U.S. patent application number 13/184741 was filed with the patent office on 2011-11-10 for profile advertisements.
This patent application is currently assigned to Google Inc.. Invention is credited to Shannon P. Bauman, Tomasz J. Tunguz-Zawislak.
Application Number | 20110276480 13/184741 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38877848 |
Filed Date | 2011-11-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110276480 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Tunguz-Zawislak; Tomasz J. ;
et al. |
November 10, 2011 |
Profile Advertisements
Abstract
In one aspect, this application describes a method for
determining personal advertisements for display with search
results. The method includes receiving a query that corresponds to
content associated with members of an online social network,
generating search results that are responsive to the query, and
obtaining information that characterizes a personal advertisement
that advertises a particular member of the online social network.
The method also includes comparing information associated with the
search results to the information that characterizes the personal
advertisement to determine whether the personal advertisement is
related to the search results. The method also includes providing
the personal advertisement for display with the search results in
response to determining that the information that characterizes the
personal advertisement is related to the search results.
Inventors: |
Tunguz-Zawislak; Tomasz J.;
(San Francisco, CA) ; Bauman; Shannon P.; (Chapel
Hill, NC) |
Assignee: |
Google Inc.
|
Family ID: |
38877848 |
Appl. No.: |
13/184741 |
Filed: |
July 18, 2011 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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13176472 |
Jul 5, 2011 |
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13184741 |
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11479253 |
Jun 30, 2006 |
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13176472 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/40 ; 707/728;
707/E17.109 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/0271 20130101;
G06Q 30/0277 20130101; G06Q 20/384 20200501; G06Q 30/02 20130101;
G06Q 30/00 20130101; G06Q 30/0273 20130101; G06Q 20/102
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/40 ; 707/728;
707/E17.109 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 40/00 20060101
G06Q040/00; G06F 17/30 20060101 G06F017/30 |
Claims
1. A computer-implemented method for determining personal
advertisements for display with search results, the method
comprising: receiving, using a computer system, a query that
corresponds to content associated with members of an online social
network; generating, using the computer system, search results that
are responsive to the query; obtaining, using the computer system,
information that characterizes a personal advertisement that
advertises a particular member of the online social network;
comparing, using the computer system, information associated with
the search results to the information that characterizes the
personal advertisement to determine whether at least a portion of
the personal advertisement is related to at least a portion of the
search results; and providing the personal advertisement for
display with the search results in response to determining that at
least a portion of the information that characterizes the personal
advertisement is related to at least a portion of the search
results, the personal advertisement including a link to a document
for the particular member on the online social network.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the particular member is a group
on the online social network.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising monitoring accesses of
the document for the particular member on the online social network
that occur as a result of the personal advertisement being
presented.
4. The method of claim 3, further comprising generating a fee that
is charged to the particular member based on at least one of the
accesses.
5. The method of claim 3, further comprising generating a payment
that is paid to the online social network based on at least one of
the accesses.
6. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that,
when executed by one or more processing devices, cause the
processing devices to perform operations comprising: receiving,
using a computer system, a query that corresponds to content
associated with members of an online social network; generating,
using the computer system, search results that are responsive to
the query; obtaining, using the computer system, information that
characterizes a personal advertisement that advertises a particular
member of the online social network; comparing, using the computer
system, information associated with the search results to the
information that characterizes the personal advertisement to
determine whether at least a portion of the personal advertisement
is related to at least a portion of the search results; and
providing the personal advertisement for display with the search
results in response to determining that at least a portion of the
information that characterizes the personal advertisement is
related to at least a portion of the search results, the personal
advertisement including a link to a document for the particular
member on the online social network.
7. The storage medium of claim 6, wherein the particular member is
a group on the online social network.
8. The storage medium of claim 6, wherein the operations further
comprise monitoring accesses of the document for the particular
member on the online social network that occur as a result of the
personal advertisement being presented.
9. The storage medium of claim 8, wherein the operations further
comprise generating a fee that is charged to the particular member
based on at least one of the accesses.
10. The storage medium of claim 8, wherein the operations further
comprise generating a payment that is paid to the online social
network based on at least one of the accesses.
