U.S. patent application number 09/833099 was filed with the patent office on 2005-04-21 for internet-audiotext electronic advertising system with psychographic profiling and matching.
Invention is credited to Speicher, Gregory J..
Application Number | 20050083906 09/833099 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34527200 |
Filed Date | 2005-04-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050083906 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Speicher, Gregory J. |
April 21, 2005 |
Internet-audiotext electronic advertising system with psychographic
profiling and matching
Abstract
The present invention relates to an electronic advertising
system. More specifically, the present invention provides a
computer based psychographic matching system that is significantly
more effective and convenient for the advertiser. In the present
invention, when a person places a personal ad on the system, either
via a telephone or via the Internet, the person creates a personal
psychographic profile (a subjective makeup of preferences) of
himself by selecting his preference for various items, such as
musical pieces, environmental sounds, poetry selections, etc. At
the conclusion of the profiling process, the system automatically
finds other advertisers (whether they placed their ad via audiotext
or the Internet) whose profiles match the new advertiser's profile.
The system then gives the new advertiser information on how to
contact all of the recorded matches.
Inventors: |
Speicher, Gregory J.;
(Worthington, OH) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Ward & Olivo
708 Third Ave.
New York
NY
10017
US
|
Family ID: |
34527200 |
Appl. No.: |
09/833099 |
Filed: |
April 11, 2001 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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09833099 |
Apr 11, 2001 |
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08865241 |
May 29, 1997 |
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6243375 |
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08865241 |
May 29, 1997 |
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08744879 |
Nov 8, 1996 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
370/352 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04M 2201/60 20130101;
Y10S 370/901 20130101; H04M 3/4938 20130101; H04M 7/0036 20130101;
H04M 3/4878 20130101; G06Q 30/0271 20130101; G06Q 30/02 20130101;
G06Q 30/0276 20130101; H04M 7/0054 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
370/352 |
International
Class: |
H04L 012/66 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method for storing an audio file and listening to said audio
file via the Internet, said method comprising: means for queuing
the audio input of data into said audio file; means for storing
said audio file in digital memory; means for transferring said
audio file to an Internet access node; and means for controlling
said transfer; wherein said means for transferring said audio file
formats said audio message for output into humanly perceivable
form.
2. An apparatus for storing audio files and transferring said audio
files to the Internet, said apparatus comprising: an input queue; a
digital information storage device; a transfer means; and an
Internet access node; wherein said digital information storage
device stores phonemes indicative of audio and wherein said
transfer means formats said digital information for output in
humanly perceivable form via said Internet access node.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of application
Ser. No. 08/744,879, filed Nov. 8, 1996.
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to audiotext systems designed
to provide full access to traditional databases and
telecommunications systems, such as local area networks, the
Internet, other external databases, telephones and fax machines,
etc., and more specifically to audiotext personal ad services.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Audiotext personal ad services are a popular way for people
to meet, and are available in most newspapers and on many cable
television systems. In a typical service, an advertiser calls a
live operator and places a text personal ad. An advertiser then
calls an audiotext system and records an audio message, often
referred to as a greeting, which expands upon the advertiser's text
ad by describing in more detail the advertiser and the type of
person he is seeking. Personal ads are then published in a
newspaper. A personal ad includes a 900 telephone number and an ad
mailbox number permitting a caller to listen to an advertiser's
voice greeting. A caller can respond to an ad by recording a reply
voice mail message for the advertiser. An advertiser retrieves a
message by calling the audiotext system and entering a password
given at the time of ad placement. In another format, live
operators are not used. Instead, an advertiser first records an
audio greeting via telephone. An operator then listens to the audio
greeting off-line and writes a text summary of the audio greeting
for publication in the newspaper.
[0004] With the expansion of the Internet and other on-line
services, personal ad services have been created to take advantage
of this new medium. A typical service allows an advertiser to place
a text personal ad that is published on the Internet on an
HyperText Markup Language (HTML) page. An Internet user may respond
to a personal ad by sending an advertiser a message via electronic
mail. The limitation of this approach is that an Internet user
cannot listen to an audio recording of an advertiser, a feature
that is the central to audiotext personal ad services. Another
limitation is that telephone users cannot exchange messages with
Internet users. Another limitation is that many people do not have
Internet access, thus limiting the number of advertisers and
respondents.
[0005] In another format, an attempt is made to integrate audiotext
personal ads services with the Internet. Using this approach, a
newspaper publishes personal ads in both the newspaper and on the
Internet. Each personal ad includes a 900 telephone number and an
ad mailbox number permitting a caller to listen to an advertiser's
voice greeting. This approach still has the disadvantage of not
allowing an Internet user to listen to an advertiser's voice
greeting via the Internet. Moreover, an Internet user can only
respond to a personal ad via a telephone.
[0006] To summarize, existing Internet personal ad services are
limited in that they lack many of the features available on
audiotext personal ad services. Also, existing personal ad services
do not provide a means for those using an audiotext personal ad
service to effectively communicate with those using an Internet
personal ad service and visa versa. Therefore, there is a need for
a personal ad system that seamlessly integrates an audiotext system
with an Internet server, allowing straightforward communication
between those using a telephone and those on the Internet. Such a
system has been proposed in detail by the present inventor which
comprises application Ser. No. 08/744,879. However, there is still
the need to address some of the problems inherent in an integrated
audiotext and Internet based personal ad service.
[0007] A basic problem with the prior services is that when a
person places an ad, he must wait for his ad to be published and
then for someone to respond to it in order to meet someone. Another
problem is that if an advertiser wants to meet someone by
responding to other personal ads, he must scan a large number of
ads to identify a relatively small number of ads that meet his
criteria. In addition, if an advertiser does not locate a suitable
ad on a given day, the advertiser must in general do a complete
search on the following day, since ads are generally not segregated
based upon whether they have been newly placed. Moreover, since new
ads can be placed both via an audiotext system and via the
Internet, the advertiser might need to scan both the audiotext
system and the Internet to find new ads. Finally, advertisers are
not notified when they receive a response to their ad, thus
requiring advertisers to check their mailbox frequently so as not
to miss a message.
[0008] Because of their popularity, a personal ads service
published in a newspaper or cable television system can attract
several hundred or more advertisers at any given time. Because of
the quantity of ads in a given service, it can be difficult and
tedious to search all the ads to find a compatible person. Several
attempts have been made to deal with this problem. The most common
approach is to match individuals based on demographic criteria such
as gender, race, age, religion, etc. One such system has been
proposed by the present inventor which comprises application Ser.
No. 08/799,537. In spite of the benefits of this type of matching,
users of personal ad services continue to seek better and more
effective ways of meeting compatible individuals.
[0009] The limitation, however, of demographic-based matching is
that it does not take into account the subjective, "psychographic",
makeup of the individual, such as an individual's preference for
visual images (photographs or paintings), writing (prose and
poetry), or audio (music, sounds), etc. which are more in line with
an individual's personality. Many individuals find compatibility in
these areas far more relevant to predicting the success of a
relationship than rigid demographic categories, such as race,
gender, religion and age. Therefore, there is a need for a personal
ad service that incorporates this psychographic profiling in the
matching process.
[0010] This approach has been used by at least one Internet based
personal ad service. In such a service, the Internet user is
presented with a series of sets of two photographs in an "A/B"
fashion. The user "clicks" on a given photograph to indicate his
preference. The series of photographs selected by the user are then
stored in a database and used to match the user with other users
who selected the same photographs. The limitation of this approach
is that there is no way for telephone users to participate, thereby
excluding a large percentage of potential matches.
[0011] To be effective, a psychographic profiling service must
accommodate users of both traditional audiotext-based personal ad
services as well as Internet-based personal ad services. Since
large numbers of individuals continue to use each type of service
on a more or less exclusive basis, failure to integrate the two
environments significantly limits the database pool of potential
matches. The current invention accommodates these needs by
incorporating a matching feature based on psychographic profiling.
