Patent ID: 7383308

Claim:
A method for sharing electronic content, the method comprising: enabling access to a contacts list user interface that makes perceivable user-identified online identities and real time presence information for at least some of those online identities; based on user manipulation of the contacts list user interface, enabling designation of several online identities that constitute a subset of the online identities for whom presence is indicated within the contacts list; receiving from the user an indication of content to be shared with each of the online identities designated; determining which of the designated online identities are presently online; resolving a cascaded delivery rule to choose one or more delivery mechanisms for communicating the content to the designated online identities; using the chosen delivery mechanisms to independently communicate the content to the designated online identities, including: establishing separate communications with each of the online identities designated by the user, communicating the content to the designated online identities that are presently online using instant messaging, and communicating the content to the designated online identities that are not presently online using a communications program other than instant messaging.