Method and apparatus for prioritizing a listing of information providers
First Claim
1. A computer implemented method comprising:
- receiving, by a computer and from an information provider, a first price bid for priority of presenting the information provider, and a second price to charge users for services of the information provider, the first price bid to be paid by the information provider for being prioritized in presentation in response to a qualified selection of the information provider from presentations prioritized at least based on the first price bid;
receiving from a user a first request for a type of information provider;
identifying a set of identified information providers that satisfy the first request;
prioritizing, using the computer, the set of identified information providers in accordance with at least the first price bid for priority of presenting the information provider and in accordance with availability of the set of identified information providers, to generate a prioritized set of information providers;
providing the prioritized set of information providers for presentation to the user;
receiving a second request from the user to select the information provider as a selected information provider from the prioritized set of information providers;
in response to the second request, providing a connection for real time communications between the user and the selected information provider;
in response to the second request determining whether to charge the selected information provider according to the first price bid based on determining whether the second request is a qualified selection; and
monitoring a length of time of the connection, to charge the user according to the second price of the selected information provider.
36 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for prioritizing a listing of information providers according to a fee value and availability status indicated for the information providers, and providing a set of one or more information provider identifiers that satisfy a request for a type of information provider that has been received from a user over the Internet. The set of information provider identifiers are ranked according to their associated fee values and availability status. A set of one or more files are generated to display the set of information provider identifiers. The set of files are transmitted to the user, and the user is provided access to an information provider identified by one of the set of information provider identifiers.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A computer implemented method comprising:
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receiving, by a computer and from an information provider, a first price bid for priority of presenting the information provider, and a second price to charge users for services of the information provider, the first price bid to be paid by the information provider for being prioritized in presentation in response to a qualified selection of the information provider from presentations prioritized at least based on the first price bid; receiving from a user a first request for a type of information provider; identifying a set of identified information providers that satisfy the first request; prioritizing, using the computer, the set of identified information providers in accordance with at least the first price bid for priority of presenting the information provider and in accordance with availability of the set of identified information providers, to generate a prioritized set of information providers; providing the prioritized set of information providers for presentation to the user; receiving a second request from the user to select the information provider as a selected information provider from the prioritized set of information providers; in response to the second request, providing a connection for real time communications between the user and the selected information provider; in response to the second request determining whether to charge the selected information provider according to the first price bid based on determining whether the second request is a qualified selection; and monitoring a length of time of the connection, to charge the user according to the second price of the selected information provider. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A computer implemented method comprising:
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receiving a request for a type of information provider; retrieving information provider information that includes a price bid for priority of presenting an information provider, an availability status, and an information provider identifier for each of a set of identified information providers that satisfy the request, the price bid to be paid by the information provider in response to a qualified selection of the information provider selected from a presentation of the information provider prioritized according to the price bid; prioritizing the information provider information according to the price bid and the availability status indicated for each of the set of identified information providers using a computer to generate a prioritized set of information provider information; listing the prioritized set of information provider information on a web page that provides a user interface for initiation of real time communications with the set of identified information providers; and in response to a user selection of a selected information provider from the set of identified information providers, determining whether to charge the selected information provider the price bid based on whether the user selection is a qualified selection. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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21. A computer implemented method, comprising:
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retrieving a set of information provider identifiers that satisfy a request for a type of information provider, the request being received from a user over the Internet; ranking, by a computer, the set of information provider identifiers according to a price bid for priority of presenting an information provider and according to availability status; generating at least one file to display the set of information provider identifiers; transmitting the at least one file from the computer to the user; in response to a user selection of the information provider as a selected information provider identified by one of the set of information provider identifiers, providing a connection for real time communications between the user and the selected information provider and determining whether the user selection is a qualified selection based on at least one pre-specified criterion; and charging the selected information provider according to the price bid for priority in the ranking of the set of information provider identifiers, in response to a determination that the user selection is a qualified selection. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23)
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24. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon a set of instructions, which when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
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in response to receiving from a user a first request for a type of information provider, identifying a set of identified information providers that satisfy the first request; prioritizing the set of identified information providers in accordance with at least a price bid and availability of the set of identified information providers to generate a prioritized set of information providers, the price bid to be paid by an information provider in response to a qualified selection of the information provider; providing the prioritized set of information providers for display to the user; providing a connection for real time communications between the user and a selected information provider selected from the prioritized set of information providers in response to a second request from the user; in response to a user selection of the selected information provider from the prioritized set of information providers, determining whether to charge the selected information provider according to the price bid based on whether the user selection is a qualified selection; and monitoring a length of time of the connection, to charge the user according to a rate of the selected information provider.
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25. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon a set of instructions, which when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
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retrieving a set of information provider identifiers that satisfy a request for a type of information provider, the request being received from a user over the Internet; ranking the set of information provider identifiers according to price bid and availability status; generating at least one file to display the set of information provider identifiers; transmitting the at least one file to the user; in response to a user selection of a selected information provider identified by one of the set of information provider identifiers, providing a connection for real time communications between the user and the selected information provider and determining whether the user selection is a qualified selection based on at least one pre-specified criterion; and charging the selected information provider according to the price bid in response to a determination that the user selection is a qualified selection.
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Specification