Patent ID: 8880583
Filing Date: 2014-11-04
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A method for permitting news content specific to a geographic location to be rated by users in the geographic location and by users in other geographic locations concentrically located from the geographic location, for providing the most relevant news content in an ordered rank to the users in the geographic location and in the other geographic locations, the method comprising: (a) providing news content from national news feeds, web file uploads or mobile devices; (b) determining that the news content pertains to the geographic location from the news content itself or from information associated with the news content; (c) assigning the news content to at least one server associated with the geographic location based on the determining performed in step (b); (d) making the news content available to users in the geographic location over global computer networks; (e) permitting the users in the geographic location to rate the news content using computers to form first user responses; (f) providing the first user responses to a ranking engine, the ranking engine weighting the first user responses based on time parameters and the geographical distances between the users in the geographic location and the news content, for determining a first level rank for the news content based on the weighted first user responses; (g) repeating steps (e) and (f) to modify the first level rank to form a revised first level rank, the revised first level rank being used to determine whether to automatically display the news content more prominently to the users in the geographic location; (h) permitting users in the other geographic locations to experience the news content and to rate the news content to form second user responses; (i) providing the second user responses to the ranking engine, the ranking engine weighting the second user responses based on time parameters and the geographical distances between the users in the other geographic locations and the news content, for determining a second level rank based on said weighted second user responses; (j) repeating steps (h) and (i) to modify the second level rank to form a revised second level rank, the revised second level rank being used to determine whether to automatically display the news content more prominently to the users in the other geographic locations than news content that is pertinent only to the other geographic locations.