Users are asked to indicate their preference for certain individual
audio and/or visual elements which are presented in a series. A
user's preferences are then stored in a database where they can be
used to match with other users. In addition, the present invention
allows both telephone and Internet users to take the same
psychographic inventory and to match it with the psychographic
profile of other individuals regardless of the medium (telephone or
Internet) through which they enter the system. The benefit of this
invention is that it provides a more powerful basis for matching
individuals than has been available in the art while maximizing the
pool of potential matches through the deployment of the service on
a fully integrated Internet/audiotext platform.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] The present invention relates to an electronic advertising
system. More specifically, the present invention provides a
computer based psychographic matching system that is significantly
more effective and convenient for the advertiser. In the present
invention, when a person places a personal ad on the system, either
via a telephone or via the Internet, the person creates a personal
psychographic profile (a subjective makeup of preferences) of
himself by selecting his preference for various items, such as
musical pieces, environmental sounds, poetry selections, etc. At
the conclusion of the profiling process, the system automatically
finds other advertisers (whether they placed their ad via audiotext
or the Internet) whose profiles match the new advertiser's profile.
In addition, during the ad taking process, a person is asked to
input a telephone number and an e-mail address. Thereafter,
whenever a new personal ad comes on to the system that matches the
person's profile (whether the ad originates on the audiotext system
or on the Internet), the person is notified of the new ad and given
instructions of how to contact the new match. Also, each time a
person responds to a personal ad, the system automatically finds
and presents other personal ads with similar characteristics to
save the user time in finding an appealing ad. Finally, each time
someone responds to a personal ad, the advertiser is automatically
notified both via telephone and via electronic mail.
[0013] The significant advantages provided by the present invention
are apparent from the above description. The present invention
provides a more effective means of matching individuals than
previous demographic style matching systems. Also, the system of
the present invention does not require the advertiser to scan large
numbers of ads, or to repeatedly scan for new ads. In addition, new
advertisers can meet someone faster because they are automatically
matched with other advertisers at the time of ad placement and
notified when someone responds to their ad.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0014] For a more complete understanding of the present invention,
reference is made to the following drawings, in which:
[0015] FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of the present
invention.
[0016] FIG. 2 shows a table of the fields used for storing personal
data, including a brief description of the particular fields.
[0017] FIG. 3 shows a table of the fields used for storing greeting
data, including a brief description of the particular fields.
[0018] FIG. 4 shows a table of the fields used for storing response
data, including a brief description of the particular fields.
[0019] FIG. 5 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary operation of the
present invention, more specifically placing an advertisement
through a telephone.
[0020] FIG. 6 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary operation of the
present invention, more specifically placing an advertisement
through the Internet.
[0021] FIG. 7 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary operation of the
process of reviewing and summarizing advertisements as accomplished
by the present invention.
[0022] FIG. 8 shows personal advertisements as they would appear in
a local newspaper.
[0023] FIG. 9 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary operation of the
process of responding to an advertisement through a telephone as
accomplished by the present invention.
[0024] FIG. 10 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary operation of
the process of responding to an advertisement through the Internet
as accomplished by the present invention.
[0025] FIG. 11 shows a maximized personal advertisement as seen by
the Internet user who chooses to expand the advertisement to
full-page size.
[0026] FIG. 12 shows a flow diagram of the response confirmation
process, including the Response Confirmation Form which gives the
Internet user instructions on how to enhance a response to an
advertisement with, audio, video or a photograph.
[0027] FIG. 13 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary operation of
the process of retrieving responses through a telephone as
accomplished by the present invention.
[0028] FIG. 14 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary operation of
the process of retrieving responses through the Internet as
accomplished by the present invention.
[0029] FIG. 15 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary operation of
the process of psychographic matching via a telephone as
accomplished by the present invention.
[0030] FIG. 16 shows a flow diagram of the psychographic profiling
process, including the Psychographic Profile Form which provides
the options for the Internet user to choose from in order to create
the user's psychographic profile.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0031] As required, a detailed illustrative embodiment of the
present invention is disclosed herein. However, telephone
techniques, physical communication systems, data formats and
operating structures in accordance with the present invention may
be embodied in a wide variety of forms and modes, some of which may
be quite different from those in the disclosed embodiment.
Consequently, the specific structural and functional details
disclosed herein are merely representative, yet in that regard,
they are deemed to afford the best embodiment for purposes of
disclosure and to provide a basis for the claims herein which
define the scope of the present invention.
[0032] Referring initially to FIG. 1, a series of remote telephone
terminals T1-Tn are represented. In addition, a series of remote
computer terminals CT1-CTn are represented. The indicated terminals
T1-Tn represent the multitude of telephone terminals existing in
association with the public telephone network (PTN). The indicated
computer terminals CT1-CTn represent the multitude of computer
terminals connected to the Internet.
[0033] The PTN, which accommodates the individual terminals T1-Tn,
is coupled to an Interactive Voice Response System (IVR). The
Internet, which accommodates individual computer terminals CT1-CTn,
is coupled to an Internet Web Server (IWS)--Individual telephone
callers use the individual telephone stations T1 through Tn to
interface the IVR through the PTN. Individual Internet users at
computer terminals CT1 through CTn use the Internet to interface
the IWS. Both telephone callers and Internet users may record
digital audio messages that can be listened to from any of the
remote telephone terminals T1-Tn or from any of the remote computer
terminals CT1-CTn. Internet users may leave digital text messages
that may be accessed from any of the remote telephone terminals
T1-Tn using text-to-speech or from the remote computer terminals
CT1-CTn via a computer monitor.
[0034] First, considering the system of FIG. 1 in somewhat greater
detail, it is to be understood that the PTN has multiplexing
capability for individually coupling the terminals T1-Tn to the IVR
on request. In the illustrative embodiment of the system, the
individual terminals T1-Tn take the form of existing traditional or
conventional telephone instruments. It is also to be understood
that the Internet has the capability to individually connect the
computer terminals CT1-CTn to the IWS. In this illustrative
embodiment of the system, the individual computer terminals CT1-CTn
take the form of personal computers that comprise a central
processing unit CPU, modem, monitor, keyboard, hard drive, sound
card, and microphone.
[0035] Second, considering the IVR in somewhat greater detail, the
PTN is coupled to an IVR (see FIG. 1). In the disclosed embodiment,
forty-eight lines are connected to the IVR from the PTN, and,
accordingly, the IVR may accommodate up to forty-eight simultaneous
calls from the PTN. The IVR contains a processor, an exemplary form
of which is an Intel 166 MHz Pentium Processor. The forty-eight
lines from the PTN are connected to the processor though an
interface 15, an exemplary form of which is a series of
commercially available Dialogic (D240SC-T1) cards. The interface
incorporates modems, tone decoders, switching mechanisms, and DNIS
and ANI capability. The Dialogic card stores audio information in
the Dialogic VOX format.
[0036] Generally, DNIS capability is a function of the PTN in order
to provide digital data indicating the called number. ANI
capability is a similar function whereby the digital data indicates
the calling number.
[0037] Third, considering the IWS in somewhat greater detail, the
IWS is coupled to the Internet via a DS1 line to a local Internet
provider service. The IWS may accommodate a multitude of
simultaneous Internet users. As represented, the IWS is a micro
computer programmed for Internet information server operations. The
IWS contains a processor and Internet server software, exemplary
forms of which are an Intel 166 Mhz Pentium Processor and Microsoft
Internet Information Server software.
[0038] The IWS is also loaded with RealAudio Server software from
Progressive Network. RealAudio allows a Microsoft Windows .WAV file
to be converted into a RealAudio RA file, a compressed format that
allows play back over the Internet in real time, as opposed to
first downloading a file and then listening to it. RealAudio
accomplishes this by playing an audio file while it is still
downloading, using a process called data streaming.
[0039] The IWS is also loaded with VDOLive Server software. VDOLive
allows a video clip in the Microsoft Windows AVI, Apple Quicktime,
or MPEG video file formats to be converted into a VDOLive .VDO
format, a compressed format that allows play back over the Internet
in real time, as opposed to first downloading a file and then
listening to it. VDOLive also utilizes data streaming.
[0040] The IVR and the IWS are coupled to a Database Server (DBS)
via an Ethernet hub as shown in FIG. 1. The system includes one or
more Operator Workstations (OWS) OW1-OWn, through which an operator
can interact with and control the DBS, IVR and IWS.
