JP7607305B2 - Conference management device, conference management system, and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a conference management device, a conference management system, and a program.

Patent document 1 discloses a conference setting system having a participant registration means for registering participants who will participate in a specific conference, and a conference material registration means for registering materials to be used in the conference after the participants have been registered by the participant registration means.

JP 2015-132985 A

When holding a meeting at a company or the like, there are times when new ideas are required for discussion during the meeting. However, when the participants in the meeting are, for example, all employees of the same company, it can be difficult to come up with new ideas.

The present invention aims to provide a conference management device that can provide conferences that make it easy to come up with new ideas.

With this objective in mind, the technology disclosed in this specification is a conference management device having a user information receiving means for receiving information of a plurality of users who can participate in a conference, an attribute receiving means for receiving information indicating attributes that the first participant must satisfy as a condition for becoming a first participant participating in the conference, a first selection means for selecting a user having the attributes about which information has been received by the attribute receiving means from the plurality of users and making the user the first participant, and a second selection means for selecting a user from the plurality of users without using the attributes about which information has been received by the attribute receiving means as a condition, and making the user the second participant.
Here, the conference may include a ratio receiving means for receiving instructions regarding the ratio of the second participants among the participants in the conference, and the second selection means may select from the plurality of users a number of second participants that corresponds to the ratio received by the ratio receiving means.
It is also preferable to have an observer reception means for receiving instructions from the multiple users to become observers who are restricted from speaking during the conference but are able to react to comments made by participants in the conference.
Also, while the conference is being held, a number-of-attendees image, which is an image indicating the number of attendees in the conference, may be displayed to the participants.
The conference system may further comprise a designation receiving means for receiving information of a third participant who is designated to participate in the conference from a conference manager among the plurality of users.
In addition, while the conference is taking place, a detailed image showing each of the participants may be displayed, and the detailed image may include an identification image that is an image that makes it possible to identify whether the participant is the first participant or the second participant.
The video display device may further comprise a video display means for displaying a video of the participant to the participant while the conference is in progress, and restricting the video from being displayed to the observers.
It is also preferable to have an icon display means for displaying a plurality of icons while the conference is taking place, and for the spectator to operate one of the icons, showing the participant the reaction of the spectator to the comments made by the participant in the conference.
It is also preferable to have a point management means for managing points purchased by the spectator, where when the spectator selects the icon, the points owned by the spectator are decreased by a predetermined number, and the points owned by the participant who made the comment are increased by the predetermined number.
The conference system may further comprise a comment receiving means for receiving comments from the observers on remarks made by the participants in the conference after the conference has ended, and displaying the comments to the participants.
It is also preferable to have a ranking determination means for ranking the participants according to their contribution to the conference after the conference is over.

From another perspective, the technology disclosed in this specification is a conference management system having a first terminal operated by a participant who is allowed to speak in the conference, a second terminal operated by an observer who is restricted from speaking in the conference but can react to the comments made by the participant, and a conference management device that manages the conference, wherein the management device has: a user information receiving means for receiving information of a plurality of users who can participate in the conference; an attribute receiving means for receiving information indicating attributes that the first participant should satisfy as a condition for becoming a first participant participating in the conference; a first selection means for selecting a user having the attribute about which the attribute receiving means has received information from the plurality of users and setting the user as the first participant; a second selection means for selecting a user from the plurality of users without using the attribute about which the attribute receiving means has received information as a condition and setting the user as the second participant; and an icon display means for displaying a plurality of icons while the conference is being held and allowing the observer to operate one of the icons to show the observer's reaction to the participant's comments in the conference to the participant.
From yet another perspective, the technology disclosed in this specification is a program that causes a computer to execute the steps of acquiring information about multiple users who can participate in a conference; accepting information indicating attributes that the first participant must satisfy as a condition for becoming a first participant in the conference; selecting a user who has the attributes from the multiple users and making him the first participant; and selecting a user from the multiple users without using the attributes as a condition and making him the second participant.

The present invention provides a conference management device that can provide conferences that make it easy to come up with new ideas.

1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a conference management system to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied; FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a conference management device. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining a home image. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining an image for participants. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining an image for observers. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining a development image. 13 is a flowchart showing a participant determination operation of a conference setting unit; FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a hardware configuration of a conference management device.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
<General Configuration of Conference Management System 1>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a conference management system 1 to which the present embodiment is applied.
1, the conference management system 1 includes a conference management device 10 and terminals 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80. The conference management device 10 and the terminals 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80 are connected to each other via a network 90.

The conference management device 10 is configured by a computer device. This conference management device 10 functions as a server in the conference management system 1. In this embodiment, the conference management device 10 displays a home image 300 (see FIG. 3 described later) and the like on the terminals 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80 to assist in holding a conference.

Each of the terminals 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80 is configured by a computer device such as a smartphone, a notebook computer, a desktop computer, a tablet computer, or a mobile phone. The terminals 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80 function as clients in the conference management system 1. In the following description, when there is no need to distinguish between the terminals 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80, they may be referred to as terminal 30, etc.

Here, the terminals 30 and the like are operated by users A to F who are users of the conference management system 1. The details of each user will be described later, but they are host, MC, designated member, attribute member, random member, and observer, respectively. Note that in the illustrated example, six terminals 30 and the like are shown, but the number is not particularly limited, and may include terminals other than the terminals 30 and the like.

