Information providing apparatus, information providing method, and network system

An information providing apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention includes a receiving unit and a distribution unit. The receiving unit receives an access request for accessing first content from a terminal apparatus used by a first user. The distribution unit distributes, to the terminal apparatus, the first content including link information which is posted by a second user related to the first user in a predetermined communication service among pieces of link information to other content when the receiving unit receives the access request.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to and incorporates by reference the entire contents of Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-276036 filed in Japan on Dec. 18, 2012.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an information providing apparatus, an information providing method, and a network system.

2. Description of the Related Art

In recent years, with the rapid spread of the Internet, advertisements have been actively distributed through the Internet. For example, advertising content for advertising, for example, a company or a product is displayed at a predetermined position of a web page. When the advertising content is clicked, advertisement distribution which changes the page to the web page of an advertiser is performed.

As a technique related to the advertisement distribution, a technique called targeting distribution has been known which selects advertisements to be distributed on the basis of the relation between the profile information of a user and target information (for example, an age group and sex) linked to advertisements by the advertiser (for example, see Japanese National Publication of International Patent Application No. 2012-523613). In addition, as advertisement distribution using a social networking service (SNS), a technique called sponsored advertisement has been known in which the user associates (tags) the user with the SNS page (hereinafter, referred to as a “company page”) of a company or a product to open the advertising content of the company page to friends. According to these techniques, it is considered that the advertising effect can be improved.

However, in the techniques according to the related art, advertisements with high customer appeal are not necessarily distributed. Specifically, in the technique related to the sponsored advertisement, in many cases, the advertising content of the company page is different from the content of the page posted by the user associated with the company page. Therefore, in many cases, the user who has browsed the advertising content of the company page does not click the advertising content to visit the advertiser site. For this reason, in the advertisement distribution technique according to the related art, advertisements with high customer appeal are not necessarily distributed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of an embodiment, an information providing apparatus includes a receiving unit that receives an access request for accessing first content from a terminal apparatus used by a first user and a distribution unit that distributes, to the terminal apparatus, the first content including link information which is posted by a second user related to the first user in a predetermined communication service among pieces of link information to other content when the receiving unit receives the access request.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an information providing apparatus, an information providing method, an information providing program, and a network system according to exemplary embodiments (hereinafter, referred to as “embodiments”) of the application will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The information providing apparatus, the information providing method, the information providing program, and the network system according to the invention are not limited by the embodiments. In the following embodiments, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be repeated.

1. Structure of Network System

First, the structure of a network system1according to an embodiment will be described with reference toFIG. 1. As illustrated inFIG. 1, the network system1according to the embodiment includes terminal apparatuses101and102, an information providing apparatus100, and an SNS server200. The terminal apparatuses101and102, the information providing apparatus100, and the SNS server200are connected to a network N by wire or wirelessly. InFIG. 1, the network system1includes two terminal apparatuses101and102, one information providing apparatus100, and one SNS server200. However, the network system1may include three or more terminal apparatuses, a plurality of information providing apparatuses100, or a plurality of SNS servers200.

The terminal apparatuses101and102are information processing apparatuses used by the users and are, for example, portable terminals, such as desktop personal computers (PCs), tablet PCs, notebook PCs, smart phones, or personal digital assistants (PDAs). The terminal apparatuses101and102according to the embodiment include, for example, a browser and have a function of displaying web pages. The terminal apparatuses101and102have the same functions. In the following description, in some cases, when the terminal apparatuses101and102do not need to be distinguished from each other, they are generically referred to as a “terminal apparatus10”.

The information providing apparatus100is a server apparatus which provides various kinds of web pages to the terminal apparatus10. For example, the information providing apparatus100distributes the web pages of a news site, a finance site (stock price site), a weather site, a shopping site, a search engine site, and a net auction site.

The SNS server200is a service providing apparatus which provides a social networking service as an example of a communication service. For example, the SNS server200manages the relationship (for example, friendship) between the member users on the Internet as a social network and provides a service which opens, for example, article pages or images posted by the member users to other users belonging to the social network. The services provided by the SNS server200correspond to, for example, Facebook (registered trademark), Twitter (registered trademark), and Mixi (registered trademark).

In the network system1illustrated inFIG. 1, the information providing apparatus100generates link information to the web page distributed to the terminal apparatus101and transmits the generated link information to the SNS server200, in response to the operation of the user of the terminal apparatus101. Then, the user of the terminal apparatus101can post link information to the web page to the SNS server200. When an access request is received from the terminal apparatus102, the information providing apparatus100distributes the web page in which the link information posted by the user who is a friend of the user of the terminal apparatus102is displayed to the terminal apparatus102in the social networking service provided by the SNS server200. For example, when the user of the terminal apparatus101and the user of the terminal apparatus102are friends, the information providing apparatus100distributes the web page in which the link information posted by the user of the terminal apparatus101is displayed to the terminal apparatus102. Next, a process performed by the information providing apparatus100will be described with reference toFIG. 2. In the following embodiments, an example in which a link image (hereinafter, referred to as a “share panel”) linked to the web page is generated as the link information to the web page will be described.

2. Information Providing Process

FIG. 2is a diagram illustrating an example of an information providing process performed by the information providing apparatus100according to the embodiment. In the example illustrated inFIG. 2, it is assumed that the terminal apparatus101illustrated inFIG. 1is used by a user U1and the terminal apparatus102is used by a user U2. In addition, it is assumed that the user U1and the user U2are friends belonging to the same social network in the social networking service which is provided by the SNS server200.

First, as illustrated inFIG. 2(a), the user U1operates the terminal apparatus101to transmit an access request to the information providing apparatus100and the terminal apparatus101displays a web page W11distributed from the information providing apparatus100on, for example, the browser. The web page W11illustrated inFIG. 2(a)includes an article display frame C11, a general advertisement frame C12, and a sharing advertisement frame C13.

The article display frame C11is an area in which news articles are displayed. In this example, an article with a title “the next-generation smart phone A is released!” which is posted on “Dec. 1, 2012” is displayed in the article display frame C11. The general advertisement frame C12is an area in which advertising content which is stored in the information providing apparatus100by an advertiser, such as a company, is displayed. The sharing advertisement frame C13is an area in which the share panel posted by the user (for example, the user U2) of the terminal apparatus10is displayed.

The information providing apparatus100according to the embodiment distributes the web page W11in which a miShare button B10is displayed in the article display frame C11to the terminal apparatus101. The miShare button B10is used to generate a share panel which is link information to the web page W11. In the example illustrated inFIG. 2(b), when the user U1presses the miShare button B10, the information providing apparatus100generates a share panel PN10as the link information to the web page W11. A process of generating the share panel PN10will be described in detail below. Next, the outline of the generation process will be described briefly.

First, when the miShare button B10is pressed, the information providing apparatus100allows the user U1to input comments related to the articles of the web page W11. The information providing apparatus100allows the user U1to select a photograph image to be inserted into the share panel from the photograph images which are associated with the user U1among the photograph images stored in the SNS server200. Then, as illustrated inFIG. 2(b), the information providing apparatus100incorporates the title “the next-generation smart phone A is released!” of the article displayed in the article display frame C11of the web page W11into a title frame PA1, incorporates the comments input by the user U1into a comment frame PA2, and incorporates the photograph image selected by the user U1into an image frame PA3, thereby generating the share panel PN10. The share panel PN10is an image associated with, for example, the uniform resource locator (URL) of the web page W11and functions as a link image to the web page W11.

InFIG. 2(b), when a posting button for posting the share panel PN10is pressed, the information providing apparatus100transmits the share panel PN10to the SNS server200. In this way, the user U1can post the share panel PN10, which is the link information to the web page W11, to the SNS server200while browsing the web page W11.

