System and methods for electronic commerce using personal and business networks

A non-transitory computer-readable medium for facilitating electronic commerce in a publicly accessible computer network through a website of a communications network, the computer readable medium comprising a set of instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the following operations:

• processing with a server module registrations for a plurality of users on the website of a communications network, each of the plurality of users being electronically interconnected through their connection to the website so that the plurality of users of the website define a community of users;
• receiving and processing with the server module listing information for products or services for sale from users in the community through the website;
• providing the listing information for the products or services for sale to other users in the community upon request through the website;
• processing with the server module electronic commerce with other users in the community through the website for the products or services identified in the listing information;
• processing with the server module a business network of business relationships for the community of users of the website based on (i) electronic commerce with other users in the community conducted through the website such that the only users included in a user's business network are those other users with whom the user has sold to, purchased from, or both, and (ii) mutual agreement between the user and those other users to join each other's business network;
• processing with the server module a personal network of personal relationships for the community through personal, non-commercial electronic interaction;
• generating and displaying on a computer of a third party user a web page that is functional to allow the third party to access the information processed by the server module about a selected user of the website and the selected user's connections, including (i) thumbnail images, profile names, and links to homepages of users in the community belonging to the selected user's business network, (ii) thumbnail images, profile names, and links to homepages of users in the community belonging to the selected user's personal network (iii) business ratings and personal ratings of the selected user, (iv) any connection between the third party user and the selected user in their personal or business networks, and (v) listing information for products or services offered for sale by the selected user on the computer system;
• and
• sharing the business network and the personal network among the plurality of users within the community through the website of the communications network.