Method and system for recommending a product over a computer network

• US 8,180,680 B2
• Filed: 04/16/2007
• Issued: 05/15/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Spinback, Inc. (Salesforce.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Spinback, Inc. (Salesforce.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Leventhal, Jeffrey
• Primary Examiner(s): Airapetian, Mila
• Application Number:
  US11/735,904
• Publication Number:
  US 20080255933A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,856 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/27, 705/26.1, 705/14
• US Class Current: 705/26.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0226 Incentive systems for frequent usage, e.g. frequent flyer miles programs or point systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0631 Item recommendations

Abstract

A product is recommended over a computer network by initiating a recommendation network by creating an active advertisement object of a product on an electronic medium. A recommendation request is received from a user viewing the electronic medium to recommend the product to at least one more viewer. The viewer may be a recommended user. The user and the recommended user or users form a recommendation network. The active advertisement object is recreated on another electronic medium. The recommendation request and the recreation may be repeated, and a recommendation chain is determinable.

Claims

1. A method for recommending a product over a computer network comprising:

initiating a recommendation network by creating an active advertisement object on an electronic medium, wherein the active advertisement object comprises information representing a product;

receiving a recommendation request from a user viewing the electronic medium to recommend the product to at least one more user, wherein the user and the at least one more recommended user form a recommendation network;

recreating the active advertisement object on another electronic medium, wherein the step of recreating comprises modifying an electronic display of a user computing device in communication with the computer network such that at least some information representing the product is visually depicted on the display;

repeating said receiving a recommendation request and said recreating;

receiving a purchase request;

determining a recommendation chain of users in the recommendation network leading to the purchase request; and

rewarding at least one user of the recommendation chain.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising creating a report representing information useful for a seller of the product.

3. A method for recommending a product over a computer network comprising:

initiating a recommendation network by creating an active advertisement object on an electronic medium, wherein the active advertisement object comprises information representing a product;

receiving a recommendation request from a user viewing the electronic medium to recommend the product to at least one more user, wherein the user and the at least one more recommended user form a recommendation network; and

recreating the active advertisement object on another user-selected electronic medium wherein the step of recreating comprises modifying an electronic display of a user computing device in communication with the computer network such that at least some information representing the product is visually depicted on the display.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising repeating said receiving and said recreating.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein said initiating comprises publishing the active advertisement.

6. The method of claim 3 wherein said receiving the recommendation request comprises receiving the recommendation request by way of the active advertisement object.

7. The method of claim 3 wherein the step of creating or the step of recreating an active advertisement object comprises creating at least one of an advertisement, a button, a form, a link, a graphical icon, a post on a website, and a message on a social networking site.

8. The method of claim 3 wherein the creating an active advertisement object comprises creating a widget.

9. The method of claim 3 wherein said recreating further comprises storing the recommendation request in a database.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein said storing the recommendation request comprises storing at least one of time details, recommendation details, electronic medium details, an email address, a uniform resource locator, and an internet protocol address.

11. The method of claim 3 further comprising:

receiving a purchase request; and

storing the purchase request in a database.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising determining a recommendation chain of users in the recommendation network leading to the purchase request.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising rewarding at least one user of the recommendation chain.

14. The method of claim 11 further comprising creating a report.

15. A system for recommending a product over a computer network the system comprising computer executable code modules stored in a memory of a computer wherein the code modules are executed by a processor of the computer which is in communication with the memory, the memory comprising:

an initiating module for initiating a recommendation network by creating an active advertisement object on an electronic medium, wherein the active advertisement object comprises information representing a product;

a receiving module for receiving a request from a user viewing the electronic medium;

a recreating module for recreating the active advertisement object on another electronic medium, and for modifying an electronic display of a user computing device in communication with the computer network such that at least some information representing the product is visually depicted on the display;

a storing module for storing the request from the user; and

a reporting module for reporting on the recommendation network.

16. The invention of claim 15 further comprising:

a purchase module for processing a purchase of the product; and

a rewarding module for rewarding users in a recommendation chain of the recommendation network.

17. A physical computer storage device having stored thereon instruction for recommending a product over a computer network which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform the steps of:

initiating a recommendation network by creating an active advertisement object on an electronic medium, wherein the active advertisement object comprises information representing a product;

receiving a recommendation request from a user viewing the electronic medium to recommend the product to at least one more user, wherein the user and the at least one more recommended user form a recommendation network;

recreating the active advertisement object on another user-selected electronic medium, wherein the step of recreating comprises modifying an electronic display of a user computing device in communication with the computer network such that at least some information representing the product is visually depicted on the display; and

repeating said receiving a recommendation request and said recreating.

18. The physical computer storage device of claim 17 having stored thereon instruction for recommending a product over a computer network which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to further perform the steps of:

receiving a purchase request;

determining a recommendation chain of users in the recommendation network leading to the purchase request; and

rewarding at least one user of the recommendation chain.