JP2012118919A - Information provision system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information provision system capable of displaying an active user who made comments regardless of the number of comments.SOLUTION: An information provision system includes: acquisition means for, when a comment on content transmitted from a content server is posted to a message server, acquiring user information of a user who posted the comment, from the message server; and determination means for determining whether to display an avatar image that shows the user who posted the comment in an avatar image display area of a display screen on a communication terminal on the basis of the acquired user information.

Description

  The present invention relates to a social platform for content distribution, and more particularly to a highly entertaining social platform linked with existing social media.

  In recent years, users have commented on their thoughts, as can be seen from the active use of Twitter (registered trademark) and other miniblogs, which are a type of social network service (SNS). It is widely practiced to publish on the network and communicate.

  Here, a mini blog such as Twitter is not only used as a communication tool, but also used as a tool for a user to comment on various contents to be distributed. For example, for a video content created by a certain user, a user who views the video content posts a comment using Twitter or the like. As for the comments posted by each user, the latest posts are displayed at the top, and old posts are displayed in a time-series manner (hereinafter, timeline display) (see Non-Patent Document 1, for example). .

"Twitter", [online], [December 3, 2010 search], Internet <URL: http://twitter.com/>

  However, since the number of comments that can be displayed on the timeline is limited (for example, the last 20 comments from the latest), when a specific user makes many comments in succession, only the comments of that specific user are displayed on the timeline. Will be displayed. In this case, other users who have posted to the video content (that is, users other than the specific user) cannot be grasped, and what kind of users are interested in the video content, the tendency There were problems such as being unable to grasp.

  The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances described above, and an object thereof is to provide an information providing system that can display active users who have made comments regardless of the number of comments.

In order to achieve the above object, an information providing system according to the present invention is connected to a content server and a message server via a communication network, and communicates content transmitted from the content server and comments transmitted from the message server. In the information providing system to be displayed on the display screen of the terminal, when there is a comment posted on the message server for the content transmitted from the content server, the user information of the user who posted the comment from the message server And determining means for determining whether or not to display an avatar image representing the user who posted the comment in the avatar image display area of the display screen in the communication terminal based on the acquired user information And comprising
According to this configuration, when a comment is posted on a specific content, it is determined whether or not to display the avatar image of the user based on the user information of the user who posted the comment. For this reason, even if a large number of comments are made from the same user, only the avatar image of the user is not displayed on the content composition screen, and the avatar images of various users who have posted comments so far are displayed on the content composition screen Will be displayed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a conventional problem such as what kind of user is interested in the content and the tendency of the user cannot be grasped.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to display active users who have made comments regardless of the number of comments.

It is a figure showing a schematic structure of an information processing system concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the function structure of the information provision server which concerns on the embodiment. It is the figure which illustrated the content composition screen displayed on the communication terminal concerning the embodiment. It is the figure which illustrated the content composition screen displayed on the communication terminal concerning the embodiment. It is the figure which illustrated the content composition screen displayed on the communication terminal concerning the embodiment. It is a figure which shows the item of the data memorize | stored and managed by the information provision server which concerns on the embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the initial process of the content composition screen which concerns on the embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the comment contribution process which concerns on the embodiment. It is the figure which illustrated the content synthetic | combination screen displayed on the communication terminal which concerns on a modification.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same element and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted. Further, the following embodiments are exemplifications for explaining the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention only to the embodiments. Furthermore, the present invention can be variously modified without departing from the gist thereof.

A. Embodiment (1) Configuration of Embodiment FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information processing system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing system 1 includes an information providing server 10 and a plurality of communication terminals 18 that can access the information providing server 10 via a network N. In the information processing system 1, a content server 12, a message server 14, and a payment server 16 are connected to a network N, and these servers are configured to be able to provide various web services to the communication terminal 18.

