Programs, information processing methods, servers, systems

Abstract

To improve the convenience and other aspects of live commerce streaming. [Solution] The server, which communicates with a first terminal of a viewer watching live commerce content, performs the following operations on the server: the control unit of the server records the live commerce content in an archive during the live broadcast of the live commerce content; the communication unit of the server receives first information regarding the viewer's reaction to the live commerce content from the first terminal during the live broadcast of the live commerce content; the control unit performs the process of associating the reactions in chronological order of the archive based on the reception of the first information; the control unit performs the process of aggregating the associated reactions; and, when distributing the archive to a second terminal, the communication unit transmits second information based on the aggregation process to the second terminal.

Description

[[Technical Field]]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a program, an information processing method, a server, a system, and the like. [[Background Art]]

[0002] There is a service called live commerce that combines electronic commerce (EC) and live streaming distribution, which allows users to sell products while communicating with each other (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [[Prior Art Literature]] [[Patent Literature]]

[0003] [[Patent Document 1]] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2019-197427 [[Summary of Invention]]

[0004] According to a first aspect of the present invention, a program executed by a server that communicates with a first terminal of a viewer who watches live commerce content causes the server to execute the steps of: performing, by a control unit of the server, a process of recording the live commerce content in an archive during live broadcasting of the live commerce content; receiving, by a communication unit of the server, first information related to a viewer's reaction to the live commerce content from the first terminal during live broadcasting of the live commerce content; performing, by the control unit, a process of associating the reactions along a time series of the archive based on the reception of the first information; performing, by the control unit, a process of aggregating the associated reactions; and transmitting, by the communication unit, second information based on the aggregating process to a second terminal when distributing the archive to the second terminal. According to a second aspect of the present invention, a server communicating with a first terminal of a viewer watching live commerce content comprises a control unit that processes recording the live commerce content in an archive during the live broadcast of the live commerce content, and a communication unit that receives first information from the first terminal regarding the viewer's reaction to the live commerce content during the live broadcast of the live commerce content. The control unit performs a process to associate the reactions in chronological order of the archive based on the reception of the first information, the control unit performs a process to aggregate the associated reactions, and when the communication unit distributes the archive to a second terminal, it transmits second information based on the aggregation process to the second terminal. According to a third aspect of the present invention, a server information processing method communicating with a first terminal of a viewer watching live commerce content includes: the server's control unit performing a process to record the live commerce content in an archive during the live broadcast of the live commerce content; the server's communication unit receiving first information regarding the viewer's reaction to the live commerce content from the first terminal during the live broadcast of the live commerce content; the control unit performing a process to associate the reactions in chronological order of the archive based on the reception of the first information; the control unit performing a process to aggregate the associated reactions; and, when distributing the archive to a second terminal, the communication unit transmitting second information based on the aggregation process to the second terminal. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a system including a server that distributes live commerce content and a first terminal of a viewer who views the live commerce content includes the following: the server performs a process of recording the live commerce content in an archive during the live broadcast of the live commerce content using the server's control unit; the first terminal transmits first information regarding viewer reactions to the live commerce content received during the live broadcast of the live commerce content to the server using the first terminal's communication unit; the server receives the first information using the server's communication unit, and based on the reception of the first information, performs a process of associating the reactions in chronological order of the archive using the server's control unit; the server performs a process of aggregating the associated reactions using the server's control unit; and when distributing the archive to the first terminal, transmits second information based on the aggregating process to the first terminal using the server's communication unit; the first terminal receives the second information using the first terminal's communication unit and displays the second information superimposed on the archive on the first terminal's display unit. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0005] [Figure 1-1] A diagram showing an example of the system configuration of a communication system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 1-2] A diagram showing an example of a function realized by the control unit of the server according to the first embodiment. [Figure 1-3] A diagram showing an example of information stored in the storage unit of the server according to the first embodiment. [Figure 1-4] A diagram showing an example of account registration data related to the first embodiment. [Figure 1-5] A diagram showing an example of a distribution management database according to the first embodiment. [Figure 1-6] A diagram showing an example of a function realized by the control unit of the terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 1-7] A diagram showing an example of information stored in the memory unit of the terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 1-8] A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of a viewer's terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 1-9] A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of a viewer's terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 1-10] A flowchart showing an example of the processing flow performed by each device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 1-11] A flowchart showing an example of the flow of live commerce distribution processing and live commerce viewing processing according to the first embodiment. [Figure 1-12] A flowchart showing an example of the flow of live commerce archive distribution processing and live commerce archive viewing processing according to the first embodiment. [Figure 1-13] A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of a viewer's terminal according to the first modified example. [Figure 1-14] A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of a viewer's terminal according to the first modified example. [Figure 1-15] A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of a viewer's terminal according to the first modified example. [Figure 2-1] A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of a viewer's terminal according to the second embodiment. [Figure 2-2] A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of a viewer's terminal according to the second embodiment. [Figure 2-3] A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of a viewer's terminal according to the second embodiment. [Figure 2-4] A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of a viewer's terminal according to the second embodiment. [Figure 2-5] A flowchart showing an example of the flow of live commerce archive distribution processing and live commerce archive viewing processing according to the second embodiment. [Figure 2-6] A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the viewer's terminal display according to the second modified example. [Figure 3-1] A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of a viewer's terminal according to the third embodiment. [Figure 3-2] A diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of a viewer's terminal according to the third embodiment. [Figure 3-3] A flowchart showing an example of the processing flow performed by each device according to the third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0006] <Compliance with Legal Requirements> It should be noted that the disclosure set forth in the present specification is premised on compliance with legal requirements of the country of practice that are necessary for carrying out the present disclosure, including the secrecy of communications.

[0007] <Embodiments> In the present specification, some portions are described as "by way of example and not limitation" for clarity, but it should be noted that this is not limited to only such portions, and the entire embodiments described below are not limited to the content described therein.

[0008] Embodiments for carrying out a program and the like according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0009] By way of example and not limitation, a system may be configured to include a plurality of devices. The plurality of devices may be a combination of devices of the same type, a combination of devices of different types, or a combination of devices of the same type and devices of different types. It should also be noted that, by way of example and not limitation, a system can be considered as an entity in which a plurality of devices cooperate to perform some process.

[0010] Furthermore, by way of example and not limitation, a system related to a client (client device) and a server can be considered to be at least any one of the following. (1) Terminal & Server (2) Server (3) Terminal

[0011] (1) is, by way of example and not limitation, a system including at least one terminal and at least one server. One example of this is a client-server system.

[0012] The server may consist of the following devices, not as an example but as an extension of the following, and may be a single device or a combination of multiple devices.

[0013] Specifically, a server may consist of, but is not limited to, at least one processor (for example, a CPU: Central Processing Unit, a GPU: Graphics Processing Unit, an APU: Accelerated Processing Unit, a DSP: Digital Signal Processor (for example, an ASIC: Application Specific Integrated Circuit, an FPGA: Field Programmable Gate Array), etc.), a computer device (processor + memory), a control device, an arithmetic unit, a processing unit, etc., and may be configured with multiple identical units of any one device (for example, a CPU + CPU, a homogeneous multicore processor, etc.), or with multiple heterogeneous units of any one device (for example, a CPU + DSP, a heterogeneous multicore processor, etc.), or with a combination of multiple devices (for example, a processor + computer device, a processor + arithmetic unit, a heterogeneous configuration of multiple devices, etc.). Note that the processor may be a virtual processor.

[0014] Furthermore, when a server performs some processing, if it is configured as a single device, the processing described in the embodiment will be performed by that single device. If it is configured as having multiple devices, some processing may be performed by one device and other processing may be performed by the other devices. As an example, and not an limitation, if it is configured as having a processor and an arithmetic unit, the first processing may be performed by the processor and the second processing may be performed by the arithmetic unit. Furthermore, if the system consists of multiple devices, each device may be arranged in a location that is physically separated from the others.

[0015] Furthermore, the server's functionality is not limited to specific applications; for example, it may be provided in the form of PaaS, IaaS, or SaaS in cloud computing.

[0016] Furthermore, the system's control unit can be at least one of either the terminal's control unit or the server's control unit. In other words, the system's control unit can be any of the following, not limited to: (1A) only the terminal's control unit, (1B) only the server's control unit, or (1C) both the terminal's control unit and the server's control unit.

[0017] Furthermore, the control and processing performed by the system's control unit (hereinafter collectively referred to as "control, etc.") may be (1A) performed solely by the terminal's control unit, (1B) performed solely by the server's control unit, or (1C) performed by both the terminal's control unit and the server's control unit. Furthermore, (1C) is not an limitation but an example in which some of the controls that the system would normally perform are performed by the control unit of the terminal, and the remaining controls are performed by the control unit of the server. In this case, the allocation of controls may be equal, or they may be allocated in different proportions.

[0018] Furthermore, when referring to the server's communication unit, if the server is composed of a single device, it may refer to the communication unit itself provided by that single device. Also, if the server is composed of multiple devices, the server's communication unit may include the communication units provided by each of those devices. As an example, and not an limitation, if a server comprises a first device and a second device, with the first device having a first communication unit and the second device having a second communication unit, then the communication unit of the server may be considered a concept that includes both the first and second communication units.

[0019] (2) may, as an example and not an limitation, be a system consisting of multiple servers (hereinafter referred to as the "server system"). In this case, the configuration described above can be applied similarly to the configuration of each server.

[0020] The control and other functions performed by the server system may be performed by (2A) only one server, (2B) only the other servers, or (2C) one server and the other servers. Furthermore, (2C) is not limited to but is an example in which one server may perform some of the controls that the server system performs, and the remaining controls may be performed by other servers. In this case, the allocation of controls may be divided equally, or it may be allocated in different proportions.

[0021] (3) can be a system consisting of multiple terminals, not an exhaustive example. This system can be, as an example and not limited to, the following: A system that assigns server functionality to terminals (a distributed system). This is not limited to this example, but can be achieved using blockchain technology. A system in which terminals communicate wirelessly with each other. This is not limited to this, but can be achieved by using short-range wireless communication technologies such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) to communicate in a P2P (peer-to-peer) manner.

[0022] Furthermore, the above applies not only to the control unit but also to each functional unit that can be a component of the system, such as the input / output unit, communication unit, memory unit, and clock unit.

[0023] In the following embodiments, a system including terminals and servers (a client-server system, for example, is provided as an example, but is not an limitation) is illustrated. Furthermore, it is also possible to apply the server system described in (2) above as the server.

[0024] Furthermore, instead of a system that includes terminals and servers, it is also possible to apply a system that does not include a server, such as the system described in (3) above, not as a limitation but as an example. In this case, the embodiment can be constructed based on the aforementioned blockchain technology. Specifically, and not limited to, but as an example, data stored and managed on the server described in the following embodiment is stored on the blockchain. Then, when a terminal generates a transaction to the blockchain and the transaction is approved on the blockchain, the data stored on the blockchain is updated.

[0025] Furthermore, even when the term "terminal" is used, it is not limited to the meaning of a terminal as a client device in a client-server system. In other words, the term "terminal" can sometimes include the concept of a device that is not part of a client-server relationship.

[0026] Furthermore, the expression "by communication I / F" is used as appropriate in this specification. This is not an limitation, but rather an example that the device may send and receive various information and data via a communication I / F (via a communication unit) based on the control of a control unit (processor, etc.).

[0027] Furthermore, in this specification, when terms such as "concerning" or "related" are used, "B concerning A" or "B related to A" may be used not as an limitation, but as an example, to mean "B" that has some kind of relationship with "A". Specific examples will be given later.

[0028] Furthermore, in this specification, when a device processes two or more things, such as "transmitting A and B" or "receiving A and B," it may include both cases where "A" and "B" are performed at the same time (hereinafter referred to as "simultaneous") and cases where "A" and "B" are performed at different times (hereinafter referred to as "non-simultaneous"). As an example, rather than being limited, when we say that we are transmitting the first piece of information and the second piece of information, we may include both concepts: transmitting the first piece of information and the second piece of information at the same time, and transmitting the first piece of information and the second piece of information at different times. Furthermore, taking into consideration lag (time lag), "simultaneous" may include "almost simultaneous."

[0029] Furthermore, even if "A" and "B" are performed at different times, this only requires that the processing targets "A" and "B," and their purposes do not necessarily have to be the same. As an example, rather than being limited, when transmitting the first and second pieces of information as described above, it is sufficient to simply transmit the first and second pieces of information, and this may include cases where the first and second pieces of information are transmitted for different purposes, as well as cases where they are transmitted for the same purpose. This also includes cases where the first and second pieces of information are transmitted for the purpose of [specific purpose].

[0030] In this specification, content may be information transmitted from a sender to a recipient. Content may also be one or more pieces of content.

[0031] Content may include, but is not limited to, text content in text format, image content in image format (including at least one of both still images and moving images), and sound content in sound format (including voice). In addition, other elements such as buttons and icons for user interaction, as well as link information (not limited to these, but including, for example, URIs (Uniform Resource Identifiers)) and other link content may also be included.

[0032] The text may, but not be limited, include at least one of the following: national characters represented by character codes, extended characters, machine-dependent characters, numbers, symbols, figures, and codes. Note that the text does not have to contain at least one of the above characters, extended characters, machine-dependent characters, numbers, symbols, figures, and codes, but may contain other text.

[0033] Images can include, but are not limited to, at least one of the following types of image information: icons, buttons, stamps, emojis, banner images, etc.

[0034] In the following embodiments, we illustrate a live commerce service as an example, where a user can live stream live content such as video and audio, and while viewing the live streamed content, they can purchase items introduced during the live stream through e-commerce, not limited to this example. The application used to implement the live commerce service will be referred to as the "live commerce application." The live commerce application will be illustrated as the "Live Commerce App." The live content streamed in the live commerce service may also be referred to as "live commerce content."

[0035] Furthermore, "products for sale" may be tangible goods or intangible services. For convenience, we will refer to them as "products for sale," but products for sale may be one or more goods or one or more services sold in the live commerce content. Alternatively, they may be a combination of one or more goods and one or more services sold in the live commerce content.

[0036] In the following, users who conduct live broadcasts showcasing products for sale on live commerce services will be referred to as "broadcasters," and users who watch the live broadcasts and purchase the products will be referred to as "viewers."

[0037] The following are examples of forms that can be used to implement a live commerce service, but they are not limited to any specific form. (A) A configuration in which the live commerce application is configured as a standalone unit. (B) A form in which the functionality of an e-commerce service is incorporated as a feature of the live streaming application. (C) A form in which a live streaming service function is provided as a feature of an e-commerce application. (D) Forms of an application that has the functions of a live streaming service and the functions of an e-commerce service (integrated application)

[0038] In forms (B) and (C), as an example rather than an limitation, a live streaming service provider can be the same type of business as an e-commerce service provider. In this case, one possible approach is to use a common account for both the user account in the e-commerce application and the user account in the live streaming application. Alternatively, in this case, the user's account in the e-commerce application and the user's account in the live streaming application can be automatically linked (integrated).

[0039] Furthermore, it is also possible to incorporate messaging service functionality, which is an example of a chat service (hereinafter referred to as "chat service"), as a feature of a live streaming application, e-commerce application, or live commerce application. Furthermore, it is possible to incorporate live commerce service functionality as a feature within a messaging application, which is an example of an application used to implement a chat service.

[0040] Furthermore, in this embodiment, expressions such as "information is sent and received between users" or "information is sent and received between terminals" may be used, but these can be considered substantially synonymous. Furthermore, when applying a client-server system, it is possible to configure it so that information is sent and received between terminals via the server, and this can also be described as the sending and receiving of information between users or between terminals. Also, as mentioned above, it is also possible to send and receive information between terminals without applying a client-server system.

[0041] Furthermore, the following embodiments illustrate a case where a broadcaster streams a live video related to the products being sold, and viewers watch that live video. Live streaming of live commerce content may also be simply referred to as "live streaming" or "live commerce streaming." Furthermore, in the following embodiments, a live commerce broadcast that is streamed in real time (live broadcast) from the broadcaster to the viewers will be referred to as a "live broadcast," and a live commerce broadcast that, after the live broadcast, provides viewers with a recording of the real-time broadcast (hereinafter referred to as the "archive") will be referred to as an "archive broadcast."

[0042] Furthermore, any of the aforementioned forms (A) to (D) may be applied to realize the live commerce service, but in the following examples, we will primarily illustrate the case where form (A), in which the live commerce application is configured as a standalone unit, is applied, not as an limitation but as an example.

[0043] <First Example> The first embodiment involves viewers reacting to live commerce content during a live stream. Then, in the archived stream, information is added that allows viewers to jump to sections of the archive that are of high interest to them, based on their reactions during the live stream.

[0044] Here are some examples of reactions to live commerce content, not limited to specific types: (A) The act of watching live commerce content itself. (B) Commenting on live commerce content. Comments may be in the form of text, images, or audio. (C) Sharing of live commerce content. (D) Commenting on products sold in live commerce content. Comments may be in the form of text, images, or audio. (E) Purchase of products featured in live commerce content. This may include attempts to make a purchase (not limited to this, but for example, transitioning to the product sales page) even if a purchase is not made. (F) Sharing of products featured in live commerce content. Furthermore, the reactions (D) through (F) can be referred to, as an example rather than being limited, as "reactions to the products sold." Furthermore, the response to live commerce content can be described as a "boom" in live commerce content.

[0045] The contents described in the first embodiment are applicable to any of the other embodiments or other modifications. Furthermore, components identical to those previously mentioned are given the same symbols, and their explanation is omitted.

[0046] <System Configuration> Figure 1-1 shows an example of the system configuration of the communication system 1 in an embodiment of the present disclosure. In communication system 1, as an example and not limited to, a server 10 is connected to multiple terminals 20 (terminal 20A, terminal 20B, terminal 20C, ...) via network 30.

[0047] Server 10 has the function of providing predetermined services (not limited to, but examples include live commerce services, messaging services, etc.) to user-owned terminals 20 via the network 30. Server 10 can also be described as a live commerce server, a messaging server, etc., not limited to, but examples. In this embodiment, live commerce service providers (operators) and messaging service providers (operators) are considered users of server 10.

[0048] Furthermore, there is no limit to the number of servers 10 or terminals 20 connected to network 30.

[0049] Terminal 20 (Terminal 20A, Terminal 20B, Terminal 20C, ...) can be any information processing terminal capable of realizing the functions described in each embodiment. Terminal 20 includes, but is not limited to, smartphones, mobile phones (feature phones), computers (but is not limited to, for example, desktops, laptops, tablets, etc.), media computer platforms (but is not limited to, for example, cable, satellite set-top boxes, digital video recorders), handheld computer devices (but is not limited to, for example, PDAs (personal digital assistants), email clients, etc.), wearable devices (glasses-type devices, watch-type devices, etc.), VR (Virtual Reality) terminals, smart speakers (voice recognition devices), or other types of computers or communication platforms. Terminal 20 may also be referred to as an information processing terminal.

[0050] The configurations of terminals 20A, 20B, and 20C can be identical, not as an example but as an extension. Furthermore, if necessary, the terminal used by user X may be referred to as terminal 20X, and user information in a predetermined service associated with user X or terminal 20X may be referred to as user information X, or not. User information refers to information about a user associated with an account used by that user in a given service. User information includes, but is not limited to, information associated with a user, such as the user's name, user icon image, user's age, user's gender, user's address, user's hobbies and preferences, and user identifier, which may be entered by the user or assigned by the given service. It may include any one of these items, a combination thereof, or not.

[0051] Network 30 plays the role of connecting one or more terminals 20 and one or more servers 10. In other words, network 30 refers to a communication network that provides a connection path so that the various devices described above can send and receive data after they are connected.

[0052] One or more parts of network 30 may or may not be wired or wireless networks. Network 30 may include, but is not limited to, an ad hoc network, an intranet, an extranet, a virtual private network (VPN), a local area network (LAN), a wireless LAN (WLAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wireless WAN (WWAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), part of the internet, part of a public switched telephone network (PSTN), a mobile phone network, ISDN (integrated service digital networks), wireless LAN, LTE (long term evolution), CDMA (code division multiple access), Bluetooth (registered trademark), satellite communications, or two or more combinations thereof. Network 30 may include one or more networks 30.

[0053] Server 10 (not limited to, but an example of a server, information processing device, or information management device) has the function of providing predetermined services to terminal 20. Server 10 may be any information processing device capable of realizing the functions described in each embodiment. Server 10 includes, but is not limited to, a server device, a computer (not limited to, but an example of, a desktop, laptop, tablet, etc.), a media computer platform (not limited to, but an example of, a cable, satellite set-top box, digital video recorder, etc.), a handheld computer device (not limited to, but an example of, a PDA, email client, etc.), or other types of computers or communication platforms. Server 10 may also be referred to as an information processing device. If it is not necessary to distinguish between Server 10 and terminal 20, Server 10 and terminal 20 may or may not be referred to as information processing devices.

[0054] [Hardware configuration of each device] The hardware configuration of each device included in communication system 1 will be described below.

[0055] (1) Terminal hardware configuration Figure 1-1 shows an example of the hardware configuration of terminal 20. Terminal 20 comprises a control unit 21 (CPU: central processing unit), a storage unit 28, a communication interface 22, an input / output unit 23, a clock unit 29A, and a position calculation information detection unit 29B. The hardware components of terminal 20 are interconnected via bus B, not as an example but as an example. It is not mandatory for terminal 20's hardware configuration to include all components. Not as an example but as an example, terminal 20 may have a configuration in which individual components or multiple components are removed, or it may not.

[0056] The communication interface 22 transmits and receives various types of data via the network 30. Communication may be performed via wired or wireless connections, and any communication protocol may be used as long as communication between the interfaces is possible. The communication interface 22 has the function of communicating with various devices, such as the server 10, via the network 30. The communication interface 22 transmits various types of data to the server 10 and other devices according to instructions from the control unit 21. The communication interface 22 also receives various types of data transmitted from the server 10 and other devices and transmits them to the control unit 21. The communication interface 22 may also be simply referred to as the communication unit. Furthermore, if the communication interface 22 is composed of a physically structured circuit, it may be referred to as the communication circuit.

[0057] The input / output unit 23 includes devices for inputting various operations to the terminal 20, and devices for outputting processing results processed by the terminal 20. The input / output unit 23 may have an integrated input and output unit, or it may have separate input and output units, or it may not have to be integrated.

[0058] The input unit is implemented by any or any combination of any type of device capable of receiving input from the user and transmitting the information related to the input to the control unit 21. The input unit includes, but is not limited to, hardware keys such as touch panels, touch displays, and keyboards, pointing devices such as mice, cameras (operation input via video), and microphones (operation input via voice).

[0059] The output unit is implemented by any or any combination of any type of device capable of outputting the processing results processed by the control unit 21. The output unit includes, but is not limited to, touch panels, touch displays, speakers (for audio output), lenses (for, but is not limited to, 3D (three-dimensional) output or hologram output), printers, and the like.

[0060] This is merely one example, but the input / output unit 23 may include, but is not limited to, a display unit 24, an audio input unit 25, an audio output unit 26, and an imaging unit 27.

[0061] The display unit 24 is implemented by any or a combination of any type of device capable of displaying data according to the display data written to the frame buffer. The display unit 24 includes, but is not limited to, touch panels, touch displays, monitors (but is not limited to, liquid crystal displays and OLEDs (organic electroluminescence displays)), head-mounted displays (HDMs), projection mapping, holograms, and devices capable of displaying images, text information, etc., in air (which may or may not be a vacuum). These display units 24 may or may not be capable of displaying display data in 3D.

[0062] The sound input unit 25 is used for inputting sound data (including voice data; the same applies hereinafter). The sound input unit 25 includes a microphone, etc. The sound output unit 26 is used for outputting sound data. The sound output unit 26 includes a speaker and the like. The imaging unit 27 is used to acquire image data (including still image data and moving image data; the same applies hereinafter). The imaging unit 27 includes a camera, etc.

[0063] If the input / output unit 23 is a touch panel, the input / output unit 23 and the display unit 24 may be arranged facing each other and have substantially the same size and shape.

[0064] The clock unit 29A is the built-in clock of the terminal 20 and outputs time information (timing information). The clock unit 29A is configured, for example, using a crystal oscillator or the like. The clock unit 29A can also be described, for example, as a timing unit or a time information detection unit.

[0065] The clock unit 29A may or may not have a clock that conforms to the NITZ (Network Identity and Time Zone) standard, etc.

[0066] The position calculation information detection unit 29B is a functional unit that detects (measures) information necessary for the control unit 21 to calculate (measure) the position of its own terminal 20 (hereinafter referred to as "position calculation information"). The position calculation information detection unit 29B can also be described as a position calculation sensor unit, not as an extension of this definition, but as an example.

[0067] The position calculation information detection unit 29B includes, but is not limited to, satellite positioning sensors (satellite positioning units) which are sensors or units for calculating the position of terminal 20 using a satellite positioning system such as GPS (Global Positioning System), inertial measurement sensors (inertial measurement units (IMUs)) which are sensors or units for calculating the position of terminal 20 using an inertial navigation system, and UWB positioning sensors (UWB positioning units) which are sensors or units for calculating the position of terminal 20 using UWB (Ultra Wide Band).

[0068] The satellite positioning unit includes, but is not limited to, an RF receiving circuit that converts RF (Radio Frequency) signals, including positioning satellite signals transmitted from positioning satellites received by an antenna (not shown), into digital signals, and a baseband processing circuit that performs correlation calculations on the digital signals output from the RF receiving circuit to capture positioning satellite signals, and outputs information such as satellite orbit data and time data extracted from the positioning satellite signals as position calculation information.

[0069] The inertial measurement unit has inertial sensors, which are sensors that detect information necessary to calculate the position of terminal 20 by inertial navigation calculations. The inertial sensors include, but are not limited to, a 3-axis accelerometer and a 3-axis gyroscope, and output the acceleration detected by the accelerometer and the angular velocity detected by the gyroscope as position calculation information.

[0070] The UWB positioning unit includes, but is not limited to, an ultra-wideband RF receiving circuit that converts an ultra-wideband RF (Radio Frequency) signal, including a positioning ultra-wideband pulse signal transmitted from a positioning beacon received by an antenna (not shown), into a digital signal, and a relative position calculation processing circuit that calculates the relative position between the terminal 20 and the positioning beacon based on the digital signal output from the ultra-wideband RF receiving circuit. For example, the UWB positioning unit may or may not function as a positioning beacon by transmitting an ultra-wideband RF signal containing a positioning ultra-wideband pulse signal from an antenna (not shown).

[0071] The control unit 21 calculates the position of its own terminal 20 at regular or specific timings, based on the position calculation information detected by the position calculation information detection unit 29B, not as an example but as an example. The position of the terminal is referred to as the "terminal position," and the calculated terminal position is referred to as the "calculated terminal position." The control unit 21 may or may not store the calculated terminal position in the storage unit 28 as calculated terminal position history data, associated with the date and time the calculated terminal position was calculated.

[0072] The control unit 21 has physically structured circuitry to perform functions realized by code or instructions contained within the program, and is implemented, not limited to but for example, by a data processing device built into the hardware. Therefore, the control unit 21 may or may not be described as a control circuit.

[0073] The control unit 21 includes, but is not limited to, a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a processor core, a multiprocessor, an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit), and an FPGA (field programmable gate array).

[0074] The storage unit 28 has the function of storing various programs and data necessary for the operation of the terminal 20. The storage unit 28 includes, but is not limited to, various storage media such as HDD (hard disk drive), SSD (solid state drive), flash memory, RAM (random access memory), and ROM (read-only memory). The storage unit 28 may or may not be referred to as memory.

[0075] Terminal 20 stores program P in storage unit 28, and by executing program P, the control unit 21 executes the processing of each part included in the control unit 21. In other words, program P stored in storage unit 28 enables terminal 20 to realize the various functions executed by the control unit 21. Furthermore, this program P may or may not be described as a program module.

[0076] (2) Server hardware configuration Figure 1-1 shows an example of the hardware configuration of server 10. Server 10 comprises a control unit 11 (CPU), a storage unit 15, a communication interface 14, an input / output unit 12, and a clock unit 19. The hardware components of Server 10 are interconnected via bus B, not as an example but as an example. It is not mandatory for Server 10's hardware configuration to include all components. For example but as an example, Server 10's hardware may be configured to exclude individual or multiple components, or it may not.

[0077] The control unit 11 has physically structured circuitry to perform functions realized by code or instructions contained within the program, and is implemented, not limited to but for example, by a data processing device built into the hardware.

[0078] The control unit 11 is typically a central processing unit (CPU), but may also be a microprocessor, processor core, multiprocessor, ASIC, FPGA, or otherwise. In this disclosure, the control unit 11 is not limited to these.

[0079] The storage unit 15 has the function of storing various programs and data necessary for the operation of the server 10. The storage unit 15 is implemented using various storage media such as HDDs, SSDs, and flash memory. However, in this disclosure, the storage unit 15 is not limited to these. Also, the storage unit 15 may or may not be referred to as memory.

[0080] The communication interface 14 transmits and receives various types of data via the network 30. Communication may be performed via wired or wireless connections, and any communication protocol may be used as long as communication between the interfaces is possible. The communication interface 14 has the function of communicating with various devices, such as terminals 20, via the network 30. The communication interface 14 transmits various types of data to various devices, such as terminals 20, according to instructions from the control unit 11. The communication interface 14 also receives various types of data transmitted from various devices, such as terminals 20, and transmits them to the control unit 11. The communication interface 14 may also be simply referred to as the communication unit. Furthermore, if the communication interface 14 is composed of a physically structured circuit, it may be referred to as the communication circuit.

[0081] The input / output unit 12 includes devices for inputting various operations to the server 10, and devices for outputting processing results processed by the server 10. The input / output unit 12 may have an integrated input unit and an output unit, or it may have separate input and output units, or it may not have to be integrated.

[0082] The input unit is implemented by any or a combination of any type of device capable of receiving user input and transmitting the information related to the input to the control unit 11. The input unit is typically implemented by hardware keys such as keyboards or pointing devices such as mice. The input unit is not limited to, but may also include, for example, a touch panel, a camera (operation input via video), or a microphone (operation input via voice).

[0083] The output unit is implemented by any or any combination of any type of device capable of outputting the processing results processed by the control unit 11. The output unit includes, but is not limited to, touch panels, touch displays, speakers (sound output), lenses (but is not limited to, 3D (three-dimensional) output or hologram output), printers, and the like.

[0084] This is merely one example, but the input / output unit 12 may include a display unit 13, not as an example, but as an example.

[0085] The display unit 13 is implemented by a display or the like. The display is typically implemented by a monitor (not limited to, but for example, a liquid crystal display or an OLED (organic electroluminescence display)). The display may also be a head-mounted display (HDM) or not. These displays may or may not be capable of displaying data in 3D. In this disclosure, the display is not limited to these.

[0086] The clock unit 19 is the built-in clock of the server 10 and outputs time information (timing information). The clock unit 19 is configured to include, but is not limited to, a hardware clock such as an RTC (Real Time Clock) or a system clock. The clock unit 19 can also be described, but is not limited to, a timing unit or a time information detection unit. (3) Others Server 10 stores program P in storage unit 15, and by executing program P, the control unit 11 performs the processing of each part included in the control unit 11. In other words, program P stored in storage unit 15 enables server 10 to realize each function executed by the control unit 11. This program P may or may not be described as a program module. The same applies to other devices.

[0087] Each embodiment of this disclosure is described as being realized by the CPU of terminal 20 and / or server 10 executing program P.

[0088] Furthermore, the control unit 21 of terminal 20 and / or the control unit 11 of server 10 may implement each process not only with a CPU having a control circuit, but also with logic circuits (hardware) or dedicated circuits formed on an integrated circuit (IC (Integrated Circuit) chip, LSI (Large Scale Integration)), etc., or they may not. Also, these circuits may be implemented by one or more integrated circuits, and the multiple processes shown in each embodiment may be implemented by a single integrated circuit, or they may not. In addition, LSIs are sometimes called VLSI, Super LSI, Ultra LSI, etc., depending on the degree of integration. For this reason, the control unit 21 may or may not be described as a control circuit.

[0089] Furthermore, the program P of each embodiment of the present disclosure (for example, a software program, a computer program, or a program module, but not limited to these) may or may not be provided stored on a computer-readable storage medium. The storage medium is a “non-temporary tangible medium” capable of storing the program P. Also, the program P may or may not be for the purpose of implementing some of the functions of each embodiment of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the program P may or may not be a so-called differential file (differential program) that can implement the functions of each embodiment of the present disclosure in combination with a program P already recorded on the storage medium.

[0090] Furthermore, when we refer to a system program (a program executed by a system), the system is as described above. The system program described above is a program that can be executed across the entire system, and this program is not limited to, for example, composed of programs for each device that makes up the system, and the programs stored in each device that makes up the system may be different. In other words, it does not have to be a common program for each device that makes up the system. As an example, and not an limitation, if the system consists of a terminal and a server, and the system program is P1, then the system program P1 consists of a program P2 stored on the terminal and a program P3 stored on the server, and P2 and P3 are for executing the system program and may be different programs. As an example, and not an limitation, the program P2 stored on the terminal may be a program that performs a first process and sends the result of the first process to the server, and the program P3 stored on the server may be a program that performs a second process on the received result of the first process and sends the result of the second process to the terminal.

[0091] The storage medium may include one or more semiconductor-based or other integrated circuits (ICs) (for example, but not limited to, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs)), hard disk drives (HDDs), hybrid hard drives (HHDs), optical disks, optical disk drives (ODDs), magneto-optical disks, magneto-optical drives, floppy diskettes, floppy disk drives (FDDs), magnetic tapes, solid-state drives (SSDs), RAM drives, secure digital cards, or drives, any other suitable storage medium, or any two or more suitable combinations thereof. The storage medium may be volatile, non-volatile, or a combination of volatile and non-volatile, where appropriate. The storage medium is not limited to these examples and may be any device or medium capable of storing program P. The storage medium may or may not be referred to as memory.

[0092] The server 10 and / or terminal 20 can realize the functions of the multiple functional units shown in each embodiment by reading the program P stored in the storage medium and executing the read program P.

[0093] Furthermore, the program P of this disclosure may or may not be provided to the server 10 and / or terminal 20 via any transmission medium capable of transmitting the program (such as a communication network or broadcast waves). The server 10 and / or terminal 20 realize the functions of the multiple functional units shown in each embodiment by executing the program P downloaded via the Internet or the like, for example, without limit.

