Patent ID: 8161022
Filing Date: 2012-04-17
Classification: G06Q,H04L,Y10S

Abstract:
1. In a computer system that includes one or more processors and that is network connectable along with one or more other computer systems to a network, a method for updating contact related data, the method comprising: an act of the computer system receiving an electronic message that has one or more message participants, the electronic message storing first contact information for each of the one or more message participants, the first contact information comprising initial contact information associated with each of the one or more message participants at a time when the electronic message was created; an act of the computer system, subsequent to receiving the electronic message, generating a user interface that presents the electronic message to a user, the user interface including one or more visual links for retrieving contact information for a corresponding message participant selected from the one or more message participants; an act of the computer system, subsequent to generating the user interface, receiving user input selecting a visual link from the one or more visual links, the visual link corresponding to a selected contact item that represents a selected message participant and that is stored at least at a remote contacts silo; an act of the computer system, in response to receiving user input selecting the visual link, sending a contact related data request to a remote computer system to retrieve second contact information associated with the selected contact item stored at the remote contacts silo; an act of the computer system receiving the second contact information associated with the selected message participant from the contacts silo, the second contact information representing updated contact information for the selected message participant that was updated at the remote contacts silo subsequent to the time when the electronic message was created; and an act of the computer system storing at least a portion of both the first contact information and the second contact information, such that the user has concurrent access to the initial contact information from the time the electronic message was created, as well as the updated contact information that was updated at the remote contacts silo subsequent to the time when the electronic message was created.