Abstract:
A virtual assistant platform for providing real-time financial advice based on a user&#39;s financial status online footprint, behavioral proclivities with regard to finances and investing as well as market conditions, comprising a virtual assistant application that creates and updates a user profile using interactive prompts to gather information during an onboarding process, and produces a final, highly individualized, user profile for use by the virtual assistant platform for providing real-time financial advice based on a user&#39;s profile, online footprint as well as market conditions.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of, and priority to, U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/378,408, titled, “PROACTIVE DATA GATHERING AND USER PROFILE GENERATION FOR DEEP ANALYSIS AND ONBOARDING PROCESS”, filed on Aug. 23, 2016, and is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/335,407, titled PROACTIVE DEEP-ANALYSIS VIRTUAL ASSISTANT APPLICATION AND INTEGRATION, filed on Oct. 26, 2016, which claims the benefit of, and priority to, U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/349,060, titled, “PROACTIVE DEEP-ANALYSIS VIRTUAL ASSISTANT APPLICATION AND INTEGRATION”, filed on Jun. 12, 2016, and which is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/206,231, titled, “VIRTUAL ASSISTANT PLATFORM WITH DEEP ANALYTICS, EMBEDDED AND ADAPTIVE BEST PRACTICES EXPERTISE, AND PROACTIVE INTERACTION”, filed on Jul. 9, 2016, which claims the benefit of, and priority to, U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/348,946, titled, “VIRTUAL ASSISTANT PLATFORM WITH DEEP ANALYTICS AND PROACTIVE INTERACTION”, filed on Jun. 12, 2016, the entire specification of each of which is incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Art 
       [0002]    The disclosure relates to the field of artificial intelligence, and more particularly to the field of virtual personal assistants. 
       Discussion of the State of the Art 
       [0003]    Virtual assistants are a growing field of artificial technology and continue to offer new ways for users to interact and make requests, but such technologies, for example APPLE SIRI™, MICROSOFT CORTANA™ and AMAZON ALEXA™ tend to focus on reactive interaction wherein users ask questions or make requests, and the virtual assistant responds to that immediate demand before returning to an idle state. A large benefit to having a personal assistant (virtual or otherwise) is the ability to delegate minor tasks and responsibilities like monitoring calendar tasks, relevant news, travel arrangements, or financial information, yet virtual assistants rely on user requests to provide information and therefore do an imperfect job of relieving the user of the additional effort of monitoring and checking this information. 
         [0004]    What is needed, is a new form of virtual assistant that monitors user accounts and information and proactively identifies relationships and interactions between accounts, and that then proactively interacts with the user so that the virtual assistant can fully handle the monitoring and analysis of a user&#39;s personal information and notify the user only when their attention is needed. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    Accordingly, the inventor has conceived and reduced to practice, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, a method for proactive data gathering and user profile generation using deep analysis for a rapid onboarding process that adapts to a user in an intuitive, personal, and natural manner. 
         [0006]    The invention comprises a virtual assistant AI system that may be connected to a wide variety of user accounts such as financial accounts, social media, news, shopping, utilities and service providers, travel accounts, and other account types. The AI then continually monitors connected accounts for changes, analyzes changes when they occur and identifies any relationships or interactions between accounts and potential or actual implications of changes, such as if a news article mentions events affecting a company in a user&#39;s investment portfolio. The AI then generates proactive notifications and provides them to the user, such as notification alerts, reminders, suggestions, or prompts for action such as notifying a user of the news event that may impact their investment, and asking if they wish to take action on that company&#39;s stock. 
         [0007]    According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, a system for proactive data gathering and user profile generation using deep analysis for a rapid onboarding process, comprising: a virtual assistant platform comprising a memory, a processor, a network interface, and a plurality of programming instructions operating in the memory and on the processor, the programming instructions configured to: receive a first data message via the network interface; create a persistent user profile that is uniquely identifiable to a particular user, the persistent user profile being based at least in part on the first data message; produce a plurality of prompts for user interaction, the prompts being based at least in part on the persistent user profile; transmit at least a portion of the plurality of prompts via the network interface; receive an additional data message via the network interface; and modify at least a portion of the persistent user profile based at least in part on the additional data message, is disclosed. 
         [0008]    According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, a method for proactive data gathering and user profile generation using deep analysis for a rapid onboarding process comprising the steps of: receiving, at a virtual assistant platform comprising a memory, a processor, a network interface, and a plurality of programming instructions operating in the memory and on the processor, a first data message; creating a persistent user profile that is uniquely identifiable to a particular user, the persistent user profile being based at least in part on the first data message; producing a plurality of prompts for user interaction, the prompts being based at least in part on the persistent user profile; transmitting at least a portion of the plurality of prompts via the network interface; receiving an additional data message via the network interface; and modifying at least a portion of the persistent user profile based at least in part on the additional data message, is disclosed. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES 
         [0009]    The accompanying drawings illustrate several embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention according to the embodiments. It will be appreciated by one skilled in the art that the particular embodiments illustrated in the drawings are merely exemplary, and are not to be considered as limiting of the scope of the invention or the claims herein in any way. 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary system architecture for a virtual assistant platform with deep analytics and proactive interaction, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary overview method for operating a virtual assistant platform with deep analytics and proactive interaction, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method for operating a virtual assistant with deep analytics and proactive interaction, illustrating an exemplary use case of deep analytics insights to generate personalized notifications for a user. 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary hardware architecture of a computing device used in an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary logical architecture for a client device, according to an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  is a block diagram showing an exemplary architectural arrangement of clients, servers, and external services, according to an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 7  is another block diagram illustrating an exemplary hardware architecture of a computing device used in various embodiments of the invention. 
           [0017]      FIG. 8  is a flow diagram illustrating the use of a virtual assistant with deep analytics and proactive interaction for predicting and managing the impact of a global event, illustrating processing of an oil refinery accident and its impact on markets and users. 
           [0018]      FIG. 9  is a flow diagram illustrating the use of a virtual assistant with deep analytics and proactive interaction for assisting a user with a financial trade, illustrating the use of historical analysis and proactive notification to provide the user with a recommendation. 
           [0019]      FIG. 10  is a flow diagram illustrating the use of a “batting average” algorithm to assist users with financial decisions. 
           [0020]      FIG. 11  is a process diagram showing how user notifications are generated from events regarding assets, according to an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0021]      FIG. 12  is a data flow diagram showing various data sources and objects in relation to users, according to an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0022]      FIG. 13  is a process and data flow diagram showing sequential flow of data and actions leading to user notification, according to an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0023]      FIG. 14  is a diagram illustrating an exemplary process flow diagram showing how partial status vectors lead to user notifications, according to an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0024]      FIG. 15  is a table showing a typical status vector, according to an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0025]      FIG. 16  is a diagram showing communication flow from status vectors to user messages, according to an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0026]      FIG. 17  is a method diagram for computing batting averages and triggering rules by trading activity of a user, according to an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0027]      FIG. 18  shows a hierarchical data arrangement, according to an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0028]      FIG. 19  is an exemplary decision tree, according to an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0029]      FIG. 20  is an exemplary decision tree, according to an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0030]      FIG. 21  an exemplary decision tree, according to an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0031]      FIG. 22  is a conceptual diagram showing different asset classes and goals, according to an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0032]      FIG. 23  is an illustration of an exemplary user interface for a virtual assistant application, illustrating a series of proactive data-gathering prompts for establishing a user profile during an onboarding process, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
           [0033]      FIG. 24  is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method for an onboarding process using proactive data gathering and user profile generation using deep analysis for a rapid onboarding process, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0034]    The inventor has conceived, and reduced to practice, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, a method for proactive data gathering and user profile generation using deep analysis for a rapid onboarding process that adapts to a user in an intuitive, personal, and natural manner. 
