Program, information processing method and terminal

Abstract

To provide a program, an information processing method, and a terminal that allow guide display to be displayed on various screens.SOLUTION: A program, which is executed by a terminal that receives a content transmitted from a first terminal, the terminal including a communication unit and a display unit, causes the terminal to: receive, by the communication unit, a first content that is related to a question of a user of the first terminal, the first content being transmitted from the first terminal; display, on the display unit, a first display based on the first content; display, on the display unit, the first content on the basis of an input to the first display; and transmit, by the communication unit, a second content about an answer to the first content.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a program, an information processing method, and a terminal. [Background technology]

[0002] Services that allow users to post questions on the Internet and receive answers from a wide range of communities have been put into practical use. Services that allow users to receive prompt answers to questions have also been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-183432 Summary of the Invention

[0004] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program executed by a terminal that receives content transmitted from a first terminal, the program executing on the terminal being to receive first content transmitted from the first terminal and related to a question of a user of the first terminal by a communication unit of the terminal, display a first display based on the first content on a display unit of the terminal, display the first content on the display unit based on input on the first display, and transmit second content related to an answer to the first content by the communication unit of the terminal. According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing method for a terminal that receives content transmitted from a first terminal, the method including receiving first content transmitted from the first terminal and related to a question of a user of the first terminal by a communication unit of the terminal, displaying a first display based on the first content on a display unit of the terminal, displaying the first content on the display unit based on input to the first display, and transmitting second content related to an answer to the first content by the communication unit of the terminal. According to a third aspect of the present invention, a terminal receives content transmitted from a first terminal, the terminal comprising: a communication unit that receives first content transmitted from the first terminal and related to a question of a user of the first terminal; and a display unit that displays a first display based on the first content and displays the first content based on an input to the first display, the communication unit transmitting second content related to an answer to the first content. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program executed by a terminal that transmits content, the program executing the following operations: transmitting first content related to a question from a user of the terminal to a user designated by the user of the terminal via a communication unit of the terminal; receiving second content related to the designated user's answer to the first content via the communication unit of the terminal; and displaying the first content and the second content on a display unit of the terminal. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0005] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of functions realized by a control unit of the terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in a storage unit of the terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a question creation screen on which a question is input and a destination to which the question is posted is specified. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a question creation screen on which the posted content of a question is displayed. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a guide display displayed on a room screen including a chat room. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a Q&A screen on which a first content is displayed. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of setting a group dedicated to posting questions in the first modified example (2). [Figure 10]FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a timeline screen on which a guidance display is displayed in the first modified example (3). [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a friend list screen on which a guidance display is displayed in the first modified example (4). [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a guide display displayed in a chat room in the first modified example (4). [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of switching the guidance display to other information in the first modified example (5). [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of displaying a reply notification in the first modified example (8). [Figure 15] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 16] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen on which question input content is displayed in the second embodiment. [Figure 17] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen on which a guidance display is displayed in the second embodiment. [Figure 18] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processes executed by each device according to a second modified example. [Figure 19] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen on which a guidance display is displayed in the second modified example. [Figure 20] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen on which a question and an answer are displayed in the second modified example. [Figure 21] 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device according to the third embodiment. [Figure 22] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen on which question input content is displayed in the third embodiment. [Figure 23] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen on which a guidance display is displayed in the third embodiment. [Figure 24] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen on which a guidance display is displayed in a third modified example. [Figure 25] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a home screen according to the fourth embodiment. [Figure 26] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a room screen in a fourth modified example. [Figure 27]13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device according to the fifth embodiment. [Figure 28] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a question confirmation notice for obtaining approval to post a question in the fifth embodiment. [Figure 29] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a chat screen of a chat room on which a guide display is displayed in the fifth embodiment. [Figure 30] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device according to the sixth embodiment. [Figure 31] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a thread including a first content and a second content in the sixth embodiment. [Figure 32] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a Q&A screen in which information on a display screen is displayed in the seventh embodiment. [Figure 33] FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of a thread in which information about users is displayed in different forms based on the relationship between the users in the eighth modified example (1). [Figure 34] FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example in which the second content is displayed in a format other than a thread in the eighth modified example (2). DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0006] <Compliance with legal matters> It should be noted that the disclosures set forth herein are subject to compliance with the laws of the country of implementation, such as communications privacy, as required for the implementation of the disclosures.

[0007] Embodiments for implementing a program, an information processing method, and a terminal according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0008] [System Configuration] Fig. 1 shows a configuration of a system 1 including terminals according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 1, in the system 1, a server 10 and terminals 20 (terminal 20A, terminal 20B, terminal 20C, etc.) are connected via a network 30.

[0009] The server 10 has a function of communicating with the terminals 20 via the network 30. The number of terminals 20 connected to the server 10 is not limited.

[0010] The network 30 serves to connect one or more servers 10 and one or more terminals 20. In other words, the network 30 refers to a communication network that provides connection paths so that data can be transmitted and received between the various devices described above.

[0011] One or more portions of network 30 may or may not be a wired or wireless network. Network 30 may include, by way of example and not limitation, 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), a portion of the Internet, a portion of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a cellular network, integrated service digital networks (ISDN), wireless LAN, long term evolution (LTE), code division multiple access (CDMA), Bluetooth, satellite communications, etc., or a combination of two or more thereof. Network 30 may include one or more networks 30.

[0012] The terminal 20 is a terminal used by users to transmit and receive content to and from each other, and constitutes the terminal, first terminal, and second terminal of the present disclosure. The terminal 20 may be any information processing terminal capable of implementing the functions described in each embodiment. Examples of the terminal 20 include, but are not limited to, smartphones, mobile phones (feature phones), computers (such as, but not limited to, desktops, laptops, and tablets), media computer platforms (such as, but not limited to, cable and satellite set-top boxes and digital video recorders), handheld computer devices (such as, but not limited to, personal digital assistants (PDAs), email clients, and the like), wearable devices (such as, but not limited to, glasses-type devices and watch-type devices), and other types of computers or communication platforms. The terminal 20 may also be referred to as an information processing terminal.

[0013] Furthermore, as necessary, user information in a predetermined service associated with the terminal 20 is expressed as user information X. Note that the user information is information of a user associated with an account used by the user in the predetermined service. The user information includes, by way of example and not limitation, information associated with a user, such as the user's name, an icon image of the user, the user's age, the user's gender, the user's address, the user's hobbies and interests, a user identifier, a list of the user's friends and acquaintances, etc., which is input by the user or assigned by the predetermined service, and may be any one of these, or a combination thereof, or may not be the same.

[0014] [Hardware (HW) configuration of each device] The hardware configuration of each device included in the system 1 will be described.

[0015] (1) Device hardware configuration FIG. 1 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the terminal 20. The terminal 20 includes a control unit 21 (CPU: central processing unit), a memory unit 28, a communication unit 22, an input / output unit 23, a display unit 24, a microphone 25, a speaker 26, and a camera 27. The hardware components of the terminal 20 are connected to each other via a bus, for example and not by way of limitation. It is not essential that the hardware configuration of the terminal 20 includes all of the components. For example and not by way of limitation, the terminal 20 may or may not be configured such that individual components, such as the microphone 25, the camera 27, or multiple components, are detachable.

[0016] The communication unit 22 transmits and receives various data via the network 30. The communication may be performed either wired or wirelessly, and any communication protocol may be used as long as mutual communication is possible. The communication unit 22 has a function of communicating with various devices such as the server 10 via the network 30. The communication unit 22 transmits various data to various devices such as the server 10 in accordance with instructions from the control unit 21. The communication unit 22 also receives various data transmitted from various devices such as the server 10 and transmits it to the control unit 21. When the communication unit 22 is configured as a physically structured circuit, it may also be referred to as a communication circuit.

[0017] The input / output unit 23 includes a device for inputting various operations to the terminal 20 and a device for outputting processing results processed by the terminal 20. The input / output unit 23 may be an integrated input unit and an output unit, or may be separate input unit and output unit, or may not be so.

[0018] The input unit is realized by any one or combination of all types of devices that can accept input from a user and transmit information related to the input to the control unit 21. Examples of the input unit include, but are not limited to, hardware keys such as a touch panel, a touch display, and a keyboard, a pointing device such as a mouse, a camera (for inputting operations via moving images), and a microphone (for inputting operations by voice).

[0019] The output unit is realized by any one or a combination of all kinds of devices that can output the processing results processed by the control unit 21. Examples of the output unit include, but are not limited to, a touch panel, a touch display, a speaker (audio output), a lens (for example, but not limited to, 3D (three dimensions) output or hologram output), a printer, etc.

[0020] The display unit 24 is realized by any one of all types of devices or a combination thereof that can display according to the display data written to the frame buffer. Examples of the display unit 24 include, but are not limited to, a touch panel, a touch display, a monitor (for example, but not limited to, a liquid crystal display or an organic electroluminescence display (OLED)), a head mounted display (HDM), projection mapping, a hologram, and a device that can display images, text information, etc. in air (which may or may not be a vacuum). Note that these display units 24 may or may not be capable of displaying display data in 3D.

[0021] When the input / output unit 23 is a touch panel, the input / output unit 23 and the display unit 24 may be disposed opposite each other and have approximately the same size and shape.

[0022] The control unit 21 has a circuit physically structured to execute the functions realized by the code or instructions contained in the program, and is realized by, for example and without limitation, a data processing device built into hardware. Therefore, the control unit 21 may or may not be expressed as a control circuit.

[0023] The control unit 21 includes, by way of example and not limitation, a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a processor core, a multiprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and a field programmable gate array (FPGA).

[0024] The storage unit 28 has a function of storing various programs and various data required for the operation of the terminal 20. The storage unit 28 includes, but is not limited to, various storage media such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a flash memory, a random access memory (RAM), and a read only memory (ROM). The storage unit 28 may or may not be expressed as a memory.

[0025] Terminal 20 stores a program in storage unit 28, and by executing this program, control unit 21 executes the processing of each unit included in control unit 21. In other words, the program stored in storage unit 28 causes terminal 20 to realize each function executed by control unit 21. Furthermore, this program may or may not be expressed as a program module.

[0026] The microphone 25 is used to input audio data, the speaker 26 is used to output audio data, and the camera 27 is used to acquire video data.

[0027] (2) Server hardware configuration FIG. 1 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the server 10. As shown in FIG. The server 10 includes, for example and not by way of limitation, a control unit 11 (CPU), a memory unit 15, a communication unit 14, an input / output unit 12, and a display 13. The components of the HW of the server 10 are connected to each other via a bus, for example and not by way of limitation. It is not essential that the HW of the server 10 include all of the components. For example and not by way of limitation, the HW of the server 10 may or may not be configured so that the display 13 is detachable.

