Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • G06Q30/00—Commerce
  • G06Q30/02—Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Definitions

• This invention relates to database systems for paying people for their attention.
• the invention is an online database system for enabling a person or company to pay for the attention of people who meet specified qualifications.
• Paying people for their attention can be useful in a variety of situations but only if the payer can select the payees based on desired criteria.
• a city might want to pay teenage girls to read literature about birth control
• a company might want to pay computer scientists to read a recruitment offer
• the maker of an asthma medicine might want to pay asthma sufferers to read about the medicine.
• the invention enables an advertiser to target an audience with precision, according to verifiable criteria, and pay only that audience for its attention.
• a general solution to this problem is to pay people expected amounts of money through the EVPM and to only inspect the qualifications ofthe winners.
• recipients are paid for their attention with electronic lottery tickets that have a specified EV, with a 1/X chance of paying off. After recipients have paid attention, the results of the tickets are revealed and only the winners (1/X of all the people who have paid attention) are asked to prove that they match the qualifications.
• This kind of verification is probabilistic /wt-qualification.
• the winners who do not match the qualifications are paid nothing.
• the winners who match the qualifications are paid X times the EV amount.
• the EVPM is used both as an efficient payment method and an audit selection method — the people who are inspected and paid are probabilistically chosen.
• the invention is a system for enabling advertisers to make what we will call Expected Value Qualification (EVQ) offers to recipients.
• EVQ Expected Value Qualification
• An EVQ offer is one where the advertisers agrees to pay the recipient an EV amount of money if the recipient meets the qualifications/conditions set out in the offer.
• core processes we mean the sequences of steps that the system executes to achieve its minimum purpose to enable advertisers to offer to pay and qualify recipients using the EV payment method.
• the invention will need to have a frontend and other features that are suitable to the kind of medium for getting a recipient's attention to a message: webpage, one-way video, interactive video, phone call, "instant message", email.
• the invention can also be applied to pay recipients for participating in face-to-face meetings.
• Payment offers can be stored in a "non-competitive" database whose purpose is simply to enable recipients to find and accept the offers.
• Another kind of system is a competitive, auction/directory — a pay for placement system — in which offers are presented according search term and payment offered to the recipient.
• a pay-for-placement directory will likely be a very useful form ofthe invention because it enables market forces to determine the priority by which pay-for-attention offers are seen.
• the invention is a set of methods (processes) that, in combination, direct a computer database system to perform useful functions.
• the full name ofthe invention is Expected Value Methods and Systems for Paying and Qualifying. We will abbreviate it to System for Paying and Qualifying (SPQ).
• the invention is a computer database system that executes a set of processes to accomplish certain tasks.
• process, procedure and program synonymously to refer to a set of steps that the computer executes.
• advertiser we mean a person or organization that wants to pay for a qualified recipient's attention to a message. The advertiser sets the qualifications.
• the information in the field might actually require multiple fields (e.g., a legal name field might be split into three fields: first name, last name, middle initial). Those skilled in the art will know where multiple fields are more appropriate than a single field for the information in question.
• SPQ is an online database system that includes memory means, input/output means, calculation means, and search means.
• SPQ includes frontend interfaces for enabling users to enter data objects (e.g., "offers") and associated data.
• SPQ also includes frontend interfaces for enabling users to find and select data objects.
• the termfrontend interface encompasses a wide variety of well-known mechanisms for entering and selecting data.
• SPQ is a system for enabling advertisers to make EVQ offers to recipients.
• An EVQ offer is one where the advertisers agrees to pay the recipient an EV amount of money if the recipient meets the qualifications/conditions stated in the offer.
• EVQ offers as EVQ payment offers, pay-for-attention offers, payment offers or offers.
• SPQ has three classes of users: advertisers, recipients and inspectors defined below. (Note: we omit system administrators because they are not generally involved with the novel features).
• Advertiser also called Addy.
• EVQ offer pay-for-attention offer
• Recipient also called Reece.
• User who finds and accepts EVQ offers from advertisers.
• Qualified Recipient also called Q-Reece.
• User who is eligible to be paid according to the terms of an advertiser's EVQ offer.
• Recipient Agent User who represents a recipient for the purpose of entering data for the recipient.
• a recipient might be represented by a telephone operator who enters ID and offer acceptance data into SPQ on behalf of a recipient. Note: we will consider a recipient agent to be the same as a recipient.
• SPQ makes use of three key data sets: offer data, offer selection (request) data and inspector report data — one for each kind of user. These are not the only data sets that SPQ uses, but they are the critical, minimal ones.
• Offer Data This is the data an advertiser enters to create or identify a payment offer.
• Offer Selection Data This is the data a recipient enters to find and accept an offer. (Note: in many implementations, a recipient will only have "press a button" in order to find and accept an offer and will not have to enter a set of data. In other implementations, the recipient will have to enter a code, and in others, a set of search criteria.)
• Inspection Report Data This is the data an inspector enters to state whether or not a recipient has met the conditions of an offer.
• SPQ has three "core processes", one for each kind of user. These are not the only processes that SPQ can include for users but they are the minimal ones. Together these processes comprise the overall core process.
• Advertiser Create/Post Offer
• the advertiser submits the terms of her offer.
• SPQ will also include payment processes, which are integrated into the three core processes above. Payment processes vary depending upon the implementation, so we describe them separately for the sake of clarity (see Section 1.5).
• the advertiser process enables Addy to create and post an EVQ offer to recipients. There is no single process to be described since many variations are possible. Any overall advertiser process will include elements and steps for enabling the following actions:
• SPQ includes steps for creating an advertiser account and authenticating an advertiser. We do not elaborate because such elements and steps are well known.
• the advertiser process enables Addy to create and post an EVQ offer to recipients, it mainly consists of outputting an offer form to her and storing the data she fills into it.
• This set of data the offer document, or the offer data or, simply, the offer.
• SPQ stores the offer data that is entered into the form and timestamps the entry.
• the data in the offer form serve three purposes:
• the offer form data are the fundamental data set (data object) ofthe system, which is natural, given that most ofthe actions ofthe system revolve around handling and transacting offers.
• the offer form is not necessarily a monolithic form in which all the offer data is entered at the same time. Offer form data can be entered through different forms, at different times — the sequence of entry and the presentation of forms will depend on the implementation.
• the concept of a single offer form is an abstraction. The point is to explain the data input fields that the system will present to advertisers — that is to say, the goal is to describe the types of data that the system inputs from an advertiser to create and store an offer that can be found and accepted by recipients.
• one field in an offer form is an offer name field enabling Addy to name the offer she enters so that she can find it.
• the system may also enable Addy to enter a separate name that is a system document name for identifying the offer.
• This kind of name may be useful in storing the offer in the system database and linking it to a recipient interface, as for example, associating the offer with a hyperlink.
• Addy may not have to enter a system document name.
• the system may automatically apply a system document name to the set of data comprising the offer.
• An offer is meant to be found and accepted by recipients.
• the advertiser process will include a step or steps by which Addy identifies the offer so that it can be associated with an input by the recipient — that is, so that a recipient who interfaces with the system can find and accept it.
• Finding and accepting may be the same action or they may be separate actions, depending on the implementation.
• SPQ may enable Reece to simply press a button to find and accept an offer. Reece does not even need to see the details ofthe offer.
• the system may enable Reece to find an offer and then press a separate button to signify that he accepts the offer.
• One way to enable Reece to find Addy's offer is for SPQ to be accessed through a button or link that, when selected, signifies that Reece has selected the offer.
• a website for a health club might show the following hyperlink: Click on this link if you live in Denver and want to get paid $1 for reading about our health club.
• the system might have an interactive voice response frontend that identifies the offer when Reece presses a particular button. For example, Press “1 " if you live in Denver and want to get paid $1 to talk with one of our associates about our health club.
• a health club might have special phone number that is connected to SPQ such that calling the number signifies that the recipient accepts an EVQ offer identified in the SPQ database by that phone number.
• SPQ enables Reece to find and accept an offer without entering search criteria, but only through a "press-a-button" input
• SPQ will require a step by which Addy enters the data that associates the offer with the "button" — i.e., with the recipient input. For example, if Reece finds the offer by selecting a URL, Addy may have to enter the URL.
• the lookup name is entered into a search mechanism, such as a search form, that is part of SPQ's frontend for recipients.
• a print ad could have the following text, If you are about to join a health club, we'll pay you $1 to read about our club. Go to healthclub.com and enter "healthy” into the appropriate box. Or call 1 -800-healthclub and enter "h-e-a-l-t-h-y" at the appropriate prompt.
• the offer form can include a field for entering a lookup code to be associated with the offer.
• the advertiser process can include a separate step in which Addy associates the offer with a lookup code.
• Another way to enable Reece to find an offer is by entering search criteria such as keywords and other parameters that can be used to identify the offer.
• the offer form can include fields for entering data that identifies the offer.
• the fields can enable Addy to enter search terms, or titles, or questions that can then be matched by Reece.
• the offer form can enable the offer to be identified by multiple terms. For example, Addy might identify her offer by the keywords health, health club, gym, and exercise studio. And Reece might enter exercise club into the SPQ search engine. And SPQ could then use this phrase to identify Addy's offer, which would then be presented to Reece.
• Identifying data — search criteria — are not restricted to terms and phrases, of course. They can include a wide variety of parameter relevant to an offer. Special identifier fields may not necessary in the offer form because the offer conditions themselves (see below) can act as identifiers ofthe offer. For example, if an offer is made to Dentists who live in Denver, the SPQ search means may allow recipients to search for the term, dentist, and the city, Denver.
• the offer description and conditions will probably be the favored parameters for identifying and searching the offers (this method is the favored one were online markets are concerned).
• SPQ will be directory that contains different offers listed under the same search term. In this case, additional parameters will distinguish one offer from another.
• SPQ can enable advertisers to identify their offers by entering a variety of descriptive data, and we do not mean to limit the possibilities in any way.
• Virtually any type of database search means can be inco ⁇ orated into SPQ for finding offers.
• SPQ can play no role.
• SPQ can provide Reece with the data necessary to receive Addy's advertising.
• SPQ can store Addy's advertising and output it to Reece.
• SPQ can be implemented so that it takes no role in the advertising process. For example, Addy can offer to pay Reece for calling Addy. Addy can show Reece her phone number outside the SPQ system, say, in a print advertisement. Reece can call and then, after the call, Reece or Addy can report the call to SPQ. As another example, if Addy enables Reece to accept her offer on her website by pressing a button on the site, SPQ does not have to a play direct role in Reece seeing Addy's ad. SPQ can simply be notified by the website that Reece has accepted Addy's offer.
• SPQ Addy's advertising could show Reece a "proof-of-attention" code which Reece could enter into SPQ, signifying that Reece accepts the offer that corresponds to that code and that Reece has been exposed to the advertising.
• Addy can create offline print ads that include a proof-of-attention code that can be found by reading the ads. Reece can find the code and enter it into SPQ, proving that he has read the ads and that he accepts Addy's EVQ payment offer.
• SPQ connects Reece to Addy's advertisement
• SPQ is also a kind of "switchboard" (with novel payment functionality).