Then, as illustrated inFIG. 2(c), the user U2operates the terminal apparatus102to transmit a request to access a web page W12to the information providing apparatus100. In this case, the information providing apparatus100distributes, to the terminal apparatus102, the web page W12including the sharing advertisement frame C13for displaying the share panel which is posted to the SNS server200by another user who is a friend of the user U2. When the web page W12including the sharing advertisement frame C13is received, the terminal apparatus102accesses the SNS server200, acquires the share panel posted by the user who is a friend of the user U2from the SNS server200, and displays the acquired share panel in the sharing advertisement frame C13.

In the example illustrated inFIG. 2(c), the terminal apparatus102displays the share panel PN10posted by the user U1who is a friend of the user U2in the sharing advertisement frame C13. In this state, when the user U2presses the share panel PN10, the terminal apparatus102transmits a request to access the web page W11to the information providing apparatus100. In this way, as illustrated inFIG. 2(d), the terminal apparatus102displays the web page W11.

Although not illustrated inFIG. 2, the share panel posted by another user who is a friend of the user U1is displayed in the sharing advertisement frame C13illustrated inFIG. 2. In addition, the share panel posted by another user who is a friend of the user U2is displayed in the sharing advertisement frame C13illustrated inFIG. 2(d). In the example illustrated inFIG. 2, when there is no share panel to be displayed in the sharing advertisement frame C13, advertising content inserted by an advertiser, such as a company, may be displayed in the sharing advertisement frame C13, similarly to the general advertisement frame C12.

As such, the information providing apparatus100according to the embodiment generates the share panel, which is the link information to the web page, in response to the operation of the user. When an access request is received from the terminal apparatus10, the information providing apparatus100distributes the web page in which the share panel posted by the user who is a friend of the user of the terminal apparatus10in the social networking service is displayed.

In this way, the information providing apparatus100can distribute the share panel which is likely to be clicked by the user as advertisements. For this point, in general, the user is more likely to click the content posted by the friend than the advertising content inserted by, for example, a company. This is because the user desires to click the content processed by the friend. That is, the information providing apparatus100according to the embodiment displays the share panel processed by the friend in the web page. Therefore, it is possible to distribute advertisements with high customer appeal. In the example illustrated inFIG. 2, the user U2is likely to click the share panel PN10and to browse the web page W11. Therefore, the company (for example, the company which sells the smart phone A) whose articles are described in the web page W11can obtain a high advertising effect. Next, the information providing apparatus100and the SNS server200which perform the information providing process will be described in detail.

3. Structure of Information Providing Apparatus

Next, the structure of the information providing apparatus100according to the embodiment will be described with reference toFIG. 3.FIG. 3is a diagram illustrating an example of the structure of the information providing apparatus100according to the embodiment. As illustrated inFIG. 3, the information providing apparatus100includes a communication unit110, a storage unit120, and a control unit130. The information providing apparatus100may include an input unit (for example, a keyboard or a mouse) which receives various operation from the administrator who uses the information providing apparatus100or a display unit (for example, a liquid crystal display) which displays various kinds of information.

The communication unit110is implemented by, for example, a network interface card (NIC). The communication unit110is connected to the network N illustrated inFIG. 1by wire or wirelessly and transmits and receives information to and from the terminal apparatus10or the SNS server200through the network N.

The storage unit120is implemented by, for example, a semiconductor memory element, such as random access memory (RAM) or flash memory, or a storage device, such as a hard disk or an optical disk. As illustrated inFIG. 3, the storage unit120includes a content storage unit121and a template storage unit122.

Content Storage Unit121

The content storage unit121stores a web page or a component forming the web page as an example of content. For example, the content storage unit121stores article data or images displayed in the web page as the component forming the web page.

Template Storage Unit122

The template storage unit122stores a template which is the form of the share panel.FIG. 4illustrates an example of the template storage unit122according to the embodiment. As illustrated inFIG. 4, the template storage unit122stores a plurality of templates TP1to TP3each including a title frame PA1in which, for example, the title of a web page, which is a link destination, is displayed, a comment frame PA2in which the comments input by the user are displayed, and an image frame PA3in which the photograph image selected by the user is displayed.

As illustrated inFIG. 4, in some cases, the templates TP1to TP3stored in the template storage unit122have different backgrounds, different arrangements of the display frames PA1to PA3, or different shapes of the speech balloon of the comment frame PA2. When the share panel is generated, the user can select a desired template from the templates TP1to TP3stored in the template storage unit122.FIG. 2(b)illustrates an example in which the user U1selects the template TP1.

Returning toFIG. 3, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) or a micro processing unit (MPU) executes a program (corresponding to an example of an information providing program) stored in the internal storage device (for example, the storage unit120) using the RAM as a work area to implement the control unit130. In addition, the control unit130is implemented by, for example, an integrated circuit, such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a field programmable gate array (FPGA).

As illustrated inFIG. 3, the control unit130includes a receiving unit131, a distribution unit132, a generation unit133, and a transmitting unit134and implements or performs the following information processing function or operation. The internal structure of the control unit130is not limited to that illustrated inFIG. 3, but the control unit130may have any structure as long as it can perform the following information processing.

The receiving unit131receives a request to access a web page from the terminal apparatus10. For example, the receiving unit131receives an HTTP request, which is a request to acquire the web page described by a language, such as a hypertext markup language (HTML), from the terminal apparatus10according to a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP).

When the receiving unit131receives the access request, the distribution unit132distributes the web page corresponding to the access request to the terminal apparatus10, which is the transmission source of the access request, on the basis of various types of content stored in the content storage unit121.

As described with reference toFIG. 2, the distribution unit132according to the embodiment distributes the web page in which the miShare button B10for generating the share panel is displayed to the terminal apparatus10. Therefore, the user of the terminal apparatus10can press the miShare button B10to generate the share panel.

The distribution unit132according to the embodiment distributes the web page including the sharing advertisement frame in which the share panel posted by the user who is a friend of the user who has transmitted the access request is displayed in the social networking service provided by the SNS server200. Specifically, the distribution unit132distributes, to the terminal apparatus10, the web page including the sharing advertisement frame into which information indicating the transmission of a share panel acquisition request to the SNS server200(for example, the URL of the SNS server200indicating the share panel acquisition request) is inserted. Therefore, when the web page including the sharing advertisement frame is received, the terminal apparatus10transmits the share panel acquisition request to the SNS server200and displays the share panel which is transmitted from the SNS server200in response to the acquisition request in the sharing advertisement frame.

For example, in the example illustrated inFIG. 2(c), when receiving the web page W12including the sharing advertisement frame C13from the information providing apparatus100, the terminal apparatus102transmits a share panel acquisition request to the SNS server200. Then, the terminal apparatus102acquires the share panel PN10from the SNS server200and displays the acquired share panel PN10in the sharing advertisement frame C13.

When the user of the terminal apparatus10performs operation for generating the share panel, the generation unit133performs a share panel generation process. Specifically, when receiving a share panel generation request from the terminal apparatus10which has received the web page distributed by the distribution unit132, the generation unit133performs the share panel generation process in response to the share panel generation request. Next, an example of the share panel generation process performed by the generation unit133according to the embodiment will be described with reference toFIG. 5.

FIG. 5(a)illustrates a state in which the web page W11is displayed on the browser of the terminal apparatus10, similarly toFIG. 2(a). In the example illustrated inFIG. 5(a), when the user presses the miShare button B10, the terminal apparatus10transmits a notice indicating the generation of the share panel to the SNS server200to log in the SNS server200. For example, the terminal apparatus10transmits the user ID (the SNS-side user ID which will be described below) and password input by the user to the SNS server200to log in the SNS server200. Then, when the login of the user succeeds, the SNS server200transmits a predetermined number of photograph images associated with the user to the terminal apparatus10.

