Method and apparatus for chatting service

Abstract

To provide a chatting service method and apparatus.SOLUTION: A method of operating a server providing a chatting service corresponding to one or more themes, according to an embodiment, includes: receiving a message including area information through a chat room corresponding to a specific theme; providing a map interface for exposing information about the message to a terminal; determining an area range based on view manipulation information of the map interface received from the terminal; extracting message information corresponding to the area range; and providing the extracted message information through the map interface.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The following embodiments relate to a chat service method and device. [Background technology]

[0002] Recently, with the development of mobile smart devices, the use of online platform services for interacting with other users through networks is increasing. Representative examples of online platform services for interacting with other users include social networking services (SNS), which are online platforms that create and strengthen social relationships through communication between users, information sharing, and networking expansion, and instant messaging services (IMS), which are online platforms for real-time content communication between two or more users. As communication through such mobile devices increases, online platform services provide not only 1:1 communication with other users but also multi-party communication and various types of communication services. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0003] An object of the following embodiment is to provide a service for sharing messages on a regional basis.

[0004] However, the technical issues are not limited to those mentioned above, and further technical issues may exist. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] According to one aspect, a method of operating a server providing a chat service corresponding to one or more themes includes the steps of receiving a message including regional information through a chat room corresponding to a specific theme, providing a map interface to a terminal for exposing information regarding the message, determining a regional range based on view operation information of the map interface received from the terminal, extracting message information corresponding to the regional range, and providing the extracted message information via the map interface.

[0006] The step of extracting message information may include determining which message information to extract based on the level of geographic coverage.

[0007] The step of extracting the message information may include the steps of: extracting a target message including regional information corresponding to the regional range; and extracting a file included in the target message.

[0008] The method of operating the server may further include determining a representative file based on metadata of a file included in the target message and regional information included in the target message.

[0009] The step of determining the representative file may include the steps of determining candidate messages from the target messages based on whether metadata of files included in the target messages and regional information included in the target messages match; determining a representativeness score of the candidate messages with respect to at least one of the specific theme and the regional range; and determining a representative file from files included in the candidate messages based on the representativeness score.

[0010] Providing the extracted message information may include providing an interfacing object that indicates information about the representative file via the map interface.

[0011] The step of extracting message information may include extracting statistical information of target messages including regional information corresponding to the regional range.

[0012] Providing the extracted message information may include providing an interfacing object that indicates statistics of the target message via the map interface.

[0013] The step of extracting the message information may include extracting messages created by a specific type of account from among target messages including region information corresponding to the region range.

[0014] The view operation information can be generated based on at least one of an input for changing position information on a map displayed via the map interface, an input for changing a scale of a map displayed via the map interface, and an input for searching for a specific location via the map interface.

[0015] According to one aspect, a method for operating a terminal using a chat service corresponding to one or more themes includes the steps of selecting a chat room corresponding to a particular theme, displaying a map interface for exposing information regarding messages sent through the selected chat room, transmitting view operation information to a server for determining a regional range corresponding to the map interface, and displaying message information corresponding to the determined regional range via the map interface.

[0016] Displaying the message information may include displaying the message information based on the determined level of geographic coverage.

[0017] Displaying the message information may include displaying information about a file included in a message corresponding to the determined geographical area via the map interface.

[0018] The step of displaying the message information may include the step of displaying statistical information of messages corresponding to the determined area range via the map interface.

[0019] According to one aspect, a server providing a chat service corresponding to one or more themes includes a processor that receives a message including regional information through a chat room corresponding to a specific theme, provides a map interface for exposing information regarding the message to a terminal, determines a regional range based on view operation information of the map interface received from the terminal, extracts message information corresponding to the regional range, and provides the extracted message information via the map interface.

[0020] In extracting the message information, the processor can extract a target message including regional information corresponding to the regional range, and extract a file included in the target message.

[0021] The processor may determine a representative file based on metadata of files included in the target message and regional information included in the target message.

[0022] In extracting the message information, the processor may extract statistical information of target messages including regional information corresponding to the regional range.

[0023] According to one aspect, a terminal using a chat service corresponding to one or more themes includes a processor that selects a chat room corresponding to a particular theme, displays a map interface for exposing information regarding messages sent through the selected chat room, transmits view operation information to a server for determining a regional range corresponding to the map interface, and displays message information corresponding to the determined regional range via the map interface. Effect of the Invention

[0024] According to the present invention, a service for sharing messages on a regional basis can be provided. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0025] [Figure 1] 1 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a server that provides a chat service corresponding to one or more themes according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] 1 is an operational flowchart of a terminal using a chat service corresponding to one or more themes according to an embodiment; [Figure 3A] FIG. 13 illustrates an example of an interface screen for selecting a chat room according to an embodiment. [Figure 3B] FIG. 13 illustrates an example of an interface screen for selecting a chat room according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a view operation input for determining a region range according to an embodiment. [Diagram 5] 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of an interface screen for creating a message including region information according to an embodiment. FIG. [Figure 6] 11 is a diagram illustrating message information displayed through a map interface according to an embodiment; FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 illustrates an example screen shot of an interface for displaying messages in a chat room corresponding to a particular theme according to one embodiment. [Figure 8]FIG. 2 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a system for a chat service corresponding to one or more themes according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0026] The specific structural or functional description of the embodiments is disclosed for the purpose of illustration only, and may be modified in various forms. Therefore, the embodiments are not limited to the specific disclosed forms, and the scope of the present specification includes modifications, equivalents, or alternatives within the technical spirit.

[0027] Although terms such as first or second may be used to describe multiple components, such terms should be construed only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from the other components. For example, a first component may be named a second component, and similarly, a second component may be named a first component.

[0028] When any component is referred to as being "connected" to another component, it is directly linked or connected to the other component, but it should be understood that there may be other components in between.

[0029] The singular expression includes the plural expression unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this specification, the terms "comprise" or "have" and the like indicate the presence of a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, and should be understood as not precluding the possibility of the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

[0030] Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs. Commonly used predefined terms should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning they have in the context of the relevant art, and should not be interpreted as ideal or overly formal unless expressly defined in this specification.

[0031] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description with reference to the drawings, the same components are given the same reference numerals regardless of the reference numerals, and the duplicated description thereof will be omitted.

[0032] FIG. 1 is an operational flowchart of a server providing a chat service corresponding to one or more themes according to an embodiment.

[0033] The server can provide chat services corresponding to one or more themes via a network. Chat services include messaging services that transmit messages such as text messages, voice messages, media files, etc. in real time via a network such as the wireless Internet or a wireless communication network, and services related thereto that enable multiple users to chat in real time.

[0034] The server may be linked to a web related to the chat service or an application related to the chat service (hereinafter, an app) executed on the terminal for a user interface (UI), function, operation, service, etc.

[0035] A user can use a chat service provided by a server by executing a web or an app for the chat service on a terminal. The terminal means any device capable of installing and executing an app or executing a web, as one of electronic devices such as a computer, a portable computer, a wireless phone, a mobile phone, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a web tablet, a wearable device, etc. Here, the terminal can be provided with services and / or contents through the app or the web. For example, the terminal can perform general service operations such as configuring a service screen, inputting data, transmitting and receiving data, and storing data under the control of the app or the web. For example, the terminal can process a user interface or user interaction through a processor and output or transmit a processing result through an output device of the terminal.

[0036] A user can use the chat service by using an account created by subscribing to the chat service or another service linked to the chat service. A user's terminal means a terminal logged in with the user's account.

[0037] According to an embodiment, a chat interface may be provided to a terminal via an app or web for a chat service. The chat interface is an interface for sending and receiving messages for chat, and may include, for example, an interface that provides a function of sending a message through a chat room in which at least one user account participates and displaying a received message. The chat interface corresponds to a chat room, which is a virtual space in which at least one user account participates and in which chats between participants take place.

[0038] Referring to FIG. 1, an operating method of a server according to an embodiment includes receiving 110 a message including local information through a chat room corresponding to a specific theme. The theme means a chat purpose, subject, category, concept, or a keyword related to the chat content, and may include, for example, "today's weather," "festival of autumn leaves," "local news," "baseball," "Korea-Japan match sports," and the like. A chat room may be generated corresponding to a specific theme. For example, a first chat room corresponding to a first theme and a second chat room corresponding to a second theme are generated, and the first chat room and the second chat room correspond to chat spaces that are distinct from each other.

[0039] A message sent through a chat room may include area information. Area information may include information indicating an administrative district (e.g., city / province, city / county / gu, town / village / dong), a specific location address, GPS coordinate information, or other location information. For example, area information may be included in the message body, or area information may be added to the message in the form of a tag. Area information included in a message may be determined by a user's input, or may be determined by the location information of the terminal.

[0040] An operating method of the server according to an embodiment includes providing a map interface for exposing information about messages to a terminal (step 120). A map of a specific area range may be displayed through the map interface. Information about messages received through a chat room corresponding to a specific theme (hereinafter, message information) may be displayed through the map interface. The message information displayed through the map interface will be described in detail below.

[0041] The operating method of the server according to one embodiment includes a step 130 of determining a region range based on the view operation information of the map interface received from the terminal.

[0042] The view of the map interface is controlled by a user's input. The view of the map interface means a view of a map screen outputted to a user's terminal via the map interface. As an example, the location information displayed via the map interface may be changed by the user's input. As an example, the scale of the map displayed via the map interface may be changed by the user's input.

[0043] The view operation information is information instructing a change in the view of the map interface, and may include, for example, at least one of an input for changing position information on a map displayed via the map interface, an input for changing the scale of a map displayed via the map interface, an input for searching for a specific location via the map interface, and an input for selecting a region item in a region list. The input for changing the position information on the map may cause the view of the map interface to display a map corresponding to the changed position information. The input for changing the scale of the map may cause the view of the map interface to be changed to display a map corresponding to a narrower area or a wider area. The input for searching for a specific location may cause the view of the map interface to be changed to display a map corresponding to the searched location. The input for searching for a specific location means inputting a search term that can identify location information, such as an input for searching for a specific address, an input for searching for a specific region name, or an input for searching for a specific business name. The input for selecting a region item in a region list means an input for selecting one or more items from a region list including one or more region items provided via the map interface. The view of the map interface may be changed to display a map corresponding to the selected region item.