[0028] The control unit 11 has circuits physically structured to execute the functions realized by the codes or instructions contained in the program, and is realized by, for example and not by way of limitation, a data processing device built into hardware.

[0029] The control unit 11 is typically a central processing unit (CPU), but may also be a microprocessor, a processor core, a multiprocessor, an ASIC, or an FPGA. In the present disclosure, the control unit 11 is not limited to these.

[0030] The storage unit 15 has a function of storing various programs and various data required for the operation of the server 10. The storage unit 15 is realized by various storage media such as an HDD, an SSD, and a flash memory. However, in the present disclosure, the storage unit 15 is not limited to these. Furthermore, the storage unit 15 may or may not be expressed as a memory.

[0031] The communication unit 14 transmits and receives various data via the network 30. The communication may be performed either wired or wirelessly, and any communication protocol may be used as long as mutual communication is possible. The communication unit 14 has a function of communicating with various devices such as the terminal 20 via the network 30. The communication unit 14 transmits various data to various devices such as the terminal 20 in accordance with instructions from the control unit 11. The communication unit 14 also receives various data transmitted from various devices such as the terminal 20 and transmits it to the control unit 11. When the communication unit 14 is configured as a physically structured circuit, it may be referred to as a communication circuit.

[0032] The input / output unit 12 is realized by a device that inputs various operations to the server 10. The input / output unit 12 is realized by any one of or a combination of all types of devices that can accept input from a user and transmit information related to the input to the control unit 11. The input / output unit 12 is typically realized by hardware keys such as a keyboard or a pointing device such as a mouse. Note that the input / output unit 12 may or may not include, for example, a touch panel, a camera (for inputting operations via moving images), or a microphone (for inputting operations via voice). However, in the present disclosure, the input / output unit 12 is not limited to these.

[0033] The display 13 is typically realized by a monitor (for example, but not limited to, a liquid crystal display or an organic electroluminescence display (OLED)). The display 13 may or may not be a head-mounted display (HDM) or the like. These displays 13 may or may not be capable of displaying display data in 3D. In the present disclosure, the display 13 is not limited to these.

[0034] (5) Other Server 10 stores a program in storage unit 15, and by executing this program, control unit 11 executes the processing of each unit included in control unit 11. In other words, the program stored in storage unit 15 causes server 10 to realize each function executed by control unit 11. This program may or may not be expressed as a program module.

[0035] In each embodiment of the present disclosure, the description will be given assuming that the CPU of the server 10 and / or the terminal 20 executes a program to realize the present invention.

[0036] The control unit 11 of the server 10 and / or the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 may or may not realize each process not only by a CPU having a control circuit but also by a logic circuit (hardware) formed in an integrated circuit (IC (Integrated Circuit) chip, LSI (Large Scale Integration)), or a dedicated circuit. These circuits may be realized by one or more integrated circuits, and multiple processes shown in each embodiment may or may not be realized by a single integrated circuit. LSIs are sometimes referred to as VLSIs, super LSIs, ultra LSIs, etc., depending on the degree of integration. Therefore, the control units 11 and 21 may or may not be referred to as control circuits.

[0037] Furthermore, the programs of the embodiments of the present disclosure (for example, but not limited to, software programs, computer programs, or program modules) may or may not be provided in a state stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The storage medium can store the programs in a "non-transitory tangible medium." The programs may or may not be for realizing part of the functions of the embodiments of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the programs may or may not be what can realize the functions of the embodiments of the present disclosure in combination with a program already recorded on a storage medium, that is, what is called a difference file (difference program).

[0038] The storage medium may include one or more semiconductor-based or other integrated circuits (ICs) (such as, by way of example and not limitation, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or application-specific ICs (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 media, or any suitable combination of two or more of these. The storage medium may be volatile, nonvolatile, or a combination of volatile and nonvolatile, where appropriate. The storage medium is not limited to these examples and may be any device or medium capable of storing a program. Furthermore, the storage medium may or may not be referred to as memory.

[0039] The server 10 and / or the terminal 20 can implement the functions of the multiple functional units shown in each embodiment by reading a program stored in a storage medium and executing the read program.

[0040] Furthermore, the program of the present disclosure may or may not be provided to the server 10 and / or the terminal 20 via any transmission medium capable of transmitting a program (such as a communication network or broadcast waves). The server 10 and / or the terminal 20, by way of example and not limitation, executes a program downloaded via the Internet or the like to realize the functions of the multiple functional units shown in each embodiment.

[0041] Furthermore, each embodiment of the present disclosure may also be realized in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which a program is embodied by electronic transmission. At least a part of the processing in the server 10 and / or the terminal 20 may or may not be realized by cloud computing configured by one or more computers. At least a part of the processing in the terminal 20 may or may not be performed by the server 10. In this case, at least a part of the processing of each functional unit of the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 may or may not be performed by the server 10. At least a part of the processing in the server 10 may or may not be performed by the terminal 20. In this case, at least a part of the processing of each functional unit of the control unit 11 of the server 10 may or may not be performed by the terminal 20. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, the judgment configuration in the embodiments of the present disclosure is not essential, and a predetermined process may or may not be performed when the judgment condition is met, or when the judgment condition is not met.

[0042] The programs of the present disclosure are implemented using, for example and without limitation, scripting languages ​​such as ActionScript and JavaScript (registered trademark), object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Objective-C and Java (registered trademark), and markup languages ​​such as HTML5.

[0043] Furthermore, to reiterate, the various programs and data in this disclosure can be stored (recorded) on a computer-readable storage medium (recording medium), including various storage media such as magnetic disks, optical disks, magneto-optical disks, and flash memories.

[0044] First Embodiment In the first embodiment, when first content related to user A's question is received by terminal 20B, terminal 20B displays a guidance display based on the first content on the chat room screen, and displays the first content based on user B's operation on the guidance display. The contents described in the first embodiment are applicable to any of the other embodiments.

[0045] <Functional configuration> (1) Functional configuration of the terminal FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of functions realized by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 in this embodiment. The control unit 21 includes, for example and not by way of limitation, a terminal main processing unit 211 and a guidance display processing unit 212 .

[0046] The terminal main processing unit 211 has a function of executing terminal main processing, which is processing for comprehensively controlling the terminal 20, in accordance with a terminal main processing program 281 stored in the storage unit 28. Here, the terminal main processing unit 211 controls the transmission or reception of first content related to a user's question to another terminal via the communication unit 22. The terminal main processing unit 211 also controls the transmission or reception of second content related to an answer to the first content via the communication unit 22. Then, when the terminal main processing unit 211 receives the second content, it controls the display unit 24 to display the first content and the second content.

[0047] When receiving first content related to a question from another terminal, the guidance display processing unit 212 executes guidance display processing to display a guidance display based on the first content on the display unit 24, in accordance with the guidance display processing program 2811 stored in the storage unit 28. Then, the guidance display processing unit 212 executes guidance display processing to display the first content on the display unit 24, based on an input for the guidance display.

[0048] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in the storage unit 28 of the terminal 20 in this embodiment. The storage unit 28 stores, by way of example and not limitation, a terminal main processing program 281 that is read by the control unit 21 and executed as terminal main processing. The terminal main processing program 281 also includes, as a subroutine program, a guidance display processing program 2811 that is read by the control unit 21 and executed as guidance display processing.

[0049] Furthermore, in the storage unit 15, user information 282 is stored, for example and not by way of limitation.

[0050] The user information 282 is information for transmitting and receiving content between users (e.g., users set as friends) registered on the terminal 20. The user information 282 may include, by way of example and not limitation, identification information of the terminal 20 (e.g., the user's name, identification number, user ID, phone number, etc.), a list of the user's friends, acquaintances, etc.

[0051] <Information Processing> 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device in this embodiment. From the left, the flowchart shows an example of processing executed by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A, the control unit 11 of the server 10, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B, and the control unit 21 of the terminal 20C. Terminal 20A represents an example of a first terminal of the present disclosure, terminal 20B represents an example of a terminal of the present disclosure, and terminal 20C represents an example of a second terminal of the present disclosure.

[0052] Each step in each process is indicated by a combination of an uppercase letter and a number, and the term "step" is omitted in this specification. Furthermore, the flowcharts described below are merely examples of the processing in this embodiment, and some steps in the flowcharts described below may not be executed, or additional steps may be inserted. The same applies to other flowcharts in this specification.

[0053] First, when user A wants to ask a user of another terminal a question, he or she operates input / output unit 23 of terminal 20A, and control unit 21 of terminal 20A controls display unit 24 (A1) to display a question input field (not limited to this, but an example of question input content) in accordance with the operation of input / output unit 23. For example, control unit 21 controls display unit 24 to display question creation screen 33 including question input field 31 and disclosure range setting section 32, as shown in FIG.

[0054] The question input field 31 is a section where user A's question is input in response to operation of the input / output unit 23, and text information of a question such as "Are there any recommended cafes in Harajuku?" is input. Here, the question entered in the question entry field 31 need only be an interrogative sentence, so long as it seeks a response from the user of the other terminal. For example, the question may or may not be written in an affirmative sentence, such as "I'd like to hear your opinion about..." Furthermore, the question is not limited to text information, and may or may not be composed of, for example, audio information, image information, video information, etc.

[0055] The disclosure range setting section 32 is a section for setting the users to whom the question will be posted, and is configured to select, for example, either "disclose to all friends" or "specify disclosure range." Note that "friends" refer to specific users set by the user of terminal 20 from among users whose user information is stored in terminal 20, and may refer to specific users set as partners with whom users can send and receive content in chats, for example.

[0056] When "Specify disclosure range" is selected in the disclosure range setting section 32, the control unit 21 controls the display unit 24 to display a selection screen 34. This selection screen 34 is a screen for selecting a user to whom a question is to be posted, and may be, for example, a screen that lists users set as friends. In this case, the selection screen 34 may be configured to allow individual selection of users to whom a question is to be posted, or may be configured to allow selection in units of a specific group such as a chat room, for example, and not by way of limitation. As a result, user A selects users to post a question to based on, for example and not by way of limitation, the chat room that includes user A. Here, it is assumed that user A has designated users B and C as the destinations for posting a question.

[0057] When user A specifies the destination to post the question, control unit 21 causes display unit 24 to display question creation screen 33, which displays question input field 31, disclosure range setting section 32, and destination 35 specified on selection screen 34, as shown in Fig. 6. After checking the contents of question creation screen 33, user A performs an input operation on post button 36 displayed on question creation screen 33.

