Real-time process for defining, processing and delivering a highly customized contact list over a network
View Patent ↗A real-time, interactive system and method of building a list of contact records, such as a mailing list, on a computer network based on selected criteria. A list specification is generated, which may include interactively specifying a geographically defined area for which a contact list is desired including receiving user input, and interactively selecting a product from a plurality of products and a threshold score for the product including receiving user input. The list specification may be transmitted over the computer network to a server where the contact list is built in real-time based on the list specification. If a set of characteristics of the contact list, such as number of records generated or cost, are approved by the user, the contact list is transmitted to a user-specified node on the computer network. The list specification may be stored in memory for reuse by a business, such as a chain of stores. This feature provides a way to easily regenerate new and updated contact lists at future dates for all or a subset of the stores by accessing updated source databases without having to respecify the list every time a fresh list is required.
1. A real-time, interactive method of building a contact list on a computer network based on selected criteria, the method comprising:
interactively generating a list specification in real-time, comprising
interactively specifying on a server a geographically defined area for which a contact list is desired including receiving user input via a user device in communication with the server via a network, and
interactively specifying on the server a threshold score for selecting records for inclusion in the contact list including receiving user input via the user device in communication with the server via the network;
building the contact list on the server in real-time based on the list specification;
transmitting the contact list to a user-specified node on the network if one or more characteristics of the contact list are approved by the user; and
wherein the characteristics of the contact list include a number of records on the contact list, the list specification for the contact list, and a cost of the contact list.
2. The method defined in claim 1 , wherein interactively generating a list specification in real-time further comprises interactively selecting additional data from a list of data appendable to the contact list.
3. The method defined in claim 1 , additionally comprising:
storing the list specification in a memory; and
rebuilding the contact list at a predetermined future time based on the stored list specification.
4. The method defined in claim 3 , wherein the stored list specification corresponds to a selected business location of a multiple location business.
5. The method defined in claim 1 , wherein building the contact list on the server in real-time comprises building the contact list from a database stored in random access memory.
6. The method defined in claim 1 , wherein the contact list comprises a plurality of records, and wherein one of the records includes at least one of the following: physical address, electronic address, telephone number, facsimile number, Internet Protocol address, pager number, or universal resource locator.
7. The method defined in claim 1 , wherein interactively generating a list specification in real-time is performed on a user specification node on the computer network.
8. The method defined in claim 7 , wherein the user specification node and the user-specified node are different nodes on the computer network.
9. The method defined in claim 1 , wherein the contact list comprises a household list, a business list or an individual list.
10. The method defined in claim 1 , additionally comprising transmitting a message to electronic addresses listed in the contact list transmitted to the user-specified node.
11. The method defined in claim 1 , wherein the contact list is subject to one of the following restrictions: read-only usage, one-time usage, or unlimited usage.
12. A system for interactively generating a contact list in real-time based on selected criteria, the system comprising:
a server connected to a network, the server having
means for interactively generating a list specification in real-time via a user device in communication with the server via the network,
means for transmitting the list specification to the server via the network;
means for building a contact list on the server in real-time based on the list specification;
means for transmitting the contact list to a user-specified node on the network if one or more characteristics of the contact list are approved by a user; and
wherein the characteristics of the contact list include a number of records on the contact list, the list specification for the contact list, and a cost of the contact list.
13. The system defined in claim 12 , wherein the means for interactively generating a list specification comprises:
means for interactively specifying a geographically defined area for which the contact list is desired; and
means for interactively selecting a product from a plurality of products and a threshold score for the product.
14. The system defined in claim 12 , wherein the contact list comprises a plurality of records, and wherein one of the records includes at least one of the following: physical address, electronic address, telephone number, facsimile number, Internet Protocol address, pager number, or universal resource locator.
15. The system defined in claim 12 , wherein the means for interactively generating a list specification in real-time includes a user specification node on the network.
16. The system defined in claim 15 , wherein the user specification node and the user-specified node are different nodes on the network.
17. The system defined in claim 12 , wherein the contact list comprises a household list, a business list or an individual list.
18. A computer system for interactively building a contact list in real-time based on selected criteria, the system comprising:
a user specification process module running on a server and configured to receive user input via a user device in communication with the server via a network so as to interactively generate a list specification in real-time interactively specifying a geographically defined area for which a contact list is desired;
a geography list process module configured to receive the list specification and to generate a list of selected geography codes in real-time based on the list specification;
a list select and data append process module configured to generate an intermediate list in real-time based on the list of selected geography codes and the list specification;
a contact item lookup process module configured to build a contact list in real-time based on the intermediate list; and
wherein a server transmits the contact list to a specified network address on a communication network if one or more characteristics of the contact list are approved by a user and wherein the characteristics of the contact list include a number of records on the contact list, the list specification for the contact list and a cost of the contact list.
