DATA PROCESSING SYSTEM FOR MANAGING ACTIVITIES LINKED TO MULTIMEDIA CONTENT

1 . A computer-implemented data processing method for electronically managing a conversation that is linked to one or more segments of multimedia content divided into a plurality of segments, and for electronically analyzing activities that make up the conversation, comprising:

a. selecting one or more electronic data records from a plurality of electronic data records that are linked to one or more segments of a particular multimedia content, wherein each one of the selected one or more electronic data records comprises activity information that is part of a conversation related to one or more segments of a particular multimedia content, an identifier of the particular multimedia content and one or more data fields selected from a group consisting of:

i. an identifier of the viewer that submitted the activity;

ii. segment information for a segment of the particular multimedia content associated with the activity;

iii. an identifier of a type of activity;

iv. an identifier for a related activity;

v. a time stamp for when the activity was initiated;

vi. a time stamp for when the activity was submitted;

vii. a length of the activity;

viii. a reaction type;

ix. a reply count;

x. an activity count;

xi. a question flag;

xii. an answer flag; and

xiii. an activity type;

b. generating a sentiment value for each one of the one or more electronic data records selected from the plurality of electronic data records;

c. transforming the sentiment values for the one or more electronic data records into at least one sentiment score.

2 . The computer-implemented data processing method of claim 1 , wherein the step of generating a sentiment value for each one of the one or more electronic data records further comprises:

a. evaluating the activity information for each particular one of the one or more electronic data records to determine the type of activity contained therein, wherein the type of activity is selected from a group consisting of:

i. a predefined text activity that the first viewer can select via the first graphical user interface;

i. a plurality of reactions that a viewer can select from via a graphical user interface when viewing the particular multimedia content, and

ii. a custom text entry that is entered by the viewer via the graphical user interface in response to the content of the particular multimedia content or to a activity submitted by another viewer,

b. calculating a sentiment value for each activity type, wherein:

i. each predefined text activity is assigned a corresponding predefined sentiment value;

ii. each type of reaction from the plurality of reactions has a corresponding predefined sentiment value, and

iii. each custom text activity is passed through a sentiment filter that determines a sentiment value based on the contents of the custom text.

3 . The computer-implemented data processing method of claim 2 , wherein the step of:

a. selecting one or more electronic data records from a plurality of electronic data records that are linked to one or more segments of a particular multimedia content further comprises selecting the one or more electronic data records for a particular viewer; and

b. transforming the sentiment values for the one or more electronic data records into at least one sentiment score further comprises generating a sentiment score for each segment of the particular multimedia content based on each of the one or more electronic data records linked to each respective segment of the particular multimedia content.

4 . The computer-implemented data processing method of claim 3 , further comprising one or more steps selected from a group consisting of:

a. determining, from the selected one or more electronic data records for the particular viewer, a length of time that the particular viewer spends viewing each of the one or more segments of the particular multimedia content;

b. determining, from the selected one or more electronic data records for the particular viewer, a total number of activities submitted by the particular viewer for the particular multimedia content;

c. determining, from the selected one or more electronic data records for the particular viewer, a total number of activities submitted by the particular viewer for each type of content that is contained in the particular multimedia content, wherein the type of content comprises one or more of audio content, video content, and documents;

d. determining, from the selected one or more electronic data records for the particular viewer, a total number of activities submitted by the particular viewer that elicited a conversation with one or more other viewers;

e. determining, from the selected one or more electronic data records for the particular viewer, a total number of activities submitted by the particular viewer that were in reply to a activities submitted by another viewer;

f. determining, from the selected one or more electronic data records for the particular viewer, a total number of activities submitted by the particular viewer that were questions;

g. determining, from the selected one or more electronic data records for the particular viewer, a total number of activities submitted by the particular viewer that were questions that elicited a response from other viewers;

h. determining, from the selected one or more electronic data records for the particular viewer, a total number of reactions and/or type of reactions that were elicited from other viewers in response to activities submitted by the particular viewer;

i. determining, from the selected one or more electronic data records for the particular viewer, a total number of reactions and/or type of reactions that were submitted by the particular viewer;

j. determining, from the selected one or more electronic data records for the particular viewer, a day and/or a time of day for each comment submitted by the particular viewer;

k. determining, from the selected one or more electronic data records for the particular viewer whether the viewer was distracted while viewing the multimedia content;

l. determining from the selected one or more electronic data records whether the particular viewer pauses while viewing the multimedia content, and

m. determining, from the selected one or more electronic data records for the particular viewer, a total number of words in each activities submitted by the particular viewer.

