KR102559384B1 - Method, apparatus and computer program for providing donation service for influencer - Google Patents

Abstract

An influencer sponsorship service providing method, device and computer program are provided. A method of providing an influencer sponsorship service according to various embodiments of the present invention is a method performed by a computing device, comprising the steps of providing a user interface (UI) that outputs information about a plurality of influencers and a plurality of contents uploaded from each of the plurality of influencers, the step of receiving selection of any one influencer or any one of the plurality of contents through the UI, and the selected influencer or the influencer who uploaded any one of the selected contents. It includes the step of paying donations to Unseo.

Description

Influencer sponsorship service providing method, device and computer program {METHOD, APPARATUS AND COMPUTER PROGRAM FOR PROVIDING DONATION SERVICE FOR INFLUENCER}

Various embodiments of the present invention relate to a method, apparatus, and computer program for providing an influencer sponsorship service.

As Internet technology develops, the technology to provide content in the form of text, images, and videos over the Internet is rapidly developing, and platforms such as video platforms (eg, YouTube), Internet broadcasting platforms (eg, Afreeca TV, Twitch TV, and Daumpot), and portal sites platforms (eg, Daum, Google, etc.) that are provided through the Internet network and can check and enjoy various contents are increasing.

Accordingly, influencers (e.g., creators) who are active on various platforms and have numerous subscribers (or followers) have begun to appear, and influencers produce and produce their own content and are embodied as single-person, small-scale, or multi-person broadcasting stations.

In addition, as the popularity of influencers increases, interest in everything related to influencers, such as products they use, places they frequent, hobbies, and specialties, is increasing.

In particular, as the popularity and interest in influencers increase, the number of users who want to pay donations to influencers is increasing. Accordingly, various platforms where influencers are active (e.g. Afreeca TV, Twitch TV, etc.) provide features that allow users to pay donations to influencers (e.g. Afreeca TV's star balloon system, Twitch TV's donation, etc.).

However, the conventional donation payment system is limited only to the situation where influencers broadcast in real time, and there is a limitation that there is no system that supports various contents (eg images, videos, texts, voices, etc.) uploaded by influencers.

Korean Patent Registration No. 10-2086905 (2020.03.03)

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a method, device, and computer program for providing an influencer sponsorship service that can support the influencer who uploaded the selected content by selecting the content to be sponsored from among the content uploaded by the plurality of influencers as well as sponsoring the selected influencer with a predetermined amount of money by selecting the influencer to be sponsored from among a plurality of influencers.

The problems to be solved by the present invention are not limited to the problems mentioned above, and other problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below.

A method of providing an influencer sponsorship service according to an embodiment of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems is a method performed by a computing device, providing a user interface (UI) that outputs information about a plurality of influencers and a plurality of contents uploaded from each of the plurality of influencers, receiving a selection of one influencer from among the plurality of influencers or contents of the plurality of contents through the UI, and the selected influencer or any one of the selected contents. It may include a step of paying donations to an influencer who has uploaded one piece of content.

In various embodiments, the plurality of contents include first content related to the influencer's profile and second content not related to the influencer's profile, and providing the UI may include outputting the first content in a public state in which at least a portion of the content is not covered, and outputting the second content in a private state in which a portion of the content is covered.

In various embodiments, the receiving of the selection may include switching the second content from the private state to the public state when a use of a first item for any one of the plurality of contents is input, and the providing of the UI may include outputting the second content switched to the public state.

In various embodiments, the first item includes a free first item that is provided free of charge in response to a predetermined condition being satisfied and a paid first item that can be purchased through payment, and the step of converting the second content from the private state to the public state and outputting the second content in the private state to the public state according to whether or not the second content in the private state to be switched to the public state can be switched to the public state when the type of the first item for which the use is input is the free first item; When the type of item is the paid first item, switching the second content in the private state to the public state regardless of whether or not the second content in the private state to be switched to the public state can be switched.

In various embodiments, the step of paying the donation may include providing a second item owned by the first user to the selected influencer when any one influencer from among the plurality of influencers is selected by the first user, and providing the second item owned by the first user to the influencer who uploaded the selected one content when any one content is selected from the plurality of contents by the first user.

In various embodiments, the step of paying the donation further includes, when receiving a settlement request for the second item from each of the plurality of influencers, remitting an amount corresponding to the second item to the account of each of the plurality of influencers based on a predetermined settlement ratio for each of the plurality of influencers, wherein the predetermined settlement ratio is the number of times the influencer is selected from a plurality of users, the number of content uploaded by the influencer, and the number of contents uploaded by the influencer It may be a ratio set using at least one of the number of times that one content is selected from the plurality of users.

In various embodiments, when obtaining a purchase request for any one of the plurality of contents from a first user, providing a payment process for purchasing any one of the contents, wherein the providing of the UI may include, when the purchase of any one of the contents is completed through the payment process, providing the one of the purchased contents only to the first user.

In various embodiments, the providing of the UI may include providing a first UI for outputting a list of influencers including information on the plurality of influencers, sequentially outputting the influencers with a high number of selections from the plurality of users, and providing a second UI for outputting a list of contents including the plurality of contents, sequentially outputting the contents with a high number of selections from the plurality of users, and recommendation based on the selected influencer and the selected one of the contents. It may include providing a third UI for outputting information about the influencer and recommended content.

An apparatus for providing an influencer sponsored service according to another embodiment of the present invention for solving the above problems includes a memory for storing one or more instructions and a processor for executing the one or more instructions stored in the memory, and the processor executes the one or more instructions, thereby performing the method for providing an influencer sponsored service according to an embodiment of the present invention.

A computer program according to another embodiment of the present invention for solving the above problems is combined with a computer, which is hardware, to perform the method of providing an influencer sponsored service according to an embodiment of the present invention. It can be stored in a computer-readable recording medium.

Other specific details of the invention are included in the detailed description and drawings.

According to various embodiments of the present invention, by selecting an influencer you want to sponsor from among a plurality of influencers, not only do you sponsor a predetermined amount of money to the selected influencer, but you also have the advantage of sponsoring the influencer who uploaded the selected content by selecting the content you want to sponsor among the contents uploaded by the plurality of influencers.

