Auto update utility for digital address books

• US 8,601,022 B2
• Filed: 09/26/2011
• Issued: 12/03/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LinkedIn Corporation (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Gropper, Robert L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Fleurantin, Jean B
• Application Number:
  US13/245,728
• Publication Number:
  US 20120166548A1
• Time in Patent Office: 799 Days
• Field of Search: 707/770, 707/776, 707/796, 707/915, 707/922, 707/959, 707/966, 709/203, 709/217, 709/219
• US Class Current: 707/770
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/10 File systems; File servers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2379 Updates performed during online database operations; commit processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/40 of multimedia data, e.g. slideshows comprising image and additional audio data retrieval of still image data G06F16/50; retrieval of audio data G06F16/60; retrieval of video data G06F16/70
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4505 using standardised directories; using standardised directory access protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46

Abstract

An Internet-based system capable of automatically maintaining contact-related information in any computer software application or digital device which stores or manages contact-related information. More particularly, the system allows users to automatically enter and maintain contact-related information in a digital address book or similar application or device (such as a wireless phone or PDA) with minimal or no manual entry of the contact-related information by the user. The system also allows contacts of the user (i.e. people who'"'"'s contact information or partial contact information is present in the user'"'"'s address book application) to make corrections to their contact-related information contained in the user'"'"'s address book, request reciprocal contact information from the user, deny the user access to additional or corrected contact-related information and take other actions relative to managing the contact-related information which others (users) have about them.

Claims

1. A method in a client computer for updating contact information in a computer network with clients and servers, comprising:

extracting stored contact information, including an address, for an addressee from an address book data structure for an address book;

sending the extracted contact information to a server and causing the server to send a contact information update request to the address of the extracted contact information;

receiving updated contact information for the addressee from the addressee via the server; and

automatically updating the address book data structure for the addressee.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

before sending the extracted contact information to the server, presenting on a display of the client computer at least one item of extracted contact information for the addressee and sending the extracted contact information only if affirmative user input is received in response to the displayed contact information.

3. A method in a server computer on a computer network with clients and servers for presenting a user with a request for an update of contact information and an editable reply form, comprising:

receiving from a client existing contact information, including an address for an addressee;

sending to the address a contact information update request and

causing an editable reply form containing the extracted contact information to be presented at the address;

receiving, from the editable reply form, updated contact information for the addressee and forwarding the updated contact information to the client.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the contact information update request is sent via e-mail, the editable reply form is caused to be presented from a web page, and the updated contact information is received at the web page.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the contact information update request is sent via e-mail, the editable reply form is caused to be presented as a part of the e-mail, and the updated contact information is received via e-mail reply.

6. The method of claim 3 wherein the receiving from the editable reply form, updated contact information for the addressee and forwarding the updated contact information to the client further comprises:

receiving from a responding computer a communication responsive to the update request;

determining whether the responding computer is associated with the address; and

when the responding computer is associated with the address, receiving updated contact information from the responding computer and automatically transmitting the updated contact information to the client.

7. The method of claim 6 where the communication responsive to the request is received via a web page.

8. The method of claim 6 further comprising:

in response to the communication responsive to the update request from the responding computer, providing to the responding computer a copy of the received existing contact information.

9. The method of claim 6 further comprising:

causing the client to automatically write the updated contact information to a digital address book.

10. The method of claim 3 wherein the contact information update request is sent via text message, the editable reply form is caused to be presented from a web page, and the updated contact information is received at the web page.

11. A method in a client on a computer network with clients and servers for a user to respond to a request for an update of contact information with a counter-request for an update of contact information, comprising:

receiving from a server a request for updated contact information concerning an addressee, the request including a sender identifier;

presenting on a display information identifying a sender of the request, generated using the sender identifier; and

in response to user input received in response to presenting on the display the information identifying the sender , causing a counter-request for updated contact information concerning the sender to be sent via the server to a computer associated with the sender.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein:

the request for updated contact information includes existing contact information associated with the addressee, the existing contact information extracted from an address book data structure associated with the sender.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the existing contact information is received via a web page.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein the existing contact information is received via an e-mail and/or a text message.

15. The method of claim 11 wherein the sender identifier is a network address.

16. The method of claim 11 wherein the existing contact information associated with the addressee is received in a text message.

17. A computer-readable memory containing contents that, when executed in a computer processor, cause a client computer to update contact information, by performing a method comprising:

extracting stored contact information, including an address, for an addressee from an address book data structure for an address book;

sending the extracted contact information to a server and causing the server to send a contact information update request to the address of the extracted contact information;

receiving updated contact information for the addressee via the server; and

automatically updating the address book data structure for the addressee.

18. The computer-readable memory of claim 17 wherein the contents are computer instructions and the medium is a computer memory.

19. The computer-readable memory of claim 17 wherein the extracted contact information is caused to be sent by the server via at least one of a text message, email, and/or a web page.