SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ADDING AN ADVERTISEMENT TO A PERSONAL COMMUNICATION

• US 20090030774A1
• Filed: 10/31/2007
• Published: 01/29/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Richard Anthony Rothschild
• Original Assignee: Anthony Richard Rothschild
• Inventors: Slomkowski, Robin Star, Rothschild, Anthony Richard
• Granted Patent: US 8,527,345 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/10
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0207 Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0257 User requested
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0273 Determination of fees for advertising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/53 using third party service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A system and method is provided for adding an advertisement to a digital message and providing additional communication data to a recipient that interacts with the advertisement regardless of the network device the recipient is utilizing. An advertisement generator residing on a network host accepts digital messages from contributors and allows the contributors to select an advertisement to be displayed with their contributed messages. These digital messages may be sent to specified recipients or published on a Web site. Using stored personal data associated with the contributor and with the recipient of a digital message, in addition to the content of the message itself, the advertisement generator suggests advertisements to be included with the digital messages based on their contextual relevance. In exchange for including an advertisement with a digital message, a contributor is compensated. If the contributor-selected advertisement is provided by a third party advertiser, the message, contributor, and advertisement data is utilized to compensate the contributor of that message for sending it to at least one recipient or posting it on a Web site. If the advertisement is interactive, and the advertisement is interacted with, the advertisement generator will provide the recipient with additional communication data in a format that can be understood by the recipient network device.

Claims

1. A digital messaging system comprising:

a network host connected to a wide area network (WAN), the network host comprising a network application server adapted to communicate with a plurality of network devices via the WAN;

an advertisement generator operative with the network host; and

a memory device connected to the network application server and adapted to store a plurality of advertisements and a plurality of digital messages;

wherein the advertisement generator is adapted to;

receive a digital message from a contributor and store the digital message in the memory device;

permit the contributor to select at least one advertisement, from among the plurality of advertisements stored in the memory device, to be associated with the digital message;

associate the at least one selected advertisement with the digital message;

receive recipient data from the contributor of the digital message;

send the digital message and the at least one selected advertisement via the WAN to the recipient; and

provide the contributor of the digital message with compensation in exchange for selecting and including the at least one selected advertisement with the digital message.

2. The digital messaging system of claim 1, wherein the compensation provided to the contributor of the digital message includes at least one of a free service, a discounted service, a cash payment, a payment of points redeemable for services, a payment of points redeemable for goods, a free software application, a discounted software application, a free telecommunication service, a discounted telecommunication service, a free access to video content, a discounted access to video content, a free access to audio content, and a discounted access to audio content.

3. The digital messaging system of claim 1, wherein the advertisement generator is further adapted to receive the digital message in the form of at least one of a digital text file, a digital audio file, a digital image file, a digital video file, a digital video stream, and a voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) packet.

4. The digital messaging system of claim 1, wherein the advertisement generator is further adapted to store each one of the plurality of advertisements in the form of at least one of a digital text file, a digital audio file, a digital image file, a digital video file, a digital video stream, and a voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) packet.

5. The digital messaging system of claim 1, wherein the advertisement generator is further adapted to aid the contributor in selecting the at least one advertisement for inclusion with the contributed digital message by comparing subject matter of the plurality of advertisements stored in the memory device with subject matter of the digital message.

6. The digital messaging system of claim 1, wherein the advertisement generator is further adapted to send to the recipient the digital message and the at least one selected advertisement in the form of a hyperlink that the recipient must follow to access the digital message and the selected advertisement.

7. The digital messaging system of claim 6, wherein the advertisement generator is further adapted to compensate the contributor of the digital message when the recipient follows the hyperlink to access the digital message and the selected advertisement.

8. The digital messaging system of claim 6, wherein the advertisement generator is further adapted to compensate the contributor of the digital message when the recipient concludes a transaction relating to an item that is a subject of the selected advertisement.

9. The digital messaging system of claim 1, wherein the advertisement generator is further adapted to register the contributor and the recipient by collecting personal information and storing the personal information in the memory device.

10. The digital messaging system of claim 9, wherein the collected personal information includes geographical location information about the contributor and about the recipient.