[0044] A region range may be determined based on the position information on the map displayed through the map interface. The region range may be determined as an area including the position information on the map displayed through the map interface. For example, if the position information on the map displayed through the map interface is a part of the administrative area of ​​"C-dong, B-gu, A-city", the region range may be determined as "C-dong, B-gu, A-city", "B-gu, A-city", or "A-city".

[0045] In one embodiment, the method of operating the server includes extracting 140 message information corresponding to the determined geographic range.

[0046] The message information corresponding to the area range may include information about a message including area information corresponding to the area range. Hereinafter, a message including area information corresponding to the area range is referred to as a target message. For example, if the area range is determined to be "A City, B Ward", a message including location information belonging to "A City, B Ward" or "A City, B Ward" as area information corresponds to the target message.

[0047] The message information is information about a message and may include at least one of information about the message sender, the content of the message, files included in the message (e.g., images, videos, document files, etc.), and statistical information about the message.

[0048] In one embodiment, extracting message information 140 includes extracting at least one message (or target message) that includes regional information corresponding to a regional range, and extracting files contained in the extracted at least one target message.

[0049] According to an embodiment, a method of operating a server includes determining a representative file based on metadata of a file included in a target message and regional information included in the target message. The metadata of the file may include information indicating location information of a terminal at the time when the file was generated in the terminal or stored in the terminal. The representative file may be selected from one or more files included in one or more target messages. As an example, one or more files may be determined as a representative file based on a degree of association between the metadata of the file and regional information included in the message.

[0050] According to an embodiment, the step of determining the representative file includes a step of determining a candidate message from among the extracted target messages based on whether the metadata of the file included in the extracted target message and the regional information included in the extracted target message match. If the location information indicated by the metadata of the file included in the target message matches the regional information included in the target message, the target message may be determined as a candidate message. Or, if the location information indicated by the metadata of the file included in the target message belongs to the determined regional range, the target message may be determined as a candidate message. Or, if the determined regional range belongs to the location information indicated by the metadata of the file included in the target message, the target message may be determined as a candidate message. Or, if the determined regional range and the location information indicated by the metadata of the file included in the target message are adjacent (for example, if the distance between the determined regional range and the location information indicated by the metadata of the file included in the target message is equal to or less than a threshold), the target message may be determined as a candidate message.

[0051] According to one embodiment, determining the representative file comprises determining a representativeness score of the candidate message for at least one of a particular theme and geographic area, and determining a representative file from among the files contained in the candidate message based on the representativeness score, where the representativeness score of a message is a measure of whether the candidate message is a representative message for a particular theme and / or geographic area.

[0052] The representativeness score of a message may be determined based on at least one of the following: the relevance of a file contained in the message to a particular theme, the relevance of the content of the message to a particular theme, the number of reactions to the message, the number of reactions to a file contained in the message (e.g., inquiries, downloads, shares, replies, reaction displays, etc.), the creation time of the message, the current location information of the device that requested the message to be sent, profile information of the user who created the message, and whether or not the message is a declared message.

[0053] For example, the relevance of a file included in a message to a particular theme may be a value related to the degree to which the content of the file included in the message corresponds to the particular theme. For example, if the particular theme is a weather-related theme such as "today's weather," the representativeness score of a message including a file including weather-related content (e.g., an image or video in which the weather is identified, a document file describing the weather, etc.) may be determined to be higher than the representativeness score of a message including a file of other content.

[0054] For example, the relevance of the content of a message to a specific theme may be a value related to the degree to which the content of text included in the message corresponds to the specific theme. For example, if the specific theme is a weather-related theme such as "today's weather," the representativeness score of a message including text with weather-related content (e.g., text describing the weather) may be determined to be higher than the representativeness score of a message including text with other content.

[0055] As an example, reactions to a message may include actions such as viewing, sharing, copying, replying to, and / or reacting to the message (e.g., liking, registering an interest, etc.) The more reactions there are to a message, the higher the representativeness score of the message may be determined to be.

[0056] For example, reactions to a file included in a message may include actions such as viewing, downloading, sharing, copying, and / or displaying a reaction (e.g., liking, registering an interest, etc.) to the file included in the message. The more reactions there are to a file included in a message, the higher the representativeness score of the message may be determined to be.

[0057] As an example, the closer the creation time of a message is to the current time, the higher the representativeness score of the message may be determined to be.

[0058] For example, if the current location information of the terminal that requested the transmission of the message belongs to a regional range, the representativeness score of the message may be determined to be a high value, as opposed to a case where the current location information of the terminal that requested the transmission of the message belongs to a regional range.

[0059] As an example, the profile information of a user who created a message may include information that identifies the user or indicates the user's characteristics. The user's profile information may include, for example, information about the user's name, ID, nickname, age, sex, residential area, main living area, occupation, workplace, hobby, reporting history, etc. Based on the relevance of the profile information of the user who created the message to a specific theme and / or area range, the representativeness score of the message may be determined. For example, if the user's residential area, main living area, or workplace belongs to a regional range, the representativeness score of the message created by the user may be determined to be a higher value than the representativeness score of the message created by a user who does not belong to the regional range. For example, if the user's hobby or occupation is related to a specific theme, the representativeness score of the message created by the user may be determined to be a higher value than the representativeness score of the message created by a user who does not belong to the regional range.

[0060] As an example, whether a message is a declared message may be determined based on whether there is a history of the message being declared by another user or if the content of the message was created in violation of regulations, the message may be excluded from the candidate messages or the representativeness score of the message may be set to a low value so that a file contained in the message is not selected as a representative file.

[0061] In one embodiment, step 140 of extracting message information includes extracting statistical information of messages (or target messages) including area information corresponding to a regional range. For example, the statistical information of the target messages may include information indicating the amount or number of target messages. The statistical information of the target messages may include information indicating the amount or number of messages for each area at a level lower than the regional range. For example, the statistical information of the target messages may include information indicating the amount or number of messages for each area at the "dong" level belonging to "A City B District" when the regional range is determined to be "A City B District."

[0062] Extracting 140 message information according to one embodiment includes extracting messages (or target messages) that include regional information corresponding to a regional range and that are created by a particular type of account.

[0063] Accounts of users who subscribe to a chat service are classified into a number of types. As an example, the types of accounts may include at least one of a corporate type, an advertiser type, an administrator type, and a general type. A corporate type account corresponds to an account set up for a legal entity or organization that is not a natural person. An advertiser type account corresponds to an account subscribed for the purpose of providing advertisements through the chat service. An administrator type account corresponds to an account set up as an administrator of a chat room. A general type account corresponds to an account created by subscription of a general user.

[0064] Among the target messages, messages created by at least one of accounts of a business type, an advertiser type, and an operator type may be extracted. Messages created by advertiser type or operator type accounts may be displayed differently from messages created by general type accounts. The manner of displaying messages will be described in detail below.

[0065] The step 140 of extracting message information according to an embodiment includes a step of determining message information to be extracted based on the determined level of the area scope. The level of the area scope is classified according to the size or unit of the area included in the area scope. For example, the level of the area scope may be classified into a "nationwide" level, a "city / province" level, a "city / county / gu" level, and a "town / village / dong" level according to the administrative unit that the area scope includes.

[0066] For example, when the level of the area range is a first level (e.g., the "nationwide" level), the extracted message information may be determined as statistical information of the target message. Meanwhile, when the level of the area range is a second level (e.g., the "city / province" level, the "city / county / gu" level, or the "town / village / dong" level), the extracted message information may be determined as a representative file of the target message. By differently determining the message information to be extracted according to the level, various message information can be provided through the map interface. Information corresponding to the area range covered by the map displayed in the map interface can be provided.

[0067] In one embodiment, the method of operation of the server includes providing 150 the extracted message information via a map interface.

[0068] If the representative file is extracted from the message information, the step 150 of providing the extracted message information may include a step of providing an interfacing object indicating information about the representative file via a map interface. Hereinafter, the interfacing object indicating information about the representative file is referred to as a first interfacing object. The first interfacing object may be displayed at a position corresponding to the representative file on a map displayed via the map interface. As an example, the position information corresponding to the representative file corresponds to information indicating a position of regional information included in the representative message. As an example, the position information corresponding to the representative file may include a step of providing the representative file via a first interfacing object indicating a position in the representative map interface. As an example, the first interfacing object may be displayed at a position on the map corresponding to the message including the representative file. The position on the map corresponding to the message including the representative file may include a position corresponding to regional information included in the message on the map displayed via the map interface or the position of the terminal at the time the message was created.

[0069] Hereinafter, a message including a representative file will be referred to as a representative message. According to an embodiment, the shape of the first interfacing object may be determined according to the number of messages including the same region information as the representative message among messages received through a chat room corresponding to a particular theme. For example, at least one of the size, shape, color, and special effect of the first interfacing object may be determined according to the number of messages including the same region information as the representative message. For example, the larger the number of messages including the same region information as the representative message, the larger the first interfacing object is displayed.

[0070] If a representative file is extracted from the message information, providing extracted message information 150 includes providing content information of the representative message. As an example, text messages contained in the representative message may be displayed via a map interface.

[0071] When the statistical information of the target message is extracted from the message information, the step 150 of providing the extracted message information may include a step of providing an interfacing object indicating the statistical information of the target message via a map interface. Hereinafter, the interfacing object indicating the statistical information of the target message is referred to as a second interfacing object. The second interfacing object may be displayed at a position corresponding to the statistical information on the map displayed via the map interface. As an example, the number of messages for each region at a level lower than the region range may be displayed via the second interfacing object. The second interfacing object may display the number of target messages corresponding to each region. The second interfacing object may be displayed at the position of each region on the map.

[0072] According to an embodiment, the shape of the second interfacing object may be determined according to the number of messages for each region that are lower than the region range among messages received through a chat room corresponding to a specific theme. For example, at least one of the size, shape, color, and special effect of the second interfacing object may be determined according to the number of messages for each region. For example, the larger the number of messages for each region, the larger the second interfacing object is displayed.

[0073] FIG. 2 is an operational flowchart of a terminal using a chat service corresponding to one or more themes according to an embodiment.

[0074] 2, a method of operating a terminal according to an embodiment includes step 210 of selecting a chat room corresponding to a particular theme, and step 220 of displaying a map interface for exposing information about messages sent through the selected chat room. A user may select a chat room corresponding to a particular theme through a terminal running a web or app for a chat service. A map interface corresponding to the selected chat room may be displayed through the terminal.

[0075] For example, referring to screen 301 shown in FIG. 3A, an interface for selecting a chat room may be provided on a terminal executing a web or app for a chat service. As described above, chat rooms are provided for each theme corresponding to the theme. The interface for selecting a chat room includes an interfacing object 310 indicating a theme corresponding to the created chat room. For example, a chat room corresponding to the "Today's Weather" theme may be selected by an input to select an interfacing object 311 indicating the "Today's Weather" theme. Once a chat room is selected, a map interface 320 is displayed to display information regarding messages sent through the chat room.

[0076] An input selecting the interfacing object 312 indicating the "Local News" theme causes the screen 301 to be transformed into the screen 302 shown in Figure 3B. Referring to the screen 302 shown in Figure 3B, a map interface 330 of chat rooms corresponding to the "Local News" theme is displayed.

[0077] According to one embodiment, chat rooms corresponding to a particular theme may be selected not only by selecting an interfacing object 310 indicating the theme, but also by directly searching for the name of the theme or by searching for keywords related to the theme.

[0078] According to an embodiment, the method of operating the terminal includes sending view operation information to a server for determining a region range corresponding to the map interface at step 230. As described above, the view of the map interface is controlled by a user's input, and the view operation information is information instructing a change in the view of the map interface.

[0079] The view operation information may include an input for changing a scale of a map displayed through the map interface. For example, the input for changing the scale of the map may include an input for pinching in and / or pinching out on an area where the map is displayed. The scale of the map may be reduced by an input for pinching in on an area where the map is displayed. The scale of the map may be reduced by an input for pinching out on an area where the map is displayed. A region range corresponding to the map interface may be determined according to the scale of the map.

[0080] For example, referring to the screen 401 shown in FIG. 4, when an area corresponding to "A Road B City" is displayed on the map, the area range may be determined as "A Road B City". The area range determined via the area range display window 410 may be displayed. When the scale of the map is reduced by pinch-in input on the screen 401, and an area including a plurality of "cities" included in "A Road" is displayed on the map as in the screen 402, the area range is determined as "A Road". When the scale of the map is reduced by pinch-in input on the screen 402, and an area including a plurality of "roads" included in "nationwide" is displayed on the map as in the screen 403, the area range is determined as "nationwide". On the other hand, when the scale of the map is enlarged by pinch-out input on the screen 403, and an area corresponding to "A Road" is displayed on the map as in the screen 402, the area range is determined as "A Road". On screen 402, when the scale of the map is enlarged by pinch-out input, and the area corresponding to "Province A, City B" is displayed on the map as in screen 401, the regional range is determined to be "Province A, City B".

[0081] In addition, the view operation information may include an input for changing the position information on the map displayed through the map interface. For example, the position information on the map displayed through the map interface may be changed by an input for dragging an area on which the map is displayed. When the position information on the map is changed from "C-dong, City B, Province A" to "D-dong, City B, Province A" by an input for dragging an area on which the map is displayed, the area range is determined as "D-dong, City B, Province A."

[0082] The view operation information may include an input for searching for a specific location through a map interface. When a name or address of a specific location is searched for through a map interface, a region scope may be determined as a region including the location. A map of the region including the location may be displayed through the map interface. For example, when a searched location is located in "C-dong, B-city, A-do", the region scope may be determined as "C-dong, B-city, A-do", or "B-city, A-do", or "A-do". The level of the region scope is determined to be a predetermined level or the same level as the level of the region scope corresponding to the map interface before the search.

[0083] According to an embodiment, the method of operating the terminal includes displaying message information corresponding to the determined area range via a map interface 240. As described above, the message information corresponding to the area range may include information about a message including area information corresponding to the area range. The message including area information corresponding to the area range is referred to as a target message.

[0084] A message sent through a chat room may include region information. A message may be created to include region information through an interface for creating a message. The region information of a message may be determined as the location information of a terminal at the time the message is created, or may be determined as the location information input by a user creating the message.

[0085] For example, referring to screen 501 shown in FIG. 5, the interface for creating a message includes a message region information input menu 510. The message region information can be determined by selecting a specific region menu in message region information input menu 510. For example, referring to screen 501 shown in FIG. 5, the interface for creating a message includes a message region information input window 520. Information related to location information input by a user into region information input window 520 may be determined as the message region information. Current terminal location information may be automatically input into region information input window 520.

[0086] According to an embodiment, the step of displaying 240 message information includes a step of displaying information about files included in the message corresponding to the determined region range via a map interface. As described above, the files displayed via the map interface may include a file selected as a representative file among the files included in the target message.

[0087] For example, referring to a screen 601 shown in FIG. 6, the map interface includes a first interfacing object 610 indicating information about a representative file. If the representative file is an image, the first interfacing object 610 may include an image of the representative file. The first interfacing object 610 is displayed at a position on the map corresponding to a message including the representative file. The position on the map corresponding to the message corresponds to the position of the local information included in the message. The shape of the first interfacing object 610 is determined based on the number of messages including the same local information. For example, the larger the number of messages including the same local information, the larger the first interfacing object is displayed. Alternatively, the shape of the first interfacing object 610 may be determined based on whether the first interfacing object 610 is selected. For example, when a selection input for the first interfacing object 610 is received, the selected first interfacing object 610 may be displayed larger than other unselected first interfacing objects.

[0088] When an input for selecting the first interfacing object 610 is received, the screen 601 is converted to a representative file details page screen 602. Referring to the screen 602, an overall image of the representative file displayed in the first interfacing object 610 and information about a message including the representative file may be displayed. The information about the message displayed on the details page screen 602 may include at least one of the contents of the message, information about the message creator (e.g., name, ID, nickname, etc.), the time of message creation, and information about reactions to the message (e.g., the number of times "likes" were set, the number of times interest was set, comments, etc.).

[0089] The map interface includes a display window 620 of summary information of a message corresponding to the selected first interfacing object 610. The summary information of the message may include at least one of a representative file, a text message, information about the creator, and reaction information to the message. By selecting the display window 620 of summary information of the message, the screen 601 is switched to a detail page screen 604 of the message. Referring to the screen 604, the entire contents of the message displayed in the display window 620 and information about the message are displayed. The entire contents of the message displayed on the detail page screen 604 may include a text message and / or a file included in the message. The information about the message displayed on the detail page screen 604 may include at least one of the contents of the message, information about the creator of the message (e.g., name, ID, nickname, etc.), the time of creating the message, and reaction information to the message (e.g., the number of times "like" was set, the number of times interest was set, comments, etc.).

[0090] Referring to the screen 601, the map interface includes a display window 630 of messages created by a specific type of account. For example, the specific type of account may include at least one of an advertiser type and an administrator type account as a type of account other than a general type. The message displayed through the display window 630 corresponds to a message designated as a representative message by the specific type of account in relation to public knowledge or a theme. By input selecting the display window 630, the screen 601 is converted to a screen 603 displaying an overall message list of the chat room. Referring to the screen 603 displaying the overall message list, the overall messages sent through the chat room may be displayed. For example, the screen 603 displaying the overall message list may display an area corresponding to the message displayed through the display window 630 in the overall message list. For example, the overall message list may include a list of messages generated by filtering the overall messages sent through the chat room by region information. As an example, referring to screen 603, an interfacing object 640 for selecting regional information for message filtering is provided, and by inputting a selection of an interfacing object 641 corresponding to “Gyeonggi” regional information, a message list filtered to messages including regional information belonging to “Gyeonggi” or “Gyeonggi” is provided.

[0091] 2, the step of displaying 240 message information according to an embodiment includes displaying statistical information of messages corresponding to the determined area range via a map interface. As described above, the statistical information of the target messages may include information indicating the amount or number of the target messages.

[0092] For example, referring to the screen 403 shown in FIG. 4, the map interface includes second interfacing objects 421 and 422 indicating statistical information of messages. The second interfacing objects 421 and 422 may display information on the number of target messages for each low-level region belonging to the region range. For example, when the region range is determined as "nationwide", information on the number of target messages for each region may be displayed through the second interfacing objects 421 and 422 corresponding to "city / province"-level regions belonging to the region range of "nationwide". For example, the second interfacing object 421 corresponding to "Seoul" may display information on the number of messages including "Seoul" as region information among messages sent through a chat room corresponding to a specific theme. The second interfacing object 422 corresponding to "Sejong" may display information on the number of messages including "Sejong" as region information among messages sent through a chat room corresponding to a specific theme. The shapes of the second interfacing objects 421 and 422 may be determined to be different depending on the number of messages. For example, if the number of messages including "Seoul" as regional information is greater than the number of messages including "Sejong" as regional information, the color of the second interfacing object 421 corresponding to "Seoul" may be displayed in a darker color than the second interfacing object 422 corresponding to "Sejong", or the size of the second interfacing object 421 corresponding to "Seoul" may be displayed larger than the size of the second interfacing object 422 corresponding to "Sejong".

[0093] 2, the step 240 of displaying the message information according to an embodiment includes a step of displaying the message information based on the determined level of the regional scope. For example, when the level of the regional scope is a first level (e.g., a "nationwide" level), the extracted message information may be determined as statistical information of the target message.

[0094] For example, referring to FIG. 4, when the level of the regional scope is a first level (e.g., "nationwide" level) as shown in screen 403, the extracted message information may be determined as statistical information of the target message. Second interfacing objects 421, 422 indicating the statistical information of the target message via a map interface are displayed. Meanwhile, when the level of the regional scope is a second level (e.g., "city / province" level, "city / county / gu" level, or "town / village / dong" level) as shown in screens 401 and 402, the extracted message information may be determined as a representative file of the target message. A first interfacing object indicating information regarding the representative file may be displayed via a map interface.

[0095] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of an interface screen for displaying messages in a chat room corresponding to a particular theme according to one embodiment.

[0096] According to an embodiment, a message in a chat room corresponding to a particular theme may be added with category information according to the theme. For example, the category information according to the theme may include at least one of region information and detailed category information corresponding to the theme. In other words, the category information added to a message may be determined to be different types depending on the theme.

[0097] 7, a "Baseball League" theme 710 may be selected from among the themes corresponding to the chat rooms. By selecting the "Baseball League" theme 710, the screen 701 is switched to a screen 702 of the interface of the chat room corresponding to the "Baseball League".

[0098] Referring to screen 702, a list of messages sent through a chat room corresponding to the "Baseball League" theme is displayed. The messages in the chat room corresponding to the "Baseball League" theme may include the names of the teams in the "Baseball League" as detailed category information. The message list in the chat room corresponding to the "Baseball League" theme may include a list of messages generated by filtering the entire messages sent through the chat room as detailed category information. An interfacing object 720 for selecting detailed category information for message filtering is provided, and a message list filtered to messages including category information corresponding to the "A Team" can be provided by inputting an interfacing object 721 corresponding to the region information of the "A Team".

[0099] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a system for providing a chat service corresponding to one or more themes according to an embodiment.

[0100] Referring to FIG. 8, the system according to one embodiment includes a terminal 810 and a server 820 connected via a network 830 .

[0101] The terminal 810 according to an embodiment may be a mobile terminal implemented by a computer device. For example, the terminal 810 may communicate with the server 820 and / or other electronic devices via the network 830 using a wireless or wired communication method.

[0102] The server 820 according to an embodiment may be realized as a computer device or a plurality of computer devices that communicate with the terminal 810 and / or other servers via the network 830 to provide instructions, codes, files, content, services, and the like. The communication method is not limited and may include the network 830, and may include a communication method using a communication network (e.g., a mobile communication network, a wired Internet, a wireless Internet, a broadcasting network), and a short-range wireless communication method between devices. For example, the network 830 may include one or more of a personal area network (PAN), a local area network (LAN), a campus area network (CAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a wide area network (WAN), a broadband network (BBN), the Internet, and the like.

[0103] According to an embodiment, the server 820 may provide a file for installing an application to the terminal 810 connected via the network 830. In this case, the terminal 810 installs an application (e.g., an app for a chat service) using the file provided by the server 820. In addition, the terminal 810 connects to the server 820 according to the control of an operating system (OS) and at least one program (e.g., a browser or an installed application) included in the terminal 810, and a service or content provided by the server 820 is provided. For example, when the terminal 810 transmits a service request message to the server 820 via the network 830 according to the control of an application, the server 820 transmits a code corresponding to the service request message to the terminal 810, and the terminal 810 can provide the content to the user by configuring and displaying a screen according to the code according to the control of the application.

[0104] According to one embodiment, the terminal 810 and the server 820 include memories 811, 821, processors 813, 823, communication modules 815, 825 and input / output interfaces 817, 827.

[0105] The processors 813 and 823 according to an embodiment may perform at least one of the operations described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. For example, the processor 813 may perform at least one of the operations of the terminal 810 using the chat service corresponding to one or more themes described above with reference to FIG. 2, and the processor 823 may perform at least one of the operations of the server 820 providing the chat service corresponding to one or more themes described above with reference to FIG. 1. The processors 813 and 823 are configured to process instructions of a computer program by performing basic arithmetic, logic, and input / output operations. The instructions may be provided to the processors 813 and 823 by the memories 811 and 821 or the communication modules 815 and 825.

[0106] The memories 811 and 821 may be volatile or non-volatile memories as computer readable recording media. The memories 811 and 821 according to an embodiment may store information for a chat service corresponding to one or more themes described above with reference to Figs. 1 to 7. As an example, the memory 821 may store user account information subscribing to the chat service and chat room information corresponding to the theme.

[0107] The memory 811 according to an embodiment may include code for an app or web for a chat service that is installed on the terminal 810 and driven by a file provided by the server 820 via the network 830 .

[0108] The memory 821 according to an embodiment may store a program that embodies the operations for the chat service described above with reference to FIGS.

[0109] The communication modules 815 and 825 according to an embodiment provide a function for the terminal 810 and the server 820 to communicate with each other via the network 830, and provide a function for communicating with other electronic devices or other servers.

[0110] As an example, a request generated by the processor 813 of the terminal 810 in response to program code relating to an app or web for a chat service stored in a recording device such as memory 811 may be transmitted to the server 820 via the network 830 in response to the control of the communication module 815.

[0111] As an example, control signals or instructions, content, files, etc. provided in response to the control of the processor 823 of the server 820 may be received by the terminal 810 via the communication module 815 of the terminal 810 via the communication module 825 and the network 830.

[0112] The input / output interfaces 817 and 827 may be means for interfacing with the input / output device 819. For example, the input device may include a device such as a keyboard or a mouse, and the output device may include a device such as a display for displaying a communication session of an application. As another example, the input / output interface 817 may be means for interfacing with a device in which functions for input and output are integrated into one, such as a touch screen. As a more specific example, the processor 813 of the terminal 810 may display a service screen or content configured using data provided by the server 820 on the display via the input / output interface 817 in processing instructions of a computer program loaded in the memory 811. An input received from a user through the input / output device 819 may be provided to the processor 813 of the terminal 810 in a form processable by the processor 813 of the terminal 810 via the input / output interface 817.

[0113] According to an embodiment, the terminal 810 and the server 820 may include other components not shown in Fig. 8. For example, the terminal 810 may be implemented to include at least a portion of the input / output device 819 described above, or may further include other components such as a transceiver, a Global Positioning System (GPS) module, a camera, various sensors, a database, etc.

[0114] The embodiments described above may be implemented using hardware components, software components, or a combination of hardware and software components. For example, the devices and components described herein may be implemented using one or more general-purpose or special-purpose computers, such as a processor, a controller, an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), a digital signal processor, a microcomputer, a field programmable array (FPA), a programmable logic unit (PLU), a microprocessor, or other devices that execute and respond to instructions. The processing device executes an operating system (OS) and one or more software applications that run on the operating system. The processing device also accesses, stores, manipulates, processes, and generates data in response to the execution of the software. For ease of understanding, the processing device may be described as being one in which only one processing device is used, but one skilled in the art will appreciate that the processing device may include multiple processing elements and / or multiple types of processing elements. For example, the processing device may include multiple processors or one processor and one controller. Other processing configurations, such as parallel processors, are also possible.

[0115] The software may include computer programs, codes, instructions, or any combination of one or more thereof, capable of configuring or instructing a processing device to operate as desired, either independently or in combination. The software and / or data may be embodied in any type of machine, component, physical device, virtual device, computer storage medium or device, or transmitted signal wave, either permanently or temporarily, to be interpreted by the processing device or to provide instructions or data to the processing device. The software may be distributed across computer systems coupled to a network, and may be stored and executed in a distributed manner. The software and data may be stored on one or more computer readable recording media.

[0116] The method according to the present invention may be embodied in the form of program instructions to be executed by various computer means and recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The recording medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, and the like, alone or in combination. The recording medium and the program instructions may be specially designed and constructed for the purposes of the present invention, or may be well known and available to those skilled in the art of computer software. Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tapes, optical recording media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs, magneto-optical media such as floptical disks, and hardware devices specially configured to store and execute program instructions, such as ROMs, RAMs, flash memories, and the like. Examples of program instructions include not only machine language code, such as that generated by a compiler, but also high-level language code executed by a computer using an interpreter, etc.

[0117] The hardware devices described above may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations illustrated in the present invention, and vice versa.

[0118] Although the embodiments have been described above with reference to limited drawings, those skilled in the art may apply various technical modifications and variations based on the above description. For example, the described techniques may be performed in a different order than described, and / or the components of the described systems, structures, devices, circuits, etc. may be combined or combined in a different form than described, and may be replaced or substituted with other components or equivalents to achieve appropriate results.

[0119] Accordingly, other implementations, embodiments, and equivalents of the claims are intended to be within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. 1. A method of operating a server providing a chat service corresponding to one or more themes, comprising: receiving a message including local information via a chat room corresponding to a particular theme; providing a map interface on a terminal for exposing information about the message; determining a region range based on view operation information of the map interface received from the terminal; extracting message information corresponding to the geographical area; presenting the extracted message information via the map interface; A method comprising:

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein extracting the message information comprises determining which message information to extract based on the level of geographic coverage.

3. The step of extracting message information includes: extracting target messages including regional information corresponding to the regional range; extracting a file contained in the target message; The method of claim 1 , comprising:

4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising determining a representative file based on metadata of a file included in the target message and on regional information included in the target message.

5. The step of determining the representative file includes: determining candidate messages from among the target messages based on whether metadata of a file included in the target message and regional information included in the target message match; determining a representativeness score for the candidate messages with respect to at least one of the particular theme and the geographical area; determining a representative file among the files included in the candidate messages based on the representativeness score; The method of claim 4 , comprising:

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein providing the extracted message information comprises providing an interfacing object that indicates information about the representative file via the map interface.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein extracting the message information comprises extracting statistical information of messages of interest that includes geographic information corresponding to the geographic range.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein providing the extracted message information comprises providing an interfacing object that indicates statistics of the message of interest via the map interface.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of extracting message information includes the step of extracting messages that are created by a particular type of account from among target messages that include region information corresponding to the region range.

10. The view operation information is an input to change location information on a map displayed via the map interface; an input for changing the scale of a map displayed via the map interface; inputting a search for a particular location via said map interface; The method of claim 1 , wherein the signal is generated based on at least one of:

11. 1. A method of operating a terminal using a chat service corresponding to one or more themes, comprising: selecting a chat room corresponding to a particular theme; displaying a map interface to expose information regarding messages sent through the selected chat room; sending view operation information to a server for determining a region range corresponding to the map interface; displaying message information corresponding to the determined area range via the map interface; A method comprising:

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein displaying the message information comprises displaying the message information based on the determined level of geographic coverage.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein displaying the message information includes displaying information about files contained in messages corresponding to the determined geographical area via the map interface.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein displaying the message information includes displaying message statistics corresponding to the determined geographical area via the map interface.

15. A computer program stored on a medium for performing, in combination with hardware, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

16. A server providing a chat service corresponding to one or more themes, Receive messages containing local information via chat rooms corresponding to specific themes; providing a map interface on the terminal for exposing information related to the message; determining a region range based on view operation information of the map interface received from the terminal; Extracting message information corresponding to the region range; providing the extracted message information via the map interface; A server that includes a processor.

17. The processor, In the extracting of the message information, extracting target messages including regional information corresponding to the regional range; The server of claim 16, further comprising: a server for extracting files contained in the target message.

18. 20. The server of claim 17, wherein the processor determines the representative file based on metadata of a file included in the target message and on regional information included in the target message.

19. The processor, In the extracting of the message information, The server according to claim 16, further comprising: a server configured to extract statistical information of target messages including region information corresponding to the region range.

20. A terminal using a chat service corresponding to one or more themes, Select a chat room that corresponds to a particular topic, displaying a map interface to expose information regarding messages sent through the selected chat room; Sending view operation information to a server for determining a region range corresponding to the map interface; displaying message information corresponding to the area range determined via the map interface; A terminal including a processor.

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