[0041] The DBS is a computer programmed for database operations. In
the illustrated embodiment, the DBS manages a personal Ad Database
which is comprised of multiple tables that manage the creation of
advertisement files, audio greeting files, advertisement response
files, and photograph and video files. The Ad Database comprises an
electronic equivalent of the personal classified advertisements
placed via telephone and the Internet, and responses placed to the
advertisements.
[0042] In addition, the DBS converts audio files received via
telephone into the RealAudio RA format for real time retrieval via
the Internet. Conversely, the DBS converts audio files received via
the Internet into Dialogic VOX files for retrieval via telephone.
Audio file conversions are done through audio file conversion
software, an exemplary form of which is Vox Studio by Xentec.
[0043] The DBS contains a processor and a Structured Query Language
(SQL) relational database software, exemplary forms of which are
the Intel 166 Mhz Pentium Processor and Microsoft SQL Server.
[0044] The OWS is a conventional personal computer equipped with a
sound card capable of playing the audio data and a video display
capable of displaying digitally stored photographs and videos. An
exemplary form of the OWS is a microcomputer equipped with an Intel
166 Mhz Pentium Processor and a Creative Labs Sound Blaster sound
card. Operators review all incoming advertiser files--text, audio,
photograph, and video--to insure that their content is appropriate.
Also, operators use advertisers' text messages and audio recordings
to create summary text advertisements for publication in a
newspaper.
[0045] The following sections describe in greater detail the
interaction between the IVR, DBS, IWS, and OWS.
[0046] Placing an Ad Through a Telephone
[0047] An exemplary operation of the system with regard to a
specific telephone caller placing a personal advertisement will now
be treated to accomplish the process as indicated in FIG. 5. First,
suppose a telephone caller at terminal T1 initiates a call to place
a personal advertisement in response to an advertisement in XYZ
newspaper. The assumed call involves the telephone caller actuating
the buttons to input the number, for example,
1-8-0-0-5-5-5-3-3-3-3. As a result, signals are provided to the
public telephone network resulting in a connection from the remote
terminal T1 to the IVR. Using standard DNIS techniques, the IVR
associates the called number, 1-8-0-0-5-5-5-3-3-3-3 with a specific
format, for example, a voice personals advertisement taking
format.
[0048] The caller is first prompted to create a profile of himself
by answering a series of questions using the buttons on his touch
tone phone. The profile contains data on the advertiser and the
type of person the advertiser wishes to meet. Referring initially
to FIG. 5, upon receiving a call, the IVR cues the caller to enter
his telephone number 801. The IVR stores the telephone number 802
in the field AD_PHONE 203. Next, the IVR cues the caller to enter
his gender 803. For example: "If you are a woman, press 1. If you
are a man, press 2. " The IVR stores the caller's gender 804 in the
field AD_GENDER 207. Next, the IVR cues the caller for his marital
status 805. For example: "If you are single, press 1. If you are
divorced, press 2. If you are widowed, press 3. " The caller
responds and the IVR stores the caller's marital status 806 in the
field AD_MARITAL STATUS 208. Next, the IVR cues the caller for his
age 807. For example: "Please enter your age." The caller's age is
then stored 808 in the field AD_AGE 209.
[0049] Next, the caller is prompted to indicate the type of person
he wishes to meet. The IVR first cues the caller for the martial
status of the person he is seeking 825. For example: "If you wish
to meet someone who is single, press 1. If you wish to meet someone
who is divorced, press 2. If you wish to meet someone who is
widowed, press 3. " The martial status sought is then stored 826 in
the field AD_MARITAL_SOUGHT 212. Next, the IVR cues the caller to
enter the lowest age of the person he wishes to meet 827. For
example: "Please enter the lowest age of the person you wish to
meet." The low age sought is them stored 828 in the field
LOW_AGE_SOUGHT 213. Finally, the IVR cues the caller to enter the
highest age of the person he wishes to meet 829. For example:
"Please enter the highest age of the person you wish to meet." The
high age sought is them stored 830 in the field HIGH_AGE_SOUGHT
213. It is to be understood that the actual questions asked about
the caller and the person he is seeking are merely illustrative.
The actual questions could vary greatly in both number and
kind.
[0050] Next, the IVR cues the caller to record an audio greeting
812. The advertiser's audio greeting is then stored to a disk file
on the IVR 813 and the Ad Database is updated 809. Specifically,
the AD_REVIEW_FLAG 210 in the AD_PERSONAL_TABLE (see FIG. 2) is set
to FALSE indicating that the ad must be reviewed by an operator. In
addition, a new record is created in the AD_GREETINGS_TABLE (see
FIG. 3) and the field GR_REVIEW_FLAG 303 is set to FALSE to
indicate that the audio greeting has not been reviewed. In the new
record, the fields GR_MAILBOX_NUMBER 301, GR_TYPE 302, GR_FILENAME
304, GR_DATE_TIME 305 in the AD_GREETINGS_TABLE (see FIG. 3) are
also populated to indicate the advertiser's mailbox number, the
format of the audio file, the location of the audio file on the
IVR, and the date and time the greeting was recorded. The field
GR_TYPE is set to VOX to indicate that the audio recording is in
the Dialogic VOX file format. Finally, the field GR CONVERSION FLAG
is set to FALSE to indicate that the audio file must be converted
from the Dialogic VOX format to create a new audio file in the
RealAudio RA format for playback on the Internet.
[0051] The IVR then cues the caller to indicate if he wishes to
record an e-mail address 816. For example: "Press 1 to input an
e-mail address. Press 2 to decline." If the caller elects to leave
an e-mail address, the IVR cues the caller to record his e-mail
address 817. The audio recording is stored to a disk file on the
IVR 818 and the field AD_EMAIL_FILENAME 205 in AD_PERSONAL_TABLE
(see FIG. 2) is set, indicating that an e-mail audio file exists
and listing its location on the IVR.
[0052] Next, the IVR assigns the advertiser a five digit mailbox
number 819. For example: "Your 5-digit mailbox number is 12345. "
The mailbox number is then stored 820 in the field
AD_MAILBOX_NUMBER 201. The IVR then cues the caller to enter a five
digit password 821. The password is stored 822 in the field
AD_PASSWORD 202. This allows only the caller to recall messages
stored in the mailbox which the caller created.
[0053] In addition, the IVR stores the date the advertisement is
taken in the field AD_DATE_TIME 206, and updates the field
AD_ORIGIN 211 to indicate that the personal advertisement
originated on the telephone 823. Finally, the IVR creates an
electronic mailbox for the advertiser on the IWS 824, using the
mailbox number stored in the field AD_MAILBOX_NUMBER 201 as the
electronic mailbox address. This allows respondents to submit
audio, video and photographic files in response to the advertiser's
advertisement.
[0054] Finally, the IVR queries the Ad Database to determine if
there are other existing advertiser's whose profile matches that of
the new advertiser 831. More specifically, there is a match if the
values in the field AD_MARITAL_STATUS 208 and the values in the
field AD_MARITAL_SOUGHT 212 match for each advertiser, and if the
value in the field AD_AGE 209 for each advertiser is within the
range of values in the fields AD_LOW_AGE_SOUGHT 213 and
AD_HIGH_AGE_SOUGHT 214 for the other advertiser. If the query finds
one or more ads that match, the IVR speaks the number of matching
ads to the caller 832. For example: "The number of ads that match
your preferences is 5. " The caller is then given both a 900 number
833 and an Internet address 834 that can be used to retrieve the
matches, and the call is terminated 835. If no matches are found,
the IVR tells the caller that no matches were found, and the call
is terminated 835.
[0055] In addition, the mailbox numbers of matching advertisements
are placed in a notification queue 835, together with delivery
information corresponding to the matching advertisement so that the
existing advertisers can be notified that a new personal
advertisement has come onto the system that matches the existing
advertisers' profile. The delivery information includes the
telephone number and e-mail address, if available, of the existing
advertiser which is to be notified, together with the mailbox
number of the new advertisement coming onto the system.
