U.S. patent application number 15/625705 was filed with the patent office on 2017-10-05 for affecting display of content based on negative reactions.
The applicant listed for this patent is Google Inc.. Invention is credited to Omer Gimenez Llach, Nathan P. Lucash, Brandon M. Pearcy, Bahman Rabii.
Application Number | 20170286998 15/625705 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 50066880 |
Filed Date | 2017-10-05 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170286998 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Rabii; Bahman ; et
al. |
October 5, 2017 |
Affecting Display of Content Based on Negative Reactions
Abstract
Techniques for affecting display of content may include
receiving a request for content to supplement a response to an
input initiated by a first user; outputting first content in
response to the request, where the first content includes a control
feature that is displayable along with the first content, and where
the control feature enables the first user to register a negative
reaction to the first content; obtaining information relating to
the first content based on the negative reaction; identifying
second content having one or more characteristics in common with
the first content; identifying one or more second users having one
or more characteristics in common with the first user; and using
the information relating to the first content in determining
whether to provide the second content to the one or more second
users.
Inventors: |
Rabii; Bahman; (San
Francisco, CA) ; Llach; Omer Gimenez; (San Jose,
CA) ; Pearcy; Brandon M.; (San Francisco, CA)
; Lucash; Nathan P.; (San Francisco, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Google Inc. |
Mountain View |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
50066880 |
Appl. No.: |
15/625705 |
Filed: |
June 16, 2017 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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15289429 |
Oct 10, 2016 |
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15625705 |
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14721068 |
May 26, 2015 |
9489682 |
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15289429 |
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13584315 |
Aug 13, 2012 |
9053493 |
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14721068 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/0241 20130101;
G06Q 30/0242 20130101; G06Q 30/0275 20130101; G06Q 30/0245
20130101; G06Q 30/0269 20130101; G06Q 30/0251 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 30/02 20120101
G06Q030/02 |
Claims
1-17. (canceled)
18. A method, comprising: outputting, through a personal digital
assistant that includes an audio codec, first content to a first
user; receiving, by one or more processing devices, digital
information specifying a spoken negative reaction to the first
content that was converted into the digital information by the
audio codec of the personal digital assistant; in response to the
digital information specifying the spoken negative reaction,
identifying, by the one or more processing devices, second content
having a topic in common with the first content, where the topic in
common is identified based on terms included in both of the first
content and the second content or based on Internet domains
associated with both of the first content and the second content;
identifying, by the one or more processing devices, one or more
second users having a same characteristic as the first user; and
reducing a likelihood that the second content is distributed to the
one or more second users based on the one or more second users
having the same characteristic as the first user and based on the
first user having provided the spoken negative reaction to the
first content that has the topic in common with the second
content.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein the spoken negative reaction
specifies a reason that the first user expressed the spoken
negative reaction.
20. The method of claim 18, wherein reducing a likelihood that the
second content is distributed to the one or more second users
comprises preventing the second content from being distributed to
social network contacts of the first user who have the same
characteristic as the first user.
21. The method of claim 18, wherein outputting the first content
comprises outputting audio content through a speaker of the
personal digital assistant.
22. The method of claim 18, wherein outputting the first content
comprises outputting the first content comprises wirelessly
communicating video content from the personal digital assistant to
a display device.
23. The method of claim 18, wherein identifying, by the processing
device, one or more second users having the same characteristic as
the first user is based on a search of a user profile of the first
user or a search of a social graph of the first user.
24. The method of claim 18, wherein the spoken negative reaction is
used to prevent distributing the first content or the second
content in the future.
25. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions
that are executable by one or more processing devices to perform
operations comprising: outputting, through a personal digital
assistant that includes an audio codec, first content to a first
user; receiving digital information specifying a spoken negative
reaction to the first content that was converted into the digital
information by the audio codec of the personal digital assistant;
in response to the digital information specifying the spoken
negative reaction, identifying second content having a topic in
common with the first content, where the topic in common is
identified based on terms included in both of the first content and
the second content or based on Internet domains associated with
both of the first content and the second content; identifying one
or more second users having a same characteristic as the first
user; and reducing a likelihood that the second content is
distributed to the one or more second users based on the one or
more second users having the same characteristic as the first user
and based on the first user having provided the spoken negative
reaction to the first content that has the topic in common with the
second content.
26. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 25, wherein
the spoken negative reaction specifies a reason that the first user
expressed the spoken negative reaction.
27. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 25, wherein
reducing a likelihood that the second content is distributed to the
one or more second users comprises preventing the second content
from being distributed to social network contacts of the first user
who have the same characteristic as the first user.
28. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 25, wherein
outputting the first content comprises outputting audio content
through a speaker of the personal digital assistant.
29. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 25, wherein
outputting the first content comprises outputting the first content
comprises wirelessly communicating video content from the personal
digital assistant to a display device.
30. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 25, wherein
identifying, by the processing device, one or more second users
having the same characteristic as the first user is based on a
search of a user profile of the first user or a search of a social
graph of the first user.
31. A system, comprising: one or more processing devices; and
memory storing instructionst that are executed by the one or more
processing devices and cause the one or more processing devices to
perform operaitons including: outputting, through a personal
digital assistant that includes an audio codec, first content to a
first user; receiving digital information specifying a spoken
negative reaction to the first content that was converted into the
digital information by the audio codec of the personal digital
assistant; in response to the digital information specifying the
spoken negative reaction, identifying second content having a topic
in common with the first content, where the topic in common is
identified based on terms included in both of the first content and
the second content or based on Internet domains associated with
both of the first content and the second content; identifying one
or more second users having a same characteristic as the first
user; and reducing a likelihood that the second content is
distributed to the one or more second users based on the one or
more second users having the same characteristic as the first user
and based on the first user having provided the spoken negative
reaction to the first content that has the topic in common with the
second content.
32. The system of claim 31, wherein the spoken negative reaction
specifies a reason that the first user expressed the spoken
negative reaction.
33. The system of claim 31, wherein reducing a likelihood that the
second content is distributed to the one or more second users
comprises preventing the second content from being distributed to
social network contacts of the first user who have the same
characteristic as the first user.
34. The system of claim 31, wherein outputting the first content
comprises outputting audio content through a speaker of the
personal digital assistant.
35. The system of claim 31, wherein outputting the first content
comprises outputting the first content comprises wirelessly
communicating video content from the personal digital assistant to
a display device.
