Method and apparatus for obtaining response data

Abstract

In an embodiment, a new action request is received by the data manager from any of the plurality of users and stored in the data store. The data manager provides the new action requests to at least some of the plurality of users and, thereafter, receives responses from responsive users. The data manager then stores the responses (optionally, with a time stamp) in the data store in a manner such that the responses are associated with corresponding ones of the responsive users. Additional data about, response from or an identity of a first user of the plurality of users may be authenticated, and information regarding responses to a plurality of instances of the new action request may be provided to one or more users of the plurality of users.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . In a communication system comprising a publicly-accessible communication network, a plurality of devices operatively connected to the communication network and supporting communication between a corresponding plurality of users, and a data manager operatively connected to the communication network, the data manager implementing a data store comprising data corresponding to included users of the plurality of users and further comprising information concerning a plurality of action requests presented to at least some of the plurality of users, a method for obtaining responses from at least a portion of the plurality of users, the method comprising:
 receiving a new action request by the data manager, where the data manager receives the new action request via the communication network from a device of the plurality of devices corresponding to any of the plurality of users;   storing the new action request, by the data manager, in the data store;   providing the new action request, by the data manager, to at least some of the plurality of users, where the data manager provides the new action request via the communication network to devices of the plurality of devices corresponding to the at least some of the plurality of users;   receiving, by the data manager, from responsive users of the at least some of the plurality of users, responses to the new action request, where the data manager receives the responses via the communication network from devices of the plurality of devices corresponding to the responding users; and   storing, by the data manager in the data store, the responses received from the responsive users, where each of the responses is associated in the data store with a corresponding one of the responsive users.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein storing the responses further comprises timestamping the responses in the data store. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving, by the data manager, a request for information regarding responses received from the responsive users, where the data manager receives the request via the communication network from a device of the plurality of devices corresponding to a requesting user of the plurality of users;   generating, by the data manager, the information regarding responses received from the responsive users; and   providing, by the data manager via the communication network to the device corresponding to the requesting user, the information regarding the responses received from the responsive users.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the information regarding the responses received from the responsive users is only aggregated data. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving, by the data manager, additional data regarding a first user of the plurality of users; and   storing, by the data manager in the data store, the additional data, where the additional data is associated in the data store with the first user.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein storing the additional data further comprises timestamping the additional data in the data store. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein receiving the additional data further comprises receiving the additional data from the first user, where the data manager receives the additional data via the communication network from a device corresponding to the first user. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the first user is a first responsive user of the responsive users, and wherein receiving the additional data further comprises receiving the additional data from the first responding user, where the data manager receives the additional data via the communication network from a user device corresponding to the first responsive user. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein receiving the additional data further comprises receiving the additional data via the communication network from a third-party device operatively connected to the communication network. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 authenticating, by the data manager, at least some of the additional data or the responses in the data store associated with the first user.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 providing, by the data manager via the communication network to one or more devices of the plurality of users, information regarding responses to a plurality of instances of an action request.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 authenticating, by the data manager, an identity of the first user based on at least some of the additional data or the responses in the data store associated with the first user.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 providing, by the data manager via the communication network to one or more devices of the plurality of users, information regarding responses to a plurality of instances of an action request.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 receiving, by the data manager from a submitting user of the plurality of users, information defining an audience comprising at least some of the included users, where the data manager receives the information via the communication network from a device of the plurality of devices corresponding to the submitting user, the information comprising criteria based on the responses and/or the additional data in the data store associated with the included users, and/or additional data not associated with the included users, such as the current time.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 receiving, by the data manager from a requesting user of the plurality of users, a request for information concerning the audience, where the data manager receives the request via the communication network from a user device corresponding to the requesting user;   generating, by the data manager, the information concerning the audience based on the responses and/or the additional data in the data store associated with the audience; and   providing, by the data manager via the communication network to the device corresponding to the requesting user, the information concerning the audience.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 receiving, by the data manager from a content provider, content, where the data manager receives the content via the communication network from a device corresponding to the content provider; and   providing, by the data manager via the communication network to devices of the plurality of devices corresponding to the audience, the content.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving, by the data manager from a requesting user of the plurality of users, a subscription request for information concerning action requests implemented by the data manager, where the data manager receives the subscription request via the communication network from a device corresponding to the requesting user, the subscription request comprising subscription criteria.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein providing the new action request to the at least some of the plurality of users further comprises:
 providing, by the data manager to a device corresponding to any of the plurality of users, a user-deployable mechanism corresponding to the new action request that may be used to respond to the new action request.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 generating, by the data manager, a user interface comprising at least a portion of the information concerning the plurality of action requests; and   providing the information, by the data manager, to at least one of the plurality of users, where the data manager provides the information via the communication network to at least one device of the plurality of devices corresponding to the at least one user of the plurality of users.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 limiting, by the data manager, access to the responses stored in the data store corresponding to the responsive users to respective ones of the devices corresponding to the responsive users.   
     
