MANAGING INFORMATION SOLICITATIONS ACROSS A NETWORK

1 . A method of managing information solicitations in a network of users, the method comprising:

posting an information solicitation received from an information consumer that is provided to at least a portion of the users of the network for auction, wherein the information solicitation includes a request to engage in a real-time communication with an information provider about a particular subject;

receiving bids from a plurality of information providers and providing the bids to the information consumer for selection; and

connecting the information consumer with a selected one of the plurality of information providers in the real-time communication.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein connecting the information consumer with the selected one of the plurality of information providers comprises connecting the information consumer with the selected one of the plurality of information providers with a plain old telephone system (POTS) interface.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein connecting the information consumer with the selected one of the plurality of information providers comprises connecting the information consumer with the selected one of the plurality of information providers with an Internet Protocol (IP) interface.

4 . The method of claim 1 wherein connecting the information consumer with the selected one of the plurality of information providers comprises connecting the information consumer with the selected one of the plurality of information providers as an anonymous connection.

5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising managing a reputation of the information provider by:

collecting an information provider review from the information consumer after disconnection from the real-time communication;

providing the information provider with a reputation value based on the collected reviews and

revealing the reputation value of the information provider to the users of the network.

6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising managing the reputation of the information consumers by:

collecting an information consumer review from the information provider after disconnection from the real-time communication;

providing the information provider with a reputation value based on the collected reviews; and

revealing the reputation value of the information consumer to the users of the network.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein posting the information solicitation comprises posting the information solicitation having at least one consumer constraint on a type of information provider the information consumer will accept bids from.

8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising making the information solicitation available to a portion of the information providers in the network that will consider the information solicitation based on at least one constraint.

9 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising charging a connection fee to the information consumer, wherein the connection fee is charged to the information consumer prior to connecting the information consumer with a selected one of the plurality of information providers.

10 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising charging a membership fee to the information provider to permit the information provider to bid on the information solicitation.

11 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising charging a percentage of a value of the selected bid.

12 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising accessing an advertisement service to feed the information consumer and the information provider advertising during the posting, receiving and connecting steps.

13 . A system for managing information solicitations in a community environment, the system comprising:

a service manager configured to:

receive an information solicitation from an information consumer and provide the information solicitation to at least a portion of the users of the network for auction, the information solicitation includes a request to engage in a real-time communication with an information provider about a particular subject;

receive bids from a plurality of information providers;

provide the bids to the information consumer for selection; and

a connection module configured to connect the information consumer with a selected one of the plurality of information providers in the real-time communication.

14 . The system of claim 13 , wherein the connection module connects the information consumer with the information provider using an IP interface.

15 . The system of claim 13 , wherein the connection module connect the information consumer with the information provider using a POTS interface.

16 . The system of claim 13 , further comprising an advertisement service configured to provide the information consumer and the information provider with advertisements while the information consumer and the information provider receive the information solicitation, receive bids and connect.

17 . A method of soliciting information in a community environment, the method comprising:

transmitting an information solicitation to a service manager for auction, the information solicitation including a request to engage in a real-time communication with an information provider about a particular subject;

receiving bids from a plurality of information providers;

selecting one of the plurality of information providers based on the received bids; and

participating in the real-time communication with the selected one of the plurality of information providers.

18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein selecting one of the plurality of information providers based on the received bids further comprises selecting one of the plurality of information providers based on a reputation value.

19 . The method of claim 17 , wherein transmitting the information solicitation to the service manager for auction comprises transmitting the information solicitation including at least one information consumer constraint on a type of information provider that the information solicitation can be provided.

20 . The method of claim 17 , further comprising paying a connection fee to the service manager prior to participating in the real-time communication with the selected one of the plurality of information providers.