Information processing system, information processing method, and program

Abstract

[Problem] To provide an information processing system which allows a user to easily view an advertisement. [Solution] According to one aspect of the present invention, an information processing system is provided. This information processing system comprises a control unit. The control unit is configured to perform the following steps. In a reception step, a contribution destination of a value obtained by viewing an advertisement from a user terminal owned by a user is designated, and then a viewing request for viewing the advertisement is received from the user terminal. In a presentation step, an advertisement viewable by the user is presented in response to the viewing request. In a contribution step, at least a portion of the value is contributed to the contribution destination upon the presentation of the advertisement.

Description

Information processing system, information processing method and program

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing system, an information processing method, and a program.

[0002] Conventionally, systems for distributing advertisements and the like that are tailored to user demand have been developed. In this regard, Patent Literature 1 discloses an information processing device and the like that clarifies the benefits of users viewing advertisements and improves the viewing rate of advertisements.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-46931

[0004] However, there is still room for development in ad delivery technologies that are beneficial to users.

[0005] In view of the above circumstances, the present invention provides an information processing system and the like that allows users to easily view advertising materials.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present invention, an information processing system is provided. The information processing system includes a control unit. The control unit is configured to execute the following steps: In the reception step, a viewing request for viewing the advertising material is received from the user terminal owned by the user, after the user specifies a donation recipient for the value obtained by viewing the advertising material; In the presentation step, advertising material viewable by the user is presented in response to the viewing request; In the donation step, at least a portion of the value is donated to the donation recipient when the advertising material is presented.

[0007] According to the above aspect, an information processing system or the like that allows the user to easily view advertising material is provided.

[0008] 1 is a configuration diagram showing an information processing system 1 according to the present embodiment; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a user terminal 2; FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a server 3; FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing functions realized by a control unit 33 and the like in the server 3; FIG. 5 is an activity diagram showing the flow of information processing according to the present embodiment; FIG. 6 is an example of a display screen displayed on the user terminal 2; FIG. 7 is an example of a screen displayed on the user terminal 2; FIG. 8 is an example of a first screen displayed on the user terminal 2; FIG. 9 is an example of a display screen displayed on the user terminal 2 in a second form; and FIG. 10 is an example of a second screen displayed on the user terminal 2.

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Various features (various features relating to the first embodiment, the second embodiment, etc.) shown in the following embodiments can be combined with each other as long as no technical contradiction occurs.

[0010] That is, the information processing system of this embodiment is as follows: An information processing system comprising a control unit, the control unit being configured to execute the following steps: in a reception step, a viewing request for viewing the advertising material is received from a user terminal owned by a user after a donation destination for the value obtained by viewing the advertising material is specified, in a presentation step, advertising material viewable by the user is presented in response to the viewing request, and in a donation step, at least a portion of the value is donated to the donation destination when the advertising material is presented.

[0011] Incidentally, a program for realizing the software appearing in one embodiment may be provided as a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium, or may be provided so as to be downloadable from an external server, or may be provided so that the program is started on an external computer and its functions are realized on a client terminal (so-called cloud computing).

[0012] Furthermore, various information processing according to an embodiment may realize input and output corresponding to the input. Here, the form of information referenced in such information processing (hereinafter referred to as reference information) is not limited as long as an output is obtained as a result of the input. The reference information may be, for example, rule-based information such as a database, a lookup table, or a predetermined function (including a decision formula such as a regression formula constructed using a statistical method), a trained model that has previously trained the correlation between input and output, or a large-scale language model that can output a desired result by inputting a prompt.

[0013] In one embodiment, the term "unit" may include, for example, a combination of hardware resources implemented by a circuit in the broad sense and software information processing that can be specifically realized by these hardware resources. In one embodiment, various information is handled, and this information is represented, for example, by physical values ​​of signal values ​​representing voltage or current, high or low signal values ​​as a binary bit set consisting of 0 or 1, or quantum superposition (so-called quantum bits), and communication and calculations can be performed on the circuit in the broad sense.

[0014] Furthermore, a circuit in a broad sense is a circuit realized by at least an appropriate combination of a circuit, circuitry, a processor, a memory, etc. The processor may be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated circuit. That is, it includes application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic devices (e.g., simple programmable logic devices (SPLDs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)), etc.

