Apparatus for and method of providing user notification and connectivity

• US 20020010760A1
• Filed: 04/13/2001
• Published: 01/24/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Anthony Armenta, Craig Colvin
• Original Assignee: Anthony Armenta, Craig Colvin
• Inventors: Colvin, Craig, Armenta, Anthony
• Application Number:
  US09/833,707
• Publication Number:
  US 20020010760A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation

Abstract

In accordance with a preferred embodiment, a system (and corresponding method) is provided for notifying users of relevant information, service, products, updates, or other topics of interest (e.g., selected Web sites) via a network (e.g., Internet) or the like. Users are provided with an ability to predetermine the subject matter or topics of interest, and be notified whenever information is to be conveyed to the user concerning the desired subject matter. Utilizing the unique system (and corresponding method), information or content providers (e.g., Web site owners) are able to notify all (or subgroups of) users over the network of information or content to be conveyed, as well as track and measure the effectiveness of the notification information in attracting and maintaining a user base for the provided information or content.

Claims

1. An article of manufacture having stored thereon an executable program operative to effectuate notification to a user by content owners desiring to provide content to the user, wherein the executable program is executed to perform the steps of:

(a) receiving input selection information corresponding to selected individual content owners of interest to the user;

(b) receiving a notification of content to be viewed from at least one selected content owner;

(c) presenting the notification received in said receiving step (b) to the user; and

(d) initiating access to at least one destination upon user activation of the notification presented in said presenting step (c).

2. The article of manufacture as recited in claim 1, wherein the input selection information received in said receiving step (a) is received from a directory server containing a database of individual content owners.

3. The article of manufacture as recited in claim 1, wherein said receiving step (b) further comprises the step of initiating communication with a hosting server to receive notifications of content to be viewed from content owners.

4. The article of manufacture as recited in claim 3, wherein the notification received in said receiving step (b) includes image data and an identification of an associated resource containing content to be viewed corresponding to the image data.

5. The article of manufacture as recited in claim 4, wherein the identification of an associated resource includes a uniform resource locator (URL) address of a destination resource available through the Internet.

6. The article of manufacture as recited in claim 3, wherein the notification received in said receiving step (b) contains textual information previewing content to be viewed from a corresponding content owner.

7. The article of manufacture as recited in claim 1, wherein said presenting step (c) includes displaying notifications received in said receiving step (b) as a plurality of individual image icons on a display window respectively corresponding to notifications received.

8. A system for providing notification by content owners desiring to provide content to a user, the system comprising:

a notification server comprising;

a hosting module, wherein said hosting module provides access channels to content owners desiring to provide content to users; and

a server management module, wherein said server management module provides over the access channels notifications to users of content to be provided by content owners.

9. The system for providing notification by content owners desiring to provide content to a user as recited in claim 8, the system further comprising:

a notification client comprising;

an organizing module, wherein said organizing module stores and organizes user selections of access channels to be used in receiving notifications from said notification server; and

a client management module, wherein said client management module initiates communication with said notification server, and retrieves notifications over the access channels selected by the user based on user selections stored by said organizing module.

10. The system for providing notification by content owners desiring to provide content to a user as recited in claim 9, wherein said notification server further comprises an application programmable interface (API), wherein said API outputs notifications to said notification client over the access channels.

11. The system for providing notification by content owners desiring to provide content to a user as recited in claim 9, wherein said notification server further comprises a data logging module, wherein said data logging module collects and logs notification interaction information from said notification server and said notification client.

12. The system for providing notification by content owners desiring to provide content to a user as recited in claim 8, the system further comprising a database subsystem, wherein said notification server stores in said database subsystem notifications created by content owners, and said notification server accesses said database subsystem when providing the notifications to users.

13. A method of receiving notification to users that have subscribed to individual wires of received blasts corresponding to the individual wires, wherein the wires are associated with respective content providers desiring to provide content to subscribing users, and wherein the blasts are notifications of the content to be provided to the users as desired by respective content providers, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) subscribing to at least one wire of a plurality of wires available for selection by a user;

(b) when connected to an external network in the form of the Internet, polling periodically at least one wire server resident on the external network for blasts corresponding to the at least one subscription wire, and pulling from the at least one wire server a blast corresponding to the at least one subscription wire;

(c) in a client device running a notification software application, offering the blast to a user on a user interface of the client device, wherein said offering step (c) comprises presenting the blast as information including at least one of graphical, textual, and sensory perceptual information to be perceived by the user; and

(d) accessing at least one destination resource on the external network upon activating the blast offered in said offering step (c), wherein the blast further includes a uniform resource locator (URL) address associated with the at least one destination resource, and wherein the at least one destination resource accessed in said accessing step (d) contains content desired by the content provider to be provided to the user.

14. The method of receiving notification to users as recited in claim 13, wherein said subscribing step (a) comprises accessing a Web site on the Internet containing at least one wire, displaying a Web page containing a wire image of the wire on a user interface, and dragging and dropping the at least one wire into a display window on the user interface by the notification software application.

15. The method of receiving notification to users as recited in claim 13, wherein the blasts are notifications in the form of previews of content on a destination resource that may be accessed by the user.

16. The method of receiving notification to users as recited in claim 13, wherein said polling step (b) further comprises preventing the offering of blasts that have been cancelled by their associated content providers, and preventing the offering of blasts that have expired.

17. A method of providing notifications in the form of blasts to users that have subscribed to individual wires, wherein the wires are associated with respective content providers desiring to provide content to subscribing users, and wherein the blasts are notifications of the content to be provided to the users as desired by respective content providers, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a listing of a plurality of wires available to users for subscription, wherein the plurality of wires includes a first wire;

(b) recording user requests to subscribe to individual ones of the plurality of wires, wherein the user requests include a request by a first user for subscription to the first wire;

(c) inputting from content providers associated with individual ones of the plurality of wires notification information of the content to be provided to users subscribing to respective wires, said inputting step including input by a first content provider associated with the first wire

(d) formulating individual blasts from the notification information input by the content providers, wherein a first blast is formulated from the notification information input from the first content provider in said inputting step (c); and

(e) outputting individual blasts to subscribing users in response to requests for blast information from respective subscribing users, wherein said outputting step includes outputting the first blast to the first user in response to a request from the first user for blast information.

18. The method of providing notifications in the form of blasts to users as recited in claim 17, wherein said providing step (a) further comprises the step of classifying the plurality of wires into individual ones of a plurality of categories, and providing different categories of wires to users seeking to subscribe to ones of the plurality of wires.

19. The method of providing notifications in the form of blasts to users as recited in claim 17, wherein said providing step (a) further comprises the step of storing the plurality of wires, and providing a search engine for displaying individual ones of the plurality of wires based on search queries issued to the search engine.

20. The method of providing notifications in the form of blasts to users as recited in claim 17, wherein the notification information in the first blast includes a uniform resource locator (URL) address of content to be provided to users subscribing to the first wire.

21. The method of providing notifications in the form of blasts to users as recited in claim 20, wherein the URL address in the notification information in the first blast is the URL address of the content provider'"'"'s Web site.

22. The method of providing notifications in the form of blasts to users as recited in claim 20, wherein the URL address in the notification information in the first blast is an address of a media server that provides streaming audio/video information.

23. The method of providing notifications in the form of blasts to users as recited in claim 17, wherein said outputting step (e) further comprises outputting default notification information upon cancellation of the first blast by the content provider.

24. The method of providing notifications in the form of blasts to users as recited in claim 17, wherein said outputting step (e) further comprises outputting default notification information upon expiration of the first blast.

25. The method of providing notifications in the form of blasts to users as recited in claim 17, further comprising:

(f) tracking the response to blasts output to individual users respectively subscribing to individual wires.