Native e-commerce transactables for familiar user environments

Abstract

Native e-commerce transactables for social and other familiar and/or suitable user environments are enabled. A user of a network site may interact with a transactable to conduct a transaction with a 3 rd party without leaving a user environment of the network site. The transactable may be configured to adopt the “look and feel” of the network site into which it is incorporated. While conducting the transaction with the transactable, the user may perceive that they remain at the network site, even though transaction information may be exchanged with a 3 rd party network site. The transaction mediation service may obtain social activity data from a plurality of social network sites, as well as merchant activity data (e.g., transaction activity) from a plurality of merchant network sites. The data of each suitable network site may be translated, transformed and/or normalized into a unified and uniform format maintained by the transaction mediation service.

That which is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for facilitating a transaction, comprising:
 configuring, with one or more computers, an interactive unit adapted to a user interface of a social network site, the interactive unit configured at least to facilitate a transaction with respect to an item;   enabling, with the one or more computers, user access to the interactive unit at the social network site such that user interaction with the interactive unit is perceived by a user as occurring at the social network site; and   responsive to user interaction with the interactive unit, conducting, with the one or more computers, the transaction with respect to the item based at least in part on information received from the interactive unit.   
     
     
         2 . A method in accordance with  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving, with the one or more computers, information corresponding to a set of items that are available for involvement in the transaction;   receiving, with the one or more computers, information corresponding to activity of the user with respect to the social network site; and   selecting the item for the interactive unit from the set of items based at least in part on the received information corresponding to the set of items and the received information corresponding to the activity of the user with respect to the social network site.   
     
     
         3 . A method in accordance with  claim 2 , wherein selecting the item from the set of items comprises ranking the set of items with respect to a likelihood that the user will cause the transaction with the interactive unit. 
     
     
         4 . A method in accordance with  claim 2 , wherein:
 the received information corresponding to the activity of the user with respect to the social network site includes information corresponding to one or more relationships between the user and one or more other users of the social network site; and   the item for the interactive unit is selected based at least in part on the information corresponding to one or more relationships between the user and the one or more other users of the social network site.   
     
     
         5 . A method in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein enabling user access to the interactive unit at the social network site comprises providing the interactive unit to the social network site in a format suited to incorporation in a graphical user interface of the social network site. 
     
     
         6 . A method in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein:
 the social network site maintains information streams for users, individual information streams comprising a plurality of discrete information units; and   enabling user access to the interactive unit at the social network site comprises providing the interactive unit to the social network site in a format suited to insertion in an information stream of the user.   
     
     
         7 . A method in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein conducting the transaction with respect to the item includes providing a purchase order for the item to a merchant. 
     
     
         8 . A system for facilitating a transaction, comprising:
 a social interface component configured at least to facilitate interaction with a social network site;   a merchant interface component configured at least to facilitate interaction with a merchant network site;   a mediation component configured to, at least:
 configure an interactive unit adapted to a user interface of the social network site, the interactive unit configured at least to facilitate a transaction with respect to an item; 
 enable user access to the interactive unit at the social network site with the social interface component such that user interaction with the interactive unit is perceived by a user as occurring at the social network site; and 
 responsive to user interaction with the interactive unit, conduct the transaction with respect to the item based at least in part on information received from the interactive unit and utilizing the merchant interface component; and 
   one or more processors configured at least to facilitate the social interface component, the merchant interface component and the mediation component.   
     
     
         9 . A system in accordance with  claim 8 , wherein:
 the social network site is maintained by a first set of computers;   the merchant network site is maintained by a second set of computers; and   the system is maintained by a third set of computers that is distinct from the first set of computers and the second set of computers.   
     
     
         10 . A system in accordance with  claim 8 , wherein the social network site controls access to user data and the social interface component negotiates access to the user data utilizing one or more access credentials. 
     
     
         11 . A system in accordance with  claim 8 , wherein the merchant network site comprises a transaction subsystem and conducting the transaction utilizing the merchant interface component includes interacting with the transaction subsystem of the merchant network site utilizing the merchant interface component. 
     
     
         12 . A system in accordance with  claim 8 , wherein the interactive unit includes computer-executable instructions that facilitate the transaction with respect to the item. 
     
     
         13 . A system in accordance with  claim 8 , wherein the information received from the interactive unit includes information obtained from the social network site by the interactive unit. 
     
     
         14 . A system in accordance with  claim 13 , wherein:
 conducting the transaction with respect to the item includes providing a purchase order for the item to the merchant network site, the purchase order comprising a plurality of data fields; and   the information obtained from the social network site by the interactive unit includes information corresponding to one or more of the plurality of data fields of the purchase order.   
     
     
         15 . A method for facilitating a transaction, comprising:
 receiving, at a transaction mediation service, an indication from a user of an intent to conduct a transaction with respect to an item;   responsive to the indication, creating, at the transaction mediation service, a first transaction context for the transaction, the first transaction context including first transaction information that is updated by a first multi-step transaction process;   responsive to a step of the first multi-step transaction process, causing, by the transaction mediation service, creation of a second transaction context for the transaction at a merchant network site remote from the transaction mediation service, the second transaction context including second transaction information that is updated by a second multi-step transaction process, the second multi-step transaction process being distinct from the first multi-step transaction process; and   conducting the transaction with respect to the item at least in part by progressing the first multi-step transaction process with the transaction mediation service and asynchronously causing progression of the second multi-step transaction process at the merchant network site based at least in part on the progressing of the first multi-step transaction process.   
     
     
         16 . A method in accordance with  claim 15 , wherein the first transaction information comprises transaction information in a uniform format suited to translation to a plurality of different formats in use by a plurality of merchant network sites. 
     
     
         17 . A method in accordance with  claim 15 , wherein the first multi-step transaction process is under direct control of the transaction mediation service and the second multi-step transaction process is at least partially under independent control of the merchant network site. 
     
     
         18 . A method in accordance with  claim 15 , wherein the transaction mediation service maintains a remote module at the merchant network site and the remote module is configured at least to cause progression of the second multi-step process at the merchant network site responsive to instructions sent by the transaction mediation service. 
     
     
         19 . A method in accordance with  claim 15 , wherein the first multi-step transaction process comprises a set of transaction steps compatible with a plurality of different multi-step transaction processes in use by a plurality of merchant network sites. 
     
     
         20 . A method in accordance with  claim 15 , wherein the indication from the user is received responsive to user interaction with an interactive unit maintained by the transaction mediation service at a social network site different from the merchant network site.