36. The system of claim 31, wherein identifying one or more second
users having the same characteristic as the first user is based on
a search of a user profile of the first user or a search of a
social graph of the first user.
37. The system of claim 31, the spoken negative reaction is used to
prevent distributing the first content or the second content in the
future.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] This disclosure relates generally to affecting display of
content, such as advertising, by taking into account negative
reactions of users.
[0002] The Internet provides access to a wide variety of resources.
For example, video, audio, and Web pages are accessible over the
Internet. These resources present opportunities for other content
(e.g., advertising or non-advertising content, such as audio,
video, or the like) to be provided with the resources. For example,
a Web page can include slots in which content can be presented.
Similarly, such slots can be part of television programming.
[0003] Slots can be allocated to content providers (e.g.,
advertisers). In some systems, a network can be used to allocate
content to the slots based, e.g., on various factors relating to
the content and the context in which it is to be presented. For
example, the content can be allocated based, in part, on keywords
input to a system, such as a search engine. An auction can be
performed for the right to present advertising in a slot. In the
auction, content sponsors provide bids specifying amounts that the
content sponsors are willing to pay for presentation of their
content. Typically, the winning bidder is given the right to
present content.
[0004] Some content providers, such as advertisers, pay based on a
positive interaction with content, e.g., based on a cost-per-click
(CPC) or a cost-per-conversion (CVR) basis. A click, in this
context, refers to a user selecting content. A conversion, in this
context, refers to an action taken, such as purchasing a product
advertised in an ad.
SUMMARY
[0005] Described herein are example techniques for affecting
display of content, which may include receiving a request for
content to supplement a response to an input initiated by a first
user; outputting first content in response to the request, where
the first content includes a control feature that is displayable
along with the first content, and where the control feature enables
the first user to register a negative reaction to the first
content; obtaining information relating to the first content based
on the negative reaction; identifying second content having one or
more characteristics in common with the first content; identifying
one or more second users having one or more characteristics in
common with the first user; and using the information relating to
the first content in determining whether to provide the second
content to the one or more second users. The example techniques may
include one or more of the following features, either alone or in
combination.
[0006] The information relating to the first content may be used t
in determining whether to provide the first content or the second
content to the first user in the future. The information may be
used to prevent providing the first content or the second content
in the future, and/or the information may be used to limit
providing the first content or the second content in the
future.
[0007] The control feature may include an interactive control
feature to close the first content or to be redirected away from
the first content, and/or may include an interactive control
feature to provide feedback about the first content.
[0008] The one or more characteristics of the second content may
relate to whether: (1) the first content is part of a same
distribution campaign as the second content, (2) the first content
and the second content are owned or distributed by a same entity,
or (3) the first content and the second content direct users to a
domain controlled by a same entity. The one or more characteristics
of the second content may relate to whether: (1) the first content
and the second content have a topic in common, or (2) the first
content and the second content direct users to a same domain or to
domains having similar topics. The one or more characteristics of
the second content may relate to a relationship of a brand
associated with the first content to a brand associated with the
second content.
[0009] Identifying one or more second users having one or more
characteristics in common with the first user may include
identifying elements of a profile for the first user that match
elements of one or more profiles for the one or more second users,
where the elements relate to demographics associated with the first
user and the one or more second users.
[0010] It may be determined not to provide the second content to
the one or more second users based on the information. It may be
determined to provide the second content a less favorable position
in an auction for providing content to the one or more second
users. It may be determined to increase the price of the second
content relative to other content to be provided to the one or more
second users.
[0011] The information relating to the first content may be used in
determining whether to provide the second content to the one or
more second users in a context, where the context relates to at
least one of an aspect of the response to the input and a time at
which the first content is to be provided.
[0012] The information may be obtained based also on negative
reactions to the first content by other users. The information may
indicate whether the first content elicits a negative reaction in
general, elicits a negative reaction in a particular topical or
temporal context, or elicits a negative reaction by users having
one or more characteristics in common.
[0013] The systems and techniques described herein, or portions
thereof, may be implemented as a computer program product that
includes instructions that are stored on one or more
machine-readable storage media, and that are executable on one or
more processing devices. The systems and techniques described
herein, or portions thereof, may be implemented as an apparatus,
method, or electronic system that may include one or more
processing devices and memory to store executable instructions to
implement the stated functions.
[0014] The details of one or more implementations are set forth in
the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other
features, objects, and advantages will be apparent from the
description and drawings, and from the claims.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0015] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example system for
distributing content to users over a network.
[0016] FIG. 2 is an example user interface that includes an example
content item that provides elements for receiving negative
reactions.
[0017] FIGS. 3a and 3b are example user interfaces for receiving
information about negative reactions.
[0018] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example network
environment.
[0019] FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing an example process for
distributing content to users over a network.
[0020] FIG. 6 shows examples of computing devices on which the
processes described herein, or portions thereof, may be
implemented.
[0021] Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like
elements.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0022] Described herein are techniques for affecting display of
content (e.g., advertisements, audio, video, Web pages, or the
like) based on negative reactions to presented content. In an
example implementation, content items presented to users include
user interface elements that users can interact with to indicate a
negative reaction to the content. For example, a user may find a
particular advertisement or the product it advertises to be overly
repetitive (e.g., the user has seen the ad too many times),
irrelevant (e.g., the advertisement has no relation to the context
of the page in which it was presented), uninteresting, offensive,
etc. The user may indicate such a negative reaction by interacting
with the user interface element. In response, the offending content
item may be removed from view, and the user's reaction may be used
to reduce the likelihood of this or other similar and potentially
offensive content from being presented to the user in the
future.
[0023] The suppression of content, such as that described above,
can improve the individual user's experience by reducing the amount
of annoying or offensive content that he or she is exposed to. Such
suppression of content can also improve the experience of content
publishers whose content can include potentially offending or
annoying advertisements (e.g., users are less likely to be driven
away by offending ads). The suppression of content may also
increase the revenues provided to content publishers through
advertising (e.g., by not wasting advertising space on offending
content in favor of content that may be more likely to generate
click-through revenue). Such suppression can also improve the
efficiency of advertising campaigns, since users who react
negatively to identified advertisements may be less likely to see
them again, thereby possibly reducing the occurrence of paid ad
impressions being presented to disinterested users.
