Patent Document

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims the priority benefits of U.S. Provisional application 60/721,568, filed Sep. 28, 2005 and 60/751,725, filed Dec. 19, 2005 which are both incorporated herein in their entireties by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The invention relates to the field of telecommunication and advertising and revenue generation therewith.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     Telecommunications have become an increasingly common and convenient means of personal communication. Individuals commonly employ telecommunications to communicate with friends and family as well as with business colleagues. Telecommunications also provide a popular and convenient avenue for obtaining information, goods and services. While telecommunications remain a particular popular and useful means of communication, there exist limitations in existing systems in providing desirable and useful information to users.  
         [0006]     One limitation in existing telecommunications systems is that they are generally configured as directed point-to-point communications systems. For example, a given caller enters a particular telephone number to establish directed communication with a particular target. This generally requires that the user either know or have stored a telephone number that they wish to call.  
         [0007]     There can frequently arise conditions wherein a caller may benefit from and welcome being provided with previously unknown contact information, however existing telecommunications systems lack the ability to conveniently present this information. For example, a caller may be unaware of a recently opened restaurant that is more conveniently located and offers better prices and wider variety of menu choices than the restaurant that they typically call for placing food orders. Such a caller would likely benefit from and value being presented with information relating to the new restaurant, however may forgo the benefits of this information until they become aware of the new restaurant.  
         [0008]     Limitations also exist in existing telecommunications systems for efficiently and conveniently presenting advertisements to users in a telecommunications system. For example, an advertiser or provider of goods and services can call a user to inform them of their products and services in a well-known “telemarketing” system. However, such calls placed at the initiative of the advertiser/goods and service provider are often felt by the recipient to be an inconvenient and unwelcome intrusion.  
         [0009]     A further limitation is that existing telecommunications systems do not provide an effective mechanism for informing a third party advertiser or service provider when a caller has manifested an interest in products or services provided by the advertiser or provider. For example, a caller may place a call to a plumbing business thereby exhibiting an interest in obtaining plumbing services. Another plumbing service in the area would be particularly interested in informing the caller of their services, location, prices, etc. in hopes of obtaining a new customer.  
         [0010]     However, as the telecommunication between the caller and the called plumbing service is a directed point-to-point communication, the third party plumbing service remains unaware of the manifested interest of the caller in obtaining plumbing services. The caller forgoes the advantage of obtaining services from the third party plumbing business that might offer more advantageous pricing, more convenient scheduling, and/or higher quality service. The third party plumbing business misses the opportunity to expand their business.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0011]     From the forgoing, it will be appreciated that there exists a desire for improved telecommunications systems and methods of operating telecommunications systems to provide increased capabilities and flexibilities in presenting and sharing information and options among various users. There exists a need for callers to be provided with relevant content when they have manifested a desire to establish communication with goods and service providers while avoiding the presentation of such content when it might be more likely perceived as intrusive and unwanted.  
         [0012]     There is also a need for improved systems and methods for informing advertisers and/or goods and service providers when a user has exhibited a desire for obtaining similar goods and services. It would be desirable to provide a telecommunications system that provides advantages to an initiator, a carrier, and a recipient of a telecommunication link. For example, it would be advantageous for a caller to be conveniently provided with information related to new service providers offering desired features. It would be valuable for a carrier to receive benefits for supporting and facilitating such a telecommunications system. It would also be beneficial for a service provider or advertiser to gain access to users more likely to be interested in their services.  
         [0013]     These needs are satisfied by the invention that in one embodiment includes a telecommunication system wherein a user can designate a first target for communication establishment via a communication device and, upon designation of the first communication target, the system is adapted to automatically present the user with content for at least a second related communication target via the communication device.  
         [0014]     Another embodiment includes a method of providing advertising in a telecommunication system, the method comprising creating a database including a plurality of parameters indicative of parties of a telecommunication system, determining that a caller has indicated a first desire to establish communication, sorting the database based at least partially on parameters of the caller&#39;s first indicated communication desires, and telecommunicating content to the caller wherein the content is related to the caller&#39;s first indicated communication desires.  
         [0015]     A further embodiment includes a system for providing advertising in a telecommunication system comprising means for storing and indexing data, means for communication between parties of the telecommunication system, and means for telecommunicating content to a first party from a second party wherein the content is related to a communication request made by the first party. These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0016]      FIG. 1  illustrates a high-level block diagram of one embodiment of a telecommunication system including an advertising/revenue system.  
