JP2020102265A - Server, information processing methods, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To facilitate promoting communications between users between whom no communication start after an association between accounts is registered in a message transmitting/receiving service or the like.SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus includes registration management unit managing a registration of an association between accounts related to a message transmitting/receiving service; and an information providing unit, in a case where, after the association between a first account and a second account is registered, message transmission/reception is not performed therebetween for a prescribed time period, providing information related to the first account and the second account to a chat room where the message transmission/reception is performed between the first account and the second account.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing device, an information providing method, and a program.

There is known a social network service providing system in which a plurality of users perform a predetermined operation on an information terminal to set a relationship between user accounts (for example, see Patent Document 1). The users to whom the relationship between accounts is set can easily exchange messages with each other by using a message exchange service such as chat.

In addition, in order to support conversation in a virtual space on the network, a new web page is created based on the access count value of the user, and the created web page has a plurality of access count values within a predetermined range. A conversation support method for guiding a user is known (for example, see Patent Document 2).

JP, 2014-160510, A JP, 2003-022244, A

In a message transmission/reception service that transmits/receives a message between pre-registered users, communication between users may not be started for some reason after the association between user accounts is registered. In such a case, it is difficult to promote communication between users even if users who do not start communication are guided to the same web page or the like as in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 2, for example.

As described above, in the related art, in the message transmission/reception service or the like, it is difficult to promote communication between users who have not started communication after the association between user accounts is registered.

One embodiment of the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and in a message transmission/reception service or the like, to promote communication between users who do not start communication after association between accounts is registered. To facilitate.

In order to solve the above problems, an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a registration management unit that manages registration of association between accounts related to a message transmission/reception service, a first account and a second account. If the message is not transmitted and received within a predetermined period after the association is registered, the information related to the first account and the second account is stored in the first account. And an information providing unit which provides a chat room for transmitting and receiving the message between the second account and the second account.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, in a message transmission/reception service or the like, it is possible to facilitate communication between users who do not start communication after the association between accounts is registered.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of the information processing system which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the hardware structural example of the management server which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a figure showing an example of hardware constitutions of an information terminal concerning one embodiment. It is a functional block diagram of the information processing system which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the account information which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the relationship registration information which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of log information which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a flow chart which shows the outline of the information service processing concerning one embodiment. It is a figure (1) which shows the example of the display screen which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure (2) which shows the example of the display screen which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure (1) which shows the example of the display screen which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure (2) which shows the example of the display screen which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a functional block diagram of the information processing system which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the information provision process which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the social graph which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the distance between users which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure (1) which shows the example of the display screen of the chat room which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure (2) which shows the example of the display screen of the chat room which concerns on 3rd Embodiment.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<System configuration>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an information processing system according to an embodiment. The information processing system 100 according to the present embodiment includes, for example, a management server 101 connected to a network 103 such as the Internet, and a plurality of information terminals 102-1 to 102-3. In the following description, “information terminal 102” is used when referring to any information terminal of the plurality of information terminals 102-1 to 102-3. Further, the number of information terminals 102 in FIG. 1 is an example, and the number of information terminals 102 may be any number of two or more.

The management server 101 is, for example, an information processing device (server device) that provides a message transmission/reception service such as an IM (instant Messenger) service. The management server 101 manages registration of a relationship (for example, friend relationship) between accounts in the message transmission/reception service, and provides a message transmission/reception service that transmits/receives a message between accounts in which the relationship is registered.

The information terminal 102 is an information terminal such as a smartphone, a mobile phone, a tablet terminal, a wearable terminal, a PC (Personal Computer), or a game machine used by a user of the message transmission/reception service. The information terminal 102 can connect to the network 103 by, for example, a wireless LAN (Local Area Net Work), a public wireless communication service, or the like, and can communicate with the management server 101, another information terminal 102, or the like. Further, it is assumed that the information terminal 102 has an application program (hereinafter referred to as an application) corresponding to the message transmission/reception service provided by the management server 101 installed and operating.

With the above configuration, for example, the user of the information terminal 102-1 and the user of the other information terminal 102-2 perform a predetermined operation on the information terminal 102 to associate the accounts with the management server 101. You can request registration. Upon receiving the request, the management server 101 stores and manages the account of the user of the information terminal 102-1 and the account of the user of the information terminal 102-2 in association with each other.

Further, the user of the information terminal 102-1 transmits and receives a message using the message transmission and reception service provided by the management server 101, with the user of the information terminal 102-2 in which the association between accounts is registered. You can

For example, the management server 101 creates a virtual space (hereinafter, referred to as a chat room) for transmitting and receiving messages (hereinafter, referred to as chat) on the applications of the information terminals 102-1 and 102-2. .. Further, the management server 101 causes the information terminal 102-1 and the information terminal 102-2 to participate in the same communication session. As a result, the user of the information terminal 102-1 can use the created chat room to chat with the user of the information terminal 102-2.

Further, the management server 101 according to the present embodiment, for example, when the chat is not started within a predetermined period after the association is registered between the two accounts, the information related to the two accounts is set to the two accounts. Providing to a chat room for chats between.

