Customizable data management system

Abstract

To provide a method, a system, and computer readable media designed to display, to a user, a subset of an item and / or provider information customized for the user.SOLUTION: In a computer system, with an information exchange computer, each data object includes an object identifier, a user identifier, an item identifier or a provider identifier, a user association data object, a global database and a global tracking database. In response to expression of tracking interest for a data object, a target user accesses the global database and a global tracking database and displays data object representation to a follower user via a display interface of a user device of the follower user.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1c

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 047,102, filed Sep. 8, 2014, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Reference is also made to U.S. Patent Application No. 14 / 210,509, filed Mar. 14, 2014, and No. 14 / 208,825, filed Mar. 13, 2014, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present invention relates to a customizable data management system that allows users to personalize their online experiences and allows content providers to collect user information to create targeted online experiences for users. [Background technology]

[0003] Despite the development of various sophisticated methods by online content providers to enhance users' online experiences, a simple and useful system that provides users with a personalized interface based on the user's personal preferences remains elusive. In particular, there is a strong need for a system that efficiently selects, manages, and displays data related to a user's preferences. Furthermore, it is desirable to further enrich a user's online experience by synthesizing a data set that includes both information related to an individual user's personal preferences and information related to preferences shared by that user and one or more members of that user's online social networking community. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0004] The present invention contemplates the following specific embodiments. Various modifications, additions, and alterations may be made to the embodiments described herein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Such modifications, additions, and alterations are intended to fall within the scope of the following claims.

[0005] Embodiments of the present invention are directed to solving technical problems that arise in the context of managing vast amounts of data about items available from item providers, such that users attempting to find a particular item or a provider of a particular item have a simplified experience in their user interface. According to one aspect of the present invention, a data structure is established that enables more efficient data processing of data objects in the data structure to make selected and user-tailored visual representations available in one or more users' graphical user interfaces.

[0006] Another aspect of the present invention provides a facility for tracking both item providers and users in a system having multiple item providers and multiple users, thereby allowing one of the users to be provided with a rich visual representation that is tailored to that user based on the activities performed by the other users and / or providers.

[0007] Accordingly, the present invention provides, in embodiment (a): a computer-implemented method of selecting a data object for interaction with a user in a graphical user interface, the method comprising: receiving, from an item provider, a data stream identifying items available from the item provider; storing the data object in a global database together with a provider identifier that uniquely identifies the item provider; For each item in the stream, storing a data object with an item identifier that uniquely identifies the item; detecting a user's interaction with a representation of the item or item provider's data object in a graphical user interface of the user device and creating a user data object with a user identifier that uniquely identifies the user; creating an association between the user data object and the item and / or item provider's data object in a tracking database; and using the tracking database to select a customized data set of data objects for presentation in the graphical user interface based on the association in the tracking database. In one example, each data object of embodiment (a) is stored with an object identifier that uniquely identifies the object, and the association between the user data object and the item and / or item provider's data object is an association between the object identifiers of the objects. Furthermore, the association of embodiment (a) conforms to a data structure of the association, and the data structure of the association includes respective fields corresponding to the object identifiers. The association may further be an association between the object identifiers and a user identifier, and optionally the data structure of the association includes an additional field for the user identifier. In yet another example of embodiment (a), each data object may conform to an object data structure that includes respective fields for at least a portion of: an object identifier for the object; a user identifier or provider identifier for the creator of the data object; a user identifier, item identifier, or provider identifier for the user, item, or provider to which the data object relates; and additional information for said presentation in a graphical user interface. The method of embodiment (a) may further include, after the item provider creates a new data object associated with the item and / or item provider's data object, updating the customized data set to include the new data object.The global database of embodiment (a) may hold category data objects associated with the item and / or item provider data objects; at least one of the selected data objects is also associated with a category data object in the tracking database, and the data object is selected for inclusion in the customized set based thereon; optionally, the method further includes, after the item provider creates a new data object associated with the category data object, updating the customized set to include the new data object.

[0008] The present invention further provides, in embodiment (b): a computer system comprising: a plurality of user devices, each having a display interface available to a user; a plurality of item providers; a global database of data objects, each data object including a unique object identifier for that object and a user identifier, item identifier, or provider identifier for a user, item, or provider to which the data object relates; (i) an individual provider data table, for each item provider, including a unique provider identifier for that provider and one or more item identifiers for items provided by that provider; (ii) for each user, an individual provider data table, for each user, including a unique provider identifier for that provider and one or more item identifiers for items provided by that provider; and (iii) a customized set of selected data tables for at least a first user, the selected data tables being selected from the user data tables and the provider data tables based on the item identifiers and / or provider identifiers maintained in the first user's data table; and in response to the first user expressing an additional preference for a provider or item by issuing an association instruction on his / her user device, the user identifier of the first user is associated with the provider data table of the first user in response to the first user expressing an additional preference for a provider or item. and an information exchange computer configured to, in response to the first user expressing additional interest in an item or donor, select one or more additional donor data tables and / or user data tables for inclusion in the first user's customized set to update the set, and select at least one data object for display to the first user via a display interface of the first user's user device based on the first user's updated set. The global database of embodiment (b) can hold category data objects, which are associated with data objects including donor identifiers or item identifiers of donors or items in which the user has subsequently expressed interest, and the selected data object is also associated with the category data object in the tracking database.

[0009] Embodiment (c): A computer system is also provided, the computer system including: a plurality of user devices, each having a display interface available to a user; a plurality of item providers; a global database of data objects, each data object including a unique object identifier for the object and a user identifier, item identifier, or provider identifier for a user, item, or provider to which the data object is associated, the data objects including a target user identifier for a target user and a follower user identifier for a user following the target user, the global database being configured to create a new derived data object based on the data object in response to the target user expressing an interest in tracking a data object representation by issuing a tracking command on his or her user device; a global tracking database configured to store an association between the target user's user identifier, the object identifier of the data object, and the object identifier of the created derived data object in response to the target user expressing an interest in tracking the data object; and an information exchange computer configured to access the global database and the global tracking database, and display the derived data object representation to the follower user via a display interface of the follower user's user device in response to the target user expressing an interest in the data object.

[0010] Embodiments (a)-(c) are used to implement the various methods described herein, as well as systems and computer-readable media designed to implement those methods. For example, the following embodiments ((1)-(13)) relate to how embodiments (a)-(c) can be used:

[0011] Embodiment (1): A method of exchanging brand information on a system having (i) a plurality of consumer users, including a first consumer user and one or more other consumer users, and (ii) a plurality of brands, including a first brand, the method including: (a) an operation of receiving the first brand information; (b) an operation of receiving first brand preference information indicating that the first consumer user has expressed a preference for the first brand information; (c) an operation of filtering the first brand information to create a subset of the first brand information to be provided to the first consumer user; (d) an operation of displaying to the first consumer user one or more data object representations associated with the subset of the first brand information; (e) an operation of receiving one or more interactions by the first consumer user with the one or more data object representations associated with the subset of the first brand information; (f) to the first brand: interaction data associated with the first brand and specific to the one or more consumer users; comparative interaction data from a plurality of customer users associated with the first brand compared to one or more other brands on the system; or any combination thereof.

[0012] Embodiment (1) further includes: receiving additional brand information from a plurality of brands; receiving additional brand preference information indicating that the first consumer user has expressed a preference for an additional subset of the additional brand information; filtering the first brand information and the additional brand information to create one or more auxiliary subsets of the additional brand information that are provided to the first consumer user; displaying to the first consumer user one or more data object representations associated with the one or more auxiliary subsets of the additional brand information; and displaying one or more data object representations associated with the one or more auxiliary subsets of the additional brand information. The system may include receiving one or more interactions by a first consumer user with the object representation; and for each additional brand, displaying: (i) interaction data associated with the one or more additional brands and specific to one or more consumer users who have expressed a preference for the one or more additional brand information; (ii) interaction data associated with the one or more additional brands aggregated for a plurality of consumer users on the system; (iii) comparative interaction data from a plurality of consumer users associated with the one or more additional brands compared to one or more other brands on the system; or (iv) a combination thereof.

[0013] Additionally, embodiment (1) may further include displaying to the first consumer user the first brand information not previously displayed on the system to the first consumer user. The displaying step (d) may also include displaying one or more data object representations associated with the subset of the first brand information to one or more other consumer users, the one or more other consumer users having a relationship with the first consumer user.

[0014] The interaction data of embodiment (1) includes data of (i) one or more consumer users among a plurality of consumer users on the system, (ii) a consumer user expressing a preference for one or more interest categories, (iii) one or more consumer users among a plurality of consumer users on the system expressing a preference for a first brand, and (iv) a consumer user expressing a preference for a commercial item of the first brand. (v) the number of all consumer users on the System and / or demographic information relating to such users, or (vi) any combination thereof.

[0015] In embodiment (1), one or more interactions by the first consumer user with the subset of data object representations may include: viewing one or more data object representations in the subset, expressing a preference for one or more data object representations in the subset, commenting on one or more data object representations in the subset, commenting on one or more derived data object representations in the subset, participating in a conversation regarding one or more data object representations in the subset, providing an opinion regarding one or more data object representations in the subset, providing a rating for one or more data object representations in the subset, clicking on one or more data object representations in the subset to view additional details, clicking on one or more data object representations in the subset to view information located at the first brand, participating in a survey regarding one or more data object representations in the subset, and / or interacting with one or more data object representations in the subset. purchasing merchandise items displayed in one or more of the data object representations in the subset from a third party retailer / reseller; purchasing merchandise items displayed in one or more of the data object representations in the subset directly from the first brand; purchasing merchandise items displayed in one or more of the data object representations in the subset from an individual; participating in an auction relating to one or more of the data object representations in the subset; offering merchandise items displayed in one or more of the data object representations in the subset for free, loan, sale, lease, and / or rental; applying to purchase merchandise items displayed in one or more of the data object representations in the subset; requesting that the first brand and / or its authorized retailer / reseller reinstate discontinued merchandise items displayed in one or more of the data object representations in the subset; The method may include suggesting improvements to the first brand, or a combination thereof.

[0016] The interaction data of embodiment (1) includes the number of clicks by consumers of the first brand's data object, the number of impressions by consumers of the first brand's data object, the number of clicks by consumers of the first brand's derived data object, the number of impressions by system consumers of the first brand's derived data object, the total number of clicks by system consumers, the number of system consumer clicks per interest category, the total number of impressions by system consumers, the number of system consumer impressions per interest category, the average click-through rate for the interest categories, seasonal trend data for the interest categories, the average conversion rate, or a combination thereof.

[0017] Demographic information in embodiment (1) includes gender, race, age, income, education, home ownership, location, employment status, shopping history, personal interests, and / or hobbies, or any combination thereof.

[0018] The comparative interaction data of embodiment (1) includes the number and / or demographic information associated with (i) one or more consumer users among a plurality of consumer users on the system, (ii) consumer users who have expressed preferences for one or more interest categories, (iii) one or more consumer users among a plurality of consumer users on the system who have expressed a preference for a first brand, (iv) one or more consumer users on the system who have expressed a preference for product items of the first brand, (v) all consumer users on the system, or (vi) any combination thereof.

[0019] The comparative interaction data of embodiment (1) may further include: a number of clicks by consumers of the data object representation of the first brand, a number of impressions by consumers of the data object representation of the first brand, a number of clicks by consumers of the derived data object representation of the first brand, a number of impressions by consumers of the derived data object representation of the first brand, a total number of clicks by system consumers, a number of clicks by system consumers per interest category, a total number of impressions by system consumers, a number of impressions by system consumers per interest category, an average click-through rate for the interest categories, seasonal trend data for the interest categories, an average conversion rate, or a combination thereof.

[0020] The comparative interaction data of embodiment (1) is optionally collected over a defined time period, for example, the defined time period during which the first brand and / or competitors of the first brand participate in the system.

[0021] The comparative interaction data of the first embodiment further includes a first brand associated with a plurality of brands. and / or brand rank data for a first brand relative to one or more competing brands of the plurality of brands.

[0022] The first brand information of the embodiment (1) includes general brand information including one or more brand trademarks, one or more brand logos, information related to one or more merchandise item logos, brand description, interest categories associated with the brand, brand media, brand purchase information, retail information, brand promotion information, information related to brands in the brand portfolio, related brand description, related brand products, or combinations thereof. For example, the brand media includes brand specific video files, brand specific audio files, or print media, and / or the brand specific explanatory documents and information includes one or more literature references, reviews, links to blogs, press releases, links to forums, or combinations thereof. The first brand information of the embodiment (1) also includes merchandise item information of the first brand including information related to one or more merchandise item trademarks, merchandise item description information, merchandise item media, merchandise item purchase information, merchandise item retail information, merchandise item promotion information, related first brand products, or combinations thereof.

[0023] The product item description information of embodiment (1) includes an image of the item, one or more item-specific explanatory documents and information, one or more product item reviews, product item ratings, or a combination thereof. For example, the product item media includes a product item-specific video file, a product item-specific audio file, or print media; the product item-specific explanatory documents and information includes one or more literature references, reviews, links to blogs, press releases, links to forums, or a combination thereof.

[0024] In embodiment (1), the first brand preference information includes a system tracking preference for the first brand information, and the method further includes filtering the first brand information to create a first auxiliary subset of the first brand information that is provided to a first consumer user who has expressed a system tracking preference for the first brand information; and displaying to the first consumer user one or more derived data object representations associated with the first auxiliary subset of the first brand information, the one or more derived data objects being associated with the one or more data objects in the system.

[0025] The method of embodiment (1) further includes the steps of receiving first consumer user preference information indicating that other consumer users have a system tracking preference for the first consumer user; filtering the first brand information to create a second subsidiary subset of the first brand information provided to other consumer users who have expressed a system tracking preference for the first consumer user; and displaying one or more data object representations and / or derived data object representations associated with the second subsidiary subset of the first brand information to the other consumer users. The method of embodiment (1) may also include the steps of receiving first consumer user preference information indicating that the first brand user has a system tracking preference for the first consumer user; filtering the first brand information to create a third subsidiary subset of the first brand information provided to the first brand users who have expressed a system tracking preference for the first consumer user; and displaying one or more data object representations and / or derived data object representations associated with the third subsidiary subset of the first brand information to the first brand user.

[0026] In embodiment (1), the system tracking preferences are expressed by following and / or listing data object representations and / or derived data object representations. can be.

[0027] The method of embodiment (1) may further include receiving additional brand preference information indicating that other brands of the plurality of brands have a preference for the first consumer user; and displaying one or more data object representations associated with the subset of the first brand information to the other brands. In one example of embodiment (1), the preference is expressed as following, listing, friending, and / or "liking" the data object representation and / or the derived data object representation. The system tracking preference may be selected from following and / or listing the data object representation and / or the derived data object representation. For example, when the first consumer user expresses a system tracking preference for a data object representation, a derived data object based on the data object may be generated, and the derived data object may be associated in the system with the data object and the first consumer user. When the first brand user expresses a system tracking preference for a data object representation, a derived data object based on the data object may be generated, and the derived data object may be associated in the system with the data object and the first brand user. In certain examples, making a change to a data object may generate changes to all derived data objects of that data object. The change may include editing one or more data object elements, adding to the data object, deleting one or more data object elements, adding a comment about the data object, or a combination thereof.

[0028] The system of embodiment (1) may include a first brand user, and the method may further include the steps of: displaying to the first brand user interaction data associated with a plurality of consumer users who have expressed a preference for the first brand information; displaying to the first brand user a subset of the data object representations displayed to the first consumer user; receiving subset preference information indicating that the first brand user has expressed a preference for one or more data object representations in the subset; and displaying to the first brand user interactions with the first consumer user and the subset of the data object representations displayed to the first brand user.

[0029] The method of embodiment (1) may further include receiving additional first brand information in response to the first brand interaction data and / or the first brand comparison interaction data. The additional first brand information may include brand media, brand purchase information, retail information, brand promotional information, one or more brand specific explanatory documents and information, one or more brand reviews, brand ratings, product item media, product item purchase information, product item retail information, product item promotional information, one or more item specific explanatory documents and information, one or more product item reviews, product item ratings, or combinations thereof.

[0030] Embodiment (1)(a) relates to a subset of first brand information created by the method of embodiment (1), and embodiment (1)(b) relates to a subset of data object representations displayed to a first consumer user by the method of embodiment (1).

[0031] Embodiment (2): A system including at least one processor, the processor: receiving first brand information; receiving first brand preference information indicating that a first consumer user has expressed a preference for the first brand information; filtering the first brand information to create a subset of the first brand information to be provided to the first consumer user; displaying one or more data object representations associated with the subset of the first brand information to the first consumer user; and filtering the first brand information to generate a subset of the first brand information to be provided to the first consumer user. the system is programmed to receive one or more interactions by a first consumer user with a subset of the object representations; and display, for the first brand: interaction data associated with the first brand and specific to one or more consumer users; interaction data associated with the first brand aggregated for a plurality of consumer users on the system; comparative interaction data from a plurality of consumer users associated with the first brand compared to one or more other brands on the system; or a combination thereof.

[0032] The processor of embodiment (2) further comprises: receiving additional brand information from the plurality of brands; receiving additional brand preference information indicating that the first consumer user has expressed a preference for the additional subset of the additional brand information; filtering the first brand information and the additional brand information to create one or more auxiliary subsets of the additional brand information to be provided to the first consumer user; displaying one or more data object representations associated with the one or more auxiliary subsets of the additional brand information to the first consumer user; and displaying one or more data object tables associated with the one or more auxiliary subsets of the additional brand information. and for each additional brand, display: (i) interaction data associated with the one or more additional brands and specific to one or more consumer users expressing a preference for the one or more additional brand information; (ii) interaction data associated with the one or more additional brands aggregated for a plurality of consumer users on the system; (iii) comparative interaction data from a plurality of consumer users associated with the one or more additional brands compared to one or more other brands on the system; or (iv) a combination thereof. The processor may be further programmed to display to the first consumer user the first brand information not previously displayed to the first consumer user on the system. The processor may be further programmed to display one or more data object representations associated with a subset of the first brand information to one or more other consumer users, the one or more other consumer users having a relationship with the first consumer user.

[0033] The interaction data of embodiment (2) may include the number and / or demographic information associated with (i) one or more consumer users among a plurality of consumer users on the system, (ii) consumer users who have expressed preferences for one or more interest categories, (iii) one or more consumer users among a plurality of consumer users on the system who have expressed a preference for a first brand, (iv) one or more consumer users on the system who have expressed a preference for product items of the first brand, (v) all consumer users on the system, or (vi) any combination thereof.

[0034] In embodiment (2), the one or more interactions by the first consumer user with the subset of the data object representations include: viewing one or more of the data object representations in the subset, expressing a preference for one or more of the data object representations in the subset, commenting on one or more of the data object representations in the subset, commenting on one or more derived data object representations in the subset, participating in a conversation regarding one or more of the data object representations in the subset, providing an opinion regarding one or more of the data object representations in the subset, providing a rating for one or more of the data object representations in the subset, clicking on one or more of the data object representations in the subset to view additional details, clicking on one or more of the data object representations in the subset to view information located on the first brand, participating in a survey regarding one or more of the data object representations in the subset. requesting more information from the first brand regarding one or more of the data object representations in the subset; purchasing merchandise items displayed in one or more of the data object representations in the subset from a third party retailer / reseller; purchasing merchandise items displayed in one or more of the data object representations in the subset directly from the first brand; purchasing merchandise items displayed in one or more of the data object representations in the subset from an individual; participating in an auction for one or more of the data object representations in the subset; offering merchandise items displayed in one or more of the data object representations in the subset for free, loan, sale, lease, and / or rental; applying to purchase merchandise items displayed in one or more of the data object representations in the subset; requesting that the first brand and / or its authorized retailer / reseller reinstate discontinued merchandise items displayed in one or more of the data object representations in the subset; suggesting product ideas, modifications, and / or improvements to the first brand regarding one or more of the data object representations in the subset, or any combination thereof.

[0035] The interaction data used in embodiment (2) includes consumer clicks of the data object representation of the first brand, consumer impressions of the data object representation of the first brand, consumer clicks of the derived data object representation of the first brand, system consumer impressions of the derived data object representation of the first brand, total clicks by system consumers, system consumer clicks by interest category, total impressions by system consumers, system consumer impressions by interest category, average click-through rate for interest categories, seasonal trend data for interest categories, average conversion rate, or combinations thereof. Similarly, the demographic information used in embodiment (2) includes gender, race, age, income, education, home ownership, location, employment status, shopping history, personal interests, and / or hobbies, or combinations thereof.

[0036] In embodiment (2), the comparative interaction data for a first brand compared to a plurality of brands on the system and / or a subset of a plurality of brands on the system includes the number and / or demographic information associated with (i) one or more consumer users among a plurality of consumer users on the system, (ii) consumer users who have expressed a preference for one or more interest categories, (iii) one or more consumer users among a plurality of consumer users on the system who have expressed a preference for the first brand, (iv) one or more consumer users on the system who have expressed a preference for product items of the first brand, (v) all consumer users on the system, or (vi) any combination thereof. The comparative interaction data also includes consumer clicks of the first brand's data object representation, consumer impressions of the first brand's data object representation, consumer clicks of the first brand's derived data object representation, consumer impressions of the first brand's derived data object representation, total clicks by system consumers, system consumer clicks per interest category, total impressions by system consumers, system consumer impressions per interest category, average click-through rates for interest categories, seasonal trend data for interest categories, average conversion rates, or combinations thereof. Demographic information used in this particular example includes gender, race, age, income, education, home ownership, location, employment status, shopping history, personal interests, and / or hobbies, or combinations thereof.

[0037] In embodiment (2), the comparative interaction data is collected over a defined time period, for example, during which the first brand and / or the first brand's competitors participate in the system. It is possible.

[0038] Furthermore, the comparative interaction data in embodiment (2) may further include brand ranking data of a first brand associated with the multiple brands, for example, the comparative interaction data may further include brand ranking data of a first brand associated with one or more competing brands among the multiple brands.

[0039] The first brand information of embodiment (2) includes general brand information including one or more brand trademarks, one or more brand logos, information related to the logos of one or more merchandise items, a brand description, interest categories associated with the brand, brand media, brand purchase information, retail information, brand promotion information, information related to brands in the brand portfolio, related brand descriptions, related brand products, or combinations thereof. In this particular embodiment, the brand description information includes brand images, one or more brand-specific explanatory documents and information, one or more brand reviews, brand ratings, or combinations thereof. The brand media includes brand-specific video files, brand-specific audio files, or print media; the brand-specific explanatory documents and information includes one or more literature references, reviews, links to blogs, press releases, links to forums, or combinations thereof.

[0040] The first brand information of embodiment (2) may include first brand product item information including one or more of product item trademarks, product item description information, product item media, product item purchase information, product item retail information, product item promotion information, related first brand products, or combinations thereof. In this example, the product item description information includes an image of the item, one or more item specific explanatory documentation and information, one or more product item reviews, product item ratings, or combinations thereof; the product item media includes a product item specific video file, a product item specific audio file, or print media; and / or the product item specific explanatory documentation and information includes one or more literature references, reviews, links to blogs, press releases, links to forums, or combinations thereof.

[0041] In embodiment (2), the first brand preference information includes a system tracking preference for the first brand information, and the processor is further programmed to: filter the first brand information to create a first auxiliary subset of the first brand information to be provided to a first consumer user who has expressed a system tracking preference for the first brand information; and display to the first consumer user one or more derived data object representations associated with the first auxiliary subset of the first brand information, the one or more derived data objects being associated with the one or more data objects in the system.

[0042] The processor of embodiment (2) may be further programmed to: receive first consumer user preference information indicating that other consumer users have a system tracking preference for the first consumer user; filter the first brand information to create a second auxiliary subset of the first brand information to be provided to other consumer users who have expressed a system tracking preference for the first consumer user; and display one or more data object representations and / or derived data object representations associated with the second auxiliary subset of the first brand information to the other consumer users. The processor of this embodiment (2) may be further programmed to receive first consumer user preference information indicating that the first brand user has a system tracking preference for the first consumer user; filter the first brand information to create a second auxiliary subset of the first brand information to be provided to other consumer users who have expressed a system tracking preference for the first consumer user. and displaying to the first brand user one or more data object representations and / or derived data object representations associated with the third subsidiary subset of the first brand information.

[0043] The system tracking preferences used in embodiment (2) are expressed by following and / or listing data object representations and / or derived data object representations.

