PROMOTING COMMUNICANT INTERACTIONS IN A NETWORK COMMUNICATIONS ENVIRONMENT

摘要

In a network communication environment (10) in which communicants operating from respective client network nodes (12, 14) connect to different server applications (44), communicants who are related to a target communicant are ascertained, statuses of the related communicants with respect to the different server applications (44) are determined, and indications of the related communicants and the determined statuses of the related communicants are transmitted to the target communicant. Graphical representations of the related communicants and graphical indications of the statuses of the related communicants with respect to connections to the different server applications (44) may be displayed on a display. A contact list including a respective graphical representation of each of one or more of the communicants also may be displayed in association with visual cues representing the ascertained types of current interaction activities respectively engaged in by the one or more communicants. A single universal user identifier may be used to identify each communicant.