Listener survey tool with time stamping

• US 9,117,198 B1
• Filed: 02/21/2011
• Issued: 08/25/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/22/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: iHeartMedia Management Services, Inc. (iHeartMedia, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: iHeartMedia Management Services, Inc. (iHeartMedia, Inc.)
• Inventors: Richards, William
• Primary Examiner(s): Kumar, Anil N
• Application Number:
  US13/031,511
• Time in Patent Office: 1,646 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/103 Workflow collaboration or project management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0203 Market surveys; Market polls

Abstract

Embodiments provide on-line non-downloadable software for use by others to access media content, such as musical selections, songs, song hooks, videos, video hooks, audio media, visual media, websites, website content, etc. to solicit listener or viewer participation in surveys to determine listener or viewer approval of the content, musical selections, songs, song hooks, videos, video hooks, audio media, visual media, websites, website content, etc. and to assist in planning future content, musical selection, songs, song hooks, videos, video hooks, audio media, visual media, websites, website content, etc. to be presented on radio, television, movies, websites, released to the public or other media outlets in International Class 042. Time stamping is generally used in conjunction with display of the media content and surveys, allowing for better recordation of user interactions with the media.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

displaying media content of a plurality of media content on a remote user device supporting a user;

generating a record pertaining to the media content of the plurality of media content;

recording interactions by the user with relation to the displayed media content to the record through the remote user device;

recording a quantity of elapsed time associated with a user interaction with the displayed media content to the record;

determining whether the user interaction is based on stoppage of the displayed media content, wherein the stoppage includes selecting another media content of the plurality of media content by the user; and

when the user interaction is based on the stoppage of the displayed media content and the quantity of elapsed time comes within a threshold being a percentage of the media content duration that the user observes prior to the stoppage;

displaying a survey on the remote user device relating to the displayed media content, wherein the survey is selected from a plurality of surveys based on the quantity of elapsed time;

recording, to the record, user survey input responsive to the survey via a user interface of the remote user device and the selecting of the another media content; and

generating another record pertaining to the another media content of the plurality of media content.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the quantity of elapsed time indicates a quantity of time that has elapsed from the beginning of the display of media content to the user interaction.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

recording an earlier time stamp based on an earlier user interaction, wherein the quantity of elapsed time indicates a quantity of time that has elapsed from the earlier time stamp to the user interaction.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

recording a user input responsive to a survey query regarding the media content.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

recording a user input responsive to a survey query regarding the user interaction.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the displaying the media content of a plurality of media content being based on selection of the media content by the user.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the selecting the another media content by the user is the user interaction.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

recording user interactions and quantities of elapsed time for each of a plurality of users, each user'"'"'s interaction record including an associated score;

comparing each score associated with each user'"'"'s interaction record to an arithmetic mean of a plurality of the scores associated with the plurality of users to determine a proximity of each user'"'"'s score to the arithmetic mean; and

ranking users based on a relative proximity of each user'"'"'s score to the arithmetic mean.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of media content comprises at least one of:

audio content;

video content; and

website content.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising displaying another survey upon the media content having run a full duration.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising recording interactions of a plurality of users to a plurality of records and displaying a report of the interactions as relating to the plurality of media content.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the survey comprises at least one of:

pop-up questions; and

stop questions.

13. The method of claim 1 further comprising applying a trendsetter algorithm to the record.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising setting at least one of:

media content available for display;

one or more surveys;

conditions for display of each survey; and

filters for reports.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium tangibly embodying a program of computer executable instructions, the program of instructions comprising:

at least one instruction to display media content of a plurality of media content on a remote user device supporting a user;

at least one instruction to generate a record pertaining to the media content of the plurality of media content;

at least one instruction to record interactions by the user with relation to the displayed media content to the record through the remote user device;

at least one instruction to record a quantity of elapsed time associated with a user interaction with the displayed media content to the record;

at least one instruction to determine whether the user interaction is based on stoppage of the displayed media content, wherein the stoppage includes selecting another media content of the plurality of media content by the user; and

at least one instruction, when the user interaction is based on the stoppage of the displayed media content and the quantity of elapsed time comes within a threshold being a percentage of the media content duration that the user observes prior to the stoppage, to;

display a survey on the remote user device, wherein the survey is selected from a plurality of surveys based on the quantity of elapsed time;

record user survey input responsive to the survey to the record via a user interface of the remote user device and the selecting of the another media content; and

generating another record pertaining to the another media content of the plurality of media content.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium tangibly embodying the program of computer executable instructions of claim 15, wherein the survey comprises at least one of:

pop-up questions; and

stop questions.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium tangibly embodying the program of computer executable instructions of claim 15, wherein the program of instructions further comprising:

at least one instruction applying a trendsetter algorithm to the record.

16. A system comprising:

a host server configured to;

provide media content of a plurality of media content for a user to sample through a user computer communicatively coupled to the host server;

record at least one first reaction time associated with a first action taken by the user with relation to the media content provided, the at least one first reaction time indicates a quantity of elapsed time from a start time associated with the media content to an action time associated with the first action;

when the quantity of elapsed time comes within a threshold being a percentage of the media content duration that the user observes prior to a second action based on a stoppage via a selection of another media content of the plurality of media content, provide a survey associated with the provided media content to the user, the survey selected based on a magnitude of the at least one first reaction time; and

record at least one second reaction time associated with a second action the second action taken by the user with relation to the survey provided, the at least one reaction time indicating a quantity of elapsed time from a start another start time associated with the providing of the survey to the at least one second reaction time.

17. The system of claim 16 further comprising a client computer, wherein:

the host server is configured to;

select the media content to be provided to the user computer based on a media content selection received from the client computer;

create the survey based on survey parameters received from the client computer; and

provide the survey to the user based on display parameters received from the client computer.