Patent ID: 8583743

Claim:
A method for consolidating platform-specific messages, comprising: translating a first message in a first of a plurality of platform-specific message formats into a second message in a generic message format; translating a third message in a second of the plurality of platform-specific message formats into a fourth message in the generic message format, wherein the plurality of platform-specific message formats comprise email, short message service, voice mail, and instant messaging, and wherein the first of the plurality of platform-specific message formats is different from the second of the plurality of platform-specific message formats; associating the second and the fourth messages that have each been translated from one of the first of the plurality of platform-specific message formats and the second of the plurality of platform-specific message formats into the generic message format into at least one message thread based on at least one of a plurality of threading fields for presentation, wherein the at least one message thread is associated by a user with the second message and the fourth message; inserting at least one of the first, second, third, and fourth messages into a message database; managing the message database; sending the at least one message thread from a first device to a second device; and mapping a first identity of a user for the first of the plurality of platform-specific message formats to a second identity of the user for the second of the plurality of platform-specific message formats, wherein the mapping is based on analysis of contact information in a contact database.