11. A computer-implemented system for providing personal
advertisements for display with search results, the system
comprising: a search engine executing on a computer system to
receive a query that corresponds to content associated with members
of an online social network, and to generate search results that
are responsive to the query; a personal advertisement database to
store a personal advertisement that advertises a particular member
of the online social network, the personal advertisement including
a link to a document for the particular member on the online social
network; a personal advertisement server executing on the computer
system to compare information associated with the search results to
the information that characterizes the personal advertisement to
determine whether at least a portion of the personal advertisement
is related to at least a portion of the search results; and an
interface to provide the personal advertisement for display with
the search results in response to determining that at least a
portion of the information that characterizes the personal
advertisement is related to at least a portion of the search
results.
12. The system of claim 11, wherein the particular member is a
group on the online social network.
13. The system of claim 11, wherein the interface monitors accesses
of the document for the particular member on the online social
network that occur as a result of the personal advertisement being
presented.
14. The system of claim 13, wherein the interface generates a fee
that is charged to the particular member based on at least one of
the accesses.
15. The system of claim 13, wherein the interface generates a
payment that is paid to the online social network based on at least
one of the accesses.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. application Ser.
No. 13/176,472, filed Jul. 5, 2011, entitled "Profile
Advertisements," which claims priority to U.S. application Ser. No.
11/479,253, filed on Jun. 30, 2006, entitled "Profile
Advertisements," the entire contents of both of which are hereby
incorporated by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] This instant specification relates to systems and methods
for advertising online profiles.
BACKGROUND
[0003] As the Internet has become increasingly popular, online
social networks are becoming an important and pervasive mechanism
for communication, entertainment, and profession and social
networking. Some online social networks use digital advertisements
to meet or defray the costs of hosting. Some of the advertisements,
however, are directed to commercial products, which may not be of
interest to many people using an online social network for the
purposes described above.
[0004] Some other online social networking systems may proactively
highlight new or popular members of the systems. However, the
highlighted members may have little in common with other users of
the social network system that view these highlights. To find
members with similar interests, users may have to perform searches
using a search feature of the online social network system.
However, the search results may be dependent on the accuracy of the
search terms entered by the user. Additionally, the search
mechanism may not provide members with an opportunity to make their
profiles more prominent in the search result.
[0005] Also, the ability of the members to highlight themselves may
be limited by the proactive nature of the searching because a user
may have to purposely initiate a search for other members before
members with similar interests are highlighted for the user.
SUMMARY
[0006] In general, this document describes advertisements
associated with particular persons or groups (e.g., bands, clubs,
and the like). In one example, a system may generate on-line
personal advertisements, such as for members of a social network,
and may track responses to such advertisements.
[0007] The systems and techniques described here may provide one or
more of the following advantages. First, a system can provide
members (which may include individuals or identifiable groups) of
an online social network a proactive method to highlight
themselves. Second, a system can generate advertisements that are
more relevant to members of a social network. This may increase the
profitability of entities hosting the social network by generating
a revenue source from the members and increasing the click through
rates for the generated advertisements. Third, a system may provide
members of one social network with information about people that
have similar characteristics but are members of a different social
network.
[0008] In one implementation, a computer-implemented method for
determining personal advertisements for display with search results
is described. The method includes receiving, using a computer
system, a query that corresponds to content associated with members
of an online social network. The method also includes generating,
using the computer system, search results that are responsive to
the query. The method also includes obtaining, using the computer
system, information that characterizes a personal advertisement
that advertises a particular member of the online social network.
The method also includes comparing, using the computer system,
information associated with the search results to the information
that characterizes the personal advertisement to determine whether
at least a portion of the personal advertisement is related to at
least a portion of the search results. The method also includes
providing the personal advertisement for display with the search
results in response to determining that at least a portion of the
information that characterizes the personal advertisement is
related to at least a portion of the search results, the personal
advertisement including a link to a document for the particular
member on the online social network.
[0009] In some aspects, the method may include certain of the
following features. For example, the method may also include
monitoring accesses of the document for the particular member on
the online social network that occur as a result of the personal
advertisement being presented. The method may also include
generating a fee that is charged to the particular member based on
at least one of the accesses, and/or generating a payment that is
paid to the online social network based on at least one of the
accesses. The particular member may be a group on the online social
network.
[0010] In another implementation, a computer-implemented system for
providing personal advertisements for display with search results
is described. The system includes a search engine executing on a
computer system to receive a query that corresponds to content
associated with members of an online social network, and to
generate search results that are responsive to the query. The
system also includes a personal advertisement database to store a
personal advertisement that advertises a particular member of the
online social network, the personal advertisement including a link
to a document for the particular member on the online social
network. The system also includes a personal advertisement server
executing on the computer system to compare information associated
with the search results to the information that characterizes the
personal advertisement to determine whether at least a portion of
the personal advertisement is related to at least a portion of the
search results. The system also includes an interface to provide
the personal advertisement for display with the search results in
response to determining that at least a portion of the information
that characterizes the personal advertisement is related to at
least a portion of the search results.
