Multiple-Listing Referral-Tracking System

• US 20070260605A1
• Filed: 03/31/2006
• Published: 11/08/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: TopProspect Incorporated
• Original Assignee: H Three, Inc.
• Inventors: Norman, John, Ward, Stanley
• Application Number:
  US11/278,334
• Publication Number:
  US 20070260605A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

A referral-tracking system accepts listings from originators and generates referral identifiers that represent referrals of those listings. A referral identifier represents a referral by the originator or by someone who, after receiving a listing identifier from an s originator or someone else, applies to the system to be recognized as a referrer and has accordingly been issued a referral identifier that associates that requester with a listing to be referred. By noting the requests that it receives for referral identifiers, the system can track a chain of referrals from a requester to the person who ultimately fulfills the listing. Some identifiers may be multi-referral identifiers, which represent referrals of multiple listings and can be used by the requester to refer multiple listings simultaneously to the same referral-identifier recipient.

Claims

1. A computer system configured as a referral-tracking system operable to:

A) issue referral identifiers, each of which the referral-tracking system associates with a referrer and at least one listing, each referral representing, for each listing associated therewith, a respective referral thereof by the referrer associated with that referral identifier, the referral-tracking system being operable to issue some said referral identifiers as multiple-referral identifiers, with each of which the referral-tracking system associates a plurality of listings whose referrals by the referrer is represented by that multiple-referral identifier;

B) in response to receiving from a requester such a multiple-referral identifier and a request for a a further referral identifier, one that represents referral by the requester of at least one of the listings whose referral the multiple-referral identifier requests;

i) sends the requester a message that incorporates such a further referral identifier; and

ii) records a child-parent relationship between (a) each listing'"'"'s referral represented by the further referral identifier and (b) the same listing'"'"'s referral represented by the received multiple-referral identifier;

C) use receipt by the referral-tracking system of the referral identifiers it has issued to track a chain of referrals of the listings in accordance with the recorded child-parent relationships; and

D) generate one or more chain-dependent outputs that it determines from the chain of referrals thereby tracked.

2. The computer system of claim 1 wherein:

A) the referral-tracking system accepts from originators listing-submission inputs that define listings; and

B) the listings whose referrals the referral identifiers represent are selected s from among the listings thus defined.

3. The computer system of claim 2 wherein, in at least some circumstances in which a given said listing whose referral a given said multi-referral identifier represents is active, the referral-tracking system, in response to receiving from a recipient one or more messages that together incorporate the given multi-referral identifier and express the recipient'"'"'s interest in the given listing, gives notice of that recipient'"'"'s interest in the given listing to the originator from which the referral-tracking system received the originator input that defined that listing.

4. The computer system of claim 2 wherein the referral-tracking system:

A) accepts an input representing a said originator'"'"'s e-mail address;

B) in at least some circumstances sends to the originator'"'"'s e-mail address a message that includes instructions for verification of the originator'"'"'s e-mail address; and

C) sends the originator a message incorporating a referral identifier for any listing submitted by that originator only if that originator verifies the originator'"'"'s e-mail address in accordance with the instructions.

5. The computer system of claim 1 wherein the message is an e-mail message.

6. The computer system of claim 5 wherein the e-mail message includes at least one Uniform Resource Locator (URL) incorporating at least one said referral identifier incorporated in the e-mail message.

7. The computer system of claim 6 wherein the at least one referral identifier is incorporated in the at least one URL at least in part as a parameter.

8. The computer system of claim 1 wherein the message is a web page.

9. The computer system of claim 8 wherein the web page includes at least one URL incorporating at least one said referral identifier incorporated in the web page.

10. The computer system of claim 9 wherein the at least one referral identifier is incorporated in the at least one URL at least in part as a parameter.

11. The computer system of claim 1 wherein the referral-tracking system generates a said chain-dependent output in at least some circumstances in response to a fulfillment input indicating that one or more of the listings have been at least partially fulfilled.

12. The computer system of claim 11 wherein the chain-dependent output specifies a respective award amount for each referrer in a set thereof determined by a chain of referrals of a listing indicated by the fulfillment input to have been at least partially fulfilled.

13. The computer system of claim 11 wherein:

A) the fulfillment input specifies a referral that resulted in the at least partial fulfillment; and

B) the output is based on a set that comprises every ancestor of the referral s thereby specified.

14. The computer system of claim 1 wherein the referral-tracking system generates a said chain-dependent output in at least some circumstances in response to an input representing a request for the status of a referral chain.

15. The computer system of claim 1 wherein at least one of the listings is a job listing.

16. The computer system of claim 1 wherein, in at least some circumstances in which a given said listing whose referral a given said multi-referral identifier represents is active, the referral-tracking system, in response to receiving from a recipient one or more messages that together incorporate the given multi-referral identifier and express the recipient'"'"'s interest in the given listing, gives notice of that recipient'"'"'s interest in the given listing to the originator from which the referral-tracking system received the originator input that defined that listing.

