Method and system for highlighting email recipients

摘要

A method and system for highlighting email recipients according to a user's social network are provided. The method includes receiving an email message at a user's email client, the email message having multiple recipients, one of the recipients being the user. The method further includes obtaining a social network list for the user and comparing the social network list for the user with the email message recipients and highlighting recipients in the email message who are also in the social network list. The social network list for a user may be obtained by different methods including using the user's contact resources, or using an aggregating social network system including weighting relationships between contacts.

主权项

1. A method for highlighting addresses in a header of an email, comprising:
receiving an email message at an email client of a specific user to which the email message is displayed on an email graphical interface, the email message having multiple recipients, one of the recipients being the specific user; retrieving contacts of the specific user, from one or more contact resources; obtaining a social network list for the specific user, incorporating information on relationship strengths of relationships of the specific user with the retrieved contacts; assigning contacts on the social network list with a relationship score representing a strength of the relationship of the contact with the specific user; generating a user contact list including retrieved contacts on the social network list having relationship strengths above a predetermined threshold; comparing the multiple recipients of the email message to the generated user contact list; selecting a sub-group of the multiple recipients based on the comparison, the sub-group including those of the multiple recipients having a relationship strength above the predetermined threshold; and highlighting email addresses of the selected sub-group of recipients in a header of the email message displayed to the specific user by the email graphical interface, such that only email addresses of a sub group of the recipients of the email, considered more closely related to the specific user, are highlighted, wherein any of said steps are implemented in either of computer hardware or computer software embodied in a computer-readable medium.