[0011] In some aspects, the system may include certain of the
following features. For example, the interface may monitor accesses
of the document for the particular member on the online social
network that occur as a result of the personal advertisement being
presented. The interface may also generate a fee that is charged to
the particular member based on at least one of the accesses, and/or
generate a payment that is paid to the online social network based
on at least one of the accesses. The particular member may be a
group on the online social network.
[0012] The details of one or more embodiments of the personal
profile feature are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the
description below. Other features and advantages of the personal
profile feature will be apparent from the description and drawings,
and from the claims.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0013] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an example system for
presenting advertising content related to a personal web page.
[0014] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example system for
presenting advertising content related to a personal web page.
[0015] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an example system for
presenting advertising content related to search results.
[0016] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example system for
presenting advertising content related to search results.
[0017] FIG. 5 is a flow chart of an example process for presenting
adverting content related to a personal web page or search
results.
[0018] FIG. 6 shows example user interfaces for creating an
advertisement to be presented in relation to a personal web page or
search results.
[0019] FIG. 7 is a flow chart of an example process for creating an
advertisement to be presented in relation to a personal web page or
search results.
[0020] FIG. 8 shows example user interfaces for presenting
advertisements related to a personal web page or search
results.
[0021] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of an example generic computer
system.
[0022] Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like
elements.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0023] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an example system 100 for
presenting advertising content 102a-c related to a personal web
page 104. The personal web page 104 is, for example, a user profile
in an online social network 106, which can include hosted web pages
that describes profiles, or characteristics, of the social
network's members. Examples of online social networks can include
orkut.com, myspace.com, and friendster.com. Alternatively, other
types of online social networks or personal web pages may be used,
such as job hunting web sites (e.g., monster.com), school alumni
web sites, organizations of professionals, Internet dating sites,
ratings sites (e.g., hotornot.com), and a company employee internal
web site. The personal ads 102a-c direct users viewing the personal
web page 104 to other personal web pages, such as other social
network user profiles or other non-commercial web pages. In certain
implementations, the personal ads 102a-c are received from a
personal advertiser (e.g., someone advertising his or her personal
profile or personal web page).
[0024] An external server 108 indexes content from user profiles
110 and stores the indexed content in a repository 112. In
addition, the external server 108 stores personal ads in a
repository 114, such as the user B personal ad 102a from a user B
client 116. Using the indexed profiles in the repository 112, an ad
server 118 determines which of the ads in the repository 114 relate
to the user A profile 104 currently presented. The related personal
ads 102a-c are displayed with the user A profile 104. In certain
implementations, the related ads 102a-c are transmitted to the
social network 106. Alternatively, the related ads 102a-c may be
transmitted to a client device presenting the user A profile 104.
In certain implementations, the components and/or actions
attributed here to the external server 108 may be included in
and/or performed by the social network 106.
[0025] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example system 200 for
presenting advertising content 102a-c related to a personal web
page. The external server 108 includes a web crawler 202. The web
crawler 202 receives the user profile content 110 via an interface
204. The web crawler 202 traverses the user profile content 110 and
generates the indexed user profile content stored in the repository
112.
[0026] In addition, the web crawler 202 can generate statistical
associations between keywords and the user profile content 110. For
example, the user profile content 110 can contain information used
by the web crawler to identify what keyword may be related to the
content of the profile. This information can include text within
the profile, keywords (e.g., metadata) that describe the profile,
frequencies of words occurring in the profile, font size of text in
the profile (e.g., if one word has a larger font size, more
emphasis can be given when associating the profile with keywords),
or a hyperlink structure within the profile. The web crawler 202
can store the statistical associations in a repository 206.
[0027] The structure of the profile used in certain social networks
also can be integrated into the analysis of appropriate keywords to
link to the profile. For example, the profile may be structured so
that certain types of content are identified using their location
on the page, metadata, and text proceeding the content (e.g.,
"interests:," "age:," etc.). If the web crawler 202 determines that
the text "law" is within the "interest:" content of a first
profile, it can record this association so that other
advertisements for profiles that include similar interests may
appear on the first profile.
