Web site vistor incentive program in conjunction with promotion of anonymously identifying a user and/or a group
First Claim
1. A method for compensating a user of a computer network for performing an awardable activity with a web site connected to the computer network, wherein said compensation is by means of adding value to a persistent incentive program account and the incentive program account is linked to a client identifier placed by said web site on a computer of said user, the method comprising the steps of:
- said user accessing said web site by connecting said computer to the computer network;
said web site checking whether it received said client identifier from said computer and if not received, creating said client identifier and placing it on said computer;
creating said incentive program account without requesting any user related information from said user;
associating said incentive program account with said client identifier, wherein subsequent access to said incentive program account is possible only if said web site receives said client identifier; and
detecting the awardable activity performed at said web site and compensating said user by adding value to said incentive program account.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods to promote usage of anonymously identifying a user to a web site over a computer network by providing an incentive program tied to a client identifier placed by the web site on a computer of the user. The incentive program account is created without requesting any user specific information and account is credited with bonus points based on user'"'"'s browsing behavior with the web site and subsequent access to the account is possible only if the web site receives original client identifier. In case of loss of original client identifier, various means to recover the identifier is provided to the user. In another aspect, the program provides means to transfer bonus points between accounts and leverages this association of anonymous client identifiers to form an anonymous group profile. In preferred embodiment, the computer network is the Internet and the client identifier is located within a cookie file.
207 Citations
36 Claims
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1. A method for compensating a user of a computer network for performing an awardable activity with a web site connected to the computer network, wherein said compensation is by means of adding value to a persistent incentive program account and the incentive program account is linked to a client identifier placed by said web site on a computer of said user, the method comprising the steps of:
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said user accessing said web site by connecting said computer to the computer network;
said web site checking whether it received said client identifier from said computer and if not received, creating said client identifier and placing it on said computer;
creating said incentive program account without requesting any user related information from said user;
associating said incentive program account with said client identifier, wherein subsequent access to said incentive program account is possible only if said web site receives said client identifier; and
detecting the awardable activity performed at said web site and compensating said user by adding value to said incentive program account. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method of anonymously identifying a group of individual users, by a web site on a computer network, the method comprising:
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providing an incentive program on the computer network to a first user and to at least one of a second user, wherein said incentive program for said first user is tied to a first user identifier placed by said web site on a computer of said first user and said incentive program for said second user is tied to a second user identifier placed by said web site on a computer of said second user;
providing association means to establish an association between the first user incentive program account and the second user incentive program account;
identifying the group using the established association; and
providing transfer means to transfer earned values between accounts within said group. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A method for receiving a consistent, anonymous user identifier by a web site connected to a computer network, from a user of the web site, regardless of accessing computer, using which the user accesses said web site, the method comprising:
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said web site initially causing the creation of said anonymous user identifier on a first computer of said user;
providing an incentive program to said user, represented by a persistent incentive program account, wherein the account is linked to said anonymous user identifier and accessible by said user only if said web site receives said anonymous user identifier; and
providing means to anonymously identify with said web site using said anonymous user identifier from said accessing computer, wherein accessing computer initially identifies with said web site using a different user identifier. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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Specification