         [0035]    One or more different inventions may be described in the present application. Further, for one or more of the inventions described herein, numerous alternative embodiments may be described; it should be appreciated that these are presented for illustrative purposes only and are not limiting of the inventions contained herein or the claims presented herein in any way. One or more of the inventions may be widely applicable to numerous embodiments, as may be readily apparent from the disclosure. In general, embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice one or more of the inventions, and it should be appreciated that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural, logical, software, electrical and other changes may be made without departing from the scope of the particular inventions. Accordingly, one skilled in the art will recognize that one or more of the inventions may be practiced with various modifications and alterations. Particular features of one or more of the inventions described herein may be described with reference to one or more particular embodiments or figures that form a part of the present disclosure, and in which are shown, by way of illustration, specific embodiments of one or more of the inventions. It should be appreciated, however, that such features are not limited to usage in the one or more particular embodiments or figures with reference to which they are described. The present disclosure is neither a literal description of all embodiments of one or more of the inventions nor a listing of features of one or more of the inventions that must be present in all embodiments. 
         [0036]    Headings of sections provided in this patent application and the title of this patent application are for convenience only, and are not to be taken as limiting the disclosure in any way. 
         [0037]    Devices that are in communication with each other need not be in continuous communication with each other, unless expressly specified otherwise. In addition, devices that are in communication with each other may communicate directly or indirectly through one or more communication means or intermediaries, logical or physical. 
         [0038]    A description of an embodiment with several components in communication with each other does not imply that all such components are required. To the contrary, a variety of optional components may be described to illustrate a wide variety of possible embodiments of one or more of the inventions and in order to more fully illustrate one or more aspects of the inventions. Similarly, although process steps, method steps, algorithms or the like may be described in a sequential order, such processes, methods and algorithms may generally be configured to work in alternate orders, unless specifically stated to the contrary. In other words, any sequence or order of steps that may be described in this patent application does not, in and of itself, indicate a requirement that the steps be performed in that order. The steps of described processes may be performed in any order practical. Further, some steps may be performed simultaneously despite being described or implied as occurring non-simultaneously (e.g., because one step is described after the other step). Moreover, the illustration of a process by its depiction in a drawing does not imply that the illustrated process is exclusive of other variations and modifications thereto, does not imply that the illustrated process or any of its steps are necessary to one or more of the invention(s), and does not imply that the illustrated process is preferred. Also, steps are generally described once per embodiment, but this does not mean they must occur once, or that they may only occur once each time a process, method, or algorithm is carried out or executed. Some steps may be omitted in some embodiments or some occurrences, or some steps may be executed more than once in a given embodiment or occurrence. 
         [0039]    When a single device or article is described herein, it will be readily apparent that more than one device or article may be used in place of a single device or article. Similarly, where more than one device or article is described herein, it will be readily apparent that a single device or article may be used in place of the more than one device or article. 
         [0040]    The functionality or the features of a device may be alternatively embodied by one or more other devices that are not explicitly described as having such functionality or features. Thus, other embodiments of one or more of the inventions need not include the device itself. 
         [0041]    Techniques and mechanisms described or referenced herein will sometimes be described in singular form for clarity. However, it should be appreciated that particular embodiments may include multiple iterations of a technique or multiple instantiations of a mechanism unless noted otherwise. Process descriptions or blocks in figures should be understood as representing modules, segments, or portions of code which include one or more executable instructions for implementing specific logical functions or steps in the process. Alternate implementations are included within the scope of embodiments of the present invention in which, for example, functions may be executed out of order from that shown or discussed, including substantially concurrently or in reverse order, depending on the functionality involved, as would be understood by those having ordinary skill in the art. 
       Conceptual Architecture 
       [0042]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary system architecture  100  for a virtual assistant platform  110  with deep analytics and proactive interaction, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. According to the embodiment, virtual assistant platform  110  may connect via the Internet  120  or other data communication network, to interact with a user device  140  (for example, a user&#39;s smartphone or computer) and a plurality of data sources  130  that may comprise a wide variety of information sources such as user financial accounts  131  (such as investment portfolios or bank accounts), social media profiles  132 , accounts with service providers  133  such as public utilities or cloud services, news or other media sources  134 , and other various sources of available information, whether public or private (with corresponding configuration for access). Data from sources  130  may be exposed using a plurality of application programming interfaces (APIs)  111  configured to facilitate communication between data sources  130  and a data collector  112  that receives raw data from connected data sources  130  and stores the data in a raw data storage database  113 . This raw data may then be processed by an analysis engine  114  to produce entities for internal use such as to maintain a hierarchical structure as described below, as well as to identify any information changes such as new data or modifications to previously-received data (for example, when a stock price changes, or new posts are uploaded to a social media account, or new travel arrangements are made). Processed data may then be placed in a processed information storage database  115 , which may optionally be a separate database structure or physical storage from a raw storage  113 , or may simply be a logical separation within the same storage schema. 
         [0043]    An intelligent advisor  117  may then retrieve processed data from storage  115  and load configured rules from a rules database  116  (such as rules governing a user&#39;s preferences for notifications, thresholds for determining whether a change is significant, timing for updates, or other such configuration information), and may analyze the data to identify relationships between data points (such as identifying that a user has family nearby a newly-booked travel destination, or that they have invested in a company that was mentioned in a recent news article) and to determine (optionally based on a plurality of configured rules) whether any particular change will impact related data entities and whether a user should be notified. For example, if a news article mentions a company in which the user holds stock, but it is only a passing reference, the user may not be notified as the implications of this observation are negligible. However, if a news article discusses a potential merger between companies, or a change in a product timeline, a user may be notified as this news may impact their stock. Notification prompts may then be provided to a messaging server  118  that may operate a plurality of messaging interfaces to accommodate a wide range of user preferences such as to communicate via email, SMS, SKYPE™, push notifications to a user&#39;s smartphone or other mobile device, or other such communication methods. Notifications may then be produced and transmitted via network  120  to a user&#39;s client device  140  for review. 
         [0044]    According to the embodiment, notifications produced based on data insights and provided to a user may vary in nature, for example they may include simple push notification alerts to inform the user of an event, or they may be more complex or interactive such as a prompt for action or a proactive request being made of the user. For example, if it is determined that the user has family near a new travel destination, they may be prompted to schedule a lunch with their relatives based on known calendar and travel data. Additionally, by combining information from their family members (if available, according to a particular arrangement or configuration), it may be possible to automatically select an ideal time to schedule a meeting that will not conflict with the calendars of any involved parties. Another exemplary notification type may be a proactive suggestion provided to the user, such as when a news article mentions a potential product shift from a company in which the user holds stock. The user may be presented with a suggestion regarding their stock holdings, based on the inferred relationship between the user&#39;s financial profile and the news article, and optionally incorporating historical data such as past stock performance for this company or the user&#39;s past investment behavior. In this manner, it can be appreciated that the virtual assistant platform  110  provides a variety of proactive functionality to users that is not possible with current technologies, offering personalized suggestions and “reaching out” to a user when necessary without requiring a user to track their own accounts and manually take action. 
         [0045]    According to the embodiment, a variety of algorithm-based approaches and data organizational schema may be used to process and analyze data from sources. For example, an internal storage of a user&#39;s information and accounts may be modeled as a hierarchical structure of “titles”, each title referring to a configured account, profile, or other significant piece of user information that may be monitored for changes and interactions with other titles. Each title communicates with its relevant and defined data sources (such as associated bank accounts, stock tickers, or other information source associate with a configured user account) as to create “status vectors” representing the flow of information from a data source to a title and ultimately to a user. Communication may occur according to defined parameters such as an operating mode or interval, for example to update information (checking for any changes, analyzing any new information, etc.) every 15 minutes. When a change is identified within any title, the status vector may be delivered to the title entity and used to notify the user. Index entities may be used internally to refer to discrete portions of information within titles, such as a particular stock&#39;s last closing price or a user&#39;s social media feed. Every title and index entity may be assigned its own status vector, and status vectors may be aggregated from all significant data pushed to these internal entities by all related APIs. 
