Private Calling Number for Advertisements

Techniques to place an advertisement in at least one publication are described. A processor component executable on a computer server accessible via an IP network executes an ad construction component. The ad construction component may prompt for and receive input from an end user device communicable with the ad construction component, the input indicative of an advertisement to be placed in a publication. The ad construction component may obtain a private calling number from a number server and construct the advertisement based on the accepted input using the private calling number as the contact telephone number in the advertisement. The ad construction component may cause the advertisement to be placed in the at least one publication according to the terms of the accepted input.

BACKGROUND

Classified advertisements for print and digital media have existed for quite some time. In general, a seller wishing to advertise an item or service can place an advertisement with a digital or print publication in which a description of the item or service is provided along with a means of contacting the seller. The contact point is typically a telephone number of the seller. Prospective buyers may read the advertisement and call the seller if interested. One of the drawbacks to this system from the perspective of the seller is that the seller's telephone number is published and used for the advertisement. Often, the seller would like to provide an anonymous telephone number rather than a personal telephone number for the advertisement.

What is needed is a classified advertisement system that allows a seller to obtain and use a temporary anonymous telephone number for a classified advertisement wherein upon expiration of the advertisement, the telephone number is returned to its source without ever having been publicly associated with the seller.

SUMMARY

Various embodiments are generally directed to techniques to issue and manage a private calling number for a classified advertisement on behalf of a seller. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Techniques to place an advertisement in at least one publication are described. A processor component executable on a computer server accessible via an IP network executes an ad construction component. The ad construction component may prompt for and receive input from an end user device communicable with the ad construction component, the input indicative of an advertisement to be placed in a publication. The ad construction component may obtain a private calling number from a number server and construct the advertisement based on the accepted input using the private calling number as the contact telephone number in the advertisement.

In another embodiment, the system includes an ad billing component operative on the processor component operative to prompt for and accept payment for the advertisement.

In another embodiment, the ad construction component operative on the processor component is further operative to prompt the user to record a voice mail message for buyers responding to the advertisement via the private calling number, record the voice mail message, and set up a voice mailbox for the recorded message such that the voice mail message is played when a call not placed from the personal contact number is received.

The input indicative of an advertisement to be placed in a publication may include a plurality of: an ad category, the at least one publication, ad text, a start date, a duration, an option to select the private calling number, a name, an SMS enabled telephone number, an email address, and an indication of a level of service associated with the advertisement.

In another embodiment, the publication may include at least one of a print edition of the at least one publication and a digital edition of the at least one publication.

Certain illustrative aspects are described herein in connection with the following description and the annexed drawings. These aspects may be indicative of the various ways in which the principles disclosed herein can be practiced. In addition, these aspects and any equivalents are intended to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Other advantages and novel features will become apparent from the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments described herein may be implemented as part of Classified Advertisement Management System (CAMS). User interfaces to the CAMS may be browser-based, mobile/tablet application based, or computer application based tools operative on a variety of end user devices, local computer servers, and/or cloud based servers connected via one or more computer network platforms. The end user communication devices may include, without limitation, desktop computers, personal computers (PCs), laptop or notebook computers, tablet style computers, mobile devices (e.g., smartphones), and other telephony devices such as Voice-over IP (VoIP) telephony devices and plain old telephone service (POTS) telephones.

The CAMS connects publishers, telephony service providers, sellers and buyers using a platform that allows sellers to maintain anonymity with respect to buyers while allowing buyers and sellers the ability to contact one another in a variety of ways. Publishers may include entities having on-line presences (e.g., web-sites, etc.) and/or off-line presences (e.g., print newspapers, periodicals, magazines, etc.)

A seller may contact a publisher to place an advertisement. The publisher may offer the seller a private calling number option. If chosen, the advertisement will be allotted a unique telephone number not previously associated with the seller. The telephone number may be obtained from a telephony service provider from a pool of telephone numbers reserved for such purposes. The publisher may publish the ad listing the private calling number as the point of contact with the seller. When a buyer calls the private calling number in response to the advertisement, the call is routed to an advertisement call server rather than to the seller directly. Depending on the level of service chosen by the seller when placing the advertisement with the publisher, the advertisement call server may perform a variety of services that maintain the privacy of the seller that are described in greater detail below. When the advertisement has expired, the private calling number is placed into an inactive status for a pre-determined period (e.g., 2 weeks) during which time calls placed to the number will trigger a canned response pertaining to the expiration of the advertisement. Upon expiration of the pre-determined period the private calling number is transitioned back to the telephony service provider and subjected to a standard aging pool process before it can be re-used for another classified advertisement.

FIG. 1illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of a portion100of a classified advertisement management system to place a classified advertisement. For purposes of illustration, the system infrastructure may be referred to as a Classified Advertisement Management System (CAMS). In one embodiment, this portion100of CAMS may comprise a computer-implemented system having one or more components. Although this portion100of the CAMS shown inFIG. 1has a limited number of elements in a certain topology, it may be appreciated that this portion100of the CAMS may include more or less elements in alternate topologies as desired for a given implementation.

This portion100of CAMS may be embodied as a collection of end user communication devices (e.g., mobile devices110, tablet computers114, laptop computers120) having access to a variety of networks (e.g., mobile carrier network114and LAN/WAN IP network124) that may be linked together and accessible to a publisher ad server102resident within an IP network101such as, for instance, the Internet.

Each of the various networks may support one or more end user communication devices. For example, the mobile carrier network114may support wireless RF communications over a basestation112using a variety of RF voice and data protocols with end user communications devices such as, for instance, mobile devices110, RF radio equipped tablet computers115and/or RF radio equipped laptop computers120. A mobile device110may include, but is not limited to, a cellular telephone, a so-called smartphone, a personal digital assistant (PDA) or the like. The RF protocols may include, but are not limited to, GSM, CDMA, WCDMA, CDMA2000, GPRS, Edge, HSDPA, LTE, EVDO, HSPA, UMTS, and WiMax.

The LAN network(s)124may support wired (e.g., Ethernet) and wireless RF communications including, but not limited to, multiple 802.11 protocols and Bluetooth™. The LAN network(s)124may communicate with end user communications devices such as, for instance, mobile devices110, tablet computers115, and laptop (or desktop) computers120via one or more access points122.

The publisher ad server102may be further coupled or communicable with a number server104. The number server104may be under the control of a telephony service provider and may issue telephone numbers upon an authorized request. In addition, the publisher ad server102may be communicable with other publisher servers (not shown) that enable the publisher ad server to provide content to both a digital edition of a publication106and a non-digital (e.g., print) edition of a publication108. A digital edition of a publication may include a web-site and/or content that may downloaded from a computer server to an end user device by way of an Internet connection and viewable through a web browser or through a specific software application resident on the end user device.

In operation, a user may access the publisher ad server102by way of a web-browser or device resident software application via one or more of the aforementioned communication devices using one or more of the aforementioned networks (e.g., mobile carrier network114or LAN network124) and access points (e.g., basestation112or IP access point122). The publisher ad server102may collect, via a user interface, various points of data that define or describe a proposed advertisement to be published in a publication. In addition to describing the content of the advertisement, the user may be queried whether a private calling number is desired. If so, the publisher ad server102may communicate with the number server104to obtain a telephone number for use with the advertisement. The use of a private calling number will be described in more detail below. The collected data may be used to construct an advertisement that can be run in the selected publication(s). In addition, the private calling number may be provisioned on an ad call server107as will be described in more detail below inFIG. 5.

It should be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that additional network configurations and components may be implemented (e.g., wireless access points122) without departing from the scope of the embodiments described herein.FIG. 1is illustrative in nature and does not purport to capture every conceivable network or system architecture.

FIG. 2illustrates a block diagram of a publisher ad server102according to an embodiment. The publisher ad server102may be functionally divided into multiple components under the control of a processor component102a. The functional components may include an ad construction component102b, a number server interface component102c, and an ad billing component102d. In addition, the publisher ad server102may be in functional communication with one or more memory/storage components (not shown).

The ad construction component102bmay assist the user in constructing and placing advertisement. For example, the user may interact with one or more graphical user interfaces (GUIs) designed to allow a user to create an advertisement. The GUIs may query or prompt the user for specific data about the advertisement to be placed. The number server interface component102cmay interface with a number server104to negotiate the use of telephone numbers. For example, if the user selects a private calling number, the number server interface component102cmay initiate a communication session with a number server104to requisition and obtain a telephone number to be used for the advertisement. The telephone number has no public association with the seller. The ad billing component102dmay calculate the cost of and perform the billing for an advertisement based on the selections and options chosen by the user while interacting with the ad construction component102b. For example, the ad billing component102dmay parse the advertisement for, among other things, the number of words, whether a private number has been selected, and the duration of the advertisement. Each of these factors may have an associated cost. In addition, the ad billing component102dmay collect billing information from the user such as credit card data, bank account data, or other financial data to be used to satisfy the cost of the advertisement.

Each of the software components102b-dmay be under the control of the processor component102aand communicable with one another using well known computer architectures. An example of such a computer architecture is described more fully with respect toFIG. 9below.

FIG. 3illustrates a block diagram of an advertisement data intake page305according to an embodiment. By way of example,FIG. 3illustrates a sample screen shot for a GUI interface for providing data intake for a sample advertisement. A contrived advertisement for selling a used car is used to illustrate some of the data requested by the ad construction component102b. Once the user finishes constructing the advertisement and clicks on the “submit” button375, control may be switched to a payment screen GUI (not shown) under the control of the ad billing component102dto process payment of the advertisement.

In addition, the look and feel of the screen shot inFIG. 3is also exemplary. Those of ordinary skill in the art may readily customize a GUI interface and achieve the same or similar results to those discussed herein. Thus, the particular arrangement of frames or fields within the figure should not be construed as limiting.

For example, the computer screen image of the GUI does not necessarily need to be implemented via a web-browser. The computer screen image of the GUI for the ad data intake page305may be launched from a specific application executing on a computer or mobile device that is communicable with the publisher ad server102. In this example, the ad data intake page305may be comprised of a plurality of data fields to be populated by the user. It should also be noted that the particular fields illustrated are not necessarily a complete or exhaustive list. Different publishers may have different data points used to construct and place an advertisement. Those shown inFIG. 3are merely illustrative.

In this embodiment, the ad data intake page305may include data fields for an ad category310, a publication or publications315in which the ad will appear, the text of the ad320, an ad start date325, the duration of the ad330, whether a private calling number is desired335, the name of the user/seller340, a contact number for the seller345, an SMS contact number for the seller350, an email address for the seller, and an indication of the level of service360desired by the seller. The terms user and seller may be used interchangeably. In addition, some of the field may appear to prompt for text input and some may prompt for selections. The selections may be in the form of drop down menus (not shown) or check boxes. As mentioned earlier, the design of the ad data intake page305including the order of the fields is subject to variation and should not be considered limiting.

The ad category field310in this instance is for auto sales. This may have been selected from a drop down menu that contained a variety of categories including, but not limited to, auto sales, real estate, musical instruments, personal services, etc. The ad category field310may assist the publisher in deciding where to place the advertisement in the print and/or digital version of the publication. The publication(s) field315may be another drop down menu or a pop-up frame that allows the user to select one or more publications (or versions of publications print/digital) in which the advertisement is to appear. The ad text field320allows the seller to construct the text of the ad that will be placed in the selected publication(s). The start date field325allows the seller to select the first date that the advertisement will appear in the selected publication(s). The duration field330specifies how long the advertisement will run in the selected publication(s) from its start date. The private number field335allows the seller to select an option in which a telephone number not publicly associated with the seller may be used as the point of contact for the seller. The name field340prompts the seller to input his/her name. The contact number field345prompts the seller to input a contact telephone number that the publisher ad server102may use (but not a buyer) to contact the seller. The SMS contact number350prompts the seller to input an SMS enabled telephone number that the publisher ad server102may use (but not a buyer) to contact the seller. The email field355prompts the seller to input an email address that the publisher ad server102may use (but not a buyer) to contact the seller. The service level field360prompts the user to select a level of service the seller desires for the advertisement. In this example, the seller may select basic or premium levels of service.

FIG. 4illustrates one embodiment of a logic flow400. The logic flow400may be representative of some or all of the operations executed by one or more embodiments described herein for allowing a seller to place an advertisement with a publisher. In the illustrated embodiment shown inFIG. 4, the logic flow400may provide a seller access to a publisher's ad construction component102bat block405. For example, the seller, via one of the communication devices described inFIG. 1may access the publisher's ad construction component102bover one of the computer networks also described inFIG. 1. Upon successfully navigating to the GUI for the ad construction component102b, the seller may provide ad specific data pertaining to the advertisement at block410. For example, the ad data intake page305may be presented to the seller by the ad construction component102b. The seller may then provide the requested data to create the advertisement.

