JP2010516005A - System and method for accessing and displaying interactive content and advertisements - Google Patents

Abstract

A system and method for accessing personal information and displaying personal information with advertisements, software applications, or the like. The system and method retrieves a unique identifier and pointer from a memory device, retrieves a redirect pointer from a pointer table corresponding to the retrieved unique identifier and pointer, and executes the retrieved redirect pointer. And launching the software application to display the first content and displaying the second content and / or the advertisement together with the first content.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates generally to accessing specific data, and more specifically to a system and method for accessing personal online information with advertisements.

  This application is a non-provisional US patent application Ser. No. 11 / 836,072 filed Aug. 8, 2007 entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ACCESSING AND”. DISPLAYING INTERACTIVE CONTENT AND ADVERTISING), the non-provisional patent application was filed in US Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 884,845, “Advertising Personal Online Information”, filed January 12, 2007. The benefit of the filing date of “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ACCESSING PERSONAL ON-LINE INFORMATION WITH ADVERTISEMENT” is claimed, and the entire contents of the provisional patent application are incorporated herein by reference.

  Multimedia and other data content is typically distributed on storage media such as USB sticks, CDs, VCDs, or DVDs and traditionally viewed on televisions, monitors, personal computers, and the like. The Internet has added the ability to locate content through uniform resource locators (URLs). Normally, data, audio, and video stored in a specific medium are compiled in a hierarchical menu and can be selectively accessed. However, World Wide Web (WWW) content is often stored in two or more locations and stored in one type of storage medium. Thus, to provide a complete user experience, relevant content is first identified and selectively accessed using an appropriate media player or storage device before the user is presented with the content. I have to make it.

  Advertising on the Internet is a source of revenue for growing websites and companies. The use of rich media and still images is particularly preferred for Internet advertising (online advertising). Rich media advertisements are generally advertisements using Macromedia Flash (trademark) and are becoming increasingly popular. Rich media advertising uses color, figurative depictions, page layouts, and other elements that draw reader attention. An example of the rich media advertisement is “banner advertisement”. Banner advertisements are typically standard images displayed on a website. Banner advertisements are sent in many sizes, but are often rectangular. In addition, streaming video or streaming video is gaining popularity among advertisers.

  An ad server is typically a computer server that stores advertisements and delivers (provides) them to people who visit the website. Advertising servers typically include a local advertising server and a third party or remote advertising server. Local ad servers are typically run by a single publisher, serving ads to the publisher's domain, allowing customization, creative formatting, and content regulation by a specific publisher. . Remote advertisement servers typically serve advertisements across multiple domains owned by several publishers. Remote advertising servers allow advertisers and publishers to track the distribution of their online advertisements and have a centralized location to control the rotation and distribution of their advertisements on the web Advertising is sent from one central source.

  In addition, affiliate marketing on the Internet allows advertisers to extract specific creative elements to potentially many small publishers, or if the market generates sales or other revenue, It is a form of advertising on the Internet that allows such elements to be offered in exchange for payment to such markets.

US Non-Provisional Patent Application No. 11 / 836,072 US Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 884,845

  In some embodiments, the present invention is a system and method for accessing and displaying information. The system and method retrieves a unique identifier and pointer from a memory device, retrieves a redirect pointer from a pointer table corresponding to the retrieved unique identifier and pointer, and executes the retrieved redirect pointer. Launching a software application and displaying the content, selecting an advertisement from the advertisement database in response to the retrieved unique identifier, and displaying the selected advertisement with the content. Yes.

  In some embodiments, the present invention is a system and method for accessing and displaying information. The system and method retrieves a unique identifier and pointer from a memory device, retrieves a redirect pointer from a pointer table corresponding to the retrieved unique identifier and pointer, and executes the retrieved redirect pointer. And displaying the first content and displaying the second content together with the first content corresponding to the retrieved unique identifier.

  In some embodiments, the memory device is coupled to a PC, PDA, mobile phone, iPod (trademark), game machine, pocket PC, or the like. Furthermore, the memory device may have or be embedded in an object having an appearance that is configured for a theme that is relevant to the content that the memory device points to. The memory device may include one or more switches for selecting one or more unique identifiers and / or for selecting one or more unique pointers.