         [0046]    A user entity may be internally used to represent a human user, and to organize and manage all of the user&#39;s data (this may be thought of as a container into which the title hierarchy is placed to associate everything with a user and keep user information separate from other users). The status vector of a user entity is created from all evaluated titles, and this entity may have a data space comprising historical data used to prepare reports and statistics, and a plurality of entity properties that may be used as drivers for evaluation (such as, for example, “type of investor” or “strength of social network presence”) and that may comprise all communication details for the user. 
       Detailed Description of Exemplary Embodiments 
       [0047]      FIG. 2  is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary overview method  200  for operating a virtual assistant platform with deep analytics and proactive interaction, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. According to the embodiment, a data collector  112  may collect a variety of data from external sources in a data mining operation  201 . Mined data may then be provided to an analysis engine  114  to be analyzed for personal relevance  202  such as connections between user accounts (for example, if new information from a social media posting refers to a company the user has invested in), social relevance  203  such as connections with external social information (for example, public news or social media postings) or with other users (such as a user&#39;s friends, colleagues, or family), and for situational awareness  204  such as known current events or historical trends. Observed data correlations may be used to generate recommendations  205  based on data relationships, and may be handled by analysis engine  114  in real-time  206  so that recommendations are produced while they are most relevant-that is, immediately upon discovering changes in data or interactions between relevant data, and with real-time situational awareness providing information context. Real-time notifications  207  may then be produced for presentation to the user, such as suggested actions to take in response to observed or predicated changes, alerts based on changes to a user&#39;s relevant data (such as fluctuations in stock prices, or life events in social network postings for relevant users such as family), or other notification types. 
         [0048]      FIG. 3  is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method  300  for operating a virtual assistant platform with deep analytics and proactive interaction, illustrating an exemplary use case of deep analytics insights to generate personalized notifications for a user. According to the embodiment, data collection  301  may receive a variety of information inputs from different sources such as a social media posting  301   a  where a user uploaded a photograph of a newborn baby, a credit card transaction showing the user purchasing diapers  301   b , and an email conversation discussing parenting  301   c . This information may then be processed using deep analytics  302  by an analysis engine  114  to find additional relevant data such as a scheduled OBGYN appointment  302   a , and to reveal data correlations  302   b  and create a data “scenario” that connects the information to form a larger view of the events occurring behind these discrete data points. This scenario may then be used to cross-examine with other information, for example checking a user&#39;s finances  303   a  to check the state of their savings or investments, or to see whether they have any financial preparation plans established. Another example may be to check a user&#39;s housing situation  303   b , to see how their current living arrangements compare against metrics like crime rates or quality of nearby education for their new child. This additional information may then be used to produce specific recommendations and provide them for review by the user, such as prompting the user to review their budgeting goals  304   a  to revise them for new expenses involved with having a new child or to begin a  529  plan or other preparatory plan to save for future expenses, or to recommend housing changes such as suggesting alternative housing  304   b  that fits the user&#39;s current or proposed budget (for example, after considering savings for child expenses) that may be near better schools, have a number of daycares nearby, or have low crime rates. 
         [0049]      FIG. 8  is a flow diagram illustrating the use of a virtual assistant with deep analytics and proactive interaction for predicting and managing the impact of a global event, illustrating processing of an oil refinery accident and its impact on markets and users. In an initial step  801 , a news outlet may report on an event such as an oil refinery accident or other event with potentially far-reaching effects. In a next step  802 , analysis engine  114  may analyze available information for situational awareness  204 , for example to check for related news events (such as a conflict in the region of the oil refinery), financial information (such as companies involved with this oil refinery and events relating to them such as recent or upcoming mergers), or other relevant information title entities (as described previously, referring to  FIG. 1 ). 
         [0050]    This situational awareness may then be used to perform a variety of analysis examinations of available data to determine who or what may be affected by this event  801 , and to determine how to respond. Analysis engine  114  may check to determine whether any events are predicted to have a causal relationship with the initial event  803 , for example analyzing potential contributing factors or events that may be triggered such as increased local unemployment while the refinery is repaired or abandoned, and may notify users  803   a  that would be affected by these predicted events or that may already be affected by related contributing events without realizing it. 
         [0051]    Analysis engine  114  may then examine financial markets to determine what changes have occurred or are predicted to occur resulting from this event  804 , such as changes in the value of crude oil or in the stock value of the company that owns the oil refinery. Users affected by these market changes may be notified  804   a  and optionally provided with suggested actions to take, such as to sell stock in one company and buy in another to take advantage of the market reaction to the event. 
         [0052]    Analysis engine  114  may then check to see if other companies may be affected by the event  805  such as partners or competitors of the company owning the oil refinery, and may notify users involved with those companies to proactively bring their attention to the potential changes due to this event and optionally offer suggested actions to take. For example, a user may own stock in a nearby transportation company that has a contract to transport crude oil into the refinery, that may decrease in value now that the refinery is not operating. The user may then be prompted to sell this stock before the market reflects this change, to minimize their losses due to the event. 
         [0053]    When all situational processing is complete, users that may be interested in this event may be notified  806 , such as users who have specified a preference for following news pertaining to the local region where the oil refinery is located, or who are interested in news related to energy or resources. For example, a user may not be affected by an event but may still wish to follow it for various reasons, and they may be notified of the event based on their preference for being kept informed despite the fact that they are unaffected. Another user may potentially be affected, but has not made their information available for analysis (this may be referred to as a “lurker”), instead choosing to stay informed of news events so they can manually decide how to respond. 
         [0054]      FIG. 9  is a flow diagram illustrating the use of a virtual assistant with deep analytics and proactive interaction for assisting a user with a financial trade, illustrating the use of historical analysis and proactive notification to provide the user with a recommendation. In an initial step  901 , a user enters a trade they wish to perform. The data for this trade is then recorded as data lots  902  to be stored for future reference, such as the specific stocks or commodities being traded, amounts, values, and other trade-related information. Analysis engine  114  may then identify patterns in trade data  903  such as trends in market value or user behavioral tendencies, such as if a user tends to invest in similar types of commodity or tends to sell in response to certain types of events. These patterns may then be analyzed  904  to determine various probability statistics, such as to extrapolate the likelihood that a user will take a particular action under specific circumstances, or the probabilities for various trade outcomes based on known patterns and historical data. A notification may then be generated for presentation to the user  905 , based on past trades and other historical data and analysis insights such as patterns and probabilities related to the trade. This notification may then be provided to the user  906  with a plurality of proactive suggestions to help the user improve their trade, by incorporating analysis insights based on historical performance and predictions based on patterns and probabilities to improve the outcome of the user&#39;s trade. The user may then choose to modify their trade in light of the suggestions received, or simply to submit as-is  907 , at which point the trade data and results are recorded for future reference  908  and use in further analysis for future trades. 
         [0055]      FIG. 10  is a flow diagram illustrating the use of a “batting average” algorithm to assist users with financial decisions. According to the embodiment, a user&#39;s performance (described as “batting average” and “slugging %”) may be calculated based on a variety of information that may be collected and calculated to accurately represent a user&#39;s trading performance. In an initial step  1001 , analysis engine  114  may find the corresponding “buy” and “sell” trades for a user. This may take into account a variety of possible situations, such as: the user bought one package and sold that same whole package; the user bought one package and sold it divided into parts; the user bought one package, then another package, and sold the packages together, or the user bought one package and sold a portion of it, then bought another package and sold the combined new package and remaining portion of the first package. In a next step  1002 , analysis engine  114  may download data about SPY index at the date of trade, and may then calculate the percent of change for the index, for example as (SPY at the clay of selling−SPY at the day of buying)/SPY at the day of buying). Next, price and principal data may be retrieved  1003  for use in calculations. 
         [0056]    In a next step  1004 , analysis engine  114  may calculate original investment (cost of buying), looking at the operation of corresponding buying for this package. For example: 
         [0000]    
       
