Program, method, and system

Abstract

To provide a program, a method, and a system which can improve user satisfaction, by reporting reaction from a specific user.SOLUTION: A program makes a computer execute processing for accepting an action and sharing the action among a plurality of users. The program accepts reaction from the user with respect to the shared action and shares the reaction among the plurality of users. The program notifies the user who is the source of the action that is the object of the reaction that the reaction has been accepted from a specific user, according to acceptance of the reaction from the specific user which satisfies a specific condition.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 29

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] Conventionally, reactions from other users have been reflected in content posted on social networking sites and the like by, for example, allowing users to operate icons that express favorability, such as the so-called "like," or by allowing users to reply with comments (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 2023-547794 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Meanwhile, other users of SNSs and the like may include specific users who are in special positions (e.g., celebrities or famous people) that differ from general users. Therefore, specific users may also react to content posted by other users. For example, if a user who is a fan of a specific user can receive a reaction from the specific user to content posted by the user, the user will be especially pleased. However, in conventional SNSs and the like, even if a reaction is received from a specific user, the reaction may be buried among other reactions and may not be noticed, which may prevent the user from improving satisfaction.

[0005] The present invention was devised in consideration of the above-mentioned situation, and provides a program, method, and system that can improve user satisfaction by notifying users of reactions from specific users. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] (1) A program according to an aspect of the present invention is a program for causing a computer (e.g., a distribution server 100 or a user terminal 300) to execute a process for accepting an action (e.g., a content posting action or an action indicating a reaction to content) and sharing the action among multiple users, The computer means for accepting reactions (e.g., tap actions, replies to comments, etc.) from users to shared actions (e.g., posted content displayed on the screen of the user terminal 300 in FIGS. 10, 11, 13, etc.) and sharing the reactions among the plurality of users (e.g., step S603, step S609 in FIG. 29, the content management unit 132, the information acquisition unit 351, the display control unit 352, etc.); In response to receiving a reaction from a specific user who satisfies specific conditions (for example, a special user such as a celebrity in FIG. 5, a user with a special account predetermined by the administrator, or a general user who satisfies conditions predetermined by the administrator, see the modified example (Regarding specific users)), the system functions as a means for notifying the user who is the source of the action that is the target of the reaction that a reaction has been received from the specific user (for example, a push notification is sent to the user terminal 300 of the user who posted the posted content to which the reaction operation was performed, or a special action 79, which is an icon indicating that a reaction has been received from the celebrity, is displayed (step S610 in FIG. 29).

[0007] According to this configuration, the user who originated the action is notified that a reaction has been received from a specific user, which can improve the satisfaction of the user who originated the action.

[0008] (2) In (1) above, the means for sharing enables a reaction from the specific user to be shared when a reflection condition is met after the specific user makes the reaction (for example, the cancellation time elapses without a cancellation operation being performed, or the reaction is confirmed) (for example, steps S608 to S609 in Figure 29).

[0009] With this configuration, reactions from specific users are shared when the reflection conditions are met, which prevents reactions from being shared indiscriminately without the reflection conditions being met.

[0010] (3) In the above (2), the means for sharing is: During the period from when the reaction from the specific user is accepted until the reflection condition is met, the reaction is not shared by accepting a cancel operation from the specific user (for example, canceling a tap action by long pressing the icon (icon 708, etc.) that performs the tap action operation within the cancellation period, deleting the comment to be canceled, or performing a cancel operation on the reaction list screen) (for example, in step S607 of Figure 29, processing is performed to delete the reaction information for which a cancel operation has been performed so that it is not reflected and can be shared with other users).

[0011] With this configuration, the reaction will not be shared if a cancel operation is performed, so the specific user can react with peace of mind.

[0012] (4) In (2) above, the means for sharing can share reactions from users other than the specific user (for example, general users other than celebrities) even if the reflection condition is not met after the user makes the reaction (for example, for reactions from general users, when reaction information is received by the distribution server 100, the reaction is immediately reflected and shared with other users, steps S602 to S604 in Figure 29).

[0013] According to this configuration, reactions from users other than the specific user can be shared even if the reflection conditions are not met, thereby reducing the processing load on the computer.

[0014] (5) In the above (1), the means for notifying is A means for reflecting first suggestion information suggesting the number of reactions to the shared action (for example, displaying the number of tap actions 78 for each content such as Figures 10, 11, and 13, or the number of comments 77, etc.); The system also includes a means for reflecting first special suggestion information that is different from the first suggestion information with respect to reactions from the specific user (for example, displaying special action 79, which is an icon that indicates that the post has received a tap action or comment from a special user, which is displayed for each piece of content such as Figures 10, 11, and 13).

[0015] With this configuration, it becomes easy to identify whether a reaction to an action is from a specific user.

[0016] (6) In the above (5), the means for sharing is: It is possible to accept and share comments as reactions from users to shared actions, The means for notifying includes: A means for reflecting second suggestion information suggesting the number of comments on the shared action (for example, displaying the number of comments 77 for each content such as Figures 10, 11, and 13); The comment from the specific user includes a means for reflecting second special suggestion information different from the second suggestion information (for example, displaying special action 79, which is an icon indicating that the post has received a comment from a special user, which is displayed for each piece of content such as Figures 10, 11, and 13).

[0017] With this configuration, it becomes easy to identify whether a reaction to an action is a comment from a specific user.

[0018] (7) In (1) above, the manner of notification by the notification means is in accordance with the specific user who made the reaction (for example, a voice message from the talent who is a special user, or an image related to the talent, etc.).

[0019] According to this configuration, the fact that a reaction has been received is notified in a manner that is appropriate for the specific user, which increases the user's interest when notified.

[0020] (8) In the above (7), the notification by the notification means includes a voice message from the specific user who made the reaction (for example, a voice message from the celebrity who is a special user).

[0021] According to this configuration, the fact that a reaction has been received is notified by a voice message from the specific user, which increases the user's interest when notified.

[0022] (9) A method according to an aspect of the present invention is a method for controlling a computer (e.g., a distribution server 100 or a user terminal 300) that receives an action (e.g., a content posting action or an action indicating a reaction to content) and executes a process for sharing the action among a plurality of users, A step (e.g., step S603, step S609, etc. in FIG. 29) for accepting reactions from users to a shared action (e.g., posted content displayed on the screen of the user terminal 300 in FIG. 10, FIG. 11, FIG. 13, etc.) and sharing the reactions among the plurality of users; In response to receiving a reaction from a specific user who satisfies specific conditions (for example, a special user such as a celebrity in FIG. 5, a user with a special account predetermined by the administrator, or a general user who satisfies conditions predetermined by the administrator, see the modified example (regarding specific users)), a step is provided for notifying the user who is the source of the action that is the target of the reaction that a reaction has been received from the specific user (for example, step S610 in FIG. 29, such as sending a push notification to the user terminal 300 of the user who posted the content to which the reaction operation was performed, or displaying a special action 79, which is an icon indicating that a reaction has been received from the celebrity).

[0023] According to this configuration, the user who originated the action is notified that a reaction has been received from a specific user, which can improve the satisfaction of the user who originated the action.

[0024] (10) A system according to an aspect of the present invention is a system (e.g., communication system 1) having a computer (e.g., distribution server 100, user terminal 300) that receives actions (e.g., content posting actions, actions indicating reactions to content, etc.) and executes processing for sharing the actions among multiple users, means for receiving reactions from users to a shared action and sharing the reactions among the plurality of users (for example, step S603, step S609 in FIG. 29, the content management unit 132, the information acquisition unit 351, the display control unit 352, etc.); In response to receiving a reaction from a specific user who satisfies specific conditions (for example, a special user such as a celebrity in FIG. 5, a user with a special account predetermined by the administrator, or a general user who satisfies conditions predetermined by the administrator, see the modified example (regarding specific users)), a means is provided for notifying the user who is the source of the action that is the target of the reaction that a reaction has been received from the specific user (for example, a push notification is sent to the user terminal 300 of the user who posted the content to which the reaction operation was performed, or a special action 79 is displayed, which is an icon indicating that a reaction has been received from the celebrity, step S610 in FIG. 29).

[0025] According to this configuration, the user who originated the action is notified that a reaction has been received from a specific user, which can improve the satisfaction of the user who originated the action. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0026] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a hardware configuration of a communication system. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a distribution server. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an administrator terminal. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of a user terminal in detail. [Figure 5] 1 is an example of a database relating to attributes. [Figure 6] 10 is an example of an attribute selection screen. [Figure 7] 1 is an example of a database related to users. [Figure 8] 10 is an example of a user confirmation screen for information about a user. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining an attribute selection process. [Figure 10] 10 is an example of a display mode of content information relating to content provided by a distribution server. [Figure 11] 10 is an example of a display mode of content information relating to content provided by a distribution server. [Figure 12] 10 is an example of a display mode relating to content classification for each attribute. [Figure 13] 10 is an example of a display mode of content provided by a distribution server. [Figure 14] 1 is an example of a database relating to content provided by a distribution server. [Figure 15] 10 is an example of a display mode of content information relating to content in response to a switching operation. [Figure 16] FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining an attribute extraction process. [Figure 17] 10 is an example of a display aspect of a user posting screen. [Figure 18] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart of a user posting process. [Figure 19] This is an example of an action that can be taken depending on the user's rating history status. [Figure 20] 10 is an example of a display mode of a user posting screen according to a rating history status. [Figure 21] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a flowchart of a user posting process according to a rating history status. [Figure 22] This is an example of fluctuations in the evaluation history situation due to external evaluation. [Figure 23] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a flowchart of an evaluation history status update process. [Figure 24] 10 is an example of a tap action presentation when a tap action is received from a user. [Figure 25] 10 is an example of a database relating to tap action effects for each content. [Figure 26]FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart of a tap action rendering process. [Figure 27] 10 is an example of a display mode of content information etc. related to externally posted content. [Figure 28] 1 is an example of a database related to reaction information for content provided by a distribution server and information on actions to be held back. [Figure 29] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a flowchart of a reaction notification process. [Figure 30] 10 is an example of a display mode of content information etc. according to language information. [Figure 31] 10 is an example of a display mode when language information is set in advance by a user operation. [Figure 32] 10 is an example of a display mode of a user posting screen when posting in association with language information. [Figure 33] 1 is an example of a database relating to language information about content provided by a distribution server. [Figure 34] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a flowchart of a post list display process for displaying content information and the like according to language information. [Figure 35] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart relating to association of language information in user posting processing. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0027] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a communication system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the following examples, but is defined by the claims, and all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims are intended to be included in the present invention. In the following description, the same elements in the description of the drawings will be given the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations will not be repeated.

[0028] The communication system according to the present invention can provide users with multiple types of content associated with attributes. The attributes include multiple types of first attributes (e.g., communities) and multiple types of second attributes (e.g., celebrities), and can display content information (e.g., headlines of news posts) related to content associated with the attributes (e.g., news posts related to celebrities). The content information can be displayed by switching between multiple display states, including a first display state (favorite filter off) that displays content information associated with a community, etc. pre-selected by the user so that the user can identify it, and a second display state (favorite filter on) that displays content information associated with both a community, etc. and a celebrity, etc. pre-selected by the user so that the user can identify it, by a user's switching operation on a predetermined icon, etc.

[0029] Furthermore, the multiple types of content provided in the communication system according to the present invention are provided via a fan community, which is a group of users who support a specific target (e.g., a celebrity). Within the community space of the fan community, the actions taken by each user are reflected so that other users can recognize them, thereby promoting interaction between users. Each user who uses the community is associated with an evaluation history status that changes depending on external evaluations, which are evaluations from sources other than the user himself / herself. The actions that a user may take within the community are controlled by external evaluations of the actions taken by the user within the community (e.g., content and comments posted by the user).

[0030] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of a communication system 1. The communication system 1 includes a distribution server 100, an administrator terminal 200, multiple user terminals 300a, 300b, 300c, and an external web service system 400. The multiple user terminals 300a, 300b, 300c, and are terminals owned by multiple users, respectively, and are hereinafter collectively referred to as user terminals 300.

[0031] The distribution server 100, the administrator terminal 200, and the user terminal 300 can each be connected to each other via a network 2, and can transmit and receive information (data) in both directions. The network 2 is, for example, the Internet, and is configured from access networks such as a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), a mobile communication network (e.g., 5G, wireless network, etc.), a wired telephone network, FTTH (Fiber To The Home), and a CATV (Cable Television) network.

[0032] Furthermore, the distribution server 100, the administrator terminal 200, and the user terminal 300 can be communicatively connected to an external web service system 400 via the network 2. The external web service system 400 is, for example, a sharing service (such as YouTube (registered trademark)) for videos, text, images, etc. posted by users, and provides a Web API (Application Programming Interface) for enabling information (such as text, images, videos, posting dates and times, account names, etc.) to be supplied to other terminals such as the distribution server 100, the administrator terminal 200, and the user terminal 300 in response to access from those terminals. The external web service system 400 is a system operated and managed by a third party other than the administrator and operator of the communication system 1.

[0033] Distribution server 100 is, for example, a computer such as a workstation or personal computer with communication capabilities. Distribution server 100 manages multiple pieces of content that can be provided to users and manages communities to which the content is provided. Distribution server 100 provides the content in response to requests from users via network 2.

[0034] The content provided by the distribution server 100 is managed and configured by type, as described below with reference to FIG. 14. Content informs viewers of specific information and includes information such as video, audio, and text. Examples of content managed by the distribution server 100 include news and announcements from operators (administrators), user posts (including comments), and streaming videos provided by external web services obtained using Web APIs. The content can be provided to users by displaying it on the user terminal 300 via a medium such as a browser or a dedicated smartphone application. The medium through which the content is provided also functions as a fan community for supporting specific targets.

[0035] The distribution server 100 stores information for displaying text, images, etc. corresponding to content that can be provided to users on the user terminal and sound information for outputting sound in the storage unit 120. In addition, the distribution server 100 provides content (services) to users by distributing content data including display information for displaying text, images, etc. of the corresponding content and sound information for outputting sound in response to access from the user terminal 300.

[0036] The administrator terminal 200 is used by an operator of a service provider company, for example. The administrator terminal 200 is a computer having operation input functions and communication functions, such as a personal computer. The administrator creates content (hereinafter also referred to as posted information) managed in the storage unit 120 of the distribution server 100, and creates, modifies, and updates display information related to the display of content, via the administrator terminal 200. For example, images for displaying new content, etc. on the user terminal 300 are generated and created, and images of existing content, etc. are changed and modified. The administrator also sets and updates information managed in the storage unit 120 of the distribution server 100 via the administrator terminal 200. The administrator terminal 200 can also be used to set permissions and restrictions on users' actions on various content.

[0037] In this embodiment, the distribution server 100 and the administrator terminal 200 are each an independent computer (device), but they may be realized by a single computer, or the functions of one of these computers (e.g., distribution server 100) may be realized by multiple computers (e.g., multiple servers).

[0038] The user terminal 300 is used by a user to view, experience, etc. the content. The user terminal 300 may be a computer having an operation input function and a communication function, such as a personal computer, a tablet terminal, or a smartphone.

[0039] In response to an operation on the terminal, the user terminal 300 communicates with the distribution server 100 and receives content data of the content selected by the user. Based on the received content data, the user terminal 300 constructs, in a storage area of ​​the user terminal 300, posted information of the content selected by the user from among the contents managed by the distribution server 100, and displays images and text of the posted information (the images and text contained in the posted information are also referred to as messages). This allows the user to identify and recognize the content information via the user terminal 300.

[0040] Furthermore, the user terminal 300 accepts action operations on the displayed content and content posting operations by the user himself / herself. The user terminal 300 can transmit information corresponding to the operation on the terminal (for example, information for identifying the action or the posted content) to the distribution server 100, and can reflect the action or the posted content on multiple user terminals via the distribution server 100. Action operations include, for example, tap actions (such as the so-called "like" function) that show a favorable expression of intent, such as liking or empathy for the content, and reactions to the content, such as posting a reply comment. Hereinafter, user actions, such as content posting operations by the user himself / herself, will be collectively referred to as "actions." Furthermore, user tap actions and favorable comments will also be referred to as "like actions."

[0041] In this embodiment, users include general consumers (also referred to as general users or simply users), talents, famous people, etc. Talent includes, for example, talents belonging to a service provider company (operating company), entertainers, actors / actresses, comedians, multi-talented people, presenters, news anchors, singers, musicians, models, and other talented people from various genres. Celebrities also include, for example, famous company executives or employees, athletes, e-sports players, famous scholars, cultural figures, cram school instructors, famous students, and other talented people from various genres. Hereinafter, talents or celebrities other than general users will also be referred to as special users.

[0042] Note that a special user may be a general user who views distributed content using a terminal with the same configuration as the user terminal 300, or may be a general user who uses a separate terminal with a different configuration from the user terminal 300. Therefore, the user terminal used by a special user and the user terminal 300 used by a general user may be terminals with the same configuration or may be terminals with different configurations.

[0043] <Distribution server configuration> Next, the configuration of distribution server 100 will be described. As shown in Fig. 2, distribution server 100 includes a communication unit 110 that communicates with other computers, a storage unit 120 that stores various data, and a control unit 130 that controls the entire computer. Communication unit 110, storage unit 120, and control unit 130 are interconnected by a bus line.

[0044] The communication unit 110 is a communication interface that includes a network interface card (NIC) for wired or wireless communication. The communication unit 110 communicates with other computers via the network 2.

[0045] The storage unit 120 is composed of RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), flash memory, HDD (Hard Disk Drive), etc. The storage unit 120 stores programs for executing various control processes (for example, programs for managing and providing content), various data, etc. The various data stored in the storage unit 120 includes posted information provided for each type of content, information related to attributes, user information related to users, etc.

[0046] The control unit 130 is configured by a CPU (Central Processing Unit), etc. The control unit 130 controls the overall operation of the distribution server 100 by executing a program stored in the storage unit 120.

[0047] The following describes the functional configuration of the control unit 130. The control unit 130 functions as at least a data transmission / reception unit 131, a content management unit 132, and an account management unit 133.

[0048] The data transmitter / receiver 131 receives various types of information transmitted from the user terminal 300 and transmits various types of information to the user terminal 300. The data transmitter / receiver 131 refers to various management tables stored in the storage unit 120. The various types of information transmitted and received by the data transmitter / receiver 131 include, for example, information related to content managed in the content management unit 132, various notifications, and the like.

[0049] The content management unit 132 stores and updates information for identifying text, images, etc. corresponding to content posted by the administrator terminal 200 or the user terminal 300 in the storage unit 120 via the communication unit 110. The content management unit 132 stores, for example, information on attributes that can be associated with content to be provided to users as attribute information 121 in the storage unit 120. The content management unit 132 stores and updates information for identifying information such as the category and poster of content posted by the administrator terminal 200 or the user terminal 300, and attributes associated with each piece of content, as content data 122 in the storage unit 120. In addition, the content management unit 132 stores and updates information for identifying the type of action (behavior) performed on content as action information 123, and stores information on the authority to take actions (behaviors) related to content as action authority information 124 in the storage unit 120.

[0050] The account management unit 133 stores and updates user information about users who can use content managed by the distribution server 100 in the storage unit 120, for example, as account information 125. The user information about users includes, for example, an ID for identifying the user, a user name, and permitted action information about actions that the user can take. The user information managed by the account management unit 133 is not limited to general user accounts, but also includes account information for identifying special user accounts and posts made by the administrator terminal 200.

[0051] <Administrator terminal configuration> Next, the configuration of administrator terminal 200 will be described. As shown in Fig. 3, administrator terminal 200 includes a communication unit 210 that communicates with other computers, a storage unit 220 that stores various data, an input unit 230 for inputting operations, etc., an output unit 240 for outputting images, sounds, etc., and a control unit 250 that controls the entire computer. Communication unit 210, storage unit 220, input unit 230, output unit 240, and control unit 250 are interconnected by a bus line.

[0052] The communication unit 210 is a communication interface equipped with a NIC for wired or wireless communication. The communication unit 210 mainly communicates with the distribution server 100 via the network 2. The storage unit 220 is composed of RAM, ROM, etc. The storage unit 220 stores programs for executing various control processes (for example, programs for managing content provided to users by the distribution server 100), various data, etc.

[0053] The input unit 230 includes an input device (for example, a touch panel, a touch pad, a pointing device such as a mouse, a keyboard, etc.) for receiving input operations from the administrator. The output unit 240 includes an output device (a display, a speaker, etc.) for presenting information to the administrator.

[0054] The control unit 250 is configured with a CPU, etc. The control unit 250 controls the overall operation of the administrator terminal 200 by executing the programs stored in the storage unit 220.

[0055] The following describes the functional configuration of the control unit 250. The control unit 250 functions as at least a content setting unit 251, an attribute setting unit 252, an action authority setting unit 253, and a user evaluation information updating unit 254.

[0056] The content setting unit 251 stores and updates information about the content managed by the content management unit 132 of the distribution server 100 in response to operations on the administrator terminal 200. This allows, for example, information for identifying the content, categorization of the content, and information set and edited regarding the presentation when the content is provided to be stored and updated in the storage unit 120 of the distribution server 100.

[0057] The attribute setting unit 252 stores and updates attribute information relating to attributes stored as attribute information 121 in the distribution server 100 in response to an operation on the administrator terminal 200. This allows, for example, information relating to attributes to be stored and updated in the storage unit 120 when a new attribute is added or when the organization of attributes is changed.

[0058] The behavioral authority setting unit 253 stores and updates information about the authority to perform actions such as content posting actions and actions showing reactions to content in the provided community space, which are managed as the action information 123 and behavioral authority information 124 of the distribution server 100, in response to operations on the administrator terminal 200. This allows, for example, addition and modification of actions set for each user's rating history status (described later), and setting of behavioral restrictions for each user by the administrator to be stored and updated in the storage unit 120.

[0059] The user evaluation information update unit 254 can perform external evaluations on users that may affect the evaluation history status of each user stored as account information 125 of the distribution server 100, and can also store and update the evaluation history status of each user, in response to operations on the administrator terminal 200. This allows the evaluation history status of each user to fluctuate depending on the evaluation from the administrator, and controls the actions that users can take based on the action authority information 124.

[0060] <User terminal configuration> Next, the configuration of user terminal 300 will be described in detail. As shown in Fig. 4, user terminal 300 includes a communication unit 310 that communicates with other computers including distribution server 100, a storage unit 320 that stores various data, an input unit 330 for inputting operations, etc., an output unit 340 for outputting images, etc., and a control unit 350 that controls the entire computer. Communication unit 310, storage unit 320, input unit 330, output unit 340, and control unit 350 are interconnected by a bus line.

[0061] The communication unit 310 is a communication interface equipped with a NIC for wired or wireless communication. The communication unit 310 communicates with other computers, including the distribution server 100, via the network 2. The storage unit 320 is composed of RAM, ROM, etc. The storage unit 320 stores programs for executing various control processes (for example, programs for viewing content), various data, etc.

[0062] The input unit 330 includes an input device (for example, a touch panel, a touch pad, a pointing device such as a mouse, a keyboard, a microphone, etc.) for receiving input operations and voices from the user.

[0063] The output unit 340 includes an output device (display, speaker, etc.) for presenting and outputting information (text, images, audio, etc.) to the user. The control unit 350 is composed of a CPU, etc. The control unit 350 controls the overall operation of the user terminal 300 by executing programs stored in the storage unit 320.

[0064] The following describes the functional configuration of the control unit 350. The control unit 350 functions as an information acquisition unit 351, a display control unit 352, an input information transmission unit 353, and a user management unit 354.

[0065] The information acquisition unit 351 acquires content data and the like from the distribution server 100 via the communication unit 310, and stores information for displaying text and images (messages included in the posted information) related to the content based on the content data in the storage unit 320. The posted information includes information for displaying, on the user terminal 300, actions taken on the content by other user terminals 300.

[0066] The display control unit 352 displays content information (e.g., headlines of articles about the content) related to the content stored in the storage unit 320 so that the user can identify it, based on the content data acquired by the information acquisition unit 351. For example, by displaying the headline of a news article about a celebrity on the user terminal 300, the user can recognize that the content is news about a celebrity.

[0067] In addition, the display control unit 352 displays UI (User Interface) images (including, for example, menu images that the user can select and operation images that accept operations) in a format that corresponds to the content being distributed based on the program stored in the storage unit 320.

[0068] The input information sending unit 353 sends the voice information and operation input information acquired by the input unit 330 to the distribution server 100. The operation input information includes actions (for example, comments, tap actions, etc.) on various contents in the displayed community space, content posted by the user himself / herself in the community space, and selection operations on various icons displayed on the user terminal 300.

