IP Library › Granted Patent US 9,595,068
Granted Patent B2
US 9,595,068 · App. 13/183,958 · Granted Mar 14, 2017

Social marketplace affiliate administration

Inventors: Steven Tedjamulia (Austin, TX); Manish C. Mehta (Austin, TX); Ronald Vincent Rose (Austin, TX); Andrew Tobias Siemer (Elgin, TX)
Assignee: Dell Products L.P.
G06Q50/01G06Q30/0282G06Q30/0631
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,595,068
App. No.
13/183,958
Filed
Jul 15, 2011
Granted
Mar 14, 2017
Kind
B2
Art Unit
3684
USPC
705/26.7
Abstract

A method and system are disclosed for managing social commerce within a social media environment. Social commerce activity data corresponding to social commerce storefronts associated with various affiliates is processed to generate social commerce analysis data associated with a merchant's products. The social commerce analysis data is then processed to generate recommendations, which are then provided to the various affiliates. The recommendations are then provided to users of a social media environment to incent additional social commerce activity.

Claims (38)

1. A computer-implementable method executing on a hardware processor for automating the administration of social commerce within a social media environment, comprising:

processing social commerce activity data within the social media environment corresponding to a plurality of social commerce sites to generate social commerce analysis data, the plurality of social commerce sites comprising respective social commerce storefronts embedded within respective social media sites, the plurality of social commerce sites associated with a provider of a set of available products and further associated with a corresponding plurality of affiliates of the provider of a set of available products, each social commerce storefront comprising a catalog of at least some of the set of purchasable products, the social media site comprising social commerce content associated with the at least some of the set of purchasable products, the plurality of affiliates of the provider participating in an affiliate network, the affiliate network allowing participation in an affiliate program, the processing social commerce activity executing on the hardware processor;

processing the social commerce analysis data to generate social commerce recommendation data, the processing social commerce analysis data executing on the hardware processor; and

providing the social commerce recommendation data to the corresponding plurality of affiliates, the providing the social commerce recommendation data executing on the hardware processor; and wherein

the social media environment comprises a social network management module, the social network management module managing linkages between the social media environment and the plurality of social commerce sites; and,

each respective social commerce storefront comprises a respective affiliate storefront management module executing on a respective hardware processor, each respective affiliate storefront management module managing the respective social commerce storefront, the managing comprising receiving the social commerce recommendation data and using the social commerce recommendation data to display a representation of a product corresponding to the social commerce recommendation data within the respective social commerce storefront to enable users to purchase the product associated with the social commerce recommendation data.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the social commerce analysis data comprises product purchase data corresponding to the purchase of a first set of purchasable products by a user associated with the affiliate, the first set of purchasable products comprising a subset of the set of available products.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the social commerce recommendation data is provided to the user and comprises a recommendation for a second set of purchasable products.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the social commerce analysis data comprises search term data used by a user associated with the affiliate, the search term data associated with a first set of purchasable products purchased by the user, the first set of purchasable products comprising a subset of the set of available products.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the social commerce recommendation data is provided to the user and comprises a recommendation for a second set of purchasable products.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the social commerce recommendation data is provided to the user and comprises a promotional offer.

7. A system comprising:

a processor;

a data bus coupled to the processor; and

a computer-usable medium embodying computer program code, the computer-usable medium being coupled to the data bus, the computer program code interacting with a plurality of computer operations and comprising instructions executable by the processor and configured for:

processing social commerce activity data within a social media environment corresponding to a plurality of social commerce sites to generate social commerce analysis data, the plurality of social commerce sites comprising respective social commerce storefronts embedded within respective social media sites, the plurality of social commerce sites associated with a provider of a set of available products and further associated with a corresponding plurality of affiliates of the provider of a set of available products, each social commerce storefront comprising a catalog of at least some of the set of purchasable products, the social media site comprising social commerce content associated with the at least some of the set of purchasable products, the plurality of affiliates of the provider participating in an affiliate network, the affiliate network allowing participation in an affiliate program, the processing social commerce activity executing on the hardware processor;

processing the social commerce analysis data to generate social commerce recommendation data; and

providing the social commerce recommendation data to the corresponding plurality of affiliates; and wherein

the social media environment comprises a social network management module, the social network management module managing linkages between the social media environment and the plurality of social commerce sites; and,

each respective social commerce storefront comprises a respective affiliate storefront management module executing on a respective hardware processor, each respective affiliate storefront management module managing the respective social commerce storefront, the managing comprising receiving the social commerce recommendation data and using the social commerce recommendation data to display a representation of a product corresponding to the social commerce recommendation data within the respective social commerce storefront to enable users to purchase the product associated with the social commerce recommendation data.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the social commerce analysis data comprises product purchase data corresponding to the purchase of a first set of purchasable products by a user associated with the affiliate, the first set of purchasable products comprising a subset of the set of available products.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the social commerce recommendation data is provided to the user and comprises a recommendation for a second set of purchasable products.