[0058] As a result, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A causes the communication unit 22 to transmit the first content related to the question of the user A to the terminals 20B and 20C of the users B and C designated by the user A (A2). Here, the first content is not limited to content including text information related to the question, and may or may not include, for example, audio information, image information, video information, etc. Furthermore, the first content may consist of only the question entered in the question input field 31, or may be configured to further include other related information other than the question (for example, information about the user A himself, link information to a Q&A screen described later, etc.). Furthermore, the first content may include the user information 282 of the users B and C designated on the selection screen 34.

[0059] The first content transmitted from terminal 20A is received by server 10. Then, control unit 11 of server 10 transmits the first content to terminal 20B and terminal 20C via communication unit 14, respectively, based on user information 282 of users B and C designated as posting destinations 35 (B1).

[0060] Subsequently, the first content transmitted from the server 10 is received by the communication unit 22 of the terminal 20B (C1). Upon receiving the first content, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B controls the display unit 24 to display a guidance display based on the first content (C2).

[0061] 7, in response to receiving the first content, control unit 21 displays guidance display 39 on room screen 38 displaying chat room 37 including user B. At this time, control unit 21 may, by way of example and not limitation, display guidance display 39 in area R1 different from area R2 in which chat room 37 is displayed.

[0062] Specifically, the control unit 21 displays the guidance display 39 in an area R1 located above (upstream of) the area R2 in the direction in which the character strings displayed on the display unit 24 are arranged. This area R1 is set, by way of example and not limitation, to an area where corporate advertising information is displayed. For example, the area R1 may be set to an information channel that sequentially displays various information such as advertising information and news articles. Furthermore, the guidance display 39 is configured to include at least a portion of the question included in the first content. That is, the guidance display 39 may be configured to include a portion of the question included in the first content, or may be configured to include the entire question. Furthermore, the guidance display 39 may or may not include information other than the question, such as information about the user A who asked the question, such as an icon of the user A. Furthermore, the guidance display 39 may or may not include a characteristic portion of the question extracted from the first content.

[0063] The chat room 37 is a place where content is exchanged between users (including corporate servers) using a service such as the server 10 or a messaging service provided by an application without a server. For example, the chat room 37 may include a user interface that allows content sent by a user participating in the chat room 37 to be viewed by all users participating in the chat room 37. Users (including corporate servers) using the service of the server 10 or users associated with the chat room 37 can send content to the chat room 37. The users who can send messages to the chat room 37 can be set by the user who opened the chat room 37 or by users participating in the chat room 37. Users can also leave the chat room 37 at their discretion. The server 10 can also close the chat room 37 as needed. The chat room 37 may also be referred to by other names, such as a talk room. The content may be in any form that can transmit information such as a message, and may be composed of, for example, text information, image information, and audio information.

[0064] Next, user B performs an input operation on guidance display 39 displayed on display unit 24 of terminal 20B. Here, guidance display 39 is for displaying the first content in response to user B's input operation, and may include control information such as link information to a Q&A screen including the first content. As shown in FIG. 8, control unit 21 of terminal 20B controls display unit 24 to display Q&A screen 41 including first content 40 based on the input on guidance display 39 (C3). As a result, all of user A's questions are displayed on terminal 20B of user B. At this time, control unit 21 of terminal 20B may or may not display information about user A who asked the question, such as an icon or username, based on the first content 40. The Q&A screen 41 is created by the server 10, for example, on an official account screen where information is exchanged between a company and a user, or on a website.

[0065] Here, the Q&A screen 41 includes, by way of example and not limitation, an answer field 42 in which the answer of user B is entered. Note that the answer is not limited to text information, and may or may not be composed of, for example, audio information, image information, video information, etc. When user B enters an answer to the question in the answer field 42, the control unit 21 of terminal 20B transmits second content related to the answer to the server 10 via the communication unit 22 (C4). Note that the second content is not limited to content including text information related to the answer, and may or may not include, for example, audio information, image information, video information, etc. Furthermore, the second content may consist only of the answer entered in the answer field 42, or may be configured to further include other related information other than the answer (for example, information about user B himself, link information to the Q&A screen 41, etc.). Furthermore, the second content may or may not include user information 282 of user A, who is the posting destination.

[0066] Meanwhile, the first content 40 transmitted from the server 10 to the terminal 20C in step B1 is also received by the terminal 20C (D1). When the control unit 21 of the terminal 20C receives the first content 40, it controls the display unit 24 to display a guidance display, similar to the terminal 20B (D2). At this time, it is assumed that the user C has not transmitted an answer to the question of the user A. Therefore, the server 10 receives only the second content transmitted from the terminal 20B.

[0067] When the second content transmitted from terminal 20B is received by server 10, control unit 11 of server 10 transmits the second content to terminal 20A via communication unit 14 based on user information 282 of user A who posted the content (B2). For example, control unit 11 of server 10 may or may not transmit Q&A screen 41 to terminal 20A by having terminal 20A access Q&A screen 41 created in server 10. As a result, the second content related to the answer to the first content 40 is received by communication unit 22 of terminal 20A (A3). Note that control unit 11 of server 10 may transmit the second content to terminal 20 to which the first content was transmitted in step B1, for example, terminal 20C (B2). As a result, the second content is received by communication unit 22 of terminal 20C (D3).

[0068] In this way, when the second content transmitted from terminal 20B via server 10 is received by terminal 20A, control unit 21 of terminal 20A controls display unit 24 to display first content 40 and the second content (A4). Similarly, when the second content is received by terminal 20C, control unit 21 of terminal 20C controls display unit 24 to display first content 40 and the second content (D4). Terminals 20A and 20C may or may not receive the second content directly from terminal 20B without going through server 10. In this embodiment, any of the contents may or may not be transmitted and received between terminals 20 without going through server 10.

[0069] <Effects of the first embodiment> In the first embodiment, when terminal 20B receives first content 40 related to a question from user A of terminal 20A, a guidance display 39 (not limiting, but an example of the first display) based on the first content 40 is displayed on the display unit 24 of terminal 20B. Then, based on an input to the guidance display 39, the first content 40 is displayed on the display unit 24 of terminal 20B. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, the guide display 39 can be displayed on various screens, such as the room screen 38 of the chat room 37 that users B and C are likely to view.

[0070] In the first embodiment, the guide display 39 is displayed on the display unit 24 displaying the chat room 37 including the users B and C of the terminals 20B and 20C. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, since the guide display 39 is displayed on a screen that is likely to be viewed by users B and C, other users B and C can recognize the question posted by user A. Furthermore, since the guide display 39 is displayed in chat room 37 where various information is displayed, it is possible to prevent users B and C from feeling uncomfortable about the posting of a personal question.

[0071] In the first embodiment, the guidance display 39 is displayed in an area R1 that is different from the area R2 of the display unit 24 where the chat room 37 is displayed. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, users B and C can clearly distinguish guide display 39 from chat room 37, and therefore can quickly understand the content of guide display 39.

[0072] In the first embodiment, the region R1 is located above the display unit 24 relative to the region R2. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, users B and C can more clearly distinguish guide display 39 from chat room 37.

[0073] In the first embodiment, advertising information is displayed in the area R1. One example of the effect of this configuration is that advertising information and guidance display 39 can be displayed in area R1, so area R1 can be used effectively, for example, by displaying advertising information in area R1 when guidance display 39 is not displayed.

[0074] In the first embodiment, the guidance display 39 includes at least a part of the first content 40. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, users B and C can quickly understand the intention of the guidance display 39.

[0075] In the first embodiment, a first content related to a question from user A of terminal 20A is transmitted to users B and C designated by user A of terminal 20A. Then, when second content related to the designated user B's answer to the first content is received by communication unit 22 of terminal 20A, the first content and the second content are displayed on display unit 24 of terminal 20A. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, not only the second content but also the first content is displayed on the display unit 24, so that the user A can quickly grasp the content of the answer to the question.

[0076] Furthermore, in the first embodiment, users B and C designated by user A of terminal 20A are selected based on chat room 37 that includes user A of terminal 20A. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, user A can easily specify appropriate users B and C as the destinations for posting a question.

[0077] <First Modification Example (1)> In the first embodiment, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A sets a chat room based on the input of the user A, and specifies the destination of the question from among the users belonging to the chat room, but this is not limiting as long as it is possible to specify users who can post questions. For example, and not as a limitation, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A may set a group different from the chat room based on the input of the user A, and specify the destination of the question from among the users belonging to the group.

[0078] Specifically, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A sets a chat room and a group different from the chat room based on the input of the user A. Here, the group different from the chat room may include, by way of example and not limitation, a group formed for a purpose different from the chat room. That is, the group different from the chat room may be set based on other users associated with the user A for that purpose. As a non-limiting example, as a group different from the chat room, users who normally belong to different chat rooms may be set to belong to the same group. For example, to ask questions about pets, a group for asking questions about pets may be set, and users who belong to a classmate chat room and users who belong to a family chat room may be set to belong to that group.

[0079] Furthermore, groups different from chat rooms may or may not be set based on other users associated with user A through friend settings or following accounts. Specifically, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A may or may not set a group (for example, a group such as a timeline or a story) formed for the purpose of sharing content with other users set as friends. Furthermore, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A may or may not set a group formed for the purpose of following accounts between user A and other users, for example. In this case, a group different from a chat room may be set based on other users followed by user A, other users who are followed by user A, or other users who have a mutual follow relationship with user A.

[0080] Note that "following" can mean, for example, associating one user's account with another user's account on the Internet (associating one user with another user). This creates a relationship in which the following user can view information made public by the followed user.

[0081] This allows user A of terminal 20A to select a user to post a question to based on a chat room that includes user A. User A of terminal 20A can also select a user to post a question to based on a group different from the chat room.

[0082] <Effects of the first modified example (1)> In the first variant (1), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A executes a process to set a group different from the group of the chat room based on input to the terminal 20A, and the user C designated by the user A of the terminal 20A is set based on the different group. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, user A can specify an appropriate user as the destination for posting a question.

[0083] In the first modified example (1), the different groups are set based on a user C who is associated with a user A of the terminal 20A. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, user A can specify a more appropriate user to whom to post a question.

[0084] <First Modification Example (2)> In the first embodiment, the selection screen 34 is configured to select a user registered in the chat room, but it is not limited to this as long as it is possible to select a user.

[0085] For example, the selection screen 34 may be used to register a new group dedicated to posting questions, and select users from this group. For example, if user A specifies user B and user C as the destinations for posting a question on selection screen 34, the user may register a dedicated group for questions by entering a group name in group setting field 43 on selection screen 34, as shown in Fig. 9. Then, the next time user A asks a similar question, user A may specify user B and user C, who asked the question last time, by displaying the registered group, for example by searching in group selection field 44.

[0086] One of the effects of this modification is that, since a group dedicated to posting questions is created, users who are registered in different chat rooms, that is, users who do not know each other, can be easily specified.

[0087] For example, if user A registers user B in a chat room consisting of school-related people and user C in a chat room consisting of company-related people, user B and user C are not acquaintances. When posting a question to such a semi-open area that includes users B and C who do not know each other, user A can easily specify users B and C as the destinations for the question. In recent years, services have been proposed that allow users to post questions on the Internet and receive answers from a wide community of people. It is also possible to post a question to a group of acquaintances, such as a chat room, and receive answers from that limited community. However, posting a question on the Internet makes the question public to a wide range of people. Furthermore, even if a question is posted in a limited community, such as a chat room, there is a risk that an appropriate answer will not be received. Therefore, by posting a question in a range between these two, i.e., a semi-open range, as in the first variant example (2), it is possible to obtain an appropriate answer while limiting the scope of disclosure.

[0088] <First Modification (3)> In the first embodiment, the guidance display 39 was displayed on the room screen 38 displaying the chat room 37 including users B and C, but it is not limited to this as long as it can be displayed on the display unit 24 of terminals 20B and 20C.

[0089] For example, as shown in Fig. 10, the guidance display 39 may be displayed on a timeline screen 45, which is one function of an application that allows users to exchange content with each other. This timeline screen 45 may include a function that allows users who are registered as friends to share their current status or events they want to share with each other using text data or image data (including still images, moving images, etc.). For example, the timeline screen 45 may display corporate advertisements 45a and user posts 45b. Then, in response to an input on the guidance display 39, a first content may be displayed as shown in Fig. 8. The information display 39 may or may not be displayed on a so-called stories screen, which automatically deletes the shared data after a predetermined time as described above. The information display 39 may or may not be displayed on a so-called official account screen, which exchanges information between a company and a user.

[0090] As an example of the effect of this modification, since the guide display 39 is displayed on a screen that is likely to be viewed by users B and C, other users B and C can be sure to recognize the question posted by user A. Furthermore, since the guide display 39 is displayed on a screen that displays information about various users, it is possible to prevent users B and C from feeling uncomfortable about the posting of a personal question.

[0091] <First Modification (4)> In the first modified example (3), the guidance display 39 may be displayed on the display unit 24 that displays the users associated with users B and C of the terminals 20B and 20C.

[0092] For example, the guidance display 39 may be displayed on a friend list screen 46 that displays a list of users registered as friends on the terminals 20B and 20C, as shown in Fig. 11. Then, for example, by changing the display form of the guidance display 39, it is possible to indicate whether a question has been posted.

[0093] Furthermore, the guidance display 39 may be displayed in a chat room that associates users B and C of terminals 20B and 20C with user A. For example, as shown in Fig. 12, the guidance display 39 may be displayed in chat room L that includes user A who asked the question, among chat rooms 37 displayed in area R2. Therefore, when a question is posted by another user in another chat room M, the guidance display 39 will be displayed in that chat room M.

[0094] <Effects of the first modified example (4)> In the first modified example (4), the guidance display 39 is displayed on the display unit 24 where the user associated with the user B of the terminal 20B is displayed. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, since the guide display 39 is displayed on the list screen 46 or chat room 37, etc., which are likely to be viewed by users B and C, other users B and C can be sure to recognize the question posted by user A. Furthermore, since the guide display 39 is displayed on the list screen 46, which displays information about various users, or on the chat room 37, etc., it is possible to prevent users B and C from feeling uncomfortable about the posting of a personal question.

[0095] <First Modification (5)> In the first embodiment, the guidance display 39 may be hidden after a set time has elapsed. For example, as shown in Fig. 13, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B may display a guidance display 39 in an area R1 of a room screen 38. Then, the control unit 21 controls the display unit 24 to switch the guidance display 39 to other information, for example, advertising information, after a predetermined time has elapsed since the guidance display 39 was displayed. At this time, the control unit 21 may or may not switch between the guidance display 39 and the other information at predetermined time intervals. Furthermore, after switching the guidance display 39 to the other information, the control unit 21 may or may not maintain the display of the other information without displaying the guidance display 39 again. Note that the guidance display 39 may be hidden after the set time has elapsed, even when it is displayed on a screen other than the room screen 38. For example, when the guidance display 39 is displayed on the timeline screen 45 shown in Fig. 10, it may or may not be hidden after the set time has elapsed.

[0096] <Effects of the first modified example (5)> In the first modified example (5), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B performs a process of hiding the guidance display 39 after a set time has elapsed. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the guidance display 39 from being displayed for a long period of time.

[0097] <First Modification (6)> In the first embodiment, in step A4, control unit 21 of terminal 20A controls display unit 24 to display first content 40 and second content, but the present invention is not limited to this as long as the second content is displayed. For example, control unit 21 of terminal 20A may display only the second content. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, the amount of processing performed by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A to display the answer can be reduced.

[0098] <First Modification (7)> In the first embodiment, the guidance display 39 may also be displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20A that has transmitted the first content. For example, control unit 21 of terminal 20A controls display unit 24 to display guidance display 39 on room screen 38 of chat room 37, similar to terminal 20B shown in Fig. 7. Then, when user A inputs guidance display 39, control unit 21 of terminal 20A can display Q&A screen 41, similar to terminal 20B shown in Fig. 8.

[0099] As an example of the effect of such a configuration, user A can easily check the answer to the question.

[0100] <First Modification (8)> In the first embodiment, the terminal 20A receives the second content transmitted from the server 10, but the present invention is not limited to this as long as the second content can be displayed on the display unit 24. For example, but not limited to, the communication unit 22 of the terminal 20A may receive control information such as link information to a site that displays the second content from the server 10.

[0101] For example, the communication unit 22 of the terminal 20A may receive an answer notification informing the reception of an answer to a question from the server 10. This answer notification may include link information to a site that displays the Q&A screen 41. 14, when receiving the answer notification 47, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A may control the display unit 24 to display the answer notification 47. Then, when the user A performs an input operation for the answer notification 47, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A may move to the Q&A screen 41 based on the link information included in the answer notification 47, and may cause the display unit 24 to display the Q&A screen 41 including the second content.

[0102] Furthermore, for example and not by way of limitation, when user A inputs a reply to user B's second content on the Q&A screen 41, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A may transmit a reply notification including link information to the Q&A screen 41 to terminal 20B. When the reply notification transmitted from terminal 20A is received, the control unit 21 of terminal 20B may control the display unit 24 to display the reply notification, similar to terminal 20A in Fig. 14. Then, the control unit 21 of terminal 20B may display the Q&A screen 41 including reply information from user A on the display unit 24 in response to an input operation in response to the reply notification.

[0103] <Effects of the first modified example (8)> In the first modified example (8), the communication unit 22 of the terminal 20A receives, from the server 10, control information for displaying the second content. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, the amount of processing performed by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A to display the second content can be reduced, and the second content can be displayed promptly in response to the user A's input operation.

[0104] Second Embodiment In the first embodiment, the first content may include a question related to the display screen displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20B. The second embodiment is an embodiment in which, when user A wants to ask a question about a search result, a first content including a display screen of the search result is transmitted from terminal 20A to terminals 20B and 20C. Note that the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and will not be described again. The contents described in the second embodiment are applicable to any of the other embodiments.

[0105] <Information Processing> FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device in this embodiment.

[0106] First, as shown in Fig. 16, user A inputs search information 51 that he or she wants to search for, for example, "Harajuku cafe," into a search field displayed on display unit 24 of terminal 20A. When search information 51 is input, control unit 21 of terminal 20A transmits the input search information 51 to server 10 (A21). Note that, although the search field in Fig. 16 is displayed on a screen including a chat room, it is not limited to this as long as the search information 51 can be searched.

[0107] When search information 51 is input from terminal 20A, control unit 11 of server 10 executes a search based on the search information 51. Furthermore, memory unit 15 of server 10 stores questions previously asked by users B and C who are registered as friends on terminal 20A, and the answers to those questions. Control unit 11 refers to memory unit 15 based on search information 51, and acquires past questions similar to search information 51. Control unit 11 transmits search results 52 and question input content 53 including past similar questions 55 to terminal 20A (B21).

[0108] Next, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A controls the display unit 24 to display a display screen 54 including the search results 52 transmitted from the server 10 and question input content 53 (A22). The search results 52 may display information corresponding to the search information 51, "Harajuku Cafe," such as map information or location information of the cafe. The question input content 53 is content for user A to input a question, and may include, for example, a question input field 31 and a similar question 55. At this time, a question from user A related to the display screen 54 displayed on the display unit 24 is input into the question input field 31. The similar question 55 may include, for example, the names of users who have previously asked questions, the contents of the previous questions and answers, and the like.

[0109] For example, if user A does not obtain the desired search result 52, user A inputs a related question to the display screen 54, for example, a question related to the search result 52. At this time, user A can refer to similar questions 55 to input a question and specify a user to post to. Here, as in the first embodiment, user A enters the question "Are there any recommended cafes in Harajuku?" into question input field 31 and designates users B and C as the recipients of the question.

[0110] When a question is input by user A, control unit 21 of terminal 20A transmits first content including the question related to display screen 54 to server 10 (A2). Here, the first content may consist of only the question input in question input field 31, or may be configured to include other related information other than the question (for example, information about user A himself, link information to Q&A screen 41, link information to display screen 54, etc.). In addition, the first content may include user information 282 of users B and C designated as the destinations for posting the question.

[0111] As in the first embodiment, the first content transmitted from the terminal 20A is received by the server 10, and then transmitted from the server 10 to the terminals 20B and 20C (B1). Then, the first content transmitted from the server 10 is received by the communication unit 22 of the terminal 20B (C1). As a result, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B controls the display unit 24 to display a guidance display 39 on the room screen 38 displaying the chat room 37, as shown in FIG. 7, i.e., to display a guidance display 39 based on the first content including a question related to the display screen 54.

