User tracking without unique user identifiers

1. A method in a computing system for tracking user actions performed using particular client computer systems in a server computer system, comprising:

from any of a plurality of client computer systems, receiving an action notification, the action notification specifying both (1) an action performed using the client computer system, and (2) a behavioral profile ID stored in the client computer system;

determining whether a dictionary accessible to the server computer system contains a mapping from (1) the specified behavioral profile ID and (2) the specified action to a resulting behavioral profile ID, wherein the dictionary includes a plurality behavioral profile IDs that each correspond to a unique set of one or more actions, and wherein a selected one of the plurality of behavioral profile IDs included by the dictionary is stored by at least two client computer systems;

if the dictionary does not contain a mapping from (1) the specified behavioral profile ID and (2) the specified action to a resulting behavioral profile ID:

generating a new behavioral profile ID, and

adding to the dictionary a mapping from (1) the specified behavioral profile ID and (2) the specified action to the generated behavioral profile ID; and

replying to the action notification with an instruction to the client computer system that originated the action notification to store the resulting behavioral profile ID to which the dictionary maps from (1) the specified behavioral profile ID and (2) the specified action in place of the behavioral profile ID currently stored in the client computer system.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the instruction specifies storing the resulting behavioral profile ID that the dictionary maps to from (1) the specified behavioral profile ID and (2) the specified action to in place of the behavioral profile ID as a web browser cookie in the client computer system.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising consolidating the mappings in the dictionary to merge any behavioral profile IDs whose sets of actions differ only by the inclusion or exclusion of a selected event.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising selecting an advertising message to be presented on a particular client computer system based upon the set of actions represented by the behavioral profile ID stored on the client computer system.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising selecting an advertising message to be presented on a particular client computer system based upon the set of actions represented by the behavioral profile ID stored on the client computer system complying with an action specification specified for the selected advertising message.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein it is impossible to determine in the server computer system the number of client computer systems on which a particular behavioral profile ID is stored.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein, for each behavioral profile ID, it is impossible to determine in the server computer system from the behavioral profile ID the number of client computer systems on which the behavioral profile ID is stored.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving user input specifying a level of granularity with which actions are to be specified in the action notifications received by the server computer system.

9. A computer-readable storage device medium whose contents cause a computing system to perform a method for tracking user actions performed using particular client computer systems in a server computer system, the method comprising:

from any of a plurality of client computer systems, receiving an action notification, the action notification specifying both (1) an action performed using the client computer system, and (2) a behavioral profile ID stored in the client computer system;

selecting from a dictionary accessible to the server computer system a mapping from (1) the specified behavioral profile ID and (2) the specified action to a resulting behavioral profile ID, wherein the dictionary includes a plurality of behavioral profile IDs that each correspond to a unique set of one or more actions, and wherein a selected one of the plurality of behavioral profile IDs included by the dictionary is stored by at least two client computer systems; and

replying to the action notification with an instruction to the client computer system that originated the action notification to store the resulting behavioral profile ID to which the selected dictionary mapping maps.

10. A server computing system for tracking user actions performed using particular client computer systems, comprising:

a network connection that receives action notifications from any of a plurality of client computer systems, the received action notifications each specifying both (1) an action performed using the client computer system, and (2) a behavioral profile ID stored in the client computer system; and

a processor serving as:

a selector that selects from a dictionary accessible to the server computer system a mapping from (1) the specified behavioral profile ID and (2) the specified action to a resulting behavioral profile ID specified by each action notification received by the network connection, wherein the dictionary includes a plurality behavioral profile IDs that each correspond to a unique set of one or more actions, and wherein a selected one of the plurality of behavioral profile IDs included by the dictionary is stored by at least two client computer systems, and

a reply subsystem that replies to each action notification received by the network connection with an instruction to the client computer system that originated the action notification to store the resulting behavioral profile ID to which the dictionary maps from (1) the specified behavioral profile ID and (2) the specified action in place of the behavioral profile ID currently stored in the client computer system.

11. A computer memory attached to a distinguished user computer system used by a distinguished user, the memory containing a advertising characterization data structure usable to select advertising for the distinguished user, the data structure containing a distinguished identifier passed to the distinguished user computer system by a remote computer system, the distinguished identifier being mapped by a dictionary resident on the remote computer system to a set of actions performed by the distinguished user, wherein the distinguished identifier is stored by the distinguished user computer system and at least one other user computer system having performed the same set of actions performed by the distinguished user.

12. The computer memory of claim 11 wherein the identifier contained in the data structure does not uniquely identify the distinguished user.

13. The computer memory of claim 11 wherein the identifier contained in the data structure identifies all users who have performed the same set of actions as the distinguished user.

14. The computer memory of claim 11 wherein advertising characterization data structures contained by computer memories attached to additional user computer systems used by additional users who have performed the same actions as the distinguished user contain the distinguished identifier.

15. The computer memory of claim 11 wherein the distinguished identifier is an identifier arbitrarily assigned to the actions performed by the distinguished user.

16. The computer memory of claim 11 wherein the actions performed by the distinguished user are encoded in the distinguished identifier in a predetermined manner.

17. A networking device conveying an advertising characterization data structure usable to select advertising for a distinguished user, the data structure containing a distinguished identifier generated by a profiling computer system, the distinguished identifier being mapped by a dictionary resident on the profiling computer system to a set of actions performed by the distinguished user, wherein the distinguished identifier is stored by at least two client computer system having performed the same set of actions.

18. A networking device conveying an action notification data structure, the data structure containing an identifier selected to identify a set of actions previously performed by a distinguished user, together with an indication of an action most recently performed by the distinguished user, wherein the selected identifier is stored by two or more client computers each having performed the same set of actions.

19. The networking device of claim 18 wherein the networking device further conveys a behavior characterization data structure containing an identifier identifying a set of actions made up of the actions identified by the identifier contained in the action notification data structure and the action most recently performed by the distinguished user.