         [0017]      FIG. 2  illustrates schematically one embodiment of a telecommunication device portraying a first communication target identifier and content corresponding to a plurality of second communication targets.  
         [0018]      FIG. 3  illustrates schematically a second embodiment of a telecommunication device portraying a first communication target identifier and content corresponding to a plurality of second communication targets.  
         [0019]      FIG. 4  illustrates a high-level flow diagram of one embodiment of a system and method for providing advertising in a telecommunications system.  
         [0020]      FIG. 5  is a block diagram of one embodiment of a telecommunication advertising system.  
         [0021]      FIG. 6  is a schematic illustration of one embodiment of providing related content in a telecommunications system.  
         [0022]      FIG. 7  is a block diagram of one embodiment of an advertising database in a telecommunications system.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0023]      FIG. 1  illustrates a high-level block diagram of one embodiment of a telecommunications system  100  including an advertising/revenue system  102 . The advertising/revenue system  102  is adapted to provide increased capabilities and flexibilities in sharing valued information among users  106  of the telecommunications system  100  and telecommunication targets and/or advertisers  110 ,  112 . In certain aspects, the advertising/revenue system  102  is adapted to more efficiently provide users  106  with timely and relevant information. In certain implementations, the advertising/revenue system  102  is adapted to more effectively match telecommunication targets and/or advertisers  110 ,  112  with users  106  likely to be interested in their services.  
         [0024]     In one embodiment, the telecommunications system  100  includes one or more carriers  104  that facilitate communication within the system  100 . In one embodiment, the carriers  104  comprise landline or wired telephony service providers, such as Plain Old Telephone Service (POST). In certain embodiments, the carriers  104  comprise cellular telephony services. In certain embodiments, the carrier  104  comprise voice over digital network services wherein a users  106  voice signals are digitized and transmitted digitally over a multi-node network. In one embodiment, this can include a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) system.  
         [0025]     It will be understood that in various embodiments, communication among various elements of the system  100  can comprise multiple types of communication protocols. This can include multiple different protocols in a single communication as well as different types of protocol in different communication directions. For example, in one embodiment, a user  106  can place a voice-based communication, such as via a landline or cellular telephony call. The user  106  can receive a text or other graphics based communication that need not necessarily include voice protocol communication. In certain embodiments, the user  106 , for example, may send and/or receive a communication including both voice protocol and text or other graphics based communication protocols in combination.  
         [0026]      FIG. 2  illustrates schematically one embodiment of a telecommunication device  200  in a telecommunication system  100  offering an advertising/revenue system  102 . In this embodiment, the telecommunication device  200  comprises a cellular telephony hand set. However, it will be understood that in other implementations, a telecommunications device  200  comprising a head set apparatus, a wired or wireless landline telephony set, personal computer, personal digital assistant (PDA) and/or other types of telecommunication devices  200  can be advantageously employed according to one or more embodiments as described herein.  
         [0027]     In this embodiment, a user  106  has indicated a first telecommunication target  110  corresponding, in this implementation, to a numeric telephone number. In certain embodiments, indicating a first telecommunication target  110  comprises sequentially entering the digits of a phone number. In other embodiments, the indicating the first communication target  110  comprises selecting a presented number, for example using a graphical user interface (GUI) cursor. The presented number can be selected from a pre-defined list, e.g. a list of contacts and/or can be selected from a newly generated list, e.g. from a directory assistance search. In certain embodiments, the user  106  can indicate a first telecommunication target  110  via a surrogate symbol and/or image. For example, a user  106  can direct a cursor to text reading “Bob&#39;s Plumbing” to indicate their interest in contacting the associated plumbing business, but an associated telephone number need not be displayed or entered by the user  106 .  
         [0028]     In response to the indication of the first communication target  110 , the system  100 ,  102  provides the user  106  with related content  114 . In one embodiment, the related content  114  corresponds to a plurality of possible second communication targets  112   a ,  112   b , and  112   c . In this embodiment, the possible second communication targets,  112   a - 112   c  are related to the first indicated communication target  110  by sharing a common industry, e.g. plumbing services. In this embodiment, the content  114  corresponding to possible second communication targets  112   a - 112   c  is presented graphically as text based data corresponding to the services and contact information for the second communication targets  112   a - 112   c . In one implementation, the content  114  provided by the system  100 ,  102  can be considered as targeted advertising related to the users  106  manifested interest in establishing communication with the first communication target  110 .  
