Method and apparatus for conducting an information brokering services

Abstract

A system and method is provided that provides an early indication of consensus of opinion among a number of users regarding an event or observation indicated by a user. These opinions can be interesting to an information consumer, for determining the outcome of the consensus relating to the event or observation, or for performing surveillance or survey of a particular issue or subject. Such recognition of early events or observations can be useful in different areas, such as healthcare, finance, etc., where initial observations, if provided early, allow resulting decisions to be made much earlier. The opinion can, for instance, be used as an early indicator of problem with a product, company, etc. that would permit an information consumer to perform an action at a much earlier point than if he/she relied on traditional sources of information. Thus, such opinion information can be invaluable as a tool for monitoring events.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for conducting an online information brokering service, the method comprising acts of:
 permitting at least one user to define a prediction of an event; and   accepting, from at least one other user, an opinion regarding the defined prediction; and   compensating the at least one other user if the opinion is correct.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one user does not place a wager to qualify for being compensated. 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the prediction of the event is defined by the at least one user without intervention of an operator of the online information brokering service. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising an act of paying, by a information consumer, for opinion information relating to the prediction of the event. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 4 , wherein the act of paying does not depend on whether the prediction of the event is correct. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 4 , wherein the act of paying is independent of the outcome of the event. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising an act of determining a value of the opinion information. 
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 7 , further comprising an act of conducting a bid process among a plurality of information consumers, and wherein a result of the bid process determines the value of the opinion information. 
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising an act of compensating the at least one user if the opinion is correct.