System And Method To Communicate Targeted Information

Abstract

A method for targeted advertising is disclosed. The method includes accessing at least one piece of demographic information associated with a user of a portable device, selecting an advertisement to be delivered to the user based at least in part on the demographic information, and initiating communication of a version of the advertisement configured for presentation at the portable device.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 receiving, at a network based resource, a request from an electronic device for a list of network addresses for a plurality of segments of an available media;   recognizing whether the electronic device is a mobile device or not;   providing the list to the electronic device;   receiving a request from the electronic device for one of the segments of the plurality of segments;   formatting the segment to allow communication at a first rate;   providing the segment to the electronic device;   receiving an additional request from the electronic device for an additional segment of the plurality of segments;   formatting the additional segment to allow communication at a different rate; and   providing the additional segment to the electronic device.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the formatting steps occur prior to receiving the request for the list of network addresses. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising enabling the available media to be presented on a display of the electronic device, wherein at least a portion of the segment is communicated to the display at the first rate. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the available media is a video, further wherein the formatting of the segment allows for communication to a display of the electronic device at the first rate. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a decision to request a given segment having a given formatting to allow communication at a given rate is based in part on an amount of buffer fill in a buffer of the electronic device. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the given formatting of the given segment allows for communication to the display from the buffer of the electronic device at the given rate. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic device is not a mobile device and is a component of a home entertainment system. 
     
     
         8 . A method comprising:
 receiving, at a network based resource, a request from an electronic device for network addresses associated with a plurality of segments of an available media;   providing the network addresses to the electronic device;   receiving a request from the electronic device for one of the plurality of segments;   providing the segment to the electronic device, the segment formatted to be communicated at or below a first rate;   receiving an additional request from the electronic device for an additional segment of the plurality of segments; and   providing the additional segment to the electronic device, the additional segment formatted to be communicated at or below a rate that is different than the first rate.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the electronic device is a wireless device. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the request for the network addresses is an http request. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 sending the request for the network addresses from an application executing on the electronic device; and   utilizing the electronic device to communicate the segment from a local buffer of the electronic device to a display of the electronic device at or below the first rate.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising formatting the segment and the additional segment. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising making a plurality of pieces of media available, wherein the plurality of pieces of media comprises the available media. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising communicating an advertisement to the electronic device. 
     
     
         15 . A system comprising:
 a network based storage resource maintaining information associated with a plurality of available media options; and   a network based communication resource configured:
 to provide a collection of network addresses for a plurality of segments of a given available media to a remote electronic device; 
 to receive a request from the remote electronic device for a segment of the given available media, wherein the segment is formatted for use at a first rate; 
 to provide the segment to the remote electronic device; 
 to receive an additional request from the remote electronic device for an additional segment of the given available media, wherein the additional segment is formatted for use at a different rate; and 
   to provide the additional segment to the remote electronic device.   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the segment was formatted for use at the first rate prior to the network based communication resource receiving the request for the segment. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 15 , further comprising an application stored in a memory system of the remote electronic device, wherein the application is configured to present a graphical user interface on a display of the remote electronic device, to include a selectable link associated with the given available media, to recognize a selection of the selectable link, to utilize the collection of network addresses to request the segment, to use the segment by communicating the segment from a local buffer to the display at or below the first rate. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , further comprising a plurality of remote electronic devices each having a locally stored copy of the application. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 17 , further comprising an advertising engine configured to initiate communication of a targeted advertisement to a user of the remote electronic device. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein an http communication comprises the request for the segment and at least one of the network addresses included in the collection of network addresses has a uniform resource format.