Patent Publication Number: US-2009222322-A1

Title: Monetizing a social network platform

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/032,983, filed on Mar. 2, 2008, entitled “MONETIZING A SOCIAL NETWORK PLATFORM”, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The growth of the Internet, e-commerce, and social networking have increased the pace and volume of wealth accumulation. Companies founded this year may see dynamic growth and profits comparable to companies which have been doing business over much longer periods of time. There are at least two reasons for this. First, businesses on the Internet can scale very quickly, growing to accommodate millions of users in a short time. Second, the networking effect among various entities often creates rapidly expanding markets, in which a company can quickly create and dominant platforms that are extremely profitable. 
     Two important examples are the search industry and social networking. The search industry has already proven enormously successful, due in large part to an advertising-driven business model. In recent years, online social networks have experienced rapid growth, both in use and variety, but have not yet generated the significant revenue experienced in other areas. Consequently, social networks are not generating revenue commensurate with the amount of user attention, page views, and traffic flow that they have managed to attract. 
     With the advances in social networking and more particularly in social networking platforms, there is an ongoing and increasing effort to develop and implement effective monetization systems. Current monetization systems include displaying advertisements inside and outside of applications, charging advertisers for applications, selling applications on a subscription basis, and charging commission on digital goods. These techniques are effective basic methods of generating revenue within a publication or website. However, they fail to take full advantage of the social networking paradigm. Social networks are largely driven by the interaction that occurs among the users, and conventional methods neglect this interaction. Therefore, a substantial need exists for a monetization system and/or methodology which exploits user interaction in a social network. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The following presents a simplified summary of the invention in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is not intended to identify key/critical elements of the invention or to delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later. 
     The claimed subject matter relates to a system and/or method for monetizing a social networking platform. In accordance with various aspects of the claimed subject matter, a relation proximity marketing component is associated with a user&#39;s profile. The relation proximity marketing component includes a quantifier component that measures the relational proximity of the user to at least one subsequent purchaser of a good. 
     The display component can exhibit a good the user has purchased or a good the user is using via a display on the user&#39;s profile. Additionally, the display component can include a user rating or review of the good, wherein the goods can include physical goods and/or digital goods. Exhibiting the goods on a users profile allows users to entice friends to purchase the same goods. 
     Merchants can issue a reward to the user based on the relational proximity of the user to at least one subsequent purchaser of a good. Rewards can include micropayments, discounts, or some other incentive for using the relational proximity marketing system. 
     To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, certain illustrative aspects of the invention are described herein in connection with the following description and the annexed drawings. These aspects are indicative of various ways in which the invention may be practiced, all of which are intended to be covered by the subject invention. Other advantages and novel features of the invention may become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a marketplace graph illustrating a network having a one-sided networking effect in accordance with the subject invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a marketplace graph illustrating a network having a two-sided networking effect in accordance with the subject invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a marketplace graph illustrating a network having a three-sided networking effect in accordance with the subject invention. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a general component block diagram block diagram of a social networking platform in accordance with the subject invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a marketplace graph illustrating a social networking platform (SNP) is shown. 
         FIG. 6  is a general component block diagram illustrating a monetization system is illustrated in accordance with an aspect of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a flow chart illustrating a monetization system in accordance with an aspect of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7   a  is a component block diagram block diagram illustrating a user dispersion in accordance with an aspect of the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  illustrates a system that employs an artificial intelligence component which facilitates automating one or more features in accordance with the subject invention. 
         FIG. 9  is a schematic block diagram illustrating a suitable operating environment in accordance with an aspect of the subject invention. 
         FIG. 10  is a schematic block diagram of a sample-computing environment with which the subject invention can interact. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The subject invention relates to a monetization system and/or methodology that can exploit user interaction in a social network in order to derive profits. In particular, a relational proximity marketing component allows users to communicate and display goods they have purchased to other related users within the social network. Additionally, the relational proximity marketing component quantifies the relational proximity between an initial user and subsequent purchasers of the goods, and can issue a reward to the initial user based on the relational proximity. 
     The innovation is now described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the subject innovation. It may be evident, however, that the innovation can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to facilitate describing the innovation. 
