AU2009100426A4 - Goods and Services Apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Title of the Invention Goods and Services Listing Field of the Invention The present invention relates to computer networked information systems, and more 5 particularly, to systems and methods for connecting users with goods and services. Background of the Invention The "six degrees of separation" phenomenon popularized in recent decades is based on experiments conducted by social psychologist Stanley Milgram in the 1960s .0 continuing the seminal works conducted in the field. "Small World" theory proposed that members of any large social network are likely to be connected to each other through chains of acquaintances (now more commonly known as degrees of separation). No two networks are the same and degrees of separation vary greatly due to a multitude of interrelated variables but the popular belief is that any two s people in the world are connected by approximately six degrees of separation. The study of social networks has evolved dramatically with the exponential rise of technology, specifically the internet and social networks. Social networks allow for communities of online users to connect and link via virtual friendships and to share information, the nature of these social networks is becoming more well known with o some social network websites making users aware of mutual friends between users and relative social distance of users away from the person in question. For example when one is viewing another user's profile (who is not directly in the one's immediate group of virtual friends), information is available as to mutual friends shared by oneself and the user whose profile is being viewed. Another example searches for a .5 name of a user (who is not in one's immediate group of virtual friends), whereby the degree of separation from the user being searched for may be displayed on that user's profile. Another growth area of the internet is online goods and services listings, as goods/services providers and consumer's change the way they seek work and find 30 services. A number of business listings exist that include the ability to search for certain businesses in particular areas with further search ranking filters available such as user ratings. Other interactive features of these websites can include location maps, featured listings, discounts, business reviews, user's can create an account to make business reviews and email details to friends. Similarly goods 35 listings exist in the form of online auction and classifieds websites where businesses and individuals sell goods to consumers via the internet. The nature of both business listings and goods listings are quite similar in that consumers come to the websites looking for either goods or services and they are presented with relevant search results after they input search information. 40 Both social networks and online goods and services listings are fast moving technology fields and as always there remains room for improvement. Some goods and services listing websites have started to embrace social media in the form of basic user profiles for patrons of goods and service providers and for the goods and 1 services providers themselves. Allowing patrons to review goods and services providers is now possible on some goods and services listings but the validity of such reviews can be questionable with little stopping goods and services providers from creating false profiles for the purpose of creating false appraisals. The growth of 5 online social networks has revealed that people are influenced by the experiences of others within their social network. Currently consumers may feel somewhat disconnected from goods and services providers as they search for them, when the reality is they may be connected to those providers through a series of friends (for example the user may have a friend who is friends with a relevant goods or services o provider). Many small businesses are starting to pay due attention to online methods of generating work but word of mouth remains a powerful business generating mechanism. The further integration of goods and services provider listings with social networks will play an important role in coming years to promote business s referrals and the way consumer's interact with goods and service providers. Summary of the Invention The present invention provides a computer program for storing and retrieving a listing of search results comprising: o (i) conducting a search to locate and identify goods and service; (ii) identifying a relationship between the user and a connection identified in the search; and (iii) ranking the search result for the goods and service wherein said connection is identified according to the level of separation s between the user and the connection, and the ranking of the search result is based on the relationship between the user and the connection. Preferably, the search results comprise of relationship information between business review authors, the business being reviewed and the user. Preferably, the level of separation determines the amount of any discount provided for the goods and services. Preferably, the search results allows for the sale of goods in a classifieds format 35 incorporating different rates for different degrees of separation. The invention further provides a method for ranking goods and services listing search results comprising: (i) conducting a search to locate and identify goods and services; 40 (ii) identifying a relationship between the user and a connection identified in the search; and (iii) ranking the search result for the goods and service wherein said connection is identified according to the level of separation between the user and the connection, and the ranking of the 45 search result is based on the relationship between the user and the connection. 2 Preferably, according to the invention, the user and the connection are identified at at least a first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth levels of separation. 