Voting with your feet

• US 9,355,404 B2
• Filed: 09/26/2011
• Issued: 05/31/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Zynga Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Zynga Incorporated
• Inventors: Mahajan, Amitt, Ocko, Matthew Adam, Reynolds, Brian
• Primary Examiner(s): D'Agostino, Paul A
• Assistant Examiner(s): GRAY, BRANDON RAMON
• Application Number:
  US13/244,826
• Publication Number:
  US 20130004932A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,709 Days
• Field of Search: 463/40, 463/41, 463/42
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0218 based on score
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 7/02 of the type wherein the student is expected to construct an answer to the question which is presented or wherein the machine gives an answer to the question presented by a student
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications

Abstract

A method of voting with your feet is disclosed. A notification regarding a survey question is communicated to a player of a computer implemented game. The notification includes an indication of a particular location-based action that is to be performed by the player to answer the survey question. The answer of the player to the survey question is determined based on detection of performance of the particular location-based action by the player.

Claims

1. A method of inferring an answer of a player of a computer-implemented game to an online survey question based on a set of associations stored in a database of a game networking system, the set of associations associating one or more of a set of location-based actions with respectively corresponding possible answers of a set of possible answers to the online survey question, the inferring further based on a detection of a performance of a location-based action by the player, the method comprising:

receiving the set of associations, each of the set of associations associating at least one of the set of location-based actions with at least one of the set of possible answers to the online survey question, each of the set of location-based actions corresponding to a different location of a set of locations;

storing the set of associations in the database of the game networking system;

detecting the performance of the location-based action by the player;

determining, using one or more processors of the game networking system, the answer of the player to the online survey question based on the stored set of associations and the detecting of the performance of the location-based action by the player; and

incorporating the answer of the player into a result of the online survey that is to be communicated for presentation in a user interface of a client device of the game networking system.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of the answer of the player to the online survey question is based at least in part on a determination that the performance of the location-based action is contrary to at least one of the set of location-based actions.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of the answer of the player to the online survey question is based on a determination that the player did not perform one of the set of location-based actions.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving the online survey question from an operator of a location of the set of locations.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising notifying the player of results of the online survey, the results including information pertaining to a set of answers to the online survey question determined based on a set of detections of a set of additional location-based actions by a set of additional players of the computer-implemented game and a set of comparisons of the set of additional location-based actions by the set of additional players to the set of location-based actions.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining that an operator of a location of the set of locations is a winner of the online survey based on the result of the online survey.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising providing the player with an incentive reward based on the operator of the location being the winner of the online survey and the answer of the player helping to make the operator of the location the winner.

8. A system comprising:

a processor-implemented game networking system configured to;

receive a set of associations, each of the set of associations associating at least one of a set of location-based actions with at least one of a set of possible answers to an online survey question, each of the set of location-based actions corresponding to a different location of a set of locations;

store the set of associations in the database of the game networking system;

detect a performance of a location-based action by a player;

determine an answer of the player to the online survey question based on the stored set of associations and the detecting of the performance of the location-based action by the player; and

incorporate the answer of the player into a result of the online survey that is to be communicated for presentation in a user interface of a client device of the game networking system.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the determining of the answer of the player to the online survey question is based at least in part on a determination that the performance of the location-based action is contrary to at least one of the set of location-based actions.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the determining of the answer of the player to the online survey question is based on a determination that the player did not perform one of the set of location-based actions.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the processor-implemented game networking system is further configured to receive the online survey question from an operator of a location of the set of locations.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the processor-implemented game networking system is further configured to notify the player of results of the online survey, the results including information pertaining to a set of answers to the online survey question determined based on a set of detections of a set of additional location-based actions by a set of additional players of the computer-implemented game and a set of comparisons of the set of additional location-based actions by the set of additional players to the set of location-based actions.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the processor-implemented game networking system is further configured to determine that an operator of a location of the set of locations is a winner of the online survey based on result of the online survey.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the processor-implemented game networking system is further configured to provide the player with an incentive reward based on the operator of the location being the winner of the online survey and the answer of the player helping to make the operator of the location the winner.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising a set of instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a computer system, cause the computer system to perform operations, the operations comprising:

receiving a set of associations, each of the set of associations associating at least one of a set of location-based actions with at least one of a set of possible answers to an online survey question, each of the set of location-based actions corresponding to a different location of a set of locations;

storing the set of associations in the database of the game networking system;

detecting a performance of a location-based action by a player;

determining an answer of the player to the online survey question based on the detecting of the performance of the location-based action by the player and a comparison of the location-based action to the set of location-based actions; and

incorporate the answer of the player into a result of the online survey that is to be communicated for presentation in a user interface of a client device of the game networking system.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the determining of the answer of the player to the online survey question is based at least in part on a determination that the performance of the location-based action is contrary to at least one of the set of location-based actions.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the determining of the answer of the player to the online survey question is based on a determination that the player did not perform one of the set of location-based actions.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, the operations further comprising receiving the online survey question from an operator of a location of the set of locations.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, the operations further comprising notifying the player of results of the online survey, the results including information pertaining to a set of answers to the online survey question determined based on a set of detections of a set of additional location-based actions by a set of additional players of the computer-implemented game and a set of comparisons of the set of additional location-based actions by the set of additional players to the set of location-based actions.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 15 determining that an operator of a location of the set of locations is a winner of the online survey based on results of the online survey.