Distributing Things Through Personalized Networks

Abstract

Things are distributed through a personalized network of trusted parties specified by a member. A specific implementation of the invention is for distributing unused tickets, but the principles of the invention are applicable to other things besides tickets. A system of the invention drives or increases attendance by enabling consumers to push their seats (i.e., unused tickets) to members of a trusted network (created by the consumer themselves) rather than making the seats available for sale to the public or manually locating an interested party and transferring them. Additionally, the system performs the time consuming work of contacting members of the trusted network to find out if they are interested in using the tickets for a particular event while receiving and recording their responses.

1 . A method comprising:
 allowing a first user to become a member of a system accessible through the Internet;   allowing the first user to store an ordered list of network contacts, wherein at least one of the network contacts is not a member of the system;   receiving from the first user an item for distribution to the first users' network contacts, wherein the network contacts in the ordered list are at a first degree of separation from the first user;   allowing the first user to specify a number of degrees of separation, one or greater for the item to be distributed;   receiving and storing the number of degrees of separation specified by the first user in a computer memory;   sending a first message to a first contact in the ordered list of network contacts inquiring whether the first contact is interested in the item;   receiving an indication that the first contact rejects the item; and   after receiving the indication that the first contact rejects the item, using at least one computer processor to perform automatically and without additional intervention by the first user at least one of the following:   retrieving the number of degrees of separation specified by the first user stored in memory, determining the number of degrees of separation is one, and handling the number of degrees of separation being one by sending a second message to a second contact in the stored ordered list of network contacts inquiring whether the second contact is interested in the item; or   retrieving the number of degrees of separation specified by the first user stored in memory, determining the number of degrees of separation is greater than one, and handling the number of degrees of separation being greater than one by sending a third message to a third contact inquiring whether the third contact is interested in the item, wherein the third contact is associated with the first contact and not present on the first user's ordered list of network contacts.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the item is a ticket to a sporting event. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the indication that the first contact rejects the item occurs upon the first contact not responding within a first time period. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein messages are e-mails. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the messages are text messages. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 3  comprising:
 determining that the first contact does not respond within a first time period; 
 determining that the second contact accepts the item; 
 determining that the first contact attempts to accept the item after the second contact has accepted; and 
 sending a third message to the first contact indicating that the item is no longer available. 
 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6  wherein the third message comprises a message indicating how to purchase a related item at a discount price. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  comprising:
 permitting the first user to alter an order of the ordered list of network contacts. 
 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 2  comprising:
 providing a screen listing a plurality of sporting events associated with a sporting team. 
 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1  comprising:
 providing a screen listing a plurality of the first user's network contacts and for each network contact, listing a number of tickets offered to each network contact. 
 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1  comprising:
 providing a screen listing a plurality of the first user's network contacts and for each network contact, listing a number of tickets accepted by each network contact. 
 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1  comprising:
 providing an option for the first user to specify which day of the week to share the item. 
 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1  comprising:
 providing an option for the first user to specify how many days in advance of a date associated with the item to ask whether the first user wants to share the item. 
 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1  comprising:
 allowing a second user to become a member of a system, where before becoming a member, the second user was on the ordered list of network contacts of the first user. 
 
     
     
         15 . A method comprising:
 allowing a first user to become a member of a system accessible through the Internet;   receiving and storing an ordered list of network contacts from the first user, wherein the network contacts in the ordered list are at a first degree of separation from the first user, and at least one of the network contacts is not a member of the system;   allowing the first user to specify a first item and second item to share with the first users' network contacts using the system, including the first users' network contacts that are not members of the system;   allowing the first user to specify conditions under which the first item or second item is to be shared;   using at least one computer processor, determining whether the first item or the second item satisfy the conditions;   determining that the first item satisfies the conditions, and handling by sending a first message to a first contact in the ordered list of network contacts inquiring whether the first contact is interested in the item; and   determining that the first contact rejects the item, and automatically and without additional intervention by the first user, handling by sending a second message to a second contact in the stored ordered list of network contacts inquiring whether the second contact is interested in the item.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15  wherein the conditions comprises a range of dates during which the first user wants to share the first item or second item. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15  comprising:
 allowing a second user to become a member of a system, where before becoming a member, the second user was on the ordered list of network contacts of the first user. 
 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15  comprising:
 providing a screen listing a plurality of the first user's network contacts and for each network contact, listing a number of tickets accepted by each network contact and a number of tickets offered to each network contact. 
 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 15  wherein the item is a ticket. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 15  the first message is an e-mail.