[0112] At this time, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B may display the guidance display 39 on the same screen as the display screen 54, rather than on the room screen 38. For example, as shown in FIG. 17 , the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B may display the same screen as the display screen 54 on the display unit 24, and display the guidance display 39 on that screen. For example, the control unit 21 may display the guidance display 39 on the same screen as the display screen 54 when, for example, a screen the same as the display screen 54 is displayed as a result of a search by user B, or when the first content includes link information to the display screen 54. The control unit 21 may or may not display past similar questions 55 together with the guidance display 39.

[0113] Note that after the second content is transmitted from server 10 to terminal 20A in step B2, if users B and C post questions similar to the question of user A, control units 21 of terminals 20B and 20C may or may not control display units 24 to display the question and answer of user A. Control units 21 of terminals 20B and 20C may display the second content in response to the question of user A as similar question 55, for example, as in terminal 20A shown in FIG.

[0114] <Effects of the second embodiment> In the second embodiment, the first content includes a question related to the display screen 54 (not limited to, but an example of the third content) displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20A. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, user A can easily post a question while viewing the display screen 54. Furthermore, users B and C can provide appropriate answers to questions that interest user A.

[0115] In the second embodiment, the display screen 54 also includes search results 52 searched by the user A of the terminal 20A. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, user A can easily post a question that arises after viewing search results 52. Furthermore, users B and C can provide accurate answers to questions that arise from user A's search.

[0116] In the second embodiment, the guidance display 39 is displayed on the display unit 24 on which the display screen 54 is displayed. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, users B and C can view display screen 54 along with user A's question, and can therefore quickly understand the content of user A's question.

[0117] <Second Modification> In the second embodiment, the display screen 54 includes the search results 52 searched by the user A, but is not limited to this and may include any information displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20A. The display screen 54 may also include map information and location-related information.

[0118] <Information Processing> FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device in the second modified example.

[0119] First, when the location of a specific store, for example, is searched for, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A transmits the search information to the server 10 (A21). Next, the control unit 11 of the server 10 executes a search based on the search information transmitted from the terminal 20A, and transmits the search results and question input content to the terminal 20A (B21). As a result, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A causes the display unit 24 to display map information 59 including information 58 relating to the location of the searched store and a question input field 31 (a non-limiting example of the question input content), as shown in FIG. 19 (A22). Then, for example, while searching for the location of a specific store, if the user A wants to know how busy the store is, the user can input a question in the question input field 31.

[0120] The location information 58 may be any information indicating a specific location such as a store, and may be composed of, for example, text information, images, and videos (for example, location information that changes in form such as color or size, location information of a moving object, etc.). The map information 59 may be any information indicating the state of a specific area, and may be composed of, for example, images, videos, etc.

[0121] At this time, control unit 21 of terminal 20A may select a user who is likely to receive an answer to the question as the destination of the question. For example, when a question related to location information 58 or map information 59 displayed on display unit 24 is entered in question input field 31, control unit 21 of terminal 20A requests location information of other users from server 10 (A23). Server 10 sequentially acquires location information from terminals 20A to 20C, and upon receiving a request for location information from terminal 20A, transmits the location information of terminals 20B and 20C to terminal 20A (B22).

[0122] When control unit 21 of terminal 20A receives the location information of terminals 20B and 20C from server 10, it selects users who are present within a predetermined distance from the location of location-related information 58 or map information 59, for example, users B and C, as destinations for posting a question. Then, control unit 21 of terminal 20A transmits to server 10 first content including a question related to display screen 54, with users B and C as the destinations for posting (A2). That is, control unit 21 transmits to server 10 first content including a question related to location-related information 58 or map information 59. Note that control unit 21 of terminal 20A may or may not transmit the first content to terminals 20 of users who are present within a predetermined distance from its own location.

[0123] At this time, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A may or may not automatically designate the terminal 20 of a user present within a predetermined distance range and transmit the first content to that terminal 20. Furthermore, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A may or may not display the users present within the predetermined distance range on the display unit 24 and allow the user A to select the user to whom the first content is to be transmitted. The range of the predetermined distance may be set by user A of terminal 20A, or may be automatically set by control unit 21 of terminal 20A.

[0124] Subsequently, when the first content transmitted from control unit 21 of terminal 20A is received by server 10, control unit 11 of server 10 transmits the first content to terminals 20B and 20C, respectively (B1). Then, when terminal 20B receives the first content transmitted from terminal 20A (C1), control unit 21 of terminal 20B controls display unit 24 to display guidance display 39 corresponding to location-related information 58 or map information 59 (C2), as shown in Fig. 19 .

[0125] Furthermore, when the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A receives the second content 60 related to the answer of the user B, as shown in FIG. 20, the control unit 21 may or may not control the display unit 24 to display the second content 60 together with the first content 61 related to the question of the user A, in accordance with the information 58 regarding the location or the map information 59.

[0126] <Effects of the second modified example> In a second variant, the display screen 54 may include map information 59. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, user A can easily post a question that arises when viewing map information 59. Furthermore, users B and C can accurately answer a question that arises when user A views map information 59.

[0127] In a second variant, the display screen 54 may also include information 58 relating to the location. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, user A can easily post a question that arises after checking location-related information 58. Furthermore, users B and C can accurately answer questions that arise after user A checks location-related information 58.

[0128] <Third embodiment> In the first and second embodiments, the first content may include a question related to the display screen 54 on which the advertisement is displayed. Note that the same components as those in the first and second embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals and will not be described again. The contents described in the third embodiment are applicable to any of the other embodiments.

[0129] <Information Processing> FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device in this embodiment.

[0130] First, as shown in Fig. 22, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A controls the display unit 24 to display a timeline screen 45 in response to an operation by the user A. At this time, the control unit 21 may control the display unit 24 to display a question input button 56 (not limiting, but an example of question input content) corresponding to a company advertisement 45a included in the timeline screen 45 (A1). Then, if a question arises while viewing the timeline screen 45, for example, if the user A wants to know more about a product in the advertisement 45a, the user A may perform an input operation on the question input button 56. The advertisement 45a may be any advertisement that provides information about a product or service, and may or may not include text information, images, and videos, for example.

[0131] When the question input button 56 is operated, the control unit 21 controls the display unit 24 to display a question creation screen 33, as shown in Fig. 5, for example. This allows the user A to input a question related to the advertisement 45a on the timeline screen 45 displayed on the display unit 24 into the question input field 31 on the question creation screen 33.

[0132] At this time, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A may select a user who is likely to receive an answer to the question as the destination of the question. For example, if the advertisements 45a viewed by the user A and the other users are different, the other users may not be targeted by company S that provides the advertisement 45a, and the same advertisement 45a as that of the terminal 20A may not be displayed on the terminals 20 of the other users. Therefore, when a question is input into the question input field 31, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A requests the server 10 for advertisement information of the other users (A31). The advertisement information is information about advertisements displayed on the terminals 20A to 20C, and includes, for example, the identification information and type of the targeted advertisement.

[0133] Server 10 manages advertisements displayed on terminals 20A to 20C based on the browsing history of the site, etc., and advertisement information of terminals 20A to 20C is stored in storage unit 15. When control unit 11 of server 10 receives a request for advertisement information from terminal 20A, it transmits the advertisement information of terminals 20B and 20C to terminal 20A via communication unit 14 (B31).

[0134] When control unit 21 of terminal 20A receives the advertisement information of terminals 20B and 20C from server 10, it selects users B and C, who are viewing the same type of advertisement as advertisement 45a, as destinations for posting a question, based on the advertisement information. Then, control unit 21 of terminal 20A transmits to server 10 a first content including a question related to display screen 54, with users B and C as the destinations for posting (A2). That is, control unit 21 transmits to server 10 the first content including a question related to advertisement 45a.

[0135] When server 10 receives the first content from terminal 20A, it transmits the first content to terminals 20B and 20C (B1). Then, when terminal 20B receives the first content transmitted from server 10 (C1), control unit 21 of terminal 20B controls display unit 24 to display guidance display 39 based on the first content (C2).

[0136] 23, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B controls the display unit 24 to display a guidance display 39 corresponding to the advertisement 45a on the timeline screen 45, that is, to display a guidance display 39 based on the first content including a related question on the display screen 54. Note that, when the same advertisement 45a as that of the terminal 20A is not displayed on the timeline screen 45 viewed by the user B, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B may or may not control the display unit 24 to forcibly display the same advertisement 45a as that of the terminal 20A on the timeline screen 45 of the terminal 20B.

[0137] <Effects of the third embodiment> In the third embodiment, the display screen 54 may include an advertisement 45a. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, user A can easily post a question that arises after viewing advertisement 45a. Furthermore, users B and C can accurately answer the question that arises after viewing advertisement 45a.

[0138] <Third Modification> In a third variation, the display screen 54 may include a news article.

[0139] 24, control unit 21 of terminal 20A controls display unit 24 to display news article 57 in response to an operation by user A. At this time, control unit 21 controls display unit 24 to display question input button 56 (not limited to this, but an example of question input content) corresponding to news article 57 (A1). As a result, if user A has a question while viewing news article 57, for example, if user A wants to know the location of news article 57, user A performs an input operation on question input button 56. Then, user A inputs a question related to news article 57 in question input field 31 on display screen 54 displayed on display unit 24.

[0140] At this time, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A may select a user who is likely to receive an answer to the question as the destination of the question, as in the third embodiment. For example, because the types of news articles 57 viewed by user A and the other users are different, the same news article 57 as that viewed by terminal 20A may not be displayed on the terminals 20 of the other users. Therefore, when a question is entered in the question input field 31, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A requests news information about the other users from the server 10. Note that the news information is information about the news articles displayed on the terminals 20A to 20C, and includes, for example, the identification information and type of the news article.

[0141] Server 10 manages news articles displayed on terminals 20A to 20C based on the browsing history of the site, and news information for terminals 20A to 20C is stored in storage unit 15. When control unit 11 of server 10 receives a request for news information from terminal 20A, it transmits the news information for terminals 20B and 20C to terminal 20A via communication unit 14.

[0142] When control unit 21 of terminal 20A receives the news information for terminals 20B and 20C from server 10, it selects users B and C, who are viewing the same type of news article as news article 57, as the posting destinations based on the news information. Then, control unit 21 of terminal 20A transmits a first content including a question related to display screen 54 to terminals 20B and 20C via server 10, with users B and C as the posting destinations (A2). That is, control unit 21 transmits the first content including a question related to news article 57. The news article 57 may be anything that provides information about current events and happenings in the world, and may be made up of, for example, text information, images, and videos.

