Determining alternate meeting participants based on purpose and role detection

A conferencing method utilizing a computer system and conferencing network, the conferencing method comprising the steps of:

• a conference host using an interface of a conference host device to provide information that includes a conference topic to a conference server;
• after receiving the information from the conference host device, the conference server communicating with and querying a search engine that comprises a participant scoring engine;
• in response to the querying, the participant scoring engine accessing a database of participants in an organization, wherein the database includes names and attributes of each of the participants;
• the participant scoring engine determining a score for each of the participants based on the conference topic and the participant's attributes;
• the conference server automatically sending conference invitations to participants deemed suitable by the participant scoring engine based on a predetermined-score criteria;
• and
• if one of the participants is unable to attend a conference to which the participant has been invited, the search engine selects an alternate participant from a group of the participant, and if no alternate participant is available from the group of the participant, the search engine selects a second alternate participant from a group to which the participant's group reports.

A conferencing system operable on a computer network, wherein the conferencing system comprises:

• a conference server configured to communicate with a conference host device and a plurality of participant devices, wherein the conference host device is configured to provide conference information, including a conference topic, provided by a conference host, to the conference server;
• a database of participants in an organization, wherein the database includes names and attributes of each of the participants;
• a participant scoring engine in communication with the database and the conference server, wherein the participant scoring system is configured to (a) filter the participants based on the conference topic and one or more of the attributes to create a filtered participant database that includes a subset of the participants in the database, and (b) determine a score for each of the participants in the filtered database, wherein the score is based on the conference topic and the attributes of each participant;
• the conference server being further configured to automatically send conference invitations to participants deemed suitable by the participant scoring engine based on a predetermined score criteria;
• and
• if one of the participants is unable to attend a conference to which the participant has been invited, the search engine is configured to select an alternate participant from a group of the participant, and if no alternate participant is available from the group of the participant, the search engine is configured to select a second alternate participant from a group to which the participant's group reports.