[0056] Placing an Ad Through the Internet
[0057] An exemplary operation of the system with regard to a
specific Internet user placing a personal advertisement will now be
treated to accomplish the process as indicated in FIG. 6. First,
suppose a Internet user at terminal CT1 connects to the Internet to
place a personal advertisement in response to an advertisement in
XYZ newspaper. The assumed Internet user connects to the Internet
and inputs a Uniform Reference Locator (URL), for example:
http://www.personal_ads.com, resulting in a connection from the
remote terminal CT1 to a Home Page 1001 on the IWS.
[0058] Referring to FIG. 6, from the Home Page 1001 on the IWS, the
Internet user selects an Ad Placement Form 1002. The Ad Placement
Form 1002 contains the following input fields corresponding to
fields in the Ad Database as indicated:
1 Gender 1003 AD_GENDER 207 Marital Status 11004 AD_MARITAL_STATUS
208 Age 1005 AD_AGE 209 Martial Sought 1034 AD_MARTIAL_SOUGHT 212
Low Age Sought 1035 AD_LOW_AGE_SOUGHT 213 High Age Sought 1036
AD_HIGH_AGE_SOUGHT 214 E-mail address 1006 AD_EMAIL_ADDRESS 204
Phone Number 1007 AD_PHONE 203 Password 1008 AD_PASSWORD 202
Greeting Text 1014 GR_FILENAME 304.
[0059] This process largely parallels the process of placing a
personal advertisement via a telephone. The password 1008 is used
by the advertiser to retrieve messages and the e-mail address 1006
and telephone number 1007 are used to contact the advertiser. The
gender 1003, age 1005, and marital status 1004 fields create a
demographic profile of the advertiser. The marital sought 1034, low
age sought 1035 and high age sought 1036 fields complete the
advertiser's demographic profile by indicating the type of person
the advertiser wishes to meet. Finally, the field Greeting Text
1014 comprises the advertiser's text personal advertisement.
[0060] The Internet user completes the Ad Placement Form 1002 and
presses the "Submit" button to submit her ad. The form is checked
by the IWS for completeness 1016. If the form is incomplete, the
user is returned to the Ad Placement Form 1002. If the form is
complete, the IWS updates the Ad Database 1017. This includes
assigning the user a five digit mailbox number and storing it in
the field AD_MAILBOX_NUMBER 201. In addition, the advertiser's
profile, contact information, password and greeting are added to
the Ad Database. Also, the advertiser's text greeting is stored to
a disk file on the IWS. Next, the AD_REVIEW_FLAG 210 in the
AD_PERSONAL_TABLE (see FIG. 2) is set to FALSE indicating that the
advertisement must be reviewed by an operator 10, a new record is
created in the AD_GREETINGS_TABLE (see FIG. 3), and the field
GR_REVIEW_FLAG 303 is set to FALSE to indicate that the text
greeting has not been reviewed. In the new record, the fields
GR_MAILBOX_NUMBER 301, GR_TYPE 302, GR_FILENAME 304, GR_DATE_TIME
305 in the AD_GREETINGS_TABLE (see FIG. 3) are also populated to
indicate the advertiser's mailbox number, the file format, the
location of the text file on the IWS, and the date and time the
greeting was placed. Specifically, the field GR_TYPE is set to
TEXT. Finally, the field GR_CONVERSION_FLAG is set to TRUE to
indicate that the text does not need to be converted to a different
format.
[0061] Next, the IWS queries the Ad Database to determine if there
are other existing advertiser's whose profile matches that of the
new advertiser 1018. The IWS then creates an Ad Confirmation Page
1020. If the query finds one or more advertisements that match, the
Ad Confirmation Page displays a text message of the number of
matching advertisements 1027. The text message is displayed as a
hyper-link which can be followed by a browser to the actual
matching ads. In addition, the Ad Confirmation Page 1020 confirms
the advertiser's mailbox number 1021, and gives the advertiser
instructions on how to include an audio greeting 1022, photograph
1023, or video clip 1024 with her personal advertisement. Also, the
IWS stores the date and time when the advertisement is taken in the
field AD_DATE_TIME 206, and updates the field AD_ORIGIN 211 to
indicate that the personal advertisement originated on the Internet
1025. Finally, the IWS creates an electronic mailbox for the
advertiser 1026, using the mailbox number stored in the field
AD_MAILBOX_NUMBER as the electronic mail address. This allows
respondents to submit audio, video and photographic files in
response to the advertiser's advertisement.
[0062] In addition, the mailbox numbers of matching ads are placed
in a notification queue 1038, together with delivery information
corresponding to the matching advertisement so that the existing
advertisers can be notified that a new personal advertisement has
come onto the system that matches the existing advertisers'
demographic profile. The delivery information includes the
telephone number and e-mail address, if available, of the existing
advertiser to be notified, together with mailbox number of the new
advertisement coming onto the system. Enhancing an Internet Ad with
Audio, Photograph and Video
[0063] A more detailed explanation of how an advertiser submits an
audio greeting, photograph, or video clip via CT1 will now be
given. To submit an audio greeting, the advertiser first makes an
audio recording using a WAV file editor and then saves the file
using her five digit mailbox number as the file name 1030 (see FIG.
6), for example: 44567.wav. The advertiser then submits the audio
file using e-mail to an audio greeting electronic mailbox 1031, for
example: audio_greeting@personals.com. The advertiser's audio
recording is then stored to a disk file on the IWS.
[0064] In addition, a new record is created in the
AD_GREETINGS_TABLE (see FIG. 3) and the Ad Database is updated
1032. Specifically, the field GR_REVIEW_FLAG 303 is set to FALSE to
indicate that the audio greeting has not been reviewed. Also, the
fields GR_MAILBOX_NUMBER 301, GR_TYPE 302, GR_FILENAME 304,
GR_DATE_TIME 305 in the AD_GREETINGS_TABLE (see FIG. 3) are
populated to indicate the advertiser's mailbox number, the format
of the audio file, the location of the audio file on the IWS, and
the date and time the greeting was placed. The field GR_TYPE is set
to WAV to indicate that the audio recording is in the Microsoft
.WAV file format. Finally, the field GR_CONVERSION_FLAG is set to
FALSE to indicate that the audio file must be converted from the
Microsoft .WAV format to create two new audio files: one in the
RealAudio RA format for playback on the Internet, and another in
the Dialogic VOX format for playback via the telephone.
[0065] To enhance a personal advertisement with a photograph, the
advertiser first digitizes a photograph using a scanner or takes a
photograph with a digital camera and then saves the image to a .GIF
file using her five digit mailbox number as the file name 1037, for
example: 44567.gif. The advertiser then submits the graphic file
using e-mail to an photograph electronic mailbox, for example:
photo@personals.com 1031.
[0066] The advertiser's photo is stored to a disk file on the IWS
and the Ad Database is updated 1032. Specifically, a new record is
created in the AD_GREETINGS_TABLE (see FIG. 3) and the field
GR_REVIEW_FLAG 303 is set to FALSE to indicate that the graphic
file has not been reviewed. In each new record, the fields
GR_MAILBOX_NUMBER 301, GR_TYPE 302, GR_FILENAME 304, GR_DATE_TIME
305 in the AD_GREETINGS_TABLE (see FIG. 3) are also populated to
indicate the advertiser's mailbox number, the format of the graphic
file, the location of the graphic file on the IWS, and the date and
time when the photograph was received. The field GR_TYPE 302 is set
to GIF to indicate that the graphic file is in the GIF file format.
Finally, the field GR CONVERSION_FLAG 306 is set to TRUE to
indicate that no file conversion is necessary as GIF is the graphic
file format used by the IWS. If other graphic formats were
accepted, they might have to be converted to a GIF format,
depending on the file formats supported by the IWS. If file
conversion is necessary, the field GR_CONVERSION_FLAG 306 would be
set to FALSE.
[0067] To enhance a personal advertisement with video clip, the
advertiser first digitizes the video clip and then saves the image
to a Microsoft AVI file using her five digit mailbox number as the
file name 1036, for example: 44567.avi. Other video formats such as
Apple Quicktime, or MPEG video could also be used. The advertiser
then submits the graphic file using e-mail to an electronic
mailbox, for example: video@personals.com 1031.
