JP2003208544A - Information providing method, information provider and information providing program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform accounting for the use of contents opened to the public according to advertisement value differing with the degree of using the contents opened to the public. <P>SOLUTION: In a service providing site, the contents opened to the public for advertisement are provided on the Internet. Two types of contents opened to the public are prepared for a personal computer and a cellular phone. As for the cellular phone, two types of contents for displaying on a display of the cellular phone and printing special for a person who wants to know detailed information are prepared. Between the contents for displaying on a display and printing, the use of the former is counted by a first counter (step S404), and the use of the latter is counted by a third counter (step S408) to individually evaluate the status of use, and accounting is performed according to the respective advertisement values. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information providing method for providing information on public contents accessible from a network and providing access to the public contents, and a public contents providing on the network. The present invention relates to an information providing device and an information providing program.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the explosive spread of the Internet, the Internet has become increasingly important as a means for distributing information.

In order for the Internet to effectively function as a means for distributing information, it is essential to enhance the information search function. Regarding such an information search function, a technique called a search engine has been developed and is widely used. Such an information search engine generally executes a search for public content (home page) containing a specific keyword when a specific keyword is input.

On the other hand, focusing on the information distribution revolution caused by the spread of the Internet, various advertisements using the Internet have been rapidly spread. In many cases, such an advertisement generally includes an advertisement area in the public content and attaches the advertisement to this advertisement area.
In other words, the public content published on the Internet, regardless of whether it is provided only to specific people such as specific members or to general unspecified people, Typically, it is a hypertext written in HTML language, and it is easy to attach an advertisement to it. Then, the public content to which the advertisement is attached in this way is distributed by WWW (World Wide Web) technology, and the user can browse the public content using a browser. An anchor is attached to such an advertisement, and when the user clicks the advertisement, which is the text or image attached to the advertisement area, with a mouse device, etc., the advertised service exists on the Internet. It is designed so that you can access the location of. Such a mechanism is generally called a link. That is, the advertisement is linked to the advertiser's website.

Regarding advertisements on the Internet, a mechanism is becoming widespread in which not only public contents called homepages but also electronic mail contents are attached. As an example, when a user makes a contract for an Internet connection with a certain provider, a system in which an advertisement is attached to an electronic mail transmitted via the provider has been put into practical use. With such a contract, the user can benefit from the Internet connection fee, for example.

FIG. 26 schematically shows an example of an advertisement attached to some content. That is, this content has a reading material 1001 which is a traveling text as its original content, but an advertisement area 1002 is provided around the reading material 1001 and two advertisements 1003 and 1004 are attached thereto. These advertisements 1003 and 1004 are attached with anchors to the advertiser websites 1003a and 1004a, respectively. Therefore, when a person who browses this content clicks the advertisement 1003 or 1004 with a mouse device or the like, a website 1003a or 1004a linked to the clicked advertisement.
Will be the browsing screen.

[0007]

By the way, it is desirable for an advertiser to have an advertisement that can attract as many users as possible to the service provided by the advertiser.
To that end, we want to improve the aspect of: ・ Getting a positive impression from the users who browsed the content ・ Advertising as much content as possible ・ Advertising to the user group who is likely to be interested in their service.

However, in the conventional advertising method on the Internet including the example shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-175628, since the advertisement is attached to the content,
There is a problem that the original content is disturbed and the advertisement is rather adversely affected.

Hereinafter, this problem will be considered with reference to FIG. FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram showing a screen display example in which an advertisement is attached to an electronic mail.

As shown in FIG. 27A, in this content, the mail text 2001 constitutes the original content. And an advertisement area 2002 is provided around it,
A plurality of advertisements 2003 to 2007 based on image data are attached to the advertisement area 2002. Such content is content that can be generally viewed on the Internet.

However, as can be seen at first glance, the proportion of advertisements showing in the screen is extremely large. For this reason, it becomes difficult to concentrate on the original content, and in some cases, it may not be possible to know where the mail body 2001 that is the original content of the content is located. For this reason,
It is expected that the advertiser's impression will deteriorate.

Numerically, as shown in FIG. 27B, the area of the entire content is 800 × 600 = 48.
Although the number of pixels is 0000 pixels, the mail body 2001, which is the original content, is 400 × 200 = 80.
Since there are only 000 pixels, the area of the advertising area 2002 is 480000-8000 = 400,000 pixels. This is 400 when viewed as an advertising area ratio.
000/480000 = 0.83, and advertises an area of 83% of the entire content.
~ 2007 is occupied.

A further problem is the data content and data size in that case. That is, as shown in FIG. 27C, the data size of the mail body 2001, which is text data, is 200 bytes, whereas the advertisement 2003.
Even if one of the data sizes of ˜2007 is 4000 bytes, the data size of 4000 × 5 = 20000 bytes will result. This is because image data is usually used for advertisements 2003 to 2007. Therefore, looking at the data size ratio, 20000/200
= 100, that is, the advertisements 2003 to 2007 have a data size 100 times as large as the mail body 2001.
For this reason, it takes time to read the content on the computer used by the user, and it is difficult to see the essential mail body 2001. This is a serious problem in an environment where the communication line quality is low and the data transfer rate is slow. As a result, the user has to wait until the content opens, which can lead to a poor impression on the advertiser.

In order to solve such a problem, the present applicant has filed Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-360442 (November 2000, 2000).
8th application (not yet published at the time of this application)),
The following technologies are proposed. That is, the information mediator operates the information mediation server on a network such as the Internet. Then, first, the primary content such as an electronic mail including the character information transmitted by the content creator is analyzed, and the database for registering the location of the public content on the Internet in association with the keyword is referred to and Extract keywords registered in the database. Next, the database is searched using the extracted keyword as a key, and the location of the public content associated with the extracted keyword is acquired. Then, an anchor for accessing the obtained location is added to the keyword in the primary content, and thereby secondary content such as an electronic mail is created. Then, the secondary content is transmitted to the destination instead of the primary content.

