Abstract:
A system for providing a software application customized with subject matter pertaining to a celebrity, including a processor, data storage, and software thereon that implement a content provision hub operable to provide a mobile application and content related thereto for download to a user device, an advertising server operable to download an advertisement under the direction of the content provision hub to the mobile application, and a charging engine operable to effect a payment transaction between the celebrity, the user, and/or an advertiser. The system can be used by a celebrity to generate a celebrity-specific downloadable mobile application by selecting templates and options that control the celebrity app appearance and operation.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present invention is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/611,870, filed Sep. 12, 2012 which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/533,504, filed Sep 12, 2011, the entireties of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to mobile applications, and, more particularly, to an apparatus, system and method of providing dedicated mobile apps for use by celebrities. 
         [0004]    2. Background of the Invention 
         [0005]    The mobile app marketplace is growing by leaps and bounds. The estimated total number of smartphones sold will exceed 450 million in 2011, an increase of approximately 49.2% over 2010. By 2015, the number is estimated to grow to 630 million. 
         [0006]    It is estimated that 60% of the time spent on smartphones is spent on mobile apps. With regard to sports alone, it is estimated that 88% of the people in the U.S. follow at least one sport which equates to over 200 million prospective mobile sports app users. This fuels $5.2 billion to be spent on advertising in the mobile app industry. Future markets for apps include television as users increase use of smart TVs and internet protocol (“IP”) TVs. In 2010, 21% of the TVs sold had an internet connection. That is expected to grow to 50% by 2014. 
         [0007]    However, there is very limited participation in the space for dedicated mobile apps for celebrities. Such dedicated apps could enhance celebrity profiles, deepen fan bases, and create new avenues of revenue. The only mobile app activity presently related to this field is apps focused on a company, league, or team. However, even with respect to such apps, these apps are typically shared among teams, leagues, or companies. 
         [0008]    Thus, the need exists for an apparatus, system and method of providing a dedicated mobile app for celebrities. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosed embodiments. In the drawings, like numerals represent like elements, and: 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  illustrates an aspect of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  illustrates an aspect of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  illustrates an aspect of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0013]      FIGS. 4A-G  illustrate aspects of exemplary embodiments of the present invention; 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  illustrates an aspect of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  illustrates an aspect of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0016]      FIG. 7  illustrates an aspect of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0017]      FIG. 8  illustrates an aspect of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0018]      FIG. 9  illustrates an aspect of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0019]      FIG. 10  illustrates an aspect of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0020]      FIG. 11  illustrates an aspect of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0021]      FIG. 12  illustrates an aspect of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0022]    Computer-implemented platforms, engines, systems and methods of use are disclosed that provide networked access to a plurality of types of digital content, including, but not limited to video, audio, metadata, interactive and document content, and that may track, deliver, manipulate, transform and report the accessed content. Described embodiments of these platforms, engines, systems and methods are intended to be exemplary and not limiting. As such, it is contemplated that the herein described systems and methods can be adapted to provide many types of cloud-based valuations, scoring, marketplaces, and the like, and can be extended to provide enhancements and/or additions to the exemplary platforms, engines, systems and methods described. The invention is thus intended to include all such extensions. Reference will now be made in detail to various exemplary and illustrative embodiments of the present invention. 
         [0023]      FIG. 1  depicts an exemplary computing system  100  for use in accordance with herein described system and methods. Computing system  100  is capable of executing software, such as an operating system (OS) and a variety of computing applications  190 . The operation of exemplary computing system  100  is controlled primarily by computer readable instructions, such as instructions stored in a computer readable storage medium, such as hard disk drive (HDD)  115 , optical disk (not shown) such as a CD or DVD, solid state drive (not shown) such as a USB “thumb drive,” or the like. Such instructions may be executed within central processing unit (CPU)  110  to cause computing system  100  to perform operations. 
         [0024]    It is appreciated that, although exemplary computing system  100  is shown to comprise a single CPU  110 , such description is merely illustrative as computing system  100  may comprise a plurality of CPUs  110 . Additionally, computing system  100  may exploit the resources of remote CPUs (not shown), for example, through communications network  170  or some other data communications means. 
         [0025]    In operation, CPU  110  fetches, decodes, and executes instructions from a computer readable storage medium such as HDD  115 . Such instructions can be included in software such as an operating system (OS), executable programs, and the like. Information, such as computer instructions and other computer readable data, is transferred between components of computing system  100  via the system&#39;s main data-transfer path. The main data-transfer path may use a system bus architecture  105 , although other computer architectures (not shown) can be used, such as architectures using serializers and deserializers and crossbar switches to communicate data between devices over serial communication paths. System bus  105  can include data lines for sending data, address lines for sending addresses, and control lines for sending interrupts and for operating the system bus. Some busses provide bus arbitration that regulates access to the bus by extension cards, controllers, and CPU  110 . Devices that attach to the busses and arbitrate access to the bus are called bus masters. Bus master support also allows multiprocessor configurations of the busses to be created by the addition of bus master adapters containing processors and support chips. 
         [0026]    Memory devices coupled to system bus  105  can include random access memory (RAM)  125  and read only memory (ROM)  130 . Such memories include circuitry that allows information to be stored and retrieved. ROMs  130  generally contain stored data that cannot be modified. Data stored in RAM  125  can be read or changed by CPU  110  or other hardware devices. Access to RAM  125  and/or ROM  130  may be controlled by memory controller  120 . Memory controller  120  may provide an address translation function that translates virtual addresses into physical addresses as instructions are executed. Memory controller  120  may also provide a memory protection function that isolates processes within the system and isolates system processes from user processes. Thus, a program running in user mode can normally access only memory mapped by its own process virtual address space; it cannot access memory within another process&#39; virtual address space unless memory sharing between the processes has been set up. 
         [0027]    Display  160 , which is controlled by display controller  155 , can be used to display visual output and/or presentation generated by or at the request of computing system  100 . Such visual output may include text, graphics, animated graphics, and/or video, for example. Display  160  may be implemented with a CRT-based video display, an LCD-based flat-panel display, gas plasma-based flat-panel display, touch-panel, or the like. Display controller  155  includes electronic components required to generate a video signal that is sent to display  160 . 
         [0028]    Further, computing system  100  may contain network adapter  165  which may be used to couple computing system  100  to an external communication network  170 , which may include or provide access to the Internet. Communications network  170  may provide user access for computing system  100  with means of communicating and transferring software and information electronically. Additionally, communications network  170  may provide for distributed processing, which involves several computers and the sharing of workloads or cooperative efforts in performing a task. It is appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing communications links between computing system  100  and remote users may be used. 
         [0029]    It is appreciated that exemplary computing system  100  is merely illustrative of a computing environment in which the herein described systems and methods may operate and does not limit the implementation of the herein described systems and methods in computing environments having differing components and configurations, as the inventive concepts described herein may be implemented in various computing environments using various components and configurations. 
         [0030]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , computing system  100  can be deployed in networked computing environment  200 . In general, the above description for computing system  100  applies to server, client, and peer computers deployed in a networked environment, for example, server  205 , laptop computer  210 , and desktop computer  230 .  FIG. 2  illustrates an exemplary illustrative networked computing environment  200 , with a server in communication with client computing and/or communicating devices via a communications network, in which the herein described apparatus and methods may be employed. 