[0024] In a general example, a user may browse a Web page that
includes advertising content provided by a content server. One of
the ads may advertise a steakhouse, but the user may be a
vegetarian. In such an example, the user is likely to be at least
uninterested in the ad, if not being outright offended by it. The
ad includes a user control that the user can click to close or
otherwise remove the ad. This user action sends feedback to the
content server to indicate that the user has reacted negatively to
the ad. In some examples, the content server may use this
information to prevent the steakhouse ad from being presented to
the user again. In some examples, the content server may use this
information to prevent similar ads from being shown to the user
(e.g., ads for hamburgers). In some examples, the content server
may use this information to prevent the ad from being presented to
other users (e.g., other users how have identified themselves as
being vegetarians).
[0025] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example system 100 for
distributing content to users over a network. A user 102 uses a
computer device 104 to browse Web content 105 (e.g., Web pages,
streaming video, streaming audio) provided by a Web server 106.
[0026] The Web server 106 sends a request 108 to a content server
110 that hosts a collection of content 112 (e.g., advertisements).
The request 108 is a request for a content item 114 that is hosted
by the content server 110. The content server 110 responds by
sending one or more content items 114 to the Web server 106 for
inclusion in the Web page 105 that is provided to the computer
device 104 for presentation to the user 102 in response to an
initial browser input.
[0027] In its provided form, the Web page 105 includes a content
item 120 that includes both content information (e.g., the content
item 114, e.g., the advertising message) and one or more user
controls. In its presented form, the user 102 can click or
otherwise select the user controls in the content item 120 to
indicate a negative reaction to the content information in the
content item 120. Embodiments of content items with user controls,
such as the content item 120, are discussed below in the
descriptions of FIGS. 2, 3A, and 3B.
[0028] The user's 102 negative reaction and interaction with the
user controls causes a user input message 130 to be sent to the Web
server 106. The user input message 130 is processed by the Web
server 106 to receive, and interpret, the user's 102 negative
response. The Web server 106 stores information about the user
input message 130 in a response index 140 (e.g., in a database).
For example, with appropriate permission from the user, the Web
server 106 may store a record of the user's 102 negative response,
the user's 102 identity or an anonymous identifier, the identity of
the content item 120, the identity of the content item 114, and/or
combinations of these and other appropriate information that may
describe the user's reaction to the content item 120.
[0029] In some implementations, the user input message 130 may
include additional information that describes the user's 102
negative reaction and/or the context in which the reaction
occurred. For example, the response controls may provide user
controls with which the user 102 can interact to express the reason
for his or her negative reaction. For example, the response
controls may provide a way for the user 102 to express "I have seen
this ad too many times," "I am not interested in this product,
good, or service," "I find this ad to be offensive", or any other
appropriate reason why the content item 120 was found to be
undesirable. Such information may be stored in the response index
140 in association with other information descriptive of the user's
102 negative reaction.
[0030] The Web server 106 may use the information stored in the
response index 140 for selecting content 112 during future Web page
requests. This may be done, e.g., to prevent offending content, or
content similar to the offending content, from being presented to
the user 102. In this context, the word "offending" does not
necessarily mean that the content is offensive, but rather only
that the user has indicated some disinterest in the content. In an
example, the user may indicate a negative reaction to an
advertisement for "ABC Brand chewing gum", and the Web server 106
can use information collected about the negative reaction to
prevent the "ABC Brand chewing gum" advertisement from being
presented to the user 102 again. In another example, the Web server
106 can use the negative reaction to "ABC Brand chewing gum" to
prevent similar ads from being presented to the user 102, such as
ads for "XYZ Brand chewing gum," or "ABC Brand candy bars." In
another example, the Web server 106 can use the negative reaction
to "ABC Brand chewing gum" to prevent ads, such as those described
above, from being provided to users who have one or more features
in common with the user. For example, the system may identify,
e.g., based on users' profiles, social networks, or other relevant
information that two users have the same interests, fit into the
same demographic, have the same likes/dislikes, and so forth. In
this case, the Web server 106 may use the negative reaction to "ABC
Brand chewing gum" to prevent ads, such as those described above,
from being provided to both users.
[0031] In other examples, rather than preventing ads from being
provided to users, the Web server 106 may reduced the frequency at
which such ads are provided, limit the context in which such ads
are provided (e.g., to times of day, in conjunction with certain
types of content, etc.), and so forth.
[0032] By way of example, in some implementations, the information
stored in the reaction index 140 may include contextual information
about the user's 102 negative reaction. For example, the time of
day, the geographical location, the identity of the computing
device 104, the identity of the network used to transport the user
input message 130, and/or combinations of these and other
appropriate contextual information may be stored in association
with the user's 102 negative reaction. For example, the user may be
averse to seeing certain types of content items (e.g., dating
Website ads, bar ads, job hunting Website ads) while at work (e.g.,
the computing device 104 is a work computer, the message 130 was
sent from a corporate network, the reaction happened between 9 am
and 5 pm). The user 102, however, may have different reactions to
the same or similar content under different conditions (e.g., the
user is at home or is using a personal device).
[0033] In some implementations, the Web server 106 may use
contextual information to determine which of the content items 114
to suppress, and when or where to suppress their delivery to the
user 102. For example, the Web server 106 may provide the content
item 114 while the user 102 browses from home, and prevent the
content item 114 from being provided to the user 102 at work.
[0034] In another example, a user 150 uses a computer device 152 to
request Web content 105 from the Web server 106. The Web server 106
identifies the user 150 and determines if the user 150 has one or
more characteristics in common with the user 102. For example, the
user 150 may share a common demographic trait, or may have explicit
or implicit preferences are similar to those of the user 102. The
Web server 106 uses this information and information about the
user's 102 negative responses to determine whether the content item
114 should be prevented from being presented to the user 150 or
whether presentation of content item 114 should be changed (e.g.,
limited). For example, if the Web server 106 determines that the
user 102 and the user 150 have similar characteristics, then the
user's 102 negative reaction to an advertisement for "Subpar
Airlines" can be used to prevent the "Subpar Airlines" ad, or ads
similar to it, from being presented to the user 150.
[0035] FIG. 2 is an example user interface 200 that includes an
example content item 210a and an example content item 210b that
provide elements for receiving negative reactions. In the
illustrated example, the user interface 200 is a Web page rendered
by a Web browser 202.