In addition, unlike existing social services such as Instagram, it has the advantage of being able to provide profitable social services that highlight the economic value of content uploaded by influencers.

The effects of the present invention are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below.

1 is a diagram illustrating a system for providing an influencer sponsorship service according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a hardware configuration diagram of an influencer sponsored service providing device according to another embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a flowchart of a method for providing an influencer sponsored service according to another embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a diagram exemplarily illustrating a user interface (UI) provided by an influencer-sponsored service providing device according to various embodiments.
5 is a diagram illustrating an auxiliary UI that outputs user information according to various embodiments.
6 is a diagram illustrating a UI outputting a plurality of contents by way of example, in various embodiments.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a UI providing a donation to an influencer who has uploaded any one of a plurality of contents according to various embodiments.
8 is a diagram illustrating a UI for outputting information about an influencer in various embodiments by way of example.
9 is a diagram exemplarily illustrating a UI for providing donations to influencers in various embodiments.
10 is a diagram exemplarily illustrating a membership registration UI provided when a user is a general customer or an influencer, in various embodiments.
11 is a diagram exemplarily illustrating a membership registration UI additionally provided when a user is an influencer, in various embodiments.
12 is a diagram illustrating a UI providing a plurality of contents according to a user level according to various embodiments, by way of example.

Advantages and features of the present invention, and methods of achieving them, will become clear with reference to the detailed description of the following embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but may be implemented in a variety of different forms, and only these embodiments are provided to complete the disclosure of the present invention and to fully inform those skilled in the art of the scope of the present invention to which the present invention belongs, and the present invention is only defined by the scope of the claims.

Terminology used herein is for describing the embodiments and is not intended to limit the present invention. In this specification, singular forms also include plural forms unless specifically stated otherwise in a phrase. As used herein, "comprises" and/or "comprising" does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other elements other than the recited elements. Like reference numerals throughout the specification refer to like elements, and “and/or” includes each and every combination of one or more of the recited elements. Although "first", "second", etc. are used to describe various components, these components are not limited by these terms, of course. These terms are only used to distinguish one component from another. Accordingly, it goes without saying that the first element mentioned below may also be the second element within the technical spirit of the present invention.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used in this specification may be used with meanings commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention belongs. In addition, terms defined in commonly used dictionaries are not interpreted ideally or excessively unless explicitly specifically defined.

The term "unit" or "module" used in the specification means a hardware component such as software, FPGA or ASIC, and "unit" or "module" performs certain roles. However, "unit" or "module" is not meant to be limited to software or hardware. A “unit” or “module” may be configured to reside in an addressable storage medium and may be configured to reproduce one or more processors. Thus, as an example, “unit” or “module” includes software components, object-oriented software components, components such as class components and task components, processes, functions, properties, procedures, subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuitry, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables. Functionality provided within components and “units” or “modules” may be combined into fewer components and “units” or “modules” or further separated into additional components and “units” or “modules”.

The spatially relative terms "below", "beneath", "lower", "above", "upper", etc. may be used to easily describe the relationship between one component and other components as shown in the figures. Spatially relative terms should be understood as including different orientations of elements in use or operation in addition to the orientations shown in the drawings. For example, when flipping components shown in the drawings, components described as “below” or “beneath” other components may be placed “above” the other components. Thus, the exemplary term “below” may include directions of both below and above. Components may also be oriented in other orientations, and thus spatially relative terms may be interpreted according to orientation.

In this specification, a computer means any kind of hardware device including at least one processor, and may be understood as encompassing a software configuration operating in a corresponding hardware device according to an embodiment. For example, a computer may be understood as including a smartphone, a tablet PC, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, and user clients and applications running on each device, but is not limited thereto.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Although each step described in this specification is described as being performed by a computer, the subject of each step is not limited thereto, and at least a part of each step may be performed in different devices according to embodiments.

In addition, in this specification, a plurality of influencers and the payment of donations for content uploaded or posted by a plurality of influencers is described as an example, but it is not limited thereto and can be applied to various fields in which donations are paid to specific targets.

1 is a diagram illustrating a system for providing an influencer sponsorship service according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1 , an influencer sponsorship service providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention may include an influencer sponsorship service providing apparatus 100 , a user terminal 200 and an external server 300 .

Here, the influencer-sponsored service providing system shown in FIG. 1 is according to an embodiment, and its components are not limited to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and may be added, changed, or deleted as necessary.

In one embodiment, the influencer sponsorship service providing device 100 may provide an influencer sponsorship service.

Here, the influencer sponsorship service may refer to a service in which information on a plurality of influencers and contents uploaded by each of the plurality of influencers are provided to a plurality of users, and various types of donations (e.g., items, points, cash, etc.) provided from the plurality of users to the influencer or content are provided to the influencer that each of the plurality of users wants to sponsor. However, it is not limited thereto.

In one embodiment, the influencer sponsorship service providing device 100 may provide a UI for providing the influencer sponsorship service to the user terminal 200 . For example, the apparatus 100 for providing influencer sponsorship service includes a UI for outputting information about a plurality of influencers and a plurality of contents uploaded from each of the plurality of influencers (eg, FIGS. 4 and 5), a UI for outputting a plurality of contents (eg, FIG. 6), a UI for providing donations to an influencer who has uploaded any one of the plurality of contents (eg, FIG. 7 7 ), and a UI for outputting various information about the influencer (eg, FIG. 8). , UI for paying donations to influencers (eg, FIG. 9), and membership registration UI (eg, FIGS. 10 and 11) for subscribing to an influencer sponsored service. However, it is not limited thereto.

In one embodiment, the apparatus 100 for providing influencer sponsorship service may receive a user's selection of one influencer to sponsor from among a plurality of influencers or one content to sponsor from among a plurality of contents, and may pay a donation to the selected influencer or pay a donation to the influencer who uploads the selected one of the selected contents. For example, the influencer sponsorship service providing device 100 may provide a specific item possessed by the user to any one influencer selected by the user and to the influencer who has uploaded the content selected by the user. However, it is not limited thereto.

