Information processing system, information processing method, and information processing program

Abstract

To allow a user to be notified of information related to a target desired by the user through simple procedures.SOLUTION: An information processing system 5 includes: an access instruction unit 61 which causes, when receiving an instruction to start approval processing which approves an access to a resource related to a customer held in an external SNS, from a user terminal of the customer, the user terminal to access an API for the approval processing provided by the external SNS; a SNS user ID acquisition unit 63 which acquires, when obtaining approval, a SNS user ID of the customer from the external SNS; a target ID identifying unit 64 which identifies a target ID of a followee for which the customer desires to receive related information; and an association unit 65 which associates the SNS user ID of the customer with the target ID.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a technique for enabling a user to receive notification of desired information. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a technology has been used that enables a user to log in to a site (e.g., an online store, a social networking service, etc.) using a user account of an external social networking service (SNS) (hereinafter referred to as "external SNS login") when the site is to log in to the site. Here, external SNS login is to realize the user's login to the site by obtaining the target user's permission to obtain the target user's information from the external SNS, obtaining the target user's information, and linking it with the user information of the site (the user's account ID, email address, etc. held on the site), and can be realized by using, for example, Open Authorization 2.0 (OAuth2.0) (see Non-Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0003] [Non-Patent Document 1] Lodderstedt, McGloin, Hunt, “RFC6819 - OAuth 2.0 Threat Model and Security Considerations,” Internet Engineering Task Force, January 2013. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Conventionally, when a user wants to be notified of information related to a certain target (e.g., a staff member of an online store), the user follows the SNS account of an organization related to the target (e.g., an online store). However, if the user simply follows the SNS account of an online store, the user will also be notified of information related to targets other than the target he or she wants to be notified of. In addition, it has been customary for users to individually register their desire to receive notifications of information related to targets, but this requires cumbersome procedures such as registering email addresses.

[0005] In view of the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present disclosure is to enable a user to receive notification of information related to a desired target through a simple procedure. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One example of the present disclosure is an information processing system including: an access instruction means that, when an instruction to start an authorization process to authorize access to resources related to a customer stored in an external SNS is received from a customer's user terminal, causes the user terminal to access an API for the authorization process provided by the external SNS; an SNS user ID acquisition means that, when the authorization is obtained, acquires an SNS user ID of the customer in the external SNS from the external SNS; a target ID identification means that identifies a target ID of a follow target to which the customer wishes to be notified of related information; and a linking means that links the SNS user ID of the customer to the target ID.

[0007] The present disclosure can be understood as an information processing device, a system, a method executed by a computer, or a program executed by a computer. The present disclosure can also be understood as such a program recorded on a recording medium readable by a computer or other device, machine, etc. Here, a recording medium readable by a computer, etc. refers to a recording medium that stores information such as data and programs by electrical, magnetic, optical, mechanical, or chemical action and can be read by a computer, etc. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present disclosure, it becomes possible for a user to receive notification of information related to a desired subject through a simple procedure. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a system according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an outline of a functional configuration of a system according to an embodiment. [Diagram 3] 10 is a flowchart showing an overview of the flow of a posting process according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] 11 is a flowchart showing an overview of the flow of a posting data setting process according to the embodiment. [Diagram 5] 10 is a flowchart showing an overview of the flow of a display data generation process according to the embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the configuration of a staff page according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a sequence diagram (1) showing an overview of the flow of a follow-up process according to an embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram (2) showing an overview of the flow of the follow-up process according to the embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram (3) showing an overview of the flow of the follow-up process according to the embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram (4) showing an overview of the flow of the follow-up process according to the embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a pop-up notifying that follow-up by a staff member has been completed in an embodiment. [Figure 12] 11 is a flowchart showing an overview of the flow of a message delivery process according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of an information processing system, method, and program according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiment described below is merely an example of an embodiment, and the information processing system, method, and program according to the present disclosure are not limited to the specific configuration described below. In carrying out the present disclosure, a specific configuration according to the embodiment may be appropriately adopted, and various improvements and modifications may be made.

[0011] In this embodiment, an embodiment in which the information processing system, method, and program according to the present disclosure are implemented in an online store support system will be described. However, the information processing system, method, and program according to the present disclosure can be widely used as a technology for allowing a user to receive notification of desired information, and the application of the present disclosure is not limited to the examples shown in the embodiment.

[0012] <System configuration> 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a system according to this embodiment. The system according to this embodiment includes a posting management server 1, a delivery management server 5, and a store-side user terminal 9a, which are connected to a network and can communicate with each other, and is further connected to an external social networking service (hereinafter referred to as an "external SNS") 8, an online store, and a customer-side user terminal 9b via the network.

[0013] The post management server 1 is an information processing device including a central processing unit (CPU) 11, a read only memory (ROM) 12, a random access memory (RAM) 13, a storage device 14 such as an electrically erasable and programmable read only memory (EEPROM) or a hard disk drive (HDD), a communication unit 15 such as a network interface card (NIC), etc. However, the specific hardware configuration of the post management server 1 may be omitted, replaced, or added as appropriate depending on the embodiment. Furthermore, the post management server 1 is not limited to a device consisting of a single housing. The post management server 1 may be realized by multiple devices using so-called cloud or distributed computing technology, etc.

[0014] The delivery management server 5 is an information processing device including a CPU 51, a ROM 52, a RAM 53, a storage device 54 such as an EEPROM or HDD, a communication unit 55 such as a NIC, etc. However, the specific hardware configuration of the delivery management server 5 can be omitted, replaced, or added as appropriate depending on the embodiment. Furthermore, the delivery management server 5 is not limited to a device consisting of a single housing. The delivery management server 5 may be realized by multiple devices using so-called cloud or distributed computing technology, etc.

[0015] The external SNS 8 is an external information processing system equipped with a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a storage device, a communication unit, etc. (not shown), and provides a social networking service that enables online interaction between users. In this embodiment, the external SNS 8 is an external system provided by a service provider different from the service provider that manages or operates the posting management server 1 and the delivery management server 5, and is restricted from obtaining resources related to a user without obtaining authorization from the user.

[0016] The store-side user terminal 9a is a computer used by staff of the online store (staff of the business providing the online store, including staff of the actual store), and the customer-side user terminal 9b is a computer used by customers of the online store. The user terminals 9a and 9b are computers equipped with a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a storage device, a communication unit, an input device, an output device, etc. (not shown), and may be, for example, a so-called smartphone, a tablet, a personal computer, etc. However, the specific hardware configuration of the user terminals 9a and 9b may be omitted, replaced, or added as appropriate depending on the embodiment. In addition, the user terminals 9a and 9b are not limited to devices consisting of a single housing. The user terminals 9a and 9b may be realized by multiple devices using so-called cloud or distributed computing technology, etc.

[0017] A user uses the post management server 1 via these user terminals 9a and 9b. However, a user can use the information processing system according to the present disclosure as a store-side user from one user terminal, and at the same time, use the information processing system according to the present disclosure as a customer-side user.