5 Preferably, according to the invention, the business listing search result provides the ranking based on at least the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth levels of separation. Preferably, the user and the connection at the same level of separation are further o ranked according to other factors including geographical location. The present invention further relates to a new method for ranking goods/service listing search results based on the nature of a searcher's social network. In accordance with this method, the shortest level of separation between a searcher 5 and any number of goods/service providers is determined (as searched by specific name (e.g. Garys Plumbing Service) or type (e.g. plumber)). Then, a plurality of listings that match the search query are identified and ranked according to the level of separation between searcher and identified database entry (listing) along with other ranking factors that are relevant to the search (for example if a searcher in o Brisbane knows a plumber in Sydney then this result will not necessarily rank 1 t due to geographical factors). Search results of the same level of separation can then be further ranked according to more traditional means (e.g. location, alphabetical). The final step would include presentation of appropriately ranked results to the searcher. Another aspect of the present invention relates to a method that allows for user to 5 form a more informed opinion based on reviews of goods/service provider. In accordance with this method, when a searcher opens a listing (whether by means of a search result or by other means), reviews by other patrons will be displayed with the shortest level of separation between the searcher viewing that business listing and the individual reviewers, along with the level of separation between the review o authors and the goods/service provider being reviewed. Another aspect relates to a method by which a goods/service provider may make discounts available to members of it's immediate or extended social network depending on levels of separation. For example a Plumber may offer 10% off the bill for those patrons in his 1st ring of connections (1st level of separation), then 5% to 35 those in his second ring of connections (2nd level of separation) and so on. A further aspect of the present invention relates to a method that allows for the sale of goods in a classifieds format incorporating different rates for different levels of separation. In accordance with this method, a seller will list a product on a website defining a price for the item for sale for each respective level of separation 40 considered relevant to the seller's network. In the same way a user looks for a goods/service provider, a searcher may search for a product, the shortest level of separation between a searcher and any number of sellers of products is determined (as searched by specific name (e.g. Ipod 8GB) or type (e.g. mp3 player)). Then, a plurality of listings that match the search query is identified and ranked, firstly, 45 according to the level of separation between searcher and identified database entry (listing). Search results of the same level of separation can then be further ranked 3 according to more traditional means (e.g. location, alphabetical, price). The final step would include presentation of appropriately ranked results to the searcher. Definitions e Level of separation - an integer value indicating the number of connections 5 between any two registered users in a network of users. For example User X is directly connected (virtual friends) with User Y and is said to be one level of separation from User Y. An alternative example being User X being connected to User B by three connector friends (User X is friends with User Y, User Y is friends with User Z, User Z is friends with User A, User A is friends .0 with User B) is said to be four levels of separation away. * Social distance - a descriptive term relating to the relative levels of separation of other users. For example a user who is in User X's 3 rd level of separation is at a greater social distance to users in User X's second level of separation. * Ring of connection - An alternative terminology relating level of separation. .5 For example users in User X's second ring of connections are those within the social network who are in User X's second level of separation. * Goods - Products or items being sold by businesses in a retail manner, or by means of a classifieds system for users trying to sell personal items. * Services - A variety of work done usually by businesses for money, for .o example plumbing services provide technical assistance with plumbing problems. * Services(business) listing/profile - A listing of relevant service details(e.g. business name, contact details, employee details, service description, photos, videos , etc.)as a means of presenting information to user's searching for .5 goods/services. * Goods listing/profile - A listing of relevant goods details(e.g. seller contact details, goods description, photos, videos , etc.)as a means of presenting information to user's searching for goods. Goods may be sold by businesses in a retail manner or by personal users in a classifieds manner. 30 * Unregistered users - A person accessing the present invention/innovation without an active account that contains the details of their social network. As such the level of separation can not be determined between goods/services listings. " Existing users - A person accessing the present invention/innovation with an 35 active account containing details of the person's social network, allowing calculation of levels of separation between the user and relevant goods/service listings and review authors. * Personal use users - Those users using the present invention/innovation to search for goods/services as a consumer, possibly take advantage of 40 discounts available through their social network connections, interact with 4 goods/service providers amongst other features consistent with the present invention. " Searcher - personal use users specifically using the present invention for the purpose of searching for goods/services. 