Information processing apparatus, information processing method and information processing program

Abstract

To improve usability when a service user browses a content.SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus that performs processing associated with a news site comprises: a selection unit; and a provision unit. The selection unit selects a reference content corresponding to a browsing request, a first content based on the reference content and a second content based on a browsing history of a user, depending on the browsing request received from the user of the news site. The provision unit provides a thumb nail corresponding to the first content and a thumb nail corresponding to the second content together with the reference content.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present application relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, and an information processing program. [Background technology]

[0002] With the rapid spread of the Internet, news sites have become well known, providing content that can be freely viewed by service users, such as news and topics from various fields, both domestic and international. In relation to such news sites, a technology has been proposed for displaying distributed content and each piece of posted content for the distributed content (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-197422 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the conventional techniques have room for improvement in terms of improving usability when service users browse content.

[0005] The present application has been made in view of the above, and aims to improve usability when service users browse content. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The information processing device according to the present application executes processing related to a news site and includes a selection unit and a provision unit. In response to a viewing request received from a user of the news site, the selection unit selects reference content corresponding to the viewing request, first content based on the reference content, and second content based on the user's viewing history. The provision unit provides thumbnails corresponding to the first content and the second content along with the reference content. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to one aspect of the embodiment, it is possible to improve usability when a service user browses content. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of information processing according to the embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the system configuration of the information processing system according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the information processing device according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an overview of user information stored in the user information DB according to the embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an outline of article information stored in the article information DB according to the embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure of information processing executed by the information processing device according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a hardware configuration diagram illustrating an example of a computer that realizes the functions of the information processing device according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, modes for implementing an information processing device, an information processing method, and an information processing program according to the present application (hereinafter referred to as "embodiments") will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the information processing device, the information processing method, and the information processing program according to the present application are not limited to these embodiments. Furthermore, the respective embodiments can be appropriately combined within the scope of not causing any contradiction in the processing content. Furthermore, the same components in the following embodiments will be assigned the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0010] [Embodiment] [1. An example of information processing] An example of information processing according to the embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings: Fig. 1 is a diagram for explaining an example of information processing according to the embodiment.

[0011] The information processing according to the embodiment is realized by an information processing system SYS (see, for example, FIG. 2) including a plurality of terminal devices 10 shown in FIG. 1 and an information processing device 100 shown in FIG. 1. The terminal devices 10 and the information processing device 100 are each connected to a network N (see, for example, FIG. 2) by wire or wirelessly. The terminal devices 10 and the information processing device 100 can communicate with other devices through the network N.

[0012] The information processing device 100 is operated and managed by a service provider that provides various online services. For example, the service provider operates a news site as one of the various online services, where service users U can freely browse news and topics in various fields, both domestic and international.

[0013] The information processing device 100 executes information processing according to the embodiment described below in relation to providing article content to be posted on a news site. The article content may be a news article, a column, an essay, an interview, a product review, a feature article, an article about a person, or other content. The information processing device 100 is realized, for example, by one or more servers or a cloud system.

[0014] The terminal device 10 is used by a service user U of various online services. The service user U can use the terminal device 10 by appropriately installing an application program for the service user (hereinafter referred to as a "user application") equipped with various functions for using a news site, for example. By operating the user application, the service user U can view web content such as article content published on the news site and comments posted on the article content on the terminal device 10.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 1, the terminal device 10 transmits a request to view web content posted on a news site to the information processing device 100 in response to an operation by the service user U (step S11).

[0016] When the information processing device 100 receives the browsing request from the terminal device 10, it executes content selection (step S12). For example, the information processing device 100 selects a reference content corresponding to the browsing request, a first content based on the reference content, and a second content based on the browsing history of the service user U.

[0017] The information processing device 100 can select, as the first content, web content that is related to the reference content. For example, if the reference content is article content that can accept comments posted by a service user U, the information processing device 100 can select, as the first content, a comment posted on the reference content. Furthermore, the information processing device 100 can select, as the first content, another article content that deals with the same topic as or a related topic to the reference content.

[0018] Furthermore, the information processing device 100 can select, as the second content, web content that is related to the plurality of contents that the service user U has browsed.

[0019] For example, the information processing device 100 can select, as the second content, related article content that the service user U has not viewed from among related article content that deals with the same or related topics as multiple article content that the user has viewed.

[0020] Furthermore, the information processing device 100 can select, as the second content, related article content that has received relatively high attention from the service user U on a news site from among related article content that has not been viewed by the service user U. The information processing device 100 calculates, for each article content, the rate of increase in the number of viewing users in the most recent predetermined period. Then, the information processing device 100 ranks the article content in descending order of the calculated rate of increase, and manages the ranking as a value indicating the attention level of the article content.

[0021] In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, the information processing device 100 transmits a viewing roadmap including a thumbnail corresponding to the first content and a thumbnail corresponding to the second content together with the reference content corresponding to the viewing request to the terminal device 10 as suggested information, and provides it to the service user U who sent the viewing request (step S13).

[0022] Furthermore, the information processing device 100 may include, in the proposal information to be transmitted to the terminal device 10, a thumbnail corresponding to the web content that was viewed immediately before the reference content.

[0023] 1, the terminal device 10 displays the reference content CNT received from the information processing device 100 in a content display area A-1 provided on the news site screen W. The terminal device 10 also displays the browsing roadmap received as suggested information from the information processing device 100 in a suggested information display area A-2 provided on the news site screen W.

[0024] The browsing roadmap shown in Figure 1 includes a thumbnail image SN-1 of the reference content CNT, which is the web content currently displayed on the news site screen W, a thumbnail image SN-2 corresponding to the first content, and a thumbnail image SN-3 corresponding to the second content.

[0025] The browsing roadmap shown in Fig. 1 also includes a thumbnail image SN-4 corresponding to the web content that has been viewed by the service user U, immediately before the reference content currently displayed on the news site screen W. In addition, in the browsing roadmap shown in Fig. 1, the thumbnail images are displayed in chronological order from left to right.

[0026] As described above, the information processing device 100 according to the embodiment selects the reference content CNT, which is web content corresponding to the browsing request of the service user U, the first content related to the reference content CNT, and the second content related to multiple article contents that have been browsed by the service user U. Then, the information processing device 100 according to the embodiment provides the service user U with a browsing roadmap as suggested information, which includes the reference content CNT, as well as a thumbnail image SN-2 corresponding to the first content and a thumbnail image SN-3 corresponding to the second content.

[0027] For this reason, the information processing device 100 of the embodiment allows the service user U to smoothly select the content to view by suggesting a clue to the next content to view as a two-choice option, thereby improving usability when using a news site.

[0028] On the other hand, the information processing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment can be expected to have an effect of suppressing the dropout rate of the service users U from the news site by supporting the service users U in smoothly selecting content.

[0029] [2. System Configuration] The configuration of the information processing system SYS according to the embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the system configuration of the information processing system SYS according to the embodiment.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 2, the information processing system SYS according to the embodiment includes a plurality of terminal devices 10 such as a terminal device 10A and a terminal device 10B, and an information processing device 100.

[0031] The terminal device 10 and the information processing device 100 are connected to a network N by wire or wirelessly. Each of the terminal device 10 and the information processing device 100 can communicate with other devices via the network N.

[0032] The network N includes, for example, a WAN (Wide Area Network) such as the Internet, and a mobile communication network such as LTE (Long Term Evolution), 4G (4th Generation), or 5G (5th Generation: fifth generation mobile communication system).

[0033] The terminal device 10 is connected to a network N by short-range wireless communication such as a mobile communication network, Bluetooth (registered trademark), or wireless LAN (Local Area Network), and can communicate with other devices such as the information processing device 100 through the network N. Each of the multiple terminal devices 10 is used by a different service user U.

