GB2556075A

GB2556075A - A processor for interacting with a social media platform

Info

Publication number: GB2556075A
Application number: GB1619481.3A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Appadoo Damien; Sikka Rajiv
Original assignee: Tagzie Ltd
Current assignee: Tagzie Ltd
Priority date: 2016-11-17
Filing date: 2016-11-17
Publication date: 2018-05-23
Also published as: GB201619481D0

Abstract

System that comprises a processor 102 which is configured to fetch comments for a media-id 108 (that is associated with an image/product) from a social media platform 104. The processor determines whether or not the fetched comment includes a predefined code-word 112. For each comment that includes the code word the processor determines a user-id associated with a user that made the comment; determines one or more transaction-details 118 associated with the related media-id 114; and displays a user interface 124 on a device 106 associated with the user-id. The user interface is associated with the transaction details that correspond to the media-id. The processor may send a query to a products database 116. The user interface may be provided through a downloaded application and can allow a customer to select options relating to an item (such as size, colour or quantity) before completing the transaction.

Description

(54) Title of the Invention: A processor for interacting with a social media platform Abstract Title: Interacting with a social media platform for buying and selling (57) System that comprises a processor 102 which is configured to fetch comments for a media-id 108 (that is associated with an image/product) from a social media platform 104. The processor determines whether or not the fetched comment includes a predefined code-word 112. For each comment that includes the code-word the processor determines a user-id associated with a user that made the comment; determines one or more transaction-details 118 associated with the related media-id 114; and displays a user interface 124 on a device 106 associated with the user-id. The user interface is associated with the transaction details that correspond to the media-id. The processor may send a query to a products database 116. The user interface may be provided through a downloaded application and can allow a customer to select options relating to an item (such as size, colour or quantity) before completing the transaction.

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Figure 1 ui for product

Customer-device (106)

At least one drawing originally filed was informal and the print reproduced here is taken from a later filed formal copy.

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Figure 1

02 18

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Figure 2

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204

228

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Tagzie Background Process

Figure 3

Merchant/Vendor

4.

Every interval (example 30 seconds), Tagzie application checks in temporary table for any new records.

4.1

If record found, Tagzie application fetches full details of the media from Instagram using Instagram API endpoint /media/media-id and merchant’s access token.

4.2

Tagzie application will search for the master hashtag (example #tagzie) and URL (containing unique product id) in the caption.

4.3

If the master hashtag and URL is found in the caption, Tagzie application updates the product in Tagzie database with additional information and “is_active” tag is set to 1.

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Figure 4

API

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Figure 5

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Figure 6

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Customer signs up in to I Tags© using Instagram's authentication APS.

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Customer's device gets registered into the tagzie database.

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Figure 7

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Figure 8

Tagzie Background Process < * Λ

Tagzie application every interval (eg. 30 seconds) fetches all active products from the database and comments of all active products returned from Instagram, using Instagram’s GET: /media/media-id/comments API endpoint, and merchant’s own access \ token. /

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5.1

Application searches for comments with master hashtag (eg. #tagzie) in all comments, if it finds a comment with the master hashtag, it queries the database whether the comment is already in the Tagzie database or not.

5.2a		5.2b
If the comment is not already in the		If the comment is already in the Tagzie
Tagzie database, application will search		database, application updates the
if the user has any devices registered in		comment details again in to the
the Tagzie database.		database.

5.3a

If devices are found, application will send push notifications to all the devices.

5.3b

If no devices are found, application will comment on the same thread using Instagram’s POST: /media/mediaid/comments API endpoint using merchant’s access token with the instructions to download the app or complete the purchase via website.

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Figure 9

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		Reply #tagzie on
Instagram	-►	Tagzie enabled
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Customer Device — 906

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Tagzie App (Customer Authenticated)

Load product in Tagzie app

Commence Checkout process

Select quantity, attributes, delivery address, payment source

Payment Processor processes payment

Checkout Complete

Regularly fetches and parses comments using GET:/media/media-id/comments API

938

Queries if comment is already on Database

Comment is not on Database:

Insert comment in the database Search if IG user is registered on Tagzie

User exists: Send push notification to devices

Comment is on Database:

• Update comments details on Database

User doesn’t exist:

Reply to IG media using POST:

/media/mediaid/comments with instructions to download Tagzie app or complete purchase via browser.

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Figure 10

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A PROCESSOR FOR INTERACTING WITH A SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM

The present disclosure relates to a processor for interacting with a social media platform, which can provide a user interface to a device, and associated methods.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a processor configured to: fetch comments for a media-id from a social media platform; for each fetched comment, determine whether or not the comment includes a predefined code-word;

for each comment that includes the predefined code-word:

determine a user-id associated with a user that made the comment;

determine one or more transaction-details associated with the media-id that corresponds to the comment; and display a user interface on a device associated with the user-id, wherein the user interface is associated with the transaction-details that correspond to the media-id.

Such a processor can expand on functionality provided by the social media server, without requiring any changes to the social media server, to present a user with a bespoke user interface. In this way, two parties (such as a customer and vendor) can be conveniently and efficiently exchange information electronically in order to complete a transaction, which may or may not have a financial aspect to it.

The user interface may comprise one or more data-entry-fields that are associated with the transaction-details.

The processor may be further configured to determine a plurality of predefined selectable data-options based on the transaction-details. The one or more data-entry-fields may comprise the plurality of predefined selectable data-options for selection by a user.

The processor may be further configured to receive input-data representative of data entered into the one or more data-entry-fields by a user. In real-time, the processor may check whether or not the input-data satisfies a rule. If the input-data does not satisfy the rule, then the processor may display an error-message on the device associated with the user-id. The rule may be based on the transaction-details.

