Annotating and routing message content

• US 20040049543A1
• Filed: 09/05/2002
• Published: 03/11/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Snap, Inc.
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Kaminsky, David L., Ogle, David M.
• Granted Patent: US 8,386,568 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/063 Content adaptation, e.g. replacement of unsuitable content
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context

Abstract

Methods, systems, computer program products, and methods of doing business for improving communication, whereby message content is routed efficiently while allowing different recipients to receive different versions of the content. A portion of the electronic conversation in an instant messaging session (or of messages in other messaging systems) can be identified as being relevant to a third party (or parties), and information can be specified for routing the relevant information to that third party. A variety of delivery mechanisms may be used. Approval may be obtained prior to routing an annotated message. The recipients of annotated message may be human users and/or automated processes. The message author may also be a human or an automated process.

Claims

1. A method of improving communications by annotating and routing message content, comprising steps of:

creating, by a message author, a message to be sent to one or more recipients;

identifying, by the message author, one or more portions of the message, where the identified portions are to be routed to one or more other recipients;

identifying, by the message author, the one or more other recipients;

generating a second message using the identified portions;

sending the message to the one or more recipients; and

sending the second message to the one or more other recipients.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the message is an instant messaging (“

IM”

) system message.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the second message is sent as an IM system message.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the second message is sent as an e-mail message.

5. The method according to claim 2, wherein the second message is sent as a text pager message.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the message is an e-mail message and the second message is sent as an e-mail message.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the message is an e-mail message and the second message is sent as an instant messaging system message.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the message is an e-mail message and the second message is sent as a text pager message.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the one or more other recipients of the second message are one or more automated processes.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the generating step further comprises generating the second message in a format adapted for processing by the one or more automated processes.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the message author is an automated process.

12. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

determining, prior to sending the second message, whether the one or more recipients approve sending the second message; and

suppressing the sending of the second message if not.

13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of:

specifying, by the message author, at least one annotation to be associated with the identified portions; and

wherein the step of generating a second message uses the identified portions and the annotations.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the step of sending the message to the one or more recipients sends the message including the annotations.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the generating step further comprises the step of programmatically supplying contextual information for inclusion in the second message.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein the one or more other recipients are to receive the second message but are not to receive the created message in its entirety.

17. A system for improving communications by annotating and routing message content, comprising:

means for creating, by a message author, a message to be sent to one or more recipients;

means for identifying, by the message author, one or more portions of the message, where the identified portions are to be routed to one or more other recipients;

means for identifying, by the message author, the one or more other recipients;

means for generating a second message using the identified portions;

means for sending the message to the one or more recipients; and

means for sending the second message to the one or more other recipients.

18. The system according to claim 17, further comprising means for specifying, by the message author, at least one annotation to be associated with the identified portions;

and wherein the means for generating a second message uses the identified portions and the annotations.

19. A computer program product for improving communications by annotating and routing message content, the computer program product embodied on one or more computer-readable media and comprising:

computer-readable program code means for creating, by a message author, a message to be sent to one or more recipients;

computer-readable program code means for identifying, by the message author, one or more portions of the message, where the identified portions are to be routed to one or more other recipients;

computer-readable program code means for identifying, by the message author, the one or more other recipients;

computer-readable program code means for generating a second message using the identified portions;

computer-readable program code means for sending the message to the one or more recipients; and

computer-readable program code means for sending the second message to the one or more other recipients.

20. The computer program product according to claim 19, further comprising computer-readable program code means for specifying, by the message author, at least one annotation to be associated with the identified portions;

and wherein the computer-readable program code means for generating a second message uses the identified portions and the annotations.

21. A method of improving communications, further comprising steps of:

receiving an annotated message, wherein the annotated message comprises a message body;

one or more delimiters, each of the delimiters marking each of one or more portions of the message body;

an annotation corresponding to each of the marked portions; and

a recipient list for the annotations; and

processing the annotated message, further comprising steps of;

sending the message body to one or more message recipients; and

sending the marked portions and the corresponding annotations to the recipient list.

22. A method of doing business by routing annotated message content, comprising steps of:

receiving an annotated message, wherein the annotated message comprises a message body;

one or more delimiters, each of the delimiters marking each of one or more portions of the message body;

an annotation corresponding to each of the marked portions; and

a recipient list for the annotations;

processing the annotated message, further comprising steps of;

sending the message body to one or more message recipients; and

sending the marked portions and the corresponding annotations to the recipient list; and

charging a fee for the processing of the annotated message.