[0034] The terminal device 10 is used by a service user U who uses a news site. A user application for the service user, which is equipped with various functions for using the news site, is installed in the terminal device 10.

[0035] In addition to news sites, online services provided to service user U may include, for example, search services, travel information services, SNS (Social Networking Services), e-commerce services, electronic payment services, online games, online banking services, online trading services, hotel reservation services, ticket reservation services, video distribution services, music distribution services, map information services, route search services, route guidance services, line information services, operation information services, weather information services, question services, etc. Note that the various online services may include API (Application Programming Interface) services corresponding to various applications.

[0036] For example, the terminal device 10 can display web content provided by the information processing device 100 using a user application. When the terminal device 10 receives control information for realizing information display processing from the information processing device 100, the terminal device 10 realizes the display processing in accordance with the control information.

[0037] Furthermore, when the terminal device 10 receives control information for realizing predetermined information processing from the information processing device 100, the terminal device 10 realizes the information processing in accordance with the control information. Here, the control information is described in, for example, a script language such as JavaScript (registered trademark), a style sheet language such as CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), a programming language such as Java (registered trademark), or a markup language such as HTML (HyperText Markup Language). Note that a predetermined application itself delivered from the information processing device 100 or the like may also be considered as control information.

[0038] 1 illustrates a case where the terminal device 10 is a smartphone, but the terminal device 10 may be, for example, a notebook PC (Personal Computer), a desktop PC, a smartphone, a tablet PC, a wearable device, etc. Examples of wearable devices include, but are not limited to, smart glasses and smart watches.

[0039] The information processing device 100 is operated and managed by a service provider that provides various online services. For example, the service provider operates a news site as one of the various online services on which service users U can freely browse news and topics in various fields, both domestic and international. The information processing device 100 executes information processing according to an embodiment described below in relation to the provision of article content posted on the news site. The processing function units possessed by the information processing device 100 for realizing the information processing according to the embodiment will be described later.

[0040] The information processing device 100 is typically a server device, but may also be realized by a mainframe, a workstation, etc. Furthermore, when the information processing device 100 is realized by a server device, it may be realized by a single server device, or may be realized by a cloud system in which multiple server devices and multiple storage devices operate in cooperation with each other.

[0041] [3. Equipment configuration] An example of the functional configuration of the information processing device 100 included in the information processing system SYS according to the embodiment will be described below with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the information processing device 100 according to the embodiment. As shown in Fig. 3, the information processing device 100 includes a communication unit 110, a storage unit 120, and a control unit 130.

[0042] (Communication unit 110) The communication unit 110 is realized by, for example, a communication module or a network interface card (NIC). The communication unit 110 is connected to a network N by wire or wirelessly. The information processing device 100 transmits and receives information to and from other devices such as the terminal device 10 via the network N.

[0043] (Storage unit 120) The storage unit 120 stores, for example, programs and data used for control and calculation by the control unit 130. For example, the storage unit 120 is realized by a semiconductor memory element such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a flash memory, or a storage device such as a hard disk or an optical disk. For example, the storage unit 120 has a user information DB 121 and an article information DB 122. Note that the storage unit 120 is not particularly limited to the example shown in FIG. 4 and can store data necessary for executing the information processing according to the embodiment as appropriate.

[0044] (User information DB121) The user information DB 121 stores user information relating to service users U of various online services. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an overview of the user information stored in the user information DB 121 according to the embodiment.

[0045] The user information stored in the user information DB 121 has multiple items such as a "user ID" item, a "browsing history" item, and a "posting history" item, as shown in Fig. 4. These items in the user information are associated with each other.

[0046] In the "user ID" field, a user ID, which is identification information unique to the service user U and assigned to the service user U in order to identify the service user U, is stored.

[0047] The "browsing history" item stores the browsing history of article content that the service user U has browsed on the news site.

[0048] The "posting history" field stores the posting history of comments posted by the service user U on the news site.

[0049] (Article information DB122) The article information DB 122 stores article information about articles published on news sites. Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an outline of the article information stored in the article information DB 122 according to the embodiment.

