U.S. patent application number 11/111357 was filed with the patent office on 2005-09-01 for independent internet client object with ad display capabilities.
Invention is credited to Blaser, Shane, Burr, Ronald, Haitsuka, Stacy, MacKenzie, Harold, Warren, Terry, Zebian, Marwan.
Application Number | 20050192867 11/111357 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 23367929 |
Filed Date | 2005-09-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050192867 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Haitsuka, Stacy ; et
al. |
September 1, 2005 |
Independent internet client object with ad display capabilities
Abstract
There is disclosed a client application for enabling access to
an online service that displays advertisements while the user is
accessing the online service and/or the Internet or other network.
The client application may receive play lists from the online
service provider. The play lists may include information about
advertisements to be played and the order of play. The client
application may display advertisements continuously while the user
is connected to and/or using the online service and/or the Internet
or other network.
Inventors: |
Haitsuka, Stacy; (Oak Park,
CA) ; Burr, Ronald; (Agoura, CA) ; MacKenzie,
Harold; (Los Angeles, CA) ; Zebian, Marwan;
(Agoura, CA) ; Warren, Terry; (Santa Ana, CA)
; Blaser, Shane; (Camarillo, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
SoCAL IP LAW GROUP LLP
310 N. WESTLAKE BLVD. STE 120
WESTLAKE VILLAGE
CA
91362
US
|
Family ID: |
23367929 |
Appl. No.: |
11/111357 |
Filed: |
April 20, 2005 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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11111357 |
Apr 20, 2005 |
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09348411 |
Jul 7, 1999 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/14.68 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/0272 20130101;
G06Q 30/02 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/014 |
International
Class: |
G06F 015/16 |
Claims
It is claimed:
1. A method of displaying advertisements to a user of an online
service using a client application on a local device, the local
device including an input device and an output device, the local
device having a continuous communications link to a network, the
user using the local device for accessing the online service and
for interacting with the online service, the method comprising: the
client application becoming active and establishing a session with
the online service over the continuous communications link; the
client application receiving a first play list; the client
application monitoring the user's network activity thereby
detecting whether the user is accessing the network; the client
application displaying a client window on the output device of the
local device, wherein the client window displays continuously so
long as the user is accessing the network; the client application
causing advertisements to be displayed in an ad pane of the client
window in accordance with the first play list, the first play list
comprising plural ad objects, each ad object comprising a resource
locator for a given advertisement and a resource locator for a
click-through associated with the given advertisement, the first
play list further specifying an order in which the advertisements
identified in the first play list are to be displayed.
2. The method of displaying advertisements to a user of an online
service using a client application on a local device of claim 1,
wherein at least one of the ad objects includes a length of time to
display the given advertisement.
3. The method of displaying advertisements to a user of an online
service using a client application on a local device of claim 1,
the method further comprising: the client application receiving the
first play list from an ad server after establishment of the
session with the online service.
4. The method of displaying advertisements to a user of an online
service using a client application on a local device of claim 1,
the method further comprising: the client application receiving the
first play list from the online service after establishment of the
session with the online service.
5. The method of displaying advertisements to a user of an online
service using a client application on a local device of claim 1,
the method further comprising: the client application detecting
that the user has not interacted with the network for a predefined
period of time, and the client application ceasing the display of
the client window.
6. The method of displaying advertisements to a user of an online
service using a client application on a local device of claim 1,
wherein the client application causes the client window to be
displayed on top of any other window displayed on the output
device.
7. The method of displaying advertisements to a user of an online
service using a client application on a local device of claim 6,
the method further comprising: the client application detecting
that the user has not interacted with the network for a predefined
period of time, and the client application ceasing the display of
the client window on top of any other window displayed on the
output device.
8. The method of displaying advertisements to a user of an online
service using a client application on a local device of claim 1
wherein the ad object further includes display attributes for the
given advertisement.
9. The method of displaying advertisements to a user of an online
service using a client application on a local device of claim 8
wherein the display attributes include at least one from the group
comprising: fade, wash, sweep, fly, blinds, box, checkerboard,
crawl, dissolve, peak, spiral, split, stretch, strips, swivel,
wipe, and zoom.
10. The method of displaying advertisements to a user of an online
service using a client application on a local device of claim 1
further comprising: the client application recording an identifier
of a given advertisement displayed by the client application, and
the client application transmitting the identifier to an
interactive data server on the online service.
11. A method of displaying advertisements to a user of an online
service using a client application on a local device, the local
device including an input device and an output device, the local
device having a constant-connection to the Internet, the user using
the local device for accessing the online service and for
interacting with the online service, the method comprising: the
client application becoming active and establishing a session with
the online service; the client application receiving a first play
list; the client application monitoring the user's activity with
the online service and thereby detecting whether the user is
interacting with the online service; the client application
displaying a client window on the output device of the local
device, wherein the client window displays continuously while the
user is interacting with the online service; the client application
causing advertisements to be displayed in an ad pane of the client
window in accordance with the first play list, the first play list
comprising plural ad objects, each ad object comprising a resource
locator for a given advertisement, a resource locator for a
click-through associated with the given advertisement, and display
attributes for the given advertisement, the first play list further
specifying an order in which the advertisements identified in the
first play list are to be displayed.