[0044] The processor of embodiment (2) may be further programmed to receive additional brand preference information indicating that other brands of the plurality of brands have preferences for the first consumer user; and display one or more data object representations associated with the subset of the first brand information to the other brands. For example, the preference may be expressed as following, listing, friending, and / or "liking" the data object representation and / or derived data object representation. The preference may be a system tracked preference selected from following and / or listing the data object representation and / or derived data object representation.

[0045] The processor of embodiment (2) may be further programmed to generate a derived data object in response to a first consumer user expressing a system tracking preference for a data object representation, and to associate the derived data object with the data object and the first consumer user in the system. The processor of this embodiment may also be programmed to generate a derived data object in response to a first brand user expressing a system tracking preference for a data object representation, and to associate the derived data object with the data object and the first brand user in the system.

[0046] The system of embodiment (2) may also include a first brand user, and the processor is further programmed to: display, to the first brand user, interaction data associated with a plurality of consumer users who have expressed a preference for the first brand information; display, to the first brand user, a subset of the data object representations displayed to the first consumer user; receive subset preference information indicating that the first brand user has expressed a preference for one or more data object representations in the subset; and display, to the first brand user, interactions with the first consumer user and the subset of the data object representations displayed to the first brand user.

[0047] Furthermore, the processor of embodiment (2) can be further programmed to receive additional first brand information in response to the first brand interaction data and / or the first brand comparison interaction data, for example the additional first brand information including brand media, brand purchase information, retail information, brand promotional information, one or more brand-specific explanatory documents and information, one or more brand reviews, brand ratings, product item media, product item purchase information, product item retail information, product item promotional information, one or more item-specific explanatory documents and information, one or more product item reviews, product item ratings, or combinations thereof.

[0048] Embodiment (2)(a) is a subset of first brand information created in the system of embodiment (2).Embodiment (2)(b) is a subset of data object representations displayed to a first consumer user in the system of embodiment (2).

[0049] Embodiment (3): At least one computer-readable storage medium having recorded thereon instructions that, when executed by at least one computer, perform a method of exchanging brand information on a system having (i) a plurality of consumer users including a first consumer user and (ii) a plurality of brands including a first brand, the method including: an act of receiving the first brand information; an act of receiving first brand preference information indicating that the first consumer user has expressed a preference for the first brand information; an act of filtering the first brand information to create a subset of the first brand information provided to the first consumer user; and an act of filtering the subset of the first brand information. the first brand information subset; and displaying, to the first consumer user, one or more data object representations associated with the subset of the first brand information; for the first brand, interaction data associated with the first brand and specific to one or more consumer users; interaction data associated with the first brand aggregated for a plurality of consumer users on the system; comparative interaction data from a plurality of consumer users associated with the first brand compared to one or more other brands on the system; or combinations thereof.

[0050] The method of at least one computer-readable storage medium of embodiment (3) further includes: receiving additional brand information from a plurality of brands; receiving additional brand preference information indicating that the first consumer user has expressed a preference for the additional subset of the additional brand information; filtering the first brand information and the additional brand information to create one or more auxiliary subsets of the additional brand information to be provided to the first consumer user; displaying to the first consumer user one or more data object representations associated with the one or more auxiliary subsets of the additional brand information; The method may include receiving one or more interactions by a first consumer user with one or more data object representations; and for each additional brand, displaying: (i) interaction data associated with the one or more additional brands and specific to one or more consumer users who have expressed a preference for the one or more additional brand information; (ii) interaction data associated with the one or more additional brands aggregated for a plurality of consumer users on the system; (iii) comparative interaction data from a plurality of consumer users associated with the one or more additional brands compared to one or more other brands on the system; or (iv) a combination thereof. Additionally, the method may also include displaying to the first consumer user the first brand information not previously displayed on the system to the first consumer user.

[0051] The display step of at least one computer-readable storage medium of embodiment (3) may also include a step of displaying one or more data object representations associated with the subset of the first brand information to one or more other consumer users, the one or more other consumer users having a relationship with the first consumer user.

[0052] The interaction data of embodiment (3) may include the number and / or demographic information associated with (i) one or more consumer users among a plurality of consumer users on the system, (ii) consumer users who have expressed preferences for one or more interest categories, (iii) one or more consumer users among a plurality of consumer users on the system who have expressed a preference for a first brand, (iv) one or more consumer users on the system who have expressed a preference for product items of the first brand, (v) all consumer users on the system, or (vi) any combination thereof.

[0053] In embodiment (3), the one or more interactions by the first consumer user with the subset of data object representations include: viewing one or more data object representations in the subset, expressing a preference for one or more data object representations in the subset, commenting on one or more data object representations in the subset, commenting on one or more derived data object representations in the subset, participating in a conversation regarding one or more data object representations in the subset, providing an opinion regarding one or more data object representations in the subset, providing a rating for one or more data object representations in the subset, clicking on one or more data object representations in the subset to view additional details, clicking on one or more data object representations in the subset to view information located on the first brand, participating in a survey regarding one or more data object representations in the subset, request more information from the first brand regarding one or more of the data object representations in the subset; purchase merchandise items displayed in one or more of the data object representations in the subset from a third party retailer / reseller; purchase merchandise items displayed in one or more of the data object representations in the subset directly from the first brand; purchase merchandise items displayed in one or more of the data object representations in the subset from an individual; participate in an auction for one or more of the data object representations in the subset; offer merchandise items displayed in one or more of the data object representations in the subset for free, on loan, for sale, lease, and / or rental; apply to purchase merchandise items displayed in one or more of the data object representations in the subset; request that the first brand and / or its authorized retailer / reseller reinstate discontinued merchandise items displayed in one or more of the data object representations in the subset;This may include proposing product ideas, improvements, and / or modifications to the first brand related to one or more of the data object representations in the subset, or any combination thereof.

[0054] The interaction data of embodiment (3) may also include the number of clicks by consumers of the data object representation of the first brand, the number of impressions by consumers of the data object representation of the first brand, the number of clicks by consumers of the derived data object representation of the first brand, the number of impressions by system consumers of the derived data object representation of the first brand, the total number of clicks by system consumers, the number of clicks by system consumers per interest category, the total number of impressions by system consumers, the number of impressions by system consumers per interest category, the average click-through rate for the interest categories, seasonal trend data for the interest categories, the average conversion rate, or combinations thereof.

[0055] Demographic information for use in connection with embodiment (3) may include gender, race, age, income, education, home ownership, location, employment status, shopping history, personal interests, and / or hobbies, or any combination thereof.

[0056] Additionally, the comparative interaction data for a first brand compared to a plurality of brands on the system and / or a subset of a plurality of brands on the system used in embodiment (3) may include the number and / or demographic information associated with: (i) one or more consumer users of a plurality of consumer users on the system; (ii) consumer users who have expressed a preference for one or more interest categories; (iii) one or more consumer users of a plurality of consumer users on the system who have expressed a preference for the first brand; (iv) one or more consumer users on the system who have expressed a preference for merchandise items of the first brand; or (v) all consumer users on the system. or (vi) combinations thereof. Further, the comparative interaction data may include clicks by consumers of the data object representation of the first brand, impressions by consumers of the data object representation of the first brand, clicks by consumers of the derived data object representation of the first brand, impressions by consumers of the derived data object representation of the first brand, total clicks by system consumers, clicks by system consumers per interest category, total impressions by system consumers, impressions by system consumers per interest category, average click-through rates for interest categories, seasonal trend data for interest categories, average conversion rates, or combinations thereof. In one example of embodiment (3), the comparative interaction data is collected over a defined time period, e.g., the defined time period is a period during which the first brand and / or competitors of the first brand participate in the system.

[0057] The comparative interaction data of embodiment (3) further includes brand ranking data of a first brand associated with the multiple brands, for example, the comparative interaction data further includes brand ranking data of a first brand associated with one or more competing brands among the multiple brands.

[0058] The first brand information of embodiment (3) includes general brand information including one or more brand trademarks, one or more brand logos, information related to the logos of one or more merchandise items, a brand description, interest categories associated with the brand, brand media, brand purchasing information, retail information, brand promotional information, information related to brands in the brand portfolio, associated brand descriptions, associated brand products, or combinations thereof.

[0059] The brand descriptive information of embodiment (3) includes a brand image, one or more brand-specific explanatory documents and information, one or more brand reviews, brand ratings, or a combination thereof. For example, the brand media may include a brand-specific video file, a brand-specific audio file, or print media; the brand-specific explanatory documents and information may include one or more literature references, reviews, links to blogs, press releases, links to forums, or a combination thereof.

[0060] The first brand information of embodiment (3) includes first brand product item information including one or more product item trademarks, product item description information, product item media, product item purchase information, product item retail information, product item promotion information, related first brand products, or combinations thereof. For example, the product item description information includes an image of the item, one or more item specific explanatory documents and information, one or more product item reviews, product item ratings, or combinations thereof. Further, the product item media includes product item specific video files, product item specific audio files, or print media; the product item specific explanatory documents and information includes one or more literature references, reviews, links to blogs, press releases, links to forums, or combinations thereof.

[0061] In embodiment (3), the first brand preference information includes a system tracking preference for the first brand information, and the method further includes filtering the first brand information to create a first auxiliary subset of the first brand information that is provided to a first consumer user that has expressed a system tracking preference for the first brand information; and displaying to the first consumer user one or more derived data object representations associated with the first auxiliary subset of the first brand information, the one or more derived data objects being associated with the one or more data objects in the system.

[0062] At least one computer-readable storage medium of embodiment (3) further includes receiving first consumer user preference information indicating that other consumer users have a system tracking preference for the first consumer user; filtering the first brand information to create a second auxiliary subset of the first brand information that is provided to other consumer users who have expressed a system tracking preference for the first consumer user; and displaying one or more data object representations and / or derived data object representations associated with the second auxiliary subset of the first brand information to the other consumer users.

[0063] Furthermore, the at least one computer-readable storage medium of embodiment (3) further includes receiving first consumer user preference information indicating that the first brand user has a system tracking preference for the first consumer user; filtering the first brand information to create a third auxiliary subset of the first brand information provided to the first brand user who has expressed a system tracking preference for the first consumer user; and displaying to the first brand user one or more data object representations and / or derived data object representations associated with the third auxiliary subset of the first brand information. The system tracking preference of embodiment (3) can be expressed by following and / or listing the data object and / or derived data object. The at least one computer-readable storage medium of embodiment (3) further includes receiving additional brand preference information indicating that other brands of the plurality of brands have a preference for the first consumer user; and displaying to the other brands one or more data object representations associated with the subset of the first brand information. In this example, the preference is expressed as following, listing, friending, and / or "liking" the data object and / or derived data object. In one particular example, the preference is a system tracking preference selected from following and / or listing the data object and / or derived data object. In yet another example, when a first consumer user expresses a system tracking preference for a data object representation, a derived data object based on the data object is generated and the derived data object is associated in the system with the data object, the first consumer user, and one or more other consumer users who have a relationship with the first consumer user.Additionally or alternatively, when a first brand user expresses a system tracking preference for a data object representation, a derived data object based on the data object is generated, and the derived data object is associated in the system with the data object, the first brand user, and one or more other consumer users and / or brand users having a relationship with the first brand user. For example, making a change to a data object generates changes to all derived data objects of the data object, where the change may include, for example, editing one or more data object elements, adding to the data object, deleting one or more data object elements, adding a comment about the data object, or a combination thereof.

[0064] The system of at least one computer-readable storage medium of embodiment (3) includes a first brand user, and the method further includes the steps of: displaying interaction data associated with a plurality of consumer users who have expressed a preference for the first brand information to the first brand user; displaying a subset of the data object representations displayed to the first consumer user to the first brand user; receiving subset preference information indicating that the first brand user has expressed a preference for one or more data object representations in the subset; and displaying interactions with the first consumer user and the subset of the data object representations displayed to the first brand user to the first brand user.

[0065] At least one computer-readable storage medium of embodiment (3) can also include receiving additional first brand information (a) related to the general first brand information and / or the first brand's merchandise items; and (b) responsive to the first brand interaction data and / or the first brand comparison interaction data. For example, the additional first brand information includes brand media, brand purchase information, retail information, brand promotional information, one or more brand-specific explanatory documents and information, one or more brand reviews, brand ratings, merchandise item media, merchandise item purchase information, merchandise item retail information, merchandise item promotional information, one or more item-specific explanatory documents and information, one or more merchandise item reviews, merchandise item ratings, or combinations thereof.

[0066] Embodiment (3)(a): A first subset of brand information created by at least one computer-readable storage medium of embodiment (3).

[0067] Embodiment (3)(b): A subset of the data object representations displayed to a first consumer user by at least one computer-readable storage medium of embodiment (3).

[0068] Embodiment (4): A method for exchanging information on a system having a plurality of consumer users including a first consumer user, the method including: an operation of receiving information indicating that the first consumer user has a preference for a certain product item and / or brand; an operation of receiving item and / or brand information provided by at least some of the plurality of consumer users and / or brands associated with the product item and / or brand; an operation of filtering the item and / or brand information to create a subset of item and / or brand information provided to the first consumer user; and an operation of displaying one or more data object representations associated with the subset of item and / or brand information to the first consumer user.

[0069] The method of embodiment (4) further includes: receiving additional brand information from a plurality of brands; receiving additional brand preference information indicating that the first consumer user has expressed a preference for the additional subset of the additional brand information; filtering the first brand information and the additional brand information to create one or more subsidiary subsets of the additional brand information that are provided to the first consumer user; displaying one or more data object representations associated with the one or more subsidiary subsets of the additional brand information to the first consumer user; and displaying one or more data object representations associated with the one or more subsidiary subsets of the additional brand information to the first consumer user. The system may include receiving one or more interactions by a first consumer user with a data object representation; and for each additional brand, displaying: (i) interaction data associated with the one or more additional brands and specific to one or more consumer users who have expressed a preference for the one or more additional brand information; (ii) interaction data associated with the one or more additional brands aggregated for a plurality of consumer users on the system; (iii) comparative interaction data from a plurality of consumer users associated with the one or more additional brands compared to one or more other brands on the system; or (iv) a combination thereof.

[0070] Additionally, the method of embodiment (4) may further include displaying to the first consumer user the first brand information not previously displayed to the first consumer user on the system. The displaying step (d) of this embodiment may also include displaying one or more data object representations associated with the subset of the first brand information to one or more other consumer users, where the one or more other consumer users have a relationship with the first consumer user.

[0071] Embodiment (4) may also include receiving additional information related to the product items and / or brands; filtering the additional item and / or brand information to create an additional subset of the additional item and / or brand information that is provided to consumer users within a group of consumer users interested in the product items and / or brands; and displaying one or more derived data object representations related to the additional subset of the additional item and / or brand information to the first consumer user.

[0072] In embodiment (4), the one or more data object representations may be displayed in an order based at least in part on an order in which item and / or brand information is received from consumer users of a group of consumer users having a relationship with the first consumer user. Alternatively, or in addition, the one or more data object representations may be displayed in an order based at least in part on an order in which information is received indicating an interest of the first consumer user in the corresponding one or more merchandise items and / or brands. Further, in embodiment (4), a separate data object is displayed for each merchandise item and / or brand selected by the first consumer user.

[0073] Embodiment (4)(a): A first subset of brand information created by the method of embodiment (4).

[0074] Embodiment (4)(b): A subset of the data object representations displayed to the first consumer user in the method of embodiment (4).

[0075] Embodiment (5): A system including at least one processor, the processor being programmed to: receive information indicating that a first consumer user is interested in a product item and / or brand; receive item and / or brand information provided by at least a portion of a plurality of consumer users related to the product item and / or brand; filter the item and / or brand information to create a subset of the item and / or brand information provided by the first consumer user; and display one or more data object representations related to the subset of item and / or brand information to the first consumer user.

[0076] In the system of embodiment (5), the processor further comprises: receiving additional brand information from the plurality of brands; receiving additional brand preference information indicating that the first consumer user has expressed a preference for the additional subset of the additional brand information; filtering the first brand information and the additional brand information to create one or more auxiliary subsets of the additional brand information to be provided to the first consumer user; displaying to the first consumer user one or more data object representations associated with the one or more auxiliary subsets of the additional brand information; and displaying to the first consumer user one or more data object representations associated with the one or more auxiliary subsets of the additional brand information. The system may be programmed to receive one or more interactions by a first consumer user with the object representations and, for each additional brand, display: (i) interaction data associated with the one or more additional brands and specific to one or more consumer users who have expressed a preference for the one or more additional brand information; (ii) interaction data associated with the one or more additional brands aggregated for a plurality of consumer users on the system; (iii) comparative interaction data from a plurality of consumer users associated with the one or more additional brands compared to one or more other brands on the system; or (iv) any combination thereof. The processor may be programmed to display to the first consumer user first brand information not previously displayed to the first consumer user on the system. It can also be programmed to display

[0077] In the system of embodiment (5), the processor may be further programmed to display one or more data object representations associated with the subset of the first brand information to one or more other consumer users, the one or more other consumer users having a relationship with the first consumer user.

[0078] The processor of embodiment (5) may be further programmed to receive additional information related to the product items and / or brands provided by at least a portion of the plurality of consumer users related to the product items and / or brands; filter the additional item and / or brand information to create an additional subset of the additional item and / or brand information to be provided to consumer users included in a group of consumer users having a relationship with the first consumer user; and display one or more derived data object representations related to the additional subset of the additional item and / or brand information to the first consumer user.

[0079] One or more derived data objects of embodiment (5) may be associated with one or more of the data objects described above in the system.

[0080] The processor of embodiment (5) may be programmed to display the one or more data object representations in an order based at least in part on an order in which item information is received from consumer users of a group of consumer users having a relationship with the first consumer user. Additionally or alternatively, the processor may be programmed to display the one or more data object representations in an order based at least in part on an order in which information indicating an interest of the first consumer user in the corresponding one or more merchandise items is received. In a particular example of embodiment (5), the processor is programmed to display a separate data object for each merchandise item selected by the first consumer user.

[0081] Embodiment (5)(a): A subset of first brand information created by the system of embodiment (5).

[0082] Embodiment (5)(b): A subset of the data object representations displayed to a first consumer user in the system of embodiment (5).

[0083] Embodiment (6): At least one computer-readable storage medium having instructions recorded thereon that, when executed by at least one computer, perform a method for use in a system having a plurality of consumer users, including a first consumer user, the method including: receiving information indicating that the first consumer user has a preference for a certain product item and / or brand; receiving item and / or brand information provided by at least a portion of a plurality of consumer users and / or brands associated with the product item and / or brand; filtering the item and / or brand information to create a subset of item and / or brand information provided to the first consumer user; and displaying to the first consumer user one or more data object representations associated with the subset of item and / or brand information.

[0084] The method performed by at least one computer-readable storage medium of embodiment (6) further includes the steps of: receiving additional brand information from a plurality of brands; and detecting that the first consumer user has expressed a preference for an additional subset of the additional brand information. The system may include receiving additional brand preference information indicative of a first consumer user's preferences for one or more additional brands; filtering the first brand information and the additional brand information to create one or more auxiliary subsets of the additional brand information to be provided to the first consumer user; displaying one or more data object representations associated with the one or more auxiliary subsets of the additional brand information to the first consumer user; receiving one or more interactions by the first consumer user with the one or more data object representations associated with the one or more auxiliary subsets of the additional brand information; and for each additional brand, displaying: (i) interaction data associated with the one or more additional brands and specific to one or more consumer users who have expressed a preference for the one or more additional brand information; (ii) interaction data associated with the one or more additional brands aggregated for a plurality of consumer users on the system; (iii) comparative interaction data from a plurality of consumer users associated with the one or more additional brands compared to one or more other brands on the system; or (iv) a combination thereof. Optionally, the method further includes displaying to the first consumer user first brand information not previously displayed to the first consumer user on the system.

[0085] The displaying step of embodiment (6) may also include displaying one or more data object representations associated with the subset of the first brand information to one or more other consumer users, where the one or more other consumer users have a relationship with the first consumer user. Additionally, embodiment (6) may further include receiving additional information associated with the product items and / or brands provided from at least a portion of the plurality of consumer users associated with the product items and / or brands; filtering the additional item and / or brand information to create an additional subset of additional item and / or brand information provided to consumer users included in a group of consumer users that have a relationship with the first consumer user; and displaying one or more derived data object representations associated with the subset of the additional item and / or brand information to the first consumer user.

[0086] At least one computer-readable storage medium of embodiment (6) may further include a step of displaying one or more data object representations in an order based at least in part on an order in which item information is received from consumer users of a group of users having a relationship with the first consumer user; a step of displaying one or more data object representations in an order based at least in part on an order in which information indicating that the first consumer user is interested in the corresponding one or more product items is received; or a step of displaying an individual data object for each product item selected by the first consumer user.

[0087] Embodiment (6)(a): A first subset of brand information created by at least one computer-readable storage medium of embodiment (6).

[0088] Embodiment (6)(b): A subset of the data object representations displayed to a first consumer user by at least one computer-readable storage medium of embodiment (6).

[0089] Embodiment (7): A method of exchanging information between a first brand and a first consumer user on a system, the system including: (a) a plurality of consumer users including the first consumer user; and (b) a plurality of brands including the first brand, the system configured to receive, filter, and / or display information related to the first consumer user, the first brand, the plurality of consumer users, the plurality of brands, merchandise items, interaction data, comparative interaction data, and combinations thereof; the method comprising: the first brand viewing interaction data associated with a plurality of consumer users who have expressed a preference to purchase additional first brand information; and providing additional first brand information in response to the first brand interaction data.

[0090] The method of embodiment (7) may also include an operation of the first brand viewing brand comparison interaction data for the first brand compared to a plurality of brands on the system and / or a subset of the plurality of brands on the system; and an operation of providing additional first brand information (i) related to general first brand information and / or merchandise items of the first brand; and (ii) responsive to the first brand interaction data and / or the first brand comparison interaction data. Optionally, prior to the viewing step (a), the method may also include a step of the first brand providing general first brand information and / or first brand information related to merchandise items of the first brand.

[0091] The interaction data of embodiment (7) may include the number and / or demographic information associated with (i) one or more consumer users among a plurality of consumer users on the system, (ii) consumer users who have expressed preferences for one or more interest categories, (iii) one or more consumer users among a plurality of consumer users on the system who have expressed a preference for a first brand, (iv) one or more consumer users on the system who have expressed a preference for product items of the first brand, (v) all consumer users on the system, or (vi) any combination thereof.

[0092] In embodiment (7), the one or more interactions by the first consumer user with the subset of data object representations include: viewing one or more of the data object representations in the subset, expressing a preference for one or more of the data object representations in the subset, commenting on one or more of the data object representations in the subset, commenting on one or more derived data object representations in the subset, participating in a conversation regarding one or more of the data object representations in the subset, providing an opinion regarding one or more of the data object representations in the subset, providing a rating for one or more of the data object representations in the subset, clicking on one or more of the data object representations in the subset to view additional details, clicking on one or more of the data object representations in the subset to view information located at the first brand, participating in a survey regarding one or more of the data object representations in the subset, request more information from the first brand regarding one or more of the data object representations in the subset; purchase merchandise items displayed in one or more of the data object representations in the subset from a third party retailer / reseller; purchase merchandise items displayed in one or more of the data object representations in the subset directly from the first brand; purchase merchandise items displayed in one or more of the data object representations in the subset from an individual; participate in an auction for one or more of the data object representations in the subset; offer merchandise items displayed in one or more of the data object representations in the subset for free, on loan, for sale, lease, and / or rental; apply to purchase merchandise items displayed in one or more of the data object representations in the subset; request that the first brand and / or its authorized retailer / reseller reinstate discontinued merchandise items displayed in one or more of the data object representations in the subset;This may include proposing product ideas, refinements, and / or improvements to the first brand related to one or more data objects in the subset, or any combination thereof.

[0093] The interaction data of embodiment (7) may include the number of clicks by consumers of the first brand's data object, the number of impressions by consumers of the first brand's data object, the number of clicks by consumers of the first brand's derived data object, the number of impressions by system consumers of the first brand's derived data object, the total number of clicks by system consumers, the number of clicks by system consumers per interest category, the total number of impressions by system consumers, the number of impressions by system consumers per interest category, the average click-through rate for the interest categories, seasonal trend data for the interest categories, the average conversion rate, or combinations thereof.

