Claims:CLAIMS
1. A system for capturing behavioural data (rating) of one or more users and service providers from a plurality of sources to determine a cumulative rating (social index) of each user and service-provider, the system comprising:
a server configured for aggregating a rating provided to one or more users and a rating provided to one or more service providers from a plurality of sources and for determining a cumulative rating of each user and service provider, and wherein the plurality of sources includes users, service operators, service providers, merchant establishments, and hospitality industry;
a user data aggregation module provided in the server and run on a hardware processor, and wherein the user data aggregation module is configured for aggregating the ratings provided to the one or more users by the one or more service providers from the plurality of sources;
a service provider data aggregation module provided in the server and run on a hardware processor, and wherein the service provider data aggregation module is configured for aggregating the ratings provided to the one or more service providers by the one or more users from the plurality of sources;
a central repository provided in the server and run on a hardware processor, and wherein the central repository is configured for storing the ratings provided to each user and the rating provided to each service provider, and wherein the central repository is further configured for accumulating the ratings provided for each user and the ratings provided for each service provider; and
a social index determination module provided in the server and run on a hardware processor, and wherein the social index determination module is configured for determining a cumulative rating of each user and a cumulative rating of each service provider by taking an average of all the ratings aggregated from the plurality of sources for same entity.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of sources from which the rating data for one or more users and one or more service providers is aggregated with a software application installed in a plurality of computing devices of the one or more users and service providers, websites of one or more rating aggregation entities and physical feedback forms.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the one or more users and service providers are prompted for rating each other at an end of a financial transaction or after completing a transaction or operation.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein each user and service provider is assigned with a unique identification number for identifying the one or more users and service providers.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the software application or the web based interface is provided to one or more users and service providers for providing ratings and for accessing the social index for making business decisions.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the social index for each user and the social index of each service provider are updated instantaneously as and when the ratings are aggregated from the plurality of sources.

7. A computer implemented method comprising instructions stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium and run on a computing device provided with a hardware processor and memory for capturing a behavioural data (rating) of users and service providers from a plurality of sources to determine a cumulative rating (social index) of each user and a cumulative rating (social index) of each service-provider, the method comprising the steps of:
aggregating a rating provided to one or more users by one or more service providers from the plurality of sources with a user data aggregation module;
aggregating a rating provided to the one or more service providers by the one or more users from the plurality of sources using a service provider data aggregation module;
storing the aggregated rating provided to the one or more users and the aggregated rating provided to the service providers in a central repository, and wherein the aggregated ratings are accumulated in the central repository; and
determining a cumulative rating of each user and a cumulative rating of each service provider by taking an average of all the ratings aggregated from plurality of sources for a same entity.

8. The method according to claim 8 further comprises prompting the one or more users and the one or more service providers for rating each other at an end of a financial transaction or after a completion of a transaction or process or an operation.

