Email confirmation page for social network notifications

• US 8,949,343 B2
• Filed: 08/28/2008
• Issued: 02/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Shen, Jennifer Iting, Shahine, Omar H., Kafka, Steven D., Stovicek, Thomas Jan
• Primary Examiner(s): ALGIBHAH, HAMZA N
• Application Number:
  US12/200,656
• Publication Number:
  US 20100057859A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,350 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/655 Combination of telephone service and social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0024 Services and arrangements where telephone services are combined with data services arrangements which combine a telephonic equipment and a computer H04M7/0012
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications

Abstract

A communication confirmation message provides social networking events in combination with information regarding addresses to a member. The message can be used to suggest additional social network friends to members of a social network. The communication confirmation message is utilized to provide additional information on the social network member'"'"'s friends, information from third party social networks, and recommendations to add individuals or second parties with whom the social network member communicates as friends.

Claims

1. A method for displaying social network information to a member of a social networking service in a confirmation interface of an e-mail service communicatively linked to the social networking service, comprising:

receiving by the e-mail service executing on one or more processors input to send an e-mail communication from the member to one or more addressees;

determining a social networking friend relationship status of the one or more addressees to the member by the e-mail service based on user information data accessible via the linked social networking service; and

responsive to completion of sending the e-mail,

the e-mail service retrieving from the linked social networking service any social networking events associated with any of the one or more addressees accessible to the member based on the determined social networking friend relationship status, and

displaying by the email service a sent mail confirmation interface confirming that the e-mail was sent to the one or more addressees, the sent mail confirmation interface including the social networking friend relationship status regarding the one or more addressees in combination with one or more social networking events for any of the one or more addressees determined to have friend status with the member in the linked social networking service and for a social networking friend of the member other than the one or more addressees.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of displaying by the e-mail service includes ordering social networking friend relationship status information and the one or more social networking events based upon social networking service friend relationship status to the member.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the method further includes the e-mail service determining and associating an action link of a navigation link based on data accessible via the communicatively linked social networking service for each social networking event displayed.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the method further comprises the e-mail service determining and associating an action link providing an invitation to the one or more addressees determined as lacking social networking friend relationship status to join the social networking service as one or more friends of the member.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the e-mail service retrieving from the linked social networking service any social networking events associated with any of the one or more addressees accessible to the member based on the determined social networking friend relationship status further comprises retrieving the one or more social networking events from a plurality of social networking services in which the member and the one or more addressees are related as social networking friends.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the one or more social networking events are prioritized so that events concerning the one or more addressees who are social networking friends of the member are shown before other social networking events.

7. One or more computer readable non-volatile storage media having encoded thereon instructions for causing one or more processors to perform a method for displaying social networking information to a member of a social networking service in a sent mail confirmation interface of an e-mail service communicatively linked to the social networking service, the method comprising:

sending by the e-mail service an e-mail from the member to one or more addressees;

determining an e-mail contact address book relationship status for the one or more addressees, the e-mail contact address book relationship status indicating whether the one or more addressees are in a contact address book of the member managed by the e-mail service and if not, determining whether to recommend adding the one or more addressees to the member'"'"'s address book;

determining a social networking friend relationship status of the one or more addressees to the member by the e-mail service based on user information data accessible via the communicatively linked social networking service; and

responsive to completion of sending the e-mail,

the e-mail service retrieving from the linked social networking service any social networking events associated with any of the one or more addressees accessible to the member based on the determined social networking friend relationship status, and

displaying by the e-mail service the sent mail confirmation interface indicating that the e-mail was sent to the one or more addressees, the sent mail confirmation interface including social networking service friend relationship status information regarding the one or more addressees in combination with one or more social networking events for any of the one or more addressees determined to have friend status with the member in the linked social networking service and for a social networking friend of the member other than the one or more addressees.

8. The one or more computer readable non-volatile storage media of claim 7 wherein the step of displaying by the e-mail service the sent mail confirmation includes ordering the one or more social networking events based upon at least one of the determined relationship statuses to the member.

9. The one or more computer readable non-volatile storage media of claim 7 wherein the method further includes the e-mail service determining and associating an action link of a navigation link based on data accessible via the linked social networking service for each social networking event displayed.

10. The one or more computer readable non-volatile storage media of claim 9 wherein the method further includes the e-mail service determining and associating an action link for adding one or more addressees determined as lacking the e-mail contact address book relationship status to the contact address book of the member.

11. The one or more computer readable non-volatile storage media of claim 10 wherein the method further includes the e-mail service determining and associating an action link providing an invitation to the one or more addressees determined as lacking social networking friend relationship status to join the social networking service as one or more friends of the member.

12. The one or more computer readable non-volatile storage media of claim 7 wherein the e-mail service retrieving from the linked social networking service any social networking events associated with any of the one or more addressees accessible to the member based on the determined social networking friend relationship status further comprises the step of retrieving the one or more social networking events from a plurality of social networking services in which the member and the one or more addressees are related as social networking friends.

13. The one or more computer readable non-volatile storage media of claim 7 wherein the social networking events are prioritized in display in the sent mail confirmation interface so that events for any of the one or more addressees who have been determined to be social networking service friends of the member are shown before one or more social networking events displayed for one or more addressees determined not to be social networking service friends.

14. The one or more computer readable non-volatile storage media of claim 8 wherein the step of displaying by the e-mail service the sent mail confirmation includes ordering the one or more social networking events based upon at least one of the determined relationship statuses to the member further comprises displaying first one or more social networking events regarding the one or more addressees determined not to be in the e-mail contact address book, displaying next one or more social networking events regarding one or more addressees in the e-mail contact address book of the member but who are not social networking friends of the member, and then social networking events regarding social networking service friends.

15. One or more computer readable non-volatile storage media having encoded thereon instructions for causing one or more processors to perform a method for displaying social network information to a member of a social networking service in a confirmation interface of an e-mail service communicatively linked to the social networking service, the method comprising:

receiving by the e-mail service executing on one or more processors input to send an e-mail communication from the member to one or more addressees;

determining a social networking friend relationship status of the one or more addressees to the member by the e-mail service based on user information data accessible via the linked social networking service; and

responsive to completion of sending the e-mail,

the e-mail service retrieving from the linked social networking service any social networking events associated with any of the one or more addressees accessible to the member based on the determined social networking friend relationship status, and

displaying by the email service a sent mail confirmation interface confirming that the e-mail was sent to the one or more addressees, the sent mail confirmation interface including the social networking friend relationship status regarding the one or more addressees in combination with one or more social networking events for any of the one or more addressees determined to have friend status with the member in the linked social networking service and for a social networking friend of the member other than the one or more addressees.