The network 90 is a communication network used for data exchange between devices. The illustrated network 90 is configured from the Internet, but is not particularly limited to this. The network 90 may be, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network) or a WAN (Wide Area Network). Furthermore, the communication lines of the network 90 may be either wired or wireless, and a combination of these may be used.

<Participants and observers>
The conference management system 1 assists in holding a conference in which users participate. Here, in a conference managed by the conference management system 1, participants do not need to gather in one place such as a conference room, and the conference is held as a so-called Web conference via terminals 30 or the like. In addition, in a conference managed by the conference management system 1, there are conference participants and conference observers. To explain further, users involved in a conference of the conference management system 1 include participants who are permitted to speak in the conference, and observers who are not permitted to speak in the conference but can observe the conference in progress.

<Participants>
Here, the participants of the conference will be described.
The participants of the conference are users who are allowed to speak in the conference as described above. In the illustrated example, the participants include the initiator of the conference, i.e., the host who hosts (organizes) the conference, the MC (Master of Ceremony) who is the moderator of the conference, and the members who are invited to the conference. The members who are invited to the conference include designated members who are designated (nominated) by the host, attribute members who are determined by the conference management system 1 according to the attributes of the users (e.g., occupation and age), and random members who are randomly determined by the conference management system 1 regardless of the attributes of the users. To explain further, in the conference in this embodiment, at least one of the participants can be selected randomly regardless of the attributes of the users.

Note that a meeting in the meeting management system 1 proceeds with participants stating their opinions in response to questions posed by the host. At this time, the role of the MC is to objectively monitor the meeting. To explain further, the MC does not touch on the content of the meeting or give any opinions, but instead acts as a witness to the progress of the meeting.

<Audience>
Next, I will explain about the observers.
Observers of a conference can not only check the progress of the conference, but also input their own impressions (reactions) to the conference management system 1. The input impressions of the observers can be checked by the participants in the ongoing conference. The conference is promoted by the participants seeing the impressions of the observers. In this way, in the conference management system 1, observers can also give their evaluations while peeking into the conference. The evaluations have an influence on the conference. As a result, the observation becomes more interesting, and the user may want to observe again and again, so to speak, it may become addictive to observe.

<Outline of Operation of Conference Management System 1>
The conference management system 1 manages a conference that a user, a host, wishes to hold. As will be described in detail later, the conference management system 1 determines the participants of the conference and notifies the determined participants. During the conference, the conference management system 1 also displays the participants' comments as images (e.g., character strings), making it easy for the participants to understand the progress of the conference. Furthermore, after the conference, a forum is provided for developing the conference agenda. This makes it possible to grow the conference, so to speak.

In addition, in this embodiment, the host who holds the conference can set the ratio of participants to allow the conference to grow. To explain further, in the illustrated example, it is possible to specify the ratio for each attribute of the participants and a random ratio. For example, the occupation, which is one of the attributes of the participants, can be set as an attribute and the ratio can be specified. Specifically, the ratio for each occupation and the ratio selected randomly can be specified, such as 15% medical, 15% construction, 5% housewife, 15% illustrator, and 50% random. For example, if a conference is held once with the above ratios and a medical member gives an image of a turning point in the conference that brings about a meaningful idea in the conference, the host can set a higher ratio for medical in the next conference.

As described above, the conference management system 1 makes it possible to flexibly assemble participants according to the host's intentions. To explain further, the conference management system 1 also makes it possible to significantly deviate from expected harmony by deliberately conducting a conference including participants not designated by the host. In other words, by introducing randomness into the members of a conference, it is possible to increase the possibility of producing unanticipated by-products in the conference.

In addition, in the conference management system 1, an evaluation of each participant is input after the conference by, for example, the host. Participants with high evaluations are given benefits, such as points or a higher ranking. By evaluating participants, it is possible to add a gamification element to the conference, in that participants can improve their own evaluations through the conference.

Furthermore, in the conference management system 1, observers are invited to the conference. Although observers cannot make comments in the conference, they can participate in the conference with a proactive and proactive attitude. To explain further, in a conference managed by the conference management system 1, even if the topic of the conference is technical, the conference can be opened to observers, opinions from observers can be accepted, and the conference can continue to develop and evolve after the conference. Here, observers can register conferences that interest them as favorites from a list of upcoming scheduled conferences displayed in the observer image 370 (see FIG. 3(d) described later). Although the comments made by observers as participants in the conference are limited to comments on the comments made by participants, they have more options than anyone else when it comes to "selecting a conference," and can be considered the most proactive conference participants. Their proactiveness can be the driving force from outside the conference, livening up and pulling the conference from the outside. Also, by accepting opinions from such observers, it is possible to continue the development and evolution of the conference after the conference.

<Conference Management Device 10>
FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an example of the configuration of the conference management device 10. As shown in FIG.
Next, a configuration example of the conference management device 10 will be described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG.
The conference management device 10 includes a user management unit 110 , a conference setting unit 130 , a conference execution unit 150 , and a development management unit 170 .

The user management unit 110 manages user information. By being registered by the user management unit 110, a user can become a host, MC, designated member, attribute member, random member, or observer. The illustrated user management unit 110 has a user information acquisition unit 111, a points management unit 113, and an evaluation information acquisition unit 115.

The user information acquisition unit 111 acquires user information. Specifically, the user information acquisition unit 111 displays a home image 300 (see FIG. 3 described later) on the terminal 30 or the like, and acquires information such as the user's name, age, image, occupation, and gender via the home image 300. Each of these pieces of input information becomes an attribute of the user.

The points management unit 113 manages points. Users acquire these points through purchase. To explain further, points are a numerical representation of rights that are granted to participants by observers during a conference, or granted to participants by the host after the conference. In this way, by making it a kind of asset donation system in which users grant points that they have purchased to other users who are the targets of evaluation, participants' motivation for the conference can be increased.

The evaluation information acquisition unit 115 acquires information regarding evaluations during or after a conference. Specifically, it acquires information regarding the rankings of the target users, red cards (described below), and favorites. Note that favorites are a term used by the host for members who have participated in past conferences and whom the host likes. For members who have been registered as favorites by the host, the host can check the schedule in advance, for example, when hosting a conference, and can designate those members as designated members for the conference to be held.

The conference setting unit 130 sets up the conference in response to instructions from the host. The conference setting unit 130 shown in the figure has a conference information acquisition unit 131, a composition rate acquisition unit 133, a designated member acquisition unit 137, an attribute member determination unit 139, a random member determination unit 141, and a notification unit 143.

The conference information acquisition unit 131 acquires conference information. Specifically, the conference information acquisition unit 131 acquires information about the date and time of the conference, the theme of the conference, etc.

The composition ratio acquisition unit 133 receives from the host a specification of the composition ratio of participants who will participate in the conference. In the illustrated example, the composition ratio acquisition unit 133 has an attribute ratio acquisition unit 134 and a random ratio acquisition unit 135. The attribute ratio acquisition unit 134 receives a specification of an attribute ratio that specifies a user's attribute ratio as the composition ratio. In addition, the random ratio acquisition unit 135 receives a specification of a random ratio for randomly selecting members without specifying a user's attribute as the composition ratio.

In the illustrated example, the attribute ratio and random ratio are each a ratio to the total number of attribute members and random members, but are not particularly limited as long as they indicate the composition ratio of participants. Each of the attribute ratio and random ratio may be, for example, a ratio to the total number of participants in the meeting, or a ratio to the total number of designated members, attribute members, and random members.

The designated member acquisition unit 137 acquires information about the members designated by the host. That is, in the illustrated example, the host can determine a portion of the participants (an example of a third participant) by himself from among the users registered in the user information acquisition unit 111.

The attribute member determination unit 139 determines participants from among users who have the specified attributes according to the attribute ratio. To explain further, the attribute member determination unit 139 determines users who have the attributes specified by the host as participants (an example of a first participant) from among the users registered in the user information acquisition unit 111. Note that if there are multiple users who have the attributes specified by the host, the determination may be made randomly using well-known techniques such as a random number generator, or may be made according to user evaluations such as points or rankings.

The random member determination unit 141 determines participants (an example of a second participant) from among the users registered in the user information acquisition unit 111 according to a random rate. To explain further, the random member determination unit 141 determines a number of random members that matches the random rate from among the users registered in the user information acquisition unit 111. Note that the random member determination unit 141 randomly determines users from among the users registered in the user information acquisition unit 111 using well-known techniques such as a random number generator, but the rate at which each user is selected may be changed according to user evaluations such as points and rankings.

The notification unit 143 notifies the terminal 30, etc., of the designated members, attribute members, and random members identified by the designated member acquisition unit 137, attribute member determination unit 139, and random member determination unit 141, for example, by a text message or voice message via the network 90.

The conference execution unit 150 manages the screens and the like that are displayed on the terminal 30 as the conference is being held. The conference execution unit 150 shown in the figure has a conference information display unit 151, an observer management unit 153, a member image display unit 155, a subtitle display unit 157, a comment management unit 159, an evaluation acquisition unit 161, a warning unit 163, and a recording unit 165.

The conference information display unit 151 displays basic information such as the date and time of the conference, etc. This conference information display unit 151 displays, for example, a conference information image 515 (see FIG. 4) and a conference details image 713 (see FIG. 5) on the terminal 30 or the like.
The spectator management unit 153 manages users who are spectating the conference. Specifically, the spectator management unit 153 receives applications from users who wish to spectate, and registers them as spectators. The spectator management unit 153 displays, for example, an spectator number image 517 (see FIG. 4) and an spectator number image 711 (see FIG. 5) on the terminal 30 or the like.

The member image display unit 155 displays images of participants. The member image display unit 155 displays, for example, the member display area 510 (see FIG. 4) and the participant display area 723 (see FIG. 5) on the terminal 30 or the like. Although details will be described later, the member display area 510 (participant image 500) displayed to participants displays videos of participants, whereas the participant display area 723 (spectator image 700) displayed to observers does not display videos of participants. In other words, the display of information about participants is switched depending on whether or not they are participants.

The caption display unit 157 displays captions (comments), which are textual information explaining the progress of the conference. The caption display unit 157 displays, for example, the comment display area 550 (see FIG. 4) and the comment display area 750 (see FIG. 5).

The comment management section 159 displays comments made by participants as text information. The comment management section 159 displays, for example, a member comment image 555 (see FIG. 4) and a member comment image 752 (see FIG. 5).
The evaluation acquisition unit 161 acquires evaluations of each participant from the participants and observers. The evaluation acquisition unit 161 displays, for example, an evaluation icon image 559 (see FIG. 4) and an evaluation icon 755 (see FIG. 5).

The warning unit 163 executes input and output for issuing a warning against the speech and behavior of a participant. The warning unit 163 displays, for example, an image showing a yellow card (not shown) and an image showing a red card (not shown).
The recording unit 165 records images (including still images and moving images) of the conference, including moving images of the participants.

