Patent Document ID: 9026916
Application ID: 13167452

Base Claim:
1. A system for managing user-generated questions and answers across multiple social media sources comprising: a processor; a non-transitory memory; computer program code stored within the non-transitory memory and able to be executed by the processor; a plurality of social media data sources, stored in data of the non-transitory memory, configured to maintain data representing a collection of knowledge from its respective members; a social media question and answer (Q&A) manager, comprising at least a portion of the computer program code, configured to organize and present knowledge from the plurality of social media data sources for a user-entered question, wherein said social media Q&A manager operates independent of the plurality of social media data sources; and an answer quality calculator, comprising at least a portion of the computer program code, configured determine an answer quality for each element of knowledge, wherein said answer quality quantitatively represents a completeness and reliability of the knowledge with respect to the user-entered question, wherein the answer quality is based upon a plurality of quality factors, wherein said plurality of quality factors comprise an identifier of an author of the knowledge, a competency level of the author of the knowledge, an amount of time in which the author provided the knowledge, an identifier of the social media data source containing the knowledge, a position of the knowledge within a data structure of the social media data source, a feedback rating assigned to the knowledge by visitors of the social media data source, and references associated with the knowledge.

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Claim 4:
4. The system of claim 1 , further comprising: a communications handler, comprising at least a portion of the computer program code, configured to establish communications sessions between the social media Q&A manager and the plurality of social media data sources, wherein said communications sessions are established using at least one of a set of authorization credentials associated with a user of the social media Q&A manager, a set of authorization credentials associated with an entity providing use of the social media Q&A manager, and a set of guest authorization credentials, wherein said set of guest authorization credentials at least allows an ability to search the knowledge of the at least one applicable social media data source and submit the user-entered question.