• connect loosely because SPQ will not necessarily maintain a connection between two parties.
• advertising There are many kinds of advertising, so the means for "connecting" can differ widely.
• SPQ will need to know how to find the advertising; it will need data for enabling Reece to access the advertising.
• Addy can enter a URL for locating her webpage or video advertisement.
• Addy can enter her telephone number for placing a call to her. Therefore, SPQ's offer form can include a field for entering the data necessary for enabling Reece to access Addy's advertising.
• SPQ will also include well-known means for using the data to enable Reece to access Addy's advertising.
• the offer form may or may not include a field for entering data for accessing the advertising.
• SPQ may enable Addy to enter her ad into the system.
• SPQ may enable her to enter a text ad into the system, which is outputted to Reece when she accepts Addy's EVQ offer.
• the system may automatically associate the text ad with the offer data. The same goes if the ad is an audio or video ad.
• the offer form may include a field in which Addy states the name or location ofthe ad within SPQ so that SPQ can find and output it.
• the offer form includes a field for stating the EV payment due to a recipient who accepts the EVQ offer and meets the offer conditions.
• the payoff of the EV payment bet can be a static amount, such as $1,000. Or, the payoff amount can be determined by a payoff multiple ofthe EV payment, such as, lOOOx. (Note, it is desirable in certain implementations for the payoff to combine both methods, such that the recipient must win two EV payment bets to receive the payoff.)
• the payoff can be standard, or the offer form can include a field for enabling Addy to specify the payoff amount or the payoff multiple.
• the system In between acceptance of an offer and the notification of winning, the system must perform a random number selection to determine if Reece has won. When this process takes place depends upon on time of notification, but the exact timing will depend upon the implementation. For example, if the time of notification is 14 days after acceptance, the random number selection can take place any time from the moment of acceptance to the moment just before a winning notification is made.
• the time period from acceptance of an EVQ offer to the notification of winning depends upon the implementation.
• the offer form can include a field for enabling Addy to specify when a winning recipient is notified. Alternatively, this field is omitted and the time period is set by default, or by a system rule that is standard.
• the system can enable Reece to set the time period, or request that the random number selection be initiated and notification be made.
• the offer form can also include fields for defining the target to be paid, that is, for stating the conditions that Reece must meet in order to be paid.
• Conditions encompass not only the qualifications of a recipient but also other kinds of things, such as the kind of attention that a recipient must pay to an ad, and the time period ofthe EVQ offer. These are "boilerplate conditions" that can be part of any offer. Below we give just two such conditions that apply to most pay-for-attention offers.
• the offer form can include a field for specifying how many times Reece can accept a payment offer.
• Various conditions are possible. For example, a one-time-only condition is possible. A variation enables Reece to accept an offer multiple times but to only be able to collect on one of those times. We do not delve into the possibilities because they are too various. Suffice to say that the offer form can enable Addy to select from standard conditions concerning how many times Reece is permitted to accept an offer. In certain implementations, such a condition can be enforced by SPQ in the recipient process.
• the offer form can include a field for specifying the kind and amount of attention that Reece must pay.
• this condition can be enforced by SPQ in the recipient process.
• a condition might be that Reece has to listen to a sales message over the phone for at least 60 seconds. If Reece does not pay that much attention, SPQ may be able to detect that fact and nullify the offer. In other cases, only an inspector can verify whether the condition has been met.
• a variety of inspection possibilities exist, which are beside the point here. Suffice to say that the attention requirements can be stated in the offer form (alternatively, they can be stated outside the system). We should also note that there might be no enforceable attention condition. For example, Reece may be paid to look at a webpage.
• the offer form can also include a field in which Addy can put the full text, or a link to the full text, of her EVQ offer. This feature is useful so that an inspector can read the all the terms ofthe offer to determine whether or not Reece has met the terms. It is also necessary in cases where SPQ makes it possible to for Reece to look up the full text of an offer. For example, Reece might see an EVQ offer in a magazine ad and may use the frontend of SPQ to accept the offer. While doing this he might want to see the full text ofthe offer, which may not have been spelled out in the magazine ad.
• the SPQ offer form will at least have a field enabling Addy to identify the offer, wherever it may reside.
• the offer form can also include fields or commands for controlling the presentation ofthe offer to recipients. These include:
• a budget field stating that an offer is to be suspended after a specified number of acceptances or after a specified amount of money has been spent by the advertiser.
• SPQ can enable Addy to identify her offer so that it can be associated with a data input by Reece. If SPQ enables Reece to find/select/accept Addy's offer though a button or other such input, then SPQ will also include a step by which Addy associates her offer with the button, as for example, enabling her to associate a hyperlink with the offer.
• Addy associates her offer with the button as for example, enabling her to associate a hyperlink with the offer.
• the other general approach is to enable Reece to find the offer through search means. If search means are employed, then Addy effectively takes the step of making her offer accessible by entering the search terms into SPQ.
• SPQ can also enable him to see the offer, or part ofthe offer, and then enter a separate input — such as pressing a button — to accept the offer.
• a separate input such as pressing a button
• simply arriving at a page that has the ad message can constitute acceptance ofthe offer.
• the details of what constitutes and acceptance can vary widely. To repeat, the steps involved are well known and need no elaboration.
• the advertiser process consists mainly of steps for enabling Addy to fill in an offer form.
• the advertiser process will also include steps for enabling Addy to find a stored offer and to modify or delete it. These steps are well known and need no elaboration.
• Transferring actual payments may or may not be part of SPQ's functionality.
• SPQ may simply register obligations by advertisers to qualified recipients. It is then up to the advertisers to make actual payment. In other words, SPQ can simply be an accounting machine that does not actually transact funds, but merely states how much is owed by an advertiser and to whom it is owed.
• SPQ can take funds from an advertiser and distribute these, as is called for in the recipient process.
• the advertiser process will also include well-known steps for creating an advertiser debit account or credit account.
• SPQ will also include steps for accepting payment through well-known methods for accepting money through a variety of payment vehicles.
• the recipient process involves what SPQ does when a recipient finds an offer and accepts it.
• SPQ can have one or more frontend interfaces that enable recipients to find offers.
• interfaces Just with the key steps ofthe recipient process.
• Reece has used the SPQ frontend and entered a simple command or search criteria to enable SPQ to find an offer.
• SPQ must identify the recipient so that he can be paid in the event that he wins the right to collect the payoff. Registering Reece's identity is also necessary so that duplicate acceptances of an offer can be purged, depending on the conditions governing multiple acceptances. And, Reece must be uniquely and legally identified so that he cannot successfully use multiple identities. That is to say, if he collects a payoff, the system needs to credit the payment to his legal name, a unique name.
• Reece can be identified before he enters search criteria into SPQ, as is the case when Reece logs on to SPQ and then begins searching. SPQ will have identified him before the search. Alternatively, SPQ can identify him after he has entered search criteria and SPQ has presented an offer to him. In this case, SPQ can present a form for entering his ID data after he has accepted an offer. The exact sequence of registering ID data depends on the implementation. SPQ can incorporate the gamut of methods used to uniquely identify users of a system, and these need no elaboration.
• SPQ finds the offer that corresponds to the command or search criteria Reece has entered.
• SPQ enables Reece to accept an EVQ offer depends on the implementation. There are many possibilities and it is not possible to state a general rule to cover all the ways it is possible to configure a system to register the acceptance of a pay-for-attention offer.
• SPQ registers an acceptance when it registers that the recipient has entered a command to be exposed to an advertising message or when it registers that the recipient has been exposed to an advertising message.
• Reece might arrive at a webpage and may signify acceptance by pressing a button that launches a separate webpage (or audio or video) ad.
• Or Reece may enter search criteria into a search form and then SPQ may present him with an offer, which he can then accept.
• the search criteria might lead to an ad being output to him, which could signify acceptance of the offer.
• requesting a page with multiple, distinct messages may signify acceptance of multiple offers — an acceptance for each message.
• SPQ may output a list of classified ads, each ad signifying a different offer from a different advertiser (we will delve into this possibility in a future specification).
• Reece might call Addy through a telephone switch that reports to SPQ that Reece called Addy. Or Reece might call Addy and Addy might then enter into SPQ that Reece called.
• SPQ might output an ad to Reece by email and register the sending ofthe email as acceptance ofthe offer. Or, the clicking of a link in the email might signify acceptance.
• a recipient who accepts an offer will be called an acceptor.
• An offer that is accepted will be called an EVQ contract.
• SPQ creates an acceptance record per offer for an acceptor.
• the acceptance record will include the following data (or pointers to the data):
• an acceptance record can include multiple acceptances ofthe same offer. The validity of these acceptances will depend on the terms ofthe offer.
• one of SPQ's functions will be to "connect" Reece to Addy's advertising — to enable Reece to access Addy's advertising, that is.
• a key step in the recipient process will be making this connection (or providing the necessary data, such as an html link).
• SPQ will provide Reece with means for accessing Addy's advertising, and will enable Reece to access her advertising. These means will depend on the frontend that is being used (see Part 2, which supplies some examples).
• SPQ may store Addy's advertising.
• a key step in the recipient process will be to output the advertising.
• SPQ may enforce the attention condition, if any, stipulated in the offer form. For example if calls are made through SPQ, SPQ might be able to enforce a time requirement per phone call.
• SPQ has a step for checking whether attention was paid, this step can come before the acceptance is registered. If the recipient has not paid adequate attention then the acceptance is not registered.
• the registration ofthe acceptance can come first and then it can be canceled, if the recipient does not pay adequate attention.
• SPQ registers what we will call verification data that can be understood by SPQ and that signifies whether Reece has paid attention to Addy's advertising or not. Verification data is a general idea that we cannot define precisely. It, too, depends upon the implementation.
• the phone switch that handles a call between Reece and Addy might send a signal telling SPQ that the phone call was long enough (or not long enough) to pass the attention condition of Addy's pay-the-caller offer.
• SPQ could include means for receiving and affirming a correct answer and rejecting an incorrect answer.
• the second general way is to enable Reece to submit evidence of paying attention that cannot be processed automatically — that cannot be understood — by SPQ but that requires a human judge.
• SPQ stores the evidence in Reece's acceptance record and then, if Reece wins the EV payment bet, a human inspector determines whether Reece paid attention or not.
• Reece can look at Addy's webpage and then answer the following question: "What is the main benefit of Addy's product according to this ad.”
• Reece can submit his answer by an email or by a form and SPQ can store the answer in the acceptance record, to be reviewed in the inspector process, if Reece wins the EV payment bet.
• An EVQ offer will include a rule or rules — conditions — spelling out what happens if Reece accepts an offer multiple times.
• the rule can be a meta-rule ofthe system that applies to all EVQ offers or it can depend on the particular offer.
• a variety of rules are possible for determining whether an acceptance is valid. In general, by valid we mean that an EV payment bet is executed for that acceptance to determine whether Reece wins the right to collect the payoff.
• one rule can be that the first acceptance is the valid one, and that any acceptance after that does not count. Another rule can be that the last acceptance is the one that counts. Another rule can be that if the EV ofthe EVQ offer changes, Reece can be eligible to collect on the acceptance ofthe offer with the highest EV. Another rule can be that Reece gets one valid acceptance per a period of time. Yet another rule can be that all the acceptances count but if Reece wins the payoff, the payoff is divided in some way by the number of acceptances.
