METADATA-ENHANCED INSTANT-MESSAGING APPLICATIONS

• US 20090019120A1
• Filed: 07/13/2007
• Published: 01/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/13/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Muguda, Naveenkumar V.
• Application Number:
  US11/777,735
• Publication Number:
  US 20090019120A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]

Abstract

Described herein is a metadata-enhanced instant-messaging application and device. The metadata-enhanced instant-messaging application can create and receive instant-messages that contain data and metadata. The metadata, for example, can contain a type that relates to the data. The metadata-enhanced instant-messaging application can analyze the metadata, such as by ascertaining the type contained or described within the metadata. Furthermore, the metadata-enhanced instant-messaging application can associate the data and metadata based on the information in the meta-data, such as by reading the type contained within the metadata and associating software application that can consume the data and metadata described by the type. In addition, the metadata-enhanced instant-messaging application can provide the data and metadata to the software application to consume the data and metadata.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

analyzing metadata included in an instant-message, wherein the instant-message also contains data;

associating the data and metadata with a software application that can consume the data and metadata; and

providing the data and metadata to the software application to consume the data and metadata.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the data comprises electronic information embedded in the instant-message.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the metadata is of a type that characterizes the data.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the metadata contains information selected from the group consisting of a type that characterizes the data, an attribute of the data, time and date, and higher types.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

inserting an entry into an application registry where the entry indicates the type and the software application.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

allowing a user to select from a list of available software applications to associate the data and metadata with the software application.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the metadata is not displayed in the instant-messaging application.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the instant-messaging application is configured to recognize the type and provide the data and metadata to the software application.

9. A computer program product comprising:

a computer usable medium having computer usable program code for associating data and metadata with a software application that can consume the data and metadata, said computer program product comprising,

computer usable program code for analyzing metadata included in an instant-message, wherein the instant-message also contains data;

computer usable program code for associating the data and metadata with a software application that can consume the data and metadata; and

computer usable program code for providing the data and metadata to the software application to consume the data and metadata.

10. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the metadata is of a type that characterizes the data.

11. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the instant-messaging application is configured to recognize the type and provide the data and metadata to the software application.

12. A method comprising:

copying data from a software application;

creating metadata based on the data;

creating an association between the data and metadata;

inserting the data and metadata into an instant-messaging application; and

displaying the data within the instant-messaging application to indicate that metadata is associated with the data.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the metadata is not displayed in the instant-messaging application.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the metadata contains information selected from the group consisting of a type that characterizes the data, an attribute of the data, time and date, and higher types.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the metadata is of a type that characterizes the data.

16. An apparatus, comprising:

an encoder to associate data and metadata in an instant-message;

a processing module to associate the metadata to a software application; and

an application interface to provide the metadata and data to the software application.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the metadata is of a type that characterizes the data.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising:

an application registry to store the type and information about the software application.

19. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising:

a clipboard to copy the data and metadata from a software application and to paste the data and metadata into the instant-message.

20. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising:

an interface to display the data to indicate that metadata is associated with the data.