System and method for providing recommended content

A computer implemented method for providing recommended content responsive to inbound HTTP request messages sent to a server from remotely located computing devices via a network, the server including a processor and a storage medium storing user profiles, each of the user profiles being associated with one or more of the computing devices and having a confidence level and data-points including content metadata identifying one or more pieces of content accessed by the associated computing device and identifying one or more entities associated with the one or more pieces of accessed content, the method comprising:

• receiving, using the processor configured by executing instructions in the form of one or more modules, a first inbound request message from a first computing device;
• accessing, using the configured processor based on the first inbound request message, a first user profile associated with the first computing device;
• determining, using the configured processor, whether the first user profile confidence level exceeds a threshold level;
• if the first user profile confidence level does not exceed the threshold level,
• (a) identifying, using the configured processor, recommended content from a database of available content, wherein, identifying recommended content includes executing an algorithm that selects recommended content according to a rank calculated for each piece of available content as a function of popularity, otherwise,
• (b) defining, using the configured processor, a cluster of look-a-like user profiles by applying an algorithm that, for each of a plurality of comparison user profiles selected from the database of user profiles, compares the first user profile to a particular comparison user profile and adds the particular comparison user profile to the cluster when a match is determined, and
• (c) identifying, using the configured processor, recommended content from a database of available content, wherein, identifying recommended content includes executing an algorithm that selects recommended content according to a rank calculated for each piece of available content as a function of the first user profile data points;
• updating the first user profile, using the configured processor, according to the cluster of look-a-like user profiles, wherein updating includes adding one or more data points shared by one or more of the look-a-like user profiles in the cluster to the first user profile, wherein the one or more data points are user attributes including one or more of:
• age, education, occupation, and interest in one or more entities;
• providing, using the configured processor, the recommended content to the first computing device over the network, wherein the recommended content includes one or more pieces of available content that is selected as a function of the calculated rank;
• receiving, by the configured processor, feedback in the form of a subsequent inbound HTTP request message from the first computing device;
• and
• updating, using the configured processor, the first user profile as a function of the feedback.