JP4991886B2 - Link strength calculation apparatus and method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for calculating a link strength, which is a value based on a communication amount between connected users among users participating in a community service.

  In recent years, the use of community services, so-called social network services (SNS), for people to build social networks on the Internet has become widespread. Such a community service has a friend registration function for forming a connection between users. In the friend registration function, a user who uses the community service can register a user who also uses the community service as a friend. Users who are connected as friends exchange messages such as chat messages and write comments to a diary written by a user.

  In the community service provided with such a friend registration function, as the number of participating users increases, the connection structure between the users also becomes complicated, and it becomes difficult to grasp the whole image of the connection.

  Therefore, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique that makes it easy to intuitively understand the connection structure between participants.

JP 2008-276414 A

  However, with the prior art as described above, it is possible to visualize the connection between participants and grasp the connection level between participants and the hub participants with many friends at a glance. I couldn't understand the amount of communication that represents the frequency of communication between connections.

  In other words, in the prior art, only friend registration is performed for the purpose of increasing the number of friends, and messages are not actually exchanged between the connections, and connections that do not function organically as connections. , Because we do not distinguish between connections that function frequently and connect organically as connections, all the connections are the same, and with close friends such as the frequency of actual exchanges I couldn't figure out the relationship.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to calculate a link strength that is a value based on a communication amount between connected users among users participating in a community service, and to grasp a connection according to the link strength. .

In order to solve the above-described object, the link strength calculation device of the present invention provides link information indicating a connection between users, communication history information indicating a history of communication between users, and a value based on a communication amount between users. A user information storage means that stores the link strength in association with each other, a communication point storage means that stores the communication volume and communication points in association with each other, and a specific user from the user information storage means. Link information and communication history information associated with the link information, user information acquisition means for acquiring the link information and communication history information acquired by the user information acquisition means, the specific user and the specific user Traffic volume calculating means for calculating the traffic volume with a user having communication points, and communication points associated with the traffic volume calculated by the traffic volume calculating means Acquires from the communication point storage unit link and the communication point acquisition means, and communication points acquired from the communication point storage means, and the specific user acquired from the user information storage unit and a user with the certain user ties and link strength calculating means for calculating a new link strength and the strength and the group, have a, a result output unit for outputting the calculation result of the link strength calculated by said link strength calculation unit, wherein the communication point storage means Stores at least a communication point having a positive value and a communication point having a negative value according to whether or not the associated traffic is greater than a predetermined value, and is calculated by the link strength calculation means the new link intensity increases or decreases depending on the sign of the value of the communication points acquired from the communication point storage means And wherein the door.

Further, the link strength calculation method of the present invention includes link information indicating a connection between users, communication history information indicating a history of communication between users, and link strength which is a value based on a communication amount between users. User information storage means that stores the information in association with each other, communication amount storage means that stores the communication amount and communication points in association with each other, link information on the specific user from the user information storage means, and the link information A computer having user information acquisition means for acquiring communication history information associated with the link information and communication history information acquired by the user information acquisition means, the computer has a connection with the specific user A communication amount calculating step for calculating a communication amount with the user, and a communication associated with the communication amount calculated by the communication amount calculating means; A communication point acquisition step of acquiring Into from the communication point storage means, wherein the communication points acquired from the communication point storing means, with the user having the specific user and the certain user ties acquired from the user information storage unit A link strength calculation step for calculating a new link strength based on the link strength, and a result output step for outputting a calculation result of the link strength calculated by the link strength calculation means ,
The communication point storage means stores at least a communication point having a positive value and a communication point having a negative value depending on whether or not the associated communication amount is larger than a predetermined value, and the link The new link strength calculated by the strength calculation means increases or decreases according to the sign of the value of the communication point acquired from the communication point storage means .

  As described above, since the link strength calculation device and method of the present invention includes the link strength calculation means, the link strength, which is a value based on the amount of communication between users, can be calculated, and exchange is performed periodically. Whether or not the connection between the users is functioning organically.

  In the link strength calculation device according to the present invention, the communication amount calculation unit may perform communication by dividing the number of communication during the calculation target period included in the communication history information by a value obtained by dividing the calculation target period by unit time. It is characterized by calculating the quantity.

  As described above, in the link strength calculation apparatus according to the present invention, the amount of communication is calculated using the number of communications that can be easily counted, so that the calculation becomes easy.

  In the link strength calculation apparatus according to the present invention, the communication history information includes transmission history information and reception history information, and the traffic calculation means sets a value corresponding to the number of sets of the transmission history information and the reception history information as the amount of traffic. It is used for calculation.

  As described above, in the link strength calculation device of the present invention, by using a value corresponding to the number of sets of transmission history information and reception history information for calculating the traffic, one-way information transmission between users and between users It is possible to discriminate between the cases of mutual communication and reflect the difference in the communication amount.

  In the link strength calculation apparatus of the present invention, the communication history information includes transmission history information and reception history information, and the link strength calculation means sets a value corresponding to the number of sets of transmission history information and reception history information to the link strength. It is used for calculation.

  Thus, in the link strength calculation device of the present invention, by using a value corresponding to the number of sets of transmission history information and reception history information for link strength calculation, user unilateral information transmission and between users It is possible to distinguish between cases where communication is performed with each other, and to reflect the difference in the communication in the link strength.

  Further, in the link strength calculation apparatus of the present invention, the result output means outputs a graph representing a user represented by a node and a connection between the users by an edge, and the edge represents the link strength. It is an expression reflecting the link strength calculated by the calculation means.

  Thus, in the link strength calculation device of the present invention, it is possible to intuitively grasp the link strength between users intuitively.

  In addition, the link strength calculation apparatus of the present invention includes a user extraction unit that extracts a user having a link strength that exceeds a certain threshold value or more than a certain threshold value among the link strengths calculated by the link strength calculation unit. To do.

  As described above, in the link strength calculation apparatus of the present invention, since the relationship between users having a certain link strength can be grasped, it is useful that the service provider uses the user attributes to distribute advertisements. Can make a positive effort.

  Further, in the link strength calculation device of the present invention, link information indicating a connection between users, communication history information indicating a history of communication between users, and a link strength which is a value based on a communication amount between users. User information storage means for storing in association, user information acquisition means for acquiring link information relating to a specific user and communication history information associated with the link information from the user information storage means, and the user information acquisition Based on the traffic volume calculated by the traffic volume calculation means, the traffic volume calculation means for calculating the traffic volume between the specific user and the user connected to the specific user from the link information and communication history information acquired by the means. Link strength calculation means for calculating the link strength and a result output for outputting the calculation result of the link strength calculated by the link strength calculation means. And having a stage, a.

  Further, in the link strength calculation device of the present invention, link information indicating a connection between users, communication history information indicating a history of communication between users, and a link strength which is a value based on a communication amount between users. User information storage means for storing in association, user information acquisition means for acquiring link information relating to a specific user and communication history information associated with the link information from the user information storage means, and the user information acquisition From the link information and communication history information acquired by the means, the traffic amount calculating means for calculating the traffic volume between the specific user and the user connected to the specific user, the traffic volume calculated by the traffic volume calculating means, Based on the link strength between the specific user acquired from the user information storage means and the user connected to the specific user. Characterized in that it has a link strength calculating means for calculating a link strength, and a result output unit for outputting the calculation result of the link strength was calculated by the link strength computing means.

Further, in the link strength calculation device of the present invention, link information indicating a connection between users, communication history information indicating a history of communication between users, and a link strength which is a value based on a communication amount between users. User information storage means that stores the information in association with each other, communication amount storage means that stores the communication amount and communication points in association with each other, link information on the specific user from the user information storage means, and the link information Communication information between the specific user and the user connected to the specific user from the user information acquisition means for acquiring the communication history information associated with the link information and the communication history information acquired by the user information acquisition means A traffic amount calculating means for calculating a communication point associated with the traffic volume calculated by the traffic amount calculating means. A communication point obtaining means for obtaining from憶means, and link strength calculating means for calculating a link strength based on communication points acquired from the communication point storage means, the calculation result of the link strength calculated by said link strength calculation means have a, a result outputting means for outputting the communication point storage means, communication points that the traffic associated has at least a positive value depending on whether or not larger than a predetermined value and a negative value storing the communication points with the new link strength is calculated by the link strength calculation means, characterized by increased or decreased depending on the sign of the value of the communication points acquired from the communication point storage means .