12. The method of displaying advertisements to a user of an online
service using a client application on a local device of claim 11,
wherein at least one of the ad objects includes a length of time to
display the given advertisement.
13. The method of displaying advertisements to a user of an online
service using a client application on a local device of claim 11,
the method further comprising: the client application receiving the
first play list from an ad server after establishment of the
session with the online service.
14. The method of displaying advertisements to a user of an online
service using a client application on a local device of claim 11,
the method further comprising: the client application receiving the
first play list from the online service after establishment of the
session with the online service.
15. The method of displaying advertisements to a user of an online
service using a client application on a local device of claim 11,
the method further comprising: the client application detecting
that the user has not interacted with the online service for a
predefined period of time, and the client application ceasing the
display of advertisements in the ad pane.
16. The method of displaying advertisements to a user of an online
service using a client application on a local device of claim 11,
wherein the client application causes the client window to be
displayed on top of any other window displayed on the output
device.
17. The method of displaying advertisements to a user of an online
service using a client application on a local device of claim 16,
the method further comprising: the client application detecting
that the user has not interacted with the online service for a
predefined period of time, and the client application ceasing the
display of the client window on top of any other window displayed
on the output device.
18. The method of displaying advertisements to a user of an online
service using a client application on a local device of claim 11
wherein the display attributes are at least one from the group
including: fade, wash, sweep, fly, blinds, box, checkerboard,
crawl, dissolve, peak, spiral, split, stretch, strips, swivel,
wipe, and zoom.
19. The method of displaying advertisements to a user of an online
service using a client application on a local device of claim 11
further comprising: the client application recording an identifier
of a given advertisement displayed by the client application, and
the client application transmitting the identifier to an
interactive data server on the online service.
Description
NOTICE OF COPYRIGHTS AND TRADE DRESS
[0001] A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains
material which is subject to copyright protection. This patent may
show and/or describe matter which is or may become trade dress of
the owner. The copyright and trade dress owner has no objection to
the facsimile reproduction by any one of the patent disclosure as
it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or
records, but otherwise reserves all copyright and trade dress
rights whatsoever.
RELATED APPLICATION INFORMATION
[0002] This application is a continuation of application Ser. No.
09/348,411 filed Jul. 07, 1999 entitled "Independent Internet
Client Object With Ad Display Capabilities," which is incorporated
herein by reference.
[0003] This application is related to application Ser. No.
09/265,512 filed March 9, 1999 entitled "Network Data Distribution
Based Upon User-Specific Qualities," which is incorporated herein
by reference, and which claims priority in part from Application
No. 60/077,331 filed Mar. 9, 1998 entitled "Network Data
Distribution Based Upon Geographic Location, Usage Patterns,
Interactive Data, Profile Data, Demographic Data and Scheduling
Information."
[0004] This application is related to U.S. Pat. No. 6,366,298 filed
Jun. 3, 1999 and issued Apr. 2, 2002 entitled "Monitoring of
Individual Internet Usage," which is incorporated herein by
reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0005] 1. Field Of The Invention
[0006] The invention relates to the display of advertisements to a
user of an online service.
[0007] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0008] Online services today offer a variety of services to their
users. Users may access news, weather, financial, sports, and
entertainment services, participate in and retrieve information
from online discussion groups, and send and receive email. A user
of an online service typically accesses the service using
specialized communication software (i.e., client application or
client software) that establishes and manages a connection from the
user's computer (or client) to the online service provider's host
computers (or servers) and facilitates the user's interactions with
the service.
[0009] In addition to managing the connection, there is provided
software to display pages or screens relating to retrieved content
according to views or presentations specific to the online service.
This software may be integrated with the client application. The
functionality of the content and the user interface (i.e., icons,
dialog boxes, menus, etc.) for interacting with the content are
typically dictated by various standards.
[0010] Interactions between the user's computer and the online
service are facilitated by a variety of software protocols (i.e.,
communication conventions, rules and structures), including
application level protocols, for managing the transfer of data
across the network and to the client application on the user's
computer. A protocol may be proprietary or exclusive to an online
service such that only client software from the online service
provider may be used to communicate with the server software. For
example, an online service provider that supports electronic mail,
discussion groups, chat groups, news services, etc. may define and
use specific protocols for each type of service so that appropriate
information is exchanged between the participants (i.e., clients
and servers). Each application-specific protocol may be based on a
common, underlying protocol.
[0011] The Internet and World Wide Web ("Web"), comprised of a vast
array of international computer networks, many provide online
service users with considerable information resources and other
content. Typically, this content is accessed using a web browser,
such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator, capable
of understanding the HyperText Markup Language (HTML) used to
create the documents found on the Web and the HyperText Transfer
Protocol (HTTP) used to navigate the Web. Email and Usenet
discussion groups are typically accessed through companion software
to the browser. Although web browsers typically have varying levels
of functionality or sophistication, retrieved content is displayed
in content pages according to views or presentations specific to
the web document currently presented by the web browser. Typically,
the views and presentations are different than those provided by
the communication software from the online service provider because
the web browser is, in fact, a separate client application
displaying web documents containing presentation directives.
[0012] When using a browser, the browser issues HTTP messages to
request web pages. A requested web page is typically identified
using its URL--uniform resource locator. The URL is a reference (or
address) to a resource available on a TCP/IP network such as the
Internet. A URL is composed of a character string, and may have a
number of parts. These parts include a top level domain name,
second level domain name, directory name, and file name. URLs may
identify a file located on a web server. URLs may also point to
other resources on the network such as database queries and command
output. The determination and use of URLs is well known in the art
and is not discussed further herein.
[0013] In some portions of this disclosure, the term "resource
locator" is used. The term is defined as a string or code which
uniquely identifies a resource on a network. Thus, the URL is a
species of resource locator.
[0014] There are a number of types of online service providers.
Online services may serve the general public or may serve a limited
class of individuals. Some public OSPs utilize proprietary
networks; America Online and @Home are examples. Other public OSPs
use the public networks, and most Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
are an example. OSPs often provide Internet access. Internet access
is the primary service provided by some OSPs, most notably
ISPs.
[0015] Users typically connect to an OSP using a computer with a
communications device such as an analog modem, an Ethernet adapter,
DSL adapter or cable modem. Such connections may be analog or
digital, dial-up or constantly-connected. Subscribers typically pay
a fee for their subscriptions to OSPs. These fees typically are in
the form of a sign-up fee, plus online charges which are fixed
(i.e., unlimited monthly access for a fixed fee) or based upon the
amount of time the user is connected to the online service. The
fees generally increase with bandwidth.
[0016] Some online service providers have derived revenue by
displaying advertisements for third parties (hereinafter,
"advertisements") to users. For example, when a user accesses a web
page on the Web, an advertisement may be displayed to the user as
part of the web page. Advertisements are also shown to users of
some proprietary online services. Typically in such systems, each
user accessing a certain screen or site is shown the same
advertisement. Sophisticated systems have the capability to change
the advertisement after a certain period of time.
[0017] Some attempts have been made to provide
advertising-supported online services, including Internet access,
on a free or heavily discounted basis. Typically, these online
services required the user to use a special client application for
connecting to the online service. The client application typically
causes an advertising window to be displayed on the user's display.
This advertising window remains visible and on top of other windows
throughout the entire online session. The client application
receives advertisements from the online service provider, and the
client application displays the advertisements in the advertising
window. It is unknown to the inventors, however, whether the
transmission of advertisements from the online service provider to
the client application is initiated by the online service provider
or the client application, how the online service determines which
advertisements to send to the users, and whether such typical
client applications do anything more than open the communications
link with the online service and display advertisements.
[0018] In one advertising based Internet service called Bigger.net,
the client application periodically requested new advertisements
from an ad server. A host computer monitored the time between such
requests and terminated the connection if a preset period of time
was exceeded. Bigger.net also had the ability to monitor network
activity, though it is unclear how this was done.
[0019] Other advertising-supported online services have included:
CyberFreeway, which used a client application developed by
HyperNet, Inc. of Tokyo, Japan; Juno Online, which provided free
email; Tritium and Freewwweb.
[0020] Advertisers find it desirable to target advertisements to
relevant potential customers. For example, an advertiser of
stockings would prefer to target women rather than men with its
advertising. A Boston restaurant would prefer to target residents
of Boston and business travelers rather than children living in San
Francisco. Moreover, advertisers prefer to pay for advertising
based upon the number of relevant consumers who are actually
exposed to the advertisement. For typical online systems and
networks, including the Web, it is often difficult for an
advertiser to precisely determine whether its advertisements were
actually viewed by a user and for how long, and whether the
advertisement induced a response. Accordingly, there exists a need
for a targeted advertisement system that also can provide
information as to the characteristics of those who were exposed to
each advertisement, for how long the user was exposed, and at what
times.
[0021] It is believed that the prior art advertising-supported
online services did not have the ability to target advertisements.
Furthermore, their client applications are believed to have been
limited in capabilities.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] FIG. 1 is a first block diagram of a network data
distribution system in accordance with the invention.
[0023] FIG. 2 is a second block diagram of a network data
distribution system in accordance with the present invention.
[0024] FIG. 3 is a representation of a display of a local device
having a client window and a browser window.
[0025] FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a method of monitoring web
browsing by a user in accordance with the invention.
