Patent ID: 7853665

Claim:
A method for targeting content to an audience that comprises a plurality of users, the method comprising: receiving rules from an administration client computing device, the rules comprising query criteria for the audience, each rule defined as a unit of functionality; storing the received rules in a database; scheduling the compilation of the rules on a predetermined time schedule; using the received rules to determine a membership list of the plurality of users to receive the content, the received rules comprising a property query rule, a member of rule, and a reports under rule, by: independently generating separate results of the property query rule by determining if a property value matches a property of one or more of the plurality of users, including receiving the separate results of the property query rule from a directory service, wherein the directory service is separate from the database; independently generating separate results of the member of rule by determining if one or more of the plurality of users are a member of a pre-existing group email distribution list; and independently generating separate results of the reports under rule by determining if one or more of the plurality of users are located hierarchically under another person within an organization structure, the determination comprising receiving the separate results of the reports under rule from the directory service maintaining the organization structure; and after independently generating the separate results of each of the property query rule, the member of rule, and the reports under rule, compiling the membership list of users according to the predetermined schedule by applying one or more conditional logic operators to combine the separate results of the property query rule, the separate results of the member of rule, and the separate results of the reports under rule; associating the compiled membership list of users with content; obtaining the content from a data store; and providing the content to the users listed within the compiled membership list.