  In some embodiments, the memory device is linked (or connected) to the second memory device in order to export the unique identifier (s) to the second memory device.

  In some embodiments, the software application launches a second application, game, website, song, etc.

1 is an exemplary block diagram of a system operating in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary memory device that includes one or more identifiers and one or more pointers, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 4 is an exemplary flow diagram according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 3 is an exemplary block diagram depicting a creation process of a pointer embedded in a memory device, according to one embodiment of the invention. Fig. 4 illustrates an exemplary process flow for creating a user in a server, according to one embodiment of the invention. FIG. 3 depicts two simplified handshake protocols for modifying or launching content between a memory device and a computer according to some embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 3 depicts two simplified handshake protocols for modifying or launching content between a memory device and a computer according to some embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an exemplary process flow diagram illustrating a basic server-side process for receiving and executing a pointer according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an exemplary block diagram depicting a search process for content pointed to by a pointer embedded in a memory device, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a more detailed exemplary process for selecting a pointer source, according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 5 is a more detailed exemplary process for applying pointer source permissions according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an exemplary process flow for executing a pointer payload processor, according to one embodiment of the invention. 2 is an exemplary process flow for executing a pointer payload processor, according to one embodiment of the invention. 2 is an exemplary process flow for executing a pointer payload processor, according to one embodiment of the invention. FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary data table for batches, group permissions, overrides, pointers, users, user groups, groups, processors, and processor properties, according to one embodiment of the invention. FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary data table for batches, group permissions, overrides, pointers, users, user groups, groups, processors, and processor properties, according to one embodiment of the invention. FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary data table for batches, group permissions, overrides, pointers, users, user groups, groups, processors, and processor properties, according to one embodiment of the invention. FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary data table for batches, group permissions, overrides, pointers, users, user groups, groups, processors, and processor properties, according to one embodiment of the invention. FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary data table for batches, group permissions, overrides, pointers, users, user groups, groups, processors, and processor properties, according to one embodiment of the invention. FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary data table for batches, group permissions, overrides, pointers, users, user groups, groups, processors, and processor properties, according to one embodiment of the invention. FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary data table for batches, group permissions, overrides, pointers, users, user groups, groups, processors, and processor properties, according to one embodiment of the invention. FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary data table for batches, group permissions, overrides, pointers, users, user groups, groups, processors, and processor properties, according to one embodiment of the invention. FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary data table for batches, group permissions, overrides, pointers, users, user groups, groups, processors, and processor properties, according to one embodiment of the invention. FIG. 5 is a more detailed representative process for performing a pointer payload process according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary process for selecting an advertising banner, according to one embodiment of the present invention. A representative batch process is shown. A representative batch process is shown. A representative batch process using an override is shown. A representative batch process using an override is shown.

  In one embodiment, the system of the present invention is adapted to a theme that is inserted into a port (eg, USB port) of a computer device, eg, a PC, pocket PC, mobile phone, iPOD ™, game console, etc. A memory device configured as described above. The memory device is configured according to the theme (or installed in an object configured according to the theme), heart, phone, character, animal, toy, greeting card (or component thereof), bracelet or necklace. It is economically designed into a wide variety of interesting shapes or expressions, such as wears like rings and rings, soft drink bottles, soccer balls, or flags. Memory devices can be used many times and are designed to be used between friends and business associates.

  In one embodiment, a memory device configured for a theme has an attached driver, one or more unique identifiers (UIDs), and one or more pointers embedded on the chip with software. Including a memory chip. One and / or more UIDs and pointers may be adapted to call one or more specific websites and / or launch one or more specific applications.

  In one embodiment, a theme-configured memory device is associated with a website (eg, myclickable.com ™), which allows a user (device owner) to function as a device. Allows downloading of widgets or similar interface applications that increase the functionality. A widget (or control) is typically a user interface that allows a user to interact, such as a window or text box.