11. The digital messaging system of claim 9, wherein the advertisement generator is further adapted to aid the contributor in selecting the at least one advertisement for inclusion with the contributed digital message by comparing subject matter of the plurality of advertisements stored in the memory device with the personal information stored in the memory device.

12. A digital messaging system comprising:

a network host connected to a wide area network (WAN), the network host comprising a network application server adapted to communicate with a plurality of network devices via the WAN;

an advertisement generator operative with the network host; and

a memory device connected to the network application server and adapted to store a plurality of advertisements and a plurality of digital messages;

wherein the advertisement generator is adapted to;

receive a digital message from a contributor and store the digital message in the memory device;

permit the contributor to select at least one advertisement, from among the plurality of advertisements stored in the memory device, to be associated with the digital message;

associate the at least one selected advertisement with the digital message;

publish the digital message and the at least one selected advertisement on the network host such that the digital message and the selected advertisement can be accessed via the WAN by at least one user; and

provide the contributor of the digital message with compensation in exchange for selecting and including the at least one selected advertisement with the digital message.

13. The digital messaging system of claim 12, wherein the compensation provided to the contributor of the digital message includes at least one of a free service, a discounted service, a cash payment, a payment of points redeemable for services, a payment of points redeemable for goods, a free software application, a discounted software application, a free telecommunication service, a discounted telecommunication service, a free access to video content, a discounted access to video content, a free access to audio content, and a discounted access to audio content.

14. The digital messaging system of claim 12, wherein the advertisement generator is further adapted to receive the digital message in the form of at least one of a digital text file, a digital audio file, a digital image file, a digital video file, and a digital video stream.

15. The digital messaging system of claim 12, wherein the network host publishing the digital message comprises at least one of an online bulletin board, a blog, a multi-user chat platform, and an online social network;

16. The digital messaging system of claim 12, wherein the advertisement generator is adapted to allow the at least one user accessing the digital message to publish a responding digital message and to select at least one responding advertisement to be displayed with the responding digital message.

17. The digital messaging system of claim 16, wherein the advertisement generator is further adapted to provide the at least one user with compensation in exchange for selecting the at least one responding advertisement to be displayed with the responding digital message.

18. The digital messaging system of claim 12, wherein the advertisement generator is further adapted to aid the contributor in selecting the at least one advertisement for inclusion with the contributed digital message by comparing subject matter of the plurality of advertisements stored in the memory device with subject matter of the digital message.

19. The digital messaging system of claim 12, wherein the advertisement generator is further adapted to register the contributor and the at least one user by collecting personal information and storing the personal information in the memory device.

20. The digital messaging system of claim 19, wherein the collected personal information includes geographical location information about the contributor and about the at least one user.

21. The digital messaging system of claim 19, wherein the advertisement generator is further adapted to aid the contributor in selecting the at least one advertisement for inclusion with the contributed digital message by comparing subject matter of the plurality of advertisements stored in the memory device with the personal information stored in the memory device.

22. The digital messaging system of claim 12, wherein the advertisement generator is further adapted to allow the contributor to identify himself by selecting at least one of a product logo and a product brand name to be displayed adjacent to the published digital message.

23. The digital messaging system of claim 16, wherein the advertisement generator is further adapted to allow the at least one user to identify himself by selecting at least one of a product logo and a product brand name to be displayed adjacent to the responding digital message.

24. A digital messaging system comprising:

a network host connected to a wide area network (WAN), the network host comprising a network application server adapted to communicate with a plurality of network devices via the WAN;

a virtual world application server operative with the network host;

an advertisement generator operative with the network host; and

a memory device connected to the network application server and adapted to store a plurality of advertisements, and a plurality of virtual objects;

wherein the virtual world application server is adapted to host a virtual world;

wherein the advertisement generator is adapted to;

receive a virtual object from a contributor and store the virtual object in the memory device;

permit the contributor to select at least one advertisement, from among the plurality of advertisements stored in the memory device, to be associated with the virtual object;

permit the display of the virtual object and the associated selected advertisement within the virtual world hosted on the virtual world application server such that it can be accessed by at least one other user of the virtual world;

provide the contributor of the virtual object with compensation in exchange for selecting and including the at least one selected advertisement with the virtual object.

