Abstract:
This invention relates generally to information dissemination web portals and more particularly to the dissemination of information where there is no advertisement and the person providing the information is unbiased. The information is unbiased because the person providing the information is an expert hired by the web portal provider and has no incentive to sell products or service to the user. The expert is therefore free to provide responses that are not geared towards the selling of a product or service.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application claims priority to provisional application No. 60/838,638 filed on Aug. 17, 2006. 
     
    
     FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH  
       [0002]     Not Applicable  
       SEQUENCE LISTING OR PROGRAM  
       [0003]     Not Applicable  
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0004]     This invention relates to information dissemination over the internet and particularly, to the dissemination of information that is unbiased because the provider of the information has no outside interest other than providing information to the user since the expert providing the information is paid by the website provider and not by commission or advertisements. More particularly, method of providing unbiased information is targeted to homeownership and providing homeowners with information about homeownership that does not have advertising and is unbiased.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     This invention relates generally to information dissemination and more particularly to the dissemination of information where there is no advertisement and the person providing the information has no interest in selling a product when providing the information. Numerous websites for providing information are in existent. Various methods for providing information are also available. However, methods for providing information that does not push a product or service, advertise to customers, or ask a customer to buy products when the information is provided is not currently available.  
         [0006]     A challenge for most web user is to find information on the web while not being bombarded with advertisements. If the site providing the information does not have advertisements, the information that is provided to the consumer generally tries to sell a service or good by directing the information to a service or good that sponsors, promote or advertise on the site that is providing the information.  
         [0007]     Because the consumers are bombarded with information that is geared to have the consumer purchase something, the information provided may not be in the best interest of the consumer. Therefore, there is a need to disseminate information that removes the need to advertise and provides information that is unbiased. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES  
       [0008]      FIG. 1  is the front page of the web portal of the present invention where members can login to the web portal and read about the services provided.  
         [0009]      FIG. 2  is the registration page where new users can sign up for access to the web portal of the present invention.  
         [0010]      FIG. 3  is the question and answer inbox.  
         [0011]      FIG. 4  is the question page.  
         [0012]      FIG. 5  is the response display page.  
     
    
     FIGURES  
     Reference Numerals  
       [0000]    
       
           100  . . . Member Login  
           200  . . . Registration Form  
           210  . . . Subscription Type  
           220  . . . Agent ID  
           300  . . . Question and Answer Inbox  
           310  . . . Ask Question  
           320  . . . Discounts  
           400  . . . Question Submittal Box  
           500  . . . Reply Display  
       
     
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0022]     The present invention is a method for providing information through a web portal that is unbiased and does not direct the user posing the question to a product or service that they do not need. Because there is no selling by the person providing the response and the web portal has no interest in selling products to the user, the information is unbiased.  
         [0023]      FIG. 1  through  5  shows the web portal of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 1 , the method of the present invention is shown. In  FIG. 1  the consumer is presented with a page in which they have the option of learning more about the services of the web portal of the present invention or login to the service if they already have membership. If the user is a member, the user enters the information required of them in member login  110  display box and clicks submit. This will allow the user to gain access to the member materials of the web portal of the present invention.  
         [0024]     If a user is not yet a member, the user may go to the registration page as shown in  FIG. 2  and sign up for an access account by completing a registration form  200  to obtain membership information and gain access to the web portal of the present invention. The registration form  200  requires that the user provide information such as their name and contact information, select the subscription type  210 , and if applicable provide an agent ID  220  code if membership has been provided to the user by a business. Once the user has completed the registration form  200 , the user becomes a registered user and can log onto the web portal and gain access to the unbiased information and question page.  
         [0025]      FIG. 3  shows the members page where the user can browse the web portal for information, view questions and answers in the question and answer inbox  300 , ask question  310 , or view available discounts  320 . The discounts  320  may be sorted by the zip code. The question and answer inbox  300  contains asked questions and responses to the questions which can be viewed by the user. The user has the option to ask additional questions within the same category and obtain clarification on the question previously posted without being limited to the number of questions they can asked since the question is within the same category.  
         [0026]      FIG. 4  shows the question submittal box  400  where the user can ask a question by typing it in the question submittal box  400  and clicking submit. The question is then transferred to an expert, consultants with expertise in the field related to the question submitted by the user, such as homeownership. The expert provides an answer by responding to the question from the user by providing a response that is targeted to the user&#39;s question.  
         [0027]      FIG. 5  shows the reply display  500  where the answer from the expert is displayed in the users account for the user to view. The reply display may contain the contact information of the provider of membership if the user entered an agent ID  220  during the initial registration process. The membership provider information is updated automatically whenever the membership provider&#39;s information is updated.  
         [0028]     Additional questions and answers can be submitted and responded to in the same manner as described above. Throughout the whole process, there are no advertising in the web portal for providing unbiased information of the present invention. However, information about discounted services may be provided for the user to peruse.  
         [0029]     For membership providers, such as a business, who want to provide their customers access to the web portal of the present invention, the business can provide for free or purchase premium membership for distribution to their customers. The business may sign up the client through the business&#39; member page which will then automatically send a confirmation email to the client with the login information. On the other hand, the business may provide the client with an agent ID  220  code that the client can use when registering for access to the web portal of the present invention. While businesses can provide membership to their client, the consumer part of the present invention can be used as a standalone invention.  
         [0030]     In the business part, a business signs up for an access account by providing their contact information. Once the business has an account, the business can log onto the web portal. On the web portal of the present invention, the business can obtain free or purchase premium membership. These additional memberships can be given to the customers of the business. Each membership has a code that corresponds to the business that obtained free or purchase premium membership.  
         [0031]     To provide information that is unbiased, the present invention, utilizes a web portal with no advertisement and experts hired by the web portal owner, the expert being paid only by the web portal owner and not on commission or the amount of products/services sold. The present invention also works on different levels of membership that can be obtained for free or purchased premium membership either by the consumer or a business that would like to provide membership to their customers.  
         [0032]     The web portal of the present invention may be used for providing information regarding home ownership, home repair, and any other matters that are related to the owning of a home. Therefore, users who have questions related to home ownership matters can ask these questions to experts in the field.  
         [0033]     Additionally, members of the web portal of the present invention may earn points which can be used to obtain goods or services. These points may be earned through new member referrals or by using the web portal of the present invention.  
         [0034]     All the features disclosed in this specification, including any accompanying abstract and drawings, may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.  
         [0035]     While specific systems and methods have been disclosed in the preceding description, it should be understood that these specifics have been given for the purpose of disclosing the principles of the present invention and that many variations thereof will become apparent to those who are versed in the art.