Method and system for information exchange between users of different web pages

• US 7,617,130 B2
• Filed: 03/28/2005
• Issued: 11/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/01/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Gupta, Ashish, Bezos, Jeffrey P.
• Primary Examiner(s): ZURITA, JAMES H
• Application Number:
  US11/092,200
• Publication Number:
  US 20050171861A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,688 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/37
• US Class Current: 705/27.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

A method and system for allowing users of different web pages to exchange information. The information exchange system identifies groups of related web pages and maintains a database of user-supplied information for each group of related web pages. When a user accesses a web page the information exchange often displays in a separate area the information associated with the group of related web pages. Also the information exchange system allows the user to enter information that will be displayed to other users who access related web pages.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of supporting exchanges of information between users, the method comprising:

receiving, and storing in computer storage, information submitted by a first user of a first site of a first entity, said information pertaining to, and submitted while accessing, a first page of the first site, wherein receiving information submitted by the first user comprises receiving information entered by the first user into an information entry area that is separate from, but displayed in conjunction with, the first page, said information entry area provided by one of (1) a client component that runs on a computing device of the first user, and (2) a proxy server that monitors accesses by said computing device of the first user to web pages;

receiving a notification of an access by a second user to a second page of a second site of a second entity, said second page being related to the first page and said second entity being different than the first entity; and

while the second user is accessing the second page of the second site, transmitting the information submitted by the first user to a computing device of the second user for display to the second user in conjunction with the second page;

wherein the method is performed by a server system that is separate from both the first site and the second site, said server system operated by a service provider entity that is different from the first entity.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first site comprises a first server and the second site comprises a second server, said first and second servers being separate from said server system.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the information entry area is provided by a client component that runs on a computing device of the first user.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the client component is a browser plug-in.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the notification is generated by said client component in response to the second user accessing the second page.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the information entry area is provided by a proxy server.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting said information comprises communicating said information to a browser plug-in that runs on the computing device of the second user.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said information is transmitted to the computing device of the second user based at least in part on a determination by said server system that the first and second pages are related.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the server system makes said determination by accessing a database that associates particular pages with related pages.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising generating said database based at least partly on a keyword analysis of particular pages.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising generating said database based at least partly on page access patterns of users.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the information submitted by the first user comprises a comment on an item represented on both the first page and the second page.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the item is a product that is available for purchase from both the first site and the second site.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the information is transmitted to the computing device of the second user substantially in real time in response to receiving the information from a computing device of the first user.

15. A system for supporting exchanges of information between users, the system comprising:

a server system; and

executable instructions stored in computer storage of the server system, said executable instructions capable of causing the server system to perform a method that comprises;

receiving, and storing in said computer storage, information submitted by a first user of a first site, said information pertaining to, and submitted while accessing, a first page of the first site, wherein receiving information submitted by the first user comprises receiving information entered by the first user into an information entry area that is separate from, but displayed in conjunction with, the first page, said information entry area provided by one of (1) a client component that runs on a computing device of the first user, and (2) a proxy server that monitors accesses by said computing device of the first user to web page;

receiving a notification of an access by a second user to a second page of a second site, said second page being related to the first page; and

while the second user is accessing the second page of the second site, transmitting the information submitted by the first user to a computing device of the second user for display to the second user in conjunction with the second page;

wherein the server system is separate from both the first site and the second site.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the information entry area is provided by a client component that runs on a computing device of the first user.

17. The system of claim 15, in combination with a client component adapted to run on computing devices of users and to communicate with the server system.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the client component is a browser plug-in.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein the client component is additionally operative to cause the user computing device to display, in conjunction with a page displayed on the user computing device, information submitted by other users via instances of said client component.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein the client component and server system are operative to provide a real time chat environment in which, when the first user submits a comment in association with the first page, the comment is sent in real time to other users that are accessing a related page.

21. The system of claim 15, wherein the computer storage of the server system comprises a mapping that associates pages with related pages, and the server system is operative to use said mapping to control exchanges of information between users.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the server system is programmed to generate the mapping based at least partly on an analysis of page content.

23. The system of claim 21, wherein the server system is programmed to generate the mapping based at least partly on an analysis of user access patterns.

24. A computer storage system comprising at least one computer-readable medium, said computer storage system storing executable instructions capable of causing a server system to perform a method that comprises:

receiving, and storing in computer storage, information submitted by a first user of a first site that is separate from the server system, said information pertaining to, and submitted by the first user while the first user is accessing, a first page of the first site, wherein receiving information submitted by the first user comprises receiving information entered by the first user into an information entry area displayed by a computing device of the first user, said information entry area being separate from, but displayed in conjunction with, the first page;

receiving a notification of an access by a second user to a second page of a second site that is separate from the server system and the first site, said second page being related to the first page; and

while the second user is accessing the second page of the second site, transmitting the information submitted by the first user to a computing device of the second user for display to the second user in conjunction with the second page.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the information entry area is provided by a client component that runs on the computing device of the first user.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein the information entry area is provided by a proxy server.