• SPQ may need to enforce whatever rule applies given the EVQ offer or the system meta-rules.
• SPQ will include a step for checking the acceptance record and, based upon the rule that is in effect, select only the acceptance that is valid for the next step of determining whether the acceptance is a winner.
• SPQ can simply check whether it can be valid under the multiple acceptances rule that applies, and if the acceptance cannot be valid, then SPQ may not register it at all.
• SPQ Once SPQ has determined that an acceptance is provisionally valid, it needs to determine whether Reece has won the right to collect the payoff — that is, whether Reece has won the EV payment bet. Thus, SPQ generates a random integer in the range dictated by the EV payment and the specified payoff or as dictated by the specified payoff multiple.
• an integer is selected in a range from 1 -payoff, where the payoff is divided into integer units, and the recipient wins if the integer falls in the range 1-EV.
• N the probability of winning is 1/N, so an integer is selected in the range of 1-N and the recipient wins if a single, pre-determined number comes up, say, "1".
• N the procedure is slightly modified, which needs no elaboration.
• a separate computer could do the random selection. If so, we would still consider it part of SPQ for our purposes of describing SPQ's core processes —which can be performed by one computer or linked computers that communicate with each other.
• the timing ofthe notification is determined by a standard rule, or by the time period specified by the advertiser in the offer form or, by the recipient's choice, depending on the implementation.
• SPQ can record the winners and losers or it may only keep a record ofthe winners.
• SPQ notifies him, say, by sending him an email telling him that he has won the bet and that he must submit proof that he is qualified to collect the payoff — i.e., that he is a qualified recipient.
• SPQ can inform the acceptor in other ways, e.g., if he uses an SPQ website, SPQ can identify him when he logs on and inform him of his win then. This method is more appropriate than email in certain situations.
• the timing ofthe notification is determined by a standard rule, or by the time period specified by the advertiser in the offer form or, by the recipient's choice, depending on the implementation.
• SPQ can also output a claim form to the winner for entering proof of qualification data.
• the claim for can be output automatically to Reece or he could retrieve it by clicking on a link or similar selection means.
• a separate computer that is linked to SPQ may handle the alert process. As noted, distributing a function does not change the core process. The point is that when SPQ determines that Reece is a winner, it informs a sub-process for alerting him.)
• the claim steps may be obviated completely such that SPQ sends the case directly to an inspector upon determining that an acceptor has won. This option may be appropriate especially when the payoff is very large.
• SPQ will receive a claim back from him through this form.
• SPQ When SPQ receives a claim this way, it registers the claim, which will include an ID number that associates the claim with the corresponding offer data and acceptance record data.
• SPQ can periodically tabulate and output statistics that show the percentage of winners who were also claimants. Later, at the end ofthe inspector process, SPQ can also calculate how many claimants were deemed to be qualified recipients (those who collected their winnings). This data in particular is important for advertisers and it can be critical for developing discount rate statistics (discussed in Section 1.5).
• SPQ After registering a claim, SPQ passes it to the inspector process (see Section 1.4).
• SPQ can register payment obligations in a few different ways. We describe possible payment processes in Section 1.5 but note that in most implementations, the payment registration steps take place in the recipient process if SPQ assumes payoff risk, which we believe will be most common in practice. The steps are described in Section 1.5 and their placement in the recipient process can easily be seen by those skilled in the art.
• Reece has won the EV payment bet, he may submit a claim to collect the payoff stated in the offer he has accepted.
• Vera SPQ registers the claim and makes it available for an inspector (Vera) to examine. Vera's role is to verify whether Reece has fulfilled the conditions ofthe PT contract.
• the inspection process can be automated.
• SPQ can assign the claim to Vera.
• SPQ can enable Vera to find the claim and assign herself. Either way, Vera calls up this claim and, after examining the claim, enters a decision as to whether Reece has fulfilled the conditions ofthe offer.
• the inspector process includes the following elements and steps:
• SPQ enables the inspector to retrieve a claim record, which includes the following data elements (defined in Section 1.3):
• SPQ enables the inspector to call up an inspection report form, which includes fields for the following information: a) The name ofthe inspector. This field is for registering which inspector is handling the claim. SPQ can automatically fill in this field using the inspector log-in. b) The claim locator number. This field is for identifying the claim. SPQ can automatically fill in this field. c) The decision. This field is for stating whether the claim is approved or rejected. d) The explanation. If the claim is rejected, the inspector will usually need to explain why. Thus the inspection report form will include a field for supplying a text explanation of why the claim was rejected. The explanation can be a "form letter" explanation that can be selected by the inspector.
• SPQ stores and timestamps the inspection report and associates the report with the offer data and acceptance data for the recipient.
• SPQ executes the following steps:
• SPQ can execute the payment transaction steps spelled out in Section
• the system can pay the costs in various ways and can assess a cost to advertisers and winning recipients.
• an important step in the inspection process is to include a step for taking a payment/deposit from a claimant, when the claimant submits a claim.
• Section 1.4 we said that when the inspector approves a claim, SPQ registers that the recipient is owed the payoff. However, we did not describe steps for actually paying the recipient and for getting payment from the advertiser.
• SPQ is a system in which qualified recipients (Q-recipients) are paid through EVPM bets, meaning that the amounts actually paid are payoff amounts that may be quite large. How SPQ enables payoff payments to be transacted from advertisers to Q-recipients depends on whether the advertiser assumes the payoff risk in the EVPM bets or whether SPQ assumes the risk. We discuss these possibilities below.
• SPQ will include well-known debit and/or credit account processes. Further, SPQ will include well-known mechanisms for accepting payment and for notifying an advertiser when her account has a low balance or an overdue balance. Further, SPQ will include well-known mechanisms for suspending an advertiser's offer when her balance has fallen below a threshold.
• SPQ does not necessarily have to collect payment from her.
• SPQ can be an accounting machine in the sense that it registers payment obligations but does not transfer actual payment.
• SPQ includes steps for notifying advertisers of their payment obligations and for notifying winning Q-recipients that they are owed the relevant payoff amount from a given advertiser. For example, assume that IBM is paying recipients to view a commercial, and assume that Reece wins $10,000 in an EVPM bet based on this offer and, assume that Reece turns out to be a Q- recipient. Then, SPQ may simply notify Reece that IBM owes him $10,000 and will notify IBM that it owes Reece $10,000.
• SPQ can include means for transferring payoffs from advertisers to winning Q- recipients. These means include steps for:
• SPQ assumes the payoff risk, it will include means discussed above for establishing an advertiser payment account. Each time a recipient validly accepts an advertiser's offer, SPQ will deduct money from the advertiser's payment (debit) account and transfer it into an SPQ account, and from that SPQ account, the system will pay recipients.
• SPQ cannot know if a particular acceptor is a Q-recipient unless the uncertainty is resolved by the acceptor winning an EV payment bet.
• SPQ must apply a discount factor to the EV amount that Addy offers to Q-recipients. This discount factor is applied to each valid acceptance.
• Addy would not owe SPQ the full amount of the EV payment stated in the offer, but a discounted rate. For example, if the EV amount offered to Q-recipients is $1 and the discount factor is 10%, then SPQ registers that Addy owes 10 cents per valid acceptance.
• the goal in a discount factor is to represent the percentage of acceptors who are Q-recipients.
• the general idea is to gather statistics on what percentage of acceptors are Q-recipients.
• SPQ may include one or more formulas to determine the discount factor for a given advertiser and the advertiser's offer.
• the formulas will use data on how many acceptors convert into winning Q-recipients (how many winning acceptors are Q-recipients). These statistics can be gathered from the responses to offers within SPQ that are similar to Addy's offer. SPQ can feed this response data into the discount formula(s).
• SPQ will not include a discount formula, but will include means for enabling a system administrator to enter a discount factor into the system.
• SPQ will: -apply the appropriate discount factor to the EV payment, -deduct the resulting amount from the advertiser's debit account, -transfer the amount to an SPQ account that is used to pay winning Q-recipients.
• SPQ when an the inspector approves an acceptor's claim, SPQ will: -register that the acceptor is owed the payoff from the SPQ account that is used to pay winning Q-recipients.
• SPQ can enable Addy to choose whether or not to assume the payoff risk.
• the system would simply include both kinds of payment processes discussed above.
• SPQ could enable Addy to check a box in the process of establishing her account in which she signifies that she will take the payoff risk in all payment offers to recipients.
• the SPQ offer form can include a box where Addy signifies that she will take the payoff risk for the particular offer.
• SPQ will include steps for enabling Addy to view: a) how many unique recipients accepted her offer, b) possibly, the identities of those recipients, c) how many of those recipients won the EVPM bets, d) how many ofthe winners turned out to be qualified recipients, e) how much she has spent on EVQ offers (see Section 1.5).
• SPQ may include functionality of storing and outputting ads. This kind of functionality is well known. There are certain implementations of SPQ in which having an advertiser enter an ad, and having SPQ output that ad to recipients, is integral to the total system, and does create a novel whole.
• SPQ enables advertisers to enter ads depends on the implementation and needs no elaboration. Entering and storing an ad can be an additional step in the advertiser process, or it can be a separate process done separately from entering an offer. If SPQ enables Addy to enter an ad into the system, it will require well-known means for associating the ad with her EVQ offer, and for enabling Reece to output the ad upon accepting the offer. PART 2 EMBODIMENTS for VARIOUS MEDIA
• the core process can be adapted to different advertising media.
• the specific solutions will depend upon the specific kind of advertising and media involved. In this Part we describe embodiments for adapting the core process to different kinds of advertising.
• SPQ is used by multiple advertisers to post EVQ offers.
• the request interface enables Reece to find an offer by pressing a button.
• the pressing ofthe button would correspond to an offer ID that would then be communicated to the SPQ database to identify a specific offer.
• recipients identify an offer by entering a code into an SPQ search interface.
• IBM may state in a print ad, Call 1 -800-r-e-a-l-b-u-y and enter "I-B-M" at the appropriate prompt in order to get paid $2 to talk to one of our representatives.
• the code I-B-M would correspond to an offer that IBM has entered into SPQ in the advertiser process.
• Section 2.1 An SPQ embodiment for paying recipients to view webpage ads Section 2.2 An SPQ embodiment for paying recipients to call an advertiser
• Embodiments of SPQ's core processes can enable advertisers to pay qualified recipients for paying attention to webpage ads.
• This section we describe one basic embodiment and features that can be added to it, as follows:
• SPQ-WA SPQ for Webpage Ads
• an offer form we describe the data she enters and how SPQ-WA uses it to enable Reece to accept her offer.
• the data for finding Addy's offer is a lookup code specified by her. SPQ will check to insure that the code is unique to the system but it is up to Addy to decide what the code is.
• the data for accessing the advertising is a URL or an equivalent locator code.
• This address is presented as a link when Reece finds the offer. Reece can then select the link to receive the ad.
• the locator code enables an ad to be served to Reece from whatever ad server that the locator corresponds to — e.g., to an ad in an ad server in an interactive TV network.
