Shared advertising with virtual worlds
First Claim
1. A method of integrating advertising that was previously presented to a user on a webpage into a virtual world with which the user is interacting, comprising:
- via a first server, communicating, to a client, an advertisement that is presented on a web page that includes a hyperlink to a virtual world (i) that is a computer-simulated environment, (ii) that is hosted on a second server operated by a different entity than an entity that operates the first server, and (ii) that enables multiple different users to simultaneously interact within the virtual world via avatars;
receiving data indicating that the first user selected the hyperlink to the virtual world;
in response to receiving the data indicating that the first user selected the hyperlink to the virtual world, presenting, within the virtual world while the first user is interacting with the virtual world, the advertisement based on (i) the first user selecting the hyperlink to the virtual world and (ii) the hyperlink to the virtual world being included in the webpage that presented the advertisement, wherein the advertisement is not presented to a second user that is interacting with the virtual world at a same time as the first user, wherein the second user did not select an additional hyperlink to the virtual world while an additional webpage presented the advertisement and the additional hyperlink to the virtual world; and
responsive to the advertisement being presented in the virtual world, providing a financial incentive to the different entity that operates the second server that hosts the virtual world.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method (400, 500) of advertising. The method can include communicating to a client (106) a hyperlink corresponding to a virtual world (300) and associating with the hyperlink an identifier corresponding to an advertisement (302) to be presented to a user (108) in the virtual world during a user session. The method also can include identifying an identifier (114) corresponding to an advertisement to be displayed in a virtual world during a user session in response to receiving a request (116) from a client identifying a uniform resource identifier corresponding to the virtual world, and presenting the advertisement within the virtual world during the user session. A method (600) of providing financial incentives for advertising can include receiving an advertising activity indicator (120, 122) and processing the advertising activity indicator to determine financial incentives to be provided to an entity associated with the website.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method of integrating advertising that was previously presented to a user on a webpage into a virtual world with which the user is interacting, comprising:
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via a first server, communicating, to a client, an advertisement that is presented on a web page that includes a hyperlink to a virtual world (i) that is a computer-simulated environment, (ii) that is hosted on a second server operated by a different entity than an entity that operates the first server, and (ii) that enables multiple different users to simultaneously interact within the virtual world via avatars; receiving data indicating that the first user selected the hyperlink to the virtual world; in response to receiving the data indicating that the first user selected the hyperlink to the virtual world, presenting, within the virtual world while the first user is interacting with the virtual world, the advertisement based on (i) the first user selecting the hyperlink to the virtual world and (ii) the hyperlink to the virtual world being included in the webpage that presented the advertisement, wherein the advertisement is not presented to a second user that is interacting with the virtual world at a same time as the first user, wherein the second user did not select an additional hyperlink to the virtual world while an additional webpage presented the advertisement and the additional hyperlink to the virtual world; and responsive to the advertisement being presented in the virtual world, providing a financial incentive to the different entity that operates the second server that hosts the virtual world. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of advertising, comprising:
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responsive to receiving a request from a client identifying a uniform resource identifier corresponding to a virtual world that is a computer-simulated environment, that is operated by an entity, and that enables multiple different users to simultaneously interact within the virtual world via avatars, via a server that hosts the virtual world, identifying an identifier corresponding to an advertisement that is provided by an advertiser and that is to be displayed in the virtual world during a user session of a first user, wherein the advertisement corresponds to the request from the client; presenting, within the virtual world while the first user is interacting with the virtual world, the advertisement based on (i) the first user selecting a hyperlink to the virtual world and (ii) the hyperlink to the virtual world being included in a webpage that presented the first advertisement, wherein the advertisement is not presented to a second user that is interacting with the virtual world at a same time as the first user, wherein the second user did not select an additional hyperlink to the virtual world while an additional webpage presented the first advertisement and the additional hyperlink to the virtual world; and in response to a user selection of the advertisement during the user session of the first user, communicating an advertisement activity indicator to an advertisement activity monitor, the advertisement activity indicator comprising data that indicates (i) that a user linked to the virtual world from a website that included the advertisement and (ii) that indicates a financial incentive is to be provided to the entity that operates the virtual world. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software comprising instructions executable by one or more computers which, upon such execution, cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:
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via a first server, communicating, to a client, an advertisement that is presented on a web page that includes a hyperlink to a virtual world (i) that is a computer-simulated environment, (ii) that is hosted on a second server operated by a different entity than an entity that operates the first server, and (ii) that enables multiple different users to simultaneously interact within the virtual world via avatars; receiving data indicating that the first user selected the hyperlink to the virtual world; in response to receiving the data indicating that the first user selected the hyperlink to the virtual world, presenting, within the virtual world while the first user is interacting with the virtual world, the advertisement based on (i) the first user selecting the hyperlink to the virtual world and (ii) the hyperlink to the virtual world being included in the webpage that presented the advertisement, wherein the advertisement is not presented to a second user that is interacting with the virtual world at a same time as the first user, wherein the second user did not select an additional hyperlink to the virtual world while an additional webpage presented the advertisement and the additional hyperlink to the virtual world; and responsive to the advertisement being presented in the virtual world, providing a financial incentive to the different entity that operates the second server that hosts the virtual world.
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Specification