[0068] The advertiser's video clip is stored to a disk file on the
IWS and the Ad Database is updated 1032. Specifically, a new record
is created in the AD_GREETINGS_TABLE (see FIG. 3) and the field
GR_REVIEW_FLAG 303 is set to FALSE to indicate that the video file
has not been reviewed. In each new record, the fields
GR_MAILBOX_NUMBER 301, GR_TYPE 302, GR_FILENAME 304, GR_DATE_TIME
305 in the AD_GREETINGS_TABLE (see FIG. 3) are populated to
indicate the advertiser's mailbox number, the format of the video
file, the location of the video file on the IWS, and the date and
time when the video was received. Specifically, the field GR_TYPE
302 is set to AVI to indicate that the video clip is in the
Microsoft AVI file format. Finally, the field GR_CONVERSION FLAG
306 is set to FALSE to indicate that the video file must be
converted to the VDOLive format for real time playback on the
Internet.
[0069] Reviewing and Summarizing Ads
[0070] All new personal advertisements are reviewed by an operator
at OWS OW1 to insure that their content is appropriate. Also, each
greeting submitted by an advertiser, whether it be an audio
greeting recorded by an advertiser via a telephone or a text
greeting placed by an advertiser via the Internet, is summarized by
an operator to create a short, approximately twenty word,
classified text advertisement for publication in a newspaper. The
twenty word limit is a function of newspaper imposed space
limitations. It should be noted that space limitations, if they
exist at all, may vary widely from newspaper to newspaper. In
another format, text advertisements that are published in the
newspaper are first placed with a live operator via a telephone,
precluding the need to summarize an audio recording.
[0071] An exemplary operation of the process of reviewing and
summarizing advertisements with regard to a specific operator at
OP1 will now be treated to accomplish the process as indicated in
FIG. 10. The operator first queries the Ad Database to determine if
there are new advertisements to review 1800. Specifically, the
query looks for all ads in the AD PERSONAL TABLE(see FIG. 2) where
the field AD_REVIEW_FLAG 210 is set to FALSE. If the query finds a
new advertisement, the operator first reviews the advertiser's
greeting 1801 as found in the AD GREETINGS TABLE (see FIG. 3). If
the advertisement was placed via telephone, this consists of
listening to the advertiser's audio greeting. If the advertisement
was placed via the Internet, this consists of reading the text
greeting. The operator then determines if the greeting's content is
appropriate 1802. If the greeting's content is inappropriate, the
advertisement is deleted, the record is purged from the database
1803 and the operator is returned to block 1800 to select another
new advertisement to review. If the greeting's content is
appropriate, the operator writes a twenty word summary of the
greeting 1804. The operator then queries the database to determine
if the advertiser recorded an e-mail address 1805. If an e-mail
address audio recording is found, the operator transcribes the
e-mail address 1806. The operator then updates the Ad Database
1807.
[0072] Specifically, the advertiser's twenty word text summary is
stored to a disk file on the IWS. The AD_REVIEW_FLAG 210 in the
AD_PERSONAL_TABLE (see FIG. 2) is set to TRUE indicating that the
ad has been reviewed. In addition, a new record for the text
summary is created in the AD_GREETINGS_TABLE (see FIG. 3) and the
field GR_REVIEW_FLAG 303 is set to TRUE indicating that the record
has been reviewed. In the new record, the fields GR_MAILBOX_NUMBER
301, GR_TYPE 302, GR_FILENAME 304, GR_DATE_TIME 305 in the
AD_GREETINGS TABLE (see FIG. 3) are also populated to indicate the
advertiser's mailbox number, the file format, the location of the
text file on the IWS, and the date and time. The field GR_TYPE is
set to TEXT. Finally, the field GR_CONVERSION_FLAG 306 is set to
TRUE to indicate that the text does not need to be converted to a
different format.
[0073] The operator then returns to block 1800 to select another
advertisement to review in order to continue processing
advertisements. If no new advertisements are found, the operator
queries the Ad Database to determine if any multimedia files
(audio, video, or photo) have been submitted via the Internet to
enhance a personal advertisement 1808. Specifically, the query
looks for all advertisements in the AD_PERSONAL_TABLE (see FIG. 2)
where the field AD_REVIEW_FLAG 210 is set to TRUE that has files in
the AD_GREETING_TABLE (see FIG. 3) where the GR_REVIEW_FLAG 303 is
set to FALSE. If the query finds a multimedia file, the operator
first reviews the file 1809. If it is an audio file, this consists
of listening to the advertiser's audio greeting. If it is a video
or graphic file, this consists of viewing the file. The operator
then determines if the greeting's content is appropriate 1810. If
the greeting's content is inappropriate, the filed is deleted and
the record purged from the database 1811. The operator is then
returned to block 1808 to continue processing multimedia files. If
the file's content is appropriate, the operator approves the file
1812 and updates the database 1813. Specifically, this consists in
setting the field GR_REVIEW_FLAG 303 to TRUE to indicate that the
file has been reviewed.
[0074] If the file is an audio file, the OWS converts the file to
create a new RealAudio RA file and stores the file on the IWS. The
OWS also converts the file to create a Dialogic VOX file and stores
the file on the IVR. For each new audio file, a new record is
created in the AD_GREETINGS_TABLE (see FIG. 2) and the fields
GR_MAILBOX_NUMBER 301, GR_TYPE 302, GR_DATE_TIME 305, and
GR_FILENAME 304 are populated to indicate the mailbox number of the
advertiser, the format of the file, the date and time, and the
location of the audio file on the IVR. Also, the field
GR_REVIEW_FLAG 303 is set to TRUE to indicate that the file has
been reviewed. Finally, the field GR_CONVERSION_FLAG is set to TRUE
to indicate that the audio file does not need to be converted.
[0075] If the file is a video file, the OWS converts the Microsoft
AVI file to create a new VDOLive file and stores the file on the
IWS. Also, a new record is created in the AD GREETINGS TABLE (see
FIG. 2) and the fields GR_MAILBOX_NUMBER 301, GR_TYPE 302,
GR_DATE_TIME 305, and GR_FILENAME 304 are populated to indicate the
mailbox number of the advertiser, the format of the file, the date
and time, and the location of the video file on the IVR.
[0076] Also, the field GR_REVIEW_FLAG 303 is set to TRUE to
indicate that the file has been reviewed. Finally, the field
GR_CONVERSION_FLAG 306 is set to TRUE to indicate that the video
file does not need to be converted.
[0077] The operator then returns to block 1808 to continue
processing multimedia files. If no new multimedia files are found,
the session is terminated 1814.
[0078] Publishing Ads in the Newspaper
[0079] Each week, all the twenty-word summary text advertisements
from personal advertisements submitted via telephone and via the
Internet are published in a newspaper along with their five digit
mailbox numbers. FIG. 8 depicts personal advertisements as they
would appear in the local newspaper. Icons are included in each
advertisement that represent the origin of an advertisement (via
telephone or via the Internet) and what additional information or
multimedia, if any, is available on the Internet. For example, an
advertisement placed via the telephone contains a telephone icon
2001; an advertisement placed via the Internet contains a computer
icon 2002. If there is additional text on the Internet, an
advertisement contains an icon denoting additional text 2004. The
presence of a photo or video clip is indicated respectively by a
still camera 2004 and video camera 2005 icons.
