System, method, and computer program product for scoring items based on user sentiment and for determining the proficiency of predictors

• US 7,813,986 B2
• Filed: 09/19/2006
• Issued: 10/12/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Motley Fool LLC (The Motley Fool Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: The Motley Fool LLC (The Motley Fool Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Sigler, Tracy Randall, Keeling, John Earnest Jr., Etter, Robert Glenn Jr., Gardner, David Herr, Etter, Todd Lewis
• Primary Examiner(s): Akintola; Olabode
• Application Number:
  US11/522,933
• Publication Number:
  US 20070011073A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,484 Days
• Field of Search: 705/36.R, 705 40- 44
• US Class Current: 705/36.00R
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/06 Asset management; Financial planning or analysis

Abstract

The present invention provides systems, methods, computer program products, and combinations and subcombinations thereof for scoring items based on user sentiment and for aiding an investment decision on an item by an individual. The invention includes one or more user devices and a prediction system server having a sentiment rating module, a user proficiency ranking module, a content creation module, and a database. Devices access the prediction system server directly via a communications medium or indirectly through links provided on a third party server.

Claims

1. A method for aiding an investment decision on an item by an individual, comprising:

(a) receiving, at a community sentiment generation device, a prediction on the item from a third party server, wherein the prediction is entered by a user of the third party server in a prediction interface integrated with a content page requested by the user;

(b) calculating an individual component for the user, wherein the value of the individual component is based on whether the user predicted a specified outcome;

(c) calculating a community sentiment score for the item wherein the community sentiment score is the summation of individual components calculated for the item divided by the total number of individuals making a prediction on the item;

(d) transmitting information to a user of the community sentiment generation device, wherein the information includes the community sentiment score for the item, a listing of each prediction made for the item on an item display, and at least one brief informational tag for the item for display to the user; and

(e) providing, using the community sentiment generation device, an informational message to the user, wherein step (e) includes;

(i) identifying a business segment associated with a set of prior predictions made by the user, and

(ii) customizing a content of the informational message based on the identified business segment, wherein the content of the informational message includes investment advice related to one or more financial assets in the business segment.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the item is associated with subject matter of content presented on the content page requested by the user.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the item is a financial instrument and the content page provides information related to the financial instrument.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the content page includes a quote for the financial instrument.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the content page includes editorial content related to the financial instrument.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the content page includes a message board with commentary related to the financial instrument.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

(f) providing the community sentiment score to the third party server for display in the prediction interface including the item.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the prediction further includes subjective commentary on the item.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the information further includes subjective commentary on the item.

10. A method for aiding an investment decision on an item by an individual, comprising:

(a) receiving, at a computing device, a request for a content page from a user;

(b) identifying, at the computing device, one or more items to be presented to the user for prediction;

(c) providing, at the computing device, the content page integrated with a prediction interface, wherein the prediction interface includes the one or more items to be predicted;

(d) receiving, at the computing device, a prediction on at least one of the one or more items to be predicted from the user;

(e) transmitting, at the computing device, the prediction to a community sentiment generation system, wherein the community sentiment generation system;

(i) calculates an individual component for the user, wherein the value of the individual component is based on whether the user predicted a specified outcome,

(ii) calculates a community sentiment score for the item wherein the community sentiment score is the summation of individual components calculated for the item divided by the total number of individuals making a prediction on the item, and

(iii) displays the community sentiment score for the item, a listing of each prediction made for the item on an item display, and at least one brief informational tag for the item to a user of the community sentiment generation system; and

(f) providing, at the computing device, an informational message to the user, wherein step (f) includes;

(i) identifying, at the computing device, a business segment associated with a set of prior predictions made by the user, and

(ii) customizing, at the computing device, a content of the informational message based on the identified business segment, wherein the content of the informational message includes investment advice related to one or more financial assets in the business segment.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the one or more items are associated with subject matter of content presented on the content page requested by the user.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein at least one of the one or more items is a financial instrument and the content page provides information related to the financial instrument.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the content page includes a quote for the financial instrument.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the content page includes editorial content related to the financial instrument.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the content page includes a message board with commentary related to the financial instrument.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the prediction interface includes a community sentiment score for the one or more items to be predicted.

17. A computer program product comprising a computer useable storage medium including computer-executable instructions stored therein enabling the aid of an investment decision on an item by an individual, that, if executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform a method comprising:

receiving a prediction on the item from a third party server, wherein the prediction is entered by a user of the third party server in a prediction interface integrated with a content page requested by the user, wherein the content page contains descriptive information related to the item, and wherein the prediction system is configured to periodically receive predictions stored at the third party server;

calculating an individual component for the user, wherein the value of the individual component is based on whether the user predicted a specified outcome;

calculating a community sentiment score for the item, wherein the community sentiment score is the summation of individual components calculated for the item divided by the total number of individuals making a prediction on the item;

transmitting the community sentiment score for the item, a listing of each prediction made for the item on an item display, and at least one brief informational tag for the item to an end user system; and

providing an informational message to the user, wherein the informational message includes a business segment associated with a set of prior predictions made by the user, wherein content of the informational message is customized based on the identified business segment, and wherein the content of the informational message includes investment advice related to one or more financial assets in the business segment.

18. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the item is associated with subject matter of content presented on the content page requested by the user.

19. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the item is a financial instrument and the content page provides information related to the financial instrument.

20. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the method further comprises:

providing the community sentiment score to the third party server for display in the prediction interface.