Patent ID: 8392336

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of determining a networking power of an entertainment professional, the computer-implemented method comprising: identifying, by at least one processor of one or more computer systems, first-tier connections from a network of individuals, each of the first-tier connections being an individual who has worked on an entertainment project with the entertainment professional; identifying, by the at least one processor of the one or more computer systems, second-tier connections from the network of individuals, each of the second-tier connections being an individual who has not worked on any entertainment project with the entertainment professional but who has worked on an entertainment project with at least one of the first-tier connections; obtaining, by the one or more computer systems, a popularity rating of the entertainment professional and of each of the first- and second-tier connections; identifying, by the at least one processor of the one or more computer systems, the first- and second-tier connections whose popularity rating is less than the popularity rating of the entertainment professional; for each of the first- and second-tier connections whose popularity rating is less than the popularity rating of the entertainment professional, determining, by the at least one processor of the one or more computer systems, a leverage indicator for a relationship between the entertainment professional and the first- or second-tier connection by calculating the difference between the popularity rating of the entertainment professional and the popularity rating of the first- or second-tier connection, the leverage indicator being indicative of an amount of leverage the entertainment professional has in the relationship between the entertainment professional and the first- or second-tier connection; and determining, by the at least one processor of the one or more computer systems, the networking power of the entertainment professional by aggregating the leverage indicators for the relationships between the entertainment professional and each of the first- and second-tier connections whose popularity ratings are less than the popularity rating of the entertainment professional.