      
       Cb 
       i 
       =Q 
       i 
       *Pb  
      
     
         [0057]    For trade on 7.24.2013: 
         [0058]    Cb1=4000 (Quantity)*0.5(Price of buying)=2000 
         [0059]    This corresponds to the cost of buying for asset (original investment; how much did the user pay when they bought a package); below is an exemplary calculation for the cost of selling for asset  1005 . Information may be retrieved from the web about SPY index: it is necessary to find out the % of change for SPY index between date of buying trade and selling trade. 
         [0060]    The Cost of Selling: 
         [0000]        Cs   i   =Q   i   *Ps   i =Principal i    
         [0061]    For trade on 7.24.2013:
       Cs1=4000 (Quantity)*0.8 (Price of selling)=3200 (! That&#39;s Principal)       
 
         [0063]    Cost of selling may be calculated  1005  and corresponds to the amount that a user is selling, multiplied by price of selling. It should be equal to Principal, so it is possible to just take the meaning of Principal. 
         [0064]    Dollar Value of a Trade: 
         [0000]        V   i =Principal i   −Cb   i    
         [0065]    For trade on 7.24.2013:
       V1=3200−2000=1200       
 
         [0067]    Next the overall “value” of a trade may be calculated  1006 . Dollar value corresponds to the difference between how much the user gains from a trade and how much they paid for the trade. 
         [0068]    Next, the absolute, relative, and average return values may be calculated  1007 , for example using calculation algorithms below. 
         [0069]    The absolute return for Qi (each trade of selling): 
         [0000]    
       
         
           
             
               AR 
               i 
               ′ 
             
             = 
             
               
                 
                   Principal 
                   i 
                 
                 - 
                 
                   Cb 
                   i 
                 
               
               
                 Cb 
                 i 
               
             
           
         
       
       
         
           
             AR1=1200/2000=0.6 
           
         
       
     
         [0071]    Efficiency of each trade (percent): 
         [0000]        E   i =AR i *100%       E1=60%         
         [0073]    Relative return (comparing to S&amp;P 500, SPY in this case): 
         [0000]      RR i   =E   i   −SPY   i          RR1=60%−0.339387%=59.66061%         
         [0075]    Average absolute return: 
         [0000]    
       
         
           
             
               
                 AR 
                 _ 
               
               TQ 
             
             = 
             
               
                 
                   ∑ 
                   
                     i 
                     = 
                     1 
                   
                   n 
                 
                  
                 
                   AR 
                   i 
                 
               
               n 
             
           
         
       
     
         [0076]    Optional auxiliary computations may include: 
         [0077]    If RR i &gt;=0 then: 
         [0078]    F i =1 (the “flag”) and N w =N w +1 
         [0079]    Nw−number of “winning” trades. 
         [0080]    Otherwise (RR i &lt;0): 
         [0081]    F i =0 and N L =N L +1 
         [0082]    NL−number of “loosing” trades. 
         [0083]    For example: 
         [0084]    For the trade on 7.24.2013:
       RR&gt;0=&gt;F1=1. Nw+1. N1+0 (that&#39;s the “winning” trade)       
 
         [0086]    These statistics may then be used to compute the batting average 1008 for a user, to indicate their trading performance for use in forming predications and recommendations for current and future trades. 
         [0087]    Batting Average: 
         [0000]    
       
         
           
             BA 
             = 
             
               
                 N 
                 w 
               
               
                 N 
                 L 
               
             
           
         
       
     
         [0088]    For all trades where Fi=1 (that indicates a “winning trade”): 
         [0000]    
       
         
           
             
               
                 V 
                 _ 
               
               W 
             
             = 
             
               
                 
                   ∑ 
                   
                     j 
                     = 
                     1 
                   
                   Nw 
                 
                  
                 
                   V 
                   j 
                 
               
               
                 N 
                 w 
               
             
           
         
       
     
         [0089]    This summarizes the amount of money (dollar value of a trade) for all the winning trades and divide it by the number of winning trades. 
         [0090]    For all trades where Fi=0 (that indicates a “losing trade”):: 
         [0000]    
       
         
           
             
               
                 V 
                 _ 
               
               L 
             
             = 
             
               
                 
                   ∑ 
                   
                     j 
                     = 
                     1 
                   
                   Nl 
                 
                  
                 
                   V 
                   j 
                 
               
               
                 N 
                 l 
               
             
           
         
       
     
         [0091]    Slugging Percentage: 
         [0000]    
       
         
           
             SP 
             = 
             
               
                 
                   V 
                   _ 
                 
                 W 
               
               
                 
                   V 
                   _ 
                 
                 l 
               
             
           
         
       