The processor may be further configured to determine a media-id associated with an authorised-entity, and then to fetch the comments for the media-id from the social media platform. The processor may be further configured to query a products-database to determine one or more media-id values that are associated with active products in order to determine the media-id associated with the authorised-entity. The processor may be configured to periodically query the products-database, and / or query the productsdatabase in response to user input.

The processor may be further configured to send a push notification to the device associated with the user-id in order to display the user interface on the device. The push notification may include a product-id, which can be usable by the device to retrieve the transaction-details.

The processor may be configured to determine the user-id associated with the user that made the comment by querying a comments-database using a media-id that is associated with the comment.

The processor may be further configured to:

for each comment that includes the predefined code-word:

determine a comment-id associated with the comment;

query a comments-database to determine if the comment-id is in the comments-database; and if the comment-id is not in the comments-database, then:

add the comment-id to the comments-database; and determine the user-id, determine the one or more transactiondetails and display the user interface; or if the comment-id is in the comments-database, then:

refrain from determining the user-id, determining the one or more transaction-details and displaying the user interface.

The social media platform may be, but not limited to, Instagram, Facebook, Linkedln, YouTube or Twitter.

According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a computer-implemented method comprising:

fetching comments for a media-id from a social media platform;

for each fetched comment, determining whether or not the comment includes a predefined code-word;

for each comment that includes the predefined code-word:

determining a user-id associated with a user that made the comment;

determining one or more transaction-details associated with the media-id that corresponds to the comment; and displaying a user interface on a device associated with the user-id, wherein the user interface is associated with the transaction-details that correspond to the media-id.

There may be provided a computer program, which when run on a computer or device, causes the computer to configure any apparatus, including a processor, server or device disclosed herein or perform any method disclosed herein. The computer program may be a software implementation, and the computer may be considered as any appropriate hardware, including a digital signal processor, a microcontroller, and an implementation in read only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM) or electronically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), as non-limiting examples.

The computer program may be provided on a computer readable medium, which may be a physical computer readable medium such as a disc or a memory device, or may be embodied as a transient signal. Such a transient signal may be a network download, including an internet download.

One or more embodiments will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows an example of a system for data transfer;

Figure 2 another example of a system for data transfer;

Figure 3 shows a flow chart that illustrates an example of how a vendor can register with the Tagzie platform;

Figure 4 shows a block diagram of processing that can be performed when a vendor signs up to the Tagzie platform;

Figure 5 shows a block diagram of processing that can be performed when a vendor publishes a post for use with the Tagzie platform;

Figure 6 shows a flow chart that illustrates an example of how a customer can complete a transaction with a vendor, by interacting with a social media platform and the Tagzie platform;

Figure 7 shows a block diagram of processing that can be performed when a customer signs up to the Tagzie platform;

Figure 8 shows a flow chart that illustrates an example of the processing performed by the Tagzie server when a customer enters the code-word as a comment;

Figure 9 shows a block diagram of processing that can be performed when a customer completes a transaction with a vendor; and

Figure 10 shows a flow chart that illustrates an example of how the Tagzie server can ensure that posted products are properly activated in products-database that is accessible by the Tagzie server.

Figure 1 shows an example of a system for data transfer. The system includes a processor, which in this example is referred to as a Tagzie server 102; a social media server 104; and a customer-device 106. As will be discussed in detail below, a user of the customer-device 106 can interact with the social media server 104 in such a way that the Tagzie server 102 automatically displays a user interface on the customer-device 106. In the following discussion, this user interface will be referred to as a Tagzie-customer-UI. The Tagzie-customer-UI can enable the commencement of an ecommerce transaction such as the purchase of a product or service, the commencement of a file download, the registration for a service, an opt-in to receiving communications, the sending of push notifications to one or more devices, or the despatch of a URL to one or more devices, as non-limiting examples. It will be appreciated that each of these actions can be considered as providing a product to a customer, irrespective of whether the customer receives a physical item or a service, such as the receipt of electronic data. In general, the Tagzie server can put two devices / servers in electronic contact with each other in a secure and efficient way, by utilising aspects of a social media platform. Advantageously, the Tagzie server 102 can expand on the functionality provided by the social media server 104 without requiring any changes to the social media server 104.

The social media platform that is provided by the social media server 104 in this example is Instagram, although other social media platforms can also be used. Examples of such other social media platforms include Facebook, Linkedln, YouTube and Twitter.

Instagram allows users to post images / videos (as examples of media) along with a textual caption, and also allows other users to post their comments on the images / videos. In at least some operating modes, Instagram does not allow clickable URLs (uniform resource locators) in the captions or comments. Therefore, a vendor looking to advertise a product using Instagram may not be able to include a clickable link to their website in the caption.

Figure 1 will be described with reference to an example in which a vendor / seller posts an image of a product that they wish to sell, and where the user of the customer-device 106 wishes to be presented with a user interface (that will be called a Tagzie-customer-UI in this document) for purchasing the product. The user can express their interest in the product shown in the image by including a predefined code-word in a comment to the image. In this example, the code-word is “#Tagzie”. As will be discussed below, upon recognition of the code-word, the Tagzie server 102 causes the customer-device 106 to display a Tagzie-customer-UI that includes information associated with the product on which the user of the customer-device 106 has commented using the code-word.

Of the functionality illustrated in Figure 1, the first data transfer 108 is for the Tagzie server 102 to send a request to the social media server 104 to fetch comments for one or more specific media-id. As will be discussed further below, each image that is accessible in Instagram is attributed a unique media-id. Also, the Tagzie server 102 can have access to a list of media-ids that are associated with a vendor that is signed up with the Tagzie server 102. At data transfer 110, the social media server 104 returns the comments associated with the specific media-id, and also a user-id associated with the user that made each comment.

