Passively populating a participant list with known contacts

• US 20050198131A1
• Filed: 12/20/2004
• Published: 09/08/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AOL Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Appelman, Barry, Fish, Edmund J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,898,239 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/318 Received signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1859 adapted to provide push services, e.g. data channels
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/234 for tracking messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4594 Address books, i.e. directories containing contact information about correspondents telephone directories in user terminals H04M1/27453
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2757 by data transmission, e.g. downloading

Abstract

Passively populating a list of participants of an electronic communications system includes maintaining a participant list of users of an electronic communications system to be used by a user of the electronic communications system. Existing users of the electronic communications system that are known to the user are identified, and communications strengths between the user and each of the identified existing users are determined. The identified existing users with the highest communications strengths are designated for addition to the participant list. An existing group or a newly created group within the participant list to which each of the designated users should be added may be identified.

Claims

1. A method of passively populating a list of participants of an electronic communications system, the method comprising:

maintaining a participant list of users of an electronic communications system to be used by a user of the electronic communications system;

identifying existing users of the electronic communications system that are known to the user;

determining a communications strength between the user and each of the identified existing users; and

designating the identified existing users with the highest communications strengths for addition to the participant list.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising adding the designated users with the highest communications strengths to the participant list.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising identifying a group within the participant list to which each of the designated users should be added.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein identifying the group within the participant list comprises creating the group within the participant list.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein adding the designated users to the participant list comprises adding each of the designated users to the corresponding identified group within the participant list.

6. The method of claim 3 wherein the participant list is a buddy list of an instant messaging system, and the group within the participant list is a category within the buddy list.

7. The method of claim 3 wherein the participant list is an address book of an e-mail system, and the group within the participant list is a category within the address book.

8. The method of claim 3 wherein identifying a group within the participant list to which a designated user is to be added comprises identifying a group within the participant list that includes users of the electronic communications system that share a characteristic with the designated user.

9. The method of claim 3 wherein identifying a group within the participant list to which a designated user is to be added comprises:

identifying a group within a second participant list that includes the designated user; and

identifying a group within the participant list that corresponds to the group within the second participant list as the group within the participant list to which the designated users should be added.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein:

the participant list is a buddy list of an instant messaging system;

the group within the participant list is a category within the buddy list;

the second participant list is an address book of an e-mail system; and

the group within the second participant list is a category within the address book.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein:

the participant list is an address book of an e-mail system;

the group within the participant list is a category within the address book;

the second participant list is a buddy list of an instant messaging system; and

the group within the second participant list is a category within the buddy list.

12. The method of claim 3 wherein identifying a group within the participant list to which a designated user is to be added comprises identifying a group within the participant list that includes users of the electronic communications system that are associated with the designated user.

13. The method of claim 2 further comprising determining a number of users that may be added to the participant list.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein adding the designated users to the participant list comprises adding a number of the designated users equal to the determined number of users to be added to the participant list.

15. The method of claim 1 further comprising sorting the identified existing users based on the corresponding communications strengths prior to designating the identified existing users with the highest communications strengths for addition to the participant list.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein sorting the identified existing users comprises ordering the identified existing users with higher communications strengths before the identified existing users with lower communications strengths.

17. The method of claim 1 wherein identifying the existing users that are known to the user comprises identifying existing users known to the user that are not included in the participant list.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein identifying the existing users that are known to the user comprises identifying existing users of the electronic communications system that are included in a contact list maintained by the user as being known by the user.

19. The method of claim 1 wherein identifying the existing users that are known to the user comprises identifying people known to the user that are associated with an identifier used in the electronic communications system as being known to the user.

20. The method of claim 1 wherein:

determining a communications strength between the user and each of the identified existing users comprises determining degrees of separation between each of the identified existing users and the user; and

designating the identified existing users with the highest communications strengths comprises designating the identified existing users with the smallest numbers of degrees of separation from the user.

21. The method of claim 1 wherein:

determining a communications strength between the user and each of the identified existing users comprises determining whether each of the identified existing users includes the user in a contact list maintained by the existing user and is included in a contact list maintained by the user; and

designating the identified existing users with the highest communications strengths comprises designating the identified existing users that include the user in contact lists maintained by the identified existing users and that are included in a contact list maintained by the user before designating the identified existing users that do not include the user in contact lists maintained by the identified existing users or that are not included in a contact list maintained by the user.

22. The method of claim 1 wherein:

determining a communications strength between the user and each of the identified existing users comprises determining a number of messages sent between the user and each of the identified existing users; and

designating the identified existing users with the highest communications strengths comprises designating the identified existing users with the highest numbers of messages exchanged with the user.

23. The method of claim 1 wherein:

determining a communications strength between the user and each of the identified existing users comprises determining a frequency with which messages between the user and each of the identified existing users are exchanged; and

designating the identified existing users with the highest communications strengths comprises designating the identified existing users that exchange messages with the user with the highest frequencies.

24. The method of claim 1 wherein:

determining a communications strength between the user and each of the identified existing users comprises determining whether each of the identified existing users is a direct or indirect addressee of messages from the user; and

designating the identified existing users with the highest communications strengths comprises designating the identified existing users that are direct addressees before designating the identified existing users that are indirect addressees.

25. The method of claim 1 wherein:

determining a communications strength between the user and each of the identified existing users comprises determining whether the user subscribes to contact information for each of the identified existing users and whether each of the identified existing users subscribes to contact information of the user; and

designating the identified existing users with the highest communications strengths comprises designating the identified existing users that are both subscribers to the user'"'"'s contact information and publishers of contact information that is subscribed to by the user before designating the identified existing users that are not both subscribers to the user'"'"'s contact information and publishers of contact information that is subscribed to by the user.

