Data processing: database and file management or data structures – Database design – Data structure types
Reexamination Certificate
1997-06-21
2001-08-28
Fetting, Anton W. (Department: 2177)
Data processing: database and file management or data structures
Database design
Data structure types
C707S793000, C707S793000, C707S793000, C707S793000, C707S793000, C709S219000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06282548
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This application relates to the World Wide Web and, specifically, to a method and apparatus for augmenting a web page currently displayed by browser software with metadata relating to the displayed web page.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In recent years, use of the Internet and the World Wide Web has increased greatly. Users having access to a computer, television access device, or some similar interface, can “browse” the web, viewing whatever information they choose. (This is usually done with a software program called a “browser”). As the web becomes more popular, however, the number of web pages has proliferated to the point that users often have a problem finding the information that they need or want.
Although the web has finally grown large enough to have information that is useful to many people, web users are frustrated. Information is difficult to find and the time required to view certain “slow” pages, which take a long time to load, is often unacceptable to users. In an attempt to address these frustrations, new types of services have arisen. For example, search engines and customized news filters have attracted millions of users. These services are generally free to users and are supported by advertising.
The existing approaches to delivering services on the Internet are inherently limited. Site-based services, such as search engines, rely on the user visiting their web site and “ping ponging” between their page and the pages the users may be interested in. “Server push” information delivery systems, such as filtered news services, suffer from the fact that they can select from only a small subset of the information available.
Currently, advertisers select web pages that they believe their target audience is likely to visit. For example, a luxury car company may advertise on a web site likely to be visited by high-income consumers. Alternately, certain web sties have tried to “target” their advertising based on the interests of the user. For example, certain search engine sites display different advertising for different users, depending on the search terms entered by the users. Thus, if a user enters the search term “car,” the site displays ads targeted to car customers. One problem with such targeted advertising is that advertisers must still decide on which web sites to place their ads. Furthermore, the advertisers must decide which search terms are likely to be entered by their potential customers. Such targeted advertising is inexact at best. More importantly, many sites simply do not accept advertising. A car manufacturer's web site, for example, would not accept an ad from one of its competitors.
Another way of targeting advertising is for third-party advertising clearinghouses to develop a profile of a particular user visiting an affiliated web site, through instrumenting the web server software for the site. In this approach, when the user first visits a web site running this augmented server software, the server requests that the user's browser software permanently record an identifying string of characters (called a “cookie”) in a file local to the user's personal computer. The server then records each web page visited on that site by the user and associates this usage trail with the cookie. The server software can then customize content (including advertising content) according to the interests evinced by the user's habits. Servers of different web sites all running this augmented software can pool data through the clearinghouse. The weakness of this approach is that it is only as useful as the fraction of servers running the augmented server software. The benefit to the user occurs only for a small percentage of his/her browsing experience.
In summary, the present structures for delivering web services are inadequate for both users and advertisers. Users need help in navigating the vast amount of information available on the web. What is needed is a way for users to see a “metaview” of available information and to be able to find the information that addresses their specific needs.
Advertisers, on the other hand, need a way to target users more specifically, without having to restrict their ad placement to the subset of sites willing to accept their advertising.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention overcomes the problems and disadvantages of the prior art by maintaining a collection of metadata for web sites and for pages within the web sites. Client software runs concurrently with the browser and displays metadata for the web page being viewed by a user. A preferred embodiment of the present invention interfaces with a database server that maintains a regularly updated database of substantially all public web pages on the world wide web. In addition to the web archive itself, the database server also maintains various metadata information about some or all of the archived web sites and pages. This metadata includes changeable lists of related web pages (“Where to go next” information) and information about specific sites (“Where you are” information). The metadata also preferably includes identification of advertisements (or specially indicated links) that advertisers have paid to have associated with particular web pages or with particular groups or classes of web site. The database server also maintains usage trails for users, which reflect, for example, general statistics on numbers of visits per site.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a user computer (or other network access device) contains conventional browser software (hereinafter called a “browser”) and specially-built client software (hereinafter called a “client”) that interfaces with the browser. Preferably, the client is able to interface with the browser without altering the browser.
When a user, via the browser, asks to view a web page, the client software detects the request (or is notified of the request by the browser). While the web browser is communicating with a web server to obtain the requested web page, the client communicates with the database server to obtain metadata about the requested page. After the browser receives its requested information from the web server, it displays the requested web page in a conventional manner. The client then displays its received metadata on the same display as the web page, and concurrently with the web page. Thus, the user can view the web page and metadata about the web page at the same time. A preferred embodiment of the present invention opens a button bar in conjunction with the web page display. This button bar allows the user to view various portions of the metadata for the displayed web page in greater detail.
It is understood that while the preferred embodiment of the invention describes the web as using the current public standards for serving, transporting, and displaying information, this in no way limits the scope of the invention to those current standards. For example, the web currently uses free-standing applications known as browsers to format and present information on a display, but in the future, the functionality of the browser may become absorbed by the operating system. This scope of this invention is understood to cover such cases.
In accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the invention relates to a method of presenting information that augments the information on a web page being displayed on a display device by a browser, comprising the steps, performed by a data processing system, of: receiving information identifying the web page to be displayed; sending, to a metadata server, a request for metadata in accordance with the received information; and displaying, on the same display device as the web page and concurrently with the web page, metadata received in response to the request.
In further accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the invention relates to a data structure in a memory of a metadata server, comprising: a hierarchy of information, where
Burner Michael G.
Gilliat Bruce C.
Jaquith Eric W.
Kahle Brewster
Marvit David L.
Alexa Internet
Channavajjala Srirama
Fenwick & West LLP
Fetting Anton W.
LandOfFree
Automatically generate and displaying metadata as... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Automatically generate and displaying metadata as..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Automatically generate and displaying metadata as... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2496967