[0094] Furthermore, each embodiment of this disclosure can also be realized in the form of a data signal in which the program P is embodied by electronic transmission. At least part of the processing on server 10 and / or terminal 20 may or may not be implemented by cloud computing consisting of one or more computers. The configuration may be such that at least some or all of the processing on terminal 20 is performed by server 10, or it may not be so. In this case, the configuration may be such that at least some or all of the processing of each functional unit of the control unit 21 of terminal 20 is performed by server 10, or it may not be so. The configuration may be such that at least some or all of the processing in the server 10 is performed by the terminal 20, or it may not be so. In this case, the configuration may be such that at least some or all of the processing of each functional unit of the control unit 11 of the server 10 is performed by the terminal 20, or it may not be so.

[0095] Unless otherwise explicitly stated, the configuration of the determination in the embodiments of this disclosure is not mandatory, and a predetermined process may be performed if the determination condition is met, or if the determination condition is not met, or not.

[0096] The programs disclosed herein may be implemented using, but are not limited to, scripting languages ​​such as ActionScript and JavaScript®, compiled languages ​​such as Objective-C and Java®, and markup languages ​​such as HTML Living Standard, as examples.

[0097] <Functional Configuration> (1) Server Functional Configuration Figure 1-2 shows an example of a function realized by the control unit 11 of the server 10 in this embodiment. The control unit 11 may include, but is not limited to, an application management processing unit 111 as a functional unit for executing application management processing according to an application management processing program 151 stored in the storage unit 15.

[0098] Figure 1-3 shows an example of the information stored in the storage unit 15 of the server 10 in this embodiment. The memory unit 15 stores, for example but not limited to, an application management processing program 151 executed by the control unit 11 as application management processing, account registration data 153, and a live commerce distribution management database 155.

[0099] Account registration data 153 is registration data related to an application account (not limited to, but for example, a live commerce application), and an example of its data structure is shown in Figure 1-4. The account registration data 153 stores, as an example and not limited to, the username, application ID, and other registration information in association with each other.

[0100] The username is the name of the account on device 20 using this application. It is not limited to this name, but rather, it is the name registered by the user of device 20 when they use the application.

[0101] An application ID is information used to identify an application account, or the account itself. This application ID is preferably a unique value for each account, and is not limited to, but is set and stored by the server 10 as an example for each account. The Application ID is information associated with terminal 20 or the user of terminal 20, and is an example of information about the terminal or the user of the terminal.

[0102] Other registration information may include, but is not limited to, various types of information such as identification information to identify terminal 20, terminal 20's phone number (terminal phone number), email address (terminal email address), and authentication information such as passwords used for various authentications in the application (login password, authentication password, etc.).

[0103] The identification information used to identify terminal 20 can be, for example, the terminal ID (or, for example, the IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity)), not limited to these. Furthermore, the identification information used to identify the user of terminal 20 is not limited to specific examples; it could be an application ID for general users or an application ID for official users.

[0104] Note that you may or may not use "User ID" instead of "Application ID". Furthermore, for applications where only one account can be registered per device 20, the limitation is not restrictive; for example, "identification information for identifying device 20 = identification information for identifying the user of device 20 = application ID" can be used.

[0105] Furthermore, as an example and not an limitation, it may be possible to assign multiple terminal IDs to a single application ID, or not. In this case, it may be possible to launch the application in parallel on multiple terminals 20 using a single application ID as the target for identification (login), or not.

[0106] Furthermore, it is possible to apply a method of managing accounts using information such as the terminal's phone number instead of various IDs such as application IDs. In this case, instead of storing information such as the application ID in the account registration data 153, information such as the terminal phone number can be stored in the account registration data 153. Alternatively, the application ID information may be associated with the terminal phone number information on a one-to-one basis, or it may not be necessary to do so.

[0107] For the sake of simplicity, in the following embodiments, it will be assumed that one account is registered for each terminal 20. Furthermore, in this case, as described above, "identification information for identifying terminal 20 = identification information for identifying the user of terminal 20 = application ID," so the term "user of the account" may be considered substantially synonymous with "terminal of the account."

[0108] The users who can register an account may not be limited; for example, it could include both broadcasters and viewers. In the example in Figure 1-4, accounts whose application ID begins with "U" are distinguished as viewer accounts, and accounts whose application ID begins with "B" are distinguished as broadcaster accounts, not as a limitation but as an example. Furthermore, it is acceptable not to explicitly distinguish between the accounts of the streamer and the viewers.

[0109] Furthermore, the account registration data 153 may or may not be stored separately as streamer account registration data for registering streamer accounts and viewer account registration data for registering viewer accounts.

[0110] The live commerce distribution management database 155 is a database for managing information about live commerce content distributed in live commerce services, and an example of its data structure is shown in Figure 1-5. The live commerce distribution management database 155 stores live commerce management data as data for each live commerce content.

[0111] Each live commerce management data set stores, but is not limited to, the following as examples: broadcaster application ID, live commerce ID, live commerce name, other broadcast information, product management data, product sales history management data (data related to the sales history of products), and comment management data.

[0112] The broadcaster application ID will store the application ID of the broadcaster of this live commerce content.

[0113] The Live Commerce ID is information used to identify this live commerce content. This live commerce ID is preferably a unique value for each live commerce content, and is not limited to, but is set and stored by server 10 for each live commerce content as an example.

[0114] The live commerce name is the title of the live commerce content, and is not limited to that; for example, it is the name that the broadcaster registers when conducting a live stream.

[0115] Other distribution information may include, but is not limited to, various types of information such as the start date and time of the live broadcast of the live commerce content, the distribution period (viewing period), and information about where the archive will be recorded (but is not limited to, for example, a URI).

[0116] Product management data is used to manage the products sold in this live commerce content, and, as an example (not limited to), it stores associated product ID, product name, price, and other information.

[0117] The product ID is information used to identify a product being sold. This product ID is preferably a unique value for each product, and is not limited to that. For example, when a distributor registers a product, the server 10 sets and stores a unique value (a specific value) for each product.

[0118] The product name is the name of the product being sold, and is not limited to that; for example, the name entered by the distributor when registering the product is remembered.

[0119] The price is the selling price of the product, and is not limited to a specific price; for example, it stores the value set by the distributor when they register the product for sale.

[0120] Other information may include, but is not limited to, the size and color of the product, product photos and icons, and the number of items in stock.

[0121] Furthermore, instead of storing the product management data in the live commerce distribution management database 155, it is also possible, not limited to this example, to store the product management data independently in association with the distributor application ID.

[0122] The sales history management data is used to manage the sales history of items sold during the live broadcast of this live commerce content. It is not limited to this, but for example, it stores the item ID, the buyer application ID, and the time of sale in association with each other.

[0123] The product ID will store the product ID of the purchased item, not as a specific item, but as an example.

[0124] The buyer application ID will store, not exclusively, but as an example, the application ID of the viewer who purchased the product.

[0125] The sales time is not limited to a specific period; rather, it records the elapsed time from the start time of the live commerce content broadcast to the point at which the product was purchased.

[0126] Furthermore, the sales history of items sold during the archived broadcast may be stored in the sales history management data. In this case, the sales time may not be limited, but rather, for example, the elapsed time within the archive starting from the beginning of the archive at the time the item was purchased may be stored. Additionally, flag information may be added to the sales history management data to record whether or not the item was purchased during the live broadcast.

[0127] Furthermore, the sales history management data may or may not be configured to record a history of viewers attempting to purchase items that they did not end up buying.

[0128] The comment management data is used to manage the history of comments sent from device 20 during the live broadcast of this live commerce content. It is not limited to, but for example, it stores the comment time, the speaker's application ID, and the comment information in association with each other.

[0129] The comment time is not limited to a specific period; for example, it records the elapsed time from the start time of the live commerce content broadcast to the time the comment was submitted.

[0130] The speaker application ID will store, not exclusively, but as an example, the application ID of terminal 20 that sent the comment.

[0131] The comment information includes, but is not limited to, information about the content of comments sent from terminal 20 (such as text and images).

[0132] Furthermore, the comment management data may be configured to store a history of comments sent from terminal 20 during archive streaming. In this case, the comment time may not be limited, but for example, it may be recorded as the elapsed time within the archive, starting from the beginning of the archive, at the time the comment was sent. Additionally, the comment management data may be configured to include flag information to record whether or not the comment was sent during live streaming.

[0133] Furthermore, as an example, and not limited to specific cases, if the product name is included in the comment information, or if the product to which the comment was made can be inferred, the comment management data may be configured to store the product ID of the product to which the comment was made in association with the comment information.

[0134] (2) Terminal Functional Configuration Figure 1-6 shows an example of a function realized by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 in this embodiment. The control unit 21 may, but is not limited to, include an application processing unit 211 as a functional unit for executing application processing according to an application processing program 281 stored in the storage unit 28.

[0135] Figure 1-7 shows an example of data stored in the storage unit 28 of the terminal 20 in this embodiment. The memory unit 28 stores, for example but not limited to, an application processing program 281 executed as application processing by the control unit 21, and an application ID 283 corresponding to this terminal 20 or the user account of this terminal 20.

[0136] <Display screen> In the following examples, rather than being limited, we will illustrate the case where terminal 20 is a smartphone equipped with a vertically oriented display unit 24.

[0137] A smartphone, as an example, has a touch panel that functions as an input area, positioned opposite its display, thereby forming a touchscreen. When an element such as an icon, button, item, or input area is displayed on the display, and a portion of the touch panel opposite the area where the element is displayed is operated by the user, the program associated with that element or a subroutine of that program is executed.

[0138] In the following, a tap operation (sometimes simply referred to as "tap") can be defined, without limitation, as an action in which a user lightly touches the display unit 24 (touchscreen), which is integrally composed of a touch panel, with their finger or pen tip, and then lifts their hand off the screen. Furthermore, scrolling can be defined, not as a limitation but as an example, as an operation (action) to scroll the displayed information. Also, not as a limitation but as an example, scrolling may be referred to as a "swipe operation" when the input is a finger or stylus, and as a "wheel operation" when the input is a mouse.

[0139] The screen transitions described below are merely examples of screen transitions for implementing the method of this disclosure. Some screens may be omitted or additional screens may be added to the screen transitions exemplified below.

[0140] Figure 1-8 shows an example of the screen of a live commerce application displayed on the display unit 24 of terminal 20 in this embodiment. Here, we illustrate the screen displayed on the display unit 24 of terminal 20Z of a viewer (user ZZ) who is watching an archived broadcast.

[0141] Figure 1-8 shows an example of the display screen when user ZZ on terminal 20Z is viewing an archived live commerce application. On this archived stream viewing screen, below the area at the top of the screen where the name of the live commerce application is displayed, a live commerce content display area LCR1 is displayed to show the live commerce content being streamed. On this screen, the live commerce content display area LCR1 displays the archived video streamed by the streamer, user "LL Mart". Specifically, the title video of the beginning of the live commerce content, "Spring Full Outfit Coordination," is displayed in the live commerce content display area LCR1.

[0142] This archived streaming viewing screen may not be limited to specific users; for example, it could be made accessible by selecting the name of the live commerce content that is currently being archived from the home screen of the live commerce application.

[0143] In the upper left corner of the live commerce content display area LCR1, information such as the name of the broadcaster, "LL Mart," and a "recorded" icon indicating that the live commerce content is being archived is displayed.

[0144] At the bottom of the live commerce content display area LCR1, a seek bar SB1 is displayed to visually indicate the playback position of the archive based on the archived stream viewing screen. For example, the playback position of the archive can be changed by sliding the seek bar SB1. Below the seek bar SB1, a row of playback control buttons are displayed for actions such as pausing archive playback. To the right of these buttons, the recording time of the archive (not limited to this time, but shown as "1 hour" in this example screen) and the current playback time from the beginning of the archive (not limited to this time, but shown as "7 seconds" in this example screen) are displayed.

[0145] Above the seek bar SB1, a reaction graph RG1 is displayed, which is not limited to but is an example, based on the reactions viewers showed to the live commerce content during the live stream. The response graph RG1 can be displayed as a bar graph, not exclusively, but as an example, and can be configured so that the higher the response to the live commerce content for each set period, the higher the bar in the graph. Furthermore, the response graph RG1 is configured to display image icons in speech bubbles at points where there is a high response to products sold in this live commerce content, not as a limited but as an example. Note that the image icons may be the product names, or both the image icon and the product name may be displayed.

[0146] Note that the reaction graph RG1 is not limited to a bar graph. For example, the reaction graph RG1 may be a line graph or a heat map.

[0147] Additionally, the reaction graph RG1 may be omitted from displaying image icons representing the products being sold.

[0148] At the bottom of the live commerce content display area LCR1, the product display area IIR1 is configured to display the products sold through this live commerce content. The product display area IIR1 is configured to display information for each product in a carousel format, not as a limited selection but as an example. In this screen, the product display area IIR1 shows the product "Knitted Beret" and its corresponding product information IT1. This is based on the fact that, among the reactions to the products sold, the "knitted beret" received the largest initial response.

[0149] Product information IT1 is configured to display the product name, price, and product photo, not as an example but as an example. Additionally, the right side of product information IT1 displays a purchase button labeled "Purchase," indicating that the product can be purchased via e-commerce, not as an example but as an example. As an example, not limited to specific items, in product information IT1, the "Knit Beret" is displayed in a grayed-out format and its operation is disabled because it is sold out.

[0150] The left side of the live commerce content display area LCR1 contains a comment display area where comments from viewers and broadcasters are displayed. This comment display area is configured to display comments associated with the user's icon image and username, not as an example, but as an example.

[0151] Comments may be considered as content as described above. Alternatively, a comment may be a form of content.

[0152] The comment display area can be configured, not limited to a specific number of lines, but for example, to display a set number of comments (for example, around 4 to 5 lines). In this case, for example, each time a comment is posted, it can be displayed from the bottom, with older comments being pushed to the top, and the comment displayed on the top line can be hidden.

[0153] In this example, not limited to any specific case, the first comment submitted during the live stream was sent at "28 seconds," and therefore the comment is not displayed in the comment display area.

[0154] As an example, and not limited to this case, if a user taps or drags the image icon of the product "Organic Cotton Socks" on the seek bar SB1 to the corresponding time, the screen will transition to the archived streaming viewing screen shown in Figure 1-9.

[0155] On this screen, the live commerce content display area LCR1 shows a video of a broadcaster introducing the product being sold in the live commerce content, "Organic Cotton Socks." Additionally, the comment display area shows a comment from user DD praising the sock pattern, a comment from user BB indicating that they purchased the "Organic Cotton Socks" item, and a comment from user CC suggesting coordinating the socks with other items for sale.

[0156] On the seek bar SB1, the playback point of the archive has been advanced, and the black area indicating the playback point extends from the beginning. It also shows that the current playback time, starting from the beginning of the archive, is "38 minutes and 19 seconds".

[0157] Furthermore, on this screen, the product display area IIR1 shows the product "Organic Cotton Socks" and the corresponding product information IT2. This is not limited to specific examples, but is based on the fact that, within the current regeneration period, the response to "organic cotton socks" was the strongest among the products sold.

[0158] <Processing> Figure 1-10 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow performed by each device in this embodiment. In this figure, from left to right, the processing is performed by the control unit 21 of the broadcaster's (user LL) terminal 20L, the processing is performed by the control unit 11 of the server 10, the processing is performed by the control unit 21 of the viewer's (user AA) terminal 20A who is watching the live broadcast, and the processing is performed by the control unit 21 of the viewer's (user ZZ) terminal 20Z who is watching the archived broadcast.

[0159] Note that the processing performed by the control unit 21 of terminal 20 of a user other than user AA who is watching the live stream is not limited to this and can be the same as that of terminal 20A, for example, so it is omitted from the illustration. Furthermore, the processing performed by the control unit 21 of terminal 20 of a user other than user ZZ who is a viewer of the archived stream can be the same as that of terminal 20Z, not limited to this case, and is therefore omitted from the illustration.

[0160] The processes described below are merely examples of processes for implementing the method of this disclosure, and are not limited to these. You may add other steps to the process described below, or you may omit (delete) some steps from the process described below. The same applies to the various processes described herein.

[0161] First, the control unit 21 of terminal 20L, based on a request for live commerce distribution made by user LL via the input / output unit 23 (not limited to, for example), starts acquiring live commerce content information based on the imaging unit 27 and the sound input unit 25 (not limited to, for example), and starts the process of transmitting the acquired live commerce content information to server 10 via the communication interface 22 (L110).

[0162] Prior to transmitting live commerce content information, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20L may, for example, acquire information about the products to be sold in the live commerce distribution based on user input via the input / output unit 23, and transmit the acquired information about the products to the server 10 via the communication interface 22. The control unit 11 of the server 10 may then add live commerce distribution management data to the live commerce distribution management database 155 based on the received information about the products.

[0163] When the server 10 receives live commerce content information from terminal 20L via communication I / F 14, the control unit 11 of the server 10 executes live commerce streaming processing (S110).

[0164] Furthermore, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A executes live commerce viewing processing (A110), not limited to, but for example, based on a request to view a live commerce broadcast made by user AA via the input / output unit 23.

[0165] Figure 1-11 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of live commerce streaming processing and live commerce viewing processing. In this diagram, the left side shows the processing performed by the control unit 11 of the server 10, and the right side shows the processing performed by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A of the viewer (user AA) watching the live stream.

[0166] When the server 10 receives live commerce content information from terminal 20L via the communication interface 14, the control unit 11 of the server 10 generates live commerce relay information based on the live commerce content information and the sales product management data of the live commerce distribution management database 155, and transmits the generated live commerce relay information to terminal 20A via the communication interface 14 (S1110).

[0167] Then, the control unit 11 of the server 10 performs an archive recording process (S1120) to record the live commerce content information received from the terminal 20L into an archive file (not limited to, but for example, a video file or an audio file). In addition, during the archive recording process, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may, for example, associate the elapsed time from the start time of the live commerce broadcast with the number of viewers of the live commerce broadcast at that time and store this information in the live commerce broadcast management data.

[0168] When live commerce relay information is received from server 10 via communication I / F22, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A displays the received live commerce relay information on display unit 24 (A1110). As an example, not limited to this case, in live commerce viewing processing, the reaction graph RG1 is not displayed on the display unit 24 of terminal 20A.

[0169] The control unit 21 of terminal 20A determines, not limited to but as an example, whether or not a purchase operation for a product has been performed by user AA via the input / output unit 23 (A1120). If it is determined that a purchase operation for a product has been performed (A1120: YES), the control unit 21 of terminal 20A sends product purchase request information, including the product ID, to the server 10 via the communication interface 22 (A1130). If it is determined that no purchase operation for the product will be performed (A1120: NO), the control unit 21 of terminal 20A skips step A1130.

[0170] If the communication interface 14 determines that it has received product purchase request information from terminal 20A (S1130: YES), the control unit 11 of the server 10 executes the process of adding the product to the sales history (S1140). In the process of adding sales history for a product, the control unit 11 of the server 10 stores the product ID, buyer application ID, and sales time in association with the sales history management data of the live commerce distribution management data, not as an example but as an example. Prior to adding the sales history of the sold items, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may perform electronic commerce processing based on the sales purchase request information. Furthermore, in the process of adding a sales history of a product, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may, for example, generate purchase comment information including the name of the purchased product and the username of the viewer who made the purchase, and send the purchase comment information to the terminal 20A via the communication I / F 14. The control unit 21 of the terminal 20A may then display the received purchase comment information on the display unit 24.

[0171] If the communication interface 14 determines that it has not received any product purchase request information from terminal 20A (S1130: NO), the control unit 11 of the server 10 skips step S1140.

[0172] The control unit 21 of terminal 20A determines, not limited to but as an example, whether or not comment information has been input and transmitted by user AA via the input / output unit 23 (A1140). If it is determined that an operation has been performed (A1140: YES), the control unit 21 of terminal 20A sends comment request information, including comment information, to the server 10 via the communication interface 22 (A1150), not limited to, but as an example. If it is determined that no operation is performed (A1140: NO), the control unit 21 of terminal 20A skips step A1150.

[0173] If the communication interface 14 determines that it has received comment request information from terminal 20A (S1150: YES), the control unit 11 of the server 10 executes the comment addition process (S1160). In the comment addition process, the control unit 11 of the server 10 stores the comment time, the speaker application ID, and the comment information in association with the comment management data of the live commerce distribution management data, not as an example but as an example. In addition, during the comment addition process, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may, for example, generate distribution comment information including the username and comment information of the viewer who made the comment, and send the distribution comment information to the terminal 20A via the communication I / F 14. The control unit 21 of the terminal 20A may then display the received distribution comment information on the display unit 24. Furthermore, if the control unit 11 of the server 10 determines that it has received comment request information from the broadcaster's terminal 20L, it may similarly perform the comment addition process.

[0174] Furthermore, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A may, for example, transmit a URI for viewing the live commerce broadcast by user AA via the input / output unit 23, or share information indicating that a share operation has been performed when a share operation is performed to share information about the products introduced in the live commerce broadcast with other users, via the communication interface 22. When the control unit 11 of server 10 receives the share operation information, it may, for example, associate the elapsed time from the start time of the live commerce broadcast with the received share operation information and store it in the live commerce broadcast management data.

[0175] As an example, and not limited to this case, if the communication interface 14 determines that it has received live commerce relay termination request information from terminal 20L to end the live broadcast (S1170: YES), the control unit 11 of the server 10 transmits live commerce broadcast termination information indicating the end of the live broadcast to terminal 20A via the communication interface 14 (S1180). Then, the control unit 11 of the server 10 terminates the live commerce broadcasting process. For example, and not limited to, if it determines that it has not received a request to end the live commerce broadcast (S1170: NO), the control unit 11 of the server 10 returns to waiting for the reception of live commerce content information and executes the steps from S1110 onwards again.

[0176] As an example, not limited to this case, if the terminal 20A determines that it has received live commerce broadcast termination information from the server 10 via the communication interface 22 (A1160: YES), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A displays the received live commerce broadcast termination information on the display unit 24 (A1170). Then, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A terminates the live commerce viewing process. For example, and not limited to, if it determines that it will not receive information about the end of the live commerce broadcast (A1160: NO), the control unit 21 of terminal 20A will return to waiting for the live commerce broadcast information and execute the steps from A1110 onwards again.

[0177] Returning to the process shown in Figure 1-10, the control unit 11 of the server 10 executes, as an example and not an exhaustive one, live commerce live streaming processing (S110), and then executes live commerce response aggregation processing (S130).

[0178] In the live commerce response aggregation process, the control unit 11 of the server 10 refers to, for example, sales history management data and comment management data. The control unit 11 of the server 10 then calculates, for example, the number of sales recorded in the sales history management data and the number of comments recorded in the comment management data, for each set period (for example, 30 seconds) starting from the start time of the live commerce broadcast (i.e., the start time of archive recording). The control unit 11 of server 10 then aggregates the number of live commerce responses for each set period based on the number of sales and the number of comments for each set period, not limited to these, but as an example. Alternatively, the control unit 11 of server 10 may aggregate the responses based on the number of live stream viewers for each set period.

[0179] In other words, the number of live commerce responses for each set period is not limited to a specific number; for example, it could be calculated as follows: • Number of sales Number of comments • Number of viewers of the live stream • Number of sales + Number of comments • Sales figures + Live stream viewership • Number of comments + Number of live stream viewers • Number of sales + Number of comments + Number of live stream viewers

[0180] Furthermore, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may calculate the number of live commerce responses using, for example, the following formula (1), not limited to this example. Live commerce response count = number of comments + W × number of sales ... (1)

[0181] In equation (1), if "W" is any number satisfying "W>1" (not limited to, but "5" as an example), then the number of sales resulting from viewers purchasing products through the live stream will be given more weight in the calculation than the number of comments on the live stream during a given period. Therefore, the period during which the streamer expects to see increased sales of products that they want archive viewers to see can be counted as a period when the live commerce content is "booming."

[0182] The control unit 11 of the server 10 may also aggregate the number of sales for each product ID. Furthermore, if comment information and product IDs are linked in the comment management data, the number of comments may be aggregated for each product ID. In these cases, it becomes possible to aggregate responses to live commerce content for each product being sold.

[0183] Next, the control unit 11 of the server 10 executes the live commerce response graph generation process (S150). In the live commerce response graph generation process, the control unit 11 of the server 10 generates live commerce response graph information, which is represented as a bar graph or the like, based on the number of live commerce responses for each set period aggregated in the live commerce response aggregation process, not limited to, but as an example.

[0184] The live commerce response graph information is not limited to this example; for instance, it could be generated by plotting time on the horizontal axis of a bar graph, the number of live commerce responses on the vertical axis, and normalizing the width of the bar graph to match the width of the seek bar.

[0185] For example, if the response to live commerce content for each product is aggregated based on the number of sales, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may, for example, add the image icon corresponding to the product to the live commerce response graph information during the period in which each product had the highest sales volume.

[0186] The control unit 21 of terminal 20Z performs, for example, live commerce archive viewing processing (Z110) based on, for example, a request to view archived content made by user ZZ via the input / output unit 23.

[0187] In the live commerce archive viewing process, first, the control unit 21 of terminal 20Z sends live commerce archive distribution request information to the server 10 via the communication interface 22 (for example, not limited to this case). If the control unit 11 of server 10 determines that it has received the live commerce archive distribution request information from terminal 20Z via the communication interface 14 (for example, not limited to this case), it executes the live commerce archive distribution process (S170).

[0188] Figure 1-12 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of live commerce archive distribution processing and live commerce archive viewing processing. In this diagram, the left side shows the processing performed by the control unit 11 of server 10, and the right side shows the processing performed by the control unit 21 of terminal 20Z of the viewer (user ZZ) who is watching the archived stream.

[0189] The control unit 11 of the server 10 transmits the live commerce response graph information generated in the live commerce response graph generation process (S150) to the terminal 20Z via the communication I / F 14 (S1710), not as an example but as an example.

[0190] When the terminal 20Z receives live commerce response graph information from the server 10 via the communication interface 22, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20Z displays the received live commerce response graph information on the display unit 24 (Z1110).

[0191] The control unit 11 of the server 10 generates live commerce archive information based on the archive file of live commerce distribution management data and the sales product management data, and transmits the generated live commerce archive information to the terminal 20A via the communication I / F 14 (S1730).

[0192] When live commerce archive information is received from server 10 via communication I / F22, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A displays the received live commerce archive information on display unit 24 (Z1120).

[0193] The control unit 21 of terminal 20Z determines, not limited to but as an example, whether a seek operation on the seek bar has been performed by user ZZ via the input / output unit 23 (Z1130). If it is determined that a seek operation has been performed on the seek bar (Z1130: YES), the control unit 21 of terminal 20Z sends seek destination information, including the playback point (seek destination) specified by the seek operation, to the server 10 via the communication I / F 22 (Z1140). If it is determined that no seek operation will be performed (Z1130: NO), the control unit 21 of terminal 20Z skips the process to step Z1160.

[0194] If the communication interface 14 determines that seek destination information has been received from terminal 20Z (S1750: YES), the control unit 11 of the server 10 changes the destination of the archive file to the playback point specified as the seek destination, and then transmits the seek destination live commerce archive information read from the archive file to terminal 20Z via the communication interface 14 (S1770). When the terminal 20Z receives the live commerce archive information to seek from the server 10 via the communication interface 22, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20Z updates the display on the display unit 24 based on the live commerce archive information to seek (Z1150).

[0195] If it is determined that seek destination information is not received from terminal 20Z (S1750: NO), the control unit 11 of server 10 skips step S1770.

[0196] Furthermore, if all the archive file information has been sent from server 10 to terminal 20Z, the control unit 21 of terminal 20Z may, if it determines that a seek operation has been performed on the seek bar (Z1130: YES), change the playback point and update the display of the live commerce archive information. In this case, steps Z1140 and S1750 to S1770 may be omitted.

[0197] The control unit 21 of terminal 20Z determines, not limited to but as an example, whether or not an input operation to terminate archive viewing has been performed by user ZZ via the input / output unit 23 (Z1160). If it is determined that an input operation to end archive viewing has been performed (Z1160: YES), the control unit 21 of terminal 20Z sends live commerce archive viewing termination request information to the server 10 via the communication interface 22 (Z1170). Then, the control unit 21 of terminal 20Z terminates the live commerce archive viewing process.

[0198] If it is determined that no input operation to end archive viewing is performed (Z1160: NO), the control unit 21 of terminal 20A returns to waiting for the reception of live commerce archive information (not limited to this case, but as an example) and executes the steps from Z1120 onwards again.

[0199] If the communication interface 14 determines that it has received live commerce archive viewing termination request information from terminal 20Z (S1790: YES), the control unit 11 of server 10 terminates the live commerce archive distribution process. If it determines that it has not received the live commerce archive viewing completion request information (S1790: NO), the control unit 11 of the server 10 returns to step S1730, not exclusively, but as an example.

[0200] Furthermore, in the live commerce archive distribution processing and live commerce archive viewing processing, it is possible, not limited to but as an example, to enable the viewer's terminal 20Z to perform purchase operations for products and comment input operations, similar to steps A1120~A1150 and S1130~S1160 in Figure 1-11.

[0201] Returning to the process shown in Figure 1-10, the control unit 11 of the server 10 terminates processing when it executes the live commerce archive distribution process (S170), which is not an exhaustive but an example. Similarly, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20Z terminates processing when it executes the live commerce archive viewing process (Z110). Furthermore, the terminal 20 and server 10 are not limited to these examples; for instance, they may be configured to allow the live commerce archive distribution process and the live commerce archive viewing process to be executed repeatedly throughout the live commerce content distribution period.

[0202] <Effects of the First Example> In this embodiment, a server 10 (not limited to, an example of a server) that communicates with a terminal 20A (not limited to, an example of a first terminal) of a viewer watching live commerce content performs live commerce live streaming processing (not limited to, an example of live broadcasting of live commerce content) and archive recording processing (not limited to, an example of the process of recording live commerce content in an archive) via the control unit 11 of the server 10. The server 10 then receives product purchase information and comment request information (not limited to, an example of first information regarding viewer reactions to live commerce content) from terminal 20A via the communication I / F 14 (not limited to, an example of the communication unit) of the server 10. Based on the reception of the first information, the control unit 11 of the server 10 also executes product sales history addition processing and comment addition processing (not limited to, an example of processing that associates reactions according to the time series of the archive). Then, the control unit 11 of the server 10 executes live commerce reaction aggregation processing (not limited to, an example of processing that aggregates associated reactions). When distributing the archive to the viewer's terminal 20Z (not limited to this, but an example of a second terminal), the configuration shows that live commerce response graph information (not limited to this, but an example of second information) based on the live commerce response aggregation process is transmitted to terminal 20Z via communication I / F14. As an example of the effects of this configuration, first information regarding viewer reactions received during the live broadcast of live commerce content and an archive recording the live commerce content are aggregated in chronological order, and second information based on the aggregation results is sent to a second terminal along with the archive. This allows users on the second terminal who are viewing the archive to refer to the second information, which reflects the reactions during the live broadcast, when viewing the archive.

[0203] Furthermore, this embodiment shows a configuration in which the live commerce response aggregation process includes an aggregation process that aggregates the number of live commerce responses (an example of a value related to responses, not limited to a specific period) for each set period (an example of a set period for archiving, not a limited period). One example of the effects of this configuration is that it becomes possible to transmit second information to a second terminal based on cumulative processing corresponding to the response values ​​for each set period in the archive. Therefore, the user of the second terminal can easily understand the periods with high response rates in the archive, thereby improving user convenience.

[0204] Furthermore, this embodiment shows a configuration in which live commerce response graph information (not limited to, but an example of second information) is associated with the archive seek bar and used to display bar graphs, etc. (not limited to, but an example of the result of cumulative processing) on ​​terminal 20Z (not limited to, but an example of second terminal). As an example of the effects of this configuration, a user of the second terminal can easily refer to the second information while viewing the archive and use the seek bar to jump to a period of high response during the live broadcast, thereby improving user convenience.

[0205] Furthermore, this embodiment shows a configuration in which the number of live commerce responses (not limited, but an example of a value) includes at least one of the following: the number of sales (not limited, but an example of the number of times viewers purchase a product consisting of one or more items or one or more services sold in the live commerce content) and the number of comments (not limited, but an example of the number of comments on the product). One example of the effects obtained by this configuration is that the second set of information reflects the results of the cumulative process during periods when products were frequently purchased or when comments were frequently made on the products. Therefore, users on the second terminal can use this second set of information to determine periods when products sold in live commerce content were frequently purchased or when comments were frequently made on the products sold in live commerce content.

[0206] Furthermore, this embodiment shows a configuration in which the cumulative processing includes a process of accumulating the number of units sold for each product (not a limited number, but an example of a value for each product), and the live commerce response graph information is information for displaying a bar graph, etc. (not a limited number, but an example of the result of the cumulative processing) on ​​terminal 20Z, associated with the image icon of the product sold (not a limited number, but an example of information about the product sold). As an example of the effects obtained by this configuration, the user of the second terminal can easily grasp the period during which any product was frequently purchased, the period during which comments were frequently made on any product, and information about that product. Therefore, the user of the second terminal can quickly find periods that are likely to contain content about products that interest them, thereby improving user convenience.

[0207] Furthermore, this embodiment demonstrates a configuration in which the live commerce content is a video. As an example of the effects obtained by this configuration, second information can be generated based on the viewer's reaction to the video.

[0208] <First variation (1)> The above embodiment illustrates an example where the live commerce content is a video, but it is not limited to this. For example, the live commerce content may be an audio introduction of products for sale. In this case, the seek bar may be a function bar for jumping to specific points in the audio. And, as with the video example, for example, live commerce response graph information may be added above or below the seek bar. This configuration allows viewers to easily find the scenes they want to watch in the archive, even with audio content, which has inferior searchability compared to video, where the frame image at the point where the content is started can be viewed by dragging on the seek bar.

[0209] <First variation (2)> In the above embodiment, the terminal 20 of the viewer watching the live stream (terminal 20A, for example, not limited to this) and the terminal 20 of the viewer watching the archived stream (terminal 20Z, for example, not limited to this) are assumed to be different terminals 20, but the embodiment is not limited to this. For example, and not as a limitation, it is acceptable to assume that the device 20 of a viewer watching a live stream and the device 20 of a viewer watching an archived stream are the same device 20.

[0210] This modified example shows a configuration where the terminal 20 of a viewer watching a live stream (not limited to this, but an example of a first terminal) is the same as the terminal 20 of a viewer watching an archived stream (not limited to this, but an example of a second terminal). As an example of the effects of this configuration, the user of the first terminal can refer to the second information, which reflects the first information they transmitted during the live broadcast, when viewing the archived footage.

[0211] <First variation (3)> In the above embodiment, an example was given of aggregating responses from the terminals 20 of viewers watching the live stream in the live commerce response aggregation process, but it is not limited to this. For example, the live commerce response aggregation process may aggregate responses to live commerce content sent by the terminal 20 of the broadcaster who is broadcasting the live stream. Also, for example, the live commerce response aggregation process may aggregate responses to live commerce content sent by the terminal 20 of the broadcaster who is broadcasting the live stream and responses to live commerce content sent by the terminals 20 of viewers watching the live stream together.

