Syndicated ratings and reviews

Abstract

The present invention relates to a computerized system and method for syndicating independent review and rating information for use by third parties. In one aspect, the present invention includes a method and system for allowing web site operators to cause syndicated ratings from an independent rating provider to appear on web pages generated in response to requests to the operators' web sites, while preserving the independence of the content of the ratings and providing assurance to the viewing public of that independence. Aspects of the present invention allow for ratings from an independent rating provider to be provided in real time and further assists the rating provider in obtaining additional ratings through the web site operators' web pages.

1 - 38 . (canceled) 
     
     
         39 . A method comprising:
 maintaining on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium associated with a computing device a controlled-access community rating database comprising rating information provided by members of a community, the rating information associated with one or more content items including a first content item;   providing, via the computing device, a syndication reference to a first publisher of a content description, the content description containing information associated with the first content item;   receiving, at the computing device, a request from a client computing device, the request comprising a publisher identifier (ID) identifying the first publisher of the content description associated with the first content item and a syndication reference including a content identifier (ID) associated with the first content item;   generating, via at least one processor of the computing device, a community rating for the first content item using the rating information associated with the first content item in the controlled-access community rating database;   transmitting, over a network via the computing device, the community rating for the first content item to the client computing device, the transmission causing a user interface to be displayed on a display of the client computing device, the user interface comprising the community rating for the first content item.   
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 39 , wherein each individual rating is independently stored from any other member and publisher's control or oversight. 
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 39 , further comprising:
 verifying, via the computing device, that the first publisher identified by the publisher ID is authorized to provide a community rating generated from the rating information in the controlled-access community rating database,   wherein generating the community rating is further based on the verification.   
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 41 , further comprising:
 updating, via the computing device, access information associated with the publisher ID, the access information comprising information indicating that the community rating was provided to the client computing device in response to the request.   
     
     
         43 . The method of  claim 42 , further comprising:
 making, via the computing device, the access information available to the publisher.   
     
     
         44 . The method of  claim 39 , further comprising:
 receiving, at the computing device, a member identifier (ID) of a first member from a membership data structure on the client computing device;   
     
     
         45 . The method of  claim 44 , further comprising:
 retrieving, via the computing device, member rating information previously provided by the first member from the access-controlled community rating database using the member ID and content ID, the member rating information including a member rating for the first content item; and   transmitting, over the network via the computing device, the member rating for the first content item to the client computing device, the transmission causing the member rating and the community rating for the first content item to be displayed in the user interface at the client computing device.   
     
     
         46 . The method of  claim 44 , further comprising:
 making, via the computing device, a determination using the member ID, content ID and the controlled-access community rating database that the first member has yet to review the content item; and   causing, via the computing device, the user interface to display, at the client computing device, a review control selectable by the first member to submit a review of the first content item.   
     
     
         47 . The method of  claim 46 , further comprising:
 receiving, at the computing device, a review of the first content item from the client computing device; and   storing, via the computing device, the received review of the first content item in the controlled-access community rating database.   
     
     
         48 . The method of  claim 44 , further comprising:
 making, via the computing device, a determination using the member ID, content ID and the controlled-access community rating database that the first member has yet to rate the content item; and   causing, via the computing device, the user interface to display, at the client computing device, a rate control interface element selectable by the first member to submit a rating of the first content item.   
     
     
         49 . The method of  claim 48 , further comprising:
 receiving, at the computing device, a rating of the first content item from the client computing device; and   storing, via the computing device, the received rating of the first content item in the controlled-access community rating database.   
     
     
         50 . The method of  claim 46 , the user interface further comprising a user interface control selectable by the first member to cause a number of reviews of the content retrieved from the access-controlled community rating database to be displayed On the display of the client computing device. 
     
     
         51 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium tangibly encoded with computer-executable instructions that when executed by a processor associated with a computing device perform a method comprising:
 maintaining on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium associated with a computing device a controlled-access community rating database comprising rating information provided by members of a community, the rating information associated with one or more content items including a first content item;   providing a syndication reference to a first publisher of a content description, the content description containing information associated with the first content item;   receiving a request from a client computing device, the request comprising a publisher identifier (ID) identifying the first publisher of the content description associated with the first content item and a syndication reference including a content identifier (ID) associated with the first content item;   generating a community rating for the first content item identified using the rating information associated with the first content item in the controlled-access community rating database;   transmitting, over a network, the community rating for the first content item to the client computing device, the transmission causing a user interface to be displayed on a display of the client computing device, the user interface comprising the community rating for the first content item.   
     
     
         52 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 51 , further comprising:
 receiving a member identifier (ID) of a first member from a membership data structure on the client computing device;   
     
     
         53 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 52 , the method further comprising:
 retrieving member rating information previously provided by the first member from the access-controlled community rating database using the member ID and content ID, the member rating information including a member rating for the first content item; and   transmitting the member rating for the first content item over the network to the client computing device, the transmission causing the member rating and the community rating for the first content item to be displayed in the user interface at the client computing device.   
     
     
         54 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 52 , the method further comprising:
 making a determination using the member ID, content ID and the controlled-access community rating database that the first member has yet to review the content item; and   causing the user interface to display, at the client computing device, a review control selectable by the first member to submit a review of the first content item.   
     
     
         55 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 54 , the method further comprising:
 receiving a review of the first content item from the client computing device; and   storing the received review of the first content item in the controlled-access community rating database.   
     
     
         56 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 52 , the method further comprising:
 making a determination using the member ID, content ID and the controlled-access community rating database that the first member has yet to rate the content item; and   causing the user interface to display, at the client computing device, a rate control interface element selectable by the first member to submit a rating of the first content item.   
     
     
         57 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 56 , the method further comprising:
 receiving a rating of the first content item from the client computing device; and   storing the received rating of the first content item in the controlled-access community rating database.   
     
     
         58 . A computing device comprising:
 a processor;   a non-transitory storage medium for tangibly storing thereon program logic for execution by the processor, the program logic comprising:   maintaining logic executed by the processor for maintaining on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium associated with a computing device a controlled-access community rating database comprising rating information provided by members of a community, the rating information associated with one or more content items including a first content item;   providing logic executed by the processor for providing a syndication reference to a first publisher of a content description, the content description containing information associated with the first content item;   receiving logic executed by the processor for receiving a request from a client computing device, the request comprising a publisher identifier (ID) identifying the first publisher of the content description associated with the first content item and a syndication reference including a content identifier (ID) associated with the first content item;   generating logic executed by the processor for generating a community rating for the first content item using the rating information associated with the first content item in the controlled-access community rating database;   transmitting logic executed by the processor for transmitting, over a network, the community rating for the first content item to the client computing device, the transmission causing a user interface to be displayed on a display of the client computing device, the user interface comprising the community rating for the first content item.