Patent ID: 7627810

Claim:
A method for sharing multimedia presentations among a group of participants, comprising: providing rich media files comprising a plurality of different types of rich media; storing the rich media files in a searchable database as dynamic rich media objects that are defined in accordance with an object data model having a plurality of predefined object attribute fields for rich media presentations, wherein the object data model supports a plurality of queries used to search and retrieve stored dynamic rich media objects based on data contents of the plurality of predefined object attribute fields for each dynamic rich media object, wherein the predefined object attribute fields are defined to include: an object identifier field for storing an object identifier that identifies a corresponding dynamic rich media object, a start-time field for storing a start time attribute for the corresponding dynamic rich media object; a participant-access control permission key field for storing participant-access control permission keys for the corresponding dynamic rich media object; one or more participant-progress tracking fields that store a tracking attribute that identifies a participant's personal progress in viewing the corresponding dynamic rich media object, and one or more participant input fields that store participant inputs that are received in response to participant interaction with the corresponding dynamic rich media object; creating a rich media presentation by associating a group of the dynamic rich media objects with an identifier for the presentation and one or more participant access control permission keys; providing a participant interface for selectively requesting to view the presentation, and for receiving input from a participant in the group of participants in connection with one or more dynamic rich media objects when presented to the participant as part of the presentation; in response to a request to view the presentation, automatically assembling a plurality of the dynamic rich media objects in real time on a server so that the dynamic rich media objects are displayed on the basis of the start-time attribute of each dynamic rich media object, wherein the server distributes to a requesting participant a version of the rich media presentation that dynamically varies in response to the participant-access control-permission keys and one or more participant-progress tracking attributes related to the requesting participant; and storing participant-progress tracking and participant input in the database when the requesting participant has viewed at least a portion of one or more of the dynamic rich media objects in the presentation, whereby when one of the participant's requests to view the presentation after watching at least a portion of one or more of the dynamic rich media objects in the presentation, a percentage of the multimedia presentation viewed by a requesting participant is computed.