Message transmission and reception system, message transmission and reception method, and computer program

Abstract

To provide a message transmission and reception system, a message transmission and reception method, and a computer program.SOLUTION: The present invention is directed to a message transmission and reception system in which a server apparatus controls transmission and reception of messages among client apparatuses corresponding to different accounts. The server apparatus presents, upon transmission of a message addressed to a specific account, to a transmitter, necessity of transmission costs upon transmission of the message, accepts a request for transmission of a message to the specific account with payment of the transmission costs, executes, in accordance with the request, payment of the transmission costs from the transmitter and allocation to the specific account of a monetary value corresponding to a part of or the entire part of the transmission costs, and distributes the message to the client device of the specific account.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a message sending and receiving system, a message sending and receiving method, and a computer program. [Background technology]

[0002] Social network services (SNS) have become widespread, allowing users to communicate with other users through text, audio, and video. In many SNSs, users can receive the same services as other users, with the exception of whether or not they pay fees to the service provider and whether or not they meet certain conditions, and there is no difference between senders and receivers.

[0003] SNS is used by users not only to exchange messages but also as a medium for disseminating business and content related to them. If a message, image, or video is viewed by an unspecified number of people, the message from the sender gains influence, and SNS functions highly as an advertising medium for senders and users.

[0004] In SNS, each user can become a follower of a specific sender in order to follow the messages from that sender. In SNS, senders can also close the visibility of their messages and videos so that they are only visible to their followers. There are also systems that allow real-time communication by permitting message exchange with celebrities if certain conditions (fees apply) are met (Patent Document 1, etc.). However, as mentioned above, in order to reach an unspecified number of people with information, there are also cases where no special conditions for becoming a follower are set, information is made available to non-followers, and no restrictions are placed on message exchange. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-006674 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] In addition to providing incentives to senders based on the number of times their content is played or viewed, we hope to develop a system that provides appropriate incentives for individual interactions between senders, including celebrities, and other users.

[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide a message sending and receiving system, a message sending and receiving method, and a computer program. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In one embodiment of the message sending and receiving system of the present disclosure, a server device controls the sending and receiving of messages between client devices corresponding to different accounts. Each time a message is sent to a specific account, the server device notifies the sender that sending the message requires a sending cost, accepts a request to send a message to the specific account that involves payment of the sending cost, and in response to the request, receives payment of the sending cost from the sender and assigns monetary value corresponding to part or all of the sending cost to the specific account, and delivers the message to the client device of the specific account.

[0009] In the message sending and receiving system of one embodiment of the present disclosure, the specific account may be authenticated as a sender who distributes messages, images, or videos to followers.

[0010] In one embodiment of the message sending and receiving system of the present disclosure, the server device may determine the sending cost each time a message is sent based on the message sending history of the sender of the message, the message receiving history of a specific destination account, and / or settings by the specific account. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present disclosure, messages to a specific account require a transmission cost to be incurred, and the transmission cost is then credited back to the specific account. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a message sending and receiving system. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a server device. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a client device. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen of a client device of a general user. [Figure 5] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure for a message sending and receiving process in a message sending and receiving system. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure for a message sending and receiving process in a message sending and receiving system. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a message transmission screen displayed on a client device on the general user side; [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a screen display on a client device on the caller side. [Figure 9] 10A and 10B are explanatory diagrams of other examples of screen display on the client device on the caller side. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present disclosure will be specifically described with reference to the accompanying drawings showing embodiments thereof. In the following embodiments, a message sending and receiving system according to the present disclosure will be described.

[0014] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a message sending and receiving system 100. The message sending and receiving system 100 includes a client device 2 used by a sender and each user, and a server device 1 that controls message sending and receiving. The client device 2 is a smartphone or tablet terminal used by the sender and each user. A general-purpose smartphone or tablet terminal functions as a client device 2 of the message sending and receiving system using a message app described below. Whether the device is used by the sender or each user is determined by account data. The server device 1 can send and receive data with each client device 2 via a network N. The network N includes the Internet or a carrier network, and the client device 2 can exchange messages with other client devices 2 via the server device 1 by wireless communication or wired communication.