[0015] 1. Hardware Configuration In this section, the hardware configuration of this embodiment will be described.

[0016] 1.1 Information Processing System 1 Fig. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an information processing system 1 according to this embodiment. The information processing system 1 includes a user terminal 2 and a server 3, which are connected via a network 4. These components will be further described. Note that a system exemplified as the information processing system 1 is made up of one or more devices or components. Therefore, even the server 3 alone is an example of a system.

[0017] 1.2 User Terminal 2 The user terminal 2 is a terminal carried by a user in this embodiment. For example, the user terminal 2 may be a smartphone, tablet terminal, computer, etc., but the details are not limited thereto. Note that in FIG. 1, the user terminal 2 is depicted as a collection of individual smartphones (2-1, 2-2, ... 2-n), but in this specification, an individual terminal may also be referred to as the user terminal 2.

[0018] 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the user terminal 2. The user terminal 2 has a communication unit 21, a storage unit 22, a control unit 23, a display unit 24, and an input unit 25, and these components are electrically connected via a communication bus 20 inside the user terminal 2. The description of the communication unit 21, the storage unit 22, and the control unit 23 will be omitted as they are substantially the same as the communication unit 31, the storage unit 32, and the control unit 33 in the server 3, which will be described later.

[0019] The display unit 24 may be, for example, included in the housing of the user terminal 2 or may be externally attached. The display unit 24 displays a graphical user interface (GUI) screen that can be operated by the user. This is preferably implemented by selectively using display devices such as a CRT display, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, or a plasma display depending on the type of user terminal 2. Here, the display unit 24 will be described as being included in the housing of the user terminal 2.

[0020] The input unit 25 may be included in the housing of the user terminal 2, or may be externally attached. For example, the input unit 25 may be implemented as a touch panel integrated with the display unit 24. A touch panel allows the user to input tapping, swiping, and the like. Of course, a switch button, a mouse, a QWERTY keyboard, or the like may be used instead of a touch panel. That is, the input unit 25 accepts an operation input made by the user. The input is transferred as a command signal to the control unit 23 via the communication bus 20, and the control unit 23 can execute predetermined control or calculation as necessary.

[0021] The user terminal 2 may have a function for transmitting latitude and longitude information. Specifically, the user terminal 2 may have a function (positioning system) capable of transmitting signals such as a GPS (Global Positioning System). The user terminal 2 may also have a camera function for reading codes, for example, or a reader capable of reading various tags such as NFC (Near Field Communication) tags.

[0022] 3 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the server 3. The server 3 has a communication unit 31, a storage unit 32, and a control unit 33, and these components are electrically connected via a communication bus 30 inside the server 3. Each component will be further described.

[0023] The communication unit 31 is preferably a wired communication means such as USB, IEEE 1394, Thunderbolt (registered trademark), or wired LAN network communication, but may also include wireless LAN network communication, mobile communication such as 3G / LTE / 5G, Bluetooth (registered trademark), or the like, as needed. In other words, it is more preferable to implement it as a collection of multiple communication means. That is, the server 3 communicates various information with the user terminal 2 via the communication unit 31 and the network 4.

[0024] The memory unit 32 stores various pieces of information defined above. This may be implemented, for example, as a storage device such as a solid state drive (SSD) that stores various programs and the like related to the server 3 executed by the control unit 33, or as a memory such as a random access memory (RAM) that stores temporarily required information (arguments, arrays, etc.) related to program calculations. Alternatively, a combination of these may be used. In particular, the memory unit 32 stores various programs and the like related to the server 3 executed by the control unit 33.

[0025] The control unit 33 processes and controls the overall operations related to the server 3. The control unit 33 is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) (not shown). The control unit 33 realizes various functions related to the server 3 by reading out predetermined programs stored in the storage unit 32. In other words, information processing by software stored in the storage unit 32 is specifically realized by the control unit 33, which is an example of hardware, and can be executed as each functional unit included in the control unit 33. This will be described in more detail in Section 2. Note that the control unit 33 is not limited to being single, and multiple control units 33 may be provided for each function. A combination of these may also be used.

[0026] 2. Functional Configuration This section describes the functional configuration of this embodiment. As described above, information processing by software stored in the storage unit 32 is specifically realized by the control unit 33, which is an example of hardware, and can be executed as each functional unit included in the control unit 33.