     As used in this application, the terms “component,” “system,” “object,” “model,” “policy,” and the like are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, either hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application running on a server and the server can be a component. One or more components may reside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component may be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers. Also, these components can execute from various computer readable media having various data structures stored thereon. The components may communicate via local and/or remote processes such as in accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., data from one component interacting with another component in a local system, distributed system, and/or across a network such as the Internet with other systems via the signal). 
     As used herein, the term “inference” refers generally to the process of reasoning about or inferring states of the system, environment, and/or user from a set of observations as captured via events and/or data. Inference can be employed to identify a specific context or action, or can generate a probability distribution over states, for example. The inference can be probabilistic—that is, the computation of a probability distribution over states of interest based on a consideration of data and events. Inference can also refer to techniques employed for composing higher-level events from a set of events and/or data. Such inference results in the construction of new events or actions from a set of observed events and/or stored event data, whether or not the events are correlated in close temporal proximity, and whether the events and data come from one or several event and data sources. Furthermore, inference can be based upon logical models or rules, whereby relationships between components or data are determined by an analysis of the data and drawing conclusions therefrom. For instance, by observing that one user interacts with a subset of other users over a network, it may be determined or inferred that this subset of users belongs to a desired social network of interest for the one user as opposed to a plurality of other users who are never or rarely interacted with. 
     Referring initially to  FIG. 1 , a marketplace graph  100  is shown illustrating a one-sided networking effect. The marketplace includes a network  110  having one or more users  120  and one or more providers  130 . The users  120  make payments  140  to the providers  130  in exchange for a service/good supplied by the providers  130 . The network effect is described by the value  150  that a participant in the marketplace gives to other participants, simply by being in the marketplace. In a one-sided network, the value  150  of the service/good supplied by the provider  130  is directly proportional to the number of users  120  in the network. Consequently, the users  120  in a one-sided network  110  add value to the network  110  simply by being in the network  110 . For example, word processing software can have a one-sided networking effect. The greater the number of users  120  there are of a compatible and interoperable software suite the greater the value of the software is to every user  120 . Telephone networks and cell-phone networks can be another example of one-sided networking effects. When more users  120  have telephones, the utility of every telephone increases. Similarly, most cell-phone carriers provide free in-network calls, because having more users subscribe to a cell-phone carrier makes calls less expensive for everyone on the network  110 . In all these cases there is only one side of the network  110 , and this side pays for the service/good and simultaneously increases its value. 
     Next referring to  FIG. 2 , a marketplace graph  200  is shown illustrating a two-sided networking effect. The marketplace includes a network  210  consisting of one or more users  220 , one or more merchants  230 , and one or more providers  240 . In the two-sided network there are two types of entities users  220  and merchants  230  (e.g. buyers and sellers, or credit card holders and merchants, or developers and users), and the value of the network  210  for each entity is proportional to the size of the other side. For example, online auction sites can have a two-sided networking effect. The greater number of users  220  and merchants  230  there are of an online auction site, the greater the value of the site is to every user  220  and merchant  230 . 
     Generally, a marketplace charges fees on money passing through the marketplace. It is often desirable to charge the fees as money leaves rather than enters the marketplace, to avoid discouraging money from entering the marketplace. For example, the flow of money  222  within an online auction site occurs from the users  220  to the merchants  230 ; therefore the merchants  230  pay the fees (e.g. commission) to the providers  240 . Similarly, the flow of money within credit card networks is from the users  220  (e.g. card holders) to the merchants  230 ; therefore the merchants  230  pay for the use of the credit cards to the credit card provider  240 . Additionally, providers  240  can add paid or free add-on services. For example, a credit card provider may charge an annual fee for the ability to earn perks (e.g. frequent flier miles), or may offer credit card holders free perks. Both types of incentives further increase the value of the network for users  220  and thereby for merchants  230  as well. 
     Additionally, there is a two-sided networking effect for computer implemented platforms as well. One side consists of the developers and the other side consists of the users. If there are more users of a platform, then developers are more likely to develop applications, and if there are more applications, then more users are likely to adopt the platform. As can be seen, the more users and developers there are of a computer implemented platform the greater the value of the platform is to each individual user and developer. Operating System (OS) platforms may appear to be an exception because users pay for the OS, but this is not true in the vast majority of the OS purchases. Most users get a free OS with their hardware. If we put the hardware developers on the developer&#39;s side, then these developers pay for the OS. Hardware developers recover the cost of the OS from users by increasing the price of their hardware. A similar phenomenon occurs in any other two-sided market where the price of the good includes the fee of the platform. 
