초록 ▼

A method and apparatus for providing personalized information content over telephones is described. The creation of a voice portal is supported by the invention. Embodiments of the invention use telephone identifying information such as the calling party's number to identify, or create, user profile

A method and apparatus for providing personalized information content over telephones is described. The creation of a voice portal is supported by the invention. Embodiments of the invention use telephone identifying information such as the calling party's number to identify, or create, user profiles for customization. The personalized content is specific to that user based on her/his telephone identifying information and may be further customized based on the current time, current date, the calling party's locales, and/or the calling party's dialect and speech patterns. Also, the telephone identifying information may support targeted advertising, content, and purchasing recommendations specific to that user. The system may use a voice password and/or touch-tone login system when appropriate to distinguish the caller or verify the caller's identity for specific activities. Typically, embodiments of the invention will immediately present a caller personalized content based on her/his profile using the appropriate dialect as well as the caller's preferred content. Profiles can be constructed as the caller uses embodiments of the invention as well as through explicit designation of preferences. For example, the user might specify an existing personalized site to use in building her/his profile. Additionally, new callers may have an initial profile generated based on one or more database lookups for demographic information based on their telephone identifying information.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A method of using a telephone identifying information to present information over a telephone interface using a first computer, the method comprising:modifying a user profile on the first computer over an Internet using a second computer with a web interface to the first computer, the user profil

1. A method of using a telephone identifying information to present information over a telephone interface using a first computer, the method comprising:modifying a user profile on the first computer over an Internet using a second computer with a web interface to the first computer, the user profile including at least one topic;associating the user profile with at least one telephone identifying information;receiving the telephone identifying information on the first computer from the telephone interface;identifying a corresponding user profile having an associated at least one telephone identifying information matching the telephone identifying information;using the first computer to present content relating to the at least one topic included in the corresponding user profile over the telephone interface;including a record of actions in the user profile;using the first computer to present a suggestion for updating the user profile over the telephone interface based on the record of actions, the suggestion comprising at least one of a second topic and a sub-topic of the at least one topic; receiving a response to the suggestion; andadding the second topic or the sub-topic to the user profile according to the response to the suggestion, wherein topics and sub-topics in the user profile are user-selectable, and wherein the first computer presents content relating to a topic or sub-topic in the user profile over the telephone interface in response to user-selection of a topic or sub-topic in the user profile. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said using the first computer to present a suggestion over the telephone interface based on the record of actions comprises basing said suggestion on previous requests for information. 3. A method of using a telephone identifying information to present information over a telephone interface using a first computer, the method comprising:modifying a user profile on the first computer over an Internet using a second computer with a web interface to the first computer, the user profile including at least one topic;associating the user profile with at least one telephone identifying information;receiving the telephone identifying information on the first computer from the telephone interface;identifying a corresponding user profile having an associated at least one telephone identifying information matching the telephone identifying information;using the first computer to present content relating to the at least one topic included in the corresponding user profile over the telephone interface;including a record of actions in the user profile; andusing the first computer to include at least one of a second topic and a sub-topic in the user profile based on the record of actions in the user profile, wherein topics and sub-topics in the user profile are user-selectable, and wherein the first computer presents content relating to a topic or sub-topic in the user profile over the telephone interface in response to user-selection of a topic or sub-topic in the user profile. 4. An apparatus for presenting information over a telephone interface using a telephone identifying information, the apparatus comprising:a first means for associating the user profile with at least one telephone identifying information;a second means for receiving the telephone identifying information from the telephone interface;a third means for identifying a corresponding user profile having an associated at least one telephone identifying information matching the telephone identifying information;a fourth means for using the first computer to present content relating to the at least one topic included in the corresponding user profile over the telephone interface;a fifth means for including a record of actions in the user profile; anda sixth means for including in the user profile at least one of a topic, a sub-topic, and a content based on the record of actions, wherein topics, sub-topics, and content in the user profile are user-selectable, and wherein the fourth means is further for presenting content relating to a topic or sub-topic in the user profile over the telephone interface in response to user-selection of a topic or sub-topic in the user profile. 5. The apparatus of claim 4, further comprising means for suggesting an item for sale based on the record of actions over the telephone interface. 6. The apparatus of claim 4, further comprising means for presenting an advertisement over the telephone interface based on the record of actions.