[0212] Furthermore, the control unit 21 of the broadcaster's terminal 20 may, via the input / output unit 23, receive information from the broadcaster, not limited to but as an example, specifying which product in the product management data the product being broadcast at that time corresponds to (not limited to but as an example, the product ID) during a live broadcast. The control unit 21 of the broadcaster's terminal 20 may then transmit the product specification information, including the product being broadcast, received to the server 10 via the communication interface 22. When the control unit 11 of the server 10 receives product specification information, it may, for example, associate it with the elapsed time starting from the live commerce broadcast start time and store it in the live commerce broadcast management data.

[0213] The control unit 11 of server 10 may, in the live commerce response aggregation processing, aggregate the number of comments for each product ID based on the specified product information, not limited to this, but as an example. Furthermore, the control unit 11 of server 10 may, not limited to this, add the image icon corresponding to the product to the live commerce response graph information during the period with the highest number of comments for each product.

[0214] <First variation (4)> In the above embodiment, the reaction graph and the products sold are displayed independently, but the invention is not limited to this. For example, the display of the reaction graph may be shown in association with the products sold.

[0215] Figure 1-13 is an example, not an exhaustive one, of the archive streaming viewing screen shown in Figure 1-8. On this screen, above the seek bar SB1, a response graph RG2 is displayed, which is based on reactions to live commerce content, not as a limited example but as an illustration. Response graph RG2, while not limited to specific examples, uses a bar graph display format similar to response graph RG1. Furthermore, response graph RG2 is configured to display bar graphs color-coded for each product, based on sales figures and the number of comments for each product, while not limited to specific examples. Furthermore, in the RG2 reaction graph, image icons representing each product sold are displayed within the bar graph, color-coded and corresponding to each product, not as a limited selection but as an example.

[0216] By referring to graphs color-coded for each product sold, archive viewers can more easily identify sections with high engagement for products that interest them, and quickly navigate to specific points in the archive using the seek bar.

[0217] <First variation (5)> In the above embodiment, the live commerce response aggregation process aggregates responses to live commerce content during live streaming, but it is not limited to this. For example, in addition to responses to live commerce content during live streaming, responses to live commerce content while viewing the live commerce archive may also be aggregated.

[0218] Furthermore, the number of live commerce responses for each set period during archive viewing is not limited to a specific number; for example, it may be calculated as follows. • Number of sales in the archive • Number of comments in the archive • Number of viewers of the archived stream • Number of sales in the archive + Number of comments in the archive • Number of sales in the archive + number of viewers of the archived stream • Number of comments in the archive + Number of viewers of the archived stream • Number of sales in the archive + Number of comments in the archive + Number of viewers of the archived stream

[0219] This allows the reaction graph to reflect not only the reaction to the live stream but also the reaction to the archived stream. For example, it can show higher bars in the reaction graph for sections that are watched by a large number of archive viewers or sections where archive viewers have purchased many items.

[0220] It should be noted that in the live commerce reaction aggregation process, only reactions to live commerce content being viewed in archive may be aggregated.

[0221] In addition, in the live commerce reaction aggregation process, reactions to live commerce content during live live commerce distribution and reactions to live commerce content during archive viewing of live commerce may be aggregated separately, and two independent pieces of reaction graph information may be generated. By way of example and not limitation, the two pieces of reaction graph information for live viewing and archive viewing may be displayed side by side above the seek bar, or the reaction graphs for live viewing and archive viewing may be switchably displayed.

[0222] <First Modification (6)> In the above embodiment, the purchase operation for the product for sale is executed based on a user input with respect to the product for sale information displayed in the product for sale display area, but the present invention is not limited thereto. By way of example and not limitation, the purchase operation for the product for sale may be executed based on an input operation on the reaction graph.

[0223] FIG. 1-14 is, by way of example and not limitation, another example of the archive distribution viewing screen shown in FIG. 1-9. In this screen, by way of example and not limitation, in the reaction graph RG1, when an image icon indicating each product for sale is tapped, the screen transitions to a sales page of the corresponding product for sale.

[0224] By way of example and not limitation, when an image icon indicating "long one-piece dress" is tapped, by way of example and not limitation, the screen transitions to the archive distribution viewing screen of FIG. 1-15. In this screen, by way of example and not limitation, the product purchase display area IPR1 is configured to slide up from the bottom of the screen for display.

[0225] The sold product purchase display area IPR1 is configured such that, by way of example and not limitation, a detailed image of a "long one-piece dress" (by way of example and not limitation, an image of the entire front side) is displayed. Furthermore, it is configured such that, by way of example and not limitation, images such as a back image and a fitting image can be displayed by tapping the arrows on the left and right of the detailed image. It is configured such that the name and price of the sold product are displayed below the image of the sold product. On the right side of the name and price, a sold product purchase button for purchasing this sold product is configured to be displayed.

[0226] Below this, it is configured such that together with the text "Recommended products for you", images and prices of related sold products, which are frequently purchased or frequently viewed by viewers who have purchased or viewed the "long one-piece dress", are displayed side by side. Note that the related products may be limited to the sold products of this live commerce content, or may include sold products in other live commerce contents, sold products on e-commerce services affiliated with the live commerce service, and the like.

[0227] <Second Embodiment> The second embodiment is an embodiment that generates and displays a reaction graph for each sold product sold in live commerce content.

[0228] The content described in the second embodiment is applicable to any of the other embodiments and other modified examples. In addition, the same reference numerals are given to the same constituent elements as those already described, and repeated description thereof will be omitted.

[0229] <Display Screen> FIG. 2-1 is a diagram showing an example of a screen when user Z.Z of a terminal 20Z views archived distribution of a live commerce application. On this archived stream viewing screen, above the seek bar SB1, a reaction graph RG3 is displayed, not limited to but as an example, based on the reactions shown by viewers to the live commerce content during the live stream. The height of the bar graph in the reaction graph RG3 may be determined, not limited to but as an example, based on the cumulative value of reactions to live commerce content aggregated for each product sold (linked to the product ID) and reactions to live commerce content not linked to a specific product (not linked to the product ID) over a set period. Therefore, the response graph RG3 can be described as a graph based on the response to live commerce content across all products sold, and for that reason, the response graph RG3 does not display image icons representing the products sold.

[0230] To the right of the reaction graph RG3, a product selection toggle button ISS1 is displayed, which allows you to select the products that were included in the calculation as reactions to the live commerce content in the reaction graph on the left. On this screen, the ISS1 product selection toggle button displays an icon with the word "ALL" because all products are selected.

[0231] As an example, and not limited to this example, when the product selection toggle button ISS1 is tapped, the display transitions to the archived streaming viewing screen shown in Figure 2-2.

[0232] In this screen, the product selection toggle button ISS1 expands upwards, and the product selection toggle area ISR1 is displayed. In the product selection switching area ISR1, below the "ALL" icon for selecting all products (not limited to specific items, but as an example), image icons of the products sold in this live commerce content are displayed.

[0233] As an example, not limited to this case, when the image icon for "organic cotton socks" is tapped in the product selection switching area ISR1, the display transitions to the archived streaming viewing screen shown in Figure 2-3, also as an example.

[0234] On this screen, the product selection toggle button ISS2 displays the image icon for "Organic Cotton Socks," which was selected in the product selection toggle area ISR1. To the left of the product selection toggle button ISS2, a response graph RG4 is displayed, which is not limited to but is associated with the product ID of "Organic Cotton Socks" as an example. The height of the bar graph in the response graph RG4 may be determined, not limited to but as an example, based on the cumulative value of responses to live commerce content aggregated for the specified product over a set period. Therefore, the response graph RG4 can be described as a graph based on the response to live commerce content for the specified product, "organic cotton socks."

[0235] As an example, and not limited to this case, if the user taps or drags the seek bar SB1 to the time when the reaction graph RG4 starts to surge, the screen will transition to the archived streaming viewing screen shown in Figure 2-4. On this screen, the live commerce content display area LCR1 shows a video of a broadcaster introducing the product being sold in the live commerce content, "Organic Cotton Socks." Additionally, on the seek bar SB1, the playback point of the archive has been advanced, and the black area indicating the playback point extends from the beginning. It also displays that the current playback time, starting from the beginning of the archive, is "38 minutes and 19 seconds".

[0236] <Processing> Figure 2-5 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the live commerce archive distribution process and the live commerce archive viewing process in this embodiment. In this diagram, the left side shows the processing performed by the control unit 11 of server 10, and the right side shows the processing performed by the control unit 21 of terminal 20Z of the viewer (user ZZ) who is watching the archived stream.

[0237] For example, not limited to, when the control unit 21 of terminal 20Z displays live commerce archive information (Z1120), it determines, not limited to, but limited to, whether an input operation has been performed by user ZZ via the input / output unit 23 to refer to the reaction to a predetermined product (Z1123). If it is determined that an input operation has been performed to refer to a response to a specified product for sale (Z1123: YES), the control unit 21 of terminal 20Z transmits product specification information, including the product ID, to the server 10 via the communication interface 22 (Z1126).

[0238] If the communication interface 14 determines that it has received product specification information from terminal 20Z (S1733: YES), the control unit 11 of the server 10 executes the product specification response graph information generation process (S1736). In the process of generating sales item-specific response graph information, the control unit 11 of the server 10 generates sales item-specific response graph information, which is represented as a bar graph or the like, based on the number of live commerce responses for each set period, which is aggregated based on the aggregated sales figures and comment counts for the sales item ID specified in the sales item-specific information, not limited to the above, but as an example. Then, the control unit 11 of the server 10 transmits the sales product specification response graph information to the terminal 20Z via the communication I / F 14 (S1739).

[0239] If it is determined that product specification information is not received from terminal 20Z (S1733: NO), the control unit 11 of server 10 skips steps S1736 to S1739.

[0240] When the terminal 20Z receives the sales item specification response graph information from the server 10 via the communication I / F 22, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20Z displays the received sales item specification response graph information on the display unit 24 (Z1129).

[0241] If it is determined that no input operation for referencing a reaction to a specified product for sale has been performed (Z1123: NO), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20Z skips the steps from Z1126 to Z1129.

[0242] <Effects of the Second Embodiment> In the present embodiment, the control unit 11 of the server 10 receives, from the terminal 20Z via the communication I / F 14, product specification information for sale (which is an example, not a limitation, of third information related to a specified product or a specified service). Further, the product-specified reaction graph information generation process (which is an example, not a limitation, of an integration process) shows a configuration including a process of integrating the number of live commerce reactions based on the product specification information for sale (which is an example, not a limitation, of a value related to a product or a service). As an example of the effect of the embodiment obtained by such a configuration, for a product for sale specified in the third information, the period during which the product was frequently purchased and the period during which comments were frequently made on the product can be reflected in the second information. Therefore, the user of the second terminal can easily grasp the period that is highly likely to be content related to the product for sale that the user is interested in and quickly cue to that period, thereby improving user convenience.

[0243] <Second Modification (1)> In the above embodiment, upon receiving the product specification information for sale, the control unit 11 of the server 10 generates product-specified reaction graph information, but the present invention is not limited thereto. By way of non-limiting example, in the live commerce reaction graph generation process (S150) of Fig. 1-10, product-specified reaction graph information for all product IDs for sale may be generated in advance. Then, by way of non-limiting example, upon receiving the product specification information for sale from the terminal 20Z, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may transmit the product-specified reaction graph information corresponding to the product ID for sale specified in the product specification information to the terminal 20Z.

[0244] Furthermore, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may, for example, send product-specific response graph information for all product IDs to the terminal 20Z when transmitting the live commerce response graph information shown in Figure 2-5 (S1710). And, for example, when it determines that an input operation to refer to the response for a predetermined product has been performed, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20Z may display the product-specific response graph information for the specified product ID on the display unit 24.

