Abstract:
The present invention solves the problems of the prior art by providing customized content-sensitive indexes, created for each reader from previously supplied user profiles. Information is provided in advance by the user for the creation of a sophisticated index scanning all articles in a given publication. User supplied factors and relationships between factors, as well as scanning criteria, identify the specific information most useful to the reader. For example, the customer may provide a request to have all articles relating to “n”, where “n” is a key phrase or word relating to some area of interest. The system would then scan the content of a magazine and retrieve all articles where that key phrase or word appears “x” times and at least one of those times is “y” words away from “z”. The indexes themselves are attached or otherwise provided, via fax, Internet, etc., for use with the physical magazine and can quickly and easily identify only those articles known to be of interest to the reader, segregating them from perhaps hundreds of less important articles. This custom index thus makes it possible for a consumer to locate articles which are highly likely to be of interest—a problem that would otherwise be impractical to solve without a wastefully large investment of time.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to periodicals. More specifically, the invention relates to a method and system for managing information presented in periodicals by creating personalized indexes. 
     2. Background 
     One of the most difficult challenges for present day professionals is dealing with the information overload which accompanies keeping up to date on current events. A typical business person may have a schedule consumed with travel and work time. Staying current in a profession may be vital to success, yet is often very difficult to do. In an attempt to stay current, many readers turn to magazines, journals and periodicals (collectively termed ‘magazines’) as a primary source of information. They provide current and expert information on an almost limitless number of topics. 
     Reading magazines alone, however, does not present a solution for the dilemma of information overload facing readers. The sheer volume of information provided in magazines often overwhelms a reader&#39;s ability to process it. It is typical for a single magazine to include over one hundred articles, with a dozen or more directed to a single topic. Printed indices and tables of contents may themselves run for many pages. If a reader desires to receive current information, for example, on a particular person or company, he may find dozens references to that company or person indexed within a single magazine. Often the reader must dedicate valuable time evaluating all of the content in order to determine which of it satisfies his particular interests. 
     For example, a very popular publication which caters to many professionals today is  Forbes  magazine.  Forbes  offers up to date and important content relating to the business world and can be a very valuable tool for today&#39;s business person. A typical issue of  Forbes  consists of a table of contents displaying up to fifty articles containing over twenty thousand words dispersed over twenty broad categories of business. To help  Forbes  readers navigate this information, the magazine includes an index of companies and names. This index itself is often three or four pages long and lists several hundred names and companies which are included throughout the issue. It becomes obvious that the reader would have to spend a substantial amount of valuable time to locate preferred content either by carefully reviewing the index or table of contents, or scanning through the two hundred pages of the magazine. For example, if a reader wanted to find information on Bill Gates or Microsoft in a given issue of  Forbes , he might find dozens of references for both the company and the person. Many of these references may be of little value while others might be more directly relevant. The index only provides the page numbers where the name or company, and typically does not describe what the article relates to or the content in which a name or company is mentioned. 
     Thus, while magazines provide an excellent source of information for a consumer, their practical utility is limited by the gross quantity of information they provide. 
     There have been various attempts made to solve this problem of information overload. 
     Abstract services are available which produce abstracts of magazine articles covering specific areas of interest to information consumers. These abstracts are distributed in accordance with reader profiles and are used to identify articles of likely interest to the consumer. Upon request, the reader may obtain full copies of the articles. Such services suffer, however, from the obvious drawback that access to the full article requires a separate time-consuming action and a positive effort on the part of the consumer. 
     At least one magazine,  American Baby , attempts to include custom editorial matter. Profile data is collected from subscribers for the purpose of providing targeted content to individual subscribers. If, for example, a subscriber is identified as having a three-months old infant, then an article relevant to such an infant may be specially inserted into that subscriber&#39;s magazine along with the standard content. The inclusion of that insert is noted on the cover. 
     Such a process suffers from the significant short-coming of not making it any easier to find other relevant articles in the magazine. The magazine still contains hundreds of pages of standard-content information that, as described above, contributes to the information overload of the reader. 
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     Methods and systems consistent with the present invention allow subscribers to receive periodicals, such as magazines, for which custom indexes are provided. The indexes identify the standard printed content contained in the periodicals that match respective subscribers&#39; preferences. In this way, a subscriber can quickly identify whether such a periodical contains standard printed content of interest to him and what the standard printed content is, and where in the magazine it is located. 
