Method and apparatus for word of mouth selling via a communications network

• US 8,306,874 B2
• Filed: 04/21/2005
• Issued: 11/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rakuten USA, Inc. (Rakuten Group, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Buy.com, Inc. (Rakuten Group, Inc.)
• Inventors: Morgenstern, Jared, Lim, Edward, Matthews, Eoin
• Primary Examiner(s): Garg, Yogesh C
• Application Number:
  US11/112,483
• Publication Number:
  US 20050234781A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,756 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1, 705/14, 705/26, 705/27, 705/39, 705/26.1, 705/27.1, 709/203, 709/204, 709/206, 707/5, 707/201, 707/E17.067, 707/E17.11, 707/104.1, 707/10
• US Class Current: 705/27.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0214 Referral reward systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0613 Third-party assisted
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0623 Item investigation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces

Abstract

A selling method and system that allows individuals or groups to interactively select associate products and services with their online presence in exchange for the online service, as part of an online service, or for some reward, monetary or otherwise. Individuals or groups select products and services from a pool of partner e-commerce retailers or import them from their purchasing histories based on personal preference and may use them as a means of expression for their online audience as part of an online service. This provides e-commerce retailers with self-selected targeted marketing and referral selling to affinity groups, the online version of word of mouth selling. E-commerce retailers share revenue and pay for referrals that occur via this word of mouth selling framework. Online services that have any form of user identity within the context of a larger audience may utilize this form of user based referral selling as a revenue generating tool.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of selling comprising:

operating through a computer network an online community having members that include one or more agents each having a self-determined identity;

having the one or more agents include self-determined content information as part of their self-determined identities, the self-determined identities being stored in a database system;

having the one or more agents endorse product or service information in their identities in exchange for the possibility of a reward, the agent being rewarded upon the purchase of the product or service endorsed by another member of the online community;

determining by one or more computers a degree of closeness of a relationship between the agent being rewarded and the other member of the online community, and determining a reward value based upon the determined degree of closeness;

maintaining the database connected to the computer network and having a storage memory, the database associating the self-determined content information and product or service information with the respective one or more agents, the database containing searchable data relating to products or services;

displaying via a display viewable by the member a viewable representation of the product or service information data by;

receiving a view request from the computer network to view a selected agent'"'"'s self-determined content information;

assembling data corresponding to said selected agent'"'"'s content information, including in said content information associated product or service information, including product or service display data;

sending a product/service request via the computer network for the associated product or service information data, including contacting external retail services to get up-to-date retailer information about the product or service, the request sent from a content service provider to a word of mouth selling service provider;

selecting via a selection device the products or services requested by the product/service request and merging the products or services with the content information;

sending a product or service selection signal including data from the computer network indicating that the member of the online community who sent the view request wants to purchase one or more of the products or services; and

directing the member of the online community to one of said associated selling service providers to purchase the one or more products or services indicated by the product or service selection signal.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving said request for a second of said agents'"'"' associated information via the computer network prior to providing said content information via the computer network.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said online community includes a plurality of associated selling service providers, and said content information includes information concerning products or services available for purchase via the computer network from the one or more associated selling service providers.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising invoking a reward mechanism via the computer network.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein said invoking a reward mechanism via the computer network includes associating a reward with said one or more agents whose self-determined identities are viewable via the computer network.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein said invoking a reward mechanism via the computer network includes associating a reward with one or more viewers participating in the online community via the computer network.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the reward is selected from one or more of the items in the following group:

money, a discount, a gift certificate, a reward point program.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising modifying said self-determined content information in said database in accordance with instruction operations by said respective one or more agents.

9. A computer-implemented method of selling comprising:

accessing an online community via a computing system having an input, a display, a storage memory and a selection device, the online community having members that include one or more agents each having a respective self-determined identity, the respective self-determined identity including data stored in the storage memory,

wherein at least some of the data corresponds to at least one product or service that is endorsed by the one or more agents and associated with at least one respective selling service provider; and

wherein the data corresponding to the product or service is included in the self-determined identity in exchange for the possibility of a reward, the agent being rewarded upon the purchase of the product or service by another member of the online community;

determining by one or more computers a degree of closeness of a relationship between the agent being rewarded and the other member of the online community, and determining a reward value based upon the determined degree of closeness;

providing the data of at least one self-determined identity of at least one of said agents for viewing by the members of the online community, the data being viewable via the display to obtain word of mouth referrals of products or services by;

