News information analysis device, news information analysis program, and news information analysis method

Abstract

To allow even a user who accesses news information with low frequency to efficiently browse important news.SOLUTION: News information analysis equipment 1 comprises: a news information acquisition unit 110 which acquires a plurality of pieces of news information from a communication network, assigns news identification information to each piece of news information, and stores it; an output unit 111 which provides the news information stored by the news information acquisition unit 110 to users for viewing; a user information management unit 112 which identifies users who view the news information provided for viewing by the output unit 111 and tallies up the number of times the news information has been viewed for each user; and an output control unit 113 that controls the output unit 111 in such a manner that news information viewed by users whose number of views of the news information is equal to or more than a preset threshold is recommended to users whose number of views of the news information is below the threshold.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a news information analysis device, a news information analysis program, and a news information analysis method that enable a user who does not frequently access a plurality of news information distributed on the Internet to see articles read by users who frequently access the news information. [Background technology]

[0002] Due to the huge amount of news information distributed on the Internet, users are required to efficiently browse news that matches their interests, and especially users who do not frequently access news information want to be able to browse important news efficiently. For this reason, technology to organize news information is currently being developed. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for calculating the influence of a news article based on the number of corresponding relationships with blog articles as a news article evaluation system. However, while the system described in Patent Document 1 can bring news covered in blogs to light, it has the disadvantage that the freshness of the news decreases by the time multiple blog articles are written and the influence of the news article becomes apparent. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication 2011-108053 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Because the amount of news information distributed on the Internet is enormous, there is a demand for a news information analysis device, a news information analysis program, and a news information analysis method that enable even users who do not frequently access news information to efficiently view important news before the news loses its freshness.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of such problems, and aims to provide a news information analysis device, news information analysis program, and news information analysis method that acquire multiple pieces of news information from a communication network and provide the news information to users for viewing, and that can recommend news information that has been viewed by users whose number of times the news information has been viewed is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, to users whose number of times the news information has been viewed is below the threshold. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] (1) A news information analysis device according to one embodiment of the present invention (e.g., news information analysis device 1 described below) includes a news information acquisition unit (e.g., news information acquisition unit 110 described below) that acquires multiple news information including text information from a communication network (e.g., communication network 60 described below), assigns news identification information to each piece of news information, and stores the information; an output unit (e.g., output unit 111 described below) that provides the news information stored by the news information acquisition unit to users for viewing; a user information management unit (e.g., user information management unit 112 described below) that identifies users viewing the news information provided for viewing by the output unit and tallys up the number of times the news information has been viewed for each user; and an output control unit (e.g., output control unit 113 described below) that controls the output unit to recommend the news information assigned with the identification information that has been viewed by users whose number of times the news information has been viewed is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, to users whose number of times the news information has been viewed is below the threshold.

[0007] According to (1) above, even a user who does not frequently access news information can efficiently view important news before the news becomes less fresh.

[0008] (2) In the news information analysis device described in (1) above (for example, the news information analysis device 1 described below), the number of times the news information is viewed may be any one of the number of news information items with different news identification information accessed by each user, the number of times the news information items accessed by each user are accessed, or the number of times a news information providing site that provides the news information for viewing by each user is accessed.

[0009] According to (2) above, based on the frequency of access to news information aggregated from various perspectives, even users who access news information infrequently can efficiently view important news before the news loses its freshness.

[0010] (3) In the news information analysis device described in (1) or (2) above (for example, the news information analysis device 1 described below), a plurality of thresholds may be set in advance, and the news information that has been viewed by the user with the greatest number of times that the news information has been viewed among the plurality of thresholds and that has been assigned with the identification information may be recommended to the user whose number of times that the news information has been viewed falls below a lower threshold.

[0011] According to (3) above, it becomes possible to browse a variety of news information efficiently.

[0012] (4) In the news information analysis device described in (1) or (2) above (e.g., the news information analysis device 1 described later), the news information acquisition unit (e.g., the news information acquisition unit 110 described later) may also acquire category information indicating the news category of the news information and store it in association with the category information, the user information management unit (e.g., the user information management unit 112 described later) may tally up the number of times the news information has been viewed for each category, and the output control unit (e.g., the output control unit 113 described later) may control the output unit (e.g., the output unit 111 described later) to recommend the news information for each category viewed by the user whose number of views of news information for each category is equal to or greater than a threshold value previously set for each category to the user whose number of pieces of news information viewed for each category is below the threshold value set for each category.

