Integrated audiotext-internet personal ad services6697786Abstract The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for delivering personal ad services which substantially eliminate or reduce the disadvantages and problems associated with prior systems that deliver such personal ad services. In the use of such services, the need is recognized for improved capability regarding the features available to Internet users, and the integration of audiotex personal ad services and Internet personal ad services. With the present invention, a personal ad published in a newspaper includes graphical icons which denote if an ad has additional text or multimedia files (a photograph or a video clip) available on the Internet. With respect to personal ad services, the present invention provides the needed improved capability regarding the features available to Internet users, and the integration of audiotex personal ad services and Internet personal ad services. Claims What is claimed is: Description TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
Gender 1003 AD_GENDER 207
Marital Status 1004 AD_MARITAL_STATUS 208
Age 1005 AD_AGE 209
E-mail address 1006 AD_EMAIL_ADDRESS 204
Phone Number 1007 AD_PHONE 203
Password 1008 AD_PASSWORD 202
Greeting Text 1014 GR_FILENAME 304
This process largely parallels the process of placing a personal ad via a telephone. The password 1008 is used by the advertiser to retrieve messages and the e-mail address 1006 and telephone number 1007 are used to contact the advertiser. The gender 1003, age 1005, and marital status 1004 fields create a profile of the advertiser. Finally, the field Greeting Text 1014 describes the advertiser and the person she is seeking. The Internet user completes the Ad Placement Form 1002 and presses the "Submit" button to submit her ad. The form is checked by the IWS for completeness 1016. If the form is incomplete, the user is returned to the Ad Placement Form 1002. If the form is complete, the text greeting is then stored to a disk file on the IWS and the Ad Database is updated 1017. Specifically, the AD_REVIEW_FLAG 210 in the AD_PERSONAL_TABLE FIG. 2 is set to FALSE indicating that the ad must be reviewed by an operator. In addition, a new record is created in the AD_GREETINGS_TABLE FIG. 3 and the field GR_REVIEW_FLAG 303 is set to FALSE to indicate that the audio greeting has not been reviewed. In the new record, the fields GR_MAILBOX_NUMBER 301, GR_TYPE 302, GR_FILENAME 304, GR_DATE_TIME 305 in the table AD_GREETINGS FIG. 3 are also populated to indicate the advertiser's mailbox number, the file format, and the location of the text file on the IWS, and the date and time the greeting was placed. Specifically, the field GR_TYPE is set to TEXT. Finally, the field GR_CONVERSION_FLAG is set to TRUE to indicate that the text does not need to be converted to a different format. Lastly, the Internet Web Server creates an Ad Confirmation Page 1020. The Ad Confirmation Page 1020 performs two functions: (1) it confirms the advertiser's mailbox number 1021, and (2) it gives the advertiser instructions on how to include an audio greeting 1022, photograph 1023, or video clip 1024 with her personal ad. Finally, the Internet Web Server stores the date and time the ad is taken in the field AD_DATE_TIME 206, and updates the field AD_ORIGIN 211 to indicate that the personal ad originated on the Internet 1025. In addition, the IWS creates an electronic mailbox for the advertiser and stores it in the field AD_MAILBOX_NUMBER 1026 to allow respondents to submit audio, video and photographic files in response to the advertiser's ad. Enhancing an Internet Ad With Audio, Photograph and Video A more detailed explanation of how an advertiser submits an audio greeting, photograph, or video clip via CT1 will now be given. To submit an audio greeting, the advertiser first makes an audio recording using a WAV file editor and then saves the file using her five digit mailbox number as the file name 1030, for example: 44567.wav. The advertiser then submits the audio file using e-mail to an audio greeting electronic mailbox 1031, for example: audio_greeting@personals.com. The advertiser's audio recording is stored to a disk file on the Internet Web Server. In addition, a new record is created in the AD_GREETINGS_TABLE FIG. 3 and the Ad Database is updated 1032. Specifically, the field GR_REVIEW_FLAG 303 is set to FALSE to indicate that the audio greeting has not been reviewed. Also, the fields GR_MAILBOX_NUMBER 301, GR_TYPE 302, GR_FILENAME 304, GR_DATE_TIME 305 in the AD_GREETINGS_TABLE FIG. 3 are also populated to indicate the advertiser's mailbox number, the format of the audio file, and the location of the audio file on the IWS, and the date and time the greeting placed. The field GR_TYPE is set to WAV to indicate that the audio recording is in the Microsoft .WAV file format. Finally, the field GR_CONVERSION_FLAG is set to FALSE to indicate that the audio file must be converted from the Microsoft .WAV format to create two new audio files: one in the RealAudio .RA format for playback on the Internet, and another in the Dialogic .VOX format for playback via the telephone. To enhance a personal ad with a photograph, the advertiser first digitizes a photograph using a scanner or takes a photograph with a digital camera and then saves the image to a .GIF file using her five digit mailbox number as the file name 1036, for example: 44567.gif. The advertiser then submits the graphic file using e-mail to an photograph electronic mailbox, for example: photo@personals.com 1031. The advertiser's photo is stored to a disk file on the IWS and the Ad Database is updated 1031. Specifically, a new record is created in the AD_GREETINGS_TABLE FIG. 3 and the field GR_REVIEW_FLAG 303 set to FALSE to indicate that the graphic file has not been reviewed. In each new record, the fields GR_MAILBOX_NUMBER 301, GR_TYPE 302, GR_FILENAME 304, GR_DATE_TIME 305 in the table AD_GREETINGS FIG. 3 are also populated to indicate the advertiser's mailbox number, the format of the graphic file, and the location of the graphic file on the IWS, and the date and time the photograph was received. The field GR_TYPE 302 is set to GIF to indicate that the graphic file is in the .GIF file format. Finally, the field GR_CONVERSION_FLAG 306 is set to TRUE to indicate that no file conversion is necessary as .GIF is the graphic file format used by the IWS. If other graphic formats were accepted, they might have to be converted to a .GIF format, depending on the file formats the IWS supported. If file conversion were necessary, the field GR_CONVERSION_FLAG 306 would be set to FALSE. To enhance a personal ad with video, the advertiser first digitizes a video clip and then saves the image to a Microsoft. AVI file using her five digit mailbox number as the file name 1036, for example: 44567.avi. Other video formats such as Apple Quicktime, or MPEG video could also be used. The advertiser then submits the graphic file using e-mail to an electronic mailbox, for example: video@personals.com 1031. The advertiser's video clip is stored to a disk file on the IWS and the Ad database is updated 1032. Specifically, a new record is created in the AD_GREETINGS table FIG. 3 and the field GR_REVIEW_FLAG 303 set to FALSE to indicate that the video file has not been reviewed. In each new record, the fields GR_MAILBOX_NUMBER 301, GR_TYPE 302, GR_FILENAME 304, GR_DATE_TIME 305 in the table AD_GREETINGS FIG. 3 are populated to indicate the advertiser's mailbox number, the format of the video file, and the location of the video file on the IWS, and the date and time the video was received. Specifically, the field GR_TYPE 302 is set to AVI to indicate that the video clip is in the Microsoft .AVI file format. Finally, the field GR_CONVERSION_FLAG 306 is set to FALSE to indicate that the video file must be converted to the VDOLive format for real time playback on the Internet. Reviewing and Summarizing Ads All new personal ads are reviewed by an operator at an Operator Workstation to insure that their content is appropriate. Also, each greeting submitted by an advertiser, whether it be an audio greeting recorded by an advertiser via a telephone or a text greeting placed by an advertiser via the Internet, is summarized by an operator to create a twenty word classified text ad for publication in a newspaper. The twenty word limit is a function of newspaper imposed space limitations. It should be noted that space limitations, if they exist at all, may vary widely from newspaper to newspaper. In another format, text ads that are published in the newspaper are first placed with a live operator via a telephone, precluding the need to summarize an audio recording. An exemplary operation of the process of reviewing and summarizing ads with regard to a specific operator at OWS will now be treated to accomplish the process as indicated in FIG. 7. The operator first queries the database to determine if there are new ads to review 1800. Specifically, the query looks for all ads in the AD_PERSONAL table FIG. 2 where the field AD_REVIEWED 210 is set to FALSE. If the query finds a new ad, the operator first reviews the ad's greeting 1801 as found in the AD_GREETINGS table FIG. 3. If the ad was placed via telephone, this consists of listening to the ad's audio greeting. If the ad was placed via the Internet, this consists of reading the text greeting. The operator then determines if the greeting's contents are appropriate 1802. If the greeting's contents are inappropriate, the ad is deleted and the record purged from the database 1803 and the operator is returned to block 1800. If the greeting's contents are appropriate, the operator writes a twenty word summary of the greeting 1804. The operator then queries the database to determine if the advertiser recorded an e-mail address 1805. If an e-mail address audio recording is found, the operator transcribes the e-mail address 1806. The operator then updates the database 1807. Specifically, the advertiser's twenty word text summary is stored to a disk file on the IWS. The AD_REVIEW_FLAG 210 in the AD_PERSONAL table FIG. 2 is set to TRUE indicating that the ad has been reviewed. In addition, a new record for the text summary is created in the AD_GREETINGS table FIG. 3 and the field GR_REVIEW_FLAG 303 set to TRUE indicating that the record has been reviewed. In the new record, the fields GR_MAILBOX_NUMBER 301, GR_TYPE 302, GR_FILENAME 304, GR_DATE_TIME 305 in the table AD_GREETINGS FIG. 3 are also populated to indicate the advertiser's mailbox number, the file format, and the location of the text file on the IWS, and the date and time. The field GR_TYPE is set to TEXT. Finally, the field GR_CONVERSION_FLAG 306 is set to TRUE to indicate that the text does not need to be converted to a different format. The operator then returns to block 1800 to continue processing ads. If no new ads are found, the operator queries the database to determine if any multimedia files (audio, video, or photo) have been submitted via the Internet to enhance a personal ad 1808. Specifically, the query looks for all ads in the AD_PERSONAL table FIG. 2 where the field AD_REVIEWED 210 is set to TRUE that has files in the AD_GREETING_TABLE FIG. 3 where the GR_REVIEW_FLAG 303 is set to FALSE. If the query finds a multimedia file, the operator first reviews the file 1809. If it is an audio file, this consists of listening to the ad's audio greeting. If it is a video or graphic file, this consists of viewing the file. The operator then determines if the greeting's contents are appropriate 1810. If the greeting's contents are inappropriate, the filed is deleted and the record purged from the database 1811. The operator is then returned to block 1808 to continue processing multimedia files. If the file's contents are appropriate, the operator approves the file 1812 and updates the database 1813. Specifically, this consists in setting the field GR_REVIEW_FLAG 303 to TRUE to indicate that the file has been reviewed. If the file is an audio file, the Operator Workstation converts the file to create a new RealAudio RA file and stores the file on the IWS. The Operator Workstation also converts the file to create a Dialogic VOX file and stores the file on the IVR. For each new audio file, a new record is created in the AD_GREETINGS table FIG. 2 and the fields GR_MAILBOX_NUMBER 301, GR_TYPE 302, GR_DATE_TIME 305, and GR_FILENAME 304 are populated to indicate the mailbox number of the advertiser, the format of the file, the date and time, and the location of the audio file on the IVR Also, the field GR_REVIEW_FLAG 303 is set to TRUE to indicate that the file has been reviewed. Finally, the field GR_CONVERSION_FLAG is set to TRUE to indicate that the audio file does not need to be converted. If the file is a video file, the Operator Workstation converts the Microsoft AVI file to create a new VDOLive file and stores the file on the IWS. Also, a new record is created in the AD_GREETINGS table FIG. 2 and the fields GR_MAILBOX_NUMBER 301, GR_TYPE 302, GR_DATE_TIME 305, and GR_FILENAME 304 are populated to indicate the mailbox number of the advertiser, the format of the file, the date and time, and the location of the video file on the IVR. Also, the field GR_REVIEW_FLAG 303 is set to TRUE to indicate that the file has been reviewed. Finally, the field GR_CONVERSION_FLAG 306 is set to TRUE to indicate that the video file does not need to be converted. The operator then returns to block 1808 to continue processing multimedia files. If no new multimedia files are found, the session is terminated 1814. Publishing Ads in the Newspaper Each week, all the twenty-word summary text ads from personal ads submitted via telephone and via the Internet are published in a newspaper along with their five digit mailbox numbers. FIG. 8 depicts personal ads as they would appear in the local newspaper. Icons are included in each ad that represent the origin of an ad (via telephone or via the Internet) and what additional information or multimedia, if any, is available on the Internet. For example, an ad placed via the telephone contains a telephone icon 2001; an ad placed via the Internet contains a computer icon 2002. If there is additional text on the Internet, an ad contains an icon denoting additional text 2003. The presence of a photo or video clip is be indicated respectively by a still camera 2004 and video camera 2005 icons. Responding to a Personal Ad Through a Telephone An exemplary operation of the system, with regard to a telephone caller responding to a personal advertisement will now be treated to accomplish the process as indicated in FIG. 9. First, suppose a telephone caller at terminal T1 places a call to respond to a personal ad advertised in XYZ newspaper. The assumed call involves the telephone caller actuating the buttons to input the number 1 900 777 3333, for example. As a result, signals are provided to the public telephone network resulting in a connection from the remote terminal T1 to the IVR. Using standard DNIS techniques, the IVR associates the called number 1 900 777 3333 with a specific format, for example, a voice personals response format. Referring to FIG. 9, upon receiving a call, the IVR sets the "invalid mailbox number count" equal to zero 2301. The IVR then increments the "invalid mailbox number count" by one 2302 and cues the caller for a mailbox number 2303. Upon the caller entering a mailbox number, the IVR queries the field AD_MAILBOX_NUMBER 201 to determine if the mailbox number is valid 2304. If the mailbox number is invalid, the IVR determines if the caller has exceeded the maximum number of attempts allowed 2305. If the caller has exceeded the maximum number of attempts allowed, the call is terminated 2306. If the maximum number of attempts allowed has not been exceeded, the IVR increments the "invalid mailbox number count" by one 2302 and again cues the caller for a mailbox number 2303. If the mailbox number is valid, the IVR queries the field AD_ORIGIN 211 to determine if the ad originated on the Internet 2307. If the ad originated on the telephone, the IVR plays the ad's audio greeting 2311. If the ad originated on the Internet, the IVR uses text to speech to play the ad's text greeting as placed on the Internet 2308. The IVR then queries the AD_GREETINGS table FIG. 2 to determine if the Internet advertiser also submitted an audio greeting 2309. If the query does not find an audio greeting 2310, the IVR prompts the caller to indicate if he wishes to respond to the ad 2312. If the query finds an audio greetings 2310, the IVR plays the audio greetings 2311. The IVR then prompts the caller to indicate if he wishes to respond to the ad 2312. If the caller elects not to respond to the ad, the call is terminated 2306. If the caller elects to respond to the ad, the IVR next cues hint to record his response 2319. The IVR then stores the response to a disk file 2320 and updates the database 2321. Specifically the IVR creates a new record in the AD_RESPONSE table FIG. 4 populates the fields RSP_MAILBOX_NUMBER 501, RSP_DATE_TIME 503, RSP_TYPE 504, and RSP_FILENAME 505 to indicate the mailbox number of the ad responded to, the date and time of the response, the format of the response, and the location of the response file on the IVR. The field RSP_TYPE 504 is set to VOX to indicate that the audio recording is in the Dialogic .VOX file format. Finally, the field RSP_CONVERSION_FLAG 506 is set to FALSE to indicate that the audio must be converted from the Dialogic .VOX format to create a new audio file in the RealAudio .RA format for playback on the Internet. The IVR creates a new RealAudio .RA file from Dialogic .VOX file and stores the RealAudio file to a disk file 2322 on the IWS and updates the database 2323. Specifically, the IVR creates a new record in the AD_RESPONSE table FIG. 4 and populates the fields RSP_MAILBOX_NUMBER 501, RSP_DATE_TIME 503, RSP_TYPE 504, and RSP_FILENAME 505 to indicate the mailbox number of the ad responded to, the date and time of the response, the format of the response, and the location of the response file on the IVR. The field RSP_TYPE 504 is set to RA to indicate that the audio recording is in the RealAudio .RA file format. Finally, the field RSP_CONVERSION_FLAG 506 is set to TRUE for both the audiotex .VOX file and the RealAudio .RA file to indicate that the audio files do not need to be converted 2324. The caller is then prompted to respond to another ad 2325. If the caller chooses to respond to another ad, the IVR continues processing at block 2301, otherwise the call is terminated 2326. Responding to a Personal Ad Through the Internet An exemplary operation of the system, with regard to a specific Internet user responding to a personal ad via the Internet will now be treated to accomplish the process as indicated in FIG. 10. First, suppose an advertiser at terminal CT1 connects to the Internet to respond to a personal advertisement advertised in XYZ newspaper. The assumed Internet user connects to the Internet and inputs a Uniform Reference Locator URL, for example: http://www.personal_ads.com, resulting in a connection from the remote terminal CT1 to a Home Page on the Internet Web Server. Referring to FIG. 10, from the Home Page 2401 on the IWS, the Internet user selects an Ad Response Form 2402. The Ad Response Form instructs the Internet user to enter the five digit mailbox number of the ad she wishes to respond to 2403. Upon the Internet user entering her mailbox number, the IWS queries the field AD_MAILBOX_NUMBER in the Ad Database to determine if the mailbox number is valid 2404. If the mailbox number is invalid, the Internet user is presented with an Invalid