Automated billing and distribution platform for application providers

Abstract

Integrating a network-enabled application with a platform having a plurality of users and a plurality of communication channels with a respective plurality of wireless network carriers, including receiving a request from a third-party provider to integrate a network-enabled application with the platform, receiving a set of registration data corresponding to the network-enabled application from the third-party provider, the set of registration data including a link to an application location for accessing the network-enabled application, receiving a set of pricing structure data corresponding to the network-enabled application from the third-party provider, updating a system database in the platform to include the set of registration data and the pricing structure data corresponding to the network-enabled application, and enabling the network-enabled application to be accessible to the plurality of users via a networked interface operated by the platform.

1 . A method for integrating a network-enabled application with a platform that hosts a social networking site having a plurality of users and that includes a plurality of communication channels for communicating with a respective plurality of wireless carriers, the method comprising:
 a web page establishment step of establishing, on the social networking site, a user profile web page associated with each of the plurality of users;   a application access step of making a plurality of network-enabled applications available, in the social networking site, to the plurality of users via an area on the social networking site and allowing each of the plurality of users the ability to place one of the plurality of network-enabled application on their web page and to access or use the network-enabled application on the web-page;   a request receipt step of receiving, at the platform, a request from a third-party provider to integrate a network-enabled application to be included in the plurality of network-enabled applications with the social networking site;   a registration data receipt step of receiving, at the platform, a set of registration data corresponding to the network-enabled application from the third-party provider, the set of registration data including a link to an application location to enable the plurality of users to access the network-enabled application;   a pricing structure data receipt step of receiving, at the platform, a set of pricing structure data corresponding to the network-enabled application from the third-party provider;   a database update step of updating a system database in the platform to include the set of registration data corresponding to the network-enabled application and to include the pricing structure data corresponding to the network-enabled application; and   an enablement step of enabling the network-enabled application to be accessible to the plurality of users via a networked interface operated by the platform.