         [0031]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , server  205  may be interconnected via a communications network  240  (which may include any of, or any combination of, a fixed-wire or wireless LAN, WAN, intranet, extranet, peer-to-peer network, virtual private network, the Internet, or other communications network such as POTS, ISDN, VoIP, PSTN, etc.) with a number of client computing/communication devices such as laptop computer  210 , wireless mobile telephone  215 , wired telephone  220 , personal digital assistant  225 , user desktop computer  230 , and/or other communication enabled devices (not shown). Server  205  may comprise dedicated servers operable to process and communicate data such as digital content  250  to and from client devices  210 ,  215 ,  220 ,  225 ,  230 , etc. using any of a number of known protocols, such as hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), file transfer protocol (FTP), simple object access protocol (SOAP), wireless application protocol (WAP), or the like. Additionally, networked computing environment  200  may utilize various data security protocols such as secured socket layer (SSL), pretty good privacy (PGP), virtual private network (VPN) security, or the like. Each client device  210 ,  215 ,  220 ,  225 ,  230 , etc., may be equipped with an operating system operable to support one or more computing and/or communication applications, such as a web browser (not shown), email (not shown), or the like, to interact with server  205 . 
         [0032]    The present invention provides strategic mobile entertainment, and more particularly includes a mobile application (“app”), content delivery system and method, and a social networking environment for celebrities. The present invention powers every athlete, celebrity, agent, entertainer, content producer, company, league or like well known entity (collectively “celebrity”) with an application platform and content service delivery network enabling the celebrity to create, deploy, and manage his/her “app” in real time. In addition, this gives the celebrity the ability to enhance his/her profile, deepen his/her fanbase, and create an avenue to monetize his/her celebrity. 
         [0033]    The present invention provides a user friendly mobile app interface that provides the opportunity for top sports and entertainment personalities (in coordination with their agent, business manager, etc.) to connect with followers. Along with followers, the present invention provides a collective advertising base that assists celebrities in achieving greater revenue results, allows celebrities to have an increased impact on society, and allows celebrities to achieve a meaningful and long lasting legacy. 
         [0034]    The technology may provide a content aggregation and management tool. The technology further provides media information, social networking, merchandising, statistics, philanthropy, and a push notification that encourages continued contact between the celebrity and his/her followers. The technology may also allow for a variety of revenue models. 
         [0035]      FIG. 3  illustrates a system  400  of providing at least a mobile app in accordance with the present invention. As shown, the system  400  may include at least a content provision hub  402 , which provides a mobile app download and content related thereto for a plurality of mobile apps downloaded to a plurality of user devices. Each such download provides a user app graphical user interface  404  to provide the app content to the users. The content hub further provides a graphical user interface  408 , such as a mobile interface, to at least one celebrity, to enable the celebrity to select and/or upload content for download to the user device apps  404 . The hub  402  preferably additionally tracks all app downloads and user activities, activities of charging server  412  and advertising server  410 , and the like, across different celebrities&#39; apps. 
         [0036]    The system  400  further includes an advertising server  410  that downloads advertisements at the direction of hub  402  to mobile apps  404 . Also included is the charging server  412 , which tracks the charges, i.e., payments due to or from advertisers, the celebrity, or the user. Content  414  may be accessed/generated by celebrity upload, from third party service  416 , and/or from the cloud  420 . Certain of content  414  may require normalization by unifeed normalizer  422  within hub  402  for use of app  404  across multiple platforms and devices. Hub  402  may further include auto-editor  430 , which may edit content using a plurality of editing rules to remove objectionable content in accordance with entered user ages for app users, parental controls, FCC regulations, rules of conduct, or the like. 
         [0037]    The present invention thus provides a “dedicated app” for celebrities. That is, a celebrity or similar well known person may invite fans to download his/her app in order to “follow” solely him/her. At present, celebrities must “share” apps and sites with other celebrities who provide information using that same app or site. “Following” the celebrity through the app of the present invention may thus include, by way of example, providing of statistics of that celebrity (such as for a sport played, television shows starred in, etc.), the availability to request endorsements from that celebrity, the capability to donate money to the favorite charity of that celebrity, the availability to purchase products or services endorsed by that celebrity, the aggregation of social networking feeds of that celebrity (i.e. Twitter or Facebook), and the like, as illustrated in  FIGS. 4A ,  4 B and  4 C. More particularly, the aggregating engine  429  of the present invention may allow for the celebrity to choose content related to him/her from anywhere, and may allow the celebrity to decide what content users will have access to in relation to that celebrity within the celebrity&#39;s dedicated app. 