  A memory device configured for a theme, when inserted into a port, automatically directs the user's web browser to a pre-designated website. In one embodiment, the pre-designated website provides an advertisement, such as a banner advertisement, which is displayed with content pointed to by a pointer embedded in the memory device. The In one embodiment, the advertisement is displayed using a web page surrounded by a frame displaying content. Advertisements can be modified by the user or provided based on sponsorship relationships.

  Some embodiments may display a software application or second content instead of or in addition to the advertisement. In one embodiment, the number of impressions and clicks for an advertisement or content is stored and made available for determining additional user demographic information that can be tracked and reported.

  In one embodiment, the desktop application reads one or more unique identifiers (UIDs) and one or more pointers from the memory device. Based on the UID (s) and / or pointer (s), the desktop application retrieves the redirect pointer from the pointer database (table). The desktop application then executes the redirect pointer to launch the software application. The desktop application then displays the results of the launched software application along with some advertisements selected from a number of different advertisements. These advertisements include predetermined content and may be displayed randomly or based on different criteria.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system 20 that operates in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The system includes a processor 25 represented by a dotted line. The processor illustratively includes various I / O modules 35, 36, 37,. . . 38, a connection / communication protocol software 33, and a computer having a CPU 30 and a memory 31 each having a local storage device 34. The local storage device 34 can be made resident in the memory 31. It has become.

  Local PC storage media, removable storage media, cyberspace storage media, and other storage media, various storage media 21, 22, 23,. . . 24 is operating under the control of connection / communication protocol software. Similarly, various I / O devices 26, 27, 28,. . . 29 includes I / O modules 35, 36, 37,. . . 38, each connected.

  FIG. 2 shows one or more identifiers UI1,. . . UIm and a plurality of pointers P1,. . . 1 is a schematic diagram of a memory device 200 having Pn. FIG. The memory device includes one or more switches represented by 201 and 203. The switch (s) 201 is operated by the user to select a specific pointer, and the switch (s) 203 is operated by the user to select a specific identifier. Thus, in the embodiment of FIG. 2, the user can selectively choose one or more identifiers and one or more pointers. The memory device 200 of FIG. 2 may be used to access a system, eg, the system of FIG. The memory device is read by a reader such as I / O device 26 of FIG. 1 and software 33 of FIG. 1 and responds as described in connection with the flow of FIG.

  When the memory device is read by the reader or software application, the software application is invoked as shown at 300 in FIG. As shown at 302, the identifier (UID or UI) in the memory device is read. If an identifier UID (in this document, UI and UID are used interchangeably, meaning the same) is already stored in the system, the identifier is authenticated at 304. At block 308, the memory device pointer (P) can then be linked (for retrieval) to the profile address where the location of the file associated with the identifier is stored. At block 310, the profile address is retrieved from a remote database or locally. The file / content addressed by the profile is then accessed and executed, as indicated at 311.

  In one embodiment, the systems and methods of the present invention create one or more pointers that are embedded in the device. FIG. 4 is an exemplary depiction of creating a pointer that will be embedded in a theme-configured memory device, ie, programming the memory device, according to one embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram. The pointer creation process includes a desktop application 41 that can access the Internet, a server 42, and a connection partner device 43. In order to demonstrate the functionality of the present invention illustratively, a USB memory device (dongle) was used as an example of a memory device configured for a theme, but can be easily understood by those skilled in the art of computer memory technology. As described above, the memory device is not limited to a tongle and may include different types of plug-type memory devices.

  An exemplary process for creating and embedding one or more pointers in a memory device will now be described. Initially, a valid custom URL 44, eg, a simple web page link, is manually typed in by the user, or a URL previously retrieved by the server but not seen by the user. The desktop application then requests a pointer from the server and passes the custom URL as one of the parameters 44. The server then adds the custom URL 45 to the pointer database 46 and returns a pointer 47 to the custom URL to the desktop application 41. In one embodiment, the returned pointer includes additional embedded tags that can modify the presentation of search data pointed to by the pointer. The pointer returned to the client application is then stored 48 in a memory device 43 configured for the connected (USB) theme. The same pointer is further written to a memory device configured for any number of themes, whatever the number.

  FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary process flow for creating a user in a server, according to one embodiment of the present invention. The memory device is connected to the reader, and the UID and pointer are passed to the server 51. The server receives the pointer (52) and reads the pointer to see if there is a preference (54) such as owner modifiable, public modifiable, secure modifiable, read only or writable. Confirm (53). If the pointer is writable (55), the pointer is sent to the desktop application and the pointer field is written (56).

  In one embodiment, the handshake protocol procedure proceeds when the memory device is connected to a port on the computer device. 6A and 6B depict two simplified handshake protocols for modifying or launching content between a memory device and a computer, according to some embodiments of the present invention. In FIG. 6A, when a memory device is connected to a computer port (61), the device registers itself (62) and identifies itself as a keyboard or communication (COMM) device (63). For example, application software may be downloaded, or a specific redirect pointer stored in the apparatus may be automatically started.

  Next, in FIG. 6B, when the memory device is connected to a port of the computer (61B), the device waits for a presence signal from the computer (65), and upon receipt of the signal, the device receives the UID and The pointer is sent to the computer (desktop application) (67). The desktop application then controls the redirect pointer as shown at block 68. If the memory device does not receive a presence signal from the computer, it behaves as a keyboard and sends a command string to the computer to launch an application, eg, a browser, as shown at block 69. The presence signal may be inquired from the server, from the local computer, or from the memory device itself.

  FIG. 7 is an exemplary process flow diagram illustrating a basic server process for receiving and executing pointers according to one embodiment of the present invention. At block 72, the server receives the UID and pointer from a memory device configured for the theme. The server then selects a pointer source from the pointer database at block 74. A more detailed representative process for selecting a pointer source is shown in FIG. The server then applies pointer source permissions from the pointer database, if applicable, at block 76. A more detailed representative process for applying pointer source permissions according to one embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. At block 78, the server then executes a pointer payload process to execute the pointer, for example, launching an application or game, visiting a website, playing a song, etc. A more detailed representative process for performing the pointer payload process according to one embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG.

  FIG. 8 is an exemplary block diagram depicting a search process for content pointed to by a pointer embedded in a device configured for a theme, according to one embodiment of the present invention. First, the user connects the memory device 81 configured in accordance with the theme, for example, to the PC 82 including the web browser 82a. In response, the PC launches a web browser program and instructs the web browser to connect to a predetermined server 84 (eg, Myclickable.com (trademark) server). The server acquires the UID (s) and the pointer (s) 83 from the memory device, and based on the acquired UID (s) and pointers, the pointer database 86 (redirect) URL 85 is retrieved. The server further extracts any tags that may have an embedded pointer 83a. Using the URL and tag (if there is such a tag), the server then returns a redirect pointer 85. A tracking (statistical) database 87 directed to the UID 83b stores all relevant information about the user and usage of the content and / or advertisements (if any).

  In one embodiment, web-based content is displayed using a horizontal banner 82b, for example, in a locked web frame at the top of the browser window. Web banner content source and tracking can be associated with multiple UID batches (described below) and / or a single UID batch. There are no restrictions on the type and format of the web banner content, so various advertising services, content, and / or software applications that can be executed via a browser can be used and followed.

  In one embodiment, the advertisement is stored on the server as a text block that is inserted into the banner frame document when the banner frame is provided to the user. The text block contains valid HTML or JavaScript for rendering the advertisement. Examples of advertisements include advertisements that are as simple as a linked image reference, or advertisements that are as complex as a javascript game (if such a medium exists) ) Can be stored on the issuing server, some other remote server, or an edge caching server. The media URL (s) are included in the advertising text block.

  Although some exemplary embodiments of the present invention disclose selecting an advertisement and displaying it with content, the present invention is not limited to selecting and displaying an advertisement. For example, another content and / or software application may be displayed with the first content (or publisher website information).

  In one embodiment, each memory device may be part of a “batchwise” memory device. See FIGS. 15A, 15B, 16A, and 16B for the use of multiple batches. In other words, one batch is a grouping of two or more memory devices. The batch ID may be a fixed alphanumeric string, but this batch ID may be embedded in the pointer. In one embodiment, the UID embedded in the memory device comprises a batch ID and a serial number (code). For example, aaa1, aaa2, and aaa3 are UID1, UID2, and UID3 belonging to the batch “aaaa”, respectively.

