Service for enabling users to share information regarding products represented on web pages

• US 7,373,313 B1
• Filed: 03/28/2001
• Issued: 05/13/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/25/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Alexa Internet (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Alexa Internet (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Sauer, Paul Van Der Merwe, Bartolotta, Jeffrey, O'Driscoll, Niall P., Kahle, Brewster P., Tanenbaum, Ronna C., Cholach, Sondra L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith; Jeffrey A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): MISIASZEK, MICHAEL
• Application Number:
  US09/820,207
• Time in Patent Office: 2,603 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/27, 705/14, 705/1
• US Class Current: 705/26.3
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0256 User search
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0623 Item investigation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0629 for generating comparisons
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0631 Item recommendations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions

Abstract

A client executes in conjunction with a web browser on a user computer. The client interacts with a data server to provide user access to product-related information associated with products represented on web pages accessed by the web browser. The product-related information may include information submitted by other users via other instances of the client, such that users share product-related information across web pages.

Claims

1. A system for facilitating sharing of information between web users, the system comprising:

a client program that runs on user computers in conjunction with web browsing software, and presents supplementary information associated with web pages accessed by users on said user computers; and

a data server that communicates over a network with the user computers that run the client program, and sends said supplementary information to the user computers for presentation by the client program, wherein the data server interacts with the client program to identify products described on particular web pages;

wherein the client program and data server collectively implement a service in which (a) when a first user accesses a first web page that describes a first product, the first user is provided an option to complete and submit a form that requests at least one specific type of product-related information associated with the first product, (b) after the first user completes and submits the form, as presented in association with the first web page, to submit product-related information associated with the first product, the submitted product-related information is stored on the data server in association with an identifier of the first product, and (c) when a second user accesses a second web page identified by the service as describing said first product, the second user is provided an option to view at least the product-related information submitted by the first user, said option to view provided independently of whether the second user has selected the first product;

whereby the client program and data server collectively provide functionality for users to share product-related information across different web pages that describe a common product.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the client program provides a browser toolbar that displays an indication of whether a web page currently being viewed by a user includes a description of a product for which supplementary information is available from the data server.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the service includes a web page analyzer that analyzes content of web pages to evaluate whether the web pages include descriptions of products.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the web page analyzer is implemented, at least in part, within said client program.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the web page analyzer is implemented as a component of the data server.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the data server includes a database that associates web pages of a plurality of web sites with products described on said web pages, and uses said database to evaluate whether a web page being accessed by a user describes any products.

7. The system of claim 6, further comprising a data generation module that automatically populates said database with data obtained from a computer-implemented analysis of web pages.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the form requests, and includes fields for user entry and submission of, a recommendation associated with the first product, such that users can post product-related recommendations for viewing by other users.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the service additionally provides functionality for users to cast votes in connection with product-related recommendations posted by other users, and to view tallies of votes cast in association with specific recommendations.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the form requests, and includes a field for user entry of, a web address associated with the recommendation.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the form requests, and includes a field for specifying, an identifier of a related product that is related to but different from the first product, such that users can post recommendations of related products to other users who access the web page.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the form additionally includes a field for specifying a web address associated with the related product.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the form additionally includes a field for specifying why the related product is recommended.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the form additionally prompts users to specify whether they have an interest in an associated recommendation of a related product.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the form requests, and includes a field for specifying, a web address associated with an online store from which the first product can be purchased, such that users can post recommendations of online stores for purchasing the first product.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the form additionally requests a description of why the online store is being recommended.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the form additionally prompts users to specify whether they have an interest in an associated recommendation of an online store.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the form prompts users to enter at least one of the following:

(a) an identifier of an online store at which the first product is available for purchase;

(b) an identifier of a second product that is related to the first product.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the client program additionally provides, separately from the web page, an option to add the first product to a virtual shopping cart, such that a user can add items to the virtual shopping cart across multiple web sites.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein the service additionally displays links to auction web pages associated with the first product.

21. The system of claim 1, wherein the client program and data server provide the service across a plurality of web sites, and the data server is separate from servers of said plurality of web sites.

22. The system of claim 1, wherein the client program is configured to display the submitted product-related information to the second user in a display area that is superimposed over the second web page.