At this time, the provided information includes, for example, information related to other accounts related to the two accounts, common information included in profile information of the two accounts, information having a strong relationship, and the like. In addition, at this time, the provided information may include information on a predetermined service, for example, a service registered by two accounts, link information to the service, or the like.

For users who have not started chatting within a predetermined period, for example, even if a chat room is provided, there is no information on a common topic, and it may be difficult to start chatting. However, according to the present embodiment, the chat room between the users who have not started the chat within the predetermined period is provided with the information related to the both, so that the chat can be easily started.

As described above, according to the management server 101 of the present embodiment, in the message transmission/reception service or the like, it is possible to facilitate communication between users who do not start communication after registration of association between accounts.

The configuration of the information processing system 100 shown in FIG. 1 is an example, and does not limit the scope of the present invention. For example, the management server 101 may be composed of a plurality of information processing devices. The service used by the user using the information terminal 102 is not limited to the IM service, and may be, for example, an SNS (Social Networking Service) service or a blog service. That is, the present embodiment is applied to a service that associates accounts of users who use the service with a predetermined relationship and transmits/receives data such as messages between the accounts of the users associated with the predetermined relationship. obtain.

<Hardware configuration>
Next, the hardware configurations of the management server 101 and the information terminal 102 will be described.

(Hardware configuration of the management server)
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the management server according to the embodiment. The management server 101 has a general computer configuration. For example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 202, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 203, a storage unit 204, and a network. It has an I/F (Interface) unit 205, an input unit 206, a display unit 207, an RTC (Real Time Clock) unit 208, a bus 209 and the like.

The CPU 201 is an arithmetic device that realizes control and functions of the entire management server 101 by reading out programs and data stored in the ROM 203, the storage unit 204, and the like onto the RAM 202 and executing processing. The RAM 202 is a volatile memory used as a work area or the like of the CPU 201. The ROM 203 is, for example, a non-volatile memory that stores a BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) executed when the management server 101 is started up, various settings, and the like.

The storage unit 204 is a storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive) that stores an OS (Operating System) and various application programs.

The network I/F unit 205 is a communication interface for connecting the management server 101 to the network 103 and communicating with the information terminal 102 and the like.

The input unit 206 is, for example, an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse, and is used by the user to input various operation signals to the management server 101. The display unit 207 is a display device such as a display, and displays the processing result by the management server 101 and the like. The input unit 206, the display unit 207 and the like may be connected to the management server 101 and used when necessary.

The RTC unit 208 is, for example, a real-time clock that is backed up by a backup battery and keeps the date and time even if the management server 101 is powered off.

The bus 209 is commonly connected to each of the above-described configurations and transmits, for example, an address signal, a data signal, various control signals, and the like.

(Hardware configuration of information terminal)
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the information terminal according to the embodiment. The information terminal 102 has a general computer configuration. For example, the CPU 301, the RAM 302, the ROM 303, the storage unit 304, the network I/F unit 305, the display input unit 306, the position information acquisition unit 307, and the short-range wireless communication. It has a communication unit 308, a bus 309, and the like.

The CPU 301 is an arithmetic unit that realizes control and functions of the entire information terminal 102 by reading programs and data stored in the ROM 303, the storage unit 304, and the like onto the RAM 302 and executing processing. The RAM 302 is a volatile memory used as a work area or the like of the CPU 301. The ROM 303 is, for example, a non-volatile memory that stores a BIOS executed when the information terminal 102 is started up, various settings, and the like.

The storage unit 304 is a storage device such as an HDD, an SSD, or a flash ROM, which stores the OS and various application programs.

The network I/F unit 305 is a communication interface for connecting the information terminal 102 to the network 103 and communicating with the management server 101, another information terminal 102, and the like.

The display input unit 306 is, for example, a display input device such as a touch panel display, receives a user's input operation, and displays a processing result by the information terminal 102 and the like. The display input unit 306 may be provided separately for the input unit and the display unit.

The position information acquisition unit 307 is a device such as a GPS (Global Positioning System) reception unit that acquires the position information of the information terminal 102.

The short-range wireless communication unit 308 is a communication device that performs predetermined short-range wireless communication with another mobile terminal 10, such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) and Bluetooth Low Energy (hereinafter referred to as BLE).

The bus 309 is commonly connected to each of the above-mentioned configurations and transmits, for example, an address signal, a data signal, various control signals, and the like.

<Functional configuration>
Next, the functional configuration of the information processing system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described.

FIG. 4 is a functional configuration diagram of the information processing system 100 according to the embodiment.

(Functional configuration of the management server)
The management server 101 has a communication unit 401, an account information management unit 402, a relationship registration management unit 403, an information providing unit 404, a chat service providing unit 405, a log information management unit 406, a storage unit 407, and the like.

The communication unit 401 is means for connecting the management server 101 to the network 103 and transmitting/receiving data to/from the plurality of information terminals 102-1 to 102-3. The communication unit 401 is realized by, for example, the network I/F unit 205 of FIG. 2 and a program that operates on the CPU 201 of FIG.

The account information management unit 402 stores in advance, for example, the account information related to the message transmission/reception service provided by the management server 101 as the account information 408 in the storage unit 407 and manages it. The account information management unit 402 is realized by, for example, a program that operates on the CPU 201 in FIG.

The user may have a plurality of accounts with different unique information (for example, user ID, telephone number, email address, etc.). Further, the account according to the present embodiment is not only an account of an individual user, but also a predetermined account such as a company, a corporation, a group, a shop, or a person is an official account for officially distributing information. including. Therefore, in the following description, the “account” includes a plurality of accounts of the same user whose unique information is different from each other, an official account, and the like.

The relationship registration management unit 403 performs the association process between accounts in response to a registration request from the information terminal 102 or the like that requests registration of association (for example, friendship) between accounts. In addition, the information of the associated account is stored in the storage unit 407 as the relationship registration information 409, for example. Note that the relationship registration management unit 403 is realized by, for example, a program that operates on the CPU 201 in FIG.

If the chat is not started within a predetermined period after the association is registered between the first account and the second account, the information providing unit 404 displays the information related to the first and second accounts as the first and second information. Providing a chat room between one account and a second account.

Note that the information provided by the information providing unit 404 includes, for example, information about the third account whose association is registered with the first account and the second account. Alternatively, the information provided by the information providing unit 404 is based on the account information of the first account and the account information of the second account, a common field of interest, common information on the profile, or information that is strongly related. May be included. The information providing unit 404 is realized by, for example, the program running on the CPU 201 of FIG. 2, the RTC unit 208, and the like.

The chat service providing unit 405 is means for providing a chat service to a plurality of accounts related to the message transmission/reception service, and is realized by, for example, a program that operates in the CPU 201 in FIG.

For example, the chat service providing unit 405, when chatting using the information terminals 102-1 and 102-2, is a chat for chatting on the applications of the information terminals 102-1 and 102-2. Create a room. Also, the chat service providing unit 405 causes the information terminal 102-1 and the information terminal 102-2 to participate in the same communication session. Further, the chat service providing unit 405 relays a message transmitted/received between the information terminals 102-1 and 102-2. Thereby, it becomes possible to chat between the information terminals 102-1 and 102-2.

In the present embodiment, the description will be made assuming that the chat room is created on the application of the information terminal 102, but this is merely an example, and the chat service providing unit 405 creates the chat room on the management server 101. It may be one that does.

The log information management unit 406 stores, for example, log information 410 in the storage unit 407 as log information 410 and manages the history of the processes of applications that operate on the plurality of information terminals 102-1 to 102-3 and the like. The log information management unit 406 is realized by, for example, a program that operates in the CPU 201 of FIG. The log information 410 includes, for example, information such as the time when the chat was transmitted and received, the time when the association between the accounts was registered, and the like.

The storage unit 407 is, for example, a unit that stores the above-described account information 408, relationship registration information 409, log information 410, and the like, and is realized by the storage unit 204 and the like in FIG. 2, for example. In addition, the storage unit 407 may be realized by another server device (for example, a storage server, a cloud) or the like connected via the network 103.

The configurations of the account information 408, the relationship registration information 409, and the log information 410 stored in the storage unit 407 will be described later.

(Functional configuration of information terminal)
The information terminal 102 has a communication unit 411, a storage unit 412, a relationship registration request unit 413, a chat control unit 414, and a display input unit 415. In FIG. 4, the information terminals 102-1 to 102-3 are assumed to have the same configuration.

The communication unit 411 is a means for connecting the information terminal 102 to the network 103 and transmitting/receiving data to/from the management server 101 and the like. The communication unit 401 is realized by, for example, the network I/F unit 305 in FIG. 3 and a program operating in the CPU 301 in FIG.

The storage unit 412 is a unit that stores an application for the message transmission/reception service provided by the management server 101, application information, and the like, and is realized by, for example, the storage unit 304 in FIG.

The relationship registration request unit 413 is means for requesting registration of association with another account in response to a predetermined operation on the application for the message transmission/reception service, and is, for example, a program (app) running on the CPU 301 in FIG. Is realized by

The chat control unit 414 is means for controlling message transmission/reception (chat) by the message transmission/reception service provided by the management server 101, and is realized by, for example, a program (app) running on the CPU 301 in FIG. 3.

The display input unit 415 is a unit that displays a display screen according to the control of the relationship registration request unit 413, the chat control unit 414, and the like, and accepts a user operation. For example, the display input unit of FIG. 3 and the display input unit of FIG. It is realized by a program that operates on the CPU 301.

<About information managed by the management server>
Here, an example of each information managed by the management server 101 will be described.

(account information)
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of account information according to an embodiment. The account information 408 managed by the account information management unit 402 includes information such as unique information 501, name information 502, image information 503, and description information 504.

Preferably, the account information 408 further includes information such as a field of interest 505, area 506, age 507, account type 508, and the like.

The unique information 501 is information for uniquely identifying an account, and, for example, information such as a telephone number, a mail address, or a user ID acquired (or given) from the management server 101 is registered. The unique information 501 may be information other than the above as long as the information can uniquely identify the account.

In the name information 502, for example, information on the display name of the user or account displayed in the chat room or the like is registered.

In the image information 503, profile images for each account are registered. For example, if the account is an account of an individual user, an official account of a celebrity, or the like, an image of a person or the like is registered as the image information 503. If the account is an official account of a company or the like, for example, a company logo, a product image, or the like is registered as the image information 503. Note that the above description is merely an example, and the image information 503 may include images other than the image of the person, the logo of the company, and the image of the product.

In the explanation information 504, sentences such as a simple self-introduction of an account, a comment, and a word are registered.

In the field of interest 505, for example, information on a field of interest for each account is registered.

In the area 506, information such as a living area of an individual user and a service providing area of a company or a shop is registered.

The age 507 stores information about the age of the user, such as age and age.

The account type 508 stores information on account types such as personal accounts and official accounts.

The account information 408 shown in FIG. 5 is merely an example. The account information 408 stores various information related to the account in association with the unique information 501 for uniquely identifying the account.

(Related registration information)
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of relationship registration information according to an embodiment. In the relationship registration information 409 managed by the relationship registration management unit 403, registration information 601 including information on a plurality of accounts whose associations are registered by the relationship registration management unit 403 is stored for the unique information 501 of each account. There is.

For example, in the example of FIG. 6, accounts such as “User_ID_02”, “User_ID_03”, and “Official_ID_A” are registered in association with the account whose unique information 501 is “User_ID_01”. Similarly, the unique information 501 is registered in such a manner that the accounts such as “User_ID_01”, “User_ID_03”, and “Official _ID_A” are associated with the account “User_ID_02”.

Preferably, the relationship registration information 409 further includes information on the registration date and time 602 with which each association was performed, information on the registration location 603, and the like. This makes it possible to specify the date and time when the relationship between accounts was registered, the place, and the like.

The information managed by the relationship registration information 409 may be included in the account information 408.

(Log information)
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of log information according to an embodiment. In the log information 410, information such as the log type 701 and date/time 702 is recorded for each account. The example of FIG. 7 shows the log information 410 of the account “User_ID_01”, and the storage unit 407 stores such log information 410 for each account.

In the information of the log type 701, information such as an operation performed by the application and processing is recorded. For example, in the example of FIG. 7, it is remembered that the account of “User_ID_01” has transmitted/received a plurality of chats with the account of “User_ID_03” and that the relationship between “Official_ID_A” and the account has been registered. Has been done.

The information on the date and time 702 stores information on the date and time when each of the above-mentioned operations and processes are performed.

In the above description, the log information 410 is described as the information such as the operation performed by the application and the process, but the log information 410 is executed on the management server 101 side. The information of the processing may be stored.

For example, in the log type 701 of FIG. 7, the management server 101 transfers a chat from “User_ID_01” to “User_ID_03”, registers the relationship between accounts of “User_ID_01” and “Official_ID_A”, etc. It may be stored. In this case, the date and time information 702 stores the date and time when the management server 101 performed the above process.

As described above, the log information 410 stores information such as the application of the information terminal 102 and/or the processing of the management server 101 for specifying the history of chat for each account and registration of association between accounts. To be done.

It should be noted that the management server 101 may realize the following processes by the processes on the management server 101 side without using the log information 410.

<Details of processing>
Next, details of the processing according to the present embodiment will be described.

(Outline of processing)
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an outline of the information providing process according to the embodiment.

The relationship registration management unit 403 of the management server 101 registers a relationship (association) between the first account and the second account (step S801).

When the relationship between the first account and the second account is registered, whether the information providing unit 404 has started message transmission/reception (chat) between the first account and the second account within a predetermined period. It is determined (steps S802 and S803).

The execution order of steps S802 and S803 shown in FIG. 8 is an example, and the execution order of steps S802 and S803 may be reversed. For example, the information providing unit 404 may execute step S803 before step S802.

When the chat is started between the first account and the second account within the predetermined period (“YES” in step S802), the information providing unit 404 ends the information providing process.

On the other hand, when the chat is not started between the first account and the second account within the predetermined period (“YES” in step S803), the information providing unit 404 determines that the information related to the first account and the second account. Is extracted (step S804).

Further, the information providing unit 404 provides (for example, displays) the information extracted in step S804 to the chat room between the first account and the second account.

By the above process, if the chat is not started within a predetermined period after the association between the first account and the second account is registered, the information related to the first account and the second account is the first account and the second account. Offered in chat rooms between accounts.

Subsequently, a specific example will be described while being divided into a plurality of embodiments.

[First Embodiment]
In the first embodiment, the information providing unit 404 provides, as the information related to the first account and the second account, information about the third account whose association is registered with the first account and the second account. An example of such a case will be described.

The third account may be an individual user's account or an official account. First, an example of using the official account information as the third account information will be described. To do.

For example, in the account information 408 shown in FIG. 5, it is assumed that after the association is registered between the user 1 and the user 2, chat has not started within the predetermined period between them.

