Method, system, and computer program product for propagating remotely configurable posters of host site content

• US 20070204219A1
• Filed: 05/18/2006
• Published: 08/30/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/18/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Benhov GmbH, LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Archeron Ltd LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Foulger, Michael, van Gorder, Peter
• Granted Patent: US 8,266,242 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/234
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

A method, system, and computer program product for propagating access to host site content to remote users over the World Wide Web are provided. Access to host site content is distributed more widely and easily through propagative posters. Remote users can access a host site and configure propagative posters in real-time. A Web code segment corresponding to a configured propagative poster is then generated and sent to the remote user in real-time. A remote user can easily cut and paste the generated Web code segment into the user'"'"'s remote Web page. Alternatively, the generated Web code segment can be automatically inserted into the user'"'"'s remote Web page if access rights to write on the Web page are available. In one embodiment, a propagation poster manager is provided for managing propagation posters of host site content to remote users over the World Wide Web. The propagation poster manager includes a propagative poster configuration module and a propagative poster generator. The propagative poster configuration module hosts a configuration session that allows a remote user to configure a propagative poster of host site content based on at least one configuration selection input by the remote user. The propagative poster generator generates and forwards the propagative poster identifier and the Web code segment to the remote user in real-time.

Claims

1. A method for propagating a poster of host site content to remote users over the World Wide Web, comprising the steps of:

(a) hosting a configuration session that allows a first remote user to configure a propagative poster of host site content based on at least one configuration selection input by the remote user;

(b) generating a propagative poster identifier that references the user-configured propagative poster;

(c) generating a Web code segment that includes the propagative poster identifier and a link to the host site; and

(d) forwarding the generated Web code segment to the first remote user in real-time;

whereby the generated Web code segment can be inserted into a Web page of the first remote user to create a first remote user-configured propagative poster on the Web page of the first remote user.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

(e) generating the first remote user-configured propagative poster in response to a subsequent hit on the first remote user Web page by a second remote user that selects at least a portion of the Web page of the first remote user corresponding to the generated Web code segment.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the at least one configuration selection input by the first remote user includes at least one search parameter, and wherein said generating step (e) includes the steps of:

executing a search query of data based on each search parameter to obtain a search result; and

generating the first remote user-configured propagative poster, wherein the user-configured propagative poster includes the search result.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the search query executing step executes a search query of data at the host site based on each search parameter to obtain the search result.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of displaying the generated first remote user-configured propagative poster in a overlay window within a display view of a browser of the second remote user.

6. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of hosting a second configuration session that allows the second remote user to configure a second remote-user configured propagative poster of host site content based on at least one configuration selection input by the second remote user.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the first remote user-configured propagative poster includes an input portion that enables a second remote user to make another propagative poster;

and further comprising the step of initiating said second configuration session hosting step in response to a selection of the input portion by the second remote user.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said hosting step (a) includes the steps of:

serving data that enables a first configuration screen to be displayed that includes at least one of text and images of different types of sample posters that can be configured by a user;

receiving a selection by the first remote user that identifies one selected type of sample poster;

serving data that enables a second configuration screen to be displayed that has a template for the first remote user to configure the selected type of sample poster; and

receiving inputs entered in the template, the inputs representing configuration selection inputs by the first remote user.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of serving data that enables a third configuration screen to be displayed that includes the first remote user-configured propagative poster;

whereby the first remote user can verify that the first remote user-configured propagative poster is acceptable.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the Web code segment comprises a HTML code segment that enables a browser to display the first remote user-configured propagative poster;

and said forwarding step (d) comprises serving data that enables a fourth configuration screen to be displayed that includes the HTML code segment;

whereby the first remote user can copy the HTML code segment from the fourth configuration screen displayed in the browser.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein said forwarding step (d) comprises automatically inserting the Web code segment into the Web page of the first remote user.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein said generating step (b) includes generating a unique poster number.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein said generating step (b) includes the steps of:

passing a respective private key and a unique poster number of the first remote user through a hash function to obtain a secure fingerprint.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of storing propagative poster records that include information related to respective generated user-configured propagative posters.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein said storing step comprises storing propagative poster records that have at least the following fields of information related to respective generated user-configured propagative posters:

a propagative poster identifier, a bit map, a Web code segment, an executable code, search parameters, active/inactive flag, and originator profile data.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of tracking URL addresses of servers with Web pages that contain propagative posters.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of determining whether a valid propagative poster identifier is received when a remote user attempts to access the first remote user-configured propagative poster.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

converting a pair of screen space coordinates of a user input selection to a pair of coordinates (x,y) in bitmap space; and

at least one of

determining whether the x,y coordinates in bit map space correspond to an input portion of the first remote-user configured propagative poster that enables a second remote user to make another propagative poster, and

displaying detailed information from the host site related to summary information given by the pair of coordinates.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

setting a flag to indicate whether the first remote user-configured propagative poster is active or inactive based on the number of accesses made by remote users; and

periodically executing code corresponding to the first remote user-configured propagative poster when the flag is set to active to generate an updated bitmap image of the active poster according to current data at the host site.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of generating reports based on data in a plurality of propagative records corresponding to a respective plurality of remote user-configured propagative posters.

