System and method for evaluating sentiment

• US 20080154883A1
• Filed: 08/22/2007
• Published: 06/26/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Abdur Chowdhury, Ajaipal Singh Virdy, Gregory Scott Pass, Ophir Frieder
• Original Assignee: Abdur Chowdhury, Ajaipal Singh Virdy, Gregory Scott Pass, Ophir Frieder
• Inventors: Frieder, Ophir, Pass, Gregory Scott, Chowdhury, Abdur, Virdy, Ajaipal Singh
• Granted Patent: US 8,862,591 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/5
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/258 Heading extraction; Automatic titling; Numbering

Abstract

An example system and method elicits reviews and opinions from users via an online system or a web crawl. Opinions on topics are processed in real time to determine orientation. Each topic is analyzed sentence by sentence to find a central tendency of user orientation toward a given topic. Automatic topic orientation is used to provide a common comparable rating value between reviewers and potentially other systems on similar topics. Facets of the topics are extracted via a submission/acquisition process to determine the key variables of interest for users.

Claims

1. A method for identifying an orientation of a block of text, the method comprising:

receiving a block of text on a topic;

segmenting the block of text into multiple segments;

determining orientation based on the segments; and

outputting a measure of the determined orientation.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the segmenting segments the block of text into multiple sentences.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the orientation is determined based on adjectives contained in the multiple segments.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the outputting outputs a visual measure of the determined orientation.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the visual measure is numerical.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein the visual measure is color-based.

7. A data signal embodied in a carrier wave and representing a sequence of instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the method according to claim 1.

8. A computer-readable medium having computer readable code embodied therein for use in the execution in a computer of a method according to claim 1.

9. A computer program product for use in the execution in a computing device of a method for identifying an orientation of a block of text, computer program product comprising:

a first code portion for segmenting a block of text on a topic into multiple segments;

a second code portion for determining orientation based on the segments; and

a third code portion for outputting a measure of the determined orientation.

10. A user interface for providing a user with orientation information about a topic, the user interface comprising:

color-based indicia each providing an orientation derived from a respectively corresponding block of text on the topic; and

a selecting device for selecting the color-based indicia to display the respectively corresponding blocks of text.

11. The user interface according to claim 10, wherein the color-based indicia are linearly arranged.

12. The user interface according to claim 10, wherein the color-based indicia are arranged in a row-and-column matrix.

13. A computing device comprising a user interface according to claim 10.

14. A personal digital assistant comprising a user interface according to claim 10.

15. A mobile telephone comprising a user interface according to claim 10.

16. An apparatus for identifying an orientation of a block of text, the apparatus comprising:

a communication section for receiving a block of text on a topic communicated thereto over a communication network; and

a processing section for segmenting the block of text into multiple segments, determining orientation based on the segments, and outputting a measure of the determined orientation.

17. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the measure of the determined orientation is communicated by the communication section over the communication network.

18. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the orientation is determined based on adjectives contained in the multiple segments.

19. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the outputting outputs a visual measure of the determined orientation.

20. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the visual measure is numerical.

21. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the visual measure is color-based.