  For example, a batch may be a group of memory devices assigned to a particular affiliate, vendor, and / or user. Each batch of memory devices is a pointer and usage that is used to determine which memory devices in the batch will display or execute and who will see, use or modify them. I have permission. All memory devices have a UID that contains information about the batch to which they belong. When the user uses the memory device, the batch information is extracted and used to retrieve the batch pointer. The pointer points to the content and / or behavior that the user will receive.

  For example, suppose McDonald ™ buys 10,000 memory devices per lot. Each device of the lot is assigned to the batch by writing the ID of the same batch into the UID. McDonald ™ can then configure the batch pointer so that the batch pointer points to the URL of their website. When a user uses one of these memory devices, the batch information of the memory device's UID is used to retrieve a batch pointer that points to a specific page on the McDonald website.

  In one embodiment, different memory devices within a given batch can point to different content and / or behavior. This is accomplished using an “override” operation. An override is to assign an alternate pointer to one or more memory devices in a batch.

  In one embodiment, the “override” permission allows special handling of a subset of a batch. For example, if the batch AAA includes 10 unique memory devices, the content creator may change 5 unique batches in the batch AAA. Override permissions allow the unique behavior of these five specific memory devices in batch AAA. For example, 50,000 memory devices can be sold to a large retail company X, i.e., batch AAA contains 50,000 units. Here, Company X sells five of those units to the consumer, and the consumer wants to modify his memory device and launch his MySpace ™ web page on the browser. To do. Thus, in accordance with the present invention, the consumer uses software to modify the already embedded X Company pointer to point to the user's MySpace ™ web page through override permissions. In this case, the publisher website can provide tracking data for both the batch owner (consumer) and the override owner (Company X).

  In one example, a consumer purchases a memory device configured for a theme from a website or retailer. The user accesses the publisher's website (eg, myclickable.com (TM)) and sets the device pointer so that the memory device points to the user's preferred website or a specific web page. create. When the user plugs in a memory device with an embedded pointer active, a preselected web page appears. In one embodiment, the pre-selected web page includes a banner advertisement provided by the publisher server.

  As another example, suppose Nike ™ purchases several memory devices that are configured for the theme of soccer. Each Nike ™ memory device is preconfigured to take the user to a Nike ™ football site where a special Nike ™ football advertising banner is displayed on the user screen. The Nike ™ memory device may be obtained free of charge when a product is bought at a Nike ™ store. The user can set a new favorite web page by reprogramming the pointer embedded in the device and give it to a friend. When a user inserts a memory device that is configured for the theme of soccer into a computer port, the new favorite web page still has a frame for a Nike (TM) banner ad. The displayed banner advertisement disappears when the user accesses another web page in the browser.

  FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary process flow for retrieving a pointer, according to one embodiment of the present invention. When the server receives a remote request from a software application or memory device (902), the server checks whether the request includes a UID (904). If the request includes a UID, the server checks the override database (table) 908 (906) to see if there is an override record for this UID in the database (910). If there is an override record for this UID in the database, the server retrieves the override record, associates the associated override right with the memory device, and based on the override pointer and the corresponding permission in the override database. A pointer is generated and the pointer and associated permissions are used (912).

  If there is no override record in the database, the server checks the batch database (table) 916 (914) to see if there is a batch record in the batch database (918). If there is a batch record in the batch database, the server generates a pointer using the batch pointer and the corresponding permission as shown in block 920, but if not, an error message is sent (922). ).

  In one embodiment, the method and system of the present invention includes groups. Groups are one way to control who can see / use / modify their memory devices. Users can belong to many groups and can create groups for each of their own memory devices. For example, suppose a toy company buys 10,000 memory devices that point to a promotional page. The toy company then creates a “members only” group that can join by visiting the promotion page. Users who have not joined the group will see the promotion page. Users who join the group are redirected to another web page. In another example, the user creates a slide show and the user wants the slide show to be shared only within a select group of friends. Thus, the user creates a group and adds the selected group of friends to the user's group unit. Thus, when the user distributes the memory device, only the users added to the user's group can view the slide show.