[0050] The article information stored in the article information DB 122 has multiple items such as an "article ID" item, a "topic" item, a "related topic" item, and an "attention level" item, as shown in Fig. 5. These items in the article information are associated with each other.

[0051] The "article ID" field stores an article ID, which is identification information unique to the article content and is assigned to the article content in order to identify the article content posted on the news site.

[0052] The "topic" item stores information indicating topics such as news and topics in various fields that are published in article content published on a news site.

[0053] The "related topic" item stores information indicating related topics that are set in advance as topics related to the topic published in the article content.

[0054] The "attention level" field stores information indicating the attention level of the article content. For example, the information processing device 100 calculates, for each article content, the rate of increase in the number of browsing users in the most recent predetermined period. Then, the information processing device 100 ranks the article contents in descending order of the calculated rate of increase, and stores and manages the ranking in the "attention level" field as a value indicating the attention level of the article content.

[0055] (control unit 130) The control unit 130 is a controller, and is realized by a CPU (Central Processing Unit), MPU (Micro Processing Unit), etc., executing various programs (examples of "information processing programs") stored in a storage device inside the information processing device 100 using RAM as a working area.

[0056] Furthermore, the control unit 130 may be realized by an integrated circuit such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or a general purpose graphic processing unit (GPGPU).

[0057] As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 130 has a selection unit 131 and a provision unit 132, and these units realize or execute the functions and actions of the information processing described below.

[0058] Note that control unit 130 may have an internal configuration divided into multiple processing units that realize or execute the information processing functions and actions described below. Also, control unit 130 is not limited to the configuration shown in Fig. 3, and may have other configurations as long as they perform the information processing described below, and may have other functional units other than those shown in Fig. 3.

[0059] (Selection unit 131) In response to a browsing request received from a service user U of a news site via the communication unit 110, the selection unit 131 selects reference content corresponding to the browsing request, first content based on the reference content, and second content based on the browsing history of the service user U. The web content may be article content or comments posted on the reference content.

[0060] For example, the selection unit 131 can select, as the first content, a web content that is related to the reference content.

[0061] Furthermore, for example, when the reference content is article content that can accept comments posted by the service user U, the selection unit 131 can select, as the first content, comments posted to the reference content.

[0062] Furthermore, for example, when the reference content is article content, the selection unit 131 can select, as the first content, another article content that deals with the same or related topic as the reference content. Furthermore, when the reference content is a comment, the selection unit 131 can select, as the first content, another article content that deals with the same or related topic as the article content to which the comment is posted.

[0063] Furthermore, the selection unit 131 can select, as the second content, an article content that is related to a plurality of article contents that the service user U has already viewed.

[0064] Furthermore, for example, the selection unit 131 can select, as the second content, related article content that the service user U has not viewed from among related article content that deals with topics that are the same as or related to multiple article contents that the service user U has viewed.

[0065] Furthermore, for example, the selection unit 131 can select, as the second content, related article content that has not been viewed by the service user U and whose increase rate in the number of users who have viewed it in a recent predetermined period exceeds a threshold.

[0066] Furthermore, the selection unit 131 can select the viewed content that was viewed by the service user U immediately before the reference content.

[0067] The selection unit 131 passes information on the reference content corresponding to the browsing request, information on the first content, information on the second content, and information on the browsed content to the provision unit 132.

[0068] (Provider 132) The providing unit 132 provides the reference content, as well as thumbnails of the first content and thumbnails of the second content, to the service user U who has requested to view the web content.

[0069] For example, the providing unit 135 provides a browsing roadmap including a thumbnail of the first content and a thumbnail of the second content together with the reference content corresponding to the browsing request to the terminal device 10 that is the sender of the browsing request, as suggested information via the communication unit 110, to the service user U that is the sender of the browsing request. At this time, the providing unit 135 can also send to the terminal device 10 control information for displaying the reference content and the browsing roadmap in a predetermined display area (for example, display area A-1 or display area A-2 shown in FIG. 1 ) of the news site screen W.

