System and method for using a mobile device as an input device for surveys at a live event

A system for interacting with audience members of an event, which is defined as occurring at a particular predetermined time, wherein the event has a number of participating attendees and an associated number of unique potential attendee identifiers (UPAIs) allocated to any particular event, each of the participating attendees having available thereto one of the UPAIs for an associated event, the system comprising:

• a mobile wireless device (MWD) to create, for a participating attendee, proximate in time to an occurrence of the particular predetermined time of the event, a unique ID (UID), wherein to create the UID, the MWD is configured to:
• combine a UPAI with a UID time stamp to provide the UID including a UPAI portion and a UID timestamp portion, so as to distinguish two different UIDs having a duplicate UPAI portion;
• launch an application on the MWD;
• and
• receive, by the application on the MWD, identifying data for the participating attendee;
• and
• a server configured to:
• verify the UID is unique by comparing the UID to one or more other UIDs in a database on the server to determine if a duplicate UID exists in the database, resulting in a verified UID;
• and
• accept and store the verified UID in the database;
• receive a communication associated with the MWD of the participating attendee, wherein the communication is associated with the verified UID;
• and
• register the participating attendee to define a registered attendee.