U.S. patent application number 11/877623 was filed with the patent office on 2008-05-01 for method and system for facilitating social payment or commercial transactions.
Invention is credited to Kevin Hughes, Olin Lagon, Carnet Williams.
Application Number | 20080104496 11/877623 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39325359 |
Filed Date | 2008-05-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080104496 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Williams; Carnet ; et
al. |
May 1, 2008 |
METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR FACILITATING SOCIAL PAYMENT OR COMMERCIAL
TRANSACTIONS
Abstract
A system and computer implemented method for providing a widget
are described. The widget is embeddable, copyable and for
dynamically displaying multimedia content. The method and system
include receiving a campaign configuration for a campaign and a
configuration of the widget. The campaign includes at least one
goal related to at least one user action. The widget dynamically
displays multimedia content related to the campaign. The
configuration includes the campaign with which the widget is
associated. The widget is capable of receiving at least one user
input related to the action. The input indicates that the at least
one action has bee performed. The method and system further include
rendering the widget on a site, receiving input related to the
action, tracking the action, and updating the widget if the action
indicates that the at least one goal has been fulfilled. The widget
may then be re-rendered on the site.
Inventors: |
Williams; Carnet; (Honolulu,
HI) ; Lagon; Olin; (Honolulu, HI) ; Hughes;
Kevin; (Honolulu, HI) |
Correspondence
Address: |
STRATEGIC PATENT GROUP, P.C.
P.O. BOX 1329
MOUNTAIN VIEW
CA
94042
US
|
Family ID: |
39325359 |
Appl. No.: |
11/877623 |
Filed: |
October 23, 2007 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60853829 |
Oct 23, 2006 |
|
|
|
60854018 |
Oct 23, 2006 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
715/209 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/02 20130101;
G06Q 10/107 20130101; G06Q 30/06 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
715/209 |
International
Class: |
G06F 17/00 20060101
G06F017/00 |
Claims
1. A computer implemented method for providing a widget comprising:
receiving a campaign configuration for a campaign, the campaign
including at least one goal related to at least one user action;
receiving a configuration of the widget, the widget for dynamically
displaying multimedia content related to the campaign, the widget
being embeddable and copyable, the configuration including the
campaign with which the widget is associated, the widget capable of
receiving at least one user input related to the action; rendering
the widget on a site; receiving input indicating that the at least
one action is performed; tracking the action; updating the widget
if the action indicates that the at least one goal has been
fulfilled; and rerendering the widget on the site.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the widget has an effectiveness
percentage determined based upon an aggregate of the at least one
action.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the widget is a personal widget.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims priority from co-pending
provisional application Ser. No. 60/853,829, filed Oct. 23, 2006,
entitled "Method and System for Facilitating Social Payment or
Commercial Transactions", and from co-pending provisional
application Ser. No. 60/854,018, filed Oct. 23, 2006, entitled
"Method and System for Facilitating Social Payment or Commercial
Transactions", both assigned to the assignee of the present
application.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The World Wide Web has matured into an integral part of
daily life for users around the world. The Internet may be used for
commerce, social transactions, and sharing of multimedia content.
For example, electronic commerce has grown significantly in recent
years. Consumer commercial transactions that occur over the World
Wide Web or use protocols that leverage the Internet such as SMTP
(email) are collectively known as "electronic commerce." The
current model for electronic commercial transactions typically
involves one merchant and one consumer engaging in a one-to-one
transaction in which a consumer selects a set of goods and/or
services and pays for those goods and/or services through the
merchant, and the merchant fulfils the order. The Internet may also
be used to facilitate merchants' ability to target potential
consumers for commercial transactions. A merchant may customize
advertisements and provide the advertisements to selected users. In
Google.TM. AdWords, for example, the merchants' customized content
may be selectively displayed based upon search terms users provide
to Google.TM.. The content provided also provides a mechanism for
users to access the merchants' site and, therefore, make purchases.
Similarly, affiliate marketing allows a promoter to serve up a
static text/image link to a visitor that allows for a click through
to a page set by an Organizer. If the visitor takes action as set
by the Organizer (visit a page, complete a form, conduct a
transaction, etc.) an affiliate marketing firm tracks this action
that takes place on the Organizer's server and completes a
transaction based on the agreement between the Organizer and
Promoter. After an action is taken by a Visitor, the Promoter's
text/image link is in no way modified to reflect this incremental
action or changes in form, function, and content based on this
incremental action. Such commercial mechanisms may be considered to
be one-to-many, allowing a single merchant to reach a large number
of consumers.
[0003] The World Wide Web has also experienced tremendous growth as
a social media. As a social media, the World Wide Web provides a
vehicle for sharing user generated content, such as through blogs,
personal profiles, videos, podcasts, and the like. Platforms for
sharing user generated content, such as Blogger, MySpace, YouTube,
and Facebook have been developed and benefited from this growth.
Other mechanisms for facilitating social interactions, such as
eVite, have also grown. Using eVite, for example, an organizer may
set up an event, sent invitation emails to potential participants,
manage RSVPs, estimate budgets, and perform other functions related
to the event via dedicated pages on eVite. Moreover, social media
and fundraising combine in social payments to raise money for a
variety of causes. Social media may be used to provide "Blogathons"
that raise money for charities, political campaigns, allow
musicians to appeal directly to their audience to underwrite
albums, raise money for schools, parties, clubs and sports teams,
or other causes. In such social payment transactions, organizers
may solicit funds from other individuals visiting blogs or
sites.
[0004] In order to display media for a variety of purposes,
conventional widgets may be used. The conventional widgets are
often used to display content from a widget owner to a user. For
example, a user may load a page, or site, containing the
conventional widget and view content, such as video, provided by
the conventional widget. Conventional widgets are generally
embeddable, portable applications that often run without access to
a user's file system. The conventional widget may be copyable by
users. Thus, a user may copy a widget from a site to a location of
the user's choosing, for example the user's own blog. Conventional
widgets are also generally small in size and less complex than
typical applications, such as email or word processing
applications. However, there is typically no agreed upon limitation
in size or complexity for conventional widgets. Such widgets may be
used, for example, by bloggers to share
[0005] Although electronic commerce and social transactions are
possible via the World Wide Web, there are drawbacks. Many social
and electronic commerce transactions involve many-to-many
relationships. Such relationships are not well supported by current
electronic commerce and social media platforms. In addition, the
ability of tools, such as widgets, to reflect individual users'
tastes may be limited. Consequently, users' ability to engage in
social, commercial, and other transactions including sharing of
multimedia content may be limited.
[0006] Accordingly, what is needed is a method and system for
marketing transactions, such as affiliate marketing. The present
invention addresses such a need.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] A system and computer implemented method for providing a
widget are described. The widget is embeddable, copyable and for
dynamically displaying multimedia content. The method and system
include receiving a campaign configuration for a campaign and a
configuration of the widget. The campaign includes at least one
goal related to at least one user action. The widget dynamically
displays multimedia content related to the campaign. The
configuration includes the campaign with which the widget is
associated. The widget is capable of receiving at least one user
input related to the action. The input indicates that the at least
one action has bee performed. The method and system further include
rendering the widget on a site, receiving input related to the
action, tracking the action, and updating the widget if the action
indicates that the at least one goal has been fulfilled. The widget
may then be re-rendered on the site.
[0008] According to the method and system disclosed herein, social
and other transactions via the Internet may be facilitated.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 depicts one embodiment of a group payment system.
[0010] FIG. 2 depictes an exemplary embodiment of new account
creation and organizer verification from the provider.
[0011] FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary embodiment of new event setup
and event management.
[0012] FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a widget.
[0013] FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a widget.
[0014] FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary embodiment of widget overview
and rendering.
[0015] FIG. 7 depicts exemplary embodiments of widgets.
[0016] FIG. 8 depicts another exemplary embodiment of a widget.
[0017] FIG. 9 depicts an exemplary embodiment of authentication of
a widget.
[0018] FIG. 10 depicts another exemplary embodiment of a method for
authenticating widgets.
[0019] FIG. 11 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a system
utilizing a proxy server.
[0020] FIG. 12 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a method for
moderating widgets.
[0021] FIG. 13 depicts a comparison of an exemplary embodiment of
the method and system as applied to affiliate marketing and
conventional, traditional affiliate marketing.
[0022] FIGS. 14-15 depict exemplary embodiments of the method and
system as utilized in affiliate marketing applications.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0023] The present invention relates to a method and system for
providing a widget. The following description is presented to
enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the
invention and is provided in the context of a patent application
and its requirements. Various modifications to the embodiments and
the generic principles and features described herein will be
readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Thus, the present
invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown,
but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the
principles and features described herein.
[0024] A method and system for facilitating social payment and
commercial transactions is described. The method and system utilize
an embeddable application, or widget. The widget is part of a
payment system that allows organizers to offer a variety of
individuals to participate in activities such as fundraising. The
widget is customizable for a particular organizer, preferably
through a widget panel. The widget may provide rich media to users
and allow for the success of an event, campaign, and/or
sub-campaign to be tracked. The widget allows for threaded text and
rich media discussions/comments to be accessed through, recorded
from, and uploaded through the widget itself. These
discussions/comments can be published in real time throughout all
widgets that relate to a specified campaign regardless of where the
widget is being hosted from. That is, a comment can be made by a
Web site visitor on a widget on one site set up by one Organizer
and viewed in near real time by a different Web site visitor on
another Widget hosted by another Organizer on a completely
different Web site. Similarly, discussion/comments as well as other
data may be published throughout only a selected portion of the
widgets relating to a specified campaign. The widget allows not
only for direct, individual donations, to a campaign but also for
sub-campaigns, or group payments, as options for fundraising,
commercial transactions, and/or other analogous applications. In
order to reach potential contributors, the widget may be posted on
an organizer's site or blog, posted on a dedicated website,
embedded into an email, embedded into an XML feed such as RSS, or
pushed to particular sites. The widget may also be viral in nature,
allowing for copying of the widget, for example to other sites or
blogs. In the act of copying, a code for the source widget is
transferred allowing for the tracking and data mining of
generations of widgets. This copying is preferably performed
through the widget itself. The copied widget may also be
customized. However, the widget may still be moderated by an
organizer, allowing organizer control over sites on which the
widget may function. Contributors may still make donations through
the copied widget. Moreover, a tracking mechanism may be provided
for the widget. For example, the effectiveness for content
providers that carry such widgets may also be used to determine the
efficiency of content providers in fundraising. In addition to
allowing payment through the widget, the widget may also be
authenticated. Moreover, widgets may be reused for other content.
The widget may also reflect local data for the site hosting the
widget. The widget may also be integrated with merchants or other
organizers, for example through a button.
[0025] In particular applications, such as affiliate marketing and
personal widgets, the method and system described herein may serve
visitors dynamic widgets based on settings triggered by cumulative
visitor actions. Such an application may have a variety of features
including, but not limited to, one or more of the features
described below. In such an application, the visitor is presented
not with a text link but rather an image/widget that dynamically
displays form, content, and functionality based on the cumulative
actions taken by previous visitors during the life of the campaign
and based on the rules, logic, and settings defined by both the
promoter hosting the widget and the organizer. That is, for each
action taken the widget may be dynamically modified if either the
promoter or organizer set up a rule to modify the widget. In such
an application the widget may self update in near real time based
on the cumulative actions taken as a result of click throughs by
visitors and/or other actions as determined by the multiple parties
that have input in the organizer of that campaign. The form,
features, content, options, offers, design, and state of the widget
may be changed based on the rules applied to the cumulative actions
and current state. Thus, the changes may be applied to all of the
widgets hosted by all promoters, the organizer, provider, or other
content provider, or a selected subset of the widgets. In addition,
the service provider, promoter, and organizer may have real time
controls to modify parameters and business logic of the campaign
where those changes may be reflected in all live Widgets in near
real time. The parameters of the widget may also be changed
directly from the Widget and/or from a click through from the
widget to a web Page of the provider where these parameters can be
set. In either modification case, the provider's database and
systems are updated securely in real time. The widget may be
further configured by a Promoter based on options authorized by the
organizer. A promoter may be allowed to create a sub-campaign of an
organizer's campaign where the data presented in the widget is
updated in real time and specific just to the click through actions
taken as a result of the sub-campaign while allowing the widget to
optionally display data about the master campaign of the organizer.
Some or all of the system including but not limited to the widget
and its customizations, payment or other action page, and actions
desired, may be set up to be potentially 100% self service with no
intervention necessary by the provider. Thus, the transaction, from
account creation all the way through all actions such as settling
financial transactions, may be performed at any time by organizers
and/or promoters. Tracking code embedded by an organizer may be
used not only for tracking purposes only but to send data to a
central repository to which all live widget(s) are tied. All or a
selected subset of live widget(s) may thus get live data feeds,
thereby providing real time updates to all or a selected subset of
live connected widgets based on actions taken by widget
clickthoughs. An organizer may also embed code snippets that may
push live transactional data after an action has taken place to a
business process system that can determine, based on rules set by
the organizer, whether automated business actions need to be taken.
For instance whenever click through numbers reach increments of
100, the widgets may turn a darker shade of gray until the widget
is black. Individual widgets, as part of a campaign or as an
individual person's widget, may gain value based on predetermined
conditional data such as widget views, widget clickthroughs, and
widget actions. The ability to edit/modify a custom individual
widget by logging in directly to the widget and having the modified
parameters securely sent over to a provider's central repository
over the Internet or other network systems may also be achieved.
The providers, organizers, and/or the promoters may have the
ability to grant other users selective access/permissions to modify
individual widgets, where permissioned users have access as stated
directly through the widget or via a secured Web page clicked
through from the widget. Promoters and/or other content providers
may be given the ability to either redeem points or buy points to
redeem to unlock/add/edit/additional information including tabs on
an individual widget which can also includes additional widget
features, content, links, themes, sizes and functions. The widget
may be customized by using either an html sidebar selection or a
drag and drop feature, including a widget that is itself a widget
maker. Moreover, the organizer or other entity may be provided with
reporting of number of widgets in circulation, number of widget
views, number of widget tab views, number of widget actions taken
per widget, number of widget click throughs, number of widget
signups. A unique effectiveness rating per promoter may also be
made available to the organizer and optionally to a promoter,
potential promoters, the general public, and/or other entities.
This effectiveness rating is preferably a mathematical score based
on a promoter's widget, a promoter's recorded actions, widget
views, average widgets/actions/views per day, length of time widget
is live, number of direct children widgets created, the cumulative
results of the children widget, the number of grandchildren widgets
spawned from the children widget out with no limits to degrees, and
the cumulative results of the grandchildren widgets. This
effectiveness rating provides an Organizer with a unique metric to
judge the value of an individual widget taking into consideration
all desired direct and indirect activity. An organizer may move a
parent widget (created by the organizer) to any Web page and
instantly set all children widgets to point to a new landing
page--either the new page of the parent widget or any landing page
set by the organizer. This dynamic setting can be automated based
on passwords or done manually through the widget, through a Web
page via a click through on the widget, through an online Control
Panel, or another mechanism selected by the organizer. A visitor of
a child widget (e.g. a copy of another widget) may instantly join
the network by creating a next generation Widget. Thus, a virtually
unlimited number of generations might be spawned off by a widget
with all generations tied to detailed reporting that includes all
degrees of separation information.