[0015] In the message sending and receiving system 100 of the present disclosure, messages, images, or videos can be sent from the server device 1 in association with account data registered as the sender. Client devices 2 associated with account data registered as other general users can access (view) messages, images, or videos from the sender and can also send messages addressed to the sender. However, in the message sending and receiving system 100 of the present disclosure, sending a message requires payment of a specific cost for each message sent. This cost is separate from the communication costs required for using the network N and the usage fee for the message sending and receiving system 100, and is different from charges based on the number of characters sent. This cost is primarily used to return the cost to the sender, the addressee of the message, rather than to the operator of the message sending and receiving system 100.

[0016] In the message sending and receiving system 100 of the present disclosure, a general user is required to bear the cost and procedure for each message sent. In other words, a general user obtains the right to send a message to a sender by paying the cost. Spending the cost to send a message to a sender clearly contributes to a direct return to the sender, not to the group to which the sender belongs, which gives the message sender a sense of accomplishment. Furthermore, by imposing the cost and procedure for each message, a certain hurdle is set for sending a message, which is expected to reduce the opportunity for unnecessarily directing goodwill or badwill toward the sender. The cost required for sending a message is not limited to a direct payment in legal tender, such as a withdrawal from a linked bank account or a credit card payment. Users may be required to purchase points or items that can be used within the message sending and receiving system 100 in advance, and the consumption of those points or items may be considered as the cost. The points or items may be gifted by the operator of the message sending and receiving system 100. The cost is not limited to monetary value and may also be labor. In other words, sending a message may require some action linked to a messaging app. Furthermore, senders can expect to be able to reduce the burden of receiving messages from general users by having the cost refunded. Receiving messages is itself considered to be part of their job as a sender, and they can be interpreted as receiving a reward for that job. By having the cost refunded to the sender, it can be expected that the burden on the message receiver can be offset. The refund to the sender may be a partial or full refund of the points or items consumed as a cost. The cost refund may be paid directly to the sender as legal tender or electronic money, or may be achieved by converting the points or items into legal tender or electronic money.

[0017] We will now explain the configuration of the message sending and receiving system 100, which realizes a system in which a general user pays a cost for sending a message to account data registered as the sender, and uses that cost to provide incentives to the sender, as described above.

[0018] 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the server device 1. In the following description, the server device 1 is described as a single server computer, but it may also be configured as a configuration in which a plurality of server computers are communicatively connected to perform distributed processing.

[0019] The server device 1 includes a processing unit 10, a storage unit 11, and a communication unit 12. The processing unit 10 is a processor using a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and / or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). The processing unit 10 executes processing as a message application server based on a message transmission / reception program P1 stored in the storage unit 11.

[0020] The storage unit 11 uses a non-volatile memory such as a hard disk, flash memory, or SSD (Solid State Drive). The storage unit 11 stores data referenced by the processing unit 10. The storage unit 11 stores account data and content data, as described below. The storage unit 11 stores the number of points and items used within the app that are given to each user. The storage unit 11 stores a message sending and receiving program P1. The message sending and receiving program P1 may be a message sending and receiving program P9 stored in the non-transitory storage medium 9 that the processing unit 10 reads and copies to the storage unit 11. The message sending and receiving program P1 may also be a program downloaded by the processing unit 10 from another program server via the communication unit 12 and stored therein.

[0021] The communication unit 12 realizes communication with the client device 2 via the network N. Specifically, the communication unit 12 is a network card. The communication unit 12 may be a wireless communication module that connects to a carrier network, or may be a wireless communication module for Wi-Fi. The processing unit 10 can send and receive data to and from the client device 2 via the communication unit 12.

[0022] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the client device 2. As described above, the client device 2 is a smartphone or a tablet terminal. The client device 2 may also be a desktop or laptop personal computer. The client device 2 includes a processing unit 20, a storage unit 21, a communication unit 22, a display unit 23, an operation unit 24, and an audio input / output unit 25. The processing unit 20 is a processor using a CPU and / or a GPU. The processing unit 20 causes a general-purpose computer to function as the client device 2 of the message transmitting / receiving system 100 of the present disclosure by using a message application program (hereinafter referred to as a message app) P2 stored in the storage unit 21.

