Real world behavior measurement using identifiers specific to mobile devices

Abstract

Methods and systems are disclosed herein for determining real world behavior from proximity-time measurements of a user carrying a personal device and a wireless device identifier. Determining real world behavior and managing usage profiles associated with the real world behavior can be enhanced by the use of GPS location data derived from the personal device, another network enabled device, a wireless device identifier, and the like.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of the following U.S. Provisional Applications, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety: U.S. Prov. App. No. 61 / 022,483 filed on Jan. 21, 2008 and U.S. Prov. App. No. 61 / 030,214 filed on Feb. 20, 2008.[0002]This application is a continuation-in-part of the following U.S. Applications, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety: U.S. application Ser. No. 11 / 855,122 filed Sep. 13, 2007 which claims the benefit of U.S. Prov. App. No. 60 / 825,708 filed Sep. 14, 2006; U.S. application Ser. No. 11 / 855,685 filed Sep. 14, 2007; U.S. application Ser. No. 11 / 855,811 filed Sep. 14, 2007; U.S. application Ser. No. 11 / 855,820 filed Sep. 14, 2007; and U.S. application Ser. No. 11 / 925,967 filed Oct. 28, 2007.[0003]This application claims priority to international patent application Ser. No. PCT / US07 / 78519 filed Sep. 14, 2007.BACKGROUND[0004]1. Field[0005]This application...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The patent text describes methods and systems for delivering content to various network-connected devices, such as televisions and radios, based on the user's usage of those devices. The systems use a user profile that is derived from the user's interactions with network content to target advertisements and other content to the user. The user profile can be associated with a mobile device owned by the user, and the system can track the user's activity across different devices and use that information to create a more comprehensive profile of the user's activities. This allows for more targeted advertisements and content to be delivered to the user, based on their individual preferences and activities. The use of short-distance wireless technologies, such as Bluetooth or WiFi, can also be used to determine the user's proximity to the screen and use that information for various purposes, such as tracking what the user is watching or managing the content they can access on the screen. Overall, the methods and systems described in the patent text provide a more effective and targeted way to deliver content to users."

Problems solved by technology

Such content-targeting methods face various challenges, depending on the users and devices to which content is targeted.

Internet advertisements targeting a user may be based on data stored on a user's network-connected device that corresponds to sets of information that indicate that a user is returning to a particular site, but targeting based on this and similar mechanisms are subject to limitations, among them being that multiple users may access the Internet through the same device.

Mobile content may be targeted more easily to a specific user, such as based on information about the user in a database maintained by a wireless carrier or based on the user's interaction with content on the mobile handset, but the more limited range of content that is typically accessed by mobile devices means that profiles based on that usage are often targeting limited and sometimes misleading.

As a result of mobile carriers dealing with rapidly decaying voice revenue and as even the margins on Internet data connection rates are becoming hyper-competitive, mobile carriers are rapidly seeking ways to monetize their high subscriber penetrations through advertising.

Starting with a fixed position, or multi-user device, such as a PC, a television, or other stationary Internet-enabled device presents user identification challenges that the mobile handset does not.

These challenges are mainly rooted on the basis that such devices may, and often, have multiple regular users.

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