[0026] FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a method of displaying
advertisements to a user of an online service in accordance with
the invention.
[0027] FIG. 6 is a flow chart of a method of tracking
advertisement-related events in accordance with the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0028] Throughout this description, the embodiments and examples
shown should be considered as exemplars, rather than limitations on
the apparatus and methods of the invention.
[0029] Description of Systems
[0030] The system of the invention enables data, such as
advertisements, to be sent to users based upon: the user's
geographic location; the user's interactive data; the user's
network usage data; the user's personal profile information; the
scheduling requirements of the data to be sent; and the demographic
requirements of the data to be sent.
[0031] Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a block diagram of a
network data distribution system in accordance with the invention
in conjunction with a source of web pages. FIG. 1 includes a local
device 100, a data access network 120, an OSP server 130 and a web
server 150. The local device 100, the data access network 120 and
the OSP server 130 comprise the network data distribution system.
The local device 100 is provided online service to the network data
distribution system under control of the OSP server 130. An online
service provider controls the OSP server 130.
[0032] The local device 100 preferably comprises a client computer
which is configured to access the OSP server 130 via the local
access network 120. The client computer may be, for example, a PC
running a Microsoft Windows operating system. The local device 100
preferably includes an output device, such as display 101, and an
input device, such as keyboard 102 and/or pointing device 103
(e.g., mouse, track ball, light pen, or data glove). The local
device 100 may also be, for example, an Internet appliance, network
computer (NC), or an appropriately Internet-enabled device such as
a portable digital assistant (PDA), mobile phone, refrigerator,
etc. The particular type of device of the local device 100 is not
considered to be important so long as the local device 100 can
provide some measure of individual user interactivity with an
online service.
[0033] The data access network 120 provides lower layer network
support for the local device 100 to interact with online service,
including the OSP server 130 and the web server 150. The data
access network 120 preferably comprises a common or private
bi-directional telecommunications network (e.g., a public switched
telephone network (PSTN), a cable-based telecommunication network,
a LAN, a WAN, a wireless network), coupled with or overlaid by a
TCP/IP network (e.g., the Internet or an intranet).
[0034] The web server 150 may be of the type known in the art and
has the ability to serve web pages to the local device 100, as
requested in the manner known in the art. It should be appreciated
that the web server 150 is representative of any source of web
pages available to the local device 100. Thus, for example, the web
server 150 could be accessible from the Internet, or it could be a
part of an intranet and represents any number of web servers.
[0035] The OSP server 130 preferably is a computer system, such as
a server computer. Alternatively, the OSP server 130 may be
considered to represent a number of physical devices which as a
group provide the indicated network services. The OSP server 130
acts as a recipient of certain information transmitted by the local
device 100, as described further below. The OSP server 130
preferably also transmits certain data to the local device 100 as
described further below.
[0036] Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown a block diagram of a
network data distribution system of an online service in accordance
with the present invention. The system comprises a client
application 110, the data access network 120, the OSP server 130
and data stores 140a-g (collectively, 140). A browser application
160 is also shown. A "browser application" is software which
provides interactive utilization of hypertext objects located on a
network, such as web pages on the Internet. As used herein,
"browser application" also includes most email clients and ftp
clients. The client application 110 is a program operative on local
device 100, and preferably an independent application program or a
DLL. The client application 110 preferably retrieves certain
network data, displays certain network data, transmits geographic
location data, transmits interactive user data, transmits network
usage data and transmits personal profile information as described
below. The client application 110 preferably also sets up and
provides access to the online service. The data stores 140 store
and provide this geographic information data 140d, network usage
data 140a, interactive usage data 140b, personal profile
information 140g, data to be sent 140e, schedule for transmitting
data 140f and demographics for transmitting data 140c.
[0037] The browser application 160, such as Microsoft Internet
Explorer or Netscape Navigator is preferably installed on the local
device 100. When the local device 100 is connected to the web
server 150 through the data access network 120, the user of the
local device browses the web server 150 from the local device 100
using the browser application. The browser application itself need
not be stored on the local device 100. The important aspect is that
the user, from the local device 100, can exercise control over what
web pages are requested and thus displayed by the local device
100.
[0038] Each time a user uses the local device 100 to connect to the
online service, the client application 110 and the OSP server 130
establish a session. In this session, the client application 110
transmits certain information regarding the user of the local
device 100 and his use of the local device 100 while connected to
the online service. The OSP server 130, on the other hand, uses the
information from the client application 100 to determine
information which should be sent to the client application 110.
Preferably, the information from the client application 110 is used
by the OSP server 130 to select advertisements which the local
device 100 should display. The client application 110 then causes
these advertisements to be displayed on the local device's output
device 101.