     To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described, a system consistent with this invention comprises a method of manufacturing a customized index for use with a periodical. The method comprises the steps of receiving personal preference data indicative of at least one content category of interest to a subscriber; receiving content data relating to the standard printed content of a periodical; comparing said content data with said personal preference data; generating index data based upon said comparison; and outputting a customized index containing said index data for use with said periodical. The customized index may be attached to a periodical, thereby providing a periodical having a customized index to standard content. 
     In another aspect, the invention comprises an index for use with a periodical to be delivered to a subscriber. The index is customized to identify standard printed content of interest to a subscriber according to preselected personal preferences indicative of at least one content category of interest to a subscriber, the identified standard printed content of interest being contained in the periodical. 
     Both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and, together with the Detailed Description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. 
     In the drawings: 
     FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system consistent with the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a block diagram of central controller  200  located at publisher  120  shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIGS. 3 a-   3   e  show sample fields of magazine database  251 , content database  252 , subscriber database  253 , preferences database  254 , and issue database  255 , respectively, contained in data storage device  250  shown in FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of central controller  400  located at fulfillment house  130  shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 5 shows flowcharts representing a process in which a subscriber provides subscriber information and preferences to a publisher for entry into subscriber database  253  and preferences database  254 ; 
     FIG. 6 shows a flowchart representing a process in which the publisher receives and processes content information of a magazine; and 
     FIG. 7 shows a flowchart representing a process in which the fulfillment house processes index information received from the publisher to construct magazines with customized indexes. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Introduction 
     The invention allows a subscriber of a periodical to quickly identify whether an issue of the periodical contains standard printed content of interest to the subscriber and what that standard printed content is. The subscriber provides a list of personal preferences indicative of standard printed content that the subscriber is interested in reading. The publisher of the periodical compares the personal preferences with content information for a particular issue of the periodical to determine whether the issue contains standard printed content matching the subscriber&#39;s personal preferences. The publisher then creates a customized index, which a fulfillment house attaches to the periodical mailed to the particular subscriber. 
     The preferred embodiment of the invention involves attaching to a periodical an “outer wrap,” on which the customized index is printed. As used in this specification, the term “outer wrap” generally refers to any article, attachable to a periodical, on which an index may be printed. Examples of an “outer wrap” includes, but not limited to, a paper or cardboard wrapper in which the periodical is provided, an adhesive label, an envelope, a card, and a poly bag outer cover. In alternative embodiments, the customized index may be printed directly on the outside or inside of the periodical or printed on an insert, such as a bind-in card, affixed to the inside of the periodical. Further, it is to be understood that the index could be delivered via facsimile, electronic mail, phone (using an IVRU), or the Internet. In addition, unless otherwise indicated, the term “magazine” is used in this specification interchangeably with “periodical,” which refers generally to any publication or work for which one or more issues are published or for which a subscription may be obtained in any medium, such as a magazine, newspaper, journal, CD ROM, cassette tape, video tape, and computer-readable medium. Similarly, unless otherwise indicated, the term “article” is used in this specification to mean any content, material, or writings contained in a periodical, including articles, reports, summaries, stories, songs, films, clips, and computer programs. 
     The term “standard printed content” refers to content contained in a periodical for general distribution and is distinguishable from specialized content, which is directed to a particular group of subscribers according to subscriber characteristics. 
     System 
     FIG. 1 illustrates system  100 , according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. System  100  includes subscriber  110 , publisher  120 , fulfillment house  130 , and distribution channel  140 . As shown in FIG. 1, publisher  120  is in communication with subscriber  110  and fulfillment house  130 . Distribution channel  140  receives magazines from fulfillment house  130  and delivers them to respective subscribers, such as subscriber  110 . 
     Subscriber  110  represents a person who desires to obtain a subscription to a periodical, such as a magazine. Subscriber  110  communicates with publisher  120  by transmitting, for example, personal preference information, which identifies standard printed content of interest. Personal preference information preferably identifies attributes indicative of articles of interest and may specify, for example, the article&#39;s general subject matter (e.g., sports, politics), specific subject matter defined by key words found in the articles (e.g., companies of interest, industries of interest, people of interest, geographic areas of interest), the name of the articles&#39; authors or creators, and the article type (e.g., editorial, product review). 
     Publisher  120  represents the publisher of a periodical for which subscriber  110  desires a subscription. In a preferred embodiment, publisher  120  includes a processor-based system having a central controller configured to receive personal preference information from subscriber  110  and generate appropriate index information for transmission, along with content information, to fulfillment house  130 . 
     FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a central controller  200  of publisher  120 , according to one embodiment of the invention. Central controller  200  includes central processing unit (CPU)  210 , random access memory (RAM)  220 , read only memory (ROM)  230 , communications port  240 , and data storage device  250 , which may be standard hardware components. CPU  210  is linked to each of the other elements and executes program modules stored in RAM  220 , ROM  230 , and/or data storage device  250  to perform operations and functions associated with central controller  200  described below. Central controller  200  may also include components to facilitate communication, such as a voice recognition unit (VRU)  260 , VRU interface  265 , and modem  270 . Communication port  240  interfaces with VRU interface  265 , which links to VRU  260 , and modem  270 , which links to a public switched telephone network. 
     Data storage device  250  maintains several databases, including magazine database  251 , content database  252 , subscriber database  253 , preferences database  254 , and issue database  255 . Sample fields associated with these databases are described below in connection with FIGS. 3 a-   3   e . In alternative embodiments, fewer or more fields may be included in these databases. Some of the fields described below are not needed to accomplish the invention, but are included to illustrate the types of data that may be used in conjunction with the invention. Likewise, in alternative embodiments, fewer or more databases may be used to store similar data in storage device  250 . 
     Magazine database  251  generally contains data relating to magazines published by publisher  120 . FIG. 3 a  illustrates a sample of the fields used in magazine database  251 . The fields shown include ( 1 ) magazine ID number, ( 2 ) magazine name, and ( 3 ) periods. Magazine ID number (field  1 ) represents a unique identifier corresponding to a particular magazine title and is generally used by central controller  200  to specify particular magazine titles. Associated with the magazine ID number are the magazine name (field  2 ) and time periods (field  3 ) in which the particular issue was, or will be, published. Other information may also be provided in database  251  to permit access to additional information relating to the magazine. 
     Content database  252  generally contains data relating to articles contained in different magazine issues. FIG. 3 b  illustrates a sample of the fields in content database  252 , which include ( 1 ) magazine ID number, ( 2 ) issue number, ( 3 ) number of articles, ( 4 ) article title, ( 5 ) content code, ( 6 ) author, and ( 7 ) page number. Each entry in database  252 , indexed by magazine ID number and issue number, contains data relating to the content of a particular magazine issue, such as the number of articles in the issue (field  3 ), the articles&#39; titles (field  4 ), the authors of the articles (field  6 ), and the articles&#39; page numbers (field  7 ). Each entry may also be associated with one or more content codes (field  5 ), representing attributes associated with the content of the articles in a particular magazine issue. The content codes are generated according to a coding scheme that associates each content code with a unique attribute. These attributes may include an article&#39;s general subject matter (e.g., sports, politics), specific subject matter defined by key words found in the articles (e.g., companies of interest, industries of interest, people of interest, geographic areas of interest), the name of the articles&#39; authors, and the article type (e.g., editorial, product review). For example, a content code may represent the specific subject matter of “Dinosaurs” and may be stored in correspondence with a particular issue of a magazine, such as a Time Magazine issue containing an article about dinosaurs. In an alternative embodiment, the content information in the content database  252  may be the full text article itself. In this embodiment, a type of intelligent search could be performed to identify the subscriber&#39;s interests, as will be further discussed below. 
     Subscriber database  253  contains data relating to subscribers of the magazines and, as shown in FIG. 3 c , may include several fields, including ( 1 ) subscriber number, ( 2 ) name, ( 3 ) magazine ID number, ( 4 ) index number, ( 5 ) subscription expiration date, ( 6 ) address, ( 7 ) phone number, and ( 8 ) credit card number. Subscriber numbers (field  1 ) allow publisher  120  to uniquely identify subscribers. The Index Number field  4 ) stores information indicating by number whether preferences database  254  contains preference information for particular subscribers. The remaining information relates to subscriber information, such as address, phone number, and credit card number, and subscription information, such as the magazine to which the subscriber has subscribed and the date on which the subscription expires. 
     Preferences database  254  contains data relating to attributes indicative of magazine articles which subscribers are interested in reading and, as shown in FIG. 3 d , is indexed by the index number (field  1 ). Each subscriber identified by subscriber number (field  2 ) may have one or more preferences (field  3 ), which identify desired attributes indicative of articles of interest and are preferably coded according to a coding scheme similar to the one used to code the content codes contained in content database  252 . In an alternative embodiment, the preferences may appear in database  254  as text describing the desired attributes. Subscriber content code (field  4 ) designates the code corresponding to the preferences in field  3 . 
     FIG. 3 e  illustrates sample fields for data found in issue database  255 , which generally contains index information for respective subscribers. Database  255 , as shown in FIG. 3 e , includes the following fields: ( 1 ) magazine ID number, ( 2 ) issue number, ( 3 ) subscriber number, ( 4 ) index number, and ( 5 ) indexed articles. Indexed according to magazine ID number and issue number, entries in database  255  contain index information for corresponding subscribers. The index number identifies, by reference to Preferences Database  254 , information to be printed on the customized index for each subscriber, and may identify such information as article names, authors, and corresponding page numbers associated with articles possessing the attributes to which the subscriber has indicated interest. The particular index information stored under field ( 4 ) may vary, however, according to the manner in which the customized index is to be constructed. 
     Fulfillment house  130  receives content and index information from publisher  120  and includes a bindery (not shown) which physically constructs magazines to which the customized indexes are attached. In a preferred embodiment, the bindery comprises a conventional facility for assembling magazines, which is controlled by a processor-based central controller  400  in a manner that facilitates the operations and functions described below. One conventional bindery utilizes a bindery line, or assembly line, in which magazine issues are constructed in stages. At the final stage, the bindery is preferably capable of attaching a customized index to a magazine by, for example, attaching a poly bag outer wrap containing the index to the magazine or printing the index directly on the magazine, according to signals from central controller  400 . 
     FIG. 4 illustrates a preferred embodiment of central controller  400 . As shown in FIG. 4, central controller  400  preferably includes certain conventional components, such as CPU  410 , RAM  420 , ROM  430 , communications port  440 , and data storage device  450 . CPU  410  is coupled to the other elements and executes program code stored in RAM  420 , ROM  430 , and/or data storage device  450  to facilitate the functions and operations of central controller  400 . Communications port  440  facilitates electronic communication with central controller  400  and, as shown in FIG. 4, is coupled to publisher interface  460  and bindery interface  470 , which connect to publisher  120  and the bindery, respectively. 
     Data storage device  450  maintains several databases, including subscriber database  452  and issue database  454 . These databases preferably contain the same or similar data as stored in databases  253  and  255 , respectively. CPU  410  is capable of accessing the data stored in data storage device  450 . 
     Distribution channel  140  represents one or more conventional entities which provides delivery service (e.g., postal delivery, parcel delivery, courier) and that delivers magazines containing customized indexes received from fulfillment house  130  to respective subscribers. Distribution channel  140  preferably operates in a manner that facilitates conventional modes of magazine distribution, such as home or office delivery for subscribers or delivery to a retail outlet for subscriber pick-up. 
     Operation of the System 
     Consistent with the invention, various operations of system  100  are now described in connection with the flowcharts illustrated in FIGS. 5-7. 
     FIG. 5 contains flowchart  500  depicting a process in which a subscriber provides subscriber information and personal preferences to a publisher and the publisher enters the subscriber information. Publisher  120  lists preferences on blow-in, bind-in, or subscription cards inserted in magazines (step  510 ). Such cards are conventionally used by subscribers to mail in magazine subscription orders and are inserted into magazines using known methods. In one embodiment, these cards contain space for subscribers to fill in subscriber information (e.g., subscriber name, address, subscription duration, and payment information) as well as a list of personal preferences relating to magazine article attributes from which subscribers may select. Subscriber  110 , who receives one of the blow-in cards, checks off or lists the preferences in which he is interested (step  515 ). 
     Subscriber  110  returns the completed blow-in card to publisher  120  by, for example, mailing the card (step  520 ). Publisher  120  receives the mailed blow-in card with the subscriber&#39;s personal preferences (step  525 ) and queries subscriber database  253  to determine whether a subscriber record exists for subscriber  110  (step  530 ). If a subscriber record does not exist for subscriber  110  (step  535 ), publisher  120  creates a new record in subscriber database  253  using the subscriber information provided on the received blow-in card (step  540 ). This new record is created in a conventional manner by, for example, entering subscriber information into subscriber database  253 . Publisher  120  also assigns a subscriber number to subscriber  110 , which is stored in subscriber  110 &#39;s record as well. 