  The information providing server (information providing system) 10 includes a computer for managing and controlling processing of the entire information processing system 1. The content provided by the content server 12 is provided to the communication terminal 18 in combination with the background information, the comment received from the message server 14 is displayed, and the avatar (the user himself / herself used on the Internet) (Character) When these are displayed or when payment is made using the payment server 16 at the time of item purchase, which will be described later, these servers are managed and the processing is controlled.

  The content server 12 is a server for distributing content such as moving images, and includes a server computer. Specifically, as the content server 12 that distributes moving images, it is possible to use a service that distributes live moving images (so-called live broadcasts) such as USTREAM (trademark) (http://www.ustream.tv/). . In addition to moving images, content such as photographs, audio, radio, games, drawing tools, videophones, and the like can be used. In the present embodiment, a case where a live moving image is provided as content is assumed.

  The message server 14 manages the posting of messages and displays comments according to predetermined conditions on the communication terminal 18 used by each user, such as displaying a timeline of comments posted by followers and the like. A server, which is composed of a server computer or the like. As a service provided by such a message server 14, a message service such as Twitter can be used. In this embodiment, it is assumed that a Twitter server is used. When posting a comment using the message server 14, the user posts a comment after logging in to the message server 14 using the login ID of the message server 14. When receiving a comment at the communication terminal 18 on which the comment is displayed, it is not necessary to log in to the message server 14.

  The settlement server 16 is a server for performing settlement when purchasing decoration items and coins, and is configured by a server computer or the like.

  The communication terminal 18 includes a web browser, a mobile phone having an Internet connection function, a smartphone, a PHS (Personal Handy phone System), a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance), a touch pad type computer, a netbook computer, a desktop computer, and the like. Hardware resources such as a CPU, a memory, a communication device, an input device such as operation buttons, and a display device such as an LCD. By accessing the information providing server 10 connected to the network N, the communication terminal 18 can use a social platform for content distribution in cooperation with the content server 12, the message server 14, and the settlement server 16. It has become. In the present embodiment, the user views content (a live video in the present embodiment) using the communication terminal 18.

  The network N includes the Internet, a LAN, a wireless communication network, a public telephone communication network, a general telephone line network, and the like, as well as gateways, various base stations, and exchanges for connecting the communication networks.

<Information providing server 10>
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an outline of a functional configuration of the information providing server 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the information providing server 10 is configured by connecting a CPU 21, an input / output interface 22, a communication interface 23, and a memory 24 via a system bus 20.

  The CPU 21 controls data transmission / reception processing between the content server 12, the message server 14, the settlement server 16, the communication terminal 18 and the like via the communication interface 23 according to various control programs in the memory 24, and also an avatar described later. Display control and display control of a live video provided from the content server 12 are performed.

  The input / output interface 22 is an interface for inputting from an input device such as a keyboard and outputting to an output device such as a display. The communication interface 23 is an interface for the information providing server 10 to communicate with other servers and terminals via the network N.

  The memory 24 is a storage device having a readable or writable area, and in one embodiment, stores the following programs, modules and data structures, or a part thereof. The memory 24 is configured by a magnetic disk storage device, an optical disk storage device, a flash memory device, or other nonvolatile storage device in addition to a high-speed random access memory such as a DRAM, SRAM, or other random access storage device. obtain.

  The memory 24 stores an operating system 241 that provides various basic system services and includes procedures for performing hardware dependent tasks. The memory 24 also includes an API (Application Programming Interface) for acquiring comment information representing a comment (so-called tweet) posted on the message server 14 and information (hereinafter referred to as user information) related to the user who posted the comment. Is stored. In the following description, an API necessary for acquiring comment information and user information from the message server 14 is referred to as a “comment API”.

  The operating system 241 provides various basic system services and includes procedures for performing hardware dependent tasks. The input / output module 242a receives data input via the input / output interface 22, and performs processing for controlling the output data. The communication module 242b performs processing for controlling data transmitted / received via the communication interface 23.

  The moving image display control module 243 is a module for controlling to acquire a live moving image from the content server 12 and displaying the live moving image on the communication terminal 18.

  The background display control module 244 is a module for modifying the background image of the live video displayed on the communication terminal 18 according to the content / theme. The content theme is set by the live video provider (that is, the content provider) or the like. For example, if the video has a story, “theater” is set as the content theme. Content themes such as “theater”, “live performance”, “entertainment”, etc. are prepared in the content server 12, and the content provider sets them according to the atmosphere of the content. When the content theme is set by the content provider, for example, the communication terminal 18 forms a background image g2 corresponding to the content theme (in this case, “theatre”) as shown in FIG. Displayed above. In this way, since the content provider and the like can freely set a background image that matches the atmosphere of each content, it is possible to provide a screen with a sense of unity as a whole screen.

  The avatar display control module 245 is a module for controlling the display of the avatar of the user who posted a comment on the live video displayed on the communication terminal 18. Although details will be described later, when a comment regarding the live video being displayed is posted to the message server 14 by the user, the avatar display control module 245 displays the avatar of the user who posted the comment (that is, the posting user). At the same time, the comment is displayed in, for example, a balloon form (balloon or the like). In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the comment is displayed in a balloon format. However, the comment may be displayed in any format as long as the comment content is visible to the user around the avatar of the posting user. Note that avatar image data and the like (that is, user information) necessary for displaying the posting user's avatar are acquired from the message server 14 by the avatar display control module 245 using the comment API.

  The item management module 246 is a module for managing items that modify the display screen of the live video displayed on the communication terminal 18. In one embodiment, the items that qualify the display screen include a decoration and a change. The decoration is for a viewer of a live moving image (that is, content) to purchase (images) such as flowers, characters, logos, etc. and arrange them at any position on the screen including the display screen. In other words, the decoration is equivalent to a real world insertion or gift. Throwing is performed when the viewer of the live video explicitly pays the price of the live video to the content provider, and corresponds to a real-world chip or company.

  In one embodiment, a viewer of a live video purchases an item, which is configured so that at least a portion of the purchase cost is returned to the content provider. For example, in the case of decoration, a viewer of a live video can purchase the decoration and paste the decoration image at a desired position around the display area of the live video. In addition, the viewer can purchase the desired amount of money and pay the content provider. When a viewer of a live video purchases decorations or coins, at least a part of the purchase cost is paid to the content provider. Thereby, the content provider can obtain the price by performing live on the web. In the following description, a screen in which a background image, an avatar image, a decoration image, and the like are combined with a live video is collectively referred to as a “content composition screen”.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a content composition screen G1 displayed on the communication terminal 18.
A live video g1 provided by the content provider is displayed in the video display area A1 of the content composition screen G1, and a background image g2 corresponding to the content theme (in this case, “theatre”) is displayed in the background display area A2. The avatar image g3 of the comment posting user is displayed in the avatar display area A3. As shown in FIG. 3, when the content theme is “theater”, a content composition screen G1 is displayed on each communication terminal 18 as if the comment posting user is watching a live video in an actual theater. Is done. In addition, on the content composition screen G1, a comment posting button B1 for a user to post a comment, a decoration button B2 for performing decoration, a change button B3 for performing change, and the like are displayed.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a content composition screen G2 when a comment is posted by a certain user, and FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a content composition screen G3 including a timeline display of comments.

  When posting a comment to the live video being viewed, the user first clicks the comment posting button B1. Then, as shown in the right column of FIG. 4, a comment column h1 for posting a comment is displayed. The user writes his / her impressions and the like (in this case, “It ’s amazing!”) In the comment field h1, and clicks the send button. When the user clicks the send button, the comment user ID for identifying the user is sent to the message server 14 together with the comment information indicating the comment content.