• the offer form may include a field for enabling Addy to enter data describing herself and her offer. This descriptive data is then presented by SPQ to Reece when he finds her offer. For example, the link may be accompanied by a title or blurb that previews the advertising message.
• SPQ will present him with a form for creating a user account.
• the form will include fields for entering a user ID and password and additional ID data specifying Reece's legal name.
• the goal is to have his log-on identity correspond to a single, legal identity so that he can be paid and so that he cannot use multiple identities.
• Reece enters the lookup code for Addy's EVQ offer and SPQ-FVR finds the offer and presents it as a link to be selected.
• SPQ-WA may enable Addy to enter a description of herself and her offer. If so, the link would be accompanied by text describing the offer and/or describing Addy.
• Reece selects the link presented to him, he signifies acceptance ofthe offer.
• SPA registers the acceptance.
• Reece selects the link presented to him, it causes SPQ to provide the data to serve the corresponding ad to Reece (i.e., SPQ can provide a re-direct to Reece's browser so that the browser requests the ad).
• the ad will be served by a machine controlled by Addy or another party, as specified by the ad locator that Addy supplied in the advertiser process.
• SPQ does not need to present a link to Reece. SPQ will simply direct the ad to be served to Reece, as specified by the ad locator that Addy supplied in the advertiser process.
• SPQ serves the ad. If SPQ serves the ad, it will also require means for enabling Addy to load the ad into an SPQ ad server. This functionality would be integrated into the advertiser process.) 5. Verify that attention is paid.
• Steps for transacting payment between advertisers and recipients can take place in the recipient process, as described in Part 1.
• SPQ-WA can also enable any properly configured website to be a frontend that recipients interact with. This embodiment is useful for an advertiser who wants to enable recipients to see and accept her EVQ offer at her website. Advertisers still enter their offers through a central SPQ website while the recipients interface with the distributed websites.
• SPQ includes means for receiving data from the frontend sites.
• This data set was described in previous sections. Accordingly, the frontend site will:
• the frontend site must be configured with a program for sending this data to the central SPQ- WA database, or it must direct the recipient to retrieve forms from SPQ that submit data directly to the SPQ-WA database.
• the central database requires means for receiving this data from the frontend sites.
• a frontend site can include database functionality such that it holds an ID record of Reece.
• the frontend site can send Reece to an SPQ webpage that enables Reece to enter his ID data.
• the frontend site might just send Reece to a SPQ webpage that is identified with the particular EVQ offer that Addy wants Reece to accept.
• the SPQ webpage can then handle the necessary data registration. The point is that there are various well-known possibilities for implementing a frontend.
• the key aspect, for our purposes, is that the essential processes ofthe SPQ-WA database do not change.
• the database simply needs functionality for receiving data from recipients for a selecting EVQ offers from distinct, distributed frontends.
• SPQ's frontend can be a set of distributed websites and not just a single, central directory site.
• SPQ-WA can include means for receiving attention verification data from the server that is serving the ad to Reece. This verification data will be keyed to the particular ad and corresponding EVQ offer.
• the verification data will be sent based on the time he has spent viewing the ad, or Reece's interaction with the ad or, the answer Reece has provided, depending on the verification method that is used.
• SPQ-WA has the task of verifying attention automatically then the data will have to be "understandable” by SPQ. It can be a simple verification signal (a "recipient paid attention” signal, sent by the ad server) or a set of data that has to be checked by SPQ.
• SPQ verifies attention, it will cancel Reece's acceptance of an EVQ offer if it does not receive a signal or a set of data that shows Reece has paid adequate attention.
• the ad server follows a custom SPQ protocol for sending verification data to SPQ.
• the offer form can include a field for enabling Addy to specify a standard attention condition, such as interacting with Addy's ad in a certain way. According to the protocol, the attention verification signal will indicate whether or not Reece has met this condition.
• a second method is to enable Addy to enter a verification code into the offer form.
• this method we assume that when Reece views an ad, the ad gives him the opportunity to click on a link to indicate that he is viewing the ad. Selecting this link will cause the ad server to send a verification code to SPQ that is unique to the ad. Along with the code, the ad server can send the ad's address. Thus, when SPQ receives the code, it can check the offer data and match it with the ad's address and with the verification code. This data is not enough.
• the ad server can enable Reece to enter a verification code into a webform that submits the code to SPQ.
• the code could be hidden in the ad, so that Reece proves he has seen the ad because he has found and entered the code.
• SPQ In order for SPQ to verify that Reece has been viewing, SPQ must also receive Reece's ID back from the ad server. Therefore, we also assume that when SPQ enables Reece to be served the ad, it sends a code to the ad server to identify Reece. The ad server sends this recipient ID back to SPQ along with the verification code and the ad address. With these data, SPQ can register that Reece has fulfilled the attention condition.
• SPQ can enable recipients to provide answers to questions about an ad.
• the answers may be machine verifiable, in which case they are equivalent to the verification code, discussed above.
• SPQ stores the evidence — the answer(s) — as part ofthe acceptance record, and enables an inspector to judge the evidence only if the recipient wins the EV payment bet for the offer. That means that human inspection can be done cost-effectively.
• This method of attention verification is novel because it uses the system's probabilistic inspection process to enable human verification of a recipient's attention.
• SPQ can enable an advertiser to pay Q-recipients for calling is to have recipients call an interactive voice response (IVR) system linked to a phone switch that registers the recipients and routes calls to the advertiser.
• IVR interactive voice response
• phone switch we mean to encompass a variety of switches/routers for registering a calling party, registering a receiving party, transmitting a call between the two parties and, registering the duration of a call.
• the channel or protocol for transmitting the call is irrelevant for our purposes.
• the concept of a "switch" for our purposes applies equally whether the network being used is a network that opens a dedicated circuit between two parties, or a network that uses a protocol, such as the TCP/IP, to transmit packets.
• Reece can then accept Addy's offer using the frontend for recipients, which is an IVR system.
• Addy could advertise her EVQ offer in a magazine ad that states, Are you are a Q-recipient? We 'll pay you $2 to call us.
• SPQ's IVR frontend and phone switch register Reece's ID data capture the code that he enters, and route the call to Addy's phone number.
• the phone switch registers the length ofthe call.
• this data enables SPQ to enforce the attention condition that is implicit or explicit in Addy's offer — e.g., she might specify that Reece has to stay on the phone for 60 seconds or more in order to collect an EV payment.
• the IVR frontend does not have to process the data it registers; it can simply send the data to the central SPQ database, which then executes the rest ofthe recipient process.
• the steps that SPQ takes under this scenario we will describe the steps that SPQ takes under this scenario.
• Field 2 Data for Enabling Recipients to Find an Offer
• the data for finding and accepting Addy's offer is a lookup code specified by Addy that corresponds uniquely to an offer or offers from her. We will assume, for simplicity and user-friendliness, that the code is the phone number that she wants Reece to call.
• Addy may have different EVQ offers that apply to the same phone number, and so, SPQ can enable her to distinguish between offers by adding an extra number to her phone number — e.g., 202-222-7777-1, 202-222-7777-2, and so on.
• SPQ can enable her to distinguish between offers by adding an extra number to her phone number — e.g., 202-222-7777-1, 202-222-7777-2, and so on.
• Additional payment offer may vary depending on the amount that Reece spends. This kind of "multi-offer" does not affect the lookup code.
• the data for accessing the advertising is the phone number that Addy wants Reece to call. (If the phone number does not also serve as the lookup code, then Addy must enter the phone number into a phone number field.)
• the SPQ database must then send the number to the switch, which requires means for storing the number in a list of authorized numbers.
• the SPQ database must also be able to send a cancellation notice to the switch that causes a number to be canceled from the list of authorized numbers.
• the key attention condition is time spent on the call. This time period may be standard or set by Addy. If Addy sets it, there will be a field for enabling her to do so.
• Another condition that is possible is a time-of-day condition, in which Addy specifies a certain time period for Reece to call. Like the duration-of-the-call condition, this condition can be verified in the recipient process.
• An IVR system can identify a recipient by a personal identification number (PIN) or an equivalent (such as a voiceprint).
• PIN personal identification number
• the recipient's number captured through automatic number identification, may serve as a recipient ID.
• PIN personal identification number
• SPQ One goal for the operation of SPQ is to link a PIN with Reece's legal identity, so that he can be paid, and so that he cannot use multiple PLN's. Therefore, SPQ can require that Reece pre- register his legal identity and PIN at an SPQ website that lets Reece choose a PIN which SPQ then uploads to the IVR system.
• the IVR system stores the PIN in a list of authorized PLN's.
• An alternative is to enable Reece to register his legal ID through the IVR system, if it is his first time using SPQ.
• SPQ can let him choose a PIN as if he was using a website.
• the IVR system can enable him to enter his full name and address and unique identifying data. A minimal amount of data may be necessary.
• the IVR interface may enable Reece to enter just his social security number. His PIN can then be associated with this data so that if he wins a payoff, his PIN can be associated with a unique, legal ID.
• Yet another alternative is to not associate a PIN with legal ID data, such as a social security number or a full name. It is possible to enable Reece to make up his own PIN and enter it via the IVR interface. The reason to use this method of identifying Reece is user-friendliness; Reece has to enter less data. This method is vulnerable to cheating in that Reece may register multiple identities. Still, it may be feasible to use such a method if SPQ includes other cheat detection processes, such as tests for detecting users who win an abnormal number of times. Therefore, just a PIN, determined by Reece, may suffice to identify Reece to the system.
• legal ID data such as a social security number or a full name.
• Reece enters the lookup code for Addy's EVQ offer.
• the lookup code is Addy's phone number.
• the IVR interface registers the number and sends it to the switch.
• the switch checks to see if the phone number is on the list of authorized phone numbers.
• the IVR interface registers the number and sends it to the switch to connect the call.
• the switch transmits the call between Reece's and Addy's numbers.
• the IVR system and switch send the following data to the SPQ central database (where the rest ofthe recipient process is executed): a. Reece's PIN, b. the lookup code (which we assume is Addy's phone number) c. the duration of his call, d. the time/date ofthe call.
• SPQ can also assess a charge to be paid (in most cases) by Addy based on the duration ofthe call.
• the charge is registered to Addy's account, which is identified by her phone number.
• Addy may set the threshold as part ofthe terms of her EVQ offer, or the threshold may be standard.
• SPQ checks if the duration ofthe call is greater than the threshold. If it is not, SPQ does not register an acceptance.
• SPQ must identify the offer and compare the duration of Reece's call with her custom threshold. SPQ can identify her offer by the lookup code.
• Another Q-recipient condition is that Reece must call during a certain period in the day, e.g., from 9am-5pm. Thus, if this condition applies SPQ can check whether Reece has met it as well. If he has not, SPQ does not register an acceptance.
• SPQ registers the acceptance of Addy's offer in an acceptance record.
• SPQ can enable Reece to find out whether he has won the EVPM bet.
• the IVR system can then connect with the SPQ central database and report to him if he has any "wins" for any EVQ offers he has accepted.
• SPQ can include a visual web interface that enables him to do the same thing — i.e., enter his PIN (user ID and password) and select a command for checking the results of his EVPM bets — of his acceptances ofthe EVQ offers, that is.
