claim 30 wherein step b) comprises the step of
detecting an identification tag in the image.
38. The method of claim 18 wherein the reference is an nxm pixel
object, and wherein n and m are integers of any magnitude including
zero.
39. The method of claim 18 wherein the reference is an executable
identifier.
40. A method of using a meta-level of a browser so that exposure of
an object contained in received HTML can be metered, the method
comprising the following steps: a) accessing the object in the
HTML; and, b) using the meta-level in order to meter exposure of
the object.
41. The method of claim 40 wherein step a) comprises the step of
inserting a reference to a control in the received HTML.
42. The method of claim 41 wherein step b) comprises the step of
executing the control in order to meter the exposure of the
object.
43. The method of claim 42 wherein the executing step comprises the
step of detecting an image as an object in the HTML.
44. The method of claim 42 wherein the executing step comprises the
step of determining when an object is displayed.
45. The method of claim 42 wherein the executing step comprises the
step of determining an amount of an object viewable to a user.
46. The method of claim 42 wherein the executing step comprises the
step of determining an amount of time that an object is being
displayed.
47. The method of claim 42 wherein the executing step comprises the
step of detecting an object having a predetermined size.
48. The method of claim 42 wherein the executing step comprises the
step of detecting an HREF.
49. The method of claim 42 wherein the executing step comprises the
step of detecting a cgi script URL.
50. The method of claim 42 wherein the executing step comprises the
step of detecting an identification tag.
51. A software meter, wherein the software meter is executed by a
computer in order to meter exposure of an object contained in HTML
received by the computer, wherein the computer runs a browser
having a meta-layer, and wherein the software meter includes a
control arranged to access the meta-level in order to meter
exposure of the object.
52. The software meter of claim 51 further comprising program code
running on the computer so as to insert a reference to the control
in the received HTML so that the browser executes the control in
response to the reference.
Description
RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] The invention of the present application is related to the
invention covered by U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/707,279
filed on Sep. 3, 1996.
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to an arrangement whereby
Internet content is metered using a browser control such as a
Windows ActiveX Control.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The Internet has proven to be an efficient and popular
mechanism for the dissemination of information from content
providers to content recipients. Content providers in many cases
are organizations, such as businesses, governmental agencies,
educational institutions, and the like, who operate Web sites where
such organizations provide information that can be downloaded by
content recipients. The content recipients are often consumers who
use computers typically located in their dwellings to access the
content provided by content providers. However, content recipients
may also be other businesses, governmental agencies, educational
institutions, and the like. In many cases, a content provider is
also a content recipient. The information provided by content
providers to content recipients often includes advertisements in
which organizations advertise their goods and/or services.
[0004] Content is typically provided directly by a Web site to
content recipients. However, additional information concerning such
content is frequently provided at another Web site and is accessed
by way of click-through URLs.
[0005] Often, the operators of Web sites offering content such as
advertisements to content recipients, as well as those who create
and place such content as offerings by Web sites, desire to measure
the amount exposure of the content. Exposure is typically
determined by the number of times that particular offerings are
provided visibly and/or audibly to content recipients. Web site
owners, and those who create and place content, may then draw
market relevant conclusions from the measured amount of
exposure.
[0006] Several arrangements have been proposed as attempts to
measure exposure. For example, it is known for a Web site to itself
measure the number of times that content recipients access its
content offerings. However, exposure can at best only be inferred
from this measurement because the Web site cannot determine for
certain whether the content of interest is ever visible or audible
to the content recipient. Also, a measurement at a single Web site
provides little information about exposure of the content offered
by other Web sites, such as competitive Web sites. Moreover, even
if measurements are made at a plurality of Web sites, it is
difficult to extrapolate the resulting data over relevant segments
of the population.
[0007] Therefore, it has also been proposed to install software
meters on the computers of panelists so that exposure to content of
panelists can be measured and extrapolated over the population as a
whole, in much the same way that TV ratings are generated.
According to this proposal, the software meters track operating
system messages in order to detect communications of interest. When
the software meters detect communications of interest, the software
meters log the titles of the corresponding windows which are
displayed to a computer user because Internet content, as well as
application software interfaces, are typically provided to the user
in a window format. However, logging titles of windows is not
particularly useful because such titles can be very generic. For
example, one such title which is popular with many content
providers is simply "Home Page." This title provides little
indication of the information supplied to the content
recipient.
[0008] Tagging of Internet content has been broadly suggested in
the context of requiring widespread industry cooperation. However,
it is unlikely that such widespread industry cooperation is
attainable.