[0023] The storage unit 21 uses a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory or an SSD. The storage unit 21 stores data referenced by the processing unit 20. The storage unit 21 stores account data of senders or general users. The storage unit 21 can store videos and text. The message application P2 is downloaded from the server device 1 or another program server device via the communication unit 22 and stored in the storage unit 21 in an executable manner. Alternatively, the message application P2 may be a message application P2 stored in the non-temporary storage medium 8 that is read by the processing unit 20 and copied to the storage unit 21.

[0024] The communication unit 22 realizes communication with the server device 1 and other communication devices via the network N. Specifically, the communication unit 22 may be a wireless communication device that connects to a carrier network or a wireless communication device for Wi-Fi. The processing unit 20 can send and receive data to and from the server device 1 via the communication unit 22.

[0025] The display unit 23 is a display such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display. The display unit 23 is, for example, a touch panel built-in display. The processing unit 20 displays the text, image, or video of the message provided from the server device 1 on the display unit 23 based on the message application P2.

[0026] The operation unit 24 is a user interface that allows input and output to and from the processing unit 20, and is a touch panel built into the display unit 23. The operation unit 24 may be a physical button. The operation unit 24 may also use a microphone of the audio input / output unit 25.

[0027] The audio input / output unit 25 includes a speaker and a microphone. The processing unit 20 can convert audio collected by the microphone of the audio input / output unit 25 into data. The audio input / output unit 25 may convert the collected audio into text using a voice recognition engine. The processing unit 20 outputs the audio of a video provided by the server device 1 and the audio of a message being read out from the audio input / output unit 25 based on the message application P2.

[0028] In the message sending and receiving system 100 configured as described above, the client device 2 distinguishes between account data of senders and account data of general users, as described above. Account data is issued by applying to the provider of the message application P2 (the administrator of the server device 1). The conditions for receiving account data of senders include, for example, being a business owner and an entity that sends advertisements and public relations for some business. For example, if a sender is authenticated as a sole proprietor such as a talent in the entertainment industry, an actor, an athlete, or a cast member in the adult entertainment business, or a corporate public relations officer, account data of the sender is issued. Account data of general users is issued without any particular conditions by downloading the message application P2 and registering as a user as a viewer of content from the sender. Each account data of a general user can be linked to the account data of multiple follower senders based on the user's selection. Account data of followers for each sender and account data of follower senders for each general user account data are stored in the server device 1 (user data).

[0029] By using the message application P2 with the account data issued as the sender and performing a login procedure to the server device 1, the sender can upload messages, images, or videos to the server device 1 for followers. The uploaded messages, images, or videos are stored as content data in the server device 1 and are sent to general users as content from the sender.

[0030] When a general user uses the message application P2 with account data issued to the general user and performs a login procedure to the server device 1, the general user can view content from each sender registered as a follower. Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen on the client device 2 of a general user. Fig. 4A shows the portal screen 230 of the general user (the screen that is first displayed after logging in), and Fig. 4B shows the page of a sender selected from the sender list included in the portal screen 230.

[0031] 4A shows an example of a portal screen 230 for a general user with an account name of "XYZ." The portal screen 230 includes a list of callers that "XYZ" is following in the message application P2. As shown in FIG. 4A, the user "XYZ" is following callers "Alice," "Bob," and "Carol," and FIG. 4A displays a panel 231 for each of the callers that the user is following.

[0032] FIG. 4B shows an example of a screen that is displayed when the panel 231 for sender "Alice" is selected on the portal screen 230 of FIG. 4A. FIG. 4B shows a sender screen 232 for sender "Alice." The sender screen 232 includes a display area 233 for the sender's image, profile, etc., and a content display area 234 sent from the sender. A message and image from the sender are displayed in the content display area 234 shown in the example screen of FIG. 4B.

[0033] An interface 235 for accepting message transmission is displayed in the content display area 234. When the operation unit 24 detects that the interface 235 has been selected, for example by tapping, the processing unit 20 enables a general user using the client device 2 displaying the portal screen 230 to send a message to the sender. As described above, sending a message requires specific procedures as follows. Figures 5 and 6 are flowcharts showing an example of the procedure for message transmission and reception processing in the message transmission and reception system 100.

