TARGET VIEWING USER RECOMMENDATION AND SELECTION FOR SECONDARY CONTENT PUBLICATION ON A PRIMARY CONTENT NETWORK

Systems and methods for improved delivery of secondary content in an electronic primary content network may include automated determination of recommended viewing users for content, automated determination of recommended feeds in which to publish the secondary content, and presentation of the content to the publishing users of the recommended feeds. Publishing users may accept content for publication in their public or private feeds. Potential viewing users may be matched to content based on public data, based on user engagement with content in public feeds, and based on user interests extrapolated from user engagement with content in private feeds.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure generally relates to selection of viewing users for secondary content, including third-party content and third-party-directed content such as advertisements, obtaining consent from potential viewing users to view the content, and presentation of that content to the viewing users in a streaming, social, or other electronic primary content network.

BACKGROUND

Third-party secondary content providers, such as advertisers, have long recognized streaming networks and social networks as a desirable outlet for content. Third-party content may be published to streaming and social networks according to a traditional model in which the third-party content provider compensates the network owner in exchange for publishing the content on the network, or when a publishing user of a social network discovers the third-party content and publishes it, or when the third-party content provider discovers a user independently and asks that user to publish the content. Alternatively, publication may be based on an algorithm of the network itself, i.e., automated publication to specific viewing users selected by the network provider, or publication to a public feed of the network.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Known methods and systems for presenting third-party secondary content or third-party-directed content in streaming networks, social media networks, and other electronic primary content networks can be improved upon in several ways. First, known methods and systems may not provide publishing users adequate (or any) control over which secondary third-party content or third-party-directed content appears alongside the publishing user's own primary content, and/or may not provide the third-party content provider adequate (or any) input into where and when the secondary content is published. Second, known methods and systems may not provide third-party content providers sufficient insight into which viewing users are appropriate or preferable target viewers or which publishing users control appropriate primary content channels for reaching those target viewing users, or allow third-party secondary content providers to select from such target viewing users or publishing users. Third, known methods and systems may not adequately utilize data respective of viewing user activity in primary content networks for determining user interests (which can be used to determine which users are preferable target viewers of content) while also protecting the users' privacy in that data. Fourth, known methods and systems may not provide viewing users sufficient incentive to view secondary content, or provide publishing users sufficient ability to incentivize such viewing.

Publication of third-party secondary content or third-party-directed secondary content in an electronic primary content network according to the present disclosure may improve upon known systems and methods. Publication of third-party content or third-party-directed content according to the present disclosure may include, in embodiments, automatically determining appropriate or preferred viewing users to be target viewers of third party content based on viewing user characteristics and based on target viewing user parameters provided by the content provider. Publication of third-party content or third-party-directed content according to the present disclosure may also include, in embodiments, allowing third-party content providers to select from recommended target viewing users, or publishing user feeds to which such target viewing users subscribe, for its content. Publication of third-party content or third-party-directed content according to the present disclosure may also include, in embodiments, allowing publishing users to select from third party content to be run in conjunction with the publishing user's own content, with knowledge of the third-party content or third-party-directed content and compensation associated with publication of the third party content alongside the publishing user's own content. Publication of third-party content or third-party-directed content according to the present disclosure may also include, in embodiments, extrapolating viewing user interests from viewing user interactions and activity in the electronic network, while also protecting the viewing user's privacy in the underlying data.

Publication of third party secondary content to viewing users according to the present disclosure may further include selecting one or more viewing users to receive an item of secondary content, such as an advertisement, news, etc., and transmitting a notification to each of the users. The notification may include an indication of the item of secondary content that is intended for the viewing user and an indication of compensation that will be provided to the viewing user if the viewing user views the secondary content or takes other action with respect to the secondary content. The viewing user may provide a response to the notification. If the viewing user responds affirmatively, the item of secondary content may be transmitted to the viewing user, and the viewing user may be compensated for receiving and viewing the secondary content. Notification-based and acceptance-based publication of content according to the present disclosure may find use on a social network, media streaming network, or other internet-based primary content delivery network. Primary content may include, for example, television shows, movies, social media posts created by a social media end user, and other content that fits the underlying purpose of the content delivery channel.

Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the same or similar features in the various views,FIG. 1is a diagrammatic view of an example embodiment of an electronic system100for selecting viewing users as target viewers for third-party secondary content or third-party-directed content, such as news, advertisements, etc., and presenting such content to viewing users on an electronic primary content network, such as a media streaming network, social network, etc. The system10may include a primary content network provider102, a third party content management system104, a viewing user data source106, one or more users108, and one or more third-party secondary content providers110.

The network provider102may include a processor112and a non-transitory, computer-readable memory114configured to store data and instructions. The processor112may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory114to perform one or more of the steps, methods, algorithms, etc. of this disclosure.

The network provider102may be configured to host and serve a content provision network, such as a media streaming platform, a social networking platform, or another form of electronic content delivery, to and for one or more publishing and users108. The network provider102may thus comprise one or more servers, databases, and/or other computing devices necessary or useful for electronically hosting and serving a content hosting and networking platform. The network provider102may provide the content delivery network through one or more web sites, applications, and/or other electronic interfaces.

In some embodiments, the network provider102may be configured to provide a media streaming network that provides video, audio, or other media streamed to a user computing device. The media streaming network may provide primary content such as songs, movies, television shows, short videos, and other entertainment or news content, in some embodiments. The media streaming network may also provide secondary content such as advertisements, in some embodiments.

The users108may include one or more viewing users116and, in some embodiments, one or more publishing users118. Viewing users116may be users of an electronic network that view content through that network. Publishing users118may be users of an electronic network that publish content to the network. In some embodiments, a single user may be both a viewing user116and a publishing user118. For example, on a social network, a single user may be both a publishing user118by posting their own videos, text, pictures, etc., and may be a viewing user116by viewing the videos, text, pictures, etc. posted by other publishing users118.

In some embodiments, the network provider102may be configured to provide a social network in which a user can define one or more feeds (which may be referred to herein as “bubbles”), in an embodiment. A “bubble” may consist of a publishing user118of the social network that owns the bubble and one or more viewing users116which are able to view the content posted to the bubble by the publishing user118. Viewing users116may be subscribed to the bubble, in some embodiments. The publishing user118may post content to the bubble, which content may be viewed by viewing users116such as subscribers to that bubble, in an embodiment. Viewing users116may interact with content posted by the publishing user118(e.g., by commenting, liking, etc.), but may not otherwise post content to the bubble, in an embodiment. A given publishing user118may own one or more bubbles, and viewing users116may subscribe to or otherwise access and view one or more bubbles, in embodiments.