[0036] In this example, the content items 210a-210b are rendered as
part of the user interface 200. In some implementations, the
content items 210a-210b can be advertisements, but in other
implementations the content items 210a-210b can be any appropriate
form of content (e.g., embedded media, video clips, news articles).
The content items 210a-210b include content 220 (e.g., advertising
messages) and a user control 230.
[0037] In this example, the user control 230 is a user interface
element that the user can click or otherwise interact with to
express a dislike for the associated content 220. In some
implementations, the user may click the user control 230 to close
or otherwise hide the content item 210a or 210b from view in the
user interface 200. In some implementations, the user may click the
user control 230 to reload the current Web page or to redirect the
user to another Web page. This action may also trigger the
transmission of a user input message, such as the user input
message 130 of FIG. 1, to be sent to a Web server (e.g., the Web
server 106) that provided the content of the user interface
200.
[0038] In some implementations, in response to the user clicking
the user control 230, another user control may also be presented to
the user in an attempt to collect more information from the user as
to why the associated content 220 generated a negative reaction. In
some implementations, such other user controls may be provided with
the original content item and not in response to user input.
[0039] Referring now to FIGS. 3a and 3b, two examples of such user
controls are described. FIGS. 3a and 3b are example user interfaces
for receiving information about negative reactions. Referring now
to FIG. 3A, the content item 210a of FIG. 2 is shown. The user
indicates a negative reaction to the content 220 by clicking the
user control 230. In response to this user action, the content item
210a is replaced by a user control 300.
[0040] In this example, the user control 300 is a collection of
user interface elements that invite the user to voluntarily provide
additional information as to why the user reacted negatively to the
content 220. For example, the user may click a user control 310a to
express that he or she is simply not interested in the product
being advertised by the content 220, click a user control 310b to
express that he or she has seen this or similar content 220 too
many times, click a user control 310c to express that the content
220 was found to be offensive, or click a user control 310d to
express that the content 220 was inappropriate for viewing at that
particular place or time. Information describing the user's
selection is then provided to the hosting Web server as part of a
user input message, such as the user input message 130.
[0041] The user control 300 also includes a user control 310e. The
user can click the user control 310e to indicate that he or she
clicked the user control 230 in error. In some implementations, by
clicking the user control 230 the content item 210a may be restored
to its original appearance. In some implementations, clicking the
user control 310e may prevent transmission of the user input
message 130. In some implementations, clicking the user control
310e may send a user input message 130 to the hosting Web server,
requesting that the Web server remove (e.g., from the response
index 140) previously submitted negative responses associated with
the content 220. In some implementations, a blank field may be
incorporated into control 300, into which the user may type
comments free-form.
[0042] FIG. 3B shows another example of how the user control 300
may be implemented. In this example, a dialog box 350 is presented
to the user in response to activation of the user control 230
(although, as noted above, the dialog box may be provided with the
original content and not in response to activation of the user
control). The dialog box 350 includes the user control 300 and the
functionality it provides as was described previously. In the
illustrated example, the dialog box 350 is superimposed over the
content item 210a or over the user interface 200 of FIG. 2. In some
implementations, the dialog box 350 may partly or entirely obscure
the user's view of the content 210a. In some implementations, the
dialog box 350 may provide visual cues that indicate to which
content item the dialog box 350 is associated. For example, the
dialog box 350 may appear as a cartoon bubble emanating from the
content item 210a. In another example, the dialog box 350 may be
presented in an animation in which the dialog box 350 appear to
"fly out" from the content item 210a in response to activation of
the user control 230.
[0043] The processes described herein may be implemented in any
appropriate network environment, with any appropriate devices and
computing equipment. An example of such an environment is described
below.
[0044] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example network environment
400 that may be used in the processes described herein for
affecting display of content (e.g., advertisements) based on
negative reactions to presented content.
[0045] As shown in FIG. 4, network 402 connects various entities,
such as Web sites 404, user devices 406, content providers (e.g.,
advertisers 408), online publishers 409, television broadcasters
434, and a content management system 410. In this regard, example
environment 400 may include many thousands of Web sites 404, user
devices 406, and content providers (e.g., advertisers 408 or other
purveyors of content). Entities connected to network 402 include
and/or connect through one or more servers. Each such server may be
one or more of various forms of servers, such as a Web server, an
application server, a proxy server, a network server, or a server
farm. Each server can include one or more processing devices,
memory, and a storage system.
[0046] Network 402 can represent a communications network that can
allow devices, such as a user device 406a, to communicate with
entities on the network. Network 402 can include one or more
networks. The network(s) may provide for communications under
various modes or protocols, such as Global System for Mobile
communication (GSM) voice calls, Short Message Service (SMS),
Enhanced Messaging Service (EMS), or Multimedia Messaging Service
(MMS) messaging, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time
Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Personal Digital Cellular (PDC),
Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), CDMA2000, General
Packet Radio System (GPRS), or one or more television or cable
networks, among others. For example, the communication may occur
through a radio-frequency transceiver. In addition, short-range
communication may occur, such as using a BLUETOOTH, WiFi, or other
such transceiver.
[0047] In FIG. 4, Web sites 404 may include one or more resources
405 associated with a domain name and hosted by one or more
servers. An example Web site 404a is a collection of Web pages
formatted in hypertext markup language (HTML) that can contain
text, images, multimedia content, and programming elements, such as
scripts. Each Web site 404 can be maintained by a publisher 409,
which is an entity that controls, manages and/or owns the Web site
404.
[0048] A resource 405 may be any appropriate data that can be
provided over network 402. A resource 405 can be identified by a
resource address that is associated with the resource 405.
Resources 405 can include HypterText Mark-up Language (HTML) pages,
word processing documents, portable document format (PDF)
documents, images, video, and news feed sources, to name a few.
Resources 405 can also include content, such as words, phrases,
images, video and sounds, that may include embedded information
(such as meta-information hyperlinks) and/or embedded instructions
(such as JavaScript scripts).
[0049] To enable searching of resources 405, environment 400 can
include a search system 412, as described below, that identifies
resources 405 by crawling and indexing resources 405 provided by
the content publishers on the Web sites 404. Data about the
resources 405 can be indexed based on the resource 405 to which the
data corresponds. Indexed and, optionally, cached copies of the
resources 405 that match input keywords can be retrieved and
output.