         [0038]    More particularly, in part because the present invention includes a “dedicated app” for that celebrity, the celebrity may control what appears in his/her app, and/or may be provided with selectable templatization to elect what appears in his/her app. The celebrity may elect what is said in his/her app, such as subject to the editing rules discussed herein with respect to  FIG. 3 . For example, the celebrity may elect to push to users alerts or information, via the app, such as to support/endorse a cause, and the app thus allows the celebrity to receive donations or direct donations to support a favored cause, within the app or otherwise. 
         [0039]    Likewise, the celebrity may select what, or how, to charge for his/her app, and where monies received for the app go. By way of non-limiting example, the celebrity may allow that his/her app be downloadable by fans for a predetermined amount, such as $0.99, and may indicate that a certain percentage, such as 90%, of the proceeds gained from the downloading of the app will be paid to the celebrity&#39;s endorsed charitable cause (wherein all or a portion of the remainder may be payable to the operators of the present invention and/or to the celebrity). On the other hand, by way of example, if the celebrity wishes fans who download his/her app to donate from within the app to the celebrity&#39;s recommended cause “du jour,” and particularly if this cause may change from time to time, the celebrity may prefer to maximize downloads (and hence to maximize potential donors) by offering the app for free. 
         [0040]      FIG. 5  illustrates a method of assessing a charge, such as by the charging server discussed in  FIG. 3 , for an app in the present invention. As illustrated, the exemplary method  300  may allow for maximization of profitability or income from the downloading, or for the maximization of users (such as to optimize advertising income). As shown, the present invention may, upon receiving a request for a dedicated app for a celebrity, company, entity and/or cause (collectively “celebrity” in this example), assess that celebrity&#39;s followers for current social media, at step  302 . Thereafter, at step  304 , business rules may be applied that indicate amounts to be charged for the dedicated app, or for downloaders of the dedicated app. For example, at step  304   a,  any celebrity with at least 25,000 followers, or friends, on one of Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LivingSocial, or the like, may be provided with the requested app for free, and users may be able to download the app for free, thereby optimizing the large number of available users for advertisements in or in relation to that celebrity&#39;s app. At step  304   b,  any celebrity with at least 100,000 followers or friends on another social media site may be offered a stipend, such as from a proposed sponsor of the app for that celeb. Thereby, the present invention provides sponsorship opportunities of a particular celebrity&#39;s app that may be opened for bid. 
         [0041]    At step  304   c,  any celebrity with at least 10,000 followers may receive the app for free, but users may be charged a particular amount, such as, for example, $0.99, to download the app. Alternatively, a user at any step of the present invention who is asked to pay for the app may be offered alternative advertising-based options. For example, the user may agree to use a version of the app that provides advertising in order to eliminate, in whole or in part, an initial charge for the app. Additionally and alternatively, different levels of charges may be levied upon the user based on how many ads the user is willing to accept (i.e., the app may be $9.99 if to be received with no ads, $4.99 with one banner ad per screen view, $0.99 with two ads per screen, or free with unlimited ads per screen). Additionally and alternatively, the user may receive the paid app for free, such as with the purchase of a product or service endorsed by the subject celebrity. Needless to say, in such a case it is preferable that the provider of the product or service so-endorsed must pay a charge to the charging engine of the present invention. 
         [0042]    Yet further, at step  304   d,  any celebrity with less than 10,000 followers may be charged to obtain a dedicated app, and additionally, users may optionally be charged to download the app. Of course, those skilled in the art will appreciate that any one, or other, options for payments or charging for the app, or download thereof, discussed herein may be used with the present invention. By way of non-limiting example, a celebrity may enter his/her “likes” into his/her app, either directly or by importation from a third party social media site, and exploration by a user of such likes may affect a “per-click” charge to the advertiser of the “liked” product or service. Further, exploration and/or purchase of a “liked” or recommended product or service may affect a charge to the advertiser payable to the charging engine, and/or to the athlete, such as through the tracking/charging engine. As such, the present invention may provide metrics as to the success of the endorser as an endorser across all instances of that endorser&#39;s app, such as may be tracked by the content provision hub. 
         [0043]    As discussed herein, obtaining a dedicated app may thus make available to the celebrity endorsements, or sponsorships, not otherwise available to the celebrity. Such endorsements or sponsors may be provided by interface of the present invention to one or more third party purveyors of endorsement or sponsorship opportunities for celebrities. Further, providing the interface to such third party information, such as databases, may allow for collection, by the charging engine of the present invention, of monies to the charging engine as a percentage of any endorsement or sponsorship gained by the celebrity for association with his/her dedicated app. 
         [0044]    Further, the charging engine may allow for a charge to an advertiser for placing an advertisement in the celebrity&#39;s dedicated app. This charge may particularly be levied in the case that the celebrity has an existing endorsement deal with an advertiser, and that advertiser now wishes to place advertisements into the dedicated app of the endorser. Thereby, the charging engine may monitor amounts payable, such as to/from the celebrity, to/from an advertiser, and/or to the operator of the charging engine. For example, the charging engine may track that a celebrity is to pay a fee to make available his/her app, that an endorser is to pay a percentage of ad revenue from the app, that a portion of download fees paid by users is payable to the operator, and/or that a percentage of merchandise sales made through the app, such as sales of products endorsed by the subject celebrity, is to be paid to the operator. 
         [0045]      FIG. 6  illustrates a template that may be provided to a celebrity in preparing a dedicated app for use in the present invention. Thereby, the celebrity can prepare a dedicated app from anywhere, and can interact with his/her dedicated app from anywhere. As such, the celebrity may set preferences for interacting with the celebrity&#39;s GUI for his/her app, and/or may set preferences for how users interact with that celebrity&#39;s app. Such preferences may be enforced across devices and/or across platforms. Further, service of content through the content provision hub/server of the present invention may allow for enforcement of the aforementioned content editing/monitoring rules before content is served to users. 
         [0046]    For example, the content provision server may include the afore-discussed unifeed normalizer for multi-platform and multi-device interaction. Such a normalizer may be based on JavaScript Serialized Object Notation (JSON), which may allow information received from, sent from, or queried by the normalizer/third party sources to be normalized from a native language via JSON to provide downstream compatibility between the normalizer/third party sources and multiple client devices accessing the normalizer. 
         [0047]    As mentioned hereinthroughout, the present invention may be based in a content provision hub from which all apps are provided. The hub can thus track apps downloaded, amounts paid and reasons for payment, the popularity of certain celebrities having apps (i.e., how many apps have been downloaded, and/or are downloaded daily, weekly, monthly, or the like), the success rate of the celebrity as an endorser, the demographic/profile data of users who follow a particular celebrity or celebrities, the likes of celebrities and/or users in a certain field, the purchasing data of purchases made by users through the app, and the like. Thereby, a large volume of inter-related demographic, purchasing and popularity data may be accumulated by the hub. This data may be used for typical means, such as targeted marketing or the like, and additionally may be used to indicate the celebrity&#39;s value as a brand—that is, to allow a celebrity to become an informed brand, whereby the celebrity is aware of, and can illustrate, his/her value as an endorser, as a recipient of sponsorships, as a supporter of causes, and as a public relations net value, by way of non-limiting example. 
