Patent ID: 8898316
Filing Date: 2014-11-25
Classification: H04L,H04N

Abstract:
1. A computer-implemented method for enhancing online collaboration among viewers of an event presentation, said method comprising: providing two or more online collaboration sessions, each collaboration session being associated with a different time slot in the event presentation, the time slot associated with each collaboration session beginning at a different time offset from the start of the event presentation and having a predetermined duration; displaying a graphical user interface on viewer computers showing the event presentation, the graphical user interface comprising: receiving a request from the current viewer to join one of the two or more collaboration sessions; rejecting the current viewer request to join a selected one of the online collaboration sessions associated with a time slot closer to the start of the event presentation than a time slot associated with the current viewer's current viewpoint to prevent the current viewer from joining one of the collaboration sessions having viewers that have not viewed as much of the event presentation as the current viewer; and assigning the current viewer to a selected one of said two or more online collaboration sessions associated with a time slot closer to the end of the event presentation than the time slot associated with the current viewer's current viewpoint.