In this example, the Tagzie server 102 has a comment-checker module 112 that determines whether or not each returned comment includes the code-word of #Tagzie. If a comment does not include #Tagzie, then it is ignored and the comment is not processed any further. If a comment does include #Tagzie, then the comment-checker 112 determines one or more products that correspond to the media-id on which the comment has been made. In this example, the comment-checker 112 uses the media-id 114 to look up associated transaction-details 118 in a products-database 116.

The Tagzie server 102 also includes a Ul-displayer module 122 that, using the transactiondetails 118 from the products-database 116, and also using the user-id provided by the social media server 104, causes the customer-device 106 associated with the user-id to display the Tagzie-customer-UI. The Tagzie-customer-UI is generated based on the transaction-details 118 such that it includes information that corresponds to one or more products associated with the media-id.

In some examples, the customer-device 106 can download a Tagzie app such that Tagzie user interfaces can be provided through the Tagzie app. Also, the Tagzie server 102 can push notifications to the Tagzie app on the customer-device 106, for example to draw the user’s attention to any developments in an ongoing transaction process.

The Tagzie-customer-UI can include one or more data-entry-fields that are associated with transaction-details that have been entered by a vendor. In this way, a user of the customer-device 106 can conveniently provide information in order to complete the purchase, such as quantity, colour, size, a shipping option, etc. A data-entry-field may include a plurality of predefined selectable data-options for selection by a user, for example a size of “small”, “medium” or “large”. As will be appreciated from the following description, the plurality of predefined selectable data-options are based on the transaction-details that have been provided by a vendor. Using such predefined selectable data-options can ensure that a user is only able to choose a valid option. This is in contrast to relying on a user entering freeform text, for example in the Instagram comment or in a separate freeform message, which could be an invalid option, and therefore would prevent or delay the completion of the transaction.

Also, the Tagzie-customer-UI may receive input-data representative of data entered into the one or more data-entry-fields by a user. Then, optionally in real-time, the input-data can be checked as to whether or not the input-data satisfies a rule, for example to check that a numerical value is entered for a “quantity” data-entry-field, and optionally to check that the numerical value is in a valid range, such as between 1 and 10. Again, the rule can be based on transaction-details provided by a vendor. In some examples, the input-data can be automatically transmitted by the customer-device 106 to the Tagzie server 102 to perform this checking. The automatic transmission for a particular data-entry-field can be performed in response to a user moving focus away from the particular data-entry-field to a different region of the Tagzie-customer-UI. If the input-data does not satisfy the rule, then the customer-device 106 can display an error-message (possibly almost instantaneously), which may include a request for replacement input-data. In examples where the Tagzie server 102 performs the check, the Tagzie server 102 can cause the customer-device 106 to display the error-message. In this way, the provision of the Tagzie-customer-UI can ensure that the required data is collected accurately, in such a way that the subsequent processing of the transaction can be performed without interruption. Therefore, the system of Figure 1 can efficiently and quickly provide a Tagziecustomer-UI to a user in response to them making a comment on a social media platform, and can also efficiently gather accurate and acceptable information from the Tagziecustomer-UI such that downstream processing can be performed correctly, and without delay. In this way, the customer device 106 can engage in an electronic transaction that relates to information that is included on a social media platform. The transaction may or may not include a financial payment.

Figure 2 shows another example of a system for data transfer. The system of Figure 2 includes the components of Figure 1, and also some additional components. The components that are common to Figure 1 will not necessarily be described again here.

In Figure 2, the customer-device 206 is also shown as being in communication with the social media server. This is to illustrate that a user of the customer-device 206 can make a comment on an image that has been posted on the social media platform (optionally using a social-media-app that is installed on the customer-device 206), in order to initiate the automatic display of an appropriate Tagzie-customer-UI on the customer-device 206. The customer-device 206 is also shown as providing information back to the Tagzie server 202, for example to communicate information that has been provided as an input to the Tagzie-customer-UI by a user of the customer-device 206.

Figure 2 includes a vendor-device 226, which is in communication with both the Tagzie server 202 and the social media server 204. The vendor-device 226 can provide the social media server 204 with information that causes an image to be posted on the social media platform. A user of the customer-device 206 can then comment on this image using a code-word to request that they are presented with a Tagzie-customer-UI that is particular to that image, or to products that are displayed in that image. The vendor-device 226 can also provide the Tagzie server 202 with the content that is required for including in the Tagzie-customer-UI that will be displayed on the customer-device 206.

It will be appreciated that in practice there will likely be a plurality of vendor-devices 226 and a plurality of customer-devices 206.

Figure 2 also includes an optional payment processor 228. If the user of the customerdevice 206 provides input to the user interface that is indicative of their desire to complete a transaction that requires a transfer of money, then the Tagzie server 202 can communicate with the payment processor 228 to perform a financial aspect of the transaction. The Tagzie server 202 can also provide a message to the vendor-device 226 to confirm that a transaction has been requested and / or completed. A vendor associated with the vendor-device 226 can then fulfil their obligations under the transaction, for example by providing a product or service that has been requested.

Figure 2 also shows that the Tagzie server 202 has access to the following databases:

• a products-database 216, which includes details of social media posts that are associated with the Tagzie platform, and also transaction-details associated with products that are linked to those posts;

• a comments-database, which includes details of transactions that have been initiated by a customer entering the code-word in a comment on a social media post that is associated with the Tagzie platform;

• a customer-database 231, which includes details of potential customers that are registered with the Tagzie platform; and • a vendor-database 230, which includes details of vendors that are registered with the Tagzie platform.