  The information providing server (acquisition means) 10 acquires the user information (including the comment user ID) of the posting user together with the comment information from the message server 14 using the comment API. Based on the comment user ID, the information providing server (determination means) 10 determines whether or not the comment posting user's avatar is already displayed on the content composition screen G2 as an avatar image. When the comment posting user's avatar is already displayed as the avatar image g3 on the content composition screen G2, the information providing server (display control means) 10 displays the comment posting user's avatar (the user name “aiueo” in FIG. 4). ”) To display a comment (“ Incredible! ”In FIG. 4) in a balloon format.

  On the other hand, when the avatar of the comment posting user is not yet displayed on the content composition screen G2 as the avatar image g3, an avatar image is generated based on the user information of the comment posting user and the content composition screen G2 And a comment is displayed from the avatar in a balloon format (details will be described later).

  Comments posted from each user are stored in a comment history database (not shown) of the message server 14. When the user wants to know what comments have been posted about the live video, the user clicks “timeline display” m1 shown in FIG. When such an operation is performed, the message server 14 extracts comments from the latest to the past N (for example, 20) for the live video, and transmits them to the information providing server 10 as timeline display information. . The information providing server 10 generates a timeline display image g5 shown in FIG. 5 based on the timeline display information received from the message server 14, and displays this in the timeline display area A4 of the content composition screen G3.

  By performing such display control, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, a large number of comments are made by the same user for a specific live video, and the user (in FIG. 5, user in FIG. 5) Even if only the comment of the name “siro” is displayed, not only the user but also avatar images g3 of various users who have posted comments on the live video so far are displayed on the content composition screen G3. Is displayed. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the conventional problems such as which users are interested in the content and the tendency of the user cannot be grasped.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the content information storage unit 247 stores various setting information for each content to be distributed (live video in the present embodiment). FIG. 6 is an example of data management items in the content information storage unit 246. The content information storage unit 246 includes, for each content, a content ID for the information providing server 10 to identify each content, a message login ID of the content provider, a URL where the content is distributed, and the information providing server 10 Data items such as a background image ID for identifying the background image g2, a unit of change, and the number of page views per time of content are stored.

  The information providing server 10 has a plurality of types of background images corresponding to the content / theme, and each background image and background image ID are stored in association with each other in the database (not shown) of the information providing server 10. Yes. A content provider or the like selects a background image that matches the atmosphere of the content by setting a background image ID in advance. In addition, the content provider or the like can set a minimum unit for accepting a change. For example, when the unit of the change is set to 100 points (100 yen) by the content provider or the like, the user who views the content (here, a live video) can execute the change in units of 100 yen. .

(2) Operation of Embodiment Next, a processing flow when displaying a content composition screen will be described with reference to FIG.

<Initial processing>
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the initial process of the content composition screen in one embodiment of the present invention.
A user (that is, a content provider) who desires to provide a live video in a form using this system, first, selects a content theme (for example, “theater”) from a plurality of types of background images prepared in advance by the content server 12. ) To select a background image. When the background image corresponding to the content / theme is selected (set) by the content provider or the like (step S10), the information providing server 10 performs live on the background corresponding to the content / theme (in this case, “theatre”). A content composition screen in which the moving images are combined is generated and displayed on the communication terminal 18 (see FIG. 3).

  Further, the information providing server 10 requests the message server 14 for comment information of a posted comment including a keyword (for example, “#Cat”) related to the live video using the comment API (step S20). When the message server 14 receives such a request, the message server 14 performs a hash tag search or the like to extract comment information of a plurality of posted comments including the keyword, and user information (user ID or avatar image) corresponding to each posted comment. Data, etc.) are extracted and returned to the information providing server 10.

  When the information providing server 10 obtains the comment information of the plurality of posted comments and the user information corresponding to each posted comment from the message server 14 (step S30), the information providing server 10 identifies the user to display the avatar based on the received user information, The avatar image of the posting user is displayed (step S40). As a result, as shown in FIG. 3, a content composition screen G1 is displayed on each communication terminal 18 as if each user corresponding to the avatar image g3 is watching a live video in an actual theater.