The network provider102may accept primary and secondary content and other input from users108and publish that content and other input to the network to achieve the functionality of the network described herein. The network provider102may accept and publish content in the form of text, images, videos, and other digital media. In embodiments in which the network provider102provides a streaming network, the network provider102may publish content in general public feeds and/or in user-specific feeds, including public feeds tailored to one or more viewing users116and private feeds specific to particular viewing users116. In embodiments in which the network provider102provides a social network, the network provider102may also publish content to a public feed, in an embodiment, that is accessible to all or substantially all viewing users116, in addition to or instead of publishing to a bubble. Still further, in social network and media streaming network embodiments and other embodiments, the network provider102may also provide direct messaging and/or other communication functionality to enable users108to communicate with each other and/or with third party content providers110.

A social network hosted by the social network provider102may include both private and public bubbles, in an embodiment. When a publishing user118publishes content to a public bubble, that content may be visible to viewing users116of the social network, including subscribers to that public bubble and other viewing users118. Further, viewing user116interactions with posted content (e.g., comments, likes, etc.) may be visible to the publishing user118who owns the bubble, to bubble subscribers, and to other users of the social network.

For private bubbles in the social network, when the publishing user118posts content, that content may be visible only to viewing users116who are subscribers of that bubble, but not to other viewing users116(i.e., viewing users116who are not subscribed to that private bubble) of the social network. Further, viewing user116interaction with that content (e.g., likes, comments, etc.) may be visible to the publishing user118who owns the private bubble and to subscribers to the bubble, but not to non-subscriber viewing users116of the social network.

The social network provider102may be in electronic communication with the third-party content management system104for the third-party content management system to provide third-party content to be published on the social network. Accordingly, the social network provider102may accept content from the third-party content management system104for publication on the social network, the social network provider102may provide an API through which the third-party content management system104may publish content to the social network, and/or the social network provider102may otherwise enable content from the third-party content management system104to be published on the social network. Additionally or alternatively, one or more aspects of the third-party content management system104described herein may be a part of or implemented by the social network provider102.

The users108may access the network provided by the network provider102via computing devices, such as personal computers, smartphones, and tablets. The users108may thus be in electronic communication with the network provider102via the internet, a local or wide area network, a cellular network, and/or through other networking channels. The network provider102may host and serve the network such that users108may view the network on the displays of the users'108electronic devices.

Accordingly, the network provider102may host and serve a website comprising one or more web pages, may host information to be displayed in an application on user devices, may host information to be accessed through a thin client on user devices, and/or may otherwise host the network for access by the users108.

The users108may also be in electronic communication with the third-party content management system104to review third-party content and accept third-party content to appear in feeds on the network provided by the network provider102. The users108may also receive, from the third-party content management system104, notifications of third-party content and respond with acceptance or denial of such third-party content, in some embodiments.

The third-party content providers110may be one or more entities that are interested in having their content displayed to users on the network provided by the network provider102. Content provided by the third-party content providers110may include, for example, news articles and videos, entertainment media, advertisements, etc. The third-party content providers110may be in electronic communication with the third-party content management system104with one or more third-party content provider computing systems. The third-party content providers110may be in electronic communication with the third-party content management system104via the internet, a local or wide area network, a cellular network, and/or through other networking channels.

The user data source106may include one or more databases or other non-transitory, computer-readable memory for the storage of data respective of the users108of the network provided by the network provider102. The user data source106may store profiles respective of the users108, in an embodiment, including profiles respective of the viewing users116. Such profiles may include, or may be associated with, data collected from user activity on the network, data provided directly by the users108, and/or data from other sources, in an embodiment. For example, in an embodiment, the user data source106may include user data from retailers, websites, search engines, and/or other entities that collect user data. Although the user data source106is illustrated as a separate entity from the third-party content management system104, the user data source106, or portions thereof, may be a part of the third-party content management system104, in embodiments.

The user data source106may additionally include information regarding publishing user118ownership of, and viewing user116subscriptions to, one or more feeds on a social network provided by the network provider102(in embodiments in which the network provider102provides such a social network). Accordingly, the user data source106may include records of which publishing users118of the social network own which bubbles, and which viewing users116are subscribers to each bubble, for public bubbles and/or private bubbles.

The user data source106may have information respective of each bubble on a social network provided by the network provider102, in an embodiment. The data in the user data source106may be anonymous, in an embodiment, and such data may be related to specific users108by the network provider102, for example. The social network may relate the stored data to specific users through an encoded lookup table, for example.

The third-party content management system104may include a processor120and a non- ransitory, computer-readable memory122configured to store data and instructions. The processor120may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory122to perform one or more of the steps, methods, algorithms, etc. of this disclosure. In particular, the memory122may store various functional modules in the form of instructions, including a target viewing user recommendation module124, a content provider portal module126, a publishing user portal module128, and a viewing user portal module130.

The various modules124,126,128,130in the memory122will be described separately, but it should be understood that such separation is for ease of discussion only. The instructions in which the various modules124,126,128,130are embodied may be in common files, storage devices, etc. and, similarly, one or more of the modules124,126,128,130described herein may be separated into multiple separate files, storage devices, etc.

The third-party content management system104may manage third-party content for one or more networks, and thus for one or more network providers102, in embodiments. Accordingly, the third-party content management system104may be in electronic communication with one or more network providers102. In an embodiment in which the third-party content management system104manages content for numerous network providers102, each of those network providers102may be associated with its own set of users108and/or its own user data source106, in embodiments.

The target viewing user recommendation module124may receive content from a third-party content provider110and/or target viewing user parameters from a third-party content provider110, may access the user data source106, and may determine appropriate, preferred, or recommended viewing users116for the content, and/or appropriate, preferred, or recommended feeds in which to publish the content. The target viewing user recommendation module124may determine recommended viewing users116for advertisements, as discussed in further detail below. The recommendations from the target viewing user recommendation module124may be output by the third-party content management system104for the relevant third-party content provider110, in embodiments, as will be discussed in greater detail herein.

The third-party content provider portal module126may include functionality through which a third-party content provider110communicates with the third-party content management system104to submit content, receive recommended target viewing users116and target user feeds for that content, select target viewing users116and target user feeds (e.g., bubbles) for that content, communicate with publishing user118owners of target user feeds, and cause the content to be published to selected target feeds. Accordingly, the third-party content provider portal module126may accept content (e.g., as text, images, videos, etc.), target viewing user parameters associated with of that content (e.g., interests, demographic characteristics, etc.), and/or conditions of publication of the content (e.g., compensation to publishing users118of feeds in which the content is published). The third-party content provider portal module126may further list viewing users116and/or feeds that are recommended by the third-party content management system104as target viewing users116or target feeds for content for review by the third-party content provider110. The third-party content provider portal module126may further receive feedback from the third-party content provider110to select one or more recommended targets for the content.

The publishing user portal module128may include functionality through which a publishing user118communicates with the third-party content management system14to review proposed content from third-party content providers110, to accept content for publication in user-owned feeds, and/or to schedule publication of that content. Accordingly, the publishing user portal module128may display proposed content for the publishing user118, along with information about the content (e.g., compensation associated with publication of the content), receive feedback from feed owner users about which content is accepted and which content is rejected, and accept input from a feed owner user about when to publish accepted third-party content in the user owned feed(s), among other functionality.

The viewing user portal module130may include functionality through which a viewing user116communicates with one or more third-party content providers110to review proposed content from third-party content providers110, to accept content for publication in user-viewed feeds, and to communicate with the content provider110regarding compensation for viewing the content of the content provider110.

FIG. 2is a diagram200illustrating example data flow and storage for content posted in private and public feeds on a social network. As noted above, known systems and methods for publication of third-party content on a social network may not utilize user data to determine user characteristics, and thus be able to better select appropriate users to receive advertisements and other content, while also protecting user privacy in that data. The diagram200ofFIG. 2illustrates an example improved approach.

As shown inFIG. 2, the third-party content management system104may publish third party content to both user public feeds202and to user private feeds204. In an embodiment, such a public feed202and/or private feed204may be a “bubble” as described herein. For third-party content published to a public feed202, the content may be published to and viewed by (represented by block206) subscribers to the feed and/or by other users of the social network (that is, viewing users) (e.g., through a public feed of the network). In turn, the viewing users may engage with that content (e.g., by commenting, “liking”, etc.) in the user public feed202, which engagement may be captured as engagement data respective of the user public feed. That follower engagement data may be stored in the user data source106, in embodiments, such that the user data source106has a record of the viewing user engagement with the third-party content in the public feed, which user engagement data may be used to supplement the respective profiles of the respective viewing users that have engaged with the content.

In contrast, for third-party content published to a private feed204, the content may be published to and viewed by subscribers to the feed only, not by other users of the social network (as represented by block208). In turn, the viewing users may engage with that content (e.g., by commenting, “liking”, etc.) in the user private feed, which engagement may be represented by engagement data respective of the user private feed. The third-party content management system104may determine preferences of the viewing users based on the engagement data respective of the user private feed, and may store that preference data in the user data source, which preference data may be used to supplement the respective profiles of the respective viewing users that have engaged with the content. The engagement data respective of the private feed itself, however, may be encrypted and stored in an encrypted user data store210. The encrypted user data store210may be decryptable only with a decryption key given to the user that owns the feed from which the user engagement data was collected, in an embodiment, and thus the user engagement data may be inaccessible to the third-party content management system itself104. This, also, is in contrast to content in a public user feed202, the user engagement data of which may be stored directly in the user data store106in a manner accessible to the third-party content management system.

Although the encrypted user data210is illustrated as a separate entity from the third party content management system104and the user data source106inFIG. 2, it should be understood that the encrypted user data210may be stored in the user data source106(e.g., as a separately-encrypted portion) and/or in the memory of the third-party content management system104, in embodiments.

The data collection, storage, and encryption operations of this disclosure advantageously protect user privacy in data respective of user engagement with content in private feeds, while also extrapolating from that data to provide an improved understanding of the user's interests, and accounting for public data respective of the user for the same purpose. Furthermore, by providing access to data respective of user engagement in private feeds to the owners of those feeds, private feed owners can understand how and when the subscribers to the user's private feed(s) engage with specific types of content. The feed owner user can use that understanding, for example, to inform third-party content providers of which types of content may be effective for the subscribers to the private feed, and in order to engage with their subscribers.

FIG. 3is a flow chart illustrating an example method300for presenting third-party content to one or more users of an electronic network, such as a streaming network or social network. The method300ofFIG. 3, or one or more aspects thereof, may be performed by the third-party content management system114ofFIG. 1. The method300ofFIG. 3may represent a novel approach to third-party content publication on an electronic network. As will be described in further detail below, the method300may include analyzing viewing user116data to determine the best publishing user118feeds in which to publish content, offering the content to the publishing user118owners of such feeds, and publishing the content in publishing user's feed only if the publishing user118affirmatively accepts the content. Accordingly, the methodFIG. 3addresses embodiments in which publishing users118determine which content publishes to viewing users116of their feeds. With respect toFIG. 6, a method600will later be described which addresses embodiments in which viewing users116determine which content publishes to them.

The method300will be described with reference to receiving information from, and presenting information to, third-party content providers and publishing users118. Such information exchange may be performed through a third-party content provider portal126and a publishing user portal128, as described herein.

The method300may include, at block302, receiving content and target viewing user criteria from a third-party content provider. The content and criteria may be received electronically from the third-party content provider110, in an embodiment, such as through a dedicated content upload feature hosted by the third-party content management system104and accessible to the third-party content provider110. The content may include one or more of text, images, video, and/or other media. The content may be an advertisement, news article, etc.

The received target viewing user criteria may include one or more parameters of desired target viewing users116for the content, in an embodiment. For example, such parameters may include one or more interests (e.g., activities, hobbies, topics, etc.) of a target viewing user116, demographic characteristics of a target viewing user116(e.g., age, gender, marital status, location, education level, etc.), and/or actions associated with a target viewing user116(e.g., types of purchases or particular purchases, amount of time spent on the network, etc.). Accordingly, the targeting criteria for content may include a plurality of user characteristics.

Receiving the content at block302may further include receiving a compensation associated with the content, i.e., a compensation to be offered to a publishing user who accepts the content to be published in the publishing user's feed, as will be described below. That is, receiving compensation at block302may include receiving an indication of compensation to be paid to a publishing user, rather than an exchange of compensation, in some embodiments. As will be described with respect toFIG. 6, that compensation may be shared with viewing users, in certain embodiments. Other information respective of the content may also be received, such as a desired publication schedule, for example.

In an embodiment, receiving content from a third-party content provider at block302may include receiving content direction from a third-party content provider. Receiving content direction from a third-party content provider may be substantially the same as receiving content from a third party as described above with respect to block302, except a description of desired content may be received, instead of the content itself. Such a description can include, for example, an image template or text template to be modified by a user, a description of a desired photograph, or other directions to enable a user to create original content. As will be described below, the content description can then be utilized by a publishing user118to create original content as directed by the third party content provider.

The method may include, at block304, determining target viewing users116according to the target viewing user criteria and according to viewing user data. An example method for determining viewing users to target will be described with respect toFIG. 4. In general, determining viewing users to target may include comparing user characteristics (e.g., stored in the user data source106ofFIG. 1) to targeting criteria received at block302.

The method300may further include, at block306, recommending viewing users to target for the content publication. The recommended users may be determined based on the viewer targeting criteria and based on data respective of end users of the network, in an embodiment. Recommending viewing users at block306may include transmitting a list of viewing users to the content provider from which the content and criteria were received in block302.

The method300may further include, at block308, receiving a selection, from the third-party content provider, of viewing users to target for the content. The received selection may be a selection of one or more of the viewing users recommended at block306, in an embodiment. Accordingly, the received selection may include one or more specific viewing users to which the third-party content provider would like the content shown.