[0069] The user management unit 354 stores and updates user information about users in the storage unit 320. The user information about users includes, for example, an ID for identifying the user, a user name, information about attributes selected in advance by the user, and information about actions that the user can take (permitted or restricted) within the community.

[0070] <About the fan community content provision function> (Overview of the fan community) The following is a more detailed description of a fan community that allows users to view content provided by the distribution server 100 according to this embodiment. The content provided by the distribution server 100 is provided by a dedicated application (program (e.g., a program for a native application)) that runs on a device such as a smartphone or tablet. The dedicated application functions as a so-called fan community used by users who support a common target (e.g., a talent, a character, goods, etc.). The fan community provides content related to the common target (making it viewable by users), thereby facilitating users' fan activities. In addition to allowing users to interact with each other as fans, users can also interact with the target they support. Note that content provision is not limited to a dedicated application, and may also be provided via a web application via a browser. Content may also be provided via a fan community provided via a web application via a browser.

[0071] In this embodiment, the cheering target can be any of a variety of objects such as characters or objects that the user can feel fondness for, be interested in, or be concerned with. Characters include, for example, real people (3D) such as celebrities and famous people, and fictional beings (2D, 2.5D) such as anime characters and mascot characters. Other cheering targets include things such as trains and animals.

[0072] (Specific examples of attributes in fan communities) In the following, in this embodiment, an example will be described in which the user's support target is a talent, and the fan community is the talent's fan community. In this embodiment, the talents are divided into large groups (also referred to as first attributes) consisting of multiple talents. Furthermore, the talents divided into large groups can also be divided into small groups (also referred to as second attributes) consisting of fewer people than the large groups. For example, a small group is a unit group consisting of some of the talents belonging to the large group.

[0073] The unit (attribute) that a user of a fan community supports may not only be a single talent, but may also be multiple talents, a small group (unit), or a large group. For example, supporting (becoming a fan of) a large group is also known as "box pushing." In the fan community of this embodiment, users can set (select) the target of their support in advance by their preferred unit (attribute).

[0074] 5, the talents in the fan community in this embodiment will be described using an example of a talent information database stored as attribute information 121 in this embodiment. In this embodiment, the talents are divided into groups classified as "belonging group 1." Belonging group 1 is a large group, and is classified into, for example, group A, group B, etc.

[0075] Each belonging group 1 is associated with a "talent ID," "talent name," and other information for identifying the talent. Furthermore, each talent is associated with information for identifying the "belonging group 2" to which the talent belongs. Belonging group 2 is a small group made up of fewer people than belonging group 1. For example, it could be a group categorized by the time members joined the group, such as "1st generation members," "2nd generation members," etc., or a group made up of a specific concept (for example, "Gamers," made up of talents who mainly do live game broadcasts).

[0076] It should be noted that some talents may belong to multiple groups. There may also be talents who belong to group 1 but do not belong to any group 2. There may also be group 2s that are made up of talents who belong to different groups 1 (composed across different groups 1, for example, group A and group B).

[0077] For example, a talent with the talent ID "t1" and the talent name "AAA" belongs to group 1 "Group A" and group 2 "A-1st Generation." On the other hand, a talent with the talent ID "t6" and the talent name "FFF" belongs to group 1 "Group A," but belongs to two groups in group 2 "A-3rd Generation" and "A-Gamers."

[0078] <Example of attribute selection processing> (Screen example for attribute selection) Next, with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9, an example of a screen and a processing flow for a user using a fan community to select an attribute (group or talent) to support will be described. The selection (setting) screen for the attribute to support, illustrated in FIG. 6, is displayed on the user terminal 300 when the user starts using the fan community app or when a setting change is requested from My Page or the like. In the fan community of this embodiment, a user can participate in a community (first attribute) corresponding to the group 1 (first attribute) to which the talent belongs, as described with reference to FIG. 5. FIG. 6(A) is an example of a participation community setting screen, and a user can select (set) a community (first attribute) to participate in from multiple types of first attributes. For example, the participation community setting screen of FIG. 6(A) includes a participation community selection area 50. The participation community selection area 50 displays an icon for each community that the user can participate in. The user can select a participation community by selecting the icon of the community they wish to participate in. A check mark or the like is displayed for a community that they have selected to participate in.

[0079] "Community A" corresponds to "Group A" in FIG. 5, and "Community B" corresponds to "Group B" in FIG. 5. In other words, the multiple types of first attributes include Group A, or Community A corresponding to Group A, and Group B, or Community B corresponding to Group B. Note that there may be a community that a user is always expected to participate in regardless of the user's selection, as displayed in FIG. 6(A) as "※Always participating in Community P." For example, "Community P" does not correspond to a group to which a talent belongs, but is a community that makes announcements for the fan community as a whole.

[0080] FIG. 6(B) is an example of a favorite talent setting screen, on which a user can select (set) a favorite talent (second attribute). The favorite talent setting screen in FIG. 6(B) includes, for example, a search box 51, a belonging group selection area 52, and a talent selection area 53. The search box 51 allows a talent to be searched for by entering a keyword. The belonging group selection area 52 displays icons of groups (belonging group 1, corresponding to communities) that can be supported in the fan community app, and by selecting an icon, talents can be displayed, for example, by belonging group 1. Note that the belonging group selection area 52 may allow selection of all groups. Alternatively, icons that can be selected and displayed for each unit may be displayed.

[0081] The talent selection area 53 displays the icon and name of each talent, but as shown in FIG. 6(B), they may be displayed in order by unit, for example. By selecting the icon of each talent, a favorite talent can be selected. A check mark or the like is also displayed on the icon of the selected talent.

[0082] It is also possible to select all of the talents in a group as the favorite talent by operating the icon in the group selection area 52. Alternatively, a "select all" icon may be displayed, allowing all displayed talents to be selected by a selection operation. Also, the favorite talent may be selected not only on a talent-by-talent basis, but also on a unit basis (two groups to which the person belongs), or may be selected as the most favorite (the talent that is most favored among the favorite talents).

[0083] (Example of a user information database for selected attributes) FIG. 7 is an example of a user information database stored as account information 125. In the user information database, each user is associated with a "user ID," "level," "accumulated points," "participating communities," "favorite talent ID," and other information for identifying the user. The "participating communities" and "favorite talent ID" are associated with information for identifying the attributes selected by the user on the setting screen illustrated in FIG. 6. For example, the setting screen illustrated in FIG. 6 is the setting screen for user ID "u1" in FIG. 7. User ID "u1" selects "Community A" as the participating community in FIG. 6(A) and talents "AAA," "BBB," and "EEE" in FIG. 6(B). Therefore, user ID "u1" is associated with the community "Community A" and the favored talent IDs "t1," "t2," and "t5," which correspond to the respective talents. Hereinafter, user IDs are also referred to simply as "users." Note that "level" and "accumulated points" vary depending on the user's behavior within the fan community, as will be described in detail below.

[0084] (Example of a user's My Page) 8 shows an example of a My Page screen for each user in a fan community. For example, when a user selects My Page icon 16, user terminal 300 acquires and displays information about the user stored as account information 125 on user terminal 300. The My Page screen displays, for example, a name area 54, user rating history status 55, favorite talent information 56, participating community settings 57, notification settings 58, and settings and app information 59, and allows editing operations such as changing various settings.

[0085] The My Page screen in FIG. 8 is a screen displayed on the user terminal 300 of user "u1." The name area 54 displays the name "userA" used by user "u1" within the fan community, along with an icon image. The icon image can be, for example, a fan mark of a celebrity. A fan mark is a symbol or the like used by a celebrity to identify themselves, and fans can publicly indicate which celebrity they are fans of by using the same fan mark. For example, the icon image can be edited by tapping the image editing icon displayed in the lower right corner of the icon image, or by selecting and setting it on the initial setting screen.

[0086] The user evaluation history status 55 displays the "level" and "accumulated points" associated with each user in the user information database of Fig. 7 so that the user can check them. The evaluation history status will be described in detail later.

[0087] The favorite talent information 56 displays the talents that the user has selected in advance so that the user can identify (confirm / recognize) them. For example, the icon and name of each talent are displayed so that the user "u1" can confirm the talents "AAA," "BBB," and "EEE" that he or she selected and set on the favorite talent setting screen of Fig. 6(B). Furthermore, the favorite talent can be changed as needed by operating the edit icon displayed on the favorite talent information 56, etc., which displays the screen of Fig. 6(B).

[0088] Furthermore, when a selection operation is performed on the participating community setting 57, the participating community setting screen of FIG. 6(A) is displayed, and the participating community can be changed as appropriate.

[0089] By operating notification settings 58 or settings / app information 59, push notification settings and various other settings for the fan community app can be configured. The My Page in FIG. 8 may be any page that allows the user to check and edit their own information. For example, a list of participating communities may be displayed on the first screen of the My Page (such as the screen displayed when the My Page icon 16 is operated), similar to the preferred talent information 56. Furthermore, the screens for changing participating communities and preferred talent (FIG. 6) may be displayed together by operating a single edit icon.

[0090] (Example of attribute selection process flow) Next, the flow of the attribute selection process will be described with reference to Fig. 9. Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart of the attribute selection process described with reference to Fig. 6. The attribute selection process is repeatedly executed by the account management unit 133 in the distribution server 100 in response to receiving a request (such as operation information) from the user terminal 300.

[0091] In step S101, it is determined whether or not this is the first login. The first login refers to, for example, when the user downloads and launches the fan community app of this embodiment for the first time, or when the user uses the fan community app of this embodiment via a web browser for the first time, and is the timing when the user first sets attributes in the fan community. If it is determined in step S101 that this is the first login, in step S102, information for displaying an attribute selection screen on the display unit of the user terminal 300 is transmitted. The attribute selection screen is, for example, a setting screen for selecting a participating community and a favorite talent, as exemplified in FIG. 6, and may be incorporated into a tutorial or other flow for the first login (such as basic explanations for the first login).

[0092] Next, in step S103, the user terminal 300 determines whether or not a selection and confirmation operation for a participating community and a favorite talent has been performed. For example, the user selects a community they wish to join from among the participating communities displayed in the participating community selection area 50 in FIG. 6(A). Also, in FIG. 6(B), the user selects a favorite talent from among the talents displayed in the talent selection area 53. An icon for performing a confirmation operation, such as a confirmation icon, may be displayed on the attribute selection screen in FIG. 6. It may be determined that a confirmation operation has been performed by receiving information (including information that can identify the selected participating community and favorite talent) transmitted by operating the confirmation icon or an icon such as "Next." If it is not determined in step S103 that a participating community and a favorite talent have been selected and confirmed, step S103 is repeatedly determined until a selection and confirmation operation is performed.

[0093] On the other hand, if it is determined that an attribute has been selected and confirmed by performing a selection operation on a confirmation icon or the like on the user terminal 300, the process proceeds to step S104, where the participating community and the selected favorite talent selected based on the information received from the user terminal 300 are stored as selected attributes. For example, the account management unit 133 associates the selected participating community and the selected favorite talent ID with the user "u1", stores them as account information 125, and ends the process.

[0094] Returning to step S101, if it is not determined in step S101 that this is the first login, it is determined in step S105 whether or not there has been a request to edit the participating community settings or the favorite talent settings. For example, it is determined that an editing request has been made when there is an operation on the edit icon for the favorite talent information 56 on the My Page shown in Fig. 8 or an operation on the participating community settings 57 on the user terminal 300.

[0095] If it is determined in step S105 that an editing request has been made, then in step S106, information is transmitted for displaying an editing screen for the participating community settings or the favorite talent settings on the user terminal 300. This causes, for example, the attribute selection (setting) screen shown in Fig. 6 to be displayed. On the other hand, if it is not determined in step S105 that an editing request for the participating community settings or the favorite talent settings has been made, then the processing ends.

[0096] After the settings editing screen is displayed in step S106, it is determined in step S107 whether a participating community or a favorite talent has been selected. For example, a selection is determined to have been made by receiving information (including information that can identify the selected participating community and favorite talent) transmitted by a selection operation performed on the display of each participating community in Figure 6(A) or the display of each talent in Figure 6(B) on the user terminal 300.

[0097] If it is determined in step S107 that a participating community or a favorite talent has been selected, the selected participating community or the selected favorite talent is updated and stored as a selected attribute in step S109, and the processing ends. For example, in distribution server 100, based on information corresponding to the attribute selection operation received from user terminal 300, the user information database of FIG. 7 stored as account information 125 is updated and stored.

[0098] Returning to step S107, if it is not determined that a participating community or a favorite talent has been selected, it is determined in step S109 whether or not a back selection has been made. For example, a back icon 10 is displayed on the attribute selection screen of FIG. 6, and it is determined whether or not a selection operation has been performed on the back icon 10. If it is determined that a selection operation has been performed on the back icon 10, the process ends. Alternatively, the process may end by moving to another screen by operating the home icon 13 or the like displayed at the bottom of the app. On the other hand, if it is not determined in step S107 that a back selection has been performed, the process returns to step S107.

[0099] As a result, as will be described later, it becomes possible to extract and display information related to attributes pre-selected by the user in the fan community, allowing the user to extract and obtain information related to their favorite group 1 (first attribute) and also information related to each talent (second attribute). Note that although an example in which the attribute selection process is executed by the distribution server 100 has been described, it may also be executed by the user terminal 300.

[0100] <Examples of content provision> (Overview of the content list screen) Next, examples of content provided by the distribution server 100 via a fan community will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 14. FIG. 10 shows an example of a home screen in a fan community app (hereinafter simply referred to as the app) according to this embodiment. The home screen is displayed, for example, on the user terminal 300 when logging in to the app (e.g., when the app is launched) or when a home icon 13 displayed at the bottom of the app is selected. The information for identifying content displayed on the home screen in FIG. 10 (headings of content articles) mainly displays information for identifying content posted in a community in which the user participates.

[0101] The channel icon 12 displayed at the top of the app can display a list of channels for each participating community as exemplified in FIG. 12, and may be displayed on any screen of the app, or may be hidden on a predetermined screen (for example, when the contents of the content are displayed as in FIG. 13). Channels are, for example, categorized by topic (theme). The search icon 17 displayed at the top of the app is an icon for searching for content. The search icon 17 may be displayed, for example, when a list of content headings is displayed, such as on the home screen of FIG. 10 or on a screen for each community as will be described later in FIG. 11(A).

[0102] Furthermore, the home icon 13, community icon 14, notification icon 15, and my page icon 16 displayed at the bottom of the app may be displayed on any screen within the app, or may be hidden on a predetermined screen (e.g., when the contents of the content are displayed as in FIG. 13). As described above, the home icon 13 is an icon for displaying the home screen of FIG. 10 when selected, and the community icon 14 is an icon for displaying a screen for each community, such as FIG. 11(A), which will be described later, when selected. The notification icon 15 is an icon for displaying a screen on which various notifications can be checked, such as when there is a post related to a selected attribute (e.g., a talent set by the user as a favorite talent), reply comments to the user's own posts, and mentions of the user. The my page icon 16 is an icon for displaying the my page illustrated in FIG. 8 when selected.

[0103] (Home screen overview) The upper part of the home screen in Fig. 10 displays a favorite filter 20 and a language switching icon LS. The favorite filter 20 is a filter icon that narrows the list of displayed content headings so that only headings of content associated with a favorite talent previously selected by the user are displayed; details will be described later with reference to Figs. 15 and 16. The language switching icon LS is an icon that, when selected, switches the language information associated with the content, for example, from Japanese to English, thereby enabling the content to be displayed according to the language information. The language switching icon LS may also display the language currently selected as the display language.

[0104] The content provided by the distribution server 100 can be categorized into multiple categories, and the home screen can display the content for each category. The content list (heading) screen on the home screen displays content headings 60 (content information) for content (also referred to as articles or threads) for each category, such as features 61, recommended topics 62, popular user posts 63, commemorative broadcasts 64, and merchandise 65. For example, feature 61 displays announcements set by the content setting unit 251, such as notices from the administrator, that are intended to be shared with all users. The content displayed in feature 61 is displayed regardless of which participating community and which recommended talent the user has selected. Selecting a heading or image displayed in feature 61 may transition to a screen showing more detailed information or an external website.

[0105] The categories from Recommended Topic 62 onwards are configured to display content posted within the communities that the user participates in. The "community" referred to in the app in this embodiment refers to communities A to C corresponding to the groups to which the talent belongs, as exemplified in Fig. 6, and community P in which the user is always a participant.

[0106] (About the community channel list screen) The details of the "Community" of the application in this embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 11 to 14. Fig. 11(A) is an example of a content list (heading) screen of the "Community" (hereinafter also referred to as a community screen or a channel screen). As shown in Fig. 12, each community is classified into channels by topic type. For example, the community screen in Fig. 11(A) is a screen of the "Official Channel" channel of "Community A" (corresponding to Group A illustrated in Fig. 5), and the channel screen displayed in Fig. 11(A) is switched by a channel selection operation on the channel list screen in Fig. 12.

[0107] The channel list screen illustrated in Fig. 12 is displayed by, for example, tapping on channel icon 12 displayed at the top of the app screen (e.g., Fig. 10) or by flicking (e.g., flicking from the left side of the app screen to the right). Note that when the channel list screen in Fig. 12 is displayed, the list screen can be closed by performing the operation performed when it was displayed (such as selecting channel icon 12 or flicking from the right side of the app screen back to the left side).

[0108] The channel list screen in FIG. 12 displays a community bar 81, a favorites confirmation icon 31, a user's post icon 32, a get started icon 33, a notification settings icon 34, and the like. The communities displayed in the community bar 81 include communities in which the user participates (selected by the user). By selecting the open / close icon displayed in the community bar 81, a channel list 82 for each community is displayed. For example, the channel list 82 corresponding to community A displays each channel name. A selection bar 83 displayed next to each channel name indicates which channel is selected.

[0109] For example, FIG. 12 shows a screen displayed on the user terminal 300 of the user "u2" illustrated in FIG. 7. The communities in which the user "u2" participates are "Community A" and "Community B," and therefore the channel screen list in FIG. 12 displays a community bar 81a for "Community A," a community bar 81b for "Community B," and a community bar 81c for "Community P," in which the user always participates. The selection bar 83 is displayed next to the "Official Channel" of "Community A," indicating that the community screen displayed in FIG. 11(A) is the "Official Channel" of "Community A." For example, the selection bar 83 moves when a channel name displayed in the channel list 82 is selected. As a result, the "Official Channel" of "Community A" in FIG. 11(A) is displayed on the app screen.

[0110] When a selection operation is performed on the channel list screen of Fig. 12, the screen may switch to the community screen of Fig. 11(A). Alternatively, as shown in Fig. 12, the channel list screen may be displayed superimposed on another screen, and the screen displayed below the channel list screen may be switched to the screen of the selected channel. By performing an operation to close the channel list screen of Fig. 12, the community screen of Fig. 11(A) may be displayed in full. Also, by selecting a channel on the channel list screen of Fig. 12, when a selection operation is performed on the community icon 14 displayed at the bottom of the app screen, the selected channel will be displayed as the community screen of Fig. 11(A).

[0111] The favorite confirmation icon 31 in FIG. 12 is an icon that, when selected, allows the user to check the content (also called posts) that the user has registered as favorites and that is stored as account information 125 or stored in the storage unit 320. The my posts icon 32 is an icon that, when selected, allows the user to check the content (threads created) that the user has posted in the community and the comments the user has made on the content (threads created). The introduction icon 33 is an icon that, when selected, allows the user to review the tutorial that is displayed upon initial login, or to display information on how to use the app and mental preparations. The notification settings icon 34 is an icon that, when selected, allows the user to display a screen for setting various notifications (e.g., selecting information to be sent by push notification). For example, the same screen as that displayed when the notification settings 58 illustrated in the My Page of FIG. 8 is selected may be displayed.

[0112] (About the Community screen) The community screen in Fig. 11(A) displays a recommended filter 20, a language switching icon LS, a sorting icon 22, a posting icon 23, and the like, similar to the home screen exemplified in Fig. 10. The sorting icon 22 is an icon that, when selected, allows the order of displayed content headings to be sorted in order of newest arrivals or popularity (for example, in order of most likeable actions). The posting icon 23 is an icon that, when selected, allows a user to post content (create a thread) within the community.

[0113] Each piece of content posted within a community is partially displayed as a content heading 70 (content information) on the community screen of Fig. 11(A). For example, content headings 70a, 70b, 70c, etc. are displayed. Each content heading 70 displays a poster 71, a report icon 72, a favorite icon 73, content information 74, etc.

[0114] The icon, name, etc. of the poster of the corresponding content are displayed in contributor 71. For example, if the contributor is an administrator or a special user (described later), the icon, name, etc. of the poster are displayed together with an official mark.

[0115] When the report icon 72 is selected, a screen such as that shown in FIG. 11(B) is displayed (for example, a pop-up display on the current screen). By selecting the text displayed in FIG. 11(B), the user can, for example, report offensive content to the administrator, hide the content on the user terminal 300, or block the content poster in the fan community app (so that the actions such as posts of the blocked user are not displayed on the user's own user terminal 300 thereafter). Note that operations such as hiding and blocking cannot be performed on administrators or special users (or content posted by them), and may be operations that can only be performed on other general users.

[0116] The favorite icon 73 is an icon that, when selected, allows the user to save their favorite posts so that they can be viewed later. For example, when the favorite icon 73 is selected, the user information database of FIG. 7, which is stored as account information 125, is updated and stored with the article ID of the post for which the favorite icon 73 was operated, in association with the user. This allows the user to view their favorite posts when they select the favorite confirmation icon 31 of FIG. 12.

[0117] The content information 74 displays the title of the posted content and part of the description.

[0118] Furthermore, if the posted content is posted together with an image, an image 75 is displayed in the content heading 70, and if there are comments on the content, the comments (for example, the latest comments or some of the most popular comments) are displayed in featured comments 76. Furthermore, the number of comments on the content is displayed in number of comments 77, and the number of tap actions on the content is displayed in number of tap actions 78. The number of tap actions on the content is displayed, for example, as the total number of tap actions from all users on a heart icon 708 displayed together with the number of tap actions 78 in the content heading (60, 70), or on an icon 708 displayed together with the number of tap actions 78 on the content screen in FIG. 13, which will be described later.

[0119] Furthermore, users who use the fan community app include special users, and when a comment or tap action is made by a special user, the comment or tap action from the special user can be displayed as a special action 79 in the content heading 70 along with the icon of the special user. A special user is, for example, a user corresponding to the talent shown in FIG. 5. Therefore, by displaying the special action 79, users can recognize that an action such as a comment or tap action has been made by the talent themselves. This can promote interaction with the target of support in the fan community app, thereby increasing user satisfaction.

[0120] The special actions 79 are displayed with an icon corresponding to each talent, along with an icon indicating that a comment was made by the talent, such as a speech bubble, if the talent has made a comment, and an icon indicating that a tap action was made by the talent, such as a heart. For example, the content heading 70a on the community screen in FIG. 11 displays special actions 79 indicating that actions were made by three talents. The icons of the talents displayed on the left and center are displayed with a speech bubble and a heart, indicating that a comment and a tap action were made. On the other hand, the talent displayed on the right is displayed with only a heart along with the icon, indicating that only a tap action was made without a comment.

[0121] In addition, the special action 79 displayed in the content heading 70 may be displayed within the content heading 60 on the home screen of FIG.

[0122] Fig. 13 is an example of a content screen that is displayed when content heading 70a is selected from among the contents displayed in Fig. 11(A), and is an example of a display screen that displays the content itself (post itself) that is the content of content heading 70a. Note that if similar content is also displayed on the home screen of Fig. 10, the content screen of Fig. 13 is displayed by selecting the corresponding content heading 60 on the home screen.

[0123] 13, a back icon 10b is displayed at the top, and the poster 71, report icon 72, favorite icon 73, number of tap actions 78, category 85, content 74b, related talent 88, and special actions 79 are displayed. If there are comments on the content, the comments are displayed in a list at the bottom. The comment list display includes a comment count 77b that displays the number of comments, each comment 87, and a comment posting field 84 where users can post comments.

[0124] When the back icon 10b is selected, the screen returns to the one the user was displaying immediately before. For example, if the content screen was accessed from the community screen in Fig. 11(A), the screen returns to the community screen in Fig. 11(A), and if the content screen was accessed from the home screen in Fig. 10, the screen returns to the home screen in Fig. 10.

[0125] If a category is associated with the content, the associated category name is displayed in category 85. Posted text information such as the title and description of the content is displayed in content 74b.

[0126] 5 is associated with the content, and displays the icon, name, etc. of the associated talent. Special action 79 is a display to indicate that, when an action has been taken on the content by a special user corresponding to the talent in FIG. 5, the content has been acted upon by that special user.