[0026] A system and computer implemented method for providing a
widget are described. The widget is embeddable, copyable and for
dynamically displaying multimedia content. The method and system
include receiving a campaign configuration for a campaign and a
configuration of the widget. The campaign includes at least one
goal related to at least one user action. The widget dynamically
displays multimedia content related to the campaign. The
configuration includes the campaign with which the widget is
associated. The widget is capable of receiving at least one user
input related to the action. The input indicates that the at least
one action has bee performed. The method and system further include
rendering the widget on a site, receiving input related to the
action, tracking the action, and updating the widget if the action
indicates that the at least one goal has been fulfilled. The widget
may then be re-rendered on the site.
[0027] In one embodiment, a method and system for facilitating
social payment and commercial transactions is described. The method
and system utilize an embeddable application, or widget. The widget
is part of a payment system that allows organizers to offer a
variety of individuals to participate in activities such as
fundraising. The widget is customizable for a particular organizer,
in one embodiment through a widget panel. The widget may provide
rich media to users and allow for the success of an event,
campaign, and/or sub-campaign to be tracked. The widget allows for
threaded text and rich media discussions/comments to be accessed
through, recorded from, and uploaded through the widget itself.
These discussions/comments may be published in real time throughout
all widgets that relate to a specified campaign regardless of where
the widget is being hosted from. That is, a comment can be made by
a Web site visitor on a widget on one site set up by one Organizer
and viewed in near real time by a different Web site visitor on
another Widget hosted by another Organizer on a completely
different Web site. Similarly, discussion/comments as well as other
data may be published throughout only a selected portion of the
widgets relating to a specified campaign. The widget may allow not
only for direct, individual donations, to a campaign but also for
sub-campaigns, or group payments, as options for fundraising,
commercial transactions, and/or other analogous applications. In
order to reach potential contributors, the widget may be posted on
an organizer's site or blog, posted on a dedicated website,
embedded into an email, embedded into an XML feed such as RSS, or
pushed to particular sites. The widget may also be viral in nature,
allowing for copying of the widget, for example to other sites or
blogs. In the act of copying, a code for the source widget is
transferred allowing for the tracking and data mining of
generations of widgets. This copying is may be performed through
the widget itself. The copied widget may also be customized.
However, the widget may still be moderated by an organizer,
allowing organizer control over sites on which the widget may
function. Contributors may still make donations through the copied
widget. Moreover, a tracking mechanism may be provided for the
widget. For example, the effectiveness for content providers that
carry such widgets may also be used to determine the efficiency of
content providers in fundraising. In addition to allowing payment
through the widget, the widget may also be authenticated. Moreover,
widgets may be reused for other content. The widget may also
reflect local data for the site hosting the widget. The widget may
also be integrated with merchants or other organizers, for example
through a button.
[0028] The method and system are mainly described in terms of
particular systems provided in particular implementations. However,
one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that this
method and system operate effectively in other implementations. For
example, the systems, devices, and networks usable with the present
invention can take a number of different forms. For example, the
method and system may not be limited to the Internet, but instead
may be usable with other networks and/or devices, such as cellular
telephones and other hand-held devices. The method and system are
also described in the context of particular transactions being
performed. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize,
however, that the method and system may be used in other
transactions. The method and system will also be described in the
context of particular methods having certain steps. However, the
method and system operate effectively for other methods having
different and/or additional steps not inconsistent with the present
invention.
[0029] A method and system for facilitating social payment and
commercial transactions is described. The method and system will be
described in terms of particular components including a widget and
payment system having specific components and features. However,
one of ordinary skill in the art will realize that the widget and
payment system may have other and/or different features and
components not inconsistent with the method and system. In
addition, the method and system primarily are described in the
context of fundraising and social payment transactions. However,
one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the method and
system can be extended to other transactions including commercial
transactions.
[0030] FIG. 1 depicts one embodiment of a system 100 in accordance
with the method and system. The system 100 may be used for social
payment transactions (i.e. fundraising). For example, an organizer
such as a particular cause or charity may desire to use the system
100 for a variety of events. Such events might include a campaign
based only on Internet contributions, blograising performed in
conjunction with a traditional (non-Internet based) fundraising
campaign, campaigns that want to drive and track traffic to a
particular Web site, campaigns that want to drive and track visitor
actions, campaigns based on the occurrence of a particular event,
as an ongoing fundraising campaign, in a campaign of limited
duration, or for other purposes. The system 100 allows an organizer
to configure a widget for event(s), allows the widget to be
disseminated, and manages payments or other data transmitted
through the widget. The system 100 may include at least payment
subsystem 104, widget maker 102, organizer data 106, widget(s)
122A, 122B, 122C, 132A, 132B, 132C, 132D, 132E, 142A, 142B, 142C,
and 142D on sites 120, 130, 140, 150, 120A, 120B, 120C, 130A, 130B,
130C, 130D, 130E, 140A, 140B, 140C, and 140D, and, optionally, a
proxy server 106. The system 100 may also utilize a widget panel
112 that allows an organizer to customize the widget and a payment
page 110 through which the contributor actually makes a payment.
The payment subsystem, widget maker, widget panel, and organizer
data may be controlled by and accessed via a provider. The provider
may, for example, charge a fixed fee or a percentage of donations
for use of and services provided in connection with the system
100.
[0031] In operation, the organizer utilizes the widget maker 102 in
order to customize a widget. In one embodiment, the widget maker
provides a widget panel, which is a user interface that allows an
organizer to provide input to the system used in customizing the
widget. In one embodiment, the widget panel is a page presented to
the organizer that allows the organizer to select features of the
widget. For example, based on the organizer's elections in the
widget panel, the widget maker sets the color, shape,
event(s)/campaign(s) represented, rich media, level of detail and
other aspects of the widget. The organizer may also specify that
the widget is to be associated with specific event(s) and/or
provide a profile for the type of events with which the widget is
to be associated or content played on the widget. Thus, a single
widget may be configured to display information related to multiple
events. FIGS. 2-3 depict embodiments of methods 160 and 170,
respectively, for creation and management of new accounts and/or
events for which the widget may be generated.
[0032] The organizer's selections for the widget, as well as other
data related to the organizer are stored in the organizer data 106.
Thus, the organizer data includes organizer selected widget
features, payment features, and event features. For example, widget
features may include the content such as rich media displayed on
the widget, thermometers or other mechanisms selected for tracking
the progress of the campaign, colors, specific content providers
authorized to host the widget, profiles of content providers
authorized to host the widget, parameters related to updating the
widget, and other data used in customizing the widget. The payment
features may include allowed forms of payment, event tracking,
rules for extracting funds, the look and feel of the payment page,
and other data relating to payment. The event features may include
event data such as the fundraising goal, event start time and
duration, and the type of output for each event.