[0143] Then, when the first content transmitted from terminal 20A is received by terminal 20B (C1), control unit 21 of terminal 20B may control display unit 24 to display, for example, guidance display 39 corresponding to news article 57 (C2). Note that if the same news article 57 as that of terminal 20A is not displayed among the news articles viewed by user B, control unit 21 of terminal 20B may, or may not, control display unit 24 to forcibly display the same news article 57 as that of terminal 20A.

[0144] <Effects of the third modified example> In a third variation, the display screen 54 may include a news article 57 . As an example of the effect of such a configuration, user A can easily post a question that arises after viewing news article 57. Furthermore, users B and C can provide accurate answers to questions that arise after viewing news article 57.

[0145] <Fourth embodiment> In the first to third embodiments, the question input content may be displayed on the home screen 62 of a predetermined service. Note that the same components as those in the first to third embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals and will not be described again. The contents described in the fourth embodiment are applicable to any of the other embodiments.

[0146] For example, as shown in FIG. 25, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A controls the display unit 24 to display a home screen 62 that provides services such as chat in response to an operation by user A, i.e., the top-level screen for chat. At this time, the control unit 21 can display a question input button 56 (not limited to, but an example of question input content) on the home screen 62. The home screen 62 is a screen that aggregates buttons for accepting various services. Specifically, the home screen 62 may or may not include, for example, a chat button 62a that displays a chat room in response to an operation by user A. The home screen 62 may or may not include a tab for displaying the user's friend list or groups. The home screen 62 may or may not include a button for purchasing stamps, a button for transitioning to other applications, a tab for displaying recommended official accounts, advertisements, or the like. As such, the home screen 62 has the function of accepting various services, making it a screen that users are more likely to view. When the question input button 56 is operated, the control unit 21 controls the display unit 24 to display a question creation screen 33. The question creation screen 33 displays, for example, a question input field 31, and a question may be input into this question input field 31. Note that the question creation screen 33 may or may not display other information, such as questions posted in the past by other users B and C.

[0147] <Effects of the Fourth Embodiment> In the fourth embodiment, the question input content is displayed on the home screen 62 of a predetermined service. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, user A can easily post a question that arises when viewing home screen 62. Furthermore, users B and C can accurately answer a question that arises when user A views home screen 62.

[0148] <Fourth Modification> In the fourth embodiment, the question input content is displayed on the home screen 62 of a predetermined service, but it may also be displayed on the room screen 38 on which the chat room 37 is displayed.

[0149] For example, as shown in FIG. 26 , the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A controls the display unit 24 to display a room screen 38 displaying a list of chat rooms 37 in response to an operation by the user A. At this time, the control unit 21 can display a question input button 56 (not limiting, but an example of question input content) on the room screen 38. When the question input button 56 is operated for input, the control unit 21 displays a question input field 31 within the room screen 38. This allows the user A to input a question into the question input field 31. The display screen 54 may or may not include information about the chat room 37 in which content is exchanged between users.

[0150] <Effects of the Fourth Modification> In the fourth modified example, the question input content is displayed on a room screen 38 on which a chat room 37 is displayed. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, by displaying the question input content on the room screen 38 that is likely to be viewed by user A, user A can easily post a question.

[0151] Fifth Embodiment In the first to fourth embodiments, the guide display 39 is displayed on a screen that is used personally by the user, such as the room screen 38, but it may also be displayed on a screen that is shared by multiple users, such as in a chat room. The fifth embodiment is an embodiment in which a guide display 39 is displayed in a chat room including user A of terminal 20A and user B of terminal 20B. Note that the same components as those in the first to fourth embodiments are given the same reference numerals and will not be described again. The contents described in the fifth embodiment are applicable to any of the other embodiments.

[0152] <Information Processing> FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device in this embodiment.

[0153] 28, the content exchanged between user A and user B is displayed on a chat screen 71 (which is an example of the display screen 54, but is not limited to this) of a chat room including user A and user B. The content exchanged on the chat screen 71 may be in any form that can transmit information such as messages, and may be composed of, for example, text information, image information, and audio information.

[0154] At this time, when user A and user B want to ask each other a question based on the content of the chat exchanged between them in the chat room, for example, user A operates the input / output unit 23 of terminal 20A. Then, in response to user A's operation of the input / output unit 23, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A displays a question input field 31 (not limited to this, but an example of question input content) on the chat screen 71 (A1). For example, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A may display the question input field 31 when a specific character is input, for example, a specific emoticon 72 or a specific character string. Here, the specific emoticon 72 may or may not be an imitation of the letter "Q." Furthermore, the specific character string may or may not use a so-called mention function, such as inputting "@" followed by "Q&A." Furthermore, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A may display the question input field 31 when a question input button 56 displayed on the chat screen 71 is operated.

[0155] When the question input field 31 is displayed on the chat screen 71, user A inputs a question into the question input field 31. User A also specifies another user to whom the question is to be posted. Here, it is assumed that user C, who does not belong to the chat room in which users A and B are registered, is specified as the destination to which the question is to be posted.

[0156] When the input of the question and the specification of the posting destination are completed, control unit 21 transmits the first content related to the question to server 10 (A2). At this time, as a non-limiting example, upon receiving the first content transmitted from terminal 20A, server 10 transmits transmission confirmation notice 73 to terminals 20A and 20B of all users A and B registered in the chat room (B51).

[0157] 29, a transmission confirmation notice 73 is displayed on the display units 24 of the terminals 20A and 20B, for example, on a screen (for example, a pop-up window) separate from the chat screen 71. The transmission confirmation notice 73 may or may not include, for example, the content of the question and the post button 36. After checking the content of the transmission confirmation notice 73, users A and B press the post button 36 if they agree to post the question. In response to user A's input operation of the post button 36, terminal 20A transmits to server 10 an approval notice approving the posting of the question (A51) (as described above, it is not necessary to perform all of the processes in this flow, and this step may be omitted). Similarly, terminal 20B transmits to server 10 an approval notice approving the posting of the question in response to user B's input operation of the post button 36 (C51) (as described above, it is not necessary to perform all of the processes in this flow, and this step may be omitted).

[0158] Note that the transmission confirmation notice 73 is not limited to the above format as long as it can obtain approval for posting the question. For example, the transmission confirmation notice 73 may or may not be in the form of directly displaying a post button 36 on the chat screen 71 to approve the posting of the question.

[0159] When server 10 receives approval notifications approving the posting of the question from terminals 20A and 20B of all users A and B registered in the chat room, server 10 transmits first content related to the question to terminal 20C of user C, which is designated as the posting destination (B1). At this time, the first content may or may not include the content of the chat displayed on display unit 24 of terminal 20A.

[0160] When the communication unit 22 receives the first content transmitted from the server 10 (D1), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20C controls the display unit 24 to display a guidance display based on the first content (D2). For example, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20C may display a guidance display 39 on a room screen 38 displaying a chat room 37, similar to the terminal 20B shown in FIG. 7. Then, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20C may move to a Q&A screen 41 based on link information on the guidance display 39 and display the first content 40, similar to the terminal 20B shown in FIG. 8 (D51). When an answer to the first content 40 is entered in the answer field 42 on the Q&A screen 41, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20C causes the communication unit 22 to transmit a fourth content related to the answer to the server 10 (D52).

[0161] Like the second content, the fourth content may consist of only the answer entered in the answer field 42, or may be configured to include other related information other than the answer (for example, information about user C himself / herself). The fourth content may or may not include user information 282 of users A and B to whom the content is posted.

[0162] 29, after sending the acceptance notification in step A51, control unit 21 of terminal 20A displays guidance display 39 based on the first content on chat screen 71 of the chat room (A52). Similarly, after sending the acceptance notification in step C51, control unit 21 of terminal 20B displays guidance display 39 based on the first content on chat screen 71 of the chat room (C52).

[0163] Next, when the fourth content transmitted from terminal 20C in step D52 is received by server 10, control unit 11 of server 10 transmits a response notification to terminal 20A and terminal 20B, respectively, indicating that the fourth content has been transmitted from terminal 20C (B52).

[0164] The answer notification sent from the server 10 is received by the communication unit 22 of the terminal 20A (A53) and also by the communication unit 22 of the terminal 20B (C53). Then, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A displays the received answer notification 74 in the chat room (A54), as shown in FIG. 29. Similarly, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B displays the received answer notification 74 in the chat room (C54). Note that the answer notification 74 is not limited to one that displays the answer itself, as long as users A and B who posted the question can ultimately view the answer. The answer notification 74 may or may not, for example, be content that notifies users A and B that an answer to their question has been obtained.

[0165] Then, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A controls the display unit 24 to display the first content and the fourth content in response to the input operation on the guidance display 39 (A55). For example, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A can transition to a Q&A screen 41 similar to that of the terminal 20B shown in Fig. 8 based on the link information of the guidance display 39, and can display the first content 40 and the fourth content. Similarly, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B displays the first content and the fourth content in response to an input operation on the guidance display 39 (C55).

[0166] <Effects of the Fifth Embodiment> In the fifth embodiment, guidance display 39 (not limiting, but an example of a first display) is displayed in a chat room including user A of terminal 20A and user B of terminal 20B. Then, when a first content is transmitted to terminal 20C different from terminal 20B, and a fourth content related to a response to the first content is transmitted from terminal 20C, control unit 21 performs control to display response notification 74 (not limiting, but an example of a notification related to the transmission of the fourth content) in the chat room. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, since answer notification 74 is displayed in the chat room, the answer to the question can be shared not only with user A who posted the question, but also with users A and B in the chat room.

[0167] In the fifth embodiment, the first content may include the contents of a chat. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, user A can easily post a question that arises in the chat. Furthermore, users B and C can provide appropriate answers to questions that arise in the chat from user A.

[0168] <Fifth Modification> In the fifth embodiment, the chat screen 71 displays the guide display 39, but is not limited to this and may display the answer notification 74. For example, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A may display a transition button for transitioning to the Q&A screen 41 in the answer notification 74 instead of the guide display 39. As an example of the effect of this modification, the amount of information displayed on the chat screen 71 can be reduced.

[0169] Sixth Embodiment In the first to fifth embodiments, a thread including a first content and a second content may be displayed on the display unit 24. The sixth embodiment is an embodiment in which, when a second content related to an answer is transmitted from terminal 20B and a fourth content related to the answer is transmitted from terminal 20C, a thread including the first content, the second content, and the fourth content is displayed on display unit 24. Note that the same components as those in the first to fifth embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals and will not be described again. The contents described in the sixth embodiment are applicable to any of the other embodiments.

[0170] <Information Processing> FIG. 30 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device in this embodiment.

