Clustering messages

• US 20050138552A1
• Filed: 12/22/2003
• Published: 06/23/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Venolia, Gina D.
• Granted Patent: US 7,454,716 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/273
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]

Abstract

The subject invention provides for systems and methods that improve visualization of messages in a user'"'"'s inbox. The systems and methods cluster messages into four groups: unaccessed, unaccessed and pending; pending; and read. This allows a user to more efficiently handle large volumes of messages in a prioritized way. Additionally, it supports a seamless flow between triage of new messages, management of recently received messages, and retrieval of recent as well as older messages for the user. Messages can include conversations between a user and one or more contacts, email (electronic mail) messages, voice messages, images, documents, tasks, as well as other forms of media. In one aspect of the invention, messages can be organized and/or prioritized into any of at least four clusters, whereby the four clusters appear in the order of unaccessed, unaccessed and pending, pending, and accessed.

Claims

1. A system that facilitates content management, comprising:

a component that receives content; and

an organization component that partitions and makes available the content as part of at least the following clusters;

(1) unaccessed content, (2) unaccessed and pending content, (3) pending content, and (4) accessed content.

2. The system of claim 1, the clusters of content are hierarchically displayed in the following order:

(1) unaccessed, (2) unaccessed and pending, (3) pending, and (4) accessed.

3. The system of claim 1, the content comprising messages.

4. The system of claim 1, the content comprising media.

5. The system of claim 1, the content comprising computer-based applications.

6. The system of claim 1, the content within a cluster is organized based at least in part on priority.

7. The system of claim 1, the content within a cluster is organized based at least in part on user preference.

8. The system of claim 1, the content within a cluster is organized based at least in part on utility.

9. The system of claim 1, the content within a cluster is organized based at least in part on cost.

10. The system of claim 1, the content within a cluster is organized based at least in part on at least one author of the content.

11. The system of claim 1, the content within a cluster is organized based at least in part on genre.

12. The system of claim 1, the content within a cluster is organized based at least in part on time criticality.

13. The system of claim 1, the content within a cluster is organized based at least in part on age.

14. The system of claim 1, the content within a cluster is organized based at least in part on context.

15. The system of claim 1, the clusters employ one or more visual indicators to differentiate among at least two types of user preferences.

16. The system of claim 1, the content within a cluster is organized based at least in part on size.

17. The system of claim 1, the content within a cluster is organized based at least in part on a rendering device of the sender.

18. The system of claim 1, the content within a cluster is organized based at least in part on a user state.

19. The system of claim 1, the content is dynamically organized.

20. The system of claim 1, further comprising a cluster filtering component operatively connected between the receiving component and the organization component comprising one or more filters that directs content to at least one of the four clusters based at least in part upon user preferences.

21. The system of claim 19, the cluster filtering component is trained using at least one of explicit user input or implicit user behavior.

22. The system of claim 1, at one of the four clusters comprises at least one sub-filter that facilitates organizing content within any one of the clusters.

24. The method of claim 22, the clusters of content are hierarchically displayed in the following order:

(1) unaccessed, (2) unaccessed and pending, (3) pending, and (4) accessed.

25. The method of claim 22, further comprising employing one or more filters to organize at least a portion of the content as part of at least one of the clusters.

26. The method of claim 22, the content comprises messages.

27. The method of claim 22, the content comprises computer-based applications.

28. The method of claim 22, further comprising ordering the content within any one cluster based at least in part upon one of the following:

priority, user preference, utility, cost, author, genre, time sensitivity, age, size, and/or user state.

29. The method of claim 22, further comprising adding one or more visual indicators to at least one cluster to facilitate content viewing and management.

30. The method of claim 22, further comprising making content and/or a copy thereof available for arrangement into more than one cluster.

23. A method that facilitates content management comprising:

receiving content; and

organizing content as part of at least one of the following clusters;

(1) unaccessed content, (2) unaccessed and pending content, (3) pending content, and (4) accessed content.

31. A data packet adapted to be transmitted between two or more computer processes facilitating providing suggestions to an online user, the data packet comprising:

information associated with receiving content; and

organizing content as part of at least one of the following clusters;

(1) unaccessed content, (2) unaccessed and pending content, (3) pending content, and (4) accessed content.

32. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon the following computer executable components:

a component that receives content; and

an organization component that partitions and makes available the content as part of at least the following clusters;

(1) unaccessed content, (2) unaccessed and pending content, (3) pending content, and (4) accessed content.

33. A system that facilitates content management comprising:

means for receiving content; and

means for organizing content as part of at least one of the following clusters;

(1) unaccessed content, (2) unaccessed and pending content, (3) pending content, and (4) accessed content.

34. The method of claim 33, the clusters of content are hierarchically displayed in the following order:

(1) unaccessed, (2) unaccessed and pending, (3) pending, and (4) accessed.