<Comment posting process>
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing comment posting processing according to an embodiment of the present invention.
When posting a comment on a live video being viewed, the user first clicks a comment posting button B1 shown in FIG. Then, as shown in the right column of FIG. 4, a comment column h1 for posting a comment is displayed. The user writes his / her impressions and the like (in this case, “It ’s amazing!”) In the comment field h1, and clicks the send button. When the user clicks the send button, a comment user ID for identifying the user is sent to the message server 14 together with comment information representing the posted comment.

  The information providing server (acquisition means) 10 acquires the user information (including the comment user ID) of the posting user together with the comment information from the message server 14 using the comment API. When the information providing server 10 receives the comment information and the user information of the posting user (step S100; YES), the posting user's avatar has already entered the content composition screen G2 as an avatar image based on the comment user ID included in the user information. It is determined whether or not it is displayed (that is, whether or not the posting user's avatar is displayed in the screen) (step S200; see FIG. 4).

  Here, when the information providing server 10 determines that the avatar of the posting user has already been displayed as the avatar image g3 on the content composition screen G2 (step S200; YES), the information providing server 10 determines based on the received comment information. From the posting user's avatar (user name “aiueo” in FIG. 4), a comment (“Incredible!” In FIG. 4) is displayed in a balloon format (step 300), and the process ends.

  On the other hand, when the information providing server 10 determines that the avatar of the posting user is not yet displayed on the content composition screen G2 as the avatar image g3 (step S200; NO), the maximum number is displayed in the avatar display area A3 (see FIG. 4). It is determined whether or not the avatar image is displayed (step S400). For example, in the state where the number of avatars that can be displayed is set to “11”, if it is determined that the maximum number (= 11) of avatar images have already been displayed in the display area a1 (step S400; YES), information is provided. The server 10 proceeds to step S500.

  The information providing server 10 determines an avatar image to be deleted (that is, overwritten) from among a plurality of already displayed avatar images (step S500). Then, the information providing server 10 deletes the determined avatar image, generates an avatar image based on the user information of the posting user received this time, and overwrites it (step S600). Then, the information providing server 10 displays a comment (“Large!” In FIG. 4) in a balloon form from the posting user's avatar (user name “aiueo” in FIG. 4) (step S300). End the process. As for the avatar image to be deleted, the avatar image of the user with the oldest comment posting date may be selected, for example. Of course, the present invention is not limited to this, and the avatar image of the user with the smallest number of comments and various user characteristics (gender, age, region, taste, etc.) obtained from the user information are comprehensively considered, and the avatar of any user It may be determined whether the image should be erased.

  On the other hand, when the information providing server 10 determines in step S400 that the maximum number (= 11) of avatar images are not yet displayed in the avatar display area A3 (step S400; NO), the user of the posting user who has received this time An avatar image is generated based on the information, and this is newly displayed in the empty area of the avatar display area A3 (step S700). Then, the information providing server 10 displays a comment (“Large!” In FIG. 4) in a balloon form from the posting user's avatar (user name “aiueo” in FIG. 4) (step S300). End the process.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, a large number of comments are made by the same user for a specific content (live video), and the user (user name “siro” in FIG. 5) is displayed on the timeline. ), Only avatar images g3 of various users who have posted comments on the live video so far are displayed on the content composition screen G3. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the conventional problems such as which users are interested in the content and the tendency of the user cannot be grasped.

B. Modification <Modification 1>
In the embodiment described above, the display position of the avatar image is not particularly mentioned, but the display position of the avatar image may be appropriately set according to, for example, the number of comments on the content and the content of the comment. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, a preferential display area a1 is provided in the avatar display area A3 of the content composition screen G4 displayed on the communication terminal 18. In this preferential display area a1, only the avatar image of a special user who clears the specific condition is displayed. The specific condition can be arbitrarily set by, for example, the content provider, and includes the number of comments to be cleared (three or more times). According to such a configuration, it is possible to expect an effect such as an action of promoting comment posting to a user who views the content.