         [0048]    The celebrity may, as mentioned herein, provide any of a variety of new, aggregated, or advertising content through the celebrity&#39;s dedicated app. For example, the celebrity may offer his/her own “show,” such as to provide “personal press conferences” to that celebrity&#39;s fans, or to provide that celebrity&#39;s in-app reality show to fans, by way of non-limiting example. Of course, to the extent such a show is provided via video, either in discrete portions, or in a lengthy or non-stop “reality show” format, other revenue opportunities are made available to the athlete by the present invention—such as, but not limited to, endorsements, product placements, and the like. The present invention may allow for an open API which may better facilitate the adaption of one or more existing apps or celebrity centric platforms for use with the GUI of the present invention. 
         [0049]    Additionally, a celebrity may offer “virtual tours,” such as in relation to a “show.” Such tours may be available for locations endorsed by that celebrity, and/or for a stadium (to which tickets are also made available, such as via link within the subject app) in which an athlete plays, and/or of a celebrity&#39;s house in an exotic locale. Likewise, a celebrity may offer “virtual access” to other aspects of his/her life from within his/her app. For example, to the extent the celebrity plays fantasy sports, the celebrity&#39;s fantasy sports teams may be shown in his/her app. Yet further, either for free or a fee, a user may be enabled to play fantasy sports using the celebrity&#39;s fantasy team(s), or against the celebrity&#39;s fantasy team(s). Likewise, the user may pay to play in a league against the favorite celebrity and/or his/her team. 
         [0050]    In such scenarios, to the extent a user pays a fee to play, cash prizes to users may be offered, such as from the pooling of monies of participants and/or from a sponsor of the league associated with that particular celebrity. To the extent the celebrity wins, or places “in the money,” the celebrity&#39;s winnings may be donated to a favorite cause of the celebrity according to the celebrity&#39;s app. For example, if the celebrity wins, all winnings may be donated to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, listed elsewhere in the celebrity&#39;s app as a favored charity of the celebrity. 
         [0051]    For example, a user may be enabled to play fantasy sports through an app provided by a celebrity or by an official league. Such leagues may occur in the typical manner over the course of a season, and/or may be played daily, such as with new teams each day. Daily leagues may be played, as mentioned above, for cash prizes, and may be directed to baseball, soccer, or golf, for example. Weekly games might be directed to college or pro football, for example. 
         [0052]    In any such case, inclusion of the athlete that is the subject of the app on a fantasy team may allow a link from that celebrity providing real-time game day thoughts, injury updates, expectations, or the like, for that athlete or teammates. As such, a user may download apps of one or more players on a fantasy team, such as to get alerts or the like regarding that player or those players. Likewise, a user may execute fantasy sports transactions, such as with respect to the subject athlete of the app, such as by linking the user&#39;s fantasy sports team to the app of the present invention (i.e., by entry of the link to a league, along with a user name and password). 
         [0053]    The present invention may also be suitable for white spacing opportunities with third party partners, including celebrities as discussed above. Thus, if the present invention is used in horse racing, at least the GUI of the present invention may be indicative of a horse racing venue with the user perceiving control by the venue over the interaction. For example, a fantasy game may be played wherein a user selects at least one jockey who will ride at least two horses in a day of racing, for example, with the GUI provided by the present invention landscaped with the look and feel of the race track where the races are to occur, such as, for example, Dover Downs. In this way, either remotely or at the track, the racetrack operator may offer branded fantasy gaming to patrons. 
         [0054]    As illustrated in  FIG. 7 , the present invention may provide a GUI which may allow access to features of the present invention through a user identification queue, such as, for example, the use of a registered email and/or user name. A new user may also have the ability to register as a user and/or proceed as an unregistered user albeit with possibly less access to the present invention than a registered user. Although illustrated in a format suitable for a large screen interface such as that on a home computer, the present invention and GUI may also be suitable for use in a mobile computer environment. 