         [0029]     Thus, in one implementation, the user  106  is provided with content  114  that is related to their manifested desire to establish communication. The content  114  can inform the user  106  of possible second communication targets  112   a - 112   c  that might offer more convenient times and/or locations of service, better pricing, and/or higher quality ratings than that of their initially selected first communication target  110 . As in certain embodiments, the system  100 ,  102  provides the content  114  to the user  106  upon their indication of a first communication target  110 , the likelihood that the user  106  would perceive the content  114  as intrusive or unwanted is reduced.  
         [0030]     In addition, the content  114  can be provided to the user  106  in a variety of timely manners. In certain embodiments, the content  114  is provided to the user  106  before establishment of communication with the first communication target  110 . For example, the user  106  can enter/select a telephone number for the first communication target  110  with the telecommunication device  200 . The system  102  is, in certain embodiments, adapted to present the content  114  before communication is established with the first communication target  110 . This provides the user  106  the option of selecting the content  114  rather than completing a connection with the first communication target  110 .  
         [0031]     In certain embodiments, the system  102  is adapted to present the content  114  for an extended period. For example, in one embodiment, while the user  106  is communicating with the first communication target  110 , the content  114  continues to be provided. If, for example, the first communication target  110  provides less than satisfactory pricing, availability, etc. the user  106  can select the content  114  to explore other options.  
         [0032]     In certain embodiments, the content  114  is available to the user  106  after completing communication with the first communication target  110 . The content  114  can include coupons or advertisements that the user  106  can save for later use. In certain embodiments, the system  100  is further configured such that a user  106  can access a desired portion of the content  114  at a later time. For example, in one embodiment, the user  106  can select one or more items from the content  114  that are of interest to save for later use.  
         [0033]     The system  100 ,  102  also provides the advantage to the possible second communication targets  112   a - 112   c  of presenting the content  114  corresponding to their services to the user  106  at a time when the user  106  has clearly manifested an interest in obtaining services similar to those provided by the possible second communication targets  112   a - 112   c . The system  110 ,  102  thus facilitates presenting telecommunication possibilities between users  106  and second communication targets  112  in a convenient manner and in a manner matching parties likely having a high level of interest in each other.  
         [0034]      FIG. 3  illustrates schematically another embodiment of a telecommunication device  200 ′ in a telecommunication system  100  including an advertising/revenue system  102 . In this embodiment, the telecommunication  200 ′ comprises a personal computer configured for voice over digital network capability, a PDA including voice and graphics communication capability and/or an advanced cellular telephony set including voice and graphics communication capability.  
         [0035]      FIG. 3  also illustrates that in certain implementations, the system  100 ,  102  provides support for a plurality of first communication targets  110 . For example, a user  106  may have multiple first communication targets corresponding, for example, to plumbing services  110   a , a book store  110   b , a dentist  110   c , a pet store  110   d , a travel agency  110   e , and charter jet services  110   f . Upon selection of a first communication target  110   a  corresponding to plumbing services, the system  100 ,  102  presents content  114  corresponding to one or more possible second communication targets  112   a ,  112   b  also related to plumbing services.  
         [0036]     The content  114  can include discounts or coupons as incentives for the user  106  to select one or more of the second communication targets  112   a ,  112   b . Alternatively, the system  100 ,  102  also fully supports establishment of communication between the user  106  and the first communication target  110 , thereby providing advantageous options to the user  106  without compromising or impairing their ability to establish communication as originally desired.  
         [0037]      FIG. 4  illustrates a process flow of one embodiment of a method of providing advertising and/or revenue generation in a telecommunication system, referred to hereafter as the method  300  for brevity. In a first block  302 , a user  106  initiates communication. As previously indicated, the block  302  can include actual placement of a telecommunication call, however can also include simply indicating a desired communication. For example, the block  302  can include a user  106  indicating a desired communication target without actual establishment of the communication.  
         [0038]     Following block  302  is a block  304  wherein access is made to the advertising/revenue system  102 . The access of block  304  includes sharing of information indicative of the user&#39;s  106  intention from block  302 . Thus, in various implementations, the accessing of block  304  can include sharing of information related to the user&#39;s identification, the user&#39;s location, the time and date of the initiation of block  302 , the identification of the user&#39;s indicated communication target, a geographic location of the intended communication target, and/or other related parameters of the user&#39;s indicated communication desires from block  302 . It will be understood that in certain embodiments the access of block  304  can include historical data, for example, data indicative of the user&#39;s  106  previous communication history.  
