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Computer program apparatus for determining behavioral profile of a computer user    
United States Patent5991735   
Link to this pagehttp://www.wikipatents.com/5991735.html
Inventor(s)Gerace; Thomas A. (Cambridge, MA)
AbstractComputer network method and apparatus provides targeting of appropriate audience based on psychographic or behavioral profiles of end users. The psychographic profile is formed by recording computer activity and viewing habits of the end user. Content of categories of interest and display format in each category are revealed by the psychographic profile, based on user viewing of agate information. Using the profile (with or without additional user demographics), advertisements are displayed to appropriately selected users. Based on regression analysis of recorded responses of a first set of users viewing the advertisements, the target user profile is refined. Viewing by and regression analysis of recorded responses of subsequent sets of users continually auto-targets and customizes ads for the optimal end user audience.



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Patent Text Patent PDF Print Page Summary File History
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Inventor     Gerace; Thomas A. (Cambridge, MA)
Owner/Assignee     Be Free, Inc. (Marlborough, MA)
Patent assignment
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Publication Date     November 23, 1999
Application Number     09/132,277
PAIR File History     Application Data   Transaction History
Image File Wrapper   Patent Term   Fees
Litigation
Filing Date     August 11, 1998
US Classification     705/10 705/1
Int'l Classification     G06F 019/00
Examiner     MacDonald; Allen R.
Assistant Examiner     Irshadullah; M.
Attorney/Law Firm     Hamilton, Brook, Smith & Reynolds, P.C.
Address
Parent Case     RELATED APPLICATION This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/634,900, filed Apr. 26, 1996, (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,396 Dec. 8, 1998) the entire teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
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Patent Tags     computer program determining behavioral profile a computer user
   
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5636346
Saxe
705/1
Jun,1997

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5515098
Carles
725/35
May,1996

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Cragun
705/14
Apr,1996

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Kaplan
707/2
Aug,1995

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5446919
Wilkins
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725/33
Nov,1993

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455/2.01
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434/236
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I claim:

1. A computer program embodied on computer-readable medium for creating and defining a psychographic profile of a user to support display of appropriate screen views to the user comprising:

an agate data assembly for providing agate information for display to users;

a user profiling member for recording information regarding each user including indications of user responses and physical activity with respect to screen views during display of said screen views, such that the user profiling member enables creation of a psychographic profile of each user from said recorded information and indications of user responses; and

a program controller responsive to user commands of a user for generating screen views to the user, the program controller (i) obtaining information from the agate data portion and user profiling member, including creating and obtaining the psychographic profile of the user and (ii) generating and displaying appropriate screen views to the user based on the created psychographic profile of the user.

2. A computer program as claimed in claim 1 wherein the agate information provided by the agate data assembly includes at least one of stock and market data, theater and television schedules, sports statistics, weather information, travel information and Directory information.

3. A computer program as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

the user profiling member records format preferences of users with respect to presentation of certain agate information, the format preferences including color schemes, text size and shapes; and

in response, the data assembly provides agate information for display to a user (a) in a manner customized according to the format preferences of the user and (b) having contents corresponding to the psychographic profile of the user.

4. A computer program as claimed in claim 3, wherein the user profiling member further records demographic information of the user such that demographic profiles of users are provided and the data assembly further enables display of agate information to a user according to demographic profile of the user.

5. A computer program as claimed in claim 1 further comprising an advertisement module for storing advertisements and respective indications of target audience profile of each advertisement;

the program controller further obtaining information from the advertisement module to generate and display appropriate screen views to the user based on the psychographic profile created through the user profiling member.

6. A computer program as claimed in claim 5 wherein the user profiling member further provides demographic information about each user; and

for each advertisement, the program controller transmits the advertisement for display with the agate information to users having a psychographic profile and a demographic profile substantially matching the target profile of the advertisement to provide targeted marketing.

7. A computer program as claimed in claim 6, wherein a plurality of weighted criteria are used to match the advertisement to the demographic profile and the psychographic profile of the user.