The development management unit 170 manages information that develops the conference after the conference has been held. The illustrated development management unit 170 includes a conference information display unit 171, an evaluation image display unit 173, a comment image display unit 175, and an evaluation acquisition unit 177.

The conference information display section 171 displays basic information such as the time of the conference, etc. The conference information display section 171 displays, for example, a conference details image 813 (see FIG. 6).
The evaluation image display section 173 displays an image showing the evaluation of the participant. The evaluation image display section 173 displays, for example, an MVP display area 821 (see FIG. 6) and a point ranking display area 831 (see FIG. 6).

The comment image display section 175 displays comments from the participants and observers. The comment image display section 175 displays, for example, a member comment image 855 (see FIG. 6).
The evaluation acquisition unit 177 acquires evaluations of each participant from the participants and observers. The evaluation acquisition unit 177 displays, for example, an evaluation icon image 859 (see FIG. 6).

<Home image 300>
FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the home image 300. As shown in FIG.
Next, the home image 300 will be described with reference to FIG.
First, the home image 300 is displayed on the terminal 30 or the like by the user information acquisition unit 111. This home image 300 acquires information such as the user's name, age, image, occupation, and sex.

To be more specific, as shown in FIG. 3(a), a home image 300 is displayed on the terminal 30 or the like when the user operates the terminal 30 or the like. Here, the home screen 300 has a user information input area 311, a host login image 313, a guest login image 315, and an observer login image 317.

The user information input area 311 is an area that accepts user information. Specifically, the user information input area 311 accepts input from the user of an identification number (identification, ID) assigned to each user and a password (password, PW) set for each user.

The host login image 313, guest login image 315, and spectator login image 317 are images for selecting the screen to be displayed based on the information entered in the user information input area 311. In the illustrated example, by selecting either the host login image 313, guest login image 315, or spectator login image 317, the host image 330 (see FIG. 3(b)), guest image 350 (see FIG. 3(c)), or spectator image 370 (FIG. 3(d)) is displayed.

The host image 330 shown in FIG. 3(b) is an image displayed to a user who will be the host (or MC) in the target conference. Here, the host image 330 has a role display area 331 indicating that the role is host, a personal information display area 333 displaying the user's personal information, a conference setting area 335 in which a new conference is set up, a conference history display area 337 displaying the history of conferences previously hosted, a favorites display area 339 displaying favorite users, a guest movement image 341 for switching to the display of a guest image 350, and an observer movement image 343 for switching to the display of an observer image 370.

The guest image 350 shown in FIG. 3(c) is an image displayed to users who will be invited (guests) in the target conference as designated members, attribute members, and random members. Here, the guest image 350 has a role display area 351 indicating that the role is guest, a personal information display area 353 displaying the user's personal information, a conference detail display area 355 which is an area displaying details of conferences the user is scheduled to attend in the future, a scheduled conference display area 357 displaying upcoming conferences, a conference history display area 359 displaying the history of conferences held in the past, a host movement image 361 which switches to display the host image 330, and an observer movement image 363 which switches to display the observer image 370.

The observer image 370 shown in FIG. 3(d) is an image displayed to a user who will be an observer (visitor) in the target conference. Here, the observer image 370 has a role display area 371 indicating that the role is observer, a personal information display area 373 displaying the user's personal information, a scheduled conference display area 375 displaying upcoming scheduled conferences, a conference history display area 377 displaying the history of conferences held in the past, a host move image 381 that switches to displaying the host image 330, and a guest move image 383 that switches to displaying the guest image 350.

In guest image 350 and observer image 370, upcoming scheduled meetings are displayed in chronological order in scheduled meeting display areas 357, 375. Also, in guest image 350 and observer image 370, past meetings are displayed in chronological order in meeting history display areas 359, 377. In this way, listing meeting information in chronological order makes it easier to recognize individual meetings even when many meetings have been held. Although not shown, star-shaped or checkmark-shaped images may be displayed in each meeting displayed in scheduled meeting display areas 357, 375 and meeting history display areas 359, 377, so that the meetings themselves can be marked as "Featured" or "Favorited."

Here, the personal information (profile information) of the user displayed or input via the personal information display area 333, 353, 373, etc. will be described. First, the personal information includes information input by each user himself, such as the user's name, age, face photo, occupation, sex, areas of expertise, areas of weakness, hobbies, family structure, marital history, whether or not he has children, and qualifications. Here, the personal information may include objective information of the user based on evaluations from third parties, such as aptitude tests taken by the user. Furthermore, the personal information may include evaluations of the user's behavior as a host in meetings hosted by the user in the past, such as whether the progress of the meeting was productive and whether the speaker's opinions were listened to calmly. Furthermore, the personal information may include evaluations of the user's behavior in meetings that the user participated in in the past, such as evaluations as a participant, such as behavior in the meeting, amount of comments, and useful points. These evaluations may be displayed as images in the form of evaluation analysis graphs. In addition, the state of past meetings that came close to being resolved may be written down in the history as reviews.

The user's personal information may be specified in stages for each individual item. For example, occupation may be registered in three stages according to the breadth of the concept: broad (e.g., medical), medium (e.g., doctor), and small (e.g., orthopedic specialist). By specifying personal information in stages in this way, it becomes possible for the host to have more freedom in combining personal information when setting up a meeting, for example.

<Participant Image 500>
FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the participant image 500. As shown in FIG.
Next, the participant image 500 will be described with reference to FIG.

