Granted Patent B2

US 9,621,726 · App. 14/667,549 · Granted Apr 11, 2017

Abstract

Claims (76)

1. A computer-implemented system for detecting events for use in an automated call center environment, comprising:

a call center comprising at least one computer processor that is connected to an Internetwork and that is configured to:

monitor a plurality of social media messages from one or more sources comprising one or more third-party servers that are connected to the Internetwork;

identify those messages sharing one or more keywords representative of one or more potential events;

detect the one or more potential events based on the shared keywords;

identify at least one of the potential events as an event based on the number of messages sharing the keywords representative of that potential event;

extract metadata regarding the event from the messages sharing the keywords representative of the event;

obtain information regarding the event from a third party different from the one or more sources of the monitored messages comprising gathering the information from a website associated with the third party via the Internetwork;

generate a message regarding the event, the generated message comprising the extracted metadata and the information; and

provide the generated message from the call center to at least one user related to the event.

2. A system according to claim 1 , the at least one computer processor further configured to:

process the messages sharing the keywords, comprising at least one of:

count the messages sharing the keywords representative of each of the potential events;

assign a weight to each of the counted messages based on at least one the keywords comprised in the message and an author of the message, and calculating a weighted count based on the assigned weight;

set one of the count and the weighted count as a score; and

apply a threshold to the score,

wherein the at least one potential event is identified as the event upon the score satisfying the threshold.

3. A system according to claim 1 , the at least one computer processor further configured to:

compare the monitored messages and identify those messages with common words based on the comparison; and

designate at least some of those messages with the common words as the messages sharing the keywords representative of the potential events.

4. A system according to claim 1 , the at least one computer processor further configured to:

maintain an index of keywords;

identify those messages comprising words matching the keywords in the index; and

designate those messages comprising the matching keywords as the messages sharing the keywords representative of the potential events.

5. A system according to claim 1 , the at least one computer processor further configured to:

filter the monitored messages based on at least one of a time each of the messages is posted, a topic of each of the messages, and a type of the messages.

6. A system according to claim 1 , wherein the metadata comprises at least one of a person, organization, time, and location.

7. A system according to claim 1 , the at least one computer processor further configured to:

automatically deliver the generated message to the user.

8. A system according to claim 1 , the at least one computer processor further configured to:

educate an agent regarding the event comprising delivering the message to the agent and directing the agent to deliver a content of the generated message to the user.

9. A system according to claim 1 , the at least one computer processor further configured to at least one of:

receive at the call center a communication from the user; and

transmit the message to the user at a time comprising at least one of before receiving the communication, while receiving the communication, and after the communication.

10. A system according to claim 9 , the at least one computer processor further configured to:

track additional communications received from the user regarding the event;

determine whether the user has repeatedly contacted the call center regarding the event based on the communication and the additional communications; and

assign the user to a top of the agent's queue based upon the determination.

11. A computer-implemented method for detecting events for use in an automated call center environment, comprising the steps of:

monitoring via an Internetwork by at least one server comprised in a call center a plurality of social media messages from one or more sources comprising one or more third party servers;

identifying those messages sharing one or more keywords representative of one or more potential events;

detecting by the at least one server the one or more potential events based on the shared keywords;

identifying by the at least one server at least one of the potential events as an event based on the number of messages sharing the keywords representative of that potential event;

extracting by the at least one server metadata regarding the event from the messages sharing the keywords representative of the event;

obtaining information regarding the event from a third party different from the one or more sources of the monitored messages, comprising gathering the information from a website associated with the third party via the Internetwork;

generating by the at least one server a message regarding the event, the generated message comprising the extracted metadata and the information; and

providing the generated message from the call center to at least one user related to the event,

wherein the steps are performed by a suitably programmed computer.

12. A method according to claim 11 , further comprising:

processing the messages sharing the keywords, comprising at least one of:

counting the messages sharing the keywords representative of each of the potential events;

assigning a weight to each of the counted messages based on at least one the keywords comprised in the message and an author of the message, and calculating a weighted count based on the assigned weight;

setting one of the count and the weighted count as a score; and

applying a threshold to the score,

wherein the at least one potential event is identified as the event upon the score satisfying the threshold.

13. A method according to claim 11 , further comprising:

comparing the monitored messages and identifying those messages with common words based on the comparison; and

designating at least some of those messages with the common words as the messages sharing the keywords representative of the potential events.

14. A method according to claim 11 , further comprising:

maintaining an index of keywords;

identifying those messages comprising words matching the keywords in the index; and

designating the messages comprising the matching keywords as the messages sharing the keywords representative of the potential events.

15. A method according to claim 11 , further comprising:

filtering the monitored messages based on at least one of a time each of the messages is posted, a topic of each of the messages, and a type of the messages.

16. A method according to claim 11 , wherein the metadata comprises at least one of a person, organization, time, and location.

17. A method according to claim 11 , further comprising:

automatically delivering the generated message to the user.

18. A method according to claim 11 , further comprising:

educating an agent regarding the event comprising delivering the message to the agent and directing the agent to deliver a content of the generated message to the user.

19. A method according to claim 11 , further comprising at least one of:

receiving at the call center a communication from the user;

transmitting the message to the user at a time comprising at least one of before receiving the communication, while receiving the communication, and after the communication.

20. A method according to claim 19 , further comprising:

tracking additional communications received from the user regarding the event;

determining whether the user has repeatedly contacted the call center regarding the event based on the communication and the additional communications; and

assigning the user to a top of the agent's queue based upon the determination.

Assignments (16)