Patent ID: 8861002

Claim:
An image forming apparatus capable of communicating with a Web server having a microblogging function, comprising: a registration unit configured to register a message using the microblogging function in the Web server; a monitoring unit configured to monitor a comment to the message registered by said registration unit; an acquisition unit configured to, when said monitoring unit confirms the comment to the registered message, acquire, from the Web server, the comment and user information about a user who has transmitted the comment; an analysis unit configured to analyze the comment acquired by said acquisition unit, and convert the comment into control information for executing processing by the image forming apparatus; a generation unit configured to generate an analysis result comment indicating the control information converted by said analysis unit, the analysis result comment prompting the user corresponding to the user information acquired by said acquisition unit to confirm whether or not an analysis result by said analysis unit is correct; a determination unit configured to register, as a response to the acquired comment in the Web server by using said registration unit, the analysis result comment generated by said generation unit, and determine whether or not a comment of the user to the registered analysis result comment is affirmative; and a processing unit configured to, when said determination unit determines that the comment to the analysis result comment is negative, execute no processing in accordance with the control information, and when said determination unit determines that the comment to the analysis result comment is affirmative, execute processing in accordance with the control information.