[0028] The external server 108 receives the user B personal ad 102a
via an interface 208 and stores the personal ad 102a in the
repository 114. The personal ad 102a includes sub-components,
including a uniform resource identifier 210, an image 212, a video
214, text 216, and/or keywords 218. The image 212, video 214, and
text 216 can form the information presented to the user viewing the
personal ad 102a. In addition, the personal ad 102a may include
audio or other appropriate media.
[0029] In certain implementations, the URI 210 is a uniform
resource link (URL) that permits a user viewing the personal ad
102a to navigate from the user A profile 104 to a personal web page
of the user B. In other implementations, the URI 210 can include
contact information for the user B (e.g., instant messenger
address, telephone number, mailing address, email address,
etc.).
[0030] In certain implementations, the image 212, video 214, and
text 216 are retrieved from the user B personal web page to which
the URI 210 directs. For example, a personal advertiser can enter
in the URL of the advertiser's profile. The web crawler can
retrieve content from the profile based on the profile structure.
Because the profile structure is uniform, the web crawler can
retrieve consistent content, such as an introductory paragraph that
describes the personal advertiser and a photograph of the personal
advertiser. In other implementations, the personal advertiser
selects the content and uploads it as part of the User B Personal
Ad 102a.
[0031] The keywords 218 describe the personal ad 102a and/or the
user B personal web page that the personal ad 102a advertises. The
keywords 218 may describe, for example, a category to which the ad
102a or the web page belongs, or a language used by the ad 102a or
the web page. The personal advertiser can enter the keywords, the
external server 108 can generate them using the statistical
information in the repository 206, or the keywords can originate
from both.
[0032] The external server 108 includes an ad to profile matcher
220 within the ad server 118. The ad to profile matcher 220 matches
personal ads from the repository 114 to a profile to be presented.
The matcher 220 uses the indexed user profile content in the
repository 112 together with additional personal ad keywords 222
from the repository 206 to relate, for example, the user A profile
104 to the personal ads 102a-c. For example, the user A profile 104
may contain text, keywords, or links to web pages including the
phrases "Star Trek," "cycling," and "local music." The personal ads
102a-c may contain keywords of "Star Trek" 218, "cycling," and
"local music," respectively. The matcher 220 determines that the
profile 104 is related to the ad 102a by the words "Star Trek," to
the ad 102b by the word "cycling," and to the ad 102c by the words
"local music."
[0033] Additionally, a phrase associated with the user A profile
104 may originate from the additional personal ad keywords 222. For
example, the user A profile 104 may include the phrase "bicycling."
The repository 206 may contain a statistical association between
the word "bicycling" and the word "cycling"; therefore the word
"cycling" is included in the additional personal ad keywords and
then related to the ad 102b.
[0034] In addition, the user A profile 104 may include the word
"physicist." The repository 206, and the additional personal ad
keywords 222, may include a phrase of "Star Trek" associated with
the word "physicist." The crawler 202 may have determined that
there is a relationship between profiles including the word
"physicist" and profiles including the phrase "Star Trek." The
matcher 220 then relates the additional keywords "Star Trek" to the
user B personal ad keywords 218.
[0035] In the examples described here, an exact match is identified
between the phrases from the user A profile 104 and the ads 102a-c.
In general, the profile content portions are statistically related
to the personal ad keywords, but the relationship may be less than
exact, such as a relationship meeting a predetermined statistical
threshold. The ad server 118 outputs the related ads 102a-c via the
interface 204. Ads can also be targeted to attributes expressed in
manners other than keywords, such as user age or age range, gender,
geographic proximity, and non-profile attributes such as how often
a user logs into a social network.
[0036] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an example system 300 for
presenting advertising content 102a-c related to search results
302. A client 304 transmits a search query 306 to a search engine
308 at a search server 310. The search may be, for example, a
lookup of profiles at the social network 106. The search engine 308
generates the search results 302. The search engine 308 may base
the search results 302 on an index of the user profile content 110
from the social network as well as content from other websites. The
search server 310 determines the personal ads 102a-c to be
displayed in conjunction with the search results 302. The search
server 310 then transmits the search results 302 and the personal
ads 102a-c to the client 304.