[0171] First, as in the first embodiment, when user B inputs an answer to a question into terminal 20B, control unit 21 of terminal 20B transmits second content related to the answer to terminal 20A via communication unit 22 (C4). Meanwhile, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20C controls the display unit 24 to display the first content 40 based on an input operation by the user C on the guidance display 39 (D61). Then, similar to the terminal 20B, when the user C inputs an answer to the question, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20C transmits the fourth content related to the answer to the terminal 20A via the communication unit 22 (D62).

[0172] The second content transmitted from terminal 20B and the fourth content transmitted from terminal 20C are received by server 10, and server 10 transmits the received second content and fourth content to terminal 20A (B61). Server 10 also transmits the second content and fourth content to terminals 20B and 20C (B61).

[0173] When the second content and the fourth content transmitted from the server 10 are received by the communication unit 22 (A61), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A controls the display unit 24 to display a thread including the first content, the second content, and the fourth content (A62). For example, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A may cause the display unit 24 to display a Q&A screen 41 that displays the first content 40, the second content 81, and the fourth content 82 in a thread, as shown in FIG.

[0174] A thread is a collection of answers to a given question. For example, but not by way of limitation, the control unit 21 may or may not display a second content 81 and a fourth content 82 related to the answer in sequence with respect to a first content 40 related to the question.

[0175] Similarly, when the communication unit 22 receives the second content 81 and the fourth content 82 transmitted from the server 10 (C61), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B controls the display unit 24 to display a thread including the first content 40, the second content 81, and the fourth content 82 (C62). When the communication unit 22 receives the second content 81 and the fourth content 82 transmitted from the server 10 (D63), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20C also controls the display unit 24 to display a thread including the first content 40, the second content 81, and the fourth content 82 (D64).

[0176] Furthermore, the control units 21 of the terminals 20A to 20C cause information 83a about user A of the terminal 20A who transmitted the first content 40 to be displayed in association with the first content 40. The control units 21 of the terminals 20A to 20C also cause information 83b about user B of the terminal 20B who transmitted the second content 81 to be displayed in association with the second content 81. The control units 21 of the terminals 20A to 20C also cause information 83c about user C of the terminal 20C who transmitted the fourth content 82 to be displayed in association with the fourth content 82. The information 83a relating to user A, the information 83b relating to user B, and the information 83c relating to user C may or may not include, for example, an icon or a user name.

[0177] <Effects of the Sixth Embodiment> In the sixth embodiment, a thread including a first content 40 and a second content 81 is displayed on the display unit 24. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, the first content 40 related to the question and the second content 81 related to the answer are displayed together in a thread, so that the content of the answer can be quickly understood.

[0178] Furthermore, in the sixth embodiment, when the first content 40 is transmitted to the terminal 20C and the fourth content 82 is transmitted from the terminal 20C, the fourth content 82 is included in the thread and displayed on the display unit 24. Then, information 83c about the user C of the terminal 20C that transmitted the fourth content 82 is displayed on the display unit 24 in association with the fourth content 82. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, the second content 81 and the fourth content 82 related to the answers are displayed together in a thread, making it possible to easily understand the answers of multiple users B and C. Furthermore, the information 83c related to user C is displayed in association with the fourth content 82, making it possible to easily understand the correspondence between the answers and the answerers.

[0179] <Sixth Modification (1)> In the sixth embodiment, the terminal 20A receives the second content 81 and the fourth content 82 transmitted from the server 10, but the present invention is not limited to this as long as the first content 40 and the second content 81 can be displayed on the display unit 24. For example, and not as a limitation, the communication unit 22 of the terminal 20A may receive control information such as link information to sites that display the first content 40, the second content 81, and the fourth content 82 from the server 10.

[0180] For example, in step A61, communication unit 22 of terminal 20A may receive an answer notification from server 10 notifying the reception of an answer to the question. This answer notification may include link information to a site that displays Q&A screen 41. When the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A receives the answer notification, the control unit 21 controls the display unit 24 to display the answer notification. Then, when the user A performs an input operation for the answer notification, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A moves to the Q&A screen 41 based on the link information included in the answer notification, and causes the display unit 24 to display the Q&A screen 41 including the first content 40, the second content 81, and the fourth content 82.

[0181] <Effects of the sixth modified example (1)> In the sixth modified example (1), the communication unit 22 of the terminal 20A receives control information for displaying the first content 40 and the second content 81 from the server 10. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A can reduce the amount of processing required to display the first content 40 and the second content 81, and the first content 40 and the second content 81 can be displayed quickly in response to the input operation of the user A.

[0182] <Sixth Modification (2)> In the sixth embodiment, the control unit 21 of the terminals 20A to 20C controlled the display unit 24 to display the first content 40, the second content 81, and the fourth content 82, but may also control the display unit 24 to display the second content 81 and the fourth content 82 related to the answer. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, the amount of processing performed by the control unit 21 of the terminals 20A to 20C to display the answer can be reduced.

[0183] Seventh Embodiment In the first to sixth embodiments, the first content or the guidance display 39 may include information on the display screen 54. Note that the same components as those in the first to sixth embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated description will be omitted. The contents described in the seventh embodiment are applicable to any of the other embodiments.

[0184] For example, as in the third embodiment, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B causes the display unit 24 to display a guidance display 39 corresponding to the advertisement 45a on the timeline screen 45 in step C2, as shown in FIG. 23 . Then, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B may control the display unit 24 to display a Q&A screen 41 including the first content in response to an input operation on the guidance display 39 in step C3. At this time, the first content may include information on the display screen 54 of the advertisement 45a. For example, as shown in FIG. 32 , the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B causes information 63 of the display screen 54 to be displayed on the Q&A screen 41 together with the question from user A. Here, the information 63 of the display screen 54 may or may not include, for example, feature information of the display screen 54, an image included in the display screen 54, link information to the display screen 54, etc. Note that, like the first content, the guidance display 39 may or may not include the information 63 on the display screen 54.

[0185] <Effects of the Seventh Embodiment> In the seventh embodiment, the first content or the guidance display 39 may include information 63 on the display screen 54 . As an example of the effect of such a configuration, user B can view not only the content of the question but also the information 63 on the display screen 54, and therefore can provide a more accurate answer to user A's question.

[0186] <Eighth Modification (1)> In the first to seventh embodiments, information about users may be displayed in different display modes based on the relationship between user B of terminal 20B and user C of terminal 20C.

[0187] For example, the display mode of information about users can be changed based on whether users A to C are friends on terminals 20A to 20C. Here, it is assumed that users B and C are set as friends on terminal 20A, and only user A is set as a friend on terminals 20B and 20C.

[0188] For example, in steps A62, C62, and D64 of the sixth embodiment, the control unit 21 of the terminals 20A to 20C may display information about user A in response to the first content, information about user B in response to the second content, and information about user C in response to the fourth content. In this case, as shown in Fig. 31 , since users B and C are set as friends, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A may display information 83b about user B and information 83c about user C so that user A can recognize them, that is, the display format may be the same for all users A to C.

[0189] 33, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B may perform processing to display information 83a about user A so that it can be recognized by user B, and to prevent user B from recognizing information 83c about user C who is not set as a friend, that is, to display information 83a differently for users A and B than for user C. Similarly, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20C may perform processing to display information 83a about user A so that it can be recognized by user C, and to prevent user C from recognizing information 83b about user B who is not set as a friend.

[0190] The display mode of the information about the user is not limited to being changed based on the friend relationship. For example, the information about the user may be displayed in different ways based on the relationship of following users A to C. Specifically, the information 83c about user C may or may not be displayed in different ways based on the relationship in which user B of terminal 20B follows user C of terminal 20C. Also, the information 83c about user C may or may not be displayed in different ways based on the relationship in which user C of terminal 20C follows user B of terminal 20B. Furthermore, the information 83c about user C may or may not be displayed in different ways based on the relationship in which user B of terminal 20B and user C of terminal 20C follow each other.

[0191] <Effects of the eighth modified example (1)> In the eighth modified example (1), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B displays the information 83c about the user C of the terminal 20C in a different display mode based on the relationship between the user B of the terminal 20B and the user C of the terminal 20C. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, it is possible to prevent information about users A to C from being disclosed to users who are not acquainted with them.

[0192] In addition, in the eighth variant example (1), the relationship between user B of terminal 20B and user C of terminal 20C may include at least one of a relationship in which user B of terminal 20B and user C of terminal 20C are friends, a relationship in which user B of terminal 20B follows user C of terminal 20C, a relationship in which user C of terminal 20C follows user B of terminal 20B, and a relationship in which user B of terminal 20B and user C of terminal 20C follow each other. One example of the effect of such a configuration is that it is possible to reliably prevent information about users A to C from being disclosed to users who are not acquainted with them.

[0193] <Eighth Modification (2)> In the first to seventh embodiments, the first content, the second content, or the fourth content may be displayed in a format other than a thread.

[0194] For example, assume that in step A2 of the first embodiment, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A transmits a first content related to the question Q1 and a first content related to the question Q2 to the other terminals 20B and 20C. Then, when the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A obtains a second content related to the answer to the question Q1 and a second content related to the answer to the question Q2 from the terminals 20B and 20C, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A may cause the display unit 24 to display these second contents in a format other than a thread.

[0195] 34, when a first content 40a related to question Q1 and a first content 40b related to question Q2 are transmitted to terminals 20B and 20C, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A may display second contents 81a to 81d obtained from terminals 20B and 20C in the order in which they were received. Therefore, for example, when second content 81a from user B for question Q1, second content 81b from user C for question Q2, and second content 81c from user C for question Q1 are received in this order, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A may or may not display second content 81b for question Q2 between second content 81a and second content 81c for question Q1. Similarly to the terminal 20A, the terminals 20B and 20C may also display the second contents 81a to 81d on the display unit 24 in a format other than threads.

[0196] <Effects of the eighth modified example (2)> In the eighth modified example (2), the first content, the second content, or the fourth content is displayed in a format other than a thread. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, the answers obtained from users B and C can be viewed at once.

[0197] <Other> Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described based on the drawings and examples, it should be noted that those skilled in the art would easily be able to make various modifications and alterations based on the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these modifications and alterations are included within the scope of the present disclosure. By way of example and not limitation, the functions included in each means, step, etc. may be rearranged so as not to be logically inconsistent, and multiple means, steps, etc. may be combined or divided into one. Furthermore, the configurations shown in each embodiment may be combined as appropriate. [Explanation of symbols]

[0198] 1 System 10 Servers 20 terminals 30 Network

Claims

1. A program executed by a terminal that receives content transmitted from a first terminal, receiving, by a communication unit of the first terminal, first content related to a question from a user of the first terminal, the first content being transmitted from the first terminal; displaying a first display based on the first content on a display unit of the terminal; displaying the first content on the display unit based on an input to the first display; transmitting second content related to a response to the first content by a communication unit of the terminal; The program, wherein the first display is displayed on the display unit that displays a chat room including users of the terminal, and in that case, the first display is displayed in a first area that is different from a second area of ​​the display unit in which the chat room is displayed.

2. A program executed by a terminal that receives content transmitted from a first terminal, receiving, by a communication unit of the first terminal, first content related to a question from a user of the first terminal, the first content being transmitted from the first terminal; displaying a first display based on the first content on a display unit of the terminal; displaying the first content on the display unit based on an input to the first display; transmitting second content related to a response to the first content by a communication unit of the terminal; The first display is displayed on the display unit where a user associated with the user of the terminal is displayed.

3. A program executed by a terminal that receives content transmitted from a first terminal, receiving, by a communication unit of the first terminal, first content related to a question from a user of the first terminal, the first content being transmitted from the first terminal; displaying a first display based on the first content on a display unit of the terminal; displaying the first content on the display unit based on an input to the first display; transmitting second content related to a response to the first content by a communication unit of the terminal; the first content includes a question related to a third content displayed on a display unit of the first terminal; The first display is displayed on the display unit on which the third content is displayed.

4. A program executed by a terminal that receives content transmitted from a first terminal, receiving, by a communication unit of the first terminal, first content related to a question from a user of the first terminal, the first content being transmitted from the first terminal; displaying a first display based on the first content on a display unit of the terminal; displaying the first content on the display unit based on an input to the first display; transmitting second content related to a response to the first content by a communication unit of the terminal; A program executed by the terminal, causing a control unit of the terminal to perform processing to hide the first display after a set time has elapsed.

5. A program executed by a terminal that receives content transmitted from a first terminal, receiving, by a communication unit of the first terminal, first content related to a question from a user of the first terminal, the first content being transmitted from the first terminal; displaying a first display based on the first content on a display unit of the terminal; displaying the first content on the display unit based on an input to the first display; transmitting second content related to a response to the first content by a communication unit of the terminal; the first display is displayed in a chat room including a user of the first terminal and a user of the terminal; A program executed by a terminal to control, when the first content is sent to a second terminal different from the terminal and a fourth content related to a response to the first content is sent from the second terminal, a control unit of the terminal to display a notification in the chat room that the fourth content has been sent.

6. A program executed by a terminal that receives content transmitted from a first terminal, receiving, by a communication unit of the first terminal, first content related to a question from a user of the first terminal, the first content being transmitted from the first terminal; displaying a first display based on the first content on a display unit of the terminal; displaying the first content on the display unit based on an input to the first display; transmitting second content related to a response to the first content by a communication unit of the terminal; A program executed by the terminal to display a thread including the first content and the second content on the display unit.

7. A program executed by a terminal that transmits content, transmitting a first content related to a question from the user of the terminal to a user designated by the user of the terminal by a communication unit of the terminal; receiving, by a communication unit of the terminal, second content related to the specified user's answer to the first content; displaying the first content and the second content on a display unit of the terminal; The user designated by the user of the terminal is selected based on a chat room that includes the user of the terminal; a control unit of the terminal performs a process of setting a group different from the group of the chat room based on an input to the terminal, A user designated by a user of the terminal is selected based on the different groups; The different groups are established based on users associated with the user of the terminal.

8. A program executed by a terminal that receives content transmitted from a first terminal, receiving, by a communication unit of the first terminal, first content related to a question from a user of the first terminal, the first content being transmitted from the first terminal; displaying a first display based on the first content on a home screen of a predetermined service on a display unit of the terminal; displaying the first content on the display unit based on an input to the first display; and transmitting, by a communication unit of the terminal, second content related to a response to the first content.

9. 2. The program according to claim 1, The program, wherein the first area is located above the second area on the display unit.

10. 2. The program according to claim 1, The first area displays advertising information.

11. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 6, The first display includes at least a portion of the first content.

12. 4. The program according to claim 3, The third content is a program including at least one of search results searched by a user of the first terminal, advertisements, news articles, map information, location information, and chat content.

13. 7. The program according to claim 6, When the first content is transmitted to a second terminal different from the terminal, and fourth content related to a response to the first content is transmitted from the second terminal, the fourth content is included in the thread and displayed on the display unit; and displaying, on the display unit, information about the user of the second terminal that transmitted the fourth content, in association with the fourth content.

14. 14. The program according to claim 13, A program executed by the terminal to control a control unit of the terminal to display information about the user of the second terminal in a different display manner based on the relationship between the user of the terminal and the user of the second terminal.

15. 15. The program according to claim 14, A program in which the relationship between the user of the terminal and the user of the second terminal includes at least one of a relationship in which the user of the terminal and the user of the second terminal are friends, a relationship in which the user of the terminal follows the user of the second terminal, a relationship in which the user of the second terminal follows the user of the terminal, and a relationship in which the user of the terminal and the user of the second terminal follow each other.

16. An information processing method for a terminal receiving content transmitted from a first terminal, comprising: receiving, by a communication unit of the first terminal, first content related to a question from a user of the first terminal, the first content being transmitted from the first terminal; displaying a first display based on the first content on a display unit of the terminal; displaying the first content on the display unit based on an input to the first display; transmitting second content related to a response to the first content by a communication unit of the terminal; An information processing method, wherein the first display is displayed on the display unit that displays a chat room including users of the terminal, and in that case, the first display is displayed in a first area that is different from a second area of ​​the display unit in which the chat room is displayed.

17. An information processing method for a terminal receiving content transmitted from a first terminal, comprising: receiving, by a communication unit of the first terminal, first content related to a question from a user of the first terminal, the first content being transmitted from the first terminal; displaying a first display based on the first content on a display unit of the terminal; displaying the first content on the display unit based on an input to the first display; transmitting second content related to a response to the first content by a communication unit of the terminal; The information processing method, wherein the first display is displayed on the display unit that displays a user associated with the user of the terminal.

18. An information processing method for a terminal receiving content transmitted from a first terminal, comprising: receiving, by a communication unit of the first terminal, first content related to a question from a user of the first terminal, the first content being transmitted from the first terminal; displaying a first display based on the first content on a display unit of the terminal; displaying the first content on the display unit based on an input to the first display; transmitting second content related to a response to the first content by a communication unit of the terminal; the first content includes a question related to a third content displayed on a display unit of the first terminal; The information processing method, wherein the first display is displayed on the display unit on which the third content is displayed.

19. An information processing method for a terminal receiving content transmitted from a first terminal, comprising: receiving, by a communication unit of the first terminal, first content related to a question from a user of the first terminal, the first content being transmitted from the first terminal; displaying a first display based on the first content on a display unit of the terminal; displaying the first content on the display unit based on an input to the first display; transmitting second content related to a response to the first content by a communication unit of the terminal; An information processing method executed by the terminal, wherein a control unit of the terminal performs processing to hide the first display after a set time has elapsed.

20. An information processing method for a terminal receiving content transmitted from a first terminal, comprising: receiving, by a communication unit of the first terminal, first content related to a question from a user of the first terminal, the first content being transmitted from the first terminal; displaying a first display based on the first content on a display unit of the terminal; displaying the first content on the display unit based on an input to the first display; transmitting second content related to a response to the first content by a communication unit of the terminal; the first display is displayed in a chat room including a user of the first terminal and a user of the terminal; An information processing method executed by a terminal, wherein when the first content is sent to a second terminal different from the terminal and fourth content related to a response to the first content is sent from the second terminal, a control unit of the terminal controls to display a notification in the chat room that the fourth content has been sent.

21. An information processing method for a terminal receiving content transmitted from a first terminal, comprising: receiving, by a communication unit of the first terminal, first content related to a question from a user of the first terminal, the first content being transmitted from the first terminal; displaying a first display based on the first content on a display unit of the terminal; displaying the first content on the display unit based on an input to the first display; transmitting second content related to a response to the first content by a communication unit of the terminal; An information processing method, wherein the terminal executes displaying a thread including the first content and the second content on the display unit.

22. A terminal that receives content transmitted from a first terminal, a communication unit that receives first content related to a question from a user of the first terminal, the first content being transmitted from the first terminal; a display unit that displays a first display based on the first content and displays the first content based on an input to the first display; the communication unit transmits second content related to a response to the first content; The terminal displays the first display on the display unit where a chat room including the user of the terminal is displayed, in which case the first display is displayed in a first area different from a second area of ​​the display unit where the chat room is displayed.

23. A terminal that receives content transmitted from a first terminal, a communication unit that receives first content related to a question from a user of the first terminal, the first content being transmitted from the first terminal; a display unit that displays a first display based on the first content and displays the first content based on an input to the first display; the communication unit transmits second content related to a response to the first content; The terminal displays the first display on the display unit that displays a user associated with the user of the terminal.

24. A terminal that receives content transmitted from a first terminal, a communication unit that receives first content related to a question from a user of the first terminal, the first content being transmitted from the first terminal; a display unit that displays a first display based on the first content and displays the first content based on an input to the first display; the communication unit transmits second content related to a response to the first content; the first content includes a question related to a third content displayed on a display unit of the first terminal; The terminal displays the first display on the display unit on which the third content is displayed.

25. A terminal that receives content transmitted from a first terminal, a communication unit that receives first content related to a question from a user of the first terminal, the first content being transmitted from the first terminal; a display unit that displays a first display based on the first content and displays the first content based on an input to the first display; a control unit; the communication unit transmits second content related to a response to the first content; The control unit executes a process of hiding the first display after a set time has elapsed.

26. A terminal that receives content transmitted from a first terminal, a communication unit that receives first content related to a question from a user of the first terminal, the first content being transmitted from the first terminal; a display unit that displays a first display based on the first content and displays the first content based on an input to the first display; a control unit; the communication unit transmits second content related to a response to the first content; the control unit displays the first display in a chat room including the user of the first terminal and the user of the terminal; When the first content is sent to a second terminal different from the terminal, and a fourth content related to a response to the first content is sent from the second terminal, the control unit executes control to display a notification in the chat room that the fourth content has been sent.

27. A terminal that receives content transmitted from a first terminal, a communication unit that receives first content related to a question from a user of the first terminal, the first content being transmitted from the first terminal; a display unit that displays a first display based on the first content and displays the first content based on an input to the first display; the communication unit transmits second content related to a response to the first content; The terminal displays a thread including the first content and the second content on the display unit.

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