It will be appreciated that one or more of these databases could be combined into a single database that stores all of the associated information. In which case all related data can be linked using unique identifiers.

Figures 3 to 9 will be used to provide more detail about how the various components of Figure 2 communicate with each other in order for:

• a vendor to sign up to the Tagzie platform;

• a vendor to post an image to Instagram, for use with the Tagzie platform;

• a potential customer (that is a user of the customer-device 206) to sign up to the Tagzie platform; and • a customer to complete a transaction over the Tagzie platform.

Figure 3 shows a flow chart that illustrates an example of how a vendor can register with the Tagzie platform, and then publish a post on the Instagram platform that includes an image of a product and an associated textual caption, whereby the post is also to be used with the Tagzie platform.

At step 1, the vendor signs up as a Tagzie user using Instagram’s authentication API. In this way, the Tagzie server provides information to the vendor-device such that the vendordevice displays a Tagzie-vendor-UI to the vendor. The vendor can then interact with the Tagzie-vendor-UI such that the vendor-device sends information representative of the vendor’s input to the Tagzie server. The vendor can input their Instagram credentials (for example their Instagram login-id and password), and the Tagzie server then invokes the Instagram authentication API using these Instagram credentials. The authentication API is an API service provided by Instagram which helps to authenticate an Instagram user using its shared login mechanism. Upon successful login, the API returns some details about the user that has been authenticated, such as its Instagram username, ID and access_token in jsonformat. That is, the social media server returns this information to the Tagzie server. In this way, the Tagzie server can ensure that the vendor that is signing up to the Tagzie platform is already an Instagram user and authorises Tagzie server to make API calls to Instagram on behalf of an authenticated user.

Figure 4 shows a block diagram of processing that can be performed when a vendor signs up to the Tagzie platform. This corresponds to step 1 of Figure 3. Figure 4 shows a vendor-device 426; a Tagzie app 432, which can run on the vendor-device 426 and can provide Tagzie user interfaces; an Instagram server 404, which is an example of a social media server; a vendor-database 430 that is stored on, or accessible by, a Tagzie server 402; and a payment processor 428.

A vendor uses the vendor-device 426 to access the Tagzie app 432, and is presented with the Tagzie-vendor-UI. The vendor then enters information into the Tagzie-vendor-UI such that the Tagzie app 432 authenticates the vendor’s credentials stored in the Instagram server 404 using the Instagram authentication API. Once the vendor’s credentials have been authenticated, the Tagzie app 432 sends a message to the vendor-database 430, which in Figure 4 is referred to as a Tagzie database on the Tagzie server. The data stored in the vendor-database 430 can include one or more of: vendor-id, vendor personal / business details, and banking details.

In this example, the Tagzie server passes the banking details on to a payment processor 428 in order to verify the banking details. In some examples, the Tagzie server 402 stores the banking details in the vendor-database 430, as well as passing on those aspects of the banking details that are required by the payment processor 428. In other examples, for PCI compliance, as provided by The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, financial details are not passed through the Tagzie server 402. Instead, they can be sent directly to the payment processor 428 from the vendor device 426. This can provide a high level of security when handling such data. The payment processor 428 may return some data to the Tagzie server 402, for instance to confirm whether or not the banking details were successfully verified.

Returning to Figure 3, at step 2, the vendor accesses the Tagzie-vendor-UI and selects an option to post a product. For example, the vendor can click on a “post your product” button, and then select a product image to be uploaded and also insert one or more product details. These product details can be considered as metadata, and can include tax details, postage details, attributes of a product or service that is offered, available colours, etc. In some examples, one or more of these product details will be used to generate corresponding data entry fields in the Tagzie-customer-UI that will subsequently be displayed to a user. The product details are an example of transaction-details, and therefore data-entry-fields can be provided that are associated with the transaction-details.

At step 2.1, the product image and product details are sent from the vendor-device to the Tagzie server. This may be in response to the vendor providing an appropriate instruction to the vendor-device after the vendor has inserted all of the required information. Upon receipt of this information, the Tagzie server in this example creates a new entry in the products-database. The products-database can have the following fields: vendor-id-field, product-id-field; media-id-field, product-details-field and is-active-field. The is-active-field can take a binary value of 0 or 1, to indicate whether the associated product is active in the Tagzie platform. When a new entry is created in this products-database, a unique product-id is assigned and stored in the product-id-field, and a value of 0 is stored for the is-active-field, to indicate that the product is not yet active. The product-details-field includes the product details that have been entered by the vendor. The vendor-id-field includes the vendor-id associated with the vendor that wishes to post the product. The media-id-field is left blank at this stage in the processing (it will be populated later on at step 3.1). The Tagzie server then returns a product-URL to the vendor-device. The product-URL is a short url of the web version of the product, which the Tagzie server generates when a vendor creates a product using the Tagzie platform. The product-URL can be displayed in a caption that accompanies the social media post, so that a user can access a web version of the product instead of commenting with the code-word. However, as discussed above, such URLs may not necessarily be clickable due to restrictions applied by the social media server

At step 2.2, the vendor-device generates text for use as a caption, which will be displayed in Instagram alongside the image. The caption is generated using the product details that were entered by the vendor, and also includes the product-URL that was provided by the Tagzie server (as indicated above).