[0009] Moreover, now that the source code of the Netscape
NavigatorC browser has been made publicly available, it is possible
to provide a software meter by appropriate modification of this
browser. For example, this source code defines several objects that
represent both the screen position and state of images being
displayed in the browser. The methods implemented by these objects
may be augmented to include a software meter for collecting
exposure data. However, in this case, the browser operating on a
panelists computer must be replaced by the browser which is
modified to measure content exposure. Accordingly, panelist
cooperation becomes an issue. Also, extreme care must be taken to
avoid unintended consequences of modifying browser code.
[0010] Furthermore, this browser alteration option is not available
with respect to the Internet Explorer browser because its source
code is not available.
[0011] The present invention is directed to a metering system which
solves one or more of the above noted problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a
method is provide to meter web content received by a computer. The
method is implemented through execution of program code by the
computer and includes the following steps: a) obtaining a list of
objects in the web content by use of a meta-level of the program
code; and b) metering exposure of the listed objects.
[0013] In accordance with another aspect of the present invention,
a method is provided to process web content received by a computer.
The method is implemented through execution of program code by the
computer, and includes the following steps: a) inserting a
reference to a control in HTML received by the computer; and b)
executing the control in response to the reference in order to
process the web content in the received HTML.
[0014] In accordance with yet another aspect of the present
invention, a method is provided to use a meta-level of a browser so
that exposure of an object contained in received HTML can be
metered. The method comprises the following steps: a) accessing the
object in the HTML; and b) using the meta-level in order to meter
exposure of the object.
[0015] In accordance with still another aspect of the present
invention, a software meter is executed by a computer in order to
meter exposure of an object contained in HTML received by the
computer. The computer runs a browser having a meta-layer. The
software meter includes a control arranged to access the meta-level
in order to meter exposure of the object.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] These and other features and advantages of the present
invention will become more apparent from a detailed consideration
of the invention when taken in conjunction with the drawings in
which:
[0017] FIG. 1 illustrates a metering system which is in accordance
with the present invention and which includes a plurality of meters
each of which is resident on a computer at a corresponding
statistically selected site;
[0018] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a software
routine which may be used for the meters shown in FIG. 1; and,
[0019] FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrates a control that can be used in
conjunction with the software routine of FIG. 2 to meter exposure
of Internet content.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0020] Some programs have meta-levels which permit a programmer to
access certain objects and methods of the programs so that the
programmer can supplement these programs in a way to serve the
needs of the programmer. The Internet Explorer browser, for
example, has a meta-level which is generally known as the Component
Object Module (COM). Another meta-level in Java programming is
known as CORBA (Common Object Request Broker Architecture). The
present invention uses a program's meta-level in order to process
Internet content. For example, the present invention may be
arranged to meter exposure of Internet content. In one embodiment
of the present invention, a reference to a control, such as an
ActiveX control, is inserted into a received HTML file. When a
browser interpreting the received HTML file encounters the
reference, the browser causes the control to be executed. As the
control is executed, it uses the browser's meta-level so that the
content defined by the HTML file is suitably processed.
[0021] In a specific example of the present invention, a metering
system 10 includes a plurality of meters 12, where each meter 12 is
installed on a corresponding computer 14 at a corresponding
statistically selected metering site 16. The number and locations
of these statistical selected metering sites 16 depend upon
statistical sampling methods. However, a sufficient number of
statistically selected metering sites 16 should be selected in
order to provide data which is representative of the population
segments relevant to the content being metered.
[0022] Each of the computers 14, as shown in FIG. 1, is connected
to a network 18 which may be, for example, the Internet. As is
known, the Internet is typically accessed through the public
telephone network. However, the network 18 may involve other
arrangements such as local area networks and other networks through
which content is electronically disseminated.
[0023] In the case where the network 18 is the Internet, content is
typically offered by content providers who operate Web sites, such
as Web sites 20 shown in FIG. 1. The Web sites 20 are connected to
the network 18, either directly, or through an Internet Service
Provider 22, and are arranged to provide content, usually through
home pages, to the content recipients among which are the users of
the computers 14 at the statistically selected metering sites
16.
[0024] Content offered by the Web sites 20 may include objects in
the form of images and, frequently, these images are
advertisements. The Internet Advertising Board (IAB) has specified
certain sizes for advertisements. Moreover, content such as
advertisements offered by the Web sites 20 often includes
click-through URLs which, when clicked, access content provided by
other Web sites 20. Furthermore, these click-through locations in
an image often are redirect cgi scripts that can be parsed. For
example, the parameters that are passed to the cgi script can
indicate that an object is an advertising banner. These parameters
may further yield other site specific useful information.