Mailbox Number Form 2405. If the mailbox number is valid, the IWS presents the Internet user with a Results Form 2406. The Results Form 2406 shows the ad the Internet user selected. Specifically, the Results Form shows the twenty word text ad that appears in the newspaper 2407. In addition, the ad contains one or more icons that represent any additional text or multimedia files (audio, video, photograph) for the ad that are available on the IWS. These icons include an audio icon 2408 to denote the ad's audio greeting, a still camera icon 2409 to denote a photograph of the advertiser, a video camera icon 2410 to denote a video clip of the advertiser, or a paper icon 2411 to denote the ad's full text greeting, if the ad was placed on the Internet. It is to be understood that these icons are merely representative and that many other possibilities exist to denote the existence of text and multimedia files. By clicking on an icon, the Internet user can view or listen to the associated file. In addition, by selecting a maximize bar 2412, the Internet user can expand an ad to full page size FIG. 11. The Internet user responds to an ad by selecting the "Respond" button 2413. When the Internet user selects the respond button, she is presented with an Ad Response Form 2414. The Internet user creates a response by completing a response text field 2416. After completing the Ad Response Form, the Internet user submits the form by pressing the "Submit" button 2422. The advertiser is then presented with a Response Confirmation Form 2423. The Response Confirmation Form gives the advertiser information on enhancing her response with an audio message, photograph, or video clip. The IWS then stores the response to a disk file and updates the database 2424. Specifically, the IWS creates a new record in the AD_RESPONSE table FIG. 4 and populates the fields RSP_MAILBOX_NUMBER 501, RSP_DATE_TIME 503, RSP_TYPE 504, and RSP_FILENAME 505 to indicate the mailbox number of the ad responded to, the date and time of the response, the format of the response, and the location of the response file on the IWS. The field RSP_TYPE 504 is set to TEXT. Finally, the field RSP_CONVERSION_FLAG 506 is set to TRUE to indicate that the text does not need to be converted to a different format. Enhancing a Response With Audio, Photograph and Video As already indicated, after a text response has been submitted via the Internet, the Internet user is shown a Response Confirmation Form FIG. 121501. The response confirmation form gives the Internet user instructions on how to enhance a response to an ad with audio, video, or a photograph. A more detailed explanation of how a respondent submits an audio response, photograph, or video clip via CT1 will now be given. To submit an audio response, the Internet user first makes an audio recording using a WAV file editor and then saves the file using her five digit mailbox number as the file name 1503, for example: 44567.wav. The Internet user then submits the audio file using e-mail to the recipient's electronic mailbox on the IWS 1504, for example: 22345@personals.com. The Internet user's audio response is stored to a disk file on the IWS and the AD Database is updated 1505. Specifically, the IVR creates a new record in the AD_RESPONSE table FIG. 4 and populates the fields RSP_MAILBOX_NUMBER 501, RSP_DATE_TIME 503, RSP_TYPE 504, and RSP_FILENAME 506 to indicate the mailbox number of the ad responded to, the date of the response, the format of the audio file, and the location of the audio file on the IVR. The field RSP_TYPE 504 is set to WAV to indicate that the audio recording is in the Microsoft .WAV file format. Also, the field RSP_CONVERSION_FLAG 506 is set to FALSE to indicate that the audio file must be converted from the Microsoft .WAV format to create two new audio response files: one in the RealAudio .RA format for playback on the Internet, and another in the Dialogic .VOX format for playback via the telephone. The IWS determines if conversion of audio files are needed 1506, and then creates a new RealAudio .RA file and Dialogic .VOX file from the Microsoft .WAV file 1507. The RealAudio file is stored on the IWS and the Dialogic file is stored on the IVR. The IWS also updates the Ad Database 1508. Specifically, for each new audio file, the IWS creates a new record in the AD_RESPONSE table FIG. 4 and populates the fields RSP_MAILBOX_NUMBER 501, RSP_DATE_TIME 503, RSP_TYPE 504, and RSP_FILENAME 505 to indicate the mailbox number of the ad responded to, the date of the response, the format of the response, and the location of the response file on the IWS. Finally, the field RSP_CONVERSION_FLAG 506 is set to TRUE for both the source audio file (.WAV) and the target audio files (.VOX and .RA) to indicate that the audio files do not need to be converted 1509. To send a photograph in response to an ad, the Internet users first digitizes a photograph using a scanner or