At step 2.3, the vendor uses the Tagzie-vendor-UI and selects an option to publish the image and the caption on Instagram. For example, the vendor can click on a “publish to Instagram” button. In this example, this causes the vendor-device to load the Instagram app on the vendor-device, in this example using a webhook, and to seamlessly launch a Instagram-new-post-UI (which is an example of a post picture interface) in the Instagram app with the image that was selected in the Tagzie app already selected. In this example, the Tagzie server automatically adds the code-word to the caption, and then the caption is automatically copied to the clipboard. (The Instagram platform will not allow any third party servers to automatically populate the caption field when publishing a post.) As will be discussed below, the code-word is included in the caption so that a post that is intended to be used with the Tagzie platform can be subsequently identified as such.

At step 2.4, the vendor uses the vendor-device to paste the text from the clipboard into the caption-field of the Instagram-new-post-UI. The vendor can then interact with the Instagram-new-post-UI to publish the post, for example by clicking a “publish post” button.

At step 3, the social media server publishes the post on Instagram (or any other social media platform in other examples). As part of this publication operation, the social media server associates a unique media-id with the post. The social media server sends the unique media-id to a callback-URL. The callback-URL is a predefined URL that is provided by the Tagzie server to the Instagram platform when the Tagzie server subscribes to Instagram's user subscription service.

At step 3.1, the Tagzie server recognizes the receipt of a unique media-id at the callbackURL, and then calls an Instagram api using the media-id to fetch full details about that new posted media. In response, the Tagzie server receives the product-id (which in this example is a product-id-hash that is an alphanumeric string after aa slash in the product URL eg. x31vg8) found in the caption variable. The Tagzie server then matches the received product-id with a value in the product-id-field in the products-database, and inserts the received media-id into the media-id-field of the products-database for the associated product-id. In this way, the Instagram media-id is linked with the product-id and product-details in the Tagzie platform.

Steps 4 to 4.3 represent a background process that is performed by the Tagzie server in order to activate an Instagram post for use with the Tagzie platform. In this example, the background process of steps 4 to 4.3 is performed periodically (every 30 seconds in this instance). Additionally, or alternatively, the steps could be performed in response to user input.

At step 4, the Tagzie server checks the products-database for any new records. In this example, the Tagzie server does this by looking for any records that have an is-active-field value of 0.

For any new records that are found, at step 4.1 the Tagzie server sends a communication to the social media server to retrieve the caption of the associated Instagram post so that it can be checked to determine whether or not the post is intended to be used with the Tagzie platform. In this example, the Tagzie server fetches full details of the post from the social media server by using the Instagram API endpoint: /media/media-id. This API endpoint returns the details of a specific media (image, video) in response to receipt of a media-id as part of a URL. This API can require an access-token to be provided as part of the query string, in order to provide authentication. Such access-tokens are a known aspect of Instagram, and are not essential to the understanding of the present disclosure.

At step 4.2, the Tagzie server searches the text of the caption that was returned following the call to the /media/media-id API, for one or both of: (i) the code-word; and (ii) the product-URL.

At step 4.3, if one or both of the code-word and the product-URL (depending upon what search was performed at step 4.2) are found in the caption, then the Tagzie server updates the associated entry in the products-database to change the is-active-field to 1. That is, since the associated post has been identified as active on the social media platform, it can be marked as active, and therefore released for subsequent interaction with by customers using the code-word in a comment to the post.

Figure 5 shows a block diagram of processing that can be performed when a vendor publishes a post for use with the Tagzie platform, which corresponds to steps 2 to 4.3 of Figure 3. Figure 5 shows a vendor-device 526; a Tagzie app 532, which can run on the vendor-device 526 and can provide Tagzie user interfaces; a Tagzie server 502; and a products-database 516 that is stored on, or accessible by, the Tagzie server 502.

A vendor uses the vendor-device 526 to access the Tagzie app 532, and is presented with the Tagzie-vendor-UI. In order to post a product, the vendor submits a photo and one or more of title, description, price, stock, attributes and postage details, as discussed above with reference to step 2 of Figure 3. Then the Tagzie server stores the product details in the products-database 516, in line with step 2.1 of Figure 3.

As shown by the arrow that is shown as a solid line from the bottom of the Tagzie server 502 in Figure 5, the Tagzie server 502 returns a product-URL to the Tagzie app that is running on the vendor-device. The Tagzie app then edits a caption for the Instagram post, as discussed with reference to step 2.2 of Figure 3, and copies the caption to the memory of the vendor-device, for example to a clipboard. The vendor then uses an Instagram app 534 to post the media to Instagram. This can involve editing filters, and the user pasting the caption that has been stored in memory into the Instagram app. Then the Instagram server 504 posts the media to the Instagram platform.

The Instagram server also sends the media-id of the published media via a subscription API or the callback-URL to the Tagzie server, in line with step 3 of Figure 3. The Tagzie server then stores the media-id in the products-database 516, in line with step 3.1 of Figure 3.

The functions that are shown in box 535 correspond to steps 4 to 4.3 of Figure 3, and relate to activating the product on the Tagzie platform.

The functions that are shown in box 536 will be described below with reference to Figure 10.

Figure 6 shows a flow chart that illustrates an example of how a customer can complete a transaction with a vendor, by interacting with a social media platform and the Tagzie platform. As will be appreciated, the method of performing the transaction can be considered as secure and enabling data to be handled with a high level of integrity because the customer-device can engage in a transaction with a vendor-device via the Tagzie server, without having to directly send information, including financial information, to the vendor-device. Also, the customer does not have to put all of the required transaction information into the comment on the social media platform, which would run the risk of the customer entering invalid information that would delay or prevent the transaction from taking place.

At step 7, the customer signs in to the Tagzie platform for the first time or following an earlier sign-out. As part of this process, the Tagzie server provides information to the customer-device such that the customer-device displays a Tagzie-customer-UI to the customer. The customer can then interact with the Tagzie-customer-UI such that the Tagzie server invokes Instagram’s authentication API in a similar way to step 1 of Figure 3. In this way, the Tagzie server can ensure that the customer that is signing in to the Tagzie platform is already an Instagram user. Once the customer has been authenticated, they may not be asked to authenticate again unless they sign out.

At step 7.1, following authentication of the customer’s credentials at step 7, the Tagzie server stores at least a customer-device-id in memory. In this example, the Tagzie server stores one or more of a customer-device-id, a customer-id (which is an example of a userid), customer-personal-details, address and payment-source in corresponding fields of a customer-database. The customer-id may be an Instagram-user-id associated with the customer. The customer-device-id may be a long alphanumeric string which identifies a device: for example. Android: 9e0f5bcb4f4a9f62, or iOS: 7689414A-FCB2-45F8-985D20D7FE297ABC.

Figure 7 shows a block diagram of processing that can be performed when a customer signs in to the Tagzie platform; this processing corresponds to steps 7 and 7.1 of Figure 6. Figure 7 shows a customer device 706; a Tagzie app 733, which can run on the customer device 706 and can provide Tagzie user interfaces; an Instagram server 704, which is an example of a social media server; a customer-database 731 that is stored on, or accessible by, a Tagzie server 702; and a payment processor 728.

In much the same way as for a vendor, which is described above with reference to Figure 4, a customer uses the customer device 706 to access the Tagzie app 733, and is presented with a Tagzie-customer-UI. The customer then enters information into the Tagzie-customer-UI such that the Tagzie app 733 authenticates the customer’s credentials stored in the Instagram server 704 using the Instagram authentication API. Once the customer’s credentials have been authenticated, the Tagzie app 733 sends a message to the customer-database 731, which in Figure 7 is referred to as a Tagzie database on the Tagzie server.

In this example, the Tagzie server stores the banking details in the customer-database 731, and also passes the payment details on to a payment processor 728 in order to verify the payment details.

Returning to Figure 6, at step 8, the customer uses the Instagram app on their customerdevice to provide a comment on a social media post that is linked to the Tagzie platform, in such a way that the comment includes the code-word. The code-word may also be referred to as a master hashtag. The customer may be able to determine that a post is linked to the Tagzie platform because the caption associated with the post includes the code-word (#Tagzie). The caption may also include instructions about how to use the Tagzie platform (that is, an instruction to comment with the code-word if interested in performing a transaction that is related to the image).

In response to the customer providing a comment at step 8, and following the processing that is described below with reference to Figure 8, the customer receives a push notification via the Tagzie app on their customer-device. The push notification, when selected, can cause the Tagzie-customer-UI to be displayed on the customer-device, prepopulated with information that is linked to the image that the customer commented on at step 8. The customer can then insert data into the Tagzie-customer-UI, such as quantity, size, etc., in order to complete the transaction at step 10. This processing can involve the customer making a payment using a payment processor, as will be discussed below with reference to Figure 9.

Figure 8 shows a flow chart that illustrates an example of the processing performed by the Tagzie server when a customer enters the code-word as a comment on a social media post that is linked to the Tagzie platform.

Step 5 represents a background process that is performed by the Tagzie server in order to identify any instances of the code-word in a comment. In this example, the background process of step 5 is performed periodically (every 30 seconds in this instance). Additionally, or alternatively, step 5 could be performed in response to user input.

At step 5, the Tagzie server retrieves all of the comments from the Instagram server that correspond to active products. In this example, this is performed by first using the products-database to determine all of the media-id values that are associated with records that have an is-active-field value of 1. Then using the determined media-id values, the Tagzie server fetches comments that have been made against the posts associated with the media-id value from the social media server by using the Instagram API: GET:/media/media-id/comments. This API endpoint returns all comments posted under a specific media (image, video), an associated comment-id, and also a user identifier (in this example the Instagram user id and username of the potential customer) associated with the account that made each comment, in response to receipt of a media-id as part of a URL. This API can require an access-token to be provided as part of the query string, in order to provide authentication.

In this way, step 5 can determine a media-id associated with an authorised-entity (in this example a vendor), and then fetch comments for the media-id from a social media platform such as Instagram.

At step 5.1, the Tagzie server searches the comments that were fetched at step 5 for the code-word (#Tagzie in this example). If the code-word is found, then the Tagzie server queries the comments-database to determine whether or not the particular comment has already been processed. The Tagzie server does this by searching for the associated comment-id in a comment-id-field of the comments-database. The comments-database in this example includes at least the following fields: comment-id-field, which stores a comment-id that is unique to each comment in Instagram; comment-field, which stores the text of the comment; customer-id-field, which stores the customer-id of the account that made the comment; and media-id-field, which stores the media-id of the media against which the comment was made.

The process flow moves on to step 5.2b if the comment is already in the commentsdatabase. At step 5.2b, the Tagzie server updates the comment details again in the comments-database. For example, if a customer edited a comment on Instagram it will be updated in the comment-field of the comments-database, if it is deleted from Instagram it will be marked as deleted in the comments-database.

Alternatively, the process flow moves on to step 5.2a if the comment is not in the comments-database. At step 5.2a, the Tagzie server enters the comment into the comments-database by populating the comment-id-field, comment-field, customer-id-field, and media-id-field (or populating the comment-id-field and comment-field in a table that also includes information from one or more of the other databases that are identified in Figure 2). Also at step 5.2a, the Tagzie server queries the customer-database using the customer-id (which may also be an Instagram-user-id) that is associated with the comment in order to determine one or more customer-device-ids that are associated with the customer that made the comment.

Following step 5.2a, the process flow optionally moves on to step 5.3b if a customerdevice-id is not found in the customer-database, or if the customer-id is not found in the customer-database. At step 5.3b, the Tagzie server automatically submits a comment reply on the post that received the customer comment with the code-word. The comment that is automatically submitted by the Tagzie server can include instructions for the prospective customer to download the Tagzie app and / or to complete the purchase on the web. The Tagzie server can submit such a comment using Instagram’s API: POST:/media/media-id/comments. This API endpoint is used to post a comment under a specific media (image, video) in response to receipt of a media-id as part of a URL. This

API can require an access-token to be provided as part of the query string, in order to provide authentication.

Alternatively, the process flow moves on to step 5.3a if the customer-device-id is found in the customer-database. At step 5.3a, the Tagzie server sends a push notification to all customer-device-ids that were determined at step 5.2a. This push notification could be the start of an alternative use case in other examples. For instance, to start the commencement of a file download, the registration for a service, an opt-in to receiving communications, and the despatch of a URL to one or more devices.

The push notification can be a brief notification along the lines of “tap here to complete your purchase” - which when tapped opens the Tagzie app on a product overview page, where the customer can swipe through the checkout process if they wish to purchase. The push notification can also include a custom-URL (which will not be displayed to the user) that commands the Tagzie app to open the correct product page as the Tagzie-customerUl. The custom-URL contains the product-id, which the Tagzie app running on the customer-device can use to retrieve the full product details from the Tagzie server (using a get product api, for example) so that the correct product details will be displayed to the customer as part of the Tagzie-customer-UI.

This push notification that is sent by the Tagzie server at step 5.3a corresponds to the push notification that is received at the customer-device at step 9 of Figure 6.

Figure 9 shows a block diagram of processing that can be performed when a customer completes a transaction with a vendor, for example to purchase a product, which corresponds to steps 8 to 10 of Figure 6, and steps 5 to 5.3b of Figure 8. Figure 9 shows a customer-device 906; a Tagzie server 902; a comments-database 938 that is stored on, or accessible by, the Tagzie server 902; and a payment processor 928.

A customer uses the customer-device 906 to access an Instagram app 904 to view posts, including posts that are linked to vendors that have signed up to the Tagzie platform. The customer can enter information into the Instagram app to make a comment on a post, such that the comment includes the code-word. This can be considered as replying with the code-word (#Tagzie) on Tagzie enabled media, and is in line with step 8 of Figure 6.

The Tagzie server 902 regularly fetches and parses comments that have been made to Tagzie enabled media in order to identify instances of the code-word in the comments. This functionality corresponds to steps 5 and 5.1 of Figure 8.

As shown in Figure 9, when a code-word is found in a comment, the Tagzie server 902 queries the comments-database 938 to determine if the comment is already in the comments-database 938. This corresponds to part of the functionality of step 5.1 of Figure 8. If the comment is already in the comments-database 938, then the Tagzie server updates the comments details in the database as described with reference to step 5.2b of Figure 8. If the comment is not in the comments-database 938, then the Tagzie server inserts the comment into the comments-database and also determines whether or not the Instagram user is a registered Tagzie user / customer. This corresponds to step 5.2a of Figure 8.

If the Instagram user does not exist in the Tagzie platform, and therefore is not a registered Tagzie user, then the Tagzie server automatically submits a comment on the media in the same way as described with reference to step 5.3b of Figure 8. If the Instagram user does exist in the Tagzie platform, then the Tagzie server sends a push notification to devices associated with the customer that made the comment, in line with step 5.3a of Figure 8.

In parallel, the customer can have the Tagzie app 933 open on their customer-device 906, such that the customer can receive the push notification from the Tagzie server through the Tagzie app 933. The Tagzie app can then load details of the product that is associated with the image that was commented on, so that the details can be displayed to the customer using a Tagzie-customer-UI on the customer-device. As discussed above, this functionality can be achieved by using a custom-URL that was received as part of the push notification in order to display a user interface that is associated with the product details (stored in the products-database) that correspond to the media-id.

In this way, for each comment that includes the predefined code-word: the Tagzie server / app can determine a customer-id associated with a customer that made a comment that included the code-word in Instagram; and determine product details associated with the media-id that corresponds to the comment; and display a user interface on a customer device associated with the customer-id. The user interface can be associated with the transaction-details that correspond to the media-id.

The customer can then begin a checkout process by selecting one or more of quantity, attributes, delivery address, and payment source, in order to satisfy the particular product details that have been entered by the vendor for the particular product. The customer enters this information into the Tagzie app that is running on the customer-device, and the customer-device then sends the information to the Tagzie server. The Tagzie server then attends to any financial aspect of the transaction with the payment processor 928, using functions that are well known in the art, and then the transaction / checkout can be considered as complete. In some examples, the Tagzie server can also send a message to the vendor-device (not shown in Figure 9) to confirm that the transaction is complete. The vendor device can then automatically fulfil its side of the transaction (for example by sending electronic content to the customer device by e-mail), or can provide a message for the vendor to manually perform an action (such as dispatching a product by post).

Figure 10 shows a flow chart that illustrates an example of how the Tagzie server can perform a background process to ensure that posted products are properly activated in the products-database that is accessible by the Tagzie server. This can be considered as a failsafe process for posting products, in that it provides an alternative way of identifying Tagzie posts on the social media platform, which does not rely on the receipt of a message using the callback-URL at step 3 of Figure 3.

