JP2007280192A - Information distribution controller - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simply distribute appropriate contents to potential users requiring contents. <P>SOLUTION: In this information distribution controller for controlling information distribution from a plurality of content providers to members of membership groups when the content providers respectively individually hold the membership groups, an information receiving part 22 receives information to be distributed to the members of any membership group from the plurality of content providers. A member specifying part 24 specifies prescribed members in second membership groups being a membership group other than a first membership group being a membership group of a first content provider from the provider on the basis of member attributes. A charging managing part 30 charges the first content provider for transmission when an information transmitting part 28 transmits information from the first content provider to members of a second membership group. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information distribution control technique, and more particularly to an information distribution control technique for distributing content to client terminals.

  In recent years, as the use of the Internet becomes popular, the number of users who obtain various contents via the Internet is increasing. A content provider that provides a service for distributing content to users implements a member registration system, for example, and distributes content to registered users.

  However, the potential demand for content for content providers is not limited to their own members. On the other hand, it is difficult for a content provider to acquire information such as an e-mail address unless it is a member owned by the content provider, and therefore it is difficult to distribute the content to potential users seeking content. In addition, as the amount of information that can be obtained on the Internet has increased in recent years, the information that users want has also increased. However, when a user uses a distribution system that distributes content only to members, in order to acquire content in a wide variety of categories, the user himself / herself must register as a member on each web page of content providers in multiple categories. Must. Such a procedure is complicated for the user.

  The present invention has been made in view of these problems, and an object of the present invention is to easily distribute appropriate content to potential users who seek content.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an information distribution control device according to an aspect of the present invention controls distribution of information from a content provider to members of a member group when a plurality of content providers individually have a member group. An information distribution control device that receives information to be distributed from a plurality of content providers to a member of any member group, and a member identification unit that identifies a member to whom the received information is to be distributed; An information transmitting unit that transmits information to the member as the specified distribution destination, and a charging management unit that manages charging for the transmission of information. The member specifying unit specifies a predetermined member in the second member group that is a member group other than the first member group that is the member group of the provider from the first content provider based on the attribute of the member, When the information transmission unit transmits information from the first content provider to the members of the second member group, the charge management unit charges the first content provider as a price for the transmission.

  According to this aspect, the content provider can also transmit the content to members of member groups other than the member group held by the content provider. For this reason, the content can be transmitted to a potential user who wants the content. Users can also get opportunities to distribute content from content providers that have member groups other than the registered member groups, and can obtain a variety of content.

  The charge management unit returns a part of the consideration generated for the distribution of information from the first content provider to the members of the second member group to the second content provider having the second member group. According to this aspect, since it leads to the profit of the content provider itself, each content provider can be prompted to permit distribution of information from other content providers to the members of its member group. As described above, when many content providers use the information distribution control device according to this aspect, the content can be transmitted to members of many member groups other than the member group that the content provider has.

  The information receiving unit further receives information from advertisers other than a plurality of content providers, and the member specifying unit specifies a member to which the information received from the advertiser is to be distributed based on the attribute of the member, and billing management When the information from the advertiser is distributed to the members of the first member group, the department charges the advertiser and returns a part of the charged amount to the first content provider. According to this aspect, for example, an advertiser who does not have a member group can distribute contents such as advertisements to members of the member group held by the content provider. Since the content provider also distributes the content from the advertiser to the members of the member group owned by the content provider, a part of the billing amount is returned, and this can lead to its own profit.

  Yet another embodiment of the present invention is also an information distribution control device. When a plurality of content providers individually have a member group, this device distributes information from the content providers to members of the member group, and information to advertisers other than those content providers or members of the member group Information distribution control device for controlling distribution of information, an information receiving unit for receiving information to be distributed to members of any member group from a plurality of content providers and advertisers, and a member to which the received information is distributed A member specifying unit for specifying the information, an information transmitting unit for transmitting information to the member as the specified distribution destination, and a charging management unit for managing charging for the transmission of information. The member specifying unit a1) specifies a predetermined member in a second member group that is a member group other than the first member group that is the member group of the provider from the first content provider based on the attribute of the member And b1) a predetermined member in the second member group is specified from the advertiser based on the attribute of the member, and the billing management unit a2) the information transmitting unit receives information from the first content provider When it is transmitted to the member of the second member group, the first content provider is charged as a consideration for the transmission, and a part of the charged amount is returned to the second content provider having the second member group, b2) When the information transmitting unit transmits information from the advertiser to the members of the second member group, the information is charged to the advertiser as a consideration for the transmission, and the amount charged Reduction of the part to the second of the content provider, the billing management unit further, does not charge for the delivery of information from the first content provider to the member of the first member group.

  According to this aspect, the content provider can also transmit the content to members of member groups other than the member group held by the content provider. For this reason, the content can be transmitted to a potential user who wants the content. Further, for example, an advertiser who does not have a member group can distribute contents such as advertisements to members of the member group held by the content provider. Users can also get opportunities to distribute content from content providers that have member groups other than the registered member groups, and can obtain a variety of content. A content provider that distributes content to a member group owned by the information distribution control device according to the present aspect can also contribute to its own profit because a part of the billing amount is reduced by distributing the content. .

  It should be noted that any combination of the above-described constituent elements, or the constituent elements and expressions of the present invention are mutually replaced between methods, apparatuses, systems, computer programs, recording media storing computer programs, data structures, and the like. This is effective as an embodiment of the present invention.

  According to the information distribution control device of the present invention, it is possible to easily distribute appropriate content to potential users seeking content.

  Before specifically describing an embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “embodiment”), a business model of content distribution using the information distribution control device according to the present embodiment will be briefly described first. First, multiple content providers form a consortium. The companies that have formed this consortium can distribute contents to members of their own member groups. For example, a content provider that distributes content related to food and drink can also distribute content to members of content providers that distribute content related to music, for example. In this case, there is no charge for content distribution to members of the member group that it owns. On the other hand, when content is distributed from other content providers to members of its own member group, part of the consideration for the distribution is reduced. In this way, a give-and-take relationship is created in which content is mutually distributed to members of the member group that it owns. In addition, the contract which mutually permits distribution of such a content between the companies which participate in a consortium is concluded beforehand. This makes it possible to distribute content from other content providers to members of the member group that they own without disclosing the member information of the member group that they own to other content providers. Can be provided. Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the information distribution system 100. A first content provider 12A, a second content provider 12B, and a third content provider 12C (hereinafter collectively referred to as “content provider 12” as necessary) are connected to a communication network 18 including the Internet. . Each of the content providers 12 is configured by a server. Each of the content providers 12 includes a communication unit that transmits and receives information such as content and a storage unit that stores the information. This storage unit stores contents to be transmitted toward the communication network 18. The communication unit of the content provider 12 transmits the content to be transmitted out of the content stored in the storage unit to the communication network 18 in order to distribute the content to the client terminals connected to the communication network 18. Accordingly, each of the content providers 12 functions as a service providing server that provides a content distribution service.

  The first content provider 12A has a first member group 14A. The second content provider 12B has a second member group 14B. The third content provider 12C has a third member group 14C. Hereinafter, the first member group 14A to the third member group 14C are collectively referred to as “member group 14” as necessary. Each member group 14 is constituted by members who use client terminals such as personal computers (hereinafter referred to as “PCs”) and mobile phones connected to the communication network 18.

  A user becomes a member of these member groups 14 by performing member registration via the communication network 18 using a client terminal such as a mobile phone or a PC. For example, the user accesses the Web page of the content provider 12 by specifying a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) with a browser using a client terminal used by the user. At this time, a registration screen is displayed on the client terminal used by the user. The registration screen displays an input area for inputting information for identifying the user, such as name, e-mail address, gender, date of birth, postal code, address, telephone number, occupation, nickname. The registration screen also displays an input area for inputting information related to the user's hobbies, such as a category that the user is interested in as a questionnaire and the type of content that the user wants to acquire. The user inputs information in these input areas using an input device such as a mouse, a keyboard, or a numeric keypad, and transmits the input information to the content provider 12. As a result, the user who transmitted the information becomes a member of the member group 14 of the content provider 12 of the transmission destination. The content provider 12 stores the received member information in the storage unit. The content provider 12 transmits the obtained member information to the information distribution control server 10 described later. The content is included in “information” transmitted and received via the communication network 18.

  For example, the first content provider 12A provides a service for distributing content related to music, the second content provider 12B provides a service for distributing content related to sports, and the third content provider 12C Assume that a service is provided that distributes content related to eating and drinking. In order for the user to receive the distribution of the content from the first content provider 12A, the user accesses the Web page of the first content provider 12A and registers as a member, so that the user becomes the first member group 14A possessed by the first content provider 12A. Become a member of The first content provider 12A distributes music-related content such as new song / album release start time, song download start time, concert pre-sale information to the members of the first member group 14A. In addition, in order for the user to receive the content distribution from the second content provider 12B, by accessing the Web page of the second content provider 12B and registering as a member, the user becomes a second member group possessed by the second content provider 12B. Become a 14B member. The second content provider 12B distributes content related to sports such as the progress and results of matches such as baseball and soccer, and pre-sale information of matches to members of the second member group 14B. Further, when the user accesses the Web page of the third content provider 12C and registers as a member, the user becomes a member of the third member group 14C possessed by the third content provider 12C. The third content provider 12C distributes content including information such as restaurant discount coupons and fairs to members of the third member group 14C.

  In addition, the client terminal of the advertiser 16 is also connected to the communication network 18. In the present embodiment, the “advertiser” includes an advertising agency. In this case, the advertising agency receives content such as an advertisement for distribution online or offline from an advertiser client terminal (not shown) connected to the communication network 18. The advertising agency edits and processes these contents received from the advertiser, and distributes them to the user who uses the client terminal connected to the communication network 18.

  As described above, each storage unit of the content provider 12 stores information on the members of the member group 14 held by each of the content providers 12. For this reason, each of the content providers 12 can easily distribute the content to the members of the member group 14 that it owns. However, it is considered that there are many potential users who are not registered in the member group 14 but are interested in the content to be distributed. If the content can be distributed to such a user, it can lead to the profit of the content provider 12. However, in practice, if the user does not register as a member, it is difficult to obtain information necessary for distributing contents such as an e-mail address and an address, and therefore it is difficult to distribute contents to potential users. .

  In recent years, more and more information is available on the Internet. Even in an environment where a user can receive content distribution by registering as a member, in order to receive a wide variety of content distribution, the user must be a member of a member group 14 possessed by many content providers 12. Must be. For this reason, the user must input the same information, such as a name, an e-mail address, and an address, many times, and the user is forced to make repeated efforts.

  For this reason, the information distribution system 100 according to the present embodiment includes an information distribution control server 10 as an information distribution control device. The information distribution control server 10 is connected to the communication network 18. The information delivery control server 10 controls the delivery of information so that the information transmitted from any of the content providers 12 is also delivered to members of the member group 14 other than the member group 14 held by the content provider 12. Hereinafter, the configuration of the information distribution control server 10 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the information distribution control server 10. The information distribution control server 10 includes a communication unit 20, an information reception unit 22, a member identification unit 24, a member information storage unit 26, an information transmission unit 28, and a charge management unit 30.

  The communication unit 20 receives information from the communication network 18 and transmits information to the communication network 18. The information receiving unit 22 stores the received information in a storage unit (not shown) such as a memory or a hard disk. In addition, the information receiving unit 22 receives member information acquired by each of the content providers 12 from each of the content providers 12. The member information storage unit 26 stores member information of the plurality of member groups 14 received from the content provider 12. The member specifying unit 24 uses these member information stored in the member information storage unit 26 to specify members to whom information should be distributed. The information transmission unit 28 distributes the content to the members specified in this way.

  The charge management unit 30 includes a charge calculation unit 32 and a return calculation unit 34. When the content is distributed, the charging calculation unit 32 performs a charging process for calculating the amount charged to the content provider 12 that requested the content distribution. When a content is distributed from any content provider 12 to a member of a member group 14 other than the member group 14 that the content provider 12 has, a part of the consideration generated for the distribution of the content Is returned to the other content provider 12 to which the content has been distributed.

  The information transmission unit 28 appropriately transmits the charge amount calculated by the charge calculation unit 32 to the content provider 12 that has requested distribution of the content. Further, the information transmission unit 28 transmits the return amount calculated by the return calculation unit 34 to a predetermined content provider 12 having the member group 14 to which the content is distributed. Payment of the value from the content provider 12 that requested the distribution of the content and a partial return of the value to another content provider 12 to which the content has been distributed are performed at the time of settlement.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a data structure of information transmitted from the content provider 12 to the information distribution control server 10. When each content provider 12 distributes content, it transmits distribution request data as shown in the figure to the information distribution control server 10.

  The distribution request data includes distribution destination designation data, attribute condition data, and content to be distributed. The distribution destination designation data includes sender identification data for identifying the content provider 12 or advertiser who has transmitted the distribution request data, and distribution destination identification data for identifying the member group 14 that wants to distribute the content. . Of course, the distribution destination identification data does not directly identify the member group 14 that desires distribution, but may identify the content provider 12 having the member group 14 that desires distribution.

  The attribute condition data includes information necessary for specifying a member to be distributed when content is distributed to members of the member group 14 other than the member group 14 held by the content provider 12 that has transmitted the distribution request data. Information necessary for specifying a member to be distributed includes, for example, information such as a member's gender, age, region, occupation, hobby / preference. The content included in the distribution request data is content to be distributed to members who are the targets of distribution. The content includes text information and image information for displaying information on the screen by the URL of the Web page of the content provider 12, a ticker, a calendar, and other methods.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the information distribution control server 10. The processing in this flowchart is performed every predetermined time.

  When the content provider 12 distributes the content, the content provider 12 transmits distribution request data including the content desired to be distributed to the information distribution control server 10 and requests the information distribution control server 10 to distribute the content. At this time, the content provider 12 that transmits the distribution request data includes sender identification data indicating itself in the distribution destination designation data. In addition, the content provider 12 that transmits the distribution request data wishes to distribute the content to members of a member group 14 (hereinafter referred to as “other member group”) other than the member group 14 that the content provider 12 owns. The distribution destination identification data indicating the member group is included in the distribution destination designation data, and information indicating the attribute of the member for specifying the member to be distributed among the other member groups is included in the attribute condition data.

  For example, the first content provider 12A that distributes content related to music is a member of the first member group 14A that it owns, and the second member group 14B that is owned by the second content provider 12B that distributes content related to sports. Assume that both members wish to distribute content. At this time, the first content provider 12A first transmits to the distribution request data to be transmitted, the sender identification data indicating the first content provider 12A as the sender, and the sender indicating the second member group 14B as the other distribution destination. The identification data is included in the delivery destination designation data. In addition, the first content provider 12A selects music as an attribute of the member to be distributed, for example, the age range is 18 years old or older and less than 25 years old, the occupation is a student, and the field of interest in the registration questionnaire. Information indicating the condition such as is included in the attribute condition data.

  Even when the advertiser distributes content, the advertiser distributes content including the content desired to be distributed to the information distribution control server 10. The communication request data is transmitted, and the information distribution control server 10 is requested to distribute the content. At this time, the advertiser who transmits the distribution request data includes the sender identification data indicating itself in the distribution destination designation data. In addition, the advertiser who transmits the distribution request data includes distribution destination identification data indicating the member group 14 (hereinafter referred to as “distribution requesting member group”) desired to be distributed in the distribution destination designation data, and The attribute of the member for specifying the member to be distributed is included in the attribute condition data.

  The information receiving unit 22 of the information distribution control server 10 determines whether or not distribution request data has been received from any of the content providers 12 every predetermined time (S11). If the distribution request data has not been received (N in S11), the processing in this flowchart is repeated.

  When it is determined that the distribution request data has been received (Y in S11), the member specifying unit 24 determines whether the sender of the distribution request data is the content provider 12 (S12). The member identifying unit 24 determines the sender using the sender identification data included in the delivery destination designation data of the delivery request data.

  When it is determined that the sender of the distribution request data is the content provider 12 (Y in S12), the member specifying unit 24 determines whether or not the distribution request data is distributed to members of other member groups ( S13). At this time, the member specifying unit 24 determines whether or not to distribute the distribution request data to the members of other member groups by determining whether or not the distribution destination identification data is included in the distribution destination designation data of the distribution request data. Determine whether.