17. The computer system of claim 1 wherein:

A) in response to receipt of a multiple-referral identifier issued thereby, the referral-tracking system sends the requester a message whose contents the requester can use to make and send the referral-tracking system a selection of at least one listing from among a group of listings that includes those whose referrals the multiple-referral identifier represents; and

B) the further referral identifier represents a referral of each listing thereby selected.

18. A storage medium that contains machine instructions readable by a computer system to configure the computer system as a referral-tracking system operable to:

A) issue referral identifiers, each of which the referral-tracking system associates with a referrer and at least one listing, each referral representing, for each listing associated therewith, a respective referral thereof by the referrer associated with that referral identifier, the referral-tracking system being operable to issue some said referral identifiers as multiple-referral identifiers, with each of which the referral-tracking system associates a plurality of listings whose referrals by the referrer is represented by that multiple-referral identifier;

B) in response to receiving from a requester such a multiple-referral identifier and a request for a a further referral identifier, one that represents referral by the requester of at least one of the listings whose referral the multiple-referral identifier requests;

i) sends the requester a message that incorporates such a further referral identifier; and

ii) records a child-parent relationship between (a) each listing'"'"'s referral represented by the further referral identifier and (b) the same listing'"'"'s referral represented by the received multiple-referral identifier;

C) use receipt by the referral-tracking system of the referral identifiers it has issued to track a chain of referrals of the listings in accordance with the recorded child-parent relationships; and

D) generate one or more chain-dependent outputs that it determines from the chain of referrals thereby tracked.

19. The storage medium of claim 18 wherein:

A) the referral-tracking system accepts from originators listing-submission inputs that define listings; and

B) the listings whose referrals the referral identifiers represent are selected from among the listings thus defined.

20. The storage medium of claim 19 wherein, in at least some circumstances in which a given said listing whose referral a given said multi-referral identifier represents is active, the referral-tracking system, in response to receiving from a recipient one or more messages that together incorporate the given multi-referral identifier and express the recipient'"'"'s interest in the given listing, gives notice of that recipient'"'"'s interest in the given listing to the originator from which the referral-tracking system received the originator input that defined that listing.

21. The storage medium of claim 19 wherein the referral-tracking system:

A) accepts an input representing a said originator'"'"'s e-mail address;

B) in at least some circumstances sends to the originator'"'"'s e-mail address a message that includes instructions for verification of the originator'"'"'s e-mail address; and

C) sends the originator a message incorporating a referral identifier for any listing submitted by that originator only if that originator verifies the originator'"'"'s e-mail address in accordance with the instructions.

22. The storage medium of claim 18 wherein the message is an e-mail message.

23. The storage medium of claim 22 wherein the e-mail message includes at least one Uniform Resource Locator (URL) incorporating at least one said referral identifier incorporated in the e-mail message.

24. The storage medium of claim 23 wherein the at least one referral identifier is incorporated in the at least one URL at least in part as a parameter.

25. The storage medium of claim 18 wherein the message is a web page.

26. The storage medium of claim 25 wherein the web page includes at least one URL incorporating at least one said referral identifier incorporated in the web page.

27. The storage medium of claim 26 wherein the at least one referral identifier is incorporated in the at least one URL at least in part as a parameter.

28. The storage medium of claim 18 wherein the referral-tracking system generates a said chain-dependent output in at least some circumstances in response to a fulfillment input indicating that one or more of the listings have been at least partially fulfilled.

29. The storage medium of claim 28 wherein the chain-dependent output specifies a respective award amount for each referrer in a set thereof determined by a chain of referrals of a listing indicated by the fulfillment input to have been at least partially fulfilled.

30. The storage medium of claim 28 wherein:

A) the fulfillment input specifies a referral that resulted in the at least partial fulfillment; and

B) the output is based on a set that comprises every ancestor of the referral thereby specified.

31. The storage medium of claim 18 wherein the referral-tracking system generates a said chain-dependent output in at least some circumstances in response to an input representing a request for the status of a referral chain.

32. The storage medium of claim 18 wherein at least one of the listings is a job listing.

33. The storage medium of claim 18 wherein, in at least some circumstances in which a given said listing whose referral a given said multi-referral identifier represents is active, the referral-tracking system, in response to receiving from a recipient one or more messages that together incorporate the given multi-referral identifier and express the recipient'"'"'s interest in the given listing, gives notice of that recipient'"'"'s interest in the given listing to the originator from which the referral-tracking system received the originator input that defined that listing.

34. The computer system of claim 18 wherein:

A) in response to receipt of a multiple-referral identifier issued thereby, the referral-tracking system sends the requester a message whose contents the requester can use to make and send the referral-tracking system a selection of at least one listing from among a group of listings that includes those whose referrals the multiple-referral identifier represents; and

B) the further referral identifier represents a referral of each listing thereby selected.