         [0039]     Following from the access of block  304 , the user  106  is provided with related content  114  in a block  306 . As previously noted, the content  114  is related to the user&#39;s  106  initial communication request from block  302 . For example, the content  114  can correspond to similar services to the user&#39;s initial communication of block  302 . The provision of content in block  306  can occur prior to the establishment of the communication requested in block  302 , concurrently with establishment of communication requested in block  302 , and/or following the communication requested in block  302 .  
         [0040]     Thus, in one implementation, the content  114  provided in block  306  can include advertisements or coupons for services related to those requested initially in the block  302  which the user  106  can store or save for later use. In certain implementations, the content  114  provided in block  306  can be elected instead by the user  106  such that the communication initially requested in block  302  is not established as initially requested but instead the user  106  establishes communication with an alternative second communication target  112 .  
         [0041]     In a block  310 , if the content from block  306  is selected, this action is recorded. The recording of block  310  provides trending and historical recordation of usage of the system  100 ,  102 . This can be utilized in a block  312  to update the advertising/revenue system  102  based on the content  114  selected. For example, if a user  106  selects a particular second communication target  112 , the method  300  can record and update this data, for example to increase the ranking of the second communication target  112  selected. In one embodiment, selection of the content  114  in a block  310  can result in a fee from a second communication target  112  for selection of their content  114 . Similarly, a commission can be paid to a carrier  104  for providing the user  106  with the content  114 .  
         [0042]      FIG. 5  illustrates one embodiment of a telecommunication system  100  including an advertising/revenue system  102 . In one embodiment, the advertising/revenue system  102  comprises an advertising database  120 . The advertising database  120  stores data to facilitate the system&#39;s  102  ability to more efficiently provide relevant content  114  to users  106 . In various implementations, the advertising database  120  can include information related to a user&#39;s previous calling history, a plurality of advertisements that can be provided as the content  114 , and/or records of fees to be selected and commissions to be paid. As will be understood by one of ordinary skill, the advertising database  120  can be arranged in a plurality of configurations and can be organized or sorted on a plurality of parameters. Various exemplary implementations of organizational parameters will be described in greater detail following with reference to  FIG. 7 .  
         [0043]     In one embodiment, the advertising/revenue system  102  also comprises an advertising system application server  122 . The application server  122  provides a management and control function to the system  102 . For example, in one embodiment, the application server  122  is adapted to access the advertising database  120  and obtain relevant content  114  based on the particulars of a given user&#39;s call.  
         [0044]     In certain implementations, the application server  122  also facilitates establishment of a communication between a user  106  and a second communication target  112  based on selection of the content  114 . For example, upon selection of content  114  of interest, a user&#39;s  106  communication request can pass through or be brokered by the advertising/revenue system  102  for connection to the second communication target  112 . This aspect facilitates tracking of use of the system  102  to facilitate updating of the advertising database  120 . For example, in one embodiment, upon selection of content  114  by the user  106 , the application server  122  updates in the advertising database  120  that a commission is due a carrier  104  for supporting the communication and a fee is due from a second communication target  112  for the user  106  selecting content  114  associated with that second communication target  112 .  
         [0045]     In various implementations, the advertising database  120  and application server  122  comprise both long term memory or storage as well as short term memory that can comprise volatile memory. The advertising database  120  and application server  122  can be implemented as a microprocessor based system with appropriate operating software. The advertising database  120  and application server  122  can be implemented as a stand-alone centrally located system, a local area network (LAN), and/or a wide area network (WAN).  
         [0046]     In one embodiment, the advertising/revenue system  102  further comprises an advertising system website  124 . The advertising system website  124  provides a convenient interactive system for access to the advertising/revenue system  102 . In one embodiment, advertisers  130  can access the advertising system website  124 , for example to create or update an advertisement, to submit payment for services, and/or to place bid amounts for content  114  relating to their business.  
         [0047]     In certain implementations, access by an advertiser  130  to the advertising system website  124  proceeds in a secure manner, for example requiring a particular encryption protocol and/or appropriate passwords or security codes. These implementations provide the advantage of maintaining confidentiality between a given advertiser  130  and other advertisers  130  also employing services of the advertising/revenue system  102 . For example, a first advertiser  130  can bid for placement of content  114  associated with their business via the advertising system website  124 , however without access to information related to bids or advertisements of other advertisers  130 .  