[0050] An example user device 406a is an electronic device that is
under control of a user and that is capable of requesting and
receiving resources over the network 402. A user device (examples
of which include computer devices 104 and 152 o FIG. 1) may include
one or more processing devices, and may be, or include, a mobile
telephone (e.g., a smartphone), a laptop computer, a handheld
computer, a tablet computer, a network appliance, a camera, an
enhanced general packet radio service (EGPRS) mobile phone, a media
player, a navigation device, an email device, a game console, or a
combination of any two or more of these data processing devices or
other data processing devices. In some implementations, the user
device can be included as part of a motor vehicle (e.g., an
automobile, an emergency vehicle (e.g., fire truck, ambulance), a
bus).
[0051] User device 406a can request resources 405 from a Web site
404a. In turn, data representing the resource 405 can be provided
to the user device 406a for presentation by the user device 406a.
User devices 406 can also submit search queries 416 to the search
system 412 over the network 402. A request for a resource 405 or a
search query 416 sent from a user device 406 can include an
identifier, such as a cookie, identifying the user of the user
device.
[0052] In response to a search query 416, the search system 412 can
access a search index 430 to identify resources 405 in a collection
of indexed resources 432 that are relevant to the search query 416.
As described below, the search system 412 identifies resources 405
in the form of search results 418 and returns the search results
418 to a user device 406 in search results pages. A search result
418 may include data generated by search system 412 that identifies
a resource 405 that is responsive to a particular search query 416,
and that includes a link to the resource 405. An example search
result 418 can include a Web page title, a snippet of text or a
portion of an image extracted from the Web page, and the URL
(Unified Resource Location) of the Web page. With appropriate
permission, the search index may store, index, and make accessible
information about users including, for example, their profiles,
social networks (as represented by social graphs) and so forth.
[0053] Content management system 410 may be used for selecting and
providing content in response to requests for content. Content
management system 410 also can update a database 424 based on
activity of a user. The database may be separate, as shown, or part
of the search index. With appropriate user permission, the database
424 can store a profile for the user which includes, for example,
information about past user activities, such as visits to a place
or event, past requests for resources 405, past search queries 416,
other requests for content, social network profiles and
connections, Web sites visited, or interactions with content. In
some implementations, the information in database 424 can be
derived, for example, from one or more of a query log, an
advertisement ("ad") log, or requests for content. The database 424
can include, for each entry, a cookie identifying the user, a
timestamp, an IP (Internet Protocol) address associated with a
requesting user device 406, a type of usage, and details associated
with the usage.
[0054] When a resource 405 or search results 418 are requested by a
user device 406, content management system 410 can receive a
request for content to be provided with the resource 405 or search
results 418. The request for content can include characteristics of
one or more "slots" that are defined for the requested resource 405
or search results page. For example, the data representing the
resource 405 can include data specifying a portion of the resource
405 or a portion of a user display, such as a presentation location
of a pop-up window or a slot of a third-party content site or Web
page, in which content can be presented. An example slot is an ad
slot. Search results pages can also include one or more slots in
which other content items (e.g., ads) can be presented.
[0055] Information about slots can be provided to content
management system 410. For example, a reference (e.g., URL) to the
resource for which the slot is defined, a size of the slot, and/or
media types that are available for presentation in the slot can be
provided to the content management system 410. Similarly, keywords
associated with a requested resource ("resource keywords") or a
search query 416 for which search results are requested can also be
provided to the content management system 410 to facilitate
identification of content that is relevant to the resource or
search query 416. For example, the content management system
identifies content, such as advertising, that is associated with
keywords that match, or are substantially similar to, the input
keywords (e.g., are a variant of the keywords, such as "car" or
"cars"). When a match is detected, content management system 410
outputs the corresponding content. The processes described herein
may be used to serve customized ads based, e.g., on input keywords
or other search query content.
[0056] Based at least in part on data included in a request,
content management system 410 can select content that is eligible
to be provided in response to the request (referred to as "eligible
content items"). For example, eligible content items can be
eligible ads having characteristics matching the characteristics of
ad slots and that are associated with user-provided keywords (e.g.,
terms in the input search query). The universe of eligible content
items (e.g., ads) can be narrowed by taking into account other
factors, such as the content of previous search queries 416. For
example, content items corresponding to historical search
activities of the user including, e.g., search keywords used,
particular content interacted with, sites visited by the user, etc.
may also be used in the selection of eligible content items by the
content management system 410.
[0057] Content management system 410 can select the eligible
content items that are to be provided for presentation in slots of
a resource 405 or search results page 418 based, at least in part,
on results of an auction. For example, for eligible content items,
content management system 410 can receive bids from content
providers (e.g., advertisers 408) and allocate slots, based at
least in part on the received bids (e.g., based on the highest
bidders at the conclusion of the auction). The bids are amounts
that the content providers are willing to pay for presentation (or
selection) of their content with a resource 405 or search results
page 418. For example, a bid can specify an amount that a content
provider is willing to pay for each 1000 impressions (i.e.,
presentations) of the content item, referred to as an ECPM bid.
Alternatively, the bid can specify an amount that the content
provider is willing to pay for a selection (i.e., a click-through)
of the content item or a conversion following selection of the
content item. The selected content item can be determined based on
the bids alone, or based on the bids of each bidder being
multiplied by one or more factors, such as quality scores derived
from content performance, landing page scores, and/or other
factors.
[0058] In some implementations, a content provider can bid for a
targeted audience of users. For example, one or more of the
publishers 409 and/or the content management system 410 may provide
one or more audiences of users, where each user in the audience
matches one or more targeting criteria, such as matching one or
more demographics. An audience of users may be represented, for
example, as a user list. User lists or other representations of
audiences may be stored, for example, in the database 424. A bid
from a content provider can specify, for example, an amount that
the content provider is willing to pay for each 1000 impressions
(i.e., presentations) of the content item to a particular audience
of users. The content management system 410 may, for example,
manage the presentation of the content item to users included in a
particular audience and may manage charging of the content provider
for the impressions and distributing revenue to the publishers 409
based on the impressions.
[0059] FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing an example process 500 for
affecting display of content (e.g., advertisements) based on
negative reactions to presented content. Process 400 may be
performed, e.g., by the Web server 108 either alone or in
conjunction with the content management system 410.
[0060] In the process 500, a request for content to supplement a
response to an input initiated by a first user is received (510).