[0245] <Second variation (2)> In the above embodiment, the sales item specification response graph information specified by the sales item specification information is displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20Z, but this is not limited to this. For example, the sales item specification response graph information for all sales item IDs may be displayed in a list.

[0246] Figure 2-6 is an example, not an exhaustive one, of the archive streaming viewing screen shown in Figure 1-8. On this screen, above the seek bar SB1, the reaction graphs for each product sold in this live commerce content are displayed side by side, not as a limited selection but as an example. On this screen, not as a limited selection but as an example, the reaction graph RG5 based on the product-specific reaction graph information for "Knitted Beret," the reaction graph RG6 based on the product-specific reaction graph information for "Long Dress," the reaction graph RG4 based on the product-specific reaction graph information for "Organic Cotton Socks," and the reaction graph RG7 based on the product-specific reaction graph information for "Sneakers" are displayed side by side from the top of the screen.

[0247] The peaks in each reaction graph's time series indicate the periods when the response to that product was particularly strong (high). Therefore, by viewing each reaction graph, viewers can quickly search the archive to find sections with high response rates for products that interest them.

[0248] Furthermore, the display of the list of product-specific reaction graph information may, for example, be limited to the beginning of the archive (for example, the first minute). Also, for example, the display of the product-specific reaction graph information may be shown whenever an input operation is performed to refer to the list.

[0249] This modified example shows a configuration in which the sales item-specific response graph information (not limited to, but an example of the second type of information) is information used to display the results of the cumulative processing for each sales item individually, associated with a seek bar. One example of the effects of this configuration is that the cumulative processing results for each product sold in live commerce content can be viewed in a list in the second information section. Therefore, users on the second terminal can quickly search through the entire archive to find the period that is most likely to contain content about products they are interested in, thereby improving user convenience.

[0250] <Third Example> The third embodiment, as an example rather than an extension, is an embodiment that generates and displays highlight content by extracting the sections with the highest response rates for each product sold in live commerce content, based on the response rates for each product sold.

[0251] Highlight content can also be called "highlight archive." Furthermore, highlight content can also be referred to as "digest content," "digest archive," or simply "highlights" or "digest."

[0252] The contents described in the third embodiment are applicable to any of the other embodiments or other modifications. Furthermore, components identical to those previously mentioned are given the same symbols, and their explanation is omitted.

[0253] <Display screen> Figure 3-1 shows an example of the screen when user ZZ on terminal 20Z is watching an archived live commerce application stream. On this archived stream viewing screen, the live commerce content display area LCR1 is configured to display a highlight list display area HAR1 at the top of the screen, which displays a list of highlight content related to this live commerce archive. In the highlight list display area HAR1, to the right of the icon indicating "Highlights," an image icon for each product featured in this live commerce archive is displayed, along with the video length of the highlight.

[0254] As an example, not limited to this case, when the icon representing "Organic Cotton Socks" is tapped in the highlight list display area HAR1, the display transitions to the highlight viewing screen shown in Figure 3-2, also as an example.

[0255] In this highlight viewing screen, the highlight display area HCR1 is displayed below the area at the top of the screen where the name of the live commerce application is displayed. In this screen, the live commerce content display area HCR1 shows the video of a broadcaster introducing the product "organic cotton socks" that is being sold in the live commerce content.

[0256] At the top of the highlight display area HCR1, there is an archive playback button RBT1, indicated by the words "Play Full Video," which allows users to stop viewing the highlights and return to watching the full video of the live commerce archive.

[0257] At the bottom of the highlight display area HCR1, a seek bar SB2 is displayed to visually indicate the playback position of the highlight. To the right of the seek bar SB2, an icon of the product image is displayed to indicate that this highlight is for "organic cotton socks".

[0258] Below the seek bar SB2, a row of playback control buttons are displayed for functions such as pausing highlight playback. To the right of these buttons, the recording time of the highlight (not limited to this, but shown as "5 minutes" in this example screen) and the current playback time from the beginning of the highlight (not limited to this, but shown as "49 seconds" in this example screen) are displayed.

[0259] Furthermore, on this screen, the product display area IIR1 shows the product "Organic Cotton Socks" and the corresponding product information IT2. This is based on the fact that the highlight of "organic cotton socks" was selected as an example, rather than being limited to specific items.

[0260] <Processing> Figure 3-3 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow performed by each device in this embodiment. In this figure, from left to right, the processing is performed by the control unit 21 of the broadcaster's (user LL) terminal 20L, the processing is performed by the control unit 11 of the server 10, the processing is performed by the control unit 21 of the viewer's (user AA) terminal 20A who is watching the live broadcast, and the processing is performed by the control unit 21 of the viewer's (user ZZ) terminal 20Z who is watching the archived broadcast.

[0261] The control unit 11 of server 10, as an example but not limited to, executes the live commerce response graph generation process (S150) and then executes the live commerce highlight content creation process (S160).

[0262] In the live commerce highlight content creation process, the control unit 11 of the server 10 crops (cuts in the time axis direction) the highlight content from the archive that includes segments exceeding the set number of live commerce responses, not limited to, but as an example, for each product ID, based on the response to the live commerce content for each product sold.

[0263] In addition, during the live commerce highlight content creation process, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may, for example, crop highlight content from the archive that includes a section with a set number of live commerce responses or more, for each product ID.

[0264] For example, not limited to, in the live commerce archive viewing process (Z110), the control unit 21 of terminal 20Z determines, not limited to, but for example, whether an operation has been performed on the highlight list area by user ZZ via the input / output unit 23. If it is determined that an operation has been performed, the control unit 21 of terminal 20Z sends highlight content request information, including the product ID, to the server 10 via the communication interface 22, not limited to, but for example.

[0265] As an example, not limited to this case, in the live commerce archive distribution process (S170), when the control unit 11 of the server 10 receives highlight content request information from the terminal 20Z via the communication interface 14, it transmits highlight content information, including the highlight content of the product ID specified by the highlight content request information, to the terminal 20Z via the communication interface 14. When the terminal 20Z receives highlight content information from the server 10 via the communication interface 22, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20Z displays the received highlight content information on the display unit 24.

[0266] <Effects of the third embodiment> In this embodiment, the live commerce response count (not limited, but an example of a value) includes at least one of the sales count (not limited, but an example of the number of times a viewer purchases a product consisting of one or more products or one or more services sold in the live commerce content) and the comment count (not limited, but an example of the number of comments on the product). The control unit 11 of the server 10 receives highlight content request information (not limited, but an example of a fourth piece of information concerning a specified product or service among the products for sale) from terminal 20Z (not limited, but an example of a second terminal) via the communication I / F 14. The live commerce response aggregation process (not limited, but an example of an accumulation process) includes a process to accumulate the live commerce response count (not limited, but an example of a value concerning a product or service) based on the highlight content request information. The control unit 11 of the server 10 then executes a live commerce highlight content creation process to generate highlight content (not limited, but an example of a partial archive based on the time series of archives where the value accumulated by the accumulation process exceeds or is equal to a set value), and transmits the highlight content information to terminal 20Z via the communication I / F 14. As an example of the effects of this configuration, for a specified product in the fourth information, a partial archive can be generated, which is an archive of the period during which the product was frequently purchased or the period during which comments were frequently made about the product. The user on the second terminal can then view the partial archive related to the specified product from the entire archive. Therefore, the user on the second terminal can efficiently collect information about products that interest them.

[0267] <Third variation (1)> In the above embodiment, the live commerce response graph information is not displayed in association with the seek bar SB2 on the highlight viewing screen, but the embodiment is not limited to this. On the highlight viewing screen, for example, the live commerce response graph information corresponding to the time axis of the highlight content may be displayed above the seek bar SB2.

[0268] This structure makes it easy for viewers to identify the most exciting parts of the highlight content.

[0269] <Other examples> (1) Information Processing Device In the above embodiments, the information processing device in this disclosure was described as server 10, but it is not limited thereto.

[0270] Instead of having a single server 10, server 10 may be divided into multiple servers, and each of these servers may serve as an information processing device in this disclosure.

[0271] Furthermore, instead of a server, a management computer or other terminal that communicates with the terminal performing the live stream (the streamer's terminal), or a management smartphone or other terminal, may also be referred to as the information processing device in this disclosure.

[0272] Alternatively, a system including multiple information processing devices may be configured, and this system may perform the various processes of the server 10 described in the above embodiment.

[0273] (2) Others As mentioned above, the contents described in each of the above embodiments, their modifications, and other embodiments can be applied in combination. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0274] 1. Communication System 10 servers 20 devices 30 Networks

Claims

1. This is a program to be run on a device that is used to view archived live content. The terminal's display unit will display a reaction graph based on the results of aggregating the reactions shown by viewers to the live content during the live broadcast of the live content, in accordance with the time series of the archive. Based on a first input by the user of the terminal specifying one of a plurality of targets related to the live content, the reaction graph is switched to a reaction graph based on the aggregated results of the reactions to the one target and displayed on the display unit. A program to cause the aforementioned terminal to execute.

2. The program according to claim 1, The response graph is displayed on the display unit in association with a seek bar for manipulating the playback position of the archive, such that the time axis of the archive corresponds to the seek bar. program.

3. A program according to claim 1 or claim 2, To display objects for displaying the aforementioned multiple targets on the display unit, Based on a second input from the user of the terminal to the object, information that can identify each of the plurality of targets is displayed on the display unit. The terminal is instructed to execute the following: The first input is an input to first information that can identify one of the multiple objects, from among the information that can identify each of the multiple objects. program.

4. The program according to claim 3, The object is displayed on the display unit in a manner that indicates that a reaction graph based on the aggregated results of the reactions to the entire group of objects is being displayed. program.

5. A program according to claim 3 or claim 4, A program that causes the terminal to display the first information on the display unit in a manner that allows the user of the terminal to recognize that the first target has been specified, based on the first input.

6. A program according to any one of claims 1 to 5, A program to cause the terminal to display on the display unit a reaction graph, which is based on the aggregated results of the reactions for each of the multiple targets, arranged individually along the time axis of the archive.

7. A program according to any one of claims 1 to 6, The response includes at least one of the number of comments made by the viewer on the subject related to the live content and the number of actions taken by the viewer on the subject related to the live content. program.

8. A method for processing information on a device that views archived live content, The terminal's display unit will display a reaction graph based on the results of aggregating the reactions shown by viewers to the live content during the live broadcast of the live content, in accordance with the time series of the archive. Based on input from the user of the terminal specifying one of several targets related to the live content, the response graph is switched to a response graph based on the aggregated results of the responses to the one target and displayed on the display unit. Information processing methods including

9. A device for viewing archived live content, Display unit and A control unit controls the display unit to display a reaction graph based on the aggregated results of reactions shown by viewers to the live content during the live broadcast of the live content, in accordance with the time series of the archive, and based on input from the user of the terminal who specifies one of a plurality of targets related to the live content, the control unit controls the display unit to switch the reaction graph to a reaction graph based on the aggregated results of reactions to the one target, and display it on the display unit. A terminal equipped with the following features.

10. A system including a server that distributes archives of live content and terminals that view the said archives, The server transmits to the terminal reaction graph information based on the results of aggregating the reactions shown by viewers to the live content during the live broadcast of the live content, in accordance with the time series of the archive. The aforementioned terminal is The reaction graph based on the aforementioned reaction graph information is displayed on the display unit. The system transmits target selection information to the server, based on input from the user of the terminal, which specifies one of several targets related to the live content. Based on the target designation information, the server transmits first reaction graph information based on the aggregated results of the reactions to the one target to the terminal. The terminal switches the reaction graph to a first reaction graph based on the first reaction graph information and displays it on the display unit. system.

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