The method300may further include, at block310, determining one or more feeds associated with the selected viewing users. Determining one or more feeds at block310may include determining feeds that include the largest number of selected target viewing users, in some embodiments. Additionally or alternatively, determining one or more feeds at block310may include determining feeds that have viewing users that most closely match the target criteria. Additionally or alternatively, determining one or more feeds at block310may include a weighted combination of number of selected target viewing users and the closeness of match of those selected target viewing users to the target criteria.

In some embodiments, determining feeds at block310may be performed before recommended target viewing users are presented to the content provider at block306, and recommending target viewing users at block306may include recommending specific feeds to the content provider. Further, receiving content provider selections of target viewing users at block308may include receiving selections of one or more feeds from the content provider.

Although blocks306,308,310may result in numerous feeds being determined and/or selected, and those feeds may be respectively associated with numerous publishing users, the remainder of the method300will be described with respect to a single publishing user and a single feed for ease of description.

The method300may further include, at block312, presenting the content to the publishing user that owns the feed selected by the third-party content provider or otherwise determined at block310. Presenting the content may include presenting the content in its entirety, or a portion of the content, to the publishing user, along with the compensation associated with the content, a desired content publication schedule, the identity and/or other information about the third-party content provider, and/or other information associated with the content to enable the publishing user to determine whether or not to accept the content for publication in the publishing user's feed.

Presenting the content to the publishing user at block312may include, in an embodiment, facilitating communication between the third-party content provider and the publishing user, such as by direct message on the network, email, etc., to enable the third-party content provider and the publishing user to discuss the content, the compensation for the content, the publication schedule, etc.

In an embodiment, instead of presenting the content to the publishing user selected by the third-party content provider, the method300may include presenting a content description to the publishing user selected by the third-party content provider. Presenting a content description may be substantially the same as presenting content as described above with respect to block312, except a description of desired content may be presented, instead of the content itself. Such a description can include, for example, an image template or text template to be modified by a user, a description of a desired photograph, or other directions to enable a user to create original content. As will be described below, the content description can then be utilized by a user to create original content as directed by the third party.

The method300may further include, at block314, receiving an acceptance of the content from the publishing user selected by the third-party content provider. A publishing user may receive numerous requests from third-party content providers (e.g., through the process of the method300) to publish content in one or more of the publishing user's feeds. At block314, the publishing user may select or reject one or more items of content for publication in the publishing user's feed, based on the content, the compensation associated with the content, etc. Receiving publishing user acceptance may include, in an embodiment, receiving input from the publishing user regarding the publication schedule of the content.

The publishing user may reject content that is presented to the publishing user. In response to receiving a publishing user rejection of the content, the third-party content management system will not publish the content in the feed of the rejecting publishing user.

The method300may further include, at block316, publishing the content in the network feed owned by the accepting publishing user. In an embodiment, the content may be published according to a publication schedule received from the content provider or from the publishing user.

In an embodiment in which the third party content provider provides a content description instead of the content itself, publishing the content at block316may include receiving content generated by the publishing user that is based on the content description and publishing that publishing user-generated content.

The operations of blocks312,314,316may be repeated (e.g., performed separately and in parallel, or serially) to publish, or attempt to publish, the content in numerous feeds owned by numerous respective publishing users.

Publishing third-party content on a network according to the method300offers numerous advantages over known methods and systems. First, unlike many known network publication methods, publication according to the method300allows publishing users to control which third-party content appears in the feeds they own, but without requiring independent discovery of that third-party content by the publishing user, resulting in an improved user experience and improved engagement. Second, target viewing user criteria may be matched to viewing users, such that viewing user targeting is based on activities and characteristics of specific viewing users, not more broadly based on groups to which those viewing users belong, resulting in improved content matching between content and viewing user.

FIG. 4is a flow chart illustrating an example method400of determining viewing users as target viewing users, determining feeds as target feeds, and recommending selected viewing users and/or feeds for publication of third-party content. The method400ofFIG. 4, or aspects thereof, may find use at blocks304,306,310in the method300ofFIG. 3, in an embodiment. The method400ofFIG. 4, or one or more aspects thereof, may be performed by the third-party content management system104ofFIG. 1.

The method400may find user with embodiments in which the relevant network is a social network and content publication is associated with feeds associated with particular publishing users. Aspects of the method400may also find use with embodiments in which the relevant network is a social, streaming, or other network and content publication is direct from third party content providers to viewing users. After the method400is described, modifications to the method400will be described for application to embodiments of such a context.

The method400will be described with reference to multiple viewing users. It should be understood that aspects of the method400may be applied to a plurality of viewing users (e.g., some or all of the viewing users of a social network) to determine respective profiles of each of those viewing users and to determine whether (and/or to what degree) each of those viewing users, independently, is an appropriate or desirable target viewer for given third-party content.

The method400may include, at block402, receiving public data of viewing users. The public data may be profile data entered by the viewing users on the network, such as name, age, location, etc. The public data may further include data respective of other online activity of the viewing user, including data received directly from the viewing user and data not received directly from the viewing user, such as search engine entries, online commerce activity (e.g., products viewed, products purchased, etc.), platforms on which the viewing user has accounts (e.g., other social media networks, email platforms, etc.), and other publicly-available data respective of the viewing user (e.g., other data that is not predicated on the viewing user's activity on the network).

The method400may further include, at block404, receiving public engagement data respective of the viewing users. The public engagement data may be representative of a viewing user's activity in public feeds on the network, such as comments, likes, and other responses to content, the amount of time (e.g., average time, total time, etc.) the viewing user has spent viewing particular types of content or particular items of content, the amount of time the viewing user spends viewing the network or a particular feed of the network, the feeds to which the viewing user is subscribed or regularly views, etc.

The method400may further include, at block406, receiving data respective of viewing user engagement in private network feeds and, at block408, deriving viewing user preferences from the data respective of viewing user engagement in the private network feeds. The viewing user preferences may be extrapolated from the private feed viewing user engagement data, in an embodiment. For example, if a viewing user comments positively on, likes, or otherwise positively engages with an item of content in a private feed—for example, content related to a particular brand of automobile—it may be extrapolated that the viewing user has a preference for or interest in automobiles generally, and/or for the type or brand of automobile that is the subject of the engaged content. The viewing user data itself, however—the specific viewing user interaction with the content in the private feed—may not be available for use by the third-party content management system. Instead, as described herein, such data may be encrypted, for decryption only based on a decryption key provided to the publishing user owner of the feed in which the interaction took place. In this way, the viewing user's privacy as to engagement in private feeds may be protected, while also extrapolating an understanding of the viewing user's interests based on that activity to better match the viewing user to content.

The method400may further include, at block410, building and updating viewing user profiles based on the public data, the public engagement data, and the viewing user preferences. A viewing user profile may be built for each viewing user of the network, in an embodiment, and updated as new data respective of the viewing user is received (e.g., as the viewing user further interacts on the network or produces further non-network data). Each viewing user's profile may be based on the public data, public engagement data, and user preferences respective of that viewing user. The viewing user profiles may be stored in the user data source106ofFIG. 1, in an embodiment.

