Method and apparatus for presenting and aggregating information related to the sale of multiple goods and services

• US 8,893,171 B2
• Filed: 12/04/2007
• Issued: 11/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AutoData Solutions Inc.
• Original Assignee: Unity Works! LLC
• Inventors: Worthen, William C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith, Chenea
• Application Number:
  US11/999,523
• Publication Number:
  US 20080295130A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,541 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 725/32
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2743 Video hosting of uploaded data from client
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4825 using a list of items to be played back in a given order, e.g. playlists
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64322 IP
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8405 represented by keywords
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/85406 involving a specific file format, e.g. MP4 format
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A computer-implemented method can automatically present a plurality of selectable rich media video clips associated with goods and/or services offered for sale via an interactive networked communication system including at least one client and at least one server. A request to the server can be initiated at the client via the interactive networked communication system to select a plurality of rich media video clips from a database of rich media video clips associated with corresponding goods and/or services. A static descriptor can be displayed on the client for each of the plurality of rich media video clips as selected and received from the server. The plurality of rich media video clips can automatically be presented on the client in a concatenated sequence in a continuous rich media video stream.

Claims

1. A method implemented on a computer having a processor, a storage, and a communication platform connected to a network, for producing a continuous rich media video clip describing a good and/or service offered for sale, comprising the steps of:

receiving, over the network, a request from a user for creating a continuous rich media video clip describing a good and/or service;

obtaining first information related to the good and/or service where the first information characterizes the good and/or service;

selecting, by an automated production assistant, one or more rich media video clips from a database based on the request and the first information, where each of the rich media video clips describes at least one feature of the good and/or service and at least one of the video clips has a voice-over audio element created in accordance with a script, which is automatically generated with respect to the good and/or service using one or more templates, wherein each of the templates is selected automatically based on the good and/or service offered for sale, each template being a lexically meaningful sentence of connected words which include alphanumerical descriptors corresponding to the feature and which represents a variant of a sentence in a selected language, each variant describing the at least one feature with a slant tailored to a particular promotion related theme;

automatically identifying second information characterizing one or more special offers associated with the good and/or service;

automatically creating the requested continuous rich media video clip for the good and/or service by stitching together the second information and the one or more rich media video clips, wherein the continuous rich media video clip has the one or more rich media video clips automatically arranged in a sequence with the second information associated with each special offer seamlessly incorporated therein; and

transmitting the continuous rich media video clip to the user as a response to the request.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each special offer includes at least one of a human audio voice-over, text, and a rich media video clip.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more special offers relate to at least one of a sale of the good and/or service, a good and/or service associated with the good and/or service, a time frame of the special offer, a business entity making the special offer, and a specific product the special offer is directed to.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the request is generated based on a search query submitted by a user on a website.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the one or more special offers are identified obtained based on information regarding the user.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the information regarding the user includes at least one of demographic information about the user and recorded past activities of the user on the website.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more special offers are obtained based on information related to an inventory of a customer.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the goods and/or services are automobiles.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the one or more special offers are directed to at least one of a good/service from one or more makers, goods/services from one or more dealers, goods/services of a specific type and/or model from one or more providers, goods/services having one or more defined features, and a specific good/service identifiable by a unique identification.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the selection of the one or more rich media video clips is automatically determined based on recorded activities of the user.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the sequence of the one or more rich media video clips in the continuous rich media video clip is automatically determined based on recorded activities of the user.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the identification of the one or more special offers is based on recorded activities of the user.

13. A method implemented on a computer having a processor, a storage, and a communication platform connected to a network for creating a continuous rich media video clip describing a good and/or service, comprising the steps of:

receiving, by the processor via the communication platform, information regarding a special offer associated with the good and/or service;

automatically selecting, from a database storing a plurality of rich media video clips describing goods and/or services, one or more rich media video clips, each of which describes at least one feature of the good and/or service that the special offer is directed to, where at least one of the video clips has a voice-over audio element created in accordance with a script, which is automatically generated with respect to the good and/or service using one or more templates where each of the templates is selected automatically based on the good and/or service offered for sale, each template being a lexically meaningful sentence of connected words which include alphanumerical descriptors corresponding to the feature and which represents a variant of a sentence in a selected language, each variant describing the at least one feature with a slant tailored to a particular promotion related theme; and

automatically creating the continuous rich media video clip describing the good and/or service by stitching together a representation of the special offer and the one or more rich media video clips describing the good and/or service, wherein the continuous rich media video clip has the one or more rich media video clips automatically arranged in a sequence with information regarding the special offer incorporated therein seamlessly; and

transmitting the created continuous rich media video clip.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the representation of the information regarding the special offer is selected from the group including at least one of a human audio voiceover, text, and a rich media video clip.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the representation of the information regarding the special offer is stored in and retrieved from a data storage.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the representation of the information regarding the special offer is generated based on information related to the special offer.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the special offer specifies at least one of a sale of the good and/or service, a good and/or service associated with the good and/or service, a duration of the special offer, a party offering the special offer, and any other offer included in the special offer.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the good and/or service is an automobile.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein a special offer related to an automobile is directed to at least one of automobiles from a specific maker, automobiles from a dealer, automobiles of a specified type, automobiles of a specified model, automobiles having specified features, and a specified automobile identified by a vehicle identification number (VIN).

20. A machine-readable non-transitory medium having program recorded thereon for producing continuous rich media video clip describing a good and/or service for sale, the information, when read by the machine, causes the machine to perform the following:

receiving a request from a user for creating a continuous rich media video clip describing a good and/or service;

obtaining first information related to the good and/or service where the first information characterizes the good and/or service;

selecting, by an automated production assistant, one or more rich media video clips from a database based on the request and the first information, where each of the rich media video clips describes at least one feature of the good and/or service and at least one of the video clips has a voice-over audio element created in accordance with a script, which is automatically generated with respect to the good and/or service using one or more templates, wherein each of the templates is selected automatically based on the good and/or service offered for sale, each template being a lexically meaningful sentence of connected words which include alphanumerical descriptors corresponding to the feature and which represents a variant of a sentence in a selected language, each variant describing the at least one feature with a slant tailored to a particular promotion related theme;

automatically identifying second information characterizing one or more special offers associated with the good and/or service;

automatically creating the requested continuous rich media video clip for the good and/or service by stitching together the second information and the one or more rich media video clips, wherein the continuous rich media video clip has the one or more rich media video clips automatically arranged in a sequence with the second information associated with each special offer seamlessly incorporated therein; and

transmitting the continuous rich media video clip to the user as a response to the request.

21. A machine-readable non-transitory medium having information recorded thereon for creating a continuous rich media video clip describing a good and/or service, the information, when read by the machine, causes the machine to perform the following:

receiving information regarding a special offer associated with the good and/or service;

automatically selecting, from a database storing a plurality of rich media video clips describing goods and/or services, one or more rich media video clips each of which describing at least one feature of the good and/or service that the special offer is directed to, where at least one of the video clips has a voice-over audio element created in accordance with a script, which is automatically generated with respect to the good and/or service using one or more templates where each of the templates is selected automatically based on the good and/or service offered for sale, each template being a lexically meaningful sentence of connected words which include alphanumerical descriptors corresponding to the feature and which represents a variant of a sentence in a selected language, each variant describing the at least one feature with a slant tailored to a particular promotion related theme; and

automatically creating the continuous rich media video clip describing the good and/or service by stitching together a representation of the special offer and the one or more rich media video clips describing the good and/or service, wherein the continuous rich media video clip has the one or more rich media video clips automatically arranged in a sequence with information regarding the special offer incorporated therein seamlessly; and

transmitting the created continuous rich media video clip.