Apparatus, system, and method for facilitating electronic communication based on a personal contact

• US 7,788,183 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2006
• Issued: 08/31/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The GALT Alliance Incorporated
• Original Assignee: The GALT Alliance Incorporated
• Inventors: Romney, Todd H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Elisca; Pierre E
• Application Number:
  US11/278,315
• Publication Number:
  US 20060235803A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,614 Days
• Field of Search: 705/65
• US Class Current: 705/65
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/367 involving electronic purses or money safes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions

Abstract

An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for facilitating electronic communication based on a personal contact. A token giver gives a token to a token receiver through a personal contact. The purpose of the token is to facilitate communication between the token giver and token receiver. The token includes a token identifier that is uniquely associated with the token. The apparatus includes a receiver module for receiving the token identifier from the token receiver. In response to receiving the token identifier, a channel module establishes an electronic communication channel between the token giver and the token receiver. A transfer module provides, to the token receiver, initial electronic content customized for the token identifier. In response to a request from either the token receiver or the token giver, a transfer module brokers an electronic content transfer between the token receiver and the token giver via the electronic communication channel.

Claims

1. A method for facilitating electronic communication based on a personal contact, the method comprising:

receiving a token identifier from a token receiver, wherein the token identifier is uniquely associated with a token given to the token receiver through the personal contact with a token giver;

establishing an electronic communication channel between the token giver and the token receiver in response to receiving the identifier;

brokering, by way of a network server, an electronic content transfer between the token receiver and the token giver via the electronic communication channel in response to a request from one of the token receiver and the token giver; and

providing, to the token receiver during the electronic content transfer, initial electronic content associated with the token identifier, the initial electronic content comprising a set of selected elements forming a profile from the token giver to be associated with the initial electronic content.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the profile comprises a set of elements wherein each element has a type selected from the group consisting of number, text, image, audio, video, podcast, web log (blog), Really Simple Syndication (RSS), personal information, promotional code, coupon, web page and file.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the profile comprises a promotion associated with a set of promotion conditions and wherein the method further comprises:

debiting an account associated with the token giver for the promotion in response to the token receiver satisfying the promotion conditions; and

triggering fulfillment of the promotion for the token receiver in response to the token receiver satisfying the promotion conditions.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the promotion comprises a free product sample and the set of promotion conditions comprises providing personal information.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising rejecting a request to broker a subsequent electronic content transfer between the token receiver and the token giver in response to a termination request from one of the token receiver and the token giver.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving context information that describes a context for the personal contact and presenting the context information to one of the token giver and the token receiver in response to user input.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising disabling the electronic communication channel in response to receiving a termination request from one of the token receiver and the token giver and wherein the electronic communication channel restricts disclosure of personal information between the token giver and the token receiver to explicit disclosure of the personal information through the electronic communication channel by one of the token giver and the token receiver.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the token comprises one of a virtual token and a physical token, wherein the token comprises the token identifier.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the physical token comprises a coin-sized object.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the physical token comprises a portable object.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the token identifier comprises a machine-readable code.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the token identifier is a random value.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the token comprises one of a physical token transferred to the token receiver and a virtual token configured to be distributed electronically to the token receiver in response to the personal contact.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising notifying the token giver in response to receiving the token identifier from the token receiver.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein notifying further comprises sending a notification selected from the group consisting of an email message, a voicemail message, an instant message, a text message, a pager message, and a notification icon.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising in response to receiving the identifier from the token receiver, presenting an advertising message for a vendor that provided the token to one of the token receiver and the token giver.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic communication channel comprises one of an asynchronous communication channel and a synchronous communication channel.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

automatically exchanging token description information between the token giver and the token receiver in response to recognizing the token receiver as a subscriber;

populating a token giver contact list with token description information of the token receiver; and

populating a token receiver contact list with token description information of the token giver.

19. A method for facilitating electronic communication based on a personal contact, the method comprising:

authenticating a token giver;

receiving a set of selected elements forming a profile from the token giver to be associated with initial electronic content associated with a token identifier designated by a token giver, wherein the token identifier is uniquely associated with a token given to a token receiver through the personal contact with the token giver;

providing the selected elements to an electronic communication utility hosted on a network server, the electronic communication utility programmed to, receive a token identifier from a token receiver;

establish an electronic communication channel between the token giver and the token receiver in response to receiving the token identifier; and

broker an electronic content transfer between the token receiver and the token giver via the electronic communication channel in response to a request from one of the token receiver and the token giver, the electronic content transfer including the initial electronic content.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising receiving token exchange information from the token giver.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the token exchange information comprises at least one of a name of the token receiver, a time of token exchange, a date of token exchange, a location of token exchange, a topic of conversation between token giver and token receiver, a photograph of token receiver, and notes from a conversation between token giver and token receiver.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein each selected element has a type selected from the group consisting of text, image, audio, video, podcast, web log (blog), Really Simple Syndication (RSS), personal information, promotional code, coupon, and file.

23. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

acquiring the token and the token identifier from a token vendor wherein the token identifier comprises a batch identifier and wherein the batch identifier is associated with a plurality of tokens;

transferring the token and the token identifier to the token giver;

and wherein the electronic communication utility is further programmed to;

receive both an account identifier associated with a token giver and the batch identifier; and

correlate the token giver with the received batch identifier.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the electronic communication utility is in communication with a repository that stores the token identifier and the batch identifier and wherein correlating the token giver with the received batch identifier comprises associating the batch identifier, token identifier, and the account identifier within the repository.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the token vendor is one of a token manufacturer, a token distributor, and a token wholesaler.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein the batch identifier is associated with a plurality of tokens.

27. The method of claim 19, further comprising configuring the electronic communication utility to provide a promotional offer to the token receiver via the electronic communication channel.

28. A method for facilitating anonymous electronic communication based on a personal contact, the method comprising:

hosting an electronic communication utility on a network server, wherein the communication utility is programmed to;

receive a token identifier from a token receiver, wherein the token identifier is uniquely associated with a token given to the token receiver through the personal contact with a token giver;

establish an electronic communication channel between the token giver and the token receiver in response to receiving the identifier;

broker an electronic content transfer between the token receiver and the token giver via the electronic communication channel in response to a request from one of the token receiver and the token giver;

conveying the token identifier to the communication utility in response to receiving the token identifier from the token receiver;

conveying, to the communication utility, initial electronic content customized for the token identifier by the token giver; and

providing the initial electronic content to the token receiver.

29. A system for facilitating anonymous electronic communication based on a personal contact, the system comprising:

an electronic communication utility comprising;

a receiver module programmed to receive a token identifier from a token receiver, wherein the token identifier is uniquely associated with a token given to the token receiver through the personal contact with a token giver;

a channel module programmed to establish an electronic communication channel between the token giver and the token receiver in response to receiving the identifier;

a transfer module programmed to broker an electronic content transfer between the token receiver and the token giver via the electronic communication channel in response to a request from one of the token receiver and the token giver;

a token receiver client application programmed to accept the token identifier from the token receiver and relay the token identifier to the electronic communication utility and to present initial electronic content provided by the electronic communication utility to the token receiver;

a network server programmed to host the electronic communication utility;

a repository programmed to store a first association between the token identifier and a batch identifier and a second association between the batch identifier and the token giver and to provide the first and second associations to the electronic communication utility; and

a communication network coupling the electronic communication utility, token receiver client application, network server, and repository.

30. The system of claim 29, further comprising:

a profile utility comprising;

an authentication module configured to authenticate a token giver;

a content module configured to receive a set of selected elements forming a profile; and

a token giver client application configured to accept the set of selected elements forming a profile and provide the set to the profile utility.

31. The system of claim 29, wherein the channel module is further configured to disable the electronic communication channel in response to receiving a termination request from one of the token receiver and the token giver.

32. The system of claim 29, wherein the transfer module is further configured to restrict disclosure of personal information between the token giver and the token receiver to explicit disclosure of the personal information through the electronic communication channel by one of the token giver and the token receiver.

33. A method for facilitating electronic communication based on a personal contact, the method comprising:

receiving a token identifier from a token giver, wherein the token identifier is uniquely associated with a virtual token electronically transmitted to the token receiver through the personal contact with the token giver, the token identifier associated with an account identifier for the token giver;

establishing an electronic communication channel between the token giver and the token receiver in response to receiving the token identifier;

brokering, by way of a network server, an electronic content transfer between the token receiver and the token giver via the electronic communication channel in response to a request from one of the token receiver and the token giver; and

providing, to the token receiver during the electronic content transfer, initial electronic content associated with the token identifier, the initial electronic content comprising a set of selected elements forming a profile from the token giver to be associated with the initial electronic content.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the electronic transmission of the virtual token is facilitated by one or more of displaying the token identifier on an electronic device of the token giver and electronically transmitting the token identifier from an electronic device of the token giver to a second electronic device of the token receiver.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the second electronic device of the token receiver is programmed to perform one or more of reading the token identifier displayed by the token giver and receiving the token identifier transmitted electronically by the token giver.