• toll charges will usually apply. If so, these charges need to be paid by someone.
• SPQ will need to assess the charge as part ofthe recipient process, as discussed above.
• Steps that may be added involve registering toll call charges, as discussed above.
• the solution is a trick, a novel deal between a seller and a prospect.
• a prospect can only get paid if she produces a receipt proving that she bought the product being advertised. For example, if a seller offers to pay someone to read an ad about cookware, then the prospect must prove that she indeed bought cookware within a specified time period after she read the ad. We call such a prospect — one who actually buys — a realbuyer.
• the invention that we will be describing in this specification is built around enabling this deal to take place between sellers and prospects.
• the deal is that a seller agrees to pay prospects for receiving sales messages if the prospects prove they intended to buy the product or service being advertised. Prospects prove they intended to buy by submitting a receipt (or other proof of purchase).
• This qualifying condition is, itself, an important, novel idea. It is different than a rebate; it is a payment for attention, regardless of which seller a prospect buys from.
• the ability to pay only realbuyers can be a major innovation because, for the first time, it enables sellers to focus their marketing resources directly on the highest probability prospects.
• core processes we mean the sequences of steps that the system executes to achieve its minimum purpose, which is to enable sellers to offer to pay realbuyers for receiving sales messages. We describe these core processes in Part 1 of this specification.
• the system can enable sellers to pay for different kinds of attention and pay prospects for receiving different kinds of sales messages.
• Payment offers can be posted in a "non-competitive" directory whose purpose is simply to enable prospects to find and accept the offers.
• Another kind of system is a competitive, auction directory — a pay for placement system — in which offers are presented according to the payment amount. In a future application we will describe this kind of auction system.
• SPQ is a database system for enabling sellers to pay realbuyer prospects for their attention. That means SPQ:
• SPQ is a database system for creating and transacting a special kind of contract.
• the overall core process is as follows:
• the system upon an acceptance, the system generates a random number in a range determined by the amount ofthe expected value payment
• the system registers that the prospect is owed the payoff of the bet, and sends an email alert to the prospect
• the system sends an email alert to the prospect telling him he is not eligible for the payoff.
• SPQ will include a front-end or frontends.
• the frontends will vary depending on the type of sales message, e.g., a webpage, a phone call, an email and so on. To illustrate we will discuss different sales messages and different frontends, but we save a detailed discussion of these subjects for Chapter 30.
• the system can be configured to enable a single seller to post offers to prospects.
• a company can use a website as the front end ofthe system, enabling the seller to post offers and enabling prospects to see and accept the offers.
• the system can enable multiple sellers to post offers, e.g., through multiple websites.
• the core processes may all be performed on a single machine controlled by a single party. Alternatively, they can be divided into sub-processes that can be executed by systems that are controlled by different parties, one system handing its product off to another. How the overall process is split up in practice does not concern us; it is the steps and the parts ofthe process that count. We will lay these out.
• Section 1.1 gives definitions for this chapter.
• Section 1.2 describes the elements and steps ofthe seller process.
• Section 1.3 describes the elements and steps of Xfo prospect process.
• Section 1.4 describes the elements and steps ofthe inspector process.
• Section 1.5 describes additional steps for enabling sellers to pay prospects.
• Section 1.6 describes reports that the system can output to sellers.
• SPQ has three classes of users: sellers, prospects and inspectors (we omit system administrators).
• SPQ makes use of three key data sets: offer sheet data, offer request data and inspector report data — one for each kind of user. These are not the only data sets that SPQ uses, but they are the critical, minimal ones. Offer Sheet Data. This is the data a seller enters to create an offer.
• Offer Request Data This is the data a prospect enters to find and accept an offer.
• Inspection Report Data This is the data an inspector enters to state whether or not a prospect abided by the terms ofthe offer.
• SPQ has three core processes, one for each kind of user. These are not the only processes that SPQ will include for users but they are the minimal ones. Together these processes comprise the overall core process from start (seller creates a payment offer) to finish (prospect gets paid).
• RB offer An offer to pay a prospect who has fulfilled certain conditions, most importantly, buying the product or service that is the subject ofthe offer.
• RB Realbuyer
• SPQ includes well- known steps for creating a seller account and authenticating a seller.
• the seller process enables Sela to create and post an RB offer to prospects. As such, it mainly consists of outputting an offer sheet form to her and storing the data she fills into it.
• An offer sheet form will also be called an offer form or a blank offer sheet.
• the set of data filled into the offer form will be called an RB offer, an offer, or an offer document.
• SPQ stores the offer data that is entered into the form and timestamps the entry as well.
• the data in the offer form serve two purposes. First, they define the RB offer — that is, the contract offered by Sela to prospects. Second, they act as instructions that direct SPQ when the offer is accepted.
• the offer sheet data is the fundamental data set (data object) ofthe system, which is natural, given that most ofthe actions ofthe system revolve around handling and transacting offers.
• one field in an offer form is a document name field enabling Sela to name the offer she enters so that she can find it.
• SPQ will include means, of course, for enabling Sela to look up and modify any offer she has entered. (Prospects will not necessarily see the full offer document when they find an offer.)
• an offer In order to be accepted, an offer must first be found by a prospect. There are a few basic methods that can be employed to enable a prospect to find an offer. The method that is used will depend, of course, on the frontend that SPQ presents to prospects.
• One way to enable Paul to find Sela's offer is for SPQ to be accessed through a button of some sort that, when pressed, signifies that Paul has selected the offer. For example, a website for a health club might show, Click this button if you want to get paid $1 for reading about our health club. Likewise, the system might have an interactive voice response frontend that identifies the offer when Paul presses a particular button. For example, Press “1 " if you want to get paid $1 to talk with one of our associates about our health club. More simply, a health club might have special phone number that is connected to SPQ such that calling the number signifies that the prospect accepts a payment offer identified in the SPQ database by that number.
• the offer does not need any special name so that Paul can identify it, which means that the offer sheet does not need to include a name by which Paul finds the offer.
• the SPQ frontend will include configuration means for enabling Sela to specify which offer corresponds to the button. She can identify the offer by its document name.
• the lookup name is entered into a search form that is part of SPQ's frontend and the offer would then be located. For example, a print ad could have the following text, If you are about to join a health club, we'll pay you $1 to read about our club. Go to healthclub.com and enter "healthy” into the appropriate box. Or call 1 -800-healthclub and enter "9999" at the appropriate prompt.
• the offer sheet will include a field for enabling Sela to supply the lookup name, which is then used by SPQ to enable Paul to find the offer.
• Another way to enable Paul to find an offer is through a keyword search or through a natural language search. This approach is the same as the lookup name approach above if SPQ uses an exact match algorithm for in its search function and if the keyword is associated only with Sela's offer. But it is possible for SPQ to be a public directory that contains different offers from different sellers listed under the same keyword.
• SPQ can include means for enabling Paul to find Sela's offer through a best match search function. (This way of identifying an offer is suited the case where SPQ is a directory of offers from multiple sellers.) In this case, it is useful to enable Sela to label the offer using multiple keywords and keyphrases.
• an offer sheet can include a field that enables Sela to supply a multiple keywords and phrases to label her offer.
• This semantic material by the name indexing material or lookup material or matching material because the idea is that Sela supplies semantic material that can be used by SPQ to match a request by Paul. For example, Sela might identify her offer by the keywords health, health club, gym, and exercise studio. And Paul might enter exercise club into the SPQ search engine. And SPQ could then use this phrase to identify Sela's offer, which would then be presented to Paul.
• RB offer Sela pays for Paul's attention to advertising.
• SPQ will play no role in exposing Paul to Sela's advertising. For example, if Sela enables Paul to accept her RB offer on her website by pressing a button on the site, SPQ does not have to play any role in Paul seeing Sela's advertising. SPQ can be notified by the website that Paul has accepted Sela's offer, but that does not mean that SPQ connects Paul to the advertising. As another example, SPQ could enable Paul to enter a code into SPQ's search function, signifying that Paul accepts the offer that corresponds to that code. Again, SPQ does not have to play a role in whether Paul has been exposed to the advertising associated with that code.
• a key function of SPQ will be to connect Paul to Sela's advertising.
• SPQ can provide a hyperlink that Paul can select to view a webpage of Sela's.
• SPQ can provide a link that Paul can select to be connected by phone to Sela.
• SPQ can be a switchboard.
• SPQ will need to know how to find the advertising; it will need data for making the connection, enabling Paul to access the advertising, that is.
• Sela can enter a URL for locating her webpage or video advertisement.
• Sela can enter her telephone number for placing a call to her.
• SPQ's offer form can include a field for entering the data necessary for making the connection.
• SPQ can also include a field for enabling Sela to state what kind of connection is necessary, or that can be implied.
• SPQ will also include the means for using the data to enable Paul to access Sela's advertising (see Chapter 30).
• the offer sheet includes a field for stating the EV payment due to a prospect who accepts the offer and adheres to the realbuyer conditions ofthe offer (see below).
• the payoff amount can be standard, either a specified amount, such as $1,000, or a specified payoff multiple ofthe EV amount, say, lOOOx.
• the offer sheet can include a field for enabling Sela to specify the payoff amount or the payoff multiple. (We will assume, for simplicity, that the payoff amount or payoff multiple is standard.)
• the offer sheet will also include fields for defining a realbuyer.
• a realbuyer is someone who buys the product/service being advertised within a specified period of time after the offer has been accepted. Below we give just a few useful conditions, realizing that many others can be added.
• the offer sheet will include a field for specifying the purchase period. This figure, say 30 days, specifies how much time Paul has, after he has accepted the offer, to buy the product being advertised. For example, if he accepts an offer to be paid for reading an ad about a health club, then he must purchase a club membership within 30 days of accepting the offer.
• SPQ can enable Sela to set a beginning and ending time. For example, she may stipulate that Paul must buy between 10 days after he has searched and 60 days after he has searched. This feature can be useful for products that require a lead-time for purchase. If Sela requires that Paul buy at some period after he has searched she can reduce cheating by users who view her advertising, say, the day before they buy, simply to collect the EV payments, rather than because they are interested in buying from her.
• the offer sheet can include a field for specifying how many times Paul can accept a payment offer.
• Various conditions are possible. For example, a one-time-only condition is possible. A variation enables Paul to accept an offer multiple times but to only be able to collect on one of those times. We do not delve into the possibilities because they are distracting here. Suffice to say that the offer sheet can enable Sela to select from standard conditions concerning how many times Paul is permitted to accept an offer. In certain cases, such a condition can be enforced by SPQ in the prospect process.
• the offer sheet can include a field for specifying the kind and amount of attention that Paul must pay. In certain cases, this condition can be enforced by SPQ in the prospect process. In others, only an inspector can verify whether the condition has been met. For example, a condition might be that Paul has to listen to a sales message over the phone for at least 60 seconds. If Paul does not pay that much attention, SPQ may be able to detect that fact and nullify the offer. A variety of inspection possibilities exist, which are beside the point here. Suffice to say that the attention requirements can be stated in the offer sheet (alternatively, they can be stated outside the system).