[0070] In addition, the providing unit 135 can create information including a thumbnail image SN-1 of the reference content, a thumbnail image SN-2 corresponding to the first content, and a thumbnail image SN-3 corresponding to the second content as a viewing roadmap and provide it to the service user U.

[0071] Furthermore, the providing unit 135 can provide the service user U with a thumbnail image SN-4 corresponding to the viewed web content that was viewed by the service user U immediately before the reference content currently displayed on the news site screen W. In this case, the providing unit 135 can create, as a browsing roadmap, information including the thumbnail image SN-4 corresponding to the viewed web content in addition to the thumbnail image SN-1 of the reference content, the thumbnail image SN-2 corresponding to the first content, and the thumbnail image SN-3 corresponding to the second content.

[0072] Furthermore, when creating the browsing roadmap, the providing unit 135 may display the thumbnail images in chronological order.

[0073] The control unit 130 may also have a management unit that manages the attention levels of article content. The management unit calculates, at a predetermined timing that is set in advance, the rate of increase in the number of browsing users for the most recent predetermined period for each article content. The predetermined period is set arbitrarily by the service provider. The management unit also ranks the article content in descending order of the calculated rate of increase. The management unit also associates the article content with the information indicating the ranking of the article content and stores it in the article information DB 122 as information indicating the attention levels. The management unit periodically updates the attention levels of the article content.

[0074] 4. Processing Procedure According to the Embodiment The following describes the procedure of information processing executed by the information processing device 100 according to the embodiment. Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure of information processing executed by the information processing device 100 according to the embodiment. The processing procedure shown in Fig. 6 is executed by the control unit 130 of the information processing device 100. The processing procedure shown in Fig. 6 is repeatedly executed while the information processing device 100 is operating.

[0075] As shown in FIG. 6, in response to a viewing request received from a service user U, the selection unit 131 selects a reference content corresponding to the viewing request, a first content based on the reference content, and a second content based on the viewing history of the service user U (step S101).

[0076] Furthermore, the selection unit 131 selects the viewed content that was viewed by the service user U immediately before the reference content (step S102).

[0077] In addition, the providing unit 132 transmits a viewing roadmap including thumbnails corresponding to the first content, thumbnails corresponding to the second content, and thumbnails corresponding to the viewed content together with the reference content to the terminal device 10 that sent the viewing request via the communication unit 110, thereby providing the same to the service user U that sent the viewing request (step S103), and then terminates the processing procedure shown in Figure 6.

[0078] [5. Modifications] In the above-described embodiment, the selection unit 131 may select, as the first content, a reference content that has attracted relatively high attention from service users U on a news site from among other article contents that deal with the same or related topics as the reference content.

[0079] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the selection unit 131 may select, as the first content, a comment posted to another article content that deals with the same or related topic as the reference content. Furthermore, when selecting a comment posted to another article content, the selection unit 131 may select a comment that has received a high rating from other service users U or a comment that has received many replies from other service users U.

[0080] In addition, in the above-described embodiment, each time the providing unit 135 receives a viewing request from the service user U, it may provide, instead of a viewing roadmap, two options, a thumbnail corresponding to the first content and a thumbnail corresponding to the second content, as suggested information.

[0081] [6. Hardware Configuration] The information processing device 100 according to the above-described embodiment and each modified example is realized, for example, by a computer 1000 configured as shown in Fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a hardware configuration diagram showing an example of a computer that realizes the functions of the information processing device 100 according to the embodiment and each modified example.

[0082] The computer 1000 is connected to an output device 1010 and an input device 1020, and has a configuration in which an arithmetic unit 1030, a primary storage device 1040, a secondary storage device 1050, an output IF (Interface) 1060, an input IF 1070, and a network IF 1080 are connected by a bus 1090.