[0013] According to (4) above, it becomes possible to browse a variety of news information efficiently.

[0014] (5) In the news information analysis device described in (4) above (e.g., news information analysis device 1 described later), a plurality of thresholds may be set in advance for each category, and the output control unit (e.g., output control unit 113 described later) may be configured to control the news information to be recommended to the users who have viewed the news information for each category, in order of the users who have viewed the news information most frequently among the plurality of thresholds, and who are below the lower threshold.

[0015] According to (5) above, it becomes possible to browse a variety of news information efficiently.

[0016] (6) A news information analysis program according to one embodiment of the present invention causes a computer device connected to a communication network (e.g., communication network 60 described below) to function as a news information acquisition unit (e.g., news information acquisition unit 110 described below) that acquires multiple news information including text information from the communication network, assigns news identification information to each piece of news information, and stores it, an output unit (e.g., output unit 111 described below) that provides the news information stored by the news information acquisition unit to users for viewing, a user information management unit (e.g., user information management unit 112 described below) that identifies users who view the news information provided for viewing by the output unit and tally up the number of times the news information has been viewed for each user, and an output control unit (e.g., output control unit 113 described below) that controls the output unit to recommend the news information assigned with the identification information that has been viewed by users whose number of views of the news information is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold to users whose number of views of the news information is below the threshold.

[0017] According to (6) above, the same effect as the news information analysis device according to (1) above can be achieved.

[0018] (7) A news information analysis method according to one embodiment of the present invention is a news information analysis method executed by a computer, and includes a news information acquisition step of a computer device connected to a communication network (e.g., communication network 60 described below) acquiring multiple news information including text information from the communication network, assigning news identification information to each piece of news information, and storing the information; an output step of providing the news information stored by the news information acquisition unit to users for viewing; a user information management step of identifying users who view the news information provided for viewing in the output step and tallying up the number of times the news information has been viewed for each user; and an output control step of controlling the output unit to recommend the news information assigned with the identification information, which has been viewed by users whose number of views of the news information is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, to users whose number of views of the news information is below the threshold.

[0019] According to (7) above, the same effect as the news information analysis device according to (1) above can be achieved. Effect of the Invention

[0020] According to the present invention, there is provided a news information analysis device, a news information analysis program, and a news information analysis method that acquire multiple pieces of news information from a communication network and provide the news information to users for viewing, and that can recommend news information viewed by users whose number of times the news information has been viewed is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold to users whose number of times the news information has been viewed is below the threshold.By providing such a news information analysis device, a news information analysis program, and a news information analysis method, even users who do not frequently access news information can efficiently view important news before the news becomes less fresh. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0021] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a news information analysis system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a news information analysis device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of the news information analysis device in the embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0022] A preferred embodiment of the news information analysis device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 shows the basic configuration of a news information analysis system 100. Note that in this embodiment, the number of news information items with different news identification information viewed by each user is shown as an example of the number of views of news information tallied for each user. Hereinafter, the number of news information items with different news identification information will simply be referred to as the number of news information items unless otherwise specified. 1, the news information analysis system 100 includes an external system 5, a news information analysis device 1, and a communication network 60. Note that the system may also include a client terminal 2 (an information processing device such as a mobile terminal, a tablet terminal, or a PC). Examples of external systems 5 include web media sites (primary media sites), web media sites (secondary media sites), technology and business information media sites, financial information media sites, web media sites (social media sites), government agency media sites, corporate media sites, research institute media sites, etc. The news information analysis device 1 acquires multiple pieces of news information distributed on the Internet by an external system 5, assigns news identification information to each piece of news information, and provides the news information to users for viewing, while identifying users who view the news information, tallying up the number of pieces of news information viewed by each user, and performing output control so as to recommend news information viewed by users whose number of pieces of news information viewed is equal to or greater than a preset threshold to users whose number of pieces of news information viewed is below the threshold. This allows even users who do not frequently access news information to efficiently view important news before the news loses its freshness. The client terminal 2 can display the news information output by the news information analysis device 1 on the display unit of the client terminal 2 according to the frequency with which the user views the news information. Specifically, the client terminal 2 can output, for example, news information viewed by a user who has viewed a number of pieces of news information equal to or greater than a preset threshold, to a client terminal 2 logged in by a user who has viewed a number of pieces of news information below the threshold. This makes it possible for even a user who does not frequently access news information to efficiently view important news before the news becomes less fresh. The above has described an outline of the system configuration in the present embodiment 1. Next, the news information analysis device 1 will be described.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 2, the news information analysis device 1 includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, a communication unit 13, a display unit 14, and an input unit 15.

