METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DYNAMICALLY GENERATING ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS

• US 20100106788A1
• Filed: 12/28/2009
• Published: 04/29/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Adknowledge
• Original Assignee: Adknowledge
• Inventors: Brady, Shane, Lynn, Scott, Linden, John
• Granted Patent: US 8,626,845 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/08 Annexed information, e.g. attachments
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/18 Commands or executable codes

Abstract

The present invention relates to generating time relevant content for electronic communications, such as electronic mail (e-mail). The time relevant content is delivered when the electronic communications are acknowledged by the recipient based upon receipt of an electronic indicator, such as a returned request(s), at a home server. In the case of electronic mail, the time relevant content is dynamic, as it is assembled at the time the e-mail is opened, as opposed to the time when the e-mail is sent, as is the case with conventional or static e-mail and other similar electronic communications.

Claims

1. A server-implemented method for rendering an electronic mail (e-mail) message to a user of a terminal, the method comprising:

(a) transmitting, from at least one server, the e-mail message to the terminal, the e-mail message comprising a content request, such that, when the user opens the e-mail message, the terminal automatically transmits the content request to the at least one server;

(b) receiving, at the at least one server, the content request;

(c) retrieving, by the at least one server, a set of content based on the content request; and

(d) transmitting, from the at least one server, the set of content to the terminal, such that the terminal automatically includes the set of content in the rendering of the e-mail message to the user at the terminal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of content is time-dependent such that the one or more servers would retrieve and transmit different sets of content for at least two different times of opening the e-mail message by the user.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein:

when the user opens the e-mail message at a first time, the at least one server, in response to receiving a first instance of the content request from the terminal, retrieves and transmits to the terminal a first set of content to be automatically included by the terminal in a first rendering of the e-mail message to the user; and

when the user opens the e-mail message at a second time different from the first time, the at least one server, in response to receiving a second instance of the content request from the terminal, retrieves and transmits to the terminal a second set of content, different from the first set of content, to be automatically included by the terminal in a second rendering of the e-mail message to the user.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the e-mail message comprises two or more content requests, such that, when the user opens the e-mail message, the terminal automatically transmits the two or more content requests to the at least one server; and

step (b) comprises receiving, at the at least one server, the two or more content requests;

step (c) comprises retrieving, by the at least one server, two or more sets of content based on the two or more content requests; and

step (d) comprises transmitting, from the at least one server, the two or more sets of content to the terminal, such that the terminal automatically includes the two or more sets of content in the rendering of the e-mail message to the user.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein each of the two or more sets of content includes location information, such that upon bring transmitted, each of the two or more sets of content are rendered in different locations in the body of the opened e-mail message.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of content includes a link to be presented by the terminal in the rendering of the e-mail message to the user, such that, when the link is selected by the user, the terminal accesses a website associated with the link.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein:

in addition to the content request, the e-mail message comprises static content; and

the terminal renders (i) a first portion of the e-mail message based on the static content and (ii) a second portion of the e-mail message based on the set of content received from the at least one server.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the e-mail message comprises location information that enables the terminal to determine where to place the set of content received from the at least one server in the body of the opened e-mail relative to placement of the static content upon rendering of the set of content e-mail message.

9. A terminal-implemented method for rendering an electronic mail (e-mail) message to a user of the terminal, the method comprising:

(a) receiving, at the terminal, the e-mail message transmitted from at least one server, the e-mail message comprising a content request;

(b) receiving, at the terminal, an indication that the e-mail message has been opened by the user;

(c) automatically retrieving, by the terminal, the content request from the e-mail message;

(d) automatically transmitting, from the terminal, the content request to the at least one server, such that the at least one server retrieves and transmits to the terminal a set of content based on the content request;

(e) receiving, at the terminal, the set of content transmitted from the at least one server; and

(f) automatically rendering, by the terminal, the set of content into the opened e-mail.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the set of content is time-dependent such that the one or more servers retrieve and transmit different sets of content for at least two different times of opening the e-mail message by the user.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein:

when the user opens the e-mail message at a first time, the at least one server, in response to receiving a first instance of the content request from the terminal, retrieves and transmits to the terminal a first set of content to be automatically included by the terminal in a first rendering of the e-mail message to the user; and

when the user opens the e-mail message at a second time different from the first time, the at least one server, in response to receiving a second instance of the content request from the terminal, retrieves and transmits to the terminal a second set of content, different from the first set of content, to be automatically included by the terminal in a second rendering of the e-mail message to the user.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein:

the e-mail message comprises two or more content requests;

step (c) comprises automatically retrieving, by the terminal, the two or more content requests from the email message;

step (d) comprises automatically transmitting, from the terminal, the two or more content requests to the at least one server, such that the at least one server retrieves and transmits to the terminal two or more sets of content based on the two or more content requests;

step (e) comprises receiving, at the terminal, the two or more sets of content transmitted from the at least one server; and

step (f) comprises automatically including, by the terminal, the two or more sets of content in the rendering of the email message to the user.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the set of content includes a link to be presented by the terminal in the rendering of the e-mail message to the user, such that, when the link is selected by the user, the terminal accesses a website associated with the link.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein:

in addition to the content request, the e-mail message comprises static content; and

the terminal renders (i) a first portion of the e-mail message based on the static content and (ii) a second portion of the e-mail message based on the set of content received from the at least one server.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the e-mail message comprises location information that enables the terminal to determine where to place the set of content received from the at least one server in the rendering of the e-mail message relative to placement of the static content.

16. A system for rendering an electronic mail (e-mail) message to a user of a terminal linked to a communications network, over a communications network, the system comprising:

at least one server linked to the communications network, the at least one server comprising;

an e-mail component for transmitting at least one e-mail message to the terminal, the e-mail message comprising a content request, such that, when the user opens the email message, the terminal automatically transmits the content request to the at least one server;

a receiver component for receiving the content request;

a retrieval component for retrieving a set of content based on the content request; and

a transmission component for transmitting the set of content to the terminal, such that the terminal automatically includes the set of content in the rendering of the e-mail message to the user at the terminal.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the set of content is time-dependent such that the at least one server would retrieve and transmit different sets of content for at least two different times of opening the e-mail message by the user.