19. The system defined in claim 18 , additionally comprising a client device connected to the communication network, wherein the client device comprises the user-specified node.
20. The system defined in claim 18 , wherein the user-specified node transmits a message to electronic addresses on the communication network listed in the contact list.
21. The system defined in claim 18 , wherein the contact list is subject to one of the following restrictions: read-only usage, one-time usage, or unlimited usage.
22. The system defined in claim 18 , wherein the geography list process module, the list select and data append process module, and the contact item lookup process module are executed in real-time on a server having a memory.
23. The system defined in claim 22 , wherein the memory includes random access memory configured to store at least one database so as to facilitate the real-time execution of the process modules.
24. The system defined in claim 18 , wherein the user specification process module accesses one of a plurality of geo-demographic profiles and a mapping database or a geography name database.
25. The system defined in claim 18 , wherein the geography list process module accesses a geography equivalency file.
26. The system defined in claim 18 , wherein the list select and data append process module accesses a product score table and a geography index.
27. The system defined in claim 26 , wherein the list select and data append process module further accesses a geo-demographic directory, a geography to spatial coordinate database, a list database, and a demographic attributes database based on the geography index.
28. The system defined in claim 27 , wherein the spatial coordinates of the geography to spatial coordinate database comprise interleaved latitude and longitude pairs.
29. The system defined in claim 18 , wherein the contact item lookup process module accesses an address coding guide and a name database.
30. The system defined in claim 18 , wherein the geography codes are a hierarchical component of a zip code.
31. The system defined in claim 18 , wherein the contact list comprises a plurality of records, and wherein one of the records includes at least one of the following: physical address, electronic address, telephone number, facsimile number, Internet Protocol address, pager number, network address or universal resource locator.
32. The system defined in claim 18 , wherein the contact list comprises a household list, a business list or an individual list.
33. A real-time method of building a contact list on a computer network based on selected criteria, the method comprising:
receiving user input via a user device in communication with a server via a network during a communication session so as to generate a list specification in real-time, comprising
receiving user input to specify a geographically defined area for which a contact list is desired, and
receiving user input to select a characteristic from a plurality of characteristics and a threshold score for the characteristic;
building the contact list in real-time based on the list specification;
transmitting the contact list to a user-specified node on the computer network if one or more characteristics of the contact list are approved by a user; and
wherein the characteristics of the contact list include a number of records on the contact list, the list specification for the contact list, and a cost of the contact list.
34. The method defined in claim 33 , wherein receiving user input so as to generate a list specification in real-time further comprises receiving additional data from a list of data appendable to the contact list.
35. The method defined in claim 33 , additionally comprising:
storing the list specification in a memory; and
rebuilding the contact list at a predetermined future time based on the stored list specification.
36. The method defined in claim 35 , wherein the stored list specification corresponds to a selected business location of a multiple location business.
37. The method defined in claim 33 , wherein building the contact list on the server in real-time comprises building the contact list from a database stored in random access memory.
38. The method defined in claim 33 , wherein the contact list comprises a plurality of records, and wherein one of the records includes at least one of the following: physical address, electronic address, telephone number, facsimile number, Internet Protocol address, pager number, or universal resource locator.
39. The method defined in claim 33 , wherein receiving user input so as to generate a list specification in real-time is performed on a user specification node on the computer network.
40. The method defined in claim 39 , wherein the user specification node and the user-specified node are different nodes on the computer network.
41. The method defined in claim 33 , wherein the contact list comprises a household list, a business list or an individual list.
42. The method defined in claim 33 , additionally comprising transmitting a message to electronic addresses listed in the contact list transmitted to the user-specified node.
43. The method defined in claim 33 , wherein the contact list is subject to one of the following restrictions: read-only usage, one-time usage, or unlimited usage.
44. A real-time system for building a contact list based on selected criteria, the system comprising:
means for receiving user input via a user device in communication with a server via a network during a communication session so as to generate a list specification at the server in real-time, comprising
means for receiving user input to specify a geographically defined area for which a contact list is desired, and
means for receiving user input to select a characteristic from a plurality of characteristics and a threshold score for the characteristics;
means for building the contact list in real-time based on the list specification;
means for transmitting the contact list to a user-specified node on the computer network if one or more characteristics of the contact list are approved by a user; and
wherein the characteristics of the contact list include a number of records on the contact list, the list specification for the contact list, and a cost of the contact list.
45. The system defined in claim 44 , wherein the means for receiving user input so as to generate a list specification in real-time further comprises means for receiving additional data from a list of data appendable to the contact list.
46. The system defined in claim 44 , additionally comprising:
means for storing the list specification in a memory; and
means for rebuilding the contact list at a predetermined future time based on the stored list specification.
47. The system defined in claim 46 , wherein the stored list specification corresponds to a selected business location of a multiple location business.
48. The system defined in claim 44 , wherein the means for building the contact list on the server in real-time comprises means for building the contact list from a database stored in random access memory.
49. The system defined in claim 44 , wherein the contact list comprises a plurality of records, and wherein one of the records includes at least one of the following: physical address, electronic address, telephone number, facsimile number, Internet Protocol address, pager number, or universal resource locator.
50. The system defined in claim 44 , wherein the means for receiving user input so as to generate a list specification in real-time comprises a user specification node on the computer network.
51. The system defined in claim 50 , wherein the user specification node and the user-specified node are different nodes on the computer network.
52. The system defined in claim 44 , wherein the contact list comprises a household list, a business list or an individual list.
53. The system defined in claim 44 , additionally comprising means for transmitting a message to electronic addresses listed in the contact list transmitted to the user-specified node.
54. The system defined in claim 44 , wherein the contact list is subject to one of the following restrictions: read-only usage, one-time usage, or unlimited usage.
55. A real-time method of building a contact list on a computer network based on selected criteria, the method comprising:
receiving user input via a user device in communication with a server via a network during a communication session so as to generate a list specification in real-time, comprising
receiving user input to specify a location and radius defined area for which a contact list is desired, and
receiving user input to select a product from a plurality of products and a threshold score for the product;
transmitting the list specification over the computer network to a server having a memory;
building the contact list on the server in real-time based on the list specification; and
transmitting the contact list to a user-specified node on the computer network if one or more characteristics of the contact list are approved by a user, the characteristics of the contact list including a number of records on the contact list, the list specification for the contact list, and a cost of the contact list.
56. The method defined in claim 55 , wherein receiving user input so as to generate a list specification in real-time further comprises receiving additional data from a list of data appendable to the contact list.
57. The method defined in claim 55 , additionally comprising:
storing the list specification in a memory; and
rebuilding the contact list at a predetermined future time based on the stored list specification.
58. The method defined in claim 57 , wherein the stored list specification corresponds to a selected business location of a multiple location business.
59. The method defined in claim 55 , wherein building the contact list on the server in real-time comprises building the contact list from a database stored in random access memory.
60. The method defined in claim 55 , wherein the contact list comprises a plurality of records, and wherein one of the records includes at least one of the following: physical address, electronic address, telephone number, facsimile number, Internet Protocol address, pager number, or universal resource locator.
61. The method defined in claim 55 , wherein receiving user input so as to generate a list specification in real-time is performed on a user specification node on the computer network.
62. The method defined in claim 61 , wherein the user specification node and the user-specified node are different nodes on the computer network.
63. The method defined in claim 44 , wherein the contact list comprises a household list, a business list or an individual list.
64. The method defined in claim 55 , additionally comprising transmitting a message to electronic addresses listed in the contact list transmitted to the user-specified node.
65. The method defined in claim 55 , wherein the contact list is subject to one of the following restrictions: read-only usage, one-time usage, or unlimited usage.
66. A real-time method of building a contact list on a computer network based on selected criteria, the method comprising:
receiving user input via a user device in communication with a server via a network during a communication session so as to generate a list specification in real-time, comprising
receiving user input to specify a polygon defined area for which a contact list is desired, and
receiving user input to select a characteristic from a plurality of characteristics and a threshold score for the characteristic;
transmitting the list specification over the computer network to a server having a memory;
building the contact list on the server in real-time based on the list specification; and
transmitting the contact list to a user-specified node on the computer network if one or more characteristics of the contact list are approved by a user, the characteristics of the contact list including a number of records on the contact list, the list specification for the contact list, and a cost of the contact list.
67. The method defined in claim 66 , wherein receiving user input so as to generate a list specification in real-time further comprises receiving additional data from a list of data appendable to the contact list.
68. The method defined in claim 66 , additionally comprising:
storing the list specification in a memory; and
rebuilding the contact list at a predetermined future time based on the stored list specification.
69. The method defined in claim 68 , wherein the stored list specification corresponds to a selected business location of a multiple location business.
70. The method defined in claim 66 , wherein building the contact list on the server in real-time comprises building the contact list from a database stored in random access memory.
71. The method defined in claim 66 , wherein the contact list comprises a plurality of records, and wherein one of the records includes at least one of the following: physical address, electronic address, telephone number, facsimile number, Internet Protocol address, pager number, or universal resource locator.
72. The method defined in claim 66 , wherein receiving user input so as to generate a list specification in real-time is performed on a user specification node on the computer network.
73. The method defined in claim 72 , wherein the user specification node and the user-specified node are different nodes on the computer network.
74. The method defined in claim 66 , wherein the contact list comprises a household list, a business list or an individual list.
75. The method defined in claim 66 , additionally comprising transmitting a message to electronic addresses listed in the contact list transmitted to the user-specified node.
76. The method defined in claim 66 , wherein the contact list is subject to one of the following restrictions: read-only usage, one-time usage, or unlimited usage.