8. A computer program as claimed in claim 5 wherein the advertisement module further records history of users viewing the advertisements, including for each advertisement, at least one of (i) number of times viewed by a user, (ii) number of times selected for further information, and (iii) number of times a purchase was obtained through the advertisement.

9. A computer program as claimed in claim 8 further comprising a subroutine coupled to the advertising module for performing a regression analysis on the history of users viewing the advertisements, and therefrom the subroutine refining the advertisement target profiles of desired users to whom to display the advertisements.

10. A computer program as claimed in claim 9 wherein the subroutine automatically updates the advertisement target profiles based upon the regression analysis.

11. A computer program as claimed in claim 5 wherein at least one of the agate data assembly, the user profiling member and the advertisement module are formed by object-oriented programming techniques.

12. A computer program as claimed in claim 5 further comprising:

a messaging and notification module coupled to the program controller for displaying one or a combination of user generated messages and system generated notices.

13. A computer program as claimed in claim 12 wherein the user messaging and notification module further includes the composition and display of an advertisement within one or a combination of the user generated messages and the system generated notices.

14. In a computer network formed of a communication channel and a plurality of digital processors coupled to the communication channel for communication thereon, computer apparatus for initially creating a psychographic profile of a user comprising:

a data assembly for providing and supporting display of agate information to users of the computer network, in response to a user request the data assembly transmitting requested agate information across the communication channel to one of the digital processors for display of the requested agate information and viewing by the user; and

a tracking and profiling member responsive to the data assembly, in response to a user request for agate information, the tracking and profiling member recording indications of physical activity by the user at least during viewing of the displayed requested agate information, said physical activity being with respect to the displayed requested agate information and including user response to the displayed requested agate information, such that said recorded indications of physical activity by the user generates a psychographic profile of the user.

15. A method of generating and displaying screen views comprising the steps of:

(a) providing agate data for displaying to users;

(b) recording indications of user response and physical activity during viewing of the displayed agate data, based on the indications generating a psychographic profile of the user;

(c) using the generated psychographic profile, composing screen views; and

(d) displaying the composed screen views to the user.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein:

said composing includes selecting content and formatting layout of content according to the determined psychographic profile.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein:

the agate data includes at least one of stock and market data, theater and television schedules, sports statistics, weather information, travel information and Directory information.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein the screen views contain advertisements.

19. The method of claim 18 further comprising the step of:

(e) using a plurality of weighted criteria, matching advertisements to the demographic profile and the psychographic profile of the user.

20. The method of claim 18 further comprising the step of:

(e) creating an advertisement target profile as a function of:

(i) number of times an advertisement is viewed,

(ii) number of times the advertisement is selected, and

(iii) number of times a purchase is made through display of the advertisement.

21. The method of claim 20 further comprising the steps of:

(f) performing a regression analysis on the history of users viewing an advertisement, and

(g) refining the advertisement target profile based upon the regression analysis.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein the step of refining includes automatically updating the advertisement target profile based upon the regression analysis.

23. The method of claim 15 wherein at least one of the steps of (a) providing agate data,(b) determining a psychographic profile, (c) using the determined psychographic profile and (d) displaying the screen views are implemented using object oriented programming techniques.
 Description Submit all comments and votes
 


BACKGROUND

In traditional print media, the term "agate" was originally used to refer to any information printed in columns 1.5 inches wide in 5 point type (e.g., stock quotes). Today, agate is used to refer to time-sensitive, reference information that is not read linearly. Examples are telephone listings, classified advertisements, weather reports, sports scores and statistics, market data, books and recordings in print, and television and film listings.

Some types of agate require continual updating in the short term, like stock quotes, while other types have a longer life, like travel information and business directories. The newspaper industry is one of the primary suppliers of agate. Newspapers provide listings of stock quotes, television and radio programming, film schedules, and classified ads. A second group of agate suppliers are book publishers. From travel guides to books in print, a wide variety of books provide agate information that changes monthly or yearly.