[0039] The information from the client application 110 regarding
the user preferably includes geographic data and personal profile
information. Geographic data indicating the user's current location
preferably is sent from the client application 110 to the OSP
server 130, which then stores the geographic data in the data store
140d. This geographic data can be something simple, like a phone
number. The user preferably provides personal profile information
on a periodic basis which is stored in the data store 140g and used
by the OSP server 130. This information consists of (but is not
limited to) things such as: age, sex, marriage status, home address
and personal interests.
[0040] The information regarding the user's use of the local device
100 includes email usage, web usage and advertisement
click-throughs. The user's interactions and feedback with the web
server 150 provided through the browser application 160 are
preferably captured by the client application 110, analyzed by the
OSP server 130 and stored in the data store 140b. This includes the
user's feedback and responses to the data delivered to the browser
application 160. The user's activities on the web server 150
provided through the browser application 160 are preferably
captured by the client application 110, analyzed by the OSP server
130 and stored in the data store 140a. This includes the type of
network data the user requests and accesses. This data is
preferably summarized and classified into multiple demographic
profiles.
[0041] The data to be sent to users preferably has scheduling
requirements that dictate when it should be sent. These scheduling
requirements include (but are not limited to): frequency, maximum
number of times to send to an individual, minimum number of times
to send to an individual, time of day to send, and first and last
days to send. The data to be sent to users can have demographic
requirements that dictate to whom it should be sent. These include
(but are not limited to): personal profile, interactive data,
network usage information and geographic location.
[0042] Referring now to FIG. 3, there is shown the display 101
having a client window 200 and a browser window 300. The client
window 200 is generated and controlled by the client application
110. The browser window is generated and controlled by the browser
application 160, here Microsoft Internet Explorer. The browser
window 300 is familiar to those skilled in the art, so the
particulars are not described further herein. Further information
regarding the use of most browser applications and their technical
specifications is abundantly available.
[0043] The client window 200 includes a title bar 230, an
advertising pane 210, a number of operational icons 205, 215, 220,
240, 250 on the title bar 230, and a number of button bar icons
260, 265, 270, 275 on a button bar 280. The title bar 230
preferably identifies the name of the OSP. The advertising pane 210
is a space in which the client application 110 displays
advertisements.
[0044] The button bar icons 260, 265, 270, 275 preferably provide
one-click access to Web pages and/or menus that might be useful to
the user. The online service provider can sell the button bar icons
to third parties as an additional revenue source. These icons 260,
265, 270, 275 are associated with particular URLs. The icon 260 is
associated with a start page. The icon 265 is associated with an
online shopping mall page. The icon 270 is associated with an
online technical support page from the online service provider. The
icon 275 is associated with an online search engine page. By
clicking on any of these icons 260, 265, 270, 275, the client
application 110 causes the browser application 160 to load the Web
page having the URL associated with the selected icon.
[0045] The operational icons 205, 215, 240, 250, 280 on the title
bar 230 preferably provide one-click access to operational features
of the client application 110. As explained below, the client
application 110 maintains records of the advertisements which have
been displayed. The cycle back icon 205 allows the user to review
advertisements which were previously displayed by the client
application 110, in the reverse order in which the advertisements
were displayed. If the user has cycled back through advertisements,
the cycle forward icon 215 allows the user to review advertisements
in the order in which the advertisements were displayed by the
client application 110. The search icon 240 provides convenient
access to online searching facilities. The close icon 250 causes
the client window 200 to close, and thus also causes the session
with the online service to terminate.
[0046] The menu icon 280 provides access to a menu of additional
menu items and functions. The menu preferably provides alternative
and enhanced access to the features associated with the button bar
icons 260, 265, 270, 275 and the other operational icons 205, 215,
240, 250. In addition, the menu preferably provides the user with
the ability to hide or show the title bar 230 and/or the button bar
280. The menu preferably also allows the user to access and edit
his profile. The menu preferably provides the user with the option
of positioning the client window 200 at any of a number of
predefined positions, such as top left corner of the display 101,
top right corner, bottom left corner, or bottom right corner.
[0047] The browser window 300 includes a display pane 310, an
address bar 320 and a title bar 330. The display pane 310 is a
region of the browser window 300 wherein the browser application
causes web pages received by the browser application to be
displayed. The address bar 320 is another region of the browser
window 300 and the browser application displays URLs in the address
bar 320 corresponding to the web page currently displayed in the
display pane 310. The user can also enter a URL into the address
bar 320, and the browser application will attempt to load the web
page or other object to which the entered URL points. The primary
feature of the title bar 330 is that it displays the title of the
browser application. Another feature of most browsers is that the
title bar 330 displays the title of the web page then displayed in
the display pane 310.
[0048] The client window 200 is displayed on top of the browser
window 300. Preferably, the client window 200 remains visible and
on top of all other windows so long as the communication channel to
the OSP server 130 is open. The client application 110 preferably
can control the location of the client window 200 on the display
101. For example, the client application 110 preferably allows the
user to select one of several predefined locations for the client
window 200, such as lower left corner, upper right corner, etc.