[0034] When the processing unit 20 of the client device 2 detects that the interface 235 for message transmission has been selected (step S201), it identifies the account data of the sender of the message and the account data of the general user who is the sender (step S202). The processing unit 20 designates the identified account data and transmits a confirmation request to the server device 1 (step S203).

[0035] When the processing unit 10 of the server device 1 receives a confirmation request from the client device 2 (step S101), it acquires the account data of the destination and the account data of the sender specified in the confirmation request (step S102), and determines the sending cost of the message (step S103).

[0036] In step S103, in a first example, the processing unit 10 reads from the storage unit 11 and determines the transmission cost set for the account data of the sender of the destination message. The transmission cost may be set by the provider of the message application P2, or may be set individually by the sender. The sender may also be able to set the transmission cost for each general user account. In a second example, the processing unit 10 may calculate the transmission cost using an algorithm included in the message sending / receiving program P1, depending on the number of followers of the sender, the number of times messages have been received, the frequency of receiving messages, the number of times messages have been sent by the general user who is the sender, and / or the frequency of sending messages. For example, the more messages are sent, the higher the calculated transmission cost per message. The unit of the transmission cost may be set from points or items in the message application P2, legal tender (bank payment, credit, electronic money, etc.), or cryptocurrency, or may be selectable by the sender or the sender receiving the message.

[0037] The processing unit 10 transmits data of the message transmission screen including the determined transmission cost to the client device 2 (step S104). In step S104, the processing unit 10 may also transmit data of the message transmission history stored for the account data of the sender specified in the confirmation request. The processing unit 10 may also transmit data of the balance of electronic money or points in the account linked to the account data of the sender.

[0038] When the processing unit 20 of the client device 2 receives the data for the message sending screen transmitted from the server device 1 (step S204), it displays the message sending screen on the display unit 23 based on the received data (step S205). The processing unit 20 presents the general user with the transmission cost required for sending the message on the message sending screen (step S206), and determines whether the user has confirmed his or her intention to send the message after paying the transmission cost (step S207). The message sending screens displayed in steps S205 and S206 also include text and images indicating that the transmission cost will be refunded to the sender of the destination.

[0039] If it is determined that the intention to send a message has been confirmed (S207: YES), the processing unit 20 accepts the content of the message on the message sending screen (step S208). The processing unit 20 transmits a message request including the accepted message content (text, image, or video) and the account data of the recipient and sender to the server device 1 (step S209). The processing procedures of steps S207-S209 may be reversed or some may be omitted, and confirmation of the intention to send a message is not essential.

[0040] If it is determined in step S207 that the intention to send a message could not be confirmed (S207: NO), the processing unit 20 stops and ends the message processing, and returns to displaying the sender screen 232, for example.

[0041] When the processing unit 10 of the server device 1 receives the message request (step S105), it executes a payment process to have the sending cost determined in step S103 paid based on the account data of the sender included in the message request (step S106).The processing unit 10 then executes a process to grant legal tender, cryptocurrency, or points of the same value as part or all of the sending cost to the account data of the sender, who is the destination of the message (step S107).

[0042] In step S106, the processing unit 10 executes, for example, a settlement process for the transmission cost from the sender's account data at that timing. In step S106, the processing unit 10 performs a process of subtracting the transmission cost from points, items, or the balance of electronic money associated with the sender's account data. The processing unit 10 may also perform a process of debiting the transmission cost in legal tender units from a bank account linked to the sender's account data. In step S106, payment for the sender's account data or message transmission may be made from a credit card settlement system.

[0043] In step S107, the processing unit 10 increases the balance of points, items, or electronic money associated with the account data of the sender. The processing unit 10 may also perform processing to transfer the money to a bank account associated with the account data of the sender, who is the destination of the message. The unit of the monetary value subtracted in step S106 and the unit of the monetary value increased in step S107 may or may not match, and the payment of the transmission cost from the sender may be in legal tender and the transmission cost to the destination may be given in points, or vice versa. A portion of the transmission cost may be collected as a fee by the provider of the message application P2.

