Method and System for the Requesting Receipt and Exchange of Information

Abstract

A method of obtaining information in a specific area from at least two persons having a defined level of knowledge in that specific area. A host, upon receiving a question for information, operates a web site platform for the exchange of information using the web site to send the question to each of the at least two persons for a response together with a suggested fee for a response to the question. Where the fee is not precisely fixed and at least one response to the question is received via the web site, a value is determined by subscribers to the website.

1 . A method of providing a time-sensitive information exchange by a host, the method comprising the steps of:
 (a) registering at the host one or more experts, each having expertise in one or more categories of matters of interest;   (b) registering at the host one or more subscribers in return for a payment to the host;   (c) providing from the host a description of a request for information about one matter of interest in a predetermined time period to the one or more experts that have expertise in said one matter of interest;   (d) receiving at the host information about one or more responses to the request for information from the one or more experts to whom the request has been made;   (e) transferring information from the host about the response to subscribers of the host; and   (f) compensating at least one of the experts on the basis of a portion of revenue received by said host.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1  wherein the request for information originates with one of the host, subscriber and expert. 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1  wherein, prior to the step of receiving responses from one or more experts, receiving at the host an indication of whether a response can be obtained within a set period of time. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 3  wherein information as to whether a response can be obtained within the set period of time is offered to the subscribers in return for revenue to the host. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 1  wherein the expert is a representative of an institution and the expert compensation is paid to one or both the expert and the institution. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 1  wherein only the expert providing the most relevant response is compensated. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 1  wherein the host provides a number of requests over a period of time and the expert providing the most relevant responses over such period of time is compensated. 
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 7  wherein the expert is a representative of an institution and the expert compensation is paid to one or both the expert and the institution. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the revenue depends on an auction to receive advance notice of the response. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9  wherein the revenue from the auction is shared with one or more of the experts providing a portion or the whole of the most acceptable responses. 
     
     
         11 . A method of providing information exchange by a host, the method comprising the steps of:
 (a) registering at the host one or more experts, each having expertise in one or more categories of matters of interest;   (b) registering at the host one or more subscribers in return for a payment to the host;   (c) providing from the host over a period of time a description of requests for information about various matters of interest to be provided in predetermined time periods to the one or more experts;   (d) receiving at the host information about one or more responses to the requests for information from the one or more experts to whom the requests have been made;   (e) transferring information from the host about the response to subscribers of the host, at least one of said subscribers determining the quality of at least one of the responses; and   (f) compensating at least one of the experts on the basis of providing the highest quality of responses over such period of time as determined by the at least one subscriber.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11  wherein, after the subscriber has received the transferred information, further including the step of the subscriber terminating the transfer by actuating one of a plurality of buttons, wherein the button chosen to close the transfer provides an indication of the subscriber's evaluation of the quality of the response. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11  wherein a subscriber who provides the most feedback over time gets a reward. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13  wherein the host is compensated for transferring information and the reward is a portion of the host's compensation. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11  wherein an institution that employs the subscriber is paid revenue from the host if a high level of feedback is provided over time. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11  wherein prior to transferring information, the host conducts an auction among subscribers where the winner gets advance notice of a response, and wherein the subscriber who wins the auction to get advanced notice of a response gets a rebate of a percentage of the auction revenue. 
     
     
         17 . A method of providing information exchange by a host, the method comprising the steps of:
 (a) registering at the host one or more experts, each having expertise in one or more categories of matters of interest;   (b) registering at the host one or more subscribers in return for a payment to the host;   (c) providing from the host over a period of time a description of requests for information about various matters of interest to be provided in predetermined time periods to the one or more experts;   (d) receiving at the host information about one or more responses to the requests for information from the one or more experts to whom the requests have been made;   (e) providing the subscribers with notice of the providing of the description of the request; and   (f) auctioning to the subscribers the right to receive advanced notice of the response.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17  wherein the expert who provides the response receives a percentage of an accepted bid in the auction. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17  wherein the expert receives a flat fee for providing the whole or a portion of a response that is distributed to the subscribers. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 17  wherein the requests are time-sensitive. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 17  wherein the request for information is provided by an exert, and further including the step of receiving a price from the expert for distributing the request for information to subscribers for their determination of interest. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21  wherein the request for information can be auctioned to determine its value and the expert can receive one of the bid amount alone and a flat fee plus the bid amount. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 17  wherein the host can facilitate direct communication between experts and subscribers. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 23  wherein the experts receive a ranking in the system. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 23  wherein the experts receive a ranking by subscribers for communications with subscribers. 
     
