Online entertainment network for user-contributed content

• US 7,827,054 B2
• Filed: 09/29/2006
• Issued: 11/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ourstage Incorporated (Amazing Media Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Ourstage Incorporated (Amazing Media Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Ranalli, Mark Francis, Campbell, Benjamin Clark
• Primary Examiner(s): Boswell; Beth V
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kardos; Neil R
• Application Number:
  US11/541,419
• Publication Number:
  US 20080091509A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,495 Days
• Field of Search: 705/12
• US Class Current: 705/7.32
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0202 Market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0203 Market surveys; Market polls
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0205 Location or geographical consideration

Abstract

The invention includes a system for providing an online entertainment network for user-contributed entertainment content. The system quickly and accurately identifies quality content from a vast pool of user-contributed content. User-contributed content is rated by those who contribute and those who view content. Fraud detection devices automatically detect and remove fraudulent ratings. Contests and prizes associated with specific categories of content provide incentives for contributors to provide quality content and rate many pairs of items. Contests may be localized by geography, organization, social network, and other relationships. Identified top-rated content is made available individually, or as a continuous stream of user-contributed entertainment content.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of conducting a contest for competing entertainment works, the method comprising:

providing an electronic system for receiving a plurality of entertainment works from entertainment contributors for an identified contest, wherein the identified contest is for at least four entertainment works;

providing a pair of entertainment works to rate;

providing an interface for rating the pair of entertainment works, wherein the interface provides a mechanism for receiving a relative rating, from an entertainment reviewer, that indicates how a first presented entertainment work from the pair compares relative to a second presented entertainment work from the pair according to a predetermined rating criterion;

maintaining and monitoring a plurality of control entertainment works, mixed among the entertainment works to be rated, wherein the control entertainment works have a known value based on the rating criterion;

determining whether a relative rating received from the entertainment reviewer for a control entertainment work is contrary to the known rating value for that control entertainment work;

marking relative ratings received from the entertainment reviewer as fraudulent if the relative rating received from the entertainment reviewer for a control entertainment work is contrary to the known rating value for that control entertainment work;

excluding all relative ratings received from the entertainment reviewer from consideration if one or more relative ratings from the entertainment reviewer have been marked as fraudulent;

calculating a ranked list of all entertainment works in the identified contest based on non-fraudulent relative ratings received from rating pairs of entertainment works; and

identifying a winning entertainment work for the identified contest from the ranked list.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the identified contest offers a tangible prize to a contest winner.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising charging a fee based on identifier tags for uploading entertainment works.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the mechanism for receiving a relative rating is configured to receive variable relative rating comparisons on a non-dead-end scale.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising assigning entertainment works to entertainment contributors to rate.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a voting mechanism for entertainment viewers to vote on top-rated entertainment works to determine a winning entertainment work.

7. A computer-implemented method of holding a user-configurable contest for competing entertainment works, the method comprising:

providing a mechanism for setting up a contest of at least four entertainment works for a group of entertainment contributors that share a common relation;

providing an electronic system for receiving entertainment works from entertainment contributors who share the common relation;

providing a pair of entertainment works to rate;

providing an interface for rating the pair of entertainment works, wherein the interface provides a mechanism for receiving a relative rating, from an entertainment reviewer, that indicates how a first presented entertainment work from the pair compares relative to a second presented entertainment work from the pair according to a rating criterion;

maintaining and monitoring a plurality of control entertainment works, mixed among the entertainment works to be rated, wherein the control entertainment works have a known value based on the rating criterion;

determining whether a relative rating received from the entertainment reviewer for a control entertainment work is contrary to the known rating value for that control entertainment work;

marking relative ratings received from the entertainment reviewer as fraudulent if the relative rating received from the entertainment reviewer for a control entertainment work is contrary to the known rating value for that control entertainment work;

excluding all relative ratings received from the entertainment reviewer from consideration if one or more relative ratings from the entertainment reviewer have been marked as fraudulent;

calculating a ranked list, the rankings based on the rating criteria, of all entertainment works in the identified contest by processing non-fraudulent relative ratings of pairs of entertainment works as received from entertainment reviewers; and

identifying a winning entertainment work for the identified contest from the ranked list.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the mechanism for setting up the contest enables a user to define a type of entertainment work associated with the contest.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the rating criterion is user-defined.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein said common relation is selected from the group consisting of geography, social network, and organization.

11. The method of claim 7, further comprising providing a voting mechanism for entertainment viewers and contributors to vote on top-rated entertainment works to determine a winning entertainment work.

