Two-way real time communication system that allows asymmetric participation in conversations across multiple electronic platforms

A non-transitory computer-readable medium, having instructions stored thereon that when executed by a computing device cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:

• receiving from each of a plurality of responders conversation selection criteria;
• receiving from each of the plurality of responders a mode of communication information comprising at least one of an email address, a telephone number, or an instant message identifier;
• receiving, from an initiator, a request for a conversation, using a first communication mode, comprising conversation information that identifies a topic of the conversation, wherein the request for conversation does not identify any responders;
• creating a conversation identifier associated with the request;
• determining one or more possible responders based at least upon the topic of the conversation and the conversation selection criteria;
• determining a mode of communication for each of the one or more possible responders based at least on the received mode of communication information;
• sending, without identifying the initiator, the topic of the conversation to the one or more possible responders using the determined mode of communication associated with each of the one or more possible responders, and wherein at least one of the determined mode of communication of the one or more possible responders is a second communication mode different than the first communication mode;
• receiving a first response from a first responder using the second communication mode;
• mapping the first response to the conversation associated with the initiator based in part on the conversation identifier;
• and
• sending the response to the initiator using the first communication mode.

A method comprising:

• receiving from each of a plurality of responders conversation selection criteria;
• receiving from each of the plurality of responders a mode of communication information comprising at least one of an email address, a telephone number, or an instant message identifier;
• receiving, from an initiator, a request for a conversation, using a first communication mode, comprising conversation information that identifies a topic of the conversation, wherein the request for conversation does not identify any responders;
• creating a conversation identifier associated with the request;
• determining, using a processor, one or more possible responders based at least upon the topic of the conversation and the conversation selection criteria;
• determining a mode of communication for each of the one or more possible responders based at least on the received mode of communication information;
• sending, without identifying the initiator, the topic of the conversation to the one or more possible responders using the determined mode of communication associated with each of the one or more possible responders, and wherein at least one of the determined mode of communication of the one or more possible responders is a second communication mode different than the first communication mode;
• receiving a first response from a first responder using the second communication mode;
• mapping the first response to the conversation associated with the initiator based in part on the conversation identifier;
• and
• sending the response to the initiator using the first communication mode.