Patent ID: 7917754

Claim:
A nontransitory computer readable storage medium for linking businesses to customers through a trusted source network comprising: the nontransitory computer readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon which when executed by a processor perform a process for linking businesses to customers through a trusted source network, the process comprising: providing an authenticated rating and review/referral database; obtaining access to a plurality of unauthenticated user ratings and/or reviews of a business and/or product at an unauthenticated rating and review portal, the unauthenticated ratings and/or reviews being those reviews originating from a user that has not been verified to be a bona fide customer of the business being rated or a bona fide consumer of the product being rated; authenticating one or more of the plurality of unauthenticated user ratings and/or reviews as originating from a bona fide customer of the business being rated or from a bona fide consumer of the product being rated, the one or more authenticated user ratings and/or reviews thus establishing authenticated ratings and/or reviews of a business and/or product; transferring the authenticated ratings and/or reviews of a business and/or product from the unauthenticated rating and review portal to the authenticated rating and review/referral database; and providing at least one authenticated rating or review from the authenticated rating and review/referral database to one or more users of a networked community website through the networked community website, wherein the authenticated rating and review/referral database includes ratings from users of the networked community website and also from users of websites other than the networked community website and wherein the users of the networked community website are only provided ratings and reviews originated by users of the networked community website; providing at least one authenticated rating or review from the authenticated rating and review/referral database to one or more users of a second website other than the networked community website, wherein the at least one authenticated ratings or reviews provided to the users of the second website include authenticated ratings and reviews originated by users of the networked community website in addition to ratings and reviews originated by others.