• the offer sheet can also include a field in which Sela can put the full text, or a link to the full text, of her payment offer. This feature is useful so that an inspector can read the all the terms of the offer to determine whether or not Paul has met the terms. It is also useful in cases where SPQ makes it possible to for Paul to look up the full text of an offer. For example, Paul might see an offer in a magazine ad and may use the frontend of SPQ to accept the offer. While doing this he might want to see the full text ofthe offer, which may not have been spelled out in the magazine ad.
• the offer sheet can also include fields for controlling the presentation ofthe offer to prospects. Some of these include:
• a budget field that signifies that an offer is to be suspended or withdrawn after a specified number of acceptances.
• An expiration field that signifies that an offer is to expire at a given time.
• An on/off field that specifies whether the offer is to be posted or not (this field can be used to suspend an offer).
• Some or all ofthe terms and conditions of an offer may be stated outside ofthe system. In fact, none ofthe conditions has to be stated by a seller in an offer sheet. Technically speaking, they can all be standard conditions, understood by sellers and prospects. In this case, where the terms are not stated in the offer sheet, they still will have to be entered as standard values into the system so that accepted offers can be processed. Completely standardized offers probably will not predominate in practice. However, each individual term or condition given above can be stated outside the system and can be associated simply with the name of an offer, and hence does not need to be specified in an offer sheet. Thus, the fields of an offer form depend on the implementation.
• the seller process consists mainly of steps for enabling Sela to fill in an offer form. Naturally, the seller process will also include steps for enabling Sela to find an existing offer and to modify or delete it.
• the offer field may also include text and pictures that describe Sela's offer and Sela herself. This descriptive data can be used when the offer is presented to Paul.
• Transacting payment may or may not be part of SPQ.
• SPQ may simply register obligations by sellers to realbuyers. It is then up to the sellers to make actual payment.
• SPQ can simply be an accounting machine that does not actually transact funds, but merely states how much is owed by a seller and to whom it is owed.
• SPQ can take funds from a seller and distribute these, as is called for in the prospect process.
• the seller process will also include well-known steps for creating a seller debit account or credit account.
• SPQ will also include steps for accepting payment through a variety of well-known payment vehicles, i.e., paper check transfers can be automatically recorded, or manually recorded. (See Section 1.5.)
• the seller process mainly involves storing data defining an RB offer
• the prospect process involves what SPQ does when a prospect finds an offer and accepts it.
• SPQ can have one or more frontend interfaces that enable prospects to find offers.
• frontend interfaces that enable prospects to find offers.
• Section 1.3 we discussed some of these interface possibilities, and in Chapter 30 we will elaborate. In this section we are not concerned with interfaces, just with the key steps ofthe prospect process. We will assume that Paul has used the SPQ frontend and entered a command or search criteria to enable SPQ to find an offer.
• SPQ must identify the prospect so that he can be paid in the event that he wins the right to collect the payoff.
• SPQ finds the offer that corresponds to the command or search criteria Paul has entered.
• SPQ enables Paul to accept an RB offer depends on the implementation. Simply arriving at a webpage and pressing a button may signify acceptance. Or Paul may enter search criteria into a search form and then SPQ may present him with an offer, which he can then accept. There are, of course, many interface possibilities.
• a prospect who accepts an offer will be called an acceptor.
• An offer that is accepted will be called an RB contract.
• SPQ creates an acceptance record per offer for an acceptor.
• the acceptance record will only contain data from this first acceptance.
• the record includes the prospect's ID data, the name (ID) ofthe offer, the terms ofthe offer (as defined in by the offer sheet data), and the time of acceptance. If Paul has accepted the offer before, then SPQ will note and timestamp each additional acceptance in the record.
• the Sela's offer enables Paul to accept multiple times and get credit for one of those times. This feature can be useful if Paul is unsure when he is going to buy. For example, if he accepts an RB offer of $5 for looking at an ad for a piano, and he buys a piano 40 days after looking at the ad, then he is not eligible for payment if the expiration period is 30 days. So, he might want to accept the offer a second time, say, 20 days before he buys. The point is simply that an acceptance record can include multiple acceptances ofthe same offer. The validity of these acceptances will depend on the terms ofthe offer.
• one of SPQ's functions will be to connect Paul to Sela's advertising. In such implementations, then, a key step in the prospect process will be making this connection.
• SPQ will provide Paul with means for accessing Sela's advertising, and will enable Paul to access her advertising. These means will depend on the frontend that is being used (see Chapter 30 for elaboration).
• SPQ may enforce the attention condition, if any, stipulated in the offer sheet. For example if calls are made through SPQ, SPQ might be able to enforce a time requirement per phone call. Whether an attention condition is checked at this stage depends on the implementation. If so, and if Paul has violated the attention condition, then SPQ could send an alert telling him that he was ineligible to collect on the payment.
• SPQ has a step for checking whether attention was paid, this step can come before the acceptance is registered. If the prospect has not paid adequate attention then the acceptance is not registered. Alternatively, the registration ofthe acceptance can come first and then it can be canceled, if the prospect does not pay adequate attention.
• An RB offer will include a rule or rules — conditions — spelling out what happens if Paul accepts an offer multiple times.
• the rule can be a meta-rule ofthe system that applies to all RB offers or it can depend on the particular offer. A variety of rules are possible for determining whether an acceptance is "live".
• one rule can be that the first acceptance is the live one, and that any acceptance after that does not count. Another rule can be that the last acceptance is the one that counts. Another rule can be that if the EV ofthe RB offer changes, Paul can be eligible to collect on the acceptance ofthe offer with the highest EV. Another rule can be that Paul gets one live acceptance per a period of time, say, the time period in which he has to make a purchase. Yet another rule can be that all the acceptances count but if Paul wins the payoff, the payoff is divided by the number of acceptances.
• SPQ needs to enforce whatever rule applies given the RB offer or the system meta-rules.
• SPQ will include a step for checking the acceptance record and, based upon the rale that is in effect, select only the acceptance that is live for the next step of determining whether the acceptance is a winner.
• SPQ can simply check whether it can be live under the multiple acceptances rale that applies, and if the acceptance cannot be live, then SPQ may not register it at all.
• the rules governing multiple acceptances can be subtle and it may be necessary to verify compliance in the inspector process where, in certain cases, it becomes evident that the prospect has tried to evade the rules.
• certain acceptance rules can be enforced before the random number generation is performed for a given acceptance and others can be enforced afterward, in the inspector process.
• SPQ Once SPQ has determined that an acceptance is live, it needs to determine whether Paul has won the right to collect the payoff — that is, whether Paul has won the EV bet. Thus, SPQ generates a random integer in the range dictated by the EV payment and the specified payoff or as dictated by the specified payoff multiple, if a multiple is used.
• an integer is selected in a range from 1 -payoff, and the prospect wins if the integer falls in the range 1-EV.
• an integer is selected in the range of 1 -multiple, and the prospect wins if a single, pre-determined number comes up, say, "1".
• SPQ can record the winners and losers or it may only keep a record ofthe winners.
• SPQ sends an email alert telling a winning acceptor that he has won the random selection and that he must submit receipt data in order to collect his payoff.
• SPQ can inform the acceptor other ways, e.g., if he uses an SPQ website, SPQ can identify him when he logs on and inform him of his win then. This method is more appropriate than email in certain situations.
• SPQ can also at this stage output a claim form to the winner for entering receipt data.
• SPQ If SPQ outputs a claim form when it alerts Paul that he has won, then SPQ will receive a claim back from him through this form. When SPQ receives a claim this way, it registers the claim, which will include an ID number that associates the claim with the corresponding offer sheet data and acceptance record data.
• SPQ After registering a claim, SPQ passes it to the inspector process (see Section 1.4).
• SPQ can periodically tabulate and output statistics that show the percentage of winners who were also claimants.
• SPQ can also calculate how many claimants were deemed to be realbuyers (those who collected their winnings). This data in particular is important for sellers and it can be critical for developing discount rate statistics (discussed in Section 1.5).
• SPQ can register payment obligations in a few different ways. We describe possible payment processes in Section 1.5 but note that payment registration steps take place in the prospect process if SPQ assumes payoff risk, which we believe will be common in practice. The steps are described in Section 1.5 and their placement in the prospect process can easily be seen by those skilled in the art.
• SPQ enables the inspector to call up the claim record, which includes:
• the offer sheet data, or a link to this data The prospect ID data, or a link to this data, The acceptance data, or a link to this data, The receipt data, or a link to this data. (These data elements have been defined in Section 1.3)
• SPQ enables the inspector to get an inspection report form which includes fields for the following information: a) The name ofthe inspector
• the inspection report form will include a field for supplying a text explanation of why the claim was rejected.
• the explanation can be a "form letter" explanation that can be selected by the inspector.
• SPQ stores and timestamps the inspection report and links the report to the rest ofthe offer data and acceptance data for the prospect.
• SPQ executes the following steps
• SPQ can execute the steps spelled out in Section 1.5.
• SPQ can execute the steps spelled out in Section 1.5.
• SPQ can execute the steps spelled out in Section 1.5.
• SPQ -Registers that the prospect is owed the payoff amount stated in the offer, -Sends notification ofthe amount owed the prospect to a process (inside SPQ or outside
• the inspection process can be automated in certain cases, but that does not concern us. We will assume that a human inspector is necessary.
• Section 1 A we said that when the inspector approves a claim, SPQ registers that the prospect is owed the payoff amount stated in the relevant offer. However, we did not describe steps for actually paying the prospect and for getting payment from the seller.
• SPQ is a system in which realbuyers are paid through EVPM bets, meaning that the amounts actually paid are payoff amounts that may be quite large. How SPQ enables payoff payments to be transacted from sellers to realbuyers depends on whether the seller assumes the payoff risk in the EVPM bets or whether SPQ assumes the risk. We discuss these possibilities below.
• SPQ collects payment from sellers
• SPQ will include well-known debit and or credit account processes. Further, SPQ will include well-known mechanisms for accepting payment and for alerting a seller when her account has a low balance or an overdue balance. Further, SPQ will include well-known mechanisms for suspending a seller's offer when her payment account has fallen under a threshold.
• SPQ does not necessarily have to collect payment from her.
• SPQ is an accounting machine in the sense that it registers payment obligations but does not transfer actual payment.
• SPQ includes steps for alerting sellers of their payment obligation and for alerting winning realbuyers that they are owed the relevant payoff amount from a given seller.
• SPQ may simply alert Paul that IBM owes him $10,000 and will alert IBM that it owes Paul $10,000.
• SPQ can include means for transferring payment from sellers to winning realbuyers. These means include steps for:
• SPQ Assumes the Risk in the EVPM Bets If SPQ assumes the payoff risk, the situation is a little more complicated. The problem is that Sela is offering EV payments only to realbuyers, but prospects who accept her offer will include realbuyers and non-buyers.
• SPQ must apply a discount rate to the EV amount that Sela offers to realbuyers. This discount factor is applied to each valid acceptance. Thus, each time a prospect accepts her offer, Sela would not owe SPQ the full amount ofthe EV payment stated in the offer, but a discounted rate.
• the goal in a discount factor is to represent the percentage of acceptors who are realbuyers.
