Selective message notification system

• US 20060104423A1
• Filed: 11/15/2004
• Published: 05/18/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/15/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Heidloff, Niklas, O'Brien, Michael R., Kieselbach, Oliver, Klouda, Gregory R.
• Granted Patent: US 8,175,581 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/88.120
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/224 providing notification on incoming messages, e.g. pushed notifications of received messages

Abstract

A method, system and apparatus for the selective notification of incoming electronic messages. In this regard, a selective message notification method can include selectively generating a notification for a received message based upon pre-determined criteria irrespective of how the received message is handled. The pre-determined criteria can include a manually specified criteria, a rules based criteria, or a profile based criteria.

Claims

1. A selective message notification method comprising the step of interrupting a message recipient with a message notification for a received message only when the received message satisfies a pre-determined criteria.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said interrupting step comprises the steps of:

retrieving a manual setting indicating whether or not to provide a notification for a received message; and

,

generating said notification only if permitted by said manual setting.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said interrupting step comprises the steps of:

retrieving at least one rule for determining whether to generate a notification for a received message;

evaluating said at least one rule based upon one of message context or message content for said received message; and

,

generating said notification only if permitted by said evaluated at least one rule.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said interrupting step comprises the steps of:

retrieving a profile for a recipient of said received message;

comparing attributes of said profile with attributes of said received message; and

,

generating said notification only if permitted by said comparison of said attributes of said profile and said attributes of said received message.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein said retrieving step comprises the step of retrieving a manual setting indicating that a notification is to be provided for all received messages.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein said evaluating step comprises the step of determining whether said received message has been marked important.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein said evaluating step comprises the step of determining whether less than a threshold number of recipients have been designated to receive said received message.

8. The method of claim 3, wherein said evaluating step comprises the step of determining whether said received message is a reply to a previously transmitted message.

9. The method of claim 4, wherein said comparing step comprises the steps of:

identifying a preferred set of message senders; and

,

determining whether said received message had been transmitted by a sender in said preferred set.

10. The method of claim 4, wherein said comparing step comprises the steps of:

identifying a preferred set of words; and

,

determining whether said received message contains a threshold number of said preferred set of words.

11. A machine readable storage having stored thereon a computer program for selective message notification, the computer program comprising a routine set of instructions which when executed by a machine cause the machine to perform the step of interrupting a message recipient with a message notification for a received message only when the received message satisfies a pre-determined criteria.

12. The machine readable storage of claim 11, wherein said interrupting step comprises the steps of:

retrieving a manual setting indicating whether or not to provide a notification for a received message; and

,

generating said notification only if permitted by said manual setting.

13. The machine readable storage of claim 11, wherein said interrupting step comprises the steps of:

retrieving at least one rule for determining whether to generate a notification for a received message;

evaluating said at least one rule based upon one of message context or message content for said received message; and

,

generating said notification only if permitted by said evaluated at least one rule.

14. The machine readable storage of claim 11, wherein said interrupting step comprises the steps of:

retrieving a profile for a recipient of said received message;

comparing attributes of said profile with attributes of said received message; and

,

generating said notification only if permitted by said comparison of said attributes of said profile and said attributes of said received message.

15. The machine readable storage of claim 12, wherein said retrieving step comprises the step of retrieving a manual setting indicating that a notification is to be provided for all received messages.

16. The machine readable storage of claim 13, wherein said evaluating step comprises the step of determining whether said received message has been marked important.

17. The machine readable storage of claim 13, wherein said evaluating step comprises the step of determining whether less than a threshold number of recipients have been designated to receive said received message.

18. The machine readable storage of claim 13, wherein said evaluating step comprises the step of determining whether said received message is a reply to a previously transmitted message.

19. The machine readable storage of claim 14, wherein said comparing step comprises the steps of:

identifying a preferred set of message senders; and

,

determining whether said received message had been transmitted by a sender in said preferred set.

20. The machine readable storage of claim 14, wherein said comparing step comprises the steps of:

identifying a preferred set of words; and

,

determining whether said received message contains a threshold number of said preferred set of words.