[0018] 2 is a diagram showing an outline of the functional configuration of the system according to this embodiment. The post management server 1 functions as an information processing device including a product database 21, a staff database 22, a data acquisition unit 24, a post data setting unit 25, an image data specification unit 26, a display data generation unit 29, and a display data transmission unit 30, by a program recorded in the storage device 14 being read into the RAM 13 and executed by the CPU 11, which controls each piece of hardware included in the post management server 1. Note that in this embodiment and other embodiments described later, each function included in the post management server 1 is executed by the CPU 11, which is a general-purpose processor, but some or all of these functions may be executed by one or more dedicated processors.

[0019] The product database 21 is a database in which product data of products handled by online stores is accumulated. In this embodiment, the product data is generated by the posting management server 1 performing data crawling on the server of the online store and consolidating the obtained data for each product. By acquiring product data by data crawling, it becomes possible to introduce the system according to this embodiment without imposing a development burden such as incorporating a mechanism for transferring product feeds into the server of an existing online store. However, the method of generating product data is not limited to the crawling method exemplified in this embodiment. The product data may be acquired by referring to the database of the online store or acquiring a product feed from the server of the online store.

[0020] The staff database 22 is a database in which data related to staff of the online store (hereinafter, "staff data") is accumulated. In this embodiment, the staff database 22 accumulates, for each staff member, a staff member ID, a profile image, a staff member name, a store ID, and other information related to the staff member (such as evaluations).

[0021] The data acquisition unit 24 acquires image data of moving images or still images.

[0022] The post data setting unit 25 sets post data for linking product data of a product that appears in a moving image or a still image of the image data with the image data.

[0023] The image data specification unit 26 specifies image data relating to the target product based on the posted data.

[0024] The display data generation unit 29 generates display data (in this embodiment, display data written in HTML) for displaying a moving image or still image (including a thumbnail with a link) related to the image data identified by the image data identification unit 26.

[0025] The display data transmission unit 30 transmits the display data generated by the display data generation unit 29 in response to a request received from the server of the online store.

[0026] The store-side user terminal 9a functions as an information processing terminal equipped with a product information acquisition unit 31, a posting data generation unit 32, and a data transmission unit 33, by a program (staff application) recorded in a storage device being read into the RAM and executed by the CPU, which controls each piece of hardware equipped in the store-side user terminal 9a. Note that in this embodiment and other embodiments described later, each function equipped in the store-side user terminal 9a is executed by the CPU, which is a general-purpose processor, but some or all of these functions may be executed by one or more dedicated processors.

[0027] The product information acquisition unit 31 acquires product information from the product database 21 that accumulates product data.

[0028] The post data generation unit 32 generates post data that links a product that appears in a moving image or a still image of the image data with the image data.

[0029] The data transmission unit 33 transmits the image data and the post data to the post management server 1.

[0030] The delivery management server 5 functions as an information processing device including an access instruction unit 61, a related information storage unit 62, an SNS user ID acquisition unit 63, a target ID identification unit 64, a linking unit 65, an update information acquisition unit 66, a delivery destination determination unit 67, and a delivery request unit 68, by a program recorded in the storage device 54 being read into the RAM 53 and executed by the CPU 51, which controls each piece of hardware included in the delivery management server 5. Note that in this embodiment and other embodiments described later, each function included in the delivery management server 5 is executed by the CPU 51, which is a general-purpose processor, but some or all of these functions may be executed by one or more dedicated processors.

[0031] When the access instruction unit 61 receives an instruction to start an authorization process for authorizing access to a resource related to the customer held in the external SNS 8 from the customer's user terminal (customer-side user terminal 9b), the access instruction unit 61 causes the customer-side user terminal 9b to access an API for the authorization process provided by the external SNS 8 (redirect response). In this embodiment, OAuth is adopted as the protocol used to authorize access to the resource, and the start instruction received here is an instruction to start OAuth. However, the protocol used to authorize access to the resource is not limited to OAuth. In this embodiment, the API for the authorization process is an API that executes a distribution permission process (adding a friend / friend) that allows an organization (in this embodiment, an online store to which the staff belongs, or a management entity of the distribution management server 5) to distribute a message to the customer in the external SNS 8 (for example, registering the customer as a so-called "friend / friend") in addition to the authorization process.

[0032] In this embodiment, the start instruction and the accompanying API access are start instruction and access sent from the customer's user terminal 9b in response to the customer operating an operational element (for example, a follow button located on the staff page described below) to which the target is linked on the customer's user terminal 9b.

[0033] The related information storage unit 62 stores information related to the target transmitted from the customer-side user terminal 9b together with the start instruction, by linking it to information that can identify the customer-side user terminal 9b (for example, session information and / or Cookie).The related information storage unit 62 stores, as information related to the target, address information of a Web page (in this embodiment, a staff page) including a follow button display tag (first program) that calls a follow start script for transmitting the start instruction to the customer-side user terminal 9b, by linking it to information that can identify the customer-side user terminal 9b.

[0034] If authorization is granted, the SNS user ID acquisition unit 63 acquires the SNS user ID of the customer in the external SNS 8 from the external SNS 8.

[0035] The target ID specification unit 64, triggered by the acquisition of the customer's SNS user ID by the SNS user ID acquisition unit 63, specifies the target ID (in this embodiment, a staff ID) of the following target linked to the start instruction, based on the information stored (received together with the start instruction) by the related information storage unit 62. The target ID specified here is the target ID of the following target (in this embodiment, a staff member of the online store) about whom the customer wishes to be notified of related information.

[0036] As will be described later in the description of the variations, the specific method of identifying the target ID is not limited to the example in this embodiment, but in this embodiment, the target ID identification unit 64 identifies the target ID of the follow target, which is the target of which the customer wishes to be notified of related information, by executing a series of processes described below. First, the target ID identification unit 64 identifies the address information of the Web page related to the customer-side user terminal 9b stored by the related information storage unit 62, triggered by the SNS user ID acquisition unit 63 acquiring the SNS user ID of the customer. Then, the target ID identification unit 64 notifies the customer-side user terminal 9b of information capable of identifying the SNS user ID (hash value in this embodiment), receives a combination of the notified information capable of identifying the SNS user ID and the target ID from the customer-side user terminal 9b, and identifies the target ID of the follow target linked to the start instruction. Note that in this embodiment, an example will be described in which a hash value is used as information capable of identifying the SNS user ID in order to maintain security, but the information capable of identifying the SNS user ID is not limited to the example in this disclosure. The information capable of identifying the SNS user ID may be, for example, an arbitrary value uniquely associated with the SNS user ID, or the SNS user ID itself.

[0037] Here, the target ID identification unit 64 receives a combination of information capable of identifying the SNS user ID and the target ID from the customer-side user terminal 9b by having the customer-side user terminal 9b execute a tag (second program) that calls a follow information sending script included in the Web page, in order to combine the information capable of identifying the notified SNS user ID with the target ID included in the Web page and send it to the information processing system, and identifies the target ID of the follow target linked to the start instruction.

[0038] The linking unit 65 links the customer's SNS user ID in the external SNS 8 acquired by the SNS user ID acquisition unit 63 to the target ID of a follow target (e.g., a staff member of an online store) identified by the target ID identification unit 64, who is the person to whom the customer wishes to be notified of related information.

