Member activation

• US 7,685,231 B2
• Filed: 04/04/2007
• Issued: 03/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: MyPoints.com, Inc. (Prodege)
• Original Assignee: MyPoints.com, Inc. (Prodege)
• Inventors: Rosen, David, Burgoyne, Andre, Bohannon, James John
• Primary Examiner(s): Jacobs; Lashonda T
• Application Number:
  US11/696,545
• Publication Number:
  US 20080250148A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,084 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/217, 709/219, 709/223, 709/224, 705/26
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]

Abstract

A method and system are herein disclosed for registering a member at a targeted web-based information management system using a reduced amount of member and system interaction to confirm and establish the member'"'"'s contact information. Generally, the method may communicate permission to solicit a potential member to the information management system. In one embodiment, the member previously communicated permission to receive solicitations from other systems to another web-based information management system. The method may communicate the permission from another web-based system to the present system. The permission may include member identification and/or demographic data. The method may communicate a solicitation message from the system to the member, the solicitation message comprising at least a portion of the member identification data. The member may then communicate a confirmation message to the targeted web-based information management system, wherein the confirmation message is in reply to the solicitation message and includes the portion of the member identification data. Using the confirmation, the system may then match the portion of the member identification data from the confirmation message to the portion of the member identification data from the confirmation message.

Claims

1. A method for registering a new member of a web-based information management system that includes a plurality of registered members, the method comprising:

receiving permission to solicit the new member from a third-party source at the web-based information management system, the permission including new member identification data, the new member identification data including a new member email address;

initiating a single interaction from the web-based information management system to the new member, the single interaction consisting of;

a) communicating a solicitation message from the web-based information management system to the new member, the solicitation message including a unique identifier corresponding to at least the new member email address of the new member identification data, and

b) receiving a confirmation message at the web-based information management system, the confirmation message in reply to the solicitation message and including the unique identifier corresponding to at least the new member email address of the new member identification data;

matching the unique identifier corresponding to at least the new member email address of the new member identification data from the solicitation message to the unique identifier corresponding to at least the new member email address of the new member identification data from the confirmation message; and

when the unique identifier corresponding to at least the new member email address of the new member identification data from the solicitation message matches the unique identifier corresponding to at least the new member email address of the new member identification data from the confirmation message, confirming the new member'"'"'s ownership of the new member email address using the single interaction.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the permission to solicit the new member at the third-party source.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the new member identification data further comprises a street address, a name, an address, a birth date, or new member demographic information.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the confirmation message at the web-based information management system comprises:

receiving a redirection message from the solicitation message, the redirection message including the portion of the new member identification data; and

receiving the portion of the new member identification data at the web-based information management system.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising modifying the portion of the new member identification data included in the solicitation message before communicating the solicitation message, wherein the unique identifier cannot practically be forged.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the unique identifier further corresponds to at least one of a string, a number, an encrypted e-mail address associated with the new member, new member demographic information, a reference to a portion of the targeted web-based information management system, or a record locator.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein, when the new member identification data is inoperative, initiating a second interaction from the web-based information management system to the new member, the second interaction consisting of:

communicating a confirmation message to the new member from the web-based information management system; and

communicating permission to register the new member in reply to the confirmation message.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising registering the new member at the web-based information management system when at least the new member email address of the new member identification data from the solicitation message is identical to at least the new member email address of the new member identification data from the confirmation message.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising, when the new member email address of the new member identification data from the solicitation message does not match the new member email address of the new member identification data from the confirmation message, initiating a second interaction from the web-based information management system to the new member, the second interaction consisting of:

communicating a confirmation message to the new member from the web-based information management system; and

communicating permission to register the new member in reply to the confirmation message.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the unique identifier corresponding to the portion of the new member identification data includes encoded new member identification data.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the encoded new member identification data includes one or more of a hash of the new member identification data, a location of the new member identification data within the web-based information management system, an encoded string, or an encoded number.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the unique identifier is a member of a large set of identifiers, the large set of identifiers including:

1) a first plurality of identifiers each corresponding to a different member identification data, and

     2) a second plurality of identifiers none of which correspond to any member identification data,

wherein a number of the second plurality of identifiers outnumbers a number of the first plurality of identifiers such that modification of the unique identifier to match any of the first plurality of identifiers is statistically improbable.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the second plurality of identifiers includes one or more of a large set of random numbers or a large set of strings.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the second plurality of identifiers is larger than the plurality of registered members by a factor of at least one to four thousand.

