Method and system for paying decision makers for attention

• US 20050096977A1
• Filed: 11/03/2003
• Published: 05/05/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Michael T. Rossides
• Original Assignee: Michael T. Rossides
• Inventors: Rossides, Michael T.
• Application Number:
  US10/700,836
• Publication Number:
  US 20050096977A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.14
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0212 Chance discounts or incentives
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0247 Calculate past, present or future revenues
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0275 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]

Abstract

Disclosed is a method for operating a computer to pay one or more decision makers for attention. The method provides, via a computer, for an advertiser process in which an advertiser sets the terms of an offer to pay for the attention of a decision maker for an organization. The terms define a decision and a decision maker, an amount of money to be paid, and provide rules for specifying how payment is to be split if more than one person influences the decision. The method further provides recipient process in which one or more users accepts the offer and provisionally receives virtual payment. The method further provides an inspection process for inspecting the recipient(s) and paying him/them according to their role(s) in the decision, as revealed by the inspection, and according to the terms of the offer. The method can include sub-methods for deterring cheating, also disclosed.

Claims

1. a method for using a computer to enable a user, called a seller, to pay targeted users for their attention to a message, comprising:

(a) a seller process for entering into the computer an offer stipulating that recipients who accept the offer will be owed a specified amount of money if they pay attention to a specified ad message, and if they satisfy a set of at least one target audience characteristics,

(b) said characteristics stated as a set of offer conditions by said advertiser,

(c) at least one of said conditions stating that to be eligible for payment a recipient must be a decision maker who influences the purchase by an organization of a specified product or service that is the subject of the offer,

(d) said amount of money being a specified expected value (EV),

(e) presenting an interface to the public for enabling anyone to access and accept said offer,

(f) a recipient process for registering acceptance of said offer by a user, called a recipient, said acceptance entailing;

e 1. registering the recipient'"'"'s identity and,

e2. registering that the recipient has entered a request to be exposed to said specified message,

(g) said EV being paid via an EV payment bet including a Payoff,

(h) after registering said acceptance, executing said EV payment bet for said recipient with the probability of said recipient winning set at EV/Payoff,

(i) if, and only if, said recipient wins said bet, passing the winning result to an inspection process for determining whether said recipient satisfies said offer conditions,

(j) based only upon a positive determination by said inspection process, notifying a payment process for providing the Payoff to said recipient,

whereby a seller pays a specified amount of money only to qualified, targeted recipients who influence specified purchasing decision for an organization in exchange for their attention to a specified message.