receiving a view request from the computing system to view a selected agent'"'"'s self-determined identity;

displaying via the display the data corresponding to the at least one product or service included in the self-determined identity of the selected agent;

sending a product or service selection signal from the computing system to a selling service system, including contacting external retail servers to get up-to-date retailer information about the product or service, the selection signal indicating that the member of the online community who sent the view request wants to purchase one or more of the at least one product or service included in the self-determined identity of the selected agent;

selecting at least one of said product or service for purchase or viewing from its respective selling service provider; and

displaying via the display a list of products or services requested by the product or service selection signal to the member of the online community who sent the view request; and

directing the member of the online community to one or more associated selling service providers to purchase the one or more products or services indicated by the product or service selection signal and merging the products or services with the data in the respective self-determined identity;

wherein the product or service has not been previously purchased by the agent.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising viewing via the computing system information concerning said selected at least one product or service from the respective selling service provider.

11. The method of claim 9 further comprising purchasing via the computing system said at least one product or service from said respective selling service provider.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising associating a reward with said agent via the computing system following said purchasing.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the reward is provided by the selling service provider.

14. A computing system of selling within an online community comprising:

a computer-readable identity module providing a self-determined identity of one or more members of said online community, each member'"'"'s self-determined identity comprising;

self-determined content information; and

product or service information endorsed by the member, wherein upon purchase of the product or service information by another member of the online community, the member receives a reward, wherein one or more computers determine a degree of closeness of a relationship between the agent being rewarded and the other member of the online community, and a reward value is determined based upon the determined degree of closeness;

a computer-readable content information association module by which the self-determined content information and the product or service information is associated with the respective identity of said one or more member, each said one or more member having associated content information and product or service information being designated an agent, wherein the agent associates the product or service information with the agent'"'"'s self-determined identity in exchange for a reward;

a computer-based database containing said content information and said product or service information associated with said respective identities of said one or more agents, said database being searchable to obtain word of mouth referrals of products or services;

a computer-readable data access module adapted to access said database and provide said content information and said associated product or service information to a requesting member in response to a request for said content information associated with at least one of said respective identities; and

a purchase facilitator module that assists a requesting member in purchasing a product or service by directing the requesting member to an associated selling service provider in response to a request to purchase one or more of the associated products or services, including contacting one or more external retail data servers to get up-to-date product or service information and merging the products or services with the data in the self-determined content information;

wherein the product or service information associated with the agent'"'"'s self-determined identity are products and services that the agent has not purchased.

15. The system of claim 14 further comprising a means for receiving said request for an agent'"'"'s associated information prior to providing said content information.

16. The system of claim 15 further comprising means for receiving a product or service selection signal.

17. The system of claim 14 further comprising means of providing for rewarding agents and/or viewers for purchases.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the reward is provided upon the viewing the product or service associated with the agent'"'"'s self-determined identity or purchasing the product or service associated with the agent'"'"'s self-determined identity.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the reward comprises money, products, services, discounts, gift certificates, or a points towards cash, products, services, discounts, or gift certificates.

20. A system of online referral based selling comprising:

a computer-readable user information module adapted to provide information identifying individuals or groups of individuals of an online community and their associated content to a requesting member of the online community;

a database module organizing content relating to the individuals or groups of individuals, said content including identities associated with self-determined product or service information and said data being associated with each identity in exchange for a reward, the database module further containing product or service information endorsed by the member, wherein upon purchase of the product or service information by another member of the online community the member receives a reward, wherein one or more computers determine a degree of closeness of a relationship between the agent being rewarded and the other member of the online community, and a reward value is determined based upon the determined degree of closeness, the database module being searchable to obtain word of mouth referrals of products or services;

a computer accessible view request module adapted to receiving requests from members of the online community to view an individual'"'"'s associated content;

a computer accessible data access module adapted to access said database and provide said content information and said associated product or service information to a requesting member in response to a request for said selected individual'"'"'s associated content; and

a computer-readable information receipt module adapted to receiving information requests for product or service information based on the self-determined product or service information correlated with a particular individual or group of individuals in the database module, the computer-readable information receipt module further providing the product or service information, including information regarding associated selling service providers, including contacting external web services to get up-to-date retailer information about the product or service, to a requester of the product or service information and merging the products or services with the data in the respective associated content;

wherein said data associated with each identity are products and services that have not been purchased by the individual or group.