Method and apparatus for on-line prediction of product concept success

A method comprising:

• receiving a selection of one or more markets in which a user would like to participate in a prediction market;
• retrieving information associated with a group of two or more product concepts falling within one of the selected markets, said information comprising a stock price associated with respective product concepts of the group of product concepts;
• causing the retrieved information to be displayed;
• receiving an indication of a number of shares to be purchased by the user in at least one of the product concepts;
• and
• adjusting, by a processor, the stock price associated with each product concept in the group of product concepts based at least in part on the number of shares purchased, wherein a sum of the stock prices associated with each of the product concepts in the group of product concepts is constant, such that the stock price of one product concept in the group of product concepts is dependent upon the stock price of the other one or more product concepts in the group of product concepts.

A computer program product comprising at least one computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code portions stored therein, wherein the computer-readable program code portions comprise:

• a first executable portion for receiving a selection of one or more markets in which a user would like to participate in a prediction market;
• a second executable portion for retrieving information associated with a group of two or more product concepts falling within one of the selected markets, said information comprising a stock price associated with respective product concepts of the group of product concepts;
• a third executable portion for causing the retrieved information to be displayed;
• a fourth executable portion for receiving an indication of a number of shares to be purchased by the user in at least one of the product concepts;
• and
• a fifth executable portion for adjusting the stock price associated with each product concept in the group of product concepts based at least in part on the number of shares purchased, wherein a sum of the stock prices associated with each of the product concepts in the group of product concepts is constant, such that the stock price of one product concept in the group of product concepts is dependent upon the stock price of the other one or more product concepts in the group of product concepts.