[0094] Demographic information used in embodiment (7) includes gender, race, age, income, education, home ownership, location, employment status, shopping history, personal interests and / or hobbies, or combinations thereof; comparative interaction data for a first brand compared to a plurality of brands on the system and / or a subset of a plurality of brands on the system includes: (i) one or more consumer users of a plurality of consumer users on the system, (ii) consumer users expressing a preference for one or more interest categories, (iii) one or more consumer users of a plurality of consumer users on the system expressing a preference for the first brand, (iv) one or more consumer users on the system expressing a preference for merchandise items of the first brand, (v) one or more consumer users on the system expressing a preference for merchandise items of the first brand, (vi) one or more consumer users on the system expressing a preference for merchandise items of the first brand, (vii) one or more consumer users on the system expressing a preference for merchandise items of the first brand, (viii) one or more consumer users on the system expressing a preference for merchandise items of the first brand, (viiii ... the comparative interaction data includes a number of clicks by consumers of the data object representation of the first brand, a number of impressions by consumers of the data object representation of the first brand, a number of clicks by consumers of the derived data object representation of the first brand, a number of impressions by consumers of the derived data object representation of the first brand, a total number of clicks by system consumers, a number of clicks by system consumers per interest category, a total number of impressions by system consumers, a number of impressions by system consumers per interest category, an average click-through rate for the interest categories, seasonal trend data for the interest categories, an average conversion rate, or a combination thereof. The comparative interaction data can be collected over a defined time period, for example, the defined time period is a period during which the first brand and / or a competitor of the first brand participates in the system.

[0095] The comparative interaction data of embodiment (7) may also include brand ranking data of a first brand associated with the multiple brands, for example, the comparative interaction data further includes brand ranking data of the first brand associated with one or more competing brands of the multiple brands.

[0096] The first brand information of embodiment (7) includes general brand information including one or more brand trademarks, one or more brand logos, information related to the logos of one or more merchandise items, a brand description, interest categories associated with the brand, brand media, brand purchase information, retail information, brand promotion information, information related to brands in the brand portfolio, related brand descriptions, related brand products, or combinations thereof. In certain examples, the brand description information includes brand images, one or more brand-specific explanatory documents and information, one or more brand reviews, brand ratings, or combinations thereof; the brand media includes brand-specific video files, brand-specific audio files, or print media; and / or the brand-specific explanatory documents and information includes one or more literature references, reviews, links to blogs, press releases, links to forums, or combinations thereof.

[0097] The first brand information of the seventh embodiment includes one or more product item trademarks, trade names, and / or trademarks. The first brand's product item information may include product item description information, product item media, product item purchase information, product item retail information, product item promotion information, information related to an associated first brand's product, or combinations thereof. The product item description information may include an image of the item, one or more item specific documentation and information, one or more product item reviews, product item ratings, or combinations thereof; the product item media may include a product item specific video file, a product item specific audio file, or print media; and / or the product item specific documentation and information may include one or more literature references, reviews, links to blogs, press releases, links to forums, or combinations thereof.

[0098] The preference in embodiment (7) can be expressed as following, friending, and / or "liking" the data object representation and / or the derived data object representation. For example, the preference is a system tracking preference selected from following and / or listing the data object representation and / or the derived data object representation. When a first consumer user expresses a system tracking preference for a data object representation, a derived data object based on the data object is generated, and the derived data object is associated in the system with the data object, the first consumer user, and one or more other consumer users who have a relationship with the first consumer user. Alternatively or in addition, when a first brand user expresses a system tracking preference for a data object representation, a derived data object based on the data object is generated, and the derived data object is associated in the system with the data object, the first brand user, and one or more other consumer users and / or brand users who have a relationship with the first brand user.

[0099] The method of embodiment (7) can include modifying a data object, where making a change to the data object generates changes to all derived data objects of that data object, for example, the change can include editing one or more data object elements, adding to the data object, deleting one or more data object elements, adding a comment about the data object, or a combination thereof.

[0100] The additional first brand information of embodiment (7) may include brand media, brand purchase information, retail information, brand promotional information, one or more brand-specific explanatory documents and information, one or more brand reviews, brand ratings, product item media, product item purchase information, product item retail information, product item promotional information, one or more item-specific explanatory documents and information, one or more product item reviews, product item ratings, or combinations thereof.

[0101] Embodiment (8): A method of exchanging information between a first brand and a first consumer user on a system including (a) a plurality of consumer users including the first consumer user, and (b) a plurality of brands including the first brand, the system configured to receive, filter, and / or display information related to the first consumer user, the first brand, the plurality of consumer users, the plurality of brands, product items, interaction data, comparison interaction data, and combinations thereof; the method includes: an operation of the first consumer user viewing the first brand information; an operation of expressing a preference for the first brand information; and an operation of the first consumer user viewing a subset of the first brand information provided to the first consumer user by the system.

[0102] The first brand information of embodiment (8) may include general brand information including one or more brand trademarks, one or more brand logos, information related to the logos of one or more merchandise items, a brand description, interest categories associated with the brand, brand media, brand purchase information, retail information, brand promotion information, information related to brands in the brand portfolio, related brand descriptions, related brand products, or combinations thereof. For example, the brand description information may include a brand image, one or more brand-specific explanatory documents and information, one or more brand reviews, brand ratings, or combinations thereof; the brand media may include a brand-specific video file, a brand-specific audio file, or print media; and the brand-specific explanatory documents and information may include one or more literature references, reviews, links to blogs, press releases, links to forums, or combinations thereof.

[0103] In a particular example of embodiment (8), the first brand information includes first brand product item information including one or more product item trademarks, product item description information, product item media, product item purchase information, product item retail information, product item promotion information, related first brand products, or combinations thereof. For example, the product item description information includes an image of the item, one or more item specific explanatory documentation and information, one or more product item reviews, product item ratings, or combinations thereof; the product item media includes a product item specific video file, a product item specific audio file, or print media; and / or the product item specific explanatory documentation and information includes one or more literature references, reviews, links to blogs, press releases, links to forums, or combinations thereof. In a particular example, the preference is expressed as following, friending, listing, and / or "liking" the data object and / or derived data object, e.g., the system tracks preferences selected from following and / or listing the data object and / or derived data object.

[0104] Embodiment (9): A method of exchanging information between a first consumer user and one or more other consumer users on a system, the system including: (a) a plurality of consumer users, including a first consumer user and one or more other consumer users, where the first consumer user and the one or more other consumer users are connected in the system; and (b) a plurality of brands, including a first brand, the system configured to receive, filter, and / or display information related to the first consumer user, the first brand, the plurality of consumer users, the plurality of brands, product items, interaction data, comparison interaction data, and combinations thereof; the method comprising: the first consumer user viewing a subset of the first brand information provided by the system to the consumer user; and the first consumer user viewing an interaction with the subset of the first brand information, the interaction including: (i) preferences for one or more elements in the subset of the first brand information expressed by the first consumer user and / or one or more other consumer users; (ii) comments provided by the first consumer user and / or one or more other consumer users, the comments related to one or more elements in the subset of the first brand information and provided by the first consumer user and / or one or more other consumer users; or (iii) any combination thereof.

[0105] In embodiment (9), interacting with the subset may include: viewing a representation of one or more data objects in the subset; express a preference for one or more data object representations in the subset, comment on one or more data object representations in the subset, comment on one or more derived data object representations in the subset, participate in a conversation regarding one or more data object representations in the subset, provide an opinion regarding one or more data object representations in the subset, provide a rating for one or more data object representations in the subset, click on one or more data object representations in the subset to view additional details, click on one or more data object representations in the subset to view information located at the first brand, participate in a survey regarding one or more data object representations in the subset, request more information from the first brand regarding one or more data object representations in the subset, sell merchandise items displayed in one or more data object representations in the subset to a third party retailer / retailer. The actions may include purchasing from a distributor, purchasing merchandise items displayed in one or more of the data object representations in the subset directly from the first brand, purchasing merchandise items displayed in one or more of the data object representations in the subset from an individual, participating in an auction for one or more of the data object representations in the subset, offering merchandise items displayed in one or more of the data object representations in the subset for free, loan, sale, lease, and / or rental, applying to purchase merchandise items displayed in one or more of the data object representations in the subset, requesting that the first brand and / or its authorized retailers / resellers reinstate discontinued merchandise items displayed in one or more of the data object representations in the subset, suggesting product ideas, modifications, and / or improvements to the first brand related to one or more of the data objects in the subset, or combinations thereof.

[0106] The first brand information of embodiment (9) includes general brand information including one or more brand trademarks, one or more brand logos, information related to the logos of one or more merchandise items, a brand description, interest categories associated with the brand, brand media, brand purchasing information, retail information, brand promotional information, information related to brands in the brand portfolio, associated brand descriptions, associated brand products, or combinations thereof; the brand description information includes brand images, one or more brand-specific explanatory documents and information, one or more brand reviews, brand ratings, or combinations thereof; the brand media includes brand-specific video files, brand-specific audio files, or print media; and the brand-specific explanatory documents and information includes one or more literature references, reviews, links to blogs, press releases, links to forums, or combinations thereof.

[0107] In embodiment (9), the first brand information includes first brand product item information including one or more product item trademarks, product item description information, product item media, product item purchasing information, product item retail information, product item promotional information, related first brand products, or combinations thereof; the product item description information includes item images, one or more item specific explanatory documentation and information, one or more product item reviews, product item ratings, or combinations thereof; the product item media includes product item specific video files, product item specific audio files, or print media; and / or the product item specific explanatory documentation and information includes one or more literature references, reviews, links to blogs, press releases, links to forums, or combinations thereof.

[0108] Embodiment (10): A method for exchanging brand information on a system, the system comprising: The system has a plurality of consumer users, including a first consumer user and one or more other consumer users, and (ii) a plurality of brands, including a first brand, the method having acts of: receiving first brand information; receiving first brand preference information indicating that the first consumer user has expressed a preference for the first brand information; filtering the first brand information to create a subset of the first brand information to be provided to the first consumer user, the subset including first brand information not previously displayed to the first consumer user on the system; and filtering one or more of the first brand information associated with the subset of the first brand information. the first brand information subset; receiving one or more interactions by the first consumer user with one or more data object representations associated with the subset of the first brand information; displaying, to the first brand: interaction data associated with the first brand and specific to one or more consumer users; interaction data associated with the first brand aggregated for a plurality of consumer users on the system; comparative interaction data from a plurality of consumer users associated with the first brand compared to one or more other brands on the system; or combinations thereof.

[0109] The method of embodiment (10) further includes: receiving additional brand information from a plurality of brands; receiving additional brand preference information indicating that the first consumer user has expressed a preference for the additional subset of the additional brand information; filtering the first brand information and the additional brand information to create one or more subsidiary subsets of the additional brand information that are provided to the first consumer user; displaying one or more data object representations associated with the one or more subsidiary subsets of the additional brand information to the first consumer user; and displaying one or more data object representations associated with the one or more subsidiary subsets of the additional brand information to the first consumer user. The system may include receiving one or more interactions by a first consumer user with a data object representation; and for each additional brand, displaying: (i) interaction data associated with the one or more additional brands and specific to one or more consumer users who have expressed a preference for the one or more additional brand information; (ii) interaction data associated with the one or more additional brands aggregated for a plurality of consumer users on the system; (iii) comparative interaction data from a plurality of consumer users associated with the one or more additional brands compared to one or more other brands on the system; or (iv) a combination thereof.

[0110] The method of embodiment (10) may further include displaying to the first consumer user the first brand information not previously displayed to the first consumer user on the system. The displaying step of embodiment (10) may also include displaying one or more data object representations associated with the subset of the first brand information to one or more other consumer users, the one or more other consumer users having a relationship with the first consumer user.

[0111] The interaction data of embodiment (10) may include the number and / or demographic information associated with (i) one or more consumer users among a plurality of consumer users on the system, (ii) consumer users who have expressed preferences for one or more interest categories, (iii) one or more consumer users among a plurality of consumer users on the system who have expressed a preference for a first brand, (iv) one or more consumer users on the system who have expressed a preference for product items of the first brand, (v) all consumer users on the system, or (vi) any combination thereof.

[0112] In an embodiment (10), a first consumer user is provided with a subset of the data object representations. The one or more interactions with the first brand may include: viewing one or more of the data object representations in the subset, expressing a preference for one or more of the data object representations in the subset, commenting on one or more of the data object representations in the subset, commenting on one or more derived data object representations in the subset, participating in a conversation regarding one or more of the data object representations in the subset, providing an opinion regarding one or more of the data object representations in the subset, providing a rating for one or more of the data object representations in the subset, clicking on one or more of the data object representations in the subset to view additional details, clicking on one or more of the data object representations in the subset to view information located at the first brand, participating in a survey regarding one or more of the data object representations in the subset, obtaining more information regarding one or more of the data object representations in the subset from the first brand. purchasing merchandise items depicted in one or more of the data object representations in the subset from a third party retailer / reseller; purchasing merchandise items depicted in one or more of the data object representations in the subset directly from the first brand; purchasing merchandise items depicted in one or more of the data object representations in the subset from an individual; participating in an auction relating to one or more of the data object representations in the subset; offering merchandise items depicted in one or more of the data object representations in the subset for free, on loan, for sale, lease, and / or rental; applying to purchase merchandise items depicted in one or more of the data object representations in the subset; requesting that the first brand and / or its authorized retailer / reseller reinstate discontinued merchandise items depicted in one or more of the data object representations in the subset; product ideas, improvements, and / or promotions relating to one or more of the data object representations in the subset;and / or suggest improvements to the first brand, or combinations thereof. In one particular example, the interaction data includes clicks by consumers of the first brand's data objects, impressions by consumers of the first brand's data objects, clicks by consumers of the first brand's derived data objects, impressions by system consumers of the first brand's derived data objects, total clicks by system consumers, clicks by system consumers per interest category, total impressions by system consumers, impressions by system consumers per interest category, average click-through rates for interest categories, seasonal trend data for interest categories, average conversion rates, or combinations thereof.

[0113] Demographic information used in embodiment (10) may include gender, race, age, income, education, home ownership, location, employment status, shopping history, personal interests and / or hobbies, or any combination thereof.

[0114] The comparative interaction data of embodiment (10) may include the number and / or demographic information associated with (i) one or more consumer users of the plurality of consumer users on the system, (ii) consumer users expressing a preference for one or more interest categories, (iii) one or more consumer users of the plurality of consumer users on the system expressing a preference for the first brand, (iv) one or more consumer users on the system expressing a preference for merchandise items of the first brand, (v) all consumer users on the system, or (vi) combinations thereof. For example, the comparative interaction data may include the number of clicks by consumers of the data object representation of the first brand, the number of impressions by consumers of the data object representation of the first brand, the number of clicks by consumers of the derived data object representation of the first brand, the number of impressions by consumers of the derived ... The comparative interaction data may include a total number of clicks by system consumers, a number of clicks by system consumers per interest category, a total number of impressions by system consumers, a number of impressions by system consumers per interest category, an average click-through rate for the interest categories, seasonal trend data for the interest categories, an average conversion rate, or a combination thereof. In one example, the comparative interaction data is collected over a defined time interval, e.g., the defined time interval is a period during which the first brand and / or a competitor of the first brand participates in the system. In an additional example, the comparative interaction data further includes brand ranking data for the first brand associated with the plurality of brands, e.g., the comparative interaction data further includes brand ranking data for the first brand associated with one or more competitor brands of the plurality of brands.

[0115] The first brand information of embodiment (10) may include general brand information including one or more brand trademarks, one or more brand logos, information related to one or more merchandise item logos, a brand description, an interest category associated with the brand, brand media, brand purchase information, retail information, brand promotion information, information related to brands in the brand portfolio, related brand descriptions, related brand products, or combinations thereof. The brand description information may include brand images, one or more brand-specific explanatory documents and information, one or more brand reviews, brand ratings, or combinations thereof; the brand media may include brand-specific video files, brand-specific audio files, or print media; and / or the brand-specific explanatory documents and information may include one or more literature references, reviews, links to blogs, press releases, links to forums, or combinations thereof. Additionally, the first brand information may include merchandise item information of a first brand including information related to one or more merchandise item trademarks, merchandise item description information, merchandise item media, merchandise item purchase information, merchandise item retail information, merchandise item promotion information, related first brand products, or combinations thereof. For example, the product item descriptive information may include an image of the item, one or more item-specific explanatory documentation and information, one or more product item reviews, product item ratings, or a combination thereof; the product item media may include a product item-specific video file, a product item-specific audio file, or print media; the product item-specific explanatory documentation and information may include one or more literature references, reviews, links to blogs, press releases, links to forums, or a combination thereof.

[0116] The first brand preference information of embodiment (10) may include a system tracking preference for the first brand information, and the method further includes filtering the first brand information to create a first auxiliary subset of the first brand information that is provided to a first consumer user that has expressed a system tracking preference for the first brand information; and displaying to the first consumer user one or more derived data object representations associated with the first auxiliary subset of the first brand information, the one or more derived data object representations being associated with the one or more data object representations in the system.

[0117] The method of embodiment (10) may further include receiving first consumer user preference information indicating that other consumer users have a system tracking preference for the first consumer user; filtering the first brand information to create a second subsidiary subset of the first brand information that is provided to other consumer users who have expressed a system tracking preference for the first consumer user; and displaying one or more data object representations and / or derived data object representations associated with the second subsidiary subset of the first brand information to the other consumer users. The method may also include receiving first consumer user preference information indicating that the first brand user has a system tracking preference for the first consumer user; filtering the first brand information to create a third subsidiary subset of the first brand information that is provided to the first brand user who has expressed a system tracking preference for the first consumer user; and displaying to the first brand user one or more data object representations and / or derived data object representations associated with the third subsidiary subset of the first brand information. The system tracking preference of embodiment (10) may be expressed by following and / or listing the data objects and / or derived data objects.

[0118] The method of embodiment (10) may include receiving additional brand preference information indicating that other brands of the plurality of brands have preferences for the first consumer user; and displaying one or more data object representations associated with the subset of the first brand information to the other brands.

[0119] The preference in embodiment (10) can be expressed as following, listing, friending, and / or "liking" the data object representation and / or the derived data object representation. For example, the preference is a system tracking preference selected from following and / or listing the data object representation and / or the derived data object representation. When a first consumer user expresses a system tracking preference for a data object representation, a derived data object based on the data object can be generated, and the derived data object is associated with the data object and the first consumer user in the system. Additionally or alternatively, when a first brand user expresses a system tracking preference for a data object representation, a derived data object based on the data object can be generated, and the derived data object is associated with the data object and the first brand user in the system.

[0120] The method of embodiment (10) can include modifying a data object, where making a change to the data object generates changes to all derived data objects of that data object, for example, the modification can include editing one or more data object elements, adding to the data object, deleting one or more data object elements, adding a comment about the data object, or a combination thereof.

[0121] The system of embodiment (10) may include a first brand user, and the method further includes the steps of: displaying interaction data associated with a plurality of consumer users who have expressed a preference for the first brand information to the first brand user; displaying a subset of the data object representations displayed to the first consumer user to the first brand user; receiving subset preference information indicating that the first brand user has expressed a preference for one or more data object representations in the subset; and displaying interactions with the first consumer user and the subset of the data object representations displayed to the first brand user to the first brand user.

[0122] The method of embodiment (10) can also include receiving additional first brand information in response to the first brand interaction data and / or the first brand comparison interaction data. For example, the additional first brand information can include brand media, brand purchase information, retail information, brand promotional information, one or more brand specific explanatory documents and information, one or more brand reviews, brand ratings, product item media, product item purchase information, product item retail information, product item promotional information, one or more item specific explanatory documents and information, one or more product items, and / or one or more product reviews. This may include product reviews, product item ratings, or a combination of both.

[0123] Embodiment (10)(a): A first subset of brand information created by the method of embodiment (10).

[0124] Embodiment (10)(b): A subset of the data object representations displayed to the first consumer user in the method of embodiment (10).

[0125] Embodiment (10)(c): A system including a processor programmed to carry out the method of embodiment (10).

[0126] Embodiment (10)(d): At least one computer-readable storage medium having instructions recorded thereon that, when executed by at least one computer, perform any one of the methods of embodiment (10).

[0127] Embodiment (11): Any one of the above embodiments or the system and / or computer-readable medium method, or a method used therein, wherein the subset identifies first brand information that has not previously been displayed to a first consumer user.

[0128] Embodiment (12): The system of any one of the above embodiments, wherein the subset identifies first brand information not previously displayed to a first consumer user.

[0129] Embodiment (13): At least one computer-readable medium of any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the subset identifies first brand information not previously displayed to a first consumer user.

[0130] Embodiment (14): A computer system comprising: a plurality of user devices, each having a display interface available to a user; a plurality of item providers; a global database of data objects, each data object including a unique object identifier for that object and a user identifier, item identifier, or provider identifier for a user, item, or provider to which the object is associated, the data objects including user associated data objects including a target user identifier for a target user and follower user identifiers for users who follow the target user, the global database configured to create an association between the target user identifier and the data object representation in response to a target user expressing an interest in tracking the data object representation by issuing a tracking command on his or her user device; a global tracking database configured to store the association in response to a target user expressing a tracking interest in the data object; and an information exchange computer configured to access the global database and the global tracking database in response to a target user expressing an interest in tracking the data object, and to display a representation of the data object to the follower user via a display interface of the follower user's user device.

[0131]

[0023] Embodiment (15): A computer-implemented method for selecting a data object for user interaction in a graphical user interface, comprising: receiving a data stream from an item provider identifying items available from the item provider; storing the data object in a global database along with a provider identifier that uniquely identifies the item provider; For each item in the data stream, an item identifier that uniquely identifies the item and storing the data objects together; detecting a user interaction with a representation of the item or item provider's data object in a graphical user interface of the user device and associating with the data object a user identifier that uniquely identifies the user; storing an association between the data object and the user identifier in a tracking database; and using the tracking database to select a customized data set of data objects for presentation in the graphical user interface based on associations in the tracking database.

[0132] Embodiment (16): A computer system comprising: a plurality of user devices, each having a display interface available to a user; With multiple item providers; a global database of data objects, each data object including a unique object identifier for that object and a user identifier, item identifier, or provider identifier for a user, item, or provider to which the object is associated, the data objects including user associated data objects including a target user identifier for a target user and follower user identifiers for users who follow the target user, the global database configured to create a new conversation data object based on the data object in response to a target user initiating a conversation on a data object representation by issuing a conversation command on his or her user device; a global tracking database configured to, in response to a target user initiating a discourse on a data object representation, store an association between a user identifier of the target user, an object identifier of the data object, and an object identifier of the created discourse data object; and an information exchange computer configured to access the global database and the global tracking database in response to a target user initiating a discourse regarding the data object representation and to display the discourse data object representation to the follower user via a display interface of the follower user's user device.

[0133]

[0023] Embodiment (17): A computer-implemented method for selecting a data object for user interaction in a graphical user interface, comprising: receiving a data stream from an item provider identifying items available from the item provider; storing the data object in a global database along with a provider identifier that uniquely identifies the item provider; storing, for each item in the data stream, a data object along with an item identifier that uniquely identifies the item; detecting a user interaction with a data object representation of an item or item provider in a graphical user interface of a user device, the interaction including initiating a discourse regarding the data object representation, and creating a discourse data object with a discourse identifier that uniquely identifies the user and the item or item provider represented by the data object representation; creating associations between discourse data objects, users, and item data objects and / or item provider data objects in a tracking database; and using the tracking database to select a customized data set of data objects for presentation in the graphical user interface based on associations in the tracking database.

[0134] Embodiment (18): A method of exchanging information between a first consumer user and one or more additional consumer users over a system, the system including: (a) a plurality of consumer users, including the first consumer user and the one or more additional consumer users, where the first consumer user and the one or more additional consumer users are connected in the system; and (b) a plurality of brands, including a first brand, where the system is configured to receive, filter, and / or display information related to the first consumer user, the first brand, the plurality of consumer users, the plurality of brands, product items, interaction data, comparison interaction data, and combinations thereof; the method comprising: a. a first consumer user viewing a subset of the first brand information provided by the system to the first consumer user and to one or more additional consumer users; and b. A method comprising an act of a first consumer user viewing interactions with the first subset of brand information, the interactions including conversations initiated by the first consumer user and / or one or more additional consumer users, the conversations relating to one or more elements of the first subset of brand information.

[0135] The discourse displayed in embodiment (18) may be displayed by the system to the first consumer user and one or more additional consumer users in a discourse data object. Additionally, the method of embodiment (18) may further include the first consumer user and / or one or more additional consumer users viewing a modified discourse based on the discourse initiated in step (b), optionally with the modified discourse displayed by the system to the first consumer user and one or more additional consumer users in a modified discourse data object.