     Next referring to  FIG. 3 , a marketplace graph  300  is shown illustrating a three-sided network. For example, we consider the publication of contextual advertisements on web pages published by a third party. The marketplace includes a network  310  consisting of one or more users  320 , one or more publishers  330 , one or more advertisers  340 , and one or more platform owners  350 . In this example, publishers  330  attract users  320  to their websites and show advertisements from the advertisers  340 . In return the users  320  may sometimes respond  326  to those advertisements (e.g. clicking through or purchasing goods), and the publisher  330  will receive a commission  342  from the advertiser  340 . Again, it is shown that the value of the network  310  for each entity is proportional to the size of the other sides. A large quantity of publishers  330  or publications in the network  310  increases the probability of users  320  being attracted to the network  310 . A greater number of users  320  entice advertisers  340  to advertise in the network  310 , and so forth. 
     Examining the marketplace graph  300  and identifying the earning nodes enables the platform owner  350  to determine the flow of money, and at which nodes in the network to charge a fee/commission. The flow of money within the network  310  is from the users  320  to advertisers  340 , and advertisers  340  to publishers  330 . Looking at the marketplace graph  300  between the users  320  and the advertisers  340 , the advertisers  340  are the earning nodes, and it may be desirable for the platform owner  350  to charge the advertisers  340  a fee or commission. Similarly, looking at the marketplace graph  300  between the advertisers  340  and the publishers  330 , publishers  330  are the earning nodes. Therefore, the platform owner  350  may also charge a commission on the publisher&#39;s  330  earnings. In this way, the platform owner  350  can charge the fees as money leaves the marketplace and can avoid discouraging money from entering the marketplace. 
     Next referring to  FIG. 4 , a block diagram illustrating a social networking platform is illustrated in accordance with an aspect of the present invention. The social networking platform (SNP)  400  has a server side component  410 , a set of application program interfaces  440  (APIs), a data store  430 , a plurality of users  420 , and one or more developers  450 . The server side component  410  stores profile information of the users  420  in the data store  430 . The profile information can be accessed and modified by the APIs  440 . The developers  450  can use the APIs  440  to develop new applications for the users  420 . 
     Additionally, the developers  450  can use the APIs  440  to develop client side applications for the users  420 . A current issue with social networking is friction on the user  420  side. A user generally has to visit a website to fully enjoy the social network. The client side applications can decrease user friction by making the social network always available (e.g. similar to how Outlook makes email readily available). 
     Next referring to  FIG. 5 , a marketplace graph  500  of a social networking platform (SNP) is shown in accordance with an aspect of the present invention. The marketplace includes a SNP  510 , having a plurality of users  520 , one or more advertisers  530 , one or more developers  540 , and a SNP owner  550 . The developers  540  in the SNP  510  can be divided into various categories, including but not limited to developers  540  of applications  542 , developers  540  of digital goods  544 , and developers  540  of hardware/service  546  (e.g. client side applications). 
     Essentially, the SNP  510  can be thought of as a network similar to those previously discussed, and can contain various kinds of networking effects. The SNP  510  can have a one-sided networking effect among users, similar to word processing software or a telephone network. The utility and value of the social network increases for each user  520  with the greater number of users  520  the social network has as members. The SNP  510  has a two-sided networking effect between developers and users, similar to an OS. Additionally, the SNP  510  has a three-sided networking effect among the users  520 , the advertisers  530 , and the developers  540 , similar to the market for contextual advertisement. 
     As can be seen by examining the marketplace graph  500 , there is a rich variety of monetization systems for the SNP 510 . Typically, the developers  540  attract users  520  to use their wares, and they monetize their apps  542  by displaying advertisements from the advertisers  530 . In return the users  520  may sometimes respond to those advertisements by clicking/purchasing items  570 , and the developer receives a commission/fee  560  from the advertiser  530 . Additionally, the developers  540  can sell their apps  542  to the users  520  for a small fee, or offer the apps  542  on a subscription basis for premium content. The SNP  510  owner receives a commission from the earning nodes as previously discussed. Furthermore, a developer may choose to make their apps  542  free of advertisements. For example, a developer  540  of apps  542  that provide a service may not want a competitors add to appear in their apps  542 . However, in order to keep the apps  542  free of advertisements the developer  540  will have to compensate the SNP owner  550  for the missed earning opportunity. The compensation can be in the form of a page-view fee. 