takes a photograph with a digital camera and then saves the image to a .GIF file using her five digit mailbox number as the file name 1510, for example: 44567.gif. The respondent then submits the graphic file using e-mail to the recipient's electronic mailbox, for example: 22345@personals.com 1504. The respondent's photo is stored to a disk file on the IWS and the database is updated 1505. Specifically, the IWS creates a new record in the AD_RESPONSE table FIG. 4 and populates the RSP_MAILBOX_NUMBER 501, RSP_DATE_TIME 503, RSP_TYPE 504, and RSP_FILENAME 505 to indicate the mailbox number of the ad responded to, the date of the response, the file format of the photograph, and the location of the file on the IWS. The field RSP_TYPE 504 is set to GIF to indicate that the graphic file is in the .GIF file format. Finally, the field RSP_CONVERSION_FLAG 506 is set to TRUE to indicate that no file conversion is necessary as .GIF is the graphic file format used by the IWS 1506. It should be noted that file conversion may or may not be necessary depending on what file formats are supported by the IWS and IVR and what formats the system allows users to submit files in. To send an advertiser a video clip, the Internet user first digitizes a video clip and then saves the image to a Microsoft .AVI file using her five digit mailbox number as the file name 1510, for example: 44567.avi. Other video formats such as Apple Quicktime, or MPEG video could also be used. The respondent then submits the graphic file using e-mail to the recipient's electronic mailbox, for example: 22345@personals.com 1504. The respondent's video is stored to a disk file on the IWS and the Ad Database is updated 1505. Specifically, the IVR creates a new record in the AD_RESPONSE table FIG. 4 and populates the fields RSP_MAILBOX_NUMBER 501, RSP_DATE_TIME 503, RSP_TYPE 504, and RSP_FILENAME 505 to indicate the mailbox number of the ad responded to, the date of the response, the file format of the video clip, and the location of the video file on the IWS. Specifically, the field RSP_TYPE 504 is set to AVI to indicate that the audio recording is in the Microsoft .AVI file format. Finally, the field RSP_CONVERSION_FLAG 506 is set to FALSE to indicate that the VDOLive file must be converted to the VDOLive format for real time playback on the Internet. The IWS determines that the video file must be converted to VDOLive format 1506. The IWS creates a new VDOLive file from the Microsoft .AVI file and stores the new file to a disk file 1507 on the IWS and updates the AD database 1508. A new record in the AD_RESPONSE table FIG. 4 is created and the IWS populates the RSP_MAILBOX_NUMBER 501, RSP_DATE_TIME 503, RSP_TYPE 504, and RSP_FILENAME 505 fields to indicate the mailbox number of the ad responded to, the date and time of the response, the format of the video file, and the location of the video file on the IWS. Finally, the field RSP_CONVERSION_FLAG 506 is set to TRUE for both record formats (AVI and VDOLive) in the database to indicate that the video file(s) does not need to be converted 1509. Retrieving Responses Through a Telephone An exemplary operation of the system, with regard to an advertiser retrieving responses to his personal ad will now be treated to accomplish the process as indicated in FIG. 13. First, suppose an advertiser at terminal T1 places a call to retrieve messages left in response to his ad. The assumed call involves the advertiser actuating the buttons to input the number 1-900-777-4444, for example. As a result, signals are provided to the public telephone network resulting in a connection from the remote terminal T1 to the IVR. Using standard DNIS techniques, the IVR associates the called number 1 900 777 4444 with a specific format, for example, a message retrieval format. Referring to FIG. 13, upon receiving a call, the IVR sets the "logon attempts" equal to zero 2501. The IVR then increments the "logon attempts" by one 2502 and cues the caller for a mailbox number and password 2503. The IVR then queries the AD Database to determine if the mailbox number and password are valid. If the entries are not valid, the IVR determines if the caller has exceeded the maximum number of logons attempts allowed 2505. If the caller has exceeded the maximum number of logon attempts allowed, the call is terminated 2506. If the maximum number of logon attempts allowed has not been exceeded, the IVR increments the "logon attempts" by one 2502 and again cues the caller for a mailbox number and password 2503. If the entries are valid, the IVR then queries the AD_RESPONSE table to determine if the advertiser has any responses 2507. If the advertiser has no responses, the call is terminated 2506. If the IVR finds a response, the IVR plays the text 2513 and audio 2514 messages from the respondent. If a response is in text form, the IVR uses text to speech to play the message. If there are additional responses, the