[0136] The accompanying drawings are provided to illustrate the invention rather than to limit its scope. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0137] [Figure 1a] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system including a processor, a filter and analysis program, an overall brand data table, and an overall consumer data table, where the overall brand data table draws information from the individual brand data table, and similarly the overall consumer data table draws information from the individual consumer data table. [Figure 1b] FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of data flow from one or more system components to another system component within the system. [Figure 1c] FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of data flow from one or more system components to another system component within the system. [Figure 1d] FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of data flow from one or more system components to another system component within the system. [Figure 1e] FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of data flow from one or more system components to another system component within the system. [Figure 1f]FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of data flow from one or more system components to another system component within the system. [Figure 1g] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating associations between user A, data object X, derived data object X', and users B, C, and D who are followers of user A. FIG. [Figure 1h] FIG. 2 illustrates data objects and the types of data stored in a data object database, and the data object representations generated by the system. [Figure 2a] FIG. 2 illustrates how a consumer user can create a profile on the system. [Figure 3a] FIG. 2 is an example of a consumer user profile creation screen that may be used on the system. [Figure 3b] FIG. 13 illustrates one embodiment of a brand deselection screen that can be used to create a profile on the system. [Figure 3c] FIG. 2 illustrates one or more lists that may be created by a consumer user when setting up a profile on the system. [Figure 3d] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the profile creation process on the system. [Figure 3e] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the profile creation process on the system. [Figure 4a] 1A-1C illustrate several embodiments of a landing page for a consumer user on the system. [Figure 4b] 1A-1C illustrate several embodiments of a landing page for a consumer user on the system. [Figure 4c] 1A-1C illustrate several embodiments of a landing page for a consumer user on the system. [Figure 4d] 1A-1C illustrate several embodiments of a landing page for a consumer user on the system. [Figure 4e] 1A-1C illustrate several embodiments of a landing page for a consumer user on the system. [Figure 4f] 1A-1C illustrate several embodiments of a landing page for a consumer user on the system. [Figure 5a] FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of how a brand can create a profile on the system. [Figure 5b] FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of how a brand can create a profile on the system. [Figure 5c] FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of how a brand can create a profile on the system. [Figure 6a] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating generally the process used to create a brand profile. [Figure 6b] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating generally the process used to create a brand profile. [Figure 6c] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating generally the process used to create a brand profile. [Figure 6d] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating generally the process used to create a brand profile. [Figure 6e] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating generally the process used to create a brand profile. [Figure 6f] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating generally the process used to create a brand profile. [Figure 7a] 1 illustrates several embodiments of a brand's landing page on the system. [Figure 7b] 1 illustrates several embodiments of a brand's landing page on the system. [Figure 8] 1 is a diagrammatic representation of the system and its subcomponents. [Figure 9]1 is a diagrammatic representation of the system and its subcomponents. [Figure 10] 1A and 1B show the display of a set of data object representations on a computer screen; [Figure 11] 1A, 1B and 1C show the display of a set of data object representations on a television screen; [Figure 12a] FIG. 2 illustrates the display of a set of representations of data objects on a television screen. [Figure 12b] FIG. 2 illustrates the display of a set of representations of data objects on a television screen. [Figure 12c] FIG. 2 illustrates the display of a set of representations of data objects on a television screen. [Figure 12d] FIG. 2 illustrates the display of a set of representations of data objects on a television screen. [Figure 13a] FIG. 1 illustrates an alternative embodiment of a system configuration that (i) does not include derived data objects and / or (ii) illustrates discourse data objects on the system. [Figure 13b] FIG. 1 illustrates an alternative embodiment of a system configuration that (i) does not include derived data objects and / or (ii) illustrates discourse data objects on the system. [Figure 13c] FIG. 1 illustrates an alternative embodiment of a system configuration that (i) does not include derived data objects and / or (ii) illustrates discourse data objects on the system. [Figure 13d] FIG. 1 illustrates an alternative embodiment of a system configuration that (i) does not include derived data objects and / or (ii) illustrates discourse data objects on the system. [Figure 13e]FIG. 1 illustrates an alternative embodiment of a system configuration that (i) does not include derived data objects and / or (ii) illustrates discourse data objects on the system. [Figure 13f] FIG. 1 illustrates an alternative embodiment of a system configuration that (i) does not include derived data objects and / or (ii) illustrates discourse data objects on the system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0138] Descriptions of specific embodiments embodying aspects of the invention are set forth below. These examples should not be construed as limiting, but are intended to illustrate certain aspects of the invention. In reading the detailed description, it will be helpful to understand that certain words or terms have defined meanings unless a different meaning is apparent.

[0139] The present invention provides an online community that provides users with a means to stay up to date on items and innovations, especially new items and developments, from their favorite providers without the need for users to research the providers and items that interest them on their own. The system allows users to form personal relationships with providers of interest and share experiences with followers, for example, via an online social networking system, and with other users of the system. The system focuses on provider loyalty to provide users with a unique online experience, and novel tools for providers to gather information about users interested in their products and / or services. The system uses a "push approach" to present users with information about providers and items that the user has expressed interest in, while at the same time providing valuable opportunities for providers to interact with users interested in their products and / or services.

[0140] The system aggregates items submitted by multiple providers and presents the items to the user in a customizable user graphical user interface ("GUI"). Users of the system are not required to search for items (although the system may provide keyword and / or Boolean search capabilities, for example). Instead, new or existing items are pushed to the user periodically, without the user requesting them, based on the user's item and / or provider preferences. In addition to allowing users to follow their favorite providers, the system also allows users to discover new providers and items that may be of interest to them.

[0141] The user can also set up a network of contacts (or automatically A user's user page may be imported or linked to any of a number of social networking sites, including, but not limited to, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Friendster, YouTube, Linkedin, etc., and may share with their contacts their favorite providers, interests, items, promotions, etc., and / or communicate with their contacts about items, providers, potential purchases, etc. Once a user has expressed an interest in a provider or item by following, "liking," or the like an item or provider, the user may be notified of activities on the system by the user's contacts via the user interface or one or more social networking sites. In one embodiment, a user may create a list of data objects representing items or providers, where the listed items or providers are related to a theme, activity, etc., defined by the user.

[0142] Additionally, the system provides a mechanism for providers to interact with existing and potential users. Providers can share information related to users who have expressed interest in a given provider, for example, by following that provider or the items that the provider offers. The ability to push pre-release announcements of items, special promotions, incentives to participate in surveys regarding the provider / item, focus groups, etc. to such targeted groups of users is extremely useful for providers.

[0143] definition As used herein, a "computer" or a "computer system" shall mean one or more computing devices, regardless of the number and location of processing elements. By way of example and not limitation, the term "computer" or "computer system" includes personal computers, desktop computers, tablet computers, computer networks, personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile phones (whether smart phones, PDA phones, or digital mobile phones), Web TVs, portable email devices, game consoles, media players, home theater computer systems, global positioning systems (GPS), and the like. A computer system may also provide access to two or more consumer users using different computers at the same or different locations, which are in direct contact with a server and / or each other, or indirectly through a network (e.g., the global Internet and its World Wide Web).

[0144] A "user" as used herein is an individual with a preference for items, providers, brands, events, or services listed in the system described herein. In certain embodiments, a user has a preference for merchandise items, providers, brands, events, or services listed in the system, and in this context, a user may be referred to as a "consumer" or a "consumer user". The terms "consumer" and "consumer user" are used interchangeably herein. A "provider" is an individual, organization, or entity that provides items, events, and / or services on the system. In certain embodiments, a provider is a brand, e.g., a provider of one or more products, or categories of products. A "consumer user" may be distinguished from a "brand user", which is an individual or group of individuals that is authorized by a provider to access and / or modify provider information in, for example, a provider data table. A consumer user is a private individual, whereas a brand user is a volunteer, employee, or contractor working on behalf of a provider, e.g., a business, merchant, retailer, reseller, event planner, service provider, etc.

[0145] As used herein, a "database" refers to one or more organized data structures used to store, retrieve, and manipulate information with a predefined meaning. Without limitation, a database can be a flat file structure, a relational structure, or any other form of information storage. A database can include one or more data tables, which include data related to providers, brands, users, and other general system data. The data tables can be further divided to uniquely identify a particular provider, brand, consumer user, etc.

[0146] As used herein, a "data object" refers to a database that includes data related to items, providers, lists, individuals, categories, interests, etc., which are displayed in the system in a selectable common visual representation of the items, providers, lists, individuals, categories, interests, etc. Data objects can be created by consumer users and / or providers and displayed by the system in a consumer user GUI and / or provider GUI. In one embodiment, data associated with each data object on the system, regardless of its source, is displayed by the system in a common visual representation, referred to herein as a "data object representation," which includes one or more of the following elements: a standardized or customized layout, a color scheme, a typeface, and an organization of the elements of the data object representation, such as a headline, a description, an image / media, and an optional comment field. For example, a data object representation can include tiles, boards, icons, etc., and in a particular embodiment, a data object representation includes a standardized layout that includes a headline, an image of the item and / or a provider logo or trademark, possibly a price, and a comment field, and in that particular embodiment, each data object representation on the system has the same standard layout. Each data object representation is selectable in the sense that the data object representation may be selected by a user of the system to see a more detailed visual representation of the item, provider, brand, list, individual, category, interest, etc., including additional fields / information related to that item, provider, brand, list, individual, category, interest, etc. Each data object representation is also selectable in the sense that the data object representation includes one or more icons that a user can select to interact with the data object representation, e.g., to follow, "like," list, talk about, become a friend, etc.Thus, a data object representation provides an entry point for a user to access and interact with the data available in the data object (i.e., database) related to the item, provider, brand, listing, individual, category, interest, etc. represented by the data object representation. As used herein, a user views and / or interacts with a data object representation.

[0147] In certain embodiments, each data object representation associated with an item or provider includes a comment field that contains comments about the item or provider provided by the consumer user, one or more of the consumer user's followers on the system, and providers affiliated with the item or provider. Thus, each data object representation displayed in a consumer user's GUI or provider's GUI is customized by the system for that consumer user or brand user based on that user's profile settings and preferences, and includes comments provided by the consumer user, the brand user, the consumer user's and / or brand user's followers, and / or users followed by the consumer user and / or brand user. The system is configured to preferentially display data object representations that are relevant to the consumer user's preferences. For example, data object representations associated with items, providers, or individuals that a consumer user follows on the system are displayed in the consumer user's GUI (even if the consumer user does not follow the consumer user). (Other data object representations related to the item, provider, or individual may also be viewed by the consumer user on the system, but the consumer user's GUI is configured to automatically display the data object representations for which the consumer user has expressed a preference.) An unrelated consumer user on the system may make changes to a data object for which the first consumer user has a preference, but because the first consumer user does not follow the unrelated consumer user, the data object with the changes will not be displayed in the first consumer user's GUI.

[0148] A graphical user interface ("GUI") is a type of user interface that allows a user to interact with an electronic device using graphical and / or textual commands. In a GUI, a user can interact with an interface that utilizes graphical icons, data object representations, visual indicators, and / or text. Actions are performed by directly manipulating graphical or textual elements in the GUI. Although certain embodiments or components thereof described herein are described with reference to a desktop interface, such description is for illustrative purposes only. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various adjustments can be made to the system and its components without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. For example, the GUI and its components can be adjusted for use with any format depending on the amount of data that can be displayed on a single screen, e.g., a GUI for a desktop environment can display more data on a single screen compared to a GUI for a smartphone. Although the appearance of the GUI may be adjusted due to format size constraints (e.g., desktop vs. smartphone), the functionality of the system does not change, and it is within the skill of one of ordinary skill in the art to appropriately adjust the GUI for each individual computer format. Similarly, the elements of the GUI may be organized or displayed in any manner without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. For example, the placement of individual elements or fields of the GUI may be adjusted without changing the system functionality, e.g., the relative positions of search fields, data tables, data object representations, item or provider information, consumer profile and / or provider profile elements, etc. Additionally, while the system is illustrated and described herein with reference to one or more GUI layouts, such embodiments are merely for illustrative purposes and should not be construed as a limitation on the scope of the invention.

[0149] As used herein, an "item" is a product, a service, an event, etc. Items may be commercial items such as goods or services of a type customarily used by the general public, including, but not limited to, components of items or services and any combination thereof, as well as professional support services providing management and assistance, advice, or training.

[0150] A provider or user may provide "provider information" regarding an item or provider. In certain embodiments, where a provider is a brand, a brand or user may provide "brand information" regarding an item or brand. Provider information includes general information about the provider and merchandise item information. In certain embodiments, brand information includes general brand information and merchandise item information. General provider information includes information about an informant that is not related to a specific item only, including, but not limited to, one or more provider trademarks, one or more provider logos, information related to one or more merchandise item logos, a provider description, interest categories associated with the provider, provider medium, provider purchase information, retail information, provider promotion information, information related to providers in a provider portfolio, related provider description, related provider products, or combinations thereof. In certain embodiments, where a provider is a brand, general brand information includes information about a brand that is not related to a specific item only, including, but not limited to, one or more brand trademarks, one or more provider logos, information related to one or more merchandise item logos, a provider description, interest categories associated with the provider, provider medium, provider purchase information, retail information, provider promotion information, information related to providers in a provider portfolio, related provider description, related provider products, or combinations thereof. The product item information relates to a particular item and may include, but is not limited to, information related to one or more product item trademarks, product item description information, product item media, product item purchase information, product item retail information, product item promotional information, related products of the first brand, or any combination thereof.

[0151] Users can have "preferences" for items, providers, and / or other users (e.g., consumer users and / or brand users) that are represented by data objects on the system. A "preference" on the system that a user expresses for another user, item, or provider may be expressed, for example, by "following" a data object representation representing that user, item, or provider, thereby enabling the user to track the other user's activity on the system; or by becoming a "friend," e.g., a user requests to join another user's contacts group, the other user accepts or rejects the request, and the first user accepts the invitation, thereby enabling the first user to track the other user's activity on the system; or by "liking" a data object representing an item, user, or provider, in which case A user may indicate that they like the item or provider, but may not track activity related to the item or provider; or by "listing" a data object representing the item or provider, which allows the user to include the item, provider, or individual in one or more lists created by the user; and / or by "discussing" a data object representing the user, item, or provider, which generates a discourse data object representation associated with the source data object and the user who initiated the discourse, and which is viewable by followers of the user who initiated the discourse.

[0152] In a preferred embodiment, consumer users of the system express a preference for an item, provider, or individual by following, listing, discussing, or "liking" a data object representation representing the item, provider, or individual. In one particular embodiment, when a first user follows a data object representation representing an item, individual, or brand, one or more of the first user's identification and activity in the system regarding the followed data object becomes visible to other users of the system who follow the first user and / or other users followed by the first user. In particular, the followed data object representation is displayed in the GUI of the first user and may also be displayed in the GUI of the first user's followers and / or the GUI of users followed by the first user. Also, other users on the system who do not have a relationship with the first user can see the data object representation followed by the first user under the user profile of the first user on the system, but the data object representation followed by the first user is automatically displayed only in the GUI of other users who follow the first user and / or users followed by the first user. (Of course, the system can be arranged so that one or more additional interactions with the data object representation, such as listing, talking about, or "liking," are automatically displayed to other users of the system and / or the user's set of followers on the system, just as the action of following the data object representation is automatically displayed.) Data representing, e.g., an individual With respect to one consumer user expressing a preference for another consumer user on the system by following object representations, such interaction on the system between one consumer user and another consumer user may be likened to them having a "relationship" and / or connection on the system. Such preferences may be expressed by consumer users and / or brand users on their own behalf or on behalf of providers whose behalf they are permitted to act on the system.

[0153] One type of preference that can be expressed on the system is a "system-tracking preference," which is an action taken by one consumer user (or brand user) with respect to a data object representing an item, provider, consumer user, etc., such that the actor (i.e., the consumer user who expressed the preference) can track the identity associated with that data object and the activity on the system. In a preferred embodiment, a consumer user of the system expresses a preference for an item, provider, or individual by following, listing, discussing, or "liking" a data object representation representing the item, provider, or individual. In a particular embodiment, when a first user or brand follows a data object representing an item, individual, or brand, the action of following represents an expression of a system-tracking preference, which allows the first consumer user to see and track the activity on the system of the consumer user, provider, item, etc. for which the first consumer user expressed a system-tracking preference. (Again, the system can be tuned so that one or more additional interactions with a representation of a data object, e.g., listing, talking, or "liking," represent "system-tracked preferences," allowing an actor to track the identity and activity on the system associated with that data object.)

[0154] As described above, a provider or consumer user creates an item or data object related to the provider. In a particular embodiment, when another user follows that data object, the system creates a derived data object that is unique to and visible to the follower (and further their followers). Although the original data object representation (or source data object) can be, for example, "liked," listed, or followed by further users of the system, in this embodiment, the derived data object is created solely by the act of following (i.e., an expression of the system tracking preference), and the derived data object representation is visible to the follower and further their followers. Similarly, when a provider chooses to follow a data object representation created by another provider or consumer user on the system, the system creates a derived data object that is unique to and visible to that provider and the provider's followers. (This is one example of a system configuration, and one skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the system can be tuned to expand the list of interactions that correspond to the system tracking preferences that cause derived data objects to be generated.)

[0155] In an alternative embodiment of the system, when a user follows a data object representation, the system does not create a derived data object as described above. Instead, the system creates an association between the user who followed the data object and the data object, and the association is stored in a global tracking database. In this alternative embodiment, when a user follows a data object, the system displays a data object representation of the data object to the user and the user's followers.

[0156] Expressing a preference for a data object representation that represents an item, a provider, or another user is one form of "interaction" that a user can have with a data object representation (or a derived data object representation). As used herein, "interaction" with a data object includes, but is not limited to, viewing a data object representation, express a preference for the data object representation, comment on the data object representation, generate a discourse data object based on the source data object, participate in a conversation regarding the data object representation and / or the discourse data object representation, provide an opinion regarding the data object representation and / or the discourse data object representation, provide a rating regarding the data object representation, click on the data object representation to view more details, click on the data object representation to view information located at the first provider, participate in a survey regarding the data object representation, request more information from the provider regarding the data object representation, purchase a merchandise item displayed in the data object representation from a third party retailer / reseller, purchase a merchandise item displayed in the data object representation directly from the first provider, purchase a merchandise item displayed in the data object representation from an individual, participate in an auction regarding the data object representation, offer for free, loan, sale, lease and / or rent a merchandise item displayed in the data object representation. request that the first provider and / or its authorized retailers / resellers reinstate a discontinued merchandise item that is displayed in the data object representation; suggest product ideas, refinements, and / or improvements to the first provider with respect to the data object; remove the data object representation from one or more lists ("de-listing"); share the data object representation with individuals or groups, e.g., by emailing the data object representation (or a hyperlink to the data object), including a hyperlink to the data object representation in a social networking system, or the like; "un-like" the data object representation, e.g., by removing the data object representation from a list of "liked" data object representations in the consumer user's profile; "un-friend" the data object representation, e.g., by removing the data object representation from a list of "liked" data object representations in the consumer user's profile;or a combination thereof.

[0157] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the system described herein is not limited to a method of managing and / or exchanging information about items or providers, but may be applied to a method of managing and / or exchanging any type of information, for example, between merchants and customers, between event planners and participants, between service providers and customers, between employees of a business entity, etc. In a particular embodiment, the system described herein relates to a method of exchanging information about items, providers, brands, services, events, etc. available in the market. In a particular embodiment, the set of information exchanged and / or managed on the system is uniformly related to items, brands, services, events, etc. available in the market. Other social networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, etc., may also include posts and / or comments related to items and providers, but these are secondary to the purpose of the site, i.e., to facilitate social interaction between users for any purpose. In contrast, the system of the present invention facilitates social interaction between users and providers regarding merchandise items, brands, services, events.

[0158] Customizable Data Management System The present invention provides a streamlined method of transferring data through the system to synthesize a customized dataset for a particular system user based on that user's preferences and relationships on the system. The customized dataset is displayed in the user's GUI. Similarly, the system synthesizes a customized dataset for each individual user and provider on the system and displays that unique customized dataset in the user / provider's GUI. Because each user, provider, item, category, and data object on the system contains a unique identifier, each time a participant of the system (user or provider) expresses a preference for a data object (e.g., via a data object representation), that action is identified within the system by that user (or provider) and one or more is uniquely associated with further data object representations, which may be original and / or derived data objects depending on the type of preference expressed. If the user expresses a system tracking preference, then a derived data object is generated and uniquely associated with the user; the system then generates a subset of the user's followers and copies a reference to the data object into one or more areas, channels, or feeds of the followers' GUI so that the user's followers are informed of the user's activities on the system. On the other hand, if the user expresses a preference that does not correspond to a system tracking preference, then a derived data object is not generated, the user's preference for the original data object is recorded in the system, and the system copies a reference to the original data object into one or more areas, channels, or feeds of the user's GUI.

[0159] In detail, each user, item, provider, category, brand, etc. is associated with one data object in the system, and each data object, user, provider, category, and item on the system is associated with a unique identifier (ID) in the system. Each data object (and derived data objects) contains a reference to the user ID of the user who created it, as well as a reference to the provider ID associated with it, and all data objects (and derived data objects) and their associated unique identifiers are stored in a centralized data object database. In one embodiment, if user A chooses to follow data object X (i.e., the user expresses a system tracking preference for data object X), the system creates a derived data object with identifier X'. The system then creates an association between user A, data object X, and data object X', and the association is stored in the global tracking database. Thus, in this particular example, the association created includes the following data: user A, data object X, and data object X'. The system then looks up the data set of user A's followers on the system, e.g., users B, C, and D, in the global tracking database. If user A has no followers, then the derived data object X' (i.e., a representation of the derived data object X') is displayed in one or more customized channels or feeds of user A, e.g., a channel or feed related to user A's recent activity on the system. If user A has followers, e.g., user B, then the system displays the representation of the derived data object X' in user B's customized channel or feed designed to display data object representations that are new to user B on the system; similarly, if user A has further followers, e.g., users C and D, then the system displays the representation of the derived data object X' in user C's customized channel or feed and user D's customized channel or feed, respectively.

[0160] In an alternative embodiment, if user A chooses to follow data object X (i.e., the user expresses a system tracking preference for data object X), the system does not create a derived data object, but rather creates an association between user A and data object X, which is stored in the global tracking database. Thus, in this particular alternative embodiment, the association created includes the following data: user A and data object X. The system then looks up in the global tracking database a data set of user A's followers on the system, e.g., users B, C, and D. If user A has no followers, then a representation of data object X is displayed in one or more of user A's customized channels or feeds, e.g., a channel or feed related to user A's recent activities on the system. If user A has followers, e.g., user B, then the system creates a user interface designed to display representations of data objects new to user B on the system. and displaying a representation of data object X in user B's customized channel or feed; similarly, if user A has further followers, e.g., users C and D, the system will display a representation of data object X in user C's customized channel or feed and user D's customized channel or feed, respectively.

[0161] As described above, the act of following a data object corresponds to a system tracking preference that creates an association between the follower and the data object, and in some cases, the system generates a derived data object based on the followed data object representation. In one particular embodiment of the system, the act of "liking" a data object representation does not generate a system tracking preference, but creates an association between the "liked" data object representation and the user who "liked" the representation. Thus, in this particular embodiment, if user A "likes" a representation of data object X, the preference is associated with data object X in the general data object database, and similarly, user A's preference for data object X is stored in user A's profile, but the system does not generate a derived data object. An association between user A and data object X is created and stored in the global tracking database and / or an additional tracking database, which may be a component of the global tracking database or a separate database in the system. The system displays a representation of data object X in one or more of User A's GUI areas, channels, or feeds, as well as in one or more of User A's followers' areas, channels, or feeds.

[0162] Yet another embodiment of data transfer and management is provided in which the system creates a customizable area, channel, or feed of a representation of a data object that has not previously been displayed in a user's customizable GUI of the system, called a New Channel. Upon choosing to view the Channel, the system retrieves a dataset of data objects previously displayed in the New Channel, queries the comprehensive data object database for objects not previously displayed in the user's New Channel, generates a dataset of new data objects, deletes data objects previously displayed or viewed on the system, and displays the new data object representations of the dataset in the New Channel. If there are no new data objects in the comprehensive data object database, the system displays a message to the user via the GUI informing the user that the New Channel is empty. In one embodiment, the system can determine whether a data object representation has been viewed by the user, for example, by detecting via the browser's JavaScript that the data object representation has been displayed in the GUI, and a message is sent to the server instructing the system to remove the data object from the New Channel's data table. Once the New Channel is updated, the data object representation will no longer be displayed. Alternatively, rather than detecting that the user has actually "seen" it in the browser, the system simply maintains a record of data objects previously presented in the New Channel, and once presented, references to the data object are removed from the New Channel's data table. In yet another alternative embodiment, the system can remove references to the data object within a selected time period, such as one week, one month, three months, etc., after it was first displayed in the New Channel.

