Social product promotion
Methods and apparatus are disclosed regarding an e-commerce system having social networking aspects. The e-commerce system leverages such social networking aspects to help promote the sale of products.
1 . A method, comprising:
storing, in a storage device, one or more personal catalogs explicitly created and maintained by each customer of a plurality of customers, the personal catalogs comprising product listings designated by the respective customer based on a plurality of attributes relating to the respective customer's desire for a respective product; and
via a processor:
selecting a first customer and a second customer by identifying a product attribute in a personal catalog of the first customer that corresponds to the same product attribute in a personal catalog of the second customer; and
initiating an electronic communication between the first customer and the second customer automatically in response to said correspondence, the communication being limited to customers having a stored personal relationship designation with the first customer.
2 . The method of claim 1 , comprising:
storing a designation of personal relationships between the plurality of customers; and
limiting the selection of the second customer to a subset of the plurality of customers having a personal relationship with the first customer.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the electronic communication is initiated by directing an e-mail message to the second customer.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the electronic communication is initiated by directing an instant message to the second customer.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the electronic communication is initiated by placing a comment in a page associated with the second customer.
6 . The method of claim 1 , comprising;
displaying information regarding each product in a catalog.
7 . A system, comprising:
a storage device configured to store one or more personal catalogs explicitly created and maintained by each customer of a plurality of customers, the personal catalogs comprising product listings designated by the respective customer based on a plurality of attributes relating to the respective customer's desire for a respective product; and
a processor configured to:
select a first customer and a second customer by identifying a product attribute in a personal catalog of the first customer that corresponds to the same product attribute in a personal catalog of the second customer, and
initiate an electronic communication between a first customer and a second customer by identifying a product attribute in a personal catalog of the first customer that corresponds to the same product attribute in a personal catalog of the second customer.
8 . The system of claim 7 , wherein:
the storage device is configured to store a designation of personal relationships between the plurality of customers; and
the processor is configured to limit the selection of the second customer to a subset of the plurality of customers having a personal relationship with the first customer.
9 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the electronic communication is initiated by directing an e-mail message to the second customer.
10 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the electronic communication is initiated by directing an instant message to the second customer.
11 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the electronic communication is initiated by placing a comment in a page associated with the second customer.
12 . A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising a plurality of instructions that, when executed, cause a system to:
store one or more personal catalogs explicitly created and maintained by each customer of a plurality of customers, the personal catalogs comprising product listings designated by the respective customer based on a plurality of attributes relating to the respective customer's desire for a respective product;
select a first customer and a second customer by identifying a product attribute in a personal catalog of the first customer that corresponds to the same product attribute in a personal catalog of the second customer; and
initiate an electronic communication between the first customer and the second customer automatically in response to said correspondence, the communication being limited to customers having a stored personal relationship designation with the first customer.
13 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12 , wherein:
a designation of personal relationships between the plurality of customers is stored, and
the system is configured to limit the selection of the second customer to a subset of the plurality of customers having a personal relationship with the first customer.
14 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the electronic communication is initiated by directing an e-mail message to the second customer.
15 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the electronic communication is initiated by directing an instant message to the second customer.
16 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the electronic communication is initiated by placing a comment in a page associated with the second customer.