Automated omnipresent real-time credibility management system and methods

• US 8,630,893 B2
• Filed: 01/17/2013
• Issued: 01/14/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dun & Bradstreet Corp., DUN & Bradstreet Incorporated (Dun & Bradstreet Corp.), Hoover's Incorporated (Dun & Bradstreet Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Credibility Corp. (Dun & Bradstreet Corp.)
• Inventors: Stibel, Jeffrey M., Stibel, Aaron B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sterrett, Jonathan G
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lan, Tzu-Hsiang
• Application Number:
  US13/744,035
• Publication Number:
  US 20130132151A1
• Time in Patent Office: 362 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 705/7.32
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking

Abstract

Some embodiments provide a credibility management system that aggregates user posts from several social media sites contemporaneously with the posts being published to those sites. The system parses each of the aggregated posts to identify an entity that is targeted in each of the posts and presents the posts to the targeted entities in a real-time manner. The credibility management system computes a score to determine the impact that a user post would have on the credibility of a targeted entity. By presenting the computed scores and aggregated posts to the targeted entities, the credibility management system notifies the targeted entities about what is being said about them across social media, identifies the impact of those posts, and provides a platform whereby the targeted entities can reply in order to mitigate or improve the impact that the posts would have on credibility.

Claims

1. For a credibility management system comprising at least one server with a processor and non-transitory computer-readable memory, a computer-implemented method for facilitating real-time management of one'"'"'s credibility across a plurality of online sites, the computer-implemented method comprising:

computing by operation of the processor, an overall score quantifying credibility of a particular entity based on sentiment that is expressed in a plurality of posts that target the particular entity and that have been previously published across a plurality of online sites by different users;

aggregating from a particular online site of the plurality of online sites to the server, a newly published post expressing sentiment toward the particular entity;

computing by operation of the processor, a first score quantifying an impact that the sentiment expressed in the newly published post has on the overall score for the particular entity;

disseminating the newly published post with the first score from the server via a real-time communication medium to the particular entity;

receiving a response post to the newly published post from the particular entity at the server;

computing by operation of the processor, a second score based on (i) at least one of sentiment and content expressed in the response post and (ii) timeliness of the response post to the newly published post, wherein impact of the second score is increased when the response post is received within a first time interval immediately following a time when the newly published post is disseminated to the particular entity, and wherein impact of the second score is decreased when the response post is received within a second time interval that follows the first time interval;

adjusting by operation of the processor, the overall score based on the first score and the second score; and

presenting the adjusted overall score for the particular entity in response to a query for the credibility of the particular entity.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising publishing the response post with the adjusted overall score for the particular entity.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising weighting an impact that each post of the plurality of posts has on the overall score based on how recent that post was published to an online site, wherein a first post that is published within a first recent time period is weighted more heavily than a second post that is published within a second distant time period that is after the first recent time period.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising configuring the real-time communication medium with which to disseminate the newly published post to the particular entity, wherein the real-time communication medium comprises at least one of text message and instant message enabling real-time communication with the particular entity.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein configuring the real-time communication medium further comprises enabling the system to receive the response post from the particular entity using the real-time communication medium.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising aggregating a reply to the response post.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6 further comprising computing a third score based on sentiment expressed in the reply.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7 further comprising adjusting the overall score based on the third score.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising a computer program embodied therein, said computer program configured to cause a computer that executes said computer program to:

compute an overall score quantifying credibility of a particular entity based on sentiment that is expressed in a plurality of posts that target the particular entity and that have been previously published across a plurality of online sites by different users;

aggregate from a particular online site of the plurality of online sites, a newly published post expressing sentiment toward the particular entity;

compute a first score quantifying an impact that the sentiment expressed in the newly published post has on the overall score for the particular entity;

disseminate the newly published post with the first score to the particular entity;

receive a response post to the newly published post from the particular entity;

compute a second score based on (i) at least one of sentiment and content expressed in the response post and (ii) timeliness of the response post to the newly published post, wherein impact of the second score is increased when the response post is received within a first time interval immediately following a time when the newly published post is disseminated to the particular entity, and wherein impact of the second score is decreased when the response post is received within a second time interval that follows the first time interval;

adjust the overall score based on the first score and the second score; and

present the adjusted overall score for the particular entity in response to a query for the credibility of the particular entity.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the computer program is further configured to cause the computer executing the computer program to publish the response post with the adjusted overall score for the particular entity.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the computer program is further configured to cause the computer executing the computer program to weight an impact that each post of the plurality of posts has on the overall score based on how recent that post was published to an online site, wherein a first post that is published within a first recent time period is weighted more heavily than a second post that is published within a second distant time period that is after the first recent time period.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the computer program is further configured to cause the computer executing the computer program to configure a real-time communication medium with which to disseminate the newly published post to the particular entity, wherein the real-time communication medium comprises at least one of text message and instant message.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the computer program is further configured to cause the computer executing the computer program to aggregate a reply to the response post.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the computer program is further configured to cause the computer executing the computer program to compute a third score based on sentiment expressed in the reply.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the computer program is further configured to cause the computer executing the computer program to adjust the overall score based on the third score.