If the private calling number option has been selected at block415by the seller during advertisement construction, the logic flow400may obtain a telephone number from the number server104at block420. For example, the number server interface component102cof publisher ad server102may contact a number server104via an application programming interface (API) or other mechanism to request a telephone number. The number server may immediately reserve the telephone number for the publisher ad server102for a pre-defined period (e.g., 2 hours) so as to allow the publisher ad server102to complete the advertisement transaction with the seller. Once the publisher ad server102notifies the number server104that the transaction with the seller has been completed (including approval of ad content), the telephone number may be provisioned to the ad call server107and associated with a specific advertisement for an agreed upon price. If the publisher ad server102fails to complete the transaction with the seller within the allotted time period, the number server104will release the hold on the telephone number and return it to the number server's inventory of telephone numbers.

Once the private calling number has been provisioned to the ad call server107, the seller may be prompted to create a custom voice mail greeting associated with the advertisement at block425. For example, as part of selecting the private calling number option the seller may also be allotted a voice mailbox under the control of the ad call server107in which to record additional information about the item or service offered in the advertisement. The additional information may better screen the seriousness of the buyer and provide additional details about the item or service. The voice mailbox and private calling number may be associated with or hosted by the ad call server107. The ad call server107(described in more detail inFIG. 5) may be a cloud based point of contact that handles communications between sellers and buyers. The ad call server107may also include intelligence that receives, routes and responds to buyer and seller communications that may include telephonic, SMS/MMS, and/or email.

The next step may be for the logic flow400to receive and review and approve the text and/or companion voice mail greeting associated with the advertisement at block430. For example, the publisher ad server102may parse the written text and voice mail greeting provided by the seller to ensure compliance with any standards the publisher may have. Upon approval of the advertisement, the logic flow400may obtain payment for the advertisement at block435. For example, a seller may be re-directed to a payments page (not shown) upon clicking the submit button375on the ad data intake page305. In between, clicking the submit button375and displaying a payments page, the ad construction component102bmay verify the content of the advertisement conforms to any decency type standards the publisher may have. Payment may be obtained via any number of well known e-commerce mechanisms including, but not limited to, credit card, bank draft, PayPal™, etc.

Once payment has been obtained for the advertisement, the logic flow400may publish the advertisement at block440. For example, the publisher ad server102may create and insert the advertisement into a print and/or digital version of the publication(s) according to the terms of the ad data intake page305. The advertisement may then run for the designated duration from the designated start date.

FIG. 5a block diagram of an embodiment of another portion500of the CAMS to respond to a classified advertisement. In one embodiment, this portion500of CAMS may comprise a computer-implemented system having one or more components. Although this portion500of the CAMS shown inFIG. 5has a limited number of elements in a certain topology, it may be appreciated that this portion500of the CAMS may include more or less elements in alternate topologies as desired for a given implementation.

In this embodiment, the ad call server107acts as a communications hub that brokers communication between the buyer and the seller. The ad call server107has been provided with information about the advertisement from the publisher ad server102and from the number server104. More specifically, the ad call server107has been configured to receive calls associated with the private calling number for the advertisement. The ad call server107may also be provisioned with information about the seller including the seller's contact telephone number, an SMS/MMS enabled telephone number, and an email address. The contact telephone number and the SMS/MMS enabled telephone number may be the same number. Upon receipt of a call from a buyer, the ad call server may take a plurality of actions in response thereto. Recall that the seller may have set up a custom voice mail greeting that may be played to all buyers that dial the private calling number that is associated with the advertisement. In addition, the ad call server107may automatically create an SMS message addressed to the seller's SMS enabled number informing the seller that a buyer at a particular phone number (as obtained by the ad call server using caller identification) is in the process of responding to your advertisement.

Other actions the ad call server107may take in response to a buyer dialing the private calling number include, initiating a telephonic communication link between the ad call server and the seller via seller's contact number. In this scenario, the ad call server may use the private calling number in the caller identification field when placing a call to the seller. This tells the seller that the incoming call pertains to the advertisement the seller placed. When the seller answers the call, the ad call server may connect the buyer's communication link with the ad call server107to the seller's communication link with the ad call server107to create a communication link between the buyer and the seller. Alternatively, when the seller answers the call, the ad call server may play a voice mail message left by the buyer.

