KR20030078863A - Method and apparatus for tracking consumer selections over a computer network - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus (10) for tracking consumer selection on a computer network comprising a remote computer terminal (12) connected to a network of computers, wherein the consumer is provided with goods and services from various vendors on the network (16). Access to an industrial central web portal 14 with a link to the. Since the user authentication token is generated by the web portal, each site visited on the computer network 16 can identify the consumer and participate in the advice system. According to the advice system, located on a computer, participating vendor sites 18, 20, and 23 identify the participating consumers by their user authentication tokens, and the industrial central web portal 14 provides the consumer with the vendor's Advise what choices were made while visiting site 14. The advice information may be such as goods / services, etc., including how much tax was paid, when the expiration date is, and so forth. The web portal receives the advice information and generates a consumer article record (CPR) associated with the selection made by the identified consumer.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TRACKING CONSUMER SELECTIONS OVER A COMPUTER NETWORK}

Computer network commerce, such as Internet e-commerce, is becoming increasingly important for retailers and vendors in terms of a variety of goods and services. In fact, many have predicted that those who fail to provide these services will lose much of their market share, and will close because of lost sales opportunities. The first problem encountered when developing a computer network that enables e-commerce is the fact that the network itself is made up of many interconnected computers using different types of software and operating systems. One of the challenges associated with transferring documents from one computer to another using one type of software is to maintain the structure of the document as it propagates from computer to computer. Is the point. For example, documents containing a title, chapter and body of text can be transferred from one computer to the other, but if these documents lose the title format, chapter and text body, If you simply send and display everything as text, it becomes very difficult to read and less appealing to the person who reads it. This problem is further complicated when the transmitted information is information about a vendor's goods / services for sale to the recipient or consumer. If the consumer is having difficulty reading the information or the information is not aesthetically pleasing, the consumer will not be willing to buy the vendor's product or service.

The solution to the problems associated with the transmission of information while maintaining the integrity of the structure, content and style of the document has been replaced by computer programming techniques using a markup language that treats the structure, content and style of the document differently. have. The term markup refers to a handwritten note formed from typed text that describes a typewriter, such as what typeface was originally used. For computer programmers who understand current computer network systems and the Internet, markup means everything in a document, not content (ie, a term that describes the purpose of text and / or style of text). In 1986, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) issued an international standard for computer documents called the standard generalized markup language (SGML).

The SGML describes a standard format for embedding descriptive markup in transmission documents on a computer network and for reading the computer without loss of document structure. In short, SGML does not depend on any particular hardware or software. Allow documentation to be generated. The SGML can accomplish this by breaking the document into three parts: structure, content and style. According to SGML, document type definitions (DTDs) are created by specifying the structure of a document and providing a framework for the various elements and parts that make up the document. The tag is applied to the content of the document through a process called "tagging" and identifies the position of the content in the DTD (ie title, chapter, body, etc.). Typically, the title of the document is determined by the software package used to read the document (ie, Microsoft Word®, Corel WordPerfect®, etc.).

Although SGML is a useful tool for describing the structure and content of digital documents, it requires a significant amount of markup and recognition in SGML generalizations. The language or protocol currently being used to transmit documents on the Internet is Hypertext Markup Language (HLML), which requires only a small amount of markup and recognition of SGML generalizations.

HTML splits the document into three parts: tags, comments, and text. HTML tags are used to define type styles, and provide hyperlinking (which provides a link for the searcher to find information on other pages located anywhere in the network). In addition, HTML allows an HTML editor or programmer to insert comments into a document, so that additional information about the document, tagging, text, and the like can be formed. As with tags, anyone viewing a document on the network will not see the comments until you turn on HTML coding. Text simply means the content of a document.

HTML has been used well as a markup language, but it's not without its flaws and vulnerabilities. For example, in HTML, the tagging scheme and tag set are fixed. In order to meet the new tags and techniques that Internet users need, they have a say about the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), Internet browser vendors, and how the Internet works, and the meaning of other groups that use it is It should be used continuously to extend the definition. In addition, the strict rules and complexity of HTML satisfy the already established HTML document types and markup elements, requiring numerous HTML editors to find ways to provide specific effects.

