Concurrent display of conversation messages and social network posts by conversation message authors

• US 9,253,137 B1
• Filed: 08/26/2011
• Issued: 02/02/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Jackson, Todd Christopher, Ho, Edward Shichung, Knichel, Mark, Chang, Emily
• Primary Examiner(s): Wasel, Mohamed
• Assistant Examiner(s): WU, TSUNG YIN
• Application Number:
  US13/218,714
• Time in Patent Office: 1,621 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/216 Handling conversation history, e.g. grouping of messages in sessions or threads
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/56 Unified messaging, e.g. interactions between e-mail, instant messaging or converged IP messaging [CPM]

Abstract

A client device displays message content from one or more email messages in a conversation thread. The client device displays, concurrently with the message content from the one or more email messages, one or more respective social network objects. Each displayed social network object has one or more selection portions, and each displayed social network object corresponds to a respective post by a respective participant in the conversation thread. In response to selection of a first portion of a respective social network object of the one or more displayed social network objects, the client device displays a respective social network page of the respective participant who authored the respective post corresponding to the respective social network object.

Claims

1. A method, performed by a client device having one or more processors and memory storing one or more programs for execution by the one or more processors, comprising:

at the client device;

in response to a user input requesting display of a user-selected email thread, displaying message content from one or more email messages in the user-selected email thread;

displaying, concurrently with the message content from the one or more email messages, a plurality of respective social network objects distinct from the message content, wherein the plurality of social network objects are displayed in a display region reserved for non-email content, each displayed social network object corresponding to a single post by a respective participant in the email thread and having a content portion from only the single respective post to a social network by the respective participant in the email thread and one or more selectable portions distinct from the content portion of the social network object, the plurality of displayed social network objects including social network objects corresponding to posts by a plurality of participants in the email thread; and

in response to selection of a first selectable portion of a respective social network object of the one or more displayed social network objects, displaying a respective social network page of the respective participant who authored the respective post corresponding to the respective social network object;

wherein the client device is associated with a first user, who is a first participant of the plurality of participants in the user-selected email thread, and the number of said social network objects having content corresponding to posts by the plurality of participants in the email thread and displayed concurrently with the message content from the one or more email messages is determined in accordance with a number of participants, other than the first user, in the user-selected email thread.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising, in response to selection of a second selectable portion of the one or more selectable portions of the respective social network object, displaying the entire post corresponding to the respective social network object.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising, in response to selection of a third selectable portion of the one or more selectable portions of the respective social network object, adjusting a score of the single post corresponding to the respective social network object.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising, in response to selection of a fourth selectable portion of the one or more selectable portions of the respective social network object, displaying the respective social network page and a predefined area for user entry of a comment.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the single respective post corresponding to a respective displayed social network object satisfies a recency criteria.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the single respective post corresponding to each displayed social network object satisfies a recency criteria.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the single respective post corresponding to a respective displayed social network object is a most recent post by the respective participant in the user-selected email thread.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the single respective post corresponding to each displayed social network object is a most recent post by the respective participant in the user-selected email thread.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the respective posts corresponding to the displayed social network objects are posts by one or more authors of email messages in the user-selected email thread.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein each displayed social network object includes an author identifier.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein each displayed social network object includes a timestamp indicating when the single social network post was authored.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the display region reserved for non-email content includes a region reserved for displaying social network objects.

13. A client system, comprising:

one or more processors; and

memory storing one or more programs for execution by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for;

in response to a user input requesting display of a user-selected email thread, displaying message content from one or more email messages in the user-selected email thread;

displaying, concurrently with the message content from the one or more email messages, a plurality of respective social network objects distinct from the message content, wherein the plurality of social network objects are displayed in a display region reserved for non-email content, each displayed social network object corresponding to a single post by a respective participant in the email thread and having a content portion from only the single respective post to a social network by the respective participant in the email thread and one or more selectable portions distinct from the content portion of the social network object, the plurality of displayed social network objects including social network objects corresponding to posts by a plurality of participants in the email thread; and

in response to selection of a first selectable portion of a respective social network object of the one or more displayed social network objects, displaying a respective social network page of the respective participant who authored the respective post corresponding to the respective social network object;

wherein the client system is associated with a first user, who is a first participant of the plurality of participants in the user-selected email thread, and the number of said social network objects having content corresponding to posts by the plurality of participants in the email thread and displayed concurrently with the message content from the one or more email messages is determined in accordance with a number of participants, other than the first user, in the user-selected email thread.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the one or more programs include instructions, enabled in response to selection of a second selectable portion of the one or more selectable portions of the respective social network object, for displaying the entire post corresponding to the respective social network object.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the one or more programs include instructions, enabled in response to selection of a third selectable portion of the one or more selectable portions of the respective social network object, for adjusting a score of the single post corresponding to the respective social network object.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the single respective post corresponding to each displayed social network object is a most recent post by the respective participant in the user-selected email thread.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein the respective posts corresponding to the displayed social network objects are posts by one or more authors of email messages in the user-selected email thread.

18. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs configured for execution by one or more processors of a client system, the one or more programs comprising instructions for:

in response to a user input requesting display of a user-selected email thread, displaying message content from one or more email messages in the user-selected email thread;

displaying, concurrently with the message content from the one or more email messages, a plurality of respective social network objects distinct from the message content, wherein the plurality of social network objects are displayed in a display region reserved for non-email content, each displayed social network object corresponding to a single post by a respective participant in the email thread and having a content portion from only the single respective post to a social network by the respective participant in the email thread and one or more selectable portions distinct from the content portion of the social network object, the plurality of displayed social network objects including social network objects corresponding to posts by a plurality of participants in the email thread; and

in response to selection of a first selectable portion of a respective social network object of the one or more displayed social network objects, displaying a respective social network page of the respective participant who authored the respective post corresponding to the respective social network object;

wherein the client system is associated with a first user, who is a first participant of the plurality of participants in the user-selected email thread, and the number of said social network objects having content corresponding to posts by the plurality of participants in the email thread and displayed concurrently with the message content from the one or more email messages is determined in accordance with a number of participants, other than the first user, in the user-selected email thread.

19. The computer readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the one or more programs include instructions, enabled in response to selection of a second selectable portion of the one or more selectable portions of the respective social network object, for displaying the entire post corresponding to the respective social network object.

20. The computer readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the one or more programs include instructions, enabled in response to selection of a third selectable portion of the one or more selectable portions of the respective social network object, for adjusting a score of the single post corresponding to the respective social network object.

21. The computer readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the respective posts corresponding to the displayed social network objects are posts by one or more authors of email messages in the user-selected email thread.