[0127] Each comment 87 displays a poster 71b that displays the comment poster, a report icon 72b that allows the comment to be reported or hidden as shown in Fig. 11(B), a reply icon 86 that allows a reply to the comment, a reply list 89 that displays a list of replies, etc. Note that the comment posting field 84 may also display an icon of the user himself / herself.

[0128] The display mode of each comment 87 may vary depending on the poster. For example, comment 87a is a comment made by a special user (AAA himself) corresponding to the talent "AAA" illustrated in FIG. 5. For example, the display order of the comments in the list at the bottom of the content screen in FIG. 13 may be changed so that the comment is displayed at the top, and the color may be changed so that it can be distinguished from comments made by other users (the display mode may be different). This can encourage users to interact with the talent in the fan community, improving user satisfaction.

[0129] Next, an example of a database of content in each community stored as content data 122 in distribution server 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 14. For example, Fig. 14 shows a content database for "Community A." The content database stores information such as "channels," "posting authority" for each channel, and "article ID" for each piece of content.

[0130] "Channels" are classified by topic, and the screen of each channel can be selected and displayed by a selection operation on the channel list 82 illustrated in FIG. 12. For example, "Official Channel" is a channel where official announcements from the administrator are posted, and "Group A Chat" is a channel with the theme of chatting about "Group A" of the affiliated group 1 in FIG. 5, which corresponds to "Community A." Furthermore, "Clips" is a channel with the theme of sharing links to clipped videos recommended by users (e.g., videos posted on a video distribution site, which are clipped portions of videos already posted on the video distribution site). "Past Recommendations" is a channel with the theme of recommending videos related to Group A (e.g., videos previously posted by affiliated talent). Note that when "All Channels" is selected on the channel list 82 in FIG. 12, all of the content of the channels in FIG. 14 is displayed together. Note that these channels are merely examples, and temporary special channels may be set up, for example.

[0131] "Posting authority" is information about users who have the authority to post content to each "channel." For example, "Official Channel" and "Past Recommendations" can only be posted from official accounts (e.g., special users such as administrators or celebrities). Posting from official accounts can be made, for example, from the administrator terminal 200 or from a terminal with the same configuration as the user terminal 300, as long as the user ID is identified as an official account. Furthermore, all users can post to "Group A Chat" and "Clips." For example, in the channel list 82 of FIG. 12, channels that can only be posted from official accounts are marked with an official mark, and channels that can be posted to by all users are marked with a speech bubble or the like. This allows users to easily identify whether or not a channel is available for posting.

[0132] An "article ID" is an ID that identifies each piece of content and is assigned to each piece of content. Each "article ID" is associated with a "category," "contributor ID," and "talent ID."

[0133] "Category" is a category that can be associated when content is posted. For example, "Event," "Goods," "Stream / Video," "Fan Art," "Clip," "Music," "Commemorative Stream," etc. can be associated to make it easier to recognize the theme of the content itself. When a "Category" is associated, the category name will be displayed in Category 85 on the content screen example in Figure 13.

[0134] The "contributor ID" is an ID that identifies the contributor of the content.

[0135] The "talent ID" is the talent ID of a related talent associated with the content when the content is posted, among the talent IDs stored in the talent information database of Fig. 5. In this way, in this embodiment, when posting content, the poster can associate a related talent with the content according to the content, and the associated "talent ID" can be stored for each piece of content. In other words, each piece of content data is stored together with the meta information of the talent.

[0136] For example, article ID "a1" is associated with the category "events," the poster is "ou1," and the talent IDs "t1," "t2," "t6," and "t14" are associated with it. Figure 13 above is a display example of article ID "a1," and poster 71 displays the name of "Staff S," who corresponds to user ID "ou1," and an official mark indicating that it is an official account. Category 85 also displays the category "events," which is associated with article ID "a1."

[0137] The related talent 88 displays the icons and names of the talents "AAA," "BBB," "FFF," and "MMM," ​​respectively corresponding to the talent IDs "t1," "t2," "t6," and "t14" associated with the article ID "a1." Since the related talents can be set when posting, the related talents can be displayed in the content, allowing the user to easily identify which talent the post is about. The related talent 88 may also be displayed in the content heading 70 on the community screen shown in FIG. 11(A).

[0138] In this way, related talents can be associated with content. Therefore, if the related talents include a favorite talent selected in advance by the user, the distribution server 100 can notify the user by push notification that a post related to the favorite talent has been made, based on information in the user information database stored as account information 125. For example, when content associated with the favorite talent and a related talent has been posted, or every predetermined time (e.g., every 5 minutes, 15 minutes, etc.), the distribution server 100 sends a push notification to the user that content associated with the favorite talent and a related talent has been posted. When a push notification is made, the user can transition to a content screen (e.g., FIG. 13) for the content associated with the favorite talent by performing an operation in response to the push notification. When content associated with the favorite talent and a related talent has been posted, this occurs when the content heading (60, 70) for the content is displayed on the home screen of FIG. 10 or the community screen of FIG. 11(A).

[0139] It should be noted that the category and related talent can be set at the poster's discretion when posting content, and content can be posted without any association. For example, content may be posted within community A with no related talent, such as article ID "a99," in which case only community A (first attribute) is associated with the content.

[0140] (Example of home screen) Returning to FIG. 10 , the content displayed on the home screen will be described in detail. The home screen of each user terminal 300 displays content stored in a content database corresponding to the "participating community" associated with the user information database shown in FIG. 13 (stored as account information 125) among the content databases shown in FIG. 14 (stored as content data 122). That is, for categories from the recommended topic 62 onward on each user's home screen, only content headings of content posted in the communities in which the user participates are displayed. For example, if the communities pre-selected in FIGS. 6 and 9 are "Community A" and "Community B," the home screen displays content posted in "Community A," "Community B," and "Community P," in which the user is always participating. If there is no community in which the user always participates, the home screen displays content posted in the community pre-selected by the user. However, content posted in "Community C," in which the user is not participating, is not displayed. Furthermore, for categories from the recommended topic 62 onward, the displayed content headings 60 change depending on whether the recommended filter 20 (described later) is turned on or off.

[0141] In any category, the home screen may display only one piece of content, or may display a predetermined number of the most recent content headings 60 (for example, two, five, seven, etc.). Alternatively, a predetermined number of content headings 60 may be displayed in order of popularity. The displayed content headings 60 for each category may be switched by performing a left-right sliding operation on the touch panel of the user terminal 300. For example, by performing an operation (such as a flick operation) to slide a content heading 60 (for example, the most recent dated one) displayed in the commemorative distribution 64 of FIG. 10 to the left, an older content heading 60 may appear on the right side of the screen. Alternatively, for example, only half of the content headings 60 may be displayed on the right side of the screen, or may not appear unless a sliding operation is performed.

[0142] In addition, in the content heading 60 of any category on the home screen, if the content is associated with a talent as shown in Figure 5, an associated talent 88 may be displayed that displays the icon, name, etc. of the associated talent.

[0143] Furthermore, the recommended topic 62 displays a predetermined number of pieces of content posted within the community in which the user participates that are associated with the recommended talent that the user has previously selected as exemplified in Figures 6, 9, etc. For example, the recommended topic 62 of a user who participates in "Community A" and has selected talent "AAA" as their recommended talent will display an extracted piece of content that is associated with the talent ID "t1" corresponding to talent "AAA" from the content stored in the content database of Community A in Figure 14.

[0144] Popular user posts 63 displays a predetermined number of contents that are considered to be popular among contents posted by general users other than the official accounts of the communities in which the user participates. For example, the contents may be sorted in order of the number of like actions (tap actions and / or comments) or the highest engagement rate (for example, contents with a high ratio of like actions to the number of views).

[0145] Furthermore, the content displayed on the home screen may include a category that displays content stored in the content database that is associated with a specific category. For example, commemorative broadcast 64 displays content stored in the content database that is associated with the category "commemorative broadcast," and goods 705 displays content that is associated with the category "goods." There may also be a category that displays only posts from a specific channel of a specific community. For example, there may be a category that displays a predetermined number of the latest content headings 60 posted to a specific channel of "Community P." Furthermore, these categories displayed on the home screen are merely examples, and temporary special categories may also be provided.

[0146] The recommended topic 62 on the home screen is preferentially displayed at the top of the categories that can be displayed on the home screen, excluding the feature 61. This makes it easier for the user to identify information about the recommended talent. However, this is not limiting, and the recommended topic 62 may be preferentially displayed at the top, including the feature 61. Alternatively, there may be other categories that are displayed with priority over the recommended topic 62. The categories can be displayed in the order that the administrator wants users to recognize.

[0147] Furthermore, the content displayed in the content heading 60 of the recommended topic 62 may overlap with the content displayed in the content headings 60 of other categories after the recommended topic 62, or if a content is displayed in the recommended topic 62, it may not be displayed in the content headings 60 of other categories. Note that the recommended topic 62 will not be displayed to users who have not previously selected any talent as their recommended talent.

[0148] (Example of content attribute extraction process related to selected attributes) 15 and 16, a filter function that narrows down the content displayed to those associated with a favorite talent (second attribute) pre-selected by the user will be described. In the fan community app of this embodiment, the content displayed on the user terminal 300 is not only narrowed down to the participating community (first attribute) pre-selected by the user, but also can be further narrowed down to the favorite talent (second attribute) pre-selected by the user when a predetermined condition based on the user's intention is met, since each content data is stored together with the talent's meta information.

[0149] Narrowing down to content associated with a favorite talent is performed by a predetermined switching operation on the user terminal 300. The predetermined switching operation is an operation of selecting a predetermined icon, for example, a selection operation on the favorite talent filter 60 on the home screen of FIG. 10 and the community screen of FIG. 11(A) (note that these may also be referred to as the content list screen and the content screen).

[0150] Figure 15 shows example screens on the content screen of Figure 11(A) when the Oshi Filter 20 is on and off. Figure 15(A) shows an example screen when the Oshi Filter 20 is on and the filtering to the Oshi talent preset by the user is active. Figure 15(B) shows an example screen when the Oshi Filter 20 is off and the filtering to the Oshi talent preset by the user is not active.

[0151] 15 is an example of a screen displayed on the user terminal 300 of the user "u1" in FIG. 7, for example. In FIG. 15(A), the favorite filter 20 is on, so only content associated with the talent selected in advance by the user "u1" as a favorite talent is extracted. That is, in the user information database stored as the account information 125, the talent IDs associated with the user "u1" are the talent ID "t1" of the talent "AAA," the talent ID "t2" of the talent "BBB," and the talent ID "t5" of the talent "EEE." Therefore, only content associated with any of the talent IDs is extracted from the content information database stored as the content data 122. For example, content of the article ID "a1" associated with the talent IDs "t1" and "t2" and content (content headings 60, 70) of the article ID "a7" associated with "t5" in the content information database of the community A in FIG. 14 are displayed.

[0152] On the other hand, article ID "a4," which is not associated with any of the talents selected by user "u1," is not displayed. For example, even if the content is posted within a participating community, content headings (60, 70) of content that is not associated with any related talents are not displayed. In contrast, when the favorite filter 20 is turned off, as shown in FIG. 15(B), content headings 70d of content related to talent "DDD," content heading 70e of content related to talent "FFF," or content heading 70 of content not associated with any talents, which are content that is not associated with the favorite talent selected by user "u1," are displayed.

[0153] (Example of attribute extraction process flow) Next, the flow of the attribute extraction process for extracting content relating to attributes previously selected by the user will be described with reference to Fig. 16. Fig. 16 is a diagram for explaining a flowchart of the attribute extraction process described with reference to Fig. 15. The attribute selection process is repeatedly executed by the content management unit 132 in the distribution server 100 in response to receiving a request from the user terminal 300 (for example, operation information for the recommended filter 20, etc.).

[0154] In step S201, it is determined whether a content display request operation has been made from the user terminal 300. Display request operations include an operation to load display data on the user terminal 300 and a selection operation to turn the favorite filter 20 on or off when a predetermined condition is met. Operations to load display data include, for example, logging in to the app (querying the server when the app is opened), a reload operation (reloading operation), or a selection operation on the home icon 13, community icon 14 on the app screen, or a channel displayed in the channel list 82 in FIG. 12 . The predetermined condition is met, for example, when the user taps to switch the icon of the favorite filter 20 displayed on the user terminal 300.

[0155] If it is determined in step S201 that a display request operation has not been made, the process ends. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S201 that a display request operation has been made from the user terminal 300, it is determined in step S202 whether the Oshi Filter 20 is on. In this embodiment, the default setting for the Oshi Filter 20 is off. Therefore, the Oshi Filter 20 is off when logging in when the app is launched, or on the content screen or home screen of a channel that is displayed for the first time after the app is launched. In this case, since it is not determined in step S202 that the Oshi Filter 20 is on, the process proceeds to step S203.

[0156] In step S203, information about the participating communities selected by the user of the user terminal 300 that sent the display request operation is extracted and transmitted to the user terminal 300, after which the process ends. The selected participating communities include the "belonging communities" for each user that are previously selected by the user and stored as account information 125, as illustrated in FIGS. 6A and 9, and, if there are any communities in which the user is always participating, the communities in which the user is always participating. For example, user "u2" in FIG. 7 is participating in "Community A" and "Community B." Therefore, in step S203, the home screen of the user terminal 300 of user "u2" displays content posted in "Community A," "Community B," and the "Community P" in which the user is always participating, and the community bars 81 for "Community A," "Community B," and "Community P" are displayed on the channel list screen of FIG. 12.

[0157] Returning to step S202, if it is determined that the Oshi Filter is on, the process proceeds to step S204. For example, when a selection operation to turn on the Oshi Filter 20 is performed, it is determined in step S201 that a display request operation has been performed, and it is determined in step S202 that the Oshi Filter is on. Also, after the app is launched, if a reload operation is performed on the community screen or home screen of a channel where the operation to turn on the Oshi Filter 20 has already been performed, or if the content screen of FIG. 13 is displayed with the Oshi Filter 20 on and then the user returns to the community screen or home screen where the Oshi Filter 20 was on, the Oshi Filter 20 on state is stored (stored in the storage unit 120 or the storage unit 320), and it is determined in step S201 that a display request operation has been performed, and it is determined in step S202 that the Oshi Filter is on.

[0158] In step S204, information about the selected favorite talent from the selected participating community is extracted and transmitted to the user terminal 300, and the process ends. For example, for user "u2," only content associated with talent IDs "t2," "t3," "t4," "t7," and "t8" is extracted from content posted in "Community A," "Community B," and "Community P" and displayed on the channel content screen and home screen. On the home screen, for categories from Recommended Topic 62 onward (categories other than Feature 61 and Recommended Topic 62 in FIG. 10), content headings 60 of content associated with the favorite talent previously selected by the user through a selection operation on the Recommended Filter 20 in participating communities are displayed.

[0159] Although an example has been described in which the attribute extraction process is executed by the distribution server 100, it may also be executed by the user terminal 300. For example, information about each user's favorite talent may be stored in the memory unit 320 of the user terminal 300, and information about the content obtained from the distribution server 100 (for example, every 10 items) may be extracted by the user terminal 300.

[0160] Furthermore, even if content is posted by a talent other than the user's favorite talent or the content is centered (main) around a talent other than the user's favorite talent, if the talent associated with the content is associated with a favorite talent previously selected by the user, turning on the favorite filter 20 will display content headings (60, 70) for content related to the talent other than the user's favorite talent on the home screen of FIG. 10 or the community screen of FIG. 11(A). For example, suppose that content posted by talent "AAA" corresponding to content heading 70c in FIG. 11(A) is related to a birthday event for talent "AAA." However, suppose that talent "BBB" is scheduled to participate in the birthday event for "AAA" (also known as a collaboration), and therefore "BBB" is set as a related talent. In this case, in the content database, the talent ID "t2" corresponding to talent "BBB" is associated with the article corresponding to content heading 70c. As a result, even if a user who has not selected talent "AAA" as their favorite talent turns on the favorite filter 20 on their user terminal 300, the content heading 70c related to the birthday event of talent "AAA" will be displayed. As a result, even if the information is likely to be overlooked at first glance because it is not related to the favorite talent, the user will not miss information related to the favorite talent.

[0161] Even if the favorite filter 20 is not on (whether the favorite filter is on or off), the related talent 88 can be displayed on the home screen of Fig. 10, the community screen of Fig. 11(A), or the content screen itself of Fig. 13. Therefore, even without setting favorite talents individually, the user can recognize who in the group is related to the content, which increases interest.

[0162] (Examples of user-submitted associations with categories, talents, etc.) Next, with reference to Figures 17 and 18, a specific example of user posting processing when a user posts content will be described. Figure 17 is an example of a user posting screen. For example, when the content screen of a channel for which "posting authority" is set to "user" in the community content database of Figure 16 is displayed, the posting icon 23 shown in Figure 11(A) is selected to display it. Note that for channels such as official channels where posting authority is limited to official accounts, unauthorized users may be unable to select the posting icon 23 on the content screen. For example, the display mode may be changed, such as by displaying it in gray, or the posting icon 23 itself may not be displayed.

[0163] FIG. 17(A) is a screen that is displayed when the post icon 23 is selected on the content screen of the channel "Group A Chat." FIG. 17(A) displays input fields for the title, main text, etc., an image icon 37, a next icon 38, etc. By selecting the image icon 37, an image saved in the user terminal 300 can be uploaded. By selecting the next icon 38, the screen transitions to that of FIG. 17(B). Note that if the title and main text have not been entered, it is not necessary to proceed to the next step. If an image has been uploaded instead of entering text, it may be possible to proceed to the next step. This is to avoid a proliferation of empty posts.

[0164] On the screen of FIG. 17(B), it is possible to select a category and related talent to associate with the content to be posted. For example, when category bar 39 is selected, a category list 39b opens, as illustrated in FIG. 17(C). The user can select any category from the category list. Note that one category may be selected, or multiple categories may be selectable. When related talent bar 40 in FIG. 17(B) is selected, a list of talents, as shown in FIG. 6(B), is displayed, and any talent (talent to be associated) can be selected. Note that the selection of related talent is not limited to one person, and multiple people can be selected. When a selection operation is performed on icon 41 to post, the content is posted to "Group A Chat."

[0165] (User submission processing flow) Next, the flow of the user posting process when a user posts content will be described with reference to Fig. 18. Fig. 18 is a diagram for explaining the flowchart of the user posting process described with reference to Fig. 17. The user posting process is repeatedly executed by the control unit 350 of the user terminal 300.

[0166] In step S301, it is determined whether a posting icon has been selected. For example, it is determined whether a selection operation has been performed on posting icon 23 on a content screen such as FIG. 11(A). If it is determined that posting icon 23 has not been selected, the process ends. On the other hand, if it is determined that posting icon 23 has been selected, it is determined in step S302 whether the channel to which the posting is being attempted is a channel to which user posting is permitted. For example, in the case of the channels "Group A Chat" and "Clips" in FIG. 14, all users are permitted to post, so in step S303, the posting screen in FIG. 17(A) is displayed. This allows, for example, text information to be entered or an image to be attached by operating image icon 37.

[0167] On the other hand, if the content screen when "All Channels" is selected in the channel list 802 of Figure 12, or the content screen for the channel "Official Channel" or "Past Recommendations" is displayed, posting is only permitted to official accounts, so in step S302 it is not determined that the channel is one for which user posting is permitted, and processing is terminated.

[0168] After the posting screen is displayed in step S303, it is determined in step S304 whether or not "Next" has been selected. For example, it is determined whether or not "Next" icon 38 has been selected as an operation to proceed to the next page on the posting screen of FIG. 17(A). If it is determined in step S303 that "Next" has been selected, it is determined in step S305 whether or not character input has been completed. If character input has not been completed, the process returns to step S304.

[0169] On the other hand, if it is not determined in step S304 that "Next" has been selected, it is determined in step S306 whether "Close" has been selected. For example, this may be a selection operation on the close icon 35. If it is determined in step S306 that "Close" has been selected, the process ends. On the other hand, if it is not determined in step S306 that "Close" has been selected, the process returns to step S304.

[0170] If it is determined in step S305 that character input has been completed, a category etc. selection screen is displayed in step S307. For example, this is a screen that allows selection of a category or related talent as shown in FIG.

[0171] After the category selection screen is displayed in step S307, it is determined in step S308 whether or not a category has been selected. If it is determined in step S308 that a category has been selected, the category is associated with the posted information in step S309. For example, if "event" is selected in the category list 39b in FIG. 17(C), the category "event" is associated with the posted information.

[0172] If it is determined in step S308 that no category has been selected, or after a category has been associated in step S309, it is determined in step S310 whether or not a related talent has been selected. If it is determined in step S310 that a related talent has been selected, the related talent is associated with the posted information in step S311. For example, in FIG. 17(B), if the related talent bar 40 is selected to select talent "AAA," talent ID "t1" is associated with the posted information.

[0173] If it is not determined in step S309 that a related talent has been selected, or after the related talent has been associated in step S310, it is determined in step S312 whether a post confirmation operation has been performed. For example, it is determined whether a selection operation has been performed on the posting icon 41 in FIG. 17(B). If it is determined in step S312 that a post confirmation operation has been performed, the posted information (including, for example, input text information, attached image information, selected category, selected related talent, poster ID, etc.) is sent to distribution server 100 for processing in step S313. As a result, for example, if the category "Events" is selected in "Group A Chat" and "DDD" is selected as the related talent, distribution server 100 stores the article ID "a4" as shown in FIG. 14.

[0174] Returning to step S312, if it is determined that the posting confirmation operation has not been performed, it is determined in step S314 whether or not a close selection has been performed. The close selection is, for example, an operation of selecting the close icon 35 on the screen of Fig. 17(B). If it is determined in step S314 that close has been selected, the process ends.

[0175] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S314 that "Close" has not been selected, it is determined in step S315 whether "Back" has been selected. For example, this may be a selection operation on the "Back" icon 36 in FIG. 17(B). If it is determined in step S315 that "Back" has been selected, the process returns to step S303, returning to the display of the text input posting screen in FIG. 17(A). This allows the user to re-edit the text and image information that was input on the posting screen before selecting "Next" in step S304. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S315 that "Back" has not been selected, the category etc. selection screen continues to be displayed in step S307. Note that although an example in which the user posting process is executed on the user terminal 300 has been described, it may also be executed on the distribution server 100, and the display information may be transmitted to the user terminal 300.

[0176] <About behavior control function based on user ratings within fan communities> (Overview of behavior control function) Next, a description will be given of a behavior control function based on user ratings within a fan community in this embodiment. In the fan community in this embodiment, users themselves can post content within the community and share it with other users. While this type of interaction with other users revitalizes the community, if no restrictions are placed on the actions users can take, users who post content that may offend other users may be left unchecked, which could lead to a deterioration in the public order and atmosphere within the community. Therefore, a level that serves as an indicator of trustworthiness, honesty, etc. is set for each user, and the actions that users can take within the community are changed depending on the level. In this embodiment, the user's rating history is updated based on external evaluations other than the user's own evaluation, depending on the user's actions within the community, and the actions that users can take within the community are changed depending on the rating history. As a result, users with high indicators such as trustworthiness and honesty are allowed to take more actions, while users with low indicators are restricted in the actions that they can take. In other words, the rating history changes depending on the actions that are acceptable within the fan community.

[0177] (Summary of user level fluctuations) As shown in the user information database of FIG. 7, each user's "level" is stored in association with the user ID. The "level" changes according to the "accumulated points." The "accumulated points" change according to external evaluation, which will be described later. For example, if a user's level is initially set to 1 and the accumulated points reach 10, the level will change to 2. To increase from level 2 to level 3, more points are required than the number of points required to increase from level 1 to 2. For example, the user will reach level 3 when the accumulated points reach 21. In this way, as the level increases, the number of points required increases, making it more difficult to increase the level. In addition, the "accumulated points" may decrease according to external evaluation. For example, if a user who was at level 2 has accumulated points that fall below 20, the user's level will decrease from 2 to 1.

[0178] Furthermore, each user can check their own "level" and "accumulated points" in the user evaluation history status 55 on their My Page, as shown in FIG. 8. This allows users to be mindful of taking actions that will raise their level. On the other hand, users cannot check the "level" and "accumulated points" of other users. In this way, by not disclosing their own level to other users, users with lower levels in the community can be prevented from feeling inferior, and users with higher levels can be prevented from behaving arrogantly. Note that only one of the "level" and "accumulated points" may be displayed on the My Page.

