System for determining popularity ranking

Abstract

To provide a system for determining a true real-time popularity ranking.SOLUTION: A system includes user terminals owned by respective users for determining a popularity ranking among a plurality of object users based on votes of the plurality of users, and a web server capable of communicating with the user terminals via a network. The web server repetitively performs the steps of receiving voting information indicating user's votes from the user terminals, updating the ranking of the objects based on the number of votes received, multiplying the number of votes for all objects by r (for example, r=0.9) and storing them by overwriting, for weighting the votes in such a manner that the votes included in the voting information received at a time farther back from the current time are attenuated, aggregating the weighted votes for respective objects to obtain the number of votes for each object, and determining the ranking based on the number of votes obtained.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a system for determining in real time the popularity ranking among users of a plurality of objects belonging to the same category.

Background Art

[0002] How popular a certain object is compared to other objects belonging to the same category, that is, the degree of popularity or the popularity ranking, is one of the most desired pieces of information for those who like the object, are related to it or intend to be related to it. Therefore, the dissemination of popularity rankings as information is carried out in various industries. Generally, there is an error between the current popularity ranking and the determined popularity ranking, and the smaller the error, the higher the value as information, and real-time information is most desired.

[0003] Therefore, for example, when the object is a tourist destination, a tourism information providing system has been proposed that stores in a database the current number of registrations indicating the degree of interest in each tourist destination, and determines the popularity for each predetermined time frame based on the number of registrations (Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, Patent Document 1 does not disclose how the system acquires the number of registrations in the first place. Even if it acquires the number of registrations by some means, once it is registered, it will continue to be counted as the number of registrations unless the registrant cancels the registration even if the registrant is no longer interested later. Therefore, it cannot be said that it represents the truly real-time popularity. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a system that truly determines real-time popularity rankings.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0006] To solve the problem, the popularity ranking determination system of the present invention Based on the votes of a plurality of users, the popularity ranking among a plurality of target users (Hereinafter, also simply referred to as "rank".) In a system comprising a user terminal held by each of the users and a web server capable of communicating with the user terminal via a network, for determining The web server receives voting information indicating the votes of users from the user terminals, weights the votes so that the votes included in the voting information received at a time further back from the current time are attenuated, aggregates the weighted votes for each target to obtain the number of votes for each target, and determines the ranking based on the number of votes obtained. Here, the target can be anything as long as it is a popular target such as an entertainer, actor, model, anime character, company, tourist destination, product, etc.

[0007] According to the system of the present invention, the votes are weighted so that the votes cast at a time further back from the current time are attenuated, and the ranking is determined based on the aggregated value of the weighted votes. Therefore, the more votes a target obtains close to the current time, the higher the number of votes for the target after aggregation. For this reason, in order for a certain target to maintain a high ranking, the users who support the target must continuously vote many times, and the aggregated value truly reflects the real-time popularity ranking.

[0008] One preferred configuration of the system of the present invention is that the web server has a target information database for storing the number of votes and rankings for each target, the weighting multiplies the number of votes by a weighting factor r (0 < r < 1), and the weighting is performed simultaneously with or immediately after updating the ranking stored in the target information database to overwrite and save the number of votes, and then the process of waiting for a certain time t1 is repeated. If there is no waiting time, the ranking cannot be determined when voting is continuously conducted without interruption, so the next update process is performed after waiting for a certain time t1. However, if the waiting time is too long, a large error will occur between the actual ranking at the current time and the determined ranking, so it is set as short as possible considering the performance of the web server and the terminal.

[0009] Another preferred configuration of the system of the present invention is that the web server has a user information database for storing the number of votes that can be cast for each user. When the number of votes that can be cast stored in the user information database is smaller than a predetermined upper limit value, the number of votes that can be cast is increased by a certain number and overwritten and saved, and the process of waiting for a certain time t2 is repeated. As a result, the user can accumulate the number of votes that can be cast every time the time t2 elapses without voting as long as the number of votes that can be cast does not reach the upper limit value, but cannot accumulate more than the upper limit value. Therefore, as a user, it is encouraged to vote before reaching the upper limit value in order not to waste the allocated votes. The time t2 may be the same as or different from the time t1.

Advantages of the Invention

[0010] As described above, according to the popularity ranking determination system of the present invention, since the popularity ranking of the target is determined in real time, sufficient satisfaction can be obtained for the users who vote. In addition, the determined popularity ranking also serves as highly reliable reference information for third parties other than users when selecting a target.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] The present invention will be specifically described based on an embodiment for determining a popularity ranking for a person having enthusiastic fans (hereinafter referred to as an "idol"). As shown in FIG. 1, the popularity ranking determination system 1 of the embodiment includes a user terminal 2 that each user usually holds one by one, and a web server 3 that can communicate with each user terminal 2 via a network. The web server 3 includes an authentication information database 4, a user information database 5, and an idol information database 6, as well as a voteable number allocation unit, a ranking determination unit, a display unit, etc. (not shown).

[0013] The authentication information database 4 stores authentication information including a user ID, a user name, and a token. The user information database 5 stores user information including a user ID, a user name, and the number of votes that can be cast. The idol information database 6 stores idol information including an idol ID, an idol name, the current number of votes obtained, and a ranking.

[0014] In order for a new user to vote, first, as shown in Figure 2, the user's terminal 2 is made to display the Twitter (registered trademark) login screen, and the account information is entered and sent to the web server 3. The web server 3 transfers the account information to Twitter, Incorporated's OAuth server, and when it receives approval information indicating that it is the user's own account from the OAuth server, it issues a user ID, a token, and an initial number of votes.