[0163] Using this method, the system creates a variety of synthetic data sets that are customized for each user or contributor on the system depending on the type of information each user wants to see on the system. In one embodiment, the present invention provides a graphical user interface (GUI) for a computer-implemented method for selecting data objects for interaction with a user at a graphical user interface, the method comprising: receiving a data stream from an item provider identifying items available from the item provider; storing the data objects in a global database along with a provider identifier that uniquely identifies the item provider; for each item in the data stream, storing a data object along with an item identifier that uniquely identifies the item; detecting user interactions with the items or item provider's data objects at a graphical user interface of a user device and creating a user data object along with a user identifier that uniquely identifies the user; creating an association between the user data object and the items and / or item provider's data objects in a tracking database; and using the tracking database to select a customized data set of data objects for presentation in the graphical user interface based on the associations in the tracking database.

[0164] The present invention further provides a computer system comprising: a plurality of user devices, each having a display interface available to a user; a plurality of item providers; a global database of data objects, each data object including a unique object identifier for that object and a user identifier, item identifier, or provider identifier for a user, item, or provider to which the data object relates; (i) an individual provider data table, for each item provider, including a unique provider identifier for that provider and one or more item identifiers for items offered by that provider; (ii) an individual user data table, for each user, including a unique user identifier for that user and one or more item identifiers, provider identifiers, and / or category identifiers for items, providers, and / or categories for which the user has expressed a preference; and (iii) based on the item identifiers and / or provider identifiers maintained in the first user's data table, the first user expressing an additional interest in an item or donor, and updating the first user's customized set by selecting one or more additional donor data tables and / or user data tables for inclusion in the first user's customized set, and selecting at least one data object for display to the first user via a display interface of the first user's user device based on the first user's updated set.

[0165] Also provided is a computer system comprising: a plurality of user devices, each having a display interface available to a user; a plurality of item providers; a global database of data objects, each data object including a unique object identifier for that object and a user identifier, item identifier, or provider identifier for a user, item, or provider to which the data object relates, the data objects including user associated data objects including a target user identifier for a target user and follower user identifiers for users who follow the target user, the global database being configured to create a new derived data object based on the data object in response to a target user expressing an interest in tracking a data object representation by issuing a tracking command on his or her user device. the global database; a global tracking database configured to store, in response to a target user expressing an interest in tracking a data object representation, an association between the user identifier of the target user, the object identifier of the data object, and the object identifier of the created derived data object; and an information exchange computer configured to access the global database and the global tracking database and display the derived data object to the follower user via a display interface of the follower user's user device in response to the target user expressing an interest in the data object.

[0166] In an additional embodiment, the present invention provides a computer system including: a plurality of user devices, each having a display interface available to a user; a plurality of item providers; a global database of data objects, each data object including a unique object identifier for that object and a user identifier, item identifier, or provider identifier for the user, item, or provider to which the object is associated, the data objects including user associated data objects including a target user identifier for a target user and a follower user identifier for a user following the target user, the global database configured to create an association between the target user identifier and the data object representation in response to the target user expressing an interest in tracking the data object representation by issuing a tracking command on his or her user device; a global tracking database configured to store the association in response to the target user expressing an interest in tracking the data object; and an information exchange computer configured to access the global database and the global tracking database in response to the target user expressing an interest in tracking the data object, and to display the data object representation to the follower user via a display interface of the follower user's user device.

[0167] Thus, in this additional embodiment, the invention provides a computer-implemented method of selecting data objects for user interaction in a graphical user interface, the method comprising: receiving a data stream from an item provider identifying items available from the item provider; storing the data objects in a global database together with a provider identifier that uniquely identifies the item provider; for each item in the data stream, storing the data object together with an item identifier that uniquely identifies the item; detecting user interactions with a representation of the item or item provider's data objects in a graphical user interface of a user device and associating the data objects with a user identifier that uniquely identifies the user; storing the association between the data objects and the user identifier in a tracking database; and using the tracking database to select a customized dataset of data objects for presentation in the graphical user interface based on the association in the tracking database.

[0168] The present invention further includes a computer system comprising: a plurality of user devices, each having a display interface available to a user; a plurality of item providers; and a global database of data objects, each data object including a unique object identifier for the object and a user identifier, item identifier, or provider identifier for a user, item, or provider to which the object is associated, the data objects including user associated data objects including a target user identifier for a target user and follower user identifiers for users who follow the target user, the global database configured to create a new discourse data object based on the data object in response to a target user initiating discourse on a data object representation by issuing a discourse command on his or her user device. the global database configured to store an association between the user identifier of the target user, the object identifier of the data object, and the object identifier of the created discourse data object in response to the target user initiating a discourse on the data object representation; and an information exchange computer configured to access the global database and the global tracking database in response to the target user initiating a discourse on the data object representation, and display the discourse data object representation to the follower user via a display interface of the follower user's user device.

[0169] In this embodiment, the present invention provides a computer-implemented method of selecting data objects for interaction with a user in a graphical user interface, the method comprising: receiving a data stream from an item provider identifying items available from the item provider; storing data objects in a global database together with a provider identifier that uniquely identifies the item provider; for each item in the data stream, storing a data object together with an item identifier that uniquely identifies the item; detecting a user interaction with a data object representation of the item or item provider in a graphical user interface of a user device, the user interaction including initiating a discourse regarding the data object representation, and creating a discourse data object together with a discourse identifier that uniquely identifies the user and the item or item provider represented by the data object representation; creating an association between the discourse data object, the user, and the item data object and / or item provider data object in a tracking database; and using the tracking database to select a customized dataset of data objects for presentation in the graphical user interface based on the associations in the tracking database.

[0170] In certain embodiments, the present invention provides a method for exchanging provider information on a system having (i) a plurality of consumer users, including a first consumer user and one or more other consumer users, optionally with whom the first consumer user and the one or more other consumer users have a relationship on the system, and (ii) a plurality of providers, including a first provider, the method comprising: receiving first provider information; receiving first provider preference information indicating that the first consumer user has expressed a preference for the first provider information; filtering the first provider information to create a subset of the first provider information provided to the first consumer user; displaying to the first consumer user one or more data object representations associated with the subset of the first provider information; an act of receiving one or more interactions by a first consumer user with one or more data object representations associated with the first subset of provider information; To the first contributor: · Interaction data that is associated with the first provider and specific to one or more consumer users; · interaction data relating to the first provider, aggregated for multiple consumer users on the system; comparative interaction data from a plurality of customer users associated with a first provider compared to one or more other providers on the system; or A combination of these Includes an action to display.

[0171] In certain embodiments, the present invention provides a method for exchanging brand information on a system having (i) a plurality of consumer users, including a first consumer user and one or more other consumer users, optionally where the first consumer user and the one or more other consumer users have a relationship on the system, and (ii) a plurality of brands, including a first brand, the method comprising: receiving first brand information; receiving first brand preference information indicating that the first consumer user has expressed a preference for the first brand information; filtering the first brand information to create a subset of the first brand information provided to the first consumer user; displaying to the first consumer user one or more data object representations associated with the first subset of brand information; an act of receiving one or more interactions by a first consumer user with one or more data object representations associated with the first subset of brand information; First brand: Interaction data that is associated with the first brand and specific to one or more consumer users; · interaction data related to the first brand, aggregated for multiple consumer users on the system; comparative interaction data from a plurality of customer users associated with a first brand compared to one or more other brands on the system; or A combination of these Includes an action to display.

[0172] For example, the multiple users of the system include both multiple consumer users of the system and brands that offer merchandise items on the system. The processor receives information indicating that a first consumer user of the system has a preference for (i) merchandise items offered on the system from the brand and / or (ii) a brand that offers one or more merchandise items on the system. The processor receives item and / or brand information related to the merchandise items and / or brands and filters the item and / or brand information to create a subset of item and / or brand information to be offered to consumer users for which the first user has expressed a preference. The processor displays one or more data object representations related to the subset to the first user in a GUI. The processor also receives information related to interactions the first consumer user has with a subset of the data object representations displayed to the first consumer user, such as viewing the data object representations, purchasing items depicted in the data object representations, commenting on the data object representations, "liking" or following the data object representations, initiating discourse about the data object representations to generate discourse data objects related to the source data object, etc., and the system displays, to the first brand, interaction data related to a plurality of consumer users having a preference for the first brand. The system also displays, to the first brand, interaction data related to the first brand aggregated for a plurality of consumer users on the system, as well as comparative interaction data from a plurality of system users related to the first brand compared to other brands on the system.

[0173] Where the system includes a plurality of brands, the method may include the steps of: receiving additional brand information from the plurality of brands; receiving additional brand preference information indicating that the first consumer user has expressed a preference for an additional subset of the additional brand information; and filtering the first brand information and the additional brand information to provide one or more auxiliary subsets of the additional brand information to the first consumer user. The system also includes the steps of: creating a set; displaying to a first consumer user one or more data object representations associated with the one or more auxiliary subsets of the additional brand information; receiving one or more interactions by the first consumer user with the one or more data object representations associated with the one or more auxiliary subsets of the additional brand information; and for each additional brand, displaying: (i) interaction data associated with the one or more additional brands and specific to one or more consumer users who have expressed a preference for the one or more additional brand information; (ii) interaction data associated with the one or more additional brands aggregated for a plurality of consumer users on the system; (iii) comparative interaction data from a plurality of consumer users associated with the one or more additional brands compared to one or more other brands on the system; or (iv) a combination thereof.

[0174] In a particular embodiment, the present invention provides a method for exchanging provider information on a system as described above, where the system displays to a first consumer user provider information not previously displayed to the consumer user on the system. In a particular embodiment, the system preferentially displays brand information not previously displayed to the consumer user over other brand information that the system has previously displayed to the consumer user, thus identifying data object representations not previously displayed to the consumer user. In another embodiment, the system displays to the consumer user brand information that has not been displayed to the consumer user within a defined time frame, e.g., one year, six months, three months, one month. In this regard, the system displays one or more data object representations related to new items, brands, etc. that the consumer user has not seen on the system, i.e., displays a subset of information brand information on the system that the consumer user has expressed a preference that is new to the consumer user. Thus, the consumer user's GUI displays a subset of information related to items and / or brands not previously displayed to the consumer user by the system. For example, new brand or item information may include, but is not limited to, new items offered by a brand, new items or brands in a preferred interest category for the consumer user, and, for a new brand, products offered by the new brand, new descriptive information related to the item or brand, new purchasing information related to the item or brand, promotions related to the item or brand, images, videos, or other graphics related to the item or brand that have not been previously shown to the consumer user, new reviews about the item or brand, new items or brands associated with or that can be used with the item or brand (and vice versa), new comments about the item or brand made by the user's followers, etc.

[0175] Additionally, when a consumer user expresses a system tracking preference for donor information, the system filters the donor's information to create a first auxiliary subset of donor information provided to the consumer user and the user's followers and displays data object representations and / or, in one particular embodiment, one or more derived data object representations related to the first auxiliary subset of donor information. Similarly, when another consumer user of the system expresses a system tracking preference for the first consumer user, the system filters the first donor information for which the first consumer user has expressed a preference to create a second auxiliary subset of the first donor information and displays one or more data object representations and / or derived data object representations related to the second auxiliary subset to the other consumer user. Additionally, when a brand user of the system expresses a system tracking preference for the first consumer user, the system filters the first donor information for which the first consumer user has expressed a preference to create a third auxiliary subset of the first donor information and displays one or more data object representations and / or derived data object representations related to the third auxiliary subset. to the brand user. In a particular example, when a consumer user expresses a system tracking preference for brand information, the system filters the brand's information to create a first subsidiary subset of brand information provided to the consumer user and his or her followers, and displays one or more data object representations and / or derived data object representations associated with the first subsidiary subset of brand information. Similarly, when other consumer users on the system express a system tracking preference for the first consumer user, the system filters the first brand information for which the first consumer user has expressed a preference to create a second subsidiary subset of the first brand information, and displays one or more data object representations and / or derived data object representations associated with the second subsidiary subset to the other consumer users. Additionally, when a brand user of the system expresses a system tracking preference for the first consumer user, the system filters the first brand information for which the first consumer user has expressed a preference to create a third subsidiary subset of the first brand information and displays one or more data object representations and / or derived data object representations associated with the third subsidiary subset to the brand user.

[0176] In another embodiment, the invention includes a method for exchanging information on a system having a plurality of consumer users, including a first consumer user, the method including the acts of: (a) receiving information indicating that the first consumer user has a preference for a certain product item and / or provider; (b) receiving item and / or provider information provided from at least some of the plurality of consumer users and / or providers, the item and / or provider information relating to the product item and / or provider; (c) filtering the item and / or provider information to create a subset of item and / or provider information provided to the consumer user; and (d) displaying to the first consumer user one or more data object representations relating to the subset of item and / or provider information. For example, the present invention includes a method of exchanging information on a system having a plurality of consumer users, including a first consumer user, the method including the operations of: (a) receiving information indicating that the first consumer user has a preference for a certain product item and / or brand; (b) receiving item and / or brand information provided by at least some of the plurality of consumer users and / or brands related to the product item and / or brand; (c) filtering the item and / or brand information to create a subset of item and / or brand information provided to the consumer user; and (d) displaying to the first consumer user one or more data object representations related to the subset of item and / or brand information.

[0177] The present invention also includes a method of exchanging information between a first provider and a first consumer user on a system including (a) a plurality of consumer users including the first consumer user, and (b) a plurality of providers including the first provider, the system configured to receive, filter, and / or display information related to the first consumer user, the first provider, the plurality of consumer users, the plurality of providers, merchandise items, interaction data, comparative interaction data, and combinations thereof; the method includes an operation of (a) the first provider viewing interaction data related to the plurality of consumer users who have expressed a preference for the first provider information; and (b) providing additional first provider information in response to the first provider interaction data. The method may also include an operation of the first provider viewing provider comparison interaction data for the first provider compared to the plurality of providers on the system and / or a subset of the plurality of providers on the system; and an operation of providing additional first provider information in response to the first provider interaction data and / or the first provider comparison interaction data. For example, the present invention includes a method for exchanging information between a first brand and a first consumer user over a system, the system including: (a) a plurality of consumer users, including the first consumer user; and (b) a second consumer user. and a plurality of brands including a first brand, the system being configured to receive, filter, and / or display information related to the first consumer user, the first brand, the plurality of consumer users, the plurality of brands, the product items, the interaction data, the comparison interaction data, and combinations thereof; the method including: (a) an operation of the first brand viewing interaction data related to the plurality of consumer users expressing a preference for the first brand information; and (b) an operation of providing additional first brand information in response to the interaction data of the first brand. The method may also include an operation of the first brand viewing brand comparison interaction data for the first brand compared to the plurality of brands on the system and / or a subset of the plurality of brands on the system; and an operation of providing additional first brand information in response to the first brand interaction data and / or the first brand comparison interaction data.

[0178] Also provided is a method of exchanging information between a first provider and a first consumer user on a system including (a) a plurality of consumer users including the first consumer user; and (b) a plurality of providers including the first provider, the system configured to receive, filter, and / or display information related to the first consumer user, the first provider, the plurality of consumer users, the plurality of providers, product items, interaction data, comparative interaction data, and combinations thereof; the method includes: (a) an operation of (i) the first consumer user viewing general first provider information and / or first provider information related to product items of the first provider; (ii) an operation of (i) expressing a preference for the general first provider information and / or product items of the first provider; and (iii) an operation of (a) the first consumer user viewing a subset of the first provider information provided to the first consumer user by the system. For example, there is also provided a method of exchanging information between a first brand and a first consumer user on a system including (a) a plurality of consumer users including the first consumer user; and (b) a plurality of brands including the first brand, the system configured to receive, filter, and / or display information related to the first consumer user, the first brand, the plurality of consumer users, the plurality of brands, product items, interaction data, comparative interaction data, and combinations thereof; the method including: (a)(i) an operation of the first consumer user viewing general first brand information and / or first brand information related to product items of the first brand; (ii)(i) an operation of expressing a preference for the general first brand information and / or product items of the first brand; and (iii) an operation of the first consumer user viewing a subset of the first brand information provided to the first consumer user by the system.

[0179] Also included is a method of exchanging information between a first consumer user and one or more other consumer users on a system including: (a) a plurality of consumer users, including a first consumer user and one or more other consumer users, where the first consumer user and the one or more other consumer users are connected in the system; and (b) a plurality of providers, including a first provider, where the system is configured to receive, filter, and / or display information related to the first consumer user, the first provider, the plurality of consumer users, the plurality of providers, merchandise items, interaction data, comparative interaction data, and combinations thereof; the method includes: (a) exchanging information between the first consumer user and the one or more other consumer users, where the first consumer user and the one or more other consumer users are connected in the system; and (b) a plurality of providers, including a first provider. and (b) an action of the first consumer user viewing a subset of the first provider information provided by the system to the consumer user and possibly one or more other consumer users; and (b) an action of the first consumer user viewing an interaction with the subset of the first provider information, the interaction including: (i) preferences for one or more elements in the subset of the first provider information expressed by the first consumer user and / or one or more other consumer users; (ii) comments regarding one or more elements in the subset of the first provider information provided by the first consumer user and / or one or more other consumer users; or (iii) combinations thereof. and (c) the first consumer user interacting with the subset of the first provider information, e.g., expressing additional preferences for data objects in the subset, responding to comments provided by another consumer user, etc. For example, the present invention contemplates a method of exchanging information between a first consumer user and one or more other consumer users on a system, the system including (a) a plurality of consumer users, including the first consumer user and one or more other consumer users, the first consumer user and the one or more other consumer users being connected in the system, and (b) a plurality of brands, including a first brand, the system configured to receive, filter, and / or display information related to the first consumer user, the first brand, the plurality of consumer users, the plurality of brands, merchandise items, interaction data, comparative interaction data, and combinations thereof; the method comprising: The method includes: (a) a first consumer user viewing a first subset of brand information provided by the system to the first consumer user and possibly one or more other consumer users; (b) a first consumer user viewing an interaction with the first subset of brand information, the interaction including: (i) a preference for one or more elements in the first subset of brand information expressed by the first consumer user and / or one or more other consumer users; (ii) a comment about one or more elements in the first subset of brand information provided by the first consumer user and / or one or more other consumer users; or (iii) a combination thereof. The method also contemplates (c) the first consumer user interacting with the first subset of brand information, such as expressing additional preferences for data objects in the subset, responding to a comment provided by another consumer user, etc.

[0180] The foregoing method is illustrated in the figures and accompanying description. While one or more of the figures illustrates an embodiment of a system in which the providers are brands and the information exchanged on the system relates to merchandise items and information associated therewith, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the system described herein and illustrated in the figures can be used to manage any type of data set provided by any type of provider. The system described herein provides an efficient mechanism for managing and displaying customizable data sets to users, simplifying and enriching the user experience on the system, while also providing efficiency in the transfer and management of data between two or more databases on the system.

[0181] As shown in FIG. 1, the system includes an aggregate consumer data table (101), an aggregate brand data table (102), a processor (103), an interface (104), and a set of filtering and analysis programs and associated databases (105). The aggregate consumer data table stores all information about multiple consumer users participating in the system, and similarly, the aggregate brand data table stores all information about multiple brands participating in the system. The aggregate consumer data table includes one or more consumer data sets, one of which is shown in FIG. 1(a) and FIG. 1(f) as individual consumer data (106). Each consumer user with a profile on the system has a corresponding consumer data table or individual consumer data tables stored in the aggregate consumer data table. Each individual consumer data includes one or more other data tables, including, but not limited to, a consumer profile (107), purchasing preferences including brand preferences (108), item preferences (109), and contacts, followers, and / or following users. The brand and / or item preferences include a consumer user (not shown) created brand and / or item list (110) and an interests data table (111). The brand and / or item preferences may also include one or more brand and / or item lists created by a consumer user (not shown) that may be used by the consumer user to group brands and / or items into an ontology created by the consumer user.

[0182] The overall brand data table includes one or more brand data, one of which is shown in FIG. 1(a) as individual brand data (112). Each brand participating in the system has a corresponding brand data table or individual brand data tables stored in the overall brand data table. Each individual brand data includes one or more other data tables, including, but not limited to, an item catalog (113) containing a list of all items of the brand offered on the system, a contacts, followers, and / or followed users data table (114) containing a list of all consumer users on the system who have expressed a preference for that brand or items offered by that brand on the system, and an interests data table (115) containing interest categories relevant to items offered by the brand. In an optional embodiment, the overall brand data table includes a system ontology including categories of items and brands, and brand information is organized in the one or more brand data tables according to the system ontology.

[0183] The processor (103) includes a filtering program configured to filter the aggregate brand data table based on consumer preferences, e.g., item, category, and / or brand preferences. That is, the processor filters the item, category, and / or brand information in the aggregate brand data table and the aggregate consumer data table to create a subset of item and / or brand information related to only the items and / or brands for which the first user has expressed a preference. For example, when the first user reveals an interest in item X, the system uses that information to filter the aggregate brand data table for information related to item X to generate a data table customized for the consumer that includes information related to item X. The system also filters the aggregate consumer data table for one or more users of a plurality of users on the system followed by the first user who provided item and / or brand information about item X. Thus, the consumer user's GUI displays to the consumer a data object for item X that includes a selected subset of information related to item X, such as a description of item X, purchase information, an image, video, or other graphic of item X, reviews of item X, sale or promotion information associated with item X, items related to item X, items used in connection with item X, and comments about item X by the user's followers, as described in more detail below (a derived data object related to item X). Similarly, when a first user reveals an interest in item category N, the system uses that information to filter the aggregate brand data table for information related to items associated with category N to generate a data table customized for the consumer that includes information related to items n, m, and p. The system then displays data object representations of items n, m, and p.

[0184] In one embodiment, the filtering program provides a method for organizing the aggregate brand data table based on consumer preferences, e.g., item, category, and / or brand preferences. That is, the processor filters the item and / or brand information in the aggregate brand data table and the aggregate consumer data table to create a subset of item and / or brand information related to only those items and / or brands for which the first user has expressed a preference, and the system displays the subset to the consumer user in a GUI area or location dedicated to one or more of the consumer user's preferences. For example, if the first user expresses an interest in item X, the system uses that information to filter the aggregate brand data table for information related to item X, and displays a customized consumer view that includes information related to item X. The system also filters the aggregate consumer data table for one or more users on the system who are followed by the first user and who have provided item and / or brand information about item X. The consumer user's GUI thus displays to the consumer a data object (a derived data object representation related to item X) for item X that includes a selected subset of information related to item X, such as a description of item X, purchase information, images, videos, or other graphics of item X, reviews of item X, sales or promotional information associated with item X, items related to item X, items used in connection with item X, and, as described in more detail below, comments about item X by the user's followers.

[0185] The consumer user's GUI may display the selected subset of information in an appropriate manner. In one embodiment, the GUI displays the selected subset of information in channels or feeds organized according to the consumer user's preferences, and the consumer user may navigate between channels within the GUI. The system may include a defined set of channels or feeds and / or the consumer user may customize one or more channels or feeds based on his or her preferences. The predefined set of channels or feeds may include, but is not limited to, popular data object representations (e.g., data objects that have received or been the subject of a lot of activity on the system within a given period of time), promotional data object representations (e.g., a channel or feed offering promotions or deals from a brand in association with that data object; a "Deals Channel"), new data object representations (e.g., data objects not previously viewed by a consumer user on the system as described herein), all data object representations, and / or all brand data object representations. Additionally, the set of predefined channels or feeds may further include a set of channels or feeds that are specific to the consumer user, such as data object representations that are new to the consumer user, data object representations of brands for which the consumer user has expressed a preference (e.g., "My Brands Channel"), one or more collections of lists of data object representations for the consumer user (e.g., "My Lists Channel"), one or more collections of friends, followers, etc. associated with the consumer user on the system (e.g., "My People Channel"), data object representations that have been "liked" (e.g., "My Likes"), individuals or brands that follow the consumer user (e.g., "Following Me Channel").The sub-channels therein may include "People Following Me" and / or "Brands Following Me"), data object representations that the consumer user has engaged with within the system (e.g., "My Activity Channel"), and / or data object representations that the consumer user has followed, "liked," or otherwise expressed a preference for within the system (e.g., "My Following Activity," "My Liked Activity," etc.). Additionally, the consumer user may also define one or more customized channels or feeds based on criteria selected by the consumer user. For example, the consumer user may define a channel for data object representations related to his or her interests, such as golf, running, cooking, etc., which brings together data object representations for which the consumer user has defined preferences related to that interest (e.g., "My Golf Channel"). Thus, the GUI displays multiple channels or feeds in the consumer user's GUI, including predefined and / or customized channels or feeds, with the content of each channel or feed based on the preferences of each individual consumer user on the system. Each channel or feed may be individually selectable.