[0179] (About actions that can be taken by level) Actions that can be taken by user level in this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 19, 20, and 21. Figure 19 is a table showing examples of actions that are permitted (can be taken) by level, and is divided into levels such as "1 to 49," "50 to 59," "60 to 69," "70 to 79," "80 to 89," "90 to 99," and "100." Actions permitted for each level are stored as action authority information 124 in distribution server 100.

[0180] "Specific actions," which are actions that can be taken or not, are controlled depending on the user's level and include, for example, "no posting link restrictions," "plan creation," "moderator invitation," and "community creation." "No posting link restrictions" means that when a user posts content within a community, there are no restrictions on the URLs that can be posted, and the restrictions are lifted for users with level 60 or higher. Furthermore, content posted by users with no posting link restrictions is also reflected on the user terminals 300 of users with level 59 or lower. In other words, even if content contains a link that is restricted from posting, users with level 59 or lower can view (and access) the link, as long as the content was posted by a user with level 60 or higher.

[0181] "Plan creation" is the right to start a plan (event) within the community, and can be done by users level 80 and above. For example, they can start an event plan such as an offline meetup where people gather in real or virtual space at a specified date and time, or a survey plan. In other words, they can act as a leader. Furthermore, users level 79 and below can participate in plans created by users level 80 and above.

[0182] "Moderator invitation" means that a user can act as an administrator of content posted within a community, and is available to users who are level 90 or higher. For example, this can involve deleting or hiding (also known as restricting) content or comments that have been visually inspected as inappropriate, something that an administrator would normally do. It can also be the authority to take measures such as suspending (for example, for a certain period of time) the accounts of malicious users. Content restricted by users level 90 or higher will no longer be displayed on the user terminals 300 of users level 89 or lower.

[0183] "Community creation" allows users to create new communities that they can participate in, as exemplified in FIG. 6(A) and other examples. This action is permitted only for users with the highest level of trust, level 100. For example, a fan of group A (corresponding to community A) can create a community called "Community A2" to support group A. The created community A2 will be displayed in the participating community selection area 50 on the participating community setting screen in FIG. 6(A). Alternatively, new "channels" may be created. For example, a channel with a new theme can be added to the channel for "Community A." The newly added channel will be displayed in the channel list 82 in FIG. 12. Communities and channels created by level 100 users can also be joined and selected by users at level 99 or lower.

[0184] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the user's level can not only be raised but also lowered. Therefore, even if a specific action such as the one illustrated in FIG. 19 is permitted as a result of a level increase, it becomes restricted and cannot be performed as the level decreases. For example, a user at level 80 or higher can create a project within a community, but if the user's level decreases to 79, they will no longer be able to create a project. Furthermore, if another user reports a created project or community as inappropriate in the fan community app on the display screen of the created project or community, this is also an external evaluation that may lower the level of the user who created the project or community.

[0185] FIG. 20 shows an example of a posting screen on the user terminal 300 of a user who does not have "no posting link restrictions." In this embodiment, a user with a posting link restriction up to level 59 is only permitted to post links to "video sharing site A" and "SNS-B." In this case, if a URL other than "video sharing site A" or "SNS-B" is entered in the body of a post, a message such as "Currently, only URLs 'video sharing site A' and 'SNS-B' can be posted" is displayed, as shown in FIG. 20. Furthermore, if the next icon 38 is displayed in a different manner depending on whether a post is permitted or not, the next icon 38 may be displayed in a manner that prohibits posting, preventing selection. In this way, while it is relatively easy to automatically detect uploaded images using image recognition to hide inappropriate images (images that may be offensive, such as violent images), it is not easy to determine whether a URL references a malicious website (e.g., a fake site, a fraudulent site, or a page containing offensive content), and the administrator must perform a hide setting, which is time-consuming. Therefore, for content that is difficult to determine whether it is an inappropriate post (in this case, URL links), by allowing only high-level users (users with high levels of trust) to post it, the burden on administrators can be reduced and inappropriate posts can be suppressed, stabilizing public order within the community.

[0186] In addition, "Video Sharing Site A" and "SNS-B," which are open to users who do not have "no posting link restrictions," are websites where streaming videos of celebrities who are the target of support in fan community apps are posted, and relatively safe link destinations have been established.

[0187] The flow of the process for determining whether a user has posted links restricted in the user posting process will be described with reference to Figure 21. Figure 21 is a flowchart for the case where a determination of whether a user has posted links restricted (processing surrounded by a dotted line) is added to the user posting process described with reference to Figure 18, and therefore a description of the same processes as in Figure 18 will be omitted.

[0188] 17(A) is displayed in step S303, it is determined in step S316 whether or not a link other than the predetermined link has been pasted. If it is determined that a link other than the predetermined link has not been pasted, the process proceeds to step S304, where it is determined whether or not Next has been selected.

[0189] On the other hand, if it is determined that a link other than the predetermined link has been pasted, the process proceeds to step S317, where it is determined whether the user is permitted to paste links other than the predetermined link. For example, the user terminal 300 determines whether the level is 80 or higher based on the "level" and "cumulative points" for each user acquired from the distribution server 100 and stored in the storage unit 320.

[0190] If it is determined in step S317 that the user is permitted to paste links other than the predetermined link, the process proceeds to step S304, where it is determined whether or not Next has been selected. On the other hand, if it is not determined in step S317 that the user is permitted to paste links other than the predetermined link, a notice is issued in step S318 that posting is not permitted, and the process returns to step S316. For example, if the user is at level 10, since pasting links other than the predetermined link is not permitted, a notice is issued that links other than the predetermined link cannot be pasted, as illustrated in FIG. 20.

[0191] Returning to FIG. 19, the "report count" is a permission that can influence whether or not a particular piece of content is hidden from all users. In this embodiment, content that has accumulated a predetermined number of users who are level 70 or higher and have been hidden or reported can be hidden from all users. For example, content that has been hidden or reported by five users who are level 70 or higher can be hidden from all users.

[0192] Additionally, content or comments posted by a user who has accumulated a certain number of users with a level of 70 or higher who have been hidden or reported, which are subject to the "report count," can be hidden from all users. For example, content or comments posted by a user who has been hidden or reported by five users with a level of 70 or higher can be hidden from all users.

[0193] Note that the users who are not visible may not include the users who posted the comments or content. This allows the user to know (become aware) that the content or comments posted by the user have been restricted, even though the content or comments posted by the user are reflected on the user's own device, for example, due to the lack of action from other users.

[0194] The "benefits" are associated with different benefits depending on the level. For example, when there is a giveaway, more valuable items for fans, such as rarer items, may be awarded depending on the level. For example, if the benefits are stamps that can be used to post comments or items that can be used at a talent's live performance, the cost of purchasing stamps or items will be higher for benefit D, which is awarded to users at levels 60 to 69, than for benefit E, which is awarded to users at levels 50 to 59. As the level increases, the value of the benefit awarded will also increase.

[0195] (Example of fluctuations in evaluation values) Next, an example of a change in the number of accumulated points (evaluation value) will be described with reference to FIG. 22. FIG. 22 is a table for explaining an example of an external evaluation that changes a user's "accumulated points" and an example of the relationship between the external evaluation and the change number. When a user (including an administrator) takes some action on content (posted article), comments, etc., the account management unit 133 changes or updates the user's accumulated points depending on whether the action is an external evaluation stored as action information 123. If the level changes in response to a change in the accumulated points, the account management unit 133 performs a process of granting or restricting the user the action authority stored as action authority information 124.

[0196] External evaluation is evaluation from other users other than the user himself / herself. For example, if a user posts content or comment and receives "likes" from other users, 5 points are added for each "like" (1 tap action).

[0197] Alternatively, points may be awarded as a result of a high evaluation from the management, such as when the management has a favorable impression that the user is highly trustworthy based on the content posted by the user or the content of the comments, etc. The number of points awarded by the management may be a predetermined number, or may be changed by the management as appropriate.

[0198] Points may also be awarded based on the degree to which the target of support is popularized. In other words, points are awarded based on the degree to which the promotion of content (such as videos or merchandise) related to the target of support contributes to the target of support. Promotional activities include, for example, spreading links to videos of the target celebrity or introducing merchandise of the target celebrity. For example, if a user posts content that includes a video link to a video related to the celebrity or a group to which the celebrity belongs, points may be awarded based on the number of video views from the posted content. Furthermore, if a link to a merchandise page related to the celebrity or a group to which the celebrity belongs is posted, points may be awarded based on the number of clicks on the merchandise page link. A merchandise page may be, for example, an official merchandise page for a celebrity supported by a fan community or a sales page for a product collaboratively planned with another company. A dedicated URL for community posting may be issued for tallying points. Alternatively, points may be awarded to the user who posted the URL when a product is purchased via the dedicated URL for community posting on the merchandise page of the official website.

[0199] On the other hand, points are deducted when a user is reported by another user or when the user is hidden. For example, by operating the screen displayed in FIG. 11(B), it is possible to deduct 5 points for each report. Alternatively, if the administrator is concerned that a user may be deteriorating the atmosphere within the community due to the content posted by the user or the content of the comments, the administrator may give the user a negative evaluation (deduct points). The number of points deducted by the administrator may be a predetermined number, or may be changed by the administrator as appropriate.

[0200] As an example of external evaluation, the text of comments made on content may be evaluated, and if the text contains positive words predetermined by the administrator or the like, points may be increased, and if the text contains negative words predetermined by the administrator or the like, points may be decreased. Text evaluation may also be performed automatically by AI. For example, the proportion of positive and negative words in the content posted by the user or in comments from other users on the content posted by the user may be automatically determined, and points may or may not be awarded depending on which element predominates. Positive and negative words are not determined by the user, but are based on external criteria (for example, criteria set by the administrator (including AI determination)).

[0201] (About the evaluation history status update process) Next, the flow of the user rating history status update process will be described with reference to FIG. 23. FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart of the process of updating the user rating history status that changes depending on the external ratings described with reference to FIG. 22. The rating history status update process is repeatedly executed by the account management unit 133 in the distribution server 100 when some action (for example, an action that is subject to external ratings, such as a tap action, comment, report, or hide) is performed on content, comments, etc. posted by each user in the fan community app. Note that the rating history status refers to the results of ratings given to a user by external factors other than the user himself / herself, including the "level" and "accumulated points" in the user information database of FIG. 7, which are stored as account information.

[0202] In step S401, it is determined whether or not there has been an external evaluation. For example, it is determined whether or not there has been an external evaluation, such as that illustrated in Fig. 22, for content or comments posted by a user. If it is determined that there has not been an external evaluation, the process ends.

[0203] On the other hand, when it is determined that there is an external evaluation, it is determined in step S402 whether the external evaluation is an "increase in the number of points" evaluation. For example, if the external evaluation is a "like from another user" (a tap action from another user) as exemplified in FIG. 22, the number of points increases by 5, and therefore it is determined in step S402 that the external evaluation is an "increase in the number of points" evaluation.

[0204] If it is determined in step S402 that the external evaluation was a "point increase" evaluation, then in step S403 the number of points is added for each user according to the external evaluation, and the evaluation history status is updated and stored. For example, suppose a user is at level 59, and by adding 5 to their accumulated points due to the external evaluation, they reach the number of points required to reach level 60, and their level rises to 60. In this case, in the user information database, the level is updated to 60, and the number of accumulated points is updated to the value after the addition of 5, and stored.

[0205] Next, in step S404, it is determined whether the user has leveled up due to a change in the number of points. If it is determined in step S404 that the user has leveled up due to a change in the number of points, in step S405, the user is permitted to perform specific actions according to the new level, and the user's permitted action information stored as account information 125 is updated and stored. For example, assume that the user has reached level 60 and is no longer restricted in posting links, as illustrated in FIG. 19. In this case, information indicating that the user has no restrictions on posting links is associated and stored in the user information database stored as account information 125. Note that even if the user has leveled up, there may be cases in which no new permitted actions are granted, in which case the permitted action information is not particularly updated and the process ends.

[0206] After the permitted action information is updated and stored in step S405, information is sent to the user in step S406 to notify the user that the specific action is permitted, and the process ends. For example, the user terminal 300 may send a push notification or an in-app notification with a message stating "Your level has been increased, so there are no more restrictions on posting links," or a pop-up message may be displayed the next time you post.

[0207] Returning to step S402, if it is not determined that the external evaluation was "point increase," the process proceeds to step S407, where it is determined whether the external evaluation is "point decrease." For example, if the external evaluation is "report from another user" as illustrated in FIG. 22, the number of points will decrease by 5, and therefore in step S407 it is determined to be a "point decrease."

[0208] If it is determined in step S407 that the external evaluation was a "point reduction" evaluation, then in step S408 the number of points is reduced for each user according to the external evaluation, and the evaluation history status is updated and stored. For example, suppose a user was at level 60, but had their accumulated points reduced by 5 due to the external evaluation, and therefore their accumulated points no longer meet the number of points required for level 60, causing their level to drop to 59. In this case, the user information database updates the level to 59 and stores the accumulated points after the 5 points have been subtracted.

[0209] Next, in step S409, it is determined whether the level has been downgraded due to a change in the number of points. If it is determined in step S409 that the level has been downgraded, in step S410, specific actions that were permitted before the level downgrading are restricted according to the level after the level downgrading, and the permitted action information is updated and stored. For example, suppose that the user's level has reached 59, and posting links are now restricted, as shown in FIG. 19. In this case, information indicating that the user has posted links is associated with the user and stored in the user information database stored as account information 125. Note that there may be cases where no actions are restricted even if the level has been downgraded, in which case the permitted action information is not particularly updated and the process ends.

[0210] After the permitted action information is updated and stored in step S410, information is sent to the user in step S411 to notify the user that a specific action has been restricted, and the process ends. For example, the user terminal 300 may send a push notification or an in-app notification with a message stating "Restrictions have been placed on posting links due to a level downgrade," or a pop-up may be displayed the next time a post is made.

[0211] Returning to step S407, if it is determined that the external evaluation is not a "point reduction" evaluation, the process ends. For example, this occurs when an action that is not defined as affecting the change in the number of points occurs. Note that although an example in which the evaluation history status update process is executed by the distribution server 100 has been described, the process may be executed by the user terminal 300 and then the information may be transmitted to the distribution server 100.

[0212] <About the effects displayed by tap actions> (Example of a display screen for tap action processing) Next, referring to Figs. 24, 25, and 26, a description will be given of a visual effect when a tap action is received from a user on content, a comment, or the like. In this embodiment, the number of tap actions is incremented by an operation (e.g., a click operation or a tap operation from the user terminal 300) on the icon 708 displayed in the content described with reference to Figs. 10, 11, and 13, or the tap action number 78 (78b) displayed in the heading of the content. Furthermore, when the number of tap actions is incremented, a visual effect can be displayed on the user terminal 300. For example, each time an operation is performed on the icon 708, a visual effect is displayed in which a predetermined mark pops out from the icon 708.

[0213] Fig. 24 shows an example of a presentation display (reception presentation) when a tap action is received from a user. Fig. 24(A) shows an example of a screen for each channel of each community as exemplified in Fig. 11(A) and shows an example of an operation performed on icon 708 with tap action count 78 displayed in the top-ranked content heading 70. In this case, since the number of tap operations has reached 50, "50" is displayed in the individual tap action count 48. This allows the user to recognize the number of tap actions they have performed.

[0214] FIG. 24(A) illustrates three consecutive taps (continuous taps). The first tap (48th tap) produces an effect in which a thumbs-up mark 41a pops out from the icon 708, which has a tap action count of 78. The second tap (49th tap) produces an effect in which a thumbs-up mark 41b pops out from the icon 708. The third tap (50th tap) produces an effect in which a fan mark 42 pops out from the icon 708. The fan mark 42 is a fan mark of a related talent associated with the content in which the icon 708 was operated. Thus, if the duration of the effect of the mark that popped out from the previous tap (from the moment it popped out until it disappeared) overlaps with the duration of the effect of the mark that popped out from the next tap, multiple marks are displayed. Thus, the effect of marks popping out one after another due to the continuous tapping produces an effect in which the marks pop out one after another, providing the user with a refreshing feeling for the tap action (operability) and encouraging further tapping actions. The effect of the marks popping out may be such that multiple marks are not displayed at the same time as shown in FIG. 24(A) but only one mark is displayed at a time.

[0215] FIG. 24(B) shows a special effect (special reception effect) that is displayed when a predetermined number of tap actions are performed by the user. For example, when the number of operations on icon 708 reaches 100, an effect is displayed in which various marks rain down across the entire screen. Note that the predetermined number may be the upper limit that the user can perform tap actions on each action target. In other words, once the predetermined number is reached, no effects are generated by operations on icon 708, and no update of the number of individual tap actions 48 is performed. Alternatively, the effect may be performed every time the predetermined number is reached (for example, every 10 times). Also, it is not necessary to set an upper limit.

[0216] Note that the predetermined number of times is not limited to the number of individual tap actions 48, which is the number of individual tap actions a user has performed on the content, but instead, or in addition, each time the number displayed in the number of tap actions 78, which is the total number of tap actions performed by all users in the fan community, reaches a predetermined value (for example, 100 times), a performance may be given to the user who performed the 100th action.

[0217] Next, examples of types of effects executed by accepting a tap action will be described with reference to Fig. 25. Fig. 25 is an example of a content-specific effect data table of effect displays by tap actions stored in storage unit 320 of user terminal 300 based on content data 122 stored in distribution server 100 or content data 122 acquired from distribution server 100. Information related to effect displays is associated with each content (posted article).

[0218] In the content-specific effect data table, an effect type is defined for each article ID. Also, each effect type is associated with a lottery probability used for the effect. The effect type is defined according to whether the number of tap actions is less than a predetermined number or when the predetermined number of times is reached. If the predetermined number of times is 100, the upper limit of the number of tap actions possible, then 1 to 99 is less than the predetermined number of times.

[0219] For effects that are less than the predetermined number of times, default effects are provided, and if a related talent is set for the content, fan mark effects are provided. Default effects include, for example, applause, thumbs up, hearts, and rare marks. Fan marks are associated with the related talents. For example, as shown in FIG. 14, for article ID "a1," talent IDs "t1," "t2," "t6," and "t14" are associated with the related talents. Therefore, fan marks "mark_t1," "mark_t2," "mark_t6," and "mark_t14" are associated with each related talent. The lottery probability for each mark to be used in the effect may be uniformly set, or the appearance probability of fan marks or rare marks may be set to a lower probability. In this way, if a related talent is associated with the content, a fan mark appears when a tap action is performed. This encourages users to perform tap actions and, further, encourages users to select a related talent before posting content. As a result, it becomes easier for other users to obtain information about the favorite talent, and the fan community can be activated through user actions.

[0220] The effects that are displayed when the predetermined number is reached include a luxurious effect and, if a related talent is set for the content, a talent effect. As with the fan marks when the predetermined number is not reached, the talent effects are "special_t1," "special_t2," "special_t6," and "special_t14," which correspond to each of the related talents associated with the article ID "a1." For example, an animation that evokes the talent, such as a fan mark popping out, is displayed.

[0221] Also, when no related talent is set for the content, as exemplified by article ID "a99" in Figure 25, the type of performance is not set to fan mark or talent performance, and if the number is less than the specified number, a default performance is performed, and when the specified number is reached, a luxurious performance is performed.

[0222] For each effect, for example, multiple effect patterns may be defined for the luxurious effect, or there may be one default effect when the number is less than the predetermined number. Also, only one of the fan mark effect when the number is less than the predetermined number or the talent effect when the predetermined number is reached may be defined. For example, even if a related talent is selected for the content, only the luxurious effect may be used when the predetermined number is reached.

[0223] (Example of tap action processing flow) An example of the flow of the tap action rendering process will be described with reference to Fig. 26. Fig. 26 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart of the tap action rendering process described with reference to Fig. 24, Fig. 25, etc. The tap action rendering process is repeatedly executed by the control unit 350 of the user terminal 300 in response to an operation from the user, based on the content information acquired by the distribution server 100.

[0224] In step S501, it is determined whether or not a tap action operation has been performed. For example, a tap operation by the user may be performed on an icon 708 displayed in content or a comment on the home screen of Fig. 10, the community screen of Fig. 11(A), or the content screen of Fig. 13. If it is not determined in step S501 that a tap action operation has been performed, the process ends.

[0225] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S501 that a tap action operation has been performed, it is determined in step S502 whether the total number of tap actions by the user on the content, etc. is less than a predetermined number. For example, assume that the predetermined number is 100, which is the upper limit of the number of tap actions that a user can perform on each action target. In this case, if the total number of tap actions stored in storage unit 320 (or stored as action information 123 in distribution server 100) is 100, it is not determined in step S502 that the total number of tap actions is less than the predetermined number, and the process ends.

[0226] In step S501, for example, if the total number of tap actions is 50, it is determined that the total number of actions is less than a predetermined number, and in step S503, a tap action counter (a counter for determining the total number of tap actions) stored in storage unit 320 is incremented by 1. After the tap action counter is incremented in step S503, it is determined in step S504 whether the total number of tap actions after the increment is a predetermined number. For example, if the total number of tap actions is 50, adding 1 in step S503 makes the total number of tap actions 51, and in step S504 it is determined that the total number is not the predetermined number of 100.

[0227] If it is determined in step S504 that the total number of tap actions is not equal to the predetermined number, it is determined in step S505 whether or not a related celebrity is associated with the content on which the tap action was performed. For example, if the content on which the tap action was performed is article "a1" in Figure 14, it is determined that there is a related celebrity.

[0228] If it is determined in step S505 that there is a related talent, then in step S506, tap actions less than a predetermined number are determined by lottery based on the content-specific effect table of Figure 25. After the effect is determined in step S506, the effect of the determined tap action is executed in step S507, and tap action count update information is sent to distribution server 100, ending the process. For example, if the effect type fan mark "mark_t1" for article ID "a1" in Figure 25 is determined by lottery, the number of tap actions is updated to 78 and the number of individual tap actions is updated to 48, and an effect is executed in which a fan mark corresponding to "mark_t1" pops up.

[0229] Returning to step S505, if it is determined that the content on which the tap action was performed is not associated with a related talent, the process proceeds to step S508, where a tap action less than the predetermined default number is determined by lottery. In step S509, the default tap action determined in step S508 is rendered, and tap action count update information is sent to distribution server 100, and the process ends. For example, in the case of article ID "a99" in FIG. 25, since the content is not associated with a related talent, a default effect is determined by lottery. For example, if a "thumbs up" is determined by lottery, the number of tap actions (78) and the number of individual tap actions (48) are updated, and an effect in which a mark corresponding to the "thumbs up" pops up is executed.

[0230] Returning to step S504, if it is determined that the total number of tap actions has reached the predetermined number, the process proceeds to step S510. For example, this occurs when the number of individual tap actions reaches 100 as a result of the tap action counter being incremented in step S503.

[0231] In step S510, it is determined whether the content on which the tap action was performed has a related celebrity associated with it. For example, if the content on which the tap action was performed is article "a1" in Figure 14, it is determined that there is a related celebrity.

[0232] If it is determined in step S510 that there is a related talent, then in step S511, a tap action effect to be used when the predetermined number is reached is determined by lottery. In step S512, the tap action effect to be used when the predetermined number is reached determined in step S511 is executed, and tap action count update information is sent to distribution server 100, ending the process. For example, if "special_t1" of the talent effect type for article ID "a1" in FIG. 25 is determined by lottery, the number of tap actions (78) and the number of individual tap actions (48) are updated, and the effect corresponding to "special_t1" is executed.

[0233] Returning to step S508, if it is determined that the content on which the tap action operation was performed is not associated with a related talent, in step S513, a tap action effect for when a predetermined number of tap actions is reached is executed, and the tap action count update information is sent to distribution server 100, and the process ends. For example, in the case of article ID "a99" in FIG. 25, since the content is not associated with a related talent, the number of tap actions is updated to 78 and the number of individual tap actions is updated to 48, and an effect corresponding to "luxurious effect" is executed.

[0234] In steps S507, S509, S512, and S513, tap action update information (for example, information specifying that a tap action has been performed) is transmitted to distribution server 100, whereby the total number of tap actions for each content or comment stored as content data 122 is updated and reflected in the number of tap actions 78 (78b) of other users' user terminals 300. In addition, although an example in which the tap action rendering process is executed on user terminal 300 has been described, it may also be executed on distribution server 100 and display information may be transmitted to user terminal 300.

[0235] In the above example, when a related talent is associated with the content, the fan mark corresponding to each related talent or the talent performance is executed by lottery. However, when a favorite talent selected in advance by the user is associated with the related talent, the probability of drawing the lottery (probability of winning) for the fan mark corresponding to the favorite talent may be higher than that of other fan marks.

