User evaluation of content on distributed communication network

• US 20020165905A1
• Filed: 12/07/2000
• Published: 11/07/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: eBay Inc.
• Original Assignee: Deja.com, Inc. (eBay Inc.)
• Inventors: Wilson, David J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,321,496 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

A method and system for identifying and sorting items of content, such as product/service reviews in a database coupled to a distributed communication network such as the Internet. Content from the database is displayed on a client display connected to the database over the network. An interactive element associated with the displayed content item is provided on the client display, which a user clicks to indicate that the user has found the displayed item helpful (such as in determining whether or not to purchase or to use a product/service in the case of a displayed product or service review). The database keeps track of the number of indications and stores the number as a count of the number of indications for the content. The number of indications associated with an item of content on the client display is then displayed together with the content. A client may sort content items according to the number of indications received.

Claims

1. A method for identifying as being helpful or otherwise valuable product/service reviews in a database coupled to a distributed communication network, comprising the steps of:

displaying product/service reviews from said database on a client display connected to said database over said network;

providing an interactive element associated with the displayed review on the client display, which when clicked by a user indicates that the user has found the displayed review helpful in determining whether or not to purchase or to use the product/service at issue;

receiving at said database an indication that the user has clicked the interactive element, and incrementing a count of a stored number of indications for said review in response to said indication; and

displaying the number of indications associated with a review on said client display together with the review.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of sorting the reviews in ascending or descending order as a function of the number of indications tallied for each review, and sequentially displaying the reviews in the sorted order.

3. A system for identifying as being helpful or otherwise valuable product/service reviews in a database coupled to a distributed communication network, comprising:

means for displaying product/service reviews from said database on a client display connected to said database over said network;

means for providing an interactive element associated with the displayed review on the client display, which when clicked by a user indicates that the user has found the displayed review helpful in determining whether or not to purchase or to use the product/service at issue;

means for receiving at said database an indication that the user has clicked the interactive element, and incrementing a count of a stored number of indications for said review in response to said indication; and

means for displaying the number of indications associated with a review on said client display together with the review.

4. A method for identifying as being helpful items of content in a database coupled to a distributed communication network, comprising the steps of:

displaying items of content from said database on a client display connected to said database over said network;

providing an interactive element associated with the displayed item of content on the client display, which when clicked by a user indicates that the user has found the displayed item of content helpful or otherwise valuable;

receiving at said database an indication that the user has clicked the interactive element, and incrementing a count of a stored number of indications for said item of content in response to said indication; and

displaying the number of indications associated with an item of content on said client display together with the item of content.