[0039] The update information acquisition unit 66 acquires update information including a target ID (in this embodiment, a staff ID) relating to related information (e.g., posted data) that has been newly published on the website of the organization related to the following target (in this embodiment, an online store to which the staff member belongs) since the update information acquisition unit 66 last acquired update information.

[0040] The delivery destination determination unit 67 searches for the SNS user ID of the customer linked to the target ID included in the update information, and determines the searched SNS user ID as the delivery destination.

[0041] The distribution request unit 68 sends a distribution request to the external SNS 8 for a message in which the SNS user ID of the organization is specified as the distributor and the SNS user ID of the customer determined by the distribution destination determination unit 67 is specified as the distributor, and the message notifies the customer that related information of the follow target related to the target ID has been newly made public.

[0042] <Processing flow> Next, a flow of processing executed in the system according to the present embodiment will be described. Note that the specific contents and processing order of the processing described below are an example for implementing the present disclosure. The specific contents and processing order may be appropriately selected according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0043] 3 is a flowchart showing an outline of the flow of posting processing according to this embodiment. The processing shown in this flowchart is executed when a staff application is started on the store-side user terminal 9a.

[0044] Here, a staff application is pre-installed on the store-side user terminal 9a, such as a smartphone, tablet, or personal computer used by the staff, and the application is associated with the store where the staff member works and the staff ID of the staff member by the staff member using the store-side user terminal 9a inputting login information such as a staff ID and password (the login method is not limited to the example given in this embodiment) and receiving login authentication from the post management server 1.

[0045] In step S101, product information is acquired. The product information acquisition unit 31 of the store-side user terminal 9a executing the staff application downloads product information handled in a target store (an online store linked to the staff operating the store-side user terminal 9a) from the posting management server 1. The product information is generated by extracting necessary information from the product database 21 in the posting management server 1. For example, the posting management server 1 extracts product names, product IDs (product numbers, product codes, etc.), product image data, etc. from product data tables prepared for each store in the product database 21, and transmits these as product information to the store-side user terminal 9a executing the application. The timing at which the product information is downloaded to the store-side user terminal 9a is not limited. The product information may be downloaded when the application is started, in the background, or when a product is selected, which will be described later. After that, the process proceeds to step S102.

[0046] In steps S102 and S103, staff image data is specified. Here, the staff image data is data of an image (hereinafter referred to as a "staff image") generated by the staff taking an image so that the product is reflected (in other words, created by the staff), and the image may be taken using a camera built into the store user terminal 9a, or an image capture device other than the store user terminal 9a. Note that the staff image may be an image of the staff wearing the product, but is not limited to an image of the staff as the subject. When executing the process shown in this flowchart, the staff creates staff image data in advance and saves it in the store user terminal 9a. However, the timing of creating the staff image data may be the timing of step S103.

[0047] The store user terminal 9a executing the staff application displays an interface for the user to select whether the staff image data to be uploaded is a video or a still image, and accepts the user's selection to specify whether the staff image data to be uploaded is a video or a still image (step S102). The store user terminal 9a then accesses an image data folder or the like of the store user terminal 9a, displays a list of the type of image data selected in step S102, and specifies the staff image data desired by the user by accepting the user's selection result (step S103). However, the image data selection procedure is not limited to the example in this embodiment. For example, the video / still image selection process in step S102 may be skipped. The process then proceeds to step S104.

[0048] In step S104, the staff image data is edited. The store-side user terminal 9a that executes the staff application provides a video / still image editing function that enables the user to edit the staff image data, and edits the staff image data in response to the user's operation. The editing function provided here is, for example, a function that allows any text, sticker, line, figure, etc. to be added to the video or still image related to the staff image data. However, the content of the editing function provided is not limited. For example, an editing function that allows the length of the video, the size of the image, color tone, filter, etc. to be changed may be provided. When editing of the staff image data is completed, the process proceeds to step S105.

[0049] In step S105, the product included in the staff image is specified, and the display format of the product information is accepted. The store user terminal 9a accepts the user's selection of the product from the products included in the product information received in step S101, thereby specifying the product that appears in the staff image data. In this embodiment, the store user terminal 9a provides the user with an input field for a search keyword, searches for product information using the search word (e.g., product number, product code, product name, etc.) entered by the user as a key, presents the retrieved product information to the user for selection, and accepts the user's selection result to specify the product. Note that in this embodiment, the product information is downloaded to the store user terminal 9a in advance, and the product information is searched for in the store user terminal 9a. However, the search keyword may be transmitted to the posting management server 1 to search the product database 21, and the product may be specified by obtaining product information as a search result from the posting management server 1.

[0050] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the store user terminal 9a also accepts the designation of the display format of the product information to be displayed superimposed on the image in the staff image. Specifically, the store user terminal 9a accepts the designation of the display format of the product information by having the user select the format (format) in which the information of the specified product is displayed in the image from multiple types of formats prepared in advance. In this embodiment, multiple types of product panels with different designs that are designed in advance are presented as the format (format) in which the information of the specified product is displayed in the image, and the product included in the image is identified by the user selecting a desired design from the presented product panels, and the designation of the display format of the product information is accepted. After that, the process proceeds to step S106.

[0051] In step S106, the display position / frame of the product information (product panel) in the image is determined. When the product is identified in step S105 and the designation of the display format of the product information (design of the product panel) is accepted, the store-side user terminal 9a displays a staff image (video / still image) and a product panel superimposed on the staff image, and determines the display position / frame of the product panel by accepting a user operation that designates the position in the staff image where the product panel is to be displayed and the frame in the staff image where the product panel is to be displayed. By providing such an interface, the staff can place the product panel at any position in the staff image (video / still image). Then, the process proceeds to step S109.

[0052] In step S109, post data is generated. The post data generation unit 32 of the store-side user terminal 9a generates post data for linking a product to the staff image data selected in step S103 and edited in step S104, based on the various information specified in steps S105 and S106.

[0053] In this embodiment, the post data is generated for each image, and includes an image ID, a search tag (one or more can be set), a staff ID, a product ID, a display format of the product panel, a display frame of the product panel (specified using a frame number, etc.), and a display position of the product panel (specified using coordinates, etc.). Here, the image ID only needs to be unique within the system, and may be assigned by the store-side user terminal 9a or issued by the post management server 1. The product ID is the product ID of the product specified in step S105, and is obtained from the product information obtained from the post management server 1. The staff ID is the ID of the staff operating the store-side user terminal 9a, which is managed by the staff database 22, and in this embodiment, the staff ID of the staff who has logged in to the staff application in advance is set. However, the staff ID may be specified by a method of having the staff ID input during processing, etc. In addition, the search tag is a search tag that is attached to image data to make the image data easier to find, and is displayed on a web page to be visible to customer users browsing an online store, and is displayed on the web page with a link that enables a user to click / tap the search tag to open a web page that lists image data to which the same search tag is attached. When the post data is generated, the process proceeds to step S110.

[0054] In step S110, the staff image data and the posting data are transmitted. The data transmission unit 33 of the store-side user terminal 9a transmits (uploads) a combination of the staff image data selected in step S103 and edited in step S104 and the posting data generated in the processes from step S105 to step S109 to the posting management server 1 via the network. After that, the process shown in this flowchart ends.

