Method and system to connect consumers to information
26 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for recruiting, communicating with, and paying participants of interactive advertising are described. The present invention is a system through which advertisers can recruit, communicate with, and pay their potential customers for their time. The system achieves these functions without the advertiser or the customer having to be in the same location—all logistics are handled through the system'"'"'s web site, database, and communications interfaces. The system enables advertisers to promote interactive seminars in which they try to sell products to potential customers. Most importantly, the advertisers are able to offer their potential customers financial rewards for their time, such as 25 cents per minute to reward a customer for listening to a sales pitch. The system then provides a real-time communications link between the advertiser and customer. The system automatically bills the advertiser and rewards the customer for the time that they interact.
168 Citations
53 Claims
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1-40. -40. (canceled)
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41. A method, comprising:
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a first party providing an advertisement on behalf of an advertiser, the advertisement to include at least a reference to a telephonic connection with the advertiser;
the first party billing the advertiser in response to a telephonic connection being established between the advertiser and customer. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51)
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52. A system comprising:
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a means for a first party providing an advertisement on behalf of an advertiser, the advertisement to include at least a reference to a telephonic connection with the advertiser;
a means for the first party billing the advertiser in response to a telephonic connection being established between the advertiser and customer.
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53. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon a set of instructions, which when executed, perform a method comprising:
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a first party providing an advertisement on behalf of an advertiser, the advertisement to include at least a reference to a telephonic connection with the advertiser;
the first party billing the advertiser in response to a telephonic connection being established between the advertiser and customer.
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Specification