Implementing contests in social networks

• US 9,076,303 B1
• Filed: 08/08/2007
• Issued: 07/07/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Park, Joseph C., Leong, Kian Fai, Kim, Woo Jin, Inman, David A., Lu, Hsueh-Li
• Primary Examiner(s): LIM, SENG HENG
• Application Number:
  US11/835,844
• Time in Patent Office: 2,890 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0214 Referral reward systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3274 wherein the players cooperate, e.g. team-play

Abstract

Various systems, methods, and programs embodied in computer-readable mediums are provided for implementing a contest between various social networks. A contest is staged between at least two teams using a server accessible by a plurality of clients. The contest requires each of the teams to achieve a predefined goal. The membership to each one of the teams is restricted to a plurality of individuals associated with a respective one of a plurality of social networks accessible by the server.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a server accessible by a plurality of clients;

an application executed on the server that is configured to at least stage a contest between a plurality of teams, wherein the contest requires each of the plurality of teams to achieve a predefined goal to win the contest;

the application further configured to restrict a membership of each team of the plurality of teams to a plurality of individuals associated with a respective social network of a plurality of social networks, wherein the plurality of social networks are obtained from a source external to the contest, and the contest is configured to be inserted into a social networking site;

the application further configured to enable an individual of the plurality of individuals associated with a first social network to create the contest by specifying the first social network and a second social network of the plurality of social networks to be associated with the contest;

the application further configured to present an invitation to join the contest to the plurality of individuals included in the second social network;

the application further configured to offer at least one virtual tool for sale to respective individuals of the plurality of individuals to employ during the contest to aid in achieving the predefined goal, the application further configured to maintain an inventory of virtual tools for each of the plurality of individuals; and

the application being configured to issue a virtual currency to the plurality of individuals who join a team of the plurality of teams.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein an entry fee for the contest comprises a predefined amount of the virtual currency.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one virtual tool is durable instead of consumable so as to be available for an entirety of the contest.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one virtual tool is consumable instead of durable such that the at least one virtual tool is available for a single use during the contest.

5. A method, comprising:

staging a contest using a server accessible by a plurality of clients between a plurality of teams, wherein the contest requires each team of the plurality of teams to achieve a predefined goal; and

restricting a membership of each team of the plurality of teams to a plurality of individuals associated with a respective social network of a plurality of social networks accessible by the server.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the plurality of social networks are obtained from a source external to the contest.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising providing spectator access to the contest to the plurality of individuals associated with the respective social network to which the membership of a team of the plurality of teams is restricted.

8. The method of claim 5, further comprising of facilitating a creation of the contest by an individual of the plurality of individuals associated with the respective network.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the individual specifies an entry fee to be charged to the plurality of individuals who join the membership of any team of the plurality of teams involved in the contest.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the contest is created by the individual by specifying a first social network and a second social network of the plurality of social networks to be associated with the contest, wherein the individual is included in the first social network.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising presenting an invitation to join the contest to the plurality of individuals included in the second social network.

12. The method of claim 5, further comprising offering at least one virtual tool for sale to respective individuals of the plurality of individuals to employ during the contest to aid in achieving the predefined goal.

13. The method of claim 5, further comprising maintaining an inventory of virtual tools for each of the plurality of individuals, wherein the inventory of virtual tools may be employed during the contest to aid in achieving the predefined goal.

14. The method of claim 5, further comprising offering at least one virtual accent for sale to respective individuals of the plurality of individuals, each of the at least one virtual accent being applied to an avatar associated with a respective individual of the plurality of individuals.

15. The method of claim 5, further comprising facilitating a use of an offensive virtual tool by an individual on a first team of the plurality of teams to inhibit a progress of a second team of the plurality of teams in achieving the predefined goal.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising facilitating a use of a defensive virtual tool by another individual on the second team to counter the use of the offensive virtual tool by the individual on the first team.

17. The method of claim 5, further comprising inserting the contest into a social networking site.

18. The method of claim 5, further comprising interfacing with a social networking site to access the plurality of social networks.

19. The method of claim 5, further comprising hosting a message board accessible to the plurality of individuals participating as a member of any team of the plurality of teams engaged in the contest.

20. The method of claim 5, further comprising hosting a message board accessible only to the plurality of individuals participating as a member of a respective team of the plurality of teams engaged in the contest.

21. The method of claim 5, further comprising facilitating presentation of an invitation from an individual of the plurality of individuals participating as a member of a team of the plurality of teams to a third party, the third party being included in the respective social network to which the membership of the team is restricted.