     
         [0092]      FIG. 11  is a process diagram  1100  showing how user notifications are generated from events regarding assets, according to an embodiment of the invention. According to the embodiment, portions status vectors  1105  are sent as partial status vectors  1106  to an asset entity  1110 , which may be for example a software module configured to receive messages comprising partial status vectors  1106  and to apply rules in handling those messages. Asset entity  1110  may comprise a plurality of scenarios, such as scenario  1   1111 , scenario  2   1112 , and scenario  3   1113 , as well as historical data  1114  pertaining to an underlying asset represented by asset entity  1110  (e.g., a stock/equity asset or a bond asset). As partial status vectors  1106  arrive at asset entity  1110 , they are evaluated against one or more scenarios  1111 - 1113 , possibly using historical data  1114  as well, and when appropriate scenario-generated messages may be sent (e.g., message  1   1115 , message  2   1116 , message  3   1117 , and the like). These messages may in turn be sent directly to a user  1101 , and may also be sent to one or more portfolio entities  1120 . Like asset entity  1110 , portfolio entity  1120  may comprise one or more scenarios  1121 ,  1122  and historical data  1123 . Portfolio entity  1120 , on receiving messages  1115 - 1117 , evaluates the messages according to one or more scenarios  1121 ,  1122  and potentially generates messages  1125 ,  1126 , which are sent to user  1101 . In this way, as events occur regarding various assets, the corresponding asset status vectors  1105  may be modified, and portions of these vectors may be sent (as partial status vectors  1106 ) to asset entities  1110  for processing, thereby potentially generating asset-level and portfolio-level messages that are sent to user  1101  as a result of the underlying asset events. 
         [0093]      FIG. 12  is a data flow diagram  1200  showing various data sources and objects in relation to users, according to an embodiment of the invention. According to the embodiment, software APIs may be used to connect to data sources such as bond markets  1215 , commodities markets  1216 , or Bloomberg  1217  or similar financial data or media sources, and may connect specific asset types such as the Dow Jones  1213  or other financial news or publishing firm, the DAX  1212  or other stock market index, or a variety of commodities such as (for example) agricultural commodities  1211  such as wheat or tobacco, or raw materials  1210  such as metals or oil. An API for a particular data source may be configured to receive information from the data source in its native format (that is, as it is naturally stored and provided by that source) and provide any necessary translations or transformations to accommodate the information and integrate it with other data and systems, such as data from other APIs so that information may be stored, tracked, and viewed in a consistent manner. Within a plurality of data sources and asset types, there may be a number of specific assets relevant to a user  1240  such as a user&#39;s equities  1220 - 1222 , commodities  1225 - 1227 , and bonds  1230 - 1232 . Additional information may be collected from other data sources  1250  such as financial indices and news sources, optionally with or without the use of a specific API as needed (for example, news article information may be publicly available and presented in plaintext, facilitating ease of collection and integration without the use of specially-written software). 
         [0094]      FIG. 13  is a process and data flow diagram  1300  showing sequential flow of data and actions leading to user notification, according to an embodiment of the invention. According to the embodiment, a plurality of data sources  1310  such as (for example) YAHOO™  1311 , Standard &amp; Poor&#39;s Financial Services  1312 , or RSS feed data  1313  may be collected via a variety of communication adapters  1315  such as APIs for data sources  1316 - 1318 , or an RSS evaluator  1319  that may be used to selectively identify relevant information and process it for use (for example, stripping irrelevant content and identifying associated data. Collected data may also comprise an asset hierarchy  1320  describing an organized structure for storing and processing asset-related information, for example an asset type (such as stocks) may be near the “head” of a hierarchical structure, with specific sources (such as specific traded corporations on the stock index) underneath, each branching out into specific assets (specific stocks for the corporations). Collected data may then be evaluated  1325 , incorporated asset evaluation  1326  for a specific user portfolio  1335  by collecting and evaluating the user&#39;s owned assets  1336 - 1338  and parameters for their assets  1340 - 1342  such as quantity, date acquired, and other information values that may be associated with a particular asset. Portfolio evaluation  1327  may consider a user&#39;s portfolio  1335  as well as known information from data sources and an asset hierarchy  1320 , and an evaluation of potential  1328  may identify various potential values relevant to the portfolio (such as identifying trends or likely events that may affect a user&#39;s portfolio, or that they may wish to act upon preemptively). Evaluation results may then be sent to a user application  1329  for review. User definitions  1330  may be any number of information values associated with the user, such as demographic information and other user-specific or identifying information. 
         [0095]      FIG. 14  is a diagram illustrating an exemplary process flow diagram  1400  showing how partial status vectors lead to user notifications, according to an embodiment of the invention. According to the embodiment, a partial status vector  1410  may comprise a number of specific status values such as volume, average daily variance, or real-time change. These values may be analyzed  1440  to determine appropriate actions to take, such as checking whether volume is greater than a configured threshold for daily variance  1411  and returning true  1415  or false  1416 , or whether it is true  1417 - 1419  that the real-time daily change is greater than  1412 , less than  1413 , or equal to  1414  the overall change of an index (indicating how this particular asset is performing relative to the market overall). Analysis may then drive user notifications, for example if a volume returns “true”  1415  when checked against the average daily variance, then a notification rule may trigger as “true”  1425 , notifying a user  1430  accordingly. However, if the same analysis returns “false”  1416 , a different notification rule  1426  may trigger, and additionally any notification rule may check against data sources such as RSS feeds  1420 , for example to verify whether a change is being discussed or presented as positive or negative. 
         [0096]      FIG. 15  is a table showing a typical status vector  1500 , according to an embodiment of the invention. According to the embodiment, a status vector  1500  may comprise any number of data types  1501  and values  1502  for an asset, such as (for example) the last price the asset traded at, the last price the asset was trading at when the market closed, the current daily or yearly high and low price values, daily trade volume, current beta (indicating volatility relative to the market as a whole), dividend yield, the status timestamp of the last update, or direct market access values. 
         [0097]      FIG. 16  is a diagram showing communication flow from status vectors  1610  to user messages  1625 - 1627 , according to an embodiment of the invention. According to the embodiment, a plurality of status vectors  1610  comprising portfolio data  1611 - 1612  may be analyzed for information on asset entities within those portfolios  1620  and processed according to a plurality of scenarios  1621 - 1623 , generating messages  1625 - 1627  based on the outcome of analysis (as described previously in greater detail, referring to  FIG. 11  and  FIG. 14 , above). 
         [0098]      FIG. 17  is a method diagram for computing batting averages and triggering rules by trading activity of a user, according to an embodiment of the invention. In an initial step  1701  of method  1700 , a plurality of purchase prices for a user&#39;s previous trades are determined. In a next step  1702 , the corresponding sales prices may be determined for these trades. In a next step  1703 , the relevant market index price may be determined for each transaction time for these historical trades. In next steps  1704 - 1705 , the absolute and relative return values may be determined for trades, and in a next step  1706 , determined values may be utilized to compute a user&#39;s batting average and slugging percentage across these historical trades. In a next step  1707 , the tax efficiency of trades may be computed, and in a next step  1708 , any fees for trades may be computed. In a next step  1709 , the price efficiency may be determined, and in a final step  1710  any rules triggered by these trades may be determined. 
         [0099]      FIG. 18  shows a hierarchical data arrangement  1800 , according to an embodiment of the invention. According to the embodiment, a market proxy  1801  may be utilized to act as a representative for another market entity, for example if a commodity is not represented on an index but a company who produces the commodity is. A daily performance value  1802  may comprise a macro statistics  1803  value, which in turn comprises a plurality of information values organized into a hierarchical structure as illustrated. A security selection  1803  pertains to information on a given security, such as (for example, including but not limited to) the type  1804  of security, any known or identified trends  1805 , or news events  1808  pertaining to the security. Trends may be identified from a research process  1806  and fundamental market research  1807 . Asset allocation  1809  may comprise a model-driven asset allocation  1811  process that utilizes a structured asset hierarchy to analyze asset information, and variance to the proxy  1810  (if one is used) to determine how an asset if performing. Information may be stored on trades  1812  and trade timing or holding periods  1813 , and data collected on hedges  1814  comprising related trade data  1816  and whether it is an alpha- or pair-trade  1815 . Additionally, market influence data  1817  may be collected, including upside and downside capture ratios  1818 . 
