Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090006442 | ENHANCED BROWSING EXPERIENCE IN SOCIAL BOOKMARKING BASED ON SELF TAGS - Improved browsing experience in social bookmarking by leveraging aspects of self tagging and prediction. Quality recommendations are provided for sites of interest to the user and information about what types of people like the current website. Self-tagging is used as an effective means to perform personalized searches. Machine learning and reasoning is employed to predict self-tags based on a website visited and/or website behavior, and self-tags associated with a website and/or webpage based on content of that website and/or webpage. The architecture can be embodied as a browser utility to leverage and extend social-bookmarking information. The utility facilitates the display of information related to a summary view of the users who liked/disliked the current page or website, a tag cloud associated with webpages, and a recommendation button that causes self-tag recommendations to be displayed and that recommends links based on the combination of user tags and content. | 01-01-2009 |
20090054123 | INFORMATION COLLECTION DURING GAME PLAY - Systems and methods allow an on-line game to extract information relevant to a specific need of a game platform or service platform. The specific need relates to management and use of digital content, and is addressed by designing and playing an on-line collaborative game. The rules of the game intend to solve a specific task dictated by the specific need. Players' responses to the game generate a wealth of information related to a specific task objective, such as ranking, sorting, and evaluating a set of digital content items. To compel participation in a game, players can be rewarded with monetary value rewards. As a game illustration, an image selection game (ISG) that exploits human contextual inference is described in detail. The information extracted from ISG is a list of key-image associations, relevant for the task of image sorting and ranking. | 02-26-2009 |
20090094105 | CONTENT EMBEDDED TOOLTIP ADVERTISING - Contextual advertisements embedded within content having tooltip type display functionality are provided where content can be evaluated for possible points for insertion of the advertisements. The content can be evaluated against a list of trigger points indicating advertisement should be inserted along with instructions to embed the advertisements. Using this information, the content can be modified to embed appropriate advertising. Upon returning the content, a viewer thereof can view the content normally, but certain events with respect to the trigger points can cause tooltip type display of the advertisement (such as hovering a cursor over the trigger point). In this regard, trigger points, such as keywords, having associated pop-up advertisements can be underlined or otherwise identified. | 04-09-2009 |
20090144238 | HIDE AND SEEK GAME TO ELICIT HUMAN INPUT - A hide and seek style game is utilized to elicit human input for use in improving search. Content (e.g., text, image, audio, video . . . ) is uniquely identified and revealed to users. Queries are then specified by users in an attempt to locate the content. In addition to utilizing these queries to return results for the game, the queries, and/or query-derived information, can also be employed to improve search engine retrieval and relevancy, among other things. | 06-04-2009 |
20090186694 | VIRTUAL WORLD PLATFORM GAMES CONSTRUCTED FROM DIGITAL IMAGERY - An interactive game within a virtual world platform is provided wherein a sender can hide an object within a mapping application. An intended recipient of the object can be notified that the object is available and a clue can be provided. The clue can direct the recipient in searching for where the object is hidden. The objects can be intended for a single recipient, multiple recipients, or open to everyone on a first-come-first-served basis. The objects can be stolen by others and/or the objects can be re-gifted after being found. After being found, the virtual object can be automatically or manually converted into a non-virtual object. | 07-23-2009 |
20090210287 | ADVERTISEMENT SPACE ALLOCATION - A user utility function is implemented in allocating advertisement space to one or more potential advertisers. The user utility function allows advertisement space to be allocated based upon, among other things, the expected utility or usefulness that a proposed advertisement will have to a user. The user utility function, for example, compares proposed advertisements to historical user actions to generate respective user utility values for advertisements (e.g., based upon user responses to advertisements for particular types of product, responses to advertisements from particular types of sellers, etc.). The user utility values can then be applied to bids submitted by advertisers for advertisement space for particular advertisements to obtain modified bids. The modified bids thus reflect, among other things, the expected utility of an advertisement to a user, and thus allow an advertisement host to allocate advertisement space accordingly. | 08-20-2009 |