In various embodiments, the influencer sponsorship service providing device 100 directly provides cash as donation money (for example, providing cash through account transfer or providing donation money through card payment), providing points (for example, allowing a user to purchase a certain point and presenting the purchased points), and providing an item (for example, a user purchasing an item for sponsorship and presenting the purchased item) to the influencer using at least one method. can provide donations to However, it is not limited thereto.

In one embodiment, the influencer-sponsored service providing device 100 may obtain a settlement request for an item from the influencer, and upon obtaining the settlement request, may settle and pay the item owned by the influencer according to a preset settlement ratio. However, it is not limited thereto.

In various embodiments, the influencer sponsorship service providing apparatus 100 may provide a messaging transmission/reception service between a plurality of users or between a plurality of users and a plurality of influencers. However, it is not limited thereto.

In one embodiment, the user terminal 200 may be connected to the influencer sponsorship service providing device 100 through the network 400, and may output various data provided from the influencer sponsorship service providing device 100. For example, the user terminal 200 may include at least one of a smart phone, a tablet PC, a laptop, and a desktop having a display on at least a portion of the user terminal 200, and the UI provided by the apparatus 100 for providing an influencer sponsorship service through the display (e.g., a UI for outputting information on a plurality of influencers and a plurality of contents uploaded from each of the plurality of influencers, a UI for outputting a plurality of contents, a UI for outputting various information about the influencer, and an influencer Various data provided by the influencer sponsor service providing device 100 may be output by outputting a UI for paying donations to the user. However, it is not limited thereto.

In one embodiment, the external server 300 may be connected to the influencer sponsorship service providing device 100 through the network 400, and may store various data provided from the influencer sponsorship service providing device 100. For example, the external server 300 may be a storage device provided separately from the influencer sponsorship service providing device 100, and may store and manage a plurality of contents uploaded through a UI provided by the influencer sponsorship service providing device 100. However, it is not limited thereto.

Here, the influencer sponsorship service providing system shown in FIG. 1 has been described in a form in which various information and data generated and provided by the influencer sponsorship service providing device 100 are transmitted to and stored in the external server 300, but is not limited thereto, and may include a separate storage device in the influencer sponsorship service providing device 100 to store various types of information and data in the separately provided storage device. Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 2, the hardware configuration of the influencer-sponsored service providing device 100 will be described.

2 is a hardware configuration diagram of an influencer sponsored service providing device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2 , an influencer sponsorship service providing device 100 (hereinafter referred to as “computing device 100”) according to another embodiment of the present invention may include a processor 110 and a memory 120 . In various embodiments, the computing device 100 may further include a network interface (or communication interface) (not shown), a storage (not shown), and a bus (not shown).

In one embodiment, the processor 110 may control the overall operation of each component of the computing device 100 . The processor 110 may include a central processing unit (CPU), a micro processor unit (MPU), a micro controller unit (MCU), or any type of processor well known in the art.

In various embodiments, the processor 110 may perform an operation for at least one application or program for executing a method according to embodiments of the present invention. In various embodiments, the processor 110 may include one or more cores (not shown) and a graphics processing unit (not shown) and/or a connection path (eg, a bus) for transmitting and receiving signals to and from other components.

In various embodiments, the processor 110 may further include a RAM (Random Access Memory, not shown) and a ROM (ROM: Read-Only Memory, not shown) that temporarily and/or permanently store signals (or data) processed inside the processor 110. In addition, the processor 110 may be implemented in the form of a system on chip (SoC) including at least one of a graphics processing unit, RAM, and ROM.

In one embodiment, the processor 110 may perform a method described with respect to FIG. 3 (eg, a method of providing an influencer sponsorship service) by executing one or more instructions stored in the memory 120 .

For example, the processor 110 executes one or more instructions stored in the memory 120, providing a UI that outputs information on a plurality of influencers and a plurality of contents uploaded from each of the plurality of influencers, receiving selection of any one influencer or contents from among the plurality of contents through the UI, and paying donations to the selected influencer or the influencer who uploaded any one of the selected contents. A method of providing an influencer sponsorship service may be performed. However, it is not limited thereto.

In one embodiment, memory 120 may store various data, commands and/or information. The memory 120 may store programs (one or more instructions) for processing and control of the processor 110 . Programs stored in the memory 120 may be divided into a plurality of modules according to functions.

In various embodiments, steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with an embodiment of the present invention may be implemented directly in hardware, implemented in a software module executed by hardware, or a combination thereof. A software module may reside in random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any form of computer readable recording medium well known in the art.

Components of the present invention may be implemented as a program (or application) to be executed in combination with a computer, which is hardware, and stored in a medium. Components of the present invention may be implemented as software programming or software elements, and similarly, an embodiment may be implemented in a programming or scripting language such as C, C++, Java, assembler, etc., including various algorithms implemented as data structures, processes, routines, or combinations of other programming constructs. Functional aspects may be implemented in an algorithm running on one or more processors. Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 3 , a method of providing an influencer sponsorship service performed by the computing device 100 will be described.

3 is a flowchart of a method for providing an influencer sponsored service according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3 , in step S110, the computing device 100 may provide a UI (eg, FIGS. 4 and 5) for outputting information about a plurality of influencers and a plurality of contents uploaded from each of the plurality of influencers.

In various embodiments, the computing device 100 may provide a first UI (eg, 15 and 16 of FIG. 3 ) outputting an influencer list including information on a plurality of influencers.

In various embodiments, the computing device 100 may determine the order in which information about a plurality of influencers is displayed in the influencer list based on the number of times the user selects (or the number of times the user inputs the use of an item). For example, the computing device 100 may determine the order in which information on a plurality of influencers is output so that information on an influencer selected by a user with a high frequency among the plurality of influencers is sequentially output. However, it is not limited thereto, and the order in which information about a plurality of influencers is output may be determined according to various criteria input from users (eg, the number of content uploaded, the number of items used by users, etc.).

Here, the information about the influencer may include the influencer's profile video (eg, image, video, etc.), the activity name of the influencer (eg, nickname, ID), and information on the number of times selected by the user. However, it is not limited thereto.

In various embodiments, the computing device 100 may provide a second UI (eg, 14) for outputting a list of contents including a plurality of contents (eg, image contents, video contents, audio contents, text contents, etc.).

In various embodiments, the computing device 100 may determine the order in which content is output within the content list based on the number of times the user selects the item (or the number of times the user inputs the use of an item). For example, the computing device 100 may determine an output order of the plurality of contents such that the contents having a higher number of user selections are sequentially output from among the plurality of contents. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the order in which a plurality of contents are output may be determined according to various criteria input from users (eg, the number of contents uploaded, the number of items used by users, etc.).

In various embodiments, the computing device 100 may provide a plurality of contents through the UI, but among the plurality of contents, contents related to the profile of the influencer may be provided in a public state, and contents not related to the profile may be provided in a closed state. For example, the computing device 100 may provide the first content in a public state and provide the second content in a private state when the plurality of contents include first content related to the influencer's profile (eg, content uploaded to the influencer's profile item) and second content not related to the influencer's profile (eg, content uploaded to an item other than the influencer's profile item (eg, a pictorial item)).

Here, the public state means a state in which at least a part of the content is not covered, that is, a state identical to the original content uploaded by the influencer, and the private state means a state in which a part of the content is covered by masking or blurring all or part of the content. However, it is not limited thereto.

In various embodiments, when second content not related to a profile is uploaded from an influencer, the computing device 100 may query the user terminal 200 as to whether the second content is public or private in response to the second content being uploaded, and set the status of the uploaded second content to a public state or a private state based on the response to the query. For example, when obtaining a disclosure request for the second content from a user, the computing device 100 may post the uploaded second content in a public state. In addition, the computing device 100 may post the uploaded second content in a non-public state when obtaining a privacy request for the second content from the user.

In various embodiments, the computing device 100 may post the uploaded second content in a private state when a response to the query is not received from the user or when a response to the query is received after a predetermined time period has elapsed. However, it is not limited thereto, and the computing device 100 may suspend posting of the corresponding content until a response to the query is input.

In various embodiments, when the computing device 100 receives the second content uploaded from the influencer without going through a separate query process, the uploaded second content may be set to a private state.

In various embodiments, the computing device 100 may provide a third UI (eg, 16 in FIG. 4 ) for outputting information on recommended influencers and recommended content for a specific user based on influencer selection history and content selection history of each of a plurality of users. For example, the computing device 100 may select an influencer having a concept and tendency similar to that of the influencer selected by the first user among a plurality of influencers, an influencer selected by the first user, and an influencer selected frequently along with the influencer selected by the first user, as recommended influencers, based on the influencer selection history of each of a plurality of users, and output information on the selected recommended influencer.

In addition, the computing device 100 may select content having the same keyword (e.g., hashtag) as the content selected by the first user among the plurality of pieces of content based on the content selection history of each of the plurality of users, and content selected a high number of times together with the content selected by the first user as recommended content, and output the selected recommended content. However, it is not limited thereto.

In various embodiments, the computing device 100 may use the age and gender of the user to select influencers and content selected by users of the same or similar age as the user, and influencers and content selected by users having the same gender as the user as recommended content, and provide information and recommended content on the selected recommended influencer.

In various embodiments, the computing device 100 may provide a private community for each of a plurality of influencer accounts in which content uploaded by the influencer is not disclosed to the outside. When a request is received from an influencer uploading content to be posted in the private community, the uploaded content may be posted in the private community corresponding to the influencer. Thereafter, the computing device 100 may provide content posted in the private community to a user who meets a predetermined condition (eg, a condition previously set by an influencer) among a plurality of users. However, it is not limited thereto.

In various embodiments, the computing device 100 may receive user ratings (e.g., A, S, R, and VIP ratings) for each of a plurality of contents from an influencer, set a disclosure range of each of the plurality of contents according to the user rating, and provide the content to a plurality of users according to the set disclosure range. For example, if the computing device 100 receives an S grade as a user rating for specific content from an influencer, the disclosure range of the specific content can be set to users of S grade or higher, and the content can be provided to a plurality of users determined to be S grade or higher. However, it is not limited thereto.

Here, the user level may be set according to conditions previously set by the influencer (eg, sponsorship payment amount, item usage, etc.), but is not limited thereto.

In various embodiments, the computing device 100 may receive a request for a video message provision reservation for a specific influencer from a user, and when the requested video message is uploaded from the influencer, the uploaded video message may be provided to the corresponding user. For example, the computing device 100 may guide the influencer to upload a video message to be provided to the user by delivering the video message provision reservation obtained from the user and a predetermined donation (or item) provided for the video message reservation to the influencer, and according to the guidance, the video message uploaded from the influencer may be provided only to the corresponding user. However, it is not limited thereto.

In step S120, the computing device 100 may select any one influencer from among a plurality of influencers or select any one content from among a plurality of contents through the UI provided through step S110. In step S130, the computing device 100 may provide a donation to any one influencer selected in step S120 or to an influencer who has uploaded any one content.

In various embodiments, the computing device 100 may provide information about a plurality of influencers to the user through a UI that outputs information about the plurality of influencers, and select any one influencer from among the plurality of influencers (eg, input a sponsorship request for any one influencer), and may provide a second item (eg, a heart) owned by the user to the selected one influencer.

Here, the second item is an item for hot-flexing an influencer (e.g., an act of selecting and sponsoring an influencer) or flexing a content (e.g., an act of selecting and sponsoring content). However, it is not limited thereto.

First, the computing device 100 provides a UI (eg, 20 in FIG. 8 ) that outputs information on a specific influencer when an information request requesting more detailed information on a specific influencer is input from the user (eg, an input for selecting a specific influencer from among information on a plurality of influencers) to provide more detailed information on the specific influencer (eg, personal information of the influencer, introduction information, status information, ranking information, cumulative sponsorship information, a plurality of contents, etc.) can output

Then, when the computing device 100 receives a request for sponsorship (e.g., hot flex) for a specific influencer from the user through a UI that outputs information on the specific influencer (e.g., when a user input for selecting a hot flex button (e.g., 42a in FIGS. 8 and 9) is obtained), the second item owned by the user may be provided to the specific influencer. Here, the computing device 100 may provide the number of second items input by the user among a plurality of second items owned by the user to a specific influencer. However, it is not limited thereto.

