System and method to manage participant input for an interactive show

• US 20020023130A1
• Filed: 12/21/2000
• Published: 02/21/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vulcan Ventures Inc. (Vulcan, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Digeo Incorporated (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: Stettner, Armando Paul
• Granted Patent: US 7,194,511 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23106 involving caching operations prefetching while addressing of a memory level in which the access to the desired data or data block requires associative addressing means within memory systems or architectures G06F12/0862; caching at an intermediate stage in a data network H04L67/568
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4758 for providing answers, e.g. voting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4786 e-mailing message switching systems, e.g. electronic mail systems H04L51/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/488 Data services, e.g. news ticker systems specially adapted for using meteorological information in broadcast systems H04H60/71
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4882 for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17327 with deferred transmission or handling of upstream communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17345 Control of the passage of the selected programme

Abstract

Participant input for an interactive show, such as input submitted by the show'"'"'s viewers or listeners, is managed. The received participant input is stored in a server. Software or other techniques/tools processes the participant input stored in the server to sort, identify, classify, or select submissions that may be appropriate to address during the interactive show or during other times. While the participant input is being processed, the participant who sent the submission need not be kept on hold or otherwise have to keep the line of communication open, and instead, the participant can terminate the communication with the interactive show. An alert can be subsequently sent to the participant if or when the participant'"'"'s submission is to be addressed in the interactive show.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving participant input for a show and subsequently disconnecting a communication with a participant that submitted the participant input;

storing the participant input in a storage location;

automatically processing the stored participant input to determine a relationship of the participant input to the show; and

based on the determined relationship, alerting the participant that submitted the participant input if the participant input is selected for the show.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising prior to receiving the participant input for the show, notifying the participant of an availability of the show to receive the participant input.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the show comprises a television show or a radio show.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising identifying an alert preference of the participant.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising subsequent to alerting the participant, receiving additional participant input from the participant.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein alerting the participant that submitted the participant input includes alerting the participant that subject matter related to another participant'"'"'s input is to be addressed in the show.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein automatically processing the stored participant input to determine the relationship of the participant input to the show includes:

using a speech recognition technique to convert an audio format of the participant input into a text format; and

performing a keyword search on the text format to classify the participant input relative to the show.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein a human operator selects the participant input for the show.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the participant input is receivable via a communication medium different from a communication medium usable to alert the participant.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein alerting the participant is capable of being done via one of a telephone call, voicemail, facsimile, email, instant message, screen alert, or page.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the participant input is capable of being received via one of a telephone call, voicemail, facsimile, email, instant message, transmission from a web page, page, video transmission, avatar transmission, cable modem transmission, interactive video casting transmission, or wireless transmission.

13. The article of manufacture of claim 12 wherein the machine-readable medium further includes instructions stored thereon to identify an alert preference of the participant.

14. The article of manufacture of claim 12 wherein the instructions to process the stored participant input to determine the relationship of the participant input to the show includes instructions to:

apply speech recognition to convert an audio format of the participant input into a text format; and

perform a keyword search on the text format to classify the participant input relative to the show.

15. The article of manufacture of claim 12 wherein the instructions to collect the participant input submitted for the show includes instructions to correlate the participant input according to pre-defined criteria.

17. The system of claim 16, further comprising an interactive video casting network coupleable to provide the show to the participant terminal and to provide the participant input from the participant terminal to the server.

18. The system of claim 16, further comprising another storage unit having speech recognition software to convert an audio format of the participant input into a text format, and having keyword search software to search the text format for a keyword to classify the participant input relative to the show.

19. The system of claim 16, further comprising a monitor coupled to the storage unit to control processing of the participant input stored in the storage unit and to control operation of the server.

20. The system of claim 16 wherein the server is capable to store the received participant input information into the storage unit according to pre-defined criteria.

12. An article of manufacture, comprising:

a machine-readable medium having stored thereon instructions to;

collect participant input submitted for a show, wherein communication with a participant that submitted the participant input is disconnected subsequent to submission of the participant input;

process the stored participant input to determine a relationship of the participant input to the show; and

based on the determined relationship, trigger alert of the participant that submitted the participant input if the participant input is selected for the show.

16. A system, comprising:

a server coupleable to receive participant input for a show, wherein communication with the participant that submitted the participant input is disconnected subsequent to reception of the participant input;

a storage unit to store the participant input received by the server, the participant input stored in the storage unit capable of being automatically processed to determine a relationship of the participant input to the show; and

an alert generator to generate and transmit an alert to the participant terminal if, based on the determined relationship, the participant input is selected for the show.