The participant image 500 is an image that is displayed by the conference execution unit 150 on the terminals 30, 40, 50, 60, and 70 operated by the participants at a predetermined time, such as 10 minutes before the start of the conference. The participant image 500 has a member display area 510, a comment display area 550, and an evaluation icon display area 570.

The member display area 510 displays a public image 513 indicating that the meeting is open to spectators, a meeting information image 515 indicating the name of the meeting, etc., a number of spectators image 517 indicating the number of spectators, and a video description image 519 indicating that the video is not being shown to spectators.

The member display area 510 also displays a host image display area 521 that displays the host's video, an MC image display area 523 that displays the MC's video, a selected member image display area 525 that displays videos of designated members and attribute members, and a random member image display area 527 that displays random members.

In the selected member image display area 525, images of multiple participants are displayed. In each participant image, an attribute image 531 showing the attributes of the target member, an attribute ratio image 532 showing the attribute ratio specified for the attributes of the target member, a username image 533 which is an image including the username and age of the target member, a user video 535 showing a video of the selected member, and an attribute detail image 537 showing details of the attributes of the target member are displayed.

In the illustrated random member image display area 527, images of multiple participants are displayed. In each participant image in the random member image display area 527, a random rate image 541 indicating the specified random rate, a user name image 543, a random member video 545, and an attribute details image 547 are displayed.

The comment display area 550 displays an agenda image 551 indicating the agenda, a theme image 553 indicating the theme which is a detailed item of the agenda, member icons 554 shown in different colors for each participant, a member comment image 555 indicating the comments made by the participants on the target theme, a comment count image 557 indicating the number of ratings given by observers on the target comment, and a rating icon image 559 indicating the rating icon for the target comment.

In the evaluation icon display area 570, multiple icons are displayed side by side. Note that in the observer image 700 (see FIG. 5) described below, an evaluation icon display area 770 configured similarly to the evaluation icon display area 570 is also displayed. Then, a participant (observer) selects one of the icons displayed in the evaluation icon display area 570 (evaluation icon display area 770) to evaluate the target comment. In the evaluation icon display area 570, an owned points image 581 indicating the points owned by the target user is displayed.

To select an icon, a participant or observer must use points that they possess. The points used are given to the person (participant) who made the comment that was evaluated using the icon. In other words, points are donated by participants or observers to the person who made the comment that was evaluated.

The illustrated evaluation icon display area 570 displays a writing icon 571, an inspiration icon 573, a scale icon 575, an objection icon 577, and an MVP icon 579.

The writing icon 571 is an icon for directly inputting an evaluation or a comment.
The inspiration icon 573 is an evaluation icon that indicates that the comment in question gave an audience member an idea. When this evaluation icon is selected, evaluation points are given to the person who made the comment in question.

The scales icon 575 is an evaluation icon that indicates that the comment in question has given the user new knowledge, or that the scales have fallen from their eyes, so to speak. When this evaluation icon is selected, evaluation points are awarded to the person who made the comment in question.

The objection icon 577 is an icon that is selected when the comment in question is deemed significant. When this rating icon is selected, no rating points are awarded to the person who made the comment in question. If this rating icon is selected a predetermined number of times, the MC will issue a warning or the like (details will be described later).

MVP icon 579 is an icon for selecting the MVP, the participant who contributed the most throughout the entire conference. Unlike other icons, MVP icon 579 can only be selected once per conference. When this MVP icon 579 is selected, evaluation points are awarded to the person who made the comment in question.

When participants and spectators make an evaluation, they click to select the comment to be evaluated, specifically the member comment image 555, and then select an icon in the evaluation icon display area 570 to indicate how they wish to evaluate it. By inputting the icon here, the reactions of participants and spectators can be easily displayed on the terminal 30, etc., and participants can visually grasp the reactions of spectators.

In the illustrated example, the number of spectators image 517 is displayed as described above, allowing the participants to know how many spectators there are. Furthermore, by making the participants aware that they are being watched by spectators, the participants can be motivated to speak up in the conference.

In addition, in the video (detailed image) displayed in the member display area 510 in the illustrated example, it is forcibly set as a virtual background (distinguishing image) and is color-coded according to attributes. The MC can also create smaller topics as talk themes for the agenda (proposition), which are then divided into blocks. Participants can follow the agenda, or dig a little deeper and place the cursor on the previous agenda item to write in an insert-like manner.

Furthermore, if the objection icon 577 is pressed a predetermined number of times (e.g., five times) while the conference is in progress, the MC can issue a warning to the participant in question. Specifically, the host or MC can display an image (not shown) showing a yellow card to the participant in question. Furthermore, if the objection evaluation icon is pressed a predetermined number of times (e.g., ten times) while the conference is in progress, the MC can stop the participant in question from speaking, in other words, kick them out. Specifically, the host or MC can display an image (not shown) showing a red card to the participant in question. In this way, by allowing the host or the like to issue warnings and kick them out, participants can participate in the conference with a sense of tension.

<Image for observers 700>
FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the observer image 700. As shown in FIG.
Next, the observer image 700 will be described with reference to FIG.

The observer image 700 is an image that is displayed on the terminal 80 operated by the observer by the conference execution unit 150 at a predetermined time, such as 10 minutes before the start of the conference. The observer image 700 has a conference information display area 710, a comment display area 750, and an evaluation icon display area 770.

The conference information display area 710 displays an spectator number image 711 indicating the number of spectators, a conference detail image 713 indicating the name of the conference etc., a conference setting display image 715 indicating the conference settings, an attribute distribution image 717 indicating the distribution of participant attributes, a random rate display image 719 indicating the set random rate, and an agenda image 721 indicating the agenda of the target conference.

