Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • G06Q30/00—Commerce
  • G06Q30/02—Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a system for, and a metnod of, distributing and collecting information and, in particular, a system for distributing information over the Internet and gathering information from the World Wide Web, together
• the present invention is of general applicability to gathering and distributing information over the Internet.
• the invention will, however, be described in the particular context of the distribution of advertising material and collection of 0 product and/or service related data. It will be quite apparent, to those familiar with the Internet, how the present invention can be adapted for usu in any information distribution, or gathering, operation, regardless of the content of the information involved.
• the present invention is based on a mechanism which e ⁇ ables companies engaged in the marketing of products and services to direct their marketing activities and personal discount offers at individual customers, during those periods when the individual customer has a high probability of actually purchasing products, or services, of the type which a particular company is offering for sale
• a service based on the present invention represents a unique opportunity for companies who are actively marketing products and services Such a service offers very substantial added value to their advertising programs
• the present invention addresses this issue by providing the customer with a valuable information gathering packaging, and information presentation service
• the operator of an information brokering service may, on request, provide assistance to customers in the selection of that information which is of particular value to the customer
• the information broker may block off from a customer all information which is known to be of no interest to the customer In this way, an information broker's customer knows that he will get help in exercising control over the vast and growing mass of confusing information that is available on the World
• the present invention is based on a system having the following functional elements:
• search engines such as Alta Vista, Lycos, or Web Crawler
• Alta Vista, Lycos, or Web Crawler can only present a guide reference to the WWW-sites which an information user's, or customer's, search specification have identified. The customer must himself, thereafter, sequentially find the WWW-sites identified by the search engine to obtain the information he requires.
• Information brokerage services of the type facilitated by the present invention, do not exist at the present time. Companies (vendors) actively engaged in marketing their products and services over the Internet can only target their advertising by using customer addresses supplied by direct marketing companies.
• Such address lists are based on statistical information, about a customer, available to direct marketing companies. Such information is usually barbed on no more than the industrial sector in which a customer is active, registers of trades and professions, etc .
• Agent-based filtration mechanisms which protect a user from unwanted information via e-mail, prioritise e-mail, etc , are known
• systems which direct information from information providers to information users on the basis of an information user's current interests, as is done by the present invention, are not known at the present time
• the Cookie mechanism which enables a company engaged in the 5 marketing of products and/or services to gather information on a customer's actions on the company's own WWW-site, is frequently blocked out by customers, because, the application is implemented entirely on the selling company's premises
• the Cookie mechanism is, therefore, an inefficient and inaccurate way of collecting customer preference information
• a system for collecting information from, and distributing information over, the Internet including a plurality of information user's terminals connectable, via the Internet, to an information broker's file server, characterised
• said information user's terminal is adapted to transmit an agent to said information broker's file server, and in that said information broker's file server includes an information filter adapted to be controlled by said agent, and in that said information broker's file server includes a customer database containing data on information users including information users' current information interests
• Said customers database may include statistical and ⁇ ynamic information, on information users, derived from
• Said customer database may include, for general information users, some, or all, of the following data
• Said customer database may include, for professional information users, ome, or all, of the following data
• Said information broker's file server may include update means adapted to permit information pertaining to an information user, held on said customer database, to be selectively altered by said information user
• Said agent may be adapted to contain a specification for information which an information user desires to obtain and, once an information user's terminal has transmitted said agent to said information broker's file server over the Internet, said agent may be adapted to collect information meeting said specification from
• Said agent may be adapted to gather a list of World Wide Web addresses which may contain information meeting said specificatior and, in parallel, to access data from said list of World Wide Web addresses.
• Information derived from searches, may be stored in said information broker's file server and, where an information user has requested, by means of an agent, that information be routed to him which meets his search specification said derived information may be assigned a dynamic weighting depending on the time that said derived information has been held on said file server, said weighting being such that the probability of older derived information being routed to said information user is less than the probability of newer derivec information being routed to said information user.
• Said information broker's file server may have report means for formulating a report on a search conducted in accordance to an information user's specification, said report including sections on information derived from different World Wide Web sites including addresses of World Wide Web sites to which each section relates.
• Said information broker's file server may include notification means adapted to notify an information user when a report on a search carried out to his/her specification has been completed by transmitting a notification message over a communications means.
• Said communications means may be a GSM short message service.
• Said communications means may be e-mail.
• Said communications means may be Minicall.
• Said report may be transmitted to an information user, who commissioned said report, via pointcast.
• Said report may be transmitted to an information user, who commissioned said report, via e-mail.