[0055] In this embodiment, the post data is generated in the store-side user terminal 9a and transmitted to the post management server 1, but the generation of the post data may be performed by either the store-side user terminal 9a or the post management server 1, or the two may share the responsibility. For example, the post management server 1 may receive information for generating the post data from the store-side user terminal 9a, and generate the post data based on the received information.

[0056] 4 is a flowchart showing an outline of the flow of the posting data setting process according to the present embodiment. The process shown in this flowchart is executed when the data transmitted from the store-side user terminal 9a in step S110 of the posting process described above is received.

[0057] In step S201, the staff image data and the posting data are received. The data acquisition unit 24 receives the staff image data and the posting data transmitted from the store user terminal 9a. In this embodiment, an example is described in which the staff image data and the posting data are transmitted after the posting data is generated in the store user terminal 9a, but the timing of transmitting the staff image data and the posting data is not limited to the example described in this embodiment. For example, the staff image data may be transmitted to the posting management server 1 before editing or when editing is completed (editing may also be performed on the server side), and then the posting data may be generated and transmitted to the posting management server 1. Also, as described above, the posting data may be generated on the server side. In this case, only information for generating the posting data (specifically, the information acquired in steps S105 to S106, the staff ID, and other necessary information) is transmitted from the store user terminal 9a, and the transmission of the posting data is omitted. Then, the process proceeds to step S202.

[0058] In step S202, the staff image data and the posting data are saved. The posting data setting unit 25 links the staff image data and the product by saving the staff image data and the posting data received in step S201. In this embodiment, the posting management server 1 can identify the product to which the staff image data is linked by referring to the image ID and product ID of the posting data. However, the specific form of the posting data is not limited to the example in this embodiment, and the method of linking the staff image data and the product is not limited to the example in this embodiment. For example, the staff image data and the product can be linked by various methods, such as a method of recording an image ID and other information in the product data, or a method of recording a product ID and other information in the management data of the staff image data. Then, the process proceeds to step S203.

[0059] In step S203, the staff image data and the posting data are approved. The posting management server 1 notifies the system administrator that new staff image data and posting data have been received, and requests approval of the staff image data and posting data. This notification and request for approval can be made using an existing email system or web system. For example, the administrator who receives the notification email opens a web page specified in the notification email on the administrator's terminal, and clicks / tap the approval button on the web page to approve the received staff image data and posting data. For this reason, the web page displays various information for the administrator to determine whether or not to approve the staff image data and posting data. Specifically, in addition to the information included in the posting data (image ID, search tag, staff ID, product ID, display format of the product panel, display frame of the product panel, and display position of the product panel), the image content, store name, staff name, product name, current status (approved / not approved), etc. are displayed. In addition, the administrator may be able to set the publication timing (publish now / publish by specifying the date and time) and any comment when approving. If the approval operation is not performed, the release of the received staff image data and posted data is put on hold, and the process shown in this flowchart ends. On the other hand, if the approval operation is performed, the staff image data becomes public, and the process shown in this flowchart ends.

[0060] 5 is a flowchart showing an outline of the flow of a display data generation process according to this embodiment. The process shown in this flowchart is executed when a request for display data to be included in a web page of an online store is received from a server of the online store.

[0061] When the server of the online store receives a request for a web page of the online store sent from a customer-side user terminal 9b that executes an application that can browse the online store, such as an Internet browser or an electronic commerce application, the server of the online store sends the requested web page to the customer-side user terminal 9b. At this time, data generated / managed by the server of the online store is used for the contents of the web page sent to the customer-side user terminal 9b, such as the product name, product image (video / still image), product price, color variation (if any), product details (product description), and an add button to a shopping cart, which were previously provided by online stores. On the other hand, when a specific embedding tag is described in the web page, the server of the online store requests the posting management server 1 to send display data for the location where the embedding tag is described. Here, the embedding tag is an instruction code that is written in the location where a staff image is to be embedded in the web page, and is different from the above-mentioned search tag.

[0062] In other words, according to the system of this embodiment, the administrator of the online store can automatically reflect the uploaded and approved staff image by entering a specified embedding tag in the location on the online store's web page where the administrator wants to embed the staff image.

[0063] In steps S301 and S302, a request for display data is accepted and product data for the target product is obtained. The posting management server 1 accepts a request for display data to be included in a Web page such as a product detail page, a shopping cart page, or a staff page, transmitted from a server of an online store (step S301).

[0064] The request for display data sent from the server of the online store includes information that can identify the product displayed on the web page, as necessary. For example, if the web page requested by the customer user terminal 9b is a product detail page, the server of the online store can obtain information that can identify the product based on a product ID, etc. extracted from the URL of the request, and include it in the request. Also, for example, if the web page requested by the customer user terminal 9b is a shopping cart page, the server of the online store can obtain information that can identify the product based on a product ID, etc. extracted from the shopping cart data of the target customer, and include it in the request. Also, for example, if the web page requested by the customer user terminal 9b is a staff page, the server of the online store can obtain information that can identify the product based on a staff ID, etc. extracted from the URL of the request of the target customer, and include it in the request.

[0065] When the request is accepted, the display data generating unit 29 searches the product database 21 based on the information that can identify the product included in the request, thereby identifying the product ID of one or more target products to be included in the display data to be transmitted in response to the request, and acquires the product data corresponding to the product ID (step S302). After that, the process proceeds to step S303.

[0066] In step S303, staff image data is acquired based on the posting data. The image data identification unit 26 extracts the posting data related to the product ID acquired in step S302, and acquires the image ID recorded in the extracted posting data to identify all staff image data of the target product related to the request. Then, the process proceeds to step S306.

[0067] In steps S306 and S307, display data related to the request is generated and transmitted. The display data generating unit 29 generates the display data related to the request based on the various data acquired in steps S302 to S303 (step S306). Here, the display data generating unit 29 generates the display data so that the product panel set in the posted data is displayed in the set display position / frame in the staff image embedded in the Web page generated by the online store server. A specific example of a staff page in which the display data generated here is embedded will be described below.

[0068] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the configuration of the staff page according to this embodiment. The parentheses in the figure indicate that the attribute information written in the parentheses is displayed in the parenthetical portion. The customer-side user terminal 9b accesses the server of the online store site according to the customer's operation, and displays the staff page prepared on the site. The staff page is a Web page prepared for each staff member who provides retail services to customers at the online store or the actual store corresponding to the online store, and in addition to the information of the staff member acquired from the staff database 22 (profile image, staff name, store name, branch name, etc.), the page includes a link to the SNS account used by the staff member, a profile statement, a search tag for searching the staff member, a follow button for following the staff member, the contents of the posted data posted by the staff member, the brand name of the product or service recommended by the staff member, the product name, the product image (video / still image), the product price, the comment by the staff member, color variations (if any), product details (product description), the staff image (video / still image), an add button to the shopping cart, etc. are posted. The user can add products, etc. to the cart by referring to the staff page, and purchase them.

[0069] Here, the product name, product image data, product price, etc. are generated by the server of the online store. The part enclosed in the dashed frame in the figure is the display data generated by the posting management server 1 according to the embedded tag and provided to the online store. The staff image data for displaying the staff image is acquired based on the posting data linked to the staff ID of the staff member.

[0070] In addition, in the area where the product images are displayed, not only the product images based on the product image data but also the staff images based on the staff image data may be displayed. For example, the product image and the staff image related to the target product may be displayed in succession while being automatically switched in the product image area. The manager of the online store can display the product image and the staff image related to the target product in succession while being automatically switched by writing a predetermined embedding tag in the area where the product images are displayed.

[0071] When the display data is generated, the display data transmission unit 30 transmits the generated display data to the server of the online store that sent the request (step S307), after which the process shown in this flowchart ends.

[0072] The online store's server receives the display data transmitted by the display data transmission unit 30 of the posting management server 1, and completes the Web page by embedding the display data in the location where the embed tag is written in the Web page (replaces the embed tag in the page with the display data in accordance with the rules defined for the embed tag), and transmits the data of the completed Web page to the customer's user terminal 9b.

[0073] In this way, the staff image is embedded in the online store, and customers view the staff image embedded in the online store. Note that the staff image may be displayed on the online store's top page, product details page, shopping cart page, video list page, staff ranking page, staff page, email newsletter, etc., in addition to the staff page described above.

[0074] The embedded tag may be a tag that executes a code for continuously playing staff images (and product images) when a playback start operation is performed by a customer who has viewed a page, etc. In this way, it becomes possible to display, on the customer-side user terminal 9b, pages such as (1) a top page on which images (videos / still images) of various staff members linked to various products are continuously played, (2) an image list page on which images (videos / still images) of various staff members linked to various products are continuously played, (3) a staff page on which images (videos / still images) of the staff members linked to various products are continuously played, and (4) a product details page on which images (videos / still images) of the staff members linked to the product are continuously played.

[0075] For example, the top page of an online store (not shown) is a Web page that is generated for each online store, transmitted from the online store's server in response to a request from the customer user terminal 9b, and displayed on the customer user terminal 9b, and includes at least the online store's name, product images, and staff images. Here, product image data for displaying product images is generated by the online store's server in response to a request from the customer user terminal 9b. Also, staff image data for displaying staff images is acquired based on posted data related to products handled by the online store. Then, on the top page, product images and staff images related to products handled by the online store are displayed in succession, switching automatically.

[0076] When the staff image included in the above-described product details page, shopping cart page, online store top page, video list page, staff ranking page, staff page, email magazine, etc. is played back on the customer-side user terminal 9b, the product panel set in the posting data is superimposed on the played back staff image. A link to a product details page related to the product in the product panel is set in this product panel, and the user can request the product details page from the posting management server 1 by clicking / tapping on this product panel.

[0077] 7 to 10 are sequence diagrams showing an overview of the flow of the follow process according to this embodiment. The process shown in the sequence diagram is executed when the customer operates the follow button displayed in the staff page on the customer-side user terminal 9b, and is processed in order from FIG. 7 to FIG. 10.

[0078] The staff page described above has a follow button for following a staff member related to the staff page if the customer wishes to continuously receive information from the staff member, and by operating the follow button, the customer-side user terminal 9b executes a follow start script (first program) associated with the follow button. However, "following" here is different from "following an SNS account" in the so-called SNS. In this embodiment, by operating the follow button, the customer does not follow the SNS account of the staff member, but is set as a notification recipient of information related to the followed staff member (e.g., updates to the staff page, etc.) from the information transmitted from the store's SNS account.

[0079] The staff page has a staff ID set, and further includes a follow information sending script (second program) for "sending follow information" by bundling the staff ID and a hash value related to the customer's SNS user ID in the external SNS 8. However, at the time when the staff page is first acquired and displayed by the customer-side user terminal 9b, the customer's SNS user ID in the external SNS 8 has not yet been acquired, so the follow information sending script is not executed.

[0080] In steps S401 and S402, an OAuth start communication is received, and the SNS user ID of the online store is acquired. The delivery management server 5 receives the OAuth start communication sent from the customer-side user terminal 9b that executed the follow start script (first program) by the customer operating the follow button displayed in the staff page on the customer-side user terminal 9b (step S401). At this time, the customer-side user terminal 9b notifies the delivery management server 5 of information that can identify the staff page on which the operated follow button is located. In the system according to this embodiment, the URL of the staff page is notified as the information that can identify the staff page. However, the information that can identify the staff page may be other information such as a staff ID.

[0081] The related information storage unit 62 of the delivery management server 5, which has received the OAuth start communication and the staff page URL, stores the staff page URL in association with information (e.g., session information and / or Cookie) capable of identifying the customer-side user terminal 9b. Furthermore, the delivery management server 5 acquires the SNS user ID in the external SNS 8 of the online store corresponding to the staff page based on the staff page URL (step S402). Here, the delivery management server 5 has store data in advance that associates the domain information of the online store with the SNS user ID of the online store, and the delivery management server 5 acquires the SNS user ID of the corresponding online store based on the staff page URL by referring to this store data. After that, the process proceeds to step S403.

[0082] In step S403, the communication from the customer-side user terminal 9b is redirected to the authorization server of the external SNS 8. The access instruction unit 61 of the delivery management server 5 transmits a redirect response to the customer-side user terminal 9b to redirect the browser of the customer-side user terminal 9b to the external SNS login API provided by the authorization server of the external SNS 8 (step S403). Here, the external SNS login API is an API that provides a function (external SNS login) that allows a user to log in to a site other than the external SNS 8 using a user account of the external SNS 8. The transmitted redirect response also includes the SNS user ID of the online store acquired in step S402. The customer-side user terminal 9b that has received the redirect response transmits an authorization request including the SNS user ID of the online store to the authorization server of the external SNS 8.

[0083] When the customer-side user terminal 9b is not logged in to the external SNS 8, the authorization server of the external SNS 8 that has received the authorization request sends a login authentication URL for the SNS 8 to the customer-side user terminal 9b, thereby causing the customer-side user terminal 9b to display a login authentication screen for the SNS 8, and has the customer input authentication information and operate a login button. The customer-side user terminal 9b that has accepted the input of authentication information and the operation of the login button transmits the authentication information to the external SNS 8 and logs in to the external SNS 8. Here, the authentication information may be, for example, a user ID such as an email address and a password. However, the authentication information is not limited to an ID and a password, and other authentication information such as biometric authentication, one-time password, and electronic certificate may be used, or multiple authentication means may be combined. Note that, when the authentication information is already stored in the customer-side user terminal 9b because it is the second or subsequent external SNS login process, the user is not required to input the authentication information, and the customer-side user terminal 9b transmits the authentication information to the external SNS 8 and logs in to the external SNS 8 only by operating the login button.

[0084] When the customer-side user terminal 9b is logged in to the external SNS 8, the authorization server of the external SNS 8 that has received the authorization request sends a confirmation URL for authority delegation to display an authority delegation confirmation screen on the customer-side user terminal 9b, and asks the customer whether or not information about the customer held by the SNS 8 (such as the customer's SNS user ID in this embodiment) may be provided to the delivery management server 5. When the customer performs an operation on the customer-side user terminal 9b indicating consent to the authority delegation (for example, pressing an consent button), the customer-side user terminal 9b notifies the authorization server of the external SNS 8 that the customer has consented to the authority delegation, and the authorization server that has received the notification sends an authorization response to the customer-side user terminal 9b.

[0085] Here, if the target online store is not permitted to send messages to the target customer on the SNS 8 at the time the authorization server of the external SNS 8 receives the notification of consent to the authority transfer (for example, the customer is not registered as a so-called "friend"; hereinafter, this will be described as "friend"), the external SNS 8 will send a URL for registering the online store as a friend to the customer-side user terminal 9b before sending the authorization response, thereby displaying a friend addition screen on the customer-side user terminal 9b and asking the customer whether or not it is OK to register the target online store as a friend. At this time, the external SNS 8 determines whether or not the target online store and the customer are already registered as friends, based on the SNS user ID of the online store received in the authorization request and the SNS user ID of the customer specified in the SNS login. When a customer performs an operation on the customer's user terminal 9b indicating that he or she agrees to being added as a friend (for example, by pressing an agree button), the customer's user terminal 9b notifies the external SNS 8 that the customer has agreed to being added as a friend, and the external SNS 8, upon receiving the notification, sets the state so that the target online store is permitted to send messages to the target customer on that SNS 8 (in this embodiment, the customer is registered as a "friend").

[0086] The authorization response transmitted from the external SNS 8 to the customer-side user terminal 9b includes a redirect URL for causing the browser of the customer-side user terminal 9b to access a URL for triggering the resource acquisition process from the external SNS 8 by the delivery management server 5. The redirect URL transmitted here is a URL (Callback URL) of the delivery management server 5 registered in advance in the external SNS 8 for OAuth authorization for the delivery management server 5, and the external SNS 8 identifies the redirect URL registered in advance based on information capable of identifying the delivery management server 5 or the online store related to the authorization request (for example, the SNS user ID or domain information of the online store). Note that, in the present embodiment, an example is given in which the redirect URL is registered in advance for each delivery management server 5 or online store before receiving the authorization request, but the redirect URL may be registered in the authorization server together with the authorization request when the authorization request is made.

[0087] In addition, the redirect URL included in the authorization response has an authorization code, which indicates that consent to the authority transfer has been obtained, attached as a parameter. This authorization code is used by the authorization server to confirm that the service (here, the delivery management server 5) has consented to the authority transfer from the user at the time of a token request, which will be described later.

[0088] In steps S404 to S408, the SNS user ID of the customer is acquired based on the authorization response. The customer-side user terminal 9b that has received the authorization response accesses the designated redirect URL, thereby triggering the distribution management server 5 to perform resource acquisition processing from the external SNS 8. When the SNS user ID acquisition unit 63 of the distribution management server 5 receives access to the designated redirect URL from the customer-side user terminal 9b (step S404), it transmits a token request for the SNS user ID of the customer to the authorization server of the external SNS 8 (step S405). The authorization server that has received the token request verifies the authorization code attached to the token request to confirm that the sender of the token request is a sender to which the customer (the SNS user who has an account in the SNS 8) has agreed to the authority delegation, issues an access token that permits the target SNS user to access resources held by the SNS 8, and transmits a token response including the issued access token to the distribution management server 5.

[0089] When the SNS user ID acquisition unit 63 of the delivery management server 5 receives a token response including an access token that allows access to the resource for the customer (step S406), it requests the SNS user ID of the target customer by sending a resource access including the access token to the resource server of the external SNS 8 (step S407). The resource server confirms that the sender of the resource access (the delivery management server 5) has been delegated authority by the user by referring to the received access token, and provides the resource (here, the SNS user ID of the target customer) to the sender of the resource access. The SNS user ID acquisition unit 63 of the delivery management server 5 receives the SNS user ID of the target customer from the resource server of the external SNS 8 (step S408). After that, the process proceeds to step S409.

[0090] In steps S409 to S412, the target ID of the follow target is specified. When the target ID specification unit 64 of the delivery management server 5 receives the SNS user ID of the target customer from the resource server of the external SNS 8, it acquires information capable of specifying the received SNS user ID of the customer (here, a hash value calculated based on the SNS user ID of the customer) (step S409), and transmits a response to the customer-side user terminal 9b instructing the customer to redirect to the URL of the staff page (step S410). Here, the target ID specification unit 64 specifies the URL of the staff page displayed at the start of OAuth in the customer-side user terminal 9b, that is, the URL of the staff page to be included in the response, based on the session information and / or Cookies stored in the above step S402. More specifically, the target ID specification unit 64 specifies the URL of the staff page to be included in the response by searching for the linking data stored by the related information storage unit 62 in step S402 using the session information and / or Cookies related to the customer-side user terminal 9b that is the access source in step S404. Moreover, a hash value calculated based on the customer's SNS user ID is added as a parameter to the URL sent to the customer-side user terminal 9b.

[0091] The customer-side user terminal 9b that has received the response accesses the URL of the staff page according to the redirect instruction included in the response, and acquires and displays the staff page from the server of the online store site. As described above, the staff page includes a follow information transmission script (second program) for "sending follow information" by bundling the staff ID and the hash value related to the SNS user ID of the customer. The customer-side user terminal 9b executes the follow information transmission script by referring to the staff ID set in the staff page and the hash value related to the SNS user ID of the customer that is given as a parameter to the URL of the staff page, and transmits the follow information to the distribution management server 5. When the target ID specification unit 64 of the distribution management server 5 receives the follow information from the customer-side user terminal 9b (step S411), it specifies the SNS user ID corresponding to the hash value related to the received SNS user ID (step S412). After that, the process proceeds to step S413.

[0092] In steps S413 and S414, the SNS user ID of the customer is linked to the staff ID, and a followed response is sent. The linking unit 65 of the delivery management server 5 links the identified SNS user ID with the received staff ID, and records it in the follow management table (step S413). At this time, a follow ID for identifying the follow relationship may be issued and recorded in the follow management table together with the SNS user ID and the staff ID. In this embodiment, an example in which a table is used for follow management is described, but the management format of data linking the SNS user ID and the staff ID for follow management is not limited to a table. When the customer completes following the staff (linking the SNS user ID of the customer with the staff ID), the delivery management server 5 transmits a followed response to the customer-side user terminal 9b (step S414). In this embodiment, the followed response is executed by transmitting a staff page URL and popup information. The customer-side user terminal 9b that receives the followed response displays a staff page with a popup according to the staff page URL and popup information included in the followed response, and notifies the customer that the following of the staff has been completed. Thereafter, the process shown in this sequence diagram ends.

[0093] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a popup notifying that following of a staff member has been completed in this embodiment. The parentheses in the figure indicate that the attribute information written in the parentheses will be displayed in the parenthetical portion. The popup displays the message "Followed" along with the profile image of the staff member followed by the customer, the staff member name, the store name, the branch name, etc. These data are obtained from the staff database by the delivery management server 5, which receives a request transmitted by executing a script embedded in the website, and are arranged in the popup. The popup may also display an "Unfollow" button.

[0094] When a customer performs an "unfollow" operation, the customer-side user terminal 9b executes an unfollow script for unfollowing, references the staff ID installed on the staff page and the hash value related to the customer's SNS user ID added as a parameter to the URL of the staff page, executes the unfollow script, and sends an unfollow instruction to the delivery management server 5. When the delivery management server 5 receives the unfollow instruction from the customer-side user terminal 9b, it identifies the SNS user ID corresponding to the hash value related to the received SNS user ID, and deletes the association between the identified SNS user ID and the received staff ID recorded in the follow management table.

[0095] 12 is a flowchart showing an outline of the flow of a message delivery process according to this embodiment. The process shown in this flowchart is executed periodically (for example, once a day at a preset time) at a preset frequency. However, the execution timing of the process shown in this flowchart is not limited to the examples in this disclosure. The process shown in this flowchart may be executed, for example, when an instruction to deliver a message is received from an administrator.

[0096] When a staff member of an online store creates post data including a staff ID using a store-side user terminal 9a and a staff application and transmits the post data to the post management server 1, the post management server 1 stores the received post data (see, for example, step S202 in FIG. 4). The stored post data is distributed so that it can be referenced from the online store site. Here, the post data may be data that is associated with a staff ID and uploaded to the post management server 1 as a post related to the target staff member, and is not limited to post data related to staff image data exemplified above.

[0097] In step S501, an inquiry about posted data is made. The update information acquisition unit 66 of the delivery management server 5 transmits a request to the post management server 1 to inquire whether there is any newly published (published) posted data (step S501). Here, the request may include the staff ID of the inquired person. The post management server 1 that has received the request identifies the posted data that has been newly published after the last request received based on the posting time, the publication time, or the response history to the delivery management server 5 of the posted data, and transmits a response notifying the delivery management server 5 of the update information (posted information) related to the identified posted data. Note that, if the request includes the staff ID of the inquired person, the post management server 1 identifies only the posted data related to the target staff ID, and transmits a response notifying the delivery management server 5 of the posted information related to the identified posted data. The posted information also includes the staff ID related to the posted data, the posting summary, and the URL of the page (for example, the staff page or the product details page) on which the target posted data can be viewed. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S502.

[0098] In steps S502 and S503, the posted information is acquired and the delivery destination is determined. The delivery management server 5 update information acquisition unit 66 receives the response sent by the posting management server 1 and saves the posted information included in the response (step S502). The delivery destination determination unit 67 of the delivery management server 5 that received the response searches the follow management table using the staff ID included in the target posted information as a key, finds the SNS user ID of the customer linked to the staff ID (i.e., the SNS user ID of the customer who follows the staff who posted), and determines the found SNS user ID as the delivery destination (step S503). After that, the process proceeds to step S504.

[0099] In step S504, a message delivery is requested. The delivery request unit 68 of the delivery management server 5 transmits a delivery request for a new post based on the posted information to the external SNS 8 (step S504). Here, the delivery request to the external SNS 8 is made through an API for simultaneous message delivery provided by the external SNS 8, and the delivery request includes a delivery source, a delivery destination, and delivery contents. The SNS user ID of the online store is specified as the delivery source, the SNS user ID of the customer determined in step S503 is specified as the delivery destination, and information related to the staff member to be delivered to the customer (for example, a message such as "Staff member XX whom you follow has posted an article about product XX!" and the URL of a page where the posted data can be viewed) is specified as the delivery contents. The message may be created in the delivery management server 5 by applying the staff member name, product name, etc. to a template, or by having AI generate the message. In other words, the distribution request unit 68 makes a distribution request to the external SNS 8 specifying only customers who are registered as friends of the online store on the SNS 8 (users who are permitted to send messages on the SNS) and who follow the staff member related to the target posted information.

[0100] The external SNS 8 that has received the delivery request delivers a message according to the delivery request. Specifically, the external SNS 8 sends a message including the delivery content specified in the delivery request as the content, with the SNS user ID of the online store as the sender, to the SNS user ID of the customer specified in the delivery request as the destination. In this way, the online store can automatically deliver information about the staff member from the store's SNS account only to customers who follow the staff member, while suppressing the delivery of undesired information to other customers who do not follow the staff member.

[0101] By executing the above-described processing, the information processing system disclosed in this embodiment enables a user to easily follow a target about which the user wishes to be notified of related information, and also enables the user to receive notifications of information related to the followed target.

[0102] <Variations> In the embodiment described above, after the SNS user ID of the target customer is received from the resource server of the external SNS 8, the customer-side user terminal 9b receives a response (step S410) including a redirect instruction and transmits information (e.g., a hash value) capable of identifying the staff ID and the SNS user ID of the customer to the delivery management server 5, and the delivery management server 5 links the staff ID and the SNS user ID of the customer to set them in a following state. However, when implementing the technology according to the present disclosure, the processing order is not limited to the example in the embodiment above, and other processing orders may be adopted. Below, examples of variations in the processing order are given.

[0103] In this variation, as in the embodiment described above, the related information storage unit 62 stores information related to the target transmitted from the customer-side user terminal 9b together with the start instruction, in association with information capable of identifying the customer-side user terminal 9b (e.g., session information and / or cookies). In this variation, the related information storage unit 62 stores, as information related to the target, a target ID (e.g., staff ID) transmitted from the user terminal together with the start instruction and included in a program for transmitting the start instruction to the user terminal, in association with information capable of identifying the customer-side user terminal 9b.

[0104] In this variation, the target ID identification unit 64, upon receipt of the customer's SNS user ID by the SNS user ID acquisition unit 63, identifies the target ID related to the customer's user terminal 9b stored by the related information storage unit 62 based on information capable of identifying the customer's user terminal 9b (e.g., session information and / or cookies), thereby identifying the target ID of the follow target linked to the start instruction.

[0105] That is, the processing order in this variation will be explained with reference to the sequence diagrams of Figures 7 to 10. In this variation, in the OAuth start communication (step S401), the staff page URL (request URL) for the distribution management server 5 includes a staff ID as a parameter, and the related information storage unit 62 of the distribution management server 5, which receives the staff page URL, stores the staff page URL including the staff ID as a parameter by linking it to information that can identify the customer-side user terminal 9b (e.g., session information and / or Cookies).

[0106] Then, when the SNS user ID of the customer is acquired in the provision of the resource (step S408), the target ID specification unit 64 specifies the staff ID related to the OAuth start instruction in the delivery management server 5 without going through the customer-side user terminal 9b, and the linking unit 65 links the specified staff ID with the SNS user ID of the customer to set them in a following state. Therefore, in this variation, the calculation process of the hash value in step S409, the process of including the hash value in the response sent in step S410, the process of receiving the follow information in step S411, and the process of specifying the SNS user ID corresponding to the hash value in step S412 may be omitted. Note that even when this process is adopted, the delivery management server 5 may return a response to the customer-side user terminal 9b by adding the SNS user ID of the customer to a URL parameter so as to return to the original page (the staff page in the example described above).

[0107] <Other variations> In the embodiment described above, an example has been described in which the process of obtaining an access token and acquiring a user's resources (steps S405 to S408) is processed by the delivery management server 5, but the process of obtaining an access token and acquiring a user's resources may be executed by other devices. For example, the process of obtaining an access token and acquiring a user's resources may be executed by having the customer-side user terminal 9b execute a script (program) for executing these processes.

[0108] In the above-described embodiment, an example was described in which the web page of an online store and the display data for the web page, including staff images, etc., are generated in different systems, but the web page of an online store and the display data for the web page, including staff images, etc., may be generated in the same system. In other words, the system providing the online store and the online store support system according to the present disclosure may be integrated.

[0109] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which the technology according to the present disclosure is applied to an online store that sells products, but the items sold at the online store are not limited to tangible products. The technology according to the present disclosure can be applied to online stores that handle various items for sale, such as services and real estate.

[0110] In the above-described embodiment, an example was described in which the organization related to the following target is an online store or a management entity of the distribution management server 5, and the following target is a staff member of the online store, but the following target and the organization related to the following target are not limited to the above examples. For example, the business types of the organization or online store may be apparel, real estate sales, used car sales, home appliances, food, furniture, education, recruitment, media, professional services, fortune telling, musical instruments, etc. In addition, if the industry is apparel, the targets to be followed may be product category, brand, manufacturer, store, person, staff, price, color, material, gender, height, discount rate, size, ranking, new, used, etc.; if the industry is real estate sales, the targets may be region, floor plan, rent range, type of housing (apartment or detached house, new or used), train line, station, prefecture, etc.; if the industry is used car sales, the targets may be year, engine displacement, mileage, model, whether or not it has been inspected, drive system (4WD or 2WD), vehicle type (coupe, SUV, etc.); if the industry is home appliances, the targets may be room size, capacity (refrigerator, etc.), etc. etc.; if the industry is food, it may be the product brand, etc.; if the industry is furniture, it may be the room type (living room, bedroom, etc.); if the industry is education, it may be the course, grade level, preferred school, qualifications, etc.; if the industry is recruitment, it may be the annual salary, employment type, company name, etc.; if the industry is media, it may be events, article genres, etc.; if the industry is a professional, it may be areas of expertise, etc.; if the industry is fortune-telling, it may be astrology sign, birth month, nine stars, zodiac sign, 27 mansions, etc.; if the industry is musical instruments, it may be playing style, music genre, etc. [Explanation of symbols]

[0111] 1. Server (information processing device) 9a Store user terminal 9b Customer side user terminal

Claims

1. an access instruction means for, when receiving from a user terminal of a customer an instruction to start an authorization process for authorizing access to a resource related to the customer held in the external SNS, causing the user terminal to access an API for the authorization process provided by the external SNS; a related information linking means for linking information capable of identifying a follow target, which is a target of which the customer wishes to be notified of related information and which is transmitted from the user terminal together with the start instruction, with information capable of identifying the user terminal; an SNS user ID acquisition means for acquiring an SNS user ID of the customer in the external SNS from the external SNS when the authorization is obtained; a target ID specifying means for specifying a target ID of the following target linked to the start instruction based on the information linked by the related information linking means, when the SNS user ID of the customer is acquired by the SNS user ID acquiring means; ID linking means for linking the SNS user ID of the customer to the target ID; An information processing system comprising:

2. the related information linking means links address information of a web page, which is transmitted from the user terminal together with the start instruction and includes a first program for transmitting the start instruction to the user terminal, with information capable of identifying the user terminal; The target ID specifying means When the SNS user ID of the customer is acquired by the SNS user ID acquisition means, address information of the web page related to the user terminal linked by the related information linking means is identified; notifying the user terminal of information capable of identifying the SNS user ID; a second program included in the web page for combining the notified information for identifying the SNS user ID with the target ID included in the web page and transmitting the combined information to the information processing system by notifying the user terminal of the specified address information, thereby receiving the combination of the information for identifying the SNS user ID and the target ID from the user terminal and specifying the target ID of the follow target linked to the start instruction; The information processing system according to claim 1 .

3. the related information linking means links the target ID, which is included in a program for transmitting the start instruction to the user terminal together with the start instruction, with information capable of identifying the user terminal; the target ID specifying means, upon receipt of the SNS user ID of the customer by the SNS user ID obtaining means, specifies the target ID related to the user terminal linked by the related information linking means, thereby specifying the target ID of the follow target linked to the start instruction; The information processing system according to claim 1 .

4. the start instruction is a start instruction transmitted from the user terminal in response to a customer operating an operation element associated with the target in the user terminal; The information processing system according to claim 1 .

5. The follow-up target is a staff member of an online store. The information processing system according to claim 1 .

6. an update information acquisition means for acquiring update information including the target ID, which is related to the related information newly published on the website of the organization related to the following target; a distribution destination determination means for retrieving an SNS user ID of the customer associated with a target ID included in the update information and determining the retrieved SNS user ID as a distribution destination; a distribution request means for transmitting to the external SNS a distribution request for a message in which the SNS user ID of the customer determined by the distribution destination determination means is specified as a distribution destination, the message notifying the customer that related information of a follow target related to the target ID has been newly made public; The information processing system according to claim 1 , further comprising:

7. the API for the authorization process is an API that executes, in addition to the authorization process, a distribution permission process that permits the organization to distribute a message to the customer on the external SNS, the delivery request means transmits to the external SNS a delivery request for the message in which the SNS user ID of the organization is specified as a delivery source. The information processing system according to claim 6.

8. the update information acquisition means acquires update information relating to the related information that has been newly made public since the update information acquisition means last acquired the update information; The information processing system according to claim 6.

9. The computer an access instruction step of, when receiving from a user terminal of a customer an instruction to start an authorization process for authorizing access to a resource related to the customer held in the external SNS, causing the user terminal to access an API for the authorization process provided by the external SNS; a related information linking step of linking information capable of identifying a follow target, which is a target of which the customer wishes to be notified of related information and which is transmitted from the user terminal together with the start instruction, with information capable of identifying the user terminal; an SNS user ID acquisition step of acquiring, from the external SNS, an SNS user ID of the customer in the external SNS when the authorization is obtained; a target ID specifying step of specifying a target ID of the follow target linked to the start instruction based on the information linked in the related information linking step, when the SNS user ID of the customer is acquired in the SNS user ID acquiring step; an ID linking step of linking the SNS user ID of the customer to the target ID; How to do it.

10. Computer, an access instruction means for, when receiving from a user terminal of a customer an instruction to start an authorization process for authorizing access to a resource related to the customer held in the external SNS, causing the user terminal to access an API for the authorization process provided by the external SNS; a related information linking means for linking information capable of identifying a follow target, which is a target of which the customer wishes to be notified of related information and which is transmitted from the user terminal together with the start instruction, with information capable of identifying the user terminal; an SNS user ID acquisition means for acquiring an SNS user ID of the customer in the external SNS from the external SNS when the authorization is obtained; a target ID specifying means for specifying a target ID of the following target linked to the start instruction based on the information linked by the related information linking means, when the SNS user ID of the customer is acquired by the SNS user ID acquiring means; ID linking means for linking the SNS user ID of the customer to the target ID; A program to function as a

Images