     Moreover, some developers  540  sell digital content  544 . Obviously, it may be unfeasible or undesirable to display advertisements in some digital content  544 . However, the developers  540  charge the users  520  for the digital content  544 , and the SNP owner  550  may charge a fee as a commission  522  from the developer  530 . One example of the digital content  544  a developer  540  might sell could be an icon expressing a social event (e.g. a birthday gift icon), or charity gift icon, or a social campaign icon. A birthday gift icon is a commercialized icon, and it may be desirable for the SNP owner  550  to charge the developer  530  a commission. A charity organization can create a special icon for a charitable project, (e.g. an earthquake or a flood). A user  520  contributing more than a certain dollar amount earns the right to display the icon in their profile. Examples of social campaign icon could be an organ donor icon or a green earth icon. It may be undesirable for the SNP owner  550  to charge a commission on a charity icon or a social icon. Another example of digital content  544  a developer might sell includes music which can flow through a social network. A user  520  can buy music and place it in their profile. Visitors to the profile page can stream the music from the user&#39;s  520  profile page. This can be done by a separate app  542  which could be either a paid app or a free app. Additionally, the user may have to pay an additional fee to move the song to a portable device. 
     Next referring to  FIG. 6 , a block diagram of a monetization system is illustrated in accordance with an aspect of the present invention. The bundling system  600  has a user  610 , a provider  620 , a developer  630 , and a bundle  640  including a device  650  and a client side application (app)  660 . As previously discussed, a social network can have a two-sided networking effect between developers  630  and users  610 , similar to an OS. Therefore, it may be desirable for developers  630  to employ a business model similar to that often used by operating systems. The developers  630  can develop a client side application  660  for the social network that can be included in a bundle  640  with the devices  650  (e.g. laptops, desktops, PDA, handhelds, mobile devices, automobiles, etc.), wherein the provider  620  of the devices  650  pays  670  (e.g. flat fee, licensing fee) the developer  630  for the application  660 , rather than having the users  610  pay for the applications  660  directly. The users  610  pay the provider  620  for the application  660  indirectly either in the purchase price  680  of the device  650 /bundle  640  or in recurring fees, such as monthly fees. 
     Next referring to  FIG. 7 , a flow chart of a monetization system is illustrated in accordance with an aspect of the present invention. While, for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the methodologies are shown and described as a series or number of acts, it is to be understood and appreciated that the subject invention is not limited by the order of acts, as some acts may, in accordance with the subject invention, occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other acts from that shown and described herein. For example, those skilled in the art will understand and appreciate that a methodology could alternatively be represented as a series of interrelated states or events, such as in a state diagram. Moreover, not all illustrated acts may be required to implement a methodology in accordance with the subject invention. 
     At  700  one or more users participate in a social network. The user  700  can purchase goods  710  through a social network. After purchasing the goods  710  the user  700  can elect to participate in a relation proximity marketing (which can be colloquially described as word-of-mouth marketing/advertising or WOMM system). If the user  700  elects to participate in the relation proximity marketing (RPM) system, then a RPM Component  720  is associated with the user  700  and/or their profile via an association component  730 . The association component  730  maintains an association between the user and/or user&#39;s profile and the RPM component  720 . The RPM component can include a display component  740 . The display component  740  facilitates communication of data associated with the RPM component (e.g. user purchases) to related users  750 . For example, the display component  740  may display a section on the user&#39;s  700  profile presenting goods that the user  700  purchased, which in essence shows related users  750  (e.g. friends, additional users with profile viewing privileges) which goods the user  700  has purchased and/or is currently using. The display can further include a user&#39;s  700  rating and/or review of the goods. 
     The RPM component  720  includes a quantifier component  750  that measures the relational proximity of the user  700  to related users  750  who purchased the product after the user  700 . The quantifier component can utilize various mathematical models to quantify the relational proximity of subsequent buyers, such as a degree of separation model or a random walk model. For example, a block diagram is shown illustrating a user dispersion in  FIG. 7   a.  For purposes of simplicity of explanation, only users  792  with a vertical relation are considered in this example. The user dispersion includes a network  788  of users  792 . The users  792  are represented by nodes on various levels of the network  788 , the levels including 0 through N where N is an integer. The relational proximity of a first user  792  to a second user  792  can be quantified by determining which level the first user  792  resides on in relation to the second user  792 . The difference between the level of the second user and the level of the first user represents the relational proximity of the users  792  to one another. This can be expressed by the equation: 
         P=|L ( U   2 )− L ( U   1 )| 
     where P is the proximity and L is the level of a user U. As an example, the relational proximity between an initial user  790  residing on the first level (e.g. 0), and a related user  794  residing on a second level (e.g. 1) equals one. Furthermore, the relational proximity between the initial user  794  and a related user  798  residing on the N th  level (e.g. N) is equal to N. 
     Referring again to  FIG. 7 , based on the proximity of the user  700  to subsequent purchasers of the goods, a reward component  770  enables a merchant  760  to issue a reward (e.g. retroactive discount)  770  to the user  700 . For example, if the reward is a retroactive discount it can be funded at least in part by the marketing savings. The discount issued to the user  700  can be given in terms of micropayments deposited into the user&#39;s  700  account. It may be desirable for the merchant  760  to place an upper bound on the total discount, so that the price of the good does not fall below the marginal cost of the product. The discount creates an incentive for the user  700  to make their purchases through the social network. Furthermore, if there is a product which the user  700  expects their friends to buy, the user  700  may obtain a lower purchase price (e.g. discount) by purchasing the product first. When other users nearby in the user&#39;s  700  social network purchase that good, the user  700  is obtaining a discount which may be viewed as a referral fee. 
     Additionally, as discussed supra it is to be understood that the subject invention could be adapted as a client side application or for inclusion therein. Furthermore, the client side application can be bundled with a device, wherein the provider of the device pays (e.g. flat fee, licensing fee) for the application, rather than having the user  700  pay for the application directly. The user pays the provider for the application indirectly either in the purchase price of the device/bundle or in recurring fees, such as monthly fees. 
       FIG. 8  illustrates a system  800  that employs an artificial intelligence (AI) component  802  which facilitates automating one or more features in accordance with the subject invention. The subject invention (e.g., in connection with inferring) can employ various AI-based schemes for carrying out various aspects thereof. For example, a process for determining a user&#39;s  700  participate in the RPM System can be facilitated via an automatic classifier system and process. 
     A classifier is a function that maps an input attribute vector, x=(x 1 , x 2 , x 3 , x 4 , xn), to a confidence that the input belongs to a class, that is, f(x)=confidence(class). Such classification can employ a probabilistic and/or statistical-based analysis (e.g., factoring into the analysis utilities and costs) to prognose or infer an action that a user desires to be automatically performed. 
     A support vector machine (SVM) is an example of a classifier that can be employed. The SVM operates by finding a hypersurface in the space of possible inputs, which hypersurface attempts to split the triggering criteria from the non-triggering events. Intuitively, this makes the classification correct for testing data that is near, but not identical to training data. Other directed and undirected model classification approaches include, e.g., naive Bayes, Bayesian networks, decision trees, neural networks, fuzzy logic models, and probabilistic classification models providing different patterns of independence can be employed. Classification as used herein also is inclusive of statistical regression that is utilized to develop models of priority. 
     As will be readily appreciated from the subject specification, the subject invention can employ classifiers that are explicitly trained (e.g., via a generic training data) as well as implicitly trained (e.g., via observing user behavior, receiving extrinsic information). For example, SVM&#39;s are configured via a learning or training phase within a classifier constructor and feature selection module. Thus, the classifier(s) can be used to automatically learn and perform a number of functions, including but not limited to determining according to a predetermined criteria when to update or refine the previously inferred schema, tighten the criteria on the inferring algorithm based upon the kind of data being processed (e.g., financial versus non-financial, personal versus non-personal, . . . ), and at what time of day to implement tighter criteria controls (e.g., in the evening when system performance would be less impacted). 