Although many types of agate are traditionally found in publications (e.g., newspapers, magazines, and books), all agate can be placed into large indexed databases. Because agate is non-linear reference material, it is often more efficient to search for agate in a database, than to scan columns of a newspaper.

One of the largest pools of databases and electronic media is found on The Internet. The World Wide Web (Web) is a two-year-old protocol used to create and publish documents on the Internet. Web documents may contain graphics, text, sound, video or any combination of these. Web documents can include "hyperlinks" which are highlighted areas of information in one document that, when user-selected, open a related document. In late 1994, "forms" were added to the Web to make it interactive. Previously, Web pages could only be used to display information or point to other Web sites where information was available. The 1994 change allowed those publishing Web pages to publish "forms", i.e., documents that include blank spaces to be completed by users and then returned to the publishing computer, thus allowing interactivity.

Publishing information on the Web requires two software components. Electronic publishers must run HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) server software. Users scanning or searching on the Internet must use Web browser software. A variety of firms including Microsoft, Oracle, Netscape Communications, Spyglass, Spry, Netcom, and EINet all distribute Web software.

A variety of businesses are now offering information, some of it agate, on the Internet. One example is newspaper distribution on the Internet. However, the agate found in newspapers is at least twelve hours old. In the case of stock quotes, the information found usually recaps trading for the previous day, listing the high, low and closing prices as well as the number of shares traded. While this information is sufficient for tracking investments, investors often require real-time information to trade on the market.

Other examples of businesses that offer agate information on the Internet are Movie Phone whose World Wide Web Site is WWW.777film.com and Securities APL (at WWW.secapl.com) which allows users to look up individual stock quotes (delayed 15 minutes).

To date, however, there is no general agate provider on the Web.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention uses agate information to determine the profile of a computer user, and in particular the behavioral or psychographic profile, as distinguished from the demographic profile, of a user. To accomplish this, the present invention provides (i) a data assembly for displaying customized agate information to a computer user, and (ii) a tracking and profiling member for recording user activity with respect to agate information displayed through the data assembly. Over time, the tracking and profiling member holds a history and/or pattern of user activity which in turn is interpreted as a user's habits and/or preferences. To that end, a psychographic profile is inferred from the recorded activities in the tracking and profiling member.

Further, the tracking and profiling member records presentation (format) preferences of the users based on user viewing activity. Preferences with respect to color schemes, text size, shapes, and the like are recorded as part of the psychographic profile of a user. In turn, the psychographic profile enables the data assembly to customize presentation (format) of agate information, per user, for display to the user.

In the preferred embodiment, the data assembly displays agate information and/or advertisements (combined :in a common screen view or separately in respective screen views). The advertisements (stored in an advertisement module, for example) are displayed to users in accordance with the psychographic profile of the user.

The tracking and profiling member also records demographics of each user. As a result, the data assembly is able to transmit advertisements for display to users based on psychographic and demographic profiles of the user to provide targeted marketing.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is a module (e.g., advertisement module) that records history of users viewing the advertisements. For each advertisement, the module records (i) number of times viewed by a user; (ii) number of times selected for further information by a user, and/or (iii) number of purchases initiated from display of the advertisement to a user.

In addition, a subroutine coupled to the module performs a regression analysis on the recorded history of users viewing the ads. The subroutine refines profiles of target users based on the regression analysis. Preferably, the regression analysis weights the relative importance of psychographic and/or demographic characteristics of users. As such, over time, the advertisements become better targeted to users having an interest in said information (content and presentation/format of ad), and hence the invention method and apparatus provides automatic targeting of audiences (target users) and self-tailoring of target profiles.

The preferred embodiment utilizes object oriented programming techniques to provide a User Object. The User Object tracks user actions in a history profiling table. The User Object utilizes an updating routine which maintains the history profiling table by storing in the table an indication of a user's actions, i.e., computer activities, with respect to displayed agate information.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there are Agate Objects for providing the agate information and a Sponsor Object. In a preferred embodiment, the agate information includes stock information, advertisements, sports statistics, weather reports and the like. With regard to stock information, an Agate Object routine receives stock data on line, parses the data and makes a value-added calculation. As a result, the stock information is made searchable by variables such as price-earnings ratio, and the like.

The Sponsor Object categorizes advertisement or other sponsor provided information according to content and presentation, including colors used, size, shape, and whether audio and/or video components are involved. An advertiser profile building routine automates the process of identifying colors, size, shape, and whether video and/or audio are involved.

Also the Sponsor and User Objects track how many times each piece of advertisement information is shown to, is selected by and/or spawns a purchase by users. In other words, the Sponsor and User Objects track performance of sponsor provided information, especially advertisements. In the preferred embodiment, a performance routine employs regression techniques to provide performance reports. The performance routine may also be run (executed) remotely by suppliers of the advertisement information.

In one embodiment a computer program embodied on a computer readable medium for creating and defining a psychographic profile of a user to support display of appropriate screen views to the user is provided. The computer program includes an agate data portion, a user profiling member and a program controller. The agate data portion provides agate information for display to users. The user profiling member records information regarding each user. In particular, the user profiling member records indications of user responses and physical activity with respect to screen views during display of said screen views. As such, the user profiling member enables creation of a psychographic profile of each user based on the recorded information. The program controller in response to user commands, (i) obtains information from the agate data portion and user profiling member, (ii) creates and obtains the psychographic profile of the user from the obtained information, and (iii) generates and displays appropriate screen views to the user based on the created psychographic profile of the user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of preferred embodiments and the drawings in which like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is an overview of a computer network environment in which the present invention is employed.

FIG. 2 is an overview of a general embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 3a-3g, 4a and 4b, and 5a-5d are schematic diagrams of a preferred embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Illustrated in FIG. 1 is a plurality of networks 19a, 19b, 19c. Each network 19 includes a multiplicity of digital processors 11, 13, 15, 17 (e.g., PC's, mini computers and the like) loosely coupled to a host processor or server 21a, 21b, 21c for communication among the processors within that network 19. Also included in each network 19 are printers, facsimiles and the like. In turn, each host processor 21 is coupled to a communication line 23 which interconnects or links the networks 19a, 19b, 19c to each other to form an internet. That is, each of the networks 19 are themselves loosely coupled along a communication line 23 to enable access from a digital processor 11, 13, 15, 17 of one network 19 to a digital processor 11, 13, 15, 17 of another network 19. In the preferred embodiment, the loose coupling of networks 19 is the Internet.

Also linked to communication line 23 are various servers 25a, 25b which provide to end users access to the Internet (i.e., access to potentially all other networks 19, and hence processors 11, 13, 15, 17 connected to the Internet). The present invention is a software program 31 operated on and connected through a Web server 27 to the Internet for communication among the various networks 19 and/or processors 11, 13, 15, 17 and other end users connected through respective servers 25. In the preferred embodiment, the server 27 is a Digital Equipment Corp. Alpha server cluster (e.g., 2400-8000 Series), or a multiplicity of similar such servers. Server 27 runs Oracle 2.0 Webserver as HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) server software to support operation of present invention program 31.

Upon an end user logging onto program 31 through common Internet protocol, program 31 generates an initial screen view (commonly known as the "Home Page") for display to the end user. During the user's first visit, the initial screen view provides menu selections of various agate information (e.g., stock market data, weather, sports, etc.) Upon user selection (using a click of a mouse or other input means) of a menu item, program 31 displays corresponding up-to-date information. Similarly, each time the user selects another menu item, program 31 generates and displays current agate information relating to that selection.

In addition, program 31 records the user's selections and his viewing activity with respect to the agate information. In particular, for each piece of displayed agate information, program 31 records the date and time of user viewing and the format which the user has selected for viewing. After multiple sessions, a pattern of the user's viewing actions or viewing habits is obtained, from the recorded activity. In turn, certain inferences about the user are made based on the user's viewing habits and the specific pieces of agate information he views, including content and presentation of that information. To that end, for each user the present invention program 31 creates a user profile from the agate information viewing habits of the user. The system then generates a custom Home Page, including a user's preferred (content and presentation) agate information. On subsequent visits to program 31 (as a Website) by the user, program 31 displays the customized Home Page for that user instead of the initial Home Page.

Based on the created user profile for a given user, program 31 enables sponsors to better direct their advertisements and enables advertisements to be tailored to target users' display preferences. That is, both subject matter/content and presentation of advertisements are able to be customized to the end user's preferences due to the information tracked and recorded (i.e., the created user profile) by program 31.

Accordingly, program 31 in its most general form has an agate data assembly 71, a user profiling member 73, an advertisement module 75 and a program controller 79 as illustrated in FIG. 2. The agate data assembly 71 stores the various agate information for user viewing. The user profiling member 73 records information regarding each user, including a user's identification, categories of interest and the user's display preferences of each category. Advertisement module 75 holds sponsor information and their advertisements, with a target audience profile Indicated for each advertisement.

Program controller 79 is a series of routines (methods) on Web server 27.

The program controller 79 responds to commands (e.g., log in and menu selections) transmitted over the Internet by an end user, and obtains the necessary information from agate data assembly 71, user profiling member 73 and advertisement module 75 to generate and display appropriate screen views to the user.

In particular, in response to user login, program controller 79 checks with the user profiling member 73 to determine whether the user has in the past logged on to program 31 or is a new user. In the former case, according to records in the user profiling member 73, the program controller 79 obtains preference information for that user and using agate information from the agate data assembly 71 generates an initial screen view formatted according to the user's recorded preferences. Program controller 79 transmits the generated screen view through Web server 27 for display to the user.

In the latter case (a first time/new user), program controller 79 assigns a unique users computer ID upon user login. This, in turn, enables user profiling member 73 to initialize tracking of viewing activity of the new user immediately following login. Program controller 79 obtains initial agate information from agate data assembly 71 to display the Home Page to the new user. Program controller 79 also obtains user identification information from the user to assign a user name and password at the user's convenience.

In either case, throughout the session, program controller 79 responds to user selections and viewing actions (screen formatting commands/requests, menu selections, etc.) by (i) using the agate data assembly 71 to obtain and display the requested information and (ii) using the user profiling member 73 to record the user's activities and thus build a psychographic/behavioral profile of the user.

With respect to the advertisement module 75, program controller 79 obtains sponsor submitted advertisements from module 75 and generates a screen view formatted according to user preferences as determined from the psychographic profile in the user profiling member 73. That is, program controller 79 enables display of advertisements customized to the user, as to content and presentation (i.e., colors used, orientation on the screen, audio/video components, and the like). Program controller 79 obtains the content from the advertisement module 75 and the presentation details for the subject user from the user profiling member 73.

In addition, for each advertisement, advertisement module 75 (and/or user profiling member 73) records (a) the number of times and/or number of users to whom the advertisement has been displayed, (b) the number of times/users who have requested more information (via a click of a mouse on a corresponding menu selection) regarding the advertisement, and when possible (c) the number of purchases obtained through program 31's display of the advertisement. As such, advertisement module 75 holds performance data for each advertisement, and hence enables program controller 79 to provide performance reports to sponsors who log on to program 31. Various regression techniques and the like are used in the performance reports in a manner consistent with the state of the art.

In the preferred embodiment, program 31 is implemented as an object oriented program discussed next with reference to FIGS. 3a through 5b. Each object is formed of data and subroutines (methods) for acting on the data. The data is preferably stored in tables and each table is formed of a multiplicity of records or fields of information. The information held in a record in respective tables of the objects is illustrated in FIGS. 3b through 5b and discussed below with the details of each object. It is understood however that other program means, techniques, data structures and program designs for present invention system 31 are suitable. Thus the details of the preferred embodiment in FIGS. 3a through 5b are for purposes of illustration and not limitation.

In FIG. 3a, a set of User Objects 37 provides the functional equivalent of the user profiling member 73 of FIG. 2. A set of Page Display Objects 35 provides the functional equivalent of agate data assembly 71 of FIG. 2. A set of Sponsor Objects 33 provides the functional equivalent of the advertisement module 75 of FIG. 2. The main routine 39 of program 31 in FIG. 3a functions similarly to the program controller 79 of FIG. 2 as will become apparent in the following discussion.

Turning to FIG. 3a, the purpose of the set of User Objects 37 is to identify users and maintain a user profile for each user. Included in the set of User Objects 37 is general information about users and their computers, as well as specific data on each computer session undertaken by the users. In particular, for each set there is a User Object 37a. User Object 37a identifies a respective user by nickname (user chosen), password (user chosen), and optionally E-mail address, postal address, telephone number, credit card number, and the like. User Object 37a also provides language, geographic, demographic and lifestyle information about the user. To accomplish this, User Object 37a stores a separate record for each of the above mentioned information, the collection of records forming the table or data of User Object 37a. FIG. 3b illustrates the fields or records of information employed by User Object 37a in the preferred embodiment.

Also for each user, there is a User Computer Object 37b and a User Interface Object 37c. For each user's computer, User Computer Object 37b provides an indication of the limitations and capabilities of the user's computer system. For example, User Computer Object 37b lists whether the user's system provides audio and/or video display, and what Web browser software is utilized by the user's system. An outline of the table/data set of a User Computer Object 37b in the preferred embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 3c.

The User Interface Object 37c provides a unique (preferably numeric) identifier of the user. The User Interface Object 37c also provides indications of categories of interest to the user and a primary screen display for each category customized to that user. The foregoing information is held in records illustrated in FIG. 3d. In the preferred embodiment, the various categories of interest include stock trading portfolio, sports, news, weather, theater and television schedules, telephone directory, travel data, classified ads and personals information, and the like. Display preferences include orientation, color scheme, screen quadrant/location and the like, indicated with respect to the category of information. For example, one user may tend to like stock information displayed in tabular form on a blue background and weather displayed on a map scene. Another user may prefer stock information displayed in a running 1-line quote at the bottom of the screen and weather displayed in a tabular format by city on a green background, and so forth.

The history of user activity with executed program 31 is also maintained by the set of User Objects 37 (FIG. 3a). Specifically for each user, a User Session Object 37d, User Action History Object 37e and User Viewing History Object 37f record the following as illustrated in FIGS. 3e-3g.

Each time a user logs on to program 31, User Session Object 37d records the starting date and time and ending date and time of the session. User Session Object 37d also records (a) the referring link from which the user accessed program 31 (e.g., a so called "bookmark" or "hyperlink" which effectively stores and forwards the Web site address of program 31), (b) the user's identification number (e.g., as stored in a so called "cookie" passed by the user's computer upon logging in), and (c) an indication of Web browser software employed by the user's computer. FIG. 3e illustrates the records created by User Session Object 37d to accommodate the foregoing data.

The User Action History Object 37e stores each click of a mouse and corresponding cursor position to effectively record the user's motions/movements in a session. In particular, as illustrated in FIG. 3f, User Action History Object 37e records (a) date and time of action, (b) session identifier (indicating in which session of the User Session Object 37d the subject action occurred), (c) sequence or order number of the action in the series of actions that occurred in a common session, (d) identification of screen view displayed at time action occurred, (e) identification of item selected by user (via click of mouse with cursor positioned on item), and (f) screen position of selected item (e.g., first, second or third menu item, right or left side).

The User Viewing History Object 37f stores information indicative of the screen views displayed to the user in a session. Specifically, User Viewing History Object 37f records an item identification (either agate or advertisement) and orientation of that item for each item displayed to (and hence viewed by) the user in a session. Orientation is noted relative to a page/screen view or an object identified in the "related object ID" field of the User Viewing History Object 37f. Preferably, orientation is indicated as being top, bottom, left, right or background of the screen view. The Viewing History Object 37f also records an identifier (of each screen view), ordinal sequence number (number order of screen view within series of screen views displayed in a session), and an indication of the action from which this screen view resulted (i.e., a reference to a corresponding User Action History Object 37e). Lastly, the User Viewing History Object 37f records date and time of screen opening and closing for each screen view. The foregoing is stored in an object table record illustrated in FIG. 3g.

Returning to FIG. 3a, the set of Page Display Objects 35a-35c defines the screen views transmitted and displayed to end users. A Page object 35a cross references a User Interface Object 37c which specifies which Page Display Object 35c and which agate information (content and presentation) is appropriate for the current user. Page Data Objects 35b hold the agate or other data to be displayed to end users. Included are advertisements (objects themselves) which may be integrated into the agate data. Preferably advertisements are positioned along the periphery (i.e., above, below, left or right) of the agate data, as defined by a respective Page Display Object 35c. Accordingly, Page Data Objects 35b support Page Display Objects 35c which outline the possible screen content and presentation formats in which agate data advertisements are to be displayed.

In the preferred embodiment, Page Display Object 35c provides outlines for a Home Page, Financial Pages (screen views), Sports Pages (screen views), Weather Pages (views), a Media Schedule Page, Directory Page, Travel Options Page, Classified Ads Pages, and Real Estate Pages (screen views) as specified in Appendix I. Each is discussed next with reference to FIGS. 4a-4b and Appendix I.

Referring to FIG. 4a, Page Display Object 35c defines a Home Page 43 format for program 31. The preferred Home Page format includes six categories of agate information-stock data, sports, weather, travel schedules, directory information and Classified/Personals/Real Estate messages. The stock data category provides portfolio information such as opening price per share, change in price from last posting, 52 week highs and lows, etc. If a user selects the stock data category (i.e., as a menu selection) for further viewing, a Page Display Object 35c in the form of a Financial Page (screen view) is generated in one of the alternative formats outlined in Appendix I.

Briefly, five types of Financial Pages Objects 35c are utilized by the preferred embodiment. They are named "Stock Page", "Company Page", "Expert Articles Page", "Expert Guide Page" and "Show Me Some Page" (see Appendix I). The "Stock Page" includes (a) data on user-selected stocks in a tabular format, a portfolio value graph and message window (for quickly moving companies present and titles of articles by experts in the field), (b) a tracking list, (c) indices such as Dow Jones Industrial Average and NASDAQ, and (d) a ticker customized to the user (user-selected stock). The expert articles are formatted on screen views for display according to the "Expert Articles Page" format. The "Company Page" format includes the trading symbol/code, stock information and corporate data about a specific company. The "Expert Guide Page" and "Show Me Some Page" formats enable the user to interactively create his own screen display of stock information. In particular, the Expert Guide Page surveys the user on his investment interests. Using the Expert Guide Page and Show Me Some Page formats, Page Display Object 35c then displays names of companies found to match the user provided criteria.

In each of the foregoing formats, the preferred embodiment includes incorporation of ads or sponsorship indications as top and/or closing banners. The Home Page 43 (FIG. 4a) provides scores of recent games and news in the "sports" category. If a user selects the sports category from the Home Page, a Page Display Object 35c generates various screens bearing sports information and news. For sports pages/screen views, there are seven page/screen formats of Page Display Object 35c outlined in Appendix I. Briefly, a "General Sports Page" format includes (a) game scores and standings, by league, for professional and collegiate sports, and (b) player standings (professional and collegiate) for baseball, football, hockey and basketball. Statistics are updated and displayed during play of a game, so that the General Sports Page provides game-in-progress statistics in real-time. Also a news window is provided for each sport with a link to a "News Page" (object) for more news. The "News Page" format includes information regarding major trades, signings and injuries. In the preferred embodiment, a scrolling window of latest news is also included.