According to such a technique, the secondary content to which the advertisement anchor corresponding to the keyword in the primary content is attached can be received, and the recipient can browse the advertisement at the location indicated by the anchor. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the problem that the original content is hindered due to the advertisement attached to the content and the advertisement is rather adversely affected.

However, when browsing the advertisement at the location indicated by the anchor attached to the secondary content received by the recipient, if the terminal device used by the recipient is a mobile phone, etc., the display on the display is displayed. There is also a limit to the performance, and naturally there is a limit to the amount of advertisement information that can be viewed. Therefore, by viewing this advertisement, an advertisement for printing is prepared for the recipient who wants more detailed information, and the recipient operates the terminal device to print on the printer connected to the network such as the Internet. If it can be done, the advertising effect can be further enhanced. In this case, if a printer is prepared at a convenience store or the like in each place so that the receiver can operate the terminal device and specify the printer to be used, the receiver can operate the terminal device such as a mobile phone. You can get printed advertisements on the go.

In order to commercialize such a service, it is conceivable that a charge is made each time the public content to be used as an advertisement is used, and this charge is paid to the information intermediary.

In this case, in the above-described example, there are cases in which the advertisement is simply viewed on the display of the terminal device, and cases in which the advertisement for printing is printed out to obtain detailed advertisement information. Yes, there is a big difference in the advertising effect depending on whether it is done only in the former or up to the latter, and the difference in the advertising effect should be reflected in the billing amount.

It is an object of the present invention to allow usage of public content to be charged according to an advertising value that varies depending on the degree of usage of public content.

Another object of the present invention is, in this case, highly evaluated in the case where print content having a relatively high advertising effect is used, as compared with the case where display content having a relatively low advertising effect is used. It is to be able to charge.

[0021] Another object of the present invention is to be able to instruct to print the content for printing from the public content for display.

Another object of the present invention is to enable printing of the public content for printing from the public content for display only in this case only when the display performance of the display to which the secondary content is transmitted is poor. That is.

[0023]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a database for analyzing primary content including character information that passes through a network and registering the location of public content in association with a keyword is registered. Referring to the step of extracting a keyword registered in the database from the primary content, and searching the database using the extracted keyword as a key, and obtaining the location of the public content associated with the extracted keyword. And attaching an anchor for accessing the obtained location to a keyword in the primary content, thereby creating a secondary content from the primary content,
The usage frequency is counted in order to charge the usage of the public content on the network according to the degree of use of the public content, and a unit price that differs depending on the degree of use of the public content Is obtained by multiplying by the count value of the frequency of use, and storing the obtained value.

Therefore, the usage frequency is counted in order to charge the usage of the published content on the network according to the usage degree, and the usage frequency is counted for each usage degree of the published content. Since different unit prices are multiplied by the count value of the frequency of use and the obtained values are stored, it is possible to charge the use of the public content according to the advertising value that differs depending on the degree of use of the public content.

According to the invention of claim 2, in the information providing method according to claim 1, contents for display and contents for printing are prepared as the public contents on the display of the terminal device, and the frequency is set. In the counting step, the frequency of use is separately counted depending on whether the display content is used on the display or the print content is used.

Therefore, since the use frequency is separately counted when the display content is used on the display and when the print content is used, the display content having a relatively low advertising effect is used. It is possible to highly evaluate and charge the case where the content for printing, which has a relatively high advertising effect, is used more than the case where the content is used.

The invention described in claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2.
In the information providing method according to the item 1, the display content and the print content are prepared on the display of the terminal device as the public content, and the step of extracting the keyword is the content for display on the display. The database in which the location of the public content is registered is used, and the public content that is the content to be displayed has an operation column for printing the content for printing with a work printer on the network, or the relevant print. Contains the location of the operation page to do.

Therefore, it is possible to instruct to print the content for printing from the public content for display.

The invention according to claim 4 is the information providing method according to claim 3, further comprising the step of determining the type of the terminal device of the destination of the primary content, and the step of extracting the keyword, As the public content for printing, in addition to the first public content that includes the location of the operation column or the operation page, the location of the second public content that does not include the location of the operation column or the operation page is also located. In the step of creating the secondary content, the location assigned as the anchor is determined from the type according to the display performance of the display of the terminal device. Or selecting the second published content,
This is an information provision method.

Therefore, it is possible to print the public content for printing from the public content for display (first public content) only when the display performance of the display of the destination of the secondary content is poor. .

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a public content providing means for providing public content on a network and a fee for using the public content on the network according to the degree of use of the public content are charged. Counting means for counting the frequency of use, for each degree of use of the public content, a unit price that differs depending on the degree of use is multiplied by a count value of the frequency of use, and a count means for storing the obtained value, It is an information providing device that comprises.

Therefore, the usage frequency is counted in order to charge the usage of the published content on the network according to the usage degree of the published content, and the usage frequency is counted for each usage degree of the published content. Since different unit prices are multiplied by the count value of the frequency of use and the obtained values are stored, it is possible to charge the use of the public content according to the advertising value that differs depending on the degree of use of the public content.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in order to charge the use of the public content on the network according to the degree of use of the public content and the public content providing process for providing the public content on the network. A count process for counting the frequency of use, multiplying the unit price that differs according to the degree of use of the public content by the count value of the frequency of use, and storing the obtained value, It is a computer-readable information providing program that causes a computer to execute.

Therefore, the usage frequency is counted in order to charge the usage of the published content on the network according to the usage degree, and the usage frequency is counted for each usage degree of the published content. Since different unit prices are multiplied by the count value of the frequency of use and the obtained values are stored, it is possible to charge the use of the public content according to the advertising value that differs depending on the degree of use of the public content.

[0035]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [Overall Schematic Configuration] An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. This basic system configuration example is a configuration example using the Internet.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall schematic structure. In FIG. 1, the Internet 101 functioning as a network that is a communication network for electronic data is virtually shown. Through the Internet 101, a content transmission client 102, a secondary content reception client 103, an information mediation server 104, Information provision site 1
05 and the service providing site 106 are connectable.

Here, the content transmission client 10
Reference numeral 2 denotes a client terminal used by a content creator. The information mediation server 104 is an information mediation server operated by an information mediator, processes the primary content 201 such as an electronic mail transmitted from the content transmission client 102 via the Internet 101, and secondary content 202. Used to create (Fig. 6-
(See FIG. 8). Secondary content reception client 103
Is a client terminal to which the content created by the information mediation server 104 is distributed. Depending on the system configuration, the content transmitting client 102 and the secondary content receiving client 103 may be the same client terminal. The information providing site 105 and the service providing site 106 realize the public content providing means and the public content providing process, and provide the public content 203 (see FIG. 8) to the information providers published on the Internet 101. It is a website operated by a service provider. The public content 203, whether it is closed to members or widely open to the general public, is available on the Internet 1
Any type can be used as long as it can be viewed on 01.

Here, the information mediation server 104 operates from the content transmission client 102 to the Internet 10.
The content such as an electronic mail transmitted via 1 is received, the content is processed to create secondary content, and the processed secondary content is transmitted to the destination. In order to execute such processing, the information mediation server 104 is connected to a keyword database 108 as a database and obtains necessary data from this keyword database 108. 2 in the information mediation server 104
The process of creating the next content 202 will be described later,
FIG. 1 shows a functional block diagram for executing the processing. That is, the information mediation server 104 includes the keyword extracting unit 109 and the secondary content creating unit 110.
The keyword database 108 includes a keyword search unit 111, a data storage unit 112, and a data registration unit 11.
Have three.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the basic configuration of a computer used in each unit. The content transmission client 102, the secondary content reception client 103, the information mediation server 104, the keyword database 108, the information providing site 105, and the service providing site 106 described above are all computers. As a schematic structure thereof, as shown in FIG. 2, a CPU 114 and a memory 11 that execute various arithmetic processes to centrally control each unit.
A microcomputer having a basic configuration of 5 is a main component, and a communication device 116, a hard disk 117, a display device 118, an input device 11
9 and the CD-ROM drive 120 are connected to the bus. Then, on the hard disk 117, a program 121 describing a data code for causing a microcomputer having the CPU 114 and the memory 115 as a basic configuration to execute a predetermined process is installed. This program 121 is generally a CD
-Packaged in the form of being stored in a ROM or the like, and installed in the hard disk 117 by the read operation of the CD-ROM drive 120. However, the CD-ROM is an example, and as a storage medium for storing the program, a magnetic recording medium such as a flexible disk, a CD-R, a DVD-ROM,
Any optical storage medium such as a DVD-RAM may be used. Furthermore, the program 121 may be taken in via the communication device 116 via a network such as the Internet 101 and installed in the hard disk 117. Program 1
Anything that stores 21 can be a storage medium that stores a program.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the database. The database 122 is stored in the data storage unit 112 in the keyword database 108, and the public content 2 is associated with the keyword 122a.
The URL 122b as the location 03 is stored. Here, the keyword 122a and the URL 122b
The correspondence relationship with can be appropriately defined depending on the intended use of the system. For example, when the system is constructed as a search information providing system, the URL 122b of the public content 203 including information that can be a metaphor of the keyword 122a.
Is stored. As an example, for the keyword 122a of "Japanese crane", the UR of "WEB Animal Guide"
That is, the L122b is stored (see FIGS. 3 and 8). On the other hand, when the system is constructed as an information providing system for advertisement, the URL 122b of the public content 203 related to advertisement is stored for the keyword 122a. In this case, the relationship between the keyword 122a and the public content 203 is such that the public content 203 forms a metaphor of the keyword 122a.
Even if the relationship is motivated such that the advertiser purchases the desired keyword 122a,
Any relationship will do. For example, the public content 203 of "ABC Tourism Co., Ltd." for the keyword 122a "Tour", the public content 203 of "Niigata Ski Area" for the keyword 122a "Ski", and the keyword "Night Bus" 122
For “a”, the public content 203 of “XYZ Kotsu” constitutes a metaphor (see FIG. 12).

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing another example of the database 122. In the database 122, the keyword 122a includes the URL 122b and the area information 122c.
Are stored in association with each other. For example, when the regional information 122c of "Kamakura / Shonan" is stored for the keyword 122a of "wild bird", the URL 122b of the public content 203 of "Kamakura wild bird lovers" is stored as the public content 203. ing.

Here, in FIG. 1, the information mediation server 10
4 shows a functional block diagram for executing the creation processing of the secondary content 202, the functions shown in this functional block diagram are actually realized by the hardware configuration shown in FIG. Specifically, the keyword extracting unit 109 extracts a keyword from the mail body which is the primary content 201 transmitted from the content transmitting client 102. At this time, the information mediation server 1
The CPU 114 and the memory 115, which perform information processing according to the program 121 installed in the hard disk 117 of 04, perform morphological analysis on the mail text and extract keywords. The keyword database 108 also performs information processing according to the program 121 installed on the hard disk 117 C
The PU 114 and the memory 115 execute a predetermined process.
In other words, the keyword database 108 stores the database 122 as shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 9 registered in the data storage unit 112 via the data registration unit 113. Therefore, in the keyword database 108, the keyword search unit 111 causes the data storage unit 11 to receive an instruction from the information mediation server 104 that has extracted the keyword.
2 is searched for the keyword 122a extracted in the information mediation server 104 from the database 122 stored in the URL 122, and the URL 1 associated with the keyword 122a is searched.
22b is acquired. And keyword database 1
08 uses the acquired URL 122b as the information mediation server 1
Send to 04. The information mediation server 104 assigns the received URL 122b to the mail text which is the primary content 201 transmitted from the content transmission client 102 in the secondary content creation unit 110 thereof. In the processing here, the mail text is converted into HTML text and the URL 122b is added as an anchor in the HTML text (see FIG. 7). In this way, the secondary content 202 is created.

The information mediation server 104 can publish the created secondary content 202 on the Internet 101, can return it to the content transmission client 102 via the Internet 101, or can transmit the secondary content via the Internet 101. It can also be delivered to the receiving client 103. The functions of disclosure, return, and distribution are realized by well-known techniques, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[First Basic System Configuration Example] A first basic system configuration example using the above technique will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a business method involving exchange of data and money. This example is constructed as an information providing system in which the information mediation server 104 provides search information to a content creator who creates a primary content using the content transmission client 102. That is, in this example, the content creator is the recipient of the secondary content, and this person is the information mediation server 1
Pay the membership fee to the information intermediary who conducts business using 04. Payment of the membership fee here can also be realized by data processing such as transfer processing from a bank using information processing, withdrawal processing of deposit amount using information processing, and the like. The information mediator pays a reward to the information provider who conducts business using the information providing site 105, and assists the information provider in maintaining the website of the information provider and improving the quality thereof. Then, the information mediator creates the secondary content based on the primary content transmitted from the content creator, and returns this to the content receiver who is also the content creator.

As a result, the content creator / content receiver can access the URL of the noun extracted as a keyword from the mail body of the mail body, which is the primary content 201 created by the content creator. It is possible to receive the secondary content 202 to which is attached, and by clicking the keyword of the secondary content 202 with the input device 119 such as a mouse device, the URL specified by the anchor attached to the keyword is accessed. It will be possible.

Due to such a system configuration, the keyword database 1 used in combination with the information mediation server 104
In the data storage unit 112 of 08, the information providing site 105
The database 122 is stored in which the URL 122b is associated with the keyword 122a (see FIG. 3). In this case, since the purpose is to provide information, the keyword 12
2a and the public content 203 whose location is specified by the URL 122b are selected so that the public content 203 forms a metaphor relationship with the keyword 122a. For example, for the keyword 122a "Hokkaido", the UR of "Page of Hokkaido Promotion Association"
L122b is associated with, and the keyword 122a “Kushiro Marsh” is associated with the URL 12 of “Doto sightseeing information”.
2b is associated, and the URL 122 of “WEB Animal Guide” is associated with the keyword 122a of “Japanese crane”.
b is associated.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the flow of the secondary content creation processing, FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the flow of the keyword extraction processing, and FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the HTML document creation procedure when creating the secondary content. Figure 2 is completed 2
It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the following content.

Here, the flow of processing executed by the information mediation server 104 according to the program 121 installed in the hard disk 117 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the information mediation server 104 uses the content transmission client 10 via the Internet 101.
The original text transmitted from 2, that is, the primary content 201
(See FIG. 6A) is received and stored in the memory 115 (step S101). This original text, for example,
The text says, "I would like to travel to Hokkaido during my next vacation. I would especially like to visit the Kushiro Marsh and see the Japanese cranes." Then, a known morphological analysis is performed on the original sentence (step S102), and the text data is divided into small words having part-of-speech information. In other words, in the case of the above text sentence, "this time / no / holiday / ha / hokkaido / wa /
I want to travel/. / Especially / Kushiro Marsh / Turn / Turn /, Japanese Crane / See / Want / Want. Is obtained (see FIG. 6B). Therefore, in order to extract keyword candidates from these words and phrases (see FIG. 6 (c)),
The first phrase is extracted from the divided phrases (step S
103), it is determined whether the phrase is a noun (step S104). Determining that the phrase is a noun means determining that the phrase is a keyword candidate thereafter. Therefore, if it is determined that the phrase is a keyword candidate (Y in step S104), then it is determined whether or not it is the keyword 122a (step S105). The determination as to whether or not the keyword 122a here means to determine whether or not the word or phrase as the keyword candidate is registered in the database 122 shown in FIG. Therefore, the processing in step S105 is performed by issuing a search instruction to the keyword search unit 111 of the keyword database 108. The information mediation server 104 uses the keyword database 10
The response from 8 recognizes whether the phrase is the keyword 122a. Keyword database 10
The response from 8 includes the URL 122b associated with the keyword 122a. Therefore, if it is the keyword 122a (Y in step S105), the phrase is sandwiched between HTML anchor tags, the URL 122b transmitted from the keyword database 108 is inserted together with the keyword 122a in the anchor tag, and this is stored in the memory 115. The data is output to the inner buffer area (step S107). On the other hand, step S10
If it is determined in step 4 that the keyword candidate is not a noun (N in step S104) or in step S105 that the keyword candidate is not the keyword 122a (N in step S105), the phrase is not changed. The data is output to the buffer area in the memory 115 (step S106). Then, it is determined whether or not the next word / phrase is present in the keyword candidates (step S108), and if there is the next word / phrase, the next word / phrase is extracted (step S1).
09), and returns to the determination process of step S104.

Here, step S106 and step S
As shown in FIG. 7, the keyword 122a sandwiched between the phrase and the anchor tag output to the buffer area in the memory 115 by executing 107 constitutes an HTML document. Therefore, when the processing shown in FIG. 5 ends, the HT as illustrated in FIG.
The ML document is completed, and the primary content 20
The secondary content 202 is created based on 1.

The information mediation server 104 delivers the secondary content 202 thus created to the secondary content receiving client 103 via the Internet 101.
In this basic system configuration example, the secondary content reception client 103 is the content transmission client 102. However, the secondary content receiving client 10
3 and the content transmission client 102 may be different computers. This is easily realized when the primary content 201 is transmitted from the content transmission client 102 to the information mediation server 104 by including the delivery destination instruction information instructing the delivery destination of the secondary content 202 in the transmission information. .

In the secondary content receiving client 103, when the distributed secondary content 202 is displayed by a browser, the keyword 122a sandwiched between anchor tags in the secondary content 202 is underlined or displayed in a different color. It is highlighted (see FIG. 8). Then, when these keywords 122a are clicked with a mouse device or the like, the URL 122b sandwiched by the anchor tags is transmitted to the Internet provider via the Internet 101, and the public content 203 having the URL 122b can be accessed, and its disclosure. The contents of the contents 203 are changed to the secondary contents reception client 10
It becomes possible to browse in 3. Thus
Information is provided to the content creator and the secondary content receiver.

Here, as is clear from FIG. 8, the secondary content 202 is the primary content 2 shown in FIG.
It does not change much in appearance compared to 01. Therefore, the display content of the content becomes easy to see. Also, the secondary content 202 has a URL with respect to the primary content 201.
Since only the anchor that specifies 122b is added, the data size does not increase drastically as compared with the primary content 201. Therefore, from the viewpoints of both readability and data size, the content creator who is the viewer of the secondary content 202 and the secondary content receiver can
It can prevent unpleasant feelings.

From the aspect of information retrieval, unlike a simple keyword retrieval, a U in the keyword in the natural language is used.
Since the search method in which the RL is added is adopted, it is possible to provide information that meets the wishes of the information search applicant.

[Second Basic System Configuration Example] A second basic system configuration example performed using the above technique will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the database 122, and FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the primary content 201 and the completed secondary content 202. Note that the same parts as those of the first basic system configuration example are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

In this example, the database 122 including the area information 122c described above is used. Therefore, when searching the URL 122b based on the keyword 122a, the regional information 122c is considered.

That is, the content transmission client 10
In the transmission text as the primary content 201 transmitted from the No. 2 to the information mediation server 104, “local:” is included.
Followed by, write the name of the area. Then, in the information mediation server 104, the URL 122 is added to the keyword 122a.
The database 122 illustrated in FIG. 9 in which 22b and the area information 122c are associated and stored is searched, and the keyword 122a is searched from both sides of the keyword 122a and the area information 122c. For example, in FIG. 9, the keyword 122a of "wild bird" includes the regional information 122c of "Shin-Yokohama / Kohoku" and the regional information 122c of "Kamakura / Shonan".
And are included. Therefore, if the primary content 201 includes an area-designated name "local: Shin-Yokohama", the information mediation server 104 determines that "Shin-Yokohama /
Only the keyword 122a “wild bird” including the area information 122c “Kohoku” is searched. This allows
The information mediation server 104 associates the keyword 122a called "wild bird" in the primary content 201 with the keyword 122a called "wild bird" that includes the regional information 122c called "Shin-Yokohama / Kohoku".
The secondary content 202 is created by adding only the anchor (see FIG. 10). As a result, in this basic system configuration example, the anchor of the public content 203, which the viewer of the secondary content 202 is likely to be more interested in, can be added to the keyword.
The utility value of 3 can be further enhanced.

[Third Basic System Configuration Example] FIG. 1 shows a third basic system configuration example performed using the above technique.
1 and FIG. 12 will be described. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a business method involving exchange of data and money, and FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing an example of primary contents and completed secondary contents. The same parts as those of the first and second basic system configuration examples are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 11, in this example, the information mediator is, for example, an Internet provider. The content creator signs an internet connection contract with an information intermediary who is an internet provider. This contract is a contract to attach an advertisement to the e-mail of the content creator instead of giving the content creator a privilege such as a free internet connection fee. In this case, if the information mediation server 104 is provided with a charging system for data processing, here, the information mediation server 104 is used.
Will perform data processing that makes the content creator's connection fee free. The advertisement is an advertisement of the service provider who pays the advertisement fee to the information intermediary. In other words, the information intermediary receives the advertising fee from the service provider, and instead, concludes a free internet connection contract with the content creator, and always sends the content creator's e-mail to the secondary content recipient via the information intermediary. The system configuration is to enable distribution. The payment of the advertisement fee here can also be realized by data processing such as transfer processing from a bank using information processing and processing of deducting a deposit amount using information processing. Therefore, the information intermediary performs a process of adding an advertisement of the service provider to the primary content, which is an electronic mail transmitted from the content creator, and delivering the advertisement to the secondary content receiver. In this case, the content creator and the secondary content receiver are basically different people.

As a more specific example, as shown in FIG. 12, the content creator says, "This is a matter of going to skiing,
Did you find a good tour? If you use a night bus, it will be cheaper. It is assumed that a mail text "" is created and is sent as the primary content from the content sending client 102 to the information mediation server 104. In this case, step S105 shown in FIG.
In the case where "ski", "tour" and "night bus" are searched for as the keyword 122a, the information mediation server 104 causes the "Niigata ski resort" and "ABC Tourism Co., Ltd." associated with the respective keywords 122a. "
And the URL 122b for accessing the public content 203 called "XYZ Kotsu" is those keywords 1
The secondary content 202 attached to each of the 22a as an anchor is created, and this is transmitted to the secondary content receiving client 103 of the secondary content receiver via the Internet 101. In this case, the content transmission client 102 and the secondary content reception client 103 are basically computers owned by different owners.

Therefore, such secondary contents 202
On the display device 118 of the secondary content receiving client 103 that has received the message, it is possible to browse the display as shown as the mail with advertisement in FIG. And
The secondary content receiving client 103 can browse the public content 203 designated by the URL 122b attached as an anchor by clicking each keyword of "ski", "tour", and "night bus".

How the above processing is executed on hardware is as described in the first and second basic system configuration examples, and the description thereof is omitted.

[Charging and Printing of Public Content] For example, in the case of the third basic system configuration example, when browsing the advertisement of the public content 203 from the secondary content 202 received by the secondary content receiving client 103, Secondary content receiving client 1
When the terminal device 03 is a mobile phone or the like, the display performance of the display is also limited, and the information amount of the advertisement that can be browsed is naturally limited.

Therefore, for the recipient who wants more detailed information by browsing this advertisement, a print advertisement is also prepared as the public content 203, and the secondary content receiving client 103 operates the terminal device to operate the Internet. If printing can be performed by a printer connected to 101, the effect of advertisement can be further enhanced.

Further, since the effect of the advertisement is different depending on whether the public content 203 is browsed or the public content 203 having detailed contents is printed out, when the usage of the public content 203 is charged, You should pay according to the difference in these advertising effects.

A system for charging and printing the public content 203 will be described below.

First, as described above, the secondary contents 202
When creating the, the secondary content creating unit 110 selects the format of the secondary content 202 in consideration of the display performance of the display of the terminal device of the secondary content receiving client 103, and selects the format in the selected format. The next content 202 is created. Hereinafter, such processing will be specifically described.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a process of creating the secondary content 202 performed by the secondary content creating unit 110. As shown in FIG. 13, first, the type of the terminal device of the secondary content receiving client 103 that is the destination of the primary content 201 is determined (step S30).
1).

Specifically, this can be performed as follows. First, as shown in FIG. 14, the primary content 2
It can be determined from the domain name or the like of the destination address 301 of the e-mail that is 01. When the terminal device of the secondary content receiving client 103 is, for example, a mobile phone, the domain name of the destination address 301 can be used to determine the communication company such as the mobile phone. Therefore, the domain name of each communication company is registered in advance. Table 3 to keep
02 (see FIG. 15) is prepared, the destination address 301 is collated with the mail address 303 of the table 302, and the type of the terminal device can be determined from the type 304 registered in association with the mail address 303. .

The information broker provides the above-mentioned service by recruiting members and issuing a member address 301 (see FIG. 16), which is a mail address having an account to the information broker server 104, to the member. . Therefore, as shown in FIG. 16, the member address 30
The member information 312 is registered in the table 311 in association with 1, and as the member information 312, the type of device (PC or PDA) used as the terminal device on the network.
In addition to information such as whether it is a mobile phone or the like, in the case of a mobile phone or the like, it also includes information such as the type of communication company) 313. The information of the device type 313 is information regarding the function restriction of the terminal device. That is,
This is because the restriction of the functions of the terminal device varies depending on the model such as the PC and the mobile phone. Then, the destination address 30 of the email that is the primary content 201
It is only necessary to search whether the member address 301 is registered in the table 311 as 1 and determine the type of the terminal device from the device type 313 corresponding to the member address 301.

In this case, the device type 3 in the table 311
The information of No. 13 may be declared by the member, but the type of the terminal device is read from the primary content 201 transmitted from the member, and the read type is associated with the member address 301 in the table 311 and the device type 313. You may register as. Specifically, the primary content 20
For example, by checking the X-Mailer field of the header of the email that is 1, the primary content 201 is P
It is possible to judge whether the caller is calling from the C mailer or the mobile phone.

As described above, first, the secondary content receiving client 1 which is the destination of the primary content 201.
If the type of the terminal device 03 is determined (step S30
1) Next, according to the type of the terminal device, the secondary content 2 suitable for the display performance of the display of the terminal device
02 is created (step S302 and thereafter).

For example, when the terminal device is a PC (Y in step S1), a markup language suitable for the PC used to create the secondary content 202, for example HTML, is selected (step S302), and is wide for the PC. The creation on the screen is selected (step S303).

For example, when the terminal device is a mobile phone (N in step S301), a markup language suitable for the mobile phone used to create the secondary content 202, for example, CHTML is selected (step S304), and the mobile phone is selected. To create a narrow screen for use (step S305).

As a result, the optimum markup language and screen size are selected according to the type of the terminal device of the secondary content receiving client 103 to which the secondary content 202 is transmitted.

Then, the secondary content 202 is created according to the selection in steps S2 to S5 (step S3).
06, S307). Specifically, as described above, the database 122 is searched to select the URL 122b corresponding to the keyword 122a, and the primary content 201 is selected.
Is converted into HTML or CHTML text, and the URL 122b is added as an anchor in the text.

At this time, in the database 122, a plurality of locations (URL 122b) are registered for each keyword 122a for each type of terminal device. FIG. 17 shows a configuration example of the database 122 for the example described with reference to FIG. A URL 122b1 for PC and a URL 122b2 for mobile phone are registered for each keyword 122a. Then, according to the determination in step S1, the URL 122b corresponding to the type of the terminal device is selected, and the keyword 122a of the mail text converted into HTML text or the like is added as an anchor.

In this way, by distinguishing the URL 122b indicating the location of the public content 203 even with the same keyword 122a according to the type of the terminal device,
It is possible to prepare the public content 203 depending on the screen size and other display performance of the display of the terminal device. FIG. 18 shows an example of the public content 203a for PC and the public content 203b for mobile phone for the same keyword 122a (“ski” in this example) in the example of FIG.

The public content 203a for PC and the public content 203b for mobile phone are both contents for display display of the terminal device. However, in addition to the difference in markup language and the width of the screen, There is a difference. That is, in the public content 203a for PC, the public content 203 including more detailed information can be browsed by clicking the anchor 203c.
In 3b, by clicking the anchor 203d, it is possible to print the public content 203 for printing in which detailed information is included.

In the case of the third basic system configuration example, the service provider who provides the public content 203 pays the advertisement fee to the information intermediary in return for the advertisement using the public content 203. (Fig. 1
1). Therefore, at the service providing site 106 of the service provider, the public content 2 is determined according to the degree of use of the public content 203 by the secondary content receiver.
Count the frequency of use of 03. Thereby, the counting means and the counting process are realized.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing an example of a process of counting the frequency of use of the public content 203 performed by the server device of the service providing site 106. That is, in the example of the public content 203 in FIG.
When the public content 203a is browsed once (Y in step S401), the predetermined first counter is incremented by +1 (step S402), and when the public content 203b is browsed once (step S4).
(Y of 03), the first counter is incremented by +1 (step S404). When the predetermined public content 203 including detailed information is browsed by clicking the anchor 203c (Y in step S405), the predetermined second counter is incremented by +1 (step S406), and the anchor 203d is displayed. Predetermined public content 20 with detailed information posted by clicking
When 3 is printed (described later) (step S4)
(Y of 07), the predetermined third counter is incremented by +1 (step S408).

The first to third counters serve as data for counting the charging fee for the public content 203 according to the count value. For example, since the count value of the first counter indicates the number of times the public content 203a or 203b has been browsed, 20 yen is charged for each browsing. The count value of the second counter is the public content 203.
Since more detailed information is browsed from a, the advertisement value is higher than when the public content 203a is simply browsed. Therefore, 40 yen will be charged for each browsing. The count value of the third counter has a higher advertisement value than when the public content 203b is simply browsed.
Moreover, if you want to print the contents and browse them,
In the case where the secondary content recipient has a particularly high interest in the content of the advertisement and a special cost is required to print out, 100 yen is charged for each printout.

Therefore, when the first, second, and third counters are counted up, at the same time, the respective count values are multiplied by the above-mentioned charge according to one-time browsing (printing). , The amount of each charge is calculated, and the data of the amount is stored in a predetermined area. For example, first to
The current count values of the third counter are a, b,
When it is c, "20 (yen) x a", "40 (yen) x
Data of each amount of money of "b" and "100 (yen) x c" is always stored.

Based on the data of each amount of money, appropriate charging can be performed according to the degree of use of the public content 203, that is, whether the public content 203 is browsed or printed out.

Next, a system configuration and a flow of processing for printing the predetermined public content 203 in which detailed information is posted by clicking the anchor 203d will be described.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing the basic configuration of such a system. As shown in FIG. 20, a print server 401 and a printer 402 are connected to the Internet 101. The printer 402 is, specifically, a printer or a facsimile device connectable to the Internet 101, such as an Internet printer or an Internet facsimile. This printer 402 is
It is installed at convenience stores, etc. in various places. The print server 401 designates a specific printer 402, transmits print contents, and makes a print request.

2 connected to the Internet 101
Next content receiving client 103 is a mobile phone, P
Although it is a mobile terminal device such as a DA, a mobile phone 403 will be described in this example.

As described above, when the anchor 203d of the public content 203b is clicked on the mobile phone 403, the page (FIG. 21) of the operation screen 411 at the predetermined location of the service providing site 106 is displayed on the mobile phone 4 as described above.
03 display. Then, by operating the operation screen 411, predetermined print request data is generated and transmitted to the Internet 101, so that the specific public content 203 for printing is generated.
It becomes possible to transmit to a specific printer 402 and print out. Alternatively, the operation screen 411 may be provided within the screen of the public content 203b (FIG. 22).

Then, the anchor 412 on the operation screen 411
When clicked, the user jumps to the page of the operation screen 413 (FIG. 23) at the predetermined location of the server device of the service providing site 106, and the first 1 indicating the location of the printer 402 that the secondary content recipient wants to print out.
When a character is specified, the page of the operation screen 414 (FIG. 24) is jumped to, and the location of the printer 402 to be printed out is specified on the operation screen 414 (in this example, xx
Aoyama store, a convenience store called x store, is specified.

As shown in FIG. 25, this printer 402
Is designated, the server device of the service providing site 106 causes the mobile phone 40 of the secondary content recipient to
A predetermined password 421 is transmitted to the third password. Also,
Other than this password 421, public content 2 for browsing
The public content 203e for printing in HTML format in which detailed information is posted corresponding to 03b and the location information (for example, URL) 422 of the printer 402 designated by the secondary content recipient are transmitted to the print server 401.

Public content 203e, password 42
Print server 4 that received 1 and location information 422
01 is the printer 4 designated by the location information 422
02 (refer to the table in which these models are registered) according to the model No. 02, and the public content 203e in the TIFF format (when the printer 402 is a laser printer or the like) or G
The data is converted into print data 423 of a predetermined format such as 3 facsimile format (when the printer 402 is a facsimile machine), and is transmitted to the printer 402 indicated by the location information 422 together with the password 421.

The printer 402 indicated by the location information 422 accepts the input of the password 421 from the secondary content receiver. This may be done manually by the secondary content recipient, but by connecting to the mobile phone 403 receiving the password 421 via a predetermined communication interface such as a USB cable or Blue Tooth, the mobile phone 403 is connected.
You may make it receive from. When the password 421 is input in this way, the print server 401
Search the data received from the password 42
The paper 424 on which the public content 203e received together with the password 421 that matches 1 is printed out is output.

The system from the secondary content receiver requesting the print-out of the public content 203e to the actual print-out of the printer 402 can be variously constructed in addition to the above description.

For example, the secondary content recipient receives the location (URL) of the public content 203e from the service providing site 106 by e-mail or the like, and the secondary content recipient specifies to the print server 401 the printer 402 to be used. And public content 203
25, a printout request of e is made to the server device of the service providing site 106 by the above-mentioned procedure, and the print server 401 receives the public content 203e from the service providing site 106 in response to the request.
It is also possible to output to the designated printer 402 and print it out by the procedure as described with reference to FIG.

Further, the secondary content receiver receives the location (URL) of the public content 203e from the service providing site 106 by e-mail or browsing, and acquires the location of the public content 203e from the mobile phone 403 and the printer USB cable or Blue. T
When the location of the public content 203e is transmitted to the printer 402 by connecting via a predetermined communication interface such as ooth, the printer 402 acquires the public content 203e from the service providing site 106 via the print server 401 and prints it out. You may do so.

In this case, if a print request for the public content 203e is made by the operation described above with reference to FIGS. 21 and 22, the printer 402 to be used as described above with reference to FIGS. 23 and 24 is designated. Even if the secondary content receiver does not perform the above, since the printer 402 requests the transmission of the public content 203e by clarifying its own location, the operation load on the secondary content receiver can be reduced.

By the way, as described above with reference to FIG. 19, when the detailed information (public content 203e) is printed by the anchor 203d (step S40).
7), and the third counter is incremented by +1 (step S408). Service providing site 10
In the server device of No. 6, when the printing is performed can be grasped as follows, for example. (1) When the public content 203e is accessed from the print server 401 side. (2) When the public content 203e is transmitted to the print server 401 side. (3) When print completion information is received from the print server 401 side. (4) When the predetermined recognition information of the secondary content recipient transferred from the print server 401 side is received.

The public content for browsing 203a,
When the secondary content recipient has accessed 203b, the user ID who has accessed the public content 203a, 203b * (Mr. Inoue: What kind of information can be obtained as the user ID when accessing the public content? Please, not email, We
Since it is a request for page b, it is an anchor. I don't know if I can get real ID information that can identify who is a com member.)
If the history of is stored and is aggregated for each secondary content recipient, such information can be utilized.
Specifically, this information can be provided to the service providing site 106 to obtain a consideration.

Further, it may be possible to charge the usage of the advertisement by the public content 203 as follows, for example.

For example, the public content 203 for browsing
a, 203b is accessed by the secondary content recipient, the public content 203a, 203b
The history of the user ID that has accessed is stored, and when the public content 203e for printing is printed (when the above-mentioned third counter is counted up), the print is requested. The history of the user ID of the secondary content receiver is also stored. Then, when the secondary content receiver purchases the product advertised in the advertisement of the public content 203 at the store, the user ID presented by the purchaser or the mail address corresponding to the user ID is stored in the history record. Collate with the data,
This makes it possible to count the number of purchases and the amount of purchase attracted by the advertisement of the public content 203 and collect the advertisement amount from the service provider.

Also, for each print public content 203e, the ID of the public content 203e
Information (URL or the like) and the user ID of the secondary content recipient who requested the printing (or the mail address corresponding to the user ID) are added to the print data 423 when the public content 203e is printed. If it is also printed out on the paper 424, this print data 423 is stored, and when the secondary content recipient purchases the product advertised in the advertisement of the public content 203 at the store, the purchaser can By collating with the presented paper 424, the public content 20
It is also possible to count the number of purchases or the amount of purchase attracted by the advertisement of 3 and collect the advertisement amount from the service provider.

[0102]

According to the inventions described in claims 1, 5, and 6, the usage of the public content can be charged according to the advertising value which varies depending on the degree of the usage of the public content.

The invention according to claim 2 is the information providing method according to claim 1, wherein the content for printing has a relatively high advertising effect as compared with the case where the content for display having a relatively low advertising effect is used. Can be highly evaluated and charged.

The invention described in claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2.
In the information providing method described in (1), it is possible to instruct to print the print content from the display public content.

According to the invention described in claim 4, in the information providing method according to claim 3, only when the display performance of the display of the destination of the secondary content is poor, the public content for display (the first public content From), it is possible to print the public content for printing.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an overall schematic configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a computer used in each unit.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a database as a first basic system configuration example.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a business method involving exchange of data and money.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of a secondary content creation process.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a flow of keyword extraction processing.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an HTML document creation procedure when creating secondary content.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing an example of completed secondary contents.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a database used in a second basic system configuration example.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an example of primary contents and completed secondary contents.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a business method involving exchange of data and money as a third basic system configuration example.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing an example of primary contents and completed secondary contents.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a secondary content creation process.

FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram showing a structure of primary content.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing a table used to create secondary content.

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram showing a table used to create secondary content.

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram showing a database used to create secondary content.

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram showing an example of secondary contents.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating counting of usage status of public content.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing an overall system configuration when printing public content.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an operation screen when printing public content.

FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an operation screen when printing public content.

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an operation screen when printing public content.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an operation screen when printing public content.

FIG. 25 is a block diagram showing the overall system configuration when printing public content.

[Fig. 26] Fig. 26 is a schematic diagram showing an example of contents to which an advertisement is attached, as a conventional example.

FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram showing a screen display example in which an advertisement is attached to an electronic mail as a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

106 information providing device 121 programs 122 database 122a keyword 122b Location (URL) 201 Primary content 202 Secondary content 203 Published content 203a (second) public content 203b (first) public content 203e Published content 301 Destination address 302 table 311 table 402 printer 403 Terminal device 411 Operation screen 413 Operation screen 414 Operation screen

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A primary content including character information, which is transmitted through a network, is analyzed, and the location of the public content is registered in association with the keyword by referring to a database and the primary content is registered in the database. Extracting the extracted keyword, searching the database with the extracted keyword as a key, and acquiring the location of the public content associated with the extracted keyword; and for the keyword in the primary content, Add an anchor to access the acquired location,
Thereby, the step of creating secondary content from the primary content, and counting the frequency of use of the public content in order to charge the use of the public content on the network according to the degree of use, An information providing method, comprising: a step of multiplying a unit price that differs depending on the degree of use of the content by a count value of the frequency of use, and storing the obtained value. 2. When the display content and the print content are prepared on the display of the terminal device as the public content, and the display content is used on the display in the step of counting the frequency, The information providing method according to claim 1, wherein the frequency of use is counted separately when the content for printing is used. 3. The content for display and the content for printing are prepared on the display of the terminal device as the public content, and the step of extracting the keyword is the public content of the public content which is the content for display on the display. Using the database where the location is registered,
The public content that is the display content includes an operation column for printing the print content by a work printer on the network, or a location of an operation page for performing the print. The information providing method according to Item 1 or 2. 4. The method further comprising: determining the type of a terminal device that is the destination of the primary content, wherein the step of extracting the keyword includes the location of the operation column or operation page as the public content for printing. In addition to the first published content that is stored, the database in which the location is registered is also used for the second published content that does not include the location of the operation column or the operation page. The step of creating is to select the location given as the anchor from the determination of the type, based on the display performance of the display of the terminal device, of the first or second public content. Information provision method described in. 5. A public content providing means for providing public content on a network, and counting the frequency of use of the public content in order to charge the use of the public content on the network according to the degree of use of the public content. An information providing apparatus comprising: a count unit that calculates a unit price that differs according to the degree of use of the public content by a count value of the frequency of use, and stores the calculated value. 6. A public content providing process for providing public content on a network, and counting the frequency of use of the public content in order to charge the use of the public content on the network according to the degree of use of the public content. , A count process of causing a computer to execute a count process of storing a calculated value by multiplying a unit price that differs according to the use level of the published content by a count value of the use frequency, and storing the calculated value. Readable information provision program.