The present invention relates generally to a system for generating, sending, and receiving crowdfunding and directing funds to propagate designated advertisements and communications.
Many people and companies donate time and resources to support various interests, groups, projects, charitable events, causes, and campaigns. Various online platforms, social networking, and social media sites provide innovative ways for funding from online communities to promote community involvement and participation in these causes and campaigns. However, the donors are often largely unaware how their donations are being used by the recipients and whether the interests or causes are truly being furthered by their contribution.
Accordingly, there exists a need to provide a way for donors to contribute in a meaningful way to further their chosen causes and campaigns. That is, to provide a way for individual contributions and crowdfunding to be directed by the contributor(s) to fund a particular aspect of a cause or campaign—namely, advertising and spreading an associated message.
An embodiment of this disclosure provides a method of funding for communications, including displaying, using a processor connected to a network, a first communication associated with at least one of an interest and an interested party, wherein the displaying of the first communication is on a user feed of a graphical user interface accessible by a receiving party via a web browser or a mobile application on a personal electronic device; and displaying, using the processor, an icon positioned within or adjacent to the first communication on the user feed, that indicates the first communication is a trumpetable communication and that the receiving party can pay a monetary contribution to fund further propagation of the trumpetable communication. The method further includes registering, using the processor and in response to a user input on a personal electronic device, a selection by the receiving party which indicates a fixed amount of currency as the monetary contribution; performing, using the processor connected to the network, a transfer of the fixed amount of currency from a first financial account associated with the receiving party to a second financial account designated to hold funds to fund the further propagation of the trumpetable communication; and projecting, via an advertising medium, the trumpetable communication funded by the receiving party.
In an embodiment of the above method, prior to providing the user input on the personal electronic device, the receiving party received the trumpetable communication via a first advertising medium and the processor registered an action by the receiving party to display the trumpetable communication on the user feed of the graphical user interface. In various embodiments, the action of the receiving party includes at least one of: selecting, via the personal electronic device, the icon displayed within or adjacent to the first communication on the graphical user interface; dialing a phone number using the personal electronic device; texting, using the personal electronic device, a code associated with the trumpetable communication to a number associated with the trumpetable communication; taking a picture of or scanning a QR code associated with the trumpetable communication using the personal electronic device; and enabling and receiving, via the personal electronic device, an electronic notification or beacon for the trumpetable communication.
In an embodiment of the disclosure, a system of funding for communications comprises a processor; a graphical user interface in communication with the processor; and at least one non-transitory program storage device in communication with the processor via a network, wherein the graphical user interface is accessible by a first party via a web browser or a mobile application on a personal electronic device, and the processor is configured to communicate with the at least one non-transitory program storage device and the graphical user interface to execute instructions. The instructions include displaying, on a user feed of the graphical user interface, a first communication associated with at least one of an interest and an interested party; and displaying, within or adjacent to the first communication on the user feed of the graphical user interface, an icon which indicates that the first communication is a trumpetable communication and that the first party can pay a monetary contribution to fund further propagation of the trumpetable communication. The instructions further include registering, in response to a user input on the personal electronic device, a selection by the first party which indicates a fixed amount of currency as the monetary contribution; performing a transfer of the fixed amount of currency from a first financial account associated with the first party to a second financial account designated to hold funds to fund the further propagation of the trumpetable communication; and projecting, via an advertising medium, the trumpetable communication funded by the first party.
Having thus described examples of the disclosure in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the views. The particular objects and features of the instant disclosure as well as the advantages related hereto will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and wherein:
The following description of the embodiments of this disclosure is intended to enable someone skilled in the prior art to make and use that which is disclosed but is not intended to limit the claims to these particular exemplary embodiments.
In general, embodiments of the disclosure relate to a system for allowing donors to link a financial account of a user account that is accessible via a web browser or mobile application on a personal electronic device (“PED”) and to directly fund the propagation of an advertisement or communication that is associated with a chosen cause, interest, or campaign.
In an embodiment, users, individuals, groups, or companies can interact with a PED which may include a device with a computer processor, a personal digital assistant (“PDA”), a laptop or desktop computer, a tablet, an iPad, a smart phone, a mobile phone, a camera, an electronic watch, a tablet, smart glasses, virtual reality (VR) goggles, VR headsets, and head-up displays, or a similar PED having network connectivity enabled therein. A head-up display being defined as any transparent display that presents data without requiring a user to look away from their usual viewpoints.
Referring now to
As illustrated in
The method of funding can further include the processor displaying an icon positioned within or adjacent to the first communication on the user feed, wherein the icon indicates that the first communication is a trumpetable communication and that the user can pay a monetary contribution to fund further propagation of the trumpetable communication (Operation 120). As used throughout the instant disclosure and as known by those of ordinary skill in the art, an icon or icon button is a little picture or image that can lead to an action when a user interacts with it through a user interface (e.g. clicking the icon with a mouse associated with a computer or laptop, or clicking the icon via a touchpad on a laptop). In an embodiment, the icon can simply include a picture with no text. In another embodiment, a button can be displayed within or near the communication rather than an icon, and the button can include text with or without an image. In some embodiments, the button may include text indicating an amount of a monetary contribution or currency. In other embodiments, the icon or button may include a QR code or any similar matrix barcode that allows for a camera or QR code reader application to identify and associate with a trumpetable communication.