  FIG. 10 is an exemplary process flow for pointer grant according to one embodiment of the present invention. The server checks the permission type from the batch table (1004) and / or the override table (1002) (1006). If no restrictions are imposed on the access rights, the server provides viewing and editing rights to the pointer (s) in the pointer database (1008). If access rights are restricted, the server checks to see if there are additional UID variables in the request (1012). If there are no additional UID variables, the server checks the batch and override tables using restricted access permissions (1014).

  If there is an additional UID variable in the request, the server determines whether the additional UID belongs to an owner (1020). If so, the server provides viewing and editing rights to the pointer (s) in the pointer database (1022). If there are no additional UID variables in the request, the server checks to see if the memory device is controlled by a group (1028). If the memory device was not controlled by a group, the server checks the batch table and override table using restricted permissions (1030). If the memory device is controlled by a group, the server checks to see if the user is included in the group (1036). If the user is included in the group controlling the memory device, the server queries the group permission table (1038) to determine permission rights. If the user of the memory device is not included in the group that controls the memory device, the server checks the batch and override tables using restricted access permissions (1040).

  FIG. 11A, FIG. 11B, and FIG. 11C are representative process flows for executing a pointer payload processor according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11A depicts an exemplary process flow without a content wrapper.

  FIG. 11B shows a typical process flow when there is a content wrapper, and FIG. 11C shows a typical process flow when there is a widget processor. In one embodiment, each pointer consists of some data and some behavior. In the simplest case, a pointer is a page on a website. The data is the URL of the page, and the behavior is to redirect the server to the URL. The processor is the behavior part of the pointer.

  FIGS. 12A-12I illustrate exemplary data tables, batch (12A), group permissions (12B), override (12C), pointer (12D), user (12E), user, according to one embodiment of the invention. A group (12F), a group (12G), a processor (12H), and a processor attribute (12I) are shown.

  In one embodiment, the content of the advertising banner comes from a rotating advertising pool (eg, in a server) that has no additional UID or batch selection applied. FIG. 13 is an exemplary block diagram illustrating advertisement selection, according to one embodiment of the invention. As shown in this example, the UID (s) and pointer (s) 1302 are ignored by the server for the purpose of selecting an advertisement. In this embodiment, advertisements are selected from advertisement pool / database 1306 based on factors other than UIDs and pointers (1304). Text may be added to the selected advertisement (not shown), and the selected advertisement 1308 is then displayed in the browser 1310. In one embodiment, the advertisement displayed in the browser may include a banner frame 1312 and a content frame 1314. Here, the advertisement may be randomly selected based on a theme, for example, sports, politics, movie genre, and the like. Advertisements can be static or dynamic.

  In one embodiment, the advertising banner is selected based on batch and / or UID, as shown in FIG. As shown, if the advertisement is associated with a UID 1402 embedded in a memory device configured for the theme (1403), the appropriate advertisement is selected from the advertisement database 1418. The selected advertisement 1404 is then displayed with the content in the browser 1406. For example, an advertisement may relate to content addressed by a pointer or an application executed by a pointer.

  If the advertisement is associated with a certain batch of memory devices configured for the theme (1412), the appropriate advertisement is selected from the advertisement database. The selected advertisement 1414 is then displayed with the content in the browser 1406, as shown in FIG. For example, a batch-based advertisement may be a gift dongle of a retailer such as Amazon.com ™ or Target ™. In this case, the UID may be unique to each user, but the entire batch of UIDs may relate to one particular entity, namely a company or retailer. In one embodiment, the advertisement displayed in the browser may include a banner frame 1408 and a content frame 1410.

  In one embodiment, the advertisement is based on the type of content that the device is requesting (eg, the URL of the content frame), or by the type of desktop widget that the device uses, or by the physical characteristics of the device itself. The target is narrowed down. In one embodiment, the advertisement includes an “ad text block” and if the text associated with it is blocked in a UID or batch, the ad targeting is not applied.