     
         26 . A method of providing a time-sensitive information exchange by a host, the method comprising the steps of:
 (a) registering at the host one or more experts, each having expertise in one or more categories of matters of interest;   (b) providing from the host a description of a request for information about one matter of interest to the one or more experts that have expertise in said one matter of interest   (c) receiving at the host information about one or more responses to the request for information from the one or more experts to whom the request has been made;   (d) transferring information about the response to subscribers of the host in return for revenue; and   (e) compensating at least one of the experts on the basis of a portion of the revenue received by said host.   
     
     
         27 . The method according to  claim 26  wherein the request for information originates with one of the host, subscriber and expert. 
     
     
         28 . The method according to  claim 26  wherein, prior to the step of receiving responses from one or more experts, receiving at the host an indication of whether a response can be obtained within a set period of time. 
     
     
         29 . The method according to  claim 26  wherein information as to whether a response can be obtained within the set period of time is offered to the subscribers in return for revenue to the host. 
     
     
         30 . The method according to  claim 25  wherein a payment is required to be made to the host in order for an entity to become a subscriber. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 28  wherein the revenue depends on an auction to receive advance notice of the response. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 31  wherein the revenue from the auction is shared with the expert providing the most acceptable response. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the ranking received by the expert is enhanced based on direct communication between the expert and a subscriber. 
     
     
         34 . A method of providing a time-sensitive information exchange by a host, the method comprising the steps of:
 (a) registering at the host one or more experts, each having expertise in one or more categories of matters of interest;   (b) registering at the host one or more subscribers in return for a payment to the host;   (c) providing from the host a description of a request for information about one matter of interest in a predetermined time period to the one or more experts that have expertise in said one matter of interest;   (d) receiving at the host information about one or more responses to the request for information from the one or more experts to whom the request has been made within the predetermined time period;   (e) providing to the experts, who provided information within the predetermined period of time, information about the value of the information provided;   (f) transferring information about the response from the host to subscribers of the host in return for revenue; and   (g) compensating at least one of the experts on the basis of a portion of revenue received by said host.   
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 34  wherein information is communicated to the experts by a drop down box in a graphical user interface. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 35  wherein a predetermined time period to stop further work on the request is communicated to the experts by the drop down box. 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 34  wherein the predetermined time period is an arbitrary interval. 
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 36  wherein the drop down box is generated by a time duration generating engine. 
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 36  wherein the host initiates the transmission of the drop down box to the experts. 
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 35  wherein the drop down box offers the experts at least one option to communicate back to the host. 
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 40  wherein the at least one option is a request for additional time. 
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 40  wherein the at least one option is a request to submit a question for consideration by the host. 
     
     
         43 . The method of  claim 35  wherein the drop down box is used to provide valuation information to the experts. 
     
     
         44 . A time-sensitive information exchange, comprising:
 a server computer with application software, said server computer being operated by a host;   at least one subscriber computer registered with and connected to the server computer via a network;   at least one expert computer registered with and connected to the server;   wherein said server computer is configured to distribute to said expert computer a description of a request for information concerning a matter of interest in a predetermined time period, said request describing the matter and indicating a reward for a response;   wherein upon receipt of a response from said expert computer, said server records the response and makes it available for analysis by the host;   wherein upon a determination of value in the response, said server computer distributes the response to said subscriber computer in return for compensation; and   wherein upon receipt of compensation by said host, a portion of the value is transmitted to the provider computer which was the source of the valuable response.