[0037] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example system 400 for
presenting advertising content 102a-c related to search results
302. The web crawler 202 indexes the user profile content 110 as
well as other website content 402 and stores the indexed content in
a repository 404. A request processor 406 receives the search query
306. After processing the search query 306, the request processor
406 passes the search query 306 to the search engine 308. The
search engine 308 uses the search query 306 together with the
indexed content in the repository 404 to determine the search
results 302. The search engine 308 passes the search results 302 to
a response formatter 408.
[0038] The ad server 118 determines which ads from the repository
114 to present with the search results 302. The ad server 118 uses
the indexed content in the repository 404 together with the search
query 306 and/or the search results 302 to determine the personal
ads 102a-c related to the search results 302. The ad server 118
passes the related ads 102a-c to the response formatter 408. The
response formatter 408 outputs the search results 302 and the
related ads 102a-c via the interface 204.
[0039] FIG. 5 is a flow chart of an example process 500 for
presenting adverting content related to a personal web page or
search results. The process 500 may be performed, for example, by
the systems 100, 200, 300, and/or 400, and for clarity of
presentation, the description that follows uses these as the basis
of examples for describing the process 500. However, another
system, or combination of systems, may be used to perform the
process 500.
[0040] Process 500 begins with receiving (502) personal web page
content. For example, the external server 108 and the search server
310 receive the user profile content 110. The servers 108 and 310
index the user profile content 110 and store the indexed content in
repositories 112 and 404, respectively.
[0041] Process 500 generates (504) one or more personal ads. For
example, advertiser users may submit information used to create the
personal ads 102a-c at the servers 108 and 310 or the ads 102a-c
may be created by the servers 108 and 310 using content from the
personal web pages referred to by the ads 102a-c.
[0042] Process 500 associates 506a-b one or more personal ads with
personal web page content related to the ads or keywords/categories
related to search results, respectively. For example, the ad server
118 may relate the user A profile to the personal ads 102a-c or the
ad server 118 may relate the search results 302 to the personal ads
102a-c.
[0043] Process 500 receives (508a-b) a request to display an ad
with a personal web page or to generate search results,
respectively. For example, the social network 106 may make a
request to the external server 108 that ads be displayed in
conjunction with the user A profile 104 or the client 304 may
transmit the search query 306 to the search server 310.
[0044] Process 500 transmits (510a-b) the one or more ads for
display with the personal ad or the search results, respectively.
For example, the external server 108 may transmit the personal ads
102a-c to the social network 106 or the search server 310 may
transmit the personal ads 102a-c to the client 304.
[0045] The personal ads 102a-c may be placed in various manners.
For example, the personal ads 102a-c may be placed on a user's
profile page to which the ads 102a-c have been determined to bear a
relation or some commonality. Various visitors to the person's
profile page would then see the ads 102a-c. In one implementation,
the ads 102a-c may be generated to match ads for other profiles
with the present profile such as by comparing the two profiles.
Specifically, an ad may be in the form of, "If you like Sally's
profile, then you'll love ______'s profile."
[0046] The personal ads 102a-c may also be placed to be targeted to
a particular member as they navigate a site such as a social
network site. For example, if the user is anywhere in the site,
they may see ads directed to attributes of their profile. The
selected ads may be taken from a sub-group of ads relevant to the
place the member is visiting, and the particular ads to display may
be selected using parameters associated with the user. Also, the ad
selection may occur using a combination of attributes for a
visiting user, and attributes associated with a page (such as a
personal profile page) that the person is visiting. In such a
situation, the visitor's profile may show explicitly attributes
associated with the user, whereas the place the user visits may
reflect implicit attributes, such as the user's (perhaps well
hidden) desires. Thus, in this manner ads 102a-c may be targeted to
an end member in general.
[0047] FIG. 6 shows example user interfaces 600a-c for creating an
advertisement to be presented in relation to a personal web page or
search results. The interface 600a is a representation of a
personal ad. The interface 600a includes a media window 602, a
description text 604, and an advertise control 606. The media
window 602 presents media, such as an image, audio, or video, to a
user viewing and/or listening to the ad. The description text 604
contains the text body of the ad that describes a personal web page
being advertised. A user viewing the ad may select the advertise
control 606 to initiate the creation his or her own personal
ad.
[0048] The interface 600b allows an advertiser to select a file to
be uploaded from a file list 630. The file may be media such as an
image, audio, or video. The file list 630 may contain controls that
allow the advertiser to navigate to a location where a particular
file associated with the personal web page to be advertised
resides. Selecting a file in the file list 630 may initiate the
interface 600c or another control may initiate the interface
600c.
