Patent ID: 8600858

Claim:
A computer-implemented method comprising: initiating, by a computer system, a forecasting contest based at least in part on a financial instrument; receiving, by the computer system, a plurality of picks for the forecasting contest from one or more users; monitoring, by the computer system, the plurality of picks based at least in part on market data, the market data including pricing information for the financial instrument; determining, by the computer system, user performance metrics for the one or more users based on the monitoring, the determination of the user performance metrics comprising: receiving, by the computer system from a first user, a positive indication for a second user, wherein the second user generated a pick from the plurality of picks for the forecasting contest; identifying, by the computer system, a number of followers of the second user; and generating, by the computer system, the user performance metrics for the one or more users based at least in part on (1) the positive indication for the second user received from the first user and (2) the identified number of followers of the second user; receiving, by the computer system, a social media content item describing the financial instrument from a third-party social media channel; determining, by the computer system, a financial classification for the social media content item received from the third-party social media channel based at least in part on one or more financial terms included in the content item; determining, by the computer system, a polarity of the financial instrument based on the determined classification for the social media content item received from the third-party social media channel; and determining, by the computer system, financial sentiment for the financial instrument using (1) the received picks, (2) the determined user performance metrics, and (3) the determined polarity of the financial instrument determined based on the determined classification for the social media content item received from the third-party social media channel.