[0033] The payment subsystem 104 is utilized in managing the
payments made and the payment page 110. Thus, the payment subsystem
104 may authenticate users and/or forms of payment, track payments,
validate extraction of funds, validate and track payments and forms
of payment made to content providers, and otherwise manage the
actual funds provided to the event or paid out from the event. In
one embodiment, the payments may be validated and held by the
provider or other designated third party (not shown) during the
event. In such an embodiment, an organizer may be allowed to
extract some or all of the funds. In an alternate embodiment,
payments may not be considered made and extraction of funds may not
be allowed until the event closes. Further, the payment subsystem
may allow payments to content providers, organizers, and/or other
designated entities in a variety of forms including but not limited
to cash or the equivalent, gift cards, or other items.
[0034] The widget 122, 132, 142, 152, 122A, 122B, 122C, 132A, 132B,
132C, 132D, 132E, 142A, 142B, 142C, and/or 142D is an embeddable
code snippet, for example a Flash, HTML, XML, XHTML, SBML, .NET,
Java, JavaScript, JSP, VisualBasic Applet or analogous application.
The widget may be embeddable in a multitude of architectures, for
example web pages, mobile phones, PDAs, and/or provided via email.
In addition, because the widget is embeddable, the widget is
self-replicating in nature. Although the original code from the
widget maker resides with the provider, the widget may be copied to
multiple sites. In addition, the provider may be able to push data
to widgets existing on other site as well as copies of the widget
to new sites. Data may be pushed to all of the widgets or a
selected portion of the widgets. Data may also be encrypted by the
data source provider and decrypted by the widget based on
private/public key cryptography, encryption, DES variants,
passwords, or other secure means. Each widget also has identifiers,
for example in a header, that may associate the widget with
particular event(s), organizer(s), and/or content provider(s),
indicate from which widget it was replicated (parent-child
relationships), and allow the provider to validate and control the
widget. When a potential contributor accesses the site, the
provider may render the widget based upon the configuration
selected by the organizer and/or content provider, accept content
from widgets, allow and track payments via the widget, push content
to the widget, and perform other tasks using the widget, as
described below. FIGS. 4-5, and 7-8 depict various embodiments and
features of the widget. Note that not all features of the widget
are depicted in all embodiments of the widget. FIG. 6 depicts an
exemplary embodiment 199 of an overview and corresponding real time
for widget rendering.
[0035] Once configured, the widget 122, 132, 142, 152, 122A, 122B,
122C, 132A, 132B, 132C, 132D, 132E, 142A, 142B, 142C, and 142D may
be placed in the organizer's page 120 and/or in a hosted page or
blog 120, 130, 140, 150, 120A, 120B, 120C, 130A, 130B, 130C, 130D,
130E, 140A, 140B, 140C, and 140D. In one embodiment, the provider
hosts a blog specifically for the event(s) associated with the
widget. As a result, every event may have its own special URL. This
unique address is tied to an organizer or individual that
symbolizes a particular event or campaign. Further, the widget may
be pushed to selected content providers (otherwise known as
promoters) based upon the organizer's preferences and
characteristics of the content providers. For example, suppose the
organizer wishes to obtain contributions for a political campaign.
The organizer may indicate that certain sites having compatible
political views, that are known to reach a particular audience,
that relate to a particular geographic area, and/or that have a
requisite level of effectiveness in obtaining contributions are
desired. Such sites may be Blog 3 and Blog 4 in FIG. 1. Further,
the content providers of Blogs 3 and 4 may agree to host widgets
for particular causes. If there is a match between the preferences
of the organizer and the content providers of Blogs 3 and 4, the
provider may push the widget for the political campaign to Blogs 3
and 4. In return, the content providers may receive payment for
hosting the widget. Thus, because the widget has both many-to-one
and one-to-many capabilities. Stated differently, a single widget
may be associated with multiple events, organizers, or campaigns.
In addition, a single fundraising event/campaign or events for a
single organizer may be displayed on multiple widgets.
[0036] In addition to providing input to and receiving data from
the provider, the widget may include several components for each
event with which the widget is associated. These items may include
as event progress tracking mechanisms, rich media, comments,
payment buttons, status buttons, copying fields, sub-campaigns, and
other features. These components, as well as the look and feel of
the widget may be customized by the organizer. Further, the widget
may be customized to change depending upon the status of the event
or other input. For example, the rich media provided or comments
displayed may change based upon how close an event is to
terminating or the closing of a fundraising campaign. Examples of
customized widgets are depicted in FIGS. 4, 5, and 7-8. FIG. 4
depicts a widget 180. FIG. 5 depicts a network of widgets 180',
180'', 180''', and 180''''. In FIG. 5, various examples of widgets
200, 200', 200'', and 200''' are shown. FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary
embodiment 199 of the overview and event rendering. FIG. 7 depictes
widget 200, 200', 200'', and 200'''. FIG. 8 depicts a widget 220
and possible fields 222, 224, 226, 228, 230, 232, 234, 236, 238,
240, 242, 244, and 256.
[0037] The event progress tracking mechanisms, such as a
thermometer, status bar, and/or count down clock, provide real time
views of the event. Upon a refresh request and/or periodically
based upon organizer and/or provider set preferences, the event
progress tracking mechanisms may be updated by the provider to
reflect any changes in the event. For example, upon donation from
any of the widgets depicted in FIG. 1, the provider may push data
to all (or some subset of) the widgets to reflect the change in the
amount received. Thus, the level of a thermometer or status bar may
change based upon real-time events. The event progress tracking
mechanisms can be provided for the campaign(s) associated with the
event or provider, as well as sub-campaigns, described below.
[0038] The widget may also include rich media customized by an
organizer or other content provider. For example from an organizer
can choose to include images as well as audio and/or video messages
to encourage potential contributors to make a donation. Content
providers might also be allowed add their own content to the widget
on their site and copies thereof. The provider renders such rich
media when the site hosting the widget is accessed by a potential
contributor. Stated differently, the rich media
discussions/comments can be published in real time throughout all
widgets that relate to a specified campaign regardless of where the
widget is being hosted from. Thus, threaded text and rich media
discussions/comments may be provided via the widgets
themselves.
[0039] The widget may also display and accept comments via the
comments section. The comments provided by the organizer may appear
in the comments sections. In addition, comments provided via one of
the widgets of FIG. 1 may be disseminated by the provider to all or
a subset of the widgets upon a refresh request and/or periodically
based upon organizer and/or provider set preferences. The status
buttons provide a mechanism for viewing further details relating to
the event and/or organizer. Comments may be in textual or rich
media format including video and audio.
[0040] The payment buttons allow contributors to make payments
through the widget without leaving the site hosting the widget. In
one embodiment, selection of a payment button by a contributor
results in the corresponding organizer-configured payment page
being accessed. The contributor may then make a payment that is
managed by the payment subsystem. In addition, the widget may be
authenticated, which facilitates payment through the widget. For
example, a user may click on an authentication button in the
widget. The widget may then make a call back to one or more
authentication services. The authentication received is passed back
to the widget. Alternatively, a widget may automatically and/or
periodically request authentication and present this to the user.
This communication with authentication services may be performed
via the provider. The authentication allows a user to have a
greater level of assurance that payment through the widget is
secure. FIGS. 9 and 10 depict embodiments 250 and 275,
respectively, of authentication of the widget either directly with
the third party authentication service or through the provider.
Although FIG. 10 depicts a third party authentication service, in
some embodiments, the third party authentication service might be
created by the provider. Note that authentication of the widget may
be extended to other embeddable applications, such as Flash
applications. The authentication process may also use an embedded,
dynamically generated by a third party, site seal on the widget.