Other actions the ad call server may take include, transcribing the buyer's voice mail message to text and creating an SMS and/or an email to send to the seller notifying the seller of buyer's response to the advertisement. Another feature of the ad call server107may allow the seller to call the buyer back via the ad call server. For example, the seller may dial the private calling number initiating a connection with the ad call server107. Based on the caller identification being the seller's contact number, the ad call server107recognizes the seller and may provide a different set of options.

One of those options may be to accept DTMF input of the buyer's telephone number. The ad call server may then initiate a telephone call to the buyer using the private calling number as the initiating or source telephone number in the caller identification field. The buyer may recognize the incoming number as being associated with the ad he/she responded to and answer the call. The ad call server107may then bridge or connect the communication link from the seller to the ad call server107with the communication link between the ad call server107and the buyer to create a communication link between the seller and the buyer.

Alternatively, the seller may compose an SMS response to the buyer addressed to the private calling number. Specifically, the seller may place the buyer's telephone number in the subject field of the SMS or as the first ten (10) characters of the SMS message followed by a text response. The ad call server may then receive and parse the seller's SMS message and copy the text of it to a new SMS message addressed to the buyer's telephone number using the private calling number as the source of the message.

In another embodiment, the buyer may initially respond to the advertisement via SMS text message. For example, a buyer may compose an SMS text message addressed to the private calling number. The body of the SMS text message may contain a short message to the seller as well as one or more means of contacting the buyer. When the SMS text message is received by the ad call server107, it may cause the call server to forward the SMS text message to the seller. In doing so, the ad call server107may address the forwarded SMS text message from the buyer to the seller's SMS enabled telephone number that is associated with the private calling number and known to the ad call server107. Alternatively or in addition to, the ad call server107may package or encapsulate the SMS text message from the buyer in an email message. The ad call server107may compose the email message to the seller's email address containing the buyer's SMS text message. The seller's email address was provided by the seller during the ad placement process and associated with the private calling number. Once the seller receives the forwarded SMS message from the buyer via either another SMS text message or an email message on one or more communication devices of the seller, the seller may respond. One response may be to send a reply SMS text message addressed to the private calling number and including the buyer's SMS enabled telephone number. The ad call server107may receive the reply and compose a separate SMS text message to the buyer using the body of the seller's response SMS text message and addressed to the buyer's SMS enabled telephone number as provided in the seller's reply SMS text message. The ad call server107may use the private calling number as the source of the separate SMS text message back to the buyer. In doing so, the ad call server107strips out any reference to the seller's personal contact number(s) thereby maintaining the seller's anonymity. This process may be repeated for further communications between the buyer and seller either by SMS text message or telephone calls with the ad call server107always acting as an intermediary and shielding the personal contact information of the seller.

In all of the aforementioned scenarios the buyer has not been given and does not know any of the personal contact information of the seller. The ad call server107acts as an intermediary between the parties never revealing any of the personal information of the seller.

To carry out many of the scenarios described above, the ad call server107may include a Voice over IP (VoIP) interface and a Public Switched Telephone System (PSTN) interface. The ad call server107may also be communicable with an SMS server515. The ad call server107via its VoIP, PSTN, and SMS interfaces may be communicable with a variety of IP based networks (e.g., Internet101, LAN/WAN networks124, access points122) and mobile carrier networks114, and basestations112. These various network connections allow the ad call server107to reach end user communication devices including, but not limited to, mobile phones520, VoIP telephones, POTS telephones530, network or RF enabled tablet computers, and network or RF enabled desktop/laptop computers.

FIG. 6illustrates one embodiment of a logic flow600. The logic flow600may be representative of some or all of the operations executed by one or more embodiments described herein for allowing a buyer to respond to an advertisement. In the illustrated embodiment shown inFIG. 6, the logic flow600may receive a telephone call from the buyer in response to the advertisement at block605. For example, the ad call server107may receive a call from a buyer to the private calling number associated with the advertisement. The ad call server107may then associate the incoming call with a particular advertisement and a particular seller based on the private calling number.

In the illustrated embodiment shown inFIG. 6, the logic flow600may automatically create an SMS message to be sent to the seller's SMS enabled telephone number at block610. For example, the ad call server107may automatically compose an SMS text message to the seller to indicate that a buyer has responded to the advertisement. First the ad call server107looks up the private calling number to determine an associated seller's SMS enabled number. Next, the ad call server107composes an SMS text message to the seller's SMS enabled number. The SMS text message may be a simple notification that reads something like, “Telephone number 919-555-0987 just responded to your advertisement. Please contact the ad call server for more details.” The ad call server107may obtain the buyer's telephone number from the caller ID field when the buyer called the private calling number.

In the illustrated embodiment shown inFIG. 6, the logic flow600may determine a level of service associated with the private calling number at block615. For example, the ad call server107may determine that the seller associated with the private calling number has subscribed to either a basic or a premium level of service as it pertains to the advertisement. A basic level of service may only provide a limited set of options when it comes to responding to an advertisement while a premium level of service may provide an additional set of options. It should be noted that one of ordinary skill in the art may readily devise additional levels of service beyond basic and premium. In addition, the labels “basic” and “premium” are arbitrary and used for illustration only.

In the illustrated embodiment shown inFIG. 6, the logic flow600may connect a communication link between a buyer and the ad call server with the seller at block615when the service level determined at block615is basic. For example, the ad call server107may automatically initiate a telephone call to the seller's contact number using the private calling number as the source. When the seller sees the incoming call with the private calling number as the source on his/her communication device, he/she knows it pertains to the advertisement. When the seller answers the call, the ad call server107may then join the first communication link between the buyer and the ad call server107with the newly established communication link between the ad call server107and the seller to create a communication link between the buyer and the seller.

Alternatively, in the illustrated embodiment shown inFIG. 6, the logic flow600may play the seller's custom voice mail greeting at block625when the service level determined at block615is premium. For example, the ad call server107may access the seller's custom voice mail greeting to provide the buyer with additional information about the item/service offered in the advertisement. The ad call server107determines which voice mailbox to access based on the private calling number. In addition to playing the custom voice mail greeting, the ad call server107may also route the buyer's call to a message center.

FIG. 7illustrates one embodiment of a logic flow700. The logic flow700may be representative of some or all of the operations executed by one or more embodiments described herein for providing a buyer additional options to respond to an advertisement. In the illustrated embodiment shown inFIG. 7, the logic flow700may permit the buyer to leave a voice mail message for the seller at block705. For example, the ad call server107, upon routing the buyer's call to a message center as described inFIG. 6above, may prompt the buyer to leave a voice mail message for the seller.

In the illustrated embodiment shown inFIG. 7, the logic flow700may notify the seller of a voice mail message left by the buyer at block710. For example, the ad call server107may initiate and create an SMS text message addressed to seller's SMS enabled phone number. The SMS text message may include a simple notification to the seller that a prospective buyer has left a voice mail message pertaining to the advertisement associated with the private calling number.

In the illustrated embodiment shown inFIG. 7, the logic flow700may allow the seller to retrieve the voice mail message at block715. For example, the seller may call the private calling number to establish a communication link with ad call server107. Ad call server107may recognize the incoming call as coming from the seller based on the caller ID source matching the seller's contact number as stored by the ad call server107and associated with the private calling number. Upon making this determination, the ad call server107may allow the seller access to the voice mailbox associated with the private calling number. No passcodes are necessary since the source telephone number acts as the passcode for the seller. Any other incoming call to the ad call server107intended for the private calling number may be treated as a buyer. Only the seller's contact number can trigger the ad call server's seller response options. An additional layer of security in the form of a PIN or passcode may, however, be implemented by the ad call server107to further validate the identity of the seller if desired.

In the illustrated embodiment shown inFIG. 7, the logic flow700may present options to the seller at block715. For example, the message center within ad call server107may present one or more options to the seller for accessing and responding to voice mail messages in the voice mailbox. For example, the message center may embody an interactive voice response (IVR) type system that can prompt a caller (e.g., seller) for button or voice input and control output based on the input. One option may be to play the voice mail message(s) at block725. The seller may listen to the voice mail message left by a particular buyer upon pressing a specified key triggering a particular DTMF tone or speaking a specified phrase (e.g., “play messages”). Another option may be to have the ad call server broker a return call to the buyer at block730. For example, the seller may select an option to return a call to the buyer via a different button press or a voice prompt response (e.g., “Return call”). If this option is chosen the ad call server107may automatically initiate a call to the buyer using the private calling number as the source telephone number of the call. That way the buyer recognizes the private calling number and associates it with the advertisement. When the buyer answers the call, the ad call server107may join the communication link it already has established with the seller with the newly established communication link with the buyer. In this manner the seller can call the buyer without ever having to reveal any personal information such as the seller's personal telephone number. The ad call server107takes care of shielding the seller's personal contact information from the buyer.

Once an advertisement expires provisions may be made for returning and recycling the private calling number for future re-use.

FIG. 8illustrates one embodiment of a logic flow800. The logic flow800may be representative of some or all of the operations executed by one or more embodiments described herein for handling the expiration of an advertisement. In the illustrated embodiment shown inFIG. 8, the logic flow800may determine if an advertisement has expired at block805. For example, the ad call server107may know the start date and duration of an advertisement associated with a private calling number. Upon reaching the expiration date as calculated by the duration from the start date, the ad call server107determines an advertisement and its corresponding private calling number has expired. Alternatively, the publisher ad server102may also monitor the duration of an advertisement and send a message (email, text, or other) to the ad call server107that the private calling number has expired. This mechanism also allows the publisher ad server102to notify the ad call server107that an advertisement and private calling number have prematurely expired. For instance, the seller may have sold the item and no longer has a need for the service.

In the illustrated embodiment shown inFIG. 8, the logic flow800may disable the private calling number at block810. For example, the ad call server may, upon determination of expiration, disable the private calling number by ceasing to perform the normal responses to incoming calls from buyers or the seller. For instance, the logic flow may substitute a generic message for the seller's voice mail message at block815. The ad call server107may switch from the seller's voice mail message to a generic message such as, for example, “[T]he advertisement associated with this telephone number is no longer being offered.” This generic message may be put in place for a pre-determined time period as expressed in block820. In this example, a pre-determined time period of two weeks has been specified but the time period is arbitrary and may be specified or changed by the number server104, the ad call server107, or the publisher ad server102. If the pre-determined time period in block820has not yet expired, control is returned to block815so that the generic message may continue to play to buyers dialing the private calling number. If the pre-determined expiration period has expired, the private calling number may be transitioned into a standard aging process under the control of the number server104or other server(s) associated with the number server104.

FIG. 9illustrates an embodiment of an exemplary computing architecture900suitable for implementing various embodiments as previously described. In one embodiment, the computing architecture900may comprise or be implemented as part of an electronic device. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

The computer902may include various types of computer-readable storage media in the form of one or more lower speed memory units, including an internal (or external) hard disk drive (HDD)914, a magnetic floppy disk drive (FDD)916to read from or write to a removable magnetic disk918, and an optical disk drive920to read from or write to a removable optical disk922(e.g., a CD-ROM or DVD). The HDD914, FDD916and optical disk drive920can be connected to the system bus908by a HDD interface924, an FDD interface926and an optical drive interface928, respectively. The HDD interface924for external drive implementations can include at least one or both of Universal Serial Bus (USB) and IEEE 1394 interface technologies.

The drives and associated computer-readable media provide volatile and/or nonvolatile storage of data, data structures, computer-executable instructions, and so forth. For example, a number of program modules can be stored in the drives and memory units910,912, including an operating system930, one or more application programs932, other program modules934, and program data936. In one embodiment, the one or more application programs932, other program modules934, and program data936can include, for example, the various applications and/or components of the system100.

A monitor944or other type of display device is also connected to the system bus908via an interface, such as a video adaptor946. The monitor944may be internal or external to the computer902. In addition to the monitor944, a computer typically includes other peripheral output devices, such as speakers, printers, and so forth.

When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer902is connected to the LAN952through a wire and/or wireless communication network interface or adaptor956. The adaptor956can facilitate wire and/or wireless communications to the LAN952, which may also include a wireless access point disposed thereon for communicating with the wireless functionality of the adaptor956.

When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer902can include a modem958, or is connected to a communications server on the WAN954, or has other means for establishing communications over the WAN954, such as by way of the Internet. The modem958, which can be internal or external and a wire and/or wireless device, connects to the system bus908via the input device interface942. In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the computer902, or portions thereof, can be stored in the remote memory/storage device950. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers can be used.