For example, the user 102 may request Web content 105 from the Web
server 106. The Web server 106 requests and receives content 120
(e.g., advertising) from the content server 110. The Web server 106
includes the content 114 in the Web content 105 that is provided in
response to the user's 102 request.
[0061] This first content 114 is output (520) in response to the
request. In this example, the content 120 includes a control
feature that is displayable along with the first content. The
control feature enables the first user to register a negative
reaction to the first content. For example the first content can be
the content 220 of FIG. 2, and the control feature can be the user
control 230 that the user can click to indicate that he or she
dislikes the first content.
[0062] In some implementations, the control feature can include an
interactive control feature to close the first content or to be
redirected away from the first content. For example, the user 102
may click the user control 230 to close the content item 210a or to
be directed to another Web page. In some implementations, the
control feature can include an interactive control feature to
provide feedback about the first content. For example, in response
to the user 102 clicking the user control 230, the user control 300
may be presented to request additional information from the user
102. In some cases, the user may be afforded the opportunity to
provide such additional information without first clicking on the
user control. For example, a feature, such as feature 300 of FIG. 3
may be incorporated into the initial content 120 (or 220) provided
in response to the original request.
[0063] Information relating to the first content is obtained (530)
from the user based on the negative reaction. For example, the Web
server 106 may obtain the user input message 130, which was sent in
response to the user's 102 negative reaction to the content 114
through interaction with the provided content (e.g., through
closing the content, commenting on the content, and so forth).
[0064] In some implementations, obtaining (530) information
relating to the first content can be performed by identifying other
negative reactions (532), determining if other negative reactions
correspond to a context (534), and determining characteristics of
other users' negative reactions (536). The information relating to
the first content can be used in determining whether to provide the
second content to the one or more second users in a context, where
the context is related to at least one of an aspect of the response
to the input and a time at which the first content is to be
provided. For example, a first user may generally not consider his
weekend entertainment options on a Monday and reject an
advertisement for a movie, but he may not reject movie
advertisements on a Friday (e.g., he may be willing to think about
going to a movie that night). In this example, the advertisements
share a common context of "movies" or "entertainment", but the
determination of whether to show similar advertisements to other
users may be based in part on the day of the week as determined
from the first user's responses.
[0065] In some implementations, the information can be obtained
based also on negative reactions to the first content by other
users. Here, the information indicates whether the first content
elicits a negative reaction in general, elicits a negative reaction
in a particular topical or temporal context, or elicits a negative
reaction by users having one or more characteristics in common. For
example, a particular advertisement may elicit negative reactions
from a wide population of users, and based on this information a
determination may be made to prevent the ad from being presented to
other users. In another example, a particular advertisement may
elicit negative reactions when the ad is provided in a particular
type of Web page (e.g., a steakhouse ad in a vegetarian Website)
and, based on this information, a determination may be made to
prevent the ad from being presented to other users who are browsing
similar contextual content. In another example, a particular
advertisement may elicit negative reactions when the ad is provided
during a particular time of day, week, season, or year (e.g.,
dating Website ads on a Monday, swimwear ads in winter, breakfast
ads at night, Independence Day ads on July 5) and, based on this
information, a determination may be made to prevent the ad from
being presented to other users during similar periods of time. In
yet another example, a particular advertisement may elicit negative
reactions from users who have one or more characteristics in common
(e.g., the users share a demographic trait, or an explicitly or
implicitly determined aversion to a particular topic) and, based on
this information, a determination may be made to prevent ad
rejected by the first user from being presented to other users who
share similar characteristics. With appropriate permission, users'
profiles and/or social graphs may be searched to determine whether
two users have appropriate features in common.
[0066] In this example, second content (e.g., a second
advertisement) having one or more characteristics in common with
the first content is identified (540). For example, the user 102
may have indicated a negative response to an advertisement for
"Acme Brand Automobiles". In response, the Web server 106 my
identify advertisements for "XYZ Brand Automobiles" (e.g., both ads
are for automobiles) and/or "Acme Brand Boats" (e.g., both ads are
for Acme products) has having some features in common with the
offending advertisement.
[0067] In some implementations, the one or more characteristics of
the second content may relate to whether the first content is part
of a same distribution campaign as the second content, the first
content and the second content are owned or distributed by a same
entity, or the first content and the second content direct users to
a domain controlled by a same entity. For example, two different
ads may both be part of the "Elect Major Bigspender" political
campaign, and a negative reaction to one of the ads may be used as
an indication that the second ad should also be suppressed for the
same, or similar, user. In another example, the "AAA Advertising
Agency" may tend to produce edgy and possibly offending
advertisements. A user's negative reaction of one of this agencies'
ads may be a good indication that the user, or similar users, may
also react negatively to the agencies other ads for other products,
and that those ads should not be shown to the user either. In yet
another example, a user's negative reaction to an advertisement may
indicate that the user, or similar user, has no interest in any ad
for any product produced by an identified company.
[0068] In some implementations, the one or more characteristics of
the second content can relate to whether the first content and the
second content have a topic in common, or the first content and the
second content direct users to a same domain or to domains having
similar topics. For example, an ad for "Acme Brand Automobiles" and
an ad for "XYZ Brand Automobiles" may both share a topic of
"automobiles". In other example, an ad for the "SuperPen 2000" and
an ad for the "Pencil-o-Matic" may both direct users to subdomains
of the "writinginstrumentcompany.com" Internet domain, or to two
different domains that have been determined (e.g., crawled) as both
pertaining to writing instrument products.
[0069] In some implementations, the one or more characteristics of
the second content can relate to a relationship of a brand
associated with the first content to a brand associated with the
second content. For example, an ad for "Acme Brand Automobiles" and
an ad for "Acme Brand Boats" may be related to each other through
the common "Acme" branding of both advertised products.
[0070] One or more others users having one or more characteristics
in common with the first user are identified (550). For example
another user may share a common demographic with the user 102, or
may have had negative reactions that resemble those of the user 102
in the past. In examples such as these and others, the other user
may be identified as having one or more characteristics in common
with the user 102.