15. A computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable modules for execution on a processor of an information management system, the modules comprising:

receiving a permission to solicit a new member from a first web-based information management system at a second web-based information management system, the permission including new member identification data, the new member identification data including a new member email address;

initiating a single interaction from the second web-based information management system to the new member, the single interaction consisting of;

a) communicating a solicitation message from the second web-based information management system to the new member for confirmation by the new member, the solicitation message including a unique identifier corresponding to at least the new member email address of the new member identification data, and

b) receiving a redirection message at the second web-based information management system in response to the solicitation message communicated to the new member, the redirection message including the unique identifier corresponding to at least the new member email address of the new member identification data;

matching the unique identifier corresponding to at least the new member email address of a new member identification data from the solicitation message to the unique identifier corresponding to at least the new member email address of the new member identification data from the redirection message; and

when the unique identifier corresponding to at least the new member email address of the new member identification data from the solicitation message matches the unique identifier corresponding to at least the new member email address of the new member identification data from the redirection message, registering the new member at the second web-based information management system using the single interaction.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein registering the new member at the second web-based information management system includes communicating the new member identification data from the new member to the second web-based information management system.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the new member identification data further comprises at least one of a street address, a name, an address, a birth date, or new member demographic information.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the unique identifier includes one or more of an encrypted string, a number, an encrypted e-mail address associated with the new member, new member demographic information, a reference to a portion of the second web-based information management system, or a record locator.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, further comprising, when the portion of the new member identification data from the solicitation message does not match the portion of the new member identification data from the confirmation message:

communicating a confirmation message to the new member from the second targeted web-based information management system; and

if the new member confirms the confirmation message, receiving permission to register the new member in reply to the confirmation message.

20. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the unique identifier is a member of a large set of identifiers, the large set of identifiers including 1) a first plurality of identifiers each corresponding to a different member identification data, and 2) a second plurality of identifiers none of which correspond to any member identification data,

wherein a number of the second plurality of identifiers outnumbers a number of the first plurality of identifiers such that modification of the unique identifier to match any of the first plurality of identifiers is statistically improbable.

21. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 20, wherein the large set of identifiers includes one or more of a large set of random numbers or a large set of strings.

22. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 20, wherein the second plurality of identifiers is larger than a plurality of registered members by a factor of at least one to four thousand.

23. A computer system comprising a processor for executing computer executable code, a memory for storing data and computer executable code and an input/output circuit, the processor physically configured to execute computer executable code for:

receiving permission to solicit a new member from a first web server at a targeted web-based information management system, the permission including new member identification data, the targeted web-based information management system residing at a second web server, the new member identification data including a new member email address;

initiating a single interaction from the targeted web-based information management system to the new member, the single interaction consisting of;

a) communicating a solicitation message from the targeted web-based information management system to the new member for confirmation by the new member, the solicitation message including a unique identifier corresponding to at least the new member email address of the new member identification data, and

b) receiving a redirection message at the targeted web-based information management system in response to the solicitation message, the redirection message including the unique identifier corresponding to at least the new member email address of the new member identification data;

matching the unique identifier corresponding to at least the new member email address of the new member identification data from the solicitation message to the unique identifier corresponding to at least the new member email address of the new member identification data from the redirection message;

using the unique identifier from the redirection message to match the new portion of new member identification data to the portion of new member identification data from the permission; and

when the unique identifier corresponding to at least the new member email address of the new member identification data from the solicitation message matches the unique identifier corresponding to at least the new member email address of the new member identification data from the redirection message, registering the new member at the targeted web-based information management system using the single interaction.

24. The computer system of claim 23, wherein the new member identification data comprises one or more of an e-mail address, a street address, a name, a memory address, a birth date, or member demographic information.

25. The computer system of claim 23, wherein the unique identifier includes one or more of an encrypted string, a number, an encrypted e-mail address associated with the new member, new member demographic information, a reference to a portion of the targeted web-based information management system, or a record locator.

26. The computer system of claim 23, further comprising, if the unique identifier corresponding to at least the new member email address of the new member identification data from the solicitation message does not match the unique identifier corresponding to at least the new member email address of the new member identification data from the redirection message:

communicating a confirmation message to the new member from the first web server; and

when the new member confirms the confirmation message, receiving permission to register the new member in reply to the confirmation message.

27. The computer system of claim 23, wherein the unique identifier is a member of a large set of identifiers, the large set of identifiers including 1) a first plurality of identifiers each corresponding to a different member identification data, and 2) a second plurality of identifiers none of which correspond to any member identification data,

wherein a number of the second plurality of identifiers outnumbers a number of the first plurality of identifiers such that modification of the unique identifier to match any of the first plurality of identifiers is statistically improbable.

28. The computer system of claim 27, wherein the second plurality of identifiers is larger than a plurality of registered members by a factor of at least one to four thousand.

29. The computer system of claim 27, wherein the large set of identifiers includes one or more of a large set of random numbers or a large set of strings.