Systems and methods for collecting consumer data

Abstract

All of an internet user's internet data is routed to a known domain on the internet, from which it is routed on to the intended recipient. The domain includes proxy servers which proxy the user's WWW data requests to the domain, and database servers which filter and build a database of the user's internet usage. Particular data concerning certain behaviors of interest, such as purchasing data, is filtered into the database, and can form the basis for numerous market measures.

1 . A method of collecting data relating to a user's transactions over an unsecure network, the user utilizing a computing device to send and receive data sets over the network, the computing device having an address on the network, the data sets including data representative of the address of the computing device on the network, comprising the steps of: 
 directing all data sets from the computing device to a known domain;    assigning a unique identifier to the computing device;    readdressing data sets sent from the computing device to indicate that the data sets originated in the known domain;    recording at least part of the data sets; and    sending the readdressed data onto the network.    
   
   
       2 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the step of directing all data sets comprises configuring software running on the computing device to address all data sets to a known proxy server in the known domain.  
   
   
       3 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the step of recording at least part of the data sets comprises building a database including at least part of the data sets.  
   
   
       4 . A method according to  claim 3 , wherein the step of building a database includes building a database having at least one field selected from the group consisting of user age, user income level, user education level, household size, time of transmission of the data set, location of computing device, date of transmission of the data set, currency paid, type of product purchased, type of service purchased, network address of the intended recipient of a data set, click-through address, banner advertisement impression, and permission e-mail received, and combinations thereof.  
   
   
       5 . A method according to  claim 1 , further comprising the steps of: 
 negotiating a first encryption key with the computing device;    negotiating a second encryption key with an intended recipient of a data set sent by the computing device.    
   
   
       6 . A method in accordance with  claim 5 , further comprising the steps of: 
 decoding an encrypted data set from the computing device with the first encryption key;    encrypting the decoded data set with the second encryption key; and    transmitting the data set encrypted with the second encryption key to the intended recipient via the network.    
   
   
       7 . A method in accordance with  claim 1 , further comprising the step of: 
 calculating a metric from the data recorded in the recording step indicative of how much money is spent per a set number of times a particular addressable data set on the network is requested by any user on the network.    
   
   
       8 . A method in accordance with  claim 1 , further comprising the step of: 
 generating a set of records from the data recorded in the recording step, each record including data, the data being representative of a user's request for data from a single set of addresses on the network, and the data being representative of at least one characteristic of the user.    
   
   
       9 . A method in accordance with  claim 1 , further comprising the step of: 
 generating a set of records from the data recorded in the recording step, each record in the set including the price paid for a product or service in a known class of products or services, and the date the price was paid; and    generating time-price functions to provide an indication of the market price for products or services in the known class of products or services.    
   
   
       10 . A method in accordance with  claim 1 , further comprising the step of: 
 generating a set of records from the data recorded in the recording step, the set of records including fields for data indicative of the amount of revenue a known network address generates over a set time period or over a set number of requests for data from the known network address.    
   
   
       11 . A method in accordance with  claim 10 , further comprising the step of: 
 generating a revenue projection over a given period of time for the known network address.    
   
   
       12 . A method in accordance with  claim 10 , further comprising the step of: 
 generating a sales forecasts for the known network address.    
   
   
       13 . A method in accordance with  claim 1 , further comprising the step of: 
 generating a set of records from the data recorded in the recording step, the set of records including a field indicative of the number of times data at a known network address is requested by a user on the network.    
   
   
       14 . A method in accordance with  claim 1 , further comprising the step of: 
 generating a set of records from the data recorded in the recording step, the set of records including fields indicative of a characteristic of users of the network, and at least one field indicative of network usage; and    comparing the set of records to a second database based on a large population to predict an overall probability of network usage by network users having the characteristic for the entire population represented by the second database.    
   
   
       15 . A method in accordance with  claim 1 , further comprising the step of: 
 compressing the readdressed data.    
   
   
       16 . A system for collecting data relating to a user's transactions over an unsecure network, the user using a computing device configured to send and receive data sets over the network, the computing device having an address on the network, the data sets including data representative of the address of the computing device on the network, the system comprising: 
 logic configured to assign a unique identifier to the computing device;    logic configured to readdress data sets sent from the computing device to indicate that the data sets originated in the known domain;    logic configured to record at least part of the data sets; and    logic configured to send the readdressed data onto the network.    
   
   
       17 . A system for collecting data relating to a consumer's transactions over an unsecure network, the consumer using a computing device configured to send and receive data sets over the network, the data sets including data representative of the address of the computing device on the network, the network including a content server, the system comprising: 
 logic configured to send data to and receive data from the consumer over the network;    logic configured to negotiate a first encryption key with the consumer's computing device; and    logic configured to negotiate a second encryption key with the content server.