• the general idea is to get good statistics on what percentage of acceptors are realbuyers. This percentage will vary depending on the product/service involved.
• SPQ may include one or more formulas to determine the discount factor for a given seller and the seller's product or service.
• the formulas will use data on how many acceptors converted into winning realbuyers.
• SPQ can feed this data into the discount formula(s).
• Other methods, such as survey methods can be used as well to yield discount factor data to be fed into discount formulas as well.
• SPQ assumes the payoff risk it will include: -a discount formula (or formulas) for arriving at a discount factor, -a discount factor to be applied to the EV amount that is offered.
• SPQ will:
• SPQ Enables the Seller to choose to Take the Risk in EVPM Bets
• SPQ can enable Sela to choose whether or not to assume the payoff risk.
• the system would simply include both kinds of payment processes discussed above.
• SPQ could enable Sela to check a box in the process of establishing her account in which she signifies that she will take the payoff risk in all payment offers to prospects.
• the SPQ offer sheet can include a check box where Sela signifies that she will take the payoff risk for the particular offer.
• SPQ will include steps for enabling Sela to view: a) how many unique prospects accepted her offer, b) possibly, the identities of those prospects, c) how many of those prospects won the EVPM bets, d) how many ofthe winners turned out to be realbuyers, e) how much she has spent on RB offers (we have discussed this data in section 1.5).
• Vague Solution Add Standard Conditions to the RB Offer
• An RB offer is a fundamental kind of offer that a seller can make to attract high probability prospects. It is a payment offer, and so the general goal is to make that payment profitable, on average. But, in its minimal form, an RB offer suffers from a variety of weaknesses because it is too general. It does not, for example, discriminate between a prospect who buys something for $10 and a prospect who buys something for $1000. Clearly, it can be very useful for Sela to add conditions to an RB offer that discriminate between realbuyers according to their projected profitability.
• a minimal RB offer has a variety of specific shortcomings that can be addressed through specific conditions.
• Sela can add to tailor an RB offer to achieve particular goals, especially to attract realbuyers according to their probability of buying.
• These conditions are levers, "tuners", that determine who an RB offer will attract and how profitable the RB offer will be.
• SPQ can include the following means for enabling Sela to add such conditions to her RB offer and make these conditions clear to prospects:
• SPQ's offer form can include fields for specifying these conditions.
• SPQ's search functionality can include these conditions as screens. (This screening capability is highly useful, in particular, if SPQ is a directory of offers entered by multiple sellers.)
• SPQ can enforce a condition.
• an important feature SPQ can include is one that enables Sela to make the payment amount to Paul contingent how much he spends. In other words, SPQ can enable her to set a purchase amount condition.
• SPQ can enable her to vary the amount through a formula that specifies a percentage ofthe purchase amount. For example, if the percentage is 1% then Paul gets paid 1% ofthe amount he spends. (James Stein suggested this method.)
• Sela may not want to vary her payment offer based upon a formula. For example, she may want to offer $15 to realbuyers who spend between $1000-$2000 and pay $1 to realbuyers who spend between $100-$200. The amount she is willing to pay will usually be determined by the rate other sellers are paying for a given purchase level for the same products.
• Competitive offers cannot be predicted by a simple formula, unless competitors are also using a percentage approach.
• Still a formula can be very useful, especially at lower spending levels so that Sela does not have to go to the trouble of entering small offers for low purchase amounts, i.e., she does not have to enter an amount for each $10 increment in the purchase amount.
• SPQ can give Sela the option of setting her payment according to a formula and or setting it by the purchase amount intervals. Further, SPQ can enable her to set a percentage figure for various spending levels, e.g., 1% for purchase amounts between $1,000 and $2,000. That way the payment offers will vary smoothly for an interval.
• SPQ can enable Sela to vary her payment offer according to purchase amount by providing, in the offer form, fields in which she can set a purchase amount interval and a corresponding payment amount, e.g.:
• the form can enable her to set a purchase amount percentage, per interval, such that the payment amount is the purchase amount multiplied by the percentage. For example, if she might fill into a table:
• SPQ can include fields for specifying how much Paul intends to spend.
• SPQ outputs the payment amounts that match that spending level (and that match the other criteria he enters). SPQ can also enable Paul to see all the spending levels and corresponding payment offers that Sela has made.
• SPQ stores the payment amount in the acceptance record.
• SPQ determines whether Paul is a winner, it does so by choosing the random number range according to the payment amount stored in the acceptance record.
• SPQ enables Sela to set the time period within which Paul has to buy the product she is advertising. It is also possible for SPQ to enable Sela to vary the amount she will pay based upon the time period that Paul buys.
• SPQ's offer form can include fields for enabling Sela to enter time periods and corresponding payment amounts, e.g.,
• SPQ can, in the offer request form, provide a field in which Paul can specify when he intends to buy. SPQ can then find the payment offers that match this time period (and the other search criteria Paul enters). When SPQ finds Sela's offer, it can also show all the payments Sela is offering and their purchase period requirements.
• SPQ can provide a field in which Sela can specify the location of realbuyers. Depending on the implementation, she can do this by using any geographical unit the system allows her to designate.
• SPQ can provide a field in the offer request form in which Paul states his location, for example, his zip code. Then SPQ finds those offers that match his search parameters and the zip code.
• Vera simply verifies that Paul lives or works where he says he does. She can do this by having Paul submit some form of ID.
• the claim form that Paul uses may include not only receipt data but also personal ID data.
• Vera may request Paul's ID data after she has verified the receipt.
• a general weakness of RB offers is that Sela is vulnerable to cheaters.
• one kind of cheat revolves around the type of payment vehicle that is used.
• SPQ can enable Sela to set payment amounts according to the type of payment vehicle Paul uses.
• a credit card or other EFT means might have the highest payment amount while cash might have the lowest.
• a pricing mechanism is used to discriminate between realbuyers. Those who are more likely to cheat, as indicated by the payment vehicle, receive a lower payment offer.
• SPQ can include a field in its offer form for enabling Sela to vary her payment offers according to the payment vehicle.
• SPQ can enable her to use a formula such that the amount offered for one vehicle is proportional one ofthe others.
• SPQ can enable Sela to fill in the amounts manually. Filling them in manually may be chore, given that there are several kinds of payment vehicles available, such as credit card, check, purchase orders, a variety of EFT methods, and cash. Given that she may also be stratifying offers according to purchase amount (discussed above), a formula method may be best.
• a simple remedy is to enable Sela to offer different payments to Paul depending on whether he buys through an offline or online seller.
• a pricing mechanism can be used to discriminate between offline realbuyers and online realbuyers.
• SPQ can provide a field, in the offer form, for stating a payment amount for offline RB's and for online RB's.
• SPQ can enable Paul to search according to whether he intends to buy offline or online. SPQ can then output both amounts, since Paul may be unsure where he will buy.
• SPQ can enable Sela to discriminate between online and offline buyers
• SPQ can also enable her to set a payment amount for a realbuyer who buys from a seller found in the SPQ directory.
• the seller does not have to be Sela, but could be a competitor of hers.
• the importance of this condition is that realbuyers who buy from the SPQ directory are, in general, more likely to buy from Sela, who herself is in the directory. Thus, it can be worthwhile to offer such realbuyers more than realbuyers who buy from anyone.
• SPQ can also enable Sela to use pricing mechanisms to discriminate based upon the country where the purchase is made.
• this condition can be critical because it assures Sela as to who her competition is. For example, if she is selling business class Internet service that sells for $2,000 per month, she may want to pay Paul only if he is considering buying from a small set of Internet Service Providers that she thinks she is comparable to.
• SPQ's offer form in the seller process can include a field for stating that her offer is contingent upon Paul buying from a set of sellers that Seal designates in the form.
• SPQ can enable Paul to enter a seller that he is considering buying from, and if Sela has named that competitor say, MCI, in her condition then SPQ can find the offer for Paul. More likely, SPQ will simply present the condition to Paul when it outputs Sela's offer. (Paul may already know the condition because he may have read it in an ad somewhere and uses SPQ in order to accept the offer.)
• SPQ's offer form can included a condition that Paul gets paid only if he buys from the seller.
• SPQ can show Paul this condition, and can allow him to search for rebate offers.
• a rebate offer will allow larger payments to be made because Sela is only obligated if Paul buys from her.
• the EV rebate can be a static number such as $2 or it can be a percentage ofthe purchase price. If it is a percentage, then, a payoff multiple would be used to determine whether Paul has won because the exact EV will not be known until Paul reports the purchase amount. He has no reason to report the amount until he finds out he has won. Hence a purchase multiple method where there is one winning number and it is an integer is selected from 1 -multiple.
• the first selection determines whether Paul has the right to enter a second selection. If he wins the first selection, SPQ can inform him that he has won the first selection and ask him to report whether he has purchased or not. If he has purchased, he can supply the purchase amount, then the second selection can be made using a payoff multiple, or a standard payoff amount.
• a rebate condition can be used by a manufacturer to offer a rebate to Paul if he buys the manufacturer's product from any seller.
• Duracell can offer a 50 EV cent rebate on it's AAA 4-pack of batteries to Paul regardless of where he buys them.
• the rebate amounts are not restricted to small amounts; they can be arbitrarily large, depending on the efficiency ofthe application.
• SPQ becomes not only a pay-for-attention system, but also a general-purpose machine for transacting rebates. To make these purposes distinct, SPQ can enable users to choose a rebate offer or an RB offer. In fact, SPQ could be split into two machines, one for transacting RB offers and one for transacting rebates. 2.28 DECISIONMAKER CONDITION
• Another important condition that Sela can add is one that requires Paul to be the decisionmaker at his organization if he is to claim an EV payment when his organization buys from Sela.
• This condition may be implicit —that is, if Paul claims and EV payment based on a purchase by the organization he works for, then he must prove that he is a key decisionmaker.
• SPQ may include a standard field for a decisionmaker condition, but it is more likely that the definition of decisionmaker is taken to be understood as part ofthe meta-rules ofthe system, or that the definition will be determined on a custom basis by each seller.
• the SPQ core processes disclosed in Chapter 10 can be adapted to sellers to pay for different kinds of attention from prospects, corresponding to different kinds of media. Advertising messages are not restricted to webpages.
• this chapter we will describe various embodiments that have the features needed to adapt the core process to apply to specific kinds of attention, to specific media for communicating sales messages, that is.
• advertising the communication of a sale message
• five media types (a) webpage, (b) video, (c) phone call, (d) email and, (e) person-to-person meeting.
• SQP can be a single, integrated system or it can be made up of linked computers that perform different tasks and communicate with each other. This fact is evident as we describe specific embodiments. For example, the identification ofthe prospect — and the rest ofthe prospect interface — may be handled by a computer that communicates with a linked computer that holds the SPQ database. As noted, the distribution of functions does not change the essential nature ofthe invention.
• SPQ acts as a service bureau that is used by multiple sellers to post RB offers.
• SPQ uses the code to find the corresponding offer.
• IBM may state in a print ad, Call 1 -800-r-e-a-l-b-u-y and enter "I-B-M" at the appropriate prompt in order to get paid $2 to talk to one of our representatives.
• the code I-B-M would correspond to an offer that IBM has entered into SPQ in the seller process.
• the interface itself communicates the code to SPQ, which would be the case if the interface enables Paul to find an offer simply by pressing a button.
• the pressing ofthe button would correspond to a certain code that would then be communicated to the SPQ database to identify a specific offer.
• central database can serve a variety of frontends that are used to interface with prospects.
• frontends that are used to interface with prospects.
• SPQ's offer form would include a standard field for designating the type of attention that the seller was paying for. In the prospect process, the SPQ would show this designation to the prospect, if necessary, to distinguish between different RB offers that the seller was making.
• Embodiments of SPQ's core processes can enable sellers to pay realbuyers for paying attention to webpage and video ads.
• SPQ is a directory in which sellers post RB offers. Prospects will find these offers by entering lookup codes.
• a link is shown which the prospect can select.
• the prospect selects the link, the ad, whether a webpage or a video, is served to the prospect.
• the data for finding Sela's offer is a lookup code specified by her.
• SPQ will check to insure that the code is unique to the system but it is up to Sela to decide what the code is. (The code can, of course, be a phrase.)
• Sela specifies the code because she can advertise it outside SPQ. For example, she might show the code in a print ad, e.g., If you are going to join a health club in the next 30 days, go to realbuyers.net and enter " Bally' s Health Club " into the search engine.
• SPQ-FVA can also include search functions for enabling prospects to find lookup codes according to the name ofthe seller.
• the data for accessing the advertising is a URL or an equivalent address code.
• This address is presented as a link when Paul finds the offer. Paul can then select the link to receive the ad. We do not mean to limit the application to URL's and corresponding website.
• the address code enables an ad to be server to Paul from whatever ad server that the address corresponds to — e.g., an ad server for an interactive TV network.
• the offer form may include a field for enabling Sela to enter data describing herself and her offer. This descriptive data is then presented by SPQ to Paul when he finds her offer.
• SPQ will present him with a form for creating an account.
• the form will include fields for entering a user ID and password and additional ID data specifying Paul's legal name and, possibly, additional ID data, such as a social security number.
• additional ID data such as a social security number.
• the goal is to have his log-on identity correspond to a single, legal identity so that he can be paid and so that he cannot use multiple identities.
• SPQ will include functions for ensuring that his legal ID only corresponds to one log-on identity.
• SPQ After Paul has set up his account, SPQ stores the account data and associates his log-on ID with his legal ID for the purposes of paying him.
• SPQ-FVA may enable Sela to enter a description of herself and her offer. If so, the link would be accompanied by text describing the offer and/or describing Sela.
• the ad may be a webpage or a video.
• the ad will be served by a machine controlled by Sela or another party, as specified by the ad address that Sela supplied in the seller process.
• SPQ-FVA can also be a service bureau that enables any properly configured website to be a frontend that prospects interact with. This embodiment is useful for a seller who wants to enable prospects to see and accept her RB offer at her website.
• SPQ can act as a service bureau for any number of sites. Sellers still enter their offers through a central SPQ website while the prospects interface with the distributed websites.
• SPQ includes means for receiving data from the frontend sites.
• This data set was described in previous sections. Accordingly, the frontend site will: register Paul's' ID, present Paul with a RB offer (and possibly enable him to find an offer), register acceptance ofthe offer, send the data it registers to the central SPQ-FVA database.
• the frontend site must be configured with a program for sending this data to the central SPQ- FVA database. (The data will be associated with the particular RB offer, of course).
• the central database requires means for receiving this data from the frontend sites.
• a frontend site can include database functionality such that it holds an ID record of Paul.
• the frontend site can send Paul to an SPQ webpage that enables Paul to enter his ID data.
• the frontend site might just send Paul to a SPQ webpage that is identified with the particular RB offer that Sela wants Paul to accept.
• the SPQ webpage can then handle the necessary data registration. The point is that there are various well-known possibilities for implementing a frontend.
• the key aspect, for our purposes, is that the essential processes ofthe SPQ-FVA database do not change.
• the database simply needs functionality for receiving data for a particular RB offer from distinct, distributed frontends.
• the utility ofthe system can be greatly enhanced by this functionality because SPQ's frontend can be a set of widely distributed websites and not just a central directory site or guide.
• SPQ-FVA can include means for receiving an attention verification signal from the server that is serving the ad to Paul. This signal will be keyed to the particular ad and corresponding RB offer. This signal will be sent based on Paul's interaction with the ad, or the time he has spent viewing the ad, depending on the verification method that is used.
• SPQ-FVA has the task of verifying attention then it will cancel Paul's acceptance of an RB offer if it does not receive this signal.
• the ad server follows a custom SPQ protocol for sending verification data to SPQ.
• the offer form can include a field for enabling Sela to specify a standard attention condition, such as interacting with Sela's ad in a certain way. According to the protocol, the attention verification signal will indicate whether or not Paul has met this condition.
• a second method is to enable Sela to enter a verification code into the offer form.
• this method we assume that when Paul views an ad, the ad gives him the opportunity to click on a link to indicate that he is viewing the ad. This link will cause the ad server to send a verification code to SPQ that is unique to the ad. Along with the code, the ad server can send the ad's address. Thus, when SPQ receives the code, it can check the offer data and match it with the ad's address and with the verification code. This data is not enough. In order for SPQ to verify that Paul has been viewing, SPQ must also receive Paul's ID back from the ad server.
• SPQ when SPQ enables Paul to be served the ad, it sends a code to the ad server to identify Paul.
• the ad server sends this ID back to SPQ along with the verification code and the ad address.
• SPQ can enable a seller to pay realbuyers for calling is to have prospects call an interactive voice response (IVR) system linked to a phone switch that registers the prospects and routes calls to the seller.
• IVR interactive voice response
• Sela enters her offer at an SPQ website that is the frontend for entering offers. Paul accepts her offer using the frontend for prospects, which is an IVR system. For example, Sela could advertise her RB offer in a magazine ad that states, Are you are a realbuyer? We 'll pay you $2 to call us. Call 1- 800-Realbuy and enter code #202-333-7777. Under this scenario, SPQ's IVR frontend and phone switch register Paul's ID data, capture the code that he enters, and route the call to Sela's phone number, which she has entered as part of her offer.
• the phone switch registers the length ofthe call.
• this data enables SPQ to enforce the attention condition that is implicit or explicit in Sela's offer — e.g., she might specify that Paul has to stay on the phone for 60 seconds or more in order to collect an EV payment.
• the IVR frontend does not have to process the data it registers; it can simply send the data to the central SPQ database, which then executes the rest ofthe prospect process.
• the steps that SPQ takes under this scenario we will describe the steps that SPQ takes under this scenario.
• the data for finding and accepting Sela's offer is a lookup code specified by Sela that corresponds uniquely to an offer or offers from her.
• the code is the phone number that she wants Paul to call.
• Sela may have different RB offers that apply to the same phone number, and so, SPQ can enable her to distinguish between offers by adding an extra number to her phone number — e.g., 202-333-7777-1, 202-333-7777-2, and so on.
• Sa's payment offer may vary depending on the amount that Paul spends. This kind of "multi-offer" does not affect the lookup code.
• the data for accessing the advertising is the phone number that Sela wants Paul to call. (If the phone number does not also serve as the lookup code, then Sela must enter the phone number into a phone number field.)
• the key attention condition is time spent on the call. This time period may be standard or set by Sela. If Sela sets it, there will be a field for enabling her to do so.
• Another condition that is possible is a "time-of-day" condition, in which Sela specifies a certain time period for Paul to call. Like the "duration-of-the-call condition", this condition can be verified in the prospect process.
• An IVR system can identify a prospect by a personal identification number (PIN).
• PIN personal identification number
• the goal for the operation of SPQ is to link a PIN with Paul's legal identity, so that he can be paid, and so that he cannot use multiple PLN's.
• SPQ can require that Paul pre-register his legal identity at an SPQ website that lets Paul choose a PIN that SPQ associates with his legal identity with the PIN.
• An alternative is to enable Paul to register his legal ID through the IVR system, if it is his first time using SPQ.
• SPQ can let him choose a PIN as if he was using a website.
• the IVR system can enable him to enter his full name and address and unique identifying data. A minimal amount of data may be necessary.
• the IVR interface may enable Paul to enter just his social security number. His PIN can then be associated with this data so that if he wins a payoff, his PIN can be associated with a unique, legal ID.
• Another alternative for assigning a PIN is to enable Paul to call a human operator who enters Paul's ID data into SPQ and assigns Paul his PIN.
• Yet another alternative is to not associate a PIN with legal ID data, such as a social security number or a full name. It is possible to enable Paul to make up his own PIN and enter it via the IVR interface. The reason to use this method of identifying Paul is user-friendliness; Paul has to enter less data. This method is vulnerable to cheating in that Paul may register multiple identities. Still, it may be feasible to use such a method if SPQ includes other cheat detection processes, such as tests for detecting users who win an abnormal number of times. Therefore, just a PIN, determined by Paul, may suffice to identify Paul to the system.
• legal ID data such as a social security number or a full name.
• the switch connects Paul with the Sela's number.
• the switch registers the time/date and duration ofthe call. This data enables the seller to be charged toll charges, if they apply, and enables SPQ to verify that Paul has paid enough attention to qualify for the EV payment Sela has offered. 5. Send Data SPQ Database
• the IVR system and switch send the following data to the SPQ central database (where the rest ofthe prospect process is executed): a. Paul's PIN, b. the lookup code (which we assume is Sela's phone number) c. the duration of his call, d. the time/date ofthe call.
• SPQ will also assess a charge to be paid (in most cases) by Sela based on the duration ofthe call.
• the charge is registered to Sela's account, which is identified by her phone number.
• Sela may set the threshold as part ofthe terms of her RB offer, or the threshold may be standard. Thus, SPQ checks if the duration ofthe call is greater than the threshold. If it is not, SPQ does not register an acceptance. If Sela sets the threshold then SPQ must identify the offer and compare the duration of Paul's call with her custom threshold. SPQ identifies her offer by the lookup code (by Sela's phone number).
• Another realbuyer condition is that Paul must call during a certain period in the day, e.g., during business hours. Thus, if this condition applies SPQ can check whether Paul has met it as well. If he has not, SPQ does not register an acceptance.
• SPQ registers the acceptance of Sela's offer in an acceptance record. As noted, SPQ identifies the offer by the lookup code.
• SPQ can enable Paul to find out whether he has won the EVPM bet. Since Paul accesses SPQ via a voice interface, one way that SPQ can enable Paul to find out whether he has won the EVPM bet is to enable him to call the IVR interface, enter his PIN and, select a menu option for checking results. The IVR system can then connect with the SPQ central database and report to him if he has any "wins" for any RB offers he has accepted.
• SPQ can include a visual web interface that enables him to do the same thing — i.e., enter his PIN (user ID and password) and select a command for checking the results of his EVPM bets — of his acceptances ofthe RB offers, that is.
• toll charges will usually apply. If so, these charges need to be paid by someone.
• SPQ will need to assess the charge as part ofthe prospect process, as discussed above.
• Steps that may be added involve registering toll call charges, as discussed in sub-section 3.23b above.

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