AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 Innovation Patent Specification Title: Electronic information platform Applicant(s): Roni Saad andDiana Saad Inventor(s): Roni Saad Agent: © COTTERS Patent & Trade Mark Attorneys The following is a full description of the invention which sets forth the best method known to the applicant of performing it.
2 Electronic Information Platform Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic information platform. In particular, the 5 present invention relates to an electronic information platform for providing on demand access to geographic specific information. Background of the Invention News and current affairs are presented to the population through various different media 10 including television, newspapers, internet, radio and other media channels. As such, a typical consumer is presented with numerous different forms of news and current affairs on any given day. There is a tendency for people to become desensitised to the world around them on account of being overloaded with information. Sifting through all of the news and current affairs presented to a consumer can also be time consuming. For example, when 15 watching news programs on television, the user is exposed to all news events despite only certain stories being of interest to the consumer. Similarly, when viewing news through online newspapers or news services, the consumer is exposed to all current news events, and the consumer must filter irrelevant or uninteresting articles to view based on the article catchline. 20 Due to personal interests and tastes, it would be beneficial if a consumer could access information which is directly relevant to their own personal interests, and disregard irrelevant information. In addition, it would be beneficial if a consumer could readily prioritise information that is geographically most relevant to their personal preferences. 25 Object of the Invention It is an object of the present invention to substantially overcome or at least ameliorate one or more of the above disadvantages, or to provide a useful alternative.
3 Summary of the Invention In a first aspect, the present invention provides a An electronic information platform comprising: a first computer processor hosting an interactive map; 5 a second computer processor in remote communication with the first computer processor, the second computer processor adapted to display the interactive map permitting a user to select a region of said map; and a database of news and/or current affairs information in communication with the first computer processor; 10 wherein the first computer processor is adapted to retrieve local news and/or current affairs information responsive to a user selecting a region of said map; further wherein said first computer processor transmits the news and/or current affairs information corresponding to the selected region of said map to the second computer processor. 15 The electronic information platform preferably comprises a plurality of said databases providing news and/or current affairs information from different sources. The first computer processor is preferably adapted to receive, store and make available 20 secondary information submitted by the second computer processor; wherein the secondary information is classified based on geographical location, and is available to other users of the electronic information platform responsive to a user selecting a corresponding region of said map. 25 The first computer processor preferably enables a user to select between different categories of news and/or current affairs information. Brief Description of the Drawings A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of specific example 30 with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a flow chart showing the electronic information platform; Fig. 2 depicts a map used in a first embodiment of the electronic information platform; and 4 Fig. 3 depicts a map used in a second embodiment of the electronic information platform. Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments 5 There is disclosed herein an electronic information platform 10. The platform includes an interactive map 12 of either the world, or a country or a geographical region of a country. In the embodiment of Fig. 2, the map is a world map, depicting a spherical globe. A user may rotate the globe to view other parts of the map. Alternatively, Fig. 3 depicts a flat map of the world, in which the countries are all visible simultaneously. 10 The map 12 is hosted by a first computer processor 14, such as a mainframe. The platform 10 includes a second computer processor 16 in the form of a user operated electronics device. The second computer processor 16 is located within one of a mobile telephone, laptop computer, desktop computer or other such device having an interactive display. 15 The information platform includes a database 20 of news and/or weather and/or current affairs information in communication with the first computer processor 14. The database 20 can be remotely hosted, for example by a news agency, using a third remote computer processor 22. Alternatively, the database 22 may be locally hosted with the first computer 20 processor 14 within the mainframe. In one embodiment, there may be more than one database 20, such that different news and current affairs stories can be retrieved from different news sources. A user is able to interactively view news and/or weather and/or current affairs specific to 25 particular geographic locations. A visual display of the world or a country is shown on the screen of the second computer processor 16. Places where recent news events have occurred may be marked on the map 12 with a flag or otherwise, and the user can click on the flag to follow a link to detailed local news articles. For example, looking at Fig. 2, flags identified on that map are shown with a white flag, and a very brief summary of a news or 30 weather event, which the user may click to access a detailed news article. In this manner, a user can for example keep track of news events that have occurred in their own city or region, or a destination where they intend to travel. Alternatively, by clicking on 5 a specific region, city or town on the map 12 the user can follow a link to all news events and weather conditions in that region. By hovering over a region or flag on the map, a summary popup may be presented providing a brief summary of news events. 5 The database 20 may be divided into independent categories, such as news events, sport, entertainment or fashion. The user may select which of these categories is displayed on the map. Alternatively, all categories may simultaneously be displayed on the map 12. The flags may be colour coded to depict the category, such as red flags for news events and blue flags for sports events. 10 The first computer processor 14 may be adapted to receive information from users such as photos, comments and information feeds. For example, the first computer processor may store information provided by users through FlickerTM, Twitter T M , FacebookTM or other social networking media, or directly submitted by email or SMS. The user may voluntarily select all is available information for a given map coordinate, or only official information, which would include information provided by news service providers, and omit information provided by users. Access to the first computer processor 14 can be password restricted, so that users pay or 20 otherwise register to access the information service. Alternatively, advertising such as on screen banners may be displayed on the second computer processor 16. By utilising a cents per click, or pay to advertise approach, the platform can be operated as a free service to consumers. 25 Although the invention has been described with reference to specific examples, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention may be embodied in many other forms.