Some operating systems such as Microsoft Windows permit windows to
be moved to the edge of the display 101 so that only a small
portion of the window is visible. The client application 110
preferably can also prevent the client window 200 from being moved
off of the visible area of the display 101. When the user attempts
to hide all or a part of the client window 200, the client window
preferably moves the client window 200 to a fully visible area of
the display 101.
[0049] Description of Methods
[0050] Referring now to FIG. 4, there is shown a flow chart of a
method of distributing data in a network in accordance with the
invention. The components 110, 120, 130, 140 work together to
deliver data that meets the geographic and demographic
criteria.
[0051] After the method begins (step 405), the user preferably uses
the client application 110 to connect to the data access network
120, and then the OSP server 130 (step 410). The particular manner
of the connection depends on the network infrastructure underlying
the connections. The important aspect of this step 410 is that a
communications channel is established between the client
application 110 and the OSP server 130. By "communications
channel," it is meant a logical path for data transmission. The OSP
server 130 preferably acts as a gatekeeper to the online services.
Only after the OSP server 130 has authorized access can the local
device 100 access the web server 150 and the other resources of the
online service.
[0052] The communication channel may be of two varieties--dial-up
or constant-connection. In a dial-up communication channel, the
connection to the online service becomes available only after the
local device 100 creates a physical link to the online network and
then a logical link to the online network. For example, the local
device 100 has a -up communication channel if the local device 100
has a modem and connects through tone dialing to the online service
using the PSTN. In a constant-connection communication channel ,
the connection to the online service is always available to the
local device 100, and the local device need only create a logical
link to the online network. For example, the local device 100 has a
constant-connection communication channel when the local device 100
has a cable modem and connects to the online service using a cable
service.
[0053] If this is the first time the user has connected (step 415),
then the OSP server 130 preferably requires the user to use the
local device 100 to submit personal profile information (step 420).
Preferably, the OSP server 130 periodically will request (step 425)
that the client application 110 have the user update this profile
(step 430).
[0054] Each time the local device 100 connects to the OSP server
130, the OSP server 130 preferably obtains data indicating the
local device's current geographic location (step 435). This
geographic information is preferably derived from a local access
phone number used by the client application 110 to connect to the
data access network 120, and the client application 110 transmits
its local access phone number to the OSP server 130 for geographic
determination purposes.
[0055] Once connected, a number of processes are preferably started
(step 440). In one of these processes, whenever the user interacts
with data received on the client application 110, the client
application 110 sends feedback information respecting this
interaction to the OSP server 130. The OSP server 130 then
summarizes and classifies the feedback information into demographic
profiles stored in the data store 140.
[0056] In another of these processes, whenever a user uses the
browser application 160 to request or access data from the web
server 150, the client application 110 sends feedback information
respecting these requests and data accesses to the OSP server 130.
The OSP server 130 then summarizes and classifies this feedback
information into the demographic profiles in the data store
140.
[0057] In another of these processes, while a user's local device
100 is connected to the web server 150, the OSP server 130
determines which targeted data needs to be sent to the client
application 110 and then transmits this targeted data to the client
application 110. The OSP server 130 accomplishes this by:
[0058] examining the scheduling requirements to determine which
data needs to be sent;
[0059] examining the demographic requirements of the data to
determine to which demographic profiles the data needs to be
sent;
[0060] selecting the users who are currently connected that meet
the demographic requirements of the data; and
[0061] sending the data to the selected users.
[0062] As mentioned, one of the processes relates to the display of
data, and particularly advertisements, in the client window 200.
Methods of displaying advertisements to a user of an online
services are described next.
[0063] Referring now to FIG. 5, there is shown a flow chart of a
method of displaying advertisements to a user of an online service
in accordance with the invention. This method generally involves
the display of advertisements during a logon process and then also
during usage of the online service.
[0064] After the method begins (step 505), the client application
is activated (step 510). The client application 110 may be
installed during manufacture of the local device 100, during use of
the local device 100 at the instigation of the user, or may occur
automatically as a consequence of other processes. Furthermore, the
client application 110 may be activated either manually or
automatically. Although at least some aspects of the client
application 110 should be operable from the local device 100, the
client application 110 need not be stored on the local device 100
and can be run from a remote location.
[0065] Preferably, after the client application 110 is activated,
the client application 110 displays the client window 200 on the
display 101 (step 515). In the next step (step 520), the client
application 110 displays advertisements in the ad pane 210. In the
case of dial-up and constant-connection communication channels, the
communication channel to the online service might not yet be
established or fully open at this point. Thus, the client
application 110 cannot obtain the advertisements from the online
service. Instead, the client application 110 obtains the
advertisements locally. For example, during installation of the
client application 110 one or more advertisements are installed on
the local device 100 for display outside of a session.
Alternatively, the advertisements may be downloaded to the local
device at the beginning of a session, during a session, or as part
of the termination of a session.