[0049] The interface 600c is an editor for the text description of
the personal ad. The interface 600c includes a text entry area 660
and a text formatting controls 662. An advertiser may make inputs
to the text entry area 660 containing the description of the
personal ad. The advertiser may format the description, such as
with underlining, boldface, color, font, or font size, using the
text formatting controls 662.
[0050] FIG. 7 is a flow chart of an example process 700 for
creating an advertisement to be presented in relation to a personal
web page or search results. Process 700 begins with a user clicking
(702) on "Advertise my profile." For example, a user may click on
the advertise control 606 in the personal ad interface 600a.
Selecting the advertise control 606 initiates an ad generator front
end 704. The ad generator front end 704 guides the user through the
personal ad creation process.
[0051] Optionally, process 700 receives (706) a user login to an
account. For example, the personal ad creation/modification process
may be password protected to prevent unauthorized changes from
being made to personal ads.
[0052] Optionally, process 700 receives (708) a user generated ad.
For example, a user may create a personal ad using the interfaces
600a-c. Alternatively, personal ads may be automatically generated
by process 700 using, for example, content from a user's personal
web page.
[0053] Process 700 receives (710) a user-specified cost-per-click,
budget, and targets. For example, the user may specify how much the
user intends to pay for each action resulting from the personal ad,
such as an action of navigating to the user's personal web page via
the personal ad or performing an action at the personal web page.
Payments may be triggered by various events, such as
cost/pay-per-impression, cost/pay-per-click, and cost/pay-per
action or acquisition (where action/acquisition may include, for
example, adding the user as a friend). Payments made by the
advertiser based on the cost-per-click (or other method) may be
credited to an entity providing the ad server 118 functionality, an
entity responsible for the personal web page where the personal ad
is presented, an entity hosting the personal web page where the
personal ad is presented (e.g., the social network 106), or some
combination of these entities.
[0054] A payment system 712 tracks the number of times the
advertiser's personal web page is accessed via the personal ad. The
budget indicates a limit to the number of times the personal ad may
be presented and selected. The targets indicate the types of
personal web pages where the personal ad is to be presented, or the
types of viewers to whom it is to be presented. For example, the
keywords 218 (or other attributes) may include the specified target
information. The keywords 218 are then used when determining with
which personal web pages to display the personal ad in
conjunction.
[0055] Process 700 receives (714) user payment details. For
example, the advertiser user may input credit card information or
PayPal information to make the payments based on the selected
cost-per-click amount.
[0056] FIG. 8 shows example user interfaces 800a-d for presenting
advertisements related to a personal web page or search results.
The interfaces 800a-d include the advertise control 606. The
interfaces 800a-d present the personal ads 102a-d having the
keywords "Star Trek," "cycling," and "local music," respectively.
The interface 800a presents the personal ads 102a-c in a horizontal
or banner orientation. The interface 800b presents the personal ads
102a-c in a vertical or sidebar orientation. The interfaces 800a-b
may represent the personal ads 102a-c as described above with
reference to FIGS. 1 and 3. In another example, a single personal
ad may be shown, such as the personal ad 102a in the interface
800c, or two personal ads may be shown, such as the personal ads
102a-b in the interface 800d.
[0057] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of an example of a generic
computer system 900. The system 900 can be used for the operations
described in association with the method 300 according to one
implementation. For example, the system 900 may be included in
either or all of the social network 106, the external server 108,
the user B client 116, the client 304, the search server 310, and
the payment system 712.
[0058] The system 900 includes a processor 910, a memory 920, a
storage device 930, and an input/output device 940. Each of the
components 910, 920, 930, and 940 are interconnected using a system
bus 950. The processor 910 is capable of processing instructions
for execution within the system 900. In one implementation, the
processor 910 is a single-threaded processor. In another
implementation, the processor 910 is a multi-threaded processor.
The processor 910 is capable of processing instructions stored in
the memory 920 or on the storage device 930 to display graphical
information for a user interface on the input/output device
940.
[0059] The memory 920 stores information within the system 900. In
one implementation, the memory 920 is a computer-readable medium.
In one implementation, the memory 920 is a volatile memory unit. In
another implementation, the memory 920 is a non-volatile memory
unit.
[0060] The storage device 930 is capable of providing mass storage
for the system 900. In one implementation, the storage device 930
is a computer-readable medium. In various different
implementations, the storage device 930 may be a floppy disk
device, a hard disk device, an optical disk device, or a tape
device.