     Following step  540 , or step  530  if a subscriber record already exists, publisher  120  assigns an index number for the content preference information received on the blow-in card and stores an index number in the subscriber&#39;s record in subscriber database  253 . (step  545 ). Publisher  120  creates a record in preferences database  254  using the index number and subscriber  110 &#39;s subscriber number stored in subscriber database  253  and stores preferences contained on the received blow-in card (step  550 ). In a preferred embodiment, the preferences are entered as preference codes according to a coding scheme in which the preference codes represent desired attributes of articles of interest. As previously mentioned with regards to the content of the magazine, the subscriber preferences could be stored as received in text format and not coded to allow for a different type of query to be performed. 
     The above-described process for communicating subscriber preferences to publisher  120  using blow-in or subscription cards constitutes one implementation of the invention. In alternative implementations, the subscriber preferences may be communicated using other conventional communication devices, such as the telephone (via VRU or live operator), facsimile, electronic mail and the Internet. 
     FIG. 6 shows flowchart  600  representing a process in which publisher  120  receives and processes the content information of a magazine. An author submits his article to publisher  120  (step  610 ), which reviews the content of the article and assigns appropriate content codes to the article (step  620 ). The content codes may be assigned according to an appropriate coding scheme, preferably compatible with the coding scheme employed for the preference codes. These content codes are generally assigned to reflect the content of the article. Publisher  120  enters article information into content database  252  (step  630 ). Examples of article information include the magazine ID number of the magazine in which the article will appear, the article title, appropriate content code(s), the author, and the page number at which the article will appear in the magazine. 
     Publisher  120 &#39;s central controller  200  queries subscriber database  253  to determine the index numbers for the subscribers of a magazine for which personal preferences are stored in preferences database  254  (step  640 ). Central controller  200  then queries preferences database  254  by index number for records(step  650 ) and queries each preferences record for matches with content codes for each article in the current issue (step  660 ). 
     In an alternative embodiment, neither the content nor the preferences may have codes associated with them. In this embodiment the controller performs an intelligent query of the magazine content based on the preferences of the subscriber. The index is created, using a weighting method whereby the controller determines the relevance of any reference to a name or a company. Such a system operates as follows. The subscriber provides company A in his list of preferences. The controller is then programmed to query the magazine for all content where A is mentioned more than once within ten words of B, B being some additional piece of preference information. For example, the subscriber wants to see any articles about “Microsoft” relevant to the Internet in Wired magazine. The controller would query the content record for Wired in search of any articles which mention “Microsoft”. Once the articles have been identified the controller would again query for “Microsoft” within three words of “internet” to determine the relevance of the article. 
     Once the articles of interest are identified, central controller  200  creates individual index records for each subscriber receiving that issue in issue database  255  (step  665 ). Central controller  200  stores magazine ID number, issue number, subscriber number, and index number in issue database  255  (step  670 ). Central controller  200  stores all articles whose content code matches any stored in the subscriber&#39;s preference record in issue database  255  (step  675 ). Central controller  200  transmits magazine content, issue information, and subscriber information to fulfillment house  130  (step  680 ). This transmission may be carried out by mailing printouts, or documentation, containing this information or by electronic transmission, such as modem, network connection, or wireless transmission. 
     FIG. 7 shows flowchart  700  representing a process in which fulfillment house  130  processes the index information to construct magazines with customized indexes. Central controller  400  receives the data transmission, including the content and index information, from publisher  120  (step  710 ). Central controller  400  sends the content information to a bindery line to initiate the bindery process of constructing magazines (step  720 ) and transmits subscriber name, address, and index information to a printer preferably located toward the end of the bindery line (step  730 ). 
     The printer prints mailing information and a customized index on an outer wrap (step  740 ), which is placed at the end of the bindery line (step  750 ) and attached to the respective magazines (step  760 ). In an alternative embodiment, the printer could print the mailing information and/or the customized index directly on or in the magazines without using an outer wrap. As previously mentioned, the index could be transmitted to the subscriber via facsimile, electronic mail, the Internet, phone, or any suitable means for communication. The related information necessary to perform such a transmission would be stored in the appropriate database, accessed accordingly, and used to execute the delivery. Fulfillment house  130  batches and ships the completed magazines, with the customized indexes, to respective subscribers, including subscriber  110  (step  770 ). This shipment may include conventional modes of delivering magazines, including mail, special delivery, and pick up. 
     Conclusion 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the method and system of the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. The present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims.