49th week of 2014 patent applcation highlights part 67 |
Patent application number | Title | Published |
20140358632 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ENHANCED EVENT PARTICIPATION - The various implementations of the present invention are provided as a computer-based system for enhanced communications and event management that focuses on customization of the event attendee experience. Each event attendee is provided with the tools necessary to effectively and efficiently create an event experience that most closely matches their goals and objectives. For example, a variety of dynamic event activity maps provide event attendees with the ability to quickly and easily identify and locate the most interesting and pertinent seminars, classes, speakers, vendors, exhibitors, etc. Additionally, event attendees can update and control their event schedule, customize communications that are sent and received, set up meetings with other event attendees, and receive updates about event activities and schedules. Vendors, exhibitors, and event organizers are provided with a series of tools, including “gamification” tools, that will allow them engage event attendees in event activities to increase attendee participation. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358633 | DEMAND TRANSFERENCE FORECASTING SYSTEM - A demand transference forecast system receives for a category of merchandise de-promoted sales data for each of a plurality of stock keeping units (“SKUs”), similarities between each pair of SKUs in the category, and SKU-store ranging information. The system determines a sales indices of all SKUs in the category across the de-promoted sales data for the category. The system determines Total Assortment Effect (“TAE”) variable quantities for the SKUs across share intervals in the de-promoted sales data based on the sales indices and the similarities. The system then generates a single parameter based demand transference model based on the similarities, the sales indices, and ratios of the share intervals. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358634 | METHOD OF GENERATING A PRIORITIZED LISTING OF CUSTOMERS USING A PURCHASE BEHAVIOR PREDICTION SCORE - There is provided a method of generating on a computer a prioritized listing of customers. The method includes establishing a data communications link to a database including financial payment information related to a financial transaction of an existing vehicle of each customer. The method includes retrieving an existing payment amount based upon the financial payment information. The method includes calculating a new payment amount. The method further includes deriving a payment difference score based upon a difference between the existing payment amount and the new payment amount. The method includes determining a behavior factor. The method includes deriving on a computer a behavior score based upon the behavior factor. The method includes determining a purchase behavior prediction score based upon the payment difference score and the behavior score. The method further includes ranking each customer based upon the determined purchase behavior prediction score. The method further includes generating a prioritized listing using the ranking of each customer. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358635 | MAKING PRODUCT SUBSTITUTION RECOMMENDATIONS - Aspects of the invention provide a method for making a product substitution recommendation to a consumer. Initially, a rejection of the product by the consumer is detected. The rejection comprises a failure to purchase a product after the product is added to an online shopping cart, or a return of a product after the product is purchased. Subsequently, a reason for the rejection is determined. A recommendation for a substitute product is then formulated at least in part based on the determined reason for the rejection. Lastly, the recommendation for the substitute product is presented to the consumer. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358636 | SURVEY SEGMENTATION - An embodiment of a system and method of surveying users on a social networking system is described which limits the frequency in which any one user is surveyed. Users are assigned into a multi-layered survey pool based on a hash value derived from a user identification number for the online social network that is assigned to the user. Users are randomly offered the opportunity to take a survey, and the subject matter of the survey is at least partially determined by the layer from which the survey obtains its sample populace. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358637 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR GRAPHICALLY PRESENTING A SURVEY INTERFACE TO A USER - A method and system for graphically presenting a survey interface to a user. The method and system include graphically presenting the user with an inquiry and a corresponding user interface input slider via a self normalizing survey interface application, wherein the user interface input slider includes a user interface input marker. The method and system also include recording the inquiry response position of the user interface input marker on the user interface input slider selected by the user in response to the inquiry as a response data value. Additionally, the method and system include presenting the user with a subsequent inquiry and corresponding user interface input slider, wherein the user interface input marker is positioned at a self normalizing position that corresponds to the inquiry response position selected by the user during one or more prior survey sessions. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358638 | DYNAMIC INTELLIGENT LEAD IDENTIFIER - Data in one or more data repositories managed by a business software framework used by a sales organization can be used in creating a set of profiles corresponding to customers of the sales organization. The profiles can reflect a set of customer characteristic parameters extracted from the data relevant to the customer. The customers can be grouped into families based on common values of the customer characteristic parameters in the customer profiles. Sales interaction data relating to a sales interaction of a customer and the customer profile of the first customer can be applied against the families of profiles to identify one or more commonalities between the sales interaction data, the customer profile, and the customer profiles of one or more other customers. A new lead can be generated for a second customer based on the one or more commonalities. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358639 | CUSTOMER CATEGORY ANALYSIS DEVICE, CUSTOMER CATEGORY ANALYSIS SYSTEM AND CUSTOMER CATEGORY ANALYSIS METHOD - A customer category analysis device includes: a customer category identification unit that identifies a customer category of each person appearing in an imaging region defined such that an image of each customer moving from a waiting area of the commercial establishment toward a seating area is captured from a front of the customer and obtains customer category information indicating a result of customer category identification; and a filtering unit that, based on a mode of behavior of each person appearing in the imaging region, determines whether the person is to be included in the analysis according to a predetermined criteria for limiting persons to be included in the analysis to customers who exhibit a behavior of moving toward the seating area, and excludes the person from the analysis if the person is determined not to be included in the analysis. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358640 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR ASSOCIATING MEDIA DEVICES WITH A DEMOGRAPHIC COMPOSITION OF A GEOGRAPHIC AREA - Example methods and apparatus for associating media devices with a demographic composition of a geographic area are disclosed. A disclosed example method includes receiving a plurality of Internet Protocol addresses assigned to a media device associated with a panel member, determining a most used Internet Protocol address from the plurality of Internet Protocol addresses, accessing geographic information and determining a geographic location corresponding to the most used Internet Protocol address, accessing demographic information and determining a demographic profile associated with the geographic location, and associating at least one of the geographic location or the demographic profile with the media device. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358641 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR VEHICLE LEASES PERMITTING MULTIPLE VEHICLE EXCHANGES - A system and related method are disclosed for pricing a lease allowing multiple vehicle exchanges, using a computer or similar device. The method involves accepting lessee data including the lessee driving record, and desired lease terms, vehicles, and vehicle exchanges, and combining it with other data such as initial values of vehicles, depreciation over the term and mileage of the lease, and the history of interaction between the lessee and lessor. The calculated price is published via the system display. The method may be practiced by a server, mobile device, or payment processing machine belonging to the lessee or lessor. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358642 | System Containing An Integration Of Cost Savings Tracker And Spend Analyzer For Calculating Actual Effective Savings - A system containing an integration of a cost savings tracker and spend analyzer for calculating actual effective savings of a spend category in a procurement cycle is described. The system includes a cost savings tracker module and spend analyzer module. The cost savings tracker module facilitates computation of actual effective cost savings of a spend category and thus facilitates tracking of the cost savings of a spend category, while a cost component model of the spend analyzer module is intended for spend analysis that facilitates analysis of the procurement cost in relation to market indices of the underlying commodities. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358643 | Systems and Methods for Process Designing by Aligning With Objectives - Described herein is a system for designing processes in alignment with the business objectives. The system includes an objective formulation module defines a number of business objectives based upon a pre-defined criterion. A process mapping module associates the business objectives to the processes in the organization. The process mapping module maps the processes with the defined business objectives, determines unmapped processes, obtains modified processes based upon gaps within the unmapped processes, and links the mapped and modified processes to a number of functions in the organization. Further, a display module displays linkages of the mapped processes and the modified processes to the business objectives and the functions to enable a user in tracing the mapped processes and the modified processes to the defined business objectives and the functions. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358644 | TIME SERIES TECHNIQUE FOR ANALYZING PERFORMANCE IN AN ONLINE PROFESSIONAL NETWORK - The disclosed embodiments relate to a system for analyzing performance in an online professional network. During operation, the system receives time series data for user actions, wherein for each user action, the time series data comprises a series of numbers associated with consecutive time intervals, wherein a given number indicates a number of times the user action occurred during the time interval. The system also receives time series data for performance metrics, wherein for each performance metric, the time series data comprises a series of numbers associated with consecutive time intervals, wherein a given number indicates the number of times the performance metric occurred during the time interval. The system then performs a time series analysis on the received time series data for user actions and performance metrics to determine relationships between the user actions and the performance metrics. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358645 | ASSET MANAGEMENT KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS AND BENCHMARKING - Monitoring asset performance to identify key performance indicators (KPIs) is described. A method is described including receiving a set of asset performance information relating to at least one target asset associated with a company, calculating a KPI in view of the set of asset performance information, determining a cost benefit measurement based on the calculated KPI, and generating a report including at least one of the KPI or the cost benefit measurement. Additionally, the calculated KPIs and/or cost benefit measurements may be used to perform intra-company comparisons and inter-company comparisons. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358646 | GAMIFICATION OF A NEW HIRE ONBOARDING PROCESS - The subject matter disclosed herein provides methods for monitoring the performance of activities by new and existing employees during the onboarding process using a virtual credit system. This method may maintain one or more new employee profiles and existing employee profiles. The new employee profile may include a new employee credit balance, and the existing employee profile may include an existing employee credit balance. The method may track one or more activities. Each activity may be associated with a credit value. Data indicating the performance of an activity by the new employee or existing employee may be received. At least one of the new employee profile or the existing employee profile may be updated based on the received data. The updating may adjust at least one of the new employee credit balance and the existing employee credit balance. Related apparatus, systems, techniques, and articles are also described. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358647 | Method and Apparatus for Implementing a Personal "Get Out The Vote Drive" Software Application - A method and apparatus for a software tool that interfaces with a Field Operations software tool and incorporates Voter Score, Voter Scorecard, Post-Election Voter History, Household Visualization, Voter Support Visualization, Household Mailing Labels, E-Mail Voter Footer, and Voter List of Friends and Family. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358648 | FARE COLLECTING APPARATUS AND METHOD USING AUTHORIZATION-ONLY TRANSACTIONS - A fare collecting apparatus is provided. The fare collecting apparatus according to one implementation of this invention comprises, a declined card list storage unit configured to store a list of declined cards, including card information relating to each declined card, an authorization determination unit configured to search in the list of declined cards to determine whether card information included in the received card payment request is included in the list of declined cards, in response to receipt of a card payment request from a user, and an authorization-only transaction request unit configured to transmit an authorization-only transaction request message including a provisional authorization amount, to a payment gateway, if the card information included in the received card payment request is not included in the list of declined cards. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358649 | SYSTEM, METHODS, AND DEVICE FOR PROVIDING ADDITIONAL SERVICES WHEN CHARING ELECTRIC VEHICLE - The present invention relates to a system, method, and device for providing additional services when charging an electric vehicle. The system, method, and device download and output content and advertising data through a secondary battery while charging a battery of the electric vehicle. A secondary battery charging device receives content and advertising data from a content providing device and an advertising providing device, respectively, while charging the battery of the electric vehicle, and transmits the received content and advertising data to a vehicle managing device. The vehicle managing device receives the content and advertising data from the secondary battery device, executes the content according to a user's input, and outputs the advertising data while executing the content. The vehicle managing device may transmit information regarding the number of outputs of the advertising data to the advertising providing device. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358650 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR EVENT PROMOTION AND FUND RAISING - A system, computer program product and method configured to stage an event for fund raising or other promotional cause wherein participants are geographically dispersed and/or participation in the event comprises activities spread over a number of venues that are geographically dispersed, or particular locations chosen by the participants, and/or a range of dates. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358651 | PRESENTING OFFERS FOR IN-GAME VIRTUAL REWARDS - This disclosure relates to presenting offers for in-game virtual rewards to users. In implementations, rewards of virtual currency associated with the offers may be determined on a per user basis, such that a reward of virtual currency associated with an offer is incremented until the user accepts the offer and performs an action associated with the offer. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358652 | Facilitating Online Transactions - Techniques for operating a marketplace server include receiving a purchase request of a user and a payment corresponding to the purchase request from an account associated with the user. The techniques include allocating a first portion of the payment to a drawing system being comprised of a plurality of available drawings and awarding one or more entries to a user. The user can enter each entry into one of a plurality of available drawings. Each available drawing has a respective prize and having its own respective odds. The techniques also include receiving one or more user submissions, each user submission indicating a selection of one of the plurality of available drawings in which one of the one or more entries is to be entered. The techniques further include entering one of the entries of the user into a selected available drawing indicated in the user submission. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358653 | ELECTRONIC COMMERCE SYSTEM AND METHOD APPLYING RANDOM DISCOUNT RATE WHEN BARGAIN IS REQUESTED - The present invention relates to an electronic commerce system and method applying a random discount rate when a bargain is requested. According to the present invention, a purchaser terminal connects to an electronic commerce server and selects a product from a sales site provided by the electronic commerce server, and the electronic commerce server confirms whether or not a bargaining function of the selected product is activated. If the electronic commerce server receives a request for bargaining a price of the selected product from the purchaser terminal while the bargaining function is activated, the electronic commerce server calculates a random discount rate in response to the bargaining request, notifies the purchaser terminal of the calculated discount rate and a price of the product to which the discount rate is applied, and performs a product purchase process according to the intention of the purchaser terminal for purchasing the selected product. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358654 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING AN ADVERTISEMENT BY USING AN INSTANT COUPON - Provided is an advertisement providing apparatus, in particular, an apparatus for providing an advertisement using an instant coupon that provides an instant coupon including instant coupon numbers, provides an advertisement corresponding to a winning ranking when a coupon user confirms the winning ranking of the instant coupon numbers, and provides a free gift to the coupon user who watches an advertisement until the end. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358655 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CREDIT PARTY REDEMPTION - The invention provides systems and methods for administering a rewards program in which points are earned by both shopping and online promotional activity. The rewards program preferably includes real-time earning of points and real-time price reductions. In certain aspects, the invention provides a method of influencing consumer behavior that includes using a computer system for giving consumers reward points for performing activities that include both online shopping and online brand promotion, offering the consumers a discount on a purchase, and—for each consumer that accepts the offer—depleting that consumer's reward points by an amount. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358656 | SYSTEM AND METHOD PROVIDING FLOW-THROUGH PRIVATE LABEL CARD ACQUISITION - The disclosed embodiments include methods, systems, and articles of manufacture for providing offers for merchant accounts. The disclosed embodiments include, for example, a system for providing offers for accounts associated with a merchant. The system may be configured to receive a product identifier from a consumer, the product identifier identifying a product available from a merchant. The system may also determine whether the consumer has a current financial service account associated with the merchant. Further, the system may determine one or more incentives to offer the consumer, the one or more incentives being based at least in part on the product identifier. The system may also generate an invitation to apply for a new financial service account associated with the merchant when the consumer does not have a current financial service account associated with the merchant, communicate the invitation to apply to the consumer, and award the one or more incentives to the consumer based on a response to the invitation to apply. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358657 | Networked Profiling And Multimedia Content Targeting System - A computer implemented method and system for dynamically profiling users for incentivized targeting of multimedia content to the users in a networked environment is provided. A server creates an advertiser network comprising advertisers and member websites, and creates a user network of users. The advertisers submit the multimedia content, advertising information, and targeting criteria to the server. The server and one or more publisher websites acquire marketing data from the users for creating dynamic user profiles for the users. The server and/or the publisher websites target the multimedia content to the users based on the created dynamic user profiles. The server and/or a client device of each of the users confirm viewing of the multimedia content using a challenge, random in content. The server and/or the publisher websites compensate the users by crediting the users with items of value based on confirmation of the viewing of the multimedia content. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358658 | METHOD, SYSTEM AND SOFTWARE PRODUCT FOR PROVIDING DISCOUNTED PRICING - A computer implemented method and a computer program product allow a retailer to provide a discounted price for a product by electronically offering a product for sale to a buyer; using a computer to display the product to the buyer on a user interface, the display comprising a product detail page; displaying on the product detail page the original full price of the product, the discounted outlet price of the product and the percentage off amount for that product; displaying a screen indicia to the buyer; inviting the buyer to use the screen indicia to open a virtual negotiation panel on the display; inviting the buyer to enter a quantity of products that the buyer wants to buy and the per product price that the buyer is willing to pay; and using the computer to calculate the lowest price per product that the retailer will accept for the product. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358659 | ELECTRONIC COMMERCE APPARATUS, PRIVILEGE CONTROL METHOD, PRIVILEGE CONTROL PROGRAM, AND COMPUTER READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM FOR STORING PROGRAM - An electronic commerce apparatus has: a determination unit that determines a product page on which an object is displayed based on an access state; a control unit that controls the display or non-display of the object on the product page; and a transmission unit that transmits a privilege presentation page to a user terminal according to operation information on the object. With this configuration, the access state is reflected on the determination of a product page to be a target of granting privilege, hence the granting of privilege can function as an incentive to purchase a product. Further, the display or non-display of an object is controlled according to the access state, so a user who desires privilege can search for a product page on which the object is displayed. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358660 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR OFFERING PRODUCTS USING LINKED TRANSACTIONS - The disclosed embodiments include methods, systems, and articles of manufacture for providing offers for linked transactions. Transaction data corresponding to a first product physically purchased using a financial service account and product identification data identifying the first purchased product are received. The transaction data and the product identification data are associated. A consumer that purchased the first product is determined based on at least the transaction data. Follow-on purchase to offer for sale to the consumer based on the product identification data is determined and a follow-up purchase offer to purchase the follow-on product is generated. The consumer is provided with the follow-on purchase offer to enable the consumer to purchase the follow-on product in an electronic commerce purchase transaction. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358661 | LOCATION AND TRANSACTION-BASED MULTI-BRAND LOYALTY SERVICE - A multi-brand loyalty server provides real-time product or service suggestions to customers based on transaction data. The multi-brand loyalty server receives customer information and transaction data from a merchant device(s) located at a merchant subscriber's premises. A loyalty event, such as a promotion or reward for a suggested product or service, is determined based on the transaction data. Information about a suggested merchant and the loyalty event is sent to a mobile device operated by the customer in order to encourage him to make a purchase from the suggested merchant. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358662 | CONSUMER GAME SYSTEM - Systems and methods that support playing of an online game by consumers to qualify for rewards based on the purchase of products in categories represented in cells of an interactive electronic/online game card issued to them by merchant(s) that sponsor the online game. The cells of each online game card appear in a geometric arrangement in which each contains an image, a graphic, and or a textual description representing a product or product category available from the merchant. The consumer may customize their game card(s) to include product categories of specific interest to them, thereby maximizing the reward they may realize. This further promotes consumer exploration of the product offerings of the merchant, resulting in increased likelihood of follow-on purchases from the merchant. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358663 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTEXT DIFFERENTIAL REDEMPTION - The invention provides systems and methods for administering a rewards program in which a discount is offered to participants, and in which individuals redeem earned points at a personalized redemption rate. Points are earned by both shopping and social media activity. The personalized redemption rate is determined according to the activity of a user. The rewards program preferably includes real-time earning of points and real-time price reductions. In certain aspects, the invention provides a method of influencing consumer behavior that includes using a computer system for giving consumers reward points for performing activities, determining a redemption rate for each consumer, offering the consumers a discount on a purchase, and—for each consumer that accepts the offer—depleting that consumer's reward points by an amount inversely proportional to that consumer's redemption rate. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358664 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PURCHASE AND PROMOTION INCENTIVE - The invention provides systems and methods for administering a rewards program in which points are earned by both shopping and social media activity. The rewards program preferably includes real-time earning of points and real-time price reductions. In certain aspects, the invention provides a method of influencing consumer behavior that includes using a computer system for giving consumers reward points for performing activities that include both online shopping and online brand promotion, offering the consumers a discount on a purchase, and—for each consumer that accepts the offer—depleting that consumer's reward points by an amount. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358665 | Predictive Item Bundling Recommendation Systems And Methods - Example online payment systems and methods are described. In one implementation, a method generates a list of a plurality of candidate items that can be associated to a base item to form a plurality of bundles. The method also displays the list of candidate items to the user in a ranked order. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358666 | CROSS-CHANNEL PERSONALIZED PROMOTION PLATFORM - A platform for providing real-time promotions determines a customer interested in a product or service. The platform identifies customer information associated with the customer, as well as a set of products of interest to the customer. The platform identifies a supplier or advertiser associated with each of the products and receives promotion bids from one or more of the suppliers or advertisers. The platform generates a score for each of the received promotion bids, selects at least one of the promotion bids for transmission to the mobile device, and transmits the selected at least one promotion bids to the mobile device. The platform tracks customer behavior associated with the at least one promotion bids and provides the tracked behavior information back to the suppliers or advertisers. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358667 | METHODS AND APPARATUS TO EVALUATE ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture are disclosed to evaluate advertising campaigns. An example method disclosed herein includes calculating a first coordinate value based on a first effectiveness value and a first audience qualification score associated with a first advertising campaign, calculating a second coordinate value based on a second effectiveness value and a second audience qualification score associated with a second advertising campaign, identifying an apex score indicative of a maximum potential effectiveness value and a maximum potential audience qualification score, calculating a first improvement value based on a distance between the first coordinate value and the apex score, and calculating a second improvement value based on a distance between the second coordinate value and the apex score, and determining whether to adjust the first advertising campaign or the second advertising campaign based on a comparison between the first improvement value and the second improvement value. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358668 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR INTEGRATING SUPPLEMENTAL CONTENT WITHIN A WEBPAGE - This specification describes technologies relating to content presentation. In general, one aspect of the subject matter described in this specification can be embodied in methods that include the actions of deploying a first arrangement of supplemental content items across one or more ad slots of a webpage, determining one or more interactions in relation to the webpage, processing, with a processor executing code, the one or more interactions to identify a collective distribution of attention across the webpage, generating, based on the collective distribution, one or more additional arrangements of supplemental content items, and deploying at least one of the one or more additional arrangements across the one or more ad slots of the webpage. Other embodiments of the various aspects include corresponding systems, apparatus, and computer program products. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358669 | METHOD FOR SELECTING AND RECEIVING PRIMARY AND SUPPLEMENTAL ADVERTISER INFORMATION USING A WEARABLE-COMPUTING DEVICE - A method for detecting an advertisement includes sensing a first information associated with the advertisement by a first wearable-computing device, and identifying the advertisement from one of a multitude of stored advertisements. The method further includes requesting, in response to a user input, a second information associated with the identified advertisement. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358670 | TARGETED ADVERTISING - A method and apparatus are described including receiving content provided by a content provider, rendering the provided content, viewing a commercial, wherein the commercial was spliced into the content based on a default commercial selection algorithm at a commercial break, determining if the user wants to rate the commercial, accepting the users rating of the commercial if the user wants to rate the commercial, and communicating the commercial and the users rating of the commercial to one or more social networking sites. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358671 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETECTING FRAUDULENT ADVERTISEMENT ACTIVITY - A system and methods are provided for detecting fraudulent activity associated with advertisements, such as impression fraud (e.g., instigating excessive numbers of ad impressions), click fraud (e.g., clicking on or simulating clicking on excessive numbers of ad impressions), CTR fraud (e.g., higher than normal CTR and number of clicks) and conversion fraud (e.g., converting or simulating the conversions of excessive numbers of ad impressions). Converting an ad may entail completing a form, initiating a file download or taking other action after clicking on the ad. User activity that involves serving an ad or user interaction with an ad is monitored, and the rates of such activity are measured—such as rates at which ad requests are made, rates at which impressions are clicked on, and rates at which ads are converted. When a pattern of activity is deemed fraudulent, a fraud detection signal is issued. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358672 | MONITORING CONVERSIONS AND FEE DETERMINATION OF ONLINE ADVERTISEMENTS USING A SOCIAL NETWORKING SYSTEM - When the social networking system selects an advertisement for presentation to the user by a client device, a content identifier associated with the selected advertisement is stored in an advertisement history associated with the user. When the user performs a conversion event associated with the selected advertisement, the social networking system receives a content identifier and a user identifier from a client device used that performed the conversion event and retrieves the user's advertisement history. If the retrieved advertisement history includes a content identifier for the selected advertisement matching the content identifier received from the client device and a time between the conversion event and providing the selected advertisement to the client device is less than a threshold time period, a fee is determined for presentation of the selected advertisement. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358673 | MONITORING CONVERSIONS AND FEE DETERMINATION OF ONLINE ADVERTISEMENTS USING A SOCIAL NETWORKING SYSTEM - A group of social networking system users are associated with a holdout group for an advertisement. Users in the holdout group are not presented with the advertisement. When the advertisement is selected for presentation to a user, the social networking system presents the advertisement to the user if the user is not in the holdout group. However, if the user is in the holdout group, alternative content is presented to the user. If a user performs a conversion event associated with the advertisement via a client device, the social networking system determines a fee for an advertiser if the advertisement was presented to the user. The fee may be adjusted based on differences between conversion events by users in the holdout group for the advertisement and by users not in the holdout group. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358674 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR TRACKING MOBILE ADVERTISING DISPLAYS - Methods for tracking a mobile advertising display configured to mount to a bicycle having one or more identifying indicia associated with the display are described. The methods include the steps of coupling a mounting mechanism and a display to the bicycle, operating the bicycle in a location where the display can be viewed by pedestrian, bicycle, and/or motorized traffic, and collecting indicia data from consumers. In some examples, the methods further include analyzing effectiveness of advertising parameters based on the indicia data collected from consumers and adjusting advertisement based on the analysis. In other examples, the methods include paying a cyclist based on the collected indicia data. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358675 | CLICK DETECTION METHOD, APPARATUS AND SYSTEM - A click detection method, apparatus and system is provided. An embodiment includes a method that receives a request from a client destined for a server and a unique identifier for the client. The method also includes generating a representation of the unique identifier, and forwarding the representation of the unique identifier and the request to the server. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358676 | METHODS AND APPARATUS TO DETERMINE AN ADJUSTMENT FACTOR FOR MEDIA IMPRESSIONS - Examples to determine media impressions are disclosed. An example method includes determining an exposure of first media, wherein the exposure occurs after a cookie identifier is received at a computing device, wherein the cookie identifier is received from a database proprietor, determining a first panelist identifier associated with the exposure based on the cookie identifier, determining a second panelist identifier associated with the exposure based on a determination of a user identity by a panelist meter associated with the computing device, determining an adjustment factor by comparing the first panelist identifier and the second panelist identifier, determining a number of impressions of second media from data logged by the database proprietor, the data logged in response to requests transmitted to the database proprietor in response to clients accessing the second media, and applying the adjustment factor to the number of impressions to determine an adjusted number of impressions. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358677 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR TARGETING AD IMPRESSIONS - The present disclosure includes a system, method, and article of manufacture for targeting ad impressions. A list of customer records may be transmitted to a service provider system that identifies a matched customer and installs a cookie on a web client associated with the matched customer. The system may further receive a campaign request from a merchant and transmit the campaign request to the service provider system which may add a flag to the cookie based on the campaign request as well as instruct a media buyer system to bid on an ad impression for the matched customer based on the flag. The system may further receive an expenditure associated with the matched customer who received the ad impression and compare the expenditure to an expenditure associated with a customer who did not receive targeted ad impression but fits parameters associated with the campaign request. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358678 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CLICK FRAUD PROTECTION - A system and method for preventing click fraud and/or determining invalid clicks are provided to measure click related data, decide according to target URL defined conditions whether to present an Intelligent interstitial, decide according to target URL defined conditions how to populate the interstitial and then measure Search user interaction with the interstitial. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358679 | METHOD OF MATCHING BETWEEN IMAGE TAGS AND ADVERTISEMENTS - The subject matter to discloses a method comprising receiving image tags from a computer device, wherein the image tags describe an image on a website, wherein the image tags comprise textual words; matching the image tags to a plurality of advertisements stored in a computerized memory; determining an advertisement of the plurality of advertisements that matches at least one image tag of the image tags; inserting the advertisement into an advertisement spot on the website. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358680 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ADVERTISEMENTS IN RESPONSES - A system and method for management of advertisements is described. Advertised results may be provided based on a ranking and a matching of an advertisement with a sponsored answer and/or an organic result to a query. An advertisement may be provided using a human assistant. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358681 | CONTENT PROVISION SYSTEM AND DISTRIBUTION CONTROL METHOD - A content provision system includes an electronic device and a management system including one or more devices to manage content that is provided to a user through the electronic device. The electronic device includes a detection unit that detects a user who has used the electronic device and receives user identification information that identifies the user, and a transmission unit that transmits the user identification information to the management system. The management system includes a history management unit that manages history information which associates the user identification information with the electronic device, and a determination unit that determines the electronic device to distribute the content, and the user as an object of provision of the content based on content attributes indicating the object of provision of the content and the history information managed by the history management unit. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358682 | MONITORING RETAIL TRANSACTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH A FINANCIAL INSTITUTION-BASED MERCHANT OFFER PROGRAM AND DETERMINING SAVINGS METRICS - Embodiments of the invention provide for monitoring transactions and providing related savings metrics in association with a financial institution-based merchant offer program. Since the transaction monitoring occurs at the financial institution level, the savings metrics may include savings amounts lost by conducting a transaction absent a merchant offer when an applicable merchant offer was available. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358683 | Method of generating revenue from promoters utilizing wireless technology - A method of generating revenue from promoters utilizing wireless technology includes: a wireless communications devices app that permits reading a unique printed bar code that is sent to a host device. The host device software matches the code to a unique video, which is sent back to the wireless communications device for instant playing. The promoter of the video purchases services to store the code and the video for app use. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358684 | SYSTEM FOR COMMUNICATING PRIMARY AND SUPPLEMENTAL ADVERTISER INFORMATION USING A SERVER - A system for communicating with a server is configured to receive, by the server, a first information associated with an advertisement, and identify, using the server, the advertisement from one of a multitude of stored advertisements. The system is further configured to supply, in response to a request, a second information associated with the identified advertisement. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358685 | Method and System for Providing Sign Data and Sign History - Methods and systems include determining that a device is proximate to a sign, providing sign identification information associated with the sign, and providing a sign history. A request for sign data associated with the sign identification information may be received, and sign data may be provided. Determining that a sign is proximate to a device may be based on a signal from the sign and/or the device. Additionally, a location of a device may be received and it may be determined that the device is proximate to a sign based on determining a location of the sign and determining that the difference in the location of the device and the location of the sign is less than a given threshold. A request for sign data associated with the sign may be sent. In response, sign data may be received, stored, and displayed. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358686 | SELECTING A DISPLAY OF AN ADVERTISEMENT BASED ON AVAILABILITY - Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for selecting displays of advertisements based on availability of a user. A computing system receives a request to provide an advertisement for display by a first computing device. The computing system identifies that a particular user of a second computing device is presently available to participate in an interactive session. The computing system selects, for display by the first computing device, a first display for the advertisement, from a plurality of displays for the advertisement, based on the computing system having identified that the particular user is presently available. The computing system transmits for receipt by the first computing device, first information so as to cause the first computing device to display the first display for the advertisement. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358687 | Merchandising Product With Auto-Dial Cellular Communication - A method and a device for making a wireless cellular communication using a merchandising product with a marketing message. A merchant delivers a merchandising product to a user. The merchandising device contains an electronic module that comprises memory that stores multimedia and an identifier such as telephone number. The electronic module contains the components necessary to play the multimedia, including one or more audio output devices and optionally a video screen. The electronic module also contains the components necessary to connect to a wireless network and to place a cellular communication using the wireless network to the identifier. The electronic module is activated by a switch. Upon activation, the electronic module plays the multimedia on the one or more audio output devices and, optionally, the video screen. While the multimedia is playing, the module connects to a wireless network. Upon the conclusion of playing the multimedia, the module makes a wireless communication with the stored identifier number with no further action on the part of the user. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358688 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR TARGETED DISPLAYS AND INFORMATION - In some examples, a system comprises a memory and at least one module executing on one or more computer processors to receive user behavior information and associate the user behavior information with at least one mobile user device identifier. The at least one module may further provide targeting information to an advertiser, the targeting information comprising the at least one mobile user device identifier, and transmit targeted information for display in an interface on the mobile user device based on the user behavior information associated with the at least one mobile user device identifier as defined in the specification. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358689 | Merchandising Product With One-Touch Connection Wireless Communication - A device for making a one-touch connection wireless communication using a merchandising product with a marketing message. A merchant delivers a merchandising product to a user. The merchandising device contains an electronic module that comprises memory that stores multimedia and an identifier such as telephone number. The electronic module contains the components necessary to play the multimedia on an output device, such as a speaker or video screen. The electronic module also contains the components necessary to connect to a wireless network and to place a wireless communication using the wireless network to the identifier when a dial switch is triggered. The electronic module is activated by a main switch. In one embodiment, upon activation, the electronic module plays the multimedia on the output device. When the user triggers the dial switch, the module makes a wireless communication with the stored identifier. The wireless communication may be voice, text, e-mail and/or other digital data. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358690 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR USER IDENTIFICATION AND COMMUNICATION - Method and system is disclosed for identifying and communicating with a user across a multi-connected networked environment such as through both telephony and internet-based networks. The method includes receiving a predefined keyword directed to a predefined shortcode from a mobile device, storing a phone number associated with the mobile device, generating a unique URL address based upon the keyword, the shortcode and the stored phone number, transmitting the unique URL address to the mobile device, receiving a request from the mobile device to access the unique URL address, resolving the unique URL address to a second URL address comprising numerical digits of the phone number, recording user interactions with the website based upon the second URL address, and communicating information to the user via the mobile device based upon the stored phone number and the second URL address. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358691 | SYSTEM FOR SELECTING AND RECEIVING PRIMARY AND SUPPLEMENTAL ADVERTISER INFORMATION USING A WEARABLE-COMPUTING DEVICE - A system for detecting an advertisement is configured to sense a first information associated with the advertisement by a first wearable-computing device, and identify the advertisement from one of a multitude of stored advertisements. The system is further configured to request, in response to a user input, a second information associated with the identified advertisement. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358692 | METHOD FOR COMMUNICATING PRIMARY AND SUPPLEMENTAL ADVERTISER INFORMATION USING A SERVER - A method for communicating with a server includes receiving, by the server, a first information associated with an advertisement, and identifying, using the server, the advertisement from one of a multitude of stored advertisements. The method further includes supplying, in response to a request, a second information associated with the identified advertisement. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358693 | Method and Apparatus for Publishing Literature - A price to advertise in an e-book is calculated for a product placement. The price is based on a frequency of a word forming part of the content of the e-book. The word is associated with the product placement in the context of the e-book. Payment and a destination network address are received from a purchaser. The payment is calculated based on the price and representative of consideration for purchase of the word in the e-book. The destination network address is accessible to the plurality of mobile electronic devices via a computer network. Links are provided within the content of the e-book in association with the word, the links configured to direct a mobile electronic device of the plurality of mobile electronic devices to the destination network address. The e-book, including the word and the associated links, is transmitted to the plurality of mobile electronic devices via the computer network. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358694 | SOCIAL MEDIA PRICING ENGINE - Processes for determining predicted prices of social media actions from disparate social media types are disclosed. In one example process, campaign attribute data associated with an advertising campaign on a social media service may be received. The campaign attribute data and historical campaign attribute data associated with previously performed advertising campaigns may be used to generate a plurality of predicted prices for the social media action. A weighted sum of the plurality of predicted prices may be calculated to generate a final predicted price for the social media action. Predicted prices for other social media actions performed on other social media services may similarly be generated. Systems and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for performing these processes are also provided. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358695 | COMMUNICATION FACILITATOR - A method for enabling engagement between a first application on a device and a set of contacts associated with a second application on the device, including: receiving, at the first application, an authentication token from the second application, wherein the authentication token is configured for providing an authentication pass to a server when delivered thereto by the first application, thereby allowing the first application access to a set of messaging functionalities available at the server; delivering the authentication token to the server; upon the authentication token having been verified by the server, connecting, using a communication platform, to the server, wherein the communication platform includes communication functionalities configured for enabling communication with other devices; and communicating with contacts of a set of contacts associated with the second application using, via the communication platform, at least one messaging functionality of the set of messaging functionalities. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358696 | ADVERTISEMENT SYSTEM USING RETAILER INVENTORY - An advertisement system which uses a retailer inventory is described, for example, to dynamically generate advertisements with data from the retailer inventory. In various examples product data from a retailer inventory such as numbers of remaining units of a product, is available to an advertising server by querying a retailer inventory. In various examples a retailer is able to create an advertisement design for a selling period; the design is used to dynamically generate advertisements in response to advertisement impression requests from information retrieval systems, dedicated sales sites, and other entities. In various examples, prices, minimal bids and other data is calculated using data retrieved from a retailer inventory and input to advertisements generated for display at end user devices. In an example group buying is facilitated by generating advertisements stating a current number of participants out of a target number of participants. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358697 | AUTOMATED SUPPRESSION OF CONTENT DELIVERY - Automated bidding for advertisement suppression is described, for example, to enable a user to pay to skip advertisements by using a bidding agent to act on behalf of the user in an auction for advertisement opportunities. In various examples, where the bidding agent wins the auction on behalf of the user, no advertisement, or an unobtrusive blank advertisement, is presented. In some examples the bidding agent is a web service with access to data about pre-registered end user devices and associated bid configurations and histories. In examples the bidding agent receives a bid request, identifies an associated registered end user device and bid configuration, and places a bid in an auction for an advertisement opportunity. In some examples, when the bidding agent wins the auction, the bidding agent enables either a publisher or the end user device to skip advertisements. For example, by providing a decryption key. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358698 | CONCEPTS FOR ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES - Methods, systems, apparatus, and computer program products are provided for providing advertising opportunities. The concepts for providing advertising opportunities may comprise (i) receiving information associated with an advertising opportunity; (ii) receiving one or more bids associated with the advertising opportunity, wherein each of the one or more bids is associated with an influencer profile; (iii) providing a notification that the one or more bids have been received, the notification provided in accordance with the advertiser profile; and (iv) receiving input indicating advertiser approval of at least one of the one or more bids. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358699 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING FREE REMOTE VISTUAL DESKTOP PAID FOR BY ADVERTISING OR OTHER COMMERCIAL CONTECT CO-DISPLAYED ON THE USER DESKTOP - A system and method for providing free or low cost remote virtual desktop to a user display device from a remote display control device such as a computer server coupled to the global computer network and operating appropriate computer software. The virtual remote desktop occupies less than an entire display area on the user display device. The system and method also provides commercial sponsored content to the user display device. The commercial sponsored content is displayed adjacent the displayed virtual remote desktop. The commercial sponsored content may be content advertising goods or services and arbitrary or based on the user's remote virtual desktop or the users activity on the remote virtual desktop. The payment by third parties for the commercial sponsored content allows the provision of the free or low cost remote virtual desktop to the user. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358700 | GENERATING REVENUE BY GROWING SALES OF THIRD-PARTY APPLICATIONS - A method for generating revenue by growing sales of third-party applications, including: receiving, at a server communicatively coupled with a second application and from the second application located at a first device, an indication of a first application launching request, wherein the server includes a set of messaging functionalities that are available for implementation by the second application and are available for implementation by the first application upon delivery of an authentication token from the first application to the server; based on the receiving the indication of the first application launching request, generating an authentication token, wherein the authentication token is configured for providing an authentication pass to the server when delivered thereto by the first application, thereby allowing the first application access to the set of messaging functionalities; and sending the authentication token to the second application for delivery to the first application. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358701 | Distributing Content - Contextually relevant pieces of alternative content, including advertisements, are selected for display with requested content based on documents or other second content sources that are referenced by or in the requested content. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358702 | Institutional Catering Business Method and Associated Website - The present disclosure relates to a catering business that utilizes a website to manage individual food orders that are processed at one or more production kitchens strategically located near the target market. The catering business manages the production of food items, the delivery of food items that can be maintained in portable ovens or warmers and/or active cooling, passive insulated or non-insulated containers that preserve the food items for subsequent consumption. The catering business delivers the food items to various institutional locations for distribution by the particular institution. The delivery of food items can be for breakfast, lunch and/or dinner meals. After the food is consumed, the delivery vehicles can return to the institutions to recover the portable ovens or warmers and/or active cooling, passive insulated or non-insulated containers. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358703 | Item Delivery Optimization - Item delivery optimization may be provided. Items may be identified as available for delivery at a first location to at least one second location. A route from the first location to the second location may be calculated and at least a portion of the route from the first location to the second location may be provided to a delivery mechanism, such as an automated delivery device and/or a user. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358704 | SECURED POINT-OF-SALE TRANSACTIONS - Systems, devices, and methods for secure transaction processing are provided. A point-of-transaction device may receive a selection of transaction parameters to establish and store a security rule. The point-of-transaction device may then receive a transaction request and confirm that the transaction request complies with the security rule. The point-of-transaction device may forward the security rule and the transaction request to a transaction security server that stores the security rule and further verifies that the transaction request complies with the security rule. The transaction security server may also forward at least a portion of the transaction request to a third party that further confirms an identity of the customer. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358705 | CONTROL OF VENDING MACHINES - Methods and apparatus for control of vending machines by a user equipment. The methods and apparatus comprise a user device comprising an identification unit configured to obtain data identifying a vending machine from an identification unit of the vending machine. The user device further comprises a communication unit configured to query a database to obtain data relating to the content of the identified vending machine, and a user interface configured to present the obtained data to a user and to receive a user input relating to the content of the identified vending machine. The communication unit of the user device is configured to transmit to the database updated data based on the user input and relating to the content of the vending machine. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358706 | SECURE PAYMENT CARD TRANSACTIONS - Payment card transactions at a point of sale (POS) are secured in certain embodiments by intercepting, with a POS security layer installed on a POS terminal, payment data from the POS terminal, transmitting the payment data from the POS security layer to a server security application installed on a POS server, and providing false payment data from the POS security layer to a POS terminal application installed on the POS terminal. The false payment data in various embodiments is processed as if it were the payment data, such that the POS terminal transmits an authorization request to the POS server using the false payment data. In addition, the authorization request may be transmitted from the POS server to a payment gateway. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358707 | Payment Processing with Dynamic Barcodes - A system, method and apparatus for payment processing using dynamic barcodes is provided. In an embodiment, a method is provided. The method includes receiving a request to stage an order, including information identifying a merchant. The method further includes determining current order information for the merchant. The method also includes producing a token identifier for the order. The token identifier includes an item code and a ticket identifier. The item code identifies or references an economic understanding for the order. Additionally, the method includes staging the order within a system to allow for completion of the order later in time. The order completes through notification of payment to a POS terminal by a consumer and fulfillment of the order by the merchant. The method further includes sending the token identifier to the merchant. The token identifier is to be provided to the consumer for use by the consumer in paying for the order at the POS terminal. The POS terminal is remote from the merchant. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358708 | Payment Processing with Restricted Receipt Information - A system and method is provided for payment processing with restricted receipt information. In an embodiment, a method is also provided. The method includes receiving a request for billing information from a POS (point-of-sale) terminal at a payment processor for a customer to pay a merchant at the POS terminal. The method further includes providing billing information to the POS terminal. The billing information includes a bill amount and an additional fee amount. The billing information further includes a predetermined code to be included on a receipt from the POS terminal. Matching of the predetermined code on the receipt of the customer and the token document provides proof of payment for the order. The method also includes receiving confirmation of payment from the POS. The method further includes sending payment information to the merchant about the customer payment. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358709 | Card Present Transaction Authentication by Short Messaging Service - A method and system for internet purchasing from a mobile phone handset is provided. The method includes a remote point-of-sale (POS) payment system determining card present information from payment information of the mobile phone handset via user transparent short messaging service (SMS) communication, wherein the payment information comprises one or more of credit card information and value-added services information. The method also includes the remote POS payment system forwarding the card present information to a merchant server and the merchant server transmitting the card present information to a payment acquirer system. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358710 | MARKET FOR RESOURCES BASED ON REUSABLE USAGE POINTS AND USAGE PERIODS - Example embodiments relate to a resource market based on reusable usage points and usage periods. In some examples, a system may maintain multiple resources provided by at least one resource provider, each resource being conditionally accessible by a user. The system may maintain multiple types of usage periods, each different usage period type specifying a different duration. The system may maintain multiple types of usage points, the usage point types being respectively associated with the usage period types. The system may allow the user to access a first resource of the multiple resources during a particular usage period by allocating a number of usage points to the first resource. The usage may be allowed based on the usage period being of a first usage period type and the number of usage points each being of an associated first usage point type. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358711 | NETWORK-BASED GIFT SERVICE - A web-based service providing a platform for users to manage gift lists for themselves and engage in gift giving to others through other existing web services. The technology communicates and may be embedded within other network services that have a customer base of users such that the existing web services may receive input from users to select and purchase gifts through their existing websites. The technology may also communicate with and be embedded with existing fulfillment web services. A web service manages user accounts, shares content with existing web services, and provides its own social networking platform. Users may access their accounts and utilize the invention web services via the invention web service itself, applications embedded in other web services, and mobile device applications. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358712 | SHOPPING GUIDE SYSTEM, SHOPPING GUIDE MANAGEMENT DEVICE AND METHOD - A shopping guide method includes steps: transmitting a shopping guide information to a portable device in response to a request from the portable device produced by scanning an application scan code which includes an identification code (ID) of a salesperson; and associating a current purchase record of the consumer with the ID of the salesperson when the consumer makes an online purchase via the shopping guide information. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358713 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR BULK PURCHASE NEGOTIATING USING AN AD HOC ONLINE GROUP - A method and system enables the formation of an ad hoc group to negotiate a bulk purchase of a product or service in an online user networking environment and to execute the bulk purchase using an electronic commerce transaction. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358714 | BUTTON ENHANCEMENT FOR PROXY BIDDING - A user interface is provided which presents a text box representing an area in which a user can enter a proxy bid for an online auction, the text box being presented within a button operable by the user to activate the proxy bid. Then input is received from the user in the text box presented within the button. The input is then placed as a bid in the online auction upon receiving a selection of the button, the selection being indicated by an activation of the button outside the area represented by the text box. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358715 | Methods, Circuits, Devices, Systems and Associated Computer Executable Code for Facilitating Local Hosting and Access of Internet Based Information - Disclosed are methods, circuits, devices, systems and associated computer executable code for facilitating local hosting and access of internet based information. Zone Specific Hosting Server(s) host content associated with a specific zone of a wireless or cellular network, while Zone Specific Domain Name System Server(s) store Domain Name System records of content stored on the Zone Specific Hosting Server(s). A Hosting Deployment System deploys content to one or more of the Zone Specific Hosting Server(s) and updates the records of the Zone Specific Domain Name System Server(s) in accordance, and a Transparent Breakout Engine allows access and directs client devices of the wireless or cellular network to content hosted on the Zone Specific Hosting Server(s) based on the Zone Specific Domain Name System Server(s) records. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358716 | Website-Based System For Facilitating Real Time Or Near Real Time Negotiations Between Providers and Purchasers - In an electronic negotiation system, a web server stores seller information characterizing an offer. The electronic negotiation system provides for sending and receiving buyer and seller information regarding the offer where the information exchanged includes buyer and seller interest in the offer and a versatility in at least one of the seller defined parameters characterizing the offer. These electronic exchanges may be characterized as occurring in near real-time. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358717 | CUSTOMIZED ELECTRONIC GIFT PRODUCT AND ASSOCIATED METHODS - A digital/virtual gift product is provided for generation and customization by a giver through a service provider and for receipt by a recipient for use with a merchant. The digital/virtual gift product includes: a representation of a monetary gift value selected by the giver and depicted on the digital/virtual gift product for use and redemption with a preselected merchant; a merchant identification depicted on the digital/virtual gift product to identify the preselected merchant, selected by the giver, and at which preselected merchant the digital/virtual gift product is redeemable; and a giver identification to identify the giver of the digital/virtual gift product to the recipient and to the merchant. At least one system and associated methods also are disclosed for creating, customizing, and tracking multiple digital/virtual gift products. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358718 | Customizable Plate - A customizable plate system comprising a plate having a central clear portion and a decal configured to selectively couple with the underside of the plate at the central clear portion, such that a design on the decal shows through the central clear portion of the plate. The decal can be removable, so that it can be replaced with a different decal. The decals can be selected such that the design of the decal applied to the plate can match the surrounding decor and/or occasion. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358719 | System and Method for Sales Generation in Conjunction With a Vehicle Data System - Embodiments of sales generation, including sales generation employing reverse lead generation using vehicle data systems and methods, are presented herein. In particular, in certain embodiments a user may utilize the vehicle data system to obtain pricing data corresponding to a desired vehicle configuration. When the user is presented with the pricing data associated with the specified vehicle configuration the user may additionally be presented with an upfront price offered by a dealer, where by providing their personal information the user may obtain the name of the dealer offering the upfront price and may additionally be offered the opportunity to purchase the desired, or similar, vehicle at the upfront price. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358720 | METHOD AND APPARATUS TO BUILD FLOWCHARTS FOR E-SHOPPING RECOMMENDATIONS - An advisor flowchart is built, which flowchart comprises a set of nodes and each node is associated with a user attribute selected from a set of user attributes in a user space, the set of attributes comprising information about users, e.g., lifestyles, interests, demographics, etc. and each node is associated with a ranking of products from a product space. The advisor flowchart may be used to make a set of recommendations available to a user, where the set of recommendations comprise one or more top-ranked products associated with the node at which the user is currently positioned. At each node, the associated user attribute is used to formulate a question that may be posed to the user. The user's answer to the question may be used to progress to another node of the advisor flowchart. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358721 | MINING PRODUCT RECOMMENDATION FROM QUERY REFORMULATIONS - In various example embodiments, systems and methods to mine product recommendations from query reformulation is provided. In example embodiments, a search query is mapped to a particular product. Transition data for the particular product is accessed. The transition data includes values reflecting a number of search transitions between the particular product and other products in session sets of previous queries. One or more recommendations based on the transition data is determined and provided to the user. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358722 | SMART SHOPPING REMINDERS WHILE DRIVING - A user of a wireless communication device (WCD) is reminded to stop at a store along a route of the user's vehicle based on a list of items needed, geographic location, and previous established behavior patterns, e.g., whether the user has stopped at a particular store close to the current time of day, along the current route of the vehicle, one or more times before. Shopping locations are verified at the location with a simple confirmation dialog on the WCD and suggested names are provided from a list of points of interests. Items to be purchased can then be added to a location-based shopping list by using a digital camera on the WCD to image the item and/or the barcode of the item and find the item in a database of images and barcodes. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358723 | SKU Based Contract Management in an Electronic Procurement System - A single instance, multi-tenant procurement system, includes an access module to provide access to a plurality of end users associated with an organization to their respective accounts, each account being customized by a super user of the organization, a search engine to execute searches for products offered by one or more suppliers, a transaction module to process and track one or more requisitions generated by the plurality of end users, a business rules module to apply business rules established between the organization and the one or more suppliers to process the requisitions, and a data repository to store data generated on the system. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358724 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR IN-VEHICLE NAVIGATED SHOPPING - Systems and methods to provide a navigated-shopping service are discussed. In an example, a method for navigated-shopping can include receiving a destination location, accessing a route to the destination, displaying the route with indications of a plurality of items for purchase, receiving selection of a selected item, and purchasing the selected item. The plurality of items for purchase can be within a predefined distance of at least one point along the route. The selection of the selected item can include selection of a retail location of a plurality of retail locations along the route. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358725 | TIME- AND GEOLOCATION-LIMITED MARKETPLACE - In some embodiments, an app provides a geolocation-limited marketplace limited to a pre-defined period of time. The geolocation-limited marketplace is accessible only by the users in a predefined geographical area. Typically, the predefined geographical area is limited to an area small enough for a user to walk from one end to the other in a short period of time. The pre-defined period of time is of some limited length of time that may occur at a pre-defined interval. In some instances, the period of time is one hour. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358726 | INHIBITING INAPPROPRIATE COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN USERS INVOLVING TRANSACTIONS - Techniques are described for automatically identifying and inhibiting suspect electronic communications between users, such as for electronic communications that may reflect fraudulent activities by one or more of the users or that are otherwise inappropriate for one or more reasons. In some situations, the communications may relate to transactions in which the users are involved, such as for users that are buyers and sellers of items interacting via one or more electronic marketplaces. The communications may occur via a communication mechanism provided by an electronic marketplace that acts as an intermediary between the sender of a communication and the one or more intended recipients of the communication. The automatic identification of suspect communications that may be inappropriate includes automatically assessing the communications in one or more ways, and identified suspect communications and any associated inappropriate user activities may be inhibited in various ways. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358727 | PROVIDING ENHANCED CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES - Methods, systems, computer-readable media, and apparatuses for providing enhanced customer experiences are presented. In some embodiments, a computing device may receive information about a mobile device detected within a predetermined distance of a retail location. Subsequently, the computing device may determine, based on the received information, an identity of a customer using the mobile device. The computing device also may determine one or more needs of the customer based on the identity of the customer. Thereafter, the computing device may generate routing information for the customer based on the identity of the customer and the one or more determined needs of the customer. In some instances, determining the one or more needs of the customer may include predicting at least one need of the customer based on at least one of customer product information, customer presence information, customer history information, customer account information, and customer profile information. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358728 | Facilitating Transactions Between Shoppers And Sellers Using Uploaded Content Files - A server for facilitating transactions between shoppers and sellers using uploaded content files includes anon-transitory storage device, a network interface device, and a processing device that executes a content upload module and a search module. The content upload module is configured to receive an uploaded content file from a first user computing device corresponding to an uploader and associate at least one setter of goods or services with the uploaded content file. The search module is configured to electronically provide one or more content files including the uploaded content file to a second user computing device of a shopper. Each content file has at least one associated seller. The search module is further configured to receive an indication of electronic selection of the uploaded content file and update a selection award associated with the uploaded content file or an uploader of the uploaded content file. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358729 | METHOD FOR MANAGING A HOME EQUITY SALES PROGRAM - A system and method for conducting a home equity sales (HES) program enables a real estate property owner to sell a partial equity ownership interest in a real estate property. This allows the property owner to sell the interest outright to an investor and receive compensation for the sale of the interest. The property interests of the property owner and the investor are both recorded in property records relating to that particular property. The property owner may sell multiple interests in the same property and an investor may also purchase these multiple interests. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358730 | Systems And Methods For Optimally Ordering Recommendations - Example systems and methods for optimally ordering recommendations or search results are described. In one implementation, a method determines a set of items as search results or candidates for recommendation. Each of the items in the set is associated with a respective first parameter representative of a measure of suitability of the respective item for recommendation. The items in the set are associated with a plurality of second parameters each of which representative of a measure of similarity between a respective one of the items and another respective one of the items. The method also determines an order in which a subset of the items is to be displayed based at least in part on the representative first parameter and the representative set of second parameters associated with the items. The method further displays the subset of the items in the determined order. | 2014-12-04 |
20140358731 | CONSUMER PURCHASE DECISION SCORING TOOL - Systems, methods, and other embodiments associated with a consumer purchase decision scoring tool are described. In one embodiment, a method includes receiving a target identifier that identifies a target product. The example method also includes calculating a buy score for the target product. | 2014-12-04 |