20090271389 | PREFERENCE JUDGEMENTS FOR RELEVANCE - The claimed subject matter provides a system that trains or evaluates ranking techniques by employing or obtaining relative preference judgments. The system can include mechanisms that retrieve a set of documents from a storage device, combine the set of documents with a query orjudgment task received via an interface to form a comparative selection panel, and present the comparative selection panel for evaluation by an assessor. The system further requests the assessor to make a selection as to which document included in the set of documents and presented in the comparative selection panel most satisfies the query or judgment task, and thereafter produces a comparative assessment of the set of documents based on the selections elicited from the assessor and associated with the set of documents. | 10-29-2009 |
20100162357 | IMAGE-BASED HUMAN INTERACTIVE PROOFS - This document describes image-based human interactive proofs (HIPs). In some cases these proofs may be used when a browser at a client is used to access resources from a web server. Before access to the resources is enabled, the client can be challenged by the web server with an image-based puzzle. The image-based puzzle is configured to enable distinctions to be made between human input and non-human input. Input to answer the image-based puzzle can be formed via the client and communicated to the web server. The web server receives the input from the client and selectively enables client access to the resources based upon the input. In at least some embodiments, the web server can make use of a community database that stores client answers to image-based puzzles to assist in distinguishing between human input and non-human input. | 06-24-2010 |
20100178985 | ARRANGEMENT FOR BUILDING AND OPERATING HUMAN-COMPUTATION AND OTHER GAMES - A game description language is provided for human computation games, as well as a game platform or generator component that can generate the code base for the game. The game description language and schema framework can be used to represent the game logic and synchronization patterns of a human computation game. The automated code generation tool takes a file, e.g., a file made from the above game description language, or the like, as an input and generates a code base for the corresponding human computation game. These tools allow a prototype of a human computation game to be generated within minutes. | 07-15-2010 |
20110234594 | GRAPH CLUSTERING - Various embodiments provide techniques for graph clustering. In one or more embodiments, a participation graph is obtained that represents relationships between entities. An auxiliary graph is constructed based on the participation graph. The auxiliary graph may be constructed such that the auxiliary graph is less dense than the participation graph and is therefore computationally less complex to analyze. Clusters in the auxiliary graph are determined by solving an objective function defined for the auxiliary graph. Clusters determined for the auxiliary graph may then be utilized to ascertain clusters in the participation graph that solve a related objective function defined for the participation graph. | 09-29-2011 |
20110238490 | AUCTION FLIGHTING - Various embodiments provide techniques for auction flighting. In one or more embodiments, a control group and a test group are designated for participants who compete one to another in online auctions. An inclusive model may then be employed for testing of new conditions for auctions using the groups. In particular, multiple auctions can be conducted and/or simulated, such that control conditions are applied in auctions that do not include at least one member of the test group, and test conditions are applied in auctions having members from both the test group and the control group. A response to the test conditions can then be measured by analyzing behaviors of the participants in the auctions conducted with the control conditions in comparison to behaviors of participants in the auctions conducted with the test conditions. | 09-29-2011 |
20110238491 | SUGGESTING KEYWORD EXPANSIONS FOR ADVERTISEMENT SELECTION - Methods and computer-readable media are provided for receiving keyword expansions from expansion providers and selecting a set of keyword expansions that are used for advertisement selection. Keyword expansions that correspond to a particular search query or text from a browsed web page are received from an expansion provider. Feature data is extracted from each keyword expansion, and may include properties of the keyword expansion or the expansion provider. A score is assigned to each keyword expansion, and based on the score, a set of keyword expansions is selected from the keyword expansions received from the expansion provider. The set of keyword expansions is used to select relevant advertisements for presentation to the user. | 09-29-2011 |
20110246312 | ADVERTISEMENT INVENTORY MATCHING - Various embodiments provide techniques for advertisement inventory. In at least some embodiments, a scaled number of impressions can be matched to orders that have scaled impression goals. Impressions can be randomly selected from an offline traffic model and allocated to orders according to a matching algorithm until a number of impression defined by a scale factor is reached. This can occur by sampling the traffic model directly using the scale factor and/or by creating a scaled data set to which the matching algorithm can be applied. The matching algorithm can be configured to identify an order that is farthest away from being complete and then match the randomly selected impression to the identified order. If the scaled orders in the data set can be fulfilled using the scaled number of impressions, a conclusion is made that the original set of orders can be fulfilled using the original impressions. | 10-06-2011 |