[0044] Alternatively, steps S106 and S107 may be processed integrally to perform a settlement process in which cryptocurrency equivalent to the transmission cost is directly transferred from the wallet address linked to the account data of the sender to the wallet address linked to the account data of the destination, while a portion of the cryptocurrency is collected as a fee. The processing unit 10 may execute, as the settlement process, a process of transferring electronic money or points from an account associated with the account data of the sender to an account associated with the account data of the sender, in addition to cryptocurrency.

[0045] The processing of step S107 may be replaced by processing that does not involve the awarding of legal tender, cryptocurrency, or points, but rather awards a score according to the message reception record to the account data of the sender, who is the destination of the message. The reception record may be a score proportional to the number of times a message is received, or may be a weighted score corresponding to the transmission cost calculated according to the sender's past performance or the number of transmissions. The cumulative score of the reception record associated with the sender's account data is the basis for the calculation processing described below.

[0046] The processing unit 10 stores the processing contents of steps S106 and S107 (step S108), and stores the message content included in the message request in association with time information for the account data of the sender of the destination (step S109). The processing unit 10 stores the message content in association with time information for the account data of the sender as a transmission history (step S110). The processing unit 10 transmits a message transmission result to the client device 2 (step S111).

[0047] The processing unit 20 of the client device 2 receives the message transmission result (step S210) and ends the message transmission / reception process. In this case, the display returns to the sender screen 232.

[0048] In step S208 and / or step S109, the contents of messages from general users may be checked, and a check may be automatically performed to determine whether the contents of the messages violate public order and morals or are violent.

[0049] 5 and 6, steps S203, S101-S104, and S204 may be skipped, and confirmation of cost payment may be performed in step S207. Furthermore, if the message transmission cost is fixed, steps S203, S101-S104, and S204 may be skipped.

[0050] FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a message sending screen displayed on the client device 2 on the general user side. FIG. 7A illustrates an example of a message sending screen 236 when interface 235 is selected on the sender screen 232 shown in FIG. 4B. As shown in FIG. 7A, the message sending screen 236 includes a display area 237 showing the face value of the sending cost determined by the server device 1 and the client device 2, a confirmation button 238 for indicating the intention to send a message, and a cancel button 239 for indicating no intention to send a message. In the example shown in FIG. 7A, the display area 237 displays a fixed amount of "100 points" set by the provider of the messaging app P2 in units of points within the app. The display area 237 shown in FIG. 7A also includes a point balance of "1,000 points" linked to the account data of the general user who will be the message sender and data indicating the number of messages sent so far. When the cancel button 239 is selected on FIG. 7A, the processing unit 20 of the client device 2 returns the screen to the sender screen 232 shown in FIG. 4B.

[0051] 5 and 6, in the message sending and receiving system 100 of the present disclosure, each time a message is sent, confirmation is obtained that the sending cost will be borne and the message will be sent, as shown in Fig. 7. It is also shown that the sending cost is returned directly to the sender, not to a group to which the sender belongs or to a service provider.

[0052] 7B shows an example of how message sending screen 236 is displayed when confirmation button 238 is selected in FIG. 7A. Message sending screen 236 shown in FIG. 7B includes a message area 240 for accepting message content, and a send button 241. The sender of the message can input text into message area 240 using operation unit 24, or can select and input an image or video. When send button 241 is selected, such as by tapping, processing unit 20 accepts the text, image, or video input into message area 240 as the message content (S208) and transmits it to server device 1.

[0053] This makes it clear that the message will directly benefit the sender, giving them a sense of accomplishment. By indicating that they must pay the transmission costs, the number of unnecessary messages sent by general users to the sender will be reduced, reducing the burden on the sender.

[0054] Fig. 8 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a screen display on the sender's client device 2. Fig. 8A shows a portal screen 242 when the message application P2 is launched on the client device 2 and the sender logs in with their account data. The example shown in Fig. 8A shows an example of the portal screen 242 of a sender with the account name "Alice". The portal screen 242 includes a settings menu 243, a sending menu 244 for content such as messages, a list 245 of messages from followers, and an account menu 246 related to points or electronic money accounts within the app.

[0055] The settings menu 243 is a menu for setting the sender's profile and the settings permitted for the sender's account data. The sending menu 244 is a menu for uploading content (messages, images, or videos) that the sender sends to followers to the server device 1. In FIG. 8A, a list 245 shows that a message from "XYZ" has arrived. The list 245 includes a panel 247 for each follower, and selecting the panel 247 transitions to a conversation screen for each follower. FIG. 8B shows an example of a display of a message from "XYZ." FIG. 8B shows an example of a conversation screen 248 for each pair of sender and follower. As shown in FIG. 8B, a message from a general user to the sender is displayed on the conversation screen 248 for each pair of sender and general user. As shown in FIG. 8B, the conversation screen 248 displays a message from the sender to the follower and a message from the general user. Conversation screen 248 shown in FIG. 8B displays content from sender "Alice" to followers and messages from "XYZ" for a pair of sender and general user "XYZ." In other words, messages from "XYZ" to "Alice" are not visible to other followers of "Alice." Conversation screen 248 may allow senders to send individual reply messages to general user "XYZ" using reply button 249. There is no transmission cost for sending messages from senders to general users.

[0056] FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of another example of a screen display on the sender's client device 2. FIG. 9 shows an example of an account screen 250 that is displayed when the account menu 246 on the portal screen 242 of FIG. 8A is selected, for example, by tapping. When the account menu 246 is selected, the total message sending costs for the sender's account data over a predetermined unit period (e.g., one year, one month, one week) are acquired from the server device 1 and displayed. The account screen 250 of FIG. 9 shows that 120 messages have been sent to the sender this month, totaling 11,000 points. The example screen shown in FIG. 9 displays a breakdown button 251 for displaying a detailed breakdown of the total. When the breakdown button 251 is selected, the cumulative sending costs for each message sender over a predetermined unit period may be displayed (not shown). This may enable the sender to check which followers have sent the most messages, i.e., who has paid the most sending costs. The account menu 246 may include a menu 252 for transferring the total amount of points or items awarded to the sender based on the sending cost to a bank account of fiat currency or an electronic money account of equivalent monetary value.

[0057] The total transmission costs for the sender's account data for a predetermined unit period shown in FIG. 9 may be replaced with the cumulative total of message reception records. The total "11,000 points" shown on the account screen 250 in FIG. 9 may not be the total transmission costs, but may be a reward for the sender for each predetermined unit period calculated by the processing unit 10 based on the reception records. For example, if the reception record score is "110,000," the processing unit 10 may convert this score to the in-app point unit "pt" using a relationship such as "1 point per 10 points." The conversion may not be limited to in-app points, but may also be legal tender or cryptocurrency. Furthermore, this conversion formula may be set so that the higher the evaluation of the sender from general users, the higher the return rate. Furthermore, the "11,000 points" shown on the account screen 250 may not be calculated by applying the reception record score to a conversion formula, but may be calculated as a reward for contributions to the message sending and receiving system 100 according to a rate calculated or selected depending on the reception record score. In this case, the remuneration may be calculated by multiplying the commission profit of the message sending and receiving system 100 and the profit according to the advertising and public relations activities by a rate, for example.

[0058] In this way, sending a message from a sender's followers to the sender, which involves the burden of sending the message to the sender, appears to return monetary value to the sender, the recipient of the message. This return of monetary value to the sender offsets the burden on the sender of receiving messages from followers and can motivate the sender to be more creative in sending messages in order to encourage followers to send messages to them. Senders are also motivated to intensify advertising and public relations activities to increase the number of messages they receive as part of their work.

[0059] Examples of application of the various functions of the message sending and receiving system 100 of the present disclosure will be described. The first example is a use case in which, for example, a hostess in an adult entertainment business is the sender and the customer is a general user. The host is authenticated as a sender based on his / her status as a sole proprietor and his / her registration number as a qualified invoice issuing business, and account data as the sender can be issued. As a sole proprietor, the host can send advertising messages that encourage customers to visit their adult entertainment business or use their business, and can use the message sending and receiving system 100 as an advertising medium. General users who are customers and followers of the host can use the message sending and receiving system 100 to find attractive hostess (followees) and enjoy content posted by the hostess. General users may be able to respond to content by stamping "Like / Dislike" stamps in addition to messages. The cost of sending messages using the message sending and receiving system 100 of the present disclosure differs from systems that directly transfer money to the host or from so-called social tipping for content posted by the host. Messages sent by the message sending and receiving system 100 are sent individually so that they cannot be seen by other followers. This differs from tipping, where the cost is borne by sharing a live broadcast with other followers to liven up the broadcast space. Since individual messages can be sent and received between senders and general users on the conversation screen 248, the burden on senders of receiving messages can be reduced by the transmission cost.

[0060] The second example is a use case in which the sender is a person qualified as an advisor, and the customer who wants to consult with the sender is a general user. The advisor is authenticated as the sender based on their qualifications and their registration number as a qualified billing business, and account data as the sender can be issued. The advisor can use the message sending and receiving system 100 as a means of public relations by sending articles, columns, and reports related to their qualifications. The advisor's customers and general users who want to consult with the advisor can also search for advisors using the message sending and receiving system 100. They can also send questions to the advisor, paying individual sending costs per message. Since sent messages are not visible to other followers, individual consultations are also possible. The advisor can also provide their knowledge free of charge.

[0061] The third example is a use case in which a celebrity or company with an official account on an SNS is the sender, and other users are general users. The message sending and receiving system 100 described above can also be applied to sending comments on an existing SNS. In this case, it is also possible to apply a certain transmission cost to celebrities, companies, etc. who send messages to official accounts that have been verified on the SNS. Note that when applying the transmission cost burden of the message sending and receiving system 100 to an existing SNS, it is necessary to prevent general users from intentionally increasing the number of comments sent by the sender and thereby causing the sender to bear the transmission cost for each comment (message sent). For example, when the number of messages received by the sender increases, a function can be added that drastically increases the fee paid to the provider of the message app P2 from the transmission cost, or drastically reduces the cost of each message sent to the sender, each time the number of messages received exceeds one or more thresholds.

[0062] The embodiments disclosed above are illustrative in all respects and are not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims, and includes all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0063] 1. Server device 10 Processing section 11 Storage section P1 Message sending and receiving program (computer program) 2. Client Device 21 Memory section 22 Communications Department 23 Display section P2 Message App

Claims

1. In a message transmission / reception system in which a server device controls transmission and reception of messages between client devices corresponding to different accounts, The server device Informing the sender of a message addressed to a particular account each time the message is sent that a sending cost will be incurred; Accepting a request to send a message to the particular account, which requires payment of the sending cost; responding to the request by receiving payment from the sender of the transmission costs and crediting the particular account with monetary value corresponding to some or all of the transmission costs; Delivering the message to a client device of the particular account. Message sending and receiving system.

2. The specific account is authenticated as the sender of the message, image, or video that is sent to the followers. The message sending and receiving system according to claim 1 .

3. The server device determines a sending cost each time a message is sent based on the message sending history of the sender of the message, the message receiving history of the specific account of the destination, and / or settings by the specific account. The message sending and receiving system according to claim 1 .

4. a server device that controls transmission and reception of messages between client devices corresponding to different accounts, Informing the sender of a message addressed to a particular account each time the message is sent that a sending cost will be incurred; Accepting a request to send a message to the particular account, which requires payment of the sending cost; responding to the request by receiving payment from the sender of the transmission costs and crediting the particular account with monetary value corresponding to some or all of the transmission costs; Delivering the message to a client device of the particular account. How to send and receive messages.

5. A computer program that causes a computer to transmit and receive messages between client devices corresponding to different accounts, The computer, Informing the sender of a message addressed to a particular account each time the message is sent that a sending cost will be incurred; Accepting a request to send a message to the particular account, which requires payment of the sending cost; responding to the request by receiving payment from the sender of the transmission costs and crediting the particular account with monetary value corresponding to some or all of the transmission costs; Delivering the message to a client device of the particular account. A computer program that executes a process.

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