Patent ID: 8311947

Claim:
At a syndicator computer system that is in a computing networking environment and that includes at least one processor, a method for the syndicator computer system to syndicate an online service bundle, which includes at least one syndication partner-submitted service, in a manner specified by the syndication partner, the method comprising: an act of a syndicator computer system determining that a syndication relationship has been established between the syndicator computer system and a syndication partner, the syndication relationship being established to provide syndicated services to syndication partners and clients according to one or more online services and corresponding usage information provided by the syndication partner, wherein the syndicator computer system includes at least one processor; an act of the syndicator computer system providing to the syndicator partner (1) available service information which indicates one or more services provided by the syndicator computer system are available for syndication, and (2) interface information which indicates which type of usage information the syndication partner is to provide to the syndicator computer system in order to use the syndicator computer system's services; an act of the syndicator computer system receiving (1) an online service, and (2) usage information from the syndication partner, wherein the usage information specifies which one or more particular services of the syndicator computer system's one or more services are to be syndicated in conjunction with the syndication partner's online service, which was received by the syndicator, as a service bundle, as well as parameters for those particular one or more services, the parameters indicating operating parameters specific to the use of the particular one or more services; and based on the received usage information, an act of the syndicator computer system providing the service bundle, which includes the syndication partner's online service, to at least one of the syndication partners and clients in the manner indicated by the received usage information.