Intelligent delayed broadcast method and apparatus

• US 20040165705A1
• Filed: 02/26/2003
• Published: 08/26/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Cragun, Brian John
• Granted Patent: US 7,469,041 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/88.17
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/95 Retrieval from the web
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1822 Conducting the conference, e.g. admission, detection, selection or grouping of participants, correlating users to one or more conference sessions, prioritising transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services

Abstract

A method, system, and article of manufacture that improves the chance of getting an answer to a broadcast chat by sending the messages in subscribers in periodically delayed groups. If a group of subscribers does not produce enough suitable answers, the present invention will then rebroadcast the inquiry to another group of subscribers. This process will continue until enough suitable answers are received.

Claims

1. A broadcast messaging method comprising:

receiving a message for a plurality of subscribers; and

broadcasting the message to a first subset of the plurality of subscribers.

2. The broadcast messaging method of claim 1, further comprising:

broadcasting the message to a second subset of the plurality of subscribers.

3. The broadcast messaging method of claim 1, wherein the message is an inquiry.

4. The broadcast messaging method of claim 3, further comprising:

receiving an answer to the inquiry; and

transmitting the answer to an original sender.

5. The broadcast messaging method of claim 4, further comprising:

receiving an approval or rejection of the answer from a sender of the inquiry.

6. The broadcast messaging method of claim 5, further comprising broadcasting the message to a second subset of the plurality of subscribers if the sender does not approve the answer.

7. The broadcast messaging method of claim 5, further comprising broadcasting the message to a second subset of the plurality of subscribers only if the sender does not approve the answer.

8. The broadcast messaging method of claim 5, further comprising:

tracking subscribers who sent the approved message.

9. The broadcast messaging method of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving a second inquiry;

transmitting the second inquiry to a second subset of the plurality of subscribers, wherein the second subset does not include the subscribers who sent the approved message.

10. The broadcast messaging method of claim 2, wherein the second subset comprises subscribers who are generally more likely to have a satisfactory answer.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the message comprises an instant message transmitted over the Internet.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

repeatedly sending the message to a subset of the plurality of subscribers until substantially all of the subscribers in the plurality of subscribers receives the message.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising using a subscriber'"'"'s pass credit score to select the first subset of subscribers

14. The method of claim 13, wherein answering an inquiry increases the subscriber'"'"'s pass credit score.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the subscriber'"'"'s pass credit score is further increased if the answer to the inquiry is accepted.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein receiving an expert wave inquiry increases the subscriber'"'"'s pass credit score.

18. A method of polling a plurality of subscribers to a broadcast messaging system, comprising:

receiving an inquiry from a sender;

broadcasting the inquiry to a first subset of the plurality of subscribers receiving an answer to the inquiry;

receiving an answer to the inquiry from one subscriber in the first subset of subscribers;

transmitting the answer to the sender; and

broadcasting the inquiry to a second subset of the plurality of subscribers if the sender does not approve the answer.

19. A message broadcast system, comprising:

a processor;

a memory coupled to the processor; and

a broadcast server stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the broadcast server receives inquiries of a plurality of subscribers to a message broadcast system and transmits the inquiries to a first subset of the plurality of subscribers.

20. The broadcast messaging system of claim 19, further comprising:

a first broadcast client that transmits the message to the broadcast server.

21. The broadcast messaging system of claim 20, further comprising:

a second broadcast client that receives the message from the broadcast server.

22. The broadcast messaging system of claim 19, wherein the message comprises an instant message.

23. The broadcast messaging system of claim 19, wherein the broadcast server transmits the inquiries to a second subset of the plurality of subscribers if it does not receive an acceptable answer from the first subset of the plurality of subscribers.

24. A computer program product, comprising:

(a) a program configured to perform a method a broadcast messaging method, the method comprising;

receiving a message for a plurality of subscribers from an original sender; and

broadcasting the message to a first subset of the plurality of subscribers; and

(b) a signal bearing media bearing the program.

25. The computer program product of claim 24, wherein the signal bearing media comprises a transmission medium.

26. The computer program product of claim 24, wherein the signal bearing media comprises a non-writable storage media.

27. The computer program product of claim 24, wherein the signal bearing media comprises a writable storage media.

28. The computer program product of claim 24, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving an answer to the message; and

transmitting the answer to the original sender.

29. The computer program product of claim 28, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving an approval indication from the original sender.

30. The computer program product of claim 29, wherein the method further comprises:

broadcasting the message to a second subset of the plurality of subscribers if the original sender does not approve the answer.

31. The computer program product of claim 29, wherein the method further comprises:

tracking subscribers who sent the approved message.

32. The computer program product of claim 31, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving a second inquiry;

transmitting the second inquiry to a second subset of the plurality of subscribers, wherein the second subset does not include the subscriber who sent the approved message.

33. The computer program product of claim 32, wherein the second subset comprises subscribers who are generally more likely to have a satisfactory answer.

34. The computer program product of claim 24, wherein the message comprises an instant message transmitted over the Internet.

35. The computer program product of claim 24, wherein the method further comprises:

repeatedly sending the message to a subset of the plurality of subscribers until substantially all of the subscribers in the plurality of subscribers receives the message.

36. The computer program product of claim 35, wherein the method further comprises using a subscriber'"'"'s pass credit score to select the first subset of subscribers.

37. The computer program product of claim 36, wherein answering an inquiry increases the subscriber'"'"'s pass credit score.