Location Calendar Targeted Advertisements

Abstract

A method and system is described for targeting advertisements to a targeted travel habit. A targeted travel habit is comprised of a derived travel habit and associated values for any variables relevant to the derived travel habit. A derived travel habit allows targeting an advertisement towards a specific travel habit of a traveler, and utilizes the raw data entered by a traveler into a location calendar system. This raw data includes the traveler's home locations and travel plans. Raw data may be for the past, present, or future.

1 . A computer-implemented method, comprising:
 receiving, at a computing system hosting an electronic social network over a network, a future travel plan indicating one or more destination locations and dates for a future trip planned by a traveler;   storing the future travel plan in a storage device coupled to the computing system;   storing a profile associated with the traveler in the storage device coupled to the computing system indicating travel habits of the traveler;   determining a targeted travel habit for the traveler based on the future travel plan of the traveler and the profile of the traveler;   receiving, at the computing system over the network, a future travel plan for one or more related individuals, wherein the one or more related individuals is related to the traveler by one or more degrees of separation through the electronic social network;   storing the received future travel plan for the one or more related individuals in the storage device accessible by the computing system, wherein the received future travel plan for the one or more related individuals specifies a future trip planned by the one or more related individuals including the one or more destination locations and associated dates for the one or more related individuals' future trip;   determining, by a data processing system, matching trips for the traveler and the one or more related individuals, and wherein the matching trips for the members of the electronic social network is determined by: (1) the traveler and the one or more related individuals having a matching destination in their future travel plans, wherein a matching destination is a travel destination for the one or more related individuals specified in the received future travel plan for the one or more related individuals matching a travel destination specified in the future travel plan for the traveler, and (2) the traveler and the one or more related individuals have a matching date for the matching destination in their future travel plans;   associating an advertisement to the traveler, wherein the advertisement is associated to the traveler based on (i) the traveler's targeted travel habit (ii) the traveler being related to the one or more related individuals through the electronic social network, (iii) the matching trips between the traveler and the one or more related individuals through the electronic social network, and (iv) raw data, of at least one of the traveler and the one or more related individuals through the electronic social network, related to the matching trips between the traveler and the one or more related individuals through the electronic social network; and   displaying the advertisement to the traveler via the electronic social network on the network.   
     
     
         2 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic social network receives and provides to the traveler information regarding the one or more related individuals to the traveler that are also members of the electronic social network. 
     
     
         3 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the travel plan further comprises travel information including at least one of flight, departure time, departure airport, arrival date and time, and arrival airport information. 
     
     
         4 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the travel plan is entered into an electronic location calendar within the electronic social network. 
     
     
         5 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the travel habit is derived from the number of times, as indicated in the previous travel plans, the traveler has traveled to a particular destination city identified in the future travel plan. 
     
     
         6 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the travel habit is related to a frequency, as indicated in the previous travel plans, at which the traveler has traveled to a particular airport in the future travel plan. 
     
     
         7 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the travel habit is related to the dates on which the traveler will be in a particular destination according to the future travel plan. 
     
     
         8 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the travel habit is related to the number of miles, as indicated in the previous travel plans, the traveler has traveled for work related purposes. 
     
     
         9 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more destination locations is a city. 
     
     
         10 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic social network is presented over the network as a website for access by client computers over HTTP. 
     
     
         11 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the advertisement is comprised of a URL. 
     
     
         12 . A computer-implemented method, comprising:
 receiving, at a computing system hosting an electronic social network over a network, a future travel plan indicating one or more destination locations and dates for a future trip planned by a traveler;   storing the future travel plan in a storage device coupled to the computing system;   storing a profile associated with the traveler in the storage device coupled to the computing system indicating travel habits of the traveler;   receiving, at the computing system over the network, one or more future travel plans for one or more related individuals, wherein the one or more related individuals is related to the traveler by one or more degrees of separation through the electronic social network;   storing a received future travel plan for the one or more related individuals, wherein the received future travel plan comprises travel information including at least one of destination date and destination information in the storage device accessible by the computing system;   determining, by a data processing system, matching trips for the traveler and the one or more related individuals, and wherein the matching trips for the members of the electronic social network are determined by: (1) the traveler and the one or more related individuals having a matching destination in their future travel plans, wherein a matching destination is a travel destination for the one or more related individuals specified in the received future travel plan for the one or more related individuals matching a travel destination specified in the future travel plan for the traveler, and (2) the traveler and the one or more related individuals have a matching date for the matching destination in their future travel plans;   determining an advertisement based on (i) the future travel plan for the one or more related individuals, (ii) the matching trips between the traveler and the one or more related individuals, and (iii) the future travel plan and profile for the traveler; and   displaying the advertisement to the traveler via the electronic social network on the network.   
     
     
         13 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 12 , wherein the step of determining further comprises determining a targeted travel habit for the traveler based on the travel plan for the one or more related individuals and the future travel plan. 
     
     
         14 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 12 , wherein a travel plan is entered into an electronic location calendar within the electronic social network. 
     
     
         15 . A system, comprising:
 a processor;   a network interface, coupled to the processor and coupled to a network; and   a memory device coupled to the processor, wherein the memory device stores instructions that are executed by the processor, wherein the system:   receives, at a computing system hosting an electronic social network over a network, a future travel plan indicating one or more destination locations and dates for a future trip planned by a traveler;   stores the future travel plan in a storage device coupled to the computing system;   stores a profile associated with the traveler in the storage device coupled to the computing system indicating travel habits of the traveler;   receives, at the computing system over the network, one or more future travel plans for one or more related individuals, wherein the one or more related individuals is related to the traveler by no more than one degree of separation through the electronic social network;   stores a received future travel plan for a related individual, wherein the received future travel plan comprises travel information including at least one of destination date and destination information in the storage device accessible by the computing system;   determines, by a data processing system, matching trips for the traveler and the one or more related individuals, and wherein the matching trips for the members of the electronic social network are determined by: (1) the traveler and the one or more related individuals having a matching destination in their future travel plans, wherein a matching destination is a travel destination for the one or more related individuals specified in the received future travel plan for the one or more related individuals matching a travel destination specified in the future travel plan for the traveler, and (2) the traveler and the one or more related individuals have a matching date for the matching destination in their future travel plans;   determines an advertisement based on (i) the future travel plan for the one or more related individuals, (ii) the matching trips between the traveler and the one or more related individuals, and (iii) the future travel plan and profile for the traveler; and   displays the advertisement to the traveler via the electronic social network on the network.   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the determines further comprises determines a targeted travel habit for the traveler based on the travel plan for the one or more related individuals and the future travel plan. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein a travel plan is entered into an electronic location calendar within the electronic social network. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the travel plan is entered into an electronic location calendar within the electronic social network. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the electronic social network is presented over the network as a website for access by client computers over HTTP. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the advertisement is comprised of a URL.