[0015] Then, the user ID, user name, and token are recorded in a new row of the authentication information database 4, and the user ID, user name, and initial number of votes are recorded in a new row of the user information database 5, respectively. At the same time, the user ID and token are sent to be displayable on the user terminal 2. The token issued at this time is a random character array that does not match any of the tokens previously stored in the authentication information database 4. Also, the initial number of votes is the number of votes that can be cast, which is initially the same for all users. When the web server 3 receives an information request from the user terminal 2, it sends the number of votes that can be cast, the current idle ranking, etc. to be displayable on the user terminal 2. Thus, the preparation for voting is completed.

[0016] The user terminal 2 sends a request to display the voting screen to the web server 3 together with the authentication information including the ID and token by the user's operation. The web server 3 authenticates the user by referring to the authentication information database 4 and sends the voting screen to the user terminal 2. The user designates the name of the idol to vote for on the voting screen displayed on the user terminal 2, enters the number of votes n to cast for that idol, and sends this voting information to the web server 3.

[0017] When the web server 3 receives voting information, it authenticates the user by referring to the authentication information database 4, subtracts the number of votes n cast from the number of votes that can be cast in the user information database 5, and adds the number of votes n to the current number of votes obtained in the idle information database 6. Thus, until a certain period of time, for example, 24 hours, elapses starting from a certain time, for example, midnight, every time the web server 3 receives voting information transmitted from the user terminal 2, the web server 3 subtracts n from the number of votes that can be cast in the user information database 5 and increases the current number of votes obtained in the idle information database 6 by n.

[0018] Then, when midnight of the next day arrives, as shown in FIG. 3, the ranking determination unit of the web server 3 checks the number of votes obtained at the same time for each idle in the target information database 6, updates the ranking based on the number of votes obtained (step 31), then multiplies the number of votes obtained for all idles by r (for example, r = 0.9) and overwrites and saves it in the target information database 6 (step 32), and waits for t1 hours (= 24 hours) (step 33).

[0019] On the other hand, in parallel, as shown in FIG. 4, the voteable vote allocation unit of the web server 3 checks the number of voteable votes of each user at the same time in the user information database 5 (step 41), determines whether the number is less than k (for example, k = 108) (step 42), and if it is less, after increasing the number of voteable votes of that user by a certain number (for example, 1) and overwriting and saving it in the user information database 5 (step 43), it waits for t2 hours (= 20 minutes) (step 44). Thus, when the number of voteable votes is less than k, 1 vote is restored every 20 minutes.

[0020] The above-mentioned rank update, r - fold, and restoration of the number of votes that can be cast are all done instantaneously. During the waiting period, the user can vote at any time. And as time passes from the moment the vote is cast as described above, the weight of the vote decays. That is, if User A cast 100 votes for Idol A the day before yesterday, User B cast 95 votes for Idol B yesterday, User C cast 90 votes for Idol C today, and there are no other votes, then in today's tally, the number of votes for Idols A, B, and C will be evaluated as 81, 85.5, and 90 respectively, and the ranking will be determined as C is in the first place, B is in the second place, and A is in the third place.

[0021] As shown in Figure 5, when the determined ranking, along with the authentication information including the user ID and token, is sent from the user terminal 2 to the web server 3 by the user's terminal operation, the display unit of the web server 3 extracts the idol name and ranking from the target information database 6, and sends the ranking from the top to a certain rank, for example, up to the 100th rank, as ranking information to the user terminal 2 for display.

[0022] User A has 8 votes left as of the day before yesterday, User B has 13 votes left as of yesterday, and User C has 18 votes left as of today. After that, as long as none of the users reach 108 votes, they can add 1 new vote every 20 minutes, but the additional allocation will stop when they reach 108 votes. Therefore, in order not only to maintain a high rank for the idol they support but also not to waste the votes that should be allocated, users must vote continuously many times, which stimulates the voting desire.

[0023] In this embodiment, the authentication platform of Twitter, Incorporated is used to enable voting, but other authentication platforms may also be used.

Explanation of Symbols

[0024] 1 Popularity Ranking Determination System 2 User Terminal 3 Web Server 4 Authentication Information Database 5 User Information Database 6 Target Information Database

Claims

1. In a system comprising user terminals each held by a user and a web server communicable with the user terminals via a network, for determining a popularity ranking among a plurality of target users based on the votes of a plurality of users, the web server receives voting information indicating the votes of users from the user terminals, weights the votes such that the votes included in the voting information received at a time further back from the current time are attenuated more, totals the weighted votes for each target to obtain the number of votes for each target, and determines the popularity ranking based on the number of votes. A popularity ranking determination system characterized by this.

2. The web server has a target information database that stores the number of votes for each target and the popularity ranking, the weighting multiplies the number of votes by a weighting factor r (0 < r < 1), and the weighting is performed simultaneously with or immediately after updating the popularity ranking stored in the target information database to overwrite and save the number of votes, and then the step of waiting for a fixed time t1 is repeated. The popularity ranking determination system according to Claim 1.

3. The web server has a user information database that stores the number of votes that can be cast for each user, and when the number of votes that can be cast stored in the user information database is less than a predetermined upper limit value, the number of votes that can be cast is increased by a fixed number and overwritten and saved, and the step of waiting for a fixed time t2 is repeated. The popularity ranking determination system according to Claim 1 or 2.

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