To break the limitations of HTML, a new markup language called eXtensible markup language (XML) is used, which does not have a fixed or established format and is designed to use SGML's flexibility more. . In particular, XML provides the convenience of defining tags and defining the structural relationships between these tags, as well as providing XML editors with the flexibility to design their own markup. Thus, the information content becomes rich and easy to use. However, like HTML, XML does not require much recognition of SGML and / or SGML and is easier to manipulate than SGML. Compliant SGML systems can read and recognize XML documents, but do not need them to display them. XML is designed to work with DTDs or even without DTDs (meaning that users can create markup without having to limit them normally), but the ability to automatically control the structure of additional documents. DTD is recommended to maintain

The application of markup language solves the problem of information transmission while maintaining the structure, content and style of documents, but the problem that is increasing with the increase of e-commerce is the lack of cohesion between commerce for consumers. You should also check the services (ie purchase and storage). For example, a consumer may not be able to shop on multiple different vendor websites for multiple selections or purchases, while maintaining a record of what he or she has purchased. As a result, the consumer may not be sure what he / she has purchased and / or what he / she has selected, and may make a duplicate purchase of an item that makes it impossible to purchase another item or to be returned.

Prior to e-commerce, similar problems have arisen in the tourism industry, where consumers make travel reservations, car rentals, and hotel reservations. Since one trip requires several selections to be made, it is very difficult for the consumer and / or the tour office to carry out all the processes of purchase or reservation. This problem often occurs in vertical market systems or market segments, where many vendors offer different items associated with different items. For example, the travel market segment includes a number of businesses that travelers need to deal with, such as carriers, hotels and resorts, car rental information, from the beginning to the end of the trip, such as golf tee times, tours, meals, flowers, musicals, or plays. have. This broad vertical market should maintain a record of consumer choice among a variety of products and services, allowing easy access to information about it later.

The assignee of the present invention has developed a computer reservation system (CRS), also known as a global distribution system (GDS), to solve the problem of tracking information in the vertical market associated with the travel industry. The CRS database allows a consumer to select a variety of items while being given the ability to track the selection through an entity known as a passenger name record (PNR). The PNR allows the consumer to later correct or review all the choices they have made. This review includes information about the actual choices made by the consumer, such as price, date of use, date of purchase, taxes paid. Thus, the service provided by the CRS database eliminates the problem of maintaining this tracking of information by providing a centralized record of all consumer choices that consumers can access to determine what choices have been made. Even today, similar problems exist with e-commerce. In particular, consumer choices made on the Internet are tracked separately and managed as individual entities.

Attempts have been made to provide consumers with information regarding e-commerce purchases and reservations, but generally only display information related to the choices they wish to purchase from any particular vendor or supplier. For example, many Internet sites provide a "shopping cart" where the goods the consumer wants to purchase are located, where the consumer can review the list of items that the consumer has just purchased. Unfortunately, this type of service is only desirable to provide information about which items have been selected and purchased, not about which items have been purchased. Another problem with such shopping carts is that consumers cannot purchase all goods and / or services from a single supplier. This is due to the fact that no single e-commerce vendor or e-trailer can provide the complete product / service the consumer needs. In addition, since this is also caused by the following fact: the consumer prefers shopping among various suppliers before making a purchase, the suppliers can be assured that they are getting an optimal or maximum rating. Thus, no matter how large the e-trailer is, the shopping cart does not contain all the purchases that the consumer has made on the computer network.

At other Internet sites, the consumer must type a password and number authenticated by a particular consumer selection that brings up a screen that indicates what item was selected and what the order status is (i.e., gathering and shipping the item, etc.). Unfortunately, these services require consumers to return to their respective vendor sites to determine what choices have been made. In general, a consumer does not have time to return to each vendor site to check what choices have been made, and / or cannot easily use their order number whenever they want to see what choices have been made.

Other sites may provide sales records to consumers by generating an email response confirming that the order has been received and / or shipped. The problem with this type of recordkeeping is that each vendor must send its own confirmation email to the consumer, depending on the sales / selection number, which does not help the consumer in determining what was ordered and chosen. Increase paperwork in large quantities. In addition, e-mail is not always maintained and not easily available. For example, some consumers do not have easy access to email from outside their homes, and it is not possible to retrieve email at such times.

Another problem with the tracking of consumer choices on a computer network is that such choices are updated or the state is constantly changing. For example, when a consumer chooses airfare, many things related to the flight, such as time changes, date changes, flight status changes (ie, on-time, delayed, canceled, etc.) change over time. Can be. Such updates or state changes may be forgotten by the consumer or may not be accepted by the consumer. In addition, consumers can change their travel plans by changing flight numbers, times and dates. In addition, information related to consumer selection is limited in duration of use and does not need to be maintained. For example, if a consumer chooses an airfare ticket, the record of the ticket becomes unnecessary after the ticket is used. If we can't track consumer choices made on a computer network or track and update these consumer choices, then e-commerce won't be an attractive alternative for many consumers.