caller is returned to block 2513. Otherwise, the call is terminated 2506. Retrieving Responses Through the Internet An exemplary operation of the system, with regard to an advertiser retrieving her responses via the Internet will now be treated to accomplish the process as indicated in FIG. 14. First, suppose an advertiser at terminal CT1 connects to the Internet to retrieve messages. The assumed Internet user connects to the Internet and inputs a Uniform Reference Locator URL, for example: http://www.personal_ads.com, resulting in a connection from the remote terminal CT1 to a Home Page 1701 on the Internet Web Server. Referring to FIG. 14, from the Home Page 1701 on the Internet Web Server, the advertiser selects a Message Retrieval Form 1702. The Message Retrieval Form 1702 instructs the advertiser to enter a mailbox number 1703 and password 1704. The IWS then queries the AD Database to determine if the mailbox number and password are valid 1705. If the entries are not valid, the Internet user is presented with an Invalid Mailbox and Password Form 1706. If the entries are valid 1705, the IWS queries the Ad Database 1707 to find responses to the advertiser's ad. If there are no responses, the IWS presents the advertiser with a No Responses Form 1709. If the IWS finds one or more responses, the IWS presents the advertiser with a Personal Ad Messages Form 1710. The Personal AD Messages Form 1709 shows any messages for the advertiser. Each message shows the date 1712 and time 1713 the message was received and contains one or more icons that represent the contents of the message. A text icon 1714 denotes a text message; an audio icon 1715 denotes an audio message; a still camera icon 1716 denotes a photograph; a video camera icon 1717 denotes a video clip. By clicking on an icon, the advertiser can view or listen to the associated file. Searching for Personal Ads Through the Telephone An exemplary operation of the system, with regard to a specific telephone caller searching for personal ads will now be treated to accomplish the process as indicated in FIG. 15. First, suppose a telephone caller at terminal T1 places a call to search personal advertisements in response to an advertisement in XYZ newspaper. The assumed call involves the telephone caller actuating the buttons to input the number 1 900 555 6666, for example. As a result, signals are provided to the public telephone network resulting in a connection from the remote terminal T1 to the IVR. Using standard DNIS techniques, the IVR associates the called number 1 800 555 6666 with a specific format, for example, a voice personals ad searching format. The caller is first prompted to indicate his preferences regarding the type of person he wishes to meet. Referring to FIG. 15, the IVR cues the caller to enter the gender of the person he wishes to meet 2101. Next, the IVR cues the caller to enter the lowest age of the person he wishes to meet 2102. Next, the IVR cues the caller to enter the highest age of the person he wishes to meet 2103. Finally, IVR cues the caller for the marital status of the person he wishes to meet 2104. Next, the IVR queries the database to find ads that match the caller's preferences 2114. If the query does not find any ads, the call is terminated 2133. If the query returns one or more ads, the IVR queries the field AD_ORIGIN 211 to determine if the ad originated on the Internet 2117. If the ad originated on the telephone, the IVR plays the ad's audio greeting 2119. If the ad originated on the Internet, the IVR uses text to speech to play the ad's text greeting as placed on the Internet 2118. The IVR then queries the AD_GREETING_TABLE to determine if the Internet advertiser also submitted an audio greeting 2120. If the query does not find an audio greeting 2120, the IVR prompts the caller to indicate if he wishes to respond to the ad 2122. If the query finds an audio greetings 2120, the IVR plays tile audio greetings 2121. The IVR then prompts the caller to indicate if he wishes to respond to the ad 2122. If the caller elects not to respond to the ad, the IVR determines if there are additional matches 2132. If the there are no additional matches, the call is terminated 2133. If there are additional matches, the caller is returned to block 2116. If the caller elects to respond to the ad, the IVR next cues him to record his response 2129. The IVR then stores the response to a disk file 2130 and updates the database 2131. Specifically, a new record in the AD_RESPONSE table FIG. 4 is created and the IVR populates the RSP_MAILBOX_NUMBER 501, RSP_DATE_TIME 503, RSP_TYPE 504, and RSP_FILENAME 505 fields to indicate the mailbox number of the ad responded to, the date and time of the response, the format of the response, and the location of the response file on the IVR. The field RSP_TYPE 504 is set to VOX to indicate that the audio recording is in the Dialogic .VOX file format. Finally, the field