In various embodiments, the computing device 100 selects any one of the plurality of contents through a UI that outputs a plurality of contents (eg, inputs a request for sponsorship (eg, Plex) for any one of the contents). The second item owned by the user may be provided to the influencer who has uploaded the selected one of the contents.

First, the computing device 100 may output a plurality of contents related to a specific keyword or output a plurality of contents uploaded by a specific influencer by providing a content providing UI (eg, 30 in FIG. 6 ) when a specific keyword (eg, hashtag) is input from a user or when a content provision request requesting contents uploaded by a specific influencer is input.

Thereafter, when the computing device 100 receives a sponsorship request (eg, flex) for a specific content from the user through the content providing UI (eg, a flex button provided in the UI that outputs detailed information on the specific content (eg, when obtaining a user input for selecting a flex button (eg, FIG. 7 )), the second item owned by the user may be provided to the specific influencer. Here, the computing device 100 may provide the number of second items input by the user among a plurality of second items owned by the user to a specific influencer. However, it is not limited thereto.

In various embodiments, when receiving a sponsorship request for specific content from a user, the computing device 100 determines whether the specific content can be sponsored, and only when it is determined that sponsorship is possible, the second item owned by the user may be provided to the specific influencer. For example, the computing device 100 may determine that sponsorship is impossible when the state of the content is in a closed state, and may determine that sponsorship is possible when the state of the content is in a public state. Accordingly, when obtaining a sponsorship request (plex) for the corresponding content from the user in a situation where the content is in a non-public state, the computing device 100 notifies that the content is in a non-public state and uses the first item to convert the corresponding content to a sponsorable state (eg, convert from a private state to a public state). In addition, the computing device 100 may provide a second item owned by the user to a specific influencer when receiving a sponsorship request from the user in a situation where the content is open. However, it is not limited thereto.

In various embodiments, when a user inputs the use of a first item (eg, a key) for content determined to be unsponsorable (eg, content in a non-public state), the computing device 100 may convert the content determined to be unsponsorable into sponsorable content using the first item possessed by the user. For example, the computing device 100 may receive an input of using a first item for content in a private state from the user, convert the content in a private state to a public state in response to the input of using the first item, and provide the content switched to the public state through a content providing UI.

Here, the first item may be an item used to convert content in a closed state to content in a public state. For example, the first item may include a free first item provided free of charge in response to a predetermined condition being satisfied (e.g., an influencer sponsored service access time reaching a reference time) and a paid first item that can be purchased through payment. However, it is not limited thereto.

In various embodiments, the computing device 100 may set usage ranges of the free first item and the paid first item to be different from each other. For example, the computing device 100 may set the range of use of the first free item to content that is previously set to be switchable to the public state using the first free item among a plurality of contents in a private state, and set the range of use of the paid second item to all contents in a private state. However, it is not limited thereto.

In various embodiments, the computing device 100 may set the first free item and the paid first item to perform the same usage range and the same role (eg, convert content from a private state to a public state), but when the user inputs the use of the first item, if both the first free item and the paid first item are possessed, the first free item may be set to be used with priority. However, it is not limited thereto.

In various embodiments, the computing device 100 converts content in a private state to a public state by selecting and using any one of the user's free first item or paid first item, but when using the first paid item, a predetermined reward may be provided. For example, when the user inputs the use of a paid first item, the computing device 100 may provide an event in which a second item can be obtained with a certain probability, and a predetermined number of second items may be provided to the user depending on whether or not the event is won.

In various embodiments, the computing device 100 may receive from a user either an exclusive disclosure request or a full disclosure request for content that is determined to be non-sponsorable (eg, non-public content), and may set the disclosure range for the non-public content according to the type of request received from the user.

For example, when obtaining a request for exclusive disclosure of content in a private state from a user, the computing device 100 converts the content in a private state to a public state by using one of the first items possessed by the user or a free first item, and provides the content converted to a public state only to the user who has used the first item.

On the other hand, when the computing device 100 obtains a request for full disclosure of content in a non-public state from the user, the content in the non-public state can be converted to a public state using a plurality of first items or paid first items among the first items possessed by the user, and the content converted to a public state can be provided to all users using the influencer sponsorship service. However, it is not limited thereto.

In various embodiments, the computing device 100 may obtain an exclusive purchase request for specific content from the first user, and when the exclusive purchase is completed from the first user, the computing device 100 may provide the specific content only to the first user who has purchased the specific content. For example, when obtaining a purchase request for any one of a plurality of contents from the first user, the computing device 100 may provide a payment process for purchasing any one of the contents. Thereafter, when the purchase of any one of the contents is completed through a payment process, the computing device 100 may set to provide the purchased content only to the first user and not to provide the specific content to users other than the first user (eg, set not to provide the specific content in any state such as public or private state). However, it is not limited thereto.

In one embodiment, the computing device 100 may proceed with an exclusive process for a specific content in response to a specific condition. In one embodiment, the monopolization process may be initiated when the first user expresses a desire to monopolize particular content (eg, clicks an exclusive button). In another embodiment, the exclusive process may be initiated when the influencer uploading the content selects to initiate the exclusive process or sets the property of the uploaded content to exclusive content. In addition, the content exclusivity process may be initiated based on various methods.

When the content monopolization process is initiated, an auction process for monopolizing the corresponding content may proceed. In this case, a user who selects to invest the largest amount or key within a preset time is given exclusive rights to the corresponding content, and the amount or key invested can be paid.

Depending on the embodiment, a monopoly price (eg, price or key) may be set for each content. The price may be set automatically or may be set by the influencer's choice. Depending on the embodiment, the price for monopoly may be a price that enables content monopoly through instant payment or may be the starting price of an auction.

Depending on the embodiment, the price for exclusivity of content may be set as an average price that the influencer who uploaded the content can obtain through opening and sponsoring one content, but is not limited thereto.

The user who monopolizes the content may monopolize the content so that only one person can view it, but according to an embodiment, the content may be disclosed for a limited time or continuously so that all users can view the content. In this case, the right to disclose the content may be given to the exclusive user. After that, the sponsorship revenue for the content may be shared with the influencer according to the ratio selected by the exclusive user, the ratio set in advance by the influencer, or the ratio set in advance, but is not limited thereto.