Therefore, there is a need for an apparatus and method for tracking consumer selection on a computer network, and a device for tracking and updating consumer selection on a computer network is also desired. There is also a need for a system that can track usage / expiration data related to consumer selection on a computer network and a system that can update tracking of information based on usage / expiration data.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for tracking user purchases and selections on a computer network, and more particularly to display and manage customer product records related to consumer purchases and selections made in computer networks in related industries. And an industrial central computer portal.

1 is a block diagram of another apparatus of the present invention.

2 and 3 are paper type definitions for markup documents used in accordance with the present invention shown in FIG.

4 is a flowchart showing a process according to the present invention;

The apparatus according to the present invention provides an apparatus and method for tracking consumer selection on a computer network without the user having to go back to each individual vendor site to determine what choices have been made on the network. Such a device is achieved by providing a remote computer terminal connected to the computer's network, which allows the consumer to access a variety of information and make various decisions from the computer's network. The apparatus also includes an industrial central web portal located within a computer network capable of displaying and managing consumer article records related to past consumer selections made on the network. The industrial central web portal has at least one link to a vendor site located within the network to allow the consumer to more effectively navigate the network. A user identification token is generated by the web portal to identify the user, so that each site visited on the computer network can identify the consumer. The apparatus comprises an advice system; Such a system may identify the consumer with a user authentication token and notify the industrial central web portal of the choices made by the authenticated consumer. The industrial central web portal stores consumer selection information, called consumer product record (CPR), in order. The CPR may be accessed by a consumer to retrieve information related to previous consumer selections made on a computer network; Additional features, such as a link to the vendor site where each consumer selection was made, and / or a picture of the selected item, etc. during the stay at the vendor site.

The method of tracking consumer choice on a computer network in accordance with the present invention begins with the use of a remote computer terminal that provides access to an industrial central web portal. The method of tracking consumer choice on a computer network additionally includes authenticating the consumer after the consumer has access to the industrial central web portal. The web portal identifies the consumer by generating a user authentication token accompanying the user to the computer network. A unique consumer (or user authentication) token is generated each time a new consumer session is created and then stored in session information for the consumer so that everyone participating in the website can identify the consumer. The user authentication token allows each vendor site to identify the consumer and the vendor site can present its content and / or presentation for the identified particular consumer. In particular, the user authentication token can be transmitted from one website to the other using a hypertext transfer protocol GET or POST command.

The industrial central web portal can display and manage consumer article records associated with past consumer selections, which will determine whether the consumer has consumer article records and whether to display the findings. Vendor sites participate in ways to track consumer choices over the network by advising industrial central web portals of the choices that consumers make while staying at the vendor site. Advice is checked by the web portal for precision checks or whether consumer article records have been created or updated. The method includes the web portal issuing an awareness of a vendor site that indicates that the advice has been received and / or indicates whether the information is complete and accurate.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood by the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The method and apparatus for tracking consumer choice on a computer network is accomplished by providing a remote computer terminal connected to the computer's network, where the consumer has access to an industrial central web portal that links to various vendor goods and services on the network. The user authentication token is generated by the web portal to identify the consumer, so that each site visited on the computer network can identify the consumer and confirm their participation in the advice system. According to the advice system, participating vendor sites located on the computer network can identify the visiting consumer by their user authentication token, and the industrial central web portal regarding the choices made by the consumer while the consumer visits the vendor site. You can give advice. The advice information includes what kind of goods / services, how much it costs, how much tax it has, and what date is good. After receiving the advice information, the web portal generates a consumer article record (CPR) related to the selection made by the identified consumer. The CPR is a central record of all the choices made by the consumer on the computer network so that the consumer can access the CPR to retrieve these choices. The CPR includes links to various vendor sites, where consumer choices are made and / or photographs of consumer-selected items, and the like.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus 10 according to the present invention. The device 10 includes a remote computer terminal 12, whereby the consumer can access the industrial central web portal 14 via the computer network 16. An example of a computer network is the Internet, the largest computer network in the world. Other embodiments of the network may include geographically localized networks, such as LANs, or large networks such as wide area networks (WANs). The industrial central web portal 14 has a link to the site 18 of the vendor A, a link to the site 20 of the vendor B, and a link to the site 22 of the vendor n. Each vendor site 18, 20, 22 is located within a network of computers 16 and typically contains information about the vendor and their goods and services. Vendor (n) means the number of sites that are useful if they fall within the operating capacity of a computer network.

The industrial central web portal 14 identifies the consumer by creating a user authentication token 24 accompanying the consumer around the computer network 16. The user authentication token 24 is stored in a file or markup language document 26 that traverses the network from site to site with the consumer, is "taged" according to a standard markup language, and a naming convention. As a naming convention, each vendor site 18, 20, 22 may install and verify the consumer's user authentication token 24. The vendor sites 18, 20, 22 may display the content and / or presentation of the site for the consumer based on the information that the consumer reads from the user authentication token 24.

In particular, a unique consumer token or user authentication token 24 is generated each time a new consumer session is created (a "consumer session" is generated from one consumer across a range of websites or pages that recognize that a transaction can be tracked. Involving a series of transactions). The user authentication token 24 can pass from one website to the other using a hypertext transfer protocol GET or POST command, and a session for the consumer so that all websites participating in the transmission can identify the consumer. Stored in the information. The session information itself is stored in markup language documents readable by all participating websites. The consumer session and its unique user authentication token 24 are destroyed when the user no longer trades, and the specified time frame expires.

The markup language document 26 is used as part of the advice system, where each vendor site advises the industrial central web portal 14 about consumer choices made while the consumer visits the site. In particular, vendor sites 18, 20, 22 update the markup language document 26 to indicate what choices were made, who was the vendor, and who was the consumer; The purchase confirmation number, how many units were purchased, how much was the price, how much was the tax, whether there was a service fee, the expiration date and availability of the item, and a link to the item image. Additional information may also be provided. The markup language document can be set up to track all or some information related to consumer selection. The advice service is based on traditional communication protocols (ie Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP)), such as the industrial standard port 80 implementation, or provides a level of obscurity to the general public. Secure socket layer (SSL) proves that the server can be used to provide more secure communications.

The industrial central web portal 14 checks received markup language documents 26 or request documents and / or validates the information contained in these documents in order to seek completeness. After this operation is completed, the web portal 14 stores the received information as a consumer article record (CPR) in the central repository 28. The consumer can access the CPR through a central industrial portal; The CPR allows the consumer to retrieve some or all of the information received from the vendor, or updated markup language documents 26 or vendor advice; The CPR provides a link to the vendor's site, allowing the consumer to go back to the vendor's site and select again or modify a previously made selection. Vendor-supplied icons and instructions are used to display each item contained in a central repository for the current consumer. This is because, on a computer network, people return to the site, increasing the number of hits received by the web portal, thereby increasing advertising rates and referrals to other vendor sites. To enhance the power of

The central repository 28 contains information relating to consumer selection; By providing a storage and retrieval interface for internal portal applications, consumer article records can be viewed by the consumer in an industrial central web portal 14. The consumer article record may be stored indefinitely, or may expire after a set time has elapsed (ie, x days after the expiration date of the article or the last date when the product can be used). For example, in the airfare ticket selection of the embodiment described above, the CPR is updated to remove the record associated with flight 5 after the ticket is used. Optionally, a medium level consumer article record control chart is used so that after a set time has elapsed, the consumer article record is considered a factual record. This factual record may be increased by the command, but otherwise it may not be displayed on the standard consumer article record. The commodity record expiration period may be controlled by the portal administrator and will include conditional aging logic associated with the item type and consumer support requirements. The maintenance utility application is used to precisely maintain the CPR record, so that items marked as expired after the set time have expired, or are transferred to factual records after the use / lapse of time has occurred. For example, if a consumer purchases an airfare ticket and is marked for use on such a Saturday, the maintenance utility automatically marks the ticket as expired or registers in the factual record.

Web portal 14 is configured to respond to vendor sites 18, 20, 22 as markup language documents 26 are received and recognize whether such documents can be accommodated. The recognition of the industrial central web portal 30 may include a transaction authorization number or purchase confirmation number, recognition indicators (i.e. whether markup language documents are accepted or rejected), recognition instructions or other information relating to the tracked consumer selection. This includes additional information included.