As used throughout the disclosure, the term “trumpetable” is used to indicate that a communication or advertisement is capable of being further propagated by a user who provides a monetary contribution to fund the further propagation thereof. That is, a user seeing a communication displayed with the aforementioned icon will know that it is possible to pay money to further propagate the communication. If a user decides to support the cause or interest related to the communication by paying for others to receive the same message, the user then becomes a “trumpetor” and the user can “trumpet” the message or communication. The term “receiving party” is another name for user, person, or group that uses the disclosed system for trumpetable communications and is, or can become, a “trumpetor.” The term “trumpet” is used throughout the disclosure and should be interpreted to mean “pay to further propagate.”
The method further includes the processor registering, in response to a user input on a PED, a selection by the user which indicates a fixed amount of currency as a monetary contribution (Operation 130). A party seeing the trumpetable communication may choose to trumpet the communication by selecting or clicking the icon and further indicating a fixed amount of currency as the desired monetary contribution.
The next operation is the processor performing a transfer of the fixed amount of currency from a first financial account associated with the user to a second financial account designated to hold funds to fund the further propagation of the trumpetable communication (Operation 140). In an embodiment, the second financial account is dedicated to a group financial account for crowdfunding for the further propagation of the trumpetable communication.
After performing the transfer of funds from the user's financial account to another account, the method includes projecting, via an advertising medium, the trumpetable communication funded by the user (Operation 150). In some embodiments, the further propagation of the trumpetable communication may happen almost instantaneously with the transfer of funding; while in other embodiments of the disclosure, the projecting of the trumpetable communication funded by the user may happen at a different time or period of time.
An embodiment of the method of the disclosure may further include tracking a response and engagement of the trumpeted communications and tying performance to a user's contribution (Operation 160).
The advertising medium for the projecting of the trumpetable communication can include various ad channels. The ad channels include print media, digital billboards, terrestrial billboards, radio advertisements, TV advertisements, over-the-top (OTT) media services including media services directly to viewers via the internet, SMS campaigns enabling interaction with users via text, offline advertising media, digital advertising media, virtual advertising media, social networking, targeted emails, embedded video advertisements, and any other ad channels known by those of ordinary skill in the art.
In some embodiments, the user may have initially or previously received the trumpetable communication by one of these ad channels before it was displayed on the user feed of the graphical user interface. In an embodiment of the method disclosed herein, the processor may have transferred the trumpetable communication to an advertising medium for receipt by the user, and the processor may have registered an action by the user that caused the processor to display the trumpetable communication on the user feed. In various embodiments, the advertising medium where the receiving party received the trumpetable communication may be a different advertising medium than the advertising medium where the processor projects the trumpetable communication funded by the user. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the user may have received the trumpetable communication via an audio advertisement on the radio, and the processor may project the trumpetable communication funded by the user to a social network as an embedded video ad. In another embodiment of the disclosure, the user may have seen a trumpetable communication posted on a billboard sign next to a highway, and the system may project the trumpetable communication funded by the user as an advertisement distributed in the U.S. mail. The disclosure anticipates and includes countless embodiments including different combinations of ad channels for the distribution and receipt of the trumpetable communications.
As indicated above, the processor may register an action by the user that causes the processor to display the trumpetable communication on the user feed. The user's action could be any number of actions and in some embodiments, may depend, in part, on the ad channel where the user received the communication. In an embodiment, the user's action includes selecting, via a PED, the icon displayed within or adjacent to the first communication on the graphical user interface. In another embodiment of the disclosure, the user's action is dialing a phone number using a personal electronic device. In an embodiment, the user's action includes using a PED for texting a code associated with the trumpetable communication to a number associated with the trumpetable communication. In yet another embodiment, the action of the user includes taking a picture of or scanning a QR code associated with the trumpetable communication using a PED. In another embodiment, the action includes the user enabling and receiving, via a personal electronic device, an electronic notification or beacon for the trumpetable communication.
In an embodiment, the system may further include registering, using the processor and in response to a user input on a PED, a user selection of a range of currency as the monetary contribution, and registering a selection of a fixed amount of currency as the monetary contribution in response to a user selection of an advertising medium for the propagation of the trumpetable communication the user is funding. In an embodiment, the fixed amount of currency is within the range of currency the user selected. In another embodiment, the user is provided an opportunity to choose a different fixed amount of currency for the monetary contribution whether the fixed amount of currency is within the selected range of currency or not.
Various embodiments of the disclosure may include further operations such as associating on the graphical user interface, a user account with the user, wherein a user profile associated with the user account displays the trumpetable communication that the user is funding. An embodiment may further include linking the financial account of the user with the user account.
Another embodiment includes allowing a cause or interest to create a user account and allowing the cause to identify or designate a communication as being a trumpetable communication or as being a trumpetable communication only during a specified period of time. Thus, a user of the disclosed system may be a donor, citizen, group of citizens, company, group of companies, or the like; and a user may also be a cause or a party associated with the cause. A user account is created by the user and is utilized by the user to engage with the graphical user interface which encourages and permits users to interact with one another. This may include donors finding charities to selectively donate to, as well as charities or causes interacting with the donor users or with each other. In general, a user may engage in social activities whether they are a trumpetor, interested in becoming a trumpetor, and/or if they are associated with a trumpetable communication.
In an embodiment, the operations performed in
In an embodiment, the user account module 301 and the cause account module 302 communicate with the user's PED 201 allowing for registration, donations, social networking, and other functionalities associated with the system 300. The financial tracking module 303 communicates with the financial network and receives transaction data regarding user transactions. The donation tracking module 304 identifies the cause and the particular trumpetable communication which the donation is directed towards and associates the appropriate cause and trumpetable communication with the appropriate user that donated the funds.
The system promotes user to user interactions as a means of promoting user participation throughout the network. Whether the user is a donor or whether the user is a cause or interested party associated with the cause, user profiles are viewable throughout the network as determined by user privacy settings standard in the arts.
To access and begin utilizing the network, a registration engine may be utilized to create an account. Once activated, the user may use their PED to access the graphical user interface by inputting credentials including a username, password, or similar implements. Once credentials are validated, any number of selectable panels, or graphical displays may be illustrated, each having specific account information related to the user, or other users in the network.
GUI 400 further includes an information tool bar 405 which may include links to various pages or places in the GUI and can provide information about the part of the GUI which a user is currently viewing.
In an embodiment, the system may include instructions for allowing, via the user profile, the user to send personal messages back and further between one or more users on the network, wherein these personal messages are only viewable by the users involved. In an embodiment, the system includes instructions for allowing one user to “follow” another user and to be notified when the user makes any monetary contributions, as per the privacy settings of users involved.
In an embodiment, the system includes allowing, via the user profile, the user to customize at least one parameter of the trumpetable communication to create a customized trumpetable communication that the user can fund for propagation. Another embodiment includes allowing, via the user profile, the user to designate a userID that will be included on or near the trumpetable communication when it is further propagated using the user's monetary contribution, wherein the userID identifies the user or the user's account.
An embodiment of the disclosure includes displaying, on the user profile, an indication of a total amount of impressions made upon other users who interacted with the user's trumpetable communication. In another embodiment, the system may include displaying, on the user profile, a list of other users who have further funded the same trumpetable communication the user funded.
An embodiment of the disclosure includes providing the user with an opportunity to forward a posting or announcement about the monetary contribution to the user's contacts via social networks, to other user accounts in the disclosed system, and to a user's contacts in a personal network such as contacts in a phone. In an embodiment, the funding system disclosed herein may automatically, with user permission, post a message or other notification regarding the transaction via a social network or other designated network. Another embodiment may allow a user to notify other users as to a monetary contribution that was made for a same or similar trumpetable communication.
Additional embodiments of the disclosure may include a system with instructions for displaying on the user profile, a plurality of ad channels that may be utilized for the further propagation of the trumpetable communication. In an embodiment, the user may be allowed to choose the advertising medium from the plurality of ad channels for the trumpetable communication the user funds.
In an embodiment, the system may display, on the user profile of the user, a listing of various trumpetable communications associated with a same cause as that of the trumpetable communication the user funded or has funded in the past.
In various embodiments of the disclosure, the system may be gamified and the fixed amount of currency for the monetary contribution can be in the form of money, tokens, digital currency, and cryptocurrency. In various embodiments, the gamified system may allow a user to compete with one or more other users for a highest number of trumpetable communications funded. In an embodiment, the gamified system may allow a user to compete with other users based on a total amount of impressions made upon other users who interacted with the user's trumpetable communication.
In another embodiment, the gamified system may enable a user to become a host for a period of time and host a system event. In an embodiment, a hosting user may be enabled to decide how the users can compete with other users regarding a criteria associated with one or more trumpetable communications. The criteria may be a total number of trumpetable communications, a total amount of funding provided toward one or more trumpetable communications, a number of impressions made upon other users who interacted with the user's trumpetable communication, or any other criteria known to those of ordinary skill in the art.
In an embodiment of the gamified system, a user may be able to receive money or tokens or some other kind of tangible or virtual compensation as a result of participating in or hosting a gamified event with other users on the network. In an embodiment, the user may be able to put a user reward toward a further propagation of a chosen trumpetable communication instead of accepting a tangible or virtual compensation.
Different examples and aspects of the systems and methods are disclosed herein that include a variety of components, features, and functionality. It should be understood that the various examples and aspects of the systems and methods disclosed herein may include any of the components, features, and functionality of any of the other examples and aspects of the systems and methods disclosed herein in any combination, and all of such possibilities are intended to be within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.
Many modifications and other examples of the disclosure set forth herein will come to mind to one of ordinary skill in the art to which the disclosure pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings.
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