Organizing entries in participant lists based on communications strengths

• US 20050198172A1
• Filed: 12/20/2004
• Published: 09/08/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AOL Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Appelman, Barry, Fish, Edmund J.
• Granted Patent: US 7,716,287 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/318 Received signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1859 adapted to provide push services, e.g. data channels
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/234 for tracking messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4594 Address books, i.e. directories containing contact information about correspondents telephone directories in user terminals H04M1/27453
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2757 by data transmission, e.g. downloading

Abstract

Organizing a participant list includes maintaining a participant list of users of an electronic communications system to be used by a first user of the electronic communications system. Communications strengths between the first user and each of the users included in the participant list are determined. The users included in the participant list are organized based on the corresponding communications strengths. Communications strengths may be determined for users included in a group within the participant list, and the users within the group may be organized within the group based on communications strength. An additional group in the participant list in which some or all of the users included in the participant list are organized based on communications strength may be provided.

Claims

1. A method for organizing a participant list, the method comprising:

maintaining a participant list of users of an electronic communications system to be used by a first user of the electronic communications system;

determining communications strengths between the first user and each of the users included in the participant list; and

organizing the users included in the participant list based on the corresponding communications strengths.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein:

communications strengths are determined for users included in a group within the participant list; and

the users within the group are organized within the group based on communications strength.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing an additional group in the participant list in which the users included in the participant list are organized based on communications strength.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing an additional group in the participant list that includes the users included in the participant list with the highest communications strengths.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein organizing the users based on the corresponding communications strengths comprises ordering the users with higher communications strengths before the users with lower communications strengths.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein:

determining the communications strengths between the first user and each of the users comprises determining a degree of separation between the first user and each of the users included in the participant list user; and

organizing the users based on the corresponding communications strengths comprises organizing the users based on the determined degrees of separation.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein organizing the users based on the determined degrees of separation comprises sorting the users in order of increasing number of degrees of separation from the first user.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein:

determining the communications strengths between the first user and each of the users comprises determining whether the users included in the participant list include the first user in contact lists maintained by the users and are included in a contact list maintained by the first user; and

organizing the users based on the corresponding communications strengths comprises organizing the users based on the determinations of whether the users include the first user in contact lists maintained by the users and are included in a contact list maintained by the first user.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein organizing the users based on the determinations of whether the users includes the first user in contact lists maintained by the users and are included in a contact list maintained by the first user comprises ordering the users that include the first user in contact lists maintained by the users and that are included in a contact list maintained by the first user before the users that do not include the first user in contact lists maintained by the users and that are not included in a contact list maintained by the first user.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein:

determining the communications strengths between the first user and each of the users comprises determining a number of messages sent between the first user and each of the users included in the participant list; and

organizing the users based on the corresponding communications strengths comprises organizing the users based on the determined numbers of messages.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein organizing the users based on the determined numbers of messages comprises sorting the users in order of decreasing number of messages exchanged with the first user.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein:

determining the communications strengths between the first user and each of the users comprises determining a frequency with which messages between the first user and each of the users included in the participant list are exchanged; and

organizing the users based on the corresponding communications strengths comprises organizing the users based on the determined frequencies.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein organizing the users based on the determined frequencies comprises organizing the users in order of decreasing frequency with which messages are exchanged with the first user.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein:

determining the communications strengths between the first user and each of the users comprises determining whether each of the users included in the participant list is a direct or indirect addressee of a message from the first user; and

organizing the users based on the corresponding communications strengths comprises organizing the users based on the determinations of whether each of the users is a direct or indirect addressee of a message from the first user.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein organizing the users based on the determinations of whether each of the users included in the participant list is a direct or indirect addressee of a message from the first user comprises ordering the users that are direct addressees before the users that are indirect addressees.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein:

determining the communications strengths between the first user and each of the users comprises determining whether each of the users included in the participant list is a publisher of contact information subscribed to by the first user and a subscriber to contact information published by the first user; and

organizing the users based on the corresponding communications strengths comprises organizing the users based on the determinations of whether each of the users is a publisher of contact information subscribed to by the first user and a subscriber to contact information published by the first user.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein organizing the users based on the determinations of whether each of the users is a publisher of contact information subscribed to by the first user and a subscriber to contact information published by the first user comprises ordering the users that are both subscribers to the first user'"'"'s contact information and publishers of contact information subscribed to by the first user before the users that are not both subscribers to the first user'"'"'s contact information and publishers of contact information subscribed to by the first user.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein:

determining the communications strengths between the first user and each of the users comprises determining a frequency with which messages are exchanged in a chat room between the first user and each of the users included in the participant list; and

organizing the users based on the corresponding communications strengths comprises organizing the users based on the determined frequencies.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein organizing the users based on the determined frequencies comprises sorting the users in order of decreasing frequency with which messages are exchanged in the chat room with the first user.

20. The method of claim 1 wherein:

determining the communications strengths between the first user and each of the users comprises determining amounts of time for which the first user and each of the users have exchanged messages; and

organizing the users based on the corresponding communications strengths comprises organizing the users based on the determined amounts of time.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein organizing the users based on the determined amounts of time comprises sorting the users in order of decreasing amount of time for which messages have been exchanged with the first user.

22. The method of claim 1 wherein:

determining the communications strengths between the first user and each of the users comprises determining amounts of contact information for the first user held by each of the users and amounts of contact information for each of the users held by the first user; and

organizing the users based on the corresponding communications strengths comprises organizing the users based on the determined amounts of contact information.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein organizing the users based on the determined amounts of contact information comprises sorting the users in order of decreasing amount of contact information held for or by the first user.

24. The method of claim 1 wherein:

determining the communications strengths between the first user and each of the users comprises determining whether each of the users both sends messages to the first user and receives messages from the first user; and

organizing the users based on the corresponding communications strengths comprises organizing the users based on the determinations of whether each of the users both sends messages to the first user and receives messages from the first user.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein organizing the users based on the determinations of whether each of the users both sends messages to the first user and receives messages from the first user comprises sorting the users such that users that both send messages to the first user and receive messages from the first user are ordered before users that do not both send messages to the first user and receive messages from the first user.

26. The method of claim 1 wherein:

determining the communications strengths between the first user and each of the users comprises determining communications strengths between each of the users and a second user; and

organizing the users based on the corresponding communications strengths comprises organizing the users based on the determined communications strengths.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein organizing the users based on the determined amounts comprises sorting the users in order of decreasing communications strength.

28. The method of claim 1 further comprising removing the users with a communications strength below a minimum allowable communications strength from the participant list.

29. The method of claim 1 wherein the participant list is a buddy list of an instant messaging system.

30. The method of claim 1 wherein the participant list is an address book of an e-mail system.

31. The method of claim 1 wherein the participant list is a social network of the first user.

32. The method of claim 1 wherein the electronic communications system is an instant messaging system.

33. The method of claim 1 wherein the electronic communications system is a chat system.

34. The method of claim 1 wherein the electronic communications system is an e-mail system.

35. A machine-accessible medium that when accessed, results in a machine performing operations for organizing a participant list, comprising:

maintaining a participant list of users of an electronic communications system to be used by a first user of the electronic communications system;

determining communications strengths between the first user and each of the users included in the participant list; and

organizing the users included in the participant list based on the corresponding communications strengths.

36. A system for organizing a participant list, the system comprising:

means for maintaining a participant list of users of an electronic communications system to be used by a first user of the electronic communications system;

means for determining communications strengths between the first user and each of the users included in the participant list; and

means for organizing the users included in the participant list based on the corresponding communications strengths.

37. A computer program stored on a computer-readable medium or a propagated signal that, when executed, generates a graphical user interface on a display device for using a computer to manage a list of users of an electronic communications system with which electronic messages may be exchanged, the graphical user interface comprising:

a participant list display associated with a user of the participant list display that includes users of an electronic communications system, the users being organized in the participant list display based on communications strengths between the user and each of the users.

38. The computer program of claim 37 wherein:

the participant list display includes groups that are associated with one or more of the users included in the participant list display; and

the one or more users associated with a group included in the participant list display are organized within the group based on communications strengths between the user and each of the associated users.

39. The computer program of claim 37 wherein the participant list display includes a group associated with the users included in the participant list display within which the associated users are organized based on communications strengths between the user and each of the associated users.

40. The computer program of claim 37 wherein the participant list display includes a group associated with the users included in the participant list display that have high communications strengths with the user;

the users associated with the group being organized based on communications strengths between the user and each of the associated users.

41. The computer program of claim 37 wherein the participant list display is a display of a buddy list associated with an instant messaging system.

42. The computer program of claim 37 wherein the participant list display is a display of an address book associated with an e-mail system.