[0024] Control unit 11 is composed of an arithmetic processing device such as a microprocessor, and controls each unit constituting news information analysis device 1. Details of control unit 11 will be described later.

[0025] The storage unit 12 is composed of a semiconductor memory and the like, and stores various information such as control programs called firmware or operating systems, programs for causing the control unit 11 to function as news information acquisition functions, output functions, user information management functions, output control functions, and the like, connection information required for connection to an external system 5 from which news information is acquired via a communication network 60, news information acquired from the external system 5, news identification information for identifying each piece of acquired news information, and a set of news identification information of news information actually viewed by a user for each user identification information, which is linked to the user identification information of the user (hereinafter also referred to as "user-specific viewed news information"), among other news information provided to a user for viewing via the client terminal 2. In this embodiment, a login ID is exemplified as the user identification information. For this reason, in addition to the program, the memory unit 12 is equipped with an external system connection information memory unit 120 which contains connection information necessary for connecting to an external system 5 from which news information is obtained, a news information storage memory unit 121 which stores news information obtained from each external system 5, and a user-specific viewed news information memory unit 122 which stores a set of news identification information of news information actually viewed by a user for each user identification information ("user-specific viewed news information").

[0026] The external system connection information storage unit 120 stores information required for connecting to the external system 5 that acquires news information via the communication network 60 (e.g., a connection URL, authentication information, timing information for acquiring newly created and / or updated news information from the external system 5, etc.). As described above, the external system 5 may be, for example, a mass media site, a media site for technology and business information, a media site for financial information, a company site, a research institute site, a government agency site, a social media site, etc. Note that news information is not limited to Japanese, and news information in English, Chinese, and Korean may also be acquired. In this way, the news information acquisition unit 110 described later may connect to each external system 5 at a predetermined timing (e.g., time information, receiving a notification of information creation and update from the external system 5, etc.) with reference to the external system connection information storage unit 120, and acquire new and / or updated news information provided by the external system 5.

[0027] The news information storage memory unit 121 is a memory unit that stores new and / or updated news information acquired by the news information acquisition unit 110 from each external system 5 after assigning news identification information that identifies the news information.

[0028] In addition, the user-specific viewed news information storage unit 122 is a storage unit that links the news identification information of news information actually viewed by a user among the news information provided to the user for viewing by the news information analysis device 1 via the client terminal 2 to the user identification information of the user, and stores a set of news identification information of news information actually viewed by the user for each user identification information ("user-specific viewed news information"). As described later, the user-specific viewed news information may be a set of news identification information of news information actually viewed by the user during the period from when the user logs in to the news information analysis device 1 until when the user logs out. The user-specific viewed news information may be a set of news identification information of news information actually viewed by the user during the period from when the user logs in to the news information analysis device 1 until a predetermined time has elapsed. The user-specific viewed news information may be a set of news identification information of news information actually viewed by the user after logging in to the news information analysis device 1 within a one-day period. The specified period, the specified period range, etc. are not limited to the above examples. Any period may be set as the specified period as necessary. The storage unit 12 has been described above.

[0029] The communication unit 13 has a DSP and the like, and realizes wireless communication and wired communication with the external system 5 via the communication network 60 in compliance with standards such as LTE (Long Term Evolution), 4G (4th Generation), and 5G (5th Generation) and Wi-Fi (registered trademark). The communication network 60 is realized by a network such as the Internet or a mobile phone network, or a network that combines these. In addition, a LAN (Local Area Network) may be included as part of the network.

[0030] The display unit 14 is configured with a display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic electroluminescence panel. The display unit 14 displays an image upon receiving an instruction from the control unit 11. For example, the display unit 14 may display a message to be output to an operator. The input unit 15 is composed of an input device (not shown) such as a physical switch called a numeric keypad or a touch panel provided over the display surface of the display unit 14. For example, an operator may input processing commands and the like to the control unit 11 via the input unit 15.

[0031] Next, the control unit 11 will be described in detail. The control unit 11 is composed of a microprocessor having a CPU, RAM, ROM, I / O, etc. The CPU executes each program read from the ROM or storage unit 12, and during execution, reads information from the RAM, ROM, and storage unit 12, writes information to the RAM and storage unit 12, and transmits and receives signals to and from the communication unit 13. In this way, the processing in this embodiment is realized by the cooperation of the hardware and software (programs).

[0032] The control unit 11 includes, as functional blocks, a news information acquisition unit 110, an output unit 111, a user information management unit 112, and an output control unit 113.

[0033] The news information acquisition unit 110 connects to each external system 5 that distributes news information (title, text, photos, drawings, etc.) via the communication network 60 at a predetermined timing based on a connection URL, authentication information, etc., and acquires newly created news information or updated news information distributed from each external system 5. Here, examples of the predetermined timing include a preset time, a preset time interval, or receipt of a distribution notification from each external system 5 (including receipt of breaking news, special editions, etc. in addition to news information that is distributed periodically). As described above, the news information distributed from the external system 5 is not limited to Japanese, and may be acquired in other languages ​​such as English, Chinese, Korean, etc., as required by the user. In this case, the news information acquisition unit 110 may generate a Japanese translation in addition to the original language. The news information acquisition unit 110 assigns news identification information to each piece of news information acquired from each external system 5, and stores the news information linked by the news identification information in the news information storage memory unit 121. Note that the news information linked by the news identification information may be stored in the news information storage memory unit 121 with the site name of the external system 5 from which the news information was acquired, distribution time information (date and time), category information indicating the category of the news information, and the like.

[0034] The output unit 111 provides news information stored in the news information storage memory unit 121 for users to view. Each user has user identification information (e.g., a login ID) and logs in and accesses the news information analysis device 1 via the client terminal 2, causing the output unit 111 to provide the news information stored in the news information storage memory unit 121 for the user to view (via the client terminal 2). The output unit 111 provides the news information stored in the news information storage memory unit 121 for the user to view via the client terminal 2. The output unit 111 may provide a list of news information assigned the same news identification information to each user as a top news screen (hereinafter also referred to as a "default viewing and provision screen") for each user to view. The output unit 111 may be controlled by an output control unit 113, which will be described later, so that news information recommended for each user is provided for each user to view. The detailed function of the output control unit 113 will be described later.

[0035] The user information management unit 112 links the news identification information of the news information actually viewed by the user among the news information viewed and provided to the user via the client terminal 2 by the output unit 111 to the user identification information (e.g., login ID) of the user, and stores a set of news identification information of the news information actually viewed by the user for each user identification information ("user-specific viewed news information") in the user-specific viewed news information storage unit 122. Note that the user-specific viewed news information may be stored by linking it to category information indicating the category of the news information for each news identification information. As described above, when creating the user-specific viewed news information, the user information management unit 112 may set as the user-specific viewed news information a set of news identification information of news information actually viewed by the user during a period from when the user logs in to the news information analysis device 1 until when the user logs out. Also, when creating the user-specific viewed news information, the user information management unit 112 may set as the user-specific viewed news information a set of news identification information of news information actually viewed by the user during a period from when the user logs in to the news information analysis device 1 until a predetermined time has elapsed. Also, the user information may set as the user-specific viewed news information a set of news identification information of news information actually viewed by the user after logging in to the news information analysis device 1 within a period of one day. Note that the predetermined period, the predetermined period range, and the like are not limited to the above examples. Also, an arbitrary period may be set as the predetermined period as necessary. The user information management unit 112 may refer to the user-specific news information viewed storage unit 122 and calculate, for each user identification information, the number of news information viewed by the user within a specified period based on the user-specific news information viewed. Furthermore, the user information management unit 112 may refer to the user-specific news information viewed storage unit 122 and tally up the number of news information items viewed by the user for each user identification information, for each category information indicating the category of the news information.

[0036] For each user identification information, the output control unit 113 identifies user identification information (hereinafter also referred to as a "user with high access frequency") for which the number of news information items actually viewed by the user within a specified period is equal to or exceeds a predetermined first threshold value. In addition, for each user identification information, the output control unit 113 identifies user identification information for which the number of news information viewed by the user within a specified period is below a second threshold value set in advance (hereinafter also referred to as a "user with low access frequency"). Here, the predetermined period may be a period that has elapsed a predetermined time from the user's most recent login time (or the period up to the current time), or conversely, a period that predates the user's current access time (or the period up to the most recent login time). Furthermore, users with high or low access frequency may be identified based on a statistical value such as the average number of news information items accessed during a number of past predetermined periods. The first and second thresholds are as follows: First threshold value ≧ second threshold value It is assumed that the following condition is satisfied. Note that the first threshold value may be equal to the second threshold value. As a result, the output control unit 113 can control the output unit 111 to recommend (for example, provide for viewing) news information viewed by a user with a high access frequency to a user with a low access frequency. This allows even a user who does not frequently access news information to efficiently view important news before the news becomes less fresh. Specifically, the output control unit 113 may control the output unit 111 to output the above-mentioned default viewing offer screen when there is no instruction from the user to output a recommended screen, and when an instruction to output a recommended screen is given from the user, control the output unit 111 to output a viewing offer screen (also called a "recommended viewing offer screen") that recommends news information viewed by a user with a high access frequency to a user with a low access frequency. In this case, if the recommended news information overlaps between users with high access frequencies, the news information with the greatest number of overlaps may be output preferentially. For example, for a user who has a low access frequency, a recommended viewing screen may be output as a default. In this case, for example, a button may be provided on the recommended viewing screen, and clicking the button may switch to the default viewing screen. Conversely, a button may be provided on the default viewing screen, and clicking the button may switch to the recommended viewing screen and output to a user who has a low access frequency.

[0037] In addition, when evaluating the access frequency of a user, multiple access frequencies may be set. Specifically, multiple different thresholds may be set, for example, Threshold 1 > Threshold 2 > . . . > Threshold n (n is a natural number greater than or equal to 2) It may be set as follows. In this way, the output control unit 113 can identify, for each user identification information, the user identification information for which the number of news information viewed by the user within a specified period exceeds or is equal to or greater than a preset threshold 1 (hereinafter also referred to as the "user with the highest access frequency"). Similarly, it can identify the user identification information for which the number of news information viewed by the user within a specified period is equal to or less than a threshold (i-1) and equal to or greater than a threshold i (i≧2) (hereinafter also referred to as the "i-th most frequently accessed user"). This enables the output control unit 113 to control the recommendation of news information viewed by users with high access frequency to users with low access frequency (for example, below threshold n). In addition, when the recommended news information overlaps, the overlaps may be removed and output. Also, when the recommended news information overlaps between users who access the information frequently, the news information with the greatest number of overlaps may be output preferentially.

[0038] Furthermore, as described above, the user information management unit 112 may further tally up the number of news information items viewed for each user for each category information indicating the category of the news information, so that the output control unit 113 may control the output unit 111 to recommend news information for each category viewed by a user whose number of news information items viewed for each category is equal to or exceeds a threshold value previously set for each category, to a user whose number of news information items viewed for each category is below the threshold value previously set for each category. In this case, for example, by setting multiple thresholds, the output control unit 113 may control the news information viewed by users with high access frequency for each category to be recommended to users with lower access frequency (for example, below threshold n) in that order. The configuration of each functional unit of the news information analysis device 1 exemplified as the present embodiment has been described above.

[0039] Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the news information analysis device 1. Note that the process shown in Fig. 3 illustrates an example of a processing form in which output control is performed so that news information viewed by a user with a high access frequency is recommended to a user with a low access frequency.

[0040] Referring to Figure 3, in step S10, the news information analysis device 1 (news information acquisition unit 110) connects to each external system 5 that distributes news information via the communication network 60 at a predetermined timing based on a connection URL, authentication information, etc., and acquires newly created news information or updated news information distributed from each external system 5, and assigns news identification information to each piece of news information and stores it in the news information storage memory unit 121.

[0041] In step S11, the news information analysis device 1 (output unit 111) provides the news information stored in the news information storage memory unit 121 for viewing by the user.

[0042] In step S12, the news information analysis device 1 (user information management unit 112) links the news identification information of the news information actually viewed by the user among the news information provided to the user for viewing by the output unit 111 to the user identification information of the user, and stores a set of news identification information of the news information actually viewed by the user for each user identification information ("user-specific viewed news information") in the user-specific viewed news information storage unit 122.

[0043] In step S13, the news information analysis device 1 (user information management unit 112) refers to the user-specific viewed news information storage unit 122 and calculates, for each piece of user identification information, the number of pieces of news information viewed by that user.

[0044] In step S14, the news information analysis device 1 (output control unit 113) identifies, for each user identification information, user identification information ("users with high access frequency") for which the number of news information items viewed by the user within a specified period of time is equal to or exceeds a preset threshold value.

[0045] In step S15, the news information analysis device 1 (output control unit 113) identifies, for each user identification information, user identification information for which the number of news information items viewed by the user is below a preset threshold value ("users with low access frequency").

[0046] In step S16, the news information analysis device 1 (output control unit 113) controls the output unit 111 to recommend (e.g. provide for viewing) news information viewed by users with high access frequency to users with low access frequency.

[0047] The above has described the operation of the news information analysis device 1, which acquires multiple news information distributed on the Internet by the external system 5, assigns news identification information to each piece of news information, and then provides the news information to users for viewing, as well as identifying the users viewing the news information, tallying up the number of news information items viewed for each user, and controlling the output so that news information viewed by users (users with high access frequency) whose number of news information items viewed is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value is recommended to users (users with low access frequency) whose number of news information items viewed is below the threshold value. As a result, news information analysis device 1 enables even a user who does not frequently access news information to efficiently view important news before the news loses its freshness.

[0048] Each of the devices can be realized by hardware, software, or a combination of these. In addition, the navigation method performed by the cooperation of each of the devices included in the navigation system can also be realized by hardware, software, or a combination of these. Here, "realized by software" means that it is realized by a computer reading and executing a program.

[0049] The program can be stored and provided to the computer using various types of non-transitory computer readable media. The non-transitory computer readable media includes various types of tangible storage media. Examples of the non-transitory computer readable media include magnetic recording media (e.g., flexible disks, magnetic tapes, hard disk drives), magneto-optical recording media (e.g., magneto-optical disks), CD-ROM (Read Only Memory), CD-R, CD-R / W, and semiconductor memory (e.g., mask ROM, PROM (Programmable ROM), EPROM (Erasable PROM), flash ROM, RAM (random access memory)). The program may also be provided to the computer by various types of transitory computer readable media. Examples of the transitory computer readable media include electric signals, optical signals, and electromagnetic waves. The transitory computer readable media can provide the program to the computer via a wired communication path such as an electric wire and an optical fiber, or via a wireless communication path.

[0050] The above-described embodiment is a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the present invention can be implemented in various modified forms without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0051] <Variation 1> In the above embodiment, the user information management unit 112 identifies the user by, for example, a login ID, but this is not limiting. For example, the user information management unit 112 may use cookie information to identify the user.

[0052] <Variation 2> In the above-described embodiment, the number of news information items with different news identification information viewed by each user is exemplified as the number of times the news information is viewed by each user. Specifically, based on the number of news information items with different news identification information viewed by the user within a specified period, a user is determined as having a high or low frequency of access to news information. In contrast, instead of the number of news information items with different news identification information viewed as the number of times the news information is viewed by each user, the number of times the news information is accessed may be the number of times the news information is viewed by each user. Specifically, when the same news information is accessed multiple times (n times; n>1), the number of news information items with different news identification information is calculated as 1, but the number of times the news information is accessed is calculated as n.

[0053] <Variation 3> In the above-described embodiment, the number of news information items with different news identification information viewed by each user was exemplified as the number of times the news information was viewed by each user, as the number of times the news information was viewed by each user, as tabulated for each user. In contrast, for example, the number of times each user logged in to a news information providing site provided by the news information analysis device 1 within a predetermined period of time may be the number of times the news information was viewed by each user, as tabulated for each user. In this case, for example, if a user logs in but does not access any news information within a preset time period, the user may be automatically logged off and the number of accesses may be set to zero. For example, users who access the site a specified number of times or more each day may be designated as rank A, those who access the site every day as rank B, those who access the site four or more times a week as rank C, those who access the site two to three times a week as rank D, and those who access the site once a week or less as rank E. In this case, the output control unit may display news information viewed by users of ranks A, B, C, and D to a user of rank E, for example, in that order.

[0054] <Variation 4> In the above embodiment, the news information analysis device 1 is described as being realized by one server device or the like, but the functions of the news information analysis device 1 may be appropriately distributed across multiple server devices to form a distributed processing system. Furthermore, each function of the news information analysis device 1 may be realized by using a virtual server function or the like on a cloud. [Explanation of symbols]

[0055] 100 News Information Analysis System 1. News information analysis device 11 Control section 110 News Information Acquisition Department 111 Output section 112 User Information Management Department 113 Output control section 12 Storage section 120 External system connection information storage unit 121 News information storage unit 122 User-specific news browsing information storage unit 13. Communications Department 14 Display section 15 Input section 2. Information processing terminal (client terminal) 5 External Systems 60 Communication Network

Claims

1. a news information acquiring unit that acquires a plurality of pieces of news information including text information from a communication network, assigns news identification information to each piece of news information, and stores the news information; an output unit that provides the news information stored by the news information acquisition unit to a user for viewing; a user information management unit that identifies users who view the news information provided for viewing by the output unit and tally up the number of times the news information has been viewed for each user; an output control unit that controls the output unit so as to recommend the news information, to which the news identification information is assigned, that has been viewed by the user whose number of times the news information has been viewed is equal to or greater than a preset threshold, to the user whose number of times the news information has been viewed is less than the threshold; A news information analysis device comprising:

2. The news information analysis device of claim 1, characterized in that the number of times the news information is viewed is either the number of news information with different news identification information accessed by each user, the number of times the news information accessed by each user is accessed, or the number of times a news information providing site that provides the news information for viewing by each user is accessed.

3. The news information analysis device of claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that a plurality of thresholds are set in advance, and the news information to which the news identification information has been assigned and which has been viewed by the user is recommended to the user whose number of times the news information has been viewed among the plurality of thresholds is lower than the lower threshold.

4. The news information acquisition unit also acquires category information indicating a news category of the news information, and stores the news information in association with the category information; the user information management unit tallying up the number of times the news information has been viewed for each of the categories; The news information analysis device of claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the output control unit controls the output unit to recommend the news information for each category viewed by the user whose number of views of the news information for each category is equal to or greater than a threshold value set in advance for each category, to the user whose number of views of the news information for each category is below the threshold value set for each category.

5. The news information analysis device of claim 4, characterized in that a plurality of thresholds are set in advance for each category, and the output control unit controls the output control unit to recommend the news information, which is assigned the news identification information and which the user has viewed for each category, to the users whose ratings fall below a lower threshold, in order of the users who have viewed the news information for each category among the plurality of thresholds.

6. A computer device connected to a communications network, a news information acquiring unit that acquires a plurality of pieces of news information including text information from the communication network, assigns news identification information to each piece of news information, and stores the news information; an output unit for providing the news information stored by the news information acquisition unit to a user for viewing; a user information management unit that identifies users who view the news information provided for viewing by the output unit and tally up the number of times the news information has been viewed for each user; an output control unit that controls the output unit so as to recommend the news information, to which the news identification information is assigned, that has been viewed by the user whose number of times the news information has been viewed is equal to or greater than a preset threshold, to the user whose number of times the news information has been viewed is below the threshold; A news information analysis program characterized by functioning as:

7. 1. A computer-implemented method for analyzing news information, comprising: a news information acquiring step of acquiring a plurality of pieces of news information including text information from a communication network, assigning news identification information to each piece of news information, and storing the acquired news information; an output step of providing the news information stored in the news information acquisition step to a user for viewing; a user information management step of identifying users who view the news information provided for viewing in the output step and tallying up the number of times the news information has been viewed for each user; an output control step of controlling the output step so as to recommend the news information, to which the news identification information is attached, that has been viewed by the user whose number of times the news information has been viewed is equal to or greater than a preset threshold, to the user whose number of times the news information has been viewed is less than the threshold; A news information analysis method comprising:

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