         [0055]    Entering the game play portion of the present invention may allow the user to participate in fantasy gaming related to the NFL, NHL, MLB, MLS, NBA, MMA, MLL, NASCAR, USTA, ATP and PGA, for example, and/or any sport and/or special contest. As illustrated in  FIG. 8 , a user may select a specific genre of fantasy play, the NFL in this example, and may view more detailed information about each game that is or may be played. In addition to the name of the game or similar identifier, information present to the user may include the game format, the required or suggested fee, the prize pool, locks and availability. 
         [0056]    For example, an NFL fantasy game may be identified as a 10 player game and a $1.00 entry fee with the game resulting in a maximum jackpot/payoff of $9.00. Further, such a game may allow only allow for a certain number of plays from a single user to prevent a single user from playing all available spots (and thus guaranteeing or bettering the odds too far in the user&#39;s favor). In the illustrated example, the number of plays in a single game by the same user may be capped at thirty (30) percent. In this way, the maximum return on a $3 play would be $9.00. 
         [0057]    Each game may be closed when certain criteria have been met. For example, as illustrated in  FIG. 8 , a game may close at a predetermined time and a count-down timer may alert a user to the amount of time remaining until the close of the game. The close out time may be correspondent to the start of game play for at least one player on the user&#39;s fantasy team, and more particularly, on any team within the multi-user fantasy contest. Similarly, a particular game may not lock and may not be officially played if a certain number of players are not registered to play. For example, in a game that allows for a maximum of twenty-five (25) players, a minimum of ten (10) players may be required for the game to be played. Although games may be offered as head-to-head (thus requiring only two (2) players), a game wherein a user expects a larger plurality of players may be cancelled if a minimum number of players (including those users who play multiple times in a single game) do not play. 
         [0058]    The number of players may impact the prize pool/winnings which may be guaranteed if a game is allowed to proceed and/or may be adjusted if the maximum number of players is not reached. For example, in a game which allows a maximum of ten (10) players with an entry fee of $5.00 the maximum prize pool, may be $45.00 when the maximum number of players participate. If the minimum number of players in the same game which will be played is five (5), then the maximum prize pool may be adjusted to $20,00. Similarly, if only nine (9) players participate, the maximum prize pool may be capped at $40.00, for example. 
         [0059]    As illustrated throughout and more specifically by  FIG. 8 , a user of the present invention may create a unique game within the present invention. The created game may be open to play among a group selected by the user and or offered up for play by any user within the system. Players selected for play by the user may be from within the present invention and/or may be non-users (i.e., those not yet registered with the system) who are invited to play and/or join the system for play. Games created by the user can take any form and may be free to play or may require a fee which may be divided into a prize amount and a user fee collected by the system. 
         [0060]    Custom games may include hybrid gaming between sports and may be divided over any defined period of time. For example, a custom game may include at please one player from at least two sports with the scoring additive between the chosen players (one NFL wide receiver and one MLS striker may be among the choices which can be made). Similarly, the time in which the game may end and/or a winner be declared may vary based on the players chosen and the number of games to be played. For example, two players may be chosen from each of the NFL and NCAA Football ranks with the total points being achieved during a specific season of play. Historically, college football ends much earlier than the NFL (both regular season and playoffs/bowl games) which may require flexibility in the time allowed for the game. Thus, for example, if playoffs are included in the scoring of the chosen players, the game may end once the playoffs/bowl season is complete and/or once the chosen players have been eliminated from any further potential play in the designated season. 
         [0061]    The selection of a game to participate in may allow a user to select and populate a team. As discussed above, teams may be populated in any way and may be by position and may be capped in number and/or by salary, for example. As illustrated in  FIG. 9 , an NFL fantasy contest between at least two users may allow a user to select players onto a team with, in this example, a salary cap limitation. As illustrated, the user may select up to nine (9) position player(s) with specific players to fill roles for quarterback (QB), running back (RB), wider receiver (WR), tight end (TE), kicker (K), and defense and/or special teams (D/ST). Not only is this particular game limited to filling these positions with player(s) designated by their real-world teams to play these positions, but each player is assigned a certain salary (denoted in dollars) which is aggregated together with the salaries of all nine (9) players to create a total salary cost of the user&#39;s chosen team. 