Here, the “photograph images associated with the user” will be described. In the social networking service provided by the SNS server200, each user can associate the users (friends or them) with the photograph images posted by the users or the photograph images posted by the friends. In this case, each user can associate the users with all photograph images and can also associate the users with some areas of the photograph images. For example, when there are a plurality of users in the photograph image, each user can associate the users in the areas with some areas of the photograph image. The association of the user with the photograph image is referred to as “tagging”.

Returning toFIG. 5, when the miShare button B10is pressed in the example illustrated inFIG. 5(a), the terminal apparatus10transmits a share panel generation request to the information providing apparatus100. When receiving the share panel generation request from the terminal apparatus10, the generation unit133of the information providing apparatus100transmits a template selection screen W21to the terminal apparatus10, as illustrated inFIG. 5(b). Specifically, the generation unit133acquires the templates stored in the template storage unit122and transmits the template selection screen W21on which a list of the acquired templates is displayed to the terminal apparatus10.

Then, when the user selects the template from the template selection screen W21, the generation unit133transmits a comment input screen W22to the terminal apparatus10, as illustrated inFIG. 5(c). The comment input screen W22includes a title display field T11, a comment input field T12, a share image generation button B11, and a cancel button B12. The title (in this example, the “next-generation smart phone A is released!”) of the article displayed in the web page W11and the URL of the web page W11are displayed in the title display field T11such that they cannot be edited. The comment input field T12is an input field to which the user inputs comments.

When the cancel button B12is pressed on the comment input screen W22, the comment input screen W22is closed and display returns to the state illustrated inFIG. 5(a). On the other hand, when the share image generation button B11is pressed with comments input to the comment input field T12, the generation unit133transmits a share image selection screen W23illustrated inFIG. 5(d)to the terminal apparatus10. A list of the photograph images transmitted from the SNS server200is displayed in the share image selection screen W23. In this case, the area to which the user is tagged in the photograph image is displayed on the share image selection screen W23.

Then, when the photograph image is selected from the share image selection screen W23, the generation unit133generates the share panel PN10as illustrated inFIG. 5(e). It is assumed that the template TP1illustrated inFIG. 4is selected from the template selection screen W21illustrated inFIG. 5(b), comments “I bought it!” are input to the comment input screen W22illustrated inFIG. 5(c), and a photograph image G11is selected from the share image selection screen W23illustrated inFIG. 5(d). In this case, the generation unit133incorporates the article title “the next-generation smart phone A is released!” into the title frame PA1of the template, incorporates the comments “I bought it!” into the comment frame PA2, and incorporates the photograph image G11into the image frame PA3, thereby generating the share panel PN10. In this case, the generation unit133incorporates the area to which the user is tagged in the photograph image G11into the image frame PA3.

Then, as illustrated inFIG. 5(e), the generation unit133transmits a confirmation screen W24including the share panel PN10to the terminal apparatus10. The confirmation screen W24includes a posting button B13, an “other image” button B14, and a cancel button B15in addition to the share panel PN10.

When the posting button B13is pressed on the confirmation screen W24, the generation unit133outputs the share panel PN10to the transmitting unit134. When the “other image” button B14is pressed, display returns to the state illustrated inFIG. 5(d). In this case, the terminal apparatus10may acquire new photograph images from the SNS server200and display a list of the acquired photograph images on the share image selection screen W23. When the cancel button B15is pressed on the confirmation screen W24, display returns to the state illustrated inFIG. 5(a).

In this way, the generation unit133generates the share panel PN10and outputs the generated share panel PN10to the transmitting unit134. InFIG. 5, each screen, such as the comment input screen W21, is displayed in a pop-up form. However, these screens may be displayed in the form of screen transition from the web page W11. InFIG. 5, the title of the article is displayed in the title display field T11of the comment input screen W22such that it cannot be edited. However, the title of the article may be displayed such that it can be edited. InFIG. 5, the generation unit133transmits the web pages forming each screen, such as the comment input screen W21, to the terminal apparatus10. However, the web page W11illustrated inFIG. 5(a)and the web pages forming each screen may be transmitted to the terminal apparatus10. Although not illustrated inFIG. 5(b), a cancel button for closing the template selection screen W21to return to the state illustrated inFIG. 5(a)may be displayed on the template selection screen W21. Although not illustrated inFIG. 5(d), the share image selection screen W23may include a return button for returning to the comment input screen W22or a cancel button for closing the share image selection screen W23to return to the state illustrated inFIG. 5(a).

The transmitting unit134transmits the share panel generated by the generation unit133to the SNS server200. In this case, the transmitting unit134transmits the share panel together with specific information (for example, an authentication key or an SNS-side user ID which will be described below) for specifying the terminal apparatus10which has generated the share panel to the SNS server200.

4. Structure of SNS Server

Next, the structure of the SNS server200according to the embodiment will be described with reference toFIG. 6.FIG. 6is a diagram illustrating an example of the structure of the SNS server200according to the embodiment. As illustrated inFIG. 6, the SNS server200includes a communication unit210, a storage unit220, and a control unit230. The SNS server200may include an input unit (for example, a keyboard or a mouse) which receives various operation from the administrator who uses the SNS server200or a display unit (for example, a liquid crystal display) which displays various kinds of information.

The communication unit210is implemented by, for example, an NIC. The communication unit210is connected to the network N illustrated inFIG. 1by wire or wirelessly and transmits and receives information to and from the terminal apparatus10or the information providing apparatus100through the network N.

The storage unit220is implemented by, for example, a semiconductor memory element, such as a RAM or a flash memory, or a storage device, such as a hard disk or an optical disk. As illustrated inFIG. 6, the storage unit220includes a user information storage unit221, an image storage unit222, and a share panel storage unit223.

User Information Storage Unit221

The user information storage unit221stores information about the account of the user who uses the SNS server200.FIG. 7illustrates an example of the user information storage unit221according to the embodiment. In the example illustrated inFIG. 7, the user information storage unit221includes items, such as an “SNS-side user ID”, a “password”, and a “friend ID”.

The “SNS-side user ID” indicates an identifier for identifying the user in the SNS server200. The “password” indicates the password of the user managed by the SNS server200. The “friend ID” indicates the SNS-side user ID of another user who is a friend of the user in the social networking service.

That is,FIG. 7illustrates an example in which the password of the user identified by an SNS-side user ID “U1” is “P21”. In addition, in the example illustrated inFIG. 7, the user with the SNS-side user ID “U1” is a friend of the user with an SNS-side user ID “U2” and the user with an SNS-side user ID “U3” in the social networking service provided by the SNS server200.

Image Storage Unit222

The image storage unit222stores the photograph image posted (uploaded) by each user who uses the social networking services provided by the SNS server200. The image storage unit222according to the embodiment stores the photograph images to which the users are tagged for each user.FIG. 8illustrates an example of the image storage unit222according to the embodiment. In the example illustrated inFIG. 8, the image storage unit222includes items, such as an “SNS-side user ID”, a “tagged image”, and a “tag area”.

The “SNS-side user ID” corresponds to the SNS-side user ID illustrated inFIG. 7. The “tagged image” indicates the file name of the photograph image to which the user is tagged. The “tag area” indicates the area associated with the user in the photograph image.FIG. 8illustrates an example in which simplified information (for example, R11) is stored in the “tag area”. For example, coordinates indicating the area of the photograph image (in the case of a rectangular area, the coordinates of four vertexes) are stored in the “tag area”.