This embeddable seal may be provided in the form of a code snippet
by a third party authentication firm to be embedded in the
organization's widget. Before an organizer embeds the code snippet,
they complete a validation process between itself and the third
party authentication. Once authorized, embedded, and published live
on the Internet, the visitor of the widget sees a dynamically
generated seal directly within the widget that may also include
dynamically generated code specific to that widget from the third
party authentication firm. When a visitor clicks on the seal, they
are taken to the trusted third party's site to authenticate that
the widget is registered with the third party and to view any
security levels, if present, that protects the visitor on widget to
visitor communications. Upon arriving at the third party site for
validation, the visitor may enter a code that is present on the
seal. If the code entered matches what the third party expects for
that seal, the profile of the company and other attributes are
shared with the visitor. The third party may also use URL
information to ensure, if desired, that a widget is being hosted on
a Web page or other Internet host medium, if URL information is
required as part of the authentication process. This might include
an additional check that the source code of the widget remains with
the trusted third party and/or has been checked by the third party
and that the visitor is viewing an un-tampered version of a widget
based on digital signature credentials embedded in the widget by
the third party firm. The seal may also include dynamically
generated content directly into the widget that show information
including the current date and time to show visitors authentication
information without having the visitor click through the
widget.
[0041] The widget may also allow copying through the widget, for
example through copying field(s). The original code for the widget
may reside with the provider. Consequently, upgrades, changes to
the widget configuration made by the organizer, and other content
may be pushed from the provider to the widgets. However, as
discussed above, the widget is also self replicating and may,
therefore, be copied and placed in multiple sites by multiple
content providers. To facilitate this feature, copying field(s) may
be provided. Embedded in the copied code may be a reference to the
source widget as well as a new identification to identify the child
widget. In addition to copying, an email may be requested so that
the person copying the widget may request set up of an account
identifying that person as the copier of that widget and thus
retaining any tracking, benefits, or rewards as a result of traffic
generated from the copied widget. The copying field allows the
widget to be replicated through the widget itself. In one
embodiment, the copying field provides a link that displays the
code for the widget and allows a user to copy and paste the code to
another site. Consequently, a separate field or a link to a
different site for replicating the widget need not be provided.
Moreover, a content provider may be allowed to customize the widget
at least to a limited extent. Thus, replications or copies of a
widget may not be identical to the widget. For example, the code
for the widget includes an identification of the event(s) with
which the widget is associated and parameters related to the size,
shape, and color of the widget. The content provider copying the
widget may be allowed change and/or add to the event(s) with which
the widget is associated and alter the parameters to change the
size, shape, and/or color of the widget displayed on the content
provider's site.
[0042] In addition to being copied, for example through the copying
field, in some embodiments, the widget may be copied to other sites
through the proxy server. In particular, the organizer or a content
provider may wish to replicate the widget on other site(s) not
directly associated with the provider. In order to do so, the proxy
server may provide an indirect connection to the other site(s),
credential the site(s), and replicate the widget to the site(s).
Furthermore, the proxy server may allow content, such as rich media
audio or video, from site(s) not directly associated with the
provider to be played on the widget. In addition, widgets may
communicate directly through the proxy server, for example to
disseminate comments, donation amounts, and/or other information.
FIG. 11 depicts one embodiment 280 of the use of a proxy server 284
in conjunction with widgets.
[0043] Because the widget may be copied and further customized,
sub-campaigns may be formed and tracked through the widget. For
example, a content provider may copy a widget to his or her own
site. The content provider may then be allowed to add a
sub-campaign. In one embodiment, the content provider registers
with the organizer (via the provider) in order to do so. The
content provider may be allowed to specify the terms of the
sub-campaign within the context of the campaign, but generally
would not be authorized to alter the specifications of the
campaign. The sub-campaign might be considered to be a group
payment from contributors to the sub-campaign. Such a sub-campaign
may be tracked, including using event progress tracking mechanisms
in a manner analogous to the campaign. For example, an organizer
may initiate a fundraising campaign for one million dollars and
provide a campaign thermometer as the event progress tracking
mechanism in the corresponding widget. A content provider might
initiate a sub-campaign for five hundred dollars. This sub-campaign
would be provided on a widget that has been copied (e.g. from the
organizer's site), further customized, and placed on the content
provider's site (e.g. their blog). The widget corresponding to the
sub-campaign may provide event progress tracking in the form of a
sub-campaign thermometer. The sub-campaign might include any
contributions made through the content provider's widget and copies
of the content provider's widget. A contributor may make a fifty
dollar contribution to the sub-campaign. The provider updates both
the campaign thermometer and the sub-campaign thermometer. Although
the fifty dollar contribution would not significantly alter the
campaign thermometer, such a contribution may be visible on the
sub-campaign thermometer in the content provider's widget. Thus,
further contributions are facilitated.
[0044] Data related to contributions through the widgets may also
be tracked. As discussed above, contributors may make payments
through any of the widgets in FIG. 1. Various aspects of payments
made and other features of the widgets may be tracked. For example,
the number and amount of payments made through a widget and/or its
copies, the number of visits to the widget and/or its copies, the
time the widget and/or its copies have been available, the amount
of time taken by the widget and/or its copies to receive donations,
user comments, and other data related to the widget may also be
tracked by the provider. As a result, the provider may determine an
effectiveness for various content providers and/or widgets. In one
embodiment, an effectiveness percentage is determined based upon
the number of views of a widget, the number of donors through the
widget, the average contribution per donor, the aggregate donation
through the widget, and analogous data for copies of the widget.
Based on this effectiveness percentage, organizers may determine
the content providers that are desired for particular
campaigns.
[0045] Although widgets may be copied, pushed to other sites, and
sub-campaigns formed, these and other dissemination of the
organizer's event may be moderated. Moderation allows the organizer
to control the sites with which their widget, event, and the
organizer themselves are associated. For example, the organizer may
authorize only specific sites and/or sites fitting a particular
profile to host the widget. The provider would not push the widget
to sites not authorized by the organizer. If an unauthorized
content provider copies the widget, then action may be taken based
upon the organizer's preferences. For example, when the
unauthorized content provider's site is accessed, the provider may
send a message to the organizer requesting validation. In some
embodiments, the widget may not be rendered until the organizer has
expressly approved for the site. Alternatively, the widget may be
rendered unless and until the organizer has expressly disapproved
the site. FIG. 12 depicts one embodiment of a method 310 for
moderating widgets.
[0046] The widgets may also reflect local data. The widget may be
provided to multiple sites in a variety of ways, such as copies of
widgets from the organizer's site, copies of widgets from
provider's site, and copies of widgets from other content
provider's sites, pushing the widget to specific sites, and
allowing subsequent copying of the pushed widget. These copies may
reside on sites subject to local conditions. For example, the sites
may serve distant geographic locations, disparate countries,
multiple time zones, and users speaking different languages. In one
embodiment, the widget may be configured to account for at least
some of these local conditions. For example, the event progress
tracking mechanism may display the donations using the local
currency and indicate relevant times using the local time. In order
to do so, the widget may query the local computer system hosting
the site to obtain local data, such as the time and/or language.
The widget may then convert various components to reflect the local
data. For example, the language may be translated to the local
language and/or the time of relevant occurrences such as the event
ending may be updated to reflect the local time.
[0047] The widgets may also be reusable. As discussed above, the
widget may be copied and/or pushed to sites. Once a widget resides
on a site, it may remain on the site unless and until expressly
removed by the content provider or the provider. Furthermore, data
may be pushed to widgets by the provider. The widgets are generally
associated with particular events that have specific closing dates,
such as a fundraising campaign. Once the event closes or for some
other reason the widget is not longer associated with the event,
the widget may be available for reuse. The widget may be reused by
the provider pushing data to the widget and/or by the content
provider re-customizing the widget for new events. For example,
when configuring the widget, an organizer may indicate that once an
event has closed, specific content is to be pushed to the
associated widgets. This content could be a thank you message, an
indication of other events that may be of interest to the content
provider, or settings that reconfigure the widget for another
event. Similarly, a content provider could reconfigure the widget
to be associated with another event or indicate to the provider
that the widget may be reused for other events meeting certain
criteria. The provider may push new settings and parameters to the
widgets residing on other sites based on content providers' and
organizers' specifications. For example, a content provider may
specify that the widget on its site is available for causes fitting
particular profiles. The provider may then push data to the widget
on the content provider's site to reuse the widget for events
fitting the profiles. The content provider may be paid or otherwise
rewarded for use and/or reuse of the widget on the content
provider's site.
[0048] The method and system may further be applied to other
transactions, such as affiliate marketing. As discussed above, in
conventional affiliate marketing, a promoter provides up a static
text/image link to a visitor that allows for a click through to a
page set by an organizer. Action taken by the visitor on the
organizer's server may be tracked and, based on this action a
transaction between the organizer and promoter may be taken.
[0049] In contrast, the method and system presented not with a
static text link but rather an image/Widget that may dynamically
display form, content, and functionality based on the cumulative
actions taken by previous visitors during the life of the campaign,
as well as on actions taken by the current visitor, and based on
the rules, logic, and settings defined by the promoter, the
organizer, and, optionally, the provider. FIG. 13 depicts a
comparison of conventional affiliate marketing 340 and an exemplary
embodiment of affiliate marketing 250 utilizing widgets described
herein. Thus, for each action taken the widget can be dynamically
modified if either the promoter or organizer set up a rule to
modify the widget. For example, a visitor clicks through and makes
a contribution to a non profit. The widget might be updated by a
setting such as: adding the visitor's contribution amount to a
campaign goal both visually in a graph and textually the number of
contributors can be increased by one or posting the name or
initials of the latest contributor on the widget. If a visitor
contributes the final incremental amount needed to meet a campaign
goal, the widget could be updated to show a success image, to not
accept any more click through for donations, to provide a special
thank you message can appear, and/or have the widget's the look and
feel changed. Other examples may be found in voter registration,
mailing lists, or purchasing. A visitor may click through and
complete a form such as an online voter registration form. In
response, the widget may be changed to show that one more person
has taken the requested action. A visitor who clicks through and
signs up for a mailing list may be the 1,000.sup.th person from
this widget. The widget may be changed to now add a video/audio
file that only shows up on widgets that drive at least 1,000
signups. A visitor clicks who through and makes a purchase may be
the 100.sup.th purchaser through this widget. The widget may now
show a 20% discount message and content and all future purchasers
get the same discount. The types of actions, content changes, form
changes, link changes, and element changes are not limited to the
examples above. Rather the promoter and the organizer have free
control over the rules to apply to actions taken by visitors. These
rules, settings, and content may be configured and controlled via a
Control Panel, such as the widget panel discussed above.
[0050] The widget may also "mature" and increase in value to both
the promoter and his/her audience. To the promoter, as the number
of actions recorded from their widget increases, their widget
potentially takes on increased functionality and/or they get a
higher level of reward and/or recognition from the organizer. For
the audience, they get to share in the value by either having a
better experience (due to the increased features/functions on the
widget) or share in promotions/discounts passed on by the
organizer. The increase in value (through functionality or other
features) of the widget, as well as the event(s) and/or actions
triggering an increase in maturity may be controlled all or in part
by the organizer. These actions may also provide unprecedented data
mining to organizers that wish to track how social networks
interact with content and actions. Thus, in affiliate marketing
applications, the method and system may provide significant
advantages including but not limited to increased value to not only
the organizer, but also the promoter and the promoter's audience.
FIG. 13 depicts a comparison of the method and system as applied to
affiliate marketing and conventional, traditional affiliate
marketing.
[0051] Operation of exemplary embodiments 360 and 370,
respectively, of the method and system in this application are
described below in connection with FIGS. 14 and 15, respectively.
An organizer sets up an account with the provider and is granted
access to login to an organizer's control panel on the promoter's
server(s) once the promoter has confirmed they are granted
privileges to create campaigns. This could include validation
measures of the organizer, some automated and some manually
accomplished by the provider personnel. This also includes periodic
reviews, automated and/or manual, to validate an organizer and
organizer at regular and random intervals.
[0052] An organizer creates a campaign by logging in to the
organizer's control panel. At the organizer's control panel, the
organizer sets the campaign parameters. This may include setting
campaign information, campaign goals, financial information,
content, business rules, marketing rules, rich media files, payment
information, links to external sources of campaign information,
commission information, moderation rules (approve promoters who can
post widget), and other data that would be needed for a dynamic
campaign. The organizer may change these parameters at anytime
during a campaign. The organizer may also create draft campaigns
and at a later time move draft campaigns into live campaigns. Live
campaigns may also be ended early or suspended indefinitely or
until a later date. Campaigns may also be tied to end based on
actions such as a finite number of sign ups, a specified dollar
volume of actions, etc.
[0053] The organizer may set conditional goals to track and reward.
The tracking may be based on actions such as widget views (like
page views), number of click throughs, or number of specified
actions taken. The conditional goals set by the organizer may
dynamically modify each widget in their campaigns as the goals are
met. The widgets may be modified to look different, include
different content, or offer promotions. The conditional goals might
also impact each promoter, such as reward of points, revenue share,
and recognition on a list of top widgets.
[0054] The organizer may set up conditional points system based on
performance of each specific widget in their campaign. It is up to
the organizer to determine how points are accumulated and at what
interval. Examples of point calculations can be number of widget
views or the number of actions taken by audience/visitor. These
points may be awarded to the promoter to be redeemed for organizer
prizes and privileges (tickets, guest passes, and additional
content). The organizer may also set promotion levels for rewarding
points for referral signups. If a visitor signs up for an organizer
widget through a promoter's widget, then both the existing promoter
and new promoter get may receive bonus points. The organizer may
also set up different widget types based on conditional levels. The
system may thus serve up the different widget types based on the
accumulated value gained by each promoter's widget. For example a
movie fan widget may get enough points to have a tab showing new
movie trailers 24 hours before they are released to the public.
[0055] For each campaign, via the organizer's control panel, the
organizer may set up visitor's action(s) that are tracked. These
action(s) may include a contribution and/or proof that a specific
page was viewed (like a payment confirmation page). The action may
be set by providing the URL(s) a visitor gets to when they have
completed the specified action. The organizer may also select a
type of code snippet (JavaScript, IMG tag, or other code) that is
used to track a specified action. This may be accomplished via the
organizer's control panel. The organizer embeds this code snippet
into the Web page(s) and/or on to Web sites that the Organizer has
control over and is directing traffic to. Alternatively, the code
snippet may be pushed to selected Web sites, for example by the
provider. The code may be used with no modification or it could be
dynamic. For dynamic code snippets, the organizer embeds additional
information about the action such as the purchase price or the name
of a contributor to the code snippet in real time so that
information specific to an action gets passed on to the provider
for data compilation.
[0056] The provider and the organizer may promote this campaign by
driving potential promoters to the provider's promoter's Web site,
live Widgets for the campaign hosted by promoters, through pages
set up by the organizer, and/or through other mechanisms. Based on
moderation rules set up by the provider and the organizer,
promoters may be allowed to request permission to take part in the
campaign. If the campaign is moderated, the promoter may wait for
approval from the moderating authority(ies). One embodiment of
providing moderation of the widgets is discussed above. The
moderating authority(ies) may include the provider, the Organizer,
and/or a third party. As part of moderation, the provider or the
Organizer may request specific information such as destination URL,
information about the promoter, statistics about the promoter's
destination URL, etc. be provided as part of the request to promote
a campaign.
[0057] Once approved, a promoter may set up a sub-campaign through
their account with the provider or through the provider promoter's
control panel. The promoter may set up specific parameters about
their sub-campaign. They may be allowed to set up specific
parameters as authorized by the provider and the Organizer. For
instance, an organizer may allow a promoter to use a custom title,
end date, target amount to raise, and number of target widget page
views. An organizer may also allow a promoter to modify the size,
content, colors, graphics, rich media, functionality, features, and
other aspects of the widget/image. For example, a promoter may be
allowed to use a custom image backdrop on a Widget. At the end of
this process, the promoter gets a custom code snippet to place on
their destination document (Web page, email, RSS, etc.).
[0058] When a visitor views a widget, the widget makes a call to
the provider's server(s) to obtain the latest data feed. Each
widget pulls data from a unique data feed customized for that
campaign or sub-campaign. Based on the contents of the data feed
and the parameters set by the provider, the promoter, and the
organizer, the widget displays itself accordingly. A widget may
also check for an update to the data feed after a certain interval,
for example every few seconds. Thus while a visitor is viewing a
widget and if the widget receives a changed data feed based on a
recorded action, the widget re-renders based on the new
information. For instance, if a donation from another visitor went
through the widget and was confirmed, a campaign raised amount
could be increased by the amount of that donation. For every view
of the widget, a call may be made by the widget to the provider's
server(s) to log that page view and all relevant data about that
page view (client IP address, campaign ID, Promoter ID, date, time,
URL, etc.). A widget may also show a particular state of the
campaign such as suspended, active, or end of campaign with each
state showing customizable messages.
[0059] When a visitor clicks through a Widget, they may be directed
to the provider's logging server(s). The server(s) set a cookie on
the Visitor's computer that embeds both the Promoter's ID and the
campaign's ID then redirects the visitor to the Web page or other
destination as set by the organizer. The visitor, now on the
organizer's site, interacts with the organizer's site as he or she
sees fit. When the action that the organizer wants tracked (for
instance a contribution to a campaign) occurs, the embedded
provider's code that the organizer seeded onto the confirmation
page makes a call back to the provider's logging server(s) to
record the action, any desired data about the action, and
information about the promoter, organizer, and visitor. In one
embodiment, this process involves using cookie technology.
[0060] Once the action and data is logged, the provider server(s)
update the provider's database/logic server(s) which control the
data feed sent to the widget. The specific data feed for that
sub-campaign is updated and all subsequent widget calls to the
provider to get the latest data feed are subsequently be
re-rendered based on the updated data logged as a result of the
visitor's action
[0061] As described above, the widget may be distributed in a viral
manner. An audience member may sign up for the organizer's campaign
either on the promoter's widget or by clicking through to the
organizer's campaign page. This new promoter receives whatever
promotion the original promoter's widget has achieved as set out by
the conditional goals of the organizer. Each widget also gains
"value" based on the conditional goals set by the organizer and
that value can be passed on to the audience by means of enhanced
features on the widget (video, audio, sneak previews of movie
trailers) or by offering additional value to an action taken by the
visitor not available to all campaign widgets. Promoters may also
gain points on the system as a calculation of certain data such as:
widget views (like page views), number of new users signed up
through widget, number of actions taken by audience members viewing
widget.
[0062] Through this application reporting may also be provided. A
detailed report may be available to organizers, while a subset of
that report may be made available to the promoter. Information
included in the report may include information per widget, as well
as other information such as promoter, audience, or other
information. Information per widget may include: number of widgets
posted, locations of widgets posted (by IP or reverse IP lookup),
number of widget views (by individual widgets), number of
determined action taken, number of click through, number of new
signups from widget, number of tab views (of individual tabs within
the widget). Such data may be valuable to organizers or other
entities for use in marketing or other activities.
[0063] A subset of this system used in affiliate marketing may also
be used to allow individuals to create customized personal widgets.
An individual may create an account on the system (name, email
address) for example by coming directly to the provider's site, by
signing up directing from an existing widget that allows direct
sign ups, or by clicking through from one of the widgets (see flow
below). During customization, the individual may select features of
their widget in a manner analogous to that which an organizer uses.
An individual might give permission for other users to selectively
modify parts of their widget. This may be done by other individuals
logging in directly on the widget and having access to modify
certain parts or tabs. An individual might select whether their
widget is listed on a public widget directly on the provider's
system or partner systems. An individual may also create a
customized personal widget by selecting from an assortment of
options: size, color, decorations, content, forms, tabs, features,
or other characteristics of the widget.
[0064] If an individual signs up directly on the provider's site,
they may given a certain number of points as determined by the
system (based on promotions, etc). These points may be redeemed for
add-ons for the personal widget (decorations, additional tabs,
features such as audio/video, custom content). But the
customization of this new widget may be limited by the number of
points a new user is given. If an individual is referred to create
an account by an existing personal widget, both the new user and
existing user may receive a promotional bonus of points to be
redeemed for widget customizations. An individual may also select
to have their widget sponsored by one of the provider's partners so
as to receive additional points for customization. By being a
sponsored widget the individual may be limited/refrained from
making certain customizations to the widget and also agree to share
their widget information with the partner.
[0065] An individual user may able be able to modify/edit their
widget in multiple ways. For example, an individual may login in to
the system and use a widget editor dashboard. This widget editor
dashboard may be considered to be analogous to the widget panel
described above. The user may be allowed to modify their admin
(parent) widget wherever they have it embedded (login on their own
widget) via forms embedded directly in the widget that connect back
to the provider's server(s). The user may also be able to modify
their widget via mobile device using mobile browsers, SMS codes,
MMS codes, telephony, and/or other devices. In addition,
modification through other methods that can pass information to the
widget provider's system, including email, may also be allowed.
[0066] An individual user may also be allowed to set up moderation
levels for their widget. For example, an individual user may select
no moderation, allowing anyone to copy and paste the widget
anywhere. The user may select pre-approved moderation to allow
certain friends as defined, for example, by address book
preferences set on the server (email addresses), having an account
on the system, standing/rating on the system, and/or predetermined
domains (where the widget is placed). The user may also select
individual moderation in which an individual moderates each request
to copy their individual widget and approve/disapproves/holds each
copied widget.
[0067] Promotion of individual custom widget may also be allowed.
The audience for a promoter's site may copy or request to copy
widget code directly from widget. The audience may thus select
widget from a marketplace of available widgets. Individual users
may also be able to provide email invites for others to copy/embed
their personal widget.
[0068] Additional functionality may also be provided. These
functions may include but are not limited to the functions
described below. In one embodiment, widget tracking for
individuals' personal widgets may be provided. An individual may
place tracking code for their widget either on their site or by
posting their "parent" widget on the page to which they want to
track click throughs. For example an individual user may place
tracking code or a tracking widget on their MySpace page so that
users who click on the widget (or their copy of the widget) end up
at the individual's MySpace page. Audience members may "ping" an
individual via the widget, that is send the individual a message,
by clicking on a widget. In this way an individual can know when
people contact him/her from their widgets.
[0069] Widget points and value may also be accrued. An individual
(e.g. their widget) gains points on the system as a calculation of
certain data such as: widget views (like page views), number of
widgets posted, activity on editing/modifying widget, number of new
users signed up through the widget, and other mechanisms to be
determined. Individuals may redeem their widget points for
additional features functions on their personal widget (such as
decorations, additional tabs to place features on, and/or exclusive
content). Individuals may also redeem their widget points for
goods/services as determined by the marketplace interacting with
the personal widget(s). Points may also be given as promotions to
get new users to sign up. If a new individual user signs up for
this personal widget service by clicking on an existing widget,
both the original individual user and new individual user may be
awarded points.
[0070] Widgets may also be used tracking and reporting. Individual
users have access to a report of their widget individually and as
an aggregate: number of widget views, number of tab views (tabs
within the widget), number of signups, number of widgets posted,
other authorized users logging in and their edits.
[0071] Thus, the method and system disclosed herein may be applied
to affiliate marketing and personal widgets. For example, the
method and system described herein may serve visitors dynamic
widgets based on settings triggered by cumulative visitor actions.
Such an application may have a variety of features including, but
not limited to, one or more of the features described below. In
such an application, the visitor is presented not with a text link
but rather an image/widget that dynamically displays form, content,
and functionality based on the cumulative actions taken by previous
visitors during the life of the campaign and based on the rules,
logic, and settings defined by both the promoter hosting the widget
and the organizer. That is, for each action taken the widget may be
dynamically modified if either the promoter or organizer set up a
rule to modify the widget. In such an application the widget may
self update in near real time based on the cumulative actions taken
as a result of click throughs by visitors and/or other actions as
determined by the multiple parties that have input in the organizer
of that campaign. The form, features, content, options, offers,
design, and state of the widget may be changed based on the rules
applied to the cumulative actions and current state. Thus, the
changes may be applied to all of the widgets hosted by all
promoters, the organizer, provider, or other content provider, or a
selected subset of the widgets. In addition, the service provider,
promoter, and organizer may have real time controls to modify
parameters and business logic of the campaign where those changes
may be reflected in all live Widgets in near real time. The
parameters of the widget may also be changed directly from the
Widget and/or from a click through from the widget to a web page of
the provider where these parameters can be set. In either
modification case, the provider's database and systems are updated
securely in real time. The widget may be further configured by a
promoter based on options authorized by the organizer. A promoter
may be allowed to create a sub-campaign of an organizer's campaign
where the data presented in the widget is updated in real time and
specific just to the click through actions taken as a result of the
sub-campaign while allowing the widget to optionally display data
about the master campaign of the organizer. Some or all of the
system including but not limited to the widget and its
customizations, payment or other action page, and actions desired,
may be set up to be potentially 100% self service with no
intervention necessary by the provider. Thus, the transaction, from
account creation all the way through all actions such as settling
financial transactions, may be performed at any time by organizers
and/or promoters. Tracking code embedded by an organizer may be
used not only for tracking purposes only but to send data to a
central repository to which all live widget(s) are tied. All or a
selected subset of live widget(s) may thus get live data feeds,
thereby providing real time updates to all or a selected subset of
live connected widgets based on actions taken by widget click
throughs. An organizer may also embed code snippets that may push
live transactional data after an action has taken place to a
business process system that can determine, based on rules set by
the organizer, whether automated business actions need to be taken.
For instance whenever click through numbers reach increments of
100, the widgets may turn a darker shade of gray until the widget
is black. Individual widgets, as part of a campaign or as an
individual person's widget, may gain value based on predetermined
conditional data such as widget views, widget clickthroughs, and
widget actions. The ability to edit/modify a custom individual
widget by logging in directly to the widget and having the modified
parameters securely sent over to a provider's central repository
over the Internet or other network systems may also be achieved.
The providers, organizers, and/or the promoters may have the
ability to grant other users selective access/permissions to modify
individual widgets, where permissioned users have access as stated
directly through the widget or via a secured Web page clicked
through from the widget. Promoters and/or other content providers
may be given the ability to either redeem points or buy points to
redeem to unlock/add/edit/additional information including tabs on
an individual widget which can also includes additional widget
features, content, links, themes, sizes and functions. The widget
may be customized by using either an html sidebar selection or a
drag and drop feature, including a widget that is itself a widget
maker. Moreover, the organizer or other entity may be provided with
reporting of number of widgets in circulation, number of widget
views, number of widget tab views, number of widget actions taken
per widget, number of widget click throughs, number of widget
signups. A unique effectiveness rating per promoter may also be
made available to the organizer and optionally to a promoter,
potential promoters, the general public, and/or other entities.
This effectiveness rating may be a mathematical score based on a
promoter's widget, a promoter's recorded actions, widget views,
average widgets/actions/views per day, length of time widget is
live, number of direct children widgets created, the cumulative
results of the children widget, the number of grandchildren widgets
spawned from the children widget out with no limits to degrees, and
the cumulative results of the grandchildren widgets. This
effectiveness rating provides an Organizer with a unique metric to
judge the value of an individual widget taking into consideration
all desired direct and indirect activity. An organizer may move a
parent widget (created by the organizer) to any Web page and
instantly set all children widgets to point to a new landing
page--either the new page of the parent widget or any landing page
set by the organizer. This dynamic setting can be automated based
on passwords or done manually through the widget, through a Web
page via a click through on the widget, through an online control
panel, or another mechanism selected by the organizer. A visitor of
a child widget (e.g. a copy of another widget) may instantly join
the network by creating a next generation Widget. Thus, a virtually
unlimited number of generations might be spawned off by a widget
with all generations tied to detailed reporting that includes all
degrees of separation information.
[0072] Thus, a method and system for facilitating social payment,
commercial, and/or other transactions via the Internet is
described. The method and system utilize a highly customizable
widget that is easily integrated into social media. The
customizable widget may provide rich media to users, provide event
progress tracking, and may allow for the effectives of the widget
to be determined. The widget allows not only for direct, individual
donations, to a campaign but also for sub-campaigns, which are
analogous to group payments. In order to reach potential
contributors, the widget may be posted on an organizer's site or
blog, posted on a dedicated website or pushed to various sites. The
widget may also be viral in nature, allowing for copying of the
widget, for example to other sites or blogs. Because this copying
is may be performed through the widget itself, the copying is
further facilitated. Consequently, a powerful blograising network
may be created. The copied widget may still be customized and
contributors may still make donations through the copied widget.
However, the widget may still be moderated by an organizer.
Consequently, an organizer may remain in control of the image of
the organizer and/or event. In addition to allowing payment through
the widget, the widget may also be authenticated. Consequently,
social payments may be made simpler and more trustworthy. Moreover,
widgets may be reused for other content. Thus, the ability to
repeatably provide fundraising through the blograising network is
improved. The widget may also reflect local data for the site
hosting the widget, facilitating the interaction of the potential
contributor and the organizer. The widget may also be integrated
with merchants or other organizers, for example through a button.
According to the method and system disclosed herein, social
payment, commercial, and other transactions may be facilitated.
[0073] A method and system providing and utilized widgets have been
disclosed. The present invention has been described in accordance
with the embodiments shown, and one of ordinary skill in the art
will readily recognize that there could be variations to the
embodiments, and any variations would be within the spirit and
scope of the present invention. For example, the present invention
can be implemented using hardware, software, a computer readable
medium containing program instructions, or a combination thereof.
Software written according to the present invention is to be either
stored in some form of computer-readable medium such as memory or
CD-ROM and is to be executed by a processor. Consequently, a
computer-readable medium is intended to include a computer readable
signal, which may be, for example, transmitted over a network.
Accordingly, many modifications may be made by one of ordinary
skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the
appended claims.
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