In this case, the information providing unit 404 of the management server 101 is associated with the user 1 (specific information “User_ID_01”) and the user 2 (specific information “User_ID_02”) using the relationship registration information 409 shown in FIG. Identify the official account.

In the example of FIG. 6, two accounts “User_ID_03” and “Official_ID_A” are associated with the user 1 and the user 2. Further, it can be understood from the account type 508 in FIG. 5 that “Official_ID_A” of these is the official account of the restaurant A. In this case, the information providing unit 404 of the management server 101 provides the information on the account of the restaurant A to the chat room where the user 1 and the user 2 chat.

9 and 10 show examples of display screens displayed on the information terminal 102 of the user 1 at this time. FIG. 9A shows an example of the message list screen 901 displayed on the information terminal 102 of the user 1. As shown in FIG. 9A, the message list screen 901 displays the user name 902 of the user 2, the profile image 903, and the like, as in the case where the message from the user 2 is received. Further, a circled number “1” beside the user name 902 indicates the number of received messages.

For example, when the user name 902 of the user 2 is selected from the message list screen 901 of FIG. 9A, a chat screen (an example of a chat room) 905 with the user 2 is displayed as shown in FIG. 9B. It In FIG. 9A, on the chat screen 905, a profile image 906 of the restaurant A, a name 907, a description 908, etc. are displayed, for example, based on the account information 408.

Further, in FIG. 10A, when the user 1 inputs a message in the message input field 1001 and selects the send button 1002, the input message 1003 is displayed on the chat screen 905 and displayed to the user 2. Sent. In response to this, when the message returned by the user 2 is received, the received message 1004 is displayed on the chat screen 905.

For example, even if the chat room between the user 1 and the user 2 is automatically activated, it is difficult to find a common topic between the user 1 and the user 2 who have not chatted until now. There is. However, in the present embodiment, not only the chat room between the user 1 and the user 2 is activated, but also common information or related information is automatically provided to the user 1 and the user 2. Makes it easy to start a chat between.

In the above example, the example of the display screen displayed on the information terminal 102 of the user 1 has been described, but the same display screen is displayed on the information terminal 102 of the user 2.

(Another example)
In the above description, an example in which the information of the official account is used as the information of the third account registered in association with the first account and the second account has been described. However, the information of the third account registered in association with the first account and the second account may be the information of the personal account.

For example, in the example of FIG. 6, two accounts “User_ID_03” and “Official_ID_A” are associated with the user 1 and the user 2. Further, it can be understood from the account type 508 in FIG. 5 that “User_ID_03” of these is the user 3's personal account. In this case, the information providing unit 404 of the management server 101 may provide the account information of the user 3 to the chat room where the user 1 and the user 2 chat.

At this time, an example of a display screen displayed on the information terminal 102 of the user 1 is shown in FIG. In FIG. 10B, the chat screen 1005 displays the profile image 1006, the name 1007, etc. of the user 3 based on the account information 408. Also in this case, since it is considered that both the user 1 and the user 2 are related to the user 3, the same effect as when displaying the official account can be expected.

Furthermore, as another example, the information providing unit 404 selects one account from the official account and the personal account as the information of the third account registered in association with the first account and the second account. It may be selected.

When there are a plurality of accounts associated with the user 1 and the user 2, the information providing unit 404 needs to select one account from the plurality of accounts, but the selection method may be any method. ..

For example, the information providing unit 404 may randomly select one account from a plurality of accounts. Alternatively, the information providing unit 404 may select an account corresponding to a region closer to the regions 506 of the user 1 and the user 2 based on the information of the region 806 of the account information 408 shown in FIG. Further, the information providing unit 404 calculates the number of times the user 1 and the user 2 have accessed a plurality of accounts, the number of chats, and the like based on the log information 410 shown in FIG. It may be one that selects an account. Furthermore, the information providing unit 404 may be one that selects the account that the user 1 and the user 2 have most recently accessed or transmitted/received a message based on the log information 410 shown in FIG. 7.

[Second Embodiment]
In the second embodiment, the information providing unit 404, as the information related to the first account and the second account, information common to the account information of the first account and the account information of the second account or related information. An example of using will be described.

For example, in the account information 408 shown in FIG. 5, it is assumed that after the association is registered between the user 1 and the user 2, chat has not started within the predetermined period between them.

In this case, the information providing unit 404 of the management server 101 uses the account information 408 shown in FIG. 5 to extract the character strings commonly included in the fields of interest 505 of the users 1 and 2, for example. In the example of FIG. 5, the information of the field of interest 505 of the user 1 and the user 2 commonly includes the character string “tennis”. In this case, the information providing unit 404 of the management server 101 provides information about “tennis” to the chat room where the user 1 and the user 2 chat.

Preferably, at this time, the information providing unit 404 is not limited to a completely matching character string. It is desirable to extract highly relevant character strings.

At this time, an example of the chat screen displayed on the information terminal 102 of the user 1 is shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 11A, the chat screen 1101 displays a character string 1102 of “tennis” selected by the information providing unit 404 instead of the message from the user 2. Preferably, the chat screen 1101 also displays an image 1103 related to tennis, topics 1104 related to tennis, and the like. Information such as the image 1103 related to tennis and topics 1104 related to tennis are acquired by the information providing unit 404 from the web.

In FIG. 11B, when the user 1 inputs a message in the message input field 1105 and selects the send button 1106, the input message 1107 is displayed on the chat screen 1101 and displayed to the user 2. Sent. In response to this, when the message returned by the user 2 is received, the received message 1108 is displayed on the chat screen 1101.

In the above example, the example of the display screen displayed on the information terminal 102 of the user 1 has been described, but the same display screen is displayed on the information terminal 102 of the user 2.

(Another example)
In the above description, an example has been described in which the information providing unit 404 uses the account information 408 to extract information common to the fields of interest 505 of the user 1 and the user 2 or related information. However, the information providing unit 404 may extract information common or related information such as the description information 504 of the account information 408 instead of the information common or related information in the field of interest 505. For example, in the example of FIG. 5, the information string 504 of the user 1 and the user 2 commonly includes the character string “XX station”. In this case, the information providing unit 404 of the management server 101 provides the chat room in which the user 1 and the user 2 chat with each other, with information about “XX station”.

Preferably, at this time, the information providing unit 404 is not limited to a completely matching character string. It is desirable to extract highly relevant character strings.

FIG. 12 shows an example of the chat screen displayed on the information terminal 102 of the user 1 at this time. In the example of FIG. 12, a name 1201 of “XX station” is displayed on the chat screen 1101. Preferably, the chat screen 1101 also displays information such as an image 1202 of topics related to “XX station” and a description 1203. The information providing unit 404 acquires information about topics related to “XX station” from the web.

Even in this case, since it is considered that both the user 1 and the user 2 have some relation to the “XX station”, the effect of providing a common topic or a related topic between the user 1 and the user 2 can be expected. ..

It should be noted that the use of the explanation information 504 and the field of interest 505 as the information common to or related to the account information of the first account and the account information of the second account is merely an example, and the account information 408 Other information included in the above may be used.

[Third Embodiment]
In the first embodiment, the information providing unit 404 provides, as the information related to the first account and the second account, the information of the third account whose association is registered with the first account and the second account. The example in the case of doing was explained. However, in reality, there may be a case where there is no account registered with the first account and the second account.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, an example will be described in which the information providing unit 404 provides information regarding the third account included in the social graph of the first account and the social graph of the second account.

<Functional configuration diagram>
FIG. 13 is a functional configuration diagram of the information processing system according to the third embodiment. 13, the management server 101 has a social graph creation unit 1301 in addition to the configuration of the management server 101 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. Since the other configuration of the information processing system 100 according to the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the difference will be mainly described here.

The social graph creation unit 1301 creates a social graph showing the connection relationship (personal relationship) between accounts. The social graph creation unit 1301 creates a social graph whose distance from a predetermined account is N (N is an integer of 2 or more) or less based on the registration information 601 of the relationship registration information 409 illustrated in FIG. 6, for example.

Here, the social graph is a graph showing a personal relationship between accounts in which each account is a node and the accounts whose associations are registered are linked. The link is also called a "route", an "edge", or the like. Further, the distance indicates the minimum number of links required to reach a target node from a predetermined node.

For example, when the relationship between the accounts registered in the relationship registration information 409 is a friend relationship and the value of N is “2”, the social graph of the first account shows “friend ( N=1)”, as well as “Friends of Friends (N=2)” of the first account are included.

<Details of processing>
FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the flow of the information providing process according to the third embodiment.

In step S1401, the relationship registration management unit 403 of the management server 101 registers the association between the first account and the second account, for example, in response to a request from the first account and the second account.

In step S1402, the information providing unit 404 of the management server 101 determines whether a message has been transmitted/received (chat) between the first account and the second account. When it is determined in step S1402 that a chat has been performed between the first account and the second account, the information providing unit 404 ends the process. On the other hand, when it is determined that the chat is not being performed between the first account and the second account, the information providing unit 404 moves the process to step S1403.

After shifting to step S1403, the information providing unit 404 uses, for example, the RTC unit 208 of FIG. 2 or the like, and a predetermined period (for example, 1) after the association is registered between the first account and the second account. Week)). When it is determined in step S1403 that the predetermined period has not elapsed, the information providing unit 404 returns the process to step S1402, and repeats the process of step S1402 until the predetermined period elapses. On the other hand, when it is determined in step S1403 that the predetermined period has elapsed, the information providing unit 404 shifts the processing to step S1404.

As described with reference to FIG. 8, the execution order of steps S1402 and S1403 may be reversed. That is, step S1403 may be executed before step S1402.

When the process proceeds to step S1404, the information providing unit 404 refers to the information such as the registration date and time 602 of the relationship registration information 409, for example, and the bidirectional relationship between the first account and the second account is within a predetermined time (eg, Within 1 hour) to see if it was built. When it is determined in step S1404 that the bidirectional relationship has not been established within the predetermined time, the relationship registration information 409 ends the process. On the other hand, when it is determined that the bidirectional relationship is established within the predetermined time, the relationship registration information 409 shifts the processing to step S1405.

After shifting to step S1405, the information providing unit 404 determines whether or not the first account and the second account are included in the same age group by referring to the information of the age 507 of the account information 408, for example. If it is determined in step S1405 that they are not included in the same age group, the information providing unit 404 ends the process. On the other hand, if it is determined that they are included in the same age group, the information providing unit 404 moves the process to step S1406.

When the process proceeds to step S1406, the social graph creation unit 1301 of the management server 101 creates a social graph in which the distance from each account is N or less (for example, the distance is 3 or less) for each of the first account and the second account.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a social graph according to the third embodiment. FIG. 15 shows an example of a social graph centered on the user 1 (first account) and having a distance of 3 or less (the number of links is 3 or less).

In this way, the social graph creation unit 1301 creates the first social graph showing the personal relationships of the first account and the second social graph showing the personal relationships of the second account based on the preset distance N. To do. At this time, the social graph creation unit 1301 excludes the link between the first account and the second account in order to distinguish between the personal relationship of the first account and the personal relationship of the second account. It is desirable to create a graph.

Returning to FIG. 14, the description of the flowchart will be continued.

In step S1407, the social graph creation unit 1301 excludes, from the created social graph, accounts for which the option of the relevant function (the function of providing the information of the own account to the chat room between other accounts) is disabled. To do. As a result, it is possible to prevent the user's information from being provided to the chat room between other accounts, contrary to the intention of the user.

In step S1408, the social graph creation unit 1301 preferably excludes accounts of different age groups from the created social graph. This is because it is generally considered difficult to establish communication when the age groups are different.

In step S1409, the social graph creation unit 1301 updates the respective social graphs of the first account and the second account with accounts other than the accounts excluded in steps S1407 and S1408.

In step S1410, the information providing unit 404 selects the third account having the smallest distance from both the first account and the third account.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of a distance between users according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 16A is a diagram in which other users (accounts) are classified according to the distance from the user 1 (first account) based on the social graph shown in FIG. 14 as an example. For example, FIG. 16A shows that the users whose distance from the user 1 is “1” are four users, that is, the user 11, the user 5, the user 7, and the user 8. The same applies when the distance from the user 1 is “2” and “3”.

By the same method as that in FIG. 16A, it is possible to create a diagram in which other users (accounts) are classified for each distance from the user 2 (second account) for the second account as well. FIG. 16B is an example of a diagram in which other users are classified according to the distance from the user 2.

In the example of FIG. 16, the user 3 and the user 12 are included in both FIG. 16( a) and FIG. 16( b ). Further, the distance from the user 1 to the user 3 is “2”, and the distance from the user 2 to the user 3 is “2”, so that the total distance is “4”. On the other hand, the distance from the user 1 to the user 12 is “3”, and the distance from the user 2 to the user 12 is “2”, so that the total distance is “5”.

Therefore, in the example of FIG. 16, the information providing unit 404 can select the user 3 who has the smallest distance from both the first account and the second account as the third account.

Returning to FIG. 14, the description of the flowchart will be continued.

In step S1411, the information providing unit 404 determines whether the number of accounts selected in step S1410 is one. When it is determined in step S1411 that the number of selected accounts is one, the information providing unit 404 shifts the processing to step S1413. On the other hand, when it is determined that the number of selected accounts is not one, the information providing unit 404 shifts the processing to step S1412.

When the process proceeds to step S1412, the information providing unit 404 selects, for example, the account having the largest number of messages transmitted and received between the first account and the second account within the predetermined period from the plurality of selected accounts as the third account. To choose as.

For example, the information providing unit 404 obtains the number of chats exchanged with the first account and the number of chats exchanged with the second account for each of the plurality of accounts, based on the log information 410. Further, the total is the number of messages transmitted and received by each of the plurality of accounts to and from the first account and the second account. Accordingly, the information providing unit 404 can specify the account having the largest number of messages transmitted/received to/from the first account and the second account from the selected plurality of accounts.

Note that the method of selecting one third account from the plurality of selected accounts may be another method.

For example, the information providing unit 404 may randomly select one account from a plurality of accounts. Alternatively, the information providing unit 404 may select an account corresponding to a region closer to the regions 506 of the user 1 and the user 2 based on the information of the region 806 of the account information 408 shown in FIG. Furthermore, the information providing unit 404 may be one that selects the account that the user 1 and the user 2 have most recently accessed based on the log information 410 shown in FIG. 7.

Returning to FIG. 14, the description of the flowchart is further continued.

In step S1413, the chat service providing unit 405 of the management server 101 creates a chat room in the information terminal 102 of the first account and the information terminal 102 of the second account and adds the chat room to the same communication session.

In step S1414, the information providing unit 404 displays information about the third account (for example, a profile picture) in the chat room where the first account and the second account chat. FIG. 17 shows an example of a display screen displayed on the information terminal 102 of the first account at this time.

As shown in FIG. 17A, on the chat screen (an example of a chat room) 1701 according to the present embodiment, the profile image 1702 of the user 3 selected as the third account in step S1410 of FIG. 14 and the name 1703. Are displayed based on the account information 408, for example.

As described above, in the present embodiment, even when there is no account whose direct association is registered with the first account and the second account, the third account related to the first account and the second account is based on the social graph. You can provide information about your account.

Further, as a preferable example, in FIG. 17A, link information 1704 for inviting the user 3 to the chat room is displayed in the chat room (chat screen 1701) between the first account and the second account. ing.

For example, the user 1 can invite the user 3 to the chat room in which the user 1 and the user 2 participate by selecting the link information 1704. Similar link information is also displayed on the chat screen of the information terminal 102 of the user 2, and the user 2 can also invite the user 3 to the chat room.

For example, when the user 1 selects the link information 1704 in FIG. 17A, the link information 1704 changes to information 1705 indicating that the user 3 is being invited, as shown in FIG. 17B.

Further, the chat service providing unit 405 of the management server 101 notifies the information terminal 102 of the user 3 that the chat room of the users 1 and 2 has been invited. In response to this notification, the user 3 performs an operation to participate in the chat room, so that the user 3 can participate in the chat room of the user 1 and the user 2.

For example, when the user 3 performs an operation to participate in the chat room of the user 1 and the user 2, the chat service providing unit 405 creates the chat room in the information terminal of the user 3 and is the same as the users 1 and 2. Add to communication session. As a result, it becomes possible to have a chat among the three members of the user 1, the user 2, and the user 3. FIG. 18 shows an example of a display screen displayed on the information terminal 102 of the user 1 at this time.

In the example of FIG. 18, the chat screen 1701 displays information 1801 indicating that the user 3 has participated in the chat room. A message 1802 written by the user 3 is displayed on the chat screen 1701.

On the other hand, for example, when the user 1 inputs a message in the message input field 1803 and selects the send button 1804, the input message 1805 is displayed on the chat screen 1701. In addition, the input message is transferred to the information terminal 102 of the user 2 and the information terminal 102 of the user 3 by the chat service providing unit 405 of the management server 101 and displayed on each chat screen.

Similarly, the message input by the user 2 is displayed on the chat screen 1701 of the information terminal 102 of the user 1 and the chat screen 1701 of the information terminal 102 of the user 3.

In this way, by inviting the user 3 related to the user 1 and the user 2 to the chat room of the user 1 and the user 2, it becomes possible to further promote the communication between the user 1 and the user 2. ..

The present invention is not limited to the above specifically disclosed embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the claims.

For example, it is possible to use the above embodiments in combination.

For example, the link information 1704 described in the third embodiment can be displayed on the chat screen 1005 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 10B.

Further, in the third embodiment, the account displayed on the chat screen 1701 may be an official account as in the first embodiment.

Furthermore, the information commonly included in the account information of the first account and the account information of the second account described in the second embodiment is the same as in the first embodiment or the third embodiment. , May be displayed together with the information of the third account.

Further, the information providing unit 404 provides information related to the first account and the second account to the chat room between the first account and the second account based on the log information 410. It may be one. For example, the information providing unit 404 provides information on the first account and the third account, which has a greater number of chats with the second account, to the chat room between the first account and the second account. May be Alternatively, the information of the third account that has recently chatted with the first account and the second account may be provided to the chat room between the first account and the second account. good.
Further, the information providing unit 404, based on the information such as the registration date and time 602 and the registration location 603 of the related registration information 409, the information related to the first account and the second account, the information related to the first account and the second account. It may be provided in a chat room between the two accounts. For example, the information providing unit 404 uses the information of the third account that has registered the association at the registration location 603 and the registration date and time 602 closer to the first account and the second account as the first account and the second account. It may be provided in a chat room with the.

100 Information Processing System 101 Management Server (Information Processing Device)
102 information terminal 402 account information management unit 403 related registration management unit (registration management unit)
404 Information providing unit 406 Log information management unit 905, 1101, 1701 Chat screen (example of chat room)
1301 Social graph creation section (graph creation section)

The present invention, server, information processing method, and a program.

In order to solve the above problems, a server according to an embodiment of the present invention is a server that transmits information displayed in a chat room including a first user of a first account and a second user of a second account. , A storage unit that stores the first account and the second account in association with each other, and stores information on a date when the first account and the second account are associated with each other, and the storage unit stored in the storage unit. A communication unit that transmits, to the terminal of the first user and the terminal of the second user, related information related to the first account and the second account based on date information, Based information is included in the chat room displayed on the terminal of the first user and the terminal of the second user.

Claims (1)

A registration management unit that manages registration of association between accounts related to message transmission/reception service,
If a message is not sent or received within a predetermined period after the association is registered between the first account and the second account, the message is associated with the first account and the second account. An information providing unit that provides certain information to a chat room that transmits and receives the message between the first account and the second account,
Information processing device having a.

Images