ORGANIZING ENTRIES IN PARTICIPANT LISTS BASED ON COMMUNICATIONS STRENGTHS

• US 20130080529A1
• Filed: 09/14/2012
• Published: 03/28/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Inventors: Appelman, Barry, Fish, Edmund J.
• Granted Patent: US 10,341,289 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

Organizing a participant list includes maintaining a participant list of users of an electronic communications system to be used by a first user of the electronic communications system. Communications strengths between the first user and each of the users included in the participant list are determined. The users included in the participant list are organized based on the corresponding communications strengths. Communications strengths may be determined for users included in a group within a participant list, and the users within the group may be organized within the group based on communications strength. An additional group in the participant list in which some or all of the users included in the participant list are organized based on communications strength may be provided.

Claims

1. A method for organizing a participant list, the method comprising:

maintaining a participant list of users of an electronic communications system to be used by a first user of the electronic communications system, the participant list including a first group of users of the electronic communications system and a second group of users of the electronic communications system that is different from the first group of users;

determining communications strengths between the first user and each of the users included in the first group of users, wherein the determining the communications strengths includes determining communications strengths between a second user and each of the users included in the first group of users; and

determining an order in which to list the users in the first group of users based on the determined communications strengths, wherein determining the order includes ordering the users in the first group of users based on the determined communications strengths between the second user and each of the users included in the first group of users.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining communications strengths between the first user and each of the users included in the second group of users.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising causing a visual display of the participant list including:

the first group of users listed in the order determined for the first group of users based on the determined communications strengths between the first user and each of the users included in the first group of users; and

the second group of users listed in the order determined for the second group of users based on the determined communications strengths between the first user and each of the users included in the second group of users.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein ordering the users in the first group of users based on the determined communications strengths between the second user and each of the users in the first group of users includes ordering the users in the first group of users in order of decreasing communications with the second user.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising removing users with a communications strength below a minimum allowable communications strength from the participant list.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the participant list is a buddy list of an instant messaging system.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the participant list is an address book of an e-mail system.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein the participant list is a social network of the first user.

9. The method of claim 4, wherein the electronic communications system is an instant messaging system.

10. The method of claim 4, wherein the electronic communications system is a chat system.

11. The method of claim 4, wherein the electronic communications system is an e-mail system.

12. A method for organizing a participant list, the method comprising:

maintaining a participant list of users of an electronic communications system to be used by a first user of the electronic communications system, the participant list including a first group of users of the electronic communications system and a second group of users of the electronic communications system that is different from the first group of users;

determining communications strengths between the first user and each of the users included in the first group of users;

determining communications strengths between the first user and each of the users included in the second group of users;

determining an order in which to list the users in the first group of users based on the determined communications strengths between the first user and each of the users included in the first group of users, the determining the order in which to list the users in the first group of users includes ranking the users in the first group of users relative to one another and to the exclusion of users not in the first group of users based on the determined communications strengths between the first user and each of the users included in the first group of users; and

determining an order in which to list the users included in the second group of users based on the determined communications strengths between the first user and each of the users within the second group of users, the determining the order in which to list the users included in the second group of users includes ranking the users in the second group of users relative to one another and to the exclusion of users not in the second group of users based on the determined communications strengths between the first user and each of the users included in the second group of users.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising causing a visual display of the participant list including:

the first group of users listed in the order determined for the first group of users based on the determined communications strengths between the first user and each of the users included in the first group of users; and

the second group of users listed in the order determined for the second group of users based on the determined communications strengths between the first user and each of the users included in the second group of users.

14. A method for organizing a participant list, the method comprising:

maintaining a list of users of an electronic communications system for use by a particular user of the electronic communications system, the list of users including at least a first subgroup of users of the electronic communications system;

determining communications strengths between the particular user and each of the users included in the list of users of the electronic communications system;

comparing the determined communications strength between the particular user and another user within the list of users of the electronic communications system to a predetermined threshold value;

based on results of comparing the determined communications strength between the particular user and the other user to the predetermined threshold value, determining that the determined communications strength between the particular user and the other user is less than the predetermined threshold value; and

as a consequence of determining that the determined communications strength between the particular user and the other user is less than the predetermined threshold value, removing the other user from the list of users of the electronic communications system.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising based on determining the communications strengths between the particular user and each of the users included in the list of users of the electronic communications system, identifying a subset of the users included in the list of users of the electronic communications system who have greater communications strengths with the particular user than other of the users included in the list of users of the electronic communications system.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising determining an order in which to list the users in the first subgroup of users based on the determined communications strengths between the first user and each of the users belonging to the first subgroup of users.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising causing a visual display of a graphical user interface that includes a participant list configured to facilitate communication using the electronic communications system, including:

causing a visual display, within the participant list, of the list of users of the electronic communications system, wherein causing the visual display of the list of users within the participant list includes;

visually distinguishing the first sub-group of users as a first discernible sub-group within the participant list, and

arranging the users belonging to the first sub-group in the order determined for the first sub-group of users based on the determined communications strengths between the first user and each of the users belonging to the first sub-group of users.

18. The method of claim 17, further including causing a visual display of the identified subset of users in a manner that visually distinguishes the identified subset of users as a second discernible subgroup within the participant list while concurrently displaying each of the users displayed in the second discernible sub-group elsewhere within the participant list such that each of the users displayed in the second discernible sub-group is concurrently displayed twice within the participant list.

19. The method of claim 18, further including arranging an order of the users displayed in the second discernible sub-group of users based on the determined communications strengths between the particular user and each of the users displayed in the second discernible sub-group of users.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising maintaining, within at least one additional group of users included in the participant list, an order of the users included in the at least one additional group, without regard for communications strengths between the first user and each of the users included in the at least one additional group.