BUDDY LIST-BASED SHARING OF ELECTRONIC CONTENT

• US 20130067342A1
• Filed: 09/15/2012
• Published: 03/14/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/11/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Inventors: Groves, Blake, Renner, K. Karl
• Granted Patent: US 9,621,377 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/739
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1818 Conference organisation arrangements, e.g. handling schedules, setting up parameters needed by nodes to attend a conference, booking network resources, notifying involved parties
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/043 using or handling presence information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users

Abstract

Instant messaging (IM) entities may be invited to an electronic calendar event using an instant message. Selecting the IM entities as invitees to the event may include dragging and dropping names of the IM entities from a buddy list of an IM application to an event from an electronic calendar application, or vice versa. A method of inviting an entity to a calendar event includes providing a calendar event from a calendar application and recognizing, by the calendar application, an IM entity as an invitee to the event.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for sharing an electronic file with multiple different co-users, the method comprising:

enabling access to a contacts list user interface that makes perceivable on-line identifiers and on-line presence information for co-users corresponding to at least some of those on-line identifiers;

enabling a user to manipulate the contacts list interface to designate at least two online identifiers that appear in the contacts list as corresponding to co-users with whom an electronic file is to be shared;

receiving, from the user and via manipulation of the contacts list interface, a designation of at least two on-line identifiers that appear in the contacts list as on-line identifiers that correspond to co-users with whom an electronic file is to be shared;

in response to receiving the designation of the at least two on-line identifiers as corresponding to co-users with whom an electronic file is to be shared, causing an updating of the contacts list user interface to visually reflect the designation of the at least two on-line identifiers;

while the contacts list user interface continues to visually reflect the designation of the at least two on-line identifiers, receiving, from the user, an indication of an electronic file that is to be shared with the co-users corresponding to the at least two designated on-line identifiers;

in response to receiving the designation of the at least two on-line identifiers as corresponding to co-users with whom an electronic file is to be shared and receiving the indication of the electronic file that is to be shared;

automatically generating separate electronic communications to be sent to each of the co-users corresponding to the at least two on-line identifiers designated by the user, wherein each of the separate electronic communications is configured to enable the co-user for whom it is intended to reply to the user but not other of the co-users corresponding to the at least two on-line identifiers designated by the user, and

including, within each of the automatically-generated electronic communications, the electronic file that is to be shared; and

enabling the user to send the separate, automatically-generated electronic communications, including the electronic file that is to be shared, to the co-users corresponding to the at least two on-line identifiers designated by the user.

2-6. -6. (canceled)