METHOD FOR TRADING CUSTOMER ATTENTION FOR ADVERTISEMENT

摘要

The present invention provides a new approach for distributing advertising and other information over a computer network. Attention brokerage is the business of buying and selling (brokering) the "attention" of consumers. It can be used to provide direct, immediate payment to a consumer for paying attention to an advertisement or other information. Payment mechanisms may include crediting an account or transferring digital cash directly to the consumer's desktop. Orthogonal sponsorship breaks the link between an advertisement and program content, allowing advertisers to explicitly delineate their target audience and offer some form of compensation directly to those viewers willing to view ads in compensation for the viewer's time and attention. This compensation may be used directly or indirectly to compensate the owners of content or may be used for other purposes. The link between the ad and the appropriate viewers is provided by reference to a data base of digitally stored demographic profiles of potential users. Such ads may be viewed as "negatively priced" information because consumers are paid for their attention to the information. Competing advertisers may "bid" for the attention of consumers using automatic electronic systems, e.g. "an auction" protocol. Private profiles may be maintained for different consumers and consumer information may be released only based on consumer permission. Consumers may be compensated for allowing their information to be released. Information can be routed based on demographics. A special icon or other symbol displayed on a computer screen may represent compensation and allow users to choose whether they will view an ad or other information and receive associated compensation. These concepts can be generalized to provide an electronic trading house where buyers and sellers can actively find each other and negotiate transactions. Software agents can actively seek out interested consumers or interested purveyors of information.