[0083] The arithmetic device 1030 operates based on programs stored in the primary storage device 1040 and secondary storage device 1050, programs read from the input device 1020, and the like, and executes various processes. The primary storage device 1040 is a memory device, such as a RAM, that temporarily stores data used by the arithmetic device 1030 for various calculations. The secondary storage device 1050 is a storage device in which data used by the arithmetic device 1030 for various calculations and various databases are registered, and is realized by a ROM (Read Only Memory), HDD, flash memory, or the like.

[0084] The output IF 1060 is an interface for transmitting information to be output to an output device 1010 that outputs various types of information, such as a monitor or a printer, and is realized by a connector conforming to a standard such as USB (Universal Serial Bus), DVI (Digital Visual Interface), or HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface), etc. The input IF 1070 is an interface for receiving information from various input devices 1020, such as a mouse, keyboard, and scanner, and is realized by, for example, USB.

[0085] The input device 1020 may be a device that reads information from an optical recording medium such as a CD (Compact Disc), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), or a PD (Phase Change Rewritable Disk), a magneto-optical recording medium such as an MO (Magneto-Optical disk), a tape medium, a magnetic recording medium, or a semiconductor memory. The input device 1020 may also be an external storage medium such as a USB memory.

[0086] The network IF 1080 receives data from other devices via the network N and sends it to the arithmetic device 1030, and also transmits data generated by the arithmetic device 1030 to other devices via the network N.

[0087] The arithmetic unit 1030 controls the output device 1010 and the input device 1020 via the output IF 1060 and the input IF 1070. For example, the arithmetic unit 1030 loads a program from the input device 1020 or the secondary storage device 1050 onto the primary storage device 1040 and executes the loaded program.

[0088] For example, when the computer 1000 functions as the information processing device 100 according to the embodiment, the arithmetic device 1030 of the computer 1000 executes a program (for example, an information processing program) loaded onto the primary storage device 1040, thereby realizing the same functions as the control unit 130. That is, the arithmetic device 1030 cooperates with the program (for example, an information processing program) loaded onto the primary storage device 1040 to realize the processing by the information processing device 100 according to the embodiment.

[0089] [7. Other] Of the processes described in the above embodiments, all or part of the processes described as being performed automatically can be performed manually, or all or part of the processes described as being performed manually can be performed automatically using a known method. In addition, the information including the processing procedures, specific names, various data, and parameters shown in the above documents and drawings can be changed as desired unless otherwise specified.

[0090] Furthermore, the components of each device shown in the figure are conceptual functional components and do not necessarily have to be physically configured as shown in the figure. In other words, the specific form of distribution and integration of each device is not limited to that shown in the figure, and all or part of them can be functionally or physically distributed and integrated in any unit depending on various loads, usage conditions, etc.

[0091] Furthermore, the above-described embodiments can be combined as appropriate within the scope of not causing any contradiction in the processing content.

[0092] The above describes in detail the embodiments of the present application based on several drawings, but these are merely examples, and the present invention can be implemented in other forms that include the embodiments described in the Disclosure of the Invention section and that have been modified and improved in various ways based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art.

[0093] Furthermore, the above-mentioned "section, module, unit" can be read as "means" or "circuit," etc. For example, a control section can be read as control means or a control circuit.

[0094] [8. Effects] The information processing device 100 according to the embodiment is an information processing device that executes processing related to a news site, and includes a selection unit 131 and a provision unit 132. In response to a viewing request received from a service user U of the news site, the selection unit 131 selects reference content corresponding to the viewing request, first content based on the reference content, and second content based on the viewing history of the service user U. The provision unit 132 provides thumbnails of the first content and second content together with the reference content.

[0095] Furthermore, the selection unit 131 can select, as the first content, web content that is related to the reference content.

[0096] Furthermore, when the reference content is article content that can accept comments posted by the service users U, the selection unit 131 can select, as the first content, comments posted to the reference content.

[0097] Furthermore, when the reference content is an article content, the selection unit 131 can select, as the first content, another article content that deals with the same topic as the reference content or a topic related to the reference content.