25. The digital messaging system of claim 24, wherein the compensation provided to the contributor of the virtual object includes at least one of a free service, a discounted service, a cash payment, a payment of points redeemable for services, a payment of points redeemable for goods, a free software application, a discounted software application, a free telecommunication service, a discounted telecommunication service, a free access to video content, a discounted access to video content, a free access to audio content, a discounted access to audio content, a free virtual object, and a discounted virtual object.

26. The digital messaging system of claim 24, wherein the advertisement generator is further adapted to compensate the contributor for sending the virtual object including the selected advertisement to the at least one other user of the virtual world

27. In a digital messaging system comprising:

a network host connected to a wide area network (WAN), the network host comprising a network application server adapted to communicate with a plurality of network devices via the WAN;

an advertisement generator operative with the network host; and

a memory device connected to the network application server and adapted to store a plurality of advertisements and a plurality of digital messages;

a method of selecting an advertisement to associate with a digital message comprising;

receiving a digital message from a contributor and storing the digital message in the memory device;

creating a palette of advertisements from among the advertisements stored in the memory device that are relevant to subject matter of the digital message, and presenting the palette to the contributor of the digital message;

permitting the contributor to select at least one advertisement, from among the advertisements compiled in the palette, to be associated with the digital message;

making the digital message and the at least one selected advertisement accessible to at least one recipient over the WAN; and

providing the contributor of the digital message with compensation in exchange for selecting and including the at least one selected advertisement with the digital message.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising compensating the contributor of the digital message with at least one of a free service, a discounted service, a cash payment, a payment of points redeemable for services, a payment of points redeemable for goods, a free software application, a discounted software application, a free telecommunication service, a discounted telecommunication service, a free access to video content, a discounted access to video content, a free access to audio content, and a discounted access to audio content.

29. The method of claim 27, further comprising compensating the contributor of the digital message at such time as at least one of:

when the contributor grants permission for the advertisement to be included with the digital message, when the at least one recipient interacts with the advertisement associated with the digital message, and when the at least one recipient concludes a transaction relating to an item that is a subject of the selected advertisement.

30. The method of claim 27, further comprising sorting the palette of advertisements in accordance with product type and in accordance with market segment

31. The method of claim 27, further comprising registering the contributor and the at least one recipient by collecting personal information and storing the personal information in the memory device.

32. The method of claim 31, further comprising selecting advertisements to be included in the palette of advertisements by comparing subject matter of the plurality of advertisements stored in the memory device with the personal information stored in the memory device.

33. The method of claim 32, further comprising sorting the palette of advertisements in accordance with product type and in accordance with market segment, permitting the contributor to select a product type, and selecting the advertisement within the product type selected by the contributor by matching the market segment with the personal information stored in the memory device that is associated with the at least one recipient.

34. In a digital messaging system comprising:

a network host connected to a wide area network (WAN), the network host comprising a network application server adapted to communicate with a plurality of network devices via the WAN;

an advertisement generator operative with the network host; and

a memory device connected to the network application server and adapted to store a plurality of advertisements and a plurality of digital messages;

a method of selecting an advertisement to associate with a digital message comprising;

receiving a digital message from a contributor and storing the digital message in the memory device;

permitting the contributor to identify an advertisement appearing on at least one of the WAN and the Internet and to select it to be associated with the digital message;

obtaining compensation data from an owner of the selected advertisement appearing on the at least one of the WAN and the Internet and coordinating compensation to be paid by the owner of the selected advertisement appearing on the Internet to the contributor of the digital message; and

making the digital message and the selected advertisement accessible to at least one recipient over the WAN.

35. The method of claim 34, further comprising compensating the contributor of the digital message with at least one of a free service, a discounted service, a cash payment, a payment of points redeemable for services, a payment of points redeemable for goods, a free software application, a discounted software application, a free telecommunication service, a discounted telecommunication service, a free access to video content, a discounted access to video content, a free access to audio content, and a discounted access to audio content.

36. The method of claim 34, further comprising compensating the contributor of the digital message at such time as at least one of:

when the contributor grants permission for the advertisement to be included with the digital message, when the at least one recipient interacts with the advertisement associated with the digital message, and when the at least one recipient concludes a transaction relating to an item that is a subject of the selected advertisement.