     
         21 . An apparatus operatively connected to a publicly-accessible communication network, a plurality of devices being operatively connected to the communication network and supporting communication between a corresponding plurality of users, and a data manager being operatively connected to the communication network, the data manager implementing a data store comprising data corresponding to included users of the plurality of users and further comprising information concerning a plurality of action requests presented to at least some of the plurality of users, the apparatus for use in obtaining responses from at least a portion of the plurality of users, the apparatus comprising:
 at least one processor; and   machine readable storage, operatively connected to the at least one processor and having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by the at least processor cause the at least one processor to:   receive a new action request via the communication network from a device of the plurality of devices corresponding to any of the plurality of users;   store the new action request in the data store;   provide the new action request to at least some of the plurality of users via the communication network to devices of the plurality of devices corresponding to the at least some of the plurality of users;   receive, from responsive users of the at least some of the plurality of users, responses to the new action request via the communication network from devices of the plurality of devices corresponding to the responding users; and   store, in the data store, the responses received from the responsive users, where each of the responses is associated in the data store with a corresponding one of the responsive users.   
     
     
         22 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein those instructions that cause the at least one processor to store the responses are further operative to cause the at least one processor to timestamp the responses in the data store. 
     
     
         23 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , the machine-readable storage further comprising instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:
 receive, via the communication network from a device of the plurality of devices corresponding to a requesting user of the plurality of users, a request for information regarding responses received from the responsive users;   generate the information regarding responses received from the responsive users; and   provide, via the communication network to the device corresponding to the requesting user, the information regarding the responses received from the responsive users.   
     
     
         24 . The apparatus of  claim 23 , wherein the information regarding the responses received from the responsive users is only aggregated data. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 21 , the machine-readable storage further comprising instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:
 receive additional data regarding a first user of the plurality of users; and   store the additional data in the data store, where the additional data is associated in the data store with the first user.   
     
     
         26 . The apparatus of  claim 25 , wherein those instructions that cause the at least one processor to store the additional data are further operative to cause the at least one processor to timestamp the additional data in the data store. 
     
     
         27 . The apparatus of  claim 25 , wherein those instructions that cause the at least one processor to receive the additional data are further operative to cause the at least one processor to receive the additional data from the first user via the communication network from a device corresponding to the first user. 
     
     
         28 . The apparatus of  claim 25 , wherein the first user is a first responsive user of the responsive users, and wherein those instructions that cause the at least one processor to receive the additional data are further operative to cause the at least one processor to receive the additional data from the first responding user via the communication network from a user device corresponding to the first responsive user. 
     
     
         29 . The apparatus of  claim 25 , wherein those instructions that cause the at least one processor to receive the additional data are further operative to cause the at least one processor to receive the additional data via the communication network from a third-party device operatively connected to the communication network. 
     
     
         30 . The apparatus of  claim 25 , the machine-readable storage further comprising instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:
 authenticate at least some of the additional data or the responses in the data store associated with the first user.   
     
     
         31 . The apparatus of  claim 30 , the machine-readable storage further comprising instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:
 provide, via the communication network to one or more devices of the plurality of users, information regarding responses to a plurality of instances of the new action request.   
     
     
         32 . The apparatus of  claim 25 , the machine-readable storage further comprising instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:
 authenticate an identity of the first user based on at least some of the additional data or the responses in the data store associated with the first user.   
     
     
         33 . The apparatus of  claim 32 , the machine-readable storage further comprising instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:
 provide, via the communication network to one or more devices of the plurality of users, information regarding responses to a plurality of instances of the new action request.   
     
     
         34 . The apparatus of  claim 25 , the machine-readable storage further comprising instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:
 receive, from a submitting user of the plurality of users via the communication network from a device of the plurality of devices corresponding to the submitting user, information defining an audience comprising at least some of the included users, the information comprising criteria based on the responses and/or the additional data in the data store associated with the included users.   
     
     
         35 . The apparatus of  claim 34 , the machine-readable storage further comprising instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:
 receive, from a requesting user of the plurality of users via the communication network from a user device corresponding to the requesting user, a request for information concerning the audience;   generate the information concerning the audience based on the responses and/or the additional data in the data store associated with the audience; and   provide, via the communication network to the device corresponding to the requesting user, the information concerning the audience.   
     
     
         36 . The apparatus of  claim 34 , the machine-readable storage further comprising instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:
 receive, from a content provider via the communication network from a device corresponding to the content provider, content; and   provide, via the communication network to devices of the plurality of devices corresponding to the audience, the content.   
     
     
         37 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , the machine-readable storage further comprising instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:
 receive, from a requesting user of the plurality of users via the communication network from a device corresponding to the requesting user, a subscription request for information concerning action requests implemented by the data manager, the subscription request comprising subscription criteria.   
     
     
         38 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein those instructions that cause the at least one processor to provide the new action request to the at least some of the plurality of users are further operative to cause the at least one processor to:
 provide, to a device corresponding to any of the plurality of users, a user-deployable mechanism corresponding to the new action request that may be presented to devices of other users of the plurality of users via the communication network.   
     
     
         39 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , the machine-readable storage further comprising instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:
 generate a user interface comprising at least a portion of the information concerning the plurality of action requests; and   provide the information to at least one of the plurality of users via the communication network to at least one device of the plurality of devices corresponding to the at least one user of the plurality of users.   
     
     
         40 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , the machine-readable storage further comprising instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:
 limit access to the responses stored in the data store corresponding to the responsive users to respective ones of the devices corresponding to the responsive users.