Patent Document ID: 8548846
Application ID: 11009709

Base Claim:
1. A computer readable medium storing computer executable instructions that when executed on a processor of a computer performs a method for providing a billboard advertisement through an online service, the billboard advertisement composed by an advertising user, the method comprising: displaying, an interface to the advertising user at a computer, the interface including a sponsor selection mechanism for allowing selection of a billboard sponsor from a list of billboard sponsors, a target user selection mechanism for allowing selection by the advertising user of at least one target user, and a text input region for receiving an input message from the advertising user; processing, at a web server, information input to the displayed interface of the computer to create the billboard advertisement; composing, at the web server, the billboard advertisement including the input message and the at least one selected billboard sponsor; and rendering a web home page for the at least one target user to display the billboard advertisement, wherein the web home page is delivered to the at least one target user.

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Claim 5:
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing a public list selection mechanism for selection of the at least one target user, the public list selection mechanism allowing advertising user selection of a common characteristic of the at least one target user such that the online service is able to select a set of target users sharing the common characteristic.