Selective delivery of content via electronic mail

• US 9,021,030 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2011
• Issued: 04/28/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Chakra, Al, Harpur, Liam, Rice, John, Clarke, Devon
• Primary Examiner(s): Bengzon, Greg C
• Application Number:
  US13/172,894
• Publication Number:
  US 20130007140A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,398 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding

Abstract

A method that includes identifying a first electronic mail (email) addressed to at least two groups of recipients, the first email comprising content. The method further can include communicating the first email comprising the content to a first group of recipients. The method also can include generating a second email different than the first email and not comprising the content, the second email comprising information that indicates a contact that the second group of recipients are to contact regarding subject matter associated with the first email, and communicating the second email to a second group of recipients.

Claims

1. A computer program product comprising:

a computer-readable storage device having stored thereon computer-readable program code, the computer-readable storage device comprising;

computer-readable program code that identifies a first electronic mail (email) addressed to at least two groups of recipients, the first email comprising content;

computer-readable program code that communicates the first email comprising the content to a first group of recipients;

computer-readable program code that generates a second email different than the first email and not comprising the content within the first email, a body of the second email indicating a contact regarding subject matter associated with the content within the first email; and

computer-readable program code that communicates the second email to a second group of recipients.

2. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein

the second email further comprises information that indicates a time at which to the contact is to occur.

3. The computer program product of claim 2, wherein

the second email is configured to automatically add a calendar entry corresponding to the time at which the contact is to occur into electronic calendars of the second group of recipients.

4. The computer program product of claim 2, further comprising:

computer-readable program code that classifies members of the second group of recipients into a plurality of subgroups; and

computer-readable program code that determines the time at which to the contact is to occur is based on the classification of the members of the second group of recipients within the respective subgroups.

5. The computer program product of claim 4, further comprising

computer-readable program code that classifies the members of the second group of recipients within the respective subgroups based on an association of each member of the second group of recipients with a respective level of an organizational hierarchy.

6. The computer program product of claim 2, wherein

the computer-readable program code that communicates the second email to the second group of the recipients comprises:

computer-readable program code that classifies members of the second group of recipients into a plurality of subgroups; and

computer-readable program code that determines the time at which to communicate the second email is based on a classification of the members of the second group of recipients within the respective subgroups.

7. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein

the computer-readable program code that classifies the members of the second group of recipients into the plurality of subgroups comprises computer-readable program code that associates each of the members of the second group of recipients with a respective level of an organizational hierarchy.

8. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein

the first group of recipients comprises trusted recipients and the second group of recipients comprises non-trusted recipients.

9. A computer program product comprising:

a computer-readable storage device having stored thereon computer-readable program code, the computer-readable storage device comprising;

computer-readable program code that identifies a request from a trusted recipient to forward a first electronic mail (email) to a non-trusted recipient, the first email comprising content;

computer-readable program code that generates a second email different than the first email and not comprising the content within the first email, a body of the second email indicating a contact regarding subject matter associated with the content within the first email; and

computer-readable program code that communicates the second email to the non-trusted recipient.

10. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein

the second email further comprises information that indicates a time at which to the contact is to occur.

11. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein

the second email is configured to automatically add a calendar entry corresponding to the time at which the contact is to occur into an electronic calendar of the non-trusted recipient.

12. A system comprising:

a memory; and

a processor configured to;

identify a first electronic mail (email) addressed to at least two groups of recipients, the first email comprising content;

communicate the first email comprising the content to a first group of recipients;

generate a second email different than the first email and not comprising the content within the first email, a body of the second email indicating a contact regarding subject matter associated with the content within the first email; and

communicate the second email to a second group of recipients.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein

the second email further comprises information that indicates a time at which to the contact is to occur.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein

the processor configures the second email to automatically add a calendar entry corresponding to the time at which the contact is to occur into electronic calendars of the second group of recipients.