A "Team Page" format provides a roster of a given team. Thus program 31 has several Team Page Display Objects 35c. The roster lists players by name, jersey number, position and some statistics. A "Team v. Team Page" format lists similar information as the "Team Page" format but for two teams in facing columns. Indications of favored teams and game scores for an entire season are also provided on a "Team v. Team Page" Display Object 35c.

Player information is provided in three formats--a "Player Page" format, a "Player v. Team Page" format and "Player v. Player Page" format. Comparison of a player's statistics to his team's statistics is provided in a "Player v. Team Page" Display Object 35c. Comparison statistics of two players on different teams is provided in the "Player v. Player Page" format.

Further, some of the above sports page formats allow advertisements to be displayed at the top and/or bottom of the screen view in the preferred embodiment.

Referring back to FIG. 4a, the Home Page 43 also provides a weather category. Shown on the Home Page 43 under that category is a long-range (e.g., 5-day) forecast for the user's local area and cities of interest to the user. Also that category provides storm warnings and the like for local areas and cities of interest. Upon user selection of the weather category, a Weather Page Display Object 35c enables display of weather information in one of two formats--a National Weather Page and a Regional Weather Page (Appendix I). Briefly, the "National Weather Page" format displays temperature and precipitation indications across a relevant map, along with textual descriptions. Audio forecast readings are also provided. Incorporation of a sponsorship ad is provided at the top and/or bottom of the screen view (termed "banners" in Appendix I). The "Regional Weather Page" displays (a) a regional map (e.g., state) with temperature and precipitation indications, (b) a graphical forecast (e.g., high and low temperatures and sun/cloudy, rain or snow predictions for the next several days), and (c) a detailed forecast with tabular and textual descriptions. Also the Regional Weather Page provides weather warnings and advertisements at the bottom of the screen view in the preferred embodiment.

Referring back to the Home Page 43 of FIG. 4a, also included is a Travel Category. Data/information displayed in that category include travel and other ticket purchases of a user within an approaching date and specials advertised in areas of interest to the user. Upon user selection of the Travel Schedule Category of the Home Page 43, a Travel Page Display Object 35c enables display of a Travel Options Page (screen view).

The format of a "Travel Options Page" of the preferred embodiment is detailed in Appendix I. Preferably, there is one Travel Options Page for each of different cities. Briefly, for each Travel Options Page Display Object 35c there are three data parts. A first part is a table of transportation options, including departure, arrival and reservation information for airlines, buses, boats and trains. The second part is hotel information in a given destination (subject city). Preferably this information is in tabular form. The third data part of a Travel Options Page Display Object 35c is information regarding rental car options. Further the Travel Options Page format allows an advertisement to be displayed at the top of the screen view and at the end of a Travel Options Page.

Referring back to Home Page 43, FIG. 4a, the Directory category provides phone numbers typically called by a user. The supporting Directory Page format for this category is a table of names and corresponding mailing addresses (i.e., street, city, state, zip code), telephone and facsimile numbers, E-mail address and URL (universal resource locator). Preferably for those names with an E-mail address, the indicated name functions as a screen menu-selection using hyperlink techniques.

The "Messages" category of the Home Page 43 includes information relating to personals advertisements, classified advertisements and real estate advertisements. Upon user selection of this category, a search is initiated with user provided parameters. An appropriate Page Display Object 35c enables display of the results of the search using a "Personals Page", "Classifieds Page" and/or "Real Estate Page" format outlined in Appendix I. Briefly, included in a Personals Page/screen view is geographic, demographic and life style information. Preferably, sponsor provided advertisements are able to be inserted at the top of the screen view and at the end (i.e., after) a Personals Page screen view.

The format