1198 results about "Internet users" patented technology

A method of enabling anonymous Internet users to publish and manage extensive, non-identifying personal data, including demographic, psychographic, needs, wants, interests, propensities, means to purchase, credibility and other data which in turn, enables a marketplace wherein such users, advertisers, websites, and other third-parties can mutually benefit from the commercial exploitation of such data. Advertisers can directly use the data to segregate the users into highly differentiated anonymous audiences for the purposes of targeting them with individualized marketing campaigns and then monitor user responses in near real-time. Websites can individualize their content to the profiles of visiting users. Users can share surface and deep web links with other users having similar profiles. Consumers participating in good faith are proportionately rewarded via revenue sharing, which they may withdraw from the marketplace or use to purchase and rent digital content offered in the marketplace's micropayment-enabled storefronts by other users and third-party content providers.

Disclosed is a technique for providing, accessing, and using bookmark data to supplement information in a search engine database. The bookmark data indicates saved user selected network addresses, e.g., URLs, that are capable of being selected to access observable data, e.g., a page of text, images, sound file, movie file, etc., at the selected network address. A user computer receives user modifications to bookmark data and transmits the modifications to the bookmark data to a server over a network. A server gathers bookmark data indicating saved user selected network addresses that the user is capable of selecting to access observable data at the selected network address. A search engine server receives bookmark data gathered from multiple Internet users and determines an importance rating for at least one network address from the received bookmark data. The determined importance rating is included in the search engine index. Further, when executing a search query against the index to determine at least one search result, the search engine server presents the search results ordered according to their importance rating.

A computer-implemented method implemented via the Internet for coordinating a current or future event between a user of a mobile Internet device and other users communicating through the Internet. The method includes receiving the current or future activity information pertaining to the future event from the user via the mobile Internet device. The current activity pertains to an activity occurring at a current time relative to a time the future activity information is received. The future activity pertains to an activity occurring at a future time relative to a time the future activity information is received. The method further includes transmitting the current or future activity information to a backend database coupled to the Internet, the backend database being remote from the mobile Internet device. The method further includes rendering the current or future activity information accessible to at least one recipient via the Internet. The recipient represents a subset of the users coupled to the Internet and having access privilege to information pertaining to the current or future event involving the user.

Embodiments disclosed herein are directed to systems and methods for enabling the matching of third party data with access providers' subscriber data in a privacy compliant manner, and then connecting an internet user to that third party data for use by marketers, content providers, or other interested parties in a manner that protects consumer privacy at all times. In one embodiment, an access provider such as an ISP sends its subscriber data to a double blind processor that generates an encrypted key for each subscriber. The key is then used to find matching consumer data, for example, consumer segments that represent previously collected or modeled consumer attitudinal, habit, or financial data. The key may be forwarded to a real time marketing bureau, which may use the matched data in subsequent real-time or substantially real-time operations to provide consumer or business data to advertisers, content providers, and other interested parties.

A method and system that provide an intuitive user interface and related components for making Internet users aware of Internet cookie-related privacy issues, and enabling users to control Internet privacy through automatic cookie handling. Default privacy settings for handling cookies are provided, and through the user interface, the privacy settings may be customized to a user's liking. Further, through the user interface, for each individual site that forms a page of content, the site's privacy policy may be reviewed and/or the privacy controlled by specifying how cookies from that site are to be handled. To make users aware, the user interface provides an active alert on a first instance of a retrieved web site's content that fails to include satisfactory privacy information, and thereafter, provides a distinctive passive alert to allow the user selective access to privacy information, per-site cookie handling and cookie handling settings.

This invention relates to providing a system for improved methods of promoting, forming and managing Internet-based communities on the Internet through and within standard web pages without requiring the installation of additional software on a user's computer or on web sites where the system is implemented by using the latest software tools, presentation techniques and Internet communication methods. Additionally, this invention provides real time monitoring of user counts to all visitors and web page owners when a page with the embedded URL is accessed. In particular, this invention permits web page visitors to initiate and participate in anonymous ad hoc chat sessions initiated from a selected web page. Additionally, this invention provides a web-based location which permits Internet users to join and participate in Internet-based communities and the related activities such as messaging other members, participating in member chat sessions and web resource sharing without the need to install software.

Systems and methods are provided for automatically generating and maintaining user profile cookie sets. The user profile cookie sets may be used by a web crawler when gathering data such as advertisement data associated with one or more websites. The cookie sets may be generated by choosing a user profile with a set of user traits, selecting a set of websites related to the user traits, and browsing the selected set of websites using a web crawler while allowing the website to place cookies in storage of the web crawler. The cookie sets may be maintained by selecting a website to browse, selecting a user profile associated with the selected website, loading a previously generated cookie set for the selected user profile into the storage of a web crawler, and loading the webpage while allowing the website to place, update, or replace cookies in the storage of the web crawler.

The present invention provides a method and system for providing native language query service for Internet users by using a plurality of search engines. The method of the present invention includes the steps of: (a) receiving at a site an original query request from one user; (b) selecting a suitable search engine; (c) translating said query words of native language into query words of dedicated language of said selected search engine; (d) constructing a new query request directing to said search engine; (e) sending said new query request and receiving a returned query result; (f) sending said query result back to said user as a query result in relation to said original query request.

