System and method for tracking and rewarding media and entertainment usage including substantially real time rewards

1. A system for rewarding a user for engaging with entertainment comprising:

an audio capture program deployed locally on a user device of a user, the audio capture program being in operable association with a microphone and a user interface that provides for user activation of the microphone such that an audio segment is captured from the entertainment as part of a check-in process associated with the entertainment;

an audio identification engine operably connected to the audio capture program to receive the captured audio segment and compare the captured audio segment to known audio segments associated with known entertainment to identify the entertainment and for checking into the identified entertainment;

a feedback engine operably connected to the user interface such that the user device is provided with feedback regarding user engagement with the checked into entertainment;

a reward identification engine for identifying an awardable action associated with the checked into entertainment, tracking user interaction with the system, and assigning a loyalty point based on the user interaction and the awardable action; and

a reward fulfillment engine that facilitates redemption of the loyalty point for a reward and distributes the reward.

2. The system according to claim 1 wherein the user interface operably associated with the audio capture program provides for manual activation of the microphone.

3. The system according to claim 1 wherein the audio capture program converts the captured audio segment to an audio fingerprint.

4. The system according to claim 3 wherein the audio fingerprint is smaller than the captured audio segment.

5. The system according to claim 1 wherein the reward identification engine adjusts loyalty points awarded for each activity based on data in an account.

6. The system according to claim 1 wherein the reward fulfillment engine adjusts the plurality of rewards available to the user based on data in an account.

7. The system according to claim 1 wherein the reward identification engine provides loyalty points for user performance of a selected activity.

8. The system according to claim 7 wherein the activity is selected from the group consisting of perceiving a broadcast for a number of consecutive weeks, interacting with the broadcast, interacting with an advertisement, sharing information about the broadcast, chatting with another user during the broadcast, participating in a social network, referring another user, activating the audio capture program, viewing a newsletter, providing additional user profile information, and combinations thereof.

9. The system according to claim 8 wherein the additional user profile information is selected from the group consisting of an e-mail address, a Facebook account, a Twitter account, a mobile phone number, third party loyalty card numbers, and combinations thereof.

10. The system according to claim 1 further comprising an identification engine configured to send personalized communications to the user device based on data in an account to incentivize the user to log into the system.

11. The system according to claim 1 further comprising an analytical engine operably connected to the feedback engine to analyze information obtained about the user.

12. The system according to claim 11 further comprising a programming engine operably connected to the reward identification engine to provide the user device with entertainment based on information from the analytical engine.

13. The system according to claim 11 further comprising a programming engine operably connected to the reward identification engine to provide the user device with an advertisement based on information from the analytical engine.

14. A method of rewarding a user for engaging with entertainment comprising:

capturing an audio segment from the entertainment upon detecting user activation of a microphone associated with an audio capture program as part of a check-in process associated with the entertainment;

comparing, by a processor, the captured segment to known segments associated with known entertainment to identify the entertainment and for checking into the identified entertainment;

identifying an awardable action associated with the checked into entertainment;

tracking user interaction with the system and providing a loyalty point based on the user interaction and the awardable action; and

facilitating redemption of the loyalty point for a reward.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein facilitating redemption of the loyalty point includes sending a tangible reward.

16. The method of claim 14 , further comprising analyzing information obtained about the use for providing entertainment to the use device.

17. The method of claim 14 , further comprising analyzing information obtained about the user for providing an advertisement to the user device.

18. The method of claim 14 , further comprising wherein the providing of the loyalty point is in response to detecting user performance of a selected activity.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the activity is selected from the group consisting of perceiving a broadcast for a number of consecutive weeks, interacting with the broadcast, interacting with an advertisement, sharing information about the broadcast, chatting with another user during the broadcast, participating, in a social network, referring another user, activating the audio capture program, viewing a newsletter, providing additional user profile information, and combinations thereof.

20. The method of claim 14 , further comprising converting the captured audio segment to an audio fingerprint.