Additionally, an identification tag may be inserted into content
such as advertisements. Images may be static images or video
images. The content offered by the Web sites 20 may also include
audio, text areas, and other media types which can be processed
and/or metered by the present invention.
[0025] The meters 12 may be in the form of software routines to be
installed on the computers 14 at the statistically selected
metering sites 16. Alternatively, the meters 12 may be software
and/or hardware for attachment to the computers 14 at the
statistically selected metering sites 16. The meters 12 meter
access by the users of the computers 14 to the advertisements and
other content which are provided by the content providers operating
the Web sites 20.
[0026] The meters 12 may be arranged to use a browser's meta-level
in order to meter the advertisements and other content provided by
the Web sites 20. For example, the meters 12 may be arranged to
insert a reference to a control, such as an ActiveX control, in the
HTML file received by corresponding computers 14. The control, when
executed, uses the meta-level to determine whether the received
pages contain objects of interest and to meter exposure of these
objects to the users of the computers 14. It should be noted,
however, that a meta-level of a browser or other program can be
used according to the present invention without necessarily
inserting a reference to a control in received HTML file.
[0027] The meters 12 may also be used to collect demographic
information about the users of the computers 14 who access
advertisements and other content provided by the Web sites 20. For
example, the meters 12 may be arranged to require the users to
actively identify themselves at log on and/or whenever the users
access the content provided by the Web sites 20. Alternatively, the
meters 12 may be arranged to passively identify the users, at log
on and/or whenever the users access content, by detecting keystroke
differences between users, by employing face and/or body
recognition technology, and/or the like.
[0028] The information, including metered content and demographic
data, collected by the meters 12 may be periodically transferred to
a central facility 24, where this information may be extrapolated
over relevant populations and assembled into reports for use by
interested customers of the central facility 24. This information
may be manually transferred to the central facility 24, such as by
the mailing of diskettes containing the information, or this
information may be transferred electronically to the central
facility 24, such as through the network 18.
[0029] Each of the meters 12 can be implemented in accordance with
a software routine 100 that is illustrated in FIG. 2. When a
message containing HTML is received by one of the computers 14
executing the software routine 100, as indicated by a block 102,
the software routine 100 at a block 104 intercepts the
corresponding HTTP transfer messages between the TCP/IP socket and
the browser, and modifies the received HTML file by inserting a
reference to a control 106 (FIGS. 3 and 4). For example, the
software routine 100 may be arranged to insert the control
reference as a nxm pixel object in the page defined by the HTML
file, where n and m are both typically 1 but can be any other
suitable numbers, including zero. This object can be inserted at
any predetermined location in the HTML file such as before the
<HEAD> tag, anywhere inside the <HEAD> block, between
the <HEAD> and <BODY> tags, or anywhere inside the
<BODY> block. This object may be preferably prepended as an
executable identifier to the very beginning of the page. For
example, the executable identifier may be in the following
syntax:
[0030] <object classid=046fedd05-99-fe-f5-f4 width=1 height=1
name=NMRActiveXObject>
[0031] where the control in this example is an ActiveX control. If
desired, the nxm pixel object can be inserted in an off-screen
location. After the control reference is inserted, the software
routine 100 at a block 108 hands off the received HTML file with
the inserted control reference to the browser running on the
corresponding computer 14.
[0032] When the browser begins executing the HTML file with the
control reference, it creates an instance of the control 106 as
indicated by a block 110 of FIG. 3. The control 106 may be
provided, for example, as a plug in of the browser running on the
computer 14. When the browser accesses the control 106, the control
106 is executed as shown in the remainder of FIGS. 3 and in FIG. 4.
Accordingly, the control 106 begins at a block 112 to iterate
through the list of objects on the page contained in the received
HTML file. For example, the control 106 at the block 112 may call
for a list object from the COM interface. The list object lists the
objects in the received HTML file. If the HTML file contains an
unprocessed object as determined at the block 112, the control 106
calls one or more appropriate COM methods and/or operating system
procedures in order to determine whether a first of the unprocessed
objects is one that the meter 12 is arranged to meter. Accordingly,
the control 106 determines at a block 114 whether the object
contained in the HTML file is a media type that should be
metered.
[0033] If the object is not a media type that should be metered,
the control 106 at the block 112 investigates the next object in
the HTML file. However, if the object is a media type that should
be metered, the control 106 at a block 116 determines whether the
object is an image. If the object is an image, the control 106 at a
block 118 determines whether the image has a predetermined size.