[0071] In some implementations, identifying (550) one or more
second users having one or more characteristics in common with the
first user can include identifying elements of a profile for the
first user that match elements of one or more profiles for the one
or more second users. The profile elements may relate, e.g., to
demographics associated with the first user and the one or more
second users. For example, the user 102 may be known (e.g., from
explicitly provided information) to be a man, age 20, who has
expressed a negative reaction to an advertisement for the upcoming
movie "Cyber Alien Laser War 3", and his reaction may prevent the
ad from being presented to other users who are identified as men,
ages 18-30.
[0072] The information relating to the first content is used (560)
in determining whether to provide the second content to the one or
more second users. For example, if the user 102 has indicated a
negative response to an advertisement for "Acme Brand Motors", then
the "XYZ Brand Automobiles" advertisement may be prevented from
being presented to the other user(s).
[0073] In some implementations, the information relating to the
first content may be used in determining whether to provide the
first content or the second content to the same user in the future.
For example, if the user 102 has indicated a negative response to
an advertisement for "Acme Brand Motors", then that response may be
used to prevent the "Acme Brand Motors" and/or the "XYZ Brand
Automobiles" may be prevented from being presented to the user 102
or the other user in the future.
[0074] In some implementations, the information relating to the
first content may be used to limit providing the first content
and/or the second content to the first user in the future. For
example, a negative reaction by the user 102 to a particular ad may
cause the Web server 106 to show that ad to the user 102 less
often.
[0075] In some implementations, the second content may be provided
in a less favorable position in an auction for providing content to
the one or more second users. For example, the price of the second
content may be increased relative to other content to be provided
to the one or more second users. For example, an offending
advertisement may impose a relatively greater burden upon a Web
content provider (e.g., the provider runs a relatively greater risk
of driving readers away by presenting them with ads to which they
may react adversely). The advertisers behind the offending ads may
therefore be asked to pay a relatively higher price, compared to
less offending ads, to compensate the Web providers for presenting
such ads.
[0076] FIG. 6 shows an example of a generic computing device 600
and a generic mobile computing device 650, which may be used to
implement all or part of the processes described herein. For
example, content management system 410 and search system 412 may be
implemented by computing device 600 and mobile computing device 650
may implement a user device 406/406a of FIG. 4. In this regard,
computing device 600 is intended to represent various forms of
digital computers, examples of which include laptops, desktops,
workstations, personal digital assistants, servers, blade servers,
mainframes, and other appropriate computers. Computing device 650
is intended to represent various forms of mobile devices, examples
of which include personal digital assistants, cellular telephones,
smartphones, and other similar computing devices. The components
shown here, their connections and relationships, and their
functions, are meant to be examples, and are not meant to limit the
scope of the appended claims.
[0077] Computing device 600 includes a processor 602, memory 604, a
storage device 606, a high-speed interface 608 connecting to memory
604 and high-speed expansion ports 610, and a low speed interface
612 connecting to low speed bus 614 and storage device 606. Each of
the components 602, 604, 606, 608, 610, and 612, are interconnected
using various busses, and may be mounted on a common motherboard or
in other manners as appropriate. The processor 602 can process
instructions for execution within the computing device 600,
including instructions stored in the memory 604 or on the storage
device 606 to display graphical information for a GUI on an
external input/output device, for example, display 616 coupled to
high speed interface 608. In other implementations, multiple
processors and/or multiple buses may be used, as appropriate, along
with multiple memories and types of memory. Also, multiple
computing devices 600 may be connected, with each device providing
portions of the necessary operations (e.g., as a server bank, a
group of blade servers, or a multi-processor system).
[0078] The memory 604 stores information within the computing
device 600. In one implementation, the memory 604 is a volatile
memory unit or units. In another implementation, the memory 604 is
a non-volatile memory unit or units. The memory 604 may also be
another form of computer-readable medium, examples of which include
a magnetic or optical disk.
[0079] The storage device 606 is capable of providing mass storage
for the computing device 600. In one implementation, the storage
device 606 may be or contain a computer-readable medium, for
example, a floppy disk device, a hard disk device, an optical disk
device, or a tape device, a flash memory or other similar solid
state memory device, or an array of devices, including devices in a
storage area network or other configurations. A computer program
product can be tangibly embodied in an information carrier. The
computer program product may also contain instructions that, when
executed, perform one or more methods, including those described
above. The information carrier may be a non-transitory computer- or
machine-readable medium, for example, the memory 604, the storage
device 606, or memory on processor 602. In some examples, the
information carrier may be a machine-readable storage medium and
not a transitory signal.
[0080] The high speed controller 608 manages bandwidth-intensive
operations for the computing device 600, while the low speed
controller 612 manages lower bandwidth-intensive operations. Such
allocation of functions is an example. In one implementation, the
high-speed controller 608 is coupled to memory 604, display 616
(e.g., through a graphics processor or accelerator), and to
high-speed expansion ports 610, which may accept various expansion
cards (not shown). In the implementation, low-speed controller 612
is coupled to storage device 606 and low-speed expansion port 614.
The low-speed expansion port, which may include various
communication ports (e.g., USB, Bluetooth, Ethernet, wireless
Ethernet) may be coupled to one or more input/output devices,
examples of which include a keyboard, a pointing device, a scanner,
or a networking device, for example, a switch or router, e.g.,
through a network adapter.
[0081] The computing device 600 may be implemented in a number of
different forms, as shown in the figure. For example, it may be
implemented as a standard server 620, or multiple times in a group
of such servers. It may also be implemented as part of a rack
server system 624. In addition, it may be implemented in a personal
computer, for example, a laptop computer 622. Alternatively,
components from computing device 600 may be combined with other
components in a mobile device (not shown), for example, device 650.
Each of such devices may contain one or more of computing device
600, 650, and an entire system may be made up of multiple computing
devices 600, 650 communicating with each other.
[0082] Computing device 650 includes a processor 652, memory 664,
an input/output device for example, a display 654, a communication
interface 666, and a transceiver 668, among other components. The
device 650 may also be provided with a storage device, for example,
a microdrive or other device, to provide additional storage. Each
of the components 650, 652, 664, 654, 666, and 668, are
interconnected using various buses, and several of the components
may be mounted on a common motherboard or in other manners as
appropriate.
[0083] The processor 652 can execute instructions within the
computing device 650, including instructions stored in the memory
664. The processor may be implemented as a chipset of chips that
include separate and multiple analog and digital processors. The
processor may provide, for example, for coordination of the other
components of the device 650, for example, control of user
interfaces, applications run by device 650, and wireless
communication by device 650.