The conference information display area 710 also includes a participant display area 723 in which information about the participants is displayed. Here, the participant display area 723 displays a selected member display image 731 and a random member display image 735, which are images of multiple participants.

Each selected member display image 731 has an attribute ratio image 732 showing the attribute ratio specified for the attribute of the target selected member, a user image 733 including a silhouette image of the target selected member, and an attribute detail image 734 showing details of the attribute of the target selected member.

Each random member display image 735 has a random rate image 736 that indicates the set random rate, and an attribute image 737 that indicates the attributes of the target random member.

In the comment display area 750, member icons 751 are displayed in different colors for each participant, a member comment image 752 showing the comment of the target participant, a number of rating image 753 showing the number of ratings given by observers to the target comment, a rating icon 755, and an MC comment image 757 showing the comment of the MC are displayed.

In the evaluation icon display area 770, writing icons 571 and the like are displayed side by side, and an owned points image 581 is also displayed.

Here, unlike the participant image 500, the observer image 700 does not display the video of the participants. This reduces the leakage of personal information of the participants. Although the observer does not see the video and cannot understand the voices and expressions of the people participating in the conference, the comments are visible in the comment display area 750 as written comments, i.e., as text information. Also, the observer can make evaluations during the conference, either in real time or by scrolling back, using the comment display area 750. The observer can liven up the conference by evaluating the comments of the participants using evaluation icons such as the writing icon 571. If the observer makes evaluations without limit, the atmosphere may become chaotic. Therefore, in the illustrated example, in order to impose a certain limit on the observer's evaluation itself, a property donation type is used in which the observer's points are given to the evaluation target.

<Development image 800>
FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the development image 800. As shown in FIG.
Next, the development image 800 will be described with reference to FIG.

The development image 800 is an image that is displayed on the terminal 80 operated by an observer by the development management unit 170 when the host operates the terminal 30 after the conference ends. The development image 800 has a conference information display area 810, a comment display area 850, and an evaluation icon display area 870.

The conference information display area 810 displays an attendee count image 811 indicating the number of attendees, a visitor count image 812 indicating the number of users who displayed the development image 800 after the conference, i.e., the number of visitors, a conference details image 813 indicating the name of the conference, etc., and an impression display image 815 indicating the host's impressions of the conference that was held.

In addition, the conference information display area 810 displays an MVP display area 821 that displays the MVP among the participants in the target conference, and a point ranking display area 831 that shows the participants who earned points in the conference.

Here, in the MVP display area 821, a user image 823 indicating the user who has become the MVP, a ranking image 825 indicating the user's ranking, and an invitation image 827 accepting an operation to invite the user as a designated member to the next meeting are displayed.
In addition, in the point ranking display area 831, a point ranking image 833 showing the ranking of the points acquired by each participant is displayed.

In the comment display area 850, an agenda image 851 showing the agenda, a theme image 853 showing the theme which is a detailed item of the agenda, member icons 854 shown in different colors for each participant, a member comment image 855 showing the participant's comments on the target theme, a comment count image 857 showing the number of ratings given by observers on the target comment, a rating icon image 859 showing a rating icon for the target comment, a host comment image 861 showing the host's comment on the target comment, an observer comment image 867 showing a comment written by an observer, and a rating icon image 869 are displayed.

As mentioned above, observers can directly enter their comments as text (character strings) and confirm their opinions with the participants after the meeting. This allows the content of the meeting to grow and develop not only during the meeting, but also after it has ended.

The MVP display area 821 and the point ranking display area 831 display the evaluations of the participants. The points ranking display area 831 also displays rankings based on the rankings. These rankings are used as the criterion for selecting the MVP of the conference. Depending on the rankings, icons such as gold, silver, and bronze may be displayed.

<Conference in Conference Management System 1>
As described above, in a conference run by the conference management system 1, an outsider, a random member, participates in an agenda that should be discussed by specialist members, which gives the conference an externality and makes it unpredictable and random. In this way, the conference management system 1 can intentionally give airtightness to a conference that should otherwise be airtight. Furthermore, the conference management system 1 makes it possible to open the conference to outside observers.

In addition, meetings tend to fall into a passive state, but by evaluating (rating points for) what participants say, participants' desire for recognition is heightened. This results in more active meetings, which leads to more effective problem-solving related to the meeting agenda and shorter problem-solving times.

In addition, to give the conference more depth (potential for growth), observers will be allowed to post comments after the conference, allowing the conference to take on a life of its own even when the host and MC are not present after the conference.

<Participant selection action>
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the participant determination operation of the conference arrangement section 130. As shown in FIG.
Next, the participant determination operation by the conference setting unit 130 will be described with reference to FIG. 2 and FIG.

First, as shown in FIG. 7, the conference information acquisition unit 131 of the conference setting unit 130 receives conference information such as the date and time of the conference and the theme of the conference from the terminal 30 operated by the host (S701). Then, the attribute ratio acquisition unit 134 receives information indicating the attribute ratio from the terminal 30 (S702). Then, the random rate acquisition unit 135 receives information indicating the random rate from the terminal 30 (S703). Then, the designated member acquisition unit 137 receives information indicating the designated members from the terminal 30 (S704).

Next, the attribute member determination unit 139 determines an attribute member based on the attribute ratio accepted by the attribute ratio acquisition unit 134 (S705). Then, the random member determination unit 141 determines a random member based on the random ratio accepted by the random ratio acquisition unit 135 (S706). Then, the notification unit 143 notifies the designated member, the attribute member, the terminal 30 operated by the random member, etc. (S707).

<Hardware Configuration of Conference Management Device 10>
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the conference management device 10. As shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 8, the conference management device 10 includes a CPU 101 , a random access memory (RAM) 102 , a read only memory (ROM) 103 , a hard disk drive (HDD) 104 , and a communication I/F 105 .

The CPU 101 loads various programs stored in the ROM 103 or the like into the RAM 102 and executes them to realize the above-mentioned functions of the conference management device 10 .
The RAM 102 is a memory used as a working memory for the CPU 101, etc.
The ROM 103 is a memory that stores various programs executed by the CPU 101 .
The HDD 104 is, for example, a magnetic disk device that stores user information and the like.
The communication I/F 105 transmits and receives various types of information to and from other devices via a network 90 (see FIG. 1).

The program executed by the CPU 101 may be provided to the conference management device 10 in a state where it is stored in a computer-readable recording medium such as a semiconductor memory. The program executed by the CPU 101 may also be downloaded to the terminal 30 or the like via the conference management device 10. For example, a program that realizes each of the above-mentioned functions of the conference management device 10 may be downloaded to the terminal 30 or the like as an app.

<Modification>
In the above description, the attribute member determination unit 139 and the random member determination unit 141 determine the members and the notification unit 143 notifies the determined members, but this is not limited to the above. The members determined by the attribute member determination unit 139 and the random member determination unit 141 may be displayed on the host's terminal 30, and the notification unit 143 may notify the members approved by the host. Alternatively, the members determined by the attribute member determination unit 139 and the random member determination unit 141 may be displayed on the host's terminal 30, and the host may operate the terminal 30 to notify the terminal 30 without going through the notification unit 143.

In the above explanation, the MC inputs comments in the comment display area 550, etc., but this is not limited to the above. For example, the conference management device 10 may input comments using well-known technology such as a voice input means using a model that has undergone machine learning.

In the above description, the MC is described as conducting the conference, but this is not limited to the above. Any of the participants, such as the host who initiated the conference, may also conduct the conference.

In the above explanation, it was explained that the points used in selecting icons, etc. are purchased by each user, but payment of money is not required to acquire points. A certain number of points may be automatically awarded to each user at the time of registration, or points may be awarded each time a user uses the conference management system 1.

In addition, the probability of being selected as a participant when deciding participants in a conference may be changed according to the evaluation of the target user, such as the total number of points acquired by each user. For example, in the case of random members, a user who has acquired points exceeding a predetermined standard may be selected more likely than a user who has not exceeded the standard, even though the selection is random. In addition, a ranking of evaluations may be assigned to each user's attribute, specifically, occupation, age, and residential area, and the higher the ranking, the higher the probability of being selected as an attribute member. In addition, points that a user can acquire may be managed separately as charge points purchased and evaluation points received when evaluated by others. Here, both charge points and evaluation points can be used to evaluate someone. In addition, the numerical value of evaluation points granted by others decreases when they are used. On the other hand, the accumulated total of the granted evaluation points can be calculated and displayed, for example, in a ranking. By calculating the accumulated total of evaluation points in this way, a situation in which a user who wants to avoid the reduction of acquired evaluation points as they are used is suppressed from using evaluation points. In addition, it may be possible to exchange the points for products including, for example, dried flowers and gift certificates, depending on the points acquired or the ranking.

In the above explanation, the ratio of each participant attribute and the random ratio are received from the host as numerical values, but this is not limited to the above. The instruction received from the host may be an instruction that qualitatively expresses the number of random members (e.g., large, small, etc.), or an instruction that only specifies whether or not there are random members.

In addition to the icons described above, other icons (evaluation buttons) may be provided to evaluate participants. For example, icons may be provided to evaluate participants for making on-point comments, for making the meeting more relaxed, for having a different perspective, for not being swayed by the majority, for effectively following what others wanted to say, for staying focused, etc.

In the above description, the participant image 500 and the observer image 700 are displayed differently for the participants and observers, but this is not limiting. For example, the participant image 500 may be displayed to observers as well, while the video portion of each participant may be switched to a silhouette of the participant. By using a common image for participants and observers, processing may be simplified. Alternatively, the video portion of the participants may be displayed to observers.

The number of spectators attending the meeting may also be stored and used as an evaluation of the host or MC. In other words, the host or MC of a meeting with a larger number of spectators may be evaluated as a member who has held a meeting that has attracted more attention, and points may be awarded to that member.

In addition, for example, artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to analyze the combinations, volume of comments, and the quality of the comments for a predetermined period of time, and attributes that generate a large response to the characteristics of the topic can be statistically derived. Also, an activity distribution map of attributes for each genre can be created as a guide.

In the above explanation, it has been described that there are participants and observers, but this is not limited to the above. For example, the conference may proceed only with participants, without observers.

In addition, in the above description, the conference management device 10 is described as a single server, but some of the functions of the conference management device 10 may be executed by another server that can communicate via the network 90.

Although various embodiments and modifications have been described above, it is of course possible to combine these embodiments and modifications.
Furthermore, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be embodied in various forms without departing from the gist of the present disclosure.

The user information acquisition unit 111 is an example of a user information receiving means. The attribute member determination unit 139 is an example of an attribute receiving means and a first selection means. The random member determination unit 141 is an example of a second selection means. The random rate acquisition unit 135 is an example of a ratio receiving means. The spectator management unit 153 is an example of an spectator receiving means. The spectator number image 517 is an example of a number image. The designated member acquisition unit 137 is an example of a designated receiving means. The member image display unit 155 is an example of a video display means. The evaluation acquisition unit 161 is an example of an icon display means and a point management means. The comment image display unit 175 is an example of a comment receiving means. The evaluation acquisition unit 177 is an example of a ranking determination means. The terminal 60 is an example of a first terminal. The terminal 80 is an example of a second terminal.

Reference Signs List 1... conference management system, 10... conference management device, 30... terminal, 111... user information acquisition unit, 133... configuration ratio acquisition unit, 135... random ratio acquisition unit, 139... attribute member determination unit, 141... random member determination unit

Claims (12)

a user information receiving means for receiving information of a plurality of users who can participate in the conference;
an attribute receiving means for receiving information indicating attributes that a first participant should satisfy as a condition for becoming a first participant participating in the conference;
a first selection means for selecting a user having the attribute information received by the attribute receiving means from the plurality of users and setting the user as the first participant;
a second selection means for randomly selecting a user from the plurality of users without using the attribute information received by the attribute receiving means as a condition, and setting the user as a second participant in the conference in which the first participant participates;
a ratio receiving means for receiving an instruction regarding a ratio of the second participants among the participants of the conference;
having
the second selection means selects, from the plurality of users, the second participants in a number that satisfies the ratio accepted by the ratio acceptance means;
Conference management device. 2. The conference management device according to claim 1, further comprising an observer receiving means for receiving instructions from the plurality of users to become observers who are restricted from speaking in the conference while the conference is in progress, but who are able to react to comments made by participants in the conference . 3. The conference management device according to claim 2 , wherein a number image indicating the number of observers in the conference is displayed to the participants while the conference is in progress. 4. The conference management device according to claim 1 , further comprising: a designation receiving unit configured to receive, from a conference manager, information on a third participant who is designated to participate in the conference among the plurality of users. A conference management device as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, which displays a detailed image showing each of the participants while the conference is taking place, and which includes an identification image that can identify whether the participant is the first participant or the second participant. 3. The conference management device according to claim 2 , further comprising a moving image display means for displaying a moving image of said participant to said participant while said conference is being held, and restricting said moving image from being displayed to said observers. 3. The conference management device according to claim 2, further comprising an icon display means for displaying a plurality of icons while the conference is taking place, and for displaying to the participants the reaction of the listener to the comments of the listener in the conference by the listener operating one of the icons. a user information receiving means for receiving information of a plurality of users who can participate in the conference;
an attribute receiving means for receiving information indicating attributes that a first participant should satisfy as a condition for becoming a first participant participating in the conference;
a first selection means for selecting a user having the attribute information received by the attribute receiving means from the plurality of users and setting the user as the first participant;
a second selection means for randomly selecting a user from the plurality of users without using the attribute information received by the attribute receiving means as a condition, and setting the user as a second participant in the conference in which the first participant participates;
an observer receiving means for receiving an instruction from the plurality of users to become observers who are restricted from speaking during the conference but can show reactions to speeches made by participants in the conference;
an icon display means for displaying a plurality of icons during the conference, and displaying to the participants the reaction of the observer to a statement made by the observer in the conference, when the observer operates one of the icons;
a point management means for managing points purchased by the spectator, the points owned by the spectator decreasing by a predetermined number when the spectator selects the icon, and the points owned by the participant who made the comment increasing by the predetermined number;
having
Conference management device. 3. The conference management device according to claim 2 , further comprising comment accepting means for accepting comments from said observers on remarks made by said participants in said conference after said conference ends, and for enabling said comments to be displayed to said participants. 10. The conference management device according to claim 1, further comprising a ranking determining means for ranking the participants according to their contributions to the conference after the conference is ended. A conference management system including a first terminal operated by a participant who is allowed to speak in a conference, a second terminal operated by an observer who is restricted from speaking in the conference but can show a reaction to the speech of the participant, and a conference management device that manages the conference,
The conference management device includes:
a user information receiving means for receiving information of a plurality of users who can participate in the conference;
an attribute receiving means for receiving information indicating attributes that a first participant should satisfy as a condition for becoming a first participant participating in the conference;
a first selection means for selecting a user having the attribute information received by the attribute receiving means from the plurality of users and setting the user as the first participant;
a second selection means for randomly selecting a user from the plurality of users without using the attribute information received by the attribute receiving means as a condition, and setting the user as a second participant in the conference in which the first participant participates ;
a ratio receiving means for receiving an instruction regarding a ratio of the second participants among the participants of the conference;
an icon display means for displaying a plurality of icons during the conference, and displaying to the participants the reaction of the observer to a statement made by the observer in the conference, when the observer operates one of the icons;
having
the second selection means selects, from the plurality of users, the second participants in a number that satisfies the ratio accepted by the ratio acceptance means;
Conference management system. obtaining information of a plurality of users who can participate in the conference;
receiving information indicating attributes that a first participant should satisfy as a condition for becoming a first participant participating in the conference;
selecting a user having the attribute from the plurality of users and setting the user as the first participant;
randomly selecting a user from the plurality of users without using the attribute as a condition , and setting the user as a second participant in a conference in which the first participant participates ;
receiving an indication of a proportion of participants of the conference that are the second participants;
selecting, from the plurality of users, a number of second participants that corresponds to the ratio in the received instruction;
A program that causes a computer to execute the following.

Images