Methods and systems for displaying information on a graphical user interface

• US 20100262923A1
• Filed: 05/05/2010
• Published: 10/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Gloto Corp.
• Original Assignee: Gloto Corp.
• Inventors: Conn, Eric, Citrin, Warren
• Application Number:
  US12/799,938
• Publication Number:
  US 20100262923A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/752
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04802 3D-info-object: information is displayed on the internal or external surface of a three dimensional manipulable object, e.g. on the faces of a cube that can be rotated by the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72436 for text messaging, e.g. short messaging services [SMS] or e-mails
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72445 for supporting Internet browser applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72469 for operating the device by selecting functions from two or more displayed items, e.g. menus or icons

Abstract

Systems and methods, operable on a mobile device for facilitating communication between at least one user and a plurality of participating product or service providers via an intermediary third-party communication management system. Users who respond to solicitations of the plurality of participating product or service providers have the option of remaining anonymous while communicating with the plurality of participating product and service providers by utilizing an internal email service of the third-party communication management system or by other anonymous communication formats. In one embodiment, users are automatically notified of changes and updates to user selected participating product or service provider web sites, via the intermediary third-party communication management system and may communicate with the changed websites anonymously. At any point, the users may elect to communicate in a non-anonymous communication format, thus protecting the user'"'"'s identity and privacy with the plurality of participating product or service providers.

Claims

1. A method operable on a mobile device for facilitating communication between a plurality of user'"'"'s and a plurality of participating product or service providers via an intermediary third-party communication management system, comprising:

a) receiving product or service information from a plurality of participating product or service providers at a mobile device of a user;

b) the user electronically selecting from a GUI of the mobile device;

i.) an action of interest to the user from among a plurality of indicators identifying actions;

ii.) a topic from among indicators identifying topics associated with the actions,

ii.) a narrowing criteria from among indicators identifying narrowing criteria associated with the actions and the topics;

c) identifying by the mobile device, in real-time, at least one participating product or service provider from among said plurality of product or service providers that satisfy criteria defined by the user selected action, topic and narrowing criteria,

d) initiating an anonymous communication from the mobile device, via the third-party communication management system, to the at least one identified participating product or service provider,

e) receiving and reviewing responses at the mobile device, via the third-party communication management system, from the at least one identified product or service provider,

f) the user anonymously responding to at least one of the at least one identified participating product or service provider.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of the user receiving and reviewing responses received from the at least one identified participating product or service provider further comprises, presenting the responses to the user on the mobile device in the time order in which the responses are received from the at least one identified participating product or service provider.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising restricting the at least one identified participating product or service provider to respond once to an anonymous communication initiated from the mobile device.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the user electing to switch communication formats from an anonymous communication format to a non-anonymous communication for purposes of conducting further communications with the at least one identified participating product or service provider.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein said non-anonymous communication formats comprises a traditional email communication, an instant message communication.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein said anonymous communication formats comprises an internal email service of the third-party communication management system.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the user entering a current location on the user mobile device from which to measure the relative distance between the user and the at least one identified participating product or service provider.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the current location is entered via a GPS module on the user'"'"'s mobile device.

2. The method according to claim 2, wherein the step of initiating an anonymous communication from the mobile device to the at least one identified participating product or service provider, further comprises, prior to said step (a):

displaying to the user on the user'"'"'s mobile device a list of available communication formats including non-anonymous communication formats and anonymous communication formats;

receiving a selection from the user at the mobile device for one of the listed anonymous communication formats;

transmitting the user selected anonymous communication format from the user'"'"'s mobile device to the intermediary third-party communication management system; and

storing the user selected anonymous communication format in a data-store associated with the third-party communication management system.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising the step of providing the participating product or service providers with email accounts by the third-party communication management system to enable the participating product or service providers to read anonymous communications sent from the user'"'"'s mobile device.

4. The method according to claim 2, further comprising providing the user with an email account by the third-party communication management system as an anonymous communication format type to enable the user read responses anonymously from participating product or service providers.

12. A real-time method operable on a mobile device for notifying users, via a third-party communication management system, of changes and updates related to events associated with user identified and selected participating product or service provider web sites, the method comprising:

a) the mobile device displaying to a user a list of participating product or service providers;

b) the mobile device displaying to the user a plurality of web pages available on web sites associated with the participating product or service providers,

c) the user identifying and selecting at least one participating product or service provider from among the displayed list of product or service providers,

d) the mobile device of the user communicating the identity of the at least one user selected participating product or service provider to a third-party communication management system,

e) storing the identity of the at least one user selected participating product or service provider in a data store associated with the third-party communication management system,

f) monitoring by the third-party communication management system, changes and updates related to events associated with the at least one user selected participating product or service provider,

g) communicating the changes and updates, in real-time, from the third-party communication management system to said user'"'"'s mobile device as they occur,

h) receiving and reviewing the changes and updates at said user'"'"'s mobile device,

i) initiating an anonymous communication with said at least one user selected participating product or service provider, based on the review of said changes and updates.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the changes and updates related to events associated with the at least one user selected participating product or service provider web site comprises one of:

a geo-centric related change, a time-based event change, a sales event change, a social-media based event change.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein said reviewing step (e) further comprises the user reviewing the responses in a time order in which the responses were received from the at least one identified and selected third party product or service provider.

15. The method according to claim 12, further comprising restricting the at least one identified and selected participating product or service provider to respond once to the user initiated communication.

16. The method according to claim 12, further comprising the user notifying the third-party communication management system to change a currently elected anonymous communication format with the at least one user selected participating product or service provider.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein non-anonymous communication formats types include:

traditional email communication, an instant message communication.

18. The method according to claim 16, wherein anonymous communication formats include an internal email server of the third-party communication management system.