[0186] Additionally, the system includes an interface (104) that allows consumer users to interact with the system and their profiles and preferences. The consumer GUI allows consumers to search, browse, and view listings of items and brands on the system, and also allows consumers to search, browse, and view individual item data object representations, brand data object representations, etc., which are unfiltered and / or filtered by the system based on the consumer user's preferences, as described in more detail below. Additionally, the consumer GUI allows consumers to modify or edit their profiles and preferences on the system. Similarly, the interface also includes a brand GUI configured to allow brand representatives ("brand users") to interact with brand information and / or interaction data generated by the system for that brand. The consumer interface and brand interface are described in more detail below.

[0187] Use of the system is shown diagrammatically in Figure 1(b). A consumer user creates a profile (116) on the system (the process of setting up a profile is described in more detail below). The profile is a component of individual user data (not shown in Figure 1(b)), which is a component of an aggregate user data table (117). The system filters the aggregate user data table and aggregate brand data table based on the preferences and interests revealed in the profile (118). A customized data table for the consumer is created from this filtering process (119), and the results are displayed in the consumer GUI (120). The system queries the aggregate user data table, aggregate brand data table, and consumer profile for updates periodically (121), e.g., whenever a consumer user logs into the system, and once a user enters the system, the processor is programmed to update the data displayed in the consumer GUI in real time or periodically, e.g., every minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes, hourly, etc. If there are one or more updates since the last query, the consumer's customized data table is updated (122); if there are no updates, the consumer's customized data table is not updated (123).

[0188] One embodiment of data transfer and management on the system is shown diagrammatically in Figure 1(c). Each data object, user, provider, item, and category on the system is associated with a unique identifier (ID) in the system, and as described above with reference to Figure 1(a), each provider is associated with an individual provider data table in the system (124). Additionally, each user, item, provider, brand, etc. is associated with a data object in the system, and each data object is stored in the system in a comprehensive data object database (125) (a component of element (105) in Figure 1(a)). As described above, each provider is associated with a provider profile in the system (126). Each data object contains a reference to the user identifier (ID) of the user (or provider) who created it, and the unique IDs of the users, providers, items, categories, etc. referenced in the data object. Thus, for example, when a user with user identifier A (hereinafter referred to as "User A") accesses the system via a web page (127), display for a mobile application (128), or other display mechanism (129) and selects to follow, for example, a provider data object with identifier X, the system creates (131) a derived data object with identifier X'. In this example, data object X is the source data object and derived data object X' is a derivative of source data object X. Derived data object X' is stored in a global data object database. The system then creates an association between User A, data object X, and data object X' (132), and the association is tracked in a global tracking database (133) (also a component of element (105) of FIG. 1(a)). (where X is the number of followers of user A on the system, and C is the number of data objects that have been created). Thus, in this particular example, the association that is created includes the following data: user A, data object X, and data object X'. The system then consults the global tracking database for a data set of user A's followers on the system, i.e., users B, C, and D (134). If user A has no followers, then a representation of the derived data object X' is displayed in one or more customized areas, channels, or feeds of user A, e.g., areas, channels, and / or feeds related to recent user A activity on the system (135). If user A has followers, e.g., user B, then the system displays a representation of the derived data object X' in user B's customized area, channel, or feed (136) designed to display data object representations that are new to user B on the system (137); similarly, if user A has further followers, e.g., users C and D, then the system displays a representation of the derived data object X' in user C's customized channel or feed, and user D's customized channel or feed, respectively. As further associations are added to the global tracking database relating to user A and / or data object X', the system identifies (138) the additional associations in the global tracking database and displays any updates to the data set of the additional associations in the New Channel.

[0189] Yet another embodiment is shown in FIG. 1(d), in which user A "likes" a representation of data object X. As noted above, in one particular embodiment of the system, the act of following a data object representation corresponds to a system tracking preference, which results in the generation of a derived data object based on the followed data object, whereas "liking" a data object representation does not generate a system tracking preference. Thus, as shown in FIG. 1(d), when user A "likes" a representation of data object X, the preference is associated with data object X in the comprehensive data object database, and similarly, user A's preference for data object X is stored in user A's profile (in item preference data table (142)), but the system does not generate a derived data object. An association between user A and data object X is created and stored in the global tracking database and / or an additional tracking database, which may be a component of the global tracking database or a separate database in the system. The system displays a representation (140) of data object X in one or more of User A's GUI areas, channels, or feeds (141), as well as in one or more of User A's followers' areas, channels, or feeds.

[0190] Yet another data transfer and management embodiment is shown generally in FIG. 1(e). When a user contacts the system via a web page, mobile application, or other display mechanism and selects to view their New Channel (143), the system retrieves (144) a dataset of data objects previously displayed in the New Channel, queries a comprehensive data object database for objects not previously displayed in the user's New Channel (145), generates (146) a dataset of new data objects, deletes (147) data objects previously displayed or viewed on the system, and displays (148) a dataset of new data object representations in the New Channel. If there are no new data objects in the comprehensive data object database, the system displays (149) a message to the user via the GUI informing them that the New Channel is empty. In one embodiment, the system can determine whether a data object representation has been viewed by the user, for example, by detecting via JavaScript in the browser that a data object has been displayed in the GUI, and a message is sent to the server to , instructs the system to remove the data object from the New Channel's data table. Once the New Channel is updated, the data object representation will no longer be displayed. Alternatively, the system does not detect that the user has actually "seen" it in the browser, but simply maintains a record of data objects that have been presented in the New Channel, and once presented, references to the data object are removed from the New Channel's data table. In yet another alternative embodiment, the system can remove references to the data object within a selected time period, e.g., one week, one month, three months, etc., after it was first displayed in the New Channel.

[0191] Yet another illustration of an embodiment of data transfer and management on the system is shown diagrammatically in Fig. 1(f). User A (i) contacts the system with his GUI (104) and selects (130) to follow a representation of data object X, a data object created by provider Z. As described above, provider Z is represented by a data table (112) that includes a profile (126) containing provider Z's ID, provider Z's item catalog (113) (each item in the catalog has a unique item ID), contacts, followers, followed users data table (114), and an interests and / or categories data table (115) that contains interest IDs and / or category IDs for each interest and / or category, and a unique item ID for each product in provider Z's interests and / or categories. When User A chooses to follow a representation of Data Object X, that preference is (ii) stored in User A's data table (106), which includes User A's user profile (107), including User ID, User A's contacts, followers, a data table of followed users (110), and User A's preferences (109). The data object X stored in the comprehensive data object database (125) is used by the filtering and analysis program (105) of the system to (iii) generate a derived data object (131) with identifier X'. The derived data object X' is also stored in the comprehensive data object database. The system then (iv) creates an association (132) between User A, Data Object X, and Data Object X', which is (v) stored in a Global Tracking Database (133), which is also a component of Element (105). The system then consults the Global Tracking Database to (vi) generate a data set of User A's followers on the system, namely Users B, C, and D (134).The system (vii) displays representations of the derived data object X' to followers of user A, e.g., users B, C, and C, in customized areas, channels, or feeds (149, 150, and 151, respectively) of B, C, and D designed to display the data object representations new to users B, C, and D, respectively, on the system.

[0192] As shown in Figures 1(c)-(f), the global tracking database provides a simple organizational structure that allows the system to identify relationships between data objects, users, contributors, categories, etc., thereby enabling the system to track the evolving network of relationships between data objects, users, contributors, categories, etc. For example, as shown in Figure 1(g) and in the example above, an association is created (132) between User A, Data Object X, and Derived Data Object X'. The system then queries the Global Tracking Database for the followers / followees of User A, identifies a data set of Users B, C, and D who are followers / followees of User A (168), associates the followers / followees of User A with the AX-X' association (169), and then associates the followers / followees of User A, Users B, C, and D with the Derived Data Object X' (170). This iterative process is used continually as new associations are added to the Global Tracking Database.

[0193] An example of a data object and its associated data object representation is shown in Figure 1(h). Data object X is a database (152) that includes an item ID (153), a headline (154), a description of the item (155), a price (156), optionally an image and / or media (157), a comment field (158), a provider ID (159), optionally a category ID (160) for a category associated with the item, optionally a hyperlink (161) to a website, e.g., a product website, a provider website, a reseller / distributor website, etc., as well as one or more interactions (or interaction data) (171) that one or more users and / or providers on the system have had with that data object.As described above, one or more interactions may include, but are not limited to: viewing the data object representation, expressing a preference for the data object representation, commenting on the data object representation, creating a discourse data object representation by starting a discourse about the data object representation, participating in a conversation about the data object representation, providing an opinion about the data object representation, providing a rating of the data object representation, clicking on the data object representation to view additional details, clicking on the data object representation to view information located on the first brand, participating in a survey about the data object representation, requesting more information from the brand regarding the data object representation, and interacting with the data object representation displayed on the data object representation. purchase merchandise items displayed in the data object representation from a third party retailer / reseller, purchase merchandise items displayed in the data object representation directly from the Brand, purchase merchandise items displayed in the data object representation from an individual, participate in auctions related to the data object representation, offer merchandise items displayed in the data object representation for free, loan, sale, lease, and / or rental, request to purchase merchandise items displayed in the data object representation, request that the Brand and / or its authorized retailer / reseller reinstate discontinued merchandise items displayed in the data object representation, suggest product ideas, modifications, and / or improvements to the data object representation, or any combination thereof.

[0194] The system extracts the data contained in the data object to generate a representation of data object X (162), which includes a headline (163), an item description (164), a price (165), an image and / or media (166), a comments field (167), possibly hyperlinks to websites, such as a product website, a provider website, a reseller / distributor website, etc. (not shown), and one or more interactions with the data object representation (172). The data object representation may also include less information than the entire data set held in the database, for example, it may omit visual representations of the item ID, provider ID, and category ID.

[0195] Each data object includes interaction data for that data object, as described herein with reference to FIG. 1(h). The system also includes a global interaction data database that stores all interaction data for each data object in a comprehensive data object database. The global interaction data database may be a subcomponent of the global tracking database or may be a separate database maintained on the system. The system uses the interaction data stored in the global interaction data database to generate sales activity data for providers participating in the system, as described herein. In a particular example, if a representation of data object X has been "liked" 10 times and user A also "likes" the representation of data object X, the number of users on the system who have "liked" the representation of data object X increases to 11. If user A then "likes" the representation of data object X, the number of users on the system who have "liked" the representation of data object X increases to 11. When the representation of data object X is un-liked, the number of users who have "liked" the representation of data object X drops to 10. To report usage statistics and other analyses to the provider, the system records the number of interactions with the data object, e.g., in this particular example, the total number of "likes" that the representation of data object X has ever received on the system (11), along with the total number of "un-likes" that the representation of data object X has ever received on the system (1), so that the current number of "likes" is 10. The "10" is the number of "likes" displayed in the field (172) for the representation of data object X. Each interaction with the data object representation is recorded in the global interaction data database, along with the user ID of the user who interacted with the data object representation and the date it occurred. This allows the system to display statistics to the provider and perform analysis of user activity over time.

[0196] In one particular example, if a provider wishes to understand how users are interacting with a data object representation, the system may query the global interaction data database for a set of interactions made by users with respect to that data object representation on the system. The set of interactions generated by the system includes the number of comments, ratings, "likes," shares, followers, etc. associated with the data object. The set of interactions may also include the click-through rate of the data object, the number of purchases associated with the data object, etc. The provider may also compare the interaction data set associated with a particular data object with other data objects in the provider's catalog or competing provider's catalogs, data objects in the same product category as the particular data object, etc. Other sales activity analyses described above and in more detail below may be investigated using the interaction data associated with the data objects and stored in the global interaction data database.

[0197] Another embodiment of data transfer and management on the system is shown diagrammatically in FIG. 13(a). In this alternative embodiment, User A accesses the system via a web page (1301), a display for a mobile application (1302), or other display mechanism (1303), and selects, for example, to follow a donor data object X (1304) (available in a donor profile (1305)). The system creates an association between User A and data object X (1306), which is stored in the global tracking database (1307). Thus, in this particular example, the association created includes the following data: User A and data object X. Unlike the above example, the system creates an association between User A and data object X, but a derived data object X' is not created in response to User A deciding to follow data object X. The system then looks up the data set of User A's followers on the system, namely Users B, C, and D, in the global tracking database (1308). If user A has no followers, then the representation of data object X is added to one or more of user A's customized sections, channels, or feed, e.g., an area, channel, and / or feed associated with User A's recent activity on the system (1309). If User A has a follower, e.g., User B, the system displays the representation of data object X in User B's customized area, channel, or feed designed to display data object representations new to User B on the system (1310); similarly, if User A has other followers, e.g., Users C and D, the system displays the representation of data object X in User C's customized channel or feed and User D's customized channel or feed, respectively. When additional associations are added to the global tracking database associated with User A and / or data object X, the system identifies the additional associations in the global tracking database and updates, if any, the data set of the additional associations to the New Cha Display on the nnel.

[0198] A further embodiment is shown in FIG. 13(b), where user A generates a discourse data object based on a representation of source data object X. In this embodiment, when user A generates a discourse data object X based on a representation of source data object X (1311), the system creates a discourse data object X (1312), which is stored in a comprehensive data object database (1313), and an association is created between user A, source data object X, and discourse data object X (1314). The association between user A, data object X, and discourse data object X is created and stored in a global tracking database (1307) and / or an additional tracking database, which may be a component of the global tracking database or a separate database in the system. The system then looks up the data set of user A's followers on the system, i.e., users B, C, and D, in the global tracking database (1308). If user A has no followers, the representation of discourse data object X is displayed in one or more of user A's customized areas, channels, or feeds, e.g., areas, channels, and / or feeds related to user A's recent activities on the system (1309). If user A has followers, e.g., user B, the system displays the representation of discourse data object X in user B's customized areas, channels, or feeds designed to display data object representations new to user B on the system (1315); similarly, if user A has further followers, e.g., users C and D, the system displays the representation of discourse data object X in user C's customized channel or feed and user D's customized channel or feed, respectively.

[0199] Additional details regarding the discourse data object and how it is stored and displayed in the system are shown in Figure 13(c). In this embodiment, when user B, a follower of user A, comments on discourse data object X (1316), the representation of discourse data object X is modified to include user B's comment (1317), and the modified form of discourse data object X is stored in the integrated data object database (1313). In a particular embodiment, the act of initiating a discourse about a data object generates a discourse data object, but participating in a discourse about a discourse data object, adding one or more comments to the discourse data object, and / or replying to one or more comments in the discourse data object modify the original discourse data object, but participating in the discourse does not generate a new discourse data object. An association between user B, source data object X, and discourse data object X is generated (1318), and the association is stored in the global tracking database (1307). The system then consults the global tracking database for the data set of User B's followers on the system, i.e., Users C and D (1319). If User B has no followers, then the representation of the discourse data object X is displayed in one or more of User B's customized areas, channels, or feeds, e.g., areas, channels, and / or feeds related to User B's recent activities on the system (1320). If User B has followers, e.g., User C, then the system displays the representation of the discourse data object X in User C's customized areas, channels, or feeds designed to display data object representations new to User C on the system (1321); similarly, if User B has more followers, e.g., User D, then the system displays the representation of the discourse data object X in User D's customized channels or feeds.

[0200] As shown in Fig. 13(d), two or more users of the system can discourse on a data object. In this embodiment, users A and C each start an independent discourse on a representation of a source data object X (1322 and 1323, respectively), and the system generates two discourse data objects X based on the actions of users A and C on the system, namely, user A's discourse data object X (1324a) and user C's discourse data object X (1324b). An association is generated between user A, the source data object X, and user A's discourse data object X (1325), and the association is stored in the global tracking database (1307); an association is also generated between user C, the data object X, and user C's discourse data object X (1326), and the association is also stored in the global tracking database. The system then consults the global tracking database for a dataset of users A's and C's followers on the system (1327 and 1328, respectively). If users A and C have no followers, then user A's discourse data object X and user C's discourse data object X are each separately displayed in one or more of users A's and C's customized areas, channels, or feeds, such as areas, channels, and / or feeds related to users A's and C's recent activities on the system (1329 and 1330, respectively). If users A and C have one or more followers, then the system displays user A's representation of discourse data object X and user C's representation of discourse data object X in those followers' customized areas, channels, or feeds designed to display data object representations new to the additional users on the system (1331).

[0201] A further illustration of one embodiment of data transfer and management on the system is shown diagrammatically in Figure 13(e). User A (i) interfaces with the system with his / her GUI (1332) and selects (1333) to follow a representation of data object X, a data object created by provider Z. As above, provider Z is represented (1334) by a data table, which includes a profile (1335) containing provider Z's ID, provider Z's item catalog (1336) (each item in the catalog has a unique item ID), data tables of contacts, followers, and following users (1337), and interests and / or categories. and a goal data table (1338) that includes an interest and / or category ID for each interest and / or category, and a unique item ID for each product in Provider Z's interest and / or category. When User A chooses to follow a representation of Data Object X, the preferences are (ii) stored in User A's data table (1339), which includes User A's user profile (1340) that includes User A's user ID, a data table (1341) of User A's contacts, followers, and following users, and User A's preferences (1342). The system then (iii) creates an association (1343) between User A and Data Object X, which is (iv) stored in a global tracking database (1307) (also a component of element (105)). The system then consults the global tracking database to generate a data set (1344) of User A's followers on the system, namely, Users B, C, and D. The system (vii) displays representations of data object X to followers of user A, e.g., users B, C, and D, in customized areas, channels, or feeds (1345, 1346, and 1347, respectively) of B, C, and D designed, respectively, to display representations of data objects that are new to users B, C, and D on the system.

[0202] An example of a discourse data object and its associated discourse data object representation is shown in Fig. 13(f). Similar to the data object shown in Fig. 1(h), the discourse data object X is a database (1348) that includes an item ID (1349), a headline (1350), a description of the item (1351), a price (1352), possibly an image and / or media (1353), a comment field (1354), a provider ID (1355), possibly a category ID (1356) for a category associated with the item, possibly a hyperlink to a website (1357), such as a product website, a provider website, a reseller / distributor website, etc., and one or more interactions (or interaction data) (1358) that one or more users and / or providers on the system have had with that data object. The database of discourse data objects X also includes a user ID (1359) of the user who created the discourse data object. The interactions are stored in the system as an association between the discourse data object and the users who interacted with the discourse data object representation.As described above, the one or more interactions may include, but are not limited to: viewing a discourse data object representation, expressing a preference for a discourse data object representation, commenting on a discourse data object representation, participating in a conversation regarding a discourse data object representation, providing an opinion regarding a discourse data object representation, providing a rating regarding a discourse data object representation, clicking on a discourse data object representation to view more details, clicking on a discourse data object representation to view information located on a first brand, participating in a survey regarding the discourse data object representation, requesting more information from a brand regarding the discourse data object representation, purchasing a merchandise item displayed in a discourse data object representation from a third party retailer / reseller. The discourse data object representation may include making a request to the Brand and / or its authorized retailers / resellers to reinstate discontinued merchandise items displayed in the discourse data object representation, purchasing merchandise items displayed in the discourse data object representation directly from the Brand, purchasing merchandise items displayed in the discourse data object representation from an individual, participating in an auction related to the discourse data object representation, offering merchandise items displayed in the discourse data object representation for free, on loan, for sale, lease, and / or rental, applying to purchase merchandise items displayed in the discourse data object representation, requesting that the Brand and / or its authorized retailers / resellers reinstate discontinued merchandise items displayed in the discourse data object representation, suggesting product ideas, modifications, and / or improvements to the Brand with respect to the discourse data object representation, or any combination thereof.

[0203] The system extracts the data contained in the discourse data object to generate a representation of the discourse data object X (1360), which includes a headline (1361) and one or more of the following optional fields: item description (1362), price (1363), image and / or media (1364), a comments field (1365), hyperlinks (not shown) to websites, e.g., a product website, a provider website, a reseller / distributor website, etc., and one or more interactions (1366) with the data object representation. The discourse data object representation may also include less information than the entire data set held in the database, for example omitting visual representations of item ID, provider ID, and category ID. A discourse data object representation may optionally include visual indicators within the representation to distinguish the discourse data object from the source data object, such as a text box (1367) surrounding an item image, as well as a representation of the user who created the discourse data object (1368) and a subheading (1368) indicating the discourse context that is the subject of the data object representation. In one particular embodiment, a discourse data object representation includes a heading that refers to the item represented by the discourse data object, a representation of the user who created the discourse data object, and a subheading that indicates the discourse context represented by the discourse data object representation.

[0204] Consumer User Profile and Interface Consumer users can use the system without signing in, specifying item / brand preferences and / or interests, or providing any personal information. In embodiments, the system allows unregistered consumer users to view content in the system, but the access rights of unregistered consumer users may be limited to unrestricted functionality of the system (e.g., unregistered consumer users may be able to search the overall brand data table and / or specific brand data tables, view item and / or brand details (data object representations of items or brands, respectively), view consumer user and brand user activity across all users, etc., whereas registered consumer users may be able to create one or more item and / or brand lists, follow one or more items, brands, and / or individuals in the system, etc.

[0205] In a preferred embodiment, a consumer user creates a profile on the system, which includes a consumer user profile including the user's name, email, password, and possibly one or more additional fields, such as address, phone number, gender, date of birth, approximate personal or household income, employment information, reference to another social networking website, age verification information, such as driver's license number or other form of personal identification, nickname, avatar, place of birth, occupation, hobbies, alma mater, marital status, age and identity of one or more relatives, etc. A method for creating a profile on the system is shown in FIG. 2(a). An unregistered consumer user accesses the system (201) and is optionally given the opportunity to learn about the system by viewing a demonstration of the system (202). If the consumer user chooses to view the demonstration, the system displays the demonstration to the user (203) and directs the user to an initial landing page for unregistered users (201). The consumer user is also given the option to view the various brands participating in the system (204), and optionally directs the system to display a searchable list of brands (205), and / or the consumer user can simply search a comprehensive brand data table for brands participating in the system. The consumer user is given the opportunity to create a profile on the system (206), and if selected, the system will display a sign-up screen (209) that contains information that the system will later use to identify the consumer user (210).

[0206] In one embodiment, the profile creation process includes collecting information from the consumer user regarding interests in one or more interest categories and, for example, the user's hobbies, occupation, etc. FIG. 3(a) illustrates one method of creating a profile on the system. FIG. 3(a) illustrates an example of a profile creation screen. The module displays a set of interests (301) and the consumer user selects the interests he or she likes. The module can then display a set of brands that fall into the selected interest category, and the consumer user can deselect brands in the interest category that do not interest the consumer user (302) (FIG. 3(b)). Similarly, the module can display avatars of people the consumer user follows when the consumer user links the system to his or her contacts in a social networking site, and the consumer user can deselect people that the consumer user does not want to follow on the system (not shown). Additionally, the module can display one or more lists that the consumer user may want to create in light of his or her interests, and the consumer user can deselect lists that the consumer user does not want to populate on the system and / or create new lists that the consumer user wants to populate on the system (FIG. 3(c)).

[0207] Figure 3(d) is a schematic illustrating how a consumer user can create a profile on the system. In one embodiment, a consumer user signs in to a social networking site (303) and is directed to a sign-in screen for the system (304). The consumer user enters their social network login credentials and The consumer user is prompted (305) to enter a credential and the system connects (306) to the social network (307) to verify (308) that the credential is valid. If the credential is not valid, the system prompts the consumer user to log in without the social network credential. If the credential is valid, the system queries (309, 310) the general consumer data table to verify (311) that the consumer user has an existing profile on the system. If the consumer user has an existing profile (312), the system displays (313) the consumer user's landing page corresponding to the profile based on information retrieved from the consumer user profile data table (314). If the consumer user does not have an existing profile, the system creates a new profile on the system for the consumer user and stores the profile information in the consumer user's consumer profile data table. The system presents the consumer user with one or more lists of brands and / or item categories from which the consumer user can select his or her preferences (315), as described above with reference to Figures 3(a)-(c), and the information about the brands, brand categories, items, and item categories presented at this stage of the process is sourced from the overall brand data table (316). The system also includes a feature to facilitate the selection of preferences (317), called the Favorites Wizard (318), described below. The consumer user selects his or her favorite brands and item categories (319), as well as optional subcategories (not shown), and the system retrieves information for this process from the overall brand data table (320) and stores the results in the consumer user's consumer brand preference data table (321). Once this process is complete, a consumer user profile has been created (322).