22. The method of claim 5, further comprising issuing a virtual currency to the plurality of individuals.

23. The method of claim 5, further comprising charging an entry fee to each of the plurality of individuals who joins the membership of a team of the plurality of teams involved in the contest.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the entry fee comprises a predefined amount of virtual currency.

25. The method of claim 23, further comprising distributing the entry fee paid by each of the plurality of individuals to the membership of a team of the plurality of teams that wins the contest.

26. A system, comprising:

a server accessible by a plurality of clients;

an application executed on the server configured to at least stage a contest between a plurality of teams, wherein the contest requires each of the plurality of teams to achieve a predefined goal to win the contest; and

the application restricting a membership of each team of the plurality of teams to a plurality of individuals associated with a respective social network of a plurality of social networks.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the application is further configured to obtain the plurality of social networks from a source external to the contest.

28. The system of claim 26, wherein the application is further configured to insert the contest into a social networking site.

29. The system of claim 26, wherein the application is further configured to interface with a social networking site to access the plurality of social networks.

30. The system of claim 26, wherein the application is further configured to provide a spectator access to the contest to the plurality of individuals associated with the respective social network to which the membership of a team of the plurality of teams is restricted.

31. The system of claim 26, wherein the application is further configured to enable an individual of the plurality of individuals associated with the respective social network to create the contest.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein the application is further configured to enable the individual to specify an entry fee to be charged to the plurality of individuals who join the membership of any team of plurality of teams involved in the contest.

33. The system of claim 31, wherein the application is further configured to receive a specification from the individual of a first social network and a second social network of the plurality of social networks to be associated with the contest, and the individual is included in the first social network.

34. The system of claim 33, wherein the application is further configured to present an invitation to join the contest to the plurality of individuals included in the second social network.

35. The system of claim 26, wherein the application is further configured to offer at least one virtual tool for sale to respective individuals of the plurality of individuals to employ during the contest to aid in achieving the predefined goal.

36. The system of claim 35, wherein the application is further configured to add a fee paid to purchase the at least one virtual tool to an amount of virtual currency awarded to the plurality of individuals who are members of a team of the plurality of teams that wins the contest.

37. The system of claim 26, wherein the application is configured to maintain an inventory of virtual tools for each of the plurality of individuals, and the inventory of virtual tools may be employed during the contest to aid in achieving the predefined goal.

38. The system of claim 26, wherein the application is further configured to offer at least one virtual accent for sale to respective individuals of the plurality of individuals, each of the at least one virtual accent being applied to an avatar associated with a respective individual of the plurality of individuals.

39. The system of claim 26, wherein the application is further configured to provide at least one virtual tool to the plurality of individuals involved in the contest, the at least one virtual to being employed by the plurality of individuals to aid a team of the plurality of teams in achieving the predefined goal.

40. The system of claim 39, wherein the at least one virtual tool is durable so as to be available for an entirety of the contest.

41. The system of claim 39, wherein the at least one virtual tool is durable so as to be available for a plurality of contests.

42. The system of claim 39, wherein the at least one virtual tool is consumable such that the at least one virtual tool is available for a single use during the contest.

43. The system of claim 26, wherein the application is further configured to facilitate a use of an offensive virtual tool by an individual on a first team of the plurality of teams to inhibit a progress of a second team of the plurality of teams in achieving the predefined goal.

44. The system of claim 43, wherein the application is further configured to facilitate a use of a defensive virtual tool by another individual on the second team to counter the use of the offensive virtual tool by the individual on the first team.

45. The system of claim 26, wherein the application is further configured to host a message board accessible to the plurality of individuals participating as a member of any team of the plurality of teams engaged in the contest.

46. The system of claim 26, wherein the application is further configured to host a message board accessible only to the plurality of individuals participating as a member of a respective team of the plurality of teams engaged in the contest.

47. The system of claim 26, wherein the application is further configured to facilitate presenting of an invitation from an individual of the plurality of individuals participating as a member of a team of the plurality of teams to a third party, the third party being included in the respective social network to which membership of the team is restricted.

48. The system of claim 26, wherein the application is further configured to issue a virtual currency to the plurality of individuals.

49. The system of claim 26, wherein the application is further configured to charge an entry fee to each of the plurality of individuals who joins the membership of a team of the plurality of teams involved in the contest.

50. The system of claim 49, wherein the entry fee comprises a predefined amount of virtual currency.

51. The system of claim 49, wherein the application is further configured to distribute the entry fee paid by each of the plurality of individuals to the membership of the team that wins the contest.