• Said information broker's file server may be adapted to receive information from a plurality of information providers intended for routing to information users meeting a user specification provided by an information provider and, said information broker's file server may include an information comoarator adapted to compare information received from an information provide! with profiles of information users derived from said customer database and to route information derived from information providers only to those informatio T users having an interest therein
• Information selected for transmission to an information user may be passed to an information filter, controlled by an agent originating from an information user, p ⁇ or to routing said selected information to said information user, said information filter being adapted to remove any information of a type which an information user has indicated is of no interest
• Said information users may be consumers, or potential purchasers, said information providers may be vendors of products and/or services, and said information supplied by said information providers may be advertising and/or promotional material
• Said customer data base may contain information on information users derived from transactions relating to individual information users
• Said advertising and/or promotional material may include multi-media presentations of a product, or service, and/or guides to a vendor's World Wide
• an information user transmitting an agent to an information broker's file server, said agent containing a search specification for information desired by said information user comparing information held by said information broker's file server with said search specification and an information user's profile derived from a customer database held by said information broker's file server;
• Said customer database may contain data on information users' current information interests.
• Said customer database may include statistical and dynamic information, on information users, derived from;
• Said customer database may include, for general information users, some, or all, of the following data:
• demographic data such as age, sex, family details, occupation,
• Said customer database may include, for professional information users, some, or all, of the following data:
• An information user may be permitted to alter information, pertaining, to said information user held on said customer database.
• Said information user's terminal may be disconnected from said information broker's file server once said agent has been transmitted from said information user's terminal to said information broker's file server, and said agent may collect information meeting said search specification from:
• Said agent may gather a list of World Wide Web addresses which may contain information meeting said search specification and, in parallel, may access data from said list of World Wide Web addresses.
• Information derived from searches, may be stored in said information broker's file server and, where an information user has requested, by means of an agent, that information be routed to him which meets his search specification a dynamic weighting, depending on the time that said derived information has been held on said file server, may be assigned to said derived information, said weighting being such that the probability of older derived infoi mation being routed to said information user is less than the probability of newer derived information being routed to said information user.
• Said information broker's file server may formulate a report on a search conducted in accordance with an information user's search specification, said report including sections on information derived from different World Wide Web sites including addresses of World Wide Web sites to which each section relates.
• Said information broker's file server may transmit a notification message over a communications means notifying an information user when a report on a search carried out to his/her specification has been completed.
• Said information broker's file server may transmit a notification message over a GSM short message service notifying an information user when a report on a search carried out to his/her specification has been completed.
• Said information broker's file server may transmit a notification message over e-mail notifying an information user when a report on a search carried out to his/her specification has been completed.
• Said information broker's file server may transmit a notification message over Minicall notifying an information user when a report on a search carried out to his/her specification has been completed.
• Said report may be transmited to an information user, who commissioned said report, via pointcast.
• Said report may be transmit to an information user, who commissioned said report, via e-mail.
• a method of distributing information over the Internet characterised by: an information broker's file server receiving information from a plurality of information providers intended for routing to information users;
• Information selected for transmission to an information user may be passed to an information filter, controlled by an agent originating from said information user, prior to routing said selected information to said information user, said information filter being adapted to remove any information of a type which an information user has indicated is of no interest.
• Said information users may be consumers, or potential purchasers, said information providers may be vendors of products and/or services, and said information supplied by said information providers may be advertising and/or promotional material.
• Said customer database may contain information on information users derived from transactions relating to individual information users.
• Said advertising and/or promotional material may include multi-media presentations of a product, or service, and/or guides to a vendor's World Wide
• an information user's terminal characterised in that said information user's terminal is adapted to operate with a system as set forth above, or use a method as set forth above.
• an information broker's file server characterised in that said information broker's file server is adapted to operate with a system as set forth above, or use a method as set forth above.
• Figures 1 to 3 illustrate the operation of an agent based information collection mechanism according to the present invention.
• Figure 4 illustrates, in schematic form, the relationship between information user, information broker and information provider, established in the present invention
• FIG. 5 illustrates, in schematic form, the mechanism employed within an information broker's file server, according to the present invention
• the present invention is an information distribution and collection system particularly adapted for use with the Internet and World Wide Web.
• the present invention can be used to facilitate the provision of an information brokerage service which can be used for the distribution of targeted advertising and the collection of product/service related data to be used for assisting consumers to make informed purchasing decisions.
• a system employs the following functional components.
• a database and file server for storage of statistical and dynamic information relating to customers, means for the distribution of product and service related advertising, by companies, to individual customers;
• a subscriber to an information brokerage service the customer, operating on a system according to the present invention, is offered the opportunity, via a user-friendly interface on his/her Internet terminal (PC), to specify information on products, services, or other matters, which he wishes to see.
• the customer information specification is transmitted in the form of an agent, via the Internet, to an information broker's file server.
• the customer once the agent has been transmitted, can disconnect himself from the Internet.
• the customer's agent operating within, and from, the information broker's server, seeks out the information specified by the customer from within the resources of the information broker's system, or from the World Wide Web.
• the agent After the customer's agent has identified references to WWW-sites of interest, the agent starts to gather information. This process may be conducted in parallel with the identification of WWW-sites of interest. That is to say, the agent, in each instance, retrieves requested information from the information broker's own WWW-site according to received WWW-references/addresses.
• the information gathered from WWW-sites is then arranged on the basis of a matching between the preferences specified by the customer and the object/service/information available. Information from WWW-sites which is not sufficiently substantiated on the basis of the customer's preferences is rejected. Other information is packaged together in the form of a report where the information from each WWW-site comprises a separate section, including the WWW-address to the site from which the information was obtained.
• the information may be distributed to the customer's hard disc via pointcast, for example.
• the customer so wishes the information may be transferred to him/her by e-mail.
• the customer may be notified that the search has been completed in accordance with his instructions. Notification may be given via GSM/SMS, Minicall, or e-mail.
• the successful operation of the present invention depends on the information broker having access to current information on a customer's preferences, interests and activities.
• the customer may be requested to specify basic information about himself. For consumers, this may include:
• Demographic data such as age, sex, family members, occupation, etc.
• the information might, alternatively, include:
• Users can also be given the opportunity to specify types of information which they do not wish to receive under any circumstances For example, they may choose to exclude advertisements and discount offers relating to perfumes, cosmetics, etc
• a user may amend the list of materials he wishes to exclude, from time-to-time, by adding to his/her list of exclusions, or deleting items from his/her list of exclusions
• the present invention can facilitate the provision of a service by an information broker which enables companies engaged in the sale of products and services to dist ⁇ bute advertisements and discount offers which are matched to the individuals to whom they are distributed
• FIG. 4 An information broker's customers are equipped with customer terminals which may be PCs equipped with Internet access software These terminals enable customers to access the information broker's file server, and vice versa Advertisers, and other information providers, are linked to the information broker's file server via the Internet and can supply advertising and like material to the information broker for forwarding to customers who meet the advertiser's profile The information broker can then dist ⁇ bute advertising material to its individual customers on the basis of matching the advertisers profile to statistical information on its customer database i e the customer's information requirements profile
• the detailed operation of the information broker's file server is illustrated schematically in Figure 5
• the advertiser's profile for incoming advertising material and promotional material is compared with the customers' information requirements profiles, which is derived from the information broker's customer information database, by a comparator subsystem
• the result of the comparison process is a list of customers who appear to meet the advertiser's advertising target profile
• Access to each of the information broker's customers is guarded by an agent controlled filter
• the agents originate from individual customers of the information broker
• the agent controlled filters prevent individual customers receiving advertising relating to any topic, or field, which they have specifically excluded This process protects customers' right of privacy and can override advertisers' wish to access a particular customer This mechanism actually operates in advertisers', as well as customers', interest because it minimises customer alienation
• Vendors specify the c ⁇ tena to be used in targeting their advertising via the WWW, i e the customer segments at which their advertising campaign is targeted
• an advertising campaign may be targeted at purchasing managers for companies, in the home electronics trade, located in the North of Sweden, who have sought information on high-resolution plasma colour screens during the last four days
• the advertiser instantaneously receives information on the number of persons who fulfil this criteria This enables the profile for the advertising campaign to be adjusted, if approp ⁇ ate, to home in on an effective target group(s)
• the required advertisement can be attached, such advertisements may include multimedia presentation of the product, active guid s to the company's WWW site, etc Alternatively, the advertisement may be attached to an electronic message sent to the information broker directly from the information broker's
• ' advertisement relates to the customer's areas of interest and does not include materials which the customer has specified as excluded.
• Vendors thus receive a direct contact with customers without the vendor having full control over which customers he will be able to contact. This ensures that vendors and advertisers do not terrorise customers with advertisements and discount offers long after the customer has ceased to have an active interest in a particular area.
• Advertisers and vendors can be charged by an information broker for use of his system on the basis of each advertisement and/or discount offer distributed with, or without, volume discounts.
• the information broker automatically checks that advertisements and/or discount offers which vendors wish to distribute are actually consistent with the customer's current interest profile and do not contain information which the customer has banned.

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• Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
• Strategic Management (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Accounting & Taxation (AREA)
• Development Economics (AREA)
• Finance (AREA)
• Economics (AREA)
• Game Theory and Decision Science (AREA)
• Entrepreneurship & Innovation (AREA)
• Marketing (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
• Management, Administration, Business Operations System, And Electronic Commerce (AREA)
• Information Transfer Between Computers (AREA)
• Information Retrieval, Db Structures And Fs Structures Therefor (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

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• 1997
  • 1997-07-02 SE SE9702552A patent/SE510438C2/sv not_active IP Right Cessation
• 1998
  • 1998-06-25 EP EP98932679A patent/EP0992016A2/en not_active Ceased
  • 1998-06-25 WO PCT/SE1998/001242 patent/WO1999001018A2/en active Application Filing
  • 1998-06-25 EE EEP199900605A patent/EE03631B1/xx not_active IP Right Cessation
• 1999
  • 1999-12-23 NO NO19996422A patent/NO318564B1/no not_active IP Right Cessation

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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