[0098] Furthermore, the selection unit 131 can select, as the second content, an article content that is related to a plurality of article contents that the service user U has already viewed.

[0099] In addition, the selection unit 131 can select, as the second content, related article content that the service user U has not viewed from among related article content that is article content that deals with the same or related topics as multiple article contents that the service user U has viewed.

[0100] Furthermore, the selection unit 131 can select, as the second content, related article content that has not been viewed by the service user U and whose increase rate in the number of users who have viewed it in the most recent predetermined period exceeds a threshold.

[0101] Furthermore, the selection unit 131 can select the viewed content that was viewed by the service user U immediately before the reference content.

[0102] Furthermore, the providing unit 132 can provide the reference content to the service user U who has requested to view the web content, as well as thumbnails corresponding to the first content and thumbnails corresponding to the second content.

[0103] Furthermore, the providing unit 132 can provide thumbnails corresponding to the browsed content selected by the selecting unit 131.

[0104] In this way, the information processing device 100 according to the embodiment selects first content that is related to the reference content, which is web content currently displayed on the news site screen W, and second content that is related to multiple article contents that have been viewed by the service user U. Then, the information processing device 100 according to the embodiment provides the service user U with a browsing roadmap including the thumbnail image SN-2 of the first content and the thumbnail image SN-3 of the second content, together with the reference content, as suggested information.

[0105] For this reason, the information processing device 100 of the embodiment allows the service user U to smoothly select the content to view by suggesting a clue to the next content to view as a two-choice option, thereby improving usability when using a news site.

[0106] On the other hand, the information processing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment can be expected to have an effect of suppressing the dropout rate of the service users U from the news site by supporting the service users U in smoothly selecting content.

[0107] Furthermore, the above-described effects can also be realized by the processing executed by each of the above-described units, or by any combination of the processing executed by each unit. [Explanation of symbols]

[0108] SYS Information Processing System N Network 10 Terminal Equipment 100 Information processing device 110 Communications Department 120 Storage section 121 User information DB 122 Article Information DB 130 Control Unit 131 Selection Section 132 Provision Department

Claims

1. An information processing device that executes processing related to a news site, a selection unit that selects, in response to a viewing request received from a user of the news site, a reference content corresponding to the viewing request, a first content based on the reference content, and a second content based on the viewing history of the user; a providing unit that provides a thumbnail corresponding to the first content and a thumbnail corresponding to the second content together with the reference content; An information processing device comprising:

2. The selection unit Selecting web content that is related to the reference content as the first content.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

3. The selection unit When the reference content is article content that can accept comments posted by the user, a comment posted to the reference content is selected as the first content.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein:

4. The selection unit If the reference content is article content, another article content dealing with the same or related topic as the reference content is selected as the first content.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3,

5. The selection unit As the second content, article content related to the plurality of article contents that the user has already viewed is selected.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

6. The selection unit Among related article contents that are article contents dealing with the same or related topics as the plurality of article contents that the user has already viewed, the related article content that the user has not viewed is selected as the second content.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5,

7. The selection unit Among the related article contents that the user has not viewed, the related article content that has attracted the user's attention on a news site is selected as the second content.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6,

8. The selection unit Selecting a viewed content that was viewed by the user immediately before the reference content; The providing unit To provide a thumbnail corresponding to the browsed content selected by the selection unit 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

9. An information processing method performed by a computer that executes processing related to a news site, a selection step of selecting, in response to a browsing request received from a user of the news site, a reference content corresponding to the browsing request, a first content based on the reference content, and a second content based on the browsing history of the user; providing a thumbnail corresponding to the first content and a thumbnail corresponding to the second content together with the reference content; An information processing method comprising:

10. The computer that processes the news site a selection step of selecting, in response to a browsing request received from a user of the news site, a reference content corresponding to the browsing request, a first content based on the reference content, and a second content based on the browsing history of the user; a providing step of providing a thumbnail corresponding to the first content and a thumbnail corresponding to the second content together with the reference content; An information processing program characterized by causing the program to execute the above.

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