12. A computer-implemented method of providing an online entertainment network for user-contributed content, the method comprising:

providing a website for receiving a plurality of entertainment works from entertainment contributors for multiple categories of entertainment;

providing a pair of entertainment works to be rated from a set of at least four entertainment works;

providing an interface for rating the pair of entertainment works, wherein the interface provides a mechanism for receiving a relative rating, from an entertainment reviewer, that indicates how a first presented entertainment work from the pair compares relative to a second presented entertainment work from the pair according to a predetermined rating criterion;

identifying top-rated works for multiple entertainment categories by calculating a ranked list of all entertainment works in the set of at least four based on relative ratings of pairs of entertainment works as received from entertainment reviewers; and

in response to only a single action being performed, streaming a substantially continuous series of top-rated user-contributed entertainment works;

wherein an entertainment work, submitted by an entertainment contributor, is presented to be rated more often when the contributor of the entertainment work rates pairs of entertainment works more often.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein top-rated user-contributed content is streamed back-to-back by category of entertainment work.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising providing top-rated entertainment works to be viewed individually by selection.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising displaying advertisements in a continuous stream of top-rated user-contributed entertainment works.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising maintaining and monitoring a plurality of control entertainment works, mixed among the entertainment works to be rated, for automatically identifying fraudulent ratings.

17. A method of providing an online entertainment network for user-contributed content, the method comprising:

providing a website for receiving a plurality of entertainment works from entertainment contributors for an identified contest having a tangible prize, wherein the identified contest is for at least four entertainment works;

providing a pair of entertainment works to rate;

providing an interface for rating the pair of entertainment works, wherein the interface provides a mechanism for receiving a relative rating, from an entertainment reviewer, that indicates how a first-presented entertainment work from the pair compares relative to a second-presented entertainment work from the pair according to a predetermined rating criterion;

maintaining and monitoring a plurality of control entertainment works, mixed among the entertainment works to be rated, wherein the control entertainment works have a known value based on the rating criterion;

determining whether a relative rating received from the entertainment reviewer for a control entertainment work is contrary to the known rating value for that control entertainment work;

marking relative ratings received from the entertainment reviewer as fraudulent if the relative rating received from the entertainment reviewer for a control entertainment work is contrary to the known rating value for that control entertainment work;

excluding all relative ratings received from the entertainment reviewer from consideration if one or more relative ratings from the entertainment reviewer have been marked as fraudulent;

identifying top-rated works for multiple entertainment categories by calculating a ranked list of all entertainment works in the identified contest based on non-fraudulent relative ratings of pairs of entertainment works as received from entertainment reviewers;

in response to only a single click, streaming a substantially continuous series of top-rated user-contributed entertainment works; and

providing a voting mechanism for entertainment viewers to vote on top-rated entertainment works to determine a winning entertainment work.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the identified contest is localized by geography, social network, organization, or company.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein top-rated user-contributed content is streamed by category of entertainment work.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising providing top-rated entertainment works to be viewed individually by selection.

21. The method of claim 17, further comprising displaying advertisements among continuously-streamed top-rated user-contributed entertainment works.

22. A computer-implemented method of conducting a contest for competing entertainment works, the method comprising:

providing an electronic system for receiving a plurality of entertainment works from entertainment contributors for an identified contest, wherein the identified contest is for at least four entertainment works;

providing a pair of entertainment works to rate;

providing an interface for rating the pair of entertainment works, wherein the interface provides a mechanism for receiving a relative rating, from an entertainment reviewer, that indicates how a first presented entertainment work from the pair compares relative to a second presented entertainment work from the pair according to a predetermined rating criterion;

calculating a ranked list of all entertainment works in the identified contest based on relative ratings received from rating pairs of entertainment works; and

identifying a winning entertainment work for the identified contest from the ranked list;

wherein an entertainment work, submitted by an entertainment contributor, is presented to be rated more often when the contributor of the entertainment work rates pairs of entertainment works more often.

23. A computer-implemented method of conducting a contest for competing entertainment works, the method comprising:

providing an electronic system for receiving a plurality of entertainment works from entertainment contributors for an identified contest, wherein the identified contest is for at least four entertainment works;

providing a pair of entertainment works to rate;

providing an interface for rating the pair of entertainment works, wherein the interface provides a mechanism for receiving a relative rating, from an entertainment reviewer, that indicates how a first presented entertainment work from the pair compares relative to a second presented entertainment work from the pair according to a predetermined rating criterion;

maintaining and monitoring a plurality of control entertainment works, mixed among the entertainment works to be rated, wherein the control entertainment works have a known value based on the rating criterion;

determining whether a relative rating received from the entertainment reviewer for a control entertainment work is contrary to the known rating value for that control entertainment work;

marking relative ratings received from the entertainment reviewer as fraudulent if the relative rating received from the entertainment reviewer for a control entertainment work is contrary to the known rating value for that control entertainment work;

excluding all relative ratings received from the entertainment reviewer from consideration if one or more relative ratings from the entertainment reviewer have been marked as fraudulent;

calculating a ranked list of all entertainment works in the identified contest based on non-fraudulent relative ratings received from rating pairs of entertainment works; and

identifying a winning entertainment work for the identified contest from the ranked list;

wherein an entertainment work, submitted by an entertainment contributor, is presented to be rated more often when the contributor of the entertainment work rates pairs of entertainment works more often.