Selective delivery of content via electronic mail

• US 9,106,601 B2
• Filed: 07/19/2012
• Issued: 08/11/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Chakra, Al, Clarke, Devon, Harpur, Liam, Rice, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Bengzon, Greg C
• Application Number:
  US13/553,101
• Publication Number:
  US 20130007154A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,118 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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. Within a system comprising a processor and a memory, a method comprising:

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

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

generating 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

communicating the second email to a second group of recipients.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein

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

3. The method 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 method of claim 2, further comprising:

classifying members of the second group of recipients into a plurality of subgroups; and

determining 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 method of claim 4, further comprising

classifying 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 method of claim 2, wherein

communicating the second email to the second group of the recipients comprises:

classifying members of the second group of recipients into a plurality of subgroups; and

determining 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 method of claim 6, wherein

classifying the members of the second group of recipients into the plurality of subgroups comprises associating each of the members of the second group of recipients with a respective level of an organizational hierarchy.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein

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

9. Within a system comprising a processor and a memory, a method comprising:

via the processor, identifying a request from a trusted recipient to forward a first electronic mail (email) to a non-trusted recipient, the first email comprising content;

generating 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

communicating the second email to the non-trusted recipient.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein

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

11. The method of claim 10, 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 method, within and by a computer hardware system including a processor and a memory, comprising:

identifying a first email addressed to a first group of recipients and a second group of recipients, the first email including content;

communicating, to the first group of recipients, the first email including the content;

generating, based upon the first email, a second email different than the first email and not including 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

communicating the second email to the second group of recipients.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein

the second email indicates a time at which to the contact is to occur.

14. The method of claim 13, 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.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

classifying members of the second group of recipients into a plurality of subgroups; and

determining the time at which to the contact is to occur based upon a classification of the members of the second group of recipients within the respective subgroups.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein

the classifying is based on an association of each member of the second group of recipients with a respective level of an organizational hierarchy.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein

the first group of recipients are classified as trusted recipients, and

the second group of recipients are classified as non-trusted recipients.