Method and system for providing an audio conference
First Claim
1. A method of providing an online communication platform, the method comprising:
- providing the online platform, by a conferencing server, to enable a moderator to establish a conference setup, wherein the conference setup enables the moderator to initiate a conference call via control panels offered through the online platform, further wherein the conference setup enables the moderator to engage in real-time bi-directional communication with one or more quests that are invited via the online platform to participate in the conference call initiated from the online control platform by the moderator;
initiating, by the conferencing server, a first conference call subsequent to receiving a request from the moderator via the online platform, the initiating further including providing, by the online platform, information enabling the moderator to invite one or more quests to participate in the first conference call; and
streaming substantially in real-time, by the conferencing server, audio associated with the conference call to the moderator, to the one or more quests, and to one or more listeners, wherein the one or more listeners listen in on the audio, the one or more listeners connecting with the first conference call using one or more online interfaces offered in conjunction with the online platform, the first conference call available as streaming media to the one or more listeners via the one or more online interfaces, wherein the one or more listeners are provided unidirectional communication capability of only receiving information associated with the conference call.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system for providing an audio conference includes receiving audio from a moderator via a circuit-switched telephone network, transmitting a representation of the audio to a first listener group via the circuit-switched telephone network, and transmitting a representation of the audio to a second listener group via a packet-switched network. The audio conference is preferably transmitted to the first listener group and the second listener group in real-time or near real-time (e.g., within a few seconds). Although the method and system could be used with any suitable circuit-switched telephone network, the method and system are preferably used with a public switched telephone network. Further, although the method and system could be used with any suitable packet-switched network, the method and system are preferably used with the Internet.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. A method of providing an online communication platform, the method comprising:
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providing the online platform, by a conferencing server, to enable a moderator to establish a conference setup, wherein the conference setup enables the moderator to initiate a conference call via control panels offered through the online platform, further wherein the conference setup enables the moderator to engage in real-time bi-directional communication with one or more quests that are invited via the online platform to participate in the conference call initiated from the online control platform by the moderator; initiating, by the conferencing server, a first conference call subsequent to receiving a request from the moderator via the online platform, the initiating further including providing, by the online platform, information enabling the moderator to invite one or more quests to participate in the first conference call; and streaming substantially in real-time, by the conferencing server, audio associated with the conference call to the moderator, to the one or more quests, and to one or more listeners, wherein the one or more listeners listen in on the audio, the one or more listeners connecting with the first conference call using one or more online interfaces offered in conjunction with the online platform, the first conference call available as streaming media to the one or more listeners via the one or more online interfaces, wherein the one or more listeners are provided unidirectional communication capability of only receiving information associated with the conference call. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 25, 26)
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16. A server for providing an online communication platform, the server comprising:
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a network adapter through which to communicate with a plurality of client devices via a network; a memory device coupled to the network adapter and configured to store code corresponding to a series of operations for providing the online communication platform to one or more of the client devices, the series of operations including; providing the online platform, by a conferencing server, to enable a moderator to establish a conference setup, wherein the conference setup enables the moderator to initiate a conference call via control panels offered through the online platform, further wherein the conference setup enables the moderator to engage in real-time bi-directional communication with one or more guests that are invited via the online platform to participate in the conference call initiated from the online control platform by the moderator; initiating, by the conferencing server, a first conference call subsequent to receiving a request from the moderator via the online platform, the initiating further including providing, by the online platform, information enabling the moderator to invite one or more guests to participate in the first conference call; and streaming substantially in real-time, by the conferencing server, audio associated with the conference call to the moderator, to the one or more guests, and to one or more listeners, wherein the one or more listeners listen in on the audio, the one or more listeners connecting with the first conference call using one or more online interfaces offered in conjunction with the online platform, the first conference call available as streaming media to the one or more listeners via the one or more online interfaces, wherein the one or more listeners are provided unidirectional communication capability of only receiving information associated with the conference call. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification