System and method for providing rewards based on annotations

• US 9,268,866 B2
• Filed: 03/03/2014
• Issued: 02/23/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/01/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GOPOP.TV, Inc.
• Original Assignee: GOPOP.TV, Inc.
• Inventors: Evans, Eugene, Small, Jonathan, Marsh, David
• Primary Examiner(s): Goodarzi, Nasser
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ocak, Adil
• Application Number:
  US14/195,336
• Publication Number:
  US 20140325543A1
• Time in Patent Office: 722 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/22 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9558 Details of hyperlinks; Management of linked annotations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/169 Annotation, e.g. comment data or footnotes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/231 Content storage operation, e.g. caching movies for short term storage, replicating data over plural servers, prioritizing data for deletion
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23109 by placing content in organized collections, e.g. EPG data repository details of retrieval of video data and associated meta data in video databases G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23424 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for inserting or substituting an advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2668 Creating a channel for a dedicated end-user group, e.g. insertion of targeted commercials based on end-user profiles information retrieval from the Internet by querying with filtering and personalisation G06F16/9535; arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast H04H20/10; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; adaptation of message content in packet-switching networks H04L51/063
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43079 of additional data with content streams on multiple devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44226 on social networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/458 Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules ; time-related management operations arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4667 Processing of monitored end-user data, e.g. trend analysis based on the log file of viewer selections
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/475 End-user interface for inputting end-user data, e.g. personal identification number [PIN], preference data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4784 receiving rewards
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8133 specifically related to the content, e.g. biography of the actors in a movie, detailed information about an article seen in a video program

Abstract

Methods, apparatuses, and/or systems are providing for enabling a time-shifted, on-demand social network for watching, creating, and/or sharing time-shifted annotation datasets (e.g., commentary tracks) synced to any on-demand programming, and more particularly to providing rewards to users when they create annotations (e.g., comments), when other users interact with their annotations, when transactions are enabled via their annotations, or for other reasons.

Claims

1. A method of providing rewards based on interactions with annotations, the method being implemented by a computer system that includes one or more physical processors executing one or more computer program instructions which, when executed, perform the method, the method comprising:

receiving, at the computer system, a first annotation provided by a first user during a presentation of a first content item, wherein the first annotation corresponds to a reference time at which a product or service appears in the first content item, and wherein the first annotation is provided by the first user via a user device different from the computer system;

identifying, by the computer system, in the first annotation, a reference referring to the product or service;

modifying, by the computer system, the first annotation to include a mechanism that enables a transaction related to the product or service, wherein the first annotation is modified to include the mechanism based on the identification of the reference;

associating, by the computer system, the modified first annotation with a first user account of the first user;

providing, by the computer system, based on the corresponding reference time, a presentation of the modified first annotation during one or more presentations of the first content item to other users such that the mechanism is available for use by the other users via the modified first annotation during the one or more presentations of the first content item;

monitoring, by the computer system, during the one or more presentations of the first content item, use of the mechanism by the other users via the modified first annotation; and

determining, by the computer system, a reward to be provided to the first user account based on the monitored use of the mechanism by the other users via the modified first annotation.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the reference referring to the product or service comprises a first hyperlink to a website offering the product or service for sale, and the mechanism comprises a second hyperlink that enables the transaction related to the product or service,

wherein modifying the first annotation comprises modifying, based on identification of the first hyperlink, the first annotation to include the second hyperlink that enables the transaction related to the product or service, and

wherein monitoring the use of the mechanism comprises monitoring use of the second hyperlink by the other users via the modified first annotation.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein modifying the first annotation comprises modifying, based on identification of the first hyperlink, the first annotation to include the second hyperlink in place of the first hyperlink.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the reference referring to the product or service comprises a product or service identifier associated with the product or service, and

wherein modifying the first annotation comprises supplementing, based on identification of the product or service identifier, the product or service identifier with the mechanism in the first annotation.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the reference referring to the product or service comprises a product or service type identifier associated with the product or service, and

wherein modifying the first annotation comprises supplementing, based on identification of the product or service type identifier, the product or service type identifier with the mechanism in the first annotation.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein monitoring the use of the mechanism comprises identifying an execution of the transaction enabled via the mechanism in the modified first annotation, and

wherein the reward is determined based on the execution of the transaction.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the presentation of the modified first annotation comprises providing, based on the corresponding reference time, the presentation of the modified first annotation at a time at which the corresponding reference time is reached during the one or more presentations of the first content item.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

monitoring, by the computer system, an amount of user requests for the first annotation,

wherein the reward is determined further based on the amount of user requests.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

monitoring, by the computer system, user reactions to the first annotation,

wherein the reward is determined further based on the user reactions to the first annotation.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein monitoring the user reactions to the first annotation comprises identifying a rating provided for the first annotation by at least one of the other users, and

wherein the reward is determined based on the rating.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying, by the computer system, ratings provided for the first user by the other users,

wherein the reward is determined further based on the ratings provided for the first user.