At step 6, the Tagzie server queries the products-database to determine all of the mediaid values that are associated with records that have an is-active-field value of 0. That is, to identify the products that have not been activated by the processing performed at steps 4 to 4.3 in Figure 3.

At step 6.1, for any inactive product found at step 6 above, the Tagzie server calls an Instagram API endpoint: tags/tag-name/media/recent. This API endpoint returns full details of each media that has been posted with a specific tag (by providing the tag-name as part of the URL), and can require an access-token to be provided as part of the query string, in order to provide authentication. In this example, the Tagzie server searches using a master tag of Tagzie as the tag-name in the API URL. The Tagzie server also provides a min-tag-id value (if there is one, as will be discussed below) when calling the API. The min-tag-id is representative of a tag that was recorded at an instant in time that corresponds to when step 6.1 was most recently performed. Therefore, use of the min21 tag-id can be used such that the API only returns posts that are subsequent to the last time that step 6.1 was performed, and therefore posts are not processed more than once by steps 6.2a to 6.4. The min-tag-id value can be stored in memory that is accessible by the Tagzie server, and in some examples can be stored in a database that is accessible by the Tagzie server.

If no record is returned to the Tagzie database at step 6.1, then the process moves on to step 6.2b, and no further action is taken.

If a record is found at step 6.1, then at step 6.2a the Tagzie server compares (i) a productid returned at step 6.1 (for example as part of a product-URL included in a caption), which is associated with a Tagzie tag; with (ii) the product-ids identified as inactive at step 6. If a match is found, then at step 6.2a the media owner is determined to be a Tagzie user and the product is established to be one that is not already active in the products-database.

At step 6.3, the Tagzie server searches for the code-word (#tagzie) and /or the productURL in the caption that was returned by the tags/tag-name/media/recent API endpoint at step 6.1.

At step 6.4, if one or both of the code-word and the product-URL (depending upon what search was performed at step 6.3) are found in the caption, then the Tagzie server updates the associated entry in the products-database to change the is-active-field to 1 and to include the media-id that was returned at step 6.1. That is, since the associated post has been identified as active on the social media platform, it can be marked as active, and therefore released for subsequent interaction with by customers using the code-word in a comment to the post.

At step 6.5, the Tagzie server updates the min-tag-id value in memory with the highest value tag-id that was returned at step 6.1. In this way, the min-tag-id can be used as a minimum value for tag-id when step 6.1 is performed next time, therefore preventing the API that is called at step 6.1 from returning media posts that have already been processed.

The Tagzie app described above can add a transparent ecommerce layer to Instagram, or any other social media platform. The social media platform is unaffected by the Tagzie app and can run as usual. In some modes of operation, Instagram’s ecosystem does not allow for clickable links other than one single profile URL, so being able to deep link to more than one destination/product through the Tagzie app can be a huge advancement for the Instagram community. The Tagzie platform can provide a global, fluent, interactive and native system, which requires a reduced amount of user effort to compete a transaction. The Tagzie platform can be provided as a mobile first application, instead of requiring a user to complete a purchase initiated from an email or SMS text message or website.

One or more embodiments disclosed herein can be considered as providing for use of an evolved hashtag. This can be in addition to, or instead of, using hashtags to link context to a theme semantically.

Claims

1. A processor configured to:

fetch comments for a media-id from a social media platform;

for each fetched comment, determine whether or not the comment includes a predefined code-word;

for each comment that includes the predefined code-word:

determine a user-id associated with a user that made the comment; determine one or more transaction-details associated with the media-id that corresponds to the comment; and display a user interface on a device associated with the user-id, wherein the user interface is associated with the transaction-details that correspond to the mediaid.

2. The processor of claim 1, wherein the user interface comprises one or more dataentry-fields that are associated with the transaction-details.

3. The processor of claim 2, further configured to determine a plurality of predefined selectable data-options based on the transaction-details; and wherein the one or more data-entry-fields comprise the plurality of predefined selectable data-options for selection by a user.

4. The processor of claim 2, further configured to:

receive input-data representative of data entered into the one or more data-entryfields by a user;

in real-time, check whether or not the input-data satisfies a rule; and if the input-data does not satisfy the rule, then display an error-message on the device associated with the user-id.

5. The processor of claim 4, wherein the rule is based on the transaction-details.

6. The processor of any preceding claim, further configured to determine a media-id associated with an authorised-entity, and then to fetch the comments for the media-id from the social media platform.

7. The processor of claim 6, further configured to query a products-database to determine one or more media-id values that are associated with active products in order to determine the media-id associated with the authorised-entity.

8. The processor of claim 7, configured to periodically query the products-database.

9. The processor of claim 7 or claim 8, configured to query the products-database in response to user input.

10. The processor of any preceding claim, further configured to send a push notification to the device associated with the user-id in order to display the user interface on the device, wherein the push notification includes a product-id, which is usable by the device to retrieve the transaction-details.

11. The processor of any preceding claim, further configured to determine the user-id associated with the user that made the comment by querying a comments-database using a media-id that is associated with the comment.

12. The processor of any preceding claim, further configured to: for each comment that includes the predefined code-word:

determine a comment-id associated with the comment;

13. The processor of any preceding claim, wherein the social media platform is Instagram.

14. A computer-implemented method comprising:

fetching comments for a media-id from a social media platform;

for each comment that includes the predefined code-word:

5 determining a user-id associated with a user that made the comment;

determining one or more transaction-details associated with the media-id that corresponds to the comment; and displaying a user interface on a device associated with the user-id, wherein the user interface is associated with the transaction-details that correspond to the media10 id.

15. A computer program configured to perform the method of claim 14, or to configure the processor of any one of claims 1 to 13.