The method400may further include, at block412, receiving target viewing user criteria respective of content from a third-party content provider. As described herein, the target viewing user criteria may include demographics, interests, and/or other characteristics of viewing users that the third-party content provider would like to target as viewers for particular content.

The method400may further include, at block414, selecting viewing user targets to recommend based on the target criteria and the viewing user profiles. Selecting viewing user targets may include for example, comparing targeting criteria received at block412with viewing user profiles built and updated according to block410. For example, the targeting criteria may be compared to viewing user profiles on a characteristic-by-characteristic basis to determine how many of the characteristics in the targeting criteria are present in each viewing user profile. The more targeting characteristics that are present in a given viewing user profile, the higher percentage match that viewing user may be to the targeting criteria, in an embodiment. Targeting characteristics may be weighted relative to other characteristics, in embodiments.

The method400may further include, at block416, determining one or more feeds with the largest quantities of recommended target viewing users as subscribers. For example, in an embodiment, the quantity of viewing users that match the targeting criteria above a user-by-user threshold may be determined for each of a plurality of feeds (e.g., for each feed in the network). In another embodiment, each feed may be given a match score, based on a weighted number of viewing users that match the targeting criteria (e.g., where viewing users that have a higher degree of match to the targeting criteria are given higher weight).

The method400may further include, at block418, recommending the one or more feeds with the largest quantities of recommended viewing user targets, and specifically the publishing user owners of those feeds, to the third-party content provider. The recommendation may be made in a third-party content provider portal, as described herein. Further, as described herein, the content can be offered to the publishing user owners of those feeds for publication in their feeds.

As noted above, portions of the method400may be applied to embodiments in which the third party content provider selects individual viewing users so that the content provider can offer the content to the viewing users directly, rather than to publishing users. Such embodiments may be implemented in a social network, streaming network, or other network. In such embodiments, the operations of blocks402,404,406,408,410,412,414may be performed. In addition, the target viewing users determined at block414may be recommended to the content provider.

In still other embodiments, portions of the method400may be applied for a third party content provider to select feeds in a network that are not associated with particular publishing users (e.g., embodiments in which the network provider owns the particular feed). In such embodiments, the operations of blocks402,404,406,408,410,412,414,416may be performed. In addition, the feeds determined at block416may be recommended to the content provider.

FIG. 5is a flow chart illustrating an example method500of selecting users as target viewers for third-party content. The method500ofFIG. 5, or one or more aspects thereof, may be performed by the third-party content management system104ofFIG. 1. The method500may be applied in conjunction with a social network, streaming network, or other electronic network to provide target viewing user recommendations to third party content providers and facilitate communications between the content providers and target viewing users.

The method500may include, at block502, receiving target viewing user criteria from a third party content provider. Block502may be substantially the same as block412of the method400ofFIG. 4, in embodiments.

The method500may further include, at block504, determining target viewing users to recommend based on the target viewing user criteria received at block502. Block504may be substantially the same as block414of the method400ofFIG. 4, in embodiments.

The method500may further include, at block506, providing an anonymized list of recommended target viewing users to the third party content provider. The anonymized list may include the target viewing users determined at block504, in embodiments. The anonymized list may include a number or other anonymous identifier respective of each individual viewing user on the list. The anonymized list may be provided to the third party content provider automatically in response to receiving target viewing user criteria and determining target viewing users, in an embodiment.

The method500may further include, at block508, receiving a selection of particular anonymized viewing users, selected from the list provided at block506, from the third party content provider. The selection may include all of the anonymized viewing users in the list provided at block506, or may include a subset of the anonymized viewing users.

The method500may further include, at block510, contacting the selected viewing users to request permission to provide the viewing users' contact information to the third party content provider in response to receiving the selection at block508. The selected viewing users may be contacted through messaging feature or other communication means of the network of which they are viewing users, for example. In some embodiments, the selected viewing users may be contacted through an e-mail, text message, or other form of electronic communication that is external to the electronic network on which they are viewing users. Contacting the selected viewing users may be performed automatically in response to receiving the selection of particular anonymized viewing users at block508.

Contacting the selected viewing users at block510may include providing information to the viewing users about the third-party content that the third-party content provider wishes to publish to the users. For example, the information may include a type of content (e.g., advertisement, news article, etc.), a compensation to the viewing user for receiving the content, a subject matter of the content, the identity of the third party content provider, etc. The compensation may be, for example, government-issued currency or equivalent credit, in some embodiments. In other embodiments, the compensation may be, for example, a gift card or other credit associated with the third party content provider and/or with the electronic network. Based on the information, each viewing user may decide whether or not the viewing user would like to receive the content in exchange for the proposed compensation.

The method500may further include, at block512, receiving an acceptance from one or more of the contacted viewing users. The acceptance(s) may be received through the same communication channel as the contacting performed in block510, in embodiments. Alternatively, the acceptance may be received through a separate communication channel. For example, in an embodiment, a user may be contacted through an email to request that user's permission at block510, and the user may indicate acceptance through a menu of the electronic network (and the acceptance may thus be received through the network) at block512.

The method500may further include, at block514, providing the contact information of the one or more accepting viewing users to the third party content provider. The contact information may include, for example, a user name on the network, a phone number, an email address, etc. Upon receiving the user contact information, the third party content provider may contact the users to publish the content to the users.

The method500may advantageously enable third party content providers to find viewing users that meet content targeting criteria, without exposing the contact or other personal information of those viewing users to the third party content provider without the viewing user's consent. Furthermore, because the method500provides for case-by-case consent by the viewing user for each item of content, the viewing user is not required to broadly or categorically consent (or not consent) to third-party content or certain types of third party content.

FIG. 6is a flow chart illustrating an example method600for presenting third-party content, such as an advertisement, to one or more network users, such as one or more users of a social network or a media streaming network. The method600ofFIG. 6, or one or more aspects thereof, may be performed by the third-party content management system104ofFIG. 1. The method600ofFIG. 6may represent a novel approach to third-party content publication on an electronic content network. As will be described in further detail below, the method600may include analyzing viewing user data to determine the best viewing users to whom to target content, transmitting a notification to target viewing users, transmitting the content to the target viewing users only if the target viewing users explicitly accept the content, and compensating viewing users that perform predefined behaviors with respect to the content. The method600will be described with respect to embodiments in which the third-party content is an advertisement, but it should be understood that other types of third-party content that may desirably be shown to users on a social network or content streaming network may find use with the method600.

The method600may include, at block602, receiving content and target viewing user criteria from a third-party content provider. Block602may be substantially similar to block302of the method300ofFIG. 3.