[0027] Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing functions realized by the control unit 33 and the like in the server 3. Specifically, the server 3, which is an example of the information processing system 1, includes a reception unit 331, a presentation unit 332, and a donation unit 333. Fig. 4 shows an aspect in which the functions included in the server 3 include a display control unit 334, an acquisition unit 335, a selection unit 336, a payment registration unit 337, and a memory management unit 338.

[0028] The reception unit 331 is configured to be able to execute a reception step. In the reception step, the reception unit 331 receives various information. In this embodiment, in the reception step, the reception unit 331 receives a viewing request for viewing the advertising material from the user terminal 2 owned by the user, after the user specifies a donation destination for the value obtained by viewing the advertising material from the user terminal 2. In one aspect, the reception unit 331 also receives a user's evaluation of the business operator in the reception step. From this perspective, the reception unit 331 may be referred to as having a "evaluation reception unit" that is capable of executing the evaluation reception step as part of itself. Note that, in this embodiment, the "value" donated to the donation destination is a concept that typically includes monetary value. In a more typical example, this "value" may be points that are beneficial to the business operator or the consumer. Specific aspects of the processing executed by the reception unit 331 will be described later.

[0029] The presentation unit 332 is configured to be able to execute a presentation step. In the presentation step, the presentation unit 332 presents visual information and / or audio information that can be presented to the user. In this embodiment, in the presentation step, the presentation unit 332 presents advertising material that can be viewed by the user in response to the above-mentioned viewing request. Specific aspects will be described later.

[0030] The donation unit 333 is configured to be able to execute a donation step. In the donation step, the donation unit 333 donates the accrued points and the accumulated points to a predetermined donation destination. In this embodiment, as the donation step, the donation unit 333 donates at least a portion of the value to the donation destination when the advertising material is presented. Specific aspects will be described later.

[0031] The display control unit 334 is configured to execute a display control step. In the display control step, the display control unit 334 is configured to generate various display information and control the display content visible to the user. Note that the display information may be information itself generated in a form visible to the user, such as a screen, an image, an icon, or text, or may be rendering information for displaying a screen, an image, an icon, or text on the user terminal 2, for example. In one aspect, the display control step causes the display control unit 334 to display a first screen on the user terminal 2 that allows the user to understand that the business is a donation recipient. In another aspect, the display control step causes the display control unit 334 to display a second screen on the user terminal 2. Here, on the second screen, a first object for which a donation recipient can be specified and a second object for which a viewing request can be made are displayed on the same screen. Details will be described later.

[0032] The acquisition unit 335 is configured to be able to execute an acquisition step. In the acquisition step, the acquisition unit 335 accepts various information and data. In this embodiment, the acquisition unit 335 acquires information about a provider who has provided a product or service to the user and / or an associated party related to the provider. In a more typical aspect, the acquisition unit 335 acquires information about transportation used by the user in the acquisition step. Specific processing for this will be described later.

[0033] The selection unit 336 is configured to be able to execute a selection step. In the selection step, the selection unit 336 selects advertising material that is viewable by the user based on various information. The selection process will be described in more detail later.

[0034] The payment registration unit 337 is configured to be able to execute a payment registration step. In the payment registration step, the payment registration unit 337 registers that the user has made payments for various expenses. The control unit 33 can control the content of this registration to be stored in the memory unit 32 in the server 3.

[0035] The memory management unit 338 is configured to be able to execute a memory management step. In the memory management step, the memory management unit 338 is configured to manage various pieces of information to be stored that are related to the information processing of this embodiment. Typically, the memory management unit 338 is configured to store information handled by the server 3 in a memory area. This memory area is exemplified by the memory unit 32 of the server 3 or the memory units of various devices and terminals, but this memory area does not necessarily have to be within the system shown in FIG. 1 , and the memory management unit 338 can also manage various pieces of information to be stored in an external storage device or the like.

[0036] 3. Information Processing Method In this section, activity diagrams will be used as appropriate to explain each step of the information processing method executed by the above-described information processing system 1. Note that in this section, specific aspects of the information processing method of this embodiment will be explained using examples of a first form and a second form, but explanations of overlapping parts will be omitted.