9. The method according to claim 8 further comprises updating the social index for each user and the social index of each service provider instantaneously, when ratings are aggregated from plurality of sources.
, Description:[0032] In the following detailed description, a reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which the specific embodiments that may be practiced is shown by way of illustration. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and it is to be understood that the logical, mechanical and other changes may be made without departing from the scope of the embodiments. The following detailed description is therefore not to be taken in a limiting sense.
[0033] The various embodiments of the present invention provide a system for capturing a behavioural data (rating) of one or more users and service providers from a plurality of sources to determine a cumulative rating (social index) of each user and service-provider. The system comprises a server configured for aggregating the rating of one or more users and service providers from the plurality of sources and for determining a cumulative rating of each user and service provider. The server comprises a user data aggregation module configured for aggregating the ratings of one or more users as rated by the one or more service providers from the plurality of sources. The server also comprises a service provider data aggregation module that is configured for aggregating the ratings of one or more service providers as rated by the one or more users from the plurality of sources. The server further comprises a central repository configured for storing the ratings for each user and service provider. The central repository is further configured for accumulating the ratings for each user and service provider. The server still further comprises a social index determination module configured for determining a cumulative rating of each user and service provider by taking an average of all the ratings aggregated from the plurality of sources for same entity.
[0034] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of sources from which the rating data for one or more users and service providers is aggregated comprise a software application installed in a plurality of computing devices of the one or more users and service providers, websites of one or more rating aggregation entities and physical feedback forms.
[0035] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the one or more users and the service providers are prompted for rating each other at the end of a financial transaction.
[0036] According to one embodiment of the present invention, each user and service provider is assigned with a unique identification number for identifying amongst the one or more users and service providers associated with the system.
[0037] According to one embodiment of the present invention, a software application or a web based interface is provided to one or more users and service providers for providing ratings and for accessing the social index for making business decisions.
[0038] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the social index for each user and service provider is updated instantaneously as and when ratings are aggregated from plurality of sources.
[0039] According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method is provided for capturing behavioral data (rating) of the users and service providers from a plurality of sources to determine a cumulative rating (social index) of each user and service-provider. The method comprises the steps of aggregating ratings of one or more users as rated by the one or more service providers from the plurality of sources using a user data aggregation module. The method further comprises aggregating ratings of one or more service providers as rated by the one or more users from the plurality of sources using a service provider data aggregation module. The aggregated ratings for the one or more users and service providers are stored in a central repository. The aggregated ratings are accumulated in the central repository. A cumulative rating of each user and service provider is determined by taking an average of all the ratings aggregated from plurality of sources for the same entity.
[0040] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the method further comprises prompting the one or more users and service providers for rating each other at the end of each financial transaction.
[0041] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the method further comprises updating the social index for each user and service provider instantaneously as and when the ratings are aggregated from a plurality of sources.
[0042] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a system for capturing behavioural data (rating) of users and service providers from a plurality of sources to determine a cumulative rating (social index) of each user and service-provider, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The system comprises the server 102 and the plurality of sources 104 through which ratings of the one or more users and service providers are gathered. The server 102 comprises the user data aggregation module 106, the service provider data aggregation module 108, the central repository 110 and the social index determination module 112.
[0043] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the server 102 comprises the processor 114 configured for processing the requests received from the user data aggregation module 106, the service provider data aggregation module 108, the central repository 110 and the social index determination module 112.
[0044] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the one or more users and service providers are prompted to provide the ratings for each other at the end of each financial transaction using the plurality of sources 104. The plurality of sources 104 from which the ratings for one or more users and one or more service providers are aggregated comprise a software application installed in the computing devices of the one or more users and one or more service providers, websites of rating aggregation entities, physical feedback forms and the like. Each user and service provider is provided with a unique identification number for identification purpose.
[0045] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the user data aggregation module 106 is configured for aggregating ratings of one or more users as rated by the one or more service providers from the plurality of sources 104. Similarly, the service provider data aggregation module 108 is configured for aggregating the ratings of one or more service providers as rated by the one or more users from the plurality of sources 104.
[0046] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the central repository 110 is configured for storing the aggregated ratings for each user and service provider associated with the system. The aggregated ratings are accumulated in the central repository 110.
[0047] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the social index determination module 112 is configured for determining a cumulative rating of each user and service provider by taking an average of all the ratings aggregated from plurality of sources for the same entity.
[0048] According to one embodiment, the user A engages a particular taxi service for a ride. At the end of the trip, both driver and user are prompted to provide ratings via a software application. The driver provides a rating of 4 to the user on the scale of 1 to 5 based on his/her experience with the user. Further, the user A walks into a super market for shopping. After making a payment both the super market agent and the user are prompted to provide ratings for each other. This time super market agent provides a rating of 5 to the user A. Thus, the system gathers these ratings from the plurality of available sources and updates the cumulative rating for user A as 4.5. Similarly the system calculates the cumulative rating for the respective service providers, when the other users provide a rating after using taxi service or for super market
[0049] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the social index of each entity is updated immediately as and when the ratings are aggregated from the plurality of sources. The social index for each entity is determined by averaging out the ratings when multiple records are available for the same entity. The cumulative rating (social index) information is then used by any entity (users or service providers) to make business decisions such as providing discounts, sending promotional messages, selecting a vendor etc. For example, XYZ e-commerce Company provides 5% extra discount to the users with 4.0+ cumulative rating and 10% extra discount to the users with 4.5+ rating. Thus, the user’s cumulative rating is used to decide the end value of a product for him/her. Users with better ratings are offered with more discounts. So indirectly, each user pays for a product based on his/her social behaviour.
[0050] FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart explaining a process for capturing behavioural data (rating) of users and service providers from a plurality of sources to determine a cumulative rating (social index) of each user and service-provider, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The ratings provided to the one or more users by the one or more service providers or plurality of sources like merchant establishments, service providers, hospitality industry are aggregated with a user data aggregation module (202). The ratings provided to one or more service providers by the one or more users are aggregated with a service provider data aggregation module (204). The aggregated ratings from the user data aggregation module and the service provider data aggregation module are stored in a central repository (206). The aggregated ratings are accumulated in the central repository. A cumulative rating of each user and service provider is determined by taking an average of all the ratings aggregated from plurality of sources for the same entity (208).
[0051] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the social index for each user and the social index for service provider are updated instantaneously as and when the ratings are aggregated from plurality of sources.
[0052] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments.
[0053] It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modifications.