[0236] <Using APIs provided by external services> Next, with reference to FIG. 27 , an example will be described in which content provided by an external web service system 400 is made available to users by utilizing an API provided by the external web service system 400. The external web service system 400 is, for example, a video distribution site. It is assumed that a talent who is a support target of a fan community in this embodiment is distributing videos on the video distribution site. In this embodiment, it is made possible for users to easily check the distribution schedule of the talent's videos on the video distribution site.

[0237] In this embodiment, by utilizing an API provided by the external web service system 400, information on the video distributor and the person who is co-distributing with the distributor (also called collaboration) is acquired, and information associated with the talent ID of the corresponding talent is generated and can be displayed on the user terminal 300. As the talent ID is associated with the information displayed to the user, it is possible to extract and identify broadcasts of the participating community (first attribute) and favorite talent (second attribute) that the user has selected in advance.

[0238] 27(A) and (B) are examples of distribution schedule screens displayed on the user terminal 300. For example, the distribution schedule screen may be displayed by displaying a distribution schedule icon 18 at the bottom of the application screen and performing a selection operation on the distribution schedule icon 18. Alternatively, the distribution schedule screen may be selectable on the channel list screen exemplified in FIG. 12, or may be displayed in the channel list display 82 for each community.

[0239] Figure 27(C) is an example screen of video content provided by the external web service system 400, and by performing a specified operation from the screen of Figure 27(A) or Figure 27(B), you can transition to the video content screen.

[0240] The distribution schedule screens of FIGS. 27(A) and 27(B) display a recommended filter 20, a distribution period selection area 91, a group selection area 92, a distribution date and time 93, a content heading 90, a channel account 98, and a featured related talent 94. For example, a user may select a content heading 90 to transition to a distribution page of an external web service shown in FIG. 27(C). The transition destination is the video distribution channel of the account displayed in the channel account 98. The featured related talent 94 displays an icon of the talent appearing in the corresponding distribution. For example, the content heading 90a in FIG. 27(A) indicates that there will be a distribution by the account of the official channel of group A, and the content heading 90b indicates that there will be a distribution by the channel of talent BBB.

[0241] The distribution period selection area 91 displays icons such as "Recent Distribution," which displays a list of content headings 90 (content information) that identify recent past distributions (contents), "Current Distribution," which displays a list of content headings 90 that identify distributions (contents) currently being distributed, and "Upcoming Schedule," which identifies distributions (contents) scheduled for the future. The user can switch the list of displayed content headings 90 by selecting each icon. Fig. 27(A) is an example of a distribution schedule screen when the "Current Distribution" icon is selected, displaying a list of content headings 90 that identify distributions currently being distributed. Fig. 27(B) is an example of a distribution schedule screen when the "Upcoming Schedule" icon is selected, displaying a list of content headings 90 that identify distributions scheduled for the future.

[0242] The group selection area 92 displays icons for selecting the group 1 to which the talent shown in FIG. 5 belongs. Only groups corresponding to communities in which the user participates are displayed in the group selection area 92. For example, FIGS. 27(A) and 27(B) show screens displayed on the user terminal 300 of user "u2" in FIG. 7, and in FIGS. 27(A) and 27(B) icons for "Group A" and "Group B" corresponding to communities A and B in which user "u2" participates are displayed. By operating each icon, content headings 90 for broadcasts related to talents belonging to either group (or both groups may be selectable) are displayed. In FIGS. 27(A) and 27(B), the "Group A" icon is selected, and therefore content headings 90 for identifying broadcasts in which talents belonging to Group A appear are extracted and displayed. The user can identify whether a broadcast features a talent belonging to group A or not because the content heading 90 is associated with the performing talent 94 (talent ID in FIG. 5) by the distribution server 100. Note that, in this example, only groups corresponding to the communities in which the user participates are displayed in the group selection area 92, but this is not limiting and all groups may be displayed regardless of the community in which the user participates.

[0243] Also, as described above with reference to Figure 9, by selecting the favorite filter 20 on the distribution schedule screen, distributions in which the favorite talent selected by the user in advance appear can be extracted and displayed.

[0244] The talents displayed in the appearing related talent 94 in Figures 27(A) and 27(B) are displayed based on information obtained using the video distribution site's API. For example, the distribution screen in Figure 27(C) (including posts during, after, and before distribution) has a description field 95, allowing the broadcast poster to edit the text in the description field 95 as appropriate. By embedding attribute-specific information 96 in the description field 95, the distribution server 100 obtains the attribute-specific information 96 and generates the content heading 90. The attribute-specific information 96 is, for example, a channel account on the video distribution site. Since Figure 27(C) shows a broadcast by a channel account corresponding to the talent "CCC," the distribution server 100 can obtain attribute-specific information 96a, which is the channel account. The appearing related talent 94 may display the talent's name in addition to the talent's icon. The appearing related talent 94 may also be displayed as the associated talent 88 described with reference to Figure 13, etc.

[0245] Additionally, attribute identification information 96b (also referred to as a handle), which is information (identifier) ​​identifying the channel account corresponding to talent "AAA," is entered in the description field 95. The handle is also a URL that leads to the corresponding channel account. For example, when a joint broadcast is conducted with a talent different from the talent corresponding to the channel account that is broadcasting, a handle is entered to identify the joint broadcast partner. This input action is also referred to as mentioning another channel by entering text information with an @ sign before the other channel. For example, when a broadcast by talent "CCC"'s channel is a so-called collaborative broadcast with talent "AAA," a handle for identifying the channel account of talent "AAA" is embedded in the description field 95 of the broadcast. By entering a handle, which is attribute identification information 96b, in the description field 95, the broadcast server 100 can obtain attribute identification information 96b, which is information about the collaboration partner, in addition to the broadcasting account itself.

[0246] By acquiring the attribute identification information 96, the distribution server 100 generates a content heading 90 that associates the talent ID of the talent corresponding to the channel account (attribute identification information 96a) performing the distribution with the talent ID of the talent corresponding to the co-distribution partner entered in the handle (attribute identification information 96b). For example, assume that the information acquired from the external web service system 400 includes attribute identification information 96 corresponding to the talents "CCC" and "AAA." In this case, the content management unit 132 generates and stores information for identifying the content heading 90 associated with the talent IDs "t3" and "t1" of the talents "CCC" and "AAA" in a database that manages the content headings 90 that can be displayed on the distribution schedule screen stored as content data 122, thereby generating the content heading 90. The distribution server 100 also acquires text information (e.g., "Broadcasting with AAA as a Friendly Partner") and thumbnail image 99 of the title 97 of the distribution screen in FIG. 27(C) and displays the text information and thumbnail image in the content heading 90. This makes it possible to identify which talent from the talent information database stored as attribute information 121 illustrated in Figure 5 will be appearing in the broadcast, allowing the user to identify the broadcast associated with attributes previously selected by the user.

[0247] For example, the following description will be given assuming that FIG. 27(B) is the screen of user "u1" in FIG. 7. Note that, assuming FIG. 27(B) is the screen of user "u1," even though user "u1" is not a member of community B, an icon for community B may be displayed in the group selection area 92 as shown in FIG. 27(B), and the distribution schedule screen for group B may be displayed by selection, or only the icons of the participating communities may be displayed (the icon for community B may not be displayed). User "u1" has selected as his or her favorite talents the talents "AAA," "BBB," and "EEE" corresponding to talent IDs "t1," "t2," and "t5," but has not selected talent "CCC" as his or her favorite talent. However, even if a co-distribution with a favorite talent is made through a distribution via the channel account of "CCC," who is not a favorite talent, information about the co-distribution partner may also be obtained using the attribute identification information 96b. Therefore, even if the favorite filter 20 is on, the content heading 90 for identifying the distribution of the talent "CCC" is displayed, and the related talents appearing 94 are displayed, so the user will not miss information about the favorite talent.

[0248] Furthermore, even if a user suddenly decides to start a joint broadcast midway through a broadcast and edits the broadcast screen in the external web service system 400 to add new attribute identification information 96b (handle) to the summary field 95, the attribute identification information 96b is extracted as needed. Therefore, even if a joint broadcast suddenly begins, the content heading 90 for that broadcast is displayed in the broadcast schedule for the current broadcast in FIG. 27(A). Furthermore, if the content heading 90 is associated with a favorite talent selected by the user in advance, a push notification can be sent, so the user will not miss any sudden broadcasts by their favorite talent.

[0249] 27 is automatically generated using the API of the external web service system 400, the present invention is not limited to this, and the content heading 90 may be manually set from the administrator terminal 200. For example, the content heading 90 may be generated by associating a transition link with the related talent. Even if an API cannot be used, it is possible to guide the user to a link outside the fan community app related to the talent.

[0250] Furthermore, the content heading 90 generated when the channel account in the external web service is the official channel of the group corresponding to the belonging group 1 in Figure 5 may not be associated with any talent (no associated talent). Even in this case, the content heading 90 is not associated with an individual talent, but is associated with the participating community and group of the group corresponding to the channel account. Therefore, if you participate in the community corresponding to the group, the content heading 90 will be displayed on the distribution schedule screen, and will also be displayed as a content heading 90 extracted for each group by operating the icon for each group in the group selection area 92.

[0251] <Regarding reaction notification processing> (Outline of reaction notification processing) The reaction notification process in this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 28 and 29. In the reaction notification process, it is possible to notify other users that there has been a reaction from a specific user (for example, a user with a special account predetermined by the administrator) who satisfies a specific condition, such as being in a special position different from general users in the community. Hereinafter, an example will be described in which a reaction from a special user, such as a celebrity described with reference to Figure 5, is notified as an example of a specific user who satisfies a specific condition.

[0252] As described above with reference to FIGS. 10 , 11 , 13 , etc., in the community app of this embodiment, a special action 79 indicating that a special user has reacted to content (e.g., content or an article posted by a user) to which a special user has reacted, such as a comment or a tap action, is displayed. Furthermore, in this embodiment, when a special user reacts, a notification of the reaction (e.g., a push notification or a notification via a notification list within the app) is sent to other users, including the user who posted the content or the like that is the subject of the reaction (the poster user). In this way, in the reaction notification process of this embodiment, other users (general users) are notified by the display of the special action 79, a push notification, etc., that an influential special user has reacted. This increases the attention paid to the post that has received the reaction, and allows general users to feel closer to the special user. This may promote the development of the entire community and improve the satisfaction of users who use the community app. Furthermore, for the poster user, receiving a reaction from a special user on their post can be particularly pleasing, which contributes to increasing motivation for fan activities.

[0253] On the other hand, it is also conceivable that a special user may mistakenly perform a reaction operation. In that case, even if the reaction is reflected (shared) on the screen of the user terminal 300 of another user and the fact that a reaction has been made is notified, and the reaction is canceled (deleted, etc.), there is a possibility that the reaction may have already been seen by other users before the cancellation. In this case, even if the reaction is canceled after the fact, other users will know that the reaction was made, and there is a risk that the cancellation operation after the fact will be too late. In particular, reactions by influential special users attract a lot of attention from other users, so misunderstandings based on the reaction before the cancellation are likely to spread.

[0254] Therefore, in the reaction notification process of this embodiment, a reflection condition is set for reactions made by special users. If a cancellation operation (cancellation operation) is received from the special user who made the reaction before the reflection condition is met, it is determined that the reflection condition has not been met, and the fact that the reaction has been made is not reflected and not notified to other users. On the other hand, if the reflection condition is met without a cancellation operation, the fact that the reaction has been made is reflected and notified to other users. This allows the special user to cancel the reaction before it is shared with other users, allowing the special user to perform the reaction operation with peace of mind.

[0255] The reflection conditions include those that are satisfied (established) when the cancellation time has elapsed or when a confirmation operation has been performed on a confirmation screen. For example, after a reaction operation such as a comment or a tap action, if the special user who performed the reaction operation does not perform a cancellation operation within the cancellation time, the reflection conditions may be determined to be satisfied. Alternatively, when a reaction operation is performed, a confirmation screen for executing the reaction, such as a dialog box, may be displayed on the display unit of the user terminal 300 of the special user who performed the reaction, and the reflection conditions may be determined to be satisfied when a confirmation button for executing the reaction is pressed.

[0256] In addition, when the reflection condition is the lapse of the cancellation period, it may be determined that the reflection condition is met if a special user performs a confirmation operation to reflect the reaction, even if the cancellation period has not elapsed. For example, an icon for a confirmation operation may be displayed near a list of reactions during the cancellation period or a comment that is a reaction, and when distribution server 100 receives information that an operation has been performed on the icon, it may be determined that the reflection condition is met.

[0257] The cancellation time for the reaction notification process may be set to, for example, five minutes after the celebrity performs a reaction operation such as a tap action. However, the cancellation time is not limited to this, and may be set to several hours or several days after the reaction operation. Note that the cancellation time may be variable, and the cancellation time may be set individually in advance by each special user through their own operation.

[0258] The reflection condition may be set in advance by the user through an operation by each special user. For example, the reflection condition may be set to the lapse of the cancellation time, or the reflection condition may be set to the confirmation operation of the reaction by displaying a confirmation screen for executing the reaction, or the reflection condition may be set to both the lapse of the cancellation time and the confirmation operation of the reaction.

[0259] Examples of reaction cancellation operations include performing a predetermined operation (e.g., a long press or a flick operation) on an icon that performs a tap action operation, such as the heart icon 708 described with reference to FIG. 11, or displaying a delete icon on the comment to be canceled and performing an operation on the delete icon. This allows the tap action operation to be canceled (the number of tap actions performed by the special user on the content to be canceled is reset to 0) or the comment to be deleted. A menu icon or the like that can display the delete operation as an option may be displayed on the comment. Also, a list page of reactions that can be canceled, accessible from My Page, may be provided, displaying a list of comments and tap action reactions that are currently in the cancellation period. For example, a delete icon or the like may be displayed for each reaction, and comments or tap actions for which the delete icon was selected may be canceled on the list screen. Alternatively, selecting a reaction from the list screen may transition to a screen displaying the corresponding posted content. In addition, when a confirmation screen for executing a reaction, such as a dialog box, is displayed, the cancellation operation may be considered to have been performed when the cancel button on the confirmation screen is operated, or when the confirm button is not operated and the confirmation screen is closed.

[0260] (Example of data table related to reaction notification processing) Next, an example of a data table associated with information related to reaction notification processing will be described with reference to Fig. 28. Fig. 28(A) is an example of information associated with the content database (table, etc.) described with reference to Fig. 14. The post ID in Fig. 28(A) corresponds to the article ID in Fig. 14. In addition, hereinafter, the poster of the post (article) will also be referred to as the poster user. In the content data such as Fig. 14 stored as content data 122 in the distribution server 100, "reaction-related information" is associated with each post (article) ID, as exemplified in Fig. 28(A).

[0261] The "reaction-related information" for each post ID includes the "total number of tap actions," which is a count of the number of tap actions taken by users on the post, the "total number of comments," which is a count of the number of comments taken by users on the post, and, if there is a reaction to the post from a special user such as a celebrity, "special action" information is associated with the post. The "special action" information is associated with the ID of the celebrity who took the special action and information on the presence or absence of a tap action or a comment, which identifies the type of special action taken. The "total number of tap actions" and the "total number of comments" are displayed in the number of tap actions 78 and the number of comments 77 displayed for each content, as exemplified in content screen examples such as Figures 10, 11, and 13. Furthermore, based on the information associated as the "special action," an icon corresponding to the celebrity ID and an icon corresponding to the type of special action are displayed as special actions 79 on the content screen, etc. The icon corresponding to the type of special action may be, for example, if it is a tap action, a heart mark may be displayed together with the icon of the talent, and if a comment has been made, a speech bubble mark may be displayed together with the icon of the talent.

[0262] An example of a data table relating to special action reflection pending data stored in the storage unit 120 (e.g., as action information 123) of the distribution server 100 in Fig. 28(B) will be described. In the reaction notification process in this embodiment, a cancellation operation can be performed by the special user who made the reaction before the fact that the special user made the reaction is reflected and can be shared with other users. Fig. 28(B) shows data for identifying reactions for which the reflection conditions are not satisfied and for which the cancellation operation can be performed.

[0263] In the distribution server 100, as a process for reflecting a reaction operation received from a user, in response to receiving information about a reaction operation from the user terminal 300, the information about the reaction is associated with the post (article) ID shown in FIG. 14, FIG. 28(A), etc. For example, in the case of a tap action, as illustrated in steps S507, S512, S513, etc. of FIG. 26, tap action count update information is transmitted from the user terminal 300 to the distribution server 100, and if the user who performed the tap action is a user other than the special user, the total number of tap actions in FIG. 28(A) is updated and reflected as the number of tap actions 78 without determining whether the reflection condition is met (even if it is not met). Furthermore, when a comment is posted, comment posting information is transmitted to the distribution server 100, and if the user who performed the comment is a user other than the special user, the total number of comments in FIG. 28(A) is updated and reflected as the number of comments 77 without determining whether the reflection condition is met (even if it is not met). Furthermore, the comment is reflected as a comment 87 on the content screen of FIG. 13 or the like, and is shared with other users.

[0264] On the other hand, if the information on which the reaction operation was performed is information sent from the user terminal 300 of a special user, when the reflection conditions are met, it will be associated with the post (article) ID and reflected to other users. In other words, if the reaction is from a general user other than a special user, the reaction will be shared with other users immediately regardless of whether the reflection conditions are met, but reactions from special users will not be reflected until the reflection conditions are met, and will be reflected (shared) after waiting for the reflection conditions to be met.

[0265] When the distribution server 100 receives information on which a reaction operation has been performed from the user terminal 300 of a special user, the received information is associated with the special action reflection pending data table in Fig. 28(B). For example, a pending number is assigned to each piece of received information, and each pending number is associated with the "sender user ID," which is information identifying the special user who performed the reaction operation, the "sent date and time," the "action content," the "post (article) ID" that was the target of the reaction, and so on. The "action content" is the content of the reaction, and is associated with information such as tap action count update information and comment content.

[0266] For example, if the reflection condition specifies a cancellation period of five minutes, when the distribution server 100 receives information for which a cancellation operation has been performed within five minutes of the transmission date and time, the received information that was the subject of the cancellation operation is deleted from the special action reflection pending data, so that it is not reflected in the content database (e.g., a data table managed for each post (article) ID, such as in FIG. 14). On the other hand, received information for which a cancellation operation has not been performed and for which five minutes have passed since the transmission date and time is reflected in the content database and associated, for example, as reaction-related information, as in FIG. 28(A). As a result, the talent ID corresponding to the sender user ID is associated as a special action, and special action 79 is displayed on the content screen, etc. In addition, received information that no longer requires suspension due to a cancellation operation or the fulfillment of the reflection condition is not necessarily deleted from the special action reflection pending data. Alternatively, received information that no longer requires suspension may be flagged so as not to be included in the determination of whether or not a cancellation operation has been received.

[0267] Although examples have been given in which the target of the reaction is the posted content for each post (article) ID as exemplified in Figures 14 and 28(A), reactions to comments 87 for each posted content in Figure 13 (tap actions on comments or reply comments) may also be included as reaction targets for special actions.

[0268] (Regarding notification to the poster) In the reaction notification process, after a reaction made by a special user becomes shareable with other users due to the fulfillment of the reflection condition, the user who posted the content that was the subject of the reaction can be notified that the special user has posted a reaction. The notification method is not limited to the same method as other users, such as displaying a celebrity icon such as special action 79 on the posted content itself, but also includes notification by displaying a notification on a notice screen such as the poster's My Page, or by sending a push notification to the poster.

[0269] In addition, notifications (such as push notifications) when a talent who is a special user makes a reaction (favorable action) such as a comment or a tap action may be sent to any special user regardless of whether the poster has previously selected the special user as a favorite talent, or only reactions from special users who have previously been selected as favorite talents may be sent.

[0270] Furthermore, the push notification for notifying that the special user, such as a celebrity, has performed a tap action or the like by the reaction notification process in this embodiment may be notified in a manner that corresponds to the special user who performed the action. For example, the message notified may be a voice message from the celebrity himself / herself, a part of the melody of a song or the like of the celebrity, an image related to the celebrity (for example, a photo or illustration of the celebrity), or a different message depending on the celebrity. For example, a notification message that expresses the celebrity's catchphrase or tone of voice may be notified.

[0271] (Example of reaction notification process flow) Next, the flow of the reaction notification process will be described with reference to Fig. 29. Fig. 29 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the reaction notification process described with reference to Fig. 28 etc. The reaction notification process is repeatedly executed by the content management unit 132 of the distribution server 100 etc.

[0272] In step S601, it is determined whether reaction information for the post (for example, information specifying a tap action operation on content or the posting of a comment) has been received. If it is determined that reaction information for the post has been received, it is determined in step S602 whether the user who sent the information is a special user. For example, when a reaction operation such as a tap action or a comment is performed on the user terminal 300 for any of the posted content exemplified in Figures 10, 11, 13, etc., reaction information such as tap action count update information and comment posting information is sent to the distribution server 100, and it is determined that reaction information has been received.

[0273] In step S602, if the sender of the received information is a user (e.g., a general user) other than a special user such as a celebrity exemplified in FIG. 5, etc., then in step S603, a received information reflection process is executed. For example, based on the received reaction information, a process is executed to associate comment information (such as the body of the comment and the user ID) with the post ID that is the target of the reaction stored in a data table for each content such as FIG. 14 or FIG. 28(A), or to update the total number of tap actions, and to update, for example, the number of comments 77 and the number of tap actions 78 in FIGS. 11 and 13 so that they are displayed as comment 87. This allows the reaction to be shared on the user terminals 300 of other users as well.

[0274] When the received information reflection process is executed in step S603, default notification information is sent to the user who posted the post that is the target of the reaction in step S604, and the process ends. The default notification information is, for example, information for displaying a reaction by push notification or in a notice on the user's personal page. For example, when a reaction to the content with post ID "a3" in FIG. 14 or FIG. 28(A) is displayed (shared) on the user terminal 300 of another user through the reflection process, information for informing user "u1" who posted "a3" that a reaction has occurred is sent to the user terminal 300 of "u1," and a push notification or the like is performed.

[0275] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S602 that the user who sent the reaction information is a special user, then in step S605, a received information reflection suspension process is executed, and the process ends. For example, the received information of the reaction received from the special user is associated with the special action reflection suspension data table illustrated in FIG. 28(B) and managed as information whose reflection is suspended, and the process ends. The received information is associated with information identifying the sender user, the date and time of transmission, the content of the action, and information identifying the post that was the target of the reaction. At this time, until the reflection process is executed in step S609, which will be described later, the reaction is not shared (not displayed) on the user terminals 300 of users other than the special user who performed the reaction operation, but is reflected and displayed in a shared manner on the user terminal 300 of the special user himself.

[0276] Returning to step S601, if it is determined that reaction information for the post has not been received, it is determined in step S606 whether a request to cancel reaction-related information corresponding to the received information put on hold in step S605 has been received. For example, in the user terminal 300 of a special user, an operation such as long pressing of the icon 708 to perform a tap action or an operation to delete a comment is performed, and thus reaction cancellation request (deletion request) information is transmitted to the distribution server 100.

[0277] If it is determined in step S606 that a request to cancel a reaction corresponding to received information managed as a pending target in Fig. 28(B) has been received, then in step S607, a process of not reflecting the corresponding pending received information is executed, and the process ends without reflecting the information to other users. The process of not reflecting is, for example, a process of deleting the pending received information in Fig. 28(B), and by deleting the received information, the process ends without the received information being associated as reaction-related information for each posted content in Fig. 14 or Fig. 28(A).

[0278] On the other hand, if it is not determined in step S606 that a request to cancel reaction information corresponding to the pending received information has been received, it is determined in step S608 whether there is pending received information for which the reflection condition is met. For example, if a cancellation time period is set (for example, 5 minutes), the reflection condition is determined to be met (satisfied) when the cancellation time period has elapsed since the transmission date and time, or when a reaction confirmation operation is performed. On the other hand, if it is not determined that the reflection condition is met, the process ends.

[0279] If it is determined in step S608 that there is pending received information for which the reflection condition is met, then in step S609, a received information reflection process is executed for the pending reaction for which it is determined in step S608 that the reflection condition is met. That is, the reaction information received in step S601 is reflected and can be shared with other users. The received information reflection process is a process for, for example, associating the received information as reaction-related information for each posted content in a content data table such as FIG. 14 or FIG. 28(A), thereby allowing the received information to be shared with other users. As a result, the reaction made by the special user will also be displayed on the screens of the user terminals 300 of other users.