[0037] (First Form) Fig. 5 is an activity diagram showing the flow of information processing according to this embodiment. The information processing according to this embodiment can typically be used on a platform where a user who owns a user terminal 2 uses a transportation ticket (digital ticket). That is, as shown in Fig. 5, in the information processing method according to this embodiment, first, the payment registration unit 337 registers that the user has made a purchase payment for a transportation ticket (activity A101).

[0038] This payment registration may be achieved by various methods, but illustratively, it is achieved by the user accessing a platform capable of handling transportation tickets with the user terminal 2 and purchasing a predetermined ticket through the platform. In this specification, an explanation will be given using an example in which the user purchases a ticket for the "Patent Plateau Bus" and a ticket for the "Trademark Mountain Railway," as shown in Figure 6.

[0039] FIG. 6 is an example of a display screen displayed on the user terminal 2. The display screen D1 in FIG. 6 is a screen for managing tickets that can be used on the platform described above. As shown in FIG. 6, the display screen D1 displays the types of tickets that the user can use. Note that the display screen D1 displays buttons BT1 and BT2 labeled "Display Ticket" in association with each ticket item. These buttons BT1 and BT2 function as objects for displaying a so-called visual ticket (digital ticket). That is, when a user views the display screen D1, the user can press the button BT1 or BT2 by tapping or the like when getting on or off a public transportation system to display the digital ticket to be presented when getting on or off (pressing the button BT1 or the like transitions to a screen displaying the digital ticket).

[0040] The means of transportation for which a ticket can be purchased by a user is not limited to buses and trains (railroads). In other words, the "means of transportation" in this embodiment may be any type of transportation that can be boarded or disembarked with a ticket, such as a tram, subway, airplane, ship, ferry, pleasure boat, water bus, cable car, monorail, etc.

[0041] In the first form, after the user uses such a ticket, a process is performed to display a predetermined screen on the user terminal 2 (activity A102). In the first form, the process related to donations is executed by displaying the first screen described below.

[0042] Prior to displaying the first screen, the following screen may be displayed. Figure 7 is an example of a screen displayed on the user terminal 2. That is, the display screen D2 shown in Figure 7 is configured to allow the user to input an evaluation of a specific transportation facility (the Tokken Kogen Bus). Specifically, upon viewing the display screen D2, the user can specify an evaluation of the transportation facility by operating the selection button SB1, and then input an evaluation of the transportation facility by pressing the "Evaluation Input Complete" button BT3. The user can also skip this evaluation by pressing the button BT4.

[0043] The timing at which such display screen D2 is displayed on the user terminal 2 is arbitrary, but typically it is after the validity period of the ticket. In other words, the server 3 can cause the user terminal 2 to display the above-mentioned display screen D2 using the function of the display control unit 334 after the validity period of the ticket purchased by the user has expired.

[0044] That is, in this embodiment, the explanation is given assuming that the business to which the donation is made is a transportation facility, and in this case, the acquisition unit 335 of the server 3 can acquire information about the business based on information about the transportation ticket used by the user. This makes it possible to display on the user terminal 2 a screen for accepting evaluations about the business, as shown as display screen D2, and a first screen about the business, as shown as the subsequent display screen D3.

[0045] As described above, the acquisition unit 335 can acquire information about providers who provided goods or services to the user and / or related parties related to the providers. In the first embodiment, a transportation facility that provided transportation services to the user is shown as an example of a provider. However, even if the provider is not a transportation facility, donation recipient candidates can be acquired as appropriate. Typically, the acquisition unit 335 can display various screens related to the donation of value on the user terminal 2 based on the user's purchase history of goods or services. Typically, a retailer or the like may be displayed on the user terminal 2 as a provider that provided goods to the user. Note that providers and related parties are often entities that operate businesses, and therefore may also be referred to as "businesses." Furthermore, the relationship between the aforementioned "related parties" and the provider can be set as appropriate, and examples include a relationship in which the related party has a capital relationship with the provider, a relationship in which the related party oversees the provider's business, a relationship in which the related party operates a business together with the provider, and a relationship in which the related party entrusts the provider with certain tasks, etc. However, the relationship of the "related party" to the provider is not limited to these, and it is sufficient that there is a relationship that allows the user to recognize that there is a certain degree of relationship between the provider and the related party.

