SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR SEARCHING AND COMMUNICATION
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Described are computer-based methods and apparatuses, including computer program products, comprising the steps of, or structure for, storing a plurality of expert profiles in a database, each of the plurality of expert profiles comprising information associated with a person having knowledge in a particular category, subject or topic; receiving search criteria over a network from a query source; selecting at least one of the plurality of expert profiles comprising information that satisfy the search criteria; and transmitting expert profile data for each of the selected expert profiles to the remote search engine, the expert profile data comprising data that defines a displayable representation of a corresponding expert profile, the expert profile data further comprising data that facilitates a client-initiated, real-time communication session over the network with a person associated with the corresponding expert profile.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. (canceled)
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2. A computer-implemented method, comprising:
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storing, by an agent server, topic data and agent data in a database; associating, by the agent server, topic data with one or more agents, wherein agents are active or inactive, wherein agents are relevant or irrelevant to the topic data, and wherein agents are relevant when a topic included in one or more profiles of one or more relevant agents matches the topic data; associating, by the agent server, one or more interaction options with active relevant agents; determining, by the agent server, status data, wherein the status data is stored in the database, and wherein the status data corresponds to active relevant agents associated with one or more interaction options and the topic data; receiving an agent search request at the agent server, wherein the agent search request is generated in response to information being posted to a published information feed, wherein the information posted to the published information feed does not include a request for an agent, and wherein the agent search request includes the topic data and is used to determine active agents relevant to the topic data; determining, by the agent server using the status data, whether any agents relevant to the topic data are active; transmitting, by the agent server, data associated with an interactive element, wherein the interactive element is associated with an active agent relevant to the topic data, wherein the interactive element is associated with the published information feed by a network server, wherein the interactive element is separate from the information posted to the published information feed, and wherein the interactive element is displayed with the information posted to the published information feed; and receiving, by the agent server, data corresponding to a selection of the interactive element associated with the published information feed, wherein the selected interactive element is associated with one or more agents based on the status data, wherein the selection of the interactive element facilitates an interaction option among two or more devices, and wherein at least one device is associated with the active agent relevant to the topic data. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A system including an agent server, comprising:
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a processor; a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium containing instructions which when executed on the processor, cause the processor to perform operations including; storing topic data and agent data in a database; associating topic data with one or more agents, wherein agents are active or inactive, wherein agents are relevant or irrelevant to the topic data, and wherein agents are relevant when a topic included in one or more profiles of one or more relevant agents matches the topic data; associating one or more interaction options with active relevant agents; determining status data, wherein the status data is stored in the database, and wherein the status data corresponds to active relevant agents associated with one or more interaction options and the topic data; receiving an agent search request at the agent server, wherein the agent search request is generated in response to information being posted to a published information feed, wherein the information posted to the published information feed does not include a request for an agent, and wherein the agent search request includes the topic data and is used to determine active agents relevant to the topic data; determining, using the status data, whether any agents relevant to the topic data are active; transmitting data associated with an interactive element, wherein the interactive element is associated with an active agent relevant to the topic data, wherein the interactive element is associated with the published information feed by a network server, wherein the interactive element is separate from the information posted to the published information feed, and wherein the interactive element is displayed with the information posted to the published information feed; and receiving data corresponding to a selection of the interactive element associated with the published information feed, wherein the selected interactive element is associated with one or more agents based on the status data, wherein the selection of the interactive element facilitates an interaction option among two or more devices, and wherein at least one device is associated with the active agent relevant to the topic data. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A computer-program product tangibly embodied in a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of an agent server, including instructions configured to cause a data processing apparatus to:
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store topic data and agent data in a database; associate topic data with one or more agents, wherein agents are active or inactive, wherein agents are relevant or irrelevant to the topic data, and wherein agents are relevant when a topic included in one or more profiles of one or more relevant agents matches the topic data; associate one or more interaction options with active relevant agents; determine status data, wherein the status data is stored in the database, and wherein the status data corresponds to active relevant agents associated with one or more interaction options and the topic data; receive an agent search request at the agent server, wherein the agent search request is generated in response to information being posted to a published information feed, wherein the information posted to the published information feed does not include a request for an agent, and wherein the agent search request includes the topic data and is used to determine active agents relevant to the topic data; determine, using the status data, whether any agents relevant to the topic data are active; transmit data associated with an interactive element, wherein the interactive element is associated with an active agent relevant to the topic data, wherein the interactive element is associated with the published information feed by a network server, wherein the interactive element is separate from the information posted to the published information feed, and wherein the interactive element is displayed with the information posted to the published information feed; and receive data corresponding to a selection of the interactive element associated with the published information feed, wherein the selected interactive element is associated with one or more agents based on the status data, wherein the selection of the interactive element facilitates an interaction option among two or more devices, and wherein at least one device is associated with the active agent relevant to the topic data. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21)
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Specification