20110251889 | INVENTORY CLUSTERING - Various embodiments provide techniques for inventory clustering. In one or more embodiments, a set of inventory to be processed is placed into an initial cluster. The inventory can be related to impressions for advertising that are defined by values for a set of attributes. Recursive division of the initial cluster is performed by selecting an attribute and deriving child clusters that are constrained by one or more values of the attributes in accordance with one or more clustering algorithms. The clustering algorithms are configured to derive an optimum number of clusters by repetitively generating smaller child clusters and measuring a cost associated with adding additional clusters. Additional child clusters can be formed in this manner until the measured cost to add more clusters outweighs a benefit of adding more clusters. | 10-13-2011 |
20110258045 | INVENTORY MANAGEMENT - Various embodiments provide techniques for inventory management. In one or more embodiments, a probabilistic model is constructed to represent an inventory of ad impressions available from a service provider. The probabilistic model can be based on a traffic model that describes historic interaction of clients with the service provider using various attributes that define the ad impressions. The probabilistic model provides a distribution of the attributes and relates the attributes one to another based on dependencies. When an order from an advertiser for ad impressions is booked by the service provider, the probabilistic model is updated to reflect an expected probabilistic decrease in the inventory of ad impressions. The updated probabilistic model can then be employed to determine whether the inventory of ad impressions is sufficient to book subsequent orders for ad impressions. | 10-20-2011 |
20120130820 | PROVIDING ALTERNATIVE CONTENT IN A WINDOWED ENVIRONMENT - Embodiments of the invention relate to an architecture or extension to a window manager. In particular, the extension can provide for a window rotation feature that can be exposed as a rotate button. Additionally or alternatively, the rotation feature can be activated based upon a diverse set of conditions, events, and/or commands. Upon activation of the rotation feature, the window manager can rotate a window about an axis to expose a secondary surface that can be populated with alternative content that is distinct from the content of the primary surface of the window. In addition, the architecture provides techniques for identifying both double-sided graphical objects and potentially double-sided objects. | 05-24-2012 |
20120135809 | ARRANGEMENT FOR BUILDING AND OPERATING HUMAN-COMPUTATION AND OTHER GAMES - A game description language is provided for human computation games, as well as a game platform or generator component that can generate the code base for the game. The game description language and schema framework can be used to represent the game logic and synchronization patterns of a human computation game. The automated code generation tool takes a file, e.g., a file made from the above game description language, or the like, as an input and generates a code base for the corresponding human computation game. These tools allow a prototype of a human computation game to be generated within minutes. | 05-31-2012 |
20120268489 | PROVIDING ALTERNATIVE CONTENT IN A WINDOWED ENVIRONMENT - Embodiments of the invention relate to an architecture or extension to a window manager. In particular, the extension can provide for a window rotation feature that can be exposed as a rotate button. Additionally or alternatively, the rotation feature can be activated based upon a diverse set of conditions, events, and/or commands. Upon activation of the rotation feature, the window manager can rotate a window about an axis to expose a secondary surface that can be populated with alternative content that is distinct from the content of the primary surface of the window. In addition, the architecture provides techniques for identifying both double-sided graphical objects and potentially double-sided objects. | 10-25-2012 |
20130238378 | MANAGING RESOURCES USING RESOURCE MODIFIERS - Systems, methods, and computer-storage media are provided for employing environment and resource data to facilitate management of shopper traffic and resource allocation. Shopper traffic information is received from environmental sensors located in or nearby a business establishment. Resource information associated with the business establishment is also received. A traffic modifier is determined based on the shopper traffic information and the resource information; the traffic modifier is used to influence the behavior of shoppers with respect to the business establishment. As well, a resource modifier for the business establishment is also determined based on a projected result of dissemination of the traffic modifier. | 09-12-2013 |