[0066] Where it is not desired to display advertisements prior to
full establishment of the communication channel, then it is
preferred also that the ad pane 210 not be displayed. In such
embodiments, it might be desirable to provide a different
configuration of the client window 200 than that shown in FIG. 3.
For example, the client window 200 might show the status of the
connection process.
[0067] The client application 110 preferably includes an ad display
process which is responsible for displaying advertisements in the
ad pane 210. The ad display process preferably operates in
accordance with a play list. The play list comprises one or more ad
objects. The ad objects are preferably data constructs which each
include a resource locator of an advertisement to be displayed, a
resource locator to be accessed if the user clicks on (or otherwise
selects) the advertisement when displayed in the ad pane 210, and a
number of attributes for the display of the advertisement. The
display attributes may be one or more of, for example: fade, wash,
sweep, fly, blinds, box, checkerboard, crawl, dissolve, peak,
spiral, split, stretch, strips, swivel, wipe, zoom. These types of
display attributes are well known (though not necessarily with
respect to online services) and are therefore not described further
herein. The ad objects preferably also specify how long the
advertisement should be displayed. Other display attributes are
within the scope of the invention. The play list preferably
specifies an order in which the advertisements identified in the
play list are to be displayed.
[0068] Typically, advertisements in the online industry are
associated with a resource locator, and more typically with a URL.
As is well known, when a user uses his pointing device 103 to click
on an online advertisement in a browser's window such as browser
window 300, the browser application loads the resource at the
associated URL. This is commonly known as "click-through." In
accordance with the invention, if during the display of an
advertisement in the ad pane 210, the user clicks-through on the
advertisement, then the client application 110 causes the resource
locator associated with the advertisement to be loaded by the
browser application 160. If the browser application 160 is not open
at the time, then the browser application is first opened and then
pointed to the resource locator associated with the advertisement.
If the resource locator is not for a web page, the client
application 110 or some other software in the local device 100
preferably causes the appropriate application to open so that the
resource locator may be opened.
[0069] Preferably, the client application 110 displays
advertisements from the time that the client application 110 is
activated. To accomplish this, the client application 110
preferably is provided with a logon play list for use before the
communication channel with the OSP server 130 is open. The client
application 110 preferably is also provided with the advertisements
referenced in the logon play list. The logon play list is
preferably stored on the local device 100 during installation of
the client application 110. Subsequently, during each session with
the online service, the OSP server 130 provides a new logon play
list and the advertisements referenced by the new logon play list
to the client application 110 for use by the client application 110
during the next logon. The OSP server 130 can transmit the new
logon play list in any of several ways, such as part of
establishment of the communication channel to the OSP server 130,
during the user's session with the online service, or as part of
the closing of the communication channel. The latter is preferred,
since it proves the online service provider with the best targeting
control.
[0070] It should also be appreciated that, where there is a
constant-connection communication link, a logon play list can be
communicated from the OSP server 130 to the client application 110
at any time. Similarly, in some dial-up environments, such as ISDN,
a logon play list can be communicated from the OSP server 130 to
the client application 110 at any time using signaling channels or
other off-line means.
[0071] In the next step (step 525), the client application 110
establishes a communication channel to the online service. With the
communication channel established, the client application 110 can
now receive a new play list from the OSP server 130 (step 530).
This online play list can reference advertisements which are in the
data access network 120. In some embodiments, it may be desirable
for the OSP server 130 to transmit additional or replacement play
lists and/or ad objects to the client application 110.
[0072] The client application 110 preferably also receives from the
OSP server 130 a match list. The match list comprises one or more
match objects. The match objects each comprise an activity
identifier and an ad object. The match list guides the client
application 110 to display certain advertisements notwithstanding
the play list. The activity identifier preferably comprises
resource locators and keywords which are used for targeting
advertising to the user. The activity identifier may also be an
object which altogether describes an online activity in which the
user may become involved, such as email or chat.
[0073] During the user's session with the online service, the
client application 110 preferably monitors the user's interaction
with the data access network 120. If the user's interaction with
the network matches one of the activity identifiers in the match
list, then the ad display process displays the advertisement of the
ad object corresponding to the matched activity identifier. Methods
for monitoring the online activities of an online user are
described in the related application referenced above.
[0074] The client application then displays advertisements in
accordance with the on-line play list and the match list (step
535), and this continues while the user uses the online service
(step 540).
[0075] As an example of the use of the match list, if the user
points his browser application 160 to a Web site which the online
service provider has previously identified to relate to sale of
automobiles, then the online service provider preferably would run
an advertisement targeting a potential purchaser of an automobile.
The Web site may be identified from its URL, and if the URL is an
activity identifier in the match list, the client application 110
can cause the appropriate advertisement to be displayed.
[0076] As another example, the user might go to a search engine
which is known to the online service provider, and search for
information about the sale of automobiles based upon the keywords
"automobile sales." The client application 110 preferably checks if
the keywords sent to these selected search engines are activity
identifiers in the match list. If so, then the client application
110 preferably displays the appropriate advertisement.