[0061] The input/output device 940 provides input/output operations
for the system 900. In one implementation, the input/output device
940 includes a keyboard and/or pointing device. In another
implementation, the input/output device 940 includes a display unit
for displaying graphical user interfaces.
[0062] The features described can be implemented in digital
electronic circuitry, or in computer hardware, firmware, software,
or in combinations of them. The apparatus can be implemented in a
computer program product tangibly embodied in an information
carrier, e.g., in a machine-readable storage device or in a
propagated signal, for execution by a programmable processor; and
method steps can be performed by a programmable processor executing
a program of instructions to perform functions of the described
implementations by operating on input data and generating output.
The described features can be implemented advantageously in one or
more computer programs that are executable on a programmable system
including at least one programmable processor coupled to receive
data and instructions from, and to transmit data and instructions
to, a data storage system, at least one input device, and at least
one output device. A computer program is a set of instructions that
can be used, directly or indirectly, in a computer to perform a
certain activity or bring about a certain result. A computer
program can be written in any form of programming language,
including compiled or interpreted languages, and it can be deployed
in any form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module,
component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a
computing environment.
[0063] Suitable processors for the execution of a program of
instructions include, by way of example, both general and special
purpose microprocessors, and the sole processor or one of multiple
processors of any kind of computer. Generally, a processor will
receive instructions and data from a read-only memory or a random
access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer are a
processor for executing instructions and one or more memories for
storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer will also
include, or be operatively coupled to communicate with, one or more
mass storage devices for storing data files; such devices include
magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks;
magneto-optical disks; and optical disks. Storage devices suitable
for tangibly embodying computer program instructions and data
include all forms of non-volatile memory, including by way of
example semiconductor memory devices, such as EPROM, EEPROM, and
flash memory devices; magnetic disks such as internal hard disks
and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM
disks. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, or
incorporated in, ASICs (application-specific integrated
circuits).
[0064] To provide for interaction with a user, the features can be
implemented on a computer having a display device such as a CRT
(cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor for
displaying information to the user and a keyboard and a pointing
device such as a mouse or a trackball by which the user can provide
input to the computer.
[0065] The features can be implemented in a computer system that
includes a back-end component, such as a data server, or that
includes a middleware component, such as an application server or
an Internet server, or that includes a front-end component, such as
a client computer having a graphical user interface or an Internet
browser, or any combination of them. The components of the system
can be connected by any form or medium of digital data
communication such as a communication network. Examples of
communication networks include, e.g., a LAN, a WAN, and the
computers and networks forming the Internet.
[0066] The computer system can include clients and servers. A
client and server are generally remote from each other and
typically interact through a network, such as the described one.
The relationship of client and server arises by virtue of computer
programs running on the respective computers and having a
client-server relationship to each other.
[0067] Although a few implementations have been described in detail
above, other modifications are possible. For example, the payment
system 712 described in association with FIG. 7 can include a
micropayment system. In one implementation, the micropayment system
can track a number of times a user selects a URL in an
advertisement for a personal profile. Instead of charging a person
associated with the advertisement each time the URL is selected,
the micropayment system can charge the user after a charges
associated with the clicks have crossed a predefined threshold,
such as ten dollars. Alternatively, the micropayment system can
accept a payment from a user and create an account that the fees
are debited against.
[0068] In other implementations, the source of the advertisements
of profiles from a first online social network may be displayed
with profiles hosted by a second online social network. An external
web server can receive profile information from the first online
social network and transmit advertisements for profiles from the
second online social network for display with profiles hosted by
the first online social network.
[0069] In yet other implementations, a personal profile includes
web pages not associated with a social network. These web pages may
not include a standard structure of categories that describe a
user. A user may design a web page that includes a variety of
content include information about the user. For example,
geocities.com hosts a variety of web sites that describe personal
aspects of users of the web hosting service. These websites may be
noncommercial websites, where the primary purpose of the content of
the user designed website may be expressing personal information
and interests instead of promoting a product for sale. Although
advertisements for products may be generated and associated by the
web hosting service for display with the user designed website, the
content of the websites may still be noncommercial.
[0070] In addition, the logic flows depicted in the figures do not
require the particular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve
desirable results. In addition, other steps may be provided, or
steps may be eliminated, from the described flows, and other
components may be added to, or removed from, the described systems.
Accordingly, other implementations are within the scope of the
following claims.
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