INTERNET-BASED METHODS OF OFFERING ADVERTISING
First Claim
1. A method of offering advertisements on the Internet, said method comprising:
- (a) providing, to a plurality of users, one or more advertisements at an Internet site;
(b) allowing for an individual user to click or view said one or more advertisements;
(c) establishing an account balance for said individual user;
(d) during or after said one or more advertisements are clicked or viewed by said individual user, increasing said account balance associated with said individual user;
(e) calculating relative values of account balances within a selected pool of account balances associated with at least a portion of said plurality of users; and
(f) offering cash or a non-cash equivalent to at least one selected user, based at least in part on said selected pool of account balances.
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Abstract
The present invention provides methods of offering advertisements on the Internet, and systems for implementing these methods. These methods offer users an accrued financial incentive to purchase products and services from advertisers. In some embodiments, a method of offering advertisements on the Internet comprises: providing one or more advertisements at an Internet site; allowing for a user to click or view the advertisements; increasing the user'"'"'s account balance after an advertisement is viewed; and offering cash or a non-cash equivalent to a winning user having the highest relative value of an account balance within a selected pool of account balances. Certain embodiments of this invention relate to an Internet business known as Mascot Race.
44 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of offering advertisements on the Internet, said method comprising:
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(a) providing, to a plurality of users, one or more advertisements at an Internet site; (b) allowing for an individual user to click or view said one or more advertisements; (c) establishing an account balance for said individual user; (d) during or after said one or more advertisements are clicked or viewed by said individual user, increasing said account balance associated with said individual user; (e) calculating relative values of account balances within a selected pool of account balances associated with at least a portion of said plurality of users; and (f) offering cash or a non-cash equivalent to at least one selected user, based at least in part on said selected pool of account balances. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A system for offering advertisements on the Internet, said system comprising a server computer configured to exchange data with a network, said server computer having a processor, an area of main memory for executing program code under the direction of said processor, a storage device for storing data and program code and a bus connecting said processor, main memory and said storage device;
- said code being stored in said storage device and executing in said main memory under the direction of said processor, to perform the steps of;
(a) providing, to a plurality of users, one or more advertisements at an Internet site; (b) allowing for an individual user to click or view said one or more advertisements; (c) establishing an account balance for said individual user; (d) during or after said one or more advertisements are clicked or viewed by said individual user, increasing said account balance associated with said individual user; (e) calculating relative values of account balances within a selected pool of account balances associated with at least a portion of said plurality of users; and (f) offering cash or a non-cash equivalent to at least one selected user, based at least in part on said selected pool of account balances.
- said code being stored in said storage device and executing in said main memory under the direction of said processor, to perform the steps of;
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15. A method of offering a free online forum for a plurality of registered users to compete against each other for cash or a non-cash equivalent, said method comprising:
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(a) providing to an individual user, on an Internet site, one or more mascot races each comprising graphic and/or text indicators of two teams involved in a sporting event; (b) allowing said individual user to actively vote for one of said two teams involved in a selected mascot race; (c) establishing an account balance for said individual user; (d) in response to said vote in step (b), displaying an Internet advertisement for viewing by said individual user; (e) after said advertisement is displayed for said individual user, increasing said account balance associated with said individual user; (f) if said individual user votes for a winning team of said selected mascot race, increasing said account balance associated with said individual user; (g) calculating relative values of account balances within a selected pool of account balances associated with at least a portion of said plurality of registered users; and (h) offering cash or a non-cash equivalent to at least one selected user, based at least in part on said selected pool of account balances. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification