JP2008146246A - Sns server and sns control program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To flexibly set access restriction with respect to public data by an SNS(Social Network Service). <P>SOLUTION: An SNS(Social Networking Service) server is provided with a member registration part 20a for registering a member who uses the SNS; a friendship setting part 20e for setting a friendship with the other members for every member registered in the member registration part 20a; a friend level setting part 20f for setting a friend level with respect to the other members whose friendship is set by the friendship setting part 20e; and a browsing control part 20c for disclosing data pertinent to the friend level with respect to the other members whose friendship level is set by the friend level setting part 20f. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an SNS server that provides an SNS (Social Networking Service) through a network such as the Internet, and an SNS control program executed by the server.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a file sharing system that shares an electronic file existing on a network, the shared electronic file can be accessed by being authenticated by a server having an authentication function on the network. For this reason, it is possible to share electronic files among users who are not acquainted with each other. Therefore, it is difficult to confirm the identity between users unless there is a system function for managing user information (name, address, etc.).

  Therefore, a file sharing system is considered in which a shared electronic file can be accessed only between specific limited users (for example, see Patent Document 1). In the file sharing system described in Patent Document 1, a communication history in which a communication terminal directly communicates with another communication terminal is held in an authentication server, and specific limited communication is performed based on the held communication history. Allow sharing of electronic files only between terminals. As a result, the file can be browsed only when there is a fact that the communication is actually performed.

Incidentally, in recent years, SNS (Social Networking Service) using the Internet has begun to be widely used. SNS is a community-type Web site established for the purpose of expanding new friendships by introducing friends to each other. In SNS, the function to publish your profile and photos to members, the function to send a message to another member without knowing the e-mail address, the friend list to register "friends", the function to introduce other friends to friends Various functions (services) are provided, such as a diary function that allows the contents of the diary to be opened only to friends and the contents of the diary to be disclosed, and a bulletin board function that allows the exchange of information by determining themes such as hobbies.
JP 2005-135017 A

  As described above, in the conventional SNS, for example, the contents of the diary recorded by the diary function can be permitted to be browsed only by friends registered in advance. Therefore, it is possible to exchange information on common topics, such as hobbies, among members who are friends.

  However, as the number of members in a friendship relationship increases, it becomes difficult to make the content common to all friends, and the degree of freedom when updating the diary decreases. In addition, even if you are in a friendship relationship, your friendships are different depending on your friend, so depending on the contents of the diary, you may want to allow only specific friends to view, but in the past it was not possible to set access restrictions for each friend. .

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an SNS server and an SNS control program capable of flexibly setting access restrictions on data disclosed by SNS.

  In the SNS server which provides SNS (Social Networking Service) through a network, the present invention provides a member registration means for registering a member who uses SNS, a friend with another member for each member registered by the member registration means. Friend level setting means for setting a friend level for the other members whose friendships are set by the friendship setting means, friend level setting means for setting a friend level, and friend level setting means by the friend level setting means The above-mentioned other member is provided with friend data browsing means for browsing data corresponding to the friend level set for the other member.

  According to the present invention, by setting a friend level for a member who has a friendship relationship, it is possible to browse only data corresponding to the friend level. It is possible to flexibly set access restrictions for data to be disclosed.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a system in the present embodiment. In the network system shown in FIG. 1, an SNS server 1 that provides an SNS (Social Networking Service) is connected to a network 2 including the Internet. The network 2 is connected to, for example, personal computers 5 (5-1, 5-2,..., 5-m) via a communication carrier system 3 such as an ISP (Internet Service Provider). The network 2 is connected to, for example, mobile phones 6 (6-1, 6-2,..., 6-n) via a communication carrier system 4 of a mobile phone company (carrier). A user of the personal computer (PC) 5 or the mobile phone 6 can access the SNS server 1 through the network 2 and use the SNS provided by the SNS server 1. In FIG. 1, the PC 5 and the mobile phone 6 are shown as devices that access the SNS server 1, but it is of course possible to use other devices.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the SNS server 1.
As shown in FIG. 2, the SNS server 1 is connected to a CPU 10, a memory 11, a communication unit 12, and an input / output interface (I / F) 13 via a bus 14.

  The CPU 10 controls each part of the server by executing a program stored in the memory 11. The program executed by the CPU 10 includes an SNS control program for managing the SNS. In the SNS control program, a friend relationship between members can be set, and a friend level for controlling access to data provided by the SNS can be set for each member's friend. Further, the CPU 10 includes a function (clock unit) for executing time management (generation of date / time information, etc.).

The memory 11 stores various programs and data executed by the CPU 10.
The communication unit 12 controls communication with an external device through the network 2 under the control of the CPU 10.
The input / output I / F 13 is an interface for connecting the input device 15, the display device 16, and the storage device 17 to the bus 14.
The input device 15 is used for data input by an administrator or the like, and includes a keyboard, a pointing device (such as a mouse), and the like.
The display device 16 is for displaying various types of information, and is configured by a liquid crystal display (LCD (Liquid Crystal Display)) or the like.

  The storage device 17 stores programs, data, and the like, and is configured by a hard disk device or the like. Programs and data stored in the storage device 17 are read out as necessary and stored in the memory 11. The storage device 17 stores various data (user management data 22a, user data 22b, page data 22c) managed in a database 22 described later.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the SNS server 1.
As illustrated in FIG. 3, the SNS server 1 includes a control unit 20, a database 22, and a communication unit 24.
Control part 20 performs processing which provides SNS, member registration part 20a, page creation control part 20b, browsing control part 20c, writing control part 20d, friend relation setting part 20e, friend level setting part 20f, friend A data browsing unit 20g, a disclosure level setting unit 20h, a disclosure determination unit 20i, and a writing notification unit 20j are provided.

  The member registration unit 20a executes a process for registering a member who uses the SNS. The member registration unit 20a publishes a web page for accepting an enrollment procedure through the network 2, for example, and accepts member registration by inputting necessary data from the PC 5 or the mobile phone 6 through the web page. The member registration unit 20a stores data about a user (member) input from the PC 5 or the mobile phone 6 in the database 22 as user management data 22a.

  The page creation control unit 20b creates display data for allowing the member to browse the data through the network 2, for example, a web page described in a predetermined description language, according to various data stored in the database 22. .

  The browsing control unit 20c publishes the Web page created by the page creation control unit 20b, and controls access from the PC 5 or the mobile phone 6. The browsing control unit 20c is configured so that the data corresponding to the friend level is disclosed to other members whose friend level is set by the friend level setting unit 20f described later (friend relationship is set). Restrict access to the mobile phone 6. The browsing control unit 20c causes the page creation control unit 20b to create a Web page so that only data determined to be disclosed by the disclosure determination unit 20i described below is disclosed to friends set with a friend level. When there are a plurality of data to be disclosed (for example, data with different dates in the diary), the disclosure determining unit 20i based on the disclosure level set by the disclosure level setting unit 20h for each data. According to the determination result, only the data determined to be published can be selected, and the page creation control unit 20b can create and publish the data list (list creation means). Furthermore, the browsing control unit 20c records the history of access requests by other members to the data written under the control of the writing control unit 20d together with the determination result by the public determination unit 20i described later (access request). Storage means). The browsing control unit 20c can publish the access request history stored as list data and the determination result by the control unit 20 to the members by the page creation control unit 20b (access history publishing means).

  The writing control unit 20d controls writing of data to be disclosed by the SNS such as diary, blog, review, and comment, for example, writing of data by a member (PC 5, mobile phone 6) accessed through the network 2. The writing control unit 20 d stores data written by the member input from the PC 5 or the mobile phone 6 in the database 22 as user data 22 b.

  The friend relationship setting unit 20e sets friend relationships with other members for each member registered by the member registration unit 20a. The friend relationship setting unit 20e sets intelligent control when, for example, a member requests friend registration to another member and the friend registration is accepted by another member. The friend relationship setting unit 20e adds data related to the member for which the friend relationship is set to the user data 22b (friend list data 32) of each member for which the friend relationship is set.

  The friend level setting unit 20f sets a friend level for determining data that can be disclosed to other members (friends) whose friend relationship is set by the friend relationship setting unit 20e. The friend level setting unit 20f sets the friend level in, for example, a plurality of stages (for example, five stages) in response to an instruction from the member input from the PC 5 or the mobile phone 6.

  The friend data browsing unit 20g publishes data (friend data) related to the use of SNS by other members who are set as the friend level by the friend level setting unit 20f. The friend data browsing unit 20g, when a data browsing request for another member that is a target for setting the friend level is input from the PC 5 or the mobile phone 6, the predetermined data stored in the database 22 regarding the corresponding friend. Data (user management data 22a, friend list data 32) is read and disclosed.

  The disclosure level setting unit 20h sets the disclosure level for the data written under the control of the writing control unit 20d in accordance with an instruction from the member input from the PC 5 or the mobile phone 6. The public level setting unit 20h sets a public level for data in an arbitrary unit so that access control can be performed in data units. For example, in the diary, the disclosure level can be set in units of data with different dates. In addition, the disclosure level may be set on a monthly basis even for data in the same diary. Similarly, it is assumed that the disclosure level can be set in arbitrary data units for the data to be disclosed by the SNS.

  In response to an access request from another member for the data written under the control of the write control unit 20d, the public determination unit 20i requested the access to the public level set by the public level setting unit 20h for the written data. Based on the friend level set for other members, it is determined whether or not to release the data.

  The writing notification unit 20j uses the disclosure level of the data written by the control of the writing control unit 20d and the friend level of the friend set by the friend level setting unit 20f to determine whether the written data is the disclosure determination unit 20i. When it is determined that the data is disclosed, the other member registered as a friend is notified that the data has been written. For example, the write notification unit 20j may notify the page creation control unit 20b by writing a message notifying that the data has been updated on the page for the member having a friendship, or by e-mail. May be.

  The database 22 stores various data handled by the SNS server 1, and includes user management data 22a, user data 22b, and page data 22c.

  The user management data 22a is data relating to a member for which a member registration procedure has been performed by the member registration unit 20a. In the user management data 22a, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, the “address”, “name”, “age”, “gender”, “birth date” of the member are associated with a unique “user ID” issued for each member. Includes personal data such as “day” and “occupation”.

  In addition, when a member logs in to the SNS, a “password” is used to confirm that the member is a member, and a “nickname” is used to identify a member used when exchanging data with other members. In addition, data indicating “email address” and “phone number” is included as contact information for the member. Furthermore, various data such as “participating community”, “number of friends”, and “number of logins” that are updated as the member uses the SNS are included.

  A community is, for example, a group composed of members who have the same purpose (such as hobbies). “Participating community” is data indicating each community in which the member participates. “Number of friends” is data indicating the number of other members for whom a friendship with the member is set. The “number of logins” is data indicating the number of times the member has accessed (logged in) the SNS server 1 by the PC 5 or the mobile phone 6 (the number of times the SNS has been used).

  The user data 22b is member-specific data registered by the member registration unit 20a. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the profile data 30, the public diary data 31, the friend list associated with the “user ID” of the member. Data 32, list data 33, bulletin board data 34, and the like are included.

  The profile data 30 is data relating to the member profile input at the time of member registration, and personal data (“address”, “name”, “age”, “sex”, “date of birth”) registered in the user management data 22a. "Occupation", etc.), "Nickname", etc. As for the personal data, it is assumed that only data selected as openable by the member among the data registered in the user management data 22a is stored as the profile data 30.

  The public diary data 31 is diary data to be disclosed by the diary function provided by the SNS. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the public diary data 31 includes “date and time” when the diary is written by the member, “content” of the diary written by the member, and “public” designated by the member for the data (diary). Data indicating each "level" is included.

  “Publication level” is referred to when determining whether or not to make public by SNS on a data unit basis (for diaries, for example, contents for one day), and is set to any one of five levels, for example. Note that the disclosure level may not be set individually for all data (no setting).

  The friend list data 32 is data related to other members whose friendships are set by the friendship setting unit 20e. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the “user ID” and “nickname” of other members whose friendships are set. , “Access count”, “access block count”, “friend hierarchy”, “friend level”, and the like.

  “Access count” indicates the number of times a friend corresponding to “user ID” has accessed (viewed) the data published by the member. “Access block count” indicates the number of times access is restricted (access block) when a friend requests access to data published by a member because the friend level is set for the friend. . “Friend hierarchy” indicates a relationship with a friend for whom a friend relationship is set, and indicates, for example, hierarchy 1 and hierarchy 2 as shown in FIG. Each number shown in FIG. 8 represents a member registered in the SNS server 1. The hierarchy 1 includes friends (2 to 5) who have directly established a friendship relationship with the member 1 by exchanging a friend registration request and friend registration approval. Moreover, the friend who set the friend relationship with the friends 2-5 of the hierarchy 1 is included in the hierarchy 2, respectively. For example, the friend 2 has a friend relationship with friends 7 and 8 in addition to the friend 1. In the SNS server 1 of the present embodiment, it is assumed that the friendship can be set also by specifying the friendship hierarchy as shown in FIG.

  Next, the list data 33 indicates a history of access requests to the data written under the control of the writing control unit 20d, and is added in response to access requests from other members to data published by the member through the SNS. Updated. The list data 33 includes, for example, data for identifying a friend who has requested access (for example, “nickname” and “user ID”), the date and time of the access request, and the determination result by the disclosure determination unit 20i (whether access has been blocked). Data). Further, the list data 33 includes data such as the total number of accesses and the number of times access is blocked in all accesses.

  The bulletin board data 34 is data written by other members in the bulletin board function provided by the SNS.

  The page data 22c is data (image data or the like) used when a web page for browsing is created by the page creation control unit 20b. The page data 22c is read as necessary by the processing of the page creation control unit 20b.

  The communication unit 24 controls communication with an external device through the communication unit 12.

Next, operation | movement of the SNS server 1 in this embodiment is demonstrated.
FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the flow of processing taking as an example the case where data (diary) written by a member of the PC 5-1 is disclosed to the PC 5-2 and the mobile phone 6 via the SNS server 1. is there. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the friend level setting process in the SNS server 1, FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining the diary writing process in the SNS server 1, and FIG. 12 is a disclosure determination process in the SNS server 1. It is a flowchart for demonstrating. Details of each process will be described later.

  First, the users of the PC 5-1, the PC 5-2, and the mobile phone 6 execute an enrollment procedure in order to use the SNS provided by the SNS server 1 through the network 2 (FIGS. 9 (1) (2) (3)). . The member registration unit 20a publishes a web page for accepting membership procedures through the network 2.

  For example, the PC 5-1 accesses the Web page for accepting the enrollment procedure by a browser operating on the PC 5-1 according to a user operation. The Web page for accepting the membership procedure has an item for inputting data necessary for membership. For example, input of personal data (address, name, age, etc.), contact information such as e-mail address and telephone number, password used when using SNS, and image used for display of friend list through this Web page Is done.

  When the data necessary for membership registration is input from the PC 5-1, the member registration unit 20a of the SNS server 1 issues a unique user ID to the PC 5-1 (the user) to obtain user management data 22a. In addition to storing the data, each data input from the web page for accepting the membership procedure is stored as user management data 22a in association with the user ID. Thereby, the user of PC5-1 is registered as a member which can use SNS (FIG. 9 (4)).

  The nickname of the member using the PC 5-1 is “SUZUKI”, the nickname of the member using the mobile phone 6 is “Monkichi”, and the nickname of the member using the PC 5-2 is “yoshi”. To do.

  It is assumed that the procedure is performed for the other mobile phone 6 and PC 5-2 in the same manner as PC 5-1. However, since the mobile phone 6 is limited in hardware performance such as the display size and communication speed compared to the PC 5, the member registration unit 20a provides the mobile phone 6 with a Web page for the mobile phone. It shall be.

  A member registered in the SNS server 1 can execute data exchange with other members using various functions provided by the SNS server 1. The member can browse data published on the network 2 by other members through the SNS by using the PC 5 or the mobile phone 6. For example, the page creation control unit 20b reads data input by other members at the time of membership registration from the user management data 22a, creates a profile browsing page, and publishes it. Members can browse the profiles of other members arbitrarily. Further, for example, when it is desired that the contents of the diary written by the diary function be viewable only to a specific member, a friend registration request can be made to the specific member.

  When receiving the friend registration request from the PC 5-1 (FIG. 9 (5)), the friend relationship setting unit 20e of the SNS server 1 transmits a friend registration request to the other members requested to register (FIG. 9 (6)). (7)). Here, it is assumed that a friend registration request is transmitted to the nickname “Monkichi” and the nickname “yoshi”.

  As a result, when there is a response to the friend registration acceptance from the members of the nicknames “Monkichi” and “yoshi” (FIG. 9 (8) (9)), the friend relationship setting unit 20e sends the nicknames “SUZUKI” “Monkichi” “yoshi”. In each friend list data 32, data (user ID, nickname, etc.) about other members for which a friend relationship is set is additionally registered (FIG. 9 (10)). The friend relationship setting unit 20e notifies the nickname “SUZUKI” that requested friend registration that the friend relationship has been set for the members of the nicknames “Monkichi” and “yoshi” (FIG. 9 (11)).

  Here, the member of the nickname “SUZUKI” can set the friend level for other members for which the friend relationship is set. In the following, the friend level setting process will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 10, taking as an example the case where the friend level is set for the members of the nicknames “Monkichi” and “yoshi” for which the friendship is newly set (see FIG. 10). 9 (12)).

  On the top page (homepage) disclosed by the SNS server 1 on the network 2, a menu that can instruct execution of various functions provided in the SNS is displayed (menu 60 shown in FIG. 17). reference). From this menu, it is possible to instruct to display a list of other members (friend list) for which a friendship relationship with the user is set.

  When display of the friend list is instructed by the member (PC5-1) of the nickname “SUZUKI”, the page creation control unit 20b of the SNS server 1 refers to the friend list data 32 of the nickname “SUZUKI”, and the friendship relationship is established. A friend list display page for displaying a friend list for displaying a list of set friends is created and displayed on the PC 5-1 (step A1).

  FIG. 13 shows an example of a friend list displayed on the PC 5-1. In the friend list shown in FIG. 13, images 40 and nicknames 41 registered as personal data by a member who has a friendship relationship are displayed in a list in association with each other. FIG. 13 shows a case where friendships are set for three members. Moreover, the friend level 42 set for each friend is displayed in the friend list (Note that FIG. 13 shows the state after the friend level is set for the friends with the nicknames “Monkichi” and “yoshi”. It is a display example).

  The friend level 42 in the friend list is displayed with a link for setting a friend level, and a link to the friend level setting screen is selected (clicking etc.) to jump to the friend level setting screen. be able to.

  When the part of the friend level 42 in the friend list is selected and the setting of the friend level is requested (step A2, Yes), the page creation control unit 20b displays the friend level setting page on the PC 5-1 (step A3). ).

  FIG. 14 shows an example of the friend level setting page. In FIG. 14, the current friend level 45, friend level designation area 46, and friend data display request area 47 are displayed in addition to the image and nickname of the friend (nickname “Monkichi” in FIG. 14) as the friend level setting target. ing.

The friend data display request area 47 can display the data related to the member for which the friend level is set for reference in determining the friend level. The friend level setting page displayed on the PC 5-1. When the friend data display request area 47 is selected (clicked) (step A4, Yes), the friend data browsing unit 20g of the SNS server 1 uses the user management data 22a as the data related to the member set as the friend level setting target. Alternatively, the data is read from the friend list data 32, and a page for displaying friend data is created by the page creation control unit 20b and displayed on the PC 5-1 (step A5).

  FIG. 15 shows an example of a screen on which friend data about a member of the nickname “Monkichi”, which is a friend level setting target, is displayed. In the example shown in FIG. 15, data of the number of logins, the number of accesses, the number of access blocks, the participating community, and the number of friends are displayed. Data on the number of logins, participating communities, and the number of friends are read from the user management data 22a, and data on the number of accesses and the number of access blocks are read from the friend list data 32.

  By referring to friend data, for example, how often SNS is used, how much access to data published through SNS, and by referring to participating communities, what kind of You can know if you are interested in the field. If the friend level has already been set, it is possible to know the number of times access is blocked by the friend level. For this reason, when the number of access blocks is large, for example, it can be determined that the user is interested in, for example, and the friend level can be changed to make it easier to browse the data published by the user (also described later) It can be used as a reference when setting the level).

  When returning to the friend level setting page from the friend data display page and any friend level is designated in the friend level designation area 46 (step A6, Yes), the friend level setting unit 20f temporarily stores the designated friend level. Store it (step A7). Hereinafter, the friend level can be designated while referring to the friend data arbitrarily (steps A4 to A8). In addition, in the friend level designation area 46, in addition to the five friend levels (1 to 5), “no setting” that does not set the friend level can be designated.

  When the friend level setting is completed (step A8, Yes), the friend level setting unit 20f is newly designated to temporarily store the friend level data corresponding to the nickname “Monkichi” in the friend list data 32. Updated to data indicating the friend level (step A9).

  For example, when the friend level is set to “2”, the display of the current friend level 45 in the friend level setting page is changed to “2”. When the friend list display page is displayed, the friend level 42 for the nickname “Monkichi” is displayed as “2”.

  In this way, a friend level can be arbitrarily set for other members who have a friend relationship.

  Next, an operation when data to be disclosed through SNS is written will be described. Here, diary writing processing when a diary is written will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 11 (FIG. 9 (13)).

  First, when the diary function is selected from the menu of the top page on the PC 5-1, the page creation control unit 20b displays a page for diary writing on the PC 5-1 (step B1).

  FIG. 16 shows an example of a diary writing page. The diary writing page shown in FIG. 16 includes a diary writing area 50, a public level designation area 51, and the like.

  In the diary writing area 50, characters can be arbitrarily input. The writing control unit 20d inputs character data to be written in the diary writing area 50 (step B2). On the other hand, when any public level is designated in the public level designation area 51 (step B3, Yes), the public level setting unit 20h temporarily stores the designated public level (step B4). Hereinafter, in the diary writing page, it is possible to arbitrarily describe the contents of the diary and designate the disclosure level for the contents of the diary (steps B2 to B5). In addition, in the public level designation area 51, “no setting” in which the public level is not set can be designated in addition to the five levels of public levels (1 to 5).

  When the writing of the diary is finished (step B5, Yes), the writing control unit 20d adds the data written in the diary writing area 50 to the “contents” of the public diary data 31 together with the data indicating the written “date and time”. ". Further, the public level setting unit 20h adds data indicating the “public level” temporarily stored in association with the data recorded by the writing control unit 20d to the public diary data 31 (step B6). (FIG. 9 (14)). Here, it is assumed that the publication level “3” is designated for the contents of the newly added diary.

  In this way, it is possible to set the disclosure level so that access can be restricted for each friend having a different friend level with respect to data to be disclosed through the SNS. Therefore, if you want to allow only certain limited friends to view the written content, set a high public level, and if you want to be able to browse without restriction, set a low public level. Access restrictions can be adjusted according to the content.

  In the above description, a case where a new diary is written is described. However, it is also possible to set a disclosure level for contents (data) written in the past. That is, on the page for browsing the diary, the public level setting target is selected, and the public level can be arbitrarily set by specifying the public level designation area 51 as described above.

  Moreover, although the example for the diary function provided by the SNS is shown, the disclosure level can be set for other data (review, profile, bulletin board, etc.).

  Next, a disclosure determination process for determining whether or not to disclose data based on a friend level set for a friend and a disclosure level set for data written as a disclosure target is shown in FIG. This will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 9 (15).

  The disclosure determination process is executed when, for example, as described above, when a diary or the like is newly written, it is determined whether or not to notify a friend whose friendship is set that data has been updated. It is assumed that there is a first release determination process or a second release determination process that is executed when there is an access to a page for releasing data by another member.

  First, the first disclosure determination process will be described.

  First, when data is newly written under the control of the writing control unit 20d, the disclosure determining unit 20i determines a friend recorded in the friend list data 32 (step C1). Also, the disclosure level set for the newly written data is determined (step C2). For example, when the contents of the diary are written, the “public level” associated with the “content” newly added to the public diary data 31 is determined.

  Then, the disclosure determination unit 20i compares the friend level of each friend set in the friend list data 32 with the disclosure level of the data to be disclosed (step C3).

  As a result, for the friend determined that the friend level is not equal to or higher than the public level (No at Step C4), the public determination unit 20i does not allow the newly written data to be disclosed (Step C6).

  For example, as shown in FIG. 13, the friend level is set to “2” for the nickname “Monkichi”, and the disclosure level is set to “3” for the newly written diary contents. In this case, it is determined that the updated content is not viewed for the friend with the nickname “Monkichi”.

  On the other hand, for a friend whose friend level is determined to be equal to or higher than the public level (step C4, Yes), the public determination unit 20i determines that the newly written data can be disclosed (step C5).

  For example, as shown in FIG. 13, the friend level is set to “4” for the nickname “yoshi”, and the disclosure level is set to “3” for the contents of the newly written diary. In this case, it is determined that the updated contents are viewed for the friend with the nickname “yoshi”.

  In this case, the writing notification unit 20j notifies the corresponding friend (nickname “yoshi”) that the data has been updated. For example, the writing notification unit 20j indicates that the page creation control unit 20b has updated the data published by the friend on the page (my page) to be displayed first when the corresponding friend logs into the SNS server 1. A message (diary update information) is displayed (FIG. 9 (16)).

  FIG. 17 shows an example of a page (my page) that is displayed first at the time of login. The page shown in FIG. 17 displays a menu 60 that can instruct the execution of various functions provided in the SNS, and the diary of the friends with the nicknames “Monkichi” and “Kureyon” of the friends has been updated. A message 61 notifying that is displayed.

  The message 61 is linked to a page displaying each friend's diary. When browsing of the contents of the diary is requested by selecting (clicking) this message 61 (FIG. 9 (17)), the browsing control unit 20c displays the diary of the corresponding friend by the page creation control unit 20b. The page to be displayed (public diary data) is displayed and the contents of the diary are browsed (FIGS. 9 (18) and (19)).

  As shown in FIG. 17, based on the public level and the friend level, a friend who is determined to be able to release the updated data is notified of the updated data by notifying the message. be able to. Thereby, utilization of SNS by a member can be promoted.

  As a message notification method, as shown in FIG. 17, it is possible to notify not only by a Web page but also by e-mail.

Next, the second disclosure determination process will be described.
First, when there is a request for access to a page for publishing data such as a diary, the publishing determination unit 20i refers to the friend list data 32 of the member publishing this page (data), and is a member who has a friendship relationship To determine whether it is an access request from. If the access request is not from a friend who is a friend, the contents of the diary will not be disclosed. On the other hand, in the case of an access request from a member having a friend relationship, the friend level set for the member requesting access is discriminated with reference to the friend list data 32 (step C1).

  Also, the disclosure level set for the data requested to be accessed is determined (step C2). For example, when an access request is made for the contents of a certain date in the diary, the “publication level” associated with this “content” is determined.

  Then, the disclosure determination unit 20i compares the friend level of each friend set in the friend list data 32 with the disclosure level of the data to be disclosed for which access has been requested (step C3).

  As a result, for the friend determined that the friend level is not equal to or higher than the public level (No in Step C4), the public judgment unit 20i prohibits the publication of the data to be accessed (Step C6). In this case, a page for notifying that access has been blocked may be displayed, or a page for notifying that data selected as an access target does not exist may be displayed. When a member who is in a friend relationship is notified that the access has been blocked, there is a possibility that this member may be uncomfortable, so it is preferable to notify that there is no data.

  A detailed description of the determination method is omitted as it is executed in the same manner as the first disclosure determination process described above.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the friend level is equal to or higher than the disclosure level (step C4, Yes), the disclosure determination unit 20i determines that the data requested to be accessed can be disclosed (step C5). In this case, the browsing control unit 20c causes the page creation control unit 20b to publish a page that displays the contents of the diary requested to be accessed.

  In the above description, the case where there is an access request for the data unit for which the publication level is set, that is, the case where there is an access request for the contents of a diary on a certain date is described as an example. When there is an access request for a plurality of data units in which is set, it is possible to select and publish only data determined to be publicly available.

  For example, when accessing a page displaying a diary published by a friend, a list of contents for a plurality of dates is displayed. The disclosure determining unit 20i compares the disclosure level set for each of the “contents” for a plurality of dates with the friend level set for the friend who requested access, and the “contents” of each diary. It is determined whether or not it can be disclosed.

  The browsing control unit 20c selects only the “content” of the date determined to be openable according to the determination result for the “content” of each date. Then, the browsing control unit 20c causes the page creation control unit 20b to publish a page for displaying a list including “contents” of dates determined to be publicly available.

  As a result, the friend who has accessed the page of the diary does not know that there is content that cannot be viewed because the friend level is set, so there is no risk of discomfort (simply the content of the corresponding date) Is recognized as non-existent).

  The browsing control unit 20c stores the history of access requests by other members as list data 33 together with the results of the first and second disclosure determination processes described above. When the display of the “after list” is requested by the menu 60 (see FIG. 17) provided on the top page of the SNS, the browsing control unit 20 c uses the page creation control unit 20 b based on the list data 33 of the members. To display the list.

FIG. 18 shows an example of a page for displaying a list after the next.
In the example shown in FIG. 18, the number of accesses for the entire page and the number of times of access block (access block count) among the total number of accesses are displayed. As a result, it is possible to know the situation where access is blocked to public data by setting the public level and the friend level.

  Further, the access request history 48 indicates that the data is not disclosed by the access block based on the access date and time, the nickname of the member who requested access, and the determination result of the disclosure determining unit 20i. Thereby, it can be confirmed to whom of the friend the access is blocked.

  In the above description, the case where the disclosure level is set for the diary data described by the member is taken as an example, but it applies to other various types of data (bulletin board, review, profile, etc.) to be disclosed. be able to. Further, when the member writes data, the disclosure level is set for this data according to the designation of the member. However, the disclosure level may be automatically set according to a predetermined rule. For example, the diary can be set to the public level 2 when the day of writing is Monday through Friday, and the public level 5 when it is a weekend.

  Further, a default disclosure level may be set according to the type of data. For example, publishing level 4 for diaries, publishing level 3 for profiles, and publishing level 2 for bulletin boards. Thus, it is not necessary to set a public level every time data is written. In this case as well, it is assumed that the disclosure level can be individually set for each written data.

  Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments as they are, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, constituent elements over different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

  In addition, the method described in the embodiment uses, as a program (software means) that can be executed by a computer, for example, a magnetic disk (flexible disk, hard disk, etc.), an optical disk (CD-ROM, DVD, MO, etc.), and a semiconductor memory. It can also be stored in a recording medium such as (ROM, RAM, flash memory, etc.), or transmitted and distributed via a communication medium. The program stored on the medium side also includes a setting program that configures in the computer software means (including not only the execution program but also a table and data structure) that is executed by the computer. A computer that implements the present apparatus reads the program recorded on the recording medium, constructs software means by a setting program in some cases, and executes the above-described processing by controlling the operation by the software means. The recording medium referred to in this specification is not limited to distribution, but includes a storage medium such as a magnetic disk or a semiconductor memory provided in a computer or a device connected via a network.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the system in this embodiment. The block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of the SNS server. The block diagram which shows the function structure of the SNS server. The figure for demonstrating the data structure of the user management data 22a. The figure for demonstrating the data structure of the user data 22b. The figure for demonstrating the data structure of the public diary data 31. FIG. The figure for demonstrating the data structure of the friend list data. The figure for demonstrating the hierarchy of friendship. The figure for demonstrating the flow of the process which made the example the case where the data (diary) which the member of PC5-1 wrote via the SNS server 1 was exhibited to PC5-2 and the mobile telephone 6. FIG. The flowchart for demonstrating the friend level setting process in the SNS server. The flowchart for demonstrating the diary writing process in the SNS server. The flowchart for demonstrating the open determination process in the SNS server. The figure which shows an example of the friend list displayed in PC5-1. The figure which shows an example of a friend level setting page. The figure which shows an example of the screen on which the friend data about the member of the nickname "Monkichi" used as the friend level setting object is displayed. The figure which shows an example of the page for diary writing. The figure which shows an example of the page (my page) displayed initially at the time of login. The figure which shows an example of the page which displays a list after a wait.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... SNS server, 2 ... Network, 3,4 ... Communication carrier system, 5 (5-1,5-2, ..., 5-m) ... PC, 6 (6-1,6-2, ..., 6) -N) ... mobile phone, 10 ... CPU, 11 ... memory, 12 ... communication unit, 13 ... input / output I / F, 14 ... bus, 15 ... input device, 16 ... display device, 17 ... storage device, 20 ... control Part, 20a ... member registration part, 20b ... page creation control part, 20c ... browsing control part, 20d ... write control part, 20e ... friend relationship setting part, 20f ... friend level setting part, 20g ... friend data browsing part, 20h ... Public level setting unit, 20i ... Public determination unit, 20j ... Write notification unit, 22 ... Database, 22a ... User management data, 22b ... User data, 22c ... Page data, 24 ... Communication unit, 30 ... Profile data, 31 ... Public Diary data, 32 ... friend list data, 33 ... trace list data, 34 ... bulletin board data.

Claims (8)

In an SNS server that provides SNS (Social Networking Service) through a network,
Member registration means for registering members who use SNS;
For each member registered by the member registration means, friend relationship setting means for setting a friend relationship with other members;
Friend level setting means for setting a friend level for other members whose friendships are set by the friendship setting means,
An SNS server comprising: a publishing unit that publishes data corresponding to the friend level set for the other member to the other member for which the friend level is set by the friend level setting unit. . A writing control means for controlling writing of data to be disclosed by members;
A disclosure level setting means for setting a disclosure level for data written under the control of the writing control means;
In response to an access request from the other member to the data written by the control of the write control unit, the disclosure level set by the disclosure level setting unit for the data and the other member who requested access Based on the set friend level, and further determining whether or not to publish the data.
2. The SNS server according to claim 1, wherein the publishing unit publishes only data determined to be disclosed by the disclosure determining unit to the other members. The public means is:
Data selecting means for selecting only data determined to be disclosed by the disclosure determining means from a plurality of data written under the control of the writing control means;
Comprising a list creation means for creating a data list composed of data selected by the data selection means,
3. The SNS server according to claim 2, wherein the data list created by the list creating means is disclosed to the other members. A writing control means for controlling writing of data to be disclosed by members;
A disclosure level setting means for setting a disclosure level for data written under the control of the writing control means;
Based on the disclosure level set by the disclosure level setting means for the data and the friend level for the other member registered by the friend registration means, the data written by the control of the writing means is the other A disclosure determination means for determining whether or not to disclose to a member;
2. The writing notifying unit according to claim 1, further comprising a writing notifying unit that notifies the other member that data has been written when it is determined by the disclosure determining unit that the data is to be disclosed. SNS server. Storage means for storing data relating to the use of the SNS by members registered by the member registration means;
2. The SNS according to claim 1, further comprising data browsing means for browsing data indicating a usage status of the SNS by the other member who is set as a friend level by the friend level setting means. server.   6. The SNS server according to claim 5, wherein the data indicating the usage status of the SNS includes the number of times when the disclosure determination unit determines that the data is not disclosed. An access request storage means for recording a history of access requests by the other members to the data written by the control of the write control means together with a determination result by the disclosure determination means;
5. The SNS according to claim 2, further comprising: an access history publishing unit that publishes an access request history stored in the access request storage unit and the determination result to the member. server. A computer that provides SNS (Social Networking Service) through the network
Member registration means for registering members who use SNS;
For each member registered by the member registration means, friend relationship setting means for setting a friend relationship with other members;
Friend level setting means for setting a friend level for other members whose friendships are set by the friendship setting means,
An SNS control program for causing the other member whose friend level is set by the friend level setting means to function as friend data browsing means for browsing data corresponding to the friend level set for the other member.

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