That is,FIG. 8illustrates an example in which the user identified by the SNS-side user ID “U1” is associated with an area “R11” of the photograph image with a file name “G11.gif”, an area “R12” of the photograph image with a file name “G12.gif”, and an area “R13” of the photograph image with a file name “G13.gif”.

Share Panel Storage Unit223

The share panel storage unit223stores the share panel transmitted by the transmitting unit134of the information providing apparatus100.FIG. 9illustrates an example of the share panel storage unit223according to the embodiment. In the example illustrated inFIG. 9, the share panel storage unit223includes items, such as an “SNS-side user ID” and a “share panel”. The “SNS-side user ID” corresponds to the SNS-side user ID illustrated inFIGS. 7 and 8. The “share panel” indicates the file name of the share panel posted by the user through the information providing apparatus100.

That is,FIG. 9illustrates an example in which the user identified by the SNS-side user ID “U1” posts the share panels with file names “PN10.gif”, “PN20.gif”, and “PN30.gif” to the SNS server200.

Returning toFIG. 6, for example, a CPU or a MPU executes a program stored in the internal storage device (for example, the storage unit220) using RAM as a work area to implement the control unit230. In addition, the control unit230is implemented by, for example, an integrated circuit, such as an ASIC or an FPGA.

As illustrated inFIG. 6, the control unit230includes an authentication unit231, an image transmitting unit232, a storage unit233, and a distribution unit234and performs the following information processing function or operation. In addition, the internal structure of the control unit230is not limited to that illustrated inFIG. 6, but the control unit230may have any structure as long as it can perform the following information processing.

When an authentication request is received from the terminal apparatus10, the authentication unit231authenticates the user of the terminal apparatus10. For example, the authentication unit231transmits a login screen to the terminal apparatus10and determines whether a combination of the user ID and the password input to the login screen has been stored in the user information storage unit221. When the combination of the user ID and the password has been stored in the user information storage unit221, the authentication unit231determines that the authentication succeeds. When the combination of the user ID and the password has not been stored in the user information storage unit221, the authentication unit231determines that the authentication fails.

In the example illustrated inFIG. 5(a), when the miShare button B10is pressed, the terminal apparatus10transmits a notice indicating the generation of a share panel to the SNS server200. In this case, the authentication unit231transmits the login screen to the terminal apparatus10, thereby performing the above-mentioned authentication process.

Image Transmitting Unit232

The image transmitting unit232transmits the photograph images stored in the image storage unit222to the terminal apparatus10. Specifically, when the notice indicating the generation of the share panel is received from the terminal apparatus10and the authentication by the authentication unit231succeeds, the image transmitting unit232acquires the photograph image to which the user of the terminal apparatus10is tagged from the image storage unit222and transmits the acquired photograph image to the terminal apparatus10. In this case, when the number of photograph images acquired from the image storage unit222is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value, the image transmitting unit232transmits a predetermined number of (for example, 10) photograph images to the terminal apparatus10.

The storage unit233stores the share panel transmitted by the transmitting unit134of the information providing apparatus100in the share panel storage unit223. Specifically, the storage unit233receives the share panel and the specific information for specifying the terminal apparatus10from the transmitting unit134and stores the share panel in the share panel storage unit223so as to be associated with the SNS-side user ID specified by the received specific information.

When a share panel acquisition request is received from the terminal apparatus10, the distribution unit234distributes the share panel posted by the user who is a friend of the user of the terminal apparatus10to the terminal apparatus10. Specifically, the distribution unit234acquires the friend ID corresponding to the SNS-side user ID of the terminal apparatus10which has transmitted the share panel acquisition request from the user information storage unit221and acquires the share panel corresponding to the acquired friend ID (SNS-side user ID) from the share panel storage unit223. Then, the distribution unit234distributes an arbitrary share panel among the share panels acquired from the share panel storage unit223to the terminal apparatus10which has transmitted the share panel acquisition request.

The example illustrated inFIG. 2(c)will be described. Here, it is assumed that the user information storage unit221is in the state illustrated inFIG. 7and the share panel storage unit223is in the state illustrated inFIG. 9. In addition, it is assumed that the SNS-side user ID of the user U1is “U1” and the SNS-side user ID of the user U2is “U2”. In the example illustrated inFIG. 2(c), the distribution unit234of the SNS server200receives a share panel acquisition request from the terminal apparatus102. In this case, the distribution unit234acquires the friend ID “U1” corresponding to the SNS-side user ID “U2” of the user U2from the user information storage unit221. Then, the distribution unit234acquires the share panels “G11.gif”, “G12.gif”, and “G13.gif” corresponding to the friend ID “U1” from the share panel storage unit223. Then, the distribution unit234distributes an arbitrary share panel (for example, “G11.gif”) among the share panels “G11.gif”, “G12.gif”, and “G13.gif” to the terminal apparatus102.

5. Share Panel Posting Process

Next, a share panel posting process in the network system1according to the embodiment will be described with reference toFIG. 10.FIG. 10is a sequence diagram illustrating the procedure of the share panel posting process in the network system1according to the embodiment.

As illustrated inFIG. 10, the user operates the terminal apparatus10to transmit a request to access a web page to the information providing apparatus100(Step S101). Then, the receiving unit131of the information providing apparatus100receives the access request from the terminal apparatus10. Then, the distribution unit132of the information providing apparatus100distributes the web page in which the miShare button B10for generating a share panel is displayed to the terminal apparatus10in response to the access request received by the receiving unit131(Step S102).

Then, it is assumed that the terminal apparatus10receives an operation of pressing the miShare button B10displayed in the web page from the user (Step S103). In this case, the terminal apparatus10transmits a notice indicating the generation of the share panel to the SNS server200to log in the SNS server200(Step2104). Then, the authentication unit231of the SNS server200receives the SNS-side user ID and the password from the terminal apparatus10to perform the authentication process. In the example illustrated inFIG. 10, it is assumed that, when the authentication succeeds, the authentication unit231issues an authentication key indicating that the login of the user of the terminal apparatus10has succeeded, stores the issued authentication key so as to be associated with the SNS-side user ID, and transmits the issued authentication key to the terminal apparatus10. The authentication key corresponds to, for example, information such as a one-time password issued whenever the terminal apparatus10accesses the SNS server.

Then, when the login process by the authentication unit231succeeds, the image transmitting unit232of the SNS server200acquires the photograph image to which the user of the terminal apparatus10is tagged from the image storage unit222and transmits the acquired photograph image to the terminal apparatus10(Step S105).

Then, the generation unit133of the information providing apparatus100acquires share panel information required to generate the share panel or the authentication key issued by the authentication unit231of the SNS server200in Step S104from the terminal apparatus10(Step S106). The term “share panel information” indicates the template which is selected from the template selection screen W21illustrated inFIG. 5by the user, the comments which are input to the comment input screen W22by the user, or the photograph image which is selected from the share image selection screen W23by the user.

Then, the generation unit133generates a share panel on the basis of the share panel information acquired from the terminal apparatus10(Step S107). Then, the transmitting unit134transmits the share panel generated by the generation unit133and the authentication key acquired from the terminal apparatus10to the SNS server200(step S108).

Then, the storage unit233of the SNS server200stores the share panel received from the transmitting unit134of the information providing apparatus100in the share panel storage unit223(Step S109). In this case, the storage unit233specifies the SNS-side user ID of the user who has posted the share panel on the basis of the authentication key received from the transmitting unit134and stores the share panel in the share panel storage unit223so as to be associated with the specified SNS-side user ID.