Depending on the embodiment, the user who has monopolized the content can use the key again to switch to a state where the content can be unlocked, and instead, the key revenue from unlocking the content can be shared with the influencer according to the ratio selected by the user, the ratio selected by the influencer, or a preset ratio.

Through the above-mentioned monopoly function, each user can monopolize the content of the influencer they sponsor, support the influencer they sponsor to earn more money, or earn money themselves.

In various embodiments, the computing device 100 may receive a request for direct sponsorship including a predetermined sponsorship amount for a specific influencer from a user, and in response to the direct sponsorship request, the computing device 100 may remit the predetermined sponsorship amount to the account of the specific influencer. However, it is not limited thereto.

In various embodiments, when the computing device 100 obtains a settlement request for the first item and the second item from each of a plurality of influencers, based on a preset settlement ratio for each of the plurality of influencers, the amount of money corresponding to the first item and the second item may be remitted to the account of each of the plurality of influencers.

In various embodiments, the computing device 100 may set the settlement ratio of the influencer using at least one of the number of times the influencer is selected by a plurality of users (eg, the number of sponsorships), the number of content uploaded by the influencer, the number of times the content uploaded by the influencer is selected by a plurality of users (eg, the total number of sponsorships), and the size of the amount of sponsorship received by the influencer.

For example, the computing device 100 may set a 20% commission for an influencer with a sponsorship amount of less than 1 million won for one year, a 10% commission for an influencer with a donation exceeding 1 million won and less than 10 million won, and a 5% commission for an influencer exceeding 10 million won. However, it is not limited thereto.

In addition, the computing device 100 may set a rating for the influencer using the number of times the influencer is selected by users (eg, the number of sponsorships), the number of content uploaded by the influencer, and the number of times the content uploaded by the influencer is selected by a plurality of users (eg, the total number of sponsorships), and set a settlement ratio based on the set rating.

The aforementioned method of providing influencer-sponsored services has been described with reference to the flow chart shown in the drawing. For simplicity, the method of providing influencer sponsorship services has been illustrated and described as a series of blocks, but the present invention is not limited to the order of the blocks, and some blocks may be performed in a different order or concurrently than those shown and performed herein. In addition, new blocks not described in the present specification and drawings may be added, or some blocks may be deleted or changed. Hereinafter, various UIs provided by the computing device 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 8 .

4 is a diagram exemplarily illustrating a user interface (UI) provided by an influencer-sponsored service providing device according to various embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 4 , the computing device 100 may provide an influencer sponsorship service UI 10 that outputs information about a plurality of influencers and information about a plurality of contents when a user requests to provide an influencer sponsorship service.

The computing device 100 may provide an influencer sponsorship service capable of viewing and sponsoring a plurality of influencers and a plurality of contents through the influencer sponsorship service UI 10 . In this case, the computing device 100 may provide the influencer sponsorship service only to users who are registered as members of the influencer sponsorship service.

In various embodiments, the computing device 100 may determine whether a user who has requested the provision of an influencer sponsored service is subscribed to the influencer sponsored service, and may provide a main UI 10 to a subscribed user and a member registration UI for subscribing to an influencer sponsored service to a user who is not subscribed. For example, the computing device 100 may provide a login UI for guiding the user to log in when a user who is not logged in to the influencer sponsored service wants to use a specific function of the influencer sponsored service, and may provide a membership registration UI to the user's terminal 200 to sign up for the influencer sponsored service if the user is not logged in for more than a preset time or a member registration request is obtained through the login UI. However, it is not limited thereto.

In various embodiments, the computing device 100 may provide different types of influencer sponsorship service UIs 10 depending on whether the user requesting the provision of the influencer sponsorship service is a general user or an influencer. For example, the computing device 100 may provide an influencer sponsorship service UI 10 that outputs information about a plurality of influencers and a plurality of contents when the user requesting the provision of the influencer sponsorship service is a general user, and if the user requesting the provision of the influencer sponsorship service is an influencer, the influencer sponsorship service UI 10 outputs an influencer page containing information and content of the corresponding influencer. However, it is not limited thereto.

The influencer sponsorship service UI 10 includes an item information output bar 11 that outputs information related to items owned by the user (e.g., first free item, first paid item, and second paid item), a keyword input bar 12 where keywords can be input to search for a specific influencer among a plurality of influencers or specific content among a plurality of contents, an advertisement output UI 13 for displaying advertisements, and a number of times selected by users among a plurality of contents (eg, the number of times sponsored or the number of times an item has been used). Content output UI 14 (e.g., 2nd UI), which outputs content sequentially or sorts and outputs multiple content according to user-set criteria; Influencer output UI 15 (e.g., 1st UI), which outputs sequentially from influencers with a large number of selected influencers (e.g., number of times sponsored or item used), or sorts and outputs multiple influencers according to criteria set by users; and recommended influencers and recommended content according to user sponsorship history. It may include a UI 16 provided. However, it is not limited thereto.

5 is a diagram illustrating an auxiliary UI that outputs user information according to various embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 5 , the influencer-sponsored service UI 10 of the computing device 100 may include an auxiliary UI 20 that outputs more detailed information about the user and various functions and information provided by the influencer-sponsored service.

In various embodiments, when a detailed information output button 11a of the item information output bar 11 included in the influencer sponsorship service UI 10 is input from the user, the auxiliary UI 20 guides the user to check more detailed information. The auxiliary UI 20 may be provided. For example, when the detailed information output button 11a is input from the user, the computing device 100 may dynamically provide the auxiliary UI 20 on the side of the main UI 10 (eg, a drawer panel). However, it is not limited thereto.

The auxiliary UI 20 may include an item information button, a profile and pictorial information button, a message box button, a hot flex details button, a member information edit button, and a logout button, and when receiving each button from the user, the computing device 100 may provide a UI (e.g., a pop-up window) for outputting corresponding information to output information corresponding to the input button. For example, when obtaining a user input for selecting a hot flex details button of the auxiliary UI 20, the computing device 100 may provide a hot flex details output UI that outputs various history information about the user's hot flex action, such as information on a plurality of influencers sponsored by the corresponding user and the number of second items sponsored by the user.