Block602may further include receiving an indication of compensation associated with the content, i.e., a compensation to be offered to a viewing user who accepts the content for viewing and performs a predefined action with respect to the content, as will be described below. The compensation may be provided by the owner of the content along with which the advertising content is intended to be shown. The advertiser or owner of the advertising content may have compensated the owner of the streaming or social media content for causing the advertising content to be shown in association with the streaming or social media content. Accordingly, the compensation provided by the advertiser or owner of the advertising content may be split between the owner of the streaming or social media content and viewers of the advertising content. For example, in a social media network context, the third-party content provider may compensate a publishing user118, and the publishing user118may share that compensation with their viewing users through aspects of the method600.

In an embodiment in which the received content is an advertisement, the content may be received from the advertised party (e.g., the party that sells, makes or provides the advertised goods or services). In other embodiments in which the received content is an advertisement, the content may be received from a creator or provider of entertainment or news content in which the advertisement will be provided. In such an embodiment, the compensation for the advertisement from the advertiser to the owner of the entertainment content may be split by the entertainment content owner and the targeted users.

As noted above, aspects of the method600may enable a publishing user118or a network provider to split advertising compensation or other compensation associated with third-party content with viewing users. Nonetheless, the remainder of the method600will be described with respect to an embodiment in which compensation is provided from third-party content providers to viewing users, for ease of description.

The method600may further include, at block604, recommending users to target to receive the advertisement. The recommended users may be determined based on the viewing user targeting criteria and based on data respective of the viewing users of the media streaming or social network, in an embodiment. An example method400for determining users to target based on user data and targeting criteria is described above with respect toFIG. 4.

The method600may further include, at block606, receiving a selection of recommended viewing users to target for the content from the third-party content provider. The received selection may be a selection of one or more of the viewing users recommended at block604, in an embodiment. Accordingly, the received selection may include one or more specific viewing users to which the third-party content provider would like the content shown.

In embodiments in which aspects of the method600are applied to enable a publishing user118to share compensation with viewing users that subscribe to or otherwise view a feed owned by the publishing user118, the operations of block604may be omitted, and the publishing user may select one or more viewing users from their feed without a recommendation.

Although numerous viewing users may be recommended to and selected by the third-party content provider, the remainder of the method600will be described with respect to a single user, for ease of description.

The method600may further include, at block608, transmitting a notification to the targeted viewing user. The notification may be transmitted to the viewing user as part of the media streaming or social network, in some embodiments. For example, where the viewing user has been targeted for an advertisement, and the advertisement is intended to be displayed during an intermission in a media stream (e.g., a break in a video stream, a time period between two songs in an audio stream, etc.), the notification may be transmitted to the user at the beginning of the media stream intermission. In another example, where the advertisement is to be provided to the user in a social network, the notification may be provided to the viewing user at the beginning of a post containing the advertisement.

Additionally or alternatively, the notification may be transmitted to the viewing user through a channel outside of the network. For example, the notification may be transmitted to the user through a text message or email. In some embodiments, numerous notifications (e.g., notifications respective of numerous advertisements) may be transmitted to a user in a single message. In other embodiments, a discrete respective message may be transmitted for each advertisement.

The notification may include a preview of the advertisement, an indication of compensation, and a prompt for a response from the viewing user, in some embodiments. The preview of the advertisement may include, for example, a screen capture of the advertisement, a clip portion of the advertisement (e.g., 3 seconds of a 30-second advertisement), and/or a textual description of the advertisement. The preview of the advertisement may include an indication of the product(s) or service(s) being advertised, the seller of the product(s) or service(s) (i.e., the third party providing the advertisement), and/or the duration of the advertisement, in some embodiments.

The indication of compensation included in the notification may include a set of compensation options, in some embodiments. For example, the notification may include a plurality of forms of compensation (e.g., a cash amount, a coupon, a product, etc.) form which the viewing user may select their preferred form of compensation for viewing the content. Additionally or alternatively, the indication of compensation included in the notification may include an open entry in which the viewing user may enter an amount of compensation that the user would accept to view the content. If the amount entered by the user is less than a predetermined threshold, the amount entered may be deemed to be an acceptance of the content by the user. If the amount entered by the viewing user is greater than the predetermined threshold, the amount entered may be deemed to be a rejection of the content by the user.

The prompt for a response from the viewing user may include one or more predetermined viewing user actions that must be performed by the viewing user in order to receive the compensation. Such viewing user actions may include, for example, viewing the third party content, taking a survey or otherwise answering one or more questions about the content, “sharing” the content in one or more of the viewing user's social media feed or via text message or other direct message, following a hyperlink associated with the content, interacting with a media post of the content such as by commenting or “liking”, etc.

The method600may further include, at block610, receiving an acceptance of the content from the user. The user acceptance may be in response to the notification transmitted at block608. The user acceptance may be received in a text message or email from the user, in some embodiments. Additionally or alternatively, the user acceptance may be received through a user click or other selection through the social network or media streaming network.

The user may reject the content, in some embodiments. In response, the advertisement will not be shown to the viewing user (in embodiments in which the notification includes a preview of the content). Further in response to receiving the user rejection, a separate notification may be presented to the viewing user, in some embodiments, with a separate advertisement or other item of content.

The method600may further include, at block612, publishing the content (e.g., transmitting and displaying the content) to the viewing user in response to receiving the viewing user's acceptance of the content. In an embodiment, publishing the content to the viewing user may include displaying the content in an existing window or other interface portion in the social or content delivery network used by the viewing user. In other embodiments, publishing the content to the viewing user may include displaying the content is a new window or other interface portion.

The method600may further include, at block614, determining viewing user interactions with the content. Determining viewing user interactions may include, for example, determining if a progress of the content (e.g., where the content includes a video or audio) reached a particular portion or timestamp when viewed by the viewing user, receiving a viewing user response to one or more questions associated with the content, receiving an indication that a viewing user loaded a file associated with the content, receiving an indication that a viewing user clicked through a hyperlink associated with the content, etc. In some embodiments, determining viewing user interactions at block612may include determining if the viewing user has performed the predetermined user response prompted in the notification of block608.

In some embodiments, the notification transmitted to the user may include the entirety of the third party content instead of a preview of the content. Accordingly, in some embodiments, instead of blocks608,610,612, the method may include, at block616, transmitting a notification to the viewing user, the notification including the content and compensation information. The method600may then include determining viewing user interactions at block612.

In embodiments, if it is determined at block614that the viewing user has performed the predetermined user response associated with compensation, then compensation may be remitted to the viewing user. In other embodiments, the compensation may be provided to the viewing user along with the content being transmitted at block612. The compensation may be cash value, a coupon, a product, a currency associated with the social network or content streaming network, or other item of value to the user.

