EP2548162A1

EP2548162A1 - Method of categorizing messages received by a user of a company social network

Info

Publication number: EP2548162A1
Application number: EP11712964A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jerome Elleouet; Cécile TALARMAIN
Original assignee: Alcatel Lucent SAS
Current assignee: Alcatel Lucent SAS
Priority date: 2010-03-18
Filing date: 2011-03-04
Publication date: 2013-01-23
Also published as: KR20120130778A; JP2013522745A; CN102822852A; FR2957702A1; US20130086189A1; WO2011114039A1; FR2957702B1

Abstract

The invention relates to a method of categorizing messages received by a user of a company social network, said method making provision to: - extract from a message received an identifier of the sender of said message; - verify the existence in the company social network of relationships between said identified sender and said user; - apply a categorization rule to said message as a function of said relationship; - transmit the categorized message to said user.

Description

Method of categorizing messages received by a user of a corporate social network

The invention relates to a method for categorizing messages received by a user of an enterprise social network, as well as an instant communications server in an enterprise social network, said server comprising means for implementing such a system. process.

With the progress made in recent years in telephony and e-mail, communications have become fast and efficient, which is a significant step forward for businesses.

In particular, the use of electronic mail has spread rapidly, in particular because of its ease of use. Indeed, since the email address of a user is easily accessible, sending an email to the user is very simple.

In return, the inbox of a user can quickly be filled with emails, especially spam emails often unwanted, which can greatly affect the visibility of larger emails, and therefore increase the risk loss of said emails.

However, the loss of important e-mails can obviously be detrimental to the company, especially when the e-mails concerned relate to the company's commercial exchanges with its customers.

To remedy this problem, some e-mail applications such as Microsoft Outlook® or Mozilla Thunderbird® allow a user to categorize the e-mails he receives, for example by giving them a color, which has the advantage of providing the user useful visual information to easily find his important messages. In these messaging applications, a user can categorize their emails either manually or by creating a rule that automatically categorizes email based on predefined criteria, as well as suggested for Microsoft Outlook® by the article available online at http://bloqs.msdn.com/outlook/archive/2008/12/02/livinq-in-outlook- automaticallv-categorize-with-rules.aspx.

However, these options are limited because they are not exhaustive. For example, if the user decides to create a categorization rule for emails whose sender's address includes a suffix specific to that user's company, such a rule will similarly categorize emails from close associates. or the hierarchical authorities of said user and the emails of the senders from the subsidiaries of said company. The document US-2009/0164588 describes an email management method in which an email received by a user is first categorized automatically and based on the presence of categorization information for its sender, and then manually by said user. In addition, this e-mail management method can provide that the e-mail sender manually categorizes said e-mail when sent to the user, said categorization appearing with said e-mail in the user's inbox. With regard to telephone communications, there are also few satisfactory solutions that categorize calls received or missed by a user and / or voice messages of said user.

Document WO-2007/046857 describes a method in which a user can categorize a telephone call that he sends or receives by pressing certain keys of his terminal, so that said call is displayed with a visual indicator, for example an icon, in the list of calls received from the recipient of said user or the user himself. However, the methods described in these two documents have limitations, especially in a professional context, because they do not take into account the information relating to the professional relations between the user and his / her sender / recipient, in particular the information coming from the hierarchical tree of the user and / or its sender / recipient.

In addition, other patents and patent applications, as well as software such as ClearContext®, provide methods and systems for filing e-mails received by a user in files, but do not solve the above-mentioned problems, in to the extent that they do not improve the visibility of important emails, which can cause the user to skip an important email classified among others in a specific folder.

The aim of the invention is to improve the prior art by proposing in particular a method which makes it possible to automatically categorize messages received by a user in an exhaustive manner and adapted to the identifier of the senders of said messages in a corporate social network, as well as to the relations between said user and said senders, while providing the user with good visibility of the important messages.

For this purpose, according to a first aspect, the invention proposes a method of categorizing messages received by a user of an enterprise social network, said method providing for:

extracting from a received message an identifier of the sender of said message;

- checking the existence in the corporate social network of relations between said identified sender and said user;

- apply a categorization rule to said message according to said relationships;

transmit the categorized message to said user. According to a second aspect, the invention proposes an instant communications server in an enterprise social network, said server comprising:

means for extracting from an received message an identifier of the sender of said message;

means for verifying the existence in at least one database of the corporate social network of relations between said identified sender and said user;

means for applying a categorization rule to said message as a function of said relationships;

means for transmitting said categorized message to said user.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear in the description which follows, made with reference to the appended figures in which:

- Figure 1 schematically shows an example of a hierarchical tree that can be used in a corporate social network;

FIG. 2 represents an architecture for an enterprise social network, said architecture comprising in particular an instant communications server able to implement a categorization method according to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 represents an architecture for an enterprise social network, said architecture comprising in particular an instant communications server able to implement a categorization method according to a second embodiment of the invention.

In connection with these figures, a method of categorizing the messages received by a user of an enterprise social network is described below, said method being implemented in particular by means of an instantaneous communication server 1 (ICS, for English Instant Communications Server) implanted in said social network.

Today, social networks take a prominent place, and their use continues to spread, not only on the Internet, with for example Facebook® or Twitter®, but also in companies. Among the networks social networks, such as Linkedln®, or Lotus Connections® from IBM®.

In particular, in a corporate social network such as those mentioned above, a user can be identified by his hierarchical position in said company. For example, the user can be identified in relation to the service in which he works, to his direct collaborators and to his service manager, or to the person in charge of the department in which his service is understood.

In relation with FIG. 1, a user A can be identified with respect to his employees Bi of the same service and the manager Ci of said department, or in relation to the manager C2 of another department and his collaborators B ₂ , or in relation to to the manager D of the department comprising these two departments and to the direct staff B ₃ of the manager D.

To categorize a message received by a user, the method provides for extracting from said message an identifier of its sender, said identifier depending on the nature of said message. To do this, the instantaneous communication server 1 comprises means for extracting from a received message an identifier of its sender.

The method further provides for verifying the existence in the corporate social network of relationships between the identified sender and the user. To do this, the instant messaging server 1 comprises means for verifying the existence of such relationships in at least one database of the corporate social network.

In relation with FIGS. 2 and 3, the instantaneous communications server 1 is connected to a server 2 of the corporate social network via a programming interface (API, for the English Application Programming Interface). server comprising at least one database in which is stored information on the users of said network. In particular, the server 2 may comprise a hierarchical tree of the company.

To verify the existence of relations between the identified sender of a received message and the user, the instant communications server 1 sends a request 3 to the server 2, said request comprising the identifier of the sender of said message.

In response, the server 2 sends the instantaneous communication server 1 a notification 4. If there are relations between the user and the identified sender, the notification 4 includes information on said relations, for example on the hierarchical position of said sender with respect to said user, or on the existing relationship between the company of said user and the sender.

In addition, if there is no relationship between the identified sender and the user, for example if the sender is a person outside the company and is not part of his contacts, professional or private, the notification 4 indicates the absence of said relations, and the method of categorization will not apply to the message of said sender.

The method further provides for applying a categorization rule to the received message based on the relationships existing between the sender of said message and the user. To do this, the instantaneous communication server 1 comprises means for applying such a rule.

In relation to FIGS. 2 and 3, the categorization rules are stored in an administration database, the administrator of the corporate social network being thus able to modify said rules or to define new ones by accessing said database.

According to one embodiment, the method may provide for providing default categorization rules, which the administrator of the corporate social network can modify to adapt them to the specific needs of said company, in particular to update them with respect to possible modifications of the hierarchical tree of said network, or in relation to the nature of the contacts of the users of said network.

To know the categorization rule to be applied to the received message, the instantaneous communication server 1 sends a request 6 to the administration database, said request comprising the information previously obtained from the server 2 on the relations between the sender. said message and the user. The database 5 then sends a notification 7 including the required categorization rule, if it exists.

In particular, the categorization rule can relate to the hierarchical position of the sender of the received message relative to the user. Indeed, this hierarchical position can obviously determine the level of importance of the message; for example, the higher it is, the more important the message will be.

In relation with FIG. 1, if the sender is at the same hierarchical level as the user A, that is to say if said sender is for example a collaborator Bi of the same service as said user, a collaborator B ₂ d another department, or a collaborator B ₃ of the manager D of the department including the service of said user, the message received may be considered as being of medium importance.

If the sender is a supervisor of ^the user, for example the direct responsible Ci or C ₂ responsible another service which is of the same hierarchical level as said line manager, the message received may be considered high importance.

Finally, if the sender is an important hierarchical superior, for example the department head D including the service of said user, the director of human resources, or even the general manager of the department. the company, the message received, can be considered of very high importance.

The categorization rule may also relate to non-hierarchical business relationships between the sender and the user, for example if the sender is a known business contact of the said user's business, such as a customer or a correspondent of the said business. .

The categorization rule may further relate to non-business relationships between the sender and the user, for example if the sender is a private contact of the user.

In addition, if there is no categorization rule for the relationship between the sender and the user, or if said sender has no relationship with the user, the received message will not be categorized, and may therefore be considered by the user as of less importance compared to possible other messages categorized by the method.

Once the received message is categorized, the method provides for transmitting it to the user. To do this, the instantaneous communication server 1 comprises means of transmitting the categorized message to the user, said user can then view it on his terminal.

In addition, according to a preferred embodiment, the categorization rule may comprise the assignment of a visual indicator to the categorized message, said assignment being performed by the transmission means of the instantaneous communication server 1. For example, the categorized message may be assigned a color specific to its category, said color may further highlight the degree of importance of said message being more or less showy. According to one embodiment, the categorized message is transmitted to the user by means of a programming interface, said programming interface varying according to the nature of the terminal of said user, and in particular according to the nature of said message. In addition, the communications server 1 snapshots can affect a visual indicator to the categorized message through this programming interface.

In relation to FIG. 2, a first embodiment of the invention is described below, in which the message received by the user is an e-mail. The categorization method is then initiated by the user's e-mail server 8a, after receiving a new message.

Commonly used email servers, such as corporate ones, include successive versions of Microsoft Exchange®, or the IBM® Domino® server.

In this embodiment, the instantaneous communication server 1 is connected to the user's e-mail server 8a via a programming interface, for example by means of an extension module (for the user). English plug-in) located in said mail server.

According to one embodiment, the instant communications server 1 may comprise an instantaneous communications supplementary module that is connected to the user's e-mail server 8a, for example by means of Internet services, as is the case for the Microsoft Exchange 2007® mail server. Upon receipt of a new message, the instant messaging server 8a sends via the aforementioned programming interface a notification 9a to the instant messaging server 1. The instantaneous communications server 1 then retrieves from the message received the identifier of its sender, said identifier including in particular the e-mail address of said sender.

Then, as previously described, the server 1 first checks the existence in at least one database of the social network relationship between the sender of the message and the user, and then applies a categorization rule to said message based on said relationships. In particular, in this embodiment, if the sender of the message is a private contact of the user, the server 1 can check in a database of the e-mail server 8a the existence of relations between said sender and said user. The instant communications server 1 finally transmits the categorized message to the e-mail server 8a by sending it via the programming interface a notification 10a comprising said message. Thus, when the user consults his received messages, he can see, through the graphical user interface (GUI) of his email server 8a, the message categorized among his other messages, said categorized message further comprising, in a preferred embodiment, a visual indicator, for example a highlight in the color corresponding to the category of said message, so as to be easily visible to said user.

In connection with FIG. 3, a second embodiment of the invention is described below, in which the message received by the user is a telephone call notification from the sender, said notification being able to indicate to the user the existence of a voice message for said user.

In this second embodiment, the categorization method is initiated by a request (not shown in the figure) sent by the user to an instant communications client 8b (for the English Instant Communications Client) to view the message, for example. example by activating a function of the graphical user interface of said client on his terminal. Commonly used instant messaging clients include the Alcatel-Lucent® My Instant Communicator® application. In particular, according to the client of instantaneous communications implanted in the corporate social network, the user can activate an interactive button of the graphical user interface of said client to consult his call log (for the English call log), and thus activate the categorization process.

The instant communications client 8b sends the instant messaging server 1 a notification 9b indicating that the user has requested to consult his messages. For each message, the instantaneous communications server 1 then extracts an identifier from its sender, said identifier can for example include the phone number of said sender. Then, as previously described, the server 1 firstly verifies the existence in at least one database of the corporate social network of relations between the sender of the message and the user, then applies a categorization rule to the user. message according to said relationships.

In particular, in this embodiment, if the sender of the message is a private contact of the user, the server 1 can check in a database of the client 8b instantaneous communications the existence of relations between said sender and said user.

The instant communications server 1 finally transmits the categorized message to the instant communications client 8b by sending it a notification 10b comprising the user's call log, in which said categorized message is included.

Thus, when the user consults his call log, he can see, through the graphical user interface of the client 8b instantaneous communications, the message categorized among his other messages, said categorized message further comprising, in a preferred embodiment, a visual indicator, for example a highlight in the color corresponding to the category of said message, so as to be easily visible to said user.

Claims

A method of categorizing messages received by a user of an enterprise social network, said method providing for:

extracting from a received message an identifier of the sender of said message;

- apply a categorization rule to said message according to said relationships;

transmit the categorized message to said user.

2. Categorization method according to claim 1, characterized in that the message received by the user is an email, the extracted identifier including the e-mail address of the sender.

3. Categorization method according to claim 2, characterized in that it is initiated by the server (8a) electronic mail, after receiving a new message.

4. Categorization method according to claim 1, characterized in that the message received by the user is a telephone call notification of the sender.

5. Categorization method according to claim 4, characterized in that it is initiated by a request sent by the user to view the message.

6. categorization method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the categorization rule comprises the assignment of a visual indicator to the message.

7. categorization method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the categorized message is transmitted to the user by means of a programming interface.

8. categorization method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the categorization rules are stored in a database (5) administration.

9. Server (1) for instant communications in a corporate social network, said server comprising:

means for transmitting said categorized message to said user.

10. server (1) instantaneous communications according to claim 9, characterized in that it comprises an instantaneous communications complementary module which is connected to the server (8a) electronic mail user.