         [0100]      FIG. 19  is an exemplary decision tree  1900 , according to an embodiment of the invention. According to the embodiment, the daily return for a proxy  1901  may be checked to determine whether it is currently on-target  1903 , or if it is over  1902  or under-performing  1904 . If it is not on-target, the historical data may be checked  1905  to determine how long it has been over or under-performing (under-performing only shown for simplicity and clarity), and this information may be used to determine if the performance is indicative of a trend  1906 . Then, the disparity in performance may be analyzed  1907  to determine the cause, by examining the proxy information hierarchy (as described above, referring to  FIG. 18 ) to identify influencing factors in performance. Security selection  1908  may be checked for security type  1913  and research  1918 , asset allocation  1909  may be checked for asset type  1914  and any possible drags on asset performance  1919 , trading performance  1910  may be checked for timing or holding periods  1915  and alpha information  1920 , market influence  1911  may be checked for upside or downside capture information  1916  (and if downside, then it can be determined that any performance is not due to market influence  1921 ), and hedges  1912  may be checked for type  1917  and alpha  1922  information. 
         [0101]      FIG. 20  is an exemplary decision tree  2000 , according to an embodiment of the invention. According to the embodiment, asset allocation  2001  may be examined for asset type  2002  and then to determine where any determined variance is coming from  2003 . Equities  2004  may be checked for their value  2010  and growth  2009 , as well as their growth potential (for example, whether they are large  2015  or mid  2016  growth equities, or other growth capital types). Bonds  2005  may be checked for their type  2011  and potential performance drags  2017 , and commodities  2006  may be checked for timing and holding data  2012  as well as alpha data  2018 . Market influence  2007  may be checked for upside or downside capture information  2013  (and if downside, then it can be determined that any performance is not due to market influence  2019 ), and hedges  2008  may be checked for type  2014  and alpha  2020  information. 
         [0102]      FIG. 21  an exemplary decision tree  2100 , according to an embodiment of the invention. According to the embodiment, when a user enters a trade  2101 , data lots may be collected  2102  for the trade and recorded  2103 , and may then be analyzed to identify patterns  2104 . From this analysis, patterns and probabilities may be determined  2105  and used for future trades  2106  to notify a user based on their trade history and performance. The user may then enter a new trade  2107 , which may optionally be the same trade (if they do not wish to alter their trade after reviewing performance data), and view any suggestions based on the new trade  2108 , resulting in improved trading  2109  through the use of analysis and live suggestions for improving performance based on past data and analysis results. 
         [0103]      FIG. 22  is a conceptual diagram  2200  showing different asset classes and goals, according to an embodiment of the invention. According to the embodiment, financial growth  2201  may be derived from a hierarchy of contributing factors, from low-risk secure investments (such as, for example, physical investments like a bomb shelter  2207 , low-risk municipal bonds  2208  or high-grade corporate investments  2209 ), the focus on low volume and consistency  2206  for medium-duration cash flow  2205 , to large-capital multi-net income investments  2204  focusing on cash flow equity  2203 , and analysis to identify missing elements  2202  to encourage growth through intelligent analysis and user notification to improve performance. 
         [0104]      FIG. 23  is an illustration of an exemplary user interface for a virtual assistant application, illustrating a series of proactive data-gathering prompts  2310   a - e  for establishing a user profile during an onboarding process, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. According to the embodiment, a user may interact with an interface  2310   a - e  via (for example) a software application operating on a computing device (such as a smartphone app) or via a web-based interface using a web browser on their device. Interface  2310   a - e  may be presented to a user during sign-up or account creation for use with a virtual assistant system  110  (as described previously, referring to  FIG. 1 ), and may present a user with a selection of proactively-generated questions and options for response. For example, a new user may be asked to specify certain types of assets  2310   a  and provided with a selection of items  2311   a - n  such as material possessions, financial accounts, accounts with services providers, or other types of assets that may be used for deep analysis according to the embodiments disclosed herein. A user may select a variable number of presented items (optionally selecting none, one, some, or all according to their particular use), and may then be given a button  2312  or other interactive element or prompt to proceed to the next interface for data gathering and account creation. 
         [0105]    As a user progresses through multiple data gathering screens  2310   a - c , they may be asked different questions and provided different response selections, such as to collect details about home ownership  2310   b  or personal preferences for types of alerts or notifications they wish to receive  2310   c . The nature of questions and the generation of response options may be driven at least in part by previous responses, driving the direction of questioning and curating possible responses based on information already gathered on a user. For example, if a user responds that they do not own a house, a homeownership questionnaire  2310   b  may be omitted, or replaced with a different questionnaire that pertains to their particular housing arrangement (such as renting an apartment). In this manner, each user receives progressively more personalized questions and response choices as more data is collected, and responses become more precisely targeted to the particular user. For example, a user that has provided specific financial and homeownership details may then be shown response choices that are targeted specifically at homeowners in their income bracket who are in a similar financial situation, giving the user the impression of a deeply personal experience and of interacting with a system that “knows them”. This in turn improves the quality of data gathering, as more precise responses can be more strongly linked with a particular user and as data becomes more fine-tuned results will in turn become more relevant. 
         [0106]    When a user has completed all prompts (if configured to use a fixed number of questionnaires or a fixed length of time for initial data gathering) or if they have selected to finish answering questions and providing data (if the user is permitted to decide when they would like to be finished and data gathering otherwise continues indefinitely until the user decides to end it), they may be shown a final registration screen  2310   d  where they may provide basic account information such as their name  2313  and an email address  2314  for account creation (so they may retrieve their information or modify their account at a later time), and a submission button  2315  or other interactive element to complete the account creation process and proceed to their account view  2310   e.    
         [0107]    In an account view  2310   e , a user may be shown additional questions  2316  to be answered at their discretion, to allow a more casual or passive data gathering to continue whenever a user views their account (that is, a user may choose whether to answer the question, or how many to answer, and is only shown them while they are interacting with their account view  2310   e  rather than undertaking an explicit data gathering process as they did when establishing the account). Shown questions  2316  may also show the user a question number  2317  to indicate how many questions they have completed, or optionally “how complete” an information category is based on the data they have provided (for example, “your financial profile is 80% complete, would you like to complete it now by providing additional information?”), as well as offering a button  2318  or other interactive element to enable a user to view completed questions or previously-provided information for review or modification (such as if their finances have changed or they have moved, for example). A plurality of actions  2319   a - n  related to a displayed question may be presented to the user for consideration, the actions being proactively generated based on the question and the user&#39;s response (or lack thereof), and any known information relevant to the current question. These actions  2319   a - n  may be any of a variety of activities that may affect the user&#39;s information or assets, such as signing up for a new IRA, in response to a question to determine whether the user already has an IRA established or not (for example, as shown). Additionally, a plurality of non-question-specific actions  2320   a - n  may be shown for the user&#39;s consideration, generated from deep analysis of the user&#39;s other information such as the user&#39;s answers to questionnaires, actions the user has previously performed or their results, or goals the user has set (or that a deep-analysis virtual assistant has recognized as being optimal for the user and is recommended they set if they have not yet done so) and offering a variety of options determined to be beneficial for the user, such as to refinance an auto loan, apply for a credit card with better rates or benefits, or take out a loan for specific use to help them achieve a goal. 
         [0108]      FIG. 24  is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method  2400  for an onboarding process using proactive data gathering and user profile generation using deep analysis for a rapid onboarding process, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. In an initial step  2401 , a new user begins account setup with a deep-analysis virtual assistant system, and is then prompted  2402  to provide basic information such as contact or demographic information useful to establish a unique user identity within the system and begin data gathering and generation of a user profile. A user profile may, at this point in the onboarding process, be empty or comprise minimal default information values or placeholders, and may be updated with new or additional information during the onboarding process. Data gathering then proceeds by analyzing the user&#39;s responses to the initial prompt  2403  and, after an initial prompt, producing a user profile  2403   a  comprising basic information pertaining to the new user such as produced by analysis of the user&#39;s initial responses. After a user profile has been created, onboarding continues by generating a prompt for further information based on the analysis  2404 , asking the user to provide additional information to enhance their profile. For example, a user that states in their initial information that they live in the USA and are in their mid-thirties may be prompted to provide information about their financial savings and housing, whereas a user who specifies that they are still in college may be asked about their degree and career plans. As the user continues providing information, the system checks  2405  to see whether an information threshold has been met, for example if the system is configured to gather X number of responses or continue asking questions for Y minutes, or other such thresholds to define an end condition for initial data gathering. If an end condition has not been met (or is not set), the system may check to determine whether a user has selected to end data gathering  2406 , for example if the user wishes to quit and continue setup at a later time, or if there is no end condition and the user is instructed to continue answering questions and providing data until they choose to finish. If the user has not decided to end data gathering yet, operation continues with additional analysis  2403  and data gathering prompts  2404  in a continuous fashion. 