Then, when the process of storing the share panel is completed, the storage unit233transmits a completion notice to the information providing apparatus100(Step S110). Then, when receiving the completion notice from the storage unit233, the transmitting unit134of the information providing apparatus100transmits the completion notice to the terminal apparatus10(Step S111).

6. Share Panel Display Process

Next, a share panel display process in the network system1according to the embodiment will be described with reference toFIG. 11.FIG. 11is a sequence diagram illustrating the procedure of the share panel display process in the network system1according to the embodiment.

As illustrated inFIG. 11, the user operates the terminal apparatus10to transmit a request to access a web page to the information providing apparatus100(Step S201). Then, the distribution unit132of the information providing apparatus100distributes the web page in which the share panel posted by the user who is a friend of the user of the terminal apparatus10is displayed to the terminal apparatus10(Step S202). For example, as in the example illustrated inFIG. 2, the distribution unit132distributes the web page including the sharing advertisement frame C13.

Then, when the web page including the sharing advertisement frame C13is received from the information providing apparatus100, the terminal apparatus10transmits a share panel acquisition request to the SNS server200to log in the SNS server200(Step S203). In this case, the authentication unit231of the SNS server200receives, for example, the SNS-side user ID and the password from the terminal apparatus10to perform the authentication process.

Then, when the authentication process by the authentication unit231succeeds, the distribution unit234of the SNS server200searches for the share panel posted by the user who is a friend of the user of the terminal apparatus10from the share panel storage unit223(Step S204). Then, the distribution unit234distributes the searched share panel to the terminal apparatus10(Step S205).

Then, the terminal apparatus10receives the share panel distributed by the distribution unit234and displays the received share panel in the sharing advertisement frame C13of the web page (Step S206).

Various modifications of the network system1according to the above-described embodiment can be made. Next, other embodiments of the network system1will be described.

7-1. Login to SNS Server200

In the above-described embodiment, as in Step S104ofFIG. 10or Step S203ofFIG. 11, the terminal apparatus10logs in the SNS server200when it accesses the SNS server200. However, the web page provided by the information providing apparatus100may include, for example, a login button for logging in the SNS server200. In this case, when the user of the terminal apparatus10has logged in the SNS server200before Step S104ofFIG. 10or Step S203ofFIG. 11, the login process in Step S104ofFIG. 10or Step S203ofFIG. 11may not be performed.

When the user logs in the SNS server200from the web page provided by the information providing apparatus100, the SNS server200may store the login state in, for example, a cache. In this case, when the user who has logged in the SNS server200acquires a new web page from the information providing apparatus100, it is possible to display the web page with the user logged in the SNS server200as long as the login state in the cache is not cancelled in the SNS server200. In this case, the login process in Step S104ofFIG. 10or Step S203ofFIG. 11may not be performed.

7-2. Prevention of Transition to Same Page

In the above-described embodiment, the information providing apparatus100or the SNS server200may perform control such that the share panel moved to the web page which is currently being displayed is not displayed. Specifically, when transmitting the share panel acquisition request to the SNS server200(corresponding to Step S203ofFIG. 11), the terminal apparatus10also transmits the share panel acquisition request to the URL of the web page which is currently being displayed. In this case, the distribution unit234of the SNS server200acquires the share panel into which the URL received from the terminal apparatus10is not inserted among the share panels stored in the share panel storage unit223and distributes the share panel to the terminal apparatus10. In this way, the terminal apparatus10can display the share panel moved to a web page different from the web page which is currently being displayed.

The invention is not limited to the above-mentioned example. For example, the SNS server200may transmit a plurality of share panels to the terminal apparatus10and the terminal apparatus10may display an arbitrary share panel among the share panels received from the SNS server200. In this case, the terminal apparatus10displays the share panel into which the URL of the web page which is currently being displayed is not inserted. Therefore, the terminal apparatus10can display the share panel moved to another web page.

7-3. Sharing Advertisement Frame

In the above-described embodiment, as in the example illustrated inFIG. 2(c), the share panel is displayed in the sharing advertisement frame C13of the web page. However, the share panel may not be displayed in the sharing advertisement frame C13, but information which can be browsed when the user logs in the SNS server200may be displayed in the sharing advertisement frame C13. For example, the sharing advertisement frame C13may be displayed such that it can be scrolled and the page or share panel which is posted to the SNS server200by the friend may be displayed in the sharing advertisement frame C13. In this case, the user of the terminal apparatus10can also browse the share panel which is posted to the SNS server200by the friend.

In the above-described embodiment, as in the example illustrated inFIG. 4, the information providing apparatus100stores the template of the share panel in advance. However, the template stored in the information providing apparatus100may be provided by an advertiser such as a company. This will be described with reference toFIGS. 12 to 14.

FIG. 12is a diagram illustrating an example of the structure of a network system2according to a modification. As illustrated inFIG. 12, the network system2according to the modification differs from the network system1illustrated inFIG. 1in that it includes an advertiser apparatus300. In the example illustrated inFIG. 12, the network system2includes one advertiser apparatus300. However, the network system2may include a plurality of advertiser apparatuses300.

The advertiser apparatus300is an information processing apparatus, such as a PC used by an advertiser, for example, a company, and provides the template of the share panel to the information providing apparatus100. For example, the advertiser apparatus300provides a template including an advertisement article or an image related to a product or a service to be advertised to the information providing apparatus100.

In this example, the template storage unit122of the information providing apparatus100stores the templates for each advertiser.FIG. 13illustrates an example of the template storage unit122according to the modification. As illustrated inFIG. 13, the template storage unit122according to the modification includes items, such as an “advertiser ID”, a “type”, and a “template”. The “advertiser ID” indicates an identifier for identifying the advertiser. The “type” indicates the type to which the advertiser belongs and corresponds to, for example, the type to which the product or service advertised by the advertiser belongs. The “template” indicates the template provided by the advertiser apparatus300.

That is,FIG. 13illustrates an example in which the advertiser identified by an advertiser ID “X1” belongs to a type “car” and provides templates “TP11” and “TP12”. As such, the advertiser apparatus300may provide a plurality of templates to the information providing apparatus100. However, the invention is not limited thereto, but the advertiser apparatus300may provide one template to the information providing apparatus100.

FIG. 14illustrates an example of the template provided by the advertiser apparatus300. It is assumed that a template TP4illustrated inFIG. 14is provided by an advertiser (for example, a car manufacturer) belonging to the type “car”. As illustrated inFIG. 14, the template TP4includes a title frame PA1, a comment frame PA2, and an image frame PA3, similarly to the templates TP1to TP3illustrated inFIG. 4, and has a car image PA4drawn therein. For example, the car image PA4corresponds to the car which is sold by the advertiser.

When the template TP4is selected by the user, the generation unit133generates a share panel in which a photograph image is incorporated into the driver's seat of the car. Therefore, the advertiser who provides the template TP4can distribute the share panel as the advertisement of its own product or service. As described above, the user is likely to click the content posted by the friend. Therefore, the advertiser can provide the template related to its own product or service to the information providing apparatus100to distribute advertisements with high customer appeal.

The information provider who manages the information providing apparatus100may determine the amount of money paid to the advertiser on the basis of the rate of utilization of the template provided from the advertiser. Alternatively, the information provider may determine the amount of money paid to the advertiser on the basis of, for example, the click through rate (CTR), the number of displays (impression), or the conversion rate (CVR) of the share panel which is generated using the template provided from the advertiser.

In the example illustrated inFIGS. 12 to 14, the generation unit133of the information providing apparatus100may transmit a template related to the attributes of the web page, which is the link destination of the share panel, to the terminal apparatus10. For example, when generating the share panel of the web page into which articles related to the car are inserted, the generation unit133acquires the template corresponding to the type “car” from the template storage unit122illustrated inFIG. 13and transmits the template to the terminal apparatus10. Therefore, the information providing apparatus100can generate the share panel with a high relation with the web page, which is a link destination. As a result, it is possible to distribute the share panel with high customer appeal.

In the example illustrated inFIGS. 12 to 14, the information providing apparatus100may not store the template provided from the advertiser apparatus300, but may instruct the advertiser apparatus300to transmit the template to the terminal apparatus10when the share panel is generated.

7-5. Share Panel

In the above-described embodiment, the generation unit133of the information providing apparatus100generates the share panel including the title of the article, the comments of the user, and the photograph image to which the user is tagged. However, the share panel generated by the generation unit133is not limited to this example. Next, another example of the share panel will be described.

For example, the generation unit133may incorporate the URL of the web page, which is a link destination, into the share panel. In this case, a URL display frame in which the URL of the web page is displayed is provided in the template of the share panel and the generation unit133incorporates the URL of the web page into the URL display frame. The invention is not limited to this example, but the generation unit133may incorporate the URL of the web page into, for example, the title frame PA1.

For example, the generation unit133may not generate the share panel including all of the “title of the article”, the “comments of the user”, and the “tagged photograph image”, but may generate a share panel including one or two of the above-mentioned items. In addition, the information providing apparatus100stores only one template. In this case, the generation unit133generates the share panel using the template, without allowing the user to select the template.

For example, the generation unit133may incorporate the image displayed in the web page into the share panel. In this case, an in-page image display frame in which the image in the web page is displayed is provided in the template of the share panel and the generation unit133incorporates the image in the web page into the in-page image display frame.

For example, in some cases, an article related to a product and the image of the product are inserted into the article display frame C11of the web page. In this case, the generation unit133incorporates both the image of the product and the title of the article into the share panel. In this way, it is possible to generate a share panel capable of improving the advertising effect of the product.

In some cases, the image of the stock chart of a predetermined company is inserted into the article display frame C11of the web page. In this case, the generation unit133incorporates the image of the stock chart into the share panel. In this way, it is possible to generate a share panel for recording the stock of the company in addition to improving the advertising effect. This will be described with reference toFIG. 15.FIG. 15is a diagram illustrating an example of the share panel according to the embodiment.

In the example illustrated inFIG. 15, a web page W13includes “the stock price of an AAA company is 30,050 yen and is up +1,310 yen from the day before” as the title of the stock and a stock chart image G20is inserted into the web page W13. In this case, as illustrated on the right side ofFIG. 15, the generation unit133incorporates the chart image G20into the in-page image display frame to generate a share panel PN20.

The invention is not limited to the example illustrated inFIG. 15. For example, the generation unit133may generate a share panel in which a search result screen of a search site is incorporated into the in-page image display frame or a share panel in which the image of an article for sale at auction in an auction site is incorporated into the in-page image display frame.

7-6. Display of Plurality of Share Panels

In the above-described embodiment, a single share panel is displayed in the web page. However, a plurality of share panels may be displayed in the web page. In this case, when transmitting a share panel acquisition request to the SNS server200(corresponding to Step S203ofFIG. 11), the terminal apparatus10may notify the SNS server200of the number of share panels to be acquired. Then, the distribution unit234of the SNS server200may acquire the share panels corresponding to the number of share panels notified by the terminal apparatus10from the share panel storage unit223and may distribute all of the acquired share panels to the terminal apparatus10.

In addition, the terminal apparatus10may not notify the SNS server200of the number of share panels to be acquired, but the distribution unit234of the SNS server200may distribute a predetermined number of (for example, 10) share panels to the terminal apparatus10. Then, the terminal apparatus10may select arbitrary share panels corresponding to the number of sharing advertisement frames C13from a plurality of share panels received from the distribution unit234and display the selected share panels in the corresponding sharing advertisement frames C13.

The information providing apparatus100may associate a plurality of share panels related to the same web page. Specifically, when a second share panel is generated in a web page which appears by pressing a first share panel displayed in the sharing advertisement frame C13, the information providing apparatus100notifies the SNS server200of the second share panel and information indicating that the second share panel is associated with the first share panel. This will be described with reference toFIG. 16.FIG. 16is a diagram illustrating an example of the display of a plurality of share panels according to the embodiment. In the following description, it is assumed that a panel ID for identifying the share panel is inserted into tag information in the share panel.

FIG. 16(a)illustrates a web page W12including a share panel PN10, similarly toFIG. 2(c). In the example illustrated inFIG. 16(a), it is assumed that, when the user presses the share panel PN10, the terminal apparatus10displays a web page W11and receives an operation of pressing a miShare button B10of the web page W11. Then, it is assumed that the generation unit133of the information providing apparatus100generates a share panel PN11illustrated inFIG. 16(b). In this case, when acquiring share panel information from the terminal apparatus10(corresponding to Step S106ofFIG. 10), the generation unit133also acquires the panel ID of the share panel PN10which is the transition source of the web page W11. Then, the transmitting unit134of the information providing apparatus100transmits both the share panel PN11and the panel ID of the share panel PN10related to the share panel PN11to the SNS server200. Then, the storage unit233of the SNS server200stores the share panel PN11in the share panel storage unit223and stores the panel ID of the share panel PN10and the panel ID of the share panel PN11in a predetermined storage unit so that the panel IDs are associated with each other.

Then, it is assumed that the distribution unit234of the SNS server200receives a share panel acquisition request from the terminal apparatus10of the user who is a friend of the user who has posted the share panel PN10and the user who has posted the share panel PN11(corresponding to Step S203ofFIG. 11). In this case, when acquiring the share panel PN10from the share panel storage unit223, the distribution unit234also acquires the share panel PN11associated with the share panel PN10and distributes the acquired share panels PN10and PN11to the terminal apparatus10. Then, as illustrated inFIG. 16(c), the terminal apparatus10displays the share panels PN10and PN11which are associated with each other in the web page.

As such, the information providing apparatus100associates a plurality of share panels related to the same web page, which makes it possible to instruct the terminal apparatus10to display the share panels which are associated with each other. Therefore, the user who browses a plurality of share panels associated with each other can browse the comments of a plurality of users at a time. As a result, the information providing apparatus100can distribute the share panel with high customer appeal.

When a share panel acquisition request is received, the distribution unit234of the SNS server200may not acquire the overlapping share panels which are associated with each other from the share panel storage unit223, contrary to the above-mentioned process. In other words, the distribution unit234may acquire the share panels which are not associated with each other from the share panel storage unit223. In this case, the share panels moved to different web pages are displayed on the terminal apparatus10and the user can browse the share panels related to a plurality of kinds of web pages.

The invention is not limited to the example illustrated inFIG. 16, but the information providing apparatus100may associate a plurality of share panels in a predetermined order. For example, the information providing apparatus100may give a story to each of the share panels posted by a plurality of users and associate a plurality of share panels in the order of the stories. This will be described with reference toFIG. 17.FIG. 17is a diagram illustrating an example of the display of a plurality of share panels according to the embodiment.

MiShare buttons B21to B24are displayed in a web page W11illustrated inFIG. 17(a). The miShare buttons B21to B24have a function of giving a story to each of the share panels posted by a plurality of users. For example, among introduction, development, turn, and conclusion forming a story, the miShare button B21corresponds to the “introduction”, the miShare button B22corresponds to the “development”, the miShare button B23corresponds to the “turn”, and the miShare button B24corresponds to the “conclusion”.

In the example illustrated inFIG. 17(a), it is assumed that, when the miShare button B21corresponding to the “introduction” is pressed, the generation unit133of the information providing apparatus100generates a share panel PN10. In this case, the generation unit133inserts information indicating the “introduction” among the introduction, the development, the turn, and the conclusion into the share panel PN10. For example, the generation unit133sets information indicating the “introduction” to the tag information of the share panel PN10. Then, the transmitting unit134of the information providing apparatus100transmits the share panel PN10to the SNS server200.

Then, as illustrated inFIG. 17(b), it is assumed that a web page W12including the share panel PN10is displayed on the terminal apparatus10of the user who is a friend of the user who has posted the share panel PN10. Then, it is assumed that, when the share panel PN10is pressed in the web page W12, a web page W11is displayed, as illustrated inFIG. 17(c). In this case, the miShare buttons B22to B14corresponding to the “development”, the “turn”, and the “conclusion” other than the “introduction” inserted into the share panel PN10, which is a transition source, are displayed in the web page W11illustrated inFIG. 17(c).

In the example illustrated inFIG. 17(c), it is assumed that, when the miShare button B22is pressed, the generation unit133of the information providing apparatus100generates a share panel PN11. In this case, the generation unit133acquires the panel ID of the share panel PN10, which is the transition source of the web page W11, from the terminal apparatus10. In addition, the generation unit133inserts information indicating the “development” among the introduction, the development, the turn, and the conclusion into the share panel PN11. Then, the transmitting unit134transmits the share panel PN11and the panel ID of the share panel PN10to the SNS server200. In this case, similarly to the example illustrated inFIG. 16, the storage unit233of the SNS server200stores the share panel PN11in the share panel storage unit223and stores the panel ID of the share panel PN10and the panel ID of the share panel PN11in a predetermined storage unit so that the panel IDs are associated with each other.

In this way, the information providing apparatus100allows a plurality of users to post the share panels corresponding to introduction, development, turn, and conclusion as the share panels of the web page W11. Then, when receiving a share panel acquisition request from the terminal apparatus10of the user who is a friend of all users who have posted each share panel, the information providing apparatus100distributes the share panels corresponding to introduction, development, turn, and conclusion to the terminal apparatus10. Then, the terminal apparatus10displays the share panels corresponding to introduction, development, turn, and conclusion in the web page. In this case, the terminal apparatus10may display the share panels corresponding to “introduction”, “development”, “turn”, and “conclusion” in this order from the upper side of a sharing advertisement frame C13, or it may display the share panels in the same sharing advertisement frame C13in the order of “introduction”, “development”, “turn”, and “conclusion” while changing the share panels at a predetermined time interval.

In this way, the information providing apparatus100can display a plurality of share panels with stories on the terminal apparatus10. In the example illustrated inFIG. 17, the information providing apparatus100can generate a share panel such as a four-frame comic strip. Therefore, it is possible to improve the power to appeal to the user who browses the share panel.

In the above-described embodiment, the template of the share panel stored in the information providing apparatus100is not limited to that illustrated in the drawings. For example, the information providing apparatus100may store a template in which a newscaster or a desk (news desk) used by the newscaster is drawn as the template having the image of a news program. In this case, the generation unit133incorporates the photograph image into, for example, a part (image frame PA3) of the face of the newscaster. In addition, the information providing apparatus100may store the templates related to tourist spots or specialties. For example, the information providing apparatus100may store a template including the image of Mount Fuji.

As described in the example illustrated inFIG. 14, the generation unit133of the information providing apparatus100may allow the user to select the template used to generate the share panel among the templates related to the attributes of the web page, which is the link destination of the share panel. For example, when generating a share panel for the web page of a news article, such as economy, the generation unit133inserts the template including the image of the news desk into a template selection screen W21. When generating a share panel for the web page related to a tourist spot or a specialty, the generation unit133inserts the template including the image of the tourist spot or the specialty into a template selection screen W21.

The generation unit133may change the template included in the template selection screen W21depending on the time when the share panel is generated. For example, when the share panel is generated in the morning (for example, six o'clock to nine o'clock), the generation unit133inserts the template that conjures up a fresh image into the template selection screen W21.

When the terminal apparatus10is a mobile terminal, the generation unit133may acquire positional information indicating the current position from the terminal apparatus10and change the template included in the template selection screen W21depending on the acquired positional information. For example, when the terminal apparatus10is located in the vicinity of a tourist spot during the generation of the share panel, the generation unit133inserts the template related to the tourist spot into the template selection screen W21.

In the above-described embodiment, the generation unit133allows the user to input share panel information in the order ofFIGS. 5(b), 5(c), and 5(d), but the invention is not limited thereto. For example, the generation unit133may allow the user to input comments to the comment input screen W22and then allow the user to select the template on the template selection screen W21. In this case, the generation unit133may change the template included in the template selection screen W21depending on the comments input to the comment input screen W22. For example, the generation unit133may perform morphological analysis for the comments. When the input comments include words indicating emotions (for example, “joy” and “sorrow”), the generation unit133may insert the template corresponding to the emotions into the template selection screen W21. In addition, the generation unit133may process the photograph image selected from the share image selection screen W23into a photograph corresponding to the emotions. For example, when the comments include the word “sorrow”, the generation unit133may overlap the image of a tear on the eye of the user who is drawn in the photograph image.

For example, the generation unit133may allow the user to select the photograph image from the share image selection screen W23and then allow the user to select the template from the template selection screen W21. In this case, the generation unit133may change the template included in the template selection screen W21based on the photograph image selected from the share image selection screen W23. For example, the generation unit133may analyze the photograph image to estimate the emotions of the user drawn in the photograph image and insert the template corresponding to the estimated emotions into the template selection screen W21. In addition, the generation unit133may process the photograph image selected from the share image selection screen W23into a photograph corresponding to the estimated emotions.

The information providing apparatus100may store the number of times the template is selected by the user or the frequency of the selection for each template. In this case, the generation unit133may preferentially insert the template which is frequently selected by the user among the templates stored in the template storage unit122into the template selection screen W21. In this way, the information providing apparatus100can provide a popular template to the user.

The information providing apparatus100may store combinations of the templates and the photograph images which were selected by each user in the past as history information for each user. Then, the generation unit133may preferentially insert the template which has been frequently selected together with the photograph image selected from the share image selection screen W23among the templates stored in the template storage unit122into the template selection screen W21. In addition, when the photograph image is selected after the template is selected, the generation unit133may preferentially insert the photograph image which has been frequently selected together with the selected template into the share image selection screen W23.

In the above-described embodiment, the information providing apparatus100may store the click rate of each share panel (the ratio of the number of clicks to the number of times the share panel is displayed) or the number of clicks as history information for each share panel. Alternatively, the information providing apparatus100may display the share panel together with an evaluation button for evaluating the share panel in the web page and store the evaluation value of each share panel for each share panel. Then, the generation unit133may preferentially insert the template used for a share panel with a high click rate, the template used for a share panel which is frequently clicked, or the template used for a share panel with a large evaluation value among the templates stored in the template storage unit122into the template selection screen W21. In this way, the generation unit133can generate a share panel which is likely to be clicked.

The information providing apparatus100may store the click rate (or the number of clicks) or the evaluation value of the share panel as the history information for each web page (that is, the web page to be advertised), which is the link destination of the share panel. Then, when generating a new share panel to be linked to a predetermined web page, the generation unit133may preferentially insert the template used for a share panel with a high click rate (or which is frequently clicked) or a large evaluation value among the generated share panels to be linked to the web page into the template selection screen W21. The invention is not limited to this example. For example, the information providing apparatus100may store the click rate (or the number of clicks) or the evaluation value of the share panel as the history information for each attribute of the web page, which is the link destination of the share panel. The “attributes of the web page” are classified into, for example, a news site, a finance site, a weather site, and a shopping site. The “attributes of the web page” may be classified in more detail. For example, the attributes of the web page correspond to the attributes of the articles inserted into the web page (for example, politics, sports, and entertainment) or the attributes of products inserted into the web page (for example, appliances and foodstuffs). Then, when generating a new share panel to be linked to a predetermined web page, the generation unit133may preferentially insert the template used for a share panel with a high click rate (or which is frequently clicked) or a large evaluation value among the generated share panels to be linked to a web page with attributes identical to the attributes of the predetermined web page into the template selection screen W21. Therefore, the generation unit133can recommend the user the template which has high compatibility with the web page, which is the link destination of the share panel, and is likely to be clicked. As a result, the generation unit133can generate the share panel which is likely to be clicked.

7-8. Share Panel to be Displayed

In the above-described embodiment, the SNS server200may store the click rate (or the number of clicks) of each share panel as the history information for each share panel. In addition, when the evaluation button for evaluating the share panel is displayed as described above, the SNS server200may store the evaluation value of each evaluation value for each share panel. Then, when a share panel acquisition request is received from the terminal apparatus10, the distribution unit234of the SNS server200may preferentially distribute a share panel with a high click rate (or which is frequently clicked) or a share panel with a large evaluation value among the share panels posted by the user who is a friend of the user of the terminal apparatus10to the terminal apparatus10. That is, when there are a plurality of share panels to be linked to the same web page, the distribution unit234may preferentially distribute the share panel with a high click rate or a large evaluation value to the terminal apparatus10. In this case, the click rate or the evaluation is likely to be greatly changed depending on the user who generates the share panel even in the same web page, which is a link destination. Therefore, the SNS server200can distribute the share panel which is more likely to be clicked to the terminal apparatus10.

Contrary to the above-mentioned example, when there are a plurality of share panels to be linked to the same web page, the distribution unit234may preferentially distribute the share panel with a low click rate or a small evaluation value to the terminal apparatus10. The reason is as follows. When the share panel has a low click rate or a small evaluation value, but is generated by the friend, it is more likely to be clicked than general advertising content. That is, the information providing apparatus100according to the embodiment allows the user to browse the share panel generated by the friend. Therefore, even when the share panel with a low click rate or a small evaluation value is preferentially displayed, it is possible to improve the click rate. In addition, when the click rate or evaluation value of a web page, which is a link destination, is less than the click rate or evaluation value of another web page, which is a link destination, the distribution unit234may preferentially distribute the share panel linked to the web page, which is a link destination, to the terminal apparatus10. The reason is as follows. When the share panel has a low click rate or a small evaluation value, but the share panel is generated by the friend, it is likely to be clicked.

In the above-described embodiment, the share panel is displayed in the sharing advertisement frame C13of the web page. However, when there is no advertising content to be displayed in the general advertisement frame C12, the share panel may be displayed in the general advertisement frame C12.

In the above-described embodiment, the photograph image incorporated into the share panel is not limited to the tagged photograph image. For example, the photograph image which is posted to the SNS server200by the user who generates the share panel or a fiend of the user may be incorporated into the share panel.

In the above-described embodiment, the information providing apparatus100generates the share panel of the web page which is provided by the information providing apparatus100. However, the information providing apparatus100may generate the share panel of the web page which is generated by an apparatus (for example, the advertiser apparatus300) other than the information providing apparatus100. For example, the apparatus of the advertiser apparatus300distributes the web page including the miShare button B10which is linked to the information providing apparatus100to the terminal apparatus10. When the user presses the miShare button B10, the terminal apparatus10accesses the information providing apparatus100and generates the share panel as in the example illustrated inFIG. 5.

In the above-described embodiment, the share panel is the link information to the web page. However, the share panel may be link information to content other than the web page. For example, the share panel may be link information to a still image, a moving image, or music data.

Among the processes according to the above-described embodiment, some or all of the processes which are automatically performed may be manually performed, or some or all of the processes which are manually performed may be automatically performed by a known method. In addition, information including the procedure, the detailed names, and various kinds of data or parameters described in the above-mentioned document or drawings can be arbitrarily changed except in a case in which it is specified.

The drawings are conceptual diagrams illustrating the functions of each component of each apparatus, and the components are not necessarily physically configured as illustrated in the drawings. That is, the detailed form of the dispersion and integration of each apparatus is not limited to that illustrated in the drawings, but some or all of the apparatuses may be functionally and physically dispersed and integrated in an arbitrary unit, depending on various loads or usage conditions.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the information providing apparatus100and the SNS server200may be the same apparatus. That is, the information providing apparatus100may be a server apparatus which distributes the web pages and provides the social networking service. In this case, the information providing apparatus100illustrated inFIG. 3does not need to include the transmitting unit134and includes the same processing units as the storage unit220and the control unit230illustrated inFIG. 6.

As described above, the information providing apparatus100according to the embodiment includes the receiving unit131and the distribution unit132. The receiving unit131receives an access request for accessing a web page (corresponding to an example of first content) from the terminal apparatus10used by the first user. When the receiving unit131receives the access request, the distribution unit132distributes, to the terminal apparatus10, a web page including the share panel (corresponding to an example of link information) posted by the second user related to the first user in a predetermined social networking service (corresponding to an example of a communication service) among the share panels linked to another web page (corresponding to an example of another content).

Therefore, the information providing apparatus100according to the embodiment can distribute the share panel which is likely to be clicked by the user as advertisements. Specifically, the information providing apparatus100displays the share panel processed by the friend in the web page, which makes it possible to distribute advertisements with high customer appeal.

In the network system1according to the embodiment, when the user needs to log in the SNS server200in order to generate the share panel, it is possible to increase the number of members of the SNS server200. In the network system1according to the embodiment, since the tagged photograph image is inserted into the share panel, it is possible to facilitate the tagging of the user to tag the photograph image. That is, in the network system1according to the embodiment, it is possible to improve the rate of utilization of the SNS server200.

In the information providing apparatus100according to the embodiment, the distribution unit132distributes the web page in which the share panel including user information (for example, the tagged photograph image) for identifying the second user is displayed.

Therefore, the information providing apparatus100according to the embodiment enables the user who browses the share panel to recognize the user who has posted the share panel. As a result, it is possible to improve the possibility that the share panel will be clicked.

In the information providing apparatus100according to the embodiment, the generation unit133generates a share panel including information (for example, a title) indicating a predetermined web page or user information (for example, the tagged photograph image) for identifying the first user as the share panel to be linked to the predetermined web page, in response to the operation of the first user of the terminal apparatus10which has received the predetermined web page.

Therefore, the information providing apparatus100according to the embodiment can generate the share panel in which the outline of the web page is displayed. As a result, it is possible to improve the possibility that the share panel will be clicked.

In the information providing apparatus100according to the embodiment, the transmitting unit134transmits the share panel generated by the generation unit133to the SNS server200. The distribution unit132distributes the web page in which the share panel distributed from the SNS server200which has received the share panel transmitted from the transmitting unit134is displayed.

Therefore, the information providing apparatus100according to the embodiment enables the user who browses the web page to post the share panel of the web page to the SNS server200.

The structure of the information providing apparatus100and the SNS server200can be flexibly changed. For example, the information providing apparatus100and the SNS server200may be implemented by a plurality of server computers. In addition, for example, an external platform may be called by an application programming interface (API) or network computing depending on functions to implement the information providing apparatus100and the SNS server200.

In the claims, a “unit” can be replaced with a “section”, a “module”, or a “circuit”. For example, a receiving unit can be replaced with a receiving module or a receiving circuit.

According to an aspect of the embodiment, it is possible to distribute advertisements with high customer appeal.