Ad Sharing Instrumentation Code for Social Network Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Legacy APIs in online social networks lack the capability to effectively track user-initiated sharing activities, making it difficult for marketers and publishers to measure the effectiveness of social sharing on content and advertising, which hinders campaign optimization.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus for automatically tracking sharing behavior by incorporating a sharing component within authoring/publishing tools that instruments pre-sharing and post-sharing activities without requiring explicit action or API support from the website operator, using ad sharing and instrumentation code to capture and report user-initiated sharing events.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If legacy APIs are used for sharing, then sharing functionality is provided, but tracking capability for measuring sharing effectiveness is lacking
Solution Approach 1:
The patent embeds tracking code within the shared content itself (images, videos, documents). The tracking code is nested inside the content that users share, allowing automatic tracking when the content is viewed or interacted with on the destination website. This resolves the contradiction by providing measurement capability without requiring complex external API integration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a tracking code as an intermediary element between the sharing action and the measurement system. This tracking code acts as a mediator that captures sharing events and transmits measurement data back to the system, enabling effective measurement without direct complex API connections between the social network and the measurement system.
2Measurement precision
If manual tracking implementation is required, then measurement capability can be achieved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The sharing component automatically instruments pre-sharing and post-sharing activities without requiring explicit action or data sharing by the user or website operator. The system self-configures and self-implements tracking by embedding the tracking code within the sharing functionality itself, eliminating the need for manual tracking implementation while maintaining measurement precision.
3Measurement precision
If explicit API support is required from website operators, then tracking can be implemented, but ease of operation worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The sharing component performs automatic instrumentation of sharing behavior without requiring any explicit action, data sharing, or API configuration by the website operator. The tracking code is embedded within the sharing component itself and automatically executes when sharing occurs, making the system self-sufficient and eliminating operator burden.
Solution Approach 2:
The tracking code embedded in the sharing component is universally applicable across different websites and sharing platforms. It functions as a multi-functional element that simultaneously enables sharing and tracking without requiring website-specific customization or operator intervention, resolving the contradiction between measurement precision and ease of operation.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer-implemented method, advertising network, and computer readable medium for measuring ad performance metrics after user-initiated sharing activity at a website. The method commences by receiving an original internet ad, the original internet ad for hosting within a website (e.g. a social networking website), then recoding the original internet ad (also for hosting within a website) wherein the recoded sharable internet ad comprises ad sharing and instrumentation code for capturing, tracking and later reporting various user-initiated sharing activities by measuring online events using the ad sharing and instrumentation code (i.e. the online events being in response to user-initiated sharing activity) without requiring any explicit action to be provided by the website operator. In some cases, the measured event occurs in the form of expanding an ad, clicking a request to share, printing a coupon, or performing an online conversion action. The ad can comprise any forms of internet media.