Interactive networking systems

Abstract

A networking system may comprise a web site serviced by a web server assembly. The web site may generally comprise a combination of the following components: a crediting system, a chat bidding system, a performance bidding system, a telephony switching system, a media interaction system, a display system, a photo management system, and a messaging system. An exemplary embodiment of the chat bidding system may comprise a plurality of common user accounts, a queue, and a featured user account. Common users of the common user accounts may pose tasks to the featured user, and may make a pledge for each task. The tasks may be stored in, and sorted by, the queue based on their pledges. A featured user of the featured user account may be presented with a highest ranked task in the queue, and may choose to respond to the task or to skip the task.

1 . A method of directing tasks to a computer user, the method comprising:
 receiving a first task from a first user;   associating a first bid value with the first task from the first user;   receiving a second task from a second user;   associating a second bid value with the second task from the second user;   maintaining a task queue for referencing the first task and the second task;   selecting a first selected task from the task queue for presentation to a third user based on which unselected task in the task queue has the largest bid value; and   presenting the first selected task to the third user.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving a plurality of additional tasks from a plurality of additional users;   associating the plurality of additional tasks with a plurality of additional bid values; and   inserting the plurality of additional tasks into the tasks queue.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising selecting a second selected task from the task queue for presentation to a third user based on which unselected task in the task queue has the largest bid value. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the second selected task is displayed to the third user while the first selected task is presented to the third user. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the third user acts on the first selected task before being presented with the second selected task. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the second selected task is selected before the first selected task is presented to the third user. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the first selected task is presented to the third user prior to the second selected task being presented to the third user. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the second selected task is selected after the first selected task is presented to the third user. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , the first task comprising a question posed to the third user. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising presenting to the third user a plurality of tasks referenced in the task queue, wherein an order in which the plurality of tasks are presented to the featured user is at least partially based on associated bid values of the plurality of tasks. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising receiving the first bid value from the first user. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving a third bid value from the first user; and   changing the first bid value to a value equal to the third bid value.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving a response to the selected task from the third user; and   presenting the response to the selected task to the first user and the second user.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 presenting a skip task option to the third user;   receiving a skip task selection from the third user; and   presenting a task from the task queue to the third user based on which task remaining in the task queue has the largest associated bid value.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first user and the second user are members of a first class of users and the third user is a member of a second class of users. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first task was received prior to the second task and wherein selecting one of said first task and said second task from the task queue for presentation to a third user based on which of said first bid value and said second bid value is larger further comprises selecting the first task if the first bid value is equal to the second bid value. 
     
     
         17 . A computer program product embodied in a computer readable medium wherein the computer program product comprises an algorithm adapted to effectuate a networking system comprising:
 a featured member account associated with a featured user;   a plurality of participant member accounts associated with a plurality of participant members;   a task queue for storing a plurality of tasks received from one or more of said plurality of participant members, each task being associated with a task bid value;   a task selection module for identifying a first task of said plurality of tasks having a largest bid value associated therewith; and   a task presentation module for presenting the first task to the featured member.   
     
     
         18 . The computer program product of  claim 17 , wherein the task queue stores participant member tasks in the order in which the tasks are received. 
     
     
         19 . The computer program product of  claim 17 , wherein a first participant member of said plurality of members may change the task bid value of a first task of said plurality of tasks in the task queue. 
     
     
         20 . The computer program product of  claim 19 , wherein the first participant member may only change the task bid value of the first task if the first participant member submitted the first task to the task queue. 
     
     
         21 . The computer program product of  claim 17 , wherein the task bid values represent credits associated with a first participant member of said plurality of participant members. 
     
     
         22 . The computer program product of  claim 17 , further comprising a task skip option for allowing the featured member to skip the first task. 
     
     
         23 . The computer program product of  claim 17 , further comprising a featured member interface module for allowing the featured member to start and end a task session. 
     
     
         24 . The computer program product of  claim 17 , further comprising a featured member interface module for allowing the featured member to stop new tasks from being added to the task queue. 
     
     
         25 . The computer program product of  claim 17 , further comprising a featured member interface module for allowing the featured member to identify a charity to receive proceeds. 
     
     
         26 . A method for connecting a communication session comprising:
 storing first user communication acceptance criteria associated with a first user;   receiving a request from a second user to initiate a communication session with the first user;   determining whether the first user permits the communication session with the first user to be initiated by the second user based on the first user communication acceptance criteria; and   initiating the communication session between the first user and the second user if it is determined that the first user permits the communication session.   
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the communication session is a telephone call. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the second user does not have access to a telephone number associated with the first user. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the communication session is a computer-implemented audio call. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the communication session is a computer-implemented video call. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the second user does not have access to contact information associated with the first user. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the communication acceptance criteria comprise a time range when telephone calls are acceptable. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the communication acceptance criteria comprise a list of accepted users. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the accepted users are members of a predefined class of users. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the communication acceptance criteria comprise a list of unaccepted users. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the communication acceptance criteria specify one or more acceptable subject matters. 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the communication acceptance criteria comprise a schedule defining when a communication session with the second user should be accepted. 
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the communication acceptance criteria define who may leave a voicemail message. 
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the communication acceptance criteria comprise a PIN. 
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 39 , wherein the communication session is initiated between the first user and the second user if the second user enters the PIN. 
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 26 , further comprising:
 requesting a first communication link to a first communication device associated with the first user; and   requesting a second communication link to a second communication device associated with the second user.   
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein requesting the first communication link to the first communication device comprises placing a telephone call to the first communication device. 
     
     
         43 . The method of  claim 41 , further comprising connecting the first communication device to the second communication device if both the first communication device and the second communication device are activated. 
     
     
         44 . The method of  claim 41 , further comprising:
 connecting the first communication device to the second communication device if the request for the first communication link and the request for the second communication link are both accepted.   
     
     
         45 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the second user receives a voicemail greeting if the request for the first communication link is denied. 
     
     
         46 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the second user receives an alternative voicemail greeting if the request for the first communication link is denied, the alternative voicemail greeting being different from a primary voicemail greeting that would play if the first communication device were contacted directly. 
     
     
         47 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the request from a second user to initiate the communication session with the first user is received via a network connection. 
     
     
         48 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the request from a second user to initiate the communication session with the first user is received via a telephone call from the second user to a service center. 
     
     
         49 . The method of  claim 48 , further comprising prompting the second user to enter a PIN associated with the first user. 
     
     
         50 . The method of  claim 26 , further comprising sending caller identification data associated with a service center to the first user. 
     
     
         51 . The method of  claim 26 , further comprising sending caller identification data to the first user, wherein the caller identification data comprises an alias of the second user. 
     
     
         52 . A method of managing digital images comprising:
 receiving a first digital image;   storing the first digital image in an image array, the image array having fields for image data, and a first set of image modification attributes;   receiving a first image modification command; and   updating a first image modification attribute of said first set of image modification attributes associated with the first digital image in the image array based on the first image modification command.   
     
     
         53 . The method of  claim 52 , the image array having one or more fields for a second set of image modification attributes, wherein the second set of image modification attributes define a different modified image than the first set of modification attributes. 
     
     
         54 . The method of  claim 52 , further comprising:
 receiving a request to display the first digital image;   retrieving the first digital image from the image array;   retrieving the first image modification attribute from the first set of image modification attributes in the image array;   applying the first image modification attribute to the first digital image to form a first modified first digital image; and   displaying the first modified first digital image.   
     
     
         55 . The method of  claim 52 , further comprising:
 receiving a request to display the first digital image;   retrieving the first digital image from the image array;   retrieving the first set of image modification attributes from the image array;   applying the first set of image modification attributes to the first digital image to form a modified first digital image; and   displaying the modified first digital image.   
     
     
         56 . The method of  claim 52 , wherein a first image modification attribute of said first set of image modification attributes comprises a crop image attribute. 
     
     
         57 . The method of  claim 52 , wherein a first image modification attribute of said first set of image modification attributes comprises a rotate image attribute. 
     
     
         58 . The method of  claim 52 , wherein a first image modification attribute of said first set of image modification attributes comprises a flip image attribute. 
     
     
         59 . The method of  claim 52 , wherein a first image modification attribute of said first set of image modification attributes comprises a thumbnail attribute. 
     
     
         60 . A method of providing on-demand graphics from a first user to a second user comprising:
 receiving a request from a first user to display a first graphical presentation to a second user; and   transmitting the first graphical presentation to the second user via a network for display on a first computer associated with the second user;   wherein the first graphical presentation displays in an active web browser window of the first computer superimposed over the contents of the active web browser window.   
     
     
         61 . The method of  claim 60 , wherein the first graphical presentation comprises a dynamic animation. 
     
     
         62 . The method of  claim 60 , further comprising:
 receiving customization data from the first user; and   dynamically customizing the first graphical presentation based on the customization data.   
     
     
         63 . The method of  claim 60 , further comprising:
 receiving a response to the first graphical presentation from the second user;   integrating the second user's response into the first graphical presentation to produce a second graphical presentation; and   transmitting the second graphical presentation to the first user via the network for display on a second computer associated with the first user;   wherein the second graphical presentation displays in an active web browser window of the second computer superimposed over the contents of the active web browser window.   
     
     
         64 . The method of  claim 60 , wherein the first graphical presentation comprises web-based rich media content. 
     
     
         65 . The method of  claim 60 , wherein the first graphical presentation comprises a greeting. 
     
     
         66 . The method of  claim 60 , further comprising receiving custom text from the first user, wherein the custom text is incorporated into the first graphical presentation. 
     
     
         67 . The method of  claim 60 , further comprising transmitting the first graphical presentation to a plurality of users. 
     
     
         68 . A method of hosting user performances, the method comprising:
 receiving a plurality of performance requests, each performance request comprising a performer identification and a performance bid value;   storing the plurality of performance requests in a performance queue;   selecting a first performance request of said plurality of performance requests by selecting the performance request having the largest performance bid value;   notifying a first user associated with the performer identification associated with the first performance request;   receiving first performance data from the first user; and   displaying the first performance data.   
     
     
         69 . The method of  claim 68 , wherein the first performance data comprises digital video data. 
     
     
         70 . The method of  claim 68 , further comprising displaying song lyrics to the first user. 
     
     
         71 . The method of  claim 68 , wherein the first performance data comprises audio data. 
     
     
         72 . The method of  claim 68 , further comprising receiving a request to modify a performance bid value associated with a first performance request of said plurality of performance requests. 
     
     
         73 . The method of  claim 68 , further comprising:
 storing the first performance request in a standby queue;   removing the first performance request from the performance queue;   selecting a second performance request of said plurality of performance requests by selecting the performance request having the largest performance bid value after the first performance request was removed from the performance queue;   storing the second performance request in a standby queue;   removing the second performance request from the performance queue;   notifying a second user associated with the performer identification associated with the second performance request;   receiving performance data from the second user after the first performance data is finished being displayed; and   displaying the second performance data.