A method at a clearing house to verify the geographic region of an end user device for receiving encrypted digital content. In one embodiment the geographic region is a country. The method comprising three sub-methods. In the first sub-method the address is verified by determining the credit card clearing address of the end user using an address verification system. In the second sub-method the address is verified by determining the IP address of the end user device requesting delivery of the encrypted digital content. And in the third sub-method the address is verified by checking that the IP address of the end user device requesting delivery of the encrypted digital content is the identical IP address of the end user device requesting a license to use the encrypted digital content. Depending on predetermined system settings, one or more of the above combination of the three sub-methods is then checked, before authorizing the decrypting of the encrypted digital content includes decrypting the encrypted digital content if the address verification system returns an address in a predetermined geographic region and the IP address of the end user device is in a predetermined geographic region.

The invention provides a method for verifying the identity of an internet user, or for detecting the misuse of an identity, during an on-line transaction. The method involves comparing the geographic location of the transaction to the geographic location of the user's cell phone or other mobile device, and taking a geographically close location relationship between the two as a positive indication of identity. Various additional factors are taken into account so as to reduce the incidence of false negatives, and to improve the reliability of positive identifications.

A method and system for assigning ranking scores to Internet users of a networking site and a content site in which the networking site enables each user to become associated with other users as friends and in which the content site enables each user to rate content published by other users includes the following operations. Data indicative of the friends of each user is obtained from the networking site and a network popularity rating is assigned to each user based on this data. Data indicative of the ratings assigned to the published content of the users is obtained from the content site and a content popularity rating is assigned to each user based on this data. A ranking score is assigned to each user based on the network popularity and content popularity ratings of the user. The ranking scores are provided to a third party.

An Internet user transfers directly to a domain within an e-community without returning to a home domain or re-authenticating. The user's home domain server prepares and forwards a home domain identity cookie (DIDC) with an enrollment request to a user's browser, with the enrollment request being redirected to an affiliated domain server in the e-community. The affiliated domain server prepares and sends an affiliated DIDC with an enrollment confirmation to the user's browser, redirecting the enrollment confirmation to the home domain server. The home domain server modifies the home DIDC to include a symbol which indicates successful enrollment at the affiliated site. The process may be repeated for a plurality of affiliated domains to achieve automatic enrollment a portion of or an entire e-community.

Dynamic pricing models which facilitate efficient distribution of digital content online. Particular implementations of the invention dynamically base pricing for digital content on relatively current, aggregated information regarding Internet user behavior and preferences, such as search query and/or page hit logs. Some implementations of the present invention are directed to pricing digital content based on the inherent properties of digital content and the mechanics of how electronic files are typically distributed on the Internet.

A method and system for collecting and using in combination data from information sources in a correlated manner to deliver more relevant and effective advertising is provided. Website owners register with a service provider, submit relevant information about their website and download website analytics software enabling relevant data to be tracked by and transmitted to the service provider's online database. Service provider also collects data from other information sources including an online website exchange, webcrawlers and other software (e.g. toolbars, cookies, javascript) that track the navigation history of individual Internet users and their demographic information. Service provider correlates and analyzes submitted data from some or all of the information sources to determine scores, meaningful ranking and other useful information regarding the efficacy of websites for potential advertisers. Potential advertisers perform search requests on the service provider's database using advertiser-specific parameters to retrieve a portfolio of advertising opportunities that are optimally matched with the advertiser's specifications. The advertisers may edit the results and submit a request via service provider to the one or multiple website owners to implement the portfolio of resulting and/or revised advertising opportunities.

Abstract of the Disclosure The present invention is directed to a method of dynamically controlling and displaying an Internet browser interface, and to a dynamically controllable Internet browser interface. In accordance with the present invention, a browser interface may be customized using a controlling software program that may be provided by an Internet content provider, an ISP, or that may reside on an Internet user's computer. The controlling software program enables the Internet user, the content provider, or the ISP to customize and control the information and/or functionality of a user's browser and browser interface.

Disclosed is a network accessible tool that is capable of providing map and satellite image data, as well as other photographic image data to locate, identify, measure, view, and communicate information about land over the Internet-to-Internet users. The network accessible tool includes a location tool that allows the user to locate areas on a map using geographic names, township, range and section descriptions, county names, latitude and longitude coordinates or zip codes. Network accessible tool also includes a metes and bounds tool that draws boundaries on the map and image data in response to metes and bounds descriptions that have been entered by the Internet user. The network accessible tool also includes a lat/long drawing tool that draws boundaries on the map and image data based upon latitude and longitude coordinate pairs that have been entered by the Internet user. A cursor drawing tool allows the Internet user to draw and edit boundaries on the map and image data by simply clicking the cursor on the corner points of the boundary. An acreage calculation tool is also provided that calculates the acreage of an enclosed boundary. A distance measurement tool is also provided. The cursor information tool provides information relating to the name and creation date of the map and image data in accordance with the location of the cursor on the screen. The information can be communicated by printing, downloading, or e-mailing.