Patent ID: 8065699
Filing Date: 2011-11-22
Classification: H04H

Abstract:
1. A computer-implemented method of providing a rating for an event, the rating obtained from one or more member users being members of an audience of the event, the method including: selecting, at a database server, a subset of users among the members of the audience of the event; transmitting, from the database server, an invitation to the selected subset of users; if a user receives the invitation, classifying the user as a member user who is authorized to submit feedback data used to provide a rating for the event; if a user does not receive the invitation, classifying the user as a nonmember user; receiving, at the database server, feedback data submitted by a member user via an interface provided on a user terminal, the feedback data relating to the event and identifying the member user that submitted the feedback data, wherein the nonmember user is restricted from accessing the feedback data submitted by the member user; providing the feedback data submitted by the member user to at least one additional member user via at least one additional user terminal; receiving, at the database server, a rating for the feedback data, wherein the rating of the feedback data is submitted by the at least one additional member user via an interface provided on the at least one additional user terminal, wherein the nonmember user is restricted from submitting a rating for the feedback data submitted by the member user; determining, at the database server, a member user weighting for the member user, wherein the member user weighting is based on the rating for the feedback data; determining, at the database server, the rating for the event based on the feedback data submitted by the member user and the member user weighting, wherein feedback data submitted by a nonmember user is ignored when determining the rating for the event; determining, at the database server, a ranking for the event as compared to a ranking of at least one other event, wherein the ranking for the event is based on the rating of the event as compared to a rating for the at least one other event; and allowing, at the database server, the nonmember user to access the ranking for the event and the ranking for the at least one other event through a front end interface of the database server.