         [0048]     In one embodiment, the system  100  also includes multiple format capable network services  140 . The network services  140  are adapted to support a plurality of communication formats and protocols.  FIG. 5  illustrates that the network services  140  are adapted to support communication with a first format  142  and a second format  144 . It will be understood, however that a wide variety of communication formats and capabilities exist and are in continuing development. Thus the illustration and description of the first format  142  and second format  144  are simply illustrative of one embodiment and can be readily adapted by one of ordinary skill to support additional existing formats and formats to be developed.  
         [0049]     In one embodiment, the first format  142  comprises voice telephony, such as wired or land line telephony and cellular voice telephony. Thus, in one embodiment, the system  100 ,  102  is adapted to support voice based communication. In one embodiment, the communication via the user  106  and the communication targets  110 ,  112  proceeds as voice communication. In this embodiment, the content  114  is also provided to the user  106  as an audible message and the user  106  has the option of selecting the content  114  via a voice based response as shown in  FIG. 6 .  
         [0050]     In one embodiment, the second format  144  comprises expanded communication capabilities, such as combining voice and text or other data. For example, in various implementations, the second format  144  can comprise one or more VoIPs. The second format  144  can comprise third generation (3G) or later advanced cellular telephony systems, for example including short message services (SMS). Thus, in certain embodiments, communication between a user  106  and the advertising/revenue system  102  can proceed via both voice based and text or other data based formats. These embodiments provide expanded capabilities in presenting the content  114  to the user  106  as well as for the user  106  to select and store the content  114 .  
         [0051]     The multiple format capable network service  140  also provides increased flexibility in utilization of the capabilities of the advertising/revenue system  102 . For example, in one implementation, voice communication between a user  106  and a communication target  110 ,  112  can proceed in a bidirectional or full duplex manner as many people have become accustomed to in telecommunication.  
         [0052]     The advertising/revenue system  102  can also support presentation of the content  114  in an asynchronous half-duplex manner. For example, in one implementation, text or other graphics based content  114  can be provided to the user  106  while the user  106  is conducting a voice communication without interruption or otherwise disturbing their full duplex voice telecommunication. Thus, the advertising/revenue system  102  can present the user  106  with additional information and options with reduced impact on their existing expectations for voice communication.  
         [0053]      FIG. 7  illustrates one embodiment of an advertising database  120  of a telecommunication advertising/revenue system  102 . As indicated in  FIG. 7 , the advertising system database  120  comprises a plurality of parameters  150  under which the database  120  can be accessed or managed to facilitate operation of the system  102 .  
         [0054]     In one embodiment, the advertising database  120  comprises a parameter data that can be linked by a user&#39;s identification, e.g. their telephone number, to provide more relevant content  114  to the user. For example, the user sorting parameter  150   a  can include the user&#39;s  106  gender, age, marital status, previous calling history, social and/or business relationships, etc.  
         [0055]     In one embodiment, the advertising database  120  also comprises a communication target sorting parameter  150   b . In this embodiment, the system  102  can correlate or sort the content  114  to be provided based at least partially on an identification of the communication target. For example, if a user  106  indicates their desire to establish communication with a first communication target  110  that provides pizza delivery services, the advertising database  120  can be sorted to provide content  114  related to other pizza delivery services.  
         [0056]     In one embodiment, the advertising database  120  comprises a temporal sorting parameter  150   c . In this embodiment, the system  102  can sort the advertising database  120  based on a time and date parameter. For example, should a user  106  place a call on Mother&#39;s Day or Valentine&#39;s Day, the system  102  can provide content  114  including advertisements or contact information for florists and/or restaurants. Similarly, should a user access their communication device  200 ,  200 ′ in the late afternoon to early evening, the system  102  may provide content  114  including advertisements or contact information for food pickup or delivery services.  
         [0057]     In one embodiment, the advertising database  120  comprises a location sorting parameter  150   d . In this embodiment, the system  102  can access or manipulate the advertising database  120  based at least partially on the location of the communication. For example, as previously noted, in certain embodiments the advertising database  120  can include demographic information related to a user  106  including their home and/or mailing address. If the user  106  indicates a desire to establish communication in a geographical area significantly different from their home or billing address, the system  102  can present content  114  that is geographically appropriate. For example, if the user  106  initiates communication in a geographic location having many recreational opportunities, the system  102  can predict that the user  106  may be on vacation and can present content including contact information for museums, guide services, golf courses, etc. If the user  106  initiates communication indicating they are recently arrived at an airport, the system  102  can provide content  114  including contact information for local hotels, taxi services and/or rental car agencies.  