[0084] Processor 652 may communicate with a user through control
interface 658 and display interface 656 coupled to a display 654.
The display 654 may be, for example, a TFT LCD
(Thin-Film-Transistor Liquid Crystal Display) or an OLED (Organic
Light Emitting Diode) display, or other appropriate display
technology. The display interface 656 may comprise appropriate
circuitry for driving the display 654 to present graphical and
other information to a user. The control interface 658 may receive
commands from a user and convert them for submission to the
processor 652. In addition, an external interface 662 may be
provide in communication with processor 652, so as to enable near
area communication of device 650 with other devices. External
interface 662 may provide, for example, for wired communication in
some implementations, or for wireless communication in other
implementations, and multiple interfaces may also be used.
[0085] The memory 664 stores information within the computing
device 650. The memory 664 can be implemented as one or more of a
computer-readable medium or media, a volatile memory unit or units,
or a non-volatile memory unit or units. Expansion memory 674 may
also be provided and connected to device 650 through expansion
interface 672, which may include, for example, a SIMM (Single In
Line Memory Module) card interface. Such expansion memory 674 may
provide extra storage space for device 650, or may also store
applications or other information for device 650. Specifically,
expansion memory 674 may include instructions to carry out or
supplement the processes described above, and may include secure
information also. Thus, for example, expansion memory 674 may be
provide as a security module for device 650, and may be programmed
with instructions that permit secure use of device 650. In
addition, secure applications may be provided by the SIMM cards,
along with additional information, for example, placing identifying
information on the SIMM card in a non-hackable manner.
[0086] The memory may include, for example, flash memory and/or
NVRAM memory, as discussed below. In one implementation, a computer
program product is tangibly embodied in an information carrier. The
computer program product contains instructions that, when executed,
perform one or more methods, examples of which include those
described above. The information carrier is a computer- or
machine-readable medium, for example, the memory 664, expansion
memory 674, memory on processor 652, or a propagated signal that
may be received, for example, over transceiver 668 or external
interface 662.
[0087] Device 650 may communicate wirelessly through communication
interface 666, which may include digital signal processing
circuitry where necessary. Communication interface 666 may provide
for communications under various modes or protocols, examples of
which include GSM voice calls, SMS, EMS, or MMS messaging, CDMA,
TDMA, PDC, WCDMA, CDMA2000, or GPRS, among others. Such
communication may occur, for example, through radio-frequency
transceiver 668. In addition, short-range communication may occur,
for example, using a Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or other such transceiver
(not shown). In addition, GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver
module 670 may provide additional navigation- and location-related
wireless data to device 650, which may be used as appropriate by
applications running on device 650.
[0088] Device 650 may also communicate audibly using audio codec
660, which may receive spoken information from a user and convert
it to usable digital information. Audio codec 660 may likewise
generate audible sound for a user, for example, through a speaker,
e.g., in a handset of device 650. Such sound may include sound from
voice telephone calls, may include recorded sound (e.g., voice
messages, music files, etc.) and may also include sound generated
by applications operating on device 650.
[0089] The computing device 650 may be implemented in a number of
different forms, as shown in the figure. For example, it may be
implemented as a cellular telephone 680. It may also be implemented
as part of a smartphone 682, personal digital assistant, or other
similar mobile device.
[0090] Various implementations of the systems and techniques
described here can be realized in digital electronic circuitry,
integrated circuitry, specially designed ASICs (application
specific integrated circuits), computer hardware, firmware,
software, and/or combinations thereof. These various
implementations can include implementation in one or more computer
programs that are executable and/or interpretable on a programmable
system including at least one programmable processor, which may be
special or general purpose, coupled to receive data and
instructions from, and to transmit data and instructions to, a
storage system, at least one input device, and at least one output
device.
[0091] These computer programs (also known as programs, software,
software applications or code) include machine instructions for a
programmable processor, and can be implemented in a high-level
procedural and/or object-oriented programming language, and/or in
assembly/machine language. As used herein, the terms
"machine-readable medium" "computer-readable medium" refers to a
computer program product, apparatus and/or device (e.g., magnetic
discs, optical disks, memory, Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs))
used to provide machine instructions and/or data to a programmable
processor, including a machine-readable medium that receives
machine instructions as a machine-readable signal. The terms
"machine-readable medium" and "computer-readable medium" do not
include transitory signals. The term "machine-readable signal"
refers to signal used to provide machine instructions and/or data
to a programmable processor.
[0092] To provide for interaction with a user, the systems and
techniques described here can be implemented on a computer having a
display device (e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid
crystal display) monitor) for displaying information to the user
and a keyboard and a pointing device (e.g., a mouse or a trackball)
by which the user can provide input to the computer. Other kinds of
devices can be used to provide for interaction with a user as well;
for example, feedback provided to the user can be a form of sensory
feedback (e.g., visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile
feedback); and input from the user can be received in a form,
including acoustic, speech, or tactile input.
[0093] The systems and techniques described here can be implemented
in a computing system that includes a back end component (e.g., as
a data server), or that includes a middleware component (e.g., an
application server), or that includes a front end component (e.g.,
a client computer having a graphical user interface or a Web
browser through which a user can interact with an implementation of
the systems and techniques described here), or a combination of
such back end, middleware, or front end components. The components
of the system can be interconnected by a form or medium of digital
data communication (e.g., a communication network). Examples of
communication networks include a local area network ("LAN"), a wide
area network ("WAN"), and the Internet.
[0094] The computing system can include clients and servers. A
client and server are generally remote from each other and
typically interact through a communication network. 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.
[0095] For situations in which the systems discussed herein collect
personal information about users, the users may be provided with an
opportunity to opt in/out of programs or features that may collect
personal information (e.g., information about a user's preferences
or a user's current location). In addition, certain data may be
anonymized in one or more ways before it is stored or used, so that
personally identifiable information is removed. For example, a
user's identity may be anonym ized.
[0096] Elements of different implementations described herein may
be combined to form other implementations not specifically set
forth above. Elements may be left out of the processes, computer
programs, Web pages, etc., described herein without adversely
affecting their operation. In addition, the logic flows depicted in
the figures do not require the particular order shown, or
sequential order, to achieve desirable results. Various separate
elements may be combined into one or more individual elements to
perform the functions described herein.
[0097] Other implementations not specifically described herein are
also within the scope of the following claims.
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