Helen Cheng

US Patent:

20060195379, Aug 31, 2006

Filed:

Jan 24, 2006

Appl. No.:

11/339814

Inventors:

David Abecassis - Boca Raton FL, US
Helen Cheng - Palo Alto CA, US
Mark Phillips - Silver Creek Valley CA, US
Leighton Read - Palo Alto CA, US
Byron Reeves - Stanford CA, US
Simon Roy - Los Altos CA, US
Daniel Rubin - Palo Alto CA, US

International Classification:

G06Q 40/00

US Classification:

705035000

Abstract:

A centrally tracked artificial currency is provided within the context of an enterprise. This currency serves as a unit of account, medium of exchange, and store of value in a corporate “attention economy.” Users (typically coworkers) in the enterprise are allotted a base number of currency units, which they can earn, exchange, and spend in a variety of ways to signal importance and “purchase” attention of others, or priority for other organization resources. In one aspect, senders of messages can specify an amount of currency to be associated with the message, so that recipients can see the specified amount before deciding whether to read the message. Once such a system is in use, it facilitates exchange of value based on user-created transactions regarding behavior, communication, resources, incentives, and priorities.