The present invention relates to a payment-linked promotion processing system and a method thereof, and the purpose of the present invention is to provide a payment-linked promotion processing system and a method thereof in which affiliates set to provide a fixed discount rate every time a sale occurs are classified for each discount rate; and a discount rate that is provided each time when a user purchases a product is accumulated to use as a financial resource, and purchasers can competitively select and determine the discount rate by themselves in real-time until when the predetermined accumulated discount rate is entirely exhausted, thereby inducing rapid consumption promotion by allowing sellers to process a discount on the determined discount rate.

In one embodiment, a method includes receiving unstructured text from a user of a social-networking system, determining whether the unstructured text includes a request for a recommendation, identifying one or more first entity names in the unstructured text, generating a structured query based upon the one or more first entity names, identifying, in the social graph, one or more second entity names corresponding to the structured query, and presenting the one or more second entity names and the unstructured text in a social context of the user. The unstructured text may include text of a post or message generated by the user on a social-networking system. A score may be generated based on the unstructured text to determine whether the text includes a request for recommendation using a machine-learning model based on comparison of the unstructured text to the one or more predetermined words associated with requests for recommendation.

An apparatus and method for enabling a viewer to watch television in the usual manner, while providing the viewer with an opportunity to indicate interest in products contextually associated with, but not necessarily displayed, in the television programs viewed, are described. Viewer interest might be indicated, for example, by launching a widget from an icon located on the TV video receiver using a handheld remote controller in communication with a set-top box during the program. The program being viewed may then be identified, for example, by the selected channel, the name of the program, the episode, and the time of the selection, or a combination of these indicators. The selections are transmitted by the set-top box to a remote search server, which returns information to the viewer on a portion of the TV video receiver concerning available products contextually related to the program being viewed at the time the widget was launched by the viewer, as well as purchase information. A selected product may as well be purchased through the set-top box in communication with an e-commerce server. Use of a mobile telephone in combination with a TV set-top box for product purchasing is also described.

According to an aspect, a method for creating or improving customer preference profiles includes providing a decision coupon to a customer with two or more promotional options directed to related items selected to ascertain a purchasing preference associated with the related items through selection of one of the promotional options. A selection of one of the promotional options is received and an indication of the selected promotional option is stored in a purchasing preference profile for the customer. The indication of the selected option is used to update an affinity for a product or product category for the customer within the customer's purchasing preference profile.

According to an aspect, a method for creating or improving customer preference profiles includes providing a decision coupon to a customer with two or more promotional options directed to related items selected to ascertain a purchasing preference associated with the related items through selection of one of the promotional options. A selection of one of the promotional options is received and an indication of the selected promotional option is stored in a purchasing preference profile for the customer. The indication of the selected option is used to update an affinity for a product or product category for the customer within the customer's purchasing preference profile.

[Object] To provide a communication system and a communication control method capable of arousing potential requests of users and presenting more effective advertisement information.

[Solution] The communication system includes: a communication unit configured to collect a use situation of a service or a client terminal of a user; and a control unit configured to analyze a preference in accordance with the use situation of the user collected via the communication unit, to transmit a guidance message for arousing interest in a specific product to a client terminal of the user via the communication unit such that the guidance message is output as speech of an agent of the client terminal when at least the one user is determined to be a potential customer of the product in accordance with an analysis result of the preference, and to perform control such that an advertisement for promoting the product is transmitted to the client terminal of the user via the communication unit and the advertisement is output as speech of the agent of the client terminal at a predetermined timing after the transmission of the guidance message.

This invention provides an information distribution system comprising an image data processing device (11), a server (12), and a portable telephone unit (15 having image data acquisition means for acquiring image data with a destination address attached thereto and display means for displaying the image data, wherein the image data is distributed from the image data processing device (11) to the portable telephone unit (15), and advertisement information based on user information is extracted from an advertisement information storage unit (29) and appended to image/text data by an advertisement information appending unit (30) provided in the server 12.

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer-readable storage medium, and including a method for managing privacy rights of a user related to the delivery of content. The method comprises providing a global privacy management interface that presents a selection tool for enabling a user to review privacy options and interests. The privacy options and interests include controls for presenting a list of identifiers that are associated with the user and interests associated with those identifiers. Each identifier is associated with a requesting source having been used by the user to access content. The interface enables de-selection of individual interests on a per-identifier or global basis. The method further comprises determining, in a server system, content to deliver to the user in view of the privacy selections.

A data processing method and server are provided. The method includes generating first promotion data including a feedback rule, and sending the first promotion data to a first user. In response to a confirmation message, a user identifier of the first user is added, as a home identifier, to the first promotion data, to obtain second promotion data, and the second promotion data is sent to the first user. In response to a resource transfer request from a second user, third promotion data is searched for that includes the home identifier and the feedback rule, and a number of transferred resources of the second user is reduced according to the third promotion data. The home identifier and the feedback rule are extracted from the third promotion data, and promotion feedback information corresponding to the home identifier is determined according to the feedback rule and data application information.

Accessing an energy management policy for a plurality of devices is described, wherein the devices are coupled with a first structure. The energy usage of the devices is monitored. An energy usage rule and energy usage is then compared. The energy management policy and energy usage is also compared. Based on the comparing, an instruction is generated to modify an energy usage profile of said device to correlate with the energy usage rule associated with the devices and the energy management policy, thereby enabling efficient energy management.