In addition, the auxiliary UI 20 may further include a heart charge/item purchase button, an exchange request button, an FAQ button, a 1:1 customer support button, and a notice button, and the computing device 100 may provide a UI that outputs corresponding information when each button is input from the user, thereby providing various information and functions necessary for the user to use the influencer sponsored service. For example, when obtaining a user input for selecting a heart charge/item purchase button of the auxiliary UI 20, the computing device 100 may provide a heart charge/item purchase UI on a new page so that the user can recharge hearts (second item) or purchase an item (first item) through payment.

6 is a diagram illustrating a UI outputting a plurality of contents by way of example, in various embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 6 , when receiving a specific keyword from a user or requesting provision of content uploaded by a specific influencer, the computing device 100 may provide a content output UI 30 that outputs a plurality of contents corresponding to a specific keyword or content uploaded by a specific influencer.

The computing device 100 may output content using an item (eg, a first item (key)) among a plurality of contents included in the content output UI 30 according to the user's item use history through the content output UI 30 in a public state and output content in which the item is not used in a private state.

When use of the first item for the content in the non-public state is input through the content output UI 30 (eg, when content in the non-public state is selected through a mouse pointer P or touch input), the computing device 100 provides a content sponsoring UI for switching the state of the content in which the use of the first item is input from a private state to a public state (eg, unlocked state) (eg, a guide UI 31 for guiding to switch the state of the content in which the use of the first item is input from a private state to a public state (eg, unlocked state)) ) can be provided (e.g., a pop-up window), and when the content in a private state is converted to a public state through the content sponsor UI, the content converted to a public state through the content output UI 30 can be provided to the user using the first item.

In various embodiments, when the computing device 100 obtains a request for provision of content in a public state (eg, content flexed (sponsored) from the user) from the user, the user may use the first item to configure and output a plurality of contents converted from a private state to a public state on a single screen through the content output UI 30.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a UI providing a donation to an influencer who has uploaded any one of a plurality of contents according to various embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 7 , when use of a first item for any one of a plurality of pieces of content output through the content output UI 30 is input, the state of the content is switched from a private state to a public state, and a content detailed information output UI 32 outputting the content switched to the public state may be provided to the user who has used the first item.

Thereafter, the computing device 100 may provide more detailed content (e.g., the original content, comments on the content written by an influencer, comments registered by a plurality of users, etc.) on the content that has been converted to a public state through the content detailed information output UI 32.

In addition, when the computing device 100 obtains a user input for selecting a flex button (an action by which a user sponsors a specific content) output on the content detailed information output UI 32, the second item held by the user who inputs the flex button can be provided to the influencer who uploaded the corresponding content.

In various embodiments, the computing device 100 may increase the number of flex times for content without consuming a separate item when obtaining a user input for selecting a flex button included in the content detailed information output UI 32 . In this case, flex may be interpreted as an action in which a user expresses a favorable feeling (eg, like) for a specific content, rather than an action in which a user sponsors a specific content.

8 is a diagram exemplarily illustrating a UI for outputting information about an influencer in various embodiments, and FIG. 9 is a diagram exemplarily illustrating a UI for providing donations to an influencer in various embodiments.

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9 , the computing device 100 may provide an influencer information output UI 40 that outputs more detailed information about the specific influencer requested when receiving an information request requesting more detailed information about a specific influencer from a user.

The influencer information output UI (40) displays the influencer's popularity information output UI (41), which includes information on the influencer's cumulative number of item sponsorships (accumulated hearts), weekly item sponsorships (weekly hearts), weekly prize money, number of PLEX (user sponsoring specific content) counts, weekly expected revenue, cumulative item sponsorship rank (cumulative heart rank), weekly item sponsorship rank (weekly heart rank), and flex rank, and more detailed information about the influencer (e.g., influencer It may include a personal information output UI 42 that outputs personal information, status information, and introduction information of the speaker) and a pictorial output UI 43 that provides a plurality of contents uploaded by the influencer. However, it is not limited thereto.

When the computing device 100 obtains a user input for selecting the hot-flex (an action by which a user sponsors a specific influencer) button 42a included in the personal information output UI 42, the second item held by the user who inputs the hot-flex button can be provided to the corresponding influencer. For example, the computing device 100 may output (eg, a pop-up window) an influencer sponsor UI 44 for sponsoring a second item owned by a user who has input a hot flex button to an influencer, receive a message and the number of second items to be provided to the influencer from the user through the influencer sponsor UI 44, and control the number input from the user in response to input of the influencer sponsor button provided in the influencer sponsor UI 44. 2 Items and messages can be provided to influencers.

10 is a diagram exemplarily illustrating a membership registration UI provided when a user is a general customer or an influencer in various embodiments, and FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a membership registration UI additionally provided when a user is an influencer in various embodiments.

10 and 11 , the computing device 100 may provide the influencer sponsorship service when a user requests to use the influencer sponsorship service, but if the user is not subscribed to the influencer sponsorship service, the user may be provided with a membership registration UI (e.g., general customer membership registration UI 50 and influencer membership registration UI 60) instructing the user to subscribe to the influencer sponsorship service.

The computing device 100 provides various information (e.g., ID, password, name, nickname, phone number, e-mail, etc.) for a user who wants to sign up for an influencer sponsored service through a member sign-up UI (e.g., a member sign-up UI 50 for general customers and a member sign-up UI 60 for influencers).

In various embodiments, the computing device 100 may receive additional information about the influencer (eg, age, gender, date of birth, active region, SNS address, status message, self-introduction, profile image, etc.)

In various embodiments, the computing device 100 may receive an address for an influencer's channel opened on another platform by the influencer through the influencer's membership registration UI 60, and may collect, automatically upload, and post various contents posted on the channel in association with the channel corresponding to the address entered by the user.

12 is a diagram illustrating a UI providing a plurality of contents according to a user level according to various embodiments, by way of example.

Referring to FIG. 12, the computing device 100 provides a plurality of content uploaded by the influencer through a pictorial output UI 43, which provides multiple content uploaded by the influencer, and can be set up a user grade (eg A, S grade, R grade and VIP grade) from the influencer from the influencer. Depending on the grade, you can determine the public scope of each content of each content, and you can provide plurality of content to a plurality of users according to the determined public scope.