[0046] Returning to the explanation of the first screen, when the user inputs a rating as an operation on the display screen D2, the screen shown in FIG. 8 is displayed. FIG. 8 is an example of the first screen displayed on the user terminal 2. That is, in this configuration, the display control unit 334 causes the user terminal to display a first screen that allows the user to understand that the donor and / or the donor is a donation recipient. Specifically, the display screen D3 shown in FIG. 8 displays the donation destination (Patent Highway Bus) of the value awarded when the user views the advertisement in a manner that is easy for the user to understand. Furthermore, the display screen D3 is configured to allow or disallow viewing of the advertisement. That is, the display screen D3 has an area for displaying the advertisement as a display object OBJ1, and the advertisement is displayed by pressing a button BT5 provided within the display object OBJ1. The user can also skip viewing such advertisements by pressing a button BT6.

[0047] That is, when a user touches the display screen D3 and presses the button BT5, a request to view the advertising material is made, and the advertising material is presented (displayed) on the user terminal 2 (activities A103 to A104). That is, this button BT5 can be said to function as an object that can execute a viewing request. The advertising material presented to the user is displayed, for example, on the first screen, but on the other hand, the display may be controlled so as to transition to a screen different from the first screen.

[0048] The display screen D3 may be configured as follows. That is, the reception unit 331 of the server 3 may receive user evaluations of the provider and / or related parties as an evaluation reception step. Furthermore, the display control unit 334 of the server 3 may display the first screen on the user terminal 2 on the condition that the evaluations satisfy predetermined conditions.

[0049] That is, in the above example, a rating for the business (Takken Takahara Bus) is accepted via an operation on display screen D2, but display screen D3 may be displayed on the condition that the rating satisfies a predetermined condition (typically, a high rating). When a user has a high rating for a business, there is a tendency for the user to be highly motivated to donate to the business, etc., and therefore it is considered beneficial to allow the user to choose whether or not to view advertisements.

[0050] In this first embodiment, a specific organization such as "Patent Highland Bus" is shown as the donation recipient, but the donation recipient is not limited to an organization and may be a natural person. Typically, an idol, actor, writer, athlete, etc. may be set as the donation recipient (not limited to a single natural person, but may also be a group (collective)). In addition, the donation recipient may be an organization other than a transportation facility (various corporations, local governments, etc.). In this embodiment, the "donation recipient" is typically linked to a corresponding account, etc.

[0051] Furthermore, when the advertising material is presented on the user terminal 2 in this way, the donation unit 333, upon the presentation of the advertising material, donates at least a portion of the value (points) to the donation destination (activity A105). That is, the transfer of value (donation) by viewing the advertising material proceeds smoothly in accordance with the operation of the first screen described above, etc.

[0052] Note that the advertising material displayed on the user terminal 2 may be any type. Alternatively, the selection unit 336 of the server 3 may be configured to select advertising material to be displayed to the user based on various information. For example, the selection unit 336 may be configured to select advertising material according to the transportation means or ticket details used by the user. That is, since the area in which the user is active is identified from the transportation means or ticket details, the selection unit 336 may be configured to select advertising material that has an affinity with the area in which the user is active. Furthermore, the selection unit 336 may be configured to select advertising material according to user attributes. These user attributes may be various, but typically, the user attributes may include information on one or more selected from the group consisting of the user's address, age, gender, occupation, financial resources, family structure, nationality, preferred language, past information browsing history, past product purchase history, past travel history, type of device used, and IP address. These information can be acquired and stored by the user performing various operations on the user terminal 2. Typically, the server 3 may be configured to request the user to input these attributes when using the platform. Alternatively, the server 3 may be configured to infer user attributes based on the status of service provision within the platform. For example, "family composition" may be inferred from the number of tickets purchased. Furthermore, accepting nationality and language as user attributes may be achieved by having the user input relevant information, or by the server 3 acquiring the language used in the user terminal 2. Furthermore, accepting past information browsing history, past product purchase history, and past travel history as user attributes may be achieved by having the user input relevant information, or by the server 3 acquiring the information processing history of the user terminal 2 (typically, the information processing history stored in the memory unit 22). The "travel history" may be a history based on changes in location information managed by a positioning system such as a GPS provided in the user terminal 2, or a history based on the purchase history of transportation tickets previously purchased by the user terminal 2.In addition, accepting the type of terminal used and IP address as user attribute information may be achieved by having the user actually input information related to these, or may be achieved by the server 3 acquiring the usage environment of the user terminal 2.

[0053] (Second Mode) Next, a second mode of information processing according to this embodiment will be described. In the second mode, a second screen different from the first screen is displayed in the above-mentioned activity A102.

[0054] The second screen is a screen that can be transitioned to from the ticket list screen described above, for example. Fig. 9 shows an example of a display screen that is displayed on the user terminal 2 in the second mode.

[0055] 9, a button BT7 for transitioning to a screen for the user to view advertising material is provided on the display screen D4. By pressing this button BT7 by a tap operation or the like, a predetermined screen (also referred to as a second screen) is displayed.

[0056] 10 is an example of the second screen displayed on the user terminal 2. That is, when the above-mentioned button BT7 is pressed, the display control unit 334 of the server 3 causes the user terminal 2 to display the second screen (display screen D5). Here, on the second screen (display screen D5), a first object for which a donation destination can be specified and a second object for which a viewing request can be made are displayed on the same screen. That is, in the second form, an aspect is shown in which the reception step is executed in response to operations on the first object and the second object by the user terminal 2.

[0057] Specifically, the display screen D5 is configured to display points that can be earned by viewing the advertisement material, and also to allow the user to set how the points will be used. That is, the display screen D5 is configured to allow the user to decide, based on the check boxes CB1 to CB3, whether to charge the value (points) themselves, donate all of the points that can be earned by viewing the advertisement material, or donate a portion of the points that can be earned by viewing the advertisement material (if there is any remaining, the remaining points are typically charged to the user).

[0058] In addition, display screen D5 is configured so that when checkboxes CB2 and CB3 are selected, the recipient of the value (points) can also be specified. In other words, in the example of FIG. 7, tags such as "Patent Kogen Bus" and "Trademark Mountain Railway" are displayed as donation recipients, and selecting these tags allows the user to donate value (points) to the selected organization or person. When "Other Candidates" is selected, a separate screen for selecting a donation recipient is displayed, allowing the user to select any of the donation recipients. In other words, these checkboxes and tags can function as the first object that allows the user to specify the donation recipient, as described above.

[0059] 10 shows specific organizations such as "Patent Kogen Bus" and "Trademark Mountain Railway" as donation recipients, but the donation recipients are not limited to organizations and may be natural persons, etc., as in the first form described above. In addition, in the second form, the donors and related parties shown in the first form can also be set as donation recipients.

[0060] As described above, in this embodiment, since it is assumed that advertisements will be viewed within a platform that manages transportation tickets, it is preferable that a configuration be made in which a predetermined transportation facility or a person belonging to the predetermined transportation facility can be designated as the donation recipient. Note that an example of a "person belonging to a transportation facility" is a transportation facility driver. In other words, since users in this embodiment often have an attachment to various transportation facilities, it is preferable that a configuration be made in which donations can be made to transportation facilities, etc.

[0061] Note that the display screen D5 of FIG. 10 shows tags indicating various modes of transportation. These tags suggest donation destinations to the user, and may be displayed on the display screen D5 based on, for example, the following: That is, in one example, the acquisition unit 335 acquires information about the modes of transportation used by the user, and donation destinations may be suggested based on the acquired information about the modes of transportation. The information about modes of transportation acquired by the acquisition unit 335 may be the user's transportation usage history, etc., but in a typical example, the acquisition unit 335 acquires information about modes of transportation based on the tickets purchased by the user. That is, since the user's purchase of transportation tickets is managed based on activity A101, etc., information about the modes of transportation may be acquired based on the contents of the purchased tickets and suggested as donation destinations on the display screen D5. As described above, this specification describes an example in which a user purchases a ticket for the "Patent Highland Bus" and a ticket for the "Trademark Mountain Railway." Therefore, in FIG. 10, the operators of these modes of transportation are suggested as donation destinations.

[0062] Meanwhile, the acquisition unit 335 may acquire information about transportation based on the user's location information. As described above, if the user terminal 2 is equipped with a positioning system such as GPS, the acquisition unit 335 may identify and acquire transportation associated with the location information from the location information identified based on the positioning system. Based on the information identified and acquired in this manner, the display control unit 334 may be configured to suggest the transportation as a potential donation destination on the display screen D5. In a typical example, when the user terminal 2 is located in an area where the "Patent Highway Bus" operates, the "Patent Highway Bus" may be suggested as a potential donation destination.

[0063] The reception unit 331 may also be configured to accept a viewing request after the donation destination and the point donation percentage for the donation destination are specified. That is, the display screen D5 of FIG. 10 is configured so that, when the checkbox CB3 is checked, the donation destination and the donation percentage for the donation destination can be entered in form F1. For example, if the user selects the tag "Patent Kogen Bus" and enters "20%" in the corresponding form F1, and also selects the tag "Trademark Mountain Railway" and enters "40%" in the corresponding form F1, 20% (10 points out of a total of 50 points) of the points earned by viewing the advertisement will be donated to "Patent Kogen Bus," and 40% (20 points out of a total of 50 points) will be donated to "Trademark Mountain Railway." The remaining 20 points may typically be charged to the user. This method of specifying the donation percentage may also be implemented on the first screen described above.

[0064] By making a selection using the various checkboxes and the like as described above and then pressing button BT8, a request to view the advertising material is made, and the advertising material is presented (displayed) on the user terminal 2. In other words, this button BT8 can be said to be a second object that can execute a viewing request. This advertising material is displayed on a screen different from the second screen, for example, and in that case, display control is performed to transition to the different screen. The advertising material may be configured to be displayed on the second screen (display screen D5). The button BT9 shown on display screen D5 is an object provided to return to the previous screen without displaying the advertising material.

[0065] As described above, in the information processing method of this embodiment, the steps are appropriately combined, so that it can be said that the user can easily view the advertising material.

[0066] 4. Others The information processing system 1 according to this embodiment may employ the following aspects.

[0067] In the above embodiment, the configuration of the information processing system 1 has been described, but a program that causes a computer to execute each step of the information processing system 1 may be provided.

[0068] In the above embodiment, the server 3 performs various storage and control operations, but multiple external devices may be used instead of the server 3. That is, various pieces of information related to information processing may be distributed and stored in multiple external devices using blockchain technology or the like.

[0069] In the above embodiment, monetary value (points) was shown as a typical example of the value donated by the user, but the content (value) of the donation can be appropriately set from among those that are beneficial to the donation recipient. In other words, a specific item or the like that does not have monetary value can also be set as the value donated. Furthermore, the value donated by the user may be any of the various benefits described in Japanese Patent No. 716904. While not all aspects are described here for simplicity, the benefits of this embodiment may include all of the content disclosed in the above-mentioned patent publications.

[0070] Furthermore, it may be provided in the following aspects.

[0071] (1) An information processing system comprising a control unit configured to execute the following steps: in a reception step, a recipient of a donation of value obtained by viewing an advertising material from a user terminal owned by the user is specified, and then a viewing request for viewing the advertising material is received from the user terminal; in a presentation step, advertising material that can be viewed by the user is presented in response to the viewing request; and in a donation step, at least a portion of the value is donated to the donation recipient upon presentation of the advertising material.

[0072] (2) In the information processing system described in (1) above, in the acquisition step, information regarding a provider who provided goods or services to the user and / or related persons related to the provider is acquired, in the display control step, a first screen is displayed on the user terminal that enables the user to understand that the provider and / or related persons are to be the donation recipients, and in the reception step, the viewing request is accepted based on the terminal operation of the user who accesses the first screen.

[0073] (3) In the information processing system described in (2) above, in the evaluation reception step, an evaluation by the user of the provider and / or the related person is received, and in the display control step, the first screen is displayed on the user terminal on the condition that the evaluation meets predetermined conditions.

[0074] (4) In the information processing system described in (2) or (3) above, the provider and / or the related party are a transportation facility, and in the acquisition step, information about the provider and / or the related party is acquired based on information about the transportation facility ticket used by the user.

[0075] (5) In the information processing system described in (1) above, in the display control step, a second screen is displayed on the user terminal, and in the second screen, a first object for which the donation destination can be specified and a second object for which the viewing request can be made are displayed on the same screen, and the reception step is executed in response to operations on the first object and the second object by the user terminal.

[0076] (6) In the information processing system described in (5) above, the information processing system is configured so that a specified transportation facility or a person belonging to a specified transportation facility can be designated as the donation recipient on the second screen.

[0077] (7) In the information processing system described in (6) above, in the acquisition step, information regarding the means of transportation used by the user is acquired, and in the reception step, the donation destination is suggested based on the acquired information regarding the means of transportation.

[0078] (8) In the information processing system described in (7) above, in the acquisition step, information about the transportation facility is acquired based on a transportation facility ticket purchased by the user.

[0079] (9) In the information processing system described in (7) above, in the acquiring step, information about the transportation facility is acquired based on location information of the user.

[0080] (10) In the information processing system described in any one of (1) to (9) above, in the reception step, the viewing request is accepted after the donation destination and the donation ratio of the value to the donation destination are specified.

[0081] (11) An information processing method executed by an information processing system, the method comprising each step of the information processing system described in any one of (1) to (10) above.

[0082] (12) A program that causes a computer to execute each step of the information processing system described in any one of (1) to (10) above. Of course, this is not a limitation.

[0083] Finally, while various embodiments of the present invention have been described, they are presented by way of example only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The novel embodiments may be embodied in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Such embodiments and modifications are intended to be included within the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as within the scope of the claims and their equivalents.

[0084] 1: Information processing system 2: User terminal 3: Server 4: Network 20: Communication bus 21: Communication unit 22: Memory unit 23: Control unit 24: Display unit 25: Input unit 30: Communication bus 31: Communication unit 32: Memory unit 33: Control unit 331: Reception unit 332: Presentation unit 333: Donation unit 334: Display control unit 335: Acquisition unit 336: Selection unit 337: Payment registration unit 338: Memory management unit BT1 to BT9: Buttons CB1 to CB3: Check boxes D1 to D5: Display screen F1: Form SB1: Selection button OBJ1: Display object

Claims

1. An information processing system comprising a control unit, the control unit configured to execute the following steps: in a reception step, a viewing request for viewing the advertisement is received from the user terminal owned by the user after the user specifies a donation destination for the value obtained by viewing the advertisement; in a presentation step, advertisements that can be viewed by the user are presented in response to the viewing request; and in a donation step, at least a portion of the value is donated to the donation destination when the advertisement is presented.

2. An information processing system as described in claim 1, wherein the acquisition step acquires information about a provider who has provided goods or services to the user and / or related parties associated with the provider; the display control step displays a first screen on the user terminal that enables the user to understand that the provider and / or related parties are to be the donation recipients; and the reception step receives the viewing request based on the user's terminal operation upon accessing the first screen.

3. An information processing system as described in claim 2, wherein the evaluation reception step receives an evaluation of the provider and / or related party by the user, and the display control step displays the first screen on the user terminal on the condition that the evaluation meets predetermined conditions.

4. An information processing system according to claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the provider and / or the related party is a transportation facility, and in the acquisition step, information about the provider and / or the related party is acquired based on information about the transportation facility ticket used by the user.

5. An information processing system as described in claim 1, wherein the display control step causes the user terminal to display a second screen, wherein a first object for which the donation destination can be specified and a second object for which the viewing request can be made are displayed on the second screen, and the reception step is executed in response to operations on the first object and the second object by the user terminal.

6. An information processing system according to claim 5, wherein the second screen is configured to allow a predetermined means of transport or a person belonging to the predetermined means of transport to be designated as the donation recipient.

7. An information processing system as described in claim 6, wherein in the acquisition step, information regarding the means of transportation used by the user is acquired, and in the reception step, the donation destination is suggested based on the acquired information regarding the means of transportation.

8. An information processing system according to claim 7, wherein said acquiring step acquires information about said means of transport based on a ticket for said means of transport purchased by said user.

9. An information processing system according to claim 7, wherein in the acquisition step, information relating to the means of transportation is acquired based on location information of the user.

10. An information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein in the reception step, the viewing request is received after the donation destination and the donation ratio of the value to the donation destination are specified.

11. An information processing method executed by an information processing system, comprising the steps of the information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

12. A program that causes a computer to execute each step of the information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

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