[0080] Responding to an Ad Through a Telephone
[0081] An exemplary operation of the system with regard to a
telephone caller responding to a personal advertisement will now be
treated to accomplish the process as indicated in FIG. 9. First,
suppose a telephone caller at terminal T1 places a call to respond
to a personal advertisement advertised in XYZ newspaper. The
assumed call involves the telephone caller actuating the buttons to
input the number 1-9-0-0-7-7-7-3-3-3-3, for example. As a result,
signals are provided to the PTN resulting in a connection from the
remote terminal T1i to the IVR. Using standard DNIS techniques, the
IVR associates the called number 1-9-0-0-7-7-7-3-3-3-3 with a
specific format, for example, a voice personals response format. s
Referring to FIG. 9, upon receiving a call, the IVR sets the
"invalid mailbox number count" equal to zero 2301. The IVR then
increments the "invalid mailbox number count" by one 2302 and cues
the caller for a mailbox number 2303. Upon the caller entering a
mailbox number, the IVR queries the field AD_MAILBOX_NUMBER 201 to
determine if the mailbox number is valid 2304. If the mailbox
number is invalid, the IVR determines if the caller has exceeded
the maximum number of attempts allowed 2305. If the caller has
exceeded the maximum number of attempts allowed, the call is
terminated 2306. If the maximum number of attempts allowed has not
been exceeded, the IVR increments the "invalid mailbox number
count" by one 2302 and again cues the caller for a mailbox number
2303.
[0082] If the mailbox number is valid, the IVR queries the field
AD_ORIGIN 211 to determine whether the advertisement originated on
the Internet or on the telephone 2307. If the advertisement
originated on the telephone, the IVR plays the advertiser's audio
greeting 2311. If the advertisement originated on the Internet, the
IVR uses text to speech to play the advertiser's text greeting as
placed on the Internet 2308. The IVR then queries the
AD_GREETINGS_TABLE (see FIG. 2) to determine if the Internet
advertiser also submitted an audio greeting 2309. If the query does
not find an audio greeting 2310, the IVR prompts the caller to
indicate if he wishes to respond to the advertisement 2312. If the
query finds an audio greeting 2310, the IVR plays the audio
greeting 2311. The IVR then prompts the caller to indicate if he
wishes to respond to the advertisement 2312.
[0083] If the caller elects not to respond to the advertisement, he
is given the option of having the IVR find other advertisements
that are similar to the one he just listened to 2325. If the caller
elects to respond to the advertisement, the IVR first cues him to
record his response 2319. The IVR then stores the response to a
disk file and updates the Ad Database 2321. Specifically, the IVR
creates a new record in the AD_RESPONSE_TABLE (see FIG. 4) and
populates the fields RSP_MAILBOX_NUMBER 501, RSP_DATE_TIME 503,
RSP_TYPE 504, and RSP_FILENAME 505 to indicate the mailbox number
of the advertisement responded to, the date and time of the
response, the format of the response, and the location of the
response file on the IVR. The field RSP_TYPE 504 is set to VOX to
indicate that the audio recording is in the Dialogic VOX file
format. Finally, the field RSP_CONVERSION_FLAG 506 is set to FALSE
to indicate that the audio must be converted from the Dialogic VOX
format to create a new audio file in the RealAudio RA format for
playback on the Internet.
[0084] The IVR also creates a new RealAudio RA file from Dialogic
.VOX file and stores the RealAudio file to a disk file on the IWS.
Specifically, the IVR creates a new record in the AD_RESPONSE_TABLE
(see FIG. 4) and populates the fields RSP_MAILBOX_NUMBER 501,
RSP_DATE_TIME 503, RSP_TYPE 504, and RSP_FILENAME 505 to indicate
the mailbox number of the advertisement responded to, the date and
time of the response, the format of the response, and the location
of the response file on the IVR. The field RSP_TYPE 504 is set to
RA to indicate that the audio recording is in the RealAudio RA file
format. Finally, the field RSP_CONVERSION_FLAG 506 is set to TRUE
for both the audiotext VOX file and the RealAudio .RA file to
indicate that the audio files do not need to be converted.
[0085] In addition, the mailbox number of the personal
advertisement responded to is placed in a notification queue 2322,
together with delivery information corresponding to the
advertisement, so that the advertiser can be notified that a
response has been left for her advertisement. The delivery
information includes the telephone number and e-mail address, if
available, of the advertiser who is to be notified.
[0086] The caller is then asked if he wants the IVR to
automatically find other ads that are similar to the one he just
responded to 2325. If the caller declines this option, the call is
terminated 2326.
[0087] Responding to an Ad Through the Internet
[0088] An exemplary operation of the system with regard to a
specific Internet user responding to a personal advertisement via
the Internet will now be treated to accomplish the process as
indicated in FIG. 10. First, suppose an advertiser at terminal CT1
connects to the Internet to respond to a personal advertisement
advertised in XYZ newspaper. The assumed Internet user connects to
the Internet and inputs a URL, for example:
http://www.personal_ads.com, resulting in a connection from the
remote terminal CT1 to a Home Page on the IWS.
[0089] Referring to FIG. 10, from the Home Page 2401 on the IWS,
the Internet user selects an Ad Response Form 2402. The Ad Response
Form instructs the Internet user to enter the five digit mailbox
number of the advertisement she wishes to respond to 2403. Upon the
Internet user entering her mailbox number, the IWS queries the
field AD_MAILBOX_NUMBER in the Ad Database to determine if the
mailbox number is valid 2404. If the mailbox number is invalid, the
Internet user is presented with an Invalid Mailbox Number Form
2405.
[0090] If the mailbox number is valid, the IWS presents the
Internet user with a Results Form 2406. The Results Form 2406 shows
the advertisement the Internet user selected. Specifically, the
Results Form shows the twenty word text advertisement that appears
in the newspaper 2407. In addition, the advertisement contains one
or more icons that represent additional text or multimedia files
(audio, video, photograph) related to the advertisement that are
available on the IWS, and indicates a path to other advertisements
which match the advertisement to which the Internet user is
responding. These icons include an audio icon 2408 to denote the
advertiser's audio greeting, a still camera icon 2409 to denote a
photograph of the advertiser, a video camera icon 2410 to denote a
video clip of the advertiser, a paper icon 2411 to denote the
advertiser's full text greeting, if the advertisement was placed on
the Internet and a "matching" icon to denote that the IWS has
identified other advertisements that are similar to the one being
responded to 2415. It is to be understood that these icons are
merely representative and that many other possibilities exist to
denote the existence of text and multimedia files. By clicking on
an icon, the Internet user can view or listen to the associated
file. In addition, by selecting a maximize bar 2412, the Internet
user can expand an advertisement to full page size (see FIG. 11).
The Internet user responds to an advertisement by selecting the
"Respond" button 2413.
[0091] When the Internet user selects the respond button, she is
presented with an Ad Response Form 2414. The Internet user creates
a response by completing a response text field 2416. After
completing the Ad Response Form, the Internet user submits the form
by pressing the "Submit" button 2422. The advertiser is then
presented with a Response Confirmation Form 2423. The Response
Confirmation Form gives the advertiser information on enhancing her
response with an audio message, photograph, or video clip.
[0092] The IWS then stores the response to a disk file and updates
the Ad Database 2424. Specifically, the IWS creates a new record in
the AD_RESPONSE_TABLE (see FIG. 4) and populates the fields
RSP_MAILBOX_NUMBER 501, RSP_DATE_TIME 503, RSP_TYPE 504, and
RSP_FILENAME 505 to indicate the mailbox number of the
advertisement responded to, the date and time of the response, the
format of the response, and the location of the response file on
the IWS. The field RSP_TYPE 504 is set to TEXT. Finally, the field
RSP_CONVERSION_FLAG 506 is set to TRUE to indicate that the text
does not need to be converted to a different format.
[0093] Enhancing a Response with Audio, Photograph and Video
[0094] As already indicated, after a text response has been
submitted via the Internet, the Internet user is shown a Response
Confirmation Form 1501 (see FIG. 12). The response confirmation
form gives the Internet user instructions on how to enhance a
response to an advertisement with audio, video, or a
photograph.
[0095] A more detailed explanation of how a respondent submits an
audio response, photograph, or video clip via CT1 will now be
given. To submit an audio response, the Internet user first makes
an audio recording using a WAV file editor and then saves the file
using her five digit mailbox number as the file name 1503, for
example: 44567.wav. The Internet user then submits the audio file
using e-mail to the recipient's electronic mailbox on the IWS 1504,
for example: 22345@personals.com 1512. The Internet user's audio
response is stored to a disk file on the IWS and the Ad Database is
updated 1505.
