Web Content Cost Management via Intermediation System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users are not provided with adequate notice of the costs associated with accessing web content, leading to unexpected charges, and existing systems lack efficient mechanisms for managing user payments for web content.
Innovation Solution
An intermediation system is introduced within the web communication path that calculates the cost of web content based on its size and engages in interstitial communication with the user to obtain approval or payment before transmitting the content, incorporating cost-embellishment logic to display the cost to the user and interstitial billing logic to facilitate payment processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If web content is delivered without cost disclosure, then content delivery speed is improved, but user awareness of costs deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by displaying cost information about web content before the user actually accesses it. The intermediation system calculates and presents cost estimates based on content size and user plan details in advance, allowing users to make informed decisions about whether to proceed with content delivery, thus resolving the contradiction between fast delivery and user cost awareness.
2Adaptability or versatility
If an intermediation system is introduced for cost calculation and payment management, then payment management capability is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces an intermediation system that acts as a mediator between the user and the content delivery network. This intermediary handles all payment management functions including cost calculation, user authentication, and transaction processing, thereby improving payment management capability while containing system complexity within a dedicated modular component rather than distributing it throughout the entire system.
3Loss of information
If cost information is displayed to users, then user cost awareness is improved, but content delivery time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system displays cost information as a preliminary step before content delivery begins. The cost calculation and presentation occur in advance during a negotiation phase, allowing users to review costs and provide authorization before the actual content transmission starts, thus improving cost awareness without significantly delaying the main content delivery operation.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system for providing advanced notice of cost to access web content, where the cost is computed based on the size of the web content. During transmission of web content over a communication path between a content server and a client station, an intermediation system may add into the web content, in conjunction with a hyperlink to referenced web content, an indication of size-based cost to access the referenced web content. Further, during transmission of a request for web content over a communication path from a client station to a content server, and/or during transmission of the web content over a communication path from a content server to a client station, the intermediation system may engage in interstitial communication with a user of the client station to obtain the user's agreement to pay the size-based cost.