52. The system of claim 51, further comprising a propagative poster maintenance module that generates reports based on propagative poster records and data tracked by the propagative poster tracker.

21. A system for propagating a poster of host site content to remote users over the World Wide Web, comprising:

(a) hosting means for hosting a configuration session that allows a first remote user to configure a propagative poster of host site content based on at least one configuration selection input by the remote user;

(b) first generating means for generating a propagative poster identifier that references the user-configured propagative poster;

(c) second generating means for generating a Web code segment that includes the propagative poster identifier and a link to the host site; and

(d) forwarding means for forwarding the generated Web code segment to the first remote user in real-time;

whereby the generated Web code segment can be inserted into a Web page of the first remote user to create a first remote user-configured propagative poster on the Web page of the first remote user.

22. The system of claim 21, further comprising:

(e) third generating means for generating the first remote user-configured propagative poster in response to a subsequent hit on the first remote user Web page by a second remote user that selects at least a portion of the Web page of the first remote user corresponding to the generation process.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the at least one configuration selection input by the first remote user includes at least one search parameter, and wherein said third generating means (e) includes:

means for executing a search query of data based on each search parameter to obtain a search result; and

means for generating the first remote user-configured propagative poster, wherein the user-configured propagative poster includes the search result.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein said search query executing means executes a search query of data at the host site based on each search parameter to obtain the search result.

25. The system of claim 22, further comprising means for displaying the generated first remote user-configured propagative poster in a overlay window within a display view of a browser of the second remote user.

26. The system of claim 22, further comprising means for hosting a second configuration session that allows the second remote user to configure a second remote-user configured propagative poster of host site content based on at least one configuration selection input by the second remote user.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the first remote user-configured propagative poster includes an input portion that enables a second remote user to make another propagative poster;

and further comprising means for initiating said second configuration session hosting means in response to a selection of the input portion by the second remote user.

28. The system of claim 21, wherein said first hosting means (a) includes:

means for serving data that enables a first configuration screen to be displayed that includes images of different types of sample posters that can be configured by a user;

means for receiving a selection by the first remote user that identifies one selected type of sample poster;

means for serving data that enables a second configuration screen to be displayed that has a template for the first remote user to configure the selected type of sample poster; and

means for receiving inputs entered in the template, the inputs representing configuration selection inputs by the first remote user.

29. The system of claim 28, further comprising means for serving data that enables a third configuration screen to be displayed that includes the first remote user-configured propagative poster;

whereby the first remote user can verify that the first remote user-configured propagative poster is acceptable.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein the Web code segment comprises a HTML code segment that enables a browser to display the first remote user-configured propagative poster;

and said forwarding means (d) comprises means for serving data that enables a fourth configuration screen to be displayed that includes the HTML code segment;

whereby the first remote user can copy the HTML code segment from the fourth configuration screen displayed in the browser.

31. The system of claim 21, wherein said forwarding means (d) comprises automatically inserting the Web code segment into the Web page of the first remote user.

32. The system of claim 21, wherein said first generating means (b) includes means for generating a unique poster number.

33. The system of claim 21, wherein said first generating means (b) includes:

means for passing a respective private key and a unique poster number of the first remote user through a hash function to obtain a secure fingerprint.

34. The system of claim 21, further comprising means for storing propagative poster records that include information related to respective generated user-configured propagative posters.

35. The system of claim 34, wherein said storing means comprises storing propagative poster records that have at least the following fields of information related to respective generated user-configured propagative posters:

a propagative poster identifier, a bit map, a non-executable Web code segment, an executable code, search parameters, active/inactive flag, and originator profile data.

36. The system of claim 21, further comprising means for tracking URL addresses of servers with Web pages that contain propagative posters.

37. The system of claim 21, further comprising means for determining whether a valid propagative poster identifier is received when a remote user attempts to access the first remote user-configured propagative poster.

38. The system of claim 21, further comprising:

means for converting a pair of screen space coordinates of a user input selection to a pair of coordinates (x,y) in bitmap space; and

means for determining whether the x,y coordinates in bit map space correspond to an input portion of the first remote-user configured propagative poster that enables a second remote user to make another propagative poster.

39. The system of claim 21, further comprising:

means for setting a flag to indicate whether the first remote user-configured propagative poster is active or inactive based on the number of accesses made by remote users; and

means for periodically executing code corresponding to the first remote user-configured propagative poster when the flag is set to active to obtain an updated bitmap image of the active poster according to current data at the host site.

