Patent ID: 8499048

Claim:
A method comprising: receiving a message directed to a recipient, the recipient being a user of a social networking system; identifying an object of the social networking system associated with the message; accessing a social networking system database that includes social information about a relationship between the recipient and the identified object of the social networking system; storing, by a computer, an index entry for the message in a message index, the index entry for the message in the message index comprising a reference to the message in association with the social information about the relationship between the recipient and the identified object of the social networking system, wherein the reference to the message is a reference to the message in a message data store that stores the message; identifying a change in the social information about the relationship between the recipient and the identified object of the social networking system; and updating the index entry for the message in the message index based on the change in the social information about the relationship between the recipient and the identified object of the social networking system.