         [0109]    When an end condition is met  2405 , or if a user has decided to end data gathering  2406 , all provided data may be analyzed  2407  and additional data connections and insights may be determined through deep-learning analysis as described above (referring to  FIGS. 1-2 ), for example to identify additional financial markets the user may be interested in based on provided financial information and interests, or to identify connections to other existing users such as friends and family, or other data insights. The system may then produce a viewable profile to associate with the user  2408 , comprising the profile that has been built during the onboarding process and encompassing their provided information and preferences, configuration details, personal information such as contact and demographics details, and other information that may be associated with or relevant to a particular user. This profile may be presented to the user for review and interaction as described above in  FIG. 23 , and may then be stored for further use in deep-analysis and virtual assistant operations. 
       Hardware Architecture 
       [0110]    Generally, the techniques disclosed herein may be implemented on hardware or a combination of software and hardware. For example, they may be implemented in an operating system kernel, in a separate user process, in a library package bound into network applications, on a specially constructed machine, on an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or on a network interface card. 
         [0111]    Software/hardware hybrid implementations of at least some of the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented on a programmable network-resident machine (which should be understood to include intermittently connected network-aware machines) selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in memory. Such network devices may have multiple network interfaces that may be configured or designed to utilize different types of network communication protocols. A general architecture for some of these machines may be described herein in order to illustrate one or more exemplary means by which a given unit of functionality may be implemented. According to specific embodiments, at least some of the features or functionalities of the various embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented on one or more general-purpose computers associated with one or more networks, such as for example an end-user computer system, a client computer, a network server or other server system, a mobile computing device (e.g., tablet computing device, mobile phone, smartphone, laptop, or other appropriate computing device), a consumer electronic device, a music player, or any other suitable electronic device, router, switch, or other suitable device, or any combination thereof. In at least some embodiments, at least some of the features or functionalities of the various embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented in one or more virtualized computing environments (e.g., network computing clouds, virtual machines hosted on one or more physical computing machines, or other appropriate virtual environments). 
         [0112]    Referring now to  FIG. 4 , there is shown a block diagram depicting an exemplary computing device  10  suitable for implementing at least a portion of the features or functionalities disclosed herein. Computing device  10  may be, for example, any one of the computing machines listed in the previous paragraph, or indeed any other electronic device capable of executing software- or hardware-based instructions according to one or more programs stored in memory. Computing device  10  may be configured to communicate with a plurality of other computing devices, such as clients or servers, over communications networks such as a wide area network a metropolitan area network, a local area network, a wireless network, the Internet, or any other network, using known protocols for such communication, whether wireless or wired. 
         [0113]    In one embodiment, computing device  10  includes one or more central processing units (CPU)  12 , one or more interfaces  15 , and one or more busses  14  (such as a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus). When acting under the control of appropriate software or firmware, CPU  12  may be responsible for implementing specific functions associated with the functions of a specifically configured computing device or machine. For example, in at least one embodiment, a computing device  10  may be configured or designed to function as a server system utilizing CPU  12 , local memory  11  and/or remote memory  16 , and interface(s)  15 . In at least one embodiment, CPU  12  may be caused to perform one or more of the different types of functions and/or operations under the control of software modules or components, which for example, may include an operating system and any appropriate applications software, drivers, and the like. 
         [0114]    CPU  12  may include one or more processors  13  such as, for example, a processor from one of the Intel, ARM, Qualcomm, and AMD families of microprocessors. In some embodiments, processors  13  may include specially designed hardware such as application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), electrically erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and so forth, for controlling operations of computing device  10 . In a specific embodiment, a local memory  11  (such as non-volatile random access memory (RAM) and/or read-only memory (ROM), including for example one or more levels of cached memory) may also form part of CPU  12 . However, there are many different ways in which memory may be coupled to system  10 . Memory  11  may be used for a variety of purposes such as, for example, caching and/or storing data, programming instructions, and the like. It should be further appreciated that CPU  12  may be one of a variety of system-on-a-chip (SOC) type hardware that may include additional hardware such as memory or graphics processing chips, such as a QUALCOMM SNAPDRAGON™ or SAMSUNG EXYNOS™ CPU as are becoming increasingly common in the art, such as for use in mobile devices or integrated devices. 
         [0115]    As used herein, the term “processor” is not limited merely to those integrated circuits referred to in the art as a processor, a mobile processor, or a microprocessor, but broadly refers to a microcontroller, a microcomputer, a programmable logic controller, an application-specific integrated circuit, and any other programmable circuit. 
         [0116]    In one embodiment, interfaces  15  are provided as network interface cards (NICs). Generally, NICs control the sending and receiving of data packets over a computer network; other types of interfaces  15  may for example support other peripherals used with computing device  10 . Among the interfaces that may be provided are Ethernet interfaces, frame relay interfaces, cable interfaces, DSL interfaces, token ring interfaces, graphics interfaces, and the like. In addition, various types of interfaces may be provided such as, for example, universal serial bus (USB), Serial, Ethernet, FIREWIRE™, THUNDERBOLT™, PCI, parallel, radio frequency (RF), BLUETOOTH™, near-field communications (e.g., using near-field magnetics), 802.11 (WiFi), frame relay, TCP/IP, ISDN, fast Ethernet interfaces, Gigabit Ethernet interfaces, Serial ATA (SATA) or external SATA (ESATA) interfaces, high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI), digital visual interface (DVI), analog or digital audio interfaces, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) interfaces, high-speed serial interface (HSSI) interfaces, Point of Sale (POS) interfaces, fiber data distributed interfaces (FDDIs), and the like. Generally, such interfaces  15  may include physical ports appropriate for communication with appropriate media. In some cases, they may also include an independent processor (such as a dedicated audio or video processor, as is common in the art for high-fidelity A/V hardware interfaces) and, in some instances, volatile and/or non-volatile memory (e.g., RAM). 
         [0117]    Although the system shown in  FIG. 4  illustrates one specific architecture for a computing device  10  for implementing one or more of the inventions described herein, it is by no means the only device architecture on which at least a portion of the features and techniques described herein may be implemented. For example, architectures having one or any number of processors  13  may be used, and such processors  13  may be present in a single device or distributed among any number of devices. In one embodiment, a single processor  13  handles communications as well as routing computations, while in other embodiments a separate dedicated communications processor may be provided. In various embodiments, different types of features or functionalities may be implemented in a system according to the invention that includes a client device (such as a tablet device or smartphone running client software) and server systems (such as a server system described in more detail below). 
         [0118]    Regardless of network device configuration, the system of the present invention may employ one or more memories or memory modules (such as, for example, remote memory block  16  and local memory  11 ) configured to store data, program instructions for the general-purpose network operations, or other information relating to the functionality of the embodiments described herein (or any combinations of the above). Program instructions may control execution of or comprise an operating system and/or one or more applications, for example. Memory  16  or memories  11 ,  16  may also be configured to store data structures, configuration data, encryption data, historical system operations information, or any other specific or generic non-program information described herein. 