40. The system of claim 21, further comprising means for generating reports based on data in a plurality of propagative records corresponding to a respective plurality of remote user-configured propagative posters.

41. A system for managing propagation of host site content to remote users over the World Wide Web, comprising:

a propagative poster configuration module that hosts a configuration session that allows a first remote user to configure a propagative poster of host site content based on at least one configuration selection input by the remote user; and

a propagative poster generator that generates a propagative poster identifier and a Web code segment, wherein the propagative poster identifier references the user-configured propagative poster the Web code segment includes the propagative poster identifier and a link to the host site, and forwards the generated Web code segment to the first remote user in real-time;

whereby the generated Web code segment can be inserted into a Web page of the first remote user to create a first remote user-configured propagative poster on the Web page of the first remote user.

42. The system of claim 41, wherein said propagative poster generator further generates the first remote user-configured propagative poster in response to a subsequent hit on the first remote user Web page by a second remote user that selects at least a portion of the Web page of the first remote user corresponding to the generated Web code segment.

43. The system of claim 42, wherein the at least one configuration selection input by the first remote user includes at least one search parameter, and wherein said propagative poster generator executes a search query of data in a database based on each search parameter to obtain a search result, and generates the first remote user-configured propagative poster, wherein the user-configured propagative poster includes the search result.

44. The system of claim 42, wherein said propagative poster configuration module further hosts a second configuration session that allows the second remote user to configure a second remote-user configured propagative poster of host site content based on at least one configuration selection input by the second remote user.

45. The system of claim 41, wherein said propagative poster configuration module serves data that enables a first configuration screen to be displayed that includes images of different types of sample posters that can be configured by a user, receives a selection by the first remote user that identifies one selected type of sample poster, serves data that enables a second configuration screen to be displayed that has a template for the first remote user to configure the selected type of sample poster, and receives inputs entered in the template, the inputs representing configuration selection inputs by the first remote user.

46. The system of claim 45, wherein said propagative poster configuration module serves data of serving data that enables a third configuration screen to be displayed that includes the first remote user-configured propagative poster;

whereby the first remote user can verify in real-time that the first remote user-configured propagative poster is acceptable.

47. The system of claim 41, wherein said propagative poster generator generates a unique poster number.

48. The system of claim 41, wherein said propagative poster generator further comprises a hash function generator that receives a respective private key and a unique poster number, and outputs a secure fingerprint;

and wherein said propagative poster generator concatenates the secure fingerprint and the URL of the first remote user to obtain the propagative poster identifier.

49. The system of claim 41, further comprising:

a storage device that stores at least the following fields of information related to respective generated user-configured propagative posters;

a propagative poster identifier, a bit map, a Web code segment, and an executable code.

50. The system of claim 41, further comprising:

a database that stores propagative poster records that include information related to respective generated user-configured propagative posters.

51. The system of claim 50, further comprising a propagative poster tracker that tracks URL addresses of remote users accessing the first remote user-configured propagative poster.

53. A computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having computer program logic recorded thereon for enabling at least one processor to manage propagation of host site content to remote users over the World Wide Web in real-time over the World Wide Web (WWW), said computer program logic comprising:

first computer readable program code means for enabling said at least one processor to host a configuration session that allows a first remote user to configure a propagative poster of host site content based on at least one configuration selection input by the remote user;

second computer readable program code means for enabling said at least one processor to generate a propagative poster identifier that references the user-configured propagative poster;

third computer readable program code means for enabling said at least one processor to generate a Web code segment that includes the propagative poster identifier and a link to the host site; and

fourth computer readable program code means for enabling said at least one processor to forward the generated Web code segment to the first remote user in real-time;

whereby the generated Web code segment can be inserted into a Web page of the first remote user to create a first remote user-configured propagative poster on the Web page of the first remote user.

54. A system for managing propagation of host site content to remote users over the World Wide Web, comprising:

a Web server;

a server;

a storage device coupled between said server and said Web server, said storage devices stores at least data related to respective generated user-configured propagative posters;

a propagative poster identifier, a bit map, a Web code segment, and an executable code;

a database coupled between said server and said Web server, said database stores propagative poster records that include user profile and tracking information related to respective generated user-configured propagative posters;

wherein said server further comprises;

a propagative poster configuration module that hosts a configuration session that allows a first remote user to configure a propagative poster of host site content based on at least one configuration selection input by the remote user;

a propagative poster generator that generates a propagative poster identifier and a Web code segment, wherein the propagative poster identifier references the user-configured propagative poster the Web code segment includes the propagative poster identifier and a link to the host site, and forwards the generated Web code segment to the first remote user in real-time;

a propagative poster tracker that tracks URL addresses of remote servers accessing the first remote user-configured propagative poster; and

a propagative poster maintenance module that generates reports based on propagative poster records and data tracked by the propagative poster tracker.

55. The system of claim 54, wherein said server comprises a CGI server.