12. A system for providing rewards based on interactions with annotations, the system comprising:

a computer system comprising one or more physical processors programmed to execute one or more computer program instructions which, when executed, cause the one or more physical processors to;

receive a first annotation provided by a first user during a presentation of a first content item, wherein the first annotation corresponds to a reference time at which a product or service appears in the first content item, and wherein the first annotation is provided by the first user via a user device different from the computer system;

identify, in the first annotation, a reference referring to the product or service;

modify the first annotation to include a mechanism that enables a transaction related to the product or service, wherein the first annotation is modified to include the mechanism based on the identification of the reference;

associate the modified first annotation with a first user account of the first user;

provide, based on the corresponding reference time, a presentation of the modified first annotation during one or more presentations of the first content item to other users such that the mechanism is available for use by the other users via the modified first annotation during the one or more presentations of the first content item;

monitor, during the one or more presentations of the first content item, use of the mechanism by the other users via the modified first annotation; and

determine a reward to be provided to the first user account based on the monitored use of the mechanism by the other users via the modified first annotation.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the reference referring to the product or service comprises a first hyperlink to a website offering the product or service for sale, and the mechanism comprises a second hyperlink that enables the transaction related to the product or service,

wherein modifying the first annotation comprises modifying, based on identification of the first hyperlink, the first annotation to include the second hyperlink that enables the transaction related to the product or service, and

wherein monitoring the use of the mechanism comprises monitoring use of the second hyperlink by the other users via the modified first annotation.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein modifying the first annotation comprises modifying, based on identification of the first hyperlink, the first annotation to include the second hyperlink in place of the first hyperlink.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein monitoring the use of the mechanism comprises identifying an execution of the transaction enabled via the mechanism in the modified first annotation, and

wherein the reward is determined based on the execution of the transaction.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein providing the presentation of the modified first annotation comprises providing, based on the corresponding reference time, the presentation of the modified first annotation at a time at which the corresponding reference time is reached during the one or more presentations of the first content item.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein the one or more physical processors are further caused to:

receive ratings provided for the first user by the other users,

wherein the reward is determined further based on the ratings provided for the first user.

18. A method of providing a hybrid system-modified user annotation during a presentation of a content item where the hybrid system-modified user annotation is based on (i) a user annotation that comprises a reference associated with a corresponding products or service appearing in the content item and (ii) system identification of the product-or-service reference in the user annotation, the method being implemented by a computer system that includes one or more physical processors executing one or more computer program instructions which, when executed, perform the method, the method comprising:

receiving, by the computer system, a first annotation provided by a first user during a presentation of a first content item, wherein the first annotation corresponds to a reference time at which a product or service appears in the first content item, and wherein the first annotation is provided by the first user via a user device different from the computer system;

identifying, by the computer system, in the first annotation, a reference referring to the product or service;

modifying, by the computer system, the first annotation to include a mechanism that enables a transaction related to the product or service, wherein the first annotation is modified to include the mechanism based on the identification of the reference; and

providing, by the computer system, a presentation of the modified first annotation during one or more presentations of the first content item to other users such that the mechanism is available for use by the other users via the modified first annotation during the one or more presentations of the first content item.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein providing the presentation of the modified first annotation comprises providing, based on the corresponding reference time, the presentation of the modified first annotation at a time at which the corresponding reference time is reached during the one or more presentations of the first content item.

20. A system for providing a hybrid system-modified user annotation during a presentation of a content item where the hybrid system-modified user annotation is based on (i) a user annotation that comprises a reference associated with a corresponding products or service appearing in the content item and (ii) system identification of the product-or-service reference in the user annotation, the system comprising:

a computer system comprising one or more physical processors programmed to execute one or more computer program instructions which, when executed, cause the one or more physical processors to;

receive a first annotation provided by a first user during a presentation of a first content item, wherein the first annotation corresponds to a reference time at which a product or service appears in the first content item, and wherein the first annotation is provided by the first user via a user device different from the computer system;

identify, in the first annotation, a reference referring to the product or service;

modify, the first annotation to include a mechanism that enables a transaction related to the product or service, wherein the first annotation is modified to include the mechanism based on the identification of the reference; and

provide a presentation of the modified first annotation during one or more presentations of the first content item to other users such that the mechanism is available for use by the other users via the modified first annotation during the one or more presentations of the first content item.