Patent Application
20090177986
The omnipresence of high speed internet connections enables users to engage increased commercial activities over the Internet. Merchants and retailers constantly provide new and advanced features on their online interfaces or web pages to provide not just contents but also interactions. One area of web interactions is a creation of a personalized virtual model for online apparel shoppers. For example, an online retailer enables a user to create and customize a virtual model by enabling the user to put on various outfits or merchandizes on the virtual model. This virtual model attempts to give the user a shopping experience as if the user is actually trying on the outfits. Other interactions also include customize a provider's content, such as dynamic display pictures, winks, gadgets, etc.
While these customizations (e.g., virtual models) are very useful to the user, these customizations do not stay with the user for other uses. In other words, if the user creates the virtual model for shopping at a first online retailer, the user either needs to customize another virtual model, if provided, at a second online retailer or needs to shop at the second online retailer without the virtual model. Therefore, the user is left with disappointment and may need to customize a separate virtual model for each online retailer. As such, the user is left with inconsistent user experience and needs to perform redundant activities for the same act with different retailers or content providers.
Aspects of the invention provide a platform for providing users with rich online user experience by enabling a third party or a partner to provide an in-page application on a given web page such that the user is able to store customized content created from the in-page application on the user's local device for later usage. Embodiments of the invention provide or append controls within the in-page application so that, upon completion of the customization, embodiments of the invention enable storing of the customized content or object. Alternative embodiments of the invention may also link with accounting options before storing the object, such as pricing of the customized content or object, etc. Furthermore, embodiments of the invention enable the third party or partner to maintain full control of the in-page application so as to promote ease of management of the content and provide efficiency in maintaining the in-page application.
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
Other features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
Aspects of the invention establish a robust platform for working with partners in an internet environment in managing interactions between a user and an interactive application provided by the partner. Embodiments of the invention enable the users to be able to store customized content or object, created from the interactive application, on the user's local device so that the user may use the customized content or object in other applications or settings.
Referring now to
For example, the remote partner server 112 may be an online merchant or retailer for selling various merchandizes to an online user 114. For example, the remote partner server 112 may be a company that creates customizable graphical objects to users, such as emoticon or other graphics. As such, the remote partner server 112 provides the UIA 110 with interactive controls for the UIA 110 to the web interactive space 106 for the user 114.
To further illustrate aspects of the invention,
In one embodiment, upon selecting the gadgets in the left pane 202, parameters specified by the host server 102 are embedded in the selection when the selection is sent to the remote partner server 112. The remote partner server 112 returns a hypertext markup language (HTML) uniform resource locator (URL) containing the customization or interactive controls (to be further discussed below) that would be used to customize an item. In this example, the host server 102 calls or requests the URL. In an alternative embodiment, before making the call, the host server 102 appends or inserts additional information the URL for the remote partner server 112. In one example, the additional information that is appended includes the following:
1. Market. This tells the partner what language to show the wizard control in.
2. Session Id for this particular customization user session. Partner can use this to uniquely track a user session for a particular customizable item.
3. Finish or completion URL. Partner will use this URL to construct the call to the host server 102 if the user clicks “Finish” in the customization wizard control.
4. Cancel or cancellation URL. Partner will use this URL to construct the call to the host server 102 if the user clicks “Cancel” in the customization wizard control
The web interactive space 106 may further include a lower pane 204 showing one or more other content area provided by the web interactive space 106. For example, the web interactive space 106 includes a page or space for the user's photos, news content, information for software developers, feedback to the host server 102, or the like. Other content may be provided and/or included in the lower pane 204 without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.
Upon receiving the selection, the remote partner server 112 transmits the UIA 110 to the host server 102 and the host server 102 receives the UIA 110 from the remote partner server 112 before providing the UIA 110 to the user 114. In this example, the UIA 110 is an application or program for customizing or creating a personal fashion model for the user 114. In one embodiment, the UIA 110 may be computer-executable instructions written in dynamic hypertext markup language (DHTML), Adobe® Flash, asynchronous JavaScript and extensible markup language (XML) (AJAX), or JavaScript® programming languages. In another example, the other languages or programming techniques may be used in implementing and providing interactive aspects to the user 114.
In one embodiment, an HTML is sent in response to the call to the URL for the UIA 110. The HTML content of the UIA 110 is shown inline in an IFRAME within the web interactive page 106 to the user 114. In this example, in the IFRAME implementation, the user's location computer 120 or an application, such as an internet browser, will combine the UIA 110 and the data associated with the UIA 110 on the user's local computer 120 rather than having the host server 102 and/or remote partner server 112 providing run-time data for executing the UIA 110. In another embodiment, a separate window or a pop-up window, such as window 230 may be provided instead of the in-page rendering of the UIA 110, as shown in
In one example and as shown in
In one embodiment, the remote partner server 112 maintains full control of the behaviors of the UIA 110. In other words, the remote partner server 112 controls the activities of the UIA 110 and has direct links and management of the UIA 110.
Referring now to
Still referring to
Referring now to
On the other hand, if the user 114 wishes to cancel the customization by activating the cancellation control 224 or the “CANCEL” button, such activation is received by the remote partner server 112. The remote partner server 112 may construct another URL based on the cancel button or cancellation control 224 and a partner key that is unique for each partner. The host server 102 receives such URL and partner key and may redirect the user 114 to a different location. For example, upon cancellation, the web interactive space 106 may display a different content, activates another window showing or the like to direct the user 114.
With the customized object 116, the user 114 may apply the customized object 116 to any other applications or files locally. For example, the user 114 may use the customized object 116 in an online shopping web site, as shown in
Referring now to
At 810, the host server 102 provides to the user the received interactive controls and the appended resulting controls via the online interactive page (e.g., web interactive space 106). The user interacts with the particular interactive application through the interactive controls and the appended resulting controls to customize a media object (e.g., customized object 116). At 812, the host server 102 receives the customized media object from the remote partner server. The customized object 116 is stored on the user's local device at 814.
The order of execution or performance of the operations in embodiments of the invention illustrated and described herein is not essential, unless otherwise specified. That is, the operations may be performed in any order, unless otherwise specified, and embodiments of the invention may include additional or fewer operations than those disclosed herein. For example, it is contemplated that executing or performing a particular operation before, contemporaneously with, or after another operation is within the scope of aspects of the invention.
Embodiments of the invention may be implemented with computer-executable instructions. The computer-executable instructions may be organized into one or more computer-executable components or modules. Aspects of the invention may be implemented with any number and organization of such components or modules. For example, aspects of the invention are not limited to the specific computer-executable instructions or the specific components or modules illustrated in the figures and described herein. Other embodiments of the invention may include different computer-executable instructions or components having more or less functionality than illustrated and described herein.
When introducing elements of aspects of the invention or the embodiments thereof, the articles “a,” “an,” “the,” and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements.
Having described aspects of the invention in detail, it will be apparent that modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope of aspects of the invention as defined in the appended claims. As various changes could be made in the above constructions, products, and methods without departing from the scope of aspects of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