5 . The computer-implemented data processing method of claim 4 , further comprising the step of calculating an engagement score for the particular viewer with respect to the particular multimedia content based on one or more of:

a. the length of time that the particular viewer spends viewing each of the one or more segments of the particular multimedia content;

b. the length of time that the particular viewer was distracted;

c. the length of time that the particular viewer paused the particular multimedia content;

d. the number of times that the particular viewer's user interface lost focus;

e. the total number of activities submitted by the particular viewer for the particular multimedia content;

f. the total number of activities submitted by the particular viewer for each type of content that is contained in the particular multimedia content;

g. the total number of activities submitted by the particular viewer that were in reply to an activity submitted by another viewer that are associated with the one or more segments of the particular multimedia content;

h. the total number of activities submitted by the particular viewer that are associated with the one or more segments of the particular multimedia content;

i. the total number of reactions and/or type of reactions submitted by the particular viewer that are associated with the one or more segments of the particular multimedia content; and

j. the total number of words in each activity submitted by the particular viewer that is associated with the one or more segments of the particular multimedia content.

6 . The computer-implemented data processing method of claim 4 , further comprising the step of calculating an influence score for the particular viewer based on one or more of:

a. the total number of activities submitted by the particular viewer for the particular multimedia content;

b. the total number of activities submitted by the particular viewer that elicited a conversation with one or more other viewers;

c. the total number of activities submitted by the particular viewer that were in reply to an activity submitted by another viewer;

d. the total number of activities submitted by the particular viewer that were questions that elicited a response from other viewers;

e. the total number of reactions and/or type of reactions that were elicited from other viewers in response to activities submitted by the particular viewer;

f. the total number of reactions and/or type of reactions that were submitted by the particular viewer;

g. the total number of words in each activity submitted by the particular viewer; and

h. the sentiment score calculated based on the sentiment value assigned to each one of the activities for the particular viewer

7 . The computer-implemented data processing method of claim 1 , further comprising:

a. filtering the selected one or more electronic data records by a segment identifier for one segment of the particular multimedia content;

b. generating a sentiment value for each electronic data record of the filtered, selected one or more electronic data records; and

c. transforming the generated sentiment values for each electronic data record of the filtered, selected one or more electronic data records into a sentiment score for the one segment of the particular multimedia content.

8 . The computer-implemented data processing method of claim 1 , further comprising:

a. separating the selected one or more electronic data records into:

i. a first plurality of electronic data records that are associated with a first segment of the particular multimedia content, and

ii. a second plurality of electronic data records that are associated with a second segment of the particular multimedia content;

b. generating a sentiment value for:

i. each electronic data record in the first plurality of electronic data records, and

ii. each electronic data record in the second plurality of electronic data records;

c. transforming the sentiments values for:

i. the first plurality of electronic data records into a first sentiment score, and

ii. the second plurality of electronic data records into a second sentiment score; and

d. displaying the first sentiment score and the second sentiment score on a graphical user interface.

9 . The computer-implemented data processing method of claim 8 , wherein the step of displaying the first sentiment score and the second sentiment score on a graphical user interface further comprises generating a histogram of the first and second sentiment scores versus the corresponding first and second segments.

10 . A electronic data processing system for electronically managing a conversation that is linked to one or more segments of multimedia content divided into a plurality of segments, and for electronically analyzing activities that make up the conversation, comprising:

a. one or more processors;

b. one or more databases coupled to the one or more processors;

c. a plurality of electronic data records stored in the one or more databases, each one of the plurality of electronic data records corresponding to an activity submitted by a viewer and comprising an identifier for the multimedia content, an identifier for the viewer who submitted the activity, and one or more data fields selected from a group consisting of:

i. text contained in the activity;

ii. a time stamp for when the activity was initiated;

iii. a time stamp for when the activity was submitted;

iv. a length of the activity;

v. a number of words contained in the activity;

vi. a reaction type;

vii. a reply count;

viii. an activity count;

ix. a question flag;

x. an answer flag;

xi. an activity type; and

xii. an identifier for a related activity that is linked to the activity;

wherein the one or more processors are configured for:

i. evaluating the activity data fields for each of one or more of the plurality of electronic data records to determine the type of activity contained therein, wherein the type of activity is selected from a group consisting of:

a predefined text activity that the first viewer can select via the first graphical user interface;

a plurality of reactions that a viewer can select from via a graphical user interface when viewing the particular multimedia content, and

a custom text entry that is entered by the viewer via the graphical user interface in response to the subject matter of the particular multimedia content or to an activity submitted by another viewer,

ii. calculating a sentiment value for each activity type, wherein:

each predefined text activity is assigned a corresponding predefined sentiment value;

each type of reaction from the plurality of reactions has a corresponding predefined sentiment value, and

each custom text entry is passed through a sentiment filter to determine a sentiment value based on the contents of the custom text.