26. The method of claim 1 wherein:

determining a communications strength between the user and each of the identified existing users comprises determining a frequency with which messages are exchanged in a chat room between the user and each of the identified existing users; and

designating the identified existing users with the highest communications strengths comprises designating the identified existing users that exchange messages in the chat room with the user with the highest frequencies.

27. The method of claim 1 wherein:

determining a communications strength between the user and each of the identified existing users comprises determining amounts of time for which the user and each of the identified existing users have exchanged messages; and

designating the identified existing users with the highest communications strengths comprises designating the identified existing users that have exchanged messages with the user for the longest amounts of time.

28. The method of claim 1 wherein:

determining a communications strength between the user and each of the identified existing users comprises determining amounts of contact information for the user held by each of the identified existing users and amounts of contact information for each of the identified existing users held by the user; and

designating the identified existing users with the highest communications strengths comprises designating the identified existing users for which the user holds the largest amounts of contact information and that hold the largest amounts of contact information for the user.

29. The method of claim 1 wherein:

determining a communications strength between the user and each of the identified existing users comprises determining whether each of the identified existing users both sends messages to the user and receives messages from the user; and

designating the identified existing users with the highest communications strengths comprises designating the identified existing users that both send messages to the user and receive messages from the user.

30. The method of claim 1 wherein:

determining a communications strength between the user and each of the identified existing users comprises determining a communications strength between each of the identified existing users and a different user; and

designating the identified existing users with the highest communications strengths comprises designating the identified existing users with the highest communications strengths with the different user.

31. The method of claim 1 wherein the electronic communications system is an instant messaging system.

32. The method of claim 1 wherein the electronic communications system is a chat system.

33. The method of claim 1 wherein the electronic communications system is an e-mail system.

34. The method of claim 1 wherein the participant list is a social network of the user.

35. A machine-accessible medium that when accessed, results in a machine performing operations for passively populating a list of participants of an electronic communications system, comprising:

maintaining a participant list of users of an electronic communications system to be used by a user of the electronic communications system;

identifying existing users of the electronic communications system that are known to the user;

determining a communications strength between the user and each of the identified existing users; and

designating the identified existing users with the highest communications strengths for addition to the participant list.

36. A system for passively populating a list of participants of an electronic communications system, the system comprising:

means for maintaining a participant list of users of an electronic communications system to be used by a user of the electronic communications system;

means for identifying existing users of the electronic communications system that are known to the user;

means for determining a communications strength between the user and each of the identified existing users; and

means for designating the identified existing users with the highest communications strengths for addition to the participant list.

37. A computer program stored on a computer-readable medium or a propagated signal that, when executed, generates a graphical user interface on a display device for using a computer to manage a list of users of an electronic communications system with which electronic messages may be exchanged, the graphical user interface comprising:

a participant list display associated with a user of the participant list display that includes users of an electronic communications system, one or more of the users being included automatically in the participant list display as a result of being identified as being known to the user and having high communications strengths with the user.

38. The computer program of claim 37 wherein:

the participant list display includes groups that are associated with one or more of the users included in the participant list display; and

a group included in the participant list display is associated with the one or more automatically included users.

39. The computer program of claim 37 wherein the participant list display is a display of a buddy list associated with an instant messaging system.

40. The computer program of claim 37 wherein the participant list display is a display of an address book associated with an e-mail system.

41. A method of passively populating a list of participants of an electronic communications system, the method comprising:

maintaining a participant list of users of an electronic communications system to be used by a user of the electronic communications system;

identifying a communications strength between the user and an existing user of the electronic communications system that is known to the user; and

using the identified communications strengths as a basis for discerning whether the existing user is a candidate for addition to the participant list.

42. The method of claim 41 wherein the electronic communications system is an instant messaging system.

43. The method of claim 41 wherein the electronic communications system is a chat system.

44. The method of claim 41 wherein the electronic communications system is an e-mail system.

45. The method of claim 41 wherein the participant list is a buddy list of an instant messaging system.

46. The method of claim 41 wherein the participant list is an address book of an e-mail system.

47. The method of claim 41 wherein the participant list is a social network of the user.

48. A method of controlling electronic communications, the method comprising:

identifying an aspect of electronic communications that is to be controlled, where the communications occur between a first user and a second user;

determining a communications strength between the first user and the second user; and

controlling the identified aspect of the electronic communications based on the determined communications strength.

49. The method of claim 48 wherein:

identifying an aspect of the electronic communications comprises identifying the second user as a user for which an identifier should be added to a contact list of the first user; and

controlling the identified aspect of the electronic communications comprises adding an identifier of the second user to the contact list when the determined communications strength exceeds a threshold.

50. The method of claim 48 wherein:

identifying an aspect of the electronic communications comprises determining that a position for an identifier of the second user within a contact list of the first user should be identified; and

controlling the identified aspect of the electronic communications comprises;

identifying the position for the identifier of the second user within the contact list based on the determined communications strength; and

placing the identifier of the second user at the identified position within the contact list.

51. The method of claim 48 wherein:

identifying an aspect of the electronic communications between the first user and the second user comprises identifying the second user as a user that should be notified that the first user is a user of an electronic communications system; and

controlling the identified aspect of the electronic communications based on the determined communications strength comprises notifying the second user that the first user is a user of the electronic communications system when the determined communications strength exceeds a threshold.