         [0058]     In certain embodiments, the advertising database  120  includes an ad placement bidding parameter  150   e . In certain embodiments, advertisers  130  can pay a proportional fee to increase the prominence with which their advertisements or contact information is presented in the content  114 . For example, in certain implementations, an advertiser  130  can pay an increased fee to have their advertisement placed first or earlier in a listing of a plurality of advertisements. In other aspects, an advertiser  130  can pay an increased fee for a larger advertisement, an advertisement including color and/or other attractive graphics and/or an interactive link to make selection of their advertisements more convenient for the user  106 .  
         [0059]     In certain embodiments, the advertising database  120  comprises a target ranking parameter  150   f . In certain embodiments, the advertising database  120  can include a feedback feature such that an advertiser  130  can accumulate a quality ranking from previous user&#39;s experiences with that advertiser. In other aspects, the target ranking parameter  150   f  can comprise a frequency or count aspect. For example, advertisers  130  whose content  114  is more frequently selected can accumulate a popularity ranking. The content  114  can thus in certain embodiments be presented in rank order based on the frequency with which the advertisers content  114  has been historically selected.  
         [0060]     In certain embodiments, the advertising database  120  also comprises an incentives parameter  150   g . As previously noted, the advertising/revenue system  102  can include a plurality of incentives for users  106 , carriers  104 , and/or advertisers  130  to utilize the system  102 . In one implementation, users  106  can receive the incentive of reduced cost or free telecommunication services for establishing contact in response to the content  114 . In certain implementations, a carrier or provider of telecommunication services  104  can receive a commission or payment for supporting communication between the users  106  and advertisers  130 . The advertisers  130  can pay fees for the incentive of having their content  114  be provided to the users  106  by the system  102  such that the content  114  is received by users  106  having a high likelihood of interest in the advertisers services.  
         [0061]     In certain embodiments, the advertising database  120  comprises an industry sorting parameter  150   h . If a user  106  initiates communication with a given communication target, the system  102  can be adapted to cross-reference the advertising database in an industry sorting parameter  150   h  to generate content  114  corresponding to related industries. For example, should a user  106  initiate a call to a plumbing services company or query a directory assistance for plumbing services contact information, the system  102  can cross-reference the advertising database  120  to generate content  114  providing contact information for advertisers  130  providing plumbing services. In another embodiment, if a user  106  completes a call to a first communication target  110   a  comprising an airline, the system  102  can conclude that the user  106  successfully obtained the desired flight reservation services. As a component of the industry sorting parameter  150   h , the system  102  can provide content  114  in a related industry, for example contact information for rental car agencies.  
         [0062]     Thus, various embodiments of the advertising/revenue system  102  provide advantages to multiple parties in a telecommunication system  100 . Users  106  can obtain the benefits of timely and relevant content  114  that can inform them of opportunities and new contacts which they might otherwise be unaware of or that might otherwise require determined effort to acquire. The content  114  can be provided to a user  106  when the user  106  has already exhibited interest in related information or services. This aspect reduces the likelihood that the content  114  will be perceived as intrusive or unwelcome.  
         [0063]     Embodiments of the advertising/revenue system  102  can provide the advantages to carriers or communication services providers  104  of a direct revenue stream as well as increased customer traffic. For example, carriers  104  can receive commissions when users  106  or advertisers  130  utilize their telecommunication services as part of the system  100 . The advertising/revenue system  102  can also be configured to provide incentives to users  106  and advertisers  130  encouraging their use of the system  100  such that even absent a direct revenue stream, the carriers  104  receive the benefits of increased utilization of their telecommunication services in response to use of the system  102 .  
         [0064]     Advertisers  130  receive the benefits of having their advertisements and/or contact information provided to users  106  in a particularly timely and relevant manner. Advertisers  130  also receive the advantage of exposure of their services to a user  106  who may be initially trying to contact a competitor. Advertisers  130  also receive the advantage of being able to configure the parameters under which an advertising database  120  presents their services as content  114  to a user  106 . The system  102  also supports the ability for an advertiser  130  to bid proportionately for a display priority of their ad to increase the likelihood of a user  106  selecting their ad for further contact.  
         [0065]     Although the above disclosed embodiments have shown, described and pointed out novel features of the invention as applied to the above-disclosed embodiments, it should be understood that various omissions, substitutions, and changes in the form of the detail of the devices, systems and/or methods illustrated may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present teachings. Consequently, the scope of the invention should not be limited to the foregoing description but should be defined by the appended claims.

Technology Category: 3