  As described above, since the link strength calculation device of the present invention includes the link strength calculation means, the link strength, which is a value based on the amount of communication between users, can be calculated, and is exchanged regularly? It is possible to grasp how, that is, whether the connection between users functions organically.

  It should be noted that other categories such as programs corresponding to the above-described modes and more specific modes described below are also included in the present invention.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the link strength, which is a value based on the amount of communication between users, can be calculated. Therefore, whether or not regular communication is performed, that is, the connection between users is organic. You can see if it is functioning properly.

The functional block diagram which shows the structure of embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the process sequence in embodiment of this invention. The figure which illustrates the user information storage means in the embodiment of the present invention. The figure which illustrates the communication point memory | storage means in embodiment of this invention. The figure which illustrates the example of an output of the embodiment of the present invention. The figure which illustrates the example of an output of the embodiment of the present invention. The figure which illustrates the example of an output of the embodiment of the present invention. The figure which illustrates the example of an output of the embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[1. Constitution〕
As shown in FIG. 1, this embodiment relates to a link strength calculation device (hereinafter also referred to as “this device”) 1 in which a computer calculates a link strength that is a value based on the amount of communication between users. The apparatus 1 has, as a general computer configuration, at least an arithmetic control unit 5 such as a CPU, a storage device 6 such as an external storage device (HDD or the like) or a main memory, and a communication network N (such as the Internet or a mobile phone network). And a communication means 7 (such as a LAN adapter). Note that the user terminal device T1 and the administrator terminal device T2 are personal computers, mobile phone terminal devices, and the like, and access the present device 1 with a built-in web browser or the like.

  In the apparatus 1, a predetermined computer program (not shown) stored (installed) in advance in the storage device 6 controls the arithmetic control unit 5 so that elements (10, 20,...) Shown in FIG. Realize. Among these elements, information storage means can be realized in the storage device 6 in any format such as temporary storage of various databases, files, array variables, and setting values. Each means other than the storage means is a processing means for realizing / executing a function / action of information processing described below.

  As a premise, a user who participates in the community service previously stores information such as a name and an address necessary for using the service from the user terminal device T1 according to a predetermined procedure such as member registration, such as a user database of the service provider. Is registered. Further, it is assumed that a history of message exchanges between users participating in the community service is acquired by a server on the service provider side and stored in storage means such as a user database.

[2. Action)
The outline of the operation procedure of the apparatus 1 configured as shown in FIG. 1 is shown in the flowchart of FIG.
[2-1. Acquisition of specific user information)
First, in calculating the link strength, the user information acquisition means 10 uses a built-in clock (not shown) provided in the apparatus 1 to check whether or not the cycle for calculating the link strength has elapsed (step S1). . Note that the link strength calculation cycle may be set to one day, for example, and the calculation may be performed at midnight every day. This calculation cycle can be arbitrarily set on the service provider side. If the period has not elapsed (step S1: NO), the process waits until the period elapses. When the period has elapsed (step S1: YES), user information about a specific user among users using the community service is acquired from the user information storage unit 60. In this embodiment, a specific user is described as user A.

  Here, FIG. 3 is an example of data in the user information storage means 60 that stores information related to the user. The “user ID” of the user who uses the community service and the friend registration function of the community service. "Link information" indicating the connection between the user and the friend user, "Communication history information" indicating the communication history such as writing to the message and diary between users, and between users The “link strength” that is a value based on the communication amount is stored in association with at least.

  In FIG. 3, as an example, regarding user A and user B who is his friend, focusing on transmission history information and reception history information in communication history information, on October 10, 2009, user A will respond to user B three times. For example, the message is transmitted and the message is received twice from the user B. Further, the link strength between the latest user A and user B calculated before calculating the link strength in the description of the flowchart shows a value of 6.43. In addition, here, the relationship between users who are friends is used as link information that has connections between users, but even if you are not registered as a friend, you can communicate between users who have had some kind of contact, such as exchanging messages or browsing diaries. History information may be stored.

  The user information acquisition unit 10 first acquires link information and communication history information of a specific user whose link strength is to be calculated from the user information storage unit 60 (step S2).

[2-2. (Calculation of traffic between users)
Next, the communication amount calculation means 20 calculates the communication amount per unit time between the specific user and the user connected to the specific user from the link information and communication history information acquired in step S2 (step S3). Hereinafter, the case where the communication amount between the user A and the user B is calculated concretely will be described.

  When the calculation cycle is one day (24 hours) and the unit time is 1 hour, the calculation target period is always the same time as the calculation cycle, so it is 24 hours. For example, the date changes from midnight every day on a specific date. 24 hours until immediately before. Further, the number of communications is the number of communications during the calculation target period included in the communication history information, and when the calculation target period is one day of October 10, 2009, the communication number is the example of FIG. The number of times is 5 (transmission history 3 times, reception history 2 times). In this case, the communication amount per unit time can be obtained by dividing the number of communications (5 times) during the calculation target period by the value obtained by dividing the calculation target period by the unit time (24 ÷ 1) (5 ÷ (24 ÷ 1)), approximately 0.21.

[2-3. (Acquire communication point)
Next, the communication point acquisition unit 30 acquires a communication point associated with the communication amount calculated in step S3 from the communication point storage unit 70 (step S4).

  Here, FIG. 4 is an example of data in the communication point storage means 70 that stores “communication amount” per unit time between users and “communication points” determined according to the communication amount. is there. The communication point can be arbitrarily set on the service provider side, and may be appropriately determined in consideration of the service usage status. In this example, the communication point for the communication amount of about 0.21 is set to 0.01.

[2-4. (Link strength calculation between users)
Next, the link strength calculation unit 40 is newly updated based on the link strength between the communication point acquired in step S4 and the specific user acquired from the user information storage unit 60 and the user connected to the specific user. Link strength is calculated (step S5). Specifically, the newly updated link strength between the user A and the user B is derived from the sum of the communication point and the link strength before the update, and becomes 0.01 + 6.43 to 6.44. The link strength is rewritten to the updated link strength. Here, the newly updated link strength is simply determined by adding the communication point and the link strength before the update, but the calculation method is not limited to this. For example, the solution applied to a special function is newly updated. The link strength may be used, or may be calculated based on the communication point and the link strength before update.

  Next, the link strength calculation means 40 calculates the link strength for all users who are connected to the specific user, so-called friend users (step S6). If the process has not been completed for all friend users of the specific user (step S6: NO), the process returns to step S3 until the process is completed for all friend users. That is, the specific user A is processed for all users having the link information stored in the user information storage means 60 and the friend users B, C, D. If the process has been completed for all the specific user friends (step S6: YES), the process proceeds to the next step.

  Next, the link strength calculation means 40 calculates the link strength with all users participating in the community service as specific users (step S7). If the process has not been completed for all users participating in the community service (step S7: NO), the process returns to step S2 until the process is completed with all users as specific users. That is, when the process is completed for the specific user A, the process is started with the user B as the specific user, and the process is repeated until the process is completed for all users. In addition, you may make it abbreviate | omit a process about the link intensity | strength of the specific user A and the friend user B here, and the calculation between the overlapping links like the specific user B and the friend user A.

[2-5. (Output of calculation result)
Next, the result output means 50 outputs the calculated result (step S8). The result output means 50 may output to the user terminal device T1 or the administrator terminal device T2 on the service provider side via the communication network N.

  In the output example of FIG. 5, a list of links between users who have connections as link information and the link strengths corresponding to the link information is displayed.

  As another output example, FIG. 6A displays the link strength with the user who has a connection for each specific user. In this output example, the friend list of the user A and the link strength corresponding thereto are displayed. ing. Further, as shown in FIG. 6B, the link strength may be displayed with a pattern such as an icon instead of a numerical value. In this output example, it is expressed by a face that changes depending on the value of the link strength. For example, if the link strength is less than 2, it is a troubled face, if it is 2 to 4, it is a normal face, and if it exceeds 4, it looks like a laughing face It is expressed by an agreement. These output examples are particularly preferably used for users who participate in community services, and the user can grasp at a glance the state of interaction with his / her friends.

  As still another output example, FIG. 7 is a network type graph in which the whole image between connected users is expressed by nodes and the connections between users are connected by edges. It is created based on the link information in the means 60. Here, the link strength may be displayed in the vicinity of the edge, but in particular, the edge may be expressed to reflect the link strength. In other words, it is possible to visually grasp the connection between users more easily by expressing the edge with a thickness based on the link strength and increasing the edge thickness as the link strength value increases. Become.

[3. effect〕
As described above, the link strength calculation apparatus according to the present invention can calculate the link strength, which is a value based on the communication amount between connected users among the users participating in the community service, and output the result. Therefore, it is possible to grasp whether or not regular communication is performed, that is, whether or not the connection between users functions organically.

[4-1. Other embodiments (when the number of sets is used for calculating traffic)]
In the calculation of the communication amount between users in the above-described embodiment, the communication amount is simply calculated by using the communication number as the communication number in the calculation target period included in the communication history information. Then, the amount of communication is calculated in consideration of the number of sets of transmission history information and reception history information of communication history information.

  As a general exchange, when a user throws a message or the like to a connected user, a series of exchanges are considered to be established with a response to the message. If a user doesn't need the other party's response, or just sends a message unilaterally, or the other party ignores the response to the message, there is no interaction as a response, It can also be thought that it is not an organic exchange compared to the case of mutual communication. In the present embodiment, an attempt is made to differentiate between the two exchanges using the concept of the number of sets in order to reflect such exchange quality in the calculation of the traffic.

  Here, the number of sets will be specifically described using communication history information between the user A and the user B in FIG. The transmission history information r1, r3, r5 and the reception history information r2, r4 represent times when messages and the like are exchanged, respectively. That is, the transmission history information 600 represents the time when the user A transmitted a message or the like to the user B on October 10, 2009 at 22:30:15.

  There are various methods for counting the number of sets. In the example of FIG. 3, for example, simply a set of transmission history information r1 and reception history information r2, and a set of transmission history information r3 and reception history information r4. There are two sets, a set of transmission history information r1 and reception history information r2, a set of reception history information r2 and transmission history information r3, a set of transmission history information r3 and reception history information r4, a reception history information r4 and a transmission history It may be counted assuming that there are four sets of information r5. In addition, the time between exchanges may be determined, and for example, a time interval of 1 hour or more may not be counted as a set.

  In the present embodiment, the traffic calculation unit 20 counts the number of sets as described above, and uses a numerical value corresponding to the number of sets for calculation of the traffic. In the example of FIG. 3, if the number of sets is 4, the communication amount may be calculated by adding the number of sets 4 to the sum 5 of the number of transmission histories and the number of reception histories and adding 9 as the number of communication. [2-2. The amount of special traffic points obtained by referring to a table in which the number of sets (not shown) and special traffic amount points (numerical values) are stored in association with each other is added to the traffic amount 0.21 calculated in [Calculation of traffic between users]. Thus, the communication amount may be calculated.

[4-2. Other embodiments (when the number of pairs is used to calculate link strength)]
In 4-1, although the case where the number of sets was used for calculation of communication amount was demonstrated, you may use the number of sets for calculation of link strength. The value of the counted number of pairs is temporarily stored in the storage device, and the link strength calculation means 40 corresponds to the value obtained from the sum of the communication points and the link strength before update, and the number of pairs not shown and special link strength points (numerical values) The amount of communication may be calculated by adding special link strength points obtained by referring to the table stored additionally.

[Effects of 5.4-1 and 4-2]
In this way, by using a numerical value corresponding to the number of sets for calculation of communication traffic and link strength, it is possible to reflect the quality of communication between users in the value of communication traffic and link strength. In this way, for example, a difference between a partner such as spam who unilaterally presses a message or the like and a user who enjoys daily communication can be reflected in the link strength.

[6. Other Embodiments (User Extraction Based on Threshold)]
As another embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus 1 includes user extraction means 80 (FIG. 1) that extracts only users having a link strength that exceeds a certain threshold or exceeds a certain threshold among the calculated link strengths. It may be. The user extracting unit 80 extracts only users having a link strength exceeding or exceeding a predetermined threshold or a threshold specified by the user terminal device T1 or the administrator terminal device T2. The result output means 50 outputs the extracted user in such a manner that the extracted user can be grasped, for example, by highlighting the extracted user. FIG. 8 shows, for example, only the edges with a threshold value of 3 or higher as the output result in FIG.

[7. effect〕
By doing in this way, a user and an administrator can grasp | ascertain easily only the user who exceeded a certain threshold value or more visually. In the user, for example, it is possible to easily grasp only the friend users who frequently communicate.

  Since the service provider side can easily grasp the connection between users who are communicating to some extent, of the set of connected users (in FIG. 8, users A, B, D, and F) It is expected to be word-of-mouth by distributing advertisement information to several people, and can be used for so-called viral marketing. In addition, since users who are interacting to some extent are likely to have similar preferences, it is also useful for targeting advertising methods such as finding common attributes for a set of those users and distributing advertisements. It is possible to use.

[8. Other configurations
Although 4-1 and 4-2 were not specified, it may be possible to make appropriate adjustments, such as reducing the amount of communication or link strength, for the other party to whom the message is sent unilaterally. Not too long.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, when link strength is calculated, a new point is calculated based on the communication point associated with the traffic and the link strength before update stored in the user information storage unit. Although it has been described that the link strength is calculated, the present invention is not limited to this.

  For example, when calculating the link strength, the link strength may be calculated based on the communication amount without using a communication point. In this case, the link strength may be the communication amount itself. Moreover, you may calculate new link intensity | strength based on the communication amount and the link intensity | strength before the update memorize | stored in the user information storage means, without using a communication point. Furthermore, the link strength may be calculated based on the communication point. In this case, the link strength may be the communication point itself.

  Moreover, said each embodiment is only an illustration and this invention includes what is illustrated below and other embodiment other than that. For example, in the present invention, elements such as each means may be realized not only by an arithmetic control unit of a computer but also by an electronic circuit based on wired logic or the like, or a non-Neumann type information processing mechanism that will appear in the future. Further, each configuration diagram, data diagram, flowchart diagram, and the like are merely examples, and the presence / absence of each element, its order, specific contents, and the like can be changed as appropriate.

  For example, the device configuration in FIG. 1 is merely an example, and the actual system is realized by a plurality of server devices such as individual devices (for example, storage means such as a database) realized by separate server devices. Alternatively, the configuration can be flexibly changed, for example, as a part of the system of the present invention including the user terminal T. Also, some functions may be realized by calling an external platform or the like with an API (Application Program Interface) or network computing.

N communication network T1 user terminal device T2 administrator terminal device 10 user information acquisition means 20 communication amount calculation means 30 communication point acquisition means 40 link strength calculation means 50 result output means 60 user information storage means 70 communication point storage means 80 user extraction means

Claims (9)

User information storage means for storing link information indicating a connection between users, communication history information indicating a history of communication between users, and link strength which is a value based on a communication amount between users in association with each other. When,
A communication point storage means for storing a communication amount and a communication point in association with each other;
User information acquisition means for acquiring link information relating to a specific user and communication history information associated with the link information from the user information storage means;
From the link information and communication history information acquired by the user information acquisition unit, a communication amount calculation unit that calculates a communication amount between the specific user and a user connected to the specific user,
Communication point acquisition means for acquiring a communication point associated with the communication amount calculated by the communication amount calculation means from the communication point storage means;
Link to calculate the communication points acquired from the communication point storage means, the new link strength based on the link strength, of the user with the specific user and the certain user ties acquired from the user information storage unit Intensity calculation means;
A result output means for outputting a calculation result of the link strength calculated by the link strength calculation means;
I have a,
The communication point storage means stores at least a communication point having a positive value and a communication point having a negative value depending on whether or not the associated traffic is greater than a predetermined value,
The new link strength calculated by the link strength calculation unit is calculated according to whether the value of the communication point acquired from the communication point storage unit is positive or negative, and the specific user and the specific user acquired from the user information storage unit. A link strength calculation device, characterized in that the link strength is increased or decreased from the link strength with a connected user .   The communication amount calculation means calculates the communication amount by dividing the number of communication during the calculation target period included in the communication history information by a value obtained by dividing the calculation target period by unit time. The link strength calculation apparatus according to 1.   The communication history information includes transmission history information and reception history information, and the traffic calculation means uses a value corresponding to the number of sets of transmission history information and reception history information for calculating the traffic. The link strength calculation apparatus according to 1 or 2.   The communication history information includes transmission history information and reception history information, and the link strength calculation means uses a value corresponding to the number of sets of transmission history information and reception history information for calculating link strength. The link strength calculation apparatus according to 1 or 2.   The result output means outputs a graph expressing a user expressed by a node and a connection between the users by an edge, and the edge reflects the link strength calculated by the link strength calculating means. The link strength calculation device according to claim 1, wherein the link strength calculation device is a link strength calculation device.   6. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a user extracting unit that extracts a user having a link strength exceeding a certain threshold value or a certain threshold value among the link strengths calculated by the link strength calculating unit. Link strength calculator. User information storage means for storing link information indicating a connection between users, communication history information indicating a history of communication between users, and link strength which is a value based on a communication amount between users in association with each other. When,
A communication point storage means for storing a communication amount and a communication point in association with each other;
User information acquisition means for acquiring link information relating to a specific user and communication history information associated with the link information from the user information storage means;
From the link information and communication history information acquired by the user information acquisition unit, a communication amount calculation unit that calculates a communication amount between the specific user and a user connected to the specific user,
Communication point acquisition means for acquiring a communication point associated with the communication amount calculated by the communication amount calculation means from the communication point storage means;
Link strength calculation means for calculating link strength based on the communication point acquired from the communication point storage means;
Have a, a result output unit for outputting the calculation result of the link strength calculated by said link strength calculation unit,
The communication point storage means stores at least a communication point having a positive value and a communication point having a negative value depending on whether or not the associated traffic is greater than a predetermined value,
The link strength calculation apparatus, wherein the new link strength calculated by the link strength calculation means increases or decreases according to the sign of the communication point value acquired from the communication point storage means . User information storage means for storing link information indicating a connection between users, communication history information indicating a history of communication between users, and link strength which is a value based on a communication amount between users in association with each other. When,
A communication point storage means for storing a communication amount and a communication point in association with each other;
A computer comprising: user information acquisition means for acquiring link information relating to a specific user and communication history information associated with the link information from the user information storage means;
From the link information and communication history information acquired by the user information acquisition means, a communication amount calculation step of calculating a communication amount between the specific user and a user having a connection with the specific user,
A communication point acquisition step of acquiring a communication point associated with the communication amount calculated by the communication amount calculation unit from the communication point storage unit;
Link to calculate the communication points acquired from the communication point storage means, the new link strength based on the link strength, of the user with the specific user and the certain user ties acquired from the user information storage unit An intensity calculation step;
A result output step of outputting a calculation result of the link strength calculated by the link strength calculation means, and
The communication point storage means stores at least a communication point having a positive value and a communication point having a negative value depending on whether or not the associated traffic is greater than a predetermined value,
The new link strength calculated in the link strength calculation step is determined according to whether the value of the communication point acquired from the communication point storage unit is positive or negative, the specific user acquired from the user information storage unit, and the specific user A link strength calculation method, wherein the link strength is increased or decreased from the link strength with a connected user . User information storage means for storing link information indicating a connection between users, communication history information indicating a history of communication between users, and link strength which is a value based on a communication amount between users in association with each other. When,
  A communication point storage means for storing a communication amount and a communication point in association with each other;
  A computer comprising: user information acquisition means for acquiring link information relating to a specific user and communication history information associated with the link information from the user information storage means;
  From the link information and communication history information acquired by the user information acquisition means, a communication amount calculation step of calculating a communication amount between the specific user and a user having a connection with the specific user,
  A communication point acquisition step of acquiring a communication point associated with the communication amount calculated by the communication amount calculation unit from the communication point storage unit;
  A link strength calculation step of calculating a link strength based on the communication point acquired from the communication point storage means;
  A result output step of outputting a calculation result of the link strength calculated by the link strength calculation means, and
  The communication point storage means stores at least a communication point having a positive value and a communication point having a negative value depending on whether or not the associated traffic is greater than a predetermined value,
  The new link strength calculated in the link strength calculation step increases or decreases according to the sign of the communication point value acquired from the communication point storage means.
A link strength calculation method characterized by the above.

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