<Modification 2>
Further, the display position of the avatar image does not need to be fixed until it is erased, and may be appropriately moved according to the comment history such as the last comment posting date and time. For example, the information providing server (display control means) 10 may control the display position of the avatar image so that the older the posting date of the comment, the farther away from the content display area (see the arrow direction shown in FIG. 9). good.

<Modification 3>
Further, in the present embodiment, a case has been described in which comment content (for example, “sounding!”) Is displayed in a balloon, but additional information (for example, the number of comments of the user and the user's comment) is displayed in the balloon. Nationality, etc.) may be displayed.

  Further, the steps of the processes shown in the present embodiment and each modification can be executed in any order or in parallel as long as the process contents do not contradict each other. Furthermore, in this specification and the like, the term “means” does not simply mean a physical means, but includes a case where the functions of the means are realized by software. Furthermore, the function of one means may be realized by two or more physical means, or the functions of two or more means may be realized by one physical means. In addition, the software development support program according to the present invention is downloaded through various recording media such as an optical disk such as a CD-ROM and a DVD-ROM, a magnetic disk, and a semiconductor memory, or via a communication network. Can be installed or loaded on a computer.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Information processing system, 10 ... Information provision server, 12 ... Content server, 14 ... Message server, 16 ... Payment server, 18 ... Communication terminal, 20 ... System bus, 21 ... CPU, 22 ... Input / output interface, 23 ... Communication Interface, 24 ... Memory, 241 ... Operating system, 242a ... I / O module, 242b ... Communication module, 243 ... Movie display control module, 244 ... Background display control module, 245 ... Avatar display control module, 246 ... Item management module, 247 ... Content information storage unit.

Claims (8)

An information providing system that is connected to a content server and a message server via a communication network, and that displays content transmitted from the content server and comments transmitted from the message server on a display screen of a communication terminal,
With regard to the content transmitted from the content server, when there is a comment posted on the message server, from the message server, an acquisition unit that acquires user information of a user who posted the comment;
Determining means for determining whether or not to display an avatar image representing the user who posted the comment in the avatar image display area of the display screen in the communication terminal based on the acquired user information;
An information providing system comprising: The determination means includes
When the avatar image of the user who posted the comment is not yet displayed in the avatar image display area of the display screen in the communication terminal, it is determined that the avatar image of the user should be displayed in the avatar image display area The information providing system according to claim 1. The determination means includes
The number of avatar images of other users who have not yet displayed the avatar image of the user who posted the comment in the avatar image display area of the display screen in the communication terminal and are displayed in the avatar image display area 2 is an information providing system according to claim 1, wherein when the number is less than a predetermined number, the avatar image of the user is determined to be displayed in the avatar image display area.   The information providing system according to claim 2, further comprising display control means for displaying the comment in a balloon in the vicinity of the avatar image of the user who posted the comment.   The information providing system according to claim 4, wherein the display control unit controls the display position of the avatar image of the user using the comment history of the user who posted the comment. A method of controlling a screen that is connected to a content server and a message server via a communication network, and displays a content transmitted from the content server and a comment transmitted from the message server on a communication terminal,
For the content transmitted from the content server, when there is a comment posted on the message server, from the message server, obtaining the user information of the user who posted the comment;
A determination step of determining whether or not to display an avatar image representing the user who posted the comment in the avatar image display area of the display screen in the communication terminal based on the acquired user information;
Including methods. A computer that is connected to a content server and a message server via a communication network and displays a content transmitted from the content server and a comment transmitted from the message server on a display screen of a communication terminal,
The computer,
With regard to the content transmitted from the content server, when there is a comment posted on the message server, from the message server, an acquisition unit that acquires user information of a user who posted the comment;
Determining means for determining whether or not to display an avatar image representing the user who posted the comment in the avatar image display area of the display screen in the communication terminal based on the acquired user information;
Control program to function.   A computer-readable recording medium on which the control program according to claim 7 is recorded.