[0096] Specifically, the IVR creates a new record in the
AD_RESPONSE_TABLE (see FIG. 4) and populates the fields
RSP_MAILBOX_NUMBER 501, RSP_DATE_TIME 503, RSP_TYPE 504, and
RSP_FILENAME 506 to indicate the mailbox number of the
advertisement responded to, the date of the response, the format of
the audio file, and the location of the audio file on the IVR. The
field RSP_TYPE 504 is set to WAV to indicate that the audio
recording is in the Microsoft .WAV file format. Also, the field
RSP_CONVERSION_FLAG 506 is set to FALSE to indicate that the audio
file must be converted from the Microsoft .WAV format to create two
new audio response files: one in the RealAudio RA format for
playback on the Internet, and another in the Dialogic .VOX format
for playback via the telephone.
[0097] The IWS determines if conversion of audio files is needed
1506, and then creates a new RealAudio RA file and Dialogic VOX
file from the Microsoft .WAV file 1507. The RealAudio file is
stored on the IWS and the Dialogic file is stored on the IVR. The
IWS also updates the Ad Database 1508. Specifically, for each new
audio file, the IWS creates a new record in the AD_RESPONSE_TABLE
(see FIG. 4) and populates the fields RSP_MAILBOX_NUMBER 501,
RSP_DATE_TIME 503, RSP_TYPE 504, and RSP_FILENAME 505 to indicate
the mailbox number of the ad responded to, the date of the
response, the format of the response, and the location of the
response file on the IWS. Finally, the field RSP_CONVERSION_FLAG
506 is set to TRUE for both the source audio file (.WAV) and the
target audio files (.VOX and RA) to indicate that the audio files
do not need to be converted 1509.
[0098] To send a photograph in response to an ad, the Internet user
first digitizes a photograph using a scanner or takes a photograph
with a digital camera and then saves the image to a .GIF file using
her five digit mailbox number as the file name 1510, for example:
44567.gif. The respondent then submits the graphic file using
e-mail to the recipient's electronic mailbox, for example:
22345@personals.com 1504. The respondent's photo is stored to a
disk file on the IWS and the Ad Database is updated 1505.
[0099] Specifically, the IWS creates a new record in the
AD_RESPONSE_TABLE (see FIG. 4) and populates the RSP_MAILBOX_NUMBER
501, RSP_DATE_TIME 503, RSP_TYPE 504, and RSP_FILENAME 505 to
indicate the mailbox number of the advertisement responded to, the
date of the response, the file format of the photograph, and the
location of the file on the IWS. The field RSP_TYPE 504 is set to
GIF to indicate that the graphic file is in the GIF file format.
Finally, the field RSP_CONVERSION_FLAG 506 is set to TRUE to
indicate that no file conversion is necessary as GIF is the graphic
file format used by the IWS 1506. It should be noted that file
conversion may or may not be necessary depending on what file
formats are supported by the IWS and IVR and in what formats the
system allows users to submit files.
[0100] To send an advertiser a video clip, the Internet user first
digitizes a video clip and-then saves the image to a Microsoft AVI
file using her five digit mailbox number as the file name 1510, for
example: 44567.avi. Other video formats such as Apple Quicktime, or
MPEG video could also be used. The respondent then submits the
graphic file using e-mail to the recipient's electronic mailbox,
for example: 22345@personals.com 1504. The respondent's video is
stored to a disk file on the IWS and the Ad Database is updated
1505.
[0101] Specifically, the IVR creates a new record in the
AD_RESPONSE_TABLE (see FIG. 4) and populates the fields
RSP_MAILBOX_NUMBER 501, RSP_DATE_TIME 503, RSP_TYPE 504, and
RSP_FILENAME 505 to indicate the mailbox number of the
advertisement responded to, the date of the response, the file
format of the video clip, and the location of the video file on the
IWS. Specifically, the field RSP_TYPE 504 is set to AVI to indicate
that the audio recording is in the Microsoft AVI file format.
Finally, the field RSP_CONVERSION_FLAG 506 is set to FALSE to
indicate that the VDOLive file must be converted to the VDOLive
format for real time playback on the Internet.
[0102] The IWS determines that the video file must be converted to
VDOLive format 1506. The IWS creates a new VDOLive file from the
Microsoft AVI file and stores the new file to a disk file 1507 on
the IWS and updates the Ad Database 1508. A new record in the
AD_RESPONSE_TABLE (see FIG. 4) is created and the IWS populates the
RSP_MAILBOX_NUMBER 501, RSP_DATE_TIME 503, RSP_TYPE 504, and
RSP_FILENAME 505 fields to indicate the mailbox number of the
advertisement responded to, the date and time of the response, the
format of the video file, and the location of the video file on the
IWS. Finally, the field RSP_CONVERSION_FLAG 506 is set to TRUE for
both record formats (AVI and VDOLive) in the Ad Database to
indicate that the video file(s) does not need to be converted
1509.
[0103] Retrieving Responses Through a Telephone
[0104] An exemplary operation of the system with regard to an
advertiser retrieving responses to his personal advertisement will
now be treated to accomplish the process as indicated in FIG. 13.
First, suppose an advertiser at terminal T1 places a call to
retrieve messages left in response to his advertisement. The
assumed call involves the advertiser actuating the buttons to input
the number 1-9-0-0-7-7-7-4-4-4-4, for example. As a result, signals
are provided to the PTN resulting in a connection from the remote
terminal T1 to the IVR. Using standard DNIS techniques, the IVR
associates the called number 1 900 777 4444 with a specific format,
for example, a message retrieval format.
[0105] Referring to FIG. 13, upon receiving a call, the IVR sets
the "logon attempts" equal to zero 2501. The IVR then increments
the "logon attempts" by one 2502 and cues the caller for a mailbox
number 2503 and password 2504. The IVR then queries the Ad Database
to determine if the mailbox number and password are valid 2505. If
the entries are not valid, the IVR determines if the caller has
exceeded the maximum number of logon attempts allowed 2506. If the
caller has exceeded the maximum number of logon attempts allowed,
the call is terminated 2507. If the maximum number of logon
attempts allowed has not been exceeded, the IVR increments the
"logon attempts" by one 2502 and again cues the caller for a
mailbox number 2503 and password 2504.
[0106] If the entries are valid, the IVR then queries the
AD_RESPONSE_TABLE to determine if the advertiser has any responses
messages 2508. If the advertiser has no response messages, the call
is terminated 2507. If the IVR finds a response, the IVR plays the
text 2513 and audio 2514 messages from the respondent. If a
response is in text form, the IVR uses text-to-speech to play the
message. If there are additional responses, the caller is returned
to block 2513. Otherwise, the call is terminated 2507.
[0107] Retrieving Messages Through the Internet
[0108] An exemplary operation of the system, with regard to an
advertiser retrieving her messages via the Internet will now be
treated to accomplish the process as indicated in FIG. 14. First,
suppose an advertiser at terminal CT1 connects to the Internet to
retrieve messages. The assumed Internet user connects to the
Internet and inputs a URL, for example:
http://www.personal_ads.com, resulting in a connection from the
remote terminal CT1 to a Home Page 1701 on the IWS.
[0109] Referring to FIG. 14, from the Home Page 1701 on the IWS,
the advertiser selects a Message Retrieval Form 1702. The Message
Retrieval Form 1702 instructs the advertiser to enter a mailbox
number 1703 and password 1704. The IWS then queries the Ad Database
to determine if the mailbox number and password are valid 1705. If
the entries are not valid, the Internet user is presented with an
Invalid Mailbox and Password Form 1706. If the entries are valid
1705, the IWS queries the Ad Database 1707 to find responses to the
advertiser's ad.
[0110] If there are no responses, the IWS presents the advertiser
with a No Responses Form 1709. If the IWS finds one or more
responses, the IWS presents the advertiser with a Personal Ad
Messages Form 1710. The Personal Ad Messages Form 1709 shows any
messages that were stored for the advertiser. Each message shows
the date 1712 and time 1713 the message was received and contains
one or more icons that represent the contents of the message. A
text icon 1714 denotes a text message; an audio icon 1715 denotes
an audio message; a still camera icon 1716 denotes a photograph; a
video camera icon 1717 denotes a video clip. By clicking on an
icon, the advertiser can view or listen to the associated file.