[0077] At some point, the user's online session will end. To
manually close the session, the user can select icon 250 in the
client window 200 (FIG. 2). The client application 110 preferably
provides the user with the opportunity to confirm the closing of
the session (step 545). If the user cancels closure, then the
method continues at step 535. If the user confirms closure, then
the client application 110 closes the communication channel to the
online service (step 550), and the method ends (step 555).
[0078] In addition to manual closure, the client application 110
preferably can automatically close the communication channel. In
the case of a dial-up connection, the client application 110
preferably can detect inaction by the user. This inaction may be
with respect to the data access network 120, or more preferably,
with respect to the client application 110. If the user has been
inactive for a predetermined period of time, then the client
application 110 preferably displays a dialog on the display 101 in
which the user is given some period of time to request that the
session be continued.
[0079] In the case of a constant-connection communication channel,
the client application 110 preferably monitors the user's activity
with the local device 100 with respect to the online service and
thereby detects whether the user is interacting with the online
service. Like a screen saver in reverse, the client application 110
detects some period of inactivity and causes the client window 200
to be closed. Alternatively, the client window 200 could remain on
the display even when the user's session is terminated, but the
client application 110 would allow other windows to be displayed on
top of the client window 200. If the user desired to open a session
with the online service, the client window 200 would again have to
be on top of all other windows, either through automatic or manual
means.
[0080] As can be seen, this process permits browsing by the user
and displaying of advertisements by the client application 100
without interfering with the user's use of the browser
application.
[0081] In addition to the display of advertisements, the client
application 110 preferably records a number of types of events and
transmits these records to the OSP server 130. Tracked events fall
into three categories: connection events, advertising events, and
operational events. Referring now to FIG. 6, the event tracking
capabilities of the client application 110 are described. Event
tracking begins after the client application 110 is activated (step
610). After an event occurs (step 615), as described further below,
the client application stores an event record (step 620). At a time
appropriate for the event record, the client application 110
transmits the event record to an interactive data server such as
the OSP server 130 (step 630). This continues until the session is
terminated (step 635).
[0082] The connection events include failed connection attempts,
such as when the client application 110 attempted a dial-up session
and encountered no dial tone, a busy signal, or some other error
from the physical network. The connection event records allow the
online service provider to better understand where the users are
experiencing difficulties, and to therefore remedy problems and
enhance operations without necessitating user feedback. This is
important because the connection event records may provide more
timely and accurate information about a user's experiences, and
further allows the online service provider to diagnose problems
based upon common characteristics of users who have had
problems.
[0083] The advertising events relate to the display of
advertisements by the client application 110. Each time the client
application 110 displays an advertisement (commonly referred to as
an "impression"), the client application 110 preferably records an
identifier of the advertisement. These records are used by the
client application 110 to permit the user to cycle back through
previously displayed advertisements, and then to cycle forward
through the advertisements. Cycle-back and cycle-forward is made
available to the user, for example, through the cycle-back icon 205
and the cycle-forward icon 215. The client application 110
preferably also records errors encountered in attempting to fetch
and display advertisements.
[0084] In accordance with the invention, special attention is given
to the user's selection of advertisements in the ad pane 210. To
track the effectiveness of advertisements displayed in the ad pane
210, the client application 110 preferably tracks not only
click-throughs, but also how long the client application displays
an advertisement before the user clicks-through. This information,
as well as records of what Web sites the user has browsed, are
preferably used by the online service provider to enhance
advertisement targeting criteria, to enable dynamic advertisement
targeting, and to track the performance of advertisements displayed
in the ad pane 210.
[0085] The operational events relate to the user's use of certain
features of the client application 110. The operational events thus
include attribute settings such as whether the user has hidden the
title bar 230 and/or the button bar 280, and where the user has
placed the client window 200 on the display 101. The client
application 110 further recognizes as events each icon 205, 215,
240, 250, 260, 265, 270, 275, 280 which the user has selected
(clicked-on). These operational event records allow the online
service provider to better understand how the users are using the
online service and to therefore enhance the quality of the client
application 110 and the user's online experience.
[0086] In general, the client application 110 transmits most types
of event records in a batch form. The online service provider
preferably specifies the number of events to record before
transmitting the event records, and this number preferably may be
adjusted during a session. However, some event records should be
transmitted without delay--most notably click-throughs.
Click-throughs are not batched because the fact of these events is
preferably used by the OSP server for refinement of dynamic
advertisement targeting.
[0087] Closing Comments
[0088] The foregoing is merely illustrative and not limiting,
having been presented by way of example only. Although exemplary
embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will
be apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art that a number
of changes, modifications, or alterations to the invention as
described herein may be made, none of which depart from the spirit
of the present invention. All such changes, modifications and
alterations should therefore be seen as within the scope of the
invention.
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