         [0062]    In a game where salary cap is the “type” of game to be played, the total salary of the chosen players may not exceed a pre-determined level for every user/player of the game. In the particular game illustrated in  FIG. 9 , the maximum salary of the user selected game may be $80,000. If the aggregate salary cap of the selected players exceeds the maximum salary cap allowed, the user would not be able to enter the selected team into the game until the salary cap was equal to or less than the salary cap applied to each user. 
         [0063]    It should be noted that in some games, the players chosen by a user may not be the same as those players chosen by another user in the same game. The selection of players may also be limited by league or professional team(s), time of actual game play (e.g, only players from sports teams playing on Thursday), and or any other restriction which may limit the pool of available players. 
         [0064]    As further illustrated in  FIG. 9 , the present invention may provide information about each player the user may have the opportunity to draft on to their fantasy team, including the player&#39;s salary cost, potential points which may be scored in the upcoming contest, the opponent to be played and where the game will be held, and the players probability of actually playing in the game. As illustrated in  FIG. 10 , the present invention may also provide detailed information if the user selects and/or mouses over a desired player&#39;s name. In this example, additional information is being displayed for Aaron Rogers of the Green Bay Packers. Such additional information may include past performance statistics, player updates, news wire and RSS feed information, expert analysis, injury updates, future and past game weather conditions, and performance metrics providing game-day performance analytics. 
         [0065]    User interactions, including games to be played, those completed, those in progress and those in queue, may be presented in a fashion illustrated in  FIG. 11 . In an open format, all games for which the user has or may participate may be listed and may further include all sports and game types offered through the present invention. The information may include the prize money won and/or lost, the finishing place as among the other users, the fee paid to participate and the date on which the game was or will be completed. This information may also allow the user to catalogue and/or track their usage and success rate(s) within the system as a whole and in individual game play types. 
         [0066]    Additional information and account control may also be presented to the user and may take the form as illustrated in  FIG. 12 . In addition to providing relevant contact information, a user may also provide any necessary tax ID information as may be required by law and may direct reporting to themselves and/or a professional tax advisor, for example. A user may also link any form of payment/debit to an account and may pre-authorize a level of funds which may be withdrawn from a selected account as needed to participate in a selected game. Of course, a user may also fund a localized “bank” with externally placed funds and/or monies won from game play. Although similar control may be placed over these funds, the “bank” may be drawn upon by an authorized user and may be transferred to other users as desired. 
         [0067]    As may be appreciated by those skilled in the art, a fee may not necessarily be charged for each game play or any interaction by the user with the system. Similarly, fees may be charged to obtain additional information, such as, for example, expert analysis and fantasy play picks/tips, information related to other user selections and game play, and alerts and other communications to assist the user in a successful game play. 
         [0068]    The present invention may also handle games played over a long period of time and may allow for inter-game changes. For example, cricket is a game which can take several forms and may be played over several days. Such a game may be suitable for allowing changes to players and/or teams during specific periods of play. Changes to active games may also be appropriate in tournaments and the like. For example, a fantasy team may be selected from those teams entered into a college basketball tournament. Whether the selections made by the user is on a team and/or player basis, as a team and/or player is eliminated from the tournament, the user may have the opportunity to select at least one additional player/team to continue on in the game play. The rules may allow for additional monies to be paid by the user for such a replacement during play and/or may allow for the stats of the newly chosen team/player to be accrued and counted towards the value needed to win the game play. 
         [0069]    Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the herein described systems and methods may be subject to various modifications and alternative constructions. There is no intention to limit the scope of the invention to the specific constructions described herein. Rather, the herein described systems and methods are intended to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling within the scope and spirit of the invention and its equivalents.