In addition to being able to display and manage past consumer choices made on a computer network, the web portal 14 includes functional vendor icons that correspond to vendor features such as delete, update, review, and the like. For example, the web portal 14 allows a consumer to delete a selection from a particular vendor or to delete the consumer article record itself; Allow the consumer to update consumer article records for a particular vendor; Or simply allow consumers to review their records for a particular vendor. These features are implemented by consumers or vendors. In other embodiments, the airfare ticket vendor may adjust time, date, flight number or other matters related to the flight, and the consumer may purchase or select at such vendor's site. Likewise, a consumer can change his or her itinerary with respect to time, date, flight number, and the like. The web portal 14 updates the CPR to reflect such adjustments or changes, and / or vendors that support the original purchase link to the consumer session markup language document to provide the corresponding feature icon. It may optionally provide a preexisting computer network address (such as a universal resource locator (URL)) for the function.

2 and 3, document definitions (DTDs) defining elements, structures, and rules for markup documents used in accordance with the present invention are shown at 50 and 60. The DTDs 50 and 60 show the structure of the document, and the database outline shows the relationship between the type of information to be handled and the fields. Some markup language developers are dissatisfied with the syntax of markup declarations disclosed in the specification for useful markup languages (eg, HTML, XML, etc.) and suggest that markup languages be included in the description of the documentary structure. Doing. This facilitates editing, allows the outline to be operated by a regular document manipulation tool, and writes error checking codes less. Nevertheless, the DTDs 50 and 60 need not be provided in XML. This use of XML is referred to as DTDless, which can be well formed in XML, but is not valid in XML. Well-formed XML provides a general idea that looks like XML, but it leaves no doubt. The use of DTDs, on the other hand, removes doubt by providing strict standards or definitions for XML documents and assures that valid XML will be used. The DTDs 50, 60 provide a framework for the elements that make up the markup language document or file 26, which accompany it as it proceeds, so that it can be read regardless of the software or hardware used. Indeed, the DTDs 50 and 60 provide an advanced application of notifications of which names and structures can be used in a particular document type.

The first line of DTD 50 notifies the application that this document is an XML document using version 1.0. The remaining information indicates that the text of the document is in US ASCII. The ASCII is a US standard code for information exchange. This is one of the most common coding methods for converting letters, numbers, punctuation marks, and control codes into digital form. In short, the purpose of the first line is to inform the application what format the document is and how it is read, so that the application will know to use it as XML 1.0. The next six lines indicate that the file giport.dtd is version 1.0 and the document is named "DTD for the item tracking portal." The eighth line tells the application that the "root node for product advice" follows. The ninth line marks the "device", the most basic part of the DTD. The device defines the name and shape of the markup tag. As mentioned above, the name of the device is ADVISEMENT, and the child markup tag found in this device is named ADVISE. "+" Indicates that the ADVISE tag must appear at least once. The tenth line represents another DTD fundamental called the "attribute". The attribute is a description provided to the device for further definition. According to this line, the attribute VENDORID is attached to the device ADVISEMENT and is regular text as indicated by CDATA. Information relating to attribute VENDORID requires that the document be accepted by the industrial central web portal 14. Line 11 represents EMPTY, the value of device ADVISE. Lines 12 to 28 have attributes with the GCTOKEN, ACTION, CONF, UNITS, PRICE, TAX, SVCCHG, URL＿CANCEL, URL＿UPDATE, URL＿REVIEW, DATE＿1, DESCRIPTION, URL＿ICON＿IMG, URL＿PROD＿IMG, LAT, and LONG attached to the device ADVISE. (CDATA). All but URLUPDATE, DATE＿2, LAT, and LONG require documents to be accepted by the industrial central web portal 14.

The first line of DTD 60 informs the application that this document is an XML document using version 1.0 and the text of the document is in US ASCII format. The purpose of the first line is to inform the application what format the document is and how it is read, so that the application will know to use it as XML 1.0. The next six lines indicate that the file giport.dtd is version 1.0 and the document is named "DTD for the item tracking portal." The eighth line tells the application that the "root node for product advice" follows. The ninth line marks the "device", the most basic part of the DTD. The device defines the name and shape of the markup tag. As mentioned above, the name of the device is ADVISEMENT, and the child markup tag found in this device is named ADVISE. "+" Indicates that the ADVISE tag must appear at least once. The tenth line represents another DTD fundamental called the "attribute". The attribute is a description provided to the device for further definition. According to this line, the attribute VENDORID is attached to the device ADVISEMENT and is regular text as indicated by CDATA. Information relating to attribute VENDORID requires that the document be accepted by the industrial central web portal 14. Line 11 represents EMPTY, the value of device ADVISE. Lines 12 through 28 have attributes ACTION, CONFIRMATION＿ID, RECLOC, CUST＿ID, PROD＿TYPE＿CODE, UNITS, UNIT＿PRICE, TAX, SVC＿CHARGE, DESCRIPTION, CURRENCY, START＿DATETIME, END＿DATETIME, GEO＿CODE, ORIGN＿LOCATION, DESTINATION, URLDATA, DATEFORM, HOMEFORM , GRAPHIC \ SM \ URL, and GRAPHIC \ MD \ URL are attached to the device ADVISE to indicate that they are regular text (CDATA). The first 12 (from ACTION to START_DATETIME) require documents to be accepted by the industrial central web portal 14. These fields are exemplary only and may contain / require additional or different information.

4 is a flow chart illustrating a device and method for tracking consumer selection on a computer network, shown at 100. In step 1 of this flowchart 100, the consumer 102 accesses the industrial central web portal 104 via a computer network that generates a user authentication token and in turn identifies the consumer. In step (2), the user authentication token carries the user around the network, so that each vendor site 106 visited by the consumer can identify the consumer 102. In step 3, the consumer 102 accesses a vendor site 106 located within the network via a link provided to the industrial central web portal 14. In step 4, the vendor site 106 updates the markup language document accompanying the consumer 102, as well as providing a selection of what the consumer has made and various additional information related to that choice. 104 records the received information in the markup language document, generates a CPR listing the received information, validates the received information, and generates a response in step 5. The web portal response indicates whether the received information contains an error or is incomplete, or indicates whether the received information is complete and valid. In step 6, the vendor site 106 issues a confirmation to the consumer 102 that the consumer's choice has been received. The consumer 102 returns back to the web portal 104, determines whether to visit another vendor site, and links to the particular vendor site. At this time, the entire advice process is repeated.

In accordance with the present invention, it is apparent that the method and apparatus for tracking consumer choice on a computer network fully satisfies the above-mentioned objects and advantages. The present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments, and is not limited thereto, and one of ordinary skill in the art should recognize that various modifications and changes can be made to the present invention without departing from the appended claims.

Claims (7)

In a device that tracks consumer choice on a computer network, A remote computer terminal connected to the computer's network where the consumer has access to a variety of information and where a variety of choices are made from the computer's network An industrial central web portal deployed within a network of computers and capable of displaying and managing consumer product records related to past consumer selections made on the computer network, A user authentication token that is stored in a tag that accompanies the user around the computer network to identify the consumer, A consumer authentication token can be used to identify the consumer and includes an advice system for notifying the industrial central web portal of the choices made by the identified consumer. Wherein said industrial central web portal provides a link to a variety of information located within a network of a computer. 10. The consumer selection tracking device of claim 1, further comprising a central repository for storing consumer article records associated with past consumer selections made on a computer network. In a method of tracking consumer choice on the Internet, Using a remote computer network accessing an industrial central web portal to display and manage consumer product records of past consumer choices via the Internet, Verifying the consumer by generating a user authentication token that accepts users around the Internet in the form of markup tags, Providing at least one link to another URL on the industrial central web portal; Selecting at least one of the provided URL links, Linking the selected URL over the Internet; Advising a central web portal about consumer behavior on the Internet via an XML advice service. 4. The method of claim 3 wherein the selected URL is capable of displaying its content based on information obtained by a user authentication token. 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the industrial central web portal can display and manage consumer article records related to past consumer choices over a set time period. In the method of generating the advertising revenue, Providing a device for tracking consumer choices on a computer network that allows the consumer to access a web portal and reconsider past consumer choices on the network; Providing links to various vendor sites that are located on a computer network on a web portal and provide consumers with a variety of goods and services; A method of generating an advertising revenue comprising charging an advertising fee to a vendor having a link on a web portal. In the method of generating the advertising revenue, Providing a device for tracking consumer choices on a computer network that allows the consumer to access a web portal and reconsider past consumer choices on the network; Providing links to various vendor sites that are located on a computer network on a web portal and provide consumers with a variety of goods and services; And charging a linkage fee corresponding to the money received by the vendor from the consumer connected to the vendor site from the web portal to the vendor having the link on the web portal.