[0208] When a consumer user expresses a preference for a data object, the system software determines in which consumer user GUI, channel, or feed the data object should be displayed by querying the followed / follower relationships stored in the aggregate consumer data table, the individual consumer data table, the aggregate brand data table, and / or the individual brand data table. For example, if consumer user Bob follows brand Y shoes on the system and brand Y adds a new shoe data object, the system queries the aggregate consumer data table, the individual consumer data table, the aggregate brand data table, and / or the individual brand data table for Bob's expressed preference for brand Y shoes and causes the new shoe data object to be displayed in one or more areas, channels, or feeds of Bob's consumer user GUI. The system copies a reference to the data object into the corresponding predefined or customized channel or feed data table, and the consumer user associated with each predefined or customized channel will see the new data object the next time they refresh the GUI for that channel or feed. Additionally, for channels or feeds for displaying representations of data objects not previously seen by a consumer user (e.g., the "New Channel"), when the system determines that a data object has been seen by a given consumer user and / or has previously been presented to the consumer user in the consumer user's GUI by the system, the system removes the data object from the New Channel by deleting the reference from the New Channel's data table. In one embodiment, the system can determine whether a data object has been seen by a consumer user, for example, by detecting via JavaScript in the browser that the data object has been displayed in the consumer user's GUI, and a message is sent to the server instructing the system to remove the data object from the New Channel's data table.Once the New Channel is updated, the data tile will no longer be displayed, or the system will not detect that the consumer user actually "watched" it in their browser, but instead simply watch the New Channel. A record of data objects that have been presented is maintained, and once presented, references to the data object are removed from the New Channel's data tables. In yet another alternative, the system may remove references to the data object within a selected time period after it first appears on the New Channel, e.g., one week, one month, three months, etc.

[0209] FIG. 3(e) illustrates the Favorites Wizard (318) referenced above. The Favorites Wizard presents the consumer user with a display of all interest categories (319) based on information retrieved from the Overall Brand Data Table (320). The consumer user selects his / her favorite interest categories (321) and possibly sub-categories (322), and these selections are stored in the consumer profile (323). The system may optionally present one or more fields (324) regarding optional information that the system can use to generate item / brand suggestions, such as the consumer user's occupation, average household income, home ownership, purchasing responsibilities, children, marital status, etc. If the consumer user selects to include optional information in the profile, the user enters the information (325), and the information is stored in the consumer profile (323). The system optionally generates additional interest category and / or brand suggestions (327) based on optional information provided by the consumer user and information maintained in the aggregate brand data table (326), and the consumer user selects from the additional suggestions (328) to generate a profile that is stored in the consumer user profile (323).

[0210] In yet other embodiments, the Favorites Wizard may compare the consumer user's profile information, such as age group, gender, interests, with the item and / or brand selections of similar consumer users on the system, and the system displays suggestions based on the comparison. For example, if the consumer user is a 45-year-old male who is interested in golf, the system will survey the item / brand preferences of other male consumer users on the system in the same age range who have also expressed an interest in golf, and display the items and / or brands selected by those other consumer users as suggested favorites.

[0211] The following example illustrates the profile creation system described above and illustrated in FIGS. 3(a)-(e): A consumer user identifies one or more preferred interest categories, e.g., sports and outdoors, and the system displays one or more preferred interest subcategories, e.g., within the sports and outdoors category, where the consumer user may specify an interest in team sports, athletics and fitness, outdoor recreation, athletics and outdoor clothing, etc. For each selected additional interest category, the consumer user may optionally select an interest subcategory, e.g., within the toys category, where the consumer user may specify an interest in video games, dolls, and / or construction toys, and within the small consumer electronics category, where the consumer user may specify an interest in cameras, phones, and / or radios. Each preferred interest subcategory may be further divided into additional subcategories, e.g., within the cameras subcategory, the consumer user may specify an interest in digital cameras, SLRs, video cameras, etc. The system may include one or more predefined interest categories and subcategories and / or the consumer user may define interest categories and subcategories specific to the consumer user. As noted above, each category (and subcategory) includes a unique ID, and the products and / or brands associated with that category also include unique IDs. Thus, when a consumer user expresses a preference on the system for a particular category of products, the system creates an association between the user ID and the category ID, and the system uses that association to identify item IDs contained in that category and display those item IDs to the user. Thus, the system matches a unique user ID, a category ID, and the item IDs within that category. to generate a specialized subset of data objects that matches the user's preferences.

[0212] Once the consumer user selects an interest category and / or one or more subcategories, the selection screen is updated to display representative brands participating in the system that are categorized within the interest category and / or subcategory highlighted by the consumer user. In one embodiment, a brand may be featured prominently on the selection screen for an additional fee, e.g., displayed among a first grouping of representative brands categorized in the selected interest category (this is an example of one way of "featuring" an item, as described in more detail below). (The interest category selection process may be updated by the consumer user at any time during the selection process. Various representative brands may be displayed in the selection screen using individual brand logos, or the field may include a list of brands by brand name. The consumer user may select and / or deselect one or more brands from the list provided in the profile setup, i.e., select the brands that he / she likes and / or remove the brands that he / she does not want to see on the system. Alternatively, the consumer user may not need to select and / or deselect any brands from the list provided in the profile setup, in which case the consumer user may see information from all brands that fall into the general interest category / subcategory that he / she has selected. For example, the consumer user may specify an interest in women's clothing of any brand or a particular designer. Also, the consumer user may deselect women's clothing of a particular manufacturer, which instructs the system to filter the consumer user's results to exclude that manufacturer from the consumer user's display. Additionally, the consumer user may update all or part of the brand selection process at any time during the profile setup.

[0213] Additionally or alternatively, a consumer user may select one or more brands during profile setup without any reference to a particular interest category. In that embodiment, the system presents a list of brands participating in the system and the consumer user selects a brand of interest. The list of brands may be displayed to the consumer user in any order, for example, alphabetically or sorted into one or more interest categories. The consumer user may also provide information regarding items / brands that the consumer user already owns or has experience with, so that the system may filter the results of the brand's item offerings to exclude items / brands that the consumer user already owns. In this regard, the system may provide targeted shopping results that include items that are new to a given consumer user, not necessarily items that are new to the system or to the general market.

[0214] The system may collect additional information from the consumer user that may give the system more information regarding the consumer user's shopping preferences. For example, the system may collect information regarding occupation, income, home ownership, whether the consumer user is primarily responsible for shopping for the household, and whether the consumer user has children and the approximate age range of the children. Information regarding whether the consumer user is primarily responsible for shopping for the household is because while the consumer user may not be interested in household items, as a primary household shopper, he or she may be interested in items related to household goods, such as products and services related to maintaining a home, cleaning supplies, etc. (The consumer user may choose not to provide such information if he or she is not interested in receiving information about such items). Similarly, information regarding the number of children of the consumer may be collected even if the consumer user has not necessarily expressed an interest in such items at another stage of the profile creation process. , may inform the system and / or brand that the consumer's interests may extend to children's items, such as clothing and toys (consumer users may choose not to provide information about such items if they are not interested in receiving such information). Optional categories of such additional information may be added to the user's profile to broaden the scope of data objects that the system can display to the user.

[0215] A consumer user may also include in his / her profile a list of one or more contacts. A contact need not be a consumer user of the system. In a preferred embodiment, one or more of the consumer user's contacts are also consumer users of the system ("other consumer users"). In one embodiment, the consumer user's contact data table may be populated by populating one or more contacts in the consumer user's contact data table of a social networking website. Alternatively, or in addition, the contact data table may be populated by populating one or more contacts from the consumer user's contact data table of an email exchange system. In one embodiment, the contact data table includes a list of individuals and / or brands that the consumer user follows, and / or a list of brands and / or individuals that follow the consumer user. Alternatively, the consumer user's profile may include a following / followers data table that includes a list of individuals and / or brands that the consumer user follows, and / or a list of brands and / or individuals that follow the consumer user, the followers / followers data table being separate from the contact data table.

[0216] The system may enable consumer users to manage their interactions with contacts or social networking site contacts through the system, such as by viewing and searching all users on the system who participate in a particular social networking site, inviting other system users to become contacts through social networking sites, accepting and / or rejecting friend invitations through the system, removing contacts from contact lists on the system, sending private messages to the contacts or one or more contacts in their network through the system, blocking contacts in the contacts' network from communicating through the system, and / or reporting misconduct of friends or contacts on the system to a system administrator. Additionally, consumer users may view their contact list in a grid or list format, sort contacts or contact lists alphabetically by first or last name, perform keyword (or name) searches on contacts or contact lists, contacts in a group, or contacts in one or more lists, filter contacts or contact lists to show all contacts, recently added contacts, and / or contacts whose profiles have been updated, and add contacts from contact lists to one or more preferred lists, such as a gift list and / or a watch list.

[0217] A consumer user may also create one or more lists in his or her consumer user profile that contain his or her favorite interests, items and / or brands. Each individual consumer profile includes one or more additional data tables that contain the consumer user's purchasing preferences, such as brand preferences, item preferences, and interest categories. The one or more additional data tables may include one or more item lists organized in any manner defined by the consumer user. For example, a consumer user may create one or more lists that may include, but are not limited to: items that the consumer wants, items that the consumer owns, items that the consumer has used, items that the consumer likes, items that the consumer has identified to third parties, items that the consumer has viewed, items that the consumer has shared or commented on with contacts, and more. Brand data object representations shared or commented on by the Consumer to or from friends, brand data object representations shared or commented on by friends to or from the Consumer, and all brands, and may also include one or more brand lists (again organized in any manner defined by the Consumer user), which may include, but are not limited to: brands you want, brands you own, brands you have used, brands you like, brands the Consumer has identified to third parties, brand data object representations shared or commented on by the Consumer to or from friends, and brand data object representations shared or commented on by friends to or from the Consumer, and all brands.

[0218] For example, a consumer user may create one or more lists of items for a particular reason, such as a wish list, a gift list, a birthday list, and / or a holiday list. As used herein, a wish list is a list of items / brands that the consumer user desires, and a gift list is a list of items / brands that the consumer user may desire as gifts for a third party. A birthday list and a holiday list are each examples of specialized gift lists that may be created for a particular occasion. In one embodiment, a consumer user may give one or more contacts access to one or more lists in the consumer user's consumer user profile. For example, a consumer user may give a friend access to only a limited number of lists in the consumer user's profile, such as a wish list or a gift list, or one or more of the contacts may be given full access to all lists. In this regard, the access given to the friend may be view-only access, or the consumer user may give the friend permission to comment on one or more of the items in the consumer user's list. For example, if a consumer user creates a wish list for an event, such as a wedding registry or birth registry, the consumer user may grant one or more contacts access to that registry, allow the contacts to know if they have purchased one or more items in the registry, and optionally identify themselves by name. Additionally, the consumer user's profile may also include a list of items and / or brand pages available on the system that the consumer user has bookmarked, and one or more contacts may be granted access to the consumer user's bookmarks.

[0219] For data object representations of items and / or brands, consumer users can provide comments, write reviews, and / or rate items or brands. Comments from one user to another user about a brand or item can be anything, including but not limited to a suggestion to buy the item for oneself or others, a notice that a user likes or dislikes the item, a notice that a user would like to buy an item from another user, etc. The following attributes of item / brand ratings and reviews can be included by consumer users in their comments and / or reviews: the consumer user's named or anonymous rating, the date of the comment or review, the rating (e.g., a 1-5 star scale or another rating system created by the system), and the text of the comment and / or review. In a preferred embodiment, a consumer user can provide comments about an item and / or data object representation, and the consumer user's contacts can do the same. Brands can also include comments about the data object representations of items and / or brands. The filtering program is configured to select information relevant to each individual consumer user on the system so that only comments provided by contacts, followers, and / or those followed by that particular consumer user, and / or brands in which that consumer user has expressed an interest, are displayed in that particular consumer user's interface. When the item and / or brand is selected, it is displayed in a data object representation corresponding to that item and / or brand.

[0220] Also, as described above, a consumer user may interact with the data object representations by: viewing one or more of the data object representations, expressing a preference, commenting on one or more of the data object representations and / or derived data object representations, participating in a conversation regarding one or more of the data object representations or derived data object representations, providing an opinion, providing a rating, clicking on one or more of the data object representations to view more details, clicking on one or more of the data object representations to view information located on the first brand, participating in a survey, requesting more information, purchasing merchandise items displayed in one or more of the data object representations from a third party retailer / reseller, purchasing merchandise items displayed in one or more of the data object representations in the subset directly from the brand, purchasing merchandise items displayed in one or more of the data object representations from an individual, participating in an auction, and purchasing merchandise items displayed in one or more of the data object representations in the subset. for free, loan, sale, lease, and / or rental; request to purchase a merchandise item(s) depicted in one or more of the data object representations; request that the first brand and / or its authorized retailers / resellers reinstate a discontinued merchandise item(s) depicted in one or more of the data object representations in the subset; suggest product ideas, refinements, and / or improvements to the first brand with respect to one or more of the data object representations in the subset; remove the data object representation from one or more lists ("de-listing"); share the data object representation with an individual or group, e.g., by emailing the data object representation (or a hyperlink to the data object), including a hyperlink to the data object in a social networking system, or the like; un-"liking" a data object, e.g., by removing the data object representation from the list of "liked" data object representations in the consumer user's profile;"revoke a friend relationship", e.g., remove the data object representation from the "friends" list of the consumer user's profile, or a combination thereof;

[0221] Once a consumer user has created a consumer user profile and a system profile, the information provided by the consumer user is formatted by the network to create a consumer user GUI or consumer user landing page (or "home page") tailored to the consumer user's profile. A non-limiting example of a consumer user GUI landing page is shown in Figures 4(a)-(f). The GUI includes a heading (401) that includes a search field (402) and an optional consumer avatar (403) that identifies the consumer user GUI as a GUI customized by the system for the consumer represented by the avatar (in an alternative embodiment, a username field (not shown) could be used in place of the consumer avatar). A series of data object representations is shown in FIG. 4(a) (404), and a more detailed view of the data object representations is shown in FIG. 4(b), where the data object representations include a selectable common visual representation of an item, including an image of the item (405), a headline (406), a price (407), and a comment field (408) that includes comments from the individual consumer user's contacts or followers including the brand (409) from which the item represented in the data object representation originates, as well as a user selectable field (410) for adding a comment to the comment field. A data object representation of an additional item is shown at 411, which includes promotional information related to an item or brand in which the consumer user has expressed an interest. The consumer user interface may also include an activity feed (412), which is a display of the consumer user's activities that may be related to the consumer user's past activities in the system. The activity feed provides information about the activities engaged in on the consumer user's account and / or the activities of the consumer user's contacts or followers. The activity feed may be displayed in oldest first, newest first, random order, or in an order defined by the consumer user. In a preferred embodiment, the activity feed is displayed in newest first. Each data object representation may also include icons (413-414) that the consumer user may select to indicate a preference for that data object (e.g., "like" (413) or "follow" (414)) or to add a comment about the data object representation (415) if a comment field has not been added by a friend or follower of the consumer user.

[0222] As noted above, each data object representation can be selected by the consumer user and the system will display additional information related to that data object. An example of a more detailed view of a data object representation is shown in Figure 4(c). The detailed view includes one or more images of the item, a headline for the item, a price for the item, a detailed description of the item, purchase options, and a comments field that may include comments from individual consumer user contacts including the brand that provided the item represented in the data object, as well as a field that the user may select to add a comment to the comments field.

[0223] FIG. 4(d) illustrates one embodiment of a screen that a consumer user may access via a landing page (e.g., via a drop-down menu (not shown) beneath the consumer user's icon or username) to provide further details regarding one or more listings that the consumer user has created within the system. Each listing is represented by a data object representation (416), which may include the name of the listing (417) and, optionally, one or more images (418) of items contained in the listing. Another screen that a consumer user may access via a landing page is illustrated in FIG. 4(e), which includes further details regarding one or more individuals and / or brands that the consumer user is following on the system and / or that are following the consumer user on the system. Each individual or brand is represented by a data object representation (419), which may include the individual's or brand's name (420) and, optionally, an avatar (421) or a brand logo or trademark (422). Additionally, the consumer user may access, via the landing page, a screen (FIG. 4(f)) that contains further details about groups of individuals and / or brands that the consumer user is following on the system, and / or one or more individuals and / or brands that are following the consumer user on the system. Each individual or brand group is represented by a data object representation (423), which may include a group name (424) and, optionally, one or more avatars (425) or a brand logo or trademark (426).

[0224] As described above, a consumer user may interact with one or more contacts on the system, such as by sharing items or brands with the contacts or followers, adding and / or commenting on data object representations, etc. In one particular embodiment, a consumer user may also use the system to request comments from one or more contacts or followers regarding data object representations of one or more items or brands in which the consumer user is interested. For example, if a consumer user is considering purchasing two or more items, the consumer user may share the pages of those items with one or more contacts or followers via the system and ask the contacts or followers to vote for or otherwise comment on the items or brands that should be purchased. In one embodiment, the system provides a voting mechanism. The system provides a voting mechanism that can be sent from the consumer user to one or more contacts or followers via the system, where the one or more contacts or followers can indicate in the voting mechanism which item or brand of items the consumer user should purchase. The voting mechanism also includes a field where the one or more contacts or followers can comment on the item offering.

[0225] Similarly, the system may display the items / brands in various formats, including but not limited to a grid, list, slideshow, and / or carousel formats, allowing the consumer user to cycle through the displayed items / brands. The system may display a total number of items and / or may specify the number of items the consumer user may view on a given page. The system may display promotional and / or unreleased items in a manner that visually distinguishes them from other items in the display format. In slideshow and / or carousel formats, the consumer user may view the slideshow in full screen or partial screen modes. The display formats include the ability to navigate to item detail pages from a selected display, and the ability to bookmark items and create an edited list of items for later closer viewing. The slideshow and / or carousel formats may also include navigation controls that allow the consumer user to navigate to the beginning and end of the slideshow, fast forward and rewind one page of the slideshow, and continuously play and / or pause the slideshow. Any of the display formats may also provide a quick view button above the image of the item when the consumer user moves the cursor / mouse over the item. The quick view can display a popup secondary display containing a summary list of item details, and also allows the consumer user to navigate from the quick view to a full item display page.

[0226] The landing pages described herein may also display a sample of information about other consumer users of the system, including, but not limited to, contacts, followers, celebrities, subject matter experts, and critics. In one embodiment, the consumer user may select the categories of other consumer users that the system displays on the landing page. The consumer user may also identify specific additional consumer users that the consumer user would like to display on the landing page, such as, for example, specific contacts, followers, celebrities, subject matter experts, and / or critics, or may select groups of contacts, followers, celebrities, and / or critics. Alternatively, the system may randomly select additional consumer users that may be displayed on the landing page, for example, in the absence of a direction from the consumer user. For example, the system may randomly display information about contacts or followers in the consumer user's contact data table, and the system may periodically cycle through the display of information about contacts in the contact data table on the landing page, and changes may be implemented by the system, for example, every time the consumer user logs into the system, or on a daily, weekly, monthly, or other periodic basis. Similarly, the system may randomly display information about celebrities, subject matter experts, and / or critics, such as celebrities, subject matter experts, and / or critics who have identified particular items and / or brands that the consumer user has expressed a preference for. The system may periodically cycle the display of information about celebrities and / or critics on the landing page, such as changes implemented by the system every time the consumer user logs into the system, daily, weekly, monthly, etc.

[0227] The system can display a collection of promotion-enhanced items based on one or more system criteria. For example, the system can display a collection of items that are most viewed / searched for by consumer users of the system, such as items that are advertised on the Internet, such as advertisements, advertisements, and advertisements. The ranking is based on a combination of criteria selected from the number of times the item page has been viewed, the number of times the item page has been added to a preferred item list (e.g., a favorites list, a wish list, a watch list, and / or a gift list) by a consumer user of the system, the number of times the item page has been bookmarked by a consumer user of the system, and / or the rating of the item by the consumer user. The system may also display a collection of items with the highest ratings provided by consumer users of the system. Additionally, the system may display a collection of items recommended by consumer users based on the consumer user's profile. The consumer user may filter the results of such collections of items in ascending or descending order based on one or more of the following criteria: brand, price, average reviews, relevance to search criteria, release date, etc., and the consumer user may view the collection or a filtered view of the collection in a grid, list, carousel, or slideshow presentation view.

[0228] The system may also display a list of all brands available on the system. The data tables may be organized alphabetically and / or by interest category / subcategory. A consumer user may perform a keyword search of brands and items in the all brands data table and the consumer user may filter the brand data table and / or keyword search results based on the following criteria: item / brand category, time, price, average customer reviews, relevance, release date, etc. A consumer user may view the all brands data table or a filtered view of the data table in a grid, list, carousel, or slideshow presentation view.

[0229] The system allows consumer users to search the site, including item / brand pages and all associated content, using keyword searches. The system may separate search results according to the following content types: brands, items, articles, reviews, blogs, etc. For each content type, the number of search results for that type is displayed, and the search results for each content type are displayed in a list format. A brand search result display may include an image of the brand logo, the brand name, and a description of the brand, among other information. A consumer user may view a brand's page by clicking on the brand logo or the brand's name. An item search result display may include one or more of the following attributes: one or more of the item images, the item name, the item description, the price, the average item rating, and the number of ratings. A consumer user may view an item's item detail page by clicking on either the item image or the item name. A search result display for a search made within an article may include a photo of the author, if provided, the author's name, the article title, the date the article was written, and an introduction to the article. A consumer user may view the entire article by clicking on the article title. The display of results from a search within item reviews may include a photo of the item being reviewed, the name of the item, the name or alias of the person reviewing, the date the review was written, and a synopsis of the review. A consumer user can view the entire review by clicking on the review title. The display of results from a search within blogs may include a photo or avatar of the blogger, the name or alias of the blogger, the date the blog was written, the title of the blog, and a synopsis of the blog. A consumer user can view the entire blog by clicking on the title of the blog.

[0230] The system is configured to send notifications of new items / brands and / or new information about items and / or brands to the consumer users, who may receive such notifications in a variety of ways. In one embodiment, such notifications are of changes to the item or brand data objects, including derived data objects, and such changed data object representations are updated as described above. In addition, or alternatively, the system may notify the consumer user via email, text message, and / or private message. The system may also send notifications to the consumer user within social networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, Friendster, MySpace, etc. Other consumer users of the system or brands may send various notifications to the consumer user, including, but not limited to: (a) a consumer user of the system may send a message to yet another consumer user regarding an item, an interest category, a brand, a brand category, etc.; (b) a brand may send a message to a consumer user regarding new information related to an item, a brand, an interest category, etc., and / or a brand may send a message to a consumer user regarding new items and / or categories of items available (in a preferred embodiment, a brand may instruct the system to send a message to a group of consumer users who have expressed a preference for a brand or items from the brand, rather than allowing the brand to access contact information for individual consumer users); (c) a consumer user may send a message to a group of consumer users who have expressed a preference for a brand or items from the brand, or (d) a consumer user may send a message to a group of consumer users who have expressed a preference for a brand or items from the brand, or (e) a consumer user may send a message to a group of consumer users who have expressed a preference for a brand or items from the brand, or (f) a consumer user may send a message to a group of consumer users who have expressed a preference for a brand or items from the brand, or (g) a consumer user may send a message to a group of consumer users who have expressed a preference for a brand or items from the brand, or (h) a consumer user may send a message to a group of consumer users who have expressed a preference for a brand or items from the brand, or (i) a consumer user may send a message to a group of consumer users who have expressed a preference for a brand or items from the brand, or (j) a consumer user may send a message to a group of consumer users who have expressed a preference for a brand or items from the brand, or (k) a consumer user may send a message to a group of consumer users who have expressed a preference for a brand or items from the brand, or (k) a consumer user may send a message (d) a consumer user may receive friend invitations; (e) a consumer user may receive notifications that another consumer user and / or a brand has chosen to follow the consumer user; (f) a consumer user may receive notifications regarding upcoming birthdays, anniversaries, etc. of friends or followers; (g) a consumer user may receive invitations to join the system and / or invitations to join brand or item clubs; (h) a consumer user may receive notifications that a brand has been added to a data table of favorite brands of other consumer users, e.g., friends or followers of the consumer user; (i) a consumer user may receive notifications that an item category has been added to a data table of favorite items of friends or followers;(i) a consumer user may receive notifications that an item has been added to a friend's or follower's data table of favorite items; (j) a consumer user may receive notifications that an item has been added to a friend's or follower's wish list, watch list, and / or gift list; and / or (k) a consumer user may receive notifications that a friend or follower has commented on an item and / or brand, posted an item review and / or blog entry, and / or recommended an item and / or brand. Additionally, a consumer user may filter the notifications they receive in various manners; ascending or descending, including, but not limited to: (a) received from a particular consumer user; (b) received from a particular brand; (c) by date; and (d) related to a particular item / brand in the consumer user's favorite item / brand data table;

[0231] It will be understood that the above components may be organized and rendered in a user interface in a variety of ways, and such variations are within the full scope of the present invention. Additionally, the home page may include a variety of additional features, such as, for example, advertising materials, promotional enhancements, brands, other consumer users, additional links to consumer user profiles, one or more consumer data tables, additional system viewing features, and the like, and such additional features are within the full scope of the present invention.