In some embodiments, steps608,610,612, and614, or616and614, may occur during a single use session of the viewing user. For example, the user may be viewing entertainment content on a content streaming network and, during the content stream, a notification may be transmitted to the user (block608), the user may respond to the notification and accept the content (block610), the third-party content (e.g., advertisement) may be displayed to the user (block612), and viewing user interactions with the content may be determined (block614) all during the streaming session. In some embodiments, blocks608,610, and612may occur without interrupting the content stream, such as by transmitting and displaying the notification and receiving the user response in a separate window from the social network or streaming window used by the user, or by transmitting the notification in a text message or other separate communication channel. In other embodiments, steps608,610, and612may occur during an active user session, and the streaming or other network may interrupt the session while the operations of blocks608,610,612, or616, are performed. In still other embodiments, steps608and610may occur at a time other than during an active use session, and step612may occur during an active streaming or social network access session by the user.

In some embodiments, the method600may be applied to interact with the viewing user on the same electronic device as the viewing user is interacting with the social network, streaming network, or network with which the method600is associated. For example, where the viewing user is logged in to the network on a mobile computing device, blocks608,610,612, and614, or616and614, may be performed via communications with that mobile computing device. In other embodiments, the method600may be applied to interact with the viewing user on a different electronic device (e.g., “second screen”) than the one the viewing user is interacting with the social network, streaming network, or network with which the method600is associated. For example, where the viewing user is logged in to the network on a television or desktop computer, blocks608,610,612, and614, or616and614, may be performed via communications with a mobile computing device of the viewing user.

Displaying third-party content, such as advertisements or news, to users on a social network or a content streaming network according to the method600offers numerous advantages over known methods and systems. First, unlike many known advertisement delivery methods, content delivery according to the method600allows users to explicitly opt in to or opt out of specific advertisements, resulting in an improved user experience and improved engagement. Second, target viewer criteria may be matched to users, such that viewer targeting is based on activities and characteristics of specific users, not more broadly based on groups to which users belong, resulting in improved content matching between content and viewer user. Third, the compensation provided by the advertiser or owner of the advertising content may be split between the owner of the streaming or social media content and viewers of the advertising content, advantageously motivating both the owner of the streaming or social media content and users of the social media or content streaming network to cause the advertising content to be viewed.

FIG. 7is a diagrammatic view of an example embodiment of a user computing environment that includes a general purpose computing system environment700, such as a desktop computer, laptop, smartphone, tablet, or any other such device having the ability to execute instructions, such as those stored within a non-transient, computer-readable medium. Furthermore, while described and illustrated in the context of a single computing system700, those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the various tasks described hereinafter may be practiced in a distributed environment having multiple computing systems700linked via a local or wide-area network in which the executable instructions may be associated with and/or executed by one or more of multiple computing systems700.

In its most basic configuration, computing system environment700typically includes at least one processing unit702and at least one memory704, which may be linked via a bus706. Depending on the exact configuration and type of computing system environment, memory704may be volatile (such as RAM710), non-volatile (such as ROM708, flash memory, etc.) or some combination of the two. Computing system environment700may have additional features and/or functionality. For example, computing system environment700may also include additional storage (removable and/or non-removable) including, but not limited to, magnetic or optical disks, tape drives and/or flash drives. Such additional memory devices may be made accessible to the computing system environment700by means of, for example, a hard disk drive interface712, a magnetic disk drive interface714, and/or an optical disk drive interface716. As will be understood, these devices, which would be linked to the system bus706, respectively, allow for reading from and writing to a hard disk718, reading from or writing to a removable magnetic disk720, and/or for reading from or writing to a removable optical disk722, such as a CD/DVD ROM or other optical media. The drive interfaces and their associated computer-readable media allow for the nonvolatile storage of computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules and other data for the computing system environment700. Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that other types of computer readable media that can store data may be used for this same purpose. Examples of such media devices include, but are not limited to, magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital videodisks, Bernoulli cartridges, random access memories, nano-drives, memory sticks, other read/write and/or read-only memories and/or any other method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Any such computer storage media may be part of computing system environment700.

A number of program modules may be stored in one or more of the memory/media devices. For example, a basic input/output system (BIOS)724, containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within the computing system environment700, such as during start-up, may be stored in ROM708. Similarly, RAM710, hard drive718, and/or peripheral memory devices may be used to store computer executable instructions comprising an operating system726, one or more applications programs728(such as the modules124,126,128,130ofFIG. 1, or a browser or application for accessing a digital social media network), other program modules730, and/or program data732. Still further, computer-executable instructions may be downloaded to the computing environment700as needed, for example, via a network connection.

An end-user, e.g., an end user of a social network or a third-party content provider, may enter commands and information into the computing system environment700through input devices such as a keyboard734and/or a pointing device736. While not illustrated, other input devices may include a microphone, a joystick, a game pad, a scanner, etc. These and other input devices would typically be connected to the processing unit702by means of a peripheral interface738which, in turn, would be coupled to bus706. Input devices may be directly or indirectly connected to processor702via interfaces such as, for example, a parallel port, game port, firewire, or a universal serial bus (USB). To view information from the computing system environment700, a monitor740or other type of display device may also be connected to bus706via an interface, such as via video adapter742. In addition to the monitor740, the computing system environment700may also include other peripheral output devices, not shown, such as speakers and printers.

The computing system environment700may also utilize logical connections to one or more computing system environments. Communications between the computing system environment700and the remote computing system environment may be exchanged via a further processing device, such a network router744, that is responsible for network routing. Communications with the network router744may be performed via a network interface component746. Thus, within such a networked environment, e.g., the Internet, World Wide Web, LAN, or other like type of wired or wireless network, it will be appreciated that program modules depicted relative to the computing system environment700, or portions thereof, may be stored in the memory storage device(s) of the computing system environment700.

The computing system environment700may also include localization hardware748for determining a location of the computing system environment700. In embodiments, the localization hardware748may include, for example only, a GPS antenna, an RFID chip or reader, a WiFi antenna, or other computing hardware that may be used to capture or transmit signals that may be used to determine the location of the computing system environment700.

The computing environment700, or portions thereof, may comprise one or more components of the system100ofFIG. 1, in embodiments, such as the social network provider102, the third party content management system104, the user data source106, and/or the computing devices respective of the users108and the third party content providers110.

In a first aspect of the present disclosure, an example server-implement method for publishing secondary content in an electronic primary content network is provided. The example method includes receiving, from a secondary content provider: an item of secondary content; a selection of a publication channel for the secondary content on the primary content network, the publication channel associated with a publishing user and a plurality of viewing users; and an indication of a compensation associated with publication of the secondary content. The example method further includes transmitting a request to the publishing user, the request comprising the item of secondary content and the indication of compensation, receiving, from the publishing user, in response to the request, an acceptance of the item of secondary content, and in response to the acceptance, causing the item of secondary content to be published in the publication channel.

In an embodiment of the first aspect, the publishing user is an end user of the primary content network.

In an embodiment of the first aspect, the primary content network is one or more of a media streaming network or a social network.

In an embodiment of the first aspect, the method further includes receiving, from the secondary content provider, target viewing user criteria associated with the item of secondary content, determining, based on the target viewing user criteria, one or more recommended publication channels on the electronic content network, wherein the list of recommended publication channels comprises the publication channel associated with the publishing user, and transmitting a list of the recommended publication channels to the secondary content provider, wherein the selection of the publication channel is received from the secondary content provider in response to the transmitted recommended publication channels.

In an embodiment of the first aspect, determining one or more recommended publication channels includes comparing the target viewing user criteria with individual data respective of each a plurality of candidate viewing users of the electronic content network to determine a set of recommended viewing users, wherein determining one or more recommended publication channels comprises determining one or more publication channels according to the set of recommended viewing users.

In an embodiment of the first aspect, the method further includes receiving public data respective of a plurality of candidate viewing users of the primary content network, receiving data respective of engagement in private publication channels of the primary content network by the candidate viewing users, and determining, for each of the candidate viewing users, individual preferences according to the public data and the data respective of engagement in private publication channels respective of that candidate viewing user, wherein comparing the target viewing user criteria with individual data respective of each of the plurality of candidate viewing users comprises comparing the individual preferences to the target viewing user criteria.

In an embodiment of the first aspect, the item of secondary content is an advertisement.

In a second aspect of the present disclosure, a server-implement method for publishing secondary content in an electronic primary content network is provided. The example method includes receiving, from a secondary content provider: an item of secondary content; and target viewing user criteria. The method further includes retrieving a set of respective individual preferences for each of a plurality of candidate viewing users of the primary content network, determining, according to the target viewing user criteria and the individual preferences, a set of recommended viewing users for the item of secondary content, and determining one or more recommended content channels according to the set of recommended viewing users, each of the recommended content channels associated with a respective publishing user. The example method further includes transmitting a respective request to each publishing user, the request comprising the item of secondary content, receiving, from one or more of the publishing users, in response to the request, an acceptance of the item of secondary content, and in response to the acceptance, causing the item of secondary content to be published in the publication channel of each accepting publishing user.

In an embodiment of the second aspect, the example method further includes receiving public data respective of a plurality of candidate viewing users of the primary content network, receiving data respective of engagement in private publication channels of the primary content network by the candidate viewing users, and determining, for each of the candidate viewing users, the individual preferences according to the public data and the data respective of engagement in private publication channels respective of that candidate viewing user.

In an embodiment of the second aspect, the public data comprises data respective of viewing user activity outside of the primary content network.

In an embodiment of the second aspect, receiving data respective of engagement in private publication channels of the primary content network by the candidate viewing users includes recording, for each candidate viewing user, one or more respective actions in private publication channels by the candidate viewing users, determining, for each action, a user preference, storing each determined user preference in a profile respective of the user and, for each action, after determining the user preference, encrypting the user action and storing the user action only in encrypted form, wherein receiving data respective of engagement in private publication channels of the primary content network by the candidate viewing users comprises retrieving the profiles respective of the candidate viewing users.

In an embodiment of the second aspect, storing each user action only in encrypted form comprises storing the user action in association with a decryption key respective of the private publication channel, wherein the example method further includes, after storing a user action in encrypted form, providing the associated decryption key to a publishing user associated with the private publication channel in which the user action was recorded.

In an embodiment of the second aspect, the item of secondary content is an advertisement.

In an embodiment of the second aspect, the primary content network is one or more of a social network or a streaming network.

In an embodiment of the second aspect, the example method further includes receiving an indication of a compensation associated with publication of the secondary content and, in response to causing the item of secondary content to be published in the publication channel of each accepting publishing user, providing the compensation to each accepting publishing user.

In a third aspect according to the present disclosure, a server-implement method for publishing secondary content in an electronic primary content network is provided. The example method includes receiving, from a secondary content provider: an item of secondary content; target viewing user criteria; and an indication of a compensation associated with publication of the secondary content. The example method further includes retrieving a set of respective individual preferences for each of a plurality of candidate viewing users of the primary content network, determining, according to the target viewing user criteria and the individual preferences, a set of recommended viewing users for the item of secondary content, determining one or more recommended content channels according to the set of recommended viewing users, each of the recommended content channels associated with a respective publishing user, transmitting a request to the publishing user, the request comprising the item of secondary content and the indication of compensation, receiving, from the publishing user, in response to the request, an acceptance of the item of secondary content, and in response to the acceptance, causing the item of secondary content to be published in the publication channel and causing the compensation to be provided to the associated publishing user.

In an embodiment of the third aspect, the item of secondary content is an advertisement.

In an embodiment of the third aspect, the primary content network is one or more of a social network or a streaming network

In an embodiment of the third aspect, the method further includes receiving public data respective of a plurality of candidate viewing users of the primary content network, receiving data respective of engagement in private publication channels of the primary content network by the candidate viewing users, and determining, for each of the candidate viewing users, the individual preferences according to the public data and the data respective of engagement in private publication channels respective of that candidate viewing user.

In an embodiment of the third aspect, receiving data respective of engagement in private publication channels of the primary content network by the candidate viewing users includes recording, for each candidate viewing user, one or more respective actions in private publication channels by the candidate viewing users, determining, for each action, a user preference, storing each determined user preference in a profile respective of the user and, for each action, after determining the user preference, encrypting the user action and storing the user action only in encrypted form, wherein receiving data respective of engagement in private publication channels of the primary content network by the candidate viewing users comprises retrieving the profiles respective of the candidate viewing users.

While this disclosure has described certain embodiments, it will be understood that the claims are not intended to be limited to these embodiments except as explicitly recited in the claims. On the contrary, the instant disclosure is intended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

Furthermore, in the detailed description of the present disclosure, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. However, it will be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that systems and methods consistent with this disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components, and circuits have not been described in detail as not to unnecessarily obscure various aspects of the present disclosure.

Some portions of the detailed descriptions of this disclosure have been presented in terms of procedures, logic blocks, processing, and other symbolic representations of operations on data bits within a computer or digital system memory. These descriptions and representations are the means used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. A procedure, logic block, process, etc., is herein, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps or instructions leading to a desired result. The steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these physical manipulations take the form of electrical or magnetic data capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated in a computer system or similar electronic computing device. For reasons of convenience, and with reference to common usage, such data is referred to as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like, with reference to various presently disclosed embodiments.

It should be borne in mind, however, that these terms are to be interpreted as referencing physical manipulations and quantities and are merely convenient labels that should be interpreted further in view of terms commonly used in the art. Unless specifically stated otherwise, as apparent from the discussion herein, it is understood that throughout discussions of the present embodiment, discussions utilizing terms such as “determining” or “outputting” or “transmitting” or “recording” or “locating” or “storing” or “displaying” or “receiving” or “recognizing” or “utilizing” or “generating” or “providing” or “accessing” or “checking” or “notifying” or “delivering” or the like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and transforms data. The data is represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers and memories and is transformed into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers, or other such information storage, transmission, or display devices as described herein or otherwise understood to one of ordinary skill in the art.