[0111] Psychographic Profiling Via Telephone
[0112] An exemplary operation of the system with regard to
psychographic profiling will now be treated to accomplish the
process as indicated in FIG. 15. First, suppose a telephone caller
at terminal T1 places a call to find other advertisers whose
subjective makeup and preferences, or "psychographic" profile
matches his own. The assumed call involves the advertiser actuating
the buttons to input the number 1-9-0-0-7-7-7-4-4-4-4, for example.
As a result, signals are provided to the public telephone network
resulting in a connection from the remote terminal T1 to the IVR.
Using standard DNIS techniques, the IVR associates the called
number 1-9-0-0-7-7-7-4-4-4-4 with a specific format, for example, a
psychographic profiling format.
[0113] Referring to FIG. 15, upon receiving a call, the IVR sets
the "logon attempts" equal to zero 8001. The IVR then increments
the "logon attempts" by one 8002 and cues the caller for a mailbox
number 8003 and password 8004. The IVR then queries the Ad Database
to determine if the mailbox number and password are valid 8005. If
the entries are not valid, the IVR determines if the caller has
exceeded the maximum number of logon attempts allowed 8006. If the
caller has exceeded the maximum number of logon attempts allowed,
the call is terminated 8007. If the maximum number of logon
attempts allowed has not been exceeded, the IVR increments the
"logon attempts" by one 8002 and again cues the caller for a
mailbox number 8003 and password 8004.
[0114] If the entries are valid, the caller is prompted to create
his psychographic profile. The following is an illustrative
embodiment of the creation of a psychographic profile. The IVR
first plays two excerpts of music. The caller is asked to indicate
his preference by pressing the "one" key if he prefers the first
selection or the "two" key if he prefers the second selection 8008.
Next, the caller is played two recordings of environmental sounds.
The caller is asked to indicate his preference by pressing the
"one" key if he prefers the first sound selection or the "two" key
if he prefers the second selection 8009. The caller is then read
two brief poetry selections. The caller is asked to indicate his
preference by pressing the "one" key if he prefers the first
selection or the "two" key if he prefers the second selection 8010.
Finally, the caller is referred to the newspaper where two visual
images are published. The caller is asked to press the "one" key if
he prefers the first visual image or the "two" key if he prefers
the second visual image 8011. The callers answers to these
questions are then recorded in the Ad Database in the field
AD_PSYCH_PROFILE 213. It is to be understood that the these
psychographic profile questions are merely illustrative. The actual
questions could vary greatly in both number and kind. The callers
responses are then stored in the Ad Database in the field
AD_PSYCH_PROFILE 8012.
[0115] Next, the IVR queries the Ad Database for ads of existing
advertisers who have the same or a similar psychographic profile
8013. If there are no matches, the call is terminated 8007.
Optionally, if there are no exact matches, a feature may be
included whereby the caller could then select the 5, 10, 20, etc.
closest matches. On the other hand, if the IVR finds a match, the
IVR plays the greeting of the matching advertiser 8014. If the
greeting is in text form, the IVR uses text to speech to play the
message. The IVR then prompts the caller to indicate if he wishes
to respond to the advertisement 8015.
[0116] If the caller elects not to respond to the advertisement and
there are no additional matches, the call is terminated 8020. If
the caller elects not to respond to the advertisement and there are
additional matches, the caller is returned to block 8014.
[0117] If the caller elects to respond to the advertisement, the
IVR next cues him to record his response 8016. The IVR then stores
the response to a disk file 8017 and updates the Ad Database 8018.
Specifically, the IVR creates a new record in the AD_RESPONSE_TABLE
(see FIG. 4) and populates the fields RSP_MAILBOX_NUMBER 501,
RSP_DATE_TIME 503, RSP_TYPE 504, and RSP_FILENAME 505 to indicate
the mailbox number of the advertisement responded to, the date and
time of the response, the format of the response, and the location
of the response file on the IVR. The field RSP_TYPE 504 is set to
VOX to indicate that the audio recording is in the Dialogic VOX
file format. Finally, the field RSP_CONVERSION_FLAG 506 is set to
FALSE to indicate that the audio must be converted from the
Dialogic VOX format to create a new audio file in the RealAudio .RA
format for playback on the Internet.
[0118] The IVR creates a new RealAudio RA file from Dialogic VOX
file and stores the RealAudio file to a disk file on the IWS and
updates the database. Specifically, the IVR creates a new record in
the AD_RESPONSE_TABLE (see FIG. 4) and populates the fields
RSP_MAILBOX_NUMBER 501, RSP DATE_TIME 503, RSP_TYPE 504, and
RSP_FILENAME 505 to indicate the mailbox number of the
advertisement responded to, the date and time of the response, the
format of the response, and the location of the response file on
the IVR. The field RSP_TYPE 504 is set to RA to indicate that the
audio recording is in the RealAudio RA file format.
[0119] Finally, the field RSP_CONVERSION_FLAG 506 is set to TRUE
for both the audiotext VOX file and the RealAudio RA file to
indicate that the audio files do not need to be converted.
[0120] If there are additional matches, the caller is returned to
block 8014. Otherwise, the call is terminated 8020.
[0121] Psychographic Profiling Via the Internet
[0122] An exemplary operation of the system with regard to
psychographic profiling via the Internet will now be treated to
accomplish the process as indicated in FIG. 16. First, suppose an
advertiser at terminal CT1 connects to the Internet to find
existing advertisements that match her psychographic profile. The
assumed advertiser connects to the Internet and inputs a Uniform
Reference Locator URL, for example: http://www.personal_ads.com,
resulting in a connection from the remote terminal CT1 to a Home
Page 9001 the Internet Web Server.
[0123] Referring to FIG. 16., from the Home Page 9001 on the
Internet Web Server, the Internet user selects a Match Form 9002.
The Match Form 9002 instructs the advertiser to enter a mailbox
number 9003 and password 9004. Upon submitting the input, the IWS
queries the Ad Database to determine if the mailbox number and
password are valid 9005. If the entries are not valid, the Internet
user is presented with an Invalid Mailbox and Password Form 9006.
If the entries are valid, the advertiser is passed to a
Psychographic Profile page where she is instructed to create her
psychographic profile. The advertiser first plays two experts of
music by selecting the corresponding music hyperlinks. The
advertiser indicates her preference by filling in the appropriate
check box 9008. Next, the advertiser plays two recordings of
environmental sounds by selecting the sound hyperlinks. The
advertiser indicates her preference by filling in the appropriate
check box 9009. The caller then plays two poetry selections by
selecting the poetry hyperlinks. The advertiser again indicates her
preference by filling in a check box 9010. Finally, the advertiser
selects a preferred visual image by filling in its corresponding
check box 9011. The advertiser then submits her selections, which
are in turn recorded in the Ad Database in the field
AD_PSYCH_PROFILE 9012. It is to be understood that these
psychographic profile questions are merely illustrative. The actual
questions could vary greatly in both number and kind.
[0124] Next, the IWS queries the Ad Database to find the
advertisements of other advertisers who have the same or a similar
psychographic profile 9013. If the query does not find any matching
ads, the advertiser is presented with a No Matches Page 9014.
Optionally, if there are no exact matches, a feature may be
included whereby the caller could then be presented with a page
listing the 5, 10, 20, etc., closest matches. On the other hand, if
the query finds one or more matching advertisers, the IWS presents
the advertiser with a Psychographic Matches form 9015. This
Psychographic Matches form shows the user with a brief description,
including a headline of the matching advertiser or advertisers,
presented one at a time. Specifically, the Psychographic Matches
form shows the advertisements titles or headline of each matching
advertiser 9016. Each advertiser's title is a hyperlink that can be
followed to the actual advertisement for viewing and
responding.
[0125] While the present invention has been described with
reference to one or more preferred embodiments, such embodiments
are merely exemplary and are not intended to be limiting or
represent an exhaustive enumeration of all aspects of the
invention. The scope of the invention, therefore, shall be defined
solely by the following claims. Further, it will be apparent to
those of skill in the art that numerous changes may be made in such
details without departing from the spirit and the principles of the
invention.
* * * * *
References