[0232] Brand Profile and Interface Brands may also create a system profile that includes brand information, including but not limited to the brand name, contact information, website and website link, email, and password, as well as a list of authorized brand users for the brand profile. Brands may designate one or more brand managers or users (referred to herein as "brand users"). , which is an individual or group of individuals that have the authority to access and / or modify the Brand Profile or its components, and the Brand Profile also includes each Brand User's contact information, e.g., name and email, as well as a password. Brands may also include a key or password that identifies the Brand, which is used to identify the Brand and / or Brand User if one or more of the verifiable credentials are not provided upon login to the system.

[0233] As shown in FIG. 5(a), in one embodiment, a brand sets up a profile on the system with a designated brand name, a website URL, and possibly one or more brand logos or trademarks and item lists. Just as a consumer user can create one or more lists, a brand can also organize its items into one or more lists grouped by the brand, such as a list of currently available items, a list of discontinued items, a list of new items, a list of sale items, and a list of items to be released in the future. Optionally, a brand can create one or more brand interest categories (not shown) that include a description of each interest category, and in alternative or yet other embodiments, a brand can adopt one or more brand item categories created by the system to list the brand's items on the system. For each item, a brand can create a data object that includes a common visual representation of the above item or brand, as shown in FIG. 5(b). The data object representation includes one or more of the following: an item name (501), a description (502), an image (503), optional additional media (504), such as video, additional images, explanatory text, etc., a list of interest categories (505) in which the item is included, one or more links (507) to purchasing options, and a URL (508) to the website of the brand (or authorized retailer or reseller) offering the item. Preferably, each data object on the system, regardless of source, includes an image of the item, an item name, a price for the item, and a comment field (not shown; the comment field is preferably automatically populated by the system when the data object is created by the brand). When selected by a consumer user, the data object representation displays additional information about the item, such as a more detailed description of the item, additional media, purchasing options, the URL of the brand's website, a rating of the item, etc.Item information that may be included in an item data object includes, but is not limited to: an item identifier, optional SKU and / or custom identifier, item description, item images, item media (e.g., item specific video and audio files and print media), retail price, shipping and handling information, sales, coupons, etc., advertising materials, reviews and / or ratings of the item, discussion forums, news and events related to the item, use and / or assembly instructions, associated / related items and / or accessories available from the brand and / or associated brands, item statistics, identification and contact information of authorized retailers and / or resellers, authorized service providers for a given item or brand (e.g., item assembly and after-sales service details), etc., item specific explanatory documentation and information such as item inserts, specifications, manuals, instructions, literature references, reviews, links to blogs, links to discussion forums, etc., purchasing information including, but not limited to, price, coupons and discounts available from manufacturers, authorized retailers and / or wholesalers, shipping and handling information, identification and contact information of authorized retailers, wholesalers and / or distributors, warrantee information, etc. In certain embodiments, some of the information listed above about a given item may be available only to members of a brand club or item club (described in more detail herein). For example, certain promotional opportunities, such as coupons or discounts, may be accessible to or offered only to members of an item club and / or brand club.

[0234] Certain types of specialized items / brands may be permitted to include additional information, including, but not limited to, geographically specific information related to authorized retailers / resellers / service providers, shipping restrictions, seasonal availability or other availability limitations or restrictions (e.g., back orders), and recommended storage and handling information. For example, in the case of a brand offering perishable food products, such as produce, the brand may include information related to the seasonal availability of a given item or group of items in a particular geographic location, information related to a particular authorized retailer / reseller in a given town or state, and shipping restrictions and safe handling information that may apply. In the case of a brand offering items that require an owner's license or permit, the brand may also include information related to where and / or how a consumer user can obtain the applicable license, which may vary by geographic location. The brand may also include a list of one or more license issuing agencies and / or hyperlinks to their websites. In this embodiment, the system may include a mechanism by which the brand can verify the consumer user's license, age, etc.; for example, when requested for an item that requires a license and / or age restriction, the consumer user may provide their license identification number, age, etc., and the system may verify that the license is valid and / or that the consumer user has indicated the appropriate age.

[0235] In a preferred embodiment, the data objects related to the merchandise item may include one or more of the merchandise item's trademarks, merchandise item's descriptive information, merchandise item media, merchandise item's purchasing information, merchandise item's retail information, merchandise item's promotional information, associated first branded products, or combinations thereof; the merchandise item's descriptive information may include an image of the item, one or more item-specific explanatory documentation and information, one or more merchandise item reviews, merchandise item ratings, or combinations thereof; the merchandise item media may include an item-specific video file, an item-specific audio file, or print media; the merchandise item-specific explanatory documentation and information may include one or more literature references, reviews, links to blogs, press releases, links to forums, or combinations thereof.

[0236] Additionally or alternatively, as noted above, consumer users of the system may create item data objects, for example using the process shown in FIG. 5(b) and described above.

[0237] Brands can also create brand data objects as shown in FIG. 5(c), which include the brand name (509), brand description (510), brand logo or trademark (511), additional brand media (612), item list (513), link to purchase options (514), and website URL (515). The brand data object can also include one or more interest categories (not shown) associated with the brand. The purpose of the brand data object is different from that of the item data object, which is intended to provide the viewer with information about one type of item, whereas the brand data object is intended to give the viewer general information about the brand, such as the type of items or services the brand offers, its logo or trademark, where the items can be purchased, etc. The brand data object can be accessed through one or more hyperlinks on the system, for example by selecting the brand name or brand icon under a list of brands available on the system.

[0238] Similar to item data objects, each brand data object in the system represents an image, e.g., a brand logo or trademark, a brand name, and a comment, regardless of source. The brand data object representation includes a comment field (as with the item data object, the comment field is preferably automatically populated by the system when the data object is created by the brand). When selected by a consumer user, the brand data object representation displays additional description about the brand, such as a more detailed description of the brand, additional media, purchasing options, the brand's website URL, brand ratings, etc. Information that may be included in the brand data object includes, but is not limited to: a list of branded items, branded media (e.g., video and audio files and print media), sales, coupons, etc., advertising materials, item reviews and / or ratings, discussion forums, news and events related to the brand, associated brands, statistics about the brand, identification and contact information for the brand and / or authorized retailers and / or resellers, identification and contact information for authorized service providers, authorized wholesalers and / or distributors corresponding to a given item or brand, etc., endorsement information, etc. In certain embodiments, some of the above listed information about a given brand may be available only to members of a brand club or item club (described in more detail herein). For example, certain promotional opportunities, such as coupons and discounts, may be accessible to or offered only to members of item clubs and / or brand clubs.

[0239] In a preferred embodiment, the brand data objects may include: one or more brand trademarks, one or more brand logos, one or more merchandise item logos, a brand description, interest categories associated with the brand, brand media, brand purchase information, retail information, brand promotion information, information related to the brands in the brand portfolio, related brand descriptions, related brand products, or combinations thereof. The brand description information may include brand images, one or more brand specific explanatory documents and information, one or more brand reviews, brand ratings, or combinations thereof; the brand media may include brand specific video files, brand specific audio files, or print media; the brand specific explanatory documents and information may include one or more literature references, reviews, links to blogs, press releases, links to forums, or combinations thereof.

[0240] Alternatively or in addition, a brand may choose to create a separate brand page, which may be accessed directly on the system via one or more hyperlinks, for example, by selecting the brand name or brand icon under a list of brands available on the system. A brand page may optionally include a brand banner, a brand description, brand media (including, but not limited to, video and photographs, as well as audio files, press releases, etc.), promotional boost item categories, promotional boost items, item listings, and avatars of one or more individuals who "like" the brand, such as celebrity endorsements or subject matter experts in related fields. A brand page may also be customized to include additional information, including, but not limited to, a listing of one or more of the brand's trademarks or service marks, brand retail information, sellers of branded items, a brand description, brand media, branded items, a brand portfolio, etc. A brand page may be viewable by any consumer user of the system, regardless of whether or not they have a profile on the system, or a brand page may be configured to be viewable only by consumer users of the system who follow the brand or brand's items.

[0241] A brand may be a corporate brand, an umbrella brand, a family brand, or a combination thereof, in which case the brand may be associated with one or more associated brands. (also referred to herein as "brand associates"), such as endorsed brands, sub-brands, individual item brands, and combinations thereof. Thus, a brand page may include additional information about one or more brand associates. A brand description may include, but is not limited to, an item conception, a description of a target market, and combinations thereof. Brand information may further include advertising materials, reviews and / or ratings of the brand, discussion forums, news and events related to the brand, statistics about the brand, identification and contact information of authorized retailers and / or resellers, authorized service providers (e.g., details of assembly and after-sales service for the item), and the like. Brands may include literature references, links to blogs and / or discussion forums, and the like. Brand information may include brand media, including, but not limited to, video files, audio files, print media, and press releases. A brand page may be accessed through one or more hyperlinks on the system, for example, by selecting the brand name or brand icon under a list of brands available on the system.

[0242] Brands may choose to highlight specific promotional offers for items or brands by creating item or brand data objects that include an indicator in their visual representation that the item or brand is associated with the promotion, for example, item data objects for items that are discounted may be displayed with a different color scheme than items that are not discounted. Similarly, data object representations of new items recently created by a brand may have a color scheme that distinguishes them from other data object representations on the system. If an item is scheduled to be discounted in the future, the brand may add a comment to the data object representation and / or modify the content of the data object to inform consumer users interested in the item that the item will be discounted soon. Data object representations of discounted or sale items may also include icons designed to indicate the time and / or quantity remaining for the discount or sale, for example, a clock or time may be displayed over the data object to count down the time remaining for the discount or sale and / or the quantity of the item that can be purchased at the discounted price. In alternative or other embodiments, a brand may create dedicated brand pages dedicated to one or more item categories, such as promotional items, discontinued items, new items, sale items, and / or upcoming items.

[0243] In some cases, the system allows brands to promote items in various ways. For example, a brand may choose to have the system promote the brand, in which case the system is allowed to prominently display the brand's advertisements and / or items in the promotional promotion item area of ​​the GUI. For example, promotional promotion items may be displayed in the consumer user's GUI if the consumer user has expressed an interest in the corresponding interest category, or may be displayed in the system's general advertisements, or in the profile setup process as described above, and each such method of promoting items may charge the same or different fees. In one embodiment, the brand pays an additional fee for this service. Alternatively, the brand may compete with other brands on the system to be displayed in the promotional promotion brand area of ​​the system, e.g., in a competitive bidding process based on a bid submitted by the brand, e.g., in terms of a cost per click value. One or more mechanisms for promoting a brand or item may be provided by the system, and may include each type of promotional promotion mechanism, a group of promotional promotion mechanisms (e.g., a brand may promote an item in various ways for one price), or all promotional promotion mechanisms offered by the system (e.g., a brand may promote an item for one price, and the promotional promotion mechanism may be provided for all brands on the system). An additional fee may be associated with the promotion (which may be boosted using all of the promotion boosting mechanisms provided by the system).

[0244] A brand may also specify security settings that allow the brand to isolate certain categories, data tables, and / or data tables of information provided in the brand profile from being viewed by consumer users of the system. For example, a list of items may be made available to consumer users of the system, while the brand profile, inventory, and supply information may be made available only to one or more designated brand users. Similarly, a brand may specify security settings that allow the brand to grant one or more brand users view-only or unlimited access to certain categories, data tables, and / or data tables of information provided in the brand profile.

[0245] The creation of a brand profile on the system is further illustrated in FIG. 6(a). A brand creates a profile (601) and possibly views a demonstration of the system (602, 603). The system presents a sign-up screen (605) where the brand administrator and / or authorized brand users can enter relevant information about the brand, such as parent company information, contact information, password information, etc. (606). The system creates a brand profile (607), which is stored in the individual brand data table, the overall brand data table (not shown) (608). The brand can add information to the brand profile (609), such as defining associated or related brands (610-613), associated items (614-615), and a budget for using the system, such as the brand's budget for advertising and marketing on the system (616-617). This information is stored in the brand profile (618) in the brand data table.

[0246] As shown in FIG. 6(b), a brand can also edit the brand information of the brand profile (620-621), including logos, associated images, and brand media (622), which are stored in the brand data table. A brand can optionally create a brand page (625), which can be edited to include brand-defined content, websites, and media (626-628), which are also stored in the brand data table (630). FIG. 6(c) shows that each associated brand (631) can also be defined as above, and the content of the associated brand's profile can also be adjusted by the brand administrator and / or authorized brand users and stored in the brand data table. The brand administrator and / or authorized brand users can also change the access rights to one or more other brand users' brand profiles, as shown in FIG. 6(d). The brand administrator enters contact information for each authorized brand user, and the system creates credentials for that brand user to enable that brand user to activate their profile and be associated in the system as an authorized user of that brand (636-641). The identification and login information for each authorized Brand User is stored in the Brand Data Table (647). Each Brand User also activates their profile on the system (642) by visiting an activation screen (643) and changing the default system password (644). That information is stored in the system's Brand Data Table (645, 647).

[0247] A brand (and / or consumer user) can create an item data object as shown in Figure 6(e). The system queries the brand administrator and / or authorized brand users for item information (753), and the user (the brand user if created by the brand, or the consumer user if created by the consumer user) creates the item data object. The system allows brands to edit (654-655) the system information, which is stored in the Brand Data Table (658). The system allows brands to define interest categories and subcategories (649-651), which are stored in the Brand Data Table. Similarly, as shown in Figure 6(f), brands can define a budget for using the system (659), which can be edited and further defined, and which is stored in the Brand Data Table (660-665).

[0248] In one embodiment, based on the information provided in the brand profile, the system constructs a brand landing page where the consumer user can view the brand's items, brand information, etc. The brand landing page can be constructed automatically by the system or customized by the brand as described above to display, for example, specific brand advertisements, banners, trademarks, service marks, etc. in a manner specified by the brand. The brand landing page can display the brand's items or item categories randomly or based on the popularity of the items or categories (as defined by the number of views of the item page, the number of items purchased, or another item categorization mechanism). The brand landing page can include a brand club link to the brand club website that is available only to members of the brand club. The brand landing page can also display a random sample of consumer users who have added the brand or brand's items to their consumer user profiles, if the consumer user allows it. A brand's landing page may also display one or more of the following: the number of consumer users who have the brand or an item from the brand in their favorites, the number of consumer users who follow the brand, the number of consumer users and / or other brands the brand follows, a list of the brand's most popular items, a sample of the brand's item categories, a hyperlink to the brand's website, a hyperlink to the brand's clubs, and one or more advertisements for the brand and / or the brand's affiliates. The above components may be organized and rendered on a brand page in a variety of ways, it being understood that such variations are within the full scope of the present invention.

[0249] In one embodiment, a brand may also create brand and / or item clubs that contain promotional item information and / or promotional opportunities available only to members of the brand club, e.g., consumer users of the system who have specifically expressed an interest in a brand by creating a brand-specific consumer user profile. The brand / item clubs may display brand / item specific content, e.g., video, audio, print media, discussion forums, etc., available only to members of the brand / item club, as well as pre-release announcements of the item, special promotions, incentives to participate in surveys related to the brand / item, and focus groups. For example, the brand club may include hyperlinks to press releases about the brand and / or related items, and discussion forums related to the brand and / or items. Additionally, a brand may identify celebrities, critics, and / or consumer advocacy groups that have identified and / or commented on the brand and / or one or more items of the brand. For example, if a brand has a celebrity endorsement relationship, the brand may display information about the celebrity and / or the celebrity's endorsement of the brand and / or item on the brand page. Similarly, a brand may identify certain individuals or groups as reviewers of the brand, item, or category or subcategory of items for which the brand is known, and the brand may provide information regarding the opinions of those individuals or groups about the item / brand. Such information may be provided as hyperlinks to third-party websites or in the form of audio, video, or text files, as well as blogs or other discussion forums. The forum may be provided as a link to the forum. It will be understood that the above components may be organized and rendered in a user interface in a variety of ways, and such variations are within the full scope of the present invention. Additionally, the item and / or brand club pages may include various additional features, such as advertising materials, promotional boost items, additional system browsing features, and the like, and such additional features are within the full scope of the present invention.

[0250] A brand can interact with one or more followers on the system, for example by sharing items or brands with the followers, and can also interact with consumer users that the brand follows, for example by adding data objects and / or commenting on data objects. In one particular embodiment, a brand can also use the system to solicit comments from one or more followers / following users regarding one or more items or data objects of the brand that the followers / following users are interested in. For example, a brand can add a comment to an item data object, requesting followers / following users to comment on or rate the item. A brand can also use the comment field of a data object representation to inform consumer users of related items that the brand offers, for example when a consumer user "likes" an item from a brand, the brand can suggest that the item can be used with one or more accessories offered by the brand or a related brand. The system can also be used by brands to compare their own items with those of competing brands. For example, a brand may comment on or create a promotional data object relating to a competing brand, challenging the competing brand to submit a comment thereon and inviting users of that brand's / competitor's items to participate in the challenge.

[0251] In a preferred embodiment, the processor is configured to notify the consumer of new item information, new brand information, or a combination thereof based on the consumer's purchasing preferences, interaction data, or a combination thereof. The system can send messages to the consumer user as described above, and / or the system can display data object representations not previously displayed to the consumer user in the consumer user GUI in a prominent position in the GUI relative to other data object representations. For example, data object representations not previously displayed to the consumer user by the system can be displayed in reverse chronological order, with the most recent data object representations being displayed at the top of the interface (this is one embodiment of a manner of enhancing promotion of new data object representations in the GUI relative to other data object representations, and is not a limiting embodiment). New item information includes new items offered on the system and information related to the new item offering; new information about existing items offered on the system (e.g., items represented by data objects that may have been previously displayed to the consumer user, but new information about the item not previously displayed to the consumer user); new item offerings for the consumer based on the consumer's purchasing preferences, and information related to new item offerings for the consumer; and combinations thereof. New item information may include newly released item identification, new item description information, new item media, new purchasing information, and combinations thereof. New item description information may include explanatory documentation and information specific to the new item, accessories and / or related items for the item, item recall information, discontinued item information, and combinations thereof. New purchasing information may include, but is not limited to, new item price information, new shipping and handling information, new authorized retailer information, new purchasing availability (e.g., ordering information), new product availability (e.g., product availability), new product availability information, ... Any information contained herein may include, but is not limited to, information about the product, product name, product description, product media, new purchase information, retail information, or any combination thereof.

[0252] Similarly, the system may notify the consumer user of new brand information, such as a new brand of an item offered on the system and information related to the new brand of the item; new information related to an existing brand of an item offered on the system; a brand of an item new to the consumer based on the consumer's purchasing preferences and information related to the item of that brand new to the consumer, and combinations thereof. Such new brand information may include one or more of a brand trademark, a brand description, brand media, new purchase information, retail information, branded items, a brand portfolio, related brands in the brand portfolio, related brand descriptions, information related to related brand items, and combinations thereof. Brand description information may include a brand image, one or more brand specific explanatory documents and information, one or more brand reviews, brand ratings, and combinations thereof. Brand media may include brand specific video files, brand specific audio files, and print media. Brand specific explanatory documents and information may be selected from the group consisting of literature references, reviews, links to blogs, press releases, links to forums, and combinations thereof. ...

Claims

1. 1. A computer system comprising: a plurality of user devices, each having a display interface available to a user; With multiple item providers; a global database of data objects, each data object including a unique object identifier for that object and a user identifier, item identifier, or provider identifier for a user, item, or provider to which the object is associated, the data objects including user associated data objects including a target user identifier for a target user and follower user identifiers for users who follow the target user, the global database configured to create an association between the target user identifier and the data object representation in response to a target user expressing an interest in tracking the data object representation by issuing a tracking command on his or her user device; a global tracking database configured to store the association in response to a target user expressing a tracking interest in the data object; and an information exchange computer configured to access the global database and the global tracking database in response to a target user expressing an interest in tracking the data object, and to display a representation of the data object to the follower user via a display interface of the follower user's user device.

2. 1. A computer-implemented method for selecting a data object for user interaction in a graphical user interface, comprising: receiving a data stream from an item provider identifying items available from the item provider; storing the data object in a global database along with a provider identifier that uniquely identifies the item provider; storing, for each item in the data stream, a data object along with an item identifier that uniquely identifies the item; detecting a user interaction with a representation of the item or item provider's data object in a graphical user interface of the user device and associating with the data object a user identifier that uniquely identifies the user; storing an association between the data object and a user identifier in a tracking database; using the tracking database to select a customized data set of data objects for presentation in a graphical user interface based on the associations in the tracking database.

3. 1. A computer system comprising: a plurality of user devices, each having a display interface available to a user; With multiple item providers; a global database of data objects, each data object including a unique object identifier for that object and a user identifier, item identifier, or provider identifier for a user, item, or provider to which the object is associated, the data objects including user associated data objects including a target user identifier for a target user and follower user identifiers for users who follow the target user, the global database configured to create a new discourse data object based on the data object in response to a target user initiating a discourse on a data object representation by issuing a discourse command on his or her user device; a global tracking database configured to store, in response to a target user initiating a discourse on a data object representation, an association between a user identifier of the target user, an object identifier of the data object, and an object identifier of the created discourse data object; and an information exchange computer configured to access the global database and the global tracking database in response to a target user initiating a discourse regarding the data object representation and to display the discourse data object representation to the follower user via a display interface of the follower user's user device.

4. 1. A computer-implemented method for selecting a data object for user interaction in a graphical user interface, comprising: receiving a data stream from an item provider identifying items available from the item provider; storing the data object in a global database along with a provider identifier that uniquely identifies the item provider; storing, for each item in the data stream, a data object along with an item identifier that uniquely identifies the item; detecting a user interaction with a data object representation of an item or item provider in a graphical user interface of a user device, the interaction including initiating a discourse regarding the data object representation, and creating a discourse data object with a discourse identifier that uniquely identifies the user and the item or item provider represented by the data object representation; creating an association between the discourse data object, the user, and the item data object and / or the item provider data object in a tracking database; using the tracking database to select a customized data set of data objects for presentation in a graphical user interface based on the associations in the tracking database.

5. 1. A method of exchanging information between a first consumer user and one or more additional consumer users over a system including: (a) a plurality of consumer users, including a first consumer user and one or more additional consumer users, where the first consumer user and the one or more additional consumer users are connected within the system; and (b) a plurality of brands, including a first brand, where the system is configured to receive, filter, and / or display information related to the first consumer user, the first brand, the plurality of consumer users, the plurality of brands, merchandise items, interaction data, comparative interaction data, and combinations thereof; the method includes: a. a first consumer user viewing a subset of the first brand information provided by the system to the first consumer user and to one or more additional consumer users; and b. the first consumer user viewing interactions with the first subset of brand information including conversations initiated by the first consumer user and / or one or more additional consumer users, where the conversations relate to one or more elements of the first subset of brand information.

6. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the narrative is displayed by the system to the first consumer user and to the one or more additional consumer users in a narrative data object.

7. 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising viewing, by the first consumer user and / or one or more additional consumer users, a modified narrative based on the narrative initiated in step (b).

8. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the modified narrative is displayed by the system to the first consumer user and to the one or more additional consumer users in a modified narrative data object.

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