52. A system, comprising:

at least one server accessible by a plurality of clients;

means in the server for staging a contest between a plurality of teams, wherein the contest requires each of the plurality of teams to achieve a predefined goal to win the contest; and

wherein a membership to each team of the plurality of teams is restricted to a plurality of individuals associated with a respective social network of a plurality of social networks.

53. The system of claim 52, wherein the plurality of social networks are obtained from a source external to the contest.

54. The system of claim 52, wherein the contest is configured to be inserted into a social networking site.

55. The system of claim 52, further comprising means in the server for interfacing with a social networking site to access the plurality of social networks.

56. The system of claim 52, further comprising means in the server for enabling an individual of the plurality of individuals to create the contest by specifying a first social network and a second social network of the plurality of social networks to be associated with the contest, wherein the individual is included in the first social network.

57. The system of claim 52, further comprising means in the server for offering at least one virtual tool for sale to respective individuals of the plurality of individuals to employ during the contest to aid in achieving the predefined goal.

58. The system of claim 57, further comprising means for adding a fee paid to purchase the at least one virtual tool to an amount of virtual currency awarded to the plurality of individuals who are members of a team of the plurality of teams that wins the contest.

59. The system of claim 52, further comprising means in the server for offering at least one virtual accent for sale to respective individuals of the plurality of individuals, each of the at least one virtual accent being applied to an avatar associated with a respective individual of the plurality of individuals.

60. The system of claim 52, further comprising means in the server for providing at least one virtual tool to the plurality of individuals involved in the contest, the at least one virtual tool being employed by the plurality of individuals to aid a team of the plurality of teams in achieving the predefined goal.

61. The system of claim 60, wherein the at least one virtual tool is durable so as to be available for an entirety of the contest.

62. The system of claim 60, wherein the at least one virtual tool is durable so as to be available for a plurality of contests.

63. The system of claim 60, wherein the at least one virtual tool is consumable such that the at least one virtual tool is available for a single use during the contest.

64. The system of claim 60, wherein the at least one virtual tool is an offensive tool configured to inhibit a progress of an opposing team of the plurality of teams in achieving the predefined goal.

65. The system of claim 60, wherein the at least one virtual tool is a defensive tool configured to counter a use of an offensive tool by an individual of the plurality of individuals on an opposing team of the plurality of teams.

66. The system of claim 52, further comprising means in the server for issuing a virtual currency to the plurality of individuals.

67. A non-transitory computer-readable medium embodying a program executable by a processor-based system, comprising:

an application configured to at least stage a contest between a plurality of teams, wherein the contest requires each of the plurality of teams to achieve a predefined goal to win the contest; and

the application further configured to restrict a membership of each team of the plurality of teams to a plurality of individuals associated with a respective social network of a plurality of social networks.

68. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 67, wherein the plurality of social networks are obtained from a source external to the contest.

69. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 67, wherein the application is further configured to enable an individual of the plurality of individuals associated with a respective social network of the plurality of social networks to create the contest.

70. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 69, wherein the application is further configured to receive a specification by the individual of a first social network and a second social network of the plurality of social networks to be associated with the contest, and the individual is included in the first social network.

71. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 67, wherein the application is further configured to offer at least one virtual tool for sale to respective individuals of the plurality of individuals to employ during the contest to aid in achieving the predefined goal.

72. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 71, wherein the application is further configured to add a fee paid to purchase the at least one virtual tool to an amount of virtual currency awarded to the plurality of individuals that are members of a team of the plurality of teams that wins the contest.

73. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 67, wherein the application is further configured to offer at least one virtual accent for sale to respective individuals of the plurality of individuals, each of the at least one virtual accent being applied to an avatar associated with a respective individual of the plurality of individuals.

74. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 67, wherein the application is further configured to provide at least one virtual tool to the plurality of individuals involved in the contest, the at least one virtual tool being employed by the plurality of individuals to aid a team of the plurality of teams in achieving the predefined goal.

75. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 74, wherein the at least one virtual tool is durable so as to be available for an entirety of the contest.

76. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 74, wherein the at least one virtual tool is durable so as to be available for a plurality of contests.

77. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 74, wherein the at least one virtual tool is consumable such that the at least one virtual tool is available for a single use during the contest.

78. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 67, wherein the application is further configured to facilitate a use of an offensive virtual tool by an individual on a first team of the plurality of teams to inhibit a progress of a second team of the plurality of teams in achieving the predefined goal.

79. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 78, wherein the application is further configured to facilitate a use of a defensive virtual tool by another individual of the plurality of individuals on the second team to counter the use of the offensive virtual tool by the individual on the first team.