Group message relay

• US 9,397,966 B2
• Filed: 06/27/2013
• Issued: 07/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2013
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Riva Fzc
• Original Assignee: Riva Fzc
• Inventors: Turakhia, Bhavin
• Primary Examiner(s): Park, Jeong S
• Application Number:
  US13/929,329
• Publication Number:
  US 20140289343A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,118 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1822 Conducting the conference, e.g. admission, detection, selection or grouping of participants, correlating users to one or more conference sessions, prioritising transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/043 using or handling presence information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/046 Interoperability with other network applications or services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services

Abstract

A message machine may provide a message service that allows creation of a chat group in which multiple users are members. A member of the chat group may send a message to the chat group, which causes the message machine to send the message to each of the other members who are online in the message service. If one of the other members is offline in the message service, but is online in another message service, the message machine may relay the message to this member via the other message service, in which an online member of the chat group is socially connected to the offline member by the other message service. The message machine may access credentials of the online member, use these credentials to impersonate the online member, and send the message to the offline member through the other message service.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a chat message that is directed to a chat group in a first message service and in which a first participant and a second participant are members of the chat group,

the first participant being socially connected to the second participant via a second message service and having an online status within the first message service,

the second participant having an offline status within the first message service; and

providing the chat message to the second participant via the second message service based on the offline status of the second participant and based on the first and second participants being socially connected to each other by the second message service, the providing of the chat message to the second participant via the second message service including impersonating the first participant during use of the second message service, the impersonating of the first participant during use of the second message service including logging into the second message service with credentials of the first participant and sending the chat message to the second participant on behalf of the first participant, the providing of the chat message being performed by a processor of a machine.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the second message service socially connects the first participant to the second participant by designating the first participant as authorized to send messages to the second participant via the second message service.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the online status of the first participant indicates that the first participant is able to receive messages directed to the chat group via the first message service directly; and

the method further comprises

providing the chat message to the first participant via the first message service directly based on the online status of the first participant.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the offline status of the second participant indicates that the second participant is unable to receive messages directed to the chat group via the first message service directly.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein:

the offline status of the second participant indicates at least one of the second participant being unregistered as a user of the first message service or the second participant being not logged into the first message service.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

presenting an indication that the second participant is able to receive messages directed to the chat group,

the presenting of the indication being based on the first and second participants being socially connected by the second message service.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein:

the presenting of the indication is based on the first and second participants both having online statuses within the second message service.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

customizing the chat message for the second participant by adding a group identifier to the chat message; and

wherein

the providing of the chat message to the second participant provides the customized chat message with the added group identifier to the second participant.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein:

the group identifier uniquely identifies the chat group among multiple chat groups that include the second participant.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein:

the customized chat message includes a link that is operable by the second participant to participate in the chat group as a member with an online status within the first message service.

11. The method of claim 8 further comprising:

accessing a further chat message that includes the group identifier and is received by the second message service from the second participant in response to the providing of the customized chat message,

the accessing of the further chat message including the impersonating of the first participant during use of the second message service.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein:

the further chat message is directed to the chat group; and

the method further comprises

providing the further chat message to multiple participants in the chat group.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising:

modifying the further chat message by omitting the group identifier from the further chat message; and

wherein

the providing of the further chat message provides the modified further chat message without the group identifier to a third participant.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

identifying the first participant among multiple participants in the chat group based on at least one of;

the online status of the first participant,

an invitation by the first participant that the second participant join the chat group, or

a history of messages communicated between the first participant and the second participant.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein:

a third participant in the chat group has an offline status within the first message service,

the offline status of the third participant indicating that the third participant is unable to receive messages directed to the chat group via the first message service directly;

the first message service lacks credentials usable to impersonate any member of the chat group and use any message service that socially connects the third participant to the member of the chat group; and

the method further comprises

presenting an indication that the third participant is unable to receive messages directed the chat group,

the presenting of the indication being based on the offline status of the third participant and based on the first message service lacking the credentials.

16. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:

receiving a chat message that is directed to a chat group in a first message service and in which a first participant and a second participant are members of the chat group,

the first participant being socially connected to the second participant via a second message service and having an online status within the first message service,

the second participant having an offline status within the first message service; and

providing the chat message to the second participant via the second message service based on the offline status of the second participant and based on the first and second participants being socially connected to each other by the second message service, the providing of the chat message to the second participant via the second message service including impersonating the first participant during use of the second message service, the impersonating of the first participant during use of the second message service including logging into the second message service with credentials of the first participant and sending the chat message to the second participant on behalf of the first participant, the providing of the chat message being performed by the one or more processors of the machine.

17. A system comprising:

a reception module configured to receive a chat message that is directed to a chat group in a first message service and in which a first participant and a second participant are members of the chat group,

the first participant being socially connected to the second participant via a second message service and having an online status within the first message service,

the second participant having an offline status within the first message service; and

a processor configured by a provision module to provide the chat message to the second participant via the second message service based on the offline status of the second participant and based on the first and second participants being socially connected to each other by the second message service, the providing of the chat message to the second participant via the second message service including impersonating the first participant during use of the second message service, the impersonating of the first participant during use of the second message service including logging into the second message service with credentials of the first participant and sending the chat message to the second participant on behalf of the first participant.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein:

the provision module configures the processor to customize the chat message for the second participant by adding a group identifier to the chat message;

the provision module configures the processor, in the providing of the chat message to the second participant, to provide the customized chat message with the added group identifier to the second participant; and

the reception module is configured to access a further chat message that includes the group identifier and is received by the second message service from the second participant in response to the providing of the customized chat message,

the accessing of the further chat message including the impersonating of the first participant during use of the second message service.