  When it is determined not to distribute to members of other member groups (N in S13), the information transmitting unit 28 distributes content only to members of the member group 14 held by the content provider 12 that has transmitted the distribution request data (S18). ). At this time, the charge management unit 30 does not charge for the distribution of information from the content provider 12 that has transmitted the distribution request data to the members of the member group 14 held by the content provider 12. As a result, the cost of managing the billing amount can be reduced.

  When it is determined that distribution is also made to members of other member groups (Y in S13), the member specifying unit 24 specifies the members of the member group 14 held by the content provider 12 that has transmitted the distribution request data as distribution destination members. At the same time, a predetermined member in another member group is specified as a distribution destination member (S14).

  Specifically, the member specifying unit 24 first refers to the member information stored in the member information storage unit 26, and distributes all members of the member group 14 held by the content provider 12 that has transmitted the distribution request data to the distribution destination. Identify as a member. Next, the member identifying unit 24 refers to the member information stored in the member information storage unit 26 and identifies members having attributes included in the attribute condition data among other member groups as distribution destination members. To do.

  For example, distribution request data is transmitted from the first content provider 12A that distributes content related to music, and content is distributed to the members of the second member group 14B in the distribution destination designation data included in the distribution request data. Assume that the information shown is included. In this case, the member specifying unit 24 first specifies all members of the first member group 14A whose member information is stored in the member information storage unit 26 as distribution destinations. Next, the member specifying unit 24 refers to the member information of the second member group 14B stored in the member information storage unit 26. In the attribute condition data included in the transmitted distribution request data, as an attribute of the member to be distributed, for example, the age range is 18 to 25 years old, the profession is a student, and music is an area of interest in the questionnaire at the time of registration. When the information indicating the condition of being selected is included, the member specifying unit 24 specifies the member having the member information satisfying this condition among the members of the second member group 14B as the distribution destination member. .

  When the distribution destination member is specified, the information transmission unit 28 distributes the content included in the transmitted distribution request data to the member specified as the distribution destination (S15). As a result, the content is distributed to members of the member group 14 held by the content provider 12 that has transmitted the distribution request data to the information distribution control server 10, and to members having predetermined attributes in other member groups in a predetermined case. The

  When the content provider 12 distributes the content, the member information of the member group 14 that the content provider 12 owns can freely use the member information including the e-mail address etc. Content can be sent to all members of group 14. Since the user who is a member of the member group 14 is also registered as a member by accessing the web page of the content provider 12, all the members of the member group 14 distribute the content from the content provider 12. It is thought that is expected.

  However, it is considered that members of the member group 14 other than the member group 14 owned by the user may not expect the content distribution from the content provider 12. Even if the content is distributed to such a member, it is unlikely that the content can be linked to profits, and the distribution cost may increase. For this reason, in this embodiment, when the member specifying unit 24 transmits content to members of the member group 14 other than the member group 14 that the member specifying unit 24 owns, the member specifying unit 24 uses one member group 14 based on the attribute of the member. Identify the members of the department as distribution destinations. As a result, even members of such other member groups can effectively distribute content to members who are expected to transmit content.

  When the content is distributed, the charging calculation unit 32 performs a charging process for calculating a charging amount for the content provider 12 that has transmitted the distribution request data (S16). Specifically, the billing calculation unit 32 calculates a billing amount for the content provider 12 that has transmitted the distribution request data according to the number of members of other member groups that have distributed the content. For example, when the address of the web page of the content provider is distributed as content, the billing calculation unit 32 calculates the billing amount according to the number of access to the web page among the members of other member groups that have received the content. May be. In addition, the number of members who have newly registered as members of other member groups who have received the content and who have registered as members by accessing the Web page, and the number of members who have downloaded music or programs or purchased products. The billing amount may be calculated accordingly. At this time, the billing management unit 30 does not charge for the distribution of information from the content provider 12 that has transmitted the distribution request data to the members of the member group 14 that the content provider 12 has.

  When the billing process is performed, the return calculation unit 34 performs a return process (S17). In the present embodiment, the return calculation unit 34 calculates the amount that occupies a certain percentage of the calculated charge amount as the return amount. In this way, by returning a part of the billing amount to the content provider 12 having the other member group to which the content has been distributed, the member information of the member group 14 owned by itself is distributed for the content distribution of the other content provider 12. Each of the content providers 12 can be prompted to grant permission to use. As a result, the content provider 12 can be motivated to participate in the information distribution system 100, and many content providers 12 participate in the information distribution system 100, thereby facilitating more simple and effective content distribution. It becomes possible. The billing amount is appropriately transmitted to the content provider 12 that has transmitted the distribution request data, and the return amount is appropriately transmitted to the content provider 12 having another member group to which the content has been distributed.

  When it is determined that the sender of the distribution request data is not the content provider 12 (N in S12), the member specifying unit 24 determines that the transmitter of the distribution request data is an advertiser, and first specifies a distribution request member group. . At this time, the member specifying unit 24 uses the distribution destination identification data included in the distribution destination designation data to specify the distribution desired member group. Next, the member identifying unit 24 refers to the attribute data and identifies a member as a distribution destination from among the identified distribution desired member groups (S19). A specific method for specifying a member as a delivery destination is the same as that described in S14. When the distribution destination member is specified, the information transmission unit 28 distributes the content included in the transmitted distribution request data to the member specified as the distribution destination (S20).

  Advertisers generally do not have their own membership groups. Therefore, even if you want to distribute content such as advertisements, it is difficult to distribute content to a large number of people on their own because they often do not have personal information such as email addresses at all or do not have much. It is. Thus, by using the member information of the content provider 12 having its own member group 14 in the information distribution system 100, the advertiser can also distribute the content to many people.

  When the content is distributed, the charging calculation unit 32 performs a charging process for calculating a charging amount for the advertiser 16 that has transmitted the distribution request data (S16). Specifically, the billing calculation unit 32 calculates the billing amount for the content provider 12 that has transmitted the distribution request data according to the number of members of the distribution request member group that has distributed the content.

  When the billing process is performed, the return calculation unit 34 performs a return process (S17). In the present embodiment, even when the advertiser requests distribution of content, the return calculation unit 34 calculates the amount that occupies a certain percentage of the calculated charge amount as the return amount. The billing amount is appropriately transmitted to the content provider 12 that has transmitted the distribution request data, and the return amount is appropriately transmitted to the content provider 12 having the distribution-desired member group to which the content has been distributed.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of content distributed using the information distribution system 100. For example, it is assumed that the mobile phone 40 in FIG. 5 is a member of the first member group 14A possessed by the first content provider 12A related to music. The third content provider 12C that distributes content related to eating and drinking transmits distribution request data to the information distribution control server 10 so that the content is distributed to members of the first member group 14A that are not the member group 14 that the third content provider 12C owns. To do. The information distribution control server 10 distributes content to members having predetermined attributes in the designated first member group 14A. The mobile phone 40 to which the content has been distributed causes the distributed content to be displayed in the ticker display area 44 set on the screen 42.

  In the above, this invention was demonstrated based on the Example. This embodiment is merely an example, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to the combination of each component and each processing process, and such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention. is there. Hereinafter, modifications will be described.

  The content distributed to the members may not be displayed as a ticker as shown in FIG. For example, the information transmission unit 28 of the information distribution control server 10 may display images and text information displayed when using other programs, such as a program that displays advertisements instead of being able to use them for free. It may be transmitted as content. In addition, the information transmission unit 28 of the information distribution control server 10 may distribute contents including images and text information to members using electronic mail. Even for such a wide range of content distribution, the present invention makes it possible to easily distribute appropriate content to potential users seeking content.

  In another modification, when the distribution request data is received from the content provider 12, the information distribution control server 10 does not distribute the content to members of the member group 14 held by the content provider 12 that has transmitted the distribution request data. Each of the content providers 12 holds information on the members of the member group 14 that it owns. Therefore, each content provider 12 can independently distribute content to members of the member group 14 that it owns. In this case, since it is only necessary to transmit distribution request data to the information distribution control server 10 when transmitting content to members of other member groups, for example, distribution of content to its own member group 14 and distribution to other member groups Content distribution can be easily managed separately.

  In another modification, the information distribution control server 10 does not include distribution destination identification data in distribution destination designation data when transmitting distribution request data. When the distribution request data is received, the information distribution control server 10 specifies another member group corresponding to the content provider 12 that has transmitted the distribution request data. Specifically, the member information storage unit 26 stores a map in which the content provider 12 is associated with the member group 14 to which content is to be transmitted when distribution request data is transmitted from the content provider 12. ing. This map also associates the content provider 12 and the attributes of members to whom content is to be transmitted when distribution request data is transmitted from the content provider 12. When the distribution request data is received from the content provider 12, the information distribution control server 10 refers to this map stored in the member information storage unit 26, identifies other member groups to be distributed, and the members A member having a predetermined attribute in the group 14 is specified as a delivery destination. This eliminates the need for the content provider 12 to include other member groups and attributes of members to be distributed in the distribution request data, and makes it easier to distribute content to members of other member groups.

It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of an information delivery system. It is a functional block diagram of an information distribution control server. It is a figure which shows the data structure of the information transmitted to an information delivery control server from a content provider. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement procedure of an information delivery control server. It is a figure which shows an example of the content delivered using the information delivery system.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Information delivery control server, 12 Content provider, 14 Member group, 16 Advertiser, 18 Communication network, 20 Communication part, 22 Information receiving part, 24 Member identification part, 26 Member information storage part, 28 Information transmission part, 30 Billing management Part, 32 charge calculation part, 34 return calculation part, 100 information distribution system.

Claims (5)

An information distribution control device that controls distribution of information from members of a content group to members of a member group when a plurality of content providers individually have a member group,
An information receiving unit for receiving information to be distributed from a plurality of content providers to members of any member group;
A member identification unit that identifies a member to whom the received information is distributed;
An information transmission unit that transmits the information to a member who is the specified distribution destination;
A billing management unit that manages billing for information transmission;
With
The member specifying unit specifies a predetermined member in the second member group that is a member group other than the first member group that is the member group of the provider from the first content provider based on the attribute of the member,
The billing management unit charges the first content provider as a price for the transmission when the information transmitting unit transmits information from the first content provider to the members of the second member group. Control device.   2. The information distribution control device according to claim 1, wherein the charge management unit does not charge for distribution of information from the first content provider to the members of the first member group.   The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the charge management unit allocates a part of the consideration generated for the distribution of information from the first content provider to the members of the second member group to the second member group. An information distribution control device, wherein the information distribution control device returns to the second content provider. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The information receiving unit further receives information from an advertiser other than the plurality of content providers,
The member identification unit identifies the member to whom the information received from the advertiser will be distributed based on the attributes of the member,
When the information from the advertiser is distributed to the members of the first member group, the charging management unit charges the advertiser and returns a part of the charged amount to the first content provider. A characteristic information distribution control device. When multiple content providers have individual member groups, control the distribution of information from those content providers to members of the member group, and the distribution of information to advertisers other than those content providers or members of the member group An information distribution control device that
An information receiving unit that receives information to be distributed from a plurality of content providers and advertisers to members of any member group;
A member identification unit that identifies a member to whom the received information is distributed;
An information transmission unit that transmits the information to a member who is the specified distribution destination;
A billing management unit that manages billing for information transmission;
With
Member identification department
a1) identifying a predetermined member in a second member group that is a member group other than the first member group that is a member group of the provider from the first content provider based on the attribute of the member; and
b1) The advertiser identifies a predetermined member of the second member group based on the attribute of the member,
The billing management department
a2) When the information transmitting unit transmits information from the first content provider to the members of the second member group, the information transmitting unit charges the first content provider as a consideration for the transmission, and a part of the charged amount is Return to a second content provider with 2 member groups,
b2) When the information transmission unit transmits information from the advertiser to the members of the second member group, the advertiser is charged as a consideration for the transmission, and a part of the charged amount is returned to the second content provider. And
The charge management unit further does not charge for the distribution of information from the first content provider to the members of the first member group.

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