  In one embodiment, the second content and / or software application is displayed instead of or in addition to the advertisement.

  In one embodiment, the server is configured with a theme, a number of visits by device, widget, and content, the number of unique users of the device, widget, and content, and a visitor, unique visitor, and view. Keep track of different numerical metrics such as standard numerical metrics of web usage, such as.

  As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, various modifications may be made to the illustrated and other embodiments of the invention described above without departing from the broad scope of the invention. . Accordingly, the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments or arrangements disclosed, but rather covers any changes, modifications, or modifications that fall within the scope of the invention as defined by the claims. As included in the scope.

Claims (28)

In a method for accessing and displaying information,
Receiving a unique identifier and a pointer from the memory device;
Corresponding to the unique identifier and the pointer, accessing a redirect pointer presented by the pointer table;
Using the redirect pointer to launch a software application and display content;
Selecting an advertisement from an advertisement database corresponding to the unique identifier;
Displaying the advertisement with content.   The method of claim 1, further comprising authenticating the unique identifier.   The method of claim 1, further comprising storing memory device preferences and accessing the redirect pointer in response to the preferences.   The method of claim 1, further comprising: assigning the memory device to a predetermined batch of memory devices; and associating one or more pointers with the batch of memory devices. .   The method of claim 1, further comprising assigning an alternative pointer to the memory device.   The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the advertisement comprises randomly selecting the advertisement from the advertisement database.   The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the advertisement comprises selecting the advertisement according to predetermined criteria from the advertisement database.   The method of claim 1, further comprising connecting the memory device to any of a PC, PDA, mobile phone, iPOD ™, game console, or pocket PC.   The method of claim 1, wherein the memory device has or is embedded in an object having an appearance configured for a theme relevant to the first content.   The method of claim 1, wherein the memory device includes one or more switches for selecting one or more unique identifiers.   The method of claim 1, wherein the memory measure includes one or more switches for selecting one or more pointers.   Launching the software application includes launching one or more of launching a second application, launching a game, visiting a website, or playing a song. Item 2. The method according to Item 1. The step of retrieving and using the redirect pointer includes:
Selecting a redirect pointer from a pointer database;
Applying pointer permissions obtained from the pointer database;
Performing a pointer payload process to launch a software application. Checking the batch ID in the batch table;
The method of claim 13 further comprising: checking for an alternative pointer in the override table.   The method of claim 1, wherein the redirect pointer is stored in a user profile.   The method of claim 15, further comprising editing the user profile. In a method for accessing and displaying information,
Receiving a unique identifier and a pointer from the memory device;
Corresponding to the unique identifier and the pointer, accessing a redirect pointer presented by the pointer table;
Using the redirect pointer to launch a software application and display first content;
Displaying a second content together with the first content corresponding to the unique identifier.   18. The method of claim 17, further comprising storing the memory device preferences and using the redirect pointer in response to the preferences.   18. The method of claim 17, further comprising: assigning the memory device to a predetermined batch of memory devices; and associating one or more pointers with the batch of memory devices. .   The method of claim 17, further comprising assigning an alternate pointer to the memory device.   The method of claim 17, wherein the second content is an advertisement.   The method of claim 17, further comprising connecting the memory device to any of a PC, PDA, mobile phone, iPOD ™, game console, or pocket PC.   The method of claim 17, wherein the memory device has or is embedded in an object having an appearance configured for a theme relevant to the first content.   The method of claim 17, wherein the memory device includes one or more switches for selecting one or more unique identifiers. In a system for accessing and displaying information,
Means for retrieving the unique identifier and pointer from the memory device;
Means for retrieving a redirect pointer from a pointer table corresponding to the unique identifier and the pointer;
Means for executing the redirect pointer to launch a software application and display first content;
Means for displaying a second content together with the first content corresponding to the unique identifier.   26. The system of claim 25, wherein the second content is an advertisement.   26. The system of claim 25, wherein the memory device is embedded in an object having an appearance configured for a theme relevant to the first content.   26. The memory device includes at least two connection ports for linking the memory device to a second memory device and for uploading the unique identifier to the second memory device. The system described in.

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