Patent ID: 7809740

Claim:
A method for determining user profiles from online activity, said method comprising: storing a plurality of weight parameters at an entity for a plurality of categories and a plurality of event types; receiving, at said entity, event information, comprising an event type, from at least one event, wherein said event comprises on-line activity between said user and said entity; classifying said event information in one of a plurality of categories, wherein a category specifies subject matter of user interest; generating at least one user profile score for said category from said event information by: selecting an intensity weight, based on said event type and said category, that measures an ability to predict intensity information for the corresponding event type and category; applying a saturation function with a predefined upper cap value to said event information, wherein an output of said saturation function equals an input up to said upper cap value; applying a decay function to said output of said saturation function, so as to decrease over time a predictive weight of said event information; applying said intensity weight to an output of said decay function; selecting a recency weight, based on said event type and said category, that defines a rate of decay for the prediction power of the corresponding event type and category; applying said recency weight selected to the output of a recency function that measures how recent the event information occurred; and aggregating the weighted output of said recency function with the weighted output of said decay function to generate said user profile score.