RSP_CONVERSION_FLAG 506 is set to FALSE to indicate that the audio file must be converted from the Dialogic .VOX format to create a new audio file in the RealAudio .RA format for playback on the Internet. The IVR creates a new RealAudio .RA file from Dialogic .VOX file and stores the RealAudio file to a disk file 2130 on the IWS and updates the database 2131. A new record in the AD_RESPONSE table FIG. 4 is created and the IVR populates the RSP_MAILBOX_NUMBER 501, RSP_DATE_TIME 503, RSP_TYPE 504, and RSP_FILENAME 505 fields to indicate the mailbox number of the ad responded to, the date and time of the response, the format of the response, and the location of the response file on the IVR. The field RSP_TYPE 504 is set to RA to indicate that the audio recording is in the RealAudio .RA file format. Finally, the field RSP_CONVERSION_FLAG 506 is set to TRUE for both files (.VOX and .RA) to indicate that the audio file does not need to be converted. Next, the IVR determines if there are additional matches 2132. If there are no additional matches, the call is terminated 2133. If there are additional matches, the caller is returned to block 2116 to continue. Searching for Ads Through the Internet An exemplary operation of the system, with regard to a specific Internet user searching for personal ads via the Internet will now be treated to accomplish the process as indicated in FIG. 16. First, suppose an advertiser at terminal CT1 connects to the Internet to search for ads that match her preferences. The assumed Internet user connects to the Internet and inputs a Uniform Reference Locator URL, for example: http://www.personal_ads.com, resulting in a connection from the remote terminal CT1 to a Home Page on the Internet Web Server. Referring to FIG. 16, from the Home Page 2201 on the IWS, the Internet user selects an Ad Searching Form 2202. The Ad Searching Form instructs the Internet user to indicate the gender 2203, low age 2204, high age 2205, and marital status 2206 of the person she wishes to meet. When the form is complete, the Internet users submits it by pressing the "Submit" button 2208. The IWS then checks the submitted form for completeness 2209. If the form is incomplete, the Internet user is returned to the Ad Searching Form 2202. If the form is complete, the IWS queries the database to find ads that match the Internet user's preferences 2210. If the query returns no matches 2212, the Internet user is presented with a No Matches Page 2213. If the query returns matches for one or more ads 2212, the IWS presents the Internet user with a Results Form 2214. The Results Form 2214 shows the ads that match the Internet user's preferences. Specifically, the Results Form shows the twenty word text ad that appears in the newspaper 2215. In addition, each ad contains one or more icons that represent any additional text or multimedia files (audio, video, photograph) for the ads that are available on the IWS. These icons include an audio icon 2216 to denote the ad's audio greeting, a still camera icon 2217 to denote a photograph of the advertiser, a video camera icon 2218 to denote a video clip of the advertiser, or a paper icon 2219 to denote the ad's full text greeting, if the ad was placed on the Internet. It is to be understood that these icons are merely representative and that many other possibilities exist to denote the existence of text and multimedia files. By clicking on an icon, the Internet user can view or listen to the associated file. In addition, by selecting a maximize bar 2220, the Internet user can expand the ad to a full page size FIG. 11. The Internet user responds to an ad by selecting the "Respond" button 2221. When the Internet user selects the respond button, she is presented with an Ad Response Form 2222. The Internet user creates a response by typing in a response text field 2225. After completing the Ad Response Form, the Internet user submits the form by pressing the "Submit" button 2230. The advertiser is then presented with a Response Confirmation Form 2231. The Response Confirmation Form gives the advertiser information on enhancing her response with an audio message, photograph, or video clip. The IWS then stores the response to a disk file and updates the database 2232. Specifically, the IWS creates a new record in the AD_RESPONSE table FIG. 4 and then populates the fields RSP_MAILBOX_NUMBER 501, RSP_DATE_TIME 503, RSP_TYPE 504, and RSP_FILENAME 505 to indicate the mailbox number of the ad responded to, the date and time of the response, the format of the response, and the location of the response file on the IWS. The field RSP_TYPE 504 is set to TEXT. Finally, the field RSP_CONVERSION_FLAG 506 is set to TRUE to indicate that the text does not need to be converted to a different format. The Internet user can then return to the Results Form at any time by using the "Back" key on her browser.
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