As shown in FIG. 12, the computing device 100 displays a user level required to view the content for each content in a private state, so that a plurality of users can easily identify content that can be viewed according to their level. Here, the computing device 100 may output a guide message informing that the rating does not match when a user inputs a use of the first item for content that does not match the user's rating.

In various embodiments, when the computing device 100 determines that the user rating of the user who has been provided with the influencer information output UI 40 is S grade, only the content that can be viewed by the user of S grade among the plurality of contents is provided through the pictorial output UI 43, and content that cannot be viewed may not be provided. Thereafter, when the user of grade S is upgraded to grade R, the computing device 100 may additionally provide content that can be viewed by the user of grade R among a plurality of contents that are not provided, and may provide a guide message informing that content that can be viewed has been added to the corresponding user.

In the above, the embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, but those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains may be embodied in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features of the present invention. It will be appreciated. Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive.

100: Influencer sponsored service providing device (or computing device)
200: user terminal
300: external server
400: Network

Claims (10)

In a method performed by a computing device,
Providing a user interface (UI) that outputs information about a plurality of influencers and a plurality of contents uploaded from each of the plurality of influencers;
Receiving selection of any one influencer from among the plurality of influencers or any one of the plurality of contents through the UI;
Paying a donation to the selected influencer or the influencer who uploaded the selected content; and
When obtaining an exclusive purchase request for any one of the plurality of contents from a first user, providing a payment process for purchasing any one of the contents,
The step of providing the UI,
When the purchase of any one of the contents is completed through the payment process, providing the one of the purchased contents only to the first user, granting the first user permission to disclose any one of the purchased contents, and setting the purchased contents to not be provided to other users except for the first user or to be provided to all users for a predetermined period of time, according to the request of the first user,
The step of paying the donation is,
Distributing donations for any one of the purchased contents to the influencer who uploaded any one of the purchased contents and the first user according to a predetermined ratio,
Providing a payment process for purchasing any one of the contents,
When an exclusive expression of intention for a specific content is obtained, when an influencer uploading the specific content selects to initiate an exclusive process, or when the attribute of the specific content is set as exclusive content, an auction process for exclusive use of the specific content is conducted, wherein the auction starting price for the specific content is determined based on the average of the amount obtained by the influencer who uploaded the specific content by uploading one content; and
Granting an exclusive right to the specific content to a user who has invested the largest amount or item within a predetermined time through the auction process in progress among a plurality of users,
Providing a private community that does not disclose content uploaded by the first influencer to the outside, posting the uploaded content to the private community when requested by the first influencer to post the uploaded content to the private community, and providing content posted in the private community to a user who achieves a condition set in advance by the first influencer, wherein the condition set in advance by the first influencer includes at least one of a donation amount and item usage;
When a video message is uploaded from the second influencer as the video message provision reservation and predetermined donation obtained from the specific user are delivered to the second influencer, the uploaded video message is transmitted only to the specific user. Further comprising,
The step of paying the donation is,
When receiving a sponsorship request for specific content from a specific user, determining whether the sponsored specific content can be sponsored,
The step of determining whether the sponsorship is possible,
If the sponsorship-requested specific content is open, determining that the sponsorship-requested specific content is sponsorable, and providing a second item owned by the specific user to the influencer who has uploaded the sponsorship-requested specific content; and
If the sponsorship-requested specific content is in a non-public state, determining that the sponsorship-requested specific content is unsponsorable, and guiding the specific user to switch the sponsorship-requested specific content to a public state.
How to provide influencer sponsorship services. According to claim 1,
The plurality of contents,
Includes first content related to the influencer's profile and second content not related to the influencer's profile,
The step of providing the UI,
Outputting the first content in a public state in which at least a portion of the content is not covered, and outputting the second content in a private state in which a partial area of the content is covered.
How to provide influencer sponsorship services. According to claim 2,
The step of being selected is
When a use of a first item for any one of the plurality of contents is input, converting the second content from the private state to the public state;
The step of providing the UI,
Including the step of outputting the transition second content to the open state,
How to provide influencer sponsorship services. According to claim 3,
The first item,
It includes a free first item provided free of charge in response to satisfaction of a preset condition and a paid first item that can be purchased through payment;
The step of converting and outputting the second content in the private state to the public state,
if the type of the first item for which the use is entered is the free first item, converting the second content in the private state to the public state according to whether or not the second content in the private state to be switched to the public state can be switched; and
When the type of the first item for which the use is entered is the paid first item, converting the second content in the private state to the public state regardless of whether the second content in the private state to be switched to the public state can be switched to the public state.
How to provide influencer sponsorship services. According to claim 3,
The step of paying the donation is,
providing a second item owned by the first user to the selected one influencer when a first user selects one of the plurality of influencers; and
When any one of the plurality of contents in a public state is selected from the first user, a second item owned by the first user is provided to the influencer who uploaded the selected one of the contents.
How to provide influencer sponsorship services. According to claim 5,
The step of paying the donation is,
When obtaining a settlement request for the first item and the second item from each of the plurality of influencers, based on a predetermined settlement ratio for each of the plurality of influencers, the first item and the step of remitting an amount corresponding to the second item to the account of each of the plurality of influencers,
The preset settlement ratio is,
A ratio set using at least one of the number of times an influencer is selected by a plurality of users, the number of content uploaded by the influencer, and the number of times the content uploaded by the influencer is selected by the plurality of users,
How to provide influencer sponsorship services. delete According to claim 1,
The step of providing the UI,
providing a first UI for outputting an influencer list including information on the plurality of influencers, sequentially outputting influencers with a high number of selections from a plurality of users;
providing a second UI for outputting a list of contents including the plurality of contents, sequentially outputting contents having a high number of selections from the plurality of users; and
Providing a third UI for outputting information and recommended content on a recommended influencer based on the selected one influencer and the selected one content,
How to provide influencer sponsorship services. a memory that stores one or more instructions; and
a processor to execute the one or more instructions stored in the memory;
By executing the one or more instructions, the processor:
An apparatus that performs the method of claim 1 . A computer program stored in a computer-readable recording medium to be combined with a computer, which is hardware, to perform the method of claim 1.