Buddy Watch

Abstract

A method and a system for managing communications over a network. The method can include receiving from a first user at least one user identifier associated with a second user and receiving at least one session identifier. The session identifier can correlate to a chat session on the network. Responsive to the second user posting a chat in the chat session while the first user is not currently participating in the chat session, a user notification can be generated to alert the first user that the second user has posted the chat, and to identify the chat session. The user notification can be presented to the first user via a client communicatively linked to the network.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

There are shown in the drawings, embodiments which are presently preferred, it being understood; however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a system for managing network communications in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram for managing network communications in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating one aspect of managing network communications in accordance with the inventive arrangements disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method of managing communications over a network, comprising: receiving from a first user at least one user identifier associated with a second user;receiving at least one session identifier correlating to a chat session on the network; andresponsive to the second user posting a chat in the chat session while the first user is not currently participating in the chat session:alerting the first user via a client communicatively linked to the network that the second user has posted the chat; andidentifying the chat session.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: responsive to the second user posting the chat, identifying a specific portion of the identified chat session containing the posted chat.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: responsive to the second user posting the chat, providing a content indicator that indicates content of the posted chat.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: responsive to the second user posting the chat, providing a time indicator that indicates a time that the posted chat was posted.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of receiving the at least one identifier comprises receiving a respective identifier for each currently active chat sessions in which the first user has been a participant.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of alerting the first user further comprises: determining whether the first user is granted access to a data repository on which the posted chat resides; andalerting the first user that the second user has posted the chat only if the first user has access to the data repository.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of alerting the first user further comprises: determining whether the second user has allowed the first user to receive an alert that the second user has posted the chat; andalerting the first user that the second user has posted the chat only if the second user has allowed the first user to receive the alert.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising indicating in a contact list of the first user that the second user is being tracked.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said step of indicating that the second user is being tracked further comprises indicating whether the second user is being tracked in all available chat sessions.

10. A machine readable storage, having stored thereon a computer program having a plurality of code sections comprising: code for receiving from a first user at least one user identifier associated with a second user;code for receiving at least one session identifier correlating to a chat session on the network; andcode for alerting the first user via a client communicatively linked to the network that the second user has posted the chat and identifying the chat session in response to the second user posting a chat in the chat session while the first user is not currently participating in the chat session.

11. The machine readable storage of claim 10, further comprising code for identifying a specific portion of the identified chat session containing the posted chat in response to the second user posting the chat.

12. The machine readable storage of claim 10, further comprising code for providing a content indicator that indicates content of the posted chat in response to the second user posting the chat.

13. The machine readable storage of claim 10, further comprising code for providing a time indicator that indicates a time that the posted chat was posted in response to the second user posting the chat.

14. The machine readable storage of claim 10, wherein said code for receiving the at least one identifier comprises code for receiving a respective identifier for each currently active chat sessions in which the first user has been a participant.

15. The machine readable storage of claim 10, wherein said code for alerting the first user further comprises: code for determining whether the first user is granted access to a data repository on which the posted chat resides; andcode for alerting the first user that the second user has posted the chat only if the first user has access to the data repository.

16. The machine readable storage of claim 10, wherein said code for alerting the first user further comprises: code for determining whether the second user has allowed the first user to receive an alert that the second user has posted the chat; andcode for alerting the first user that the second user has posted the chat only if the second user has allowed the first user to receive the alert.

17. The machine readable storage of claim 10, further comprising code for indicating in a contact list of the first user that the second user is being tracked.

18. The machine readable storage of claim 17, wherein said code for indicating that the second user is being tracked further comprises code for indicating whether the second user is being tracked in all available chat sessions.

19. A system for managing communications over a network, comprising: a chat session monitor that receives from a first user at least one user identifier associated with a second user, receives at least one session identifier correlating to a chat session on the network and, responsive to the second user posting a chat in the chat session while the first user is not currently participating in the chat session, alerts the first user via a client communicatively linked to the network that the second user has posted the chat and identifies the chat session.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the chat session monitor identifies a specific portion of the identified chat session containing the posted chat in response to the second user posting the chat.