     Referring now to  FIG. 9 , there is illustrated a block diagram of a computer operable to execute the disclosed architecture. In order to provide additional context for various aspects of the subject invention,  FIG. 9  and the following discussion are intended to provide a brief, general description of a suitable computing environment  900  in which the various aspects of the invention can be implemented. While the invention has been described above in the general context of computer-executable instructions that may run on one or more computers, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention also can be implemented in combination with other program modules and/or as a combination of hardware and software. 
     Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components, data structures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the inventive methods can be practiced with other computer system configurations, including single-processor or multiprocessor computer systems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, as well as personal computers, hand-held computing devices, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, and the like, each of which can be operatively coupled to one or more associated devices. 
     The illustrated aspects of the invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where certain tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules can be located in both local and remote memory storage devices. 
     A computer typically includes a variety of computer readable media. Computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by the computer and includes both volatile and nonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. By way of example, and not limitation, computer readable media can comprise computer storage media and communication media. Computer storage media includes both volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD ROM, digital video disk (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by the computer. 
     Communication media typically embodies computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and includes any information delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media. Combinations of the any of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media. 
     With reference again to  FIG. 9 , there is illustrated an exemplary environment  900  for implementing various aspects of the invention that includes a computer  902 , the computer  902  including a processing unit  904 , a system memory  906  and a system bus  908 . The system bus  908  couples system components including, but not limited to, the system memory  906  to the processing unit  904 . The processing unit  904  can be any of various commercially available processors. Dual microprocessors and other multi processor architectures may also be employed as the processing unit  904 . 
     The system bus  908  can be any of several types of bus structure that may further interconnect to a memory bus (with or without a memory controller), a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of commercially available bus architectures. The system memory  906  includes read only memory (ROM)  910  and random access memory (RAM)  912 . A basic input/output system (BIOS) is stored in a non-volatile memory  910  such as ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, which BIOS contains the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within the computer  902 , such as during start-up. The RAM  912  can also include a high-speed RAM such as static RAM for caching data. 
     The computer  902  further includes an internal hard disk drive (HDD)  914  (e.g., EIDE, SATA), which internal hard disk drive  914  may also be configured for external use in a suitable chassis (not shown), a magnetic floppy disk drive (FDD)  916 , (e.g., to read from or write to a removable diskette  918 ) and an optical disk drive  920 , (e.g., reading a CD-ROM disk  922  or, to read from or write to other high capacity optical media such as the DVD). The hard disk drive  914 , magnetic disk drive  916  and optical disk drive  920  can be connected to the system bus  908  by a hard disk drive interface  924 , a magnetic disk drive interface  926  and an optical drive interface  928 , respectively. The interface  924  for external drive implementations includes at least one or both of Universal Serial Bus (USB) and IEEE 1394 interface technologies. 
     The drives and their associated computer-readable media provide nonvolatile storage of data, data structures, computer-executable instructions, and so forth. For the computer  902 , the drives and media accommodate the storage of any data in a suitable digital format. Although the description of computer-readable media above refers to a HDD, a removable magnetic diskette, and a removable optical media such as a CD or DVD, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other types of media which are readable by a computer, such as zip drives, magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, cartridges, and the like, may also be used in the exemplary operating environment, and further, that any such media may contain computer-executable instructions for performing the methods of the invention. 
     A number of program modules can be stored in the drives and RAM  912 , including an operating system  930 , one or more application programs  932 , other program modules  934  and program data  936 . All or portions of the operating system, applications, modules, and/or data can also be cached in the RAM  912 . It is appreciated that the invention can be implemented with various commercially available operating systems or combinations of operating systems. 
     A user can enter commands and information into the computer  902  through one or more wired/wireless input devices, e.g., a keyboard  938  and a pointing device, such as a mouse  940 . Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, an IR remote control, a joystick, a game pad, a stylus pen, touch screen, or the like. These and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit  904  through an input device interface  942  that is coupled to the system bus  908 , but can be connected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, an IEEE 1394 serial port, a game port, a USB port, an IR interface, etc. 
     A monitor  944  or other type of display device is also connected to the system bus  908  via an interface, such as a video adapter  946 . In addition to the monitor  944 , a computer typically includes other peripheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers, printers, etc. 