[0280] Next, in step S610, a process is executed to transmit notification information in a format corresponding to the special user who transmitted the reflected received information to the user who posted the post that is the target of the reaction, and the process is terminated. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 28(B), information on a tap action operation on posted content with post (article) ID "a3" such as in FIG. 28(A), which is a reaction performed by a special user with talent ID "t5" in FIG. 5 and which was managed as reserved information in step S605, is reflected in step S609 so that it can be shared with other users after the cancellation time has elapsed since the date and time (transmission date and time) when the tap action was performed. In step S610, notification information is transmitted to the user terminal 300 of poster "u1," the user who posted the post. The notification information includes information on a push notification that is sent along with a voice message or image of talent "EEE" corresponding to "t5" in FIG. 5, and information for displaying a special action 79 of an icon corresponding to "t5."

[0281] Note that even if the reflection condition is not met, the reaction may be reflected and displayed in a shared manner on the user terminal 300 of the special user who performed the reaction operation. However, until the reflection condition is met, an icon, annotation, or the like may be displayed indicating that the reaction has not yet been shared with other users (it is a provisional display), so that the special user can recognize that the reaction can be canceled before being reflected. Alternatively, the display manner of the reaction itself may be different from the reflected and shared manner. For example, the text color of the comment or the color of the heart icon 708 may be displayed in a lighter color than when it is reflected.

[0282] <About language association processing> (Overview of language association processing) The language association process in this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 30 to 35. The fan community provided via the communication system in this embodiment is a global community that can be accessed from various regions around the world. Therefore, for example, even if a user primarily uses Japanese as their language, they can interact not only with other users who also primarily use Japanese as their language, but also with users who use other languages ​​(for example, users living overseas).

[0283] In today's fan activities, there are fan users who regularly use languages ​​other than the language spoken by their favorite idols (their idols). Fan users may also use different languages ​​depending on the situation (time, place, and occasion). For example, they may enjoy content (including various information such as video content like live streams, music, and social media posts) from their favorite idols in a language other than their native language that their idols use. They may also send messages to their favorite idols in a language other than their native language that their idols use, while interacting with local fans in their own region (country) in their own native language. Furthermore, there may be cases where the user's native language, the language used to consume content, the language used to send messages to their favorite idols, and the language used to interact with other fan users are all different. While it is possible to communicate using machine translation without having to use multiple languages, this can result in inaccuracies and lead to mistranslations. Furthermore, each language has its own unique set of popular expressions, images, commonly used words, and the atmosphere of each language region (the so-called "mood and mood"), so simply machine-translating may not convey the nuances of the content to users who speak other languages. Regional topics are also likely to be posted in the language used in that region. Therefore, the language of the information you want to receive and the language spoken by the recipient of the information you send may differ depending on the situation.

[0284] Therefore, the present invention makes it possible to achieve communication according to language. In this embodiment, not only can content posted by a user be posted in any of a plurality of languages, but language information is associated with the posted content itself (for each post ID) as illustrated in FIG. 14 and other examples, regardless of the type of language actually entered in the posted content. By associating language information with each posted content in this way, posts associated with language information specified by the user can be extracted and displayed on the user terminal 300 based on the language information associated with the posted content (hereinafter simply referred to as a post). Furthermore, the language information can be associated with the post when the content is posted, and the associated language information can be a language type selected by the poster.

[0285] Furthermore, simply displaying a list of posted content in various languages ​​may result in the content being buried among the various comments, etc., and may not be read by the intended recipients. However, the language association process of this embodiment makes it possible to display content in a language specified (selected) by the user based on the language information associated with the post itself, making it easier for the user to find the post they are looking for and for the post to be read by the recipients they want to communicate with.

[0286] Furthermore, it is possible to automatically associate a language associated with a post with, for example, the language setting of the OS of the user device or the language set as the display language of the app. However, if the display language of the app is Japanese but the post is written in English for English-speaking users, even if the posted content to be displayed is narrowed down to English, there is a risk that the post will be excluded from the display as a post associated with Japanese due to the influence of the OS language setting, etc. However, in this embodiment, the language associated with the post can be selected by a user operation, so that the language can be narrowed down to the language intended by the user.

[0287] (Example of screen display according to language information) FIG. 30 is an example of a screen in which the content screen described with reference to FIGS. 10, 11, 13, etc. is displayed according to language information associated with a post. FIG. 30 is an example of a community screen similar to that shown in FIG. 11, which displays a list of content headings (hereinafter collectively referred to as content) of content posted to all channels of community A. For example, the screen is displayed by selecting a channel from the channel list 82 of community A on the channel list screen of FIG. 12, etc. In the content screens of FIGS. 10, 11, 13, etc., examples have been described in which the language switching icon LS does not display the language associated with the currently displayed post. However, hereinafter, an example will be described in which the language switching icon LS displays the language associated with the currently displayed post, as shown in the content screen of FIG. 30. Furthermore, selecting the language switching icon LS displays a language selection field LSR displaying language selection buttons and the like.

[0288] In FIG. 30(A), the language switch icon LS displays "Japanese" because a selection (designation) has been made to display posts associated with Japanese as a language type. FIG. 30(B) is an example screen in which "English" is selected in the language selection field LSR displayed when the language switch icon LS is selected in FIG. 30(A), causing the language switch icon LS to display "English," and a list of content associated with English as language information is displayed. Note that the language selection field LSR in FIG. 30(B) displays two options, Japanese and English, but as shown in FIG. 32(C) described below, three or more languages ​​may be displayed. Multiple languages ​​may be simultaneously selected by selecting all languages ​​or by checking a checkbox. A check button or the like may also be displayed to fix the selected language as the default.

[0289] (Default settings screen example) 31 shows an example of a default language setting screen, which is a part of a user information registration screen when using the community app for the first time in this embodiment. In the community app in this embodiment, different default languages ​​can be set for each item related to the use of the community app. Items that can be set include, for example, the app display language, the push notification language, the official content posts to display, and the user posts to display.

[0290] The application display language is, for example, information about the language displayed on a setting screen such as My Page, various icons, etc. For example, the screen example in FIG. 30 illustrated in this embodiment is an example of a screen when the application display language is set to Japanese. The push notification language is the language of characters, images, etc. sent by push notification. The official content posting language to be displayed is a language associated with official content posted by a user who displays an official mark, such as an administrator or a special user in FIG. 5. The user posting language to be displayed is a language associated with content posted by a general user other than official content posts.

[0291] In this embodiment, when an application is first used, the language is initially set based on the language setting of the OS of the user terminal 300. For example, in FIG. 31 , the OS language setting of the user terminal 300 of the user displaying the screen is set to “Japanese,” so a message is displayed indicating that the default language is set to Japanese. Furthermore, because the user has performed an operation to change only the push notification language to English on the setting screen, “English” is displayed as the push notification language and “Japanese” is displayed as the other languages. Furthermore, the default language setting can be changed later, even after the initial setting, from My Page or the like. In this way, the preset default language information is stored in association with user information, such as a user information database stored as account information 125 illustrated in FIG. 7 and the like, or as user information in the storage unit 320 of the user terminal 300.

[0292] Furthermore, the language that can be set for each item may be set to all languages, or multiple languages ​​may be set in advance, as shown in Fig. 32(C) etc. Also, the default language associated with a user posting may be set in advance.

[0293] It should be noted that more detailed settings may be possible in addition to the items exemplified in FIG. 31 . For example, the default displayed language may be different for posts by special users such as celebrities and posts by administrators. Additionally, as long as certain categories are possible, such as by community, channel, or category, the display language may be set to the user's preference in response to user operation. Since the topics users want to talk about may change depending on the topic, and the nature of the users gathering may also change, communication in a language appropriate to the situation becomes possible.

[0294] (Screen example when posting with language association) FIG. 32 is an example of a user posting screen, which is an example of a screen in which a language switching icon LS is further displayed on the posting screen of FIG. 17. The posting screen of FIG. 32, like FIG. 17, is displayed when a user operates the posting icon 23 displayed on a content screen or the like. As shown in FIG. 32(A), a default language is pre-selected as the posting language. The default language may be the initial setting language based on the OS settings of the user terminal 300, the language of the application display pre-set on the language setting screen or the like illustrated in FIG. 31, or a language pre-set by the user as the default posting language. FIG. 32(B) is an example of a screen used to switch the language associated with a post. This screen shows an example of a screen in which English is selected in the language selection field LSR displayed by selecting the language switching icon LS in FIG. 32(A). As a result, English is associated with the post as language information. Furthermore, as illustrated in FIG. 32(B), the language information can be associated regardless of the actual language of the input text. Therefore, even if Japanese text is input, for example, English can be associated as language information.

[0295] FIG. 32(C) shows another example of the display of the language selection field LSR that appears when the language switching icon LS is selected. While FIG. 32(B) shows an example in which two language options, Japanese and English, are displayed, as shown in FIG. 32(C), three or more language options may be displayed, or an option for "all languages" may be included. When "all languages" is selected, a list of languages ​​displayed by the language switching icon LS in FIG. 30, i.e., a list of languages ​​selected (specified) for display, is displayed. Furthermore, check boxes or the like may be displayed to allow the selection of multiple languages. For example, three languages, Japanese, English, and Chinese, may be simultaneously specified. Furthermore, a check button or the like for fixing the setting may be provided in the language selection field LSR that appears when posting, and the default language at the time of posting may be set based on whether the check button is on or off.

[0296] (Example of a data table with associated language information) Next, an example of a content data table associated with language information will be described with reference to FIG. 33. FIG. 33 is an example of information associated with a content database (table, etc.) stored as content data 122 of distribution server 100 described with reference to FIG. 14 and other figures. The post ID in FIG. 33 corresponds to the article ID in FIG. 14. As in FIG. 14, a "poster ID" is associated with each "post (article) ID." Although not shown in FIG. 14, a "posting date and time" and "posting content information" are also associated. The posting content information includes information such as the main text of the posted content, a headline title, and attached images. Furthermore, in FIG. 33, "language information" is associated with each post ID. The language information associated with each post ID, i.e., each piece of content, is associated with the language associated at the time of posting, as illustrated in FIG. 32. As a result, posts associated with a language type that the user has set in advance or specified by operating the language switching icon LS can be extracted and displayed in a list according to the language. As shown in FIG. 32(C), when "all languages" is selected or when multiple languages ​​are selected, the language information may not be limited to one language information, but may be associated with multiple languages.

[0297] Examples of information stored as content data include (1) a case where the language included in the post content information (e.g., a message such as text or an image) matches the language information associated with the post, and (2) a case where the language included in the post content information does not match the language information associated with the post. For example, the post ID "a20" in FIG. 33 corresponds to the content heading 70d1 in FIG. 30(A) (hereinafter, the content heading 70 will also be referred to as "content 70"), and the post ID "a30" corresponds to the content 70f in FIG. 30(A). The text and images in the post content information of the content 70d1 and the content 70f are posted in Japanese, and the language information associated with the content 70d1 and the content 70f is also Japanese. Furthermore, the post ID "a21" in FIG. 33 corresponds to the content 70d2 in FIG. 30(B), and the post ID "a25" corresponds to the content 70g in FIG. 30(B). The text and images of the content 70d2 and the content 70g are posted in English, and the language information associated with them is also English.

[0298] On the other hand, post ID "a35" in Figure 33 corresponds to content 70h in Figure 30(B), and although the text of the post is in Japanese, the language information associated with it is English. In this way, for example, if a user who deals with Japanese prefers to communicate with other users in Japanese, but wants to discuss an event in an English-speaking country and wants to attract the attention of users living in that country, they can deliberately associate other types of language information with the Japanese post.

[0299] Furthermore, even if the same poster posts similar content, by associating different language information with the posts, it is possible to post separate posts about the same event in Japanese and English, for example. For example, post ID "a20" corresponds to the content of content heading 70d1 in FIG. 30(A), and post ID "a21" corresponds to the content of content heading 70d2. Both content 70d1 and content 70d2 were posted by the same official account (poster ID "ou") by the administrator, and both content is about the birthday of talent AAA. Even if you want to post content about AAA's birthday, instead of simply using machine translation, you can post in Japanese for Japanese people and in English for English-speaking countries, and further post with nuances appropriate to the language region.

[0300] (Example of the process flow for displaying a list of posts with associated language information) Next, with reference to Fig. 34, a flow of the post list display process when displaying a list of posted contents associated with language information will be described using a flowchart. The post list display process displays a content screen or the like that displays the list of posted contents described with reference to Fig. 30. The post display process is repeatedly executed by the distribution server 100 in response to receiving display request information from the user terminal 300 (for example, a request to display a screen that displays a list of contents exemplified in Figs. 10, 11, 30, etc.).

[0301] In step S701, it is determined whether a request to display a list of posted contents has been made. If it is determined that a request to display a list of posted contents has been made, in step S702, a process is performed in which list display information for posted contents associated with the set language of the requesting user is transmitted to the user terminal 300 according to the set language of the requesting user. For example, when an app is launched and a request to display a home screen such as that shown in FIG. 10 is made, or when an operation to select a channel to display is performed as shown in FIG. 12, the user information database stored in the account information 125 is referenced to identify information on a language that is pre-associated as a default with the requesting user. For example, if the language set by initial setting or user change operation on the language setting screen or My Page shown in FIG. 31 is Japanese, posted contents associated with Japanese are extracted from the content database shown in FIG. 33, and information for displaying the extracted posted content on the user terminal 300 is transmitted to the user terminal 300. As a result, on the user terminal 300, the language switching icon LS is Japanese, and a list of posted contents associated with Japanese language information is displayed as shown in FIG. 30(A). In addition, for example, if the language settings for official content posts and user posts are different, and a request is made to display a screen that displays both official content posts and user posts, one of the default settings may take precedence, such as giving priority to the settings for official content posts.

[0302] Returning to step S701, if it is determined that a list display request has not been made, or after list display information has been transmitted based on the list display request in step S702, it is determined in step S703 whether a display language switching request has been made. For example, it is determined whether an operation to switch the display language has been made on a posted content list screen such as that shown in FIG. 30 displayed on the user terminal 300 based on the information transmitted in step S702 or on list display information stored in the storage unit 320 of the user terminal 300 (for example, received at the previous login, etc.). If it is not determined that a display language switching request has been made, the process ends. On the other hand, if it is determined that a display language switching request has been made, it is determined in step S704 whether the switching request is to switch the default language setting. For example, if the request is for a temporary language change due to an operation to change the display language from Japanese to English (language specification operation) based on an operation on the language change icon LS in Figure 30, it is not determined that the default language setting has been changed, and in step S706, list display information for posted content associated with the changed language is sent to the user terminal 300, and the processing is terminated.

[0303] On the other hand, for example, when a language switching operation (language specification operation) is performed based on an operation on the language switching icon LS in Figure 30 and a language setting fixing operation is performed as illustrated in Figure 32 (C), or when the default display language setting for content on My Page, etc. is changed, it is determined that the default language setting has been switched.

[0304] If it is determined in step S704 that the default language setting has been changed, the changed language is associated with the user information as a default, and updated and stored in step S705. Then, in step S706, information for displaying a list of posted content associated with the changed language is sent to the user terminal 300 in accordance with the changed language, and the process ends. For example, when the default language is changed from Japanese to English, the user information stored as account information 125 is referenced, and the default language associated with the requesting user information is changed to English, and updated and stored. Furthermore, posted content associated with English as language information stored in the content data table of FIG. 33 is extracted, and information for displaying the extracted posted content in a list is sent to the user terminal 300. This allows the screen of FIG. 30(A), which displays a list of posts associated with Japanese as language information, to be switched to the screen of FIG. 30(B), which displays a list of posts associated with English as language information.

[0305] While an example in which the post list display process in Fig. 34 is executed by distribution server 100 has been described, it may also be executed by user terminal 300. For example, of the content data exemplified in Fig. 14 and the like, data for displaying posted content for each channel selected from the channel list screen in Fig. 12 is received together with data associated with language information other than the specified language (for example, data of all posted content associated with the channel for which a display request has been made). After receiving this data, posted content associated with the corresponding language may be extracted and displayed in accordance with the default language setting stored in storage unit 320 of user terminal 300 or a language designation operation based on a switching operation or the like.

[0306] (Example of user submission process flow that associates language information) Next, with reference to Fig. 35, the flow of processing in the user terminal 300 when a user posts an item associated with language information will be described. Fig. 35 is a flowchart in which processing for associating language information (mainly the processing enclosed by the dotted line) is added to the user posting processing described with reference to Fig. 18 etc. Description of processing similar to that in Fig. 18 will be omitted. Also, assuming that the posting operation is performed on a channel where user posting is permitted, description of step S302 in Fig. 18 will also be omitted. Also, although steps S304 to S311 and steps S314 to S315 are not shown in Fig. 35, description and illustration thereof will be omitted as they are processed in parallel.

[0307] In step S301, when it is determined that a posting icon has been selected, for example, by selecting the posting icon 23 displayed on a content screen, a default language is associated with the posted information in step S321, and a posting screen is displayed in step S303. For example, a posting screen is displayed in which the language switch icon LS displays the default language, as illustrated in FIG. 32(A), so that the posting language information set as a default for each user is associated with the post. The default posting language information is stored, for example, as account information 125, and is included in the default user information received from the distribution server 100 or the default information stored in the user information stored in the storage unit 320 of the user terminal 300. For example, it may be the display language of the app, or it may be the posting language that is preset by initial setting or user selection, with a posting language item being provided in the items of languages ​​that can be set by default.

[0308] In step S322, it is determined whether an operation to change the posting language has been performed. If it is not determined that an operation to change the posting language has been performed, and if it is determined in step S312 (which proceeds in response to an operation to input character information, etc., as described in FIG. 18, etc.) that a posting confirmation operation has been performed, in step S313, the posted information associated with the default language information is sent to distribution server 100. On the other hand, if it is not determined in step S312 that a posting confirmation operation has been performed, the process returns to step S322, and the determination of whether an operation to change the posting language has been performed is repeated. Note that, as described in FIG. 18, if the posting confirmation operation has not been performed in step S312 and a selection to close the posting screen has been made in step S314 of FIG. 18, the process may be terminated without posting.

[0309] If it is determined in step S322 that an operation to change the posting language has been performed, then in step S323, it is determined whether an operation to fix the changed language as the default has been performed. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 32, if Japanese was associated by default, but another language is selected in the language selection field LSR of FIG. 32(B), (C), etc., which is displayed by operating the language switch icon LS, then it is determined that an operation to change the posting language has been performed. Also, as illustrated in FIG. 32(C), it is determined that an operation to fix the changed language as the default has been performed, for example, by entering an input into a checkbox to fix the selected language setting. If it is not determined in step S323 that an operation to fix the changed language as the default has been performed, for example, because no particular operation to fix the language was performed and only a change was performed, then the process proceeds to step S325.

[0310] If it is determined in step S323 that an operation to fix the changed language as the default has been performed, the changed set language is updated and stored in association with the user information. For example, if the default was Japanese, and an operation to change the posting language to English and an operation to fix the setting are performed, English is associated with and stored in storage unit 320 of user terminal 300 as the default language at the time of posting. Note that when the posted information is sent to distribution server 100 in step S313, information indicating the updated default language at the time of posting by the user may also be sent, so that the default language at the time of posting for each piece of user information managed by distribution server 100 is updated.

[0311] In step S325, the changed setting language is associated with the posted information, and if it is determined in step S312 that a posting confirmation operation has been performed, the posted information with the changed setting language associated as language information is sent to the distribution server 100, and the processing ends.

[0312] <Examples of specific configurations and effects> (1-1) In the above-described embodiment, as described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 18, etc., the distribution server 100 included in the communication system 1 can provide users with multiple types of content associated with attributes (e.g., community, group, unit, talent, etc.) based on a stored program or a method for controlling a computer using the program (hereinafter simply referred to as the program). The attributes include communities (first attributes) corresponding to multiple types of groups A, B, etc., such as communities displayed in the participation community selection area 50 of FIG. 6(A), and multiple types of talents (talent ID, talent name) and units (affiliated group 2), etc., stored in the talent information database of FIG. 5 (second attributes). As described with reference to FIGS. 6, 7, 9, etc., the user information database stores account information 125 to enable identification of participating communities and favorite talents selected in advance from among the communities corresponding to multiple types of groups and multiple types of talents, etc., in response to user operations, or the storage unit 320 of the user terminal 300.

[0313] Furthermore, as explained with reference to Figures 10, 11, 14 to 16, 27, etc., the distribution server 100 or the user terminal 300 switches between one of a number of display states depending on the operation on the Oshi Filter 20, including a first display state in which content headings (60, 70, 90) are displayed on the display unit of the user terminal 300 when the Oshi Filter 20 is off, as exemplified in Figure 15(B), from among the content associated with the participating community that has been pre-selected and stored by the user (for example, content stored in the content database of community A in Figure 14), so that the user can identify them, and a second display state in which the Oshi Filter 20 is on, such as Figure 15(A), in which content headings (60, 70, 90) related to content associated with both the participating community and the favorite talent that has been pre-selected and stored by the user are extracted and displayed so that the user can identify them. This allows the display to switch between content headings for content posted to a community selected by the user (participation) in advance, regardless of whether the content is associated with a favorite talent, and content headings for content posted to a community selected by the user in advance and associated with a favorite talent. This allows the user to easily identify preferred information. For example, if a user participates in community A and has selected talent "AAA" with talent ID "t1" as their favorite talent, content headings for content associated with the talent ID "t1" from among the content stored in the content database of community A in FIG. 14 are extracted and displayed on the home screen in FIG. 10, the community screen in FIG. 11(A), the distribution schedule screen in FIG. 27, and the like. Note that the favorite filter 20 can be turned on and off regardless of the level of the evaluation history status of each of multiple users stored in the user information database illustrated in FIG. 7.

[0314] (1-2) Furthermore, the on / off operation of the Favorite Filter 20 is a different operation from the series of operations performed when the user preselects a participating community or a favorite talent, and is performed in response to an operation performed by the user on the Favorite Filter 20 icon displayed on the user terminal 300. This allows the user to switch and display content headings related to the preselected community or content associated with both the community and the talent without having to perform an operation to select a participating community or favorite talent again when displaying the home screen of Fig. 10, the community screen of Fig. 11(A), the distribution schedule screen of Fig. 27, etc., thereby improving operability and user convenience.

[0315] (1-3) As illustrated in Figure 15, the favorite filter 20 is always displayed whether the favorite filter 20 is in an on-display state or an off-display state. This simplifies and facilitates switching to a display screen that extracts content associated with the favorite talent.

[0316] (1-4) The multiple types of content available to users include communities corresponding to groups A and B of the belonging group 1 in FIG. 5, as well as community P, which is a different attribute (third attribute) from the talent (or the unit of the belonging group 2, etc.) and is always in a participation state regardless of the user's selection, and content associated with feature 61 in FIG. 10, which is displayed to all users regardless of the community in which the user is participating. Content headings 60 for content posted to community P and content headings 60 for feature 61 are displayed on the home screen in FIG. 10 regardless of the participating community or favorite talent pre-selected by the user, whether the favorite filter 20 is on or off. Furthermore, since community P is displayed on the channel list screen in FIG. 12, if the user selects the community bar 81c for community P, the community screen for community P (FIG. 11(A)) can be displayed. This allows content headings related to attributes different from the attribute pre-selected by the user to be displayed, making it possible, for example, for an administrator to notify users of information that the administrator wants all users to know regardless of the switching state.

[0317] (1-5) The multiple types of content that can be provided to users include content that is not associated with a related talent but is associated only with a participating community (for example, article IDa99 in Figures 14 and 25), and when the display state of the favorite filter 20 is on, the content headings of content that is associated only with a participating community but not with a related talent are not displayed. As a result, when the favorite filter 20 is on, the content headings of content that is not associated with a favorite talent are not displayed, making it easy for users to identify information associated with their favorite communities and talents.

[0318] (1-6) As explained with reference to Figures 5 and 6, the favorite talents that the user can select in advance are multiple talents who belong (are classified) to one of multiple groups A, B, etc. of the group 1 in Figure 5. This makes it possible to identify information that is further narrowed down to information about talents that the user likes from information about the groups into which the talents are classified.

[0319] (1-7) As explained with reference to Figures 5 and 6, the favorite talent that the user can select in advance can be selected for each belonging group 2, which is a smaller unit than belonging group 1. In other words, the selection can be made in units made up of multiple talents. This makes it possible to specify information that is further narrowed down from information about groups that classify talents to information about units made up of multiple characters that the user likes.

[0320] (1-8) As explained with reference to the home screen example of FIG. 10 , the multiple types of content available to the user can be classified into multiple categories, including recommended topics 62, and can be displayed on the user terminal 300 after being classified into multiple categories, as illustrated in FIG. 10 . Furthermore, for recommended topics 62, whether the recommended filter 20 is on or off, content headings 60 related to a predetermined number of pieces of content associated with both the participating community and the recommended talent previously selected and stored by the user are displayed so that the user can identify them. Furthermore, for categories other than recommended topics 62, such as popular user posts 63, commemorative broadcasts 64, and merchandise 65, content headings 60 corresponding to whether the recommended filter 20 is on or off are displayed so that the user can identify them, as explained with reference to FIG. 16 . By displaying the recommended topic 62, some of the content associated with the participating community and recommended talent selected in advance by the user can be displayed without switching the display state, so the user can identify the content associated with their favorite community and talent without the hassle of switching operations.

[0321] (1-9) Furthermore, the content headings 60 for the recommended topic 62 on the home screen shown in Fig. 10 can be displayed with priority, for example, above content headings 60 related to content categorized in other categories, regardless of whether the recommended filter 20 is on or off. This makes it easier for users to identify content associated with their favorite communities and talents.

[0322] (1-10) As explained with reference to Fig. 12, by the user selecting the community bar 81 on the channel list screen of Fig. 12 from among the communities to participate in that the user has previously selected, it becomes possible to display a content screen for each community, as exemplified in Fig. 11(A). This allows the user to further select a preferred community from among the communities to participate in that the user has previously selected, and display the content heading 70 for that selected community, thereby enabling the user to further extract any information as needed, even from among the preferred information, thereby improving convenience.

[0323] (1-11) As described with reference to Figures 24 to 26, the distribution server 100 and the user terminal 300 perform a reception effect such as that shown in Figure 24(A) or 24(B) each time they receive a tap action from a user on a content icon 708. The reception effect displays a fan mark or a talent effect corresponding to a related talent associated with the content (article ID) that received the action from the user, as exemplified in the content-specific effect table of Figure 25. As a result, the reception effect for a tap action includes a talent-related effect, making it possible to encourage the user to take a tap action.

[0324] (1-12) Furthermore, when a predetermined number of tap actions (e.g., 100 taps) are received from the user, a special effect such as a luxurious effect or a talent effect, as shown in Fig. 24(B), is performed. This allows the special effect to be performed when the user performs a predetermined number of tap actions, thereby encouraging the user to take a tap action.

[0325] (1-13) The multiple types of content available to users are associated with related talents, and thus include content associated with a talent ID in the content database of FIG. 14. For content associated with a related talent, the related talent 88, which displays the icon and name of the talent associated with the content, is displayed regardless of whether the recommended filter 20 is on or off. This allows the user to identify the related talent associated with the content regardless of whether the recommended filter 20 is on or off, improving user convenience. It can also provide an opportunity to learn about new talents.

[0326] (1-14) As described with reference to Figures 14, 17, and 18, the multiple types of content that can be provided to users include posted content posted by users. When a user posts information, for example, by selecting the related talent bar 40 in Figure 17, and as a result, in steps S310 and S311 in Figure 18, a talent ID is associated with the posted information, as exemplified in the content database in Figure 14. This allows a talent to be associated with user posts, making it easier for users to share their favorite information.

[0327] (1-15) The multiple types of content include posted content (such as articles with posting authority "User" in FIG. 14) posted by users through the user posting process described with reference to FIGS. 17 and 18. The users include multiple specific users corresponding to each of the talents in FIG. 5. Posted content that has received an action such as a tap action or comment from a specific user is displayed as a content heading (60, 70) on the home screen in FIG. 10 or the community screen in FIG. 11(A), or a special action 79 along with the icon of the special user on the content screen in FIG. 13. This allows users to easily identify posted content that has received an action from a specific user. This improves convenience for users seeking information about talents.

[0328] (1-16) When content associated with a favorite talent previously selected and stored by a user is posted, the distribution server 100 and user terminal 300 send the user a push notification that the content associated with the favorite talent has been posted, based on the user information database of FIG. 7 and the content database of FIG. 14. This makes it easier for the user to identify content information related to the favorite talent. Furthermore, if a specific user takes action on the content posted by the user, the user feels special.

[0329] (1-17) As described with reference to FIG. 27 , the distribution server 100 acquires, via an API provided by the external web service system 400, attribute identification information 96a of the channel account to be distributed, handle attribute identification information 96b included in the summary field 95 of the distribution screen in the external web service system 400 shown in FIG. 27(C), title 97, thumbnail image 99, and other information. Since the acquired information includes the attribute identification information 96, a talent ID corresponding to the attribute identification information 96 is identified, and the distribution schedule screen shown in FIG. 27(A) or 27(B) including a content heading 90 generated based on the identified talent ID is displayed on the user terminal 300. For example, if the information acquired from the external web service system 400 includes attribute identification information 96 corresponding to talent "AAA," a content heading 90 associated with the talent ID "t1" of talent "AAA" is generated. Information for identifying the content heading 90 is generated and stored by the content management unit 132. Therefore, content headings 90 of broadcasts related to participating communities (groups) pre-selected by the user from among groups corresponding to the channel account are displayed. Furthermore, by further selecting the favorite filter 20, it is possible to narrow down the display to content headings 90 of broadcasts in which the favorite talent appears. This makes it possible to optimize external posts such as broadcasts provided by the external web service system 400 to match the user's preferences, making it easier for the user to identify them.

[0330] (2-1) In the above-described embodiment, as described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4, 7, 8, 19 to 23, etc., the distribution server 100 included in the communication system 1 updates the user's evaluation history status, such as the user's level and accumulated points, in response to external evaluations, such as evaluations from sources other than the user himself / herself, of actions such as content posted by the user and comments, based on a program or a method of controlling a computer using the program (hereinafter simply referred to as the program) that allows actions received from the user terminals 300 operated by each of the plurality of users to be reflected in the user terminals 300 so that each of the plurality of users can recognize the actions. Also, as illustrated in FIG. 19, the distribution server 100 controls actions that can be taken by users whose evaluation history status is at a predetermined level, so that users who are not at the predetermined level cannot take certain actions. For example, even if a user at a predetermined level 80 or above, which is a specific situation, takes a specific action of posting content with an embedded link that is restricted for users at level 59 or below, the content with the embedded link can still be displayed on the user terminals 300 of users at level 59 or below who are not at the specific situation. This allows the actions that users can take to be controlled based on external evaluations, which are evaluations from people other than the user who took the action. Furthermore, specific actions accepted from a user in a specific situation can be reflected in multiple users (even if they are not in the specific situation), making it possible to maintain good public order within the community.

[0331] (2-2) As explained in steps S402 to S406 in Fig. 23, the account management unit 133 allows a user who has increased in level and entered a specific situation to take a specific action according to the level. By allowing a user who has entered a specific situation according to external evaluation to take a specific action, actions that can be taken by users who are not in a specific situation are restricted. Therefore, it is possible to encourage users to take actions that will put them in a specific situation where they can take a specific action, and it is possible to maintain good public order in the community.

[0332] (2-3) As described with reference to FIG. 19 , specific actions that can be taken are defined in stages according to the level. For example, if the user is at level 60 or above, there is no restriction on links to the content that the user posts as a specific action, and if the user is at level 80 or above, the user can create a plan as a specific action. As illustrated in steps S404 to S406 of FIG. 23 , these specific actions allow users who have leveled up from 59 to 60 to remove the link restriction on the content that the user posts, and allow users who have leveled up from 79 to 80 to create plans. Therefore, users who have not yet reached a predetermined level are restricted from taking specific actions. In this way, by gradually allowing specific actions for users who have reached a predetermined level and are in a specific situation, depending on the level, it is possible to encourage users to take actions aimed at a higher level, and it is possible to maintain good public order within the community.

[0333] (2-4) As explained in steps S407 to S411 of Fig. 23, the account management unit 133 restricts a user whose level has dropped and who is no longer in a specific situation from taking a specific action that was permitted according to the level. This restricts a user who is no longer in a specific situation according to external evaluation from taking a specific action, thereby encouraging the user to take an action that can maintain or improve the specific situation, thereby stabilizing public order in the community.

[0334] (2-5) As described with reference to FIG. 19 , the specific actions that can be taken are determined in stages according to the level. For example, if the level is 59 or lower, the specific action of removing the link restriction on posted content is not permitted, and therefore, there is a link restriction on posted content. If the level is 79 or lower, the specific action of creating a plan is not permitted, and therefore, there is a restriction on creating a plan. As illustrated in steps S409 to S411 of FIG. 23 , these specific actions restrict links to the posted content that were previously permitted for a user who has leveled down from 60 to 59. Furthermore, if the level is downgraded from 80 to 79, the user is restricted from creating plans that were previously permitted, and therefore, users who no longer meet the required level are restricted from performing specific actions. In this way, by gradually restricting the specific actions permitted for users who are no longer in a specific situation, it is possible to prevent an extreme reduction in the number of actions that can be taken while encouraging actions that maintain or improve the specific situation, thereby maintaining good public order within the community.

[0335] (2-6) As explained with reference to Fig. 8, the user evaluation history status 55, which displays information about the user's evaluation history status, such as the level and accumulated points, is not made public to other users, but can be viewed by the user himself / herself on the My Page screen. This allows the information related to the evaluation history status, which is updated in response to external evaluations, to be notified to the user himself / herself, and therefore, the user can be made aware of his / her own situation and encouraged to make efforts to improve the public order of the community.

[0336] (2-7) As explained with reference to Figure 22, external evaluations that can update a user's evaluation history status include points awarded based on a favorable impression from the administrator and negative evaluations. In this way, because the external evaluations include evaluations from the administrator, who is a third party different from the user, personal feelings are less likely to interfere with the external evaluations, and the external evaluations can be fair.

[0337] (2-8) As described with reference to Figure 22 etc., external evaluations that can update a user's evaluation history status include evaluations such as positive actions and reports from other users who are different from the user who took the action among multiple users who use the community app. In this way, because the external evaluations include evaluations from other users who are different from the user who took the action, it is possible to ensure that the public order within the community is in line with the intentions of all users.

[0338] (2-9) As explained with reference to Figure 19 etc., restriction processing such as hiding is performed on the user terminal 300 etc. of each of multiple users for content and comments that are restricted by users who are permitted to take the specific action of "moderator invitation" at level 90 or higher, or users who are permitted to take the specific action of "report count" at level 70 or higher. This restricts user actions by restricting the actions of users whose evaluation history status is in a predetermined status, thereby preventing indiscriminate restriction of user actions.

[0339] (2-10) Furthermore, actions that are subject to regulation by a predetermined number of users who are allowed to take specific actions in the "report count" described with reference to Fig. 19 etc. are restricted from being reflected in the user terminals 300 of multiple users. As a result, when an action subject to regulation is accepted by a predetermined number of users whose evaluation history status is in a predetermined state, it is deemed to be a nuisance action and the reflection of the action is restricted, so that nuisance behavior can be efficiently restricted without hindering free interaction and communication.

[0340] (2-11) As explained with reference to FIG. 19 etc., depending on the level, which is the evaluation history status of each of a plurality of users, for example, if the level is 50 to 59, a bonus E may be awarded, and if the level is 100, a bonus S, which is rarer than the bonuses A to E, may be awarded. With this configuration, bonuses may be awarded depending on the evaluation history status, and users can be encouraged to be conscious of achieving an evaluation history status that will result in the awarding of a bonus.

[0341] (2-12) Multiple users belong to the same fan community, and actions that users can take include, for example, promotional activities such as posting content related to a group they support or a celebrity belonging to the group, such as streaming videos or merchandise. The distribution server 100 changes the external evaluation based on the number of views of the streaming video and the profit contribution from merchandise sales resulting from the promotional activities, and updates the user's evaluation history. This can motivate users to promote the community, thereby revitalizing the community.

[0342] (3-1) In the above-described embodiment, in response to receiving a tap action from a user on posted content or the like displayed on the screen of the user terminal 300 in Figures 10, 11, 13, etc., in step S601 of Figure 29, the reaction, such as a reply to a comment, is reflected in a content data table for each posted content in steps S603, S609, etc., so that the reaction can be displayed and shared on the screen of another user's user terminal 300. Also, in response to receiving a reaction to the posted content in step S602 of Figure 29 from a specific user who satisfies specific conditions, such as a special user such as a celebrity in Figure 5 or a user with a special account predetermined by the administrator, in step S610 of Figure 29, a push notification is sent to the user terminal 300 of the user who posted the posted content on which the reaction operation was performed, or a special action 79, which is an icon indicating that a reaction has been made from a celebrity, is displayed, so that the user can be notified that a reaction has been received from a special user. This allows the user who posted the reaction to be notified that they have received a reaction from a special user such as a celebrity (a specific user who meets the specific conditions in the embodiment described above), which can increase the satisfaction of the user who posted the reaction.

[0343] (3-2) With respect to reaction operations performed by a specific user, if it is determined in step S608 in Fig. 29 that the reflection conditions are met because the cancellation time has elapsed without a cancellation operation being performed or because a reaction confirmation operation has been performed, the reaction operation is reflected so as to be shareable with other users in step S609. As a result, reactions from a specific user are shared only when the reflection conditions are met, which prevents reactions from being shared indiscriminately without the reflection conditions being met.

[0344] (3-3) With regard to a reaction operation performed by a specific user, if the tap action is canceled by a long press on the icon (icon 708, etc.) on which the tap action operation is performed, if a deletion operation is performed on the comment to be canceled, or if a cancel operation is performed on the reaction list screen within the cancellation period, the reaction information for which the cancellation operation was performed is deleted so that it is not shared with other users, and the reflection condition is thereby not satisfied. Alternatively, the reflection condition may be not satisfied if the reaction information is not sent to the distribution server 100 due to a cancel operation on the reaction execution confirmation screen, for example. In this way, if a cancel operation is performed, the reaction can be prevented from being shared with other users. As a result, the reaction is not shared due to the cancel operation, and the specific user can react with peace of mind.

[0345] (3-4) When the distribution server 100 receives reaction information from a general user who is different from the specific user, the reaction can be immediately reflected and shared with other users in steps S602 to S604 of Fig. 29. This reduces the processing load on the computer because reactions from users who are different from the specific user can be shared even if the reflection conditions are not met.

[0346] (3-5) As information suggesting the number of reactions to a shared action (for example, posted content), the number of tap actions 78 and the number of comments 77 for each piece of content such as in Figures 10, 11, 13, etc. are displayed, and for reactions from specific users, special suggestive information different from the information suggesting the number of reactions is displayed, such as a special action 79, which is an icon suggesting that the post has received a tap action or comment from a special user displayed for each piece of content such as in Figures 10, 11, 13, etc. This makes it easy to identify whether a reaction to an action such as posted content is a reaction from a specific user.

[0347] (3-6) The mode of notification to the poster (poster) user of posted content that has received a reaction from a specific user in step S610 of Fig. 29 is a mode that corresponds to the specific user who made the reaction, and for example, a push notification can be made using a voice message from the celebrity who is a special user, or an image related to the celebrity, etc. This allows the user to be notified that a reaction has been received in a mode that corresponds to the specific user, thereby increasing the user's interest when being notified.

[0348] (4-1) In the above-described embodiment, user terminal 300 can accept text input in any of a plurality of languages ​​on a posting screen such as that shown in FIG. 32 . In steps S321 and S325 of FIG. 35 , language information identifying the language is associated with the posted information transmitted to distribution server 100. In step S313 of FIG. 35 , the posted information includes the poster ID, posting date and time, posted content information, and language information associated with the content data table of FIG. 33 . Furthermore, user terminal 300 receives information for displaying a list of posted content such as that shown in FIGS. 30, 10, and 11 transmitted from distribution server 100 in steps S702 and S706 of FIG. 34 , and displays the list of posted content. Furthermore, the posted content list information includes information for identifying the posted content information of FIG. 33 , such as text and images, and the language information associated with each post of FIG. 33 . Based on the post content information and language information for each post, as shown in Fig. 30, posted content associated with language information of a language specified by operating the language switch icon LS displayed on the list screen of posted content in Fig. 30, or a language specified by the initial settings such as Fig. 31 or a default setting by a user operation on My Page, etc. is displayed in a list. This makes it possible to post in any of multiple languages, and also allows posts associated with the language type specified by the user to be narrowed down and displayed in a list, making it possible to communicate with other users according to the language.

[0349] (4-2) Furthermore, as shown in the example of Fig. 32, a language switch icon LS indicating the currently associated language can be displayed on the post screen. This allows the type of language associated with a post to be identified at the time of posting, making it easier for users to check the type of language associated with the post.

[0350] (4-3) In addition, on the posted content list display screen such as Figure 30, a language switch icon LS that displays the currently narrowed down language in Figure 30 is displayed. For example, as shown in Figure 30(B), if the display language is narrowed down to English, the language switch icon LS displays "English." This makes it easier for the user to check the type of language specified when displaying a list of posts.

[0351] (4-4) Steps S321 and S325 in Fig. 35 allow the type of language selected by the user during the initial setup in Fig. 31 or through a user operation on My Page, or the type of language selected by an operation on the language switch icon LS as in Fig. 32(B), to be associated with the posted information and posted. This allows the user to communicate by associating the type of language they intend.

[0352] (4-5) As illustrated in Fig. 31, the language set in the OS of the user terminal 300 can be initially set as the default language type, but the initially set language type can be changed from the initial setting to another language type, as in the push notification language in Fig. 31, or the default language type can be changed from My Page, etc. Also, in steps S322 to S325 in Fig. 35, as shown in Fig. 32(B), it is possible to post by associating a language type different from the default by changing the language type from the language set by default. This simplifies the associating operation while allowing the associated language type to be changed as needed, improving user convenience.

[0353] (4-6) The display language when using the community app can be set in advance in response to user operations, such as during the initial setup shown in FIG. 31 or by a user setting the app display language via My Page or other means, or by default setting operations for the display language type, such as the language of displayed content or posts. Furthermore, the language type displayed by the language switch icon LS, which is displayed as the post language when the post screen shown in FIG. 32 is displayed, may be associated with the default app display language for the posted information. The language associated when the post screen is displayed can be switched to another language type based on an operation on the language switch icon LS, as shown in FIG. 32(B), in steps S322 to S325 of FIG. 35. This allows the language type associated with a post to be set in advance in response to user operations, and also allows a language type different from the preset language type to be associated in response to user operations. This allows the user to associate a language type depending on the content of the post, improving user convenience.

[0354] (4-7) Default display languages, such as the application display language when using a community application or the language of displayed content, can be set in response to user operation during initial setup or on My Page (see FIG. 31). Furthermore, in step S702 of FIG. 34, a list screen of posted content associated with language information of a preset default language type can be displayed. In steps S703 to S706, in response to a request to switch the display language, a list screen of posted content associated with language information of the switched language type can be displayed. For example, if the default application display language or the default language type of the displayed content is set to Japanese, a list screen of posted content associated with Japanese as the language information as shown in FIG. 30(A) can be displayed. By operating the language switch icon LS and selecting English, a list of posted content associated with English as the language information can be displayed, as shown in FIG. 30(B). This allows posts to be displayed in either the default language type or a language type other than the default, depending on the user's operation. This allows users to communicate in a preferred language type depending on the situation.

[0355] <Modification> Modifications to the above-described embodiment are listed below.

[0356] (About content information) In the above-described embodiment, content headings (60, 70, 90) in Figures 10, 11, 27, etc. have been exemplified as content information related to content (e.g., news articles, information posted by users, etc.). However, the content information related to content is not limited to this, and may be, for example, explanatory information on the screen of the content itself, as exemplified in Figure 13. For example, it includes various information displayed on the content screen itself in Figure 13, such as poster 71, content 74b, related talent 88, special action 79, and number of tap actions 78.

[0357] (About attribute selection processing) In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which a user can select a participating community and a favorite talent in steps S102 to S104 of FIG. 9 upon initial login. When selecting a participating community and a favorite talent upon initial login, both may need to be selected in step S103, or neither may be selected (no attributes selected). Alternatively, a user may select only a participating community or a favorite talent, or may be required to select only one. For example, even if a favorite talent is selected, information about the favorite talent may not be extracted and displayed on the content screen unless the user is participating in a participating community corresponding to the group 1 to which the favorite talent belongs. In other words, even if the favorite talent filter 20 is turned on, content headings of talents belonging to groups corresponding to communities to which the user does not belong are not displayed. Alternatively, a user may not be able to select a participating community unless the user selects one of the participating communities. For example, a user may not be able to proceed to the screen for selecting a favorite talent unless the user selects one of the participating communities.

[0358] In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which, when it is determined in step S101 of Fig. 9 that this is the first login, the selection screen for the community to join and the favorite talent shown in Fig. 6 is displayed in step S102. At this time, all of the community to join settings in Fig. 6(A) or the favorite talent settings in Fig. 6(B) may be selected in advance (by default).

[0359] In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which, in steps S101 and S102 of Fig. 9, if it is the first login, an attribute selection screen is displayed on the user terminal 300 in step S102, but it may not be displayed on the screen at the time of the first login, and the initial attribute selection may be performed later from My Page, etc. Furthermore, at the time of the first login, the user may be in a state of participating in all communities until later editing is performed by the user on My Page, etc.

[0360] In the above-described embodiment, when the user is not logging in for the first time (NO in step S101 of FIG. 9), the determination in step S107 that a participating community or a favorite talent has been selected after the setting editing screen of FIG. 6 is displayed is based on the timing of a selection operation on an icon or the like. However, this is not limited to this. Alternatively, the user may operate the home icon 13 or the like displayed at the bottom of the app screen to move to another screen, and the attribute selected on the attribute selection screen of FIG. 6 may be deemed to have been selected by transmitting and receiving information regarding the attribute as having been confirmed, and the process proceeds to step S108. Alternatively, instead of or in addition to an operation on the display of each participating community or each talent on the attribute selection screen of FIG. 6, a confirmation icon or the like may be displayed, and the selection may be determined to have been made when the confirmation icon is operated (when information transmitted in response to the operation is received). Furthermore, when the confirmation icon is operated, a special effect may be displayed on the user terminal 300.

[0361] (Regarding the display of special actions on the home screen, community screen, etc.) In the above-described embodiment, as described with reference to FIG. 11(A) and the like, an example has been described in which, for content that has received a comment or tap action from a special user corresponding to a talent, a special action 79 is displayed in the content heading 70 together with the icon of the special user. When the talent who performed the action on the content is a favorite talent previously set by the user, the display mode of the special action 79 displayed in the content heading 70, etc., may be different from that when the talent who performed the action is not the favorite talent, or the content heading 70 itself may be displayed in a different mode from that when the talent who performed the action is not the favorite talent. Alternatively, when the talent who performed the action on the content is a related talent associated with the content, the display mode of the special action 79 displayed in the content heading 70 may be different from that when the talent who performed the action is not the related talent, or the content heading 70 itself may be displayed in a different mode from that when the talent who performed the action is not the related talent. Examples of different modes include modes with different colors, different message content, or the presence or absence of a message.

[0362] (Regarding the display of comments on the content screen) In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which, on the content screen described with reference to FIG. 13 and the like, the display mode or display order of each comment 87 can be changed if the comment is from a special user corresponding to a talent. Alternatively, or in addition, if the talent (special user) who made a comment on the content is a favorite talent previously set by the user, the display mode of the comment 87 of the favorite talent may be displayed in a different manner than when the talent who performed the action is not the favorite talent. Alternatively, the comment 87 may be displayed at the top of each comment 87. Alternatively, if the talent who made a comment on the content is a related talent associated with the content, the display mode of the comment 87 of the related talent may be displayed in a different manner than when the talent who performed the action is not the related talent. A different manner may, for example, be a different color, a different message content, or the presence or absence of a message. Alternatively, the comment 87 may be displayed at the top of each comment 87.

[0363] (About the categories displayed on the home screen) In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which feature 61 is displayed on the home screen described with reference to FIG. 10 regardless of whether the user has selected any participating community or any favorite talent. However, this is not limiting, and feature 61 may not be displayed. For example, only content posted to participating communities that the user has pre-selected (or communities in which the user is always participating regardless of selection) may be displayed on the home screen. Alternatively, feature 61 may be displayed on a screen different from the home screen on which content headings 60 are displayed for each category.

[0364] In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which a recommended topic 62 is displayed on the home screen of Fig. 10 if the user has selected a recommended talent. However, this is not limiting, and the recommended topic 62 may not be displayed even if a recommended talent is selected. For example, content headings 60 associated with the recommended talent may not be extracted in any category unless a selection operation is performed on the recommended filter 20 on the home screen of Fig. 10. Alternatively, the recommended topic 62 may be displayed on a screen different from the home screen on which content headings 60 are displayed for each category.

[0365] (Regarding notification to users) In the above-described embodiment, an example was described in which a notification (such as a display on a notification screen or a push notification) is given to general users when content associated with a favorite talent previously selected by the user is posted or when a comment is made on the content from the talent himself / herself who is a special user. Regarding this notification, when a comment is made from the favorite talent previously selected by the user, the notification mode may be different from when a comment is made from a talent who is not the favorite talent. The change in notification mode may mean, for example, that when the notification is from the favorite talent, the notification icon 15 displayed at the bottom of the app screen is highlighted.

[0366] Also, an example has been described in which when a user posts (content or comment) and other users, including special users, make a favorable action (reaction) such as a comment or tap action, a notification (display on a notification screen, push notification, etc.) may be sent to the user who posted the content. In this case, for example, notifications are normally sent once an hour, but when an action is taken by a special user who is a celebrity or a special user who is a favorite celebrity, a notification may be sent in real time.

[0367] In addition, if a user has selected a favorite talent for each unit, the user may be notified by push notification when content associated with one of the talents included in the unit is posted, or when content associated with the unit is posted.

[0368] (About attribute extraction processing) In the above embodiment, when the user turns on the favorite filter 20, content headings (60, 70) associated with the favorite talent previously selected by the user are extracted and displayed. However, if multiple favorite talents are selected, the talents may be further narrowed down individually for each favorite talent. For example, if the user selects talents with talent IDs "t1," "t2," and "t3," the favorite filter 20 may be individually selectable as "t1," "t2," and "t3" when the favorite filter 20 is turned on. Alternatively, if the favorite talents are previously selected by unit, the favorite talents may be individually selectable by unit. Furthermore, by preselecting a more special talent (the most favorite talent) from among the favorite talents, further filtering by the most favorite talent may be possible. In this way, after all favorite talents are extracted using the favorite filter 20, multiple filtering stages, such as first, second, and third, may be possible, such as allowing the user to select more favorite talents individually (further narrowing down the results) by operating a specific icon or the like.

[0369] In addition, if a user has selected a favorite talent on a unit basis in advance, when content is posted in which one of the talents in the unit is associated with a related talent, the favorite filter 20 may be turned on, allowing the user to extract and display the content headings of the content associated with one of the talents in the unit that the user has previously selected.

[0370] It is also possible to associate a talent with a community even if the community is different from the community corresponding to the group to which the talent belongs. For example, talent ID "t1" is a talent belonging to "Group A" of Affiliation Group 1, but talent "t1" may be associated with content posted in "Community B" corresponding to "Group B." Therefore, if a user selects talent ID "t1" and also participates in "Community B," turning on the "Favorite Filter 20" on the home screen or the content screen in "Community B" will extract and display content associated with talent ID "t1." This allows users to obtain information about their favorite talent without missing anything, even if there is a collaboration project between different groups and posts are only made in the community corresponding to one of the groups. It is also possible for content associated with a favorite talent to be displayed on the home screen even if the user does not participate in "Community B."

[0371] (Regarding the specified conditions for attribute extraction processing) In the above embodiment, as described with reference to Figures 15, 16, etc., an example has been described in which the predetermined condition for turning on or off the favorite filter 20 is met when the user taps on the favorite filter 20 icon displayed on the user terminal 300 to turn it on. However, the predetermined condition is not limited to this, and it is sufficient that the favorite filter 20 can be switched on or off according to the user's will, and for example, it may be possible to switch by voice instruction or by vibrating (for example, shaking) the user terminal 300 itself.

[0372] (Regarding the memory state of the Oshi Filter 20 in the attribute extraction process) In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the on state of the Oshi Filter 20 is stored and maintained after an operation on the Oshi Filter 20 is performed, even when the content screen of FIG. 13 is displayed after the app is launched and the user returns to the content screen or home screen on which the Oshi Filter 20 was on. However, this is not limiting, and the Oshi Filter 20 may always be in either the on or off state when moving to a different screen. For example, after displaying the community screen of FIG. 13 from the community screen of FIG. 11 (or the home screen of FIG. 10) with the Oshi Filter 20 in the on or off state, the Oshi Filter 20 may be in the off or on state when the user returns to the community screen of FIG. 11 (or the home screen of FIG. 10). Alternatively, after turning on the Oshi Filter 20 on the home screen of FIG. 10 (or the community screen of FIG. 11) and displaying the community screen of FIG. 11 (or the home screen of FIG. 10), when you return to the home screen of FIG. 10 (or the community screen of FIG. 11), the Oshi Filter 20 may be in an off or on state.

[0373] (User submission processing) In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the example user posting screen of FIG. 17 is divided into FIG. 17(A), which is a posting screen for inputting text and uploading images, and FIG. 17(B), which is a screen for selecting categories and related talents. However, this is not limited to this, and FIG. 17(A) and FIG. 17(B) may be displayed on a single screen for input or selection. For example, scrolling may be possible, and transition to a separate screen may not be required. Furthermore, posting may be possible even without inputting text or posting an image. Alternatively, posting may be possible even if there is no title, as long as text is input or an image is uploaded.

[0374] Also, while an example has been described in which the selection of a category and associated talent is optional, both may be required. Alternatively, "no category" or "no associated talent" may be selected, or selection may be possible for each unit in the belonging group 2 in FIG. 5. Furthermore, when selection is made for each unit, the talent IDs of the individual talents belonging to the unit and a unit ID for identifying the unit may be associated with the content. Alternatively, only the unit ID may be associated.

[0375] (Regarding evaluation history status update processing) In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which a notification is given in steps S406 and S411 in Fig. 23 that a specific action has been permitted or restricted. However, this is not limiting, and the user may not be notified in steps S406 and S411. Alternatively, a notification may be given if an action is permitted in step S406, but not if the action is restricted in step S411. For example, not notifying the user when a restriction is imposed can avoid upsetting the user.

[0376] (Other examples of evaluation history) In the above-described embodiment, as described with reference to FIG. 19 , an example has been described in which a user's level increases in stages from an initial setting level in accordance with external evaluation, and each time a specific situation (e.g., level 60, level 80, etc.) is reached, specific actions that can be taken are permitted according to the level. However, this is not limited to this. For example, the specific actions shown in FIG. 19 may be permitted for all users in the initial setting, and specific situations may be gradually eliminated as the level decreases, and the specific actions that can be taken may be restricted. Furthermore, the initial setting level is not limited to a lower limit of 1 and an upper limit of 100, but may start from, for example, 80, and the specific actions that can be taken may be gradually permitted or restricted according to changes in the level.

[0377] In the above-described embodiment, an example was described in which fluctuations in a user's level and accumulated points are due to external evaluations from sources other than the user himself / herself. However, in addition to this, the accumulated points may also be increased by a user tapping on another user's post or comment, or by making a comment to another user. This encourages users to be more active within the community, thereby revitalizing the community.

[0378] In the above-described embodiment, an example was described in which, when content or comments posted by a user are hidden or reported, points are reduced, thereby gradually restricting the user's actions. Alternatively, or in addition to the points (variable cumulative points) that affect the user's level, a reflection restriction point may be defined in the evaluation history status as a criterion for restricting the reflection of actions within the community app. For example, a user whose posted content, comments, etc. have been hidden or reported by other users a predetermined number of times (e.g., 20 in either case, or a total of 20), may have their actions restricted (reflection restricted). For example, content, comments, etc. posted by a user subject to reflection restriction may not be displayed to other users for a certain period of time, or the user may be prevented from posting content, comments, etc. for a certain period of time.

[0379] The reflection restriction may be implemented according to the level that changes depending on the number of points as shown in the above-mentioned Figures 22 and 23. For example, a negative level lower than 1 may be set, and the reflection restriction may be implemented for users who reach a negative level. Alternatively, the default level at the start of the community app may be set to 10, and restrictions may be imposed as the level becomes lower than 10.

[0380] (For positive actions from users in a given situation) In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which the content of actions, such as special actions that can be taken, varies according to the level described with reference to FIG. 19 . Alternatively, or in addition, other users may be able to recognize that a user has a high level. High-level users tend to take actions that create a positive atmosphere within the community and are considered to be highly trustworthy. Therefore, the display mode of content that has received a favorable action (including a tap action or a favorable comment) from a high-level user (e.g., level 90 or higher) may be changed. Alternatively, the display mode may be changed only when favorable actions are received from multiple highly trustworthy users (e.g., a predetermined number, such as five). For example, the display mode of the content heading 60 on the home screen of FIG. 10 , the content heading 70 in FIG. 11(A), or the number of tap actions 78 may be changed in color, or a mark (e.g., special action 79) indicating that an action has been taken by a highly trustworthy user may be displayed. Alternatively, on the content screen illustrated in FIG. 13 , comments may be displayed in a more prominent manner (e.g., by displaying them at a higher position or by changing their color). Furthermore, when content that has received favorable actions from multiple highly trusted users or when there is a comment, a push notification or a notice may be displayed.

[0381] Furthermore, a user who has posted content or a comment that has received a favorable action from a highly reliable user may be notified of the action from the highly reliable user. For example, a push notification may be sent to the user device of the user, or a notification may be displayed within the app.

[0382] In the above-described embodiment, an example was described in which content or comments that have been restricted, such as those that have been hidden or reported, are hidden from the user terminals 300 of multiple users, or content posted by restricted users is hidden from users, from a predetermined number of users (e.g., five) at level 70 or higher who are the target of the "report count" in FIG. 19 . The restriction process for the restricted content itself and the restriction process for the users who posted the restricted content may use different conditions, such as the number of users in a predetermined situation (e.g., level 70 or higher) who have hidden or reported the content or comments. For example, a restriction process may be performed in which restricted content or comments are hidden from all users from a first number of users (e.g., five) at level 70 or higher who are the target of the "report count," and then a restriction process may be performed in which all content posted by users who have hidden or reported the content is hidden from all users from a second number (e.g., 20) higher than the first number.

[0383] Additionally, content or comments posted by a user who has accumulated a certain number of users with a level of 70 or higher who have been hidden or reported, which are subject to the "report count," can be hidden from all users. For example, content or comments posted by a user who has been hidden or reported by five users with a level of 70 or higher can be hidden from all users.

[0384] Note that the users who are not visible may not include the users who posted the comments or content. This allows the user to know (become aware) that the content or comments posted by the user have been restricted, even though the content or comments posted by the user are reflected on the user's own device, for example, due to the lack of action from other users.

[0385] (Notification of information related to evaluation history status) In the above-described embodiment, an example was described in which each user can check their own "level" and "accumulated points" in the user rating history status 55 on their personal page, as illustrated in FIG. 8 . However, the present invention is not limited to this. Information about the user's rating history status, such as the level and accumulated points, may be viewed only by the administrator on the administrator terminal 200, without being notified to the user or any other users. This allows information related to the rating history status updated in response to external ratings to be notified to any users but to the administrator, thereby preventing excessive inhibitions in user actions and enabling the administrator to grasp information related to the user's rating history status and use it for management purposes. Furthermore, users can more comfortably use the fan community without being overly concerned about their own "level."

[0386] In the above-described embodiment, information related to the evaluation history status described with reference to FIG. 23 and the like may be provided to the user as feedback. For example, the increase or decrease in points or the level up or down updated in response to external evaluations over a predetermined period (e.g., one day or one week) may be fed back to the user as a result of today's (or this week's) actions. Alternatively, or in addition to this, sentiment analysis using, for example, AI may be performed on the content posted by the user over a predetermined period or the text of comments (actions taken by the user), and the percentage of positive words, negative words, or words not classified into either category may be notified to the user (for example, by displaying a pop-up screen or a notice page at a predetermined time). This allows the user to objectively know the tendencies of their own actions and encourages them to take actions that will improve public safety within the community.

[0387] (Regarding external evaluation) In the above-described embodiment, an example was described in which a user's points are reduced when an action, such as content or a comment posted by the user, is hidden or reported. In addition, for example, when hiding, a user may be able to select or input a reason for hiding on a screen such as that shown in FIG. 11(B). A user may hide another user's action due to personal reasons, such as the user being a rival user, and may hide actions that do not pose a risk of negatively impacting the community or worsening public order. Therefore, actions that do not substantially have a negative impact on the community may not affect the user's points, and only actions that do substantially have a negative impact may affect the points. For example, options for hiding may be predefined as having an impact on points and not having an impact on points, and an administrator may check the reasons for hiding and operate to affect the points for actions that are determined to have a negative impact.

[0388] In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which a user's points fluctuate depending on external evaluations, such as whether there have been tap actions or comments on content or actions such as comments posted by the user. The number of posts of content posted by this user may be limited. For example, the number of views of a video streamed through content posted by the user and the degree of profit contribution to a support target, such as the number of merchandise purchases, have been given as examples of external evaluations that increase points. However, since there is a risk that content posts will be promiscuous in an attempt to increase points, a limit may be imposed on content posts, such as one per day. Furthermore, for users with higher levels and higher trustworthiness, the upper limit on the number of content posts per day may be increased.

[0389] <Regarding reaction notification processing> (For specific users) In the above-described embodiment, the specific user who satisfies the specific condition for which the reflection of the reaction is suspended until the reflection condition is met is a special user such as a celebrity in Fig. 5, and an example has been described in which reactions are reflected for users other than special users regardless of whether the reflection condition is met. However, this is not limited to this. For example, even if a special user such as a celebrity or a user of a special account predetermined by the administrator, for example, a general user who satisfies a condition predetermined by the administrator (for example, a user with a predetermined number of friends or a predetermined number of followers) may be regarded as a specific user, and a setting may be possible in which reactions are not reflected until the reflection condition is met.

[0390] (Actions that are reflected when the reflection conditions are met) In the above-described embodiment, an example was described in which the action that is not reflected until the reflection condition is met is a tap action or a reaction such as a comment that is a reply to posted content. However, this is not limited to this, and the action that is not reflected to other users until the reflection condition is met may also include content posted by the special user himself / herself as a poster (such as an article that is the target of a reaction and is assigned an article (post) ID as exemplified in the content database of FIG. 14). This allows the special user to delete content before it is seen by other users, even if the special user accidentally posts content.

[0391] (Regarding reactions that are reflected regardless of whether the reflection conditions are met) In the above-described embodiment, an example was described in which, when it is determined in step S608 of FIG. 29 that the reflection condition is met, the reflection process is performed to allow the information on the reaction made by the special user to be shared with other users. However, this is not limited to this. Regardless of whether the reflection condition is met, the information on the reaction made by the special user may be subjected to the received information reflection process in steps S609 and S610 or notification information may be sent to the poster user through the special user's operation. For example, the special user may perform a setting operation in advance to disable a cancellation time period or to hide the screen for the confirmation operation, so that the reaction operation is immediately reflected (shared) and notified, just as when a general user performs a reaction. Alternatively, if a cancellation time period is set as a reflection condition, a checkbox or the like that allows the reaction to be immediately reflected without waiting for the cancellation time period may be displayed on the comment posting screen when posting a reaction. When the distribution server 100 receives posted information of a comment with the checkbox checked, the comment may be immediately shared and notified to other users, just as with a general user.

[0392] (Regarding the notification method of reactions to the poster) In the above-described embodiment, the special action 79 is not limited to being notified to the poster user in step S610. An example has been described in which notification information can also be sent to other users so that the special action 79 is displayed on the user terminals 300 of the other users. However, this is not limited to this. The special action 79 may be displayed only to the poster user. This prevents a hierarchy within the community based on whether or not a user has received a reaction from a special user. Furthermore, when a special user makes a reaction, notification that reactions have occurred to users other than the poster user may be made. However, the notification mode for the poster user may be different from the notification mode for other users to provide a more special effect. For example, the poster user may receive a push notification in a mode appropriate for the special user, such as a voice message.

[0393] (Reactions from general users) In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which, when a reaction to a post is from a general user, default notification information is sent to the user terminal 300 of the poster in step S604. However, this is not limiting, and when a reaction is received from a general user, the processing of step S604 may not be performed. For example, in step S603, reactions such as comments from general users may be shared with other users, but a push notification or the like may not be sent to the poster.

[0394] 29, a notification pop-up or the like may be displayed when the user logs in, for example, when the app is launched, rather than a push notification or the like being sent when the received information is reflected (when a reaction is shared with other users). In other words, while reactions from special users may be notified in real time when they become shareable, reactions from general users may not be notified in real time when they become shareable.

[0395] (Determining whether the reflection conditions are met on the user terminal side) In the above-described embodiment, as illustrated in Fig. 28(B), an example has been described in which the reserved information of the special action is managed by the distribution server 100, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the reserved information may be managed by the special user's user terminal 300. For example, the user terminal may determine whether a reflection condition is met, and if the reflection condition is met, the reserved reaction information may be transmitted to the distribution server 100, and the information received by the distribution server 100 may be reflected on a content screen or the like.

[0396] (Regarding the process of reflecting received information) In the above-described embodiment, an example was described in which the received information reserved in the special action reserved data table of FIG. 28(B) is associated with a post (article) ID, etc., in a content data table such as FIG. 28(A) or FIG. 14 when a reflection condition is met, thereby displaying or notifying that a special action has occurred. However, this is not limited to this, and the information may be shared with other users depending on whether a reflection flag is set to on or off in the content data table. For example, when reaction information is received from a special user, the received information may be associated with each post ID in a content data table such as FIG. 14, and the reflection flag may be set to off. When the reflection condition is met, the reflection flag may be set to on and the information may be shared with other users. Furthermore, the non-reflection process in step S607 of FIG. 29 may involve, for example, deleting the corresponding reaction-related information associated with the reflection flag set to off in the data table for each posted content such as FIG. 14 or FIG. 28(A). Furthermore, the received information reflection process in step S608 may be performed, for example, by turning on the reflection flag of the corresponding reaction-related information that was associated with the reflected flag turned off in the data table for each posted content in Figure 14 or Figure 28 (A), so that the information can be shared with other users.

[0397] <About language association processing> (Posts that are displayed regardless of the language specified) In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which language information associated with each post is extracted and the narrowed-down content is displayed, with reference to Figures 30, 34, etc. The posted content that can be displayed in a list may include posts that are not excluded even when narrowed down by selecting (specifying) the display language. For example, with regard to posted content posted by a special user such as a talent who is a support target of the community, as described with reference to Figure 5, etc., the posted content may be displayed regardless of the language associated with the posted content or the language specified by the user.

[0398] In addition to accounts of special users, posts under certain circumstances may be displayed regardless of the language associated with the post. For example, newly posted content posted within the last 24 hours may be displayed regardless of the language associated with the post.

[0399] (Combined with automatic language detection) In the above-described embodiment, an example in which a preset default language is associated at the time of posting has been described with reference to FIGS. 32 and 35 . However, this is not limiting. Alternatively, the language of the input text may be determined automatically by AI, the determined language may be associated, and a language to be associated may be suggested to the user. In this case, even if the language is automatically determined and automatically selected, the user may be able to change the language to the intended language through a user operation. This is because, for example, if an emoticon contains characters used in a language different from the originally intended language, a language different from the intended language may be associated (for example, if an emoticon used by a Japanese-speaking user contains characters used in Russian). Note that even if non-text information, such as an image, is associated with the posted information, the language may be determined based on the characters contained in the image.

[0400] Furthermore, automatic language determination by AI may be performed so that users whose language included in the posted content information differs from the associated language information can be identified in the distribution server 100. For example, it becomes easy to identify and deal with users who maliciously post content information that differs from the associated language included in the posted content information.

[0401] (Regarding data of content posted with the same purpose by the same account) In the above-described embodiment, in the example of content data in FIG. 33, content 70d1 in FIG. 30(A) and content 70d2 in FIG. 30(B) were posted from the same official account with similar content in different languages, such as text. The example was described in which these content IDs are managed as different post (article) IDs, such as "a20" and "a21," and each is associated with different language information, Japanese and English. However, the data management method is not limited to this. For example, the data may be managed as a single post ID "a20." Both post content information associated with Japanese language information (e.g., including mainly Japanese text and Japanese images) and post content information associated with English language information (e.g., including mainly English text and English images) are associated with "a20." In response to a user's operation to select (specify) a display language, the post content information associated with the selected language information may be displayed. Furthermore, when displaying all languages ​​is specified, a post in one of the languages ​​associated with the post ID "a20" may be displayed preferentially. For example, if the application display language is set to English, posts in English may be displayed with priority.

[0402] [Software implementation example] The various control blocks of the control unit of a computer such as a server or terminal in the above-described embodiments may be implemented by logic circuits (hardware) formed on an integrated circuit (IC chip) or the like, or by software using a CPU (Central Processing Unit). When implemented by software using a CPU, the computer equipped with the control unit includes a CPU that executes instructions from a program, which is software that implements each function; a ROM (Read Only Memory) or storage device (these are referred to as "recording media") in which the program and various data are recorded so as to be readable by the computer (or CPU); and a RAM (Random Access Memory) in which the program is deployed. The object of the present invention is achieved when the computer (or CPU) reads and executes the program from the recording media. The recording media may be "non-transitory tangible media," such as tapes, disks, cards, semiconductor memories, and programmable logic circuits. The program may also be supplied to the computer via any transmission medium capable of transmitting the program (such as a communication network or broadcast waves). Note that one aspect of the present invention may also be realized in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave, in which the program is embodied by electronic transmission.

[0403] The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered to be illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims, not by the above description, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0404] 1 communication system, 2 network, 100 distribution server, 200 administrator terminal, 300 user terminal, 400 external web service system

Claims

1. A program for causing a computer to execute a process for accepting an action and sharing the action among multiple users, The computer means for receiving reactions from users to the shared action and sharing the reactions among the plurality of users; In response to receiving a reaction from a specific user who satisfies a specific condition, the device functions as a means for notifying a user who is the source of the action that is the target of the reaction that the reaction has been received from the specific user; The means for notifying includes means for reflecting, as suggestive information suggesting that a reaction has been made to the shared action, the suggestive information in a normal manner when the user who has made the reaction is a user other than the specific user, and for reflecting, in a special manner when the user who has made the reaction is the specific user; The means for sharing is a program that enables a reaction from the specific user to be shared when a reflection condition is satisfied after the specific user makes the reaction.

2. The program of claim 1 , wherein the sharing means does not share the reaction by accepting a cancel operation from the specific user between the time the reaction is received from the specific user and the time the reflection condition is met.

3. The program of claim 1 , wherein the means for sharing is capable of sharing reactions from users other than the specific user even if the reflection condition is not met after the user makes the reaction.

4. The suggestion information includes first suggestion information suggesting the number of reactions to the shared action; The program described in claim 1, wherein the means for reflecting the suggestion information reflects the first suggestion information in a normal manner when the user who has made the reaction is a user other than the specific user, and reflects the first suggestion information in a special manner when the user who has made the reaction is the specific user.

5. the means for sharing is capable of accepting and sharing comments as reactions from users to the shared action; The suggestion information includes second suggestion information suggesting the number of comments on the shared action; The program described in claim 1, wherein the means for reflecting the suggestion information reflects the second suggestion information in a normal manner as the second suggestion information when the user who has made the reaction is a user other than the specific user, and reflects the second suggestion information in a special manner when the user who has made the reaction is the specific user.

6. The program according to claim 1 , wherein the mode of notification by the notification means is a mode according to the specific user who made the reaction.

7. The program according to claim 6 , wherein the notification by the notification means includes a voice message from the specific user who made the reaction.

8. A method for controlling a computer that accepts actions and executes processing for sharing among multiple users, a step of receiving reactions from users to the shared action and sharing the reactions among the plurality of users; a step of notifying a user who is a source of an action that is the target of the reaction that a reaction has been received from the specific user in response to the reaction being received from the specific user, The step of notifying includes a step of reflecting, as suggestive information suggesting that a reaction has been made to the shared action, the suggestive information in a normal manner when the user who has made the reaction is a user other than the specific user, and reflecting, as suggestive information, the suggestive information in a special manner when the user who has made the reaction is the specific user; In the step of sharing, a reaction from the specific user can be shared when a reflection condition is satisfied after the specific user makes the reaction.

9. A system having a computer that receives actions and executes a process for sharing the actions among multiple users, means for receiving reactions from users to the shared action and sharing the reactions among the plurality of users; a means for informing a user who is a source of an action that is the target of the reaction that a reaction has been received from the specific user in response to receiving the reaction from the specific user, The means for notifying includes means for reflecting, as suggestive information suggesting that a reaction has been made to the shared action, the suggestive information in a normal manner when the user who has made the reaction is a user other than the specific user, and for reflecting, in a special manner when the user who has made the reaction is the specific user; The system is such that the means for sharing enables a reaction from the specific user to be shared when a reflection condition is satisfied after the specific user makes the reaction.

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