         [0119]    Because such information and program instructions may be employed to implement one or more systems or methods described herein, at least some network device embodiments may include nontransitory machine-readable storage media, which, for example, may be configured or designed to store program instructions, state information, and the like for performing various operations described herein. Examples of such nontransitory machine-readable storage media include, but are not limited to, magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape; optical media such as CD-ROM disks; magneto-optical media such as optical disks, and hardware devices that are specially configured to store and perform program instructions, such as read-only memory devices (ROM), flash memory (as is common in mobile devices and integrated systems), solid state drives (SSD) and “hybrid SSD” storage drives that may combine physical components of solid state and hard disk drives in a single hardware device (as are becoming increasingly common in the art with regard to personal computers), memristor memory, random access memory (RAM), and the like. It should be appreciated that such storage means may be integral and non-removable (such as RAM hardware modules that may be soldered onto a motherboard or otherwise integrated into an electronic device), or they may be removable such as swappable flash memory modules (such as “thumb drives” or other removable media designed for rapidly exchanging physical storage devices), “hot-swappable” hard disk drives or solid state drives, removable optical storage discs, or other such removable media, and that such integral and removable storage media may be utilized interchangeably. Examples of program instructions include both object code, such as may be produced by a compiler, machine code, such as may be produced by an assembler or a linker, byte code, such as may be generated by for example a JAVA™ compiler and may be executed using a Java virtual machine or equivalent, or files containing higher level code that may be executed by the computer using an interpreter (for example, scripts written in Python, Perl, Ruby, Groovy, or any other scripting language). 
         [0120]    In some embodiments, systems according to the present invention may be implemented on a standalone computing system. Referring now to  FIG. 5 , there is shown a block diagram depicting a typical exemplary architecture of one or more embodiments or components thereof on a standalone computing system. Computing device  20  includes processors  21  that may run software that carry out one or more functions or applications of embodiments of the invention, such as for example a client application  24 . Processors  21  may carry out computing instructions under control of an operating system  22  such as, for example, a version of MICROSOFT WINDOWS™ operating system, APPLE OSX™ or iOS™ operating systems, some variety of the Linux operating system, ANDROID™ operating system, or the like. In many cases, one or more shared services  23  may be operable in system  20 , and may be useful for providing common services to client applications  24 . Services  23  may for example be WINDOWS™ services, user-space common services in a Linux environment, or any other type of common service architecture used with operating system  21 . Input devices  28  may be of any type suitable for receiving user input, including for example a keyboard, touchscreen, microphone (for example, for voice input), mouse, touchpad, trackball, or any combination thereof. Output devices  27  may be of any type suitable for providing output to one or more users, whether remote or local to system  20 , and may include for example one or more screens for visual output, speakers, printers, or any combination thereof. Memory  25  may be random-access memory having any structure and architecture known in the art, for use by processors  21 , for example to run software. Storage devices  26  may be any magnetic, optical, mechanical, memristor, or electrical storage device for storage of data in digital form (such as those described above, referring to  FIG. 4 ). Examples of storage devices  26  include flash memory, magnetic hard drive, CD-ROM, and/or the like. 
         [0121]    In some embodiments, systems of the present invention may be implemented on a distributed computing network, such as one having any number of clients and/or servers. Referring now to  FIG. 6 , there is shown a block diagram depicting an exemplary architecture  30  for implementing at least a portion of a system according to an embodiment of the invention on a distributed computing network. According to the embodiment, any number of clients  33  may be provided. Each client  33  may run software for implementing client-side portions of the present invention; clients may comprise a system  20  such as that illustrated in  FIG. 5 . In addition, any number of servers  32  may be provided for handling requests received from one or more clients  33 . Clients  33  and servers  32  may communicate with one another via one or more electronic networks  31 , which may be in various embodiments any of the Internet, a wide area network, a mobile telephony network (such as CDMA or GSM cellular networks), a wireless network (such as WiFi, WiMAX, LTE, and so forth), or a local area network (or indeed any network topology known in the art; the invention does not prefer any one network topology over any other). Networks  31  may be implemented using any known network protocols, including for example wired and/or wireless protocols. 
         [0122]    In addition, in some embodiments, servers  32  may call external services  37  when needed to obtain additional information, or to refer to additional data concerning a particular call. Communications with external services  37  may take place, for example, via one or more networks  31 . In various embodiments, external services  37  may comprise web-enabled services or functionality related to or installed on the hardware device itself. For example, in an embodiment where client applications  24  are implemented on a smartphone or other electronic device, client applications  24  may obtain information stored in a server system  32  in the cloud or on an external service  37  deployed on one or more of a particular enterprise&#39;s or user&#39;s premises. 
         [0123]    In some embodiments of the invention, clients  33  or servers  32  (or both) may make use of one or more specialized services or appliances that may be deployed locally or remotely across one or more networks  31 . For example, one or more databases  34  may be used or referred to by one or more embodiments of the invention. It should be understood by one having ordinary skill in the art that databases  34  may be arranged in a wide variety of architectures and using a wide variety of data access and manipulation means. For example, in various embodiments one or more databases  34  may comprise a relational database system using a structured query language (SQL), while others may comprise an alternative data storage technology such as those referred to in the art as “NoSQL” (for example, HADOOP CASSANDRA™, GOOGLE BIGTABLE™, and so forth). In some embodiments, variant database architectures such as column-oriented databases, in-memory databases, clustered databases, distributed databases, or even flat file data repositories may be used according to the invention. It will be appreciated by one having ordinary skill in the art that any combination of known or future database technologies may be used as appropriate, unless a specific database technology or a specific arrangement of components is specified for a particular embodiment herein. Moreover, it should be appreciated that the term “database” as used herein may refer to a physical database machine, a cluster of machines acting as a single database system, or a logical database within an overall database management system. Unless a specific meaning is specified for a given use of the term “database”, it should be construed to mean any of these senses of the word, all of which are understood as a plain meaning of the term “database” by those having ordinary skill in the art. 
         [0124]    Similarly, most embodiments of the invention may make use of one or more security systems  36  and configuration systems  35 . Security and configuration management are common information technology (IT) and web functions, and some amount of each are generally associated with any IT or web systems. It should be understood by one having ordinary skill in the art that any configuration or security subsystems known in the art now or in the future may be used in conjunction with embodiments of the invention without limitation, unless a specific security  36  or configuration system  35  or approach is specifically required by the description of any specific embodiment. 
         [0125]      FIG. 7  shows an exemplary overview of a computer system  40  as may be used in any of the various locations throughout the system. It is exemplary of any computer that may execute code to process data. Various modifications and changes may be made to computer system  40  without departing from the broader scope of the system and method disclosed herein. Central processor unit (CPU)  41  is connected to bus  42 , to which bus is also connected memory  43 , nonvolatile memory  44 , display  47 , input/output (I/O) unit  48 , and network interface card (NIC)  53 . I/O unit  48  may, typically, be connected to keyboard  49 , pointing device  50 , hard disk  52 , and real-time clock  51 . NIC  53  connects to network  54 , which may be the Internet or a local network, which local network may or may not have connections to the Internet. Also shown as part of system  40  is power supply unit  45  connected, in this example, to a main alternating current (AC) supply  46 . Not shown are batteries that could be present, and many other devices and modifications that are well known but are not applicable to the specific novel functions of the current system and method disclosed herein. It should be appreciated that some or all components illustrated may be combined, such as in various integrated applications, for example Qualcomm or Samsung system-on-a-chip (SOC) devices, or whenever it may be appropriate to combine multiple capabilities or functions into a single hardware device (for instance, in mobile devices such as smartphones, video game consoles, in-vehicle computer systems such as navigation or multimedia systems in automobiles, or other integrated hardware devices). 
         [0126]    In various embodiments, functionality for implementing systems or methods of the present invention may be distributed among any number of client and/or server components. For example, various software modules may be implemented for performing various functions in connection with the present invention, and such modules may be variously implemented to run on server and/or client components. 
         [0127]    The skilled person will be aware of a range of possible modifications of the various embodiments described above. Accordingly, the present invention is defined by the claims and their equivalents.