iii. transforming the generated sentiment values for the one or more of the plurality of electronic data records into one or more sentiment scores.

11 . The electronic data processing system of claim 10 , wherein the one or more of the plurality of electronic data records belong to either a first plurality of electronic data records linked to a first segment of the multimedia content or to a second plurality of electronic data records linked to a second segment of the multimedia content.

12 . The electronic data processing system of claim 11 , wherein:

a. the step of transforming the generated sentiment values for the one or more of the plurality of electronic data records into one or more sentiment scores further comprises calculating:

i. a first sentiment score for the first segment of the multimedia content, and

ii. a second sentiment score for the second segment of multimedia content; and

b. wherein the one or more processors are further configured to display a graph of the first sentiment score and the second sentiment score versus the first and second segment.

13 . The electronic data processing system of claim 12 , wherein the first and second pluralities of electronic data records are linked to a particular viewer.

14 . The electronic data processing system of claim 12 , wherein the first and second pluralities of electronic data records are for all viewers of the multimedia content.

15 . The electronic data processing system of claim 12 , wherein the first and second pluralities of electronic data records are linked a particular group of viewers.

16 . A computer-implemented data processing method for electronically managing a conversation that is linked to one or more segments of multimedia content divided into a plurality of segments, and for electronically analyzing activities that make up the conversation, comprising:

a. providing a plurality of electronic data records stored in the one or more databases, each one of the plurality of electronic data records corresponding to an activity submitted by a viewer and comprising an identifier for a multimedia content, an identifier for the viewer who submitted the activity, and one or more data fields selected from a group consisting of:

i. text associated with the activity when the activity is a comment submitted by the viewer;

ii. a time stamp for when the activity was initiated;

iii. a time stamp for when the activity was submitted;

iv. the number of words in the text associated with the activity;

v. a reply count;

vi. an activity count;

vii. a question flag;

viii. an answer flag;

ix. an activity type; and

x. an identifier for a related comment;

b. generating a sentiment value for each one of the plurality of electronic data records; and

c. transforming the sentiment values for at least some of the plurality of electronic data records into one or more sentiment scores.

17 . The computer-implemented data processing method of claim 16 , wherein generating a sentiment value for each of the plurality of electronic data records further comprises:

a. evaluating the activity type for each particular one of the plurality of electronic data records to determine the type of activity contained therein, wherein the type of activity is selected from a group consisting of:

i. a predefined text activity that the first viewer can select via the first graphical user interface;

ii. a plurality of reactions that a viewer can select from via a graphical user interface when viewing the multimedia content, and

iv. a custom text entry that is entered by the viewer via the graphical user interface in response to the subject matter of the multimedia content or to an activity submitted by another viewer,

c. calculating a sentiment value for each activity type, wherein:

i. each predefined text activity is assigned a corresponding predefined sentiment value;

ii. each type of reaction from the plurality of reactions has a corresponding predefined sentiment value, and

iii. each custom text entry is passed through a sentiment filter that determines a sentiment value based on the contents of the custom text.

18 . The computer-implemented data processing system of claim 16 , wherein the plurality of electronic data records belong to either a first plurality of electronic data records linked to a first segment of a particular multimedia content or to a second plurality of electronic data records linked to a second segment of the particular multimedia content.

19 . The computer-implemented data processing method of claim 18 , wherein:

a. the step of transforming the generated sentiment values for at least some of the plurality of electronic data records into one or more sentiment scores further comprises the step of calculating:

i. a first sentiment score for the first segment of the multimedia content, and

ii. a second sentiment score for the second segment of multimedia content; and

b. the method further comprising displaying the first sentiment score and the second sentiment score for the respective first segment and second segment on a graphical user interface.

20 . The computer-implemented data processing method of claim 18 , wherein the first and second pluralities of electronic data records are linked to a particular viewer.