5 0 Goods provider - a user trying to sell personal goods in a classifieds manner in accordance with the present invention OR a business selling goods in a retail manner in accordance with the present invention. The goods provider is the administrator of the goods listing and can grow a social network of friends to be part of the social network allowing level of separation calculations o between searching users and the goods listing. " Service provider - A business/person that provides services in exchange for payment in accordance with the present invention. The service provider is the administrator of the service listing and can grow a social network of friends to be part of the social network allowing level of separation calculations between 5 searching users and the service listing. " Connector - a user who forms part of the connection linkage between a user searching for goods/services and the goods/service provider. For example if User X is found to be connected to goods/service provider Z by User Y (User X is friends with User Y and User Y is friends with goods/service provider Z) o therefore User Y is defined as a connector. " Virtual friendships - defined as the linking of two electronic social network accounts to indicate a friendship between the users in control of these accounts. Brief Description of the drawings s Figure 1 shows an exemplar user interface screen shot of a website embodiment of the invention/innovation where a user can search for goods/services, log in to the website or register as a user. Figure 2 shows an exemplar user interface screen shot of a website embodiment of the invention where search results for goods/services are presented, and users can 30 view further information by clicking relevant links. Figure 3 shows an exemplar user interface screen shot of a website embodiment of the invention where goods/service provider profile page is presented, including features consistent with the present invention. Figure 4 shows an exemplar user interface screen shot of a website embodiment of 35 the invention where a user's home page is presented, including features consistent with the present invention. Figure 5 shows an exemplar block diagram of components that could be used to form an apparatus that could be used to implement the present invention/innovation. Figure 6 shows a simplified flowchart demonstrating an exemplar method for 40 executing a search for goods or services in accordance with the present invention. 5 Detailed Description of the invention Figure 1 depicts the home/welcome page for an exemplary website embodiment of the present invention that allows login for existing users, registration of interested 5 visitors and other visitors to the website to search for goods and services. The example screen shot includes areas for user text entry of keywords relating to the goods and services 102 and location of interest 104, it should be clear that the search interface could be more complex and depart easily from this figure. A button is shown for the execution of the desired search 106. Unregistered users may 0 instigate registration with the website/social network through a link on the home page 108 or existing users may log in through the login button 110. Again, alternative implementations of registration or login functions would be apparent to those skilled in the art. Figure 2 depicts the results page for an exemplary website embodiment of the .5 present invention that displays the results output from the websites search engine as executed by the search button 106. Goods and services results are listed according to the ranking method as outlined in Figure 6. A plurality of results is shown with the goods/service provider's name, brief contact details, price (where appropriate) and location 112. Details such as the relevant level of separation between the user and . the goods/service provider result 112, and the users involved in the connection may be shown (depending on specific user privacy settings) beside the goods/service provider details 114. The connection details 114 may also show discounts available to the particular user depending on the level of separation if available. As an example, registered users searching for a plumber who services their .5 local area may have no plumbing businesses in their first ring of connections (one level of separation) but may have 2 plumbing businesses servicing their area in the 2nd ring of connections (Plumber A and Plumber B) and a further 4 plumbing businesses (Plumber C, Plumber D, Plumber E and Plumber F) in their 3rd ring of connections (3 levels of separation). Plumbers A, B and D are Ao found to service the user's desired area through details in the present innovation's database. The results page would be displayed in the following manner. Plumbers A and B would rank in first and second position as both are socially closer (2nd level of separation) than Plumber D. Plumber's A and B would be ranked according 35 to which one of the two is closer to the user. Plumber D would rank 3rd as he/she is in the 3rd ring of connections from the user. It should be clear that the search results page could be more complex and depart easily from this drawing. The connection details box 114 to the right of the search results would show each respective result's level of separation away from the user 40 along with the connecting friends between the user/searcher and the search results (if those connecting user's privacy settings permit their identification). Further details could be displayed in the connection details of discounts available for the plumbing businesses as specified when the good/service listing was made. For example Plumber A might offer a 10% price discount for 45 users 2 levels of separation away, and as such this would be displayed for the aforementioned example search. 6 Another example relates to search results for a registered user trying to locate goods/service providers situated in a fixed location (instead of a plumber who is mobile and services areas rather than a single location) thus making the location ranking procedure different. Any results that meet the user's 5 keywords that are in the same ring of friends are further ranked according to the relative distance from the user. For example a user looking for a hairdresser may have 1 hairdresser business(Hairdresser 1(HD1)) as part of his/her 1st ring of connections, 2 hairdresser businesses (HD2 and HD3) in his/her 2nd ring of connections and .0 10 hairdresser businesses (HD 4 to HD10) in his/her 3rd ring of connections. These hairdresser businesses are at known physical distances from the user's search input location 104 (persons skilled in the art of website and database development could implement features to calculate approximate distances from searched location and businesses/services/products). The .5 results would be determined from the database and displayed in a similar manner to the previous example. The results are ranked by the relative social closeness (levels of separation) and those hairdresser businesses within the same user's ring of connections would be further ranked according to their location from the user's desired location 104. In this case it may be more .0 desirable for the user to select hairdresser business at a location closer to the user and the results can be resorted using the location link at the top of the page 116. Clicking 116 sorts the results so that the results appear in increasing physical distance from the user's input location. A similar link allows reverting back to ranking according to levels of separation as .5 previously described 118. Again, alternative implementations of search results and sorting functions would be apparent to those skilled in these areas. Again, the connection details box 114 to the right of the search results would show each respective result's level of separation away from the user along with the connecting friends between the user's and the search results (if those o connecting user's privacy settings permitted their identification). Further details could be displayed in the connection details of discounts available for the goods or service as specified when the goods/service listing was made or last updated. Clicking on the goods/service provider name 112 will take the user to the 35 goods/service provider profile page for more relevant information about the particular search result. Figure 3 depicts an exemplary website embodiment of the present invention that displays a goods/service provider profile page where investigating users can find further information and discounts. The screenshot includes a graphical 40 representation of the goods/service 120 for example a business or service logo or a photo of the product. The screenshot also includes the name of the good/service and the provider 122, location and contact details 124 (for example address, location the goods/service is available, phone numbers, email and so on), additional relevant information about the goods/service (for example a plumbing business may list the 45 kinds of jobs he/she/business does and show photos/videos demonstrating the services available 126). Further details of discounts the goods/service provider have listed can be shown 132, depending on the level of separation between the searcher 7 and the goods/service provider. Review details made by previous clientele of the goods/service provider can be shown 134, along with the levels of separation between: @ the review author and the goods/service provider and 5 a the review author and the user viewing the goods/service provider profile page. This allows the user viewing the page to make an informed decision about the validity of the review based on how the goods/service provider, the review author and the searcher are connected. .0 For example, a user looking at a profile page for a restaurant can see regular details such as contact & location information, menus, chef details, photos, videos and reviews. Further to these regular details the user can make an informed decision about the validity of any reviews made by looking at the review details 134. A previous customer of the restaurant may have left a very .5 positive review of the restaurant, the user viewing the review can identify the connection with the author , for example, 2 levels of separation away from the user (a friend of a friend) and the review author is 4 levels of separation away from the restaurant. Viewers of the profile page can also interact with the goods/service provider by .0 requesting a connection with the goods/service provider 128 or by authoring a review of the goods or services 130. It should be clear to those skilled in the art of website, social network and database development that the goods/service provider profile page could include many other typical features but this figure is for demonstration purposes of the concepts involved with the present invention. '5 Figure 4 depicts an exemplary website embodiment of the present invention that displays a user's home page accessible after login. The home page provides the ability to conduct searches of the business listing database as previously described through 102, 104 and 106. The page also consists of a welcome text dialogue to the user as they login 136, an uploaded graphical representation of user 138, a button 30 that allows the user to grow his/her social network by adding friends 142 (as commonly implemented in all social networks by means of email or other invitation mechanisms), along with details of the user's current social network 140. Details of the user's current social network may include the numbers of connections (or approximations for higher levels of separation) and types of goods/service providers 35 in each respective level of separation. For example, consider a user who logs in to find a plumber servicing his/her area and for any relevant discounts. The user has three options: a) add his/her plumber friend that the user met just the other day and recommended the site to him/her; or 40 b) search for a plumber in a certain location though 102, 104 and 106; or c) browse his/her social network. 8 Expanding on option c), the user's social details 140 may list that he/she has 1 plumber in his/her 1st ring of friends, 3 plumbers in his her 2nd ring of friends and 20 plumbers in her 3rd ring of friends. Clicking on relevant links embedded in such listed content will display results according to the link 5 clicked in a similar format to that exhibited in Figure 2. It should be clear to those skilled in the art of website, social network and database development that such an implementation of a user home page could include many other typical features but this figure is for demonstration purposes of the concepts involved with the present invention. 0 Figure 5 demonstrates an example embodiment of key components of a system that could be used to implement the present invention. The end user is presented with and navigates through various graphical user interfaces (GUI) through an electronic device 144. Information for devices to display such GUI's can be obtained through a network of information sharing electronic equipment commonly referred to as the 5 internet 146 (a globally connected and recognized series of networks for information sharing) but not limited to the internet. An example of the present invention is an apparatus 148 (containing 150,152,154) connected to the internet for information exchange with other users of the internet. The apparatus may include router and switch technology 150 for network and 0 information handling. The apparatus will need to include a single or a plurality of servers 152 depending on the extent of the size and use of the invention. The invention may require suitable information protection from unauthorized access to the systems content possibly by a firewall or by other means considered necessary to a person skilled in the art. As demonstrated by lines in Figure 5, each of the items 5 described in the exemplary apparatus 148 may communicate with the other items within the apparatus via a form of network such as a LAN or other wireless technology. A single or a plurality of servers 152 is included to serve the purpose of: a) responding to user browsers requests (typically Hypertext Transfer Protocol 30 (HTML)) as they interact with the web application also stored on the server, b) performing computing tasks data processing, data and storage management, networking, control of other elements of the apparatus , c) storing of database software and communication with the database. A person skilled in the art of web development and electronic databases could 35 implement the invention using a vast range of coding including but not limited to client side coding such as - AJAX, Flash, Javascript; server side coding such as Java and PHP and database technologies including but not limited to DB2, MySQL. The database 154 contains all relevant information for the use of the apparatus according to this example of the invention, Information contained may include 40 images, user data (such as name, location, preferences, etc), goods/service profile pages, review text, previous connection calculations and so on in a manner that meets all legal and privacy requirements. The database may be designed using any of a number of electronic database management systems including: relational and 9 object database models and management systems. Typical database access can be achieved by SQL or other appropriate tools. Figure 6 shows an example method by which a search can be executed and the results subsequently analysed and ranked according the level of separation between 5 the searcher and the goods/service providers. It should be clear to a person skilled in the art that the method can be refined to gain efficiencies and save computational loads, this example method is included to demonstrate the concept rather than the most efficient means of producing the same end result. A person skilled in the art could convert this discussion based flow chart into logic based flowcharts that would .o allow effective coding of the concept for automatic database analyses via a computer program. Step 1 involves a logged in user searching for a good or service in a certain location (or no location input). Step 2 involves the computer program collecting the user's 1 st ring of connections being both goods/service providers and other personal use .5 users. Step 3 involves filtering the user's 1 st ring of connections into two categories: Category 1: Personal use users and Category 2: goods/service providers. Step 4 involves searching the user's Category 2 list for matches according to the original search input. Step 5 involves the short-listing of any matches found in Step 4 along with the level of separation information between the user/searcher and goods/service .0 provider(such as the level of separation, connectors, discounts, etc.). Step 6 involves adding non-matches from Step 4 and the user's Category 1 list to a new list of possible connectors for use in determining matches in the next ring of connections

(

2 nd level of separation). Step 7 involves collecting 1st ring of connection lists for each of the users on the possible connector list. This step also involves eliminating any !5 user's that have previously been analysed by the process so that each user can only appear once in the connection path between a user/searcher and a goods/service provider match. Step 8 involves repeating Steps 3 to 6 for each user on the possible connector list. When this list is exhausted the method then moves onto Step 7 again whereby each of the user's 2 nd ring of connection's immediate connections (the io user's 3 rd ring of connections) are collected and Step 8 is again executed. The method can continue to the Nth ring of connections as considered appropriate for the size of the database being analysed. Each time Step 7 is repeated the connection path between the user/searcher and each of the possible connectors is recorded for display if the connection path results in a match at a particular level of separation. 35 40 10

Claims (5)

1. A computer program for storing and retrieving a listing of search results 5 comprising: (i) conducting a search to locate and identify goods and service; (ii) identifying a relationship between the user and a connection identified in the search; and (iv) ranking the search result for the goods and service o wherein said connection is identified according to the level of separation between the user and the connection, and the ranking of the search result is based on the relationship between the user and the connection.

2. The computer program according to claim 1 wherein the search results 5 comprise of relationship information between business review authors, the business being reviewed and the user.

3. The computer program according to claim 1 wherein the level of separation determines the amount of any discount provided for the goods and services. 0

4. The computer program according to claim 1 wherein the search results allows for the sale of goods in a classifieds format incorporating different rates for different degrees of separation.

5 5. A computer program as hereinbefore described. Jogias Patent and Trade Marks Attorneys 06 May 2009 11