Methods and apparatus for providing SMS notification, advertisement and e-commerce systems for university communities

• US 20070105536A1
• Filed: 11/07/2005
• Published: 05/10/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Mobile Campus, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Mobile Campus, Inc.
• Inventors: Tingo, George
• Application Number:
  US11/268,179
• Publication Number:
  US 20070105536A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/414.100
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/53 using third party service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/184 Messaging devices, e.g. message centre

Abstract

Apparatus and methods are provided for providing SMS notification, SMS advertisement, web advertisement and e-commerce systems for university communities. A messaging platform includes a web server and a database. The web server provides student, university, merchant and web advertiser interfaces for communications with students, university users, merchants and web advertisers, respectively, and back-end interfaces for communications with SMS aggregators and wireless carriers used to communicate SMS messages to the students'"'"' Mobile Devices and web advertisements to student clients. The database stores information regarding the students'"'"' demographic information and interest categories. The messaging platform may be used by university users and merchants to send SMS notification and advertisement messages, respectively, to the mobile devices of students based on interest category information extracted from the database. The messaging platform also may be used by web advertisers to display web advertisements in web pages displayed on student clients based on interest category information extracted from the database

Claims

1. A communication system for a university community comprising a plurality of university users and students, each student having a mobile device adapted to receive SMS messages and a client device adapted to browse web pages, the communication system comprising:

a messaging platform coupled to the university users, the students, a merchant and a web advertiser, the messaging platform adapted to allow;

each student to specify associated notification and advertisement interest categories;

each university user to create and send SMS notification messages to the mobile devices of the students based on the students'"'"' specified notification interest categories;

the merchant to create and send SMS advertisement messages to the mobile devices of the students based on the students'"'"' specified advertisement interest categories; and

the web advertiser to display web advertisements in the web pages based on the students'"'"' specified advertisement interest categories.

2. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the mobile devices comprise any of a pager, personal digital assistant, cell phone, wireless handheld device, personal computer, laptop computer and handheld computer.

3. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the SMS messages comprise short messages.

4. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the SMS messages comprise multimedia messages.

5. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the messaging platform is further adapted to allow each student to select preferences regarding the SMS messages that the student would like to receive.

6. The communication system of claim 5, wherein the options comprise quantities of SMS advertisement messages in a specified time period.

7. The communications system of claim 1, wherein the SMS notification messages comprise any of schedule information, class cancellation information, course enrollment information, university sports information, and general university information.

8. The communications system of claim 1, wherein the SMS advertisement messages comprise information regarding local businesses.

9. The communications system of claim 1, wherein the SMS advertisement messages comprise information regarding national businesses.

10. The communications system of claim 1, wherein the SMS advertisement messages comprise a discount coupon.

11. The communications system of claim 1, wherein the messaging platform is further adapted to receive SMS reply messages from the students.

12. The communications system of claim 1, wherein the messaging platform is further adapted to allow the university users and the students to conduct electronic commerce via SMS notification messages.

13. The communications system of claim 1, wherein the messaging platform is further adapted to allow the merchants and the students to conduct electronic commerce via SMS advertisement messages.

14. A communication system for providing merchants with access to a plurality of students at a plurality of universities, each university comprising a plurality of university users and a plurality of associated students, each student having a mobile device adapted to receive SMS messages, the method comprising:

providing a messaging platform coupled to university users, the students and the merchants, the messaging platform adapted to allow the university users to send SMS notification messages to their associated students, and allow the merchants to send SMS advertisement messages to students at one or more universities.

15. The communication system of claim 14, wherein the mobile devices comprise any of a pager, personal digital assistant, cell phone, wireless handheld device, personal computer, laptop computer and handheld computer.

16. The communication system of claim 14, wherein the SMS messages comprise short messages.

17. The communication system of claim 14, wherein the SMS messages comprise multimedia messages.

18. The communication system of claim 14, wherein the messaging platform is adapted to allow each student to select options regarding the SMS messages that the student would like to receive.

19. The communication system of claim 18, wherein the options comprise interest categories.

20. The communication system of claim 18, wherein the options comprise quantities of SMS advertisements in a specified time period.

21. The communication system of claim 14, wherein the notification messages comprise any of schedule information, class cancellation information, course enrollment information, university sports information, and general university information.

22. The communication system of claim 14, wherein the SMS advertisement messages comprise information regarding local businesses.

23. The communication system of claim 14, wherein the SMS advertisement messages comprise information regarding national businesses.

24. The communication system of claim 14, wherein the SMS advertisement messages comprise a discount coupon.

25. The communication system of claim 14, wherein the messaging platform is further adapted to receive SMS reply messages from the students.

26. The communication system of claim 14, wherein the messaging platform is further adapted to allow the university users and their associated students to conduct electronic commerce via SMS notification messages.

27. The communication system of claim 14, wherein the messaging platform is further adapted to allow the advertisers and the students to conduct electronic commerce via SMS advertisement messages.

28. A method for communicating SMS advertisement messages to a plurality of students at a plurality of universities, each student having a mobile device adapted to receive SMS messages, the method comprising:

providing a messaging platform coupled to the students and a plurality of merchants, the messaging platform adapted to allow the merchants to send SMS advertisement messages to the students at any of the universities;

providing a first user interface that allows each student to select options regarding the SMS messages that the student would like to receive; and

providing a second user interface that allows each merchant to select options regarding the students to whom the advertiser would like to send SMS advertisement messages.

29. A method for providing SMS message services, the method comprising:

providing a plurality of universities with access to a system that is adapted to allow university users to send SMS notification messages to a plurality of their associated students, each student having a mobile device adapted to receive SMS messages;

providing a plurality of merchants with access to the system, which is further adapted to allow the merchants to send SMS advertisement messages to the students who elect to receive such SMS advertisement messages on an opt-in basis; and

charging each merchant a fee for each SMS advertisement message sent via the system.

30. A method for providing SMS message services for university communities comprising university users, a plurality of students and merchants, each student having a mobile device adapted to receive SMS messages, the method comprising:

providing a means for allowing the university users to create SMS notification messages, and to select a category of students to receive each notification messages;

providing a means for allowing each student to select options regarding the SMS messages that the student would like to receive;

requiring that each student agree to receive a minimum number of SMS advertisement messages in a given time period;

providing a means for allowing the merchants to create SMS advertisement messages, and to select a category of students to receive each SMS advertisement message; and

charging each merchant a fee for SMS advertisement messages sent to the students.