Enhanced online collaboration system for viewers of video presentations

A computer-implemented system for providing enhanced online collaboration for viewers of an event presentation, said system comprising:

• an online collaboration system comprising at least one processor and memory that provides two or more collaboration sessions for the potential use of viewers of the event presentation, each of the collaboration sessions being associated with a different time slot in the event presentation, the time slot associated with each collaboration session beginning at a different time offset from the start of the event presentation and having a predetermined duration;
• a visual display device controller that creates a graphical user interface for an end user display that displays a graphical user interface on viewer computers showing the event presentation, the graphical user interface comprising:
• a progress bar having a length representing the duration of the event presentation,
• division markers along the progress bar indicating time slots with which the two or more collaboration sessions are associated,
• a view indicator marking a current viewpoint in the event presentation, and two or more session indicators marking the two or more collaboration sessions in the event presentation,
• wherein an absence of one of the session indicators in a particular time slot containing the view indicator indicates that no other viewer is viewing the event presentation in a same place as a current viewer, and
• wherein both the current viewer's view indicator and the session indicators move across the screen from left to right as the event presentation progresses and as the viewers in the two or more collaboration session associated with particular time slots in the event presentation move from a current collaboration session to a next collaboration session associated with a next time slot in the event presentation;
• and
• a collaboration system controller that
• receives request from a current viewer to join one of the two or more collaboration sessions;
• rejects the current viewer request to join a selected one of the online collaboration sessions associated with a time slot closer to the start of the event presentation than a time slot associated with the current viewer's current viewpoint to prevent the current viewer from joining one of the collaboration sessions having viewers that have not viewed as much of the event presentation as the current viewer;
• and
• assigns the current viewer to a selected one of said two or more online collaboration sessions associated with a time slot closer to the end of the event presentation than the time slot associated with the current viewer's current viewpoint.

A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer usable medium embodying program instructions for providing enhanced online collaboration among viewers of an event presentation, said program instructions when executed in a computer causing the computer to:

• provide two or more online collaboration sessions, each collaboration session being associated with a different time slot in the event presentation, time slot associated with each collaboration session beginning at a different time offset from the start of the event presentation and having a predetermined duration;
• display a graphical user interface on viewer computers showing the event presentation, the graphical user interface comprising:
• a progress bar having a length representing the duration of the event presentation,
• division markers along the progress bar indicating time slots with which the two or more collaboration sessions are associated,
• a view indicator marking a current viewpoint in the event presentation, and two or more session indicators marking the two or more collaboration sessions in the event presentation,
• wherein an absence of one of the session indicators in a particular time slot containing the view indicator indicates that no other viewer is viewing the event presentation in a same place as a current viewer, and
• wherein both the current viewer's view indicator and the session indicators move across the screen from left to right as the event presentation progresses and as the viewers in the two or more collaboration session associated with particular time slots in the event presentation move from a current collaboration session to a next collaboration session associated with a next time slot in the event presentation;
• receive a request from the current viewer to join one of the two or more collaboration sessions;
• reject the current viewer request to join to join one of said two or more collaboration sessions to prevent the current viewer from joining one of the collaboration sessions having viewers that have not viewed as much of the event presentation as the current viewer;
• and
• assign the current viewer to a selected one of said two or more online collaboration sessions associated with a time slot closer to the end of the event presentation than the time slot associated with the current viewer's current viewpoint.