10. The system of claim 7 , wherein the social commerce analysis data comprises search term data used by a user associated with the affiliate, the search term data associated with a first set of purchasable products purchased by the user, the first set of purchasable products comprising a subset of the set of available products.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the social commerce recommendation data is provided to the user and comprises a recommendation for a second set of purchasable products.

12. The system of claim 7 , wherein the social commerce recommendation data is provided to the user and comprises a promotional offer.

13. A non-transitory computer-usable medium embodying computer program code, the computer program code comprising computer executable instructions configured for:

processing social commerce activity data within a social media environment corresponding to a plurality of social commerce sites to generate social commerce analysis data, the plurality of social commerce sites comprising respective social commerce storefronts embedded within respective social media sites, the plurality of social commerce sites associated with a provider of a set of available products and further associated with a corresponding plurality of affiliates of the provider of a set of available products, each social commerce storefront comprising a catalog of at least some of the set of purchasable products, the social media site comprising social commerce content associated with the at least some of the set of purchasable products, the plurality of affiliates of the provider participating in an affiliate network, the affiliate network allowing participation in an affiliate program;

processing the social commerce analysis data to generate social commerce recommendation data; and

providing the social commerce recommendation data to the corresponding plurality of affiliates; and wherein

the social media environment comprises a social network management module, the social network management module managing linkages between the social media environment and the plurality of social commerce sites; and,

each respective social commerce storefront comprises a respective affiliate storefront management module executing on a respective hardware processor, each respective affiliate storefront management module managing the respective social commerce storefront, the managing comprising receiving the social commerce recommendation data and using the social commerce recommendation data to display a representation of a product corresponding to the social commerce recommendation data within the respective social commerce storefront to enable users to purchase the product associated with the social commerce recommendation data.

14. The computer usable medium of claim 13 , wherein the social commerce analysis data comprises product purchase data corresponding to the purchase of a first set of purchasable products by a user associated with the affiliate, the first set of purchasable products comprising a subset of the set of available products.

15. The computer usable medium of claim 14 , wherein the social commerce recommendation data is provided to the user and comprises a recommendation for a second set of purchasable products.

16. The computer usable medium of claim 13 , wherein the social commerce analysis data comprises search term data used by a user associated with the affiliate, the search term data associated with a first set of purchasable products purchased by the user, the first set of purchasable products comprising a subset of the set of available products.

17. The computer usable medium of claim 16 , wherein the social commerce recommendation data is provided to the user and comprises a recommendation for a second set of purchasable products.

18. The computer usable medium of claim 13 , wherein the social commerce recommendation data is provided to the user and comprises a promotional offer.

19. The computer usable medium of claim 13 , wherein the computer executable instructions are deployable to a client computer from a server at a remote location.

20. The computer usable medium of claim 13 , wherein the computer executable instructions are provided by a service provider to a customer on an on-demand basis.

Assignments (15)
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL/FRAME (053546/0001) Recorded Jun 23, 2022
From: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
To: DELL MARKETING L.P. (ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND AS SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.); DELL INTERNATIONAL L.L.C.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL USA L.P.; EMC CORPORATION; DELL MARKETING CORPORATION (SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC. AND WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.); EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC
Reel/Frame 071642/0001 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL/FRAME (045455/0001) Recorded May 20, 2022
From: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
To: DELL MARKETING CORPORATION (SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.); DELL MARKETING L.P. (ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND AS SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.); DELL USA L.P.; DELL INTERNATIONAL L.L.C.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL MARKETING CORPORATION (SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC. AND WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.); EMC CORPORATION (ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND AS SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO MAGINATICS LLC); EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC (ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND AS SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO MOZY, INC.); SCALEIO LLC
Reel/Frame 061753/0001 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL/FRAME (040136/0001) Recorded Apr 26, 2022
From: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
To: DELL MARKETING CORPORATION (SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.); DELL MARKETING L.P. (ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND AS SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.); DELL USA L.P.; DELL INTERNATIONAL L.L.C.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL MARKETING CORPORATION (SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC. AND WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.); EMC CORPORATION (ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND AS SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO MAGINATICS LLC); EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC (ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND AS SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO MOZY, INC.); SCALEIO LLC
Reel/Frame 061324/0001 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Nov 3, 2021
From: CREDIT SUISSE AG, CAYMAN ISLANDS BRANCH
To: ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.; AVENTAIL LLC; CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL USA L.P.; DELL INTERNATIONAL, L.L.C.; DELL MARKETING L.P.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL SOFTWARE INC.; DELL SYSTEMS CORPORATION; EMC CORPORATION; EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; MAGINATICS LLC; MOZY, INC.; SCALEIO LLC; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.
Reel/Frame 058216/0001 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Apr 22, 2020
From: CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES INC.; DELL INTERNATIONAL L.L.C.; DELL MARKETING L.P.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL USA L.P.; EMC CORPORATION; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.; EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC
To: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A.
Reel/Frame 053546/0001 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Mar 21, 2019
From: CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL INTERNATIONAL L.L.C.; DELL MARKETING L.P.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL USA L.P.; EMC CORPORATION; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.; EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC
To: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A.
Reel/Frame 049452/0223 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Sep 21, 2016
From: ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.; AVENTAIL LLC; CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL USA L.P.; DELL INTERNATIONAL L.L.C.; DELL MARKETING L.P.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL SOFTWARE INC.; DELL SYSTEMS CORPORATION; EMC CORPORATION; EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; MAGINATICS LLC; MOZY, INC.; SCALEIO LLC; SPANNING CLOUD APPS LLC; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.
To: CREDIT SUISSE AG, CAYMAN ISLANDS BRANCH, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 040134/0001 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Sep 21, 2016
From: ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.; AVENTAIL LLC; CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL USA L.P.; DELL INTERNATIONAL L.L.C.; DELL MARKETING L.P.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL SOFTWARE INC.; DELL SYSTEMS CORPORATION; EMC CORPORATION; EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; MAGINATICS LLC; MOZY, INC.; SCALEIO LLC; SPANNING CLOUD APPS LLC; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.
To: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 040136/0001 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Sep 14, 2016
From: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: DELL MARKETING L.P.; ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.; APPASSURE SOFTWARE, INC.; COMPELLENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL INC.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL USA L.P.; DELL SOFTWARE INC.; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; PEROT SYSTEMS CORPORATION; SECUREWORKS, INC.; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.
Reel/Frame 040040/0001 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Sep 14, 2016
From: BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: DELL MARKETING L.P.; ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.; APPASSURE SOFTWARE, INC.; COMPELLENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL INC.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL USA L.P.; DELL SOFTWARE INC.; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; PEROT SYSTEMS CORPORATION; SECUREWORKS, INC.; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.
Reel/Frame 040065/0618 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Sep 13, 2016
From: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
To: DELL MARKETING L.P.; ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.; APPASSURE SOFTWARE, INC.; COMPELLANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL INC.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL USA L.P.; DELL SOFTWARE INC.; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; PEROT SYSTEMS CORPORATION; SECUREWORKS, INC.; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.
Reel/Frame 040065/0216 →
PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT (ABL) Recorded Jan 2, 2014
From: DELL INC.; APPASSURE SOFTWARE, INC.; ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.; BOOMI, INC.; COMPELLENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL MARKETING L.P.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL SOFTWARE INC.; DELL USA L.P.; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; GALE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; PEROT SYSTEMS CORPORATION; SECUREWORKS, INC.; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.
To: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
Reel/Frame 031898/0001 →
PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT (TERM LOAN) Recorded Jan 2, 2014
From: DELL INC.; APPASSURE SOFTWARE, INC.; ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.; BOOMI, INC.; COMPELLENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL MARKETING L.P.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL SOFTWARE INC.; DELL USA L.P.; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; GALE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; PEROT SYSTEMS CORPORATION; SECUREWORKS, INC.; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.
To: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 031899/0261 →
PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT (NOTES) Recorded Jan 2, 2014
From: APPASSURE SOFTWARE, INC.; ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.; BOOMI, INC.; COMPELLENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL INC.; DELL MARKETING L.P.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL SOFTWARE INC.; DELL USA L.P.; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; GALE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; PEROT SYSTEMS CORPORATION; SECUREWORKS, INC.; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.
To: BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS FIRST LIEN COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 031897/0348 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Aug 5, 2011
From: TEDJAMULIA, STEVE; MEHTA, MANISH C.; ROSE, RONALD VINCENT; SIEMER, ANDREW TOBIAS
To: DELL PRODUCTS L.P.
Reel/Frame 026708/0243 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 61485767 · May 13, 2011
Related Publication 20120290431A1 · Nov 15, 2012