For example, if the meter 12 is arranged to meter advertisements,
the predetermined size may be any of the sizes specified by the IAB
for Internet advertisements. If the image does not have the
predetermined size, the control 106 investigates the next object on
the page at the block 112. If the image does have the predetermined
size, the control 106 then determines at a block 120 whether the
image has an HREF. If the image does not have an HREF, the control
106 investigates the next object in the received HTML file at the
block 112. If the image does have an HREF, the control 106 then
determines at a block 122 whether the HREF is a non-local HREF,
indicating that the HREF is a link to another Web site. If the HREF
is local rather than non-local, the control 106 investigates the
next object in the received HTML file at the block 112.
[0034] If the HREF is non-local, the control 106 then determines at
a block 124 whether the HREF is a cgi script URL. If the HREF is
not a cgi script URL, the control 106 investigates the next object
in the HTML file. If the HREF is a cgi script URL, the control 106
at a block 126 determines whether the HREF contains an
identification tag. If the HREF does not contain have an
identification tag, the control 106 investigates the next object in
the HTML file.
[0035] If the HREF does contain an identification tag, the control
106 at a block 128 attempts to isolate or identify the advertiser
associated with the HREF in the object currently being processed.
For example, the object may itself contain an identification of the
advertiser. After the control 106 at a block 128 attempts to
isolate or identify the advertiser associated with the HREF from
the object currently being processed, or if the object is another
media type that should be metered but is not an image, the control
106 at a block 130 determines and saves the coordinates of the
image or other media type for metering. When the coordinates have
been determined and saved, program flow returns to the block 112
where the control 106 continues to process, in like manner, the
remaining objects in the received HTML file. When the control 106
iterates through all objects on the page, the control 106 at a
block 132 determines whether the coordinates of any image or other
media type were saved at the block 126. If no images and/or other
media types were saved at the block 126, the control 106 exits.
[0036] If one or more images and/or other media type were saved at
the block 130, the control 106 at a block 134 meters the use of the
images and/or other media type whose coordinates were saved. Thus,
the control 106 can track changes in the coordinates, occlusion of
the images or other media types, and the like.
[0037] The control 106 can also keep track of the exposure over
time for each metered image. Accordingly, as the metered content is
scrolled into or out of view, the control 106 maintains, for
example, a counter of the on-screen exposure time of the metered
content. Similarly, if a window is moved so as to occlude the
metered content, the time that the window is in front of the
metered content can be deducted from the on-screen exposure time of
the metered content. Also, if the browser window is iconified, the
time that the browser window is iconified can be deducted from the
on-screen exposure of the metered content.
[0038] The exposure data may be combined with other information
(which may be obtained through other COM method calls on the
metered content) such as any frame URL, image file URL,
click-through URL, ALT text, and/or identification tag, and/or the
exposure data may be combined with user identification data. The
collected data can then be forwarded to the central facility 24 for
analysis. For example, as discussed above, the information may be
extrapolated over relevant populations and assembled into reports
for use by interested customers of the central facility 24.
[0039] After the control 106 meters the use of the media types
whose coordinates were saved, or if no objects were found in the
received HTML file as determined at the block 112, the control 106
exits and the software routine 100 waits for another HTML file.
[0040] Certain modifications of the present invention have been
discussed above. Other modifications will occur to those practicing
in the art of the present invention. For example, the control 106
determines whether a received image has a predetermined size at the
block 118, whether the image has an HREF at the block 120, whether
the HREF is non-local at the block 122, whether the HREF is a cgi
script URL at the block 124, whether the image has an
identification tag at the block 126, and attempts to isolate or
identify the advertiser associated with the HREF at a block 128.
However, the control 106 may implement any combination of these
blocks. For example, the control 106 may implement any one of these
blocks, any two of these blocks, or any three of these blocks.
[0041] Also, the meters 12 may be installed on the computers 14 by
personnel of the central facility 24, the meters 12 may be
installed on the computers 14 by the panelists at the statistically
selected metering sites 16 with appropriate instructions provided
by personnel of the central facility 24, the meters 12 may be
downloaded from the central facility 24 or elsewhere to the
computers 14 of the panelists at the statistically selected
metering sites 16, or the like.
[0042] Moreover, instead of installing the meters 12 on computers
at statistically selected metering sites, the meters 12 can be used
in a census to acquire content exposure data from an entire
population segment. In this case, an Internet service provider, the
central facility 24, or another facility, for example, can download
the meters 10 to the computers of the relevant population
segment.
[0043] Furthermore, the present invention may used for applications
other than metering applications.
[0044] Accordingly, the description of the present invention is to
be construed as illustrative only and is for the purpose of
teaching those skilled in the art the best mode of carrying out the
invention. The details may be varied substantially without
departing from the spirit of the invention, and the exclusive use
of all modifications which are within the scope of the appended
claims is reserved.
* * * * *