Automatic contact information transmission system
View Patent ↗According to one aspect, a DVR sends a user's contact information over a network to a third party. Upon determining that a television program or advertisement contains a special tag that is associated with a third party, the DVR displays, to the user, a prompt that invites the DVR user to allow the DVR to send the user's contact information to the third party. If the user gives permission for the DVR to send the contact information to the third party, then the DVR sends the contact information to the third party (e.g., over the Internet).
1. A method for transmitting contact information, the method comprising:
receiving, at a multimedia device, particular content comprising at least one of (a) a television program or advertisement that the multimedia device is receiving, (b) recorded content, or (c) content that the multimedia device is receiving over the Internet;
receiving, by the multimedia device, a tag of a particular type along with the received particular content, the tag of the particular type representing an invitation to the multimedia device to send a user's contact information to a third party that is associated with the tag, and the tag of the particular type comprising an instant messaging identifier of the third party;
in response to receiving the tag of the particular type, the multimedia device performing:
determining a particular interactive icon specified by the tag of the particular type, the particular interactive icon being among a plurality of icons that are stored on the multimedia device;
overlaying the particular interactive icon with at least a portion of the received particular content; and
presenting the received particular content overlaid with the particular interactive icon to request the user's permission to send the user's contact information to the third party that is associated with the tag.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the user's contact information comprises the user's name and at least one of: (a) the user's street address, (b) the user's telephone number, (c) the user's e-mail address, and (d) the user's instant messaging identifier.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising sending the user's contact information to the third party over a network.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the multimedia device receives the user's contact information from the user through the user's manipulation of a remote control to navigate a user interface generated by the multimedia device.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the tag is embedded in the television program or advertisement prior to a time that the multimedia device receives the television program or advertisement, and wherein the tag identifies at least one of: (a) a uniform resource locator (URL) that is associated with the third party, or (b) an e-mail address of the third party.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the multimedia device sends the user's contact information to the third party by sending the user's contact information to at least one of:
(a) the URL, (b) the e-mail address of the third party, and (c) the instant messaging identifier of the third party.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein, during the multimedia device's display of the television program or advertisement, the particular icon signifies, to the user, that a party associated with the television program or advertisement is interested in obtaining the user's contact information.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the multimedia device stores the user's contact information by storing the user's contact information on one or more storage devices within the multimedia device.
9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
in response to receiving the tag of the particular type, requesting the user's contact information from the user during a presentation of the recorded content, Internet-received content, television program, or advertisement.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the multimedia device requests the user's permission to send the user's contact information to the third party by displaying an overlay over a presentation of the recorded content, Internet-received content, television program, or advertisement; and wherein the overlay identifies the third party.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the contact information includes data that identifies the multimedia device, and wherein after sending the user's contact information to the third party, the multimedia device facilitates live communication between the user and the third party.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the multimedia device facilitates live communication between the user and the third party using voice-over-IP (VOIP) protocol.
13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the multimedia device facilitates live communications between the user and the third party using instant messaging.
14. A device configured to:
receive particular content comprising at least one of (a) a television program or advertisement that the device is receiving, (b) recorded content, or (c) content that the device is receiving over the Internet;
receive, by the device, a tag of a particular type along with the received particular content, the tag of the particular type representing an invitation to the device to send a user's contact information to a third party that is associated with the tag, and the tag of the particular type comprising an instant messaging identifier of the third party;
in response to receiving the tag of the particular type, perform by the device:
determining a particular interactive icon specified by the tag of the particular type, the particular interactive icon being among a plurality of icons that are stored on the multimedia device;
overlaying the particular interactive icon with at least a portion of the received particular content; and
presenting the received particular content overlaid with the particular interactive icon to request the user's permission to send the user's contact information to the third party that is associated with the tag.
15. The device of claim 14 , wherein the user's contact information comprises the user's name and at least one of: (a) the user's street address, (b) the user's telephone number, (c) the user's e-mail address, and (d) the user's instant messaging identifier.
16. The device of claim 14 , wherein the device is further configured to send the user's contact information to the third party over a network.
17. The device of claim 14 , wherein the device is further configured to receive the user's contact information from the user through the user's manipulation of a remote control to navigate a user interface generated by the device.
18. The device of claim 14 , wherein the tag is embedded in the television program or advertisement prior to a time that the device receives the television program or advertisement, and wherein the tag identifies at least one of: (a) a uniform resource locator (URL) that is associated with the third party, or (b) an e-mail address of the third party.
19. The device of claim 14 , wherein the device is configured to send the user's contact information to the interested party by sending the user's contact information to at least one of: (a) the URL, (b) the e-mail address of the interested party, and (c) the instant messaging identifier of the interested party.
20. The device of claim 14 , wherein, during the device's display of the television program or advertisement, the particular icon signifies, to the user, that a party associated with the television program or advertisement is interested in obtaining the user's contact information.
21. The device of claim 14 , wherein the device is further configured to store the user's contact information by storing the user's contact information on one or more storage devices within the device.
22. The device of claim 14 , wherein the device is further configured to:
in response to receiving the tag of the particular type, request the user's contact information from the user during a presentation of the recorded content, Internet-received content, television program, or advertisement.
23. The device of claim 14 , wherein the device is further configured to request the user's permission to send the user's contact information to the third party by displaying an overlay over a presentation of the recorded content, Internet-received content, television program, or advertisement; and wherein the overlay identifies the third party.
24. The device of claim 14 , wherein the contact information includes data that identifies the device, and wherein after sending the user's contact information to the third party, the device facilitates live communication between the user and the third party.
25. The device of claim 24 , wherein the device is configured to facilitate live communication between the user and the third party using voice-over-IP (VOIP) protocol.
26. The device of claim 24 , wherein the device is configured to facilitate live communications between the user and the third party using instant messaging.