Online professional services storefront

• US 10,204,074 B1
• Filed: 05/28/2009
• Issued: 02/12/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Elance Incorporation
• Original Assignee: Elance Incorporation
• Inventors: Diller, Jonathan P, Song, Sunny SunMin, Rosati, Fabio
• Primary Examiner(s): Crawley, Talia F
• Application Number:
  US12/474,127
• Time in Patent Office: 3,547 Days
• Field of Search: 705 7, 707 10
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/16 Combinations of two or more digital computers each having at least an arithmetic unit, a program unit and a register, e.g. for a simultaneous processing of several programs coordinating program control therefor G06F9/52; in regulating and control system G05B
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1053 Employment or hiring
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42229 Personal communication services, i.e. services related to one subscriber independent of his terminal and/or location diverting calls from one subscriber to another subscriber, i.e. two different subscriptions H04M3/54; selecting arrangements in intelligent networks H04Q3/005

Abstract

An online professional profile includes static data commonly found in a print resume and dynamically generated information. The static data includes skills and credentials. The dynamically generated information includes a portfolio of completed work products uploaded by a service provider, feedback provided by an at least one past buyer, and an interactive window configured to display an image, a video clip, and/or an audio clip. The online professional profile has a Contact Me button configured to provide communication with the service provider. A potential buyer is able to review the online professional profile and make an instant, informed hiring decision.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform a method of optimizing performance in a services exchange medium, the method comprising:

continuously determining, by the computing device, a current average proficiency level of each professional skill of service providers among service providers participating within the services exchange medium who possess a corresponding professional skill;

generating, by the computing device, an interactive professional profile of a service provider participating in the services exchange medium, the professional profile comprising;

static data comprising one or more professional skills of the service provider, wherein each of the one or more professional skills is associated with an indicator indicating the average proficiency level for and an indicator indicating the service provider'"'"'s proficiency level for the corresponding professional skill, wherein the indicator for the average proficiency level reflects the current average proficiency level for the corresponding professional skill of those service providers participating in the services exchange medium who possess the corresponding professional skill;

dynamic information, wherein a first portion of the dynamic information is provided by the service provider, a second portion of the dynamic information is automatically generated, and a third portion of the dynamic information is provided by an at least one buyer;

a keyword tags section including one or more keywords associated with professional attributes of the service providers that are provided by the service provider;

a communication feature comprising a plurality of communication options, each option configured to provide direct communication with the service provider from within the profile; and

a pull-down menu including a unique list of selectable experience categories, wherein a selection of a selectable experience category reduces an amount of content to be shown in the profile by rendering a portion of the static data and the dynamic information that is only associated with the selected experience category such that the entirety of the static data and the dynamic information is not rendered simultaneously to thereby improve overall throughput of the computing device, wherein the unique list only includes experience categories that the service provider has experience in;

automatically generating, by the computing device, at least one new keyword based on one or more sections of the professional profile;

including, by the computing device, the at least one new keyword in the keyword tags section of the professional profile; and

transmitting, by the computing device, the professional profile for display.

2. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1 wherein proficiency of each skill is self-assessed or determined by a test.

3. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1 wherein the static data comprises credentials, the credentials are verifiable, wherein verified credentials are indicated as verified.

4. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1 wherein the first portion comprises a portfolio of completed work products uploaded by the service provider.

5. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1 wherein the first portion comprises at least one interactive window configured to display at least one of an image, a video clip, and an audio clip.

6. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1 wherein the second portion comprises experience, the experience automatically expands as projects are completed by the service provider within the services exchange medium.

7. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1 wherein the third portion comprises feedback statistics for the selected experience category, wherein the feedback statistics are based on feedback provided by the at least one buyer, wherein the feedback statistics reflects another experience category when the another experience category selected.

8. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1 wherein dynamic information is for a first set rules selected by user and is different when a second set of rules is selected by the user.

9. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1 wherein the communication feature is one of a chat, a call, and an invitation to bid.

10. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1 wherein the professional profile includes a feature configured to perform one or more actions on the professional profile once the feature is activated by the user.

24. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1 wherein the profile further comprises a current status of the service provider.

25. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10 wherein the user is not the owner of the professional profile, and wherein the actions include saving the profile, sharing the profile, and reporting a violation.

26. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1 wherein the dynamic information is shown across a plurality of pages, wherein the communication feature is displayed in each of the plurality of pages.

11. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform a method of optimizing performance in a services exchange medium, the method comprising:

continuously determining, by the computing device, a current average proficiency level of each professional skill of service providers among service providers participating within the services exchange medium who possess a corresponding professional skill;

generating, by the computing device, a dynamic online profile of a service provider participating in the services exchange medium, the online profile comprising;

data comprising one or more professional skills of the service provider, wherein each of the one or more professional skills is listed together with an indicator indicating the service provider'"'"'s proficiency level for and an indicator indicating the average proficiency level for the corresponding professional skill, wherein the indicator for the average proficiency level reflects the current average proficiency level for the corresponding professional skill of those service providers participating in the services exchange medium who possess the corresponding professional skill;

a portfolio including work products completed by the service provider;

a keyword tags section including an at least one keyword associated with a professional ability of the service provider that are provided by the service provider;

a communication feature comprising a plurality of communication options, each option configured to provide direct communication with the service provider from within the online profile such that a user remains within the professional profile when communicating with the service provider; and

a pull-down feature that includes, according to projects completed within the services exchange medium, a dynamic list of selections of experience categories that the service provider has experience in but does not include selections for experience categories that the service provider does not have experience in, and is automatically set at a default selection for an experience category that the service provider has the most experience in, to improve overall throughput of the computing device by reducing an amount of content to be shown in the profile by rendering a portion of the static data and the dynamic information that is only associated with a selected experience category such that the entirety of the static data and the dynamic information is not rendered simultaneously;

automatically generating, by the computing device, at least one new keyword based on one or more sections of the online profile;

including, by the computing device, the at least one new keyword in the keyword tags section of the online profile; and

transmitting, by the computing device, the online profile for display.

12. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11 wherein the data is grouped into sections including an experience section, a skills section, and a credentials section.

13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12 wherein the experience section is automatically generated from and expands as projects are completed by the service provider within the services exchange medium.

14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12 wherein the skills section is configured to allow the service provider to self-assess or to take tests to assess proficiency of skills listed therein.

15. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12 wherein the credentials section lists credentials, the credentials are verifiable.

16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11 wherein the communication feature is one of a chat, a call, and an invitation to bid.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11 wherein the online profile further comprises feedback provided by a buyer, the feedback is associated with a project completed by the service provider.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11 wherein the online profile is configured as a team account to allow people in a company to organize as a team and work together.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform a method of optimizing performance in a services exchange medium, the method comprising:

continuously determining, by the computing device, a current average proficiency level of each professional skill of service providers among service providers participating within the services exchange medium who possess a corresponding professional skill;

generating, by the computing device, an evolving profile of a service provider participating in the services exchange medium, the profile comprising;

professional information including one or more professional skills of the service provider, wherein each of the one or more professional skills is listed together with an indicator indicating the service provider'"'"'s proficiency level for and an indicator indicating the average proficiency level for the corresponding professional skill, wherein the indicator for the average proficiency level reflects the current average proficiency level for the corresponding professional skill of those service providers participating in the services exchange medium who possess the corresponding professional skill;

a keyword tags section including an at least one keyword associated with a professional ability of the service provider and provided by the service provider;

a pull-down feature that includes, according to projects completed within the services exchange medium, a dynamic list of selections of experience categories that the service provider has experience in but does not include selections for experience categories that the service provider does not have experience in, and is automatically set at a default selection for an experience category that the service provider has the most experience in, to improve overall throughput of the computing device by reducing an amount of content to be shown in the profile by rendering a portion of the static data and the dynamic information that is only associated with a selected experience category such that the entirety of the static data and the dynamic information is not rendered simultaneously; and

a communication feature comprising a plurality of communication options, each option configured to provide direct communication with the service provider from within the profile such that a user remains within the professional profile when communicating with the service provider;

automatically generating, by the computing device, at least one new keyword based on the one or more keywords provided by the service provider;

including, by the computing device, the at least one new keyword in the keyword tags section of the evolving profile such that the evolving profile has a higher likelihood of being returned as part of a search result than without the at least one new keyword included in the keyword tags section; and

updating, by the computing device, the evolving profile based on new data that is obtained within the services exchange medium for the service provider.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19 wherein proficiency of each skill is self-assessed or determined by a test and is indicated with the corresponding skill.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19 wherein the professional information includes feedback from an at least one past buyer.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19 wherein the professional information includes a portfolio of work products completed by the service provider.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19 wherein the profile is configured as a team account to allow designated team members, each having a unique log in, to access privileged areas of the team account depending on assigned roles of the team members.