     The computer  902  may operate in a networked environment using logical connections via wired and/or wireless communications to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer(s)  948 . The remote computer(s)  948  can be a workstation, a server computer, a router, a personal computer, portable computer, microprocessor-based entertainment appliance, a peer device or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of the elements described relative to the computer  902 , although, for purposes of brevity, only a memory storage device  950  is illustrated. The logical connections depicted include wired/wireless connectivity to a local area network (LAN)  952  and/or larger networks, e.g., a wide area network (WAN)  954 . Such LAN and WAN networking environments are commonplace in offices, and companies, and facilitate enterprise-wide computer networks, such as intranets, all of which may connect to a global communication network, e.g., the Internet. 
     When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer  902  is connected to the local network  952  through a wired and/or wireless communication network interface or adapter  956 . The adaptor  956  may facilitate wired or wireless communication to the LAN  952 , which may also include a wireless access point disposed thereon for communicating with the wireless adaptor  956 . 
     When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer  902  can include a modem  958 , or is connected to a communications server on the WAN  954 , or has other means for establishing communications over the WAN  954 , such as by way of the Internet. The modem  958 , which can be internal or external and a wired or wireless device, is connected to the system bus  908  via the serial port interface  942 . In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the computer  902 , or portions thereof, can be stored in the remote memory/storage device  950 . It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers can be used. 
     The computer  902  is operable to communicate with any wireless devices or entities operatively disposed in wireless communication, e.g., a printer, scanner, desktop and/or portable computer, portable data assistant, communications satellite, any piece of equipment or location associated with a wirelessly detectable tag (e.g., a kiosk, news stand, restroom), and telephone. This includes at least Wi-Fi and Bluetooth™ wireless technologies. Thus, the communication can be a predefined structure as with a conventional network or simply an ad hoc communication between at least two devices. 
     Wi-Fi, or Wireless Fidelity, allows connection to the Internet from a couch at home, a bed in a hotel room, or a conference room at work, without wires. Wi-Fi is a wireless technology similar to that used in a cell phone that enables such devices, e.g., computers, to send and receive data indoors and out; anywhere within the range of a base station. Wi-Fi networks use radio technologies called IEEE 802.11 (a, b, g, etc.) to provide secure, reliable, fast wireless connectivity. A Wi-Fi network can be used to connect computers to each other, to the Internet, and to wired networks (which use IEEE 802.3 or Ethernet). Wi-Fi networks operate in the unlicensed 2.4 and 5 GHz radio bands, at an 11 Mbps (802.11a) or 54 Mbps (802.11b) data rate, for example, or with products that contain both bands (dual band), so the networks can provide real-world performance similar to the basic 10 BaseT wired Ethernet networks used in many offices. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 10 , there is illustrated a schematic block diagram of an exemplary computing environment  1000  in accordance with the subject invention. The system  1000  includes one or more client(s)  1002 . The client(s)  1002  can be hardware and/or software (e.g., threads, processes, computing devices). The client(s)  1002  can house cookie(s) and/or associated contextual information by employing the invention, for example. 
     The system  1000  also includes one or more server(s)  1004 . The server(s)  1004  can also be hardware and/or software (e.g., threads, processes, computing devices). The servers  1004  can house threads to perform transformations by employing the invention, for example. One possible communication between a client  1002  and a server  1004  can be in the form of a data packet adapted to be transmitted between two or more computer processes. The data packet may include a cookie and/or associated contextual information, for example. The system  1000  includes a communication framework  1006  (e.g., a global communication network such as the Internet) that can be employed to facilitate communications between the client(s)  1002  and the server(s)  1004 . 
     Communications can be facilitated via a wired (including optical fiber) and/or wireless technology. The client(s)  1002  are operatively connected to one or more client data store(s)  1008  that can be employed to store information local to the client(s)  1002  (e.g., cookie(s) and/or associated contextual information). Similarly, the server(s)  1004  are operatively connected to one or more server data store(s)  1010  that can be employed to store information local to the servers  1004 . 
     What has been described above includes examples of the invention. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the subject invention, but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that many further combinations and permutations of the invention are possible. Accordingly, the invention is intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, to the extent that the term “includes” is used in either the detailed description or the claims, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as “comprising” is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim.