Patent ID: 7676543

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for associating presence information with a digital image, comprising: allowing an identifier associated with at least one object depicted in the image to be stored as image metadata; determining, in connection with a displaying of the image, whether the identifier is sufficient for obtaining presence information associated with the at least one object from at least one of a presence application and a presence roster list; using the identifier to associate the presence information with the at least one object, including obtaining the presence information from the at least one of a presence application and a presence roster list if it is determined that the identifier is sufficient for obtaining presence information associated with the at least one object; and performing an action related to the object using the associated presence information; wherein at least one of allowing an identifier to be stored as image data, determining whether the identifier is sufficient for obtaining presence information, using the identifier to associate the presence information with the at least one object, and performing an action is performed by a computing device.