Patent ID: 7509377

Claim:
A method comprising: associating a first user with a first user ID; associating an instant message with the first user ID; associating an image with the first user ID; causing the instant message to communicate to the first user from a second user based on the first user ID; causing the image to communicate to the first user from the second user based on the first user ID; wherein the first user receives both the instant message and image from the second user, the image being communicated at a frame rate and at an image quality, at least one of said frame rate and said image quality being based upon conditions of a communication path between said first user and said second user, said frame rate being scalable in accordance with a number of dropped frames depending on whether a previous image has been received; and wherein said frame rate is scalable at least in part by dropping at least some frames such that said dropped frames are not sent to said first user; wherein the second user uses a broadcaster computer and the first user uses a first viewer computer, the method further comprising: receiving a request to initiate one or more server connections between the broadcaster computer and the first viewer computer, the one or more server connections are for passing the image; facilitating a peer-to-peer connection between the broadcaster computer and the first viewer computer, the peer-to-peer connection is for passing the image; facilitating communication of the image over the peer-to-peer connection instead of the server connections; and wherein a third user uses a second viewer computer comprises: passing a request to view the image from a second viewer computer to the broadcaster computer; and facilitating the reestablishing of a first server connection between the broadcaster computer and the first viewer computer for passing the image in response to receiving the second viewer computer request; and facilitating a second server connection between the broadcaster computer and the second viewer computer for passing the image.