Patent ID: 7590696

Claim:
A method for using an instant messaging service to communicate, the method comprising: maintaining a list of potential instant message recipients on behalf of an instant message sender; enabling display, to the instant message sender, of an instant messaging graphical user interface that includes recipient identifiers corresponding to the potential instant message recipients, the instant messaging graphical user interface being configured to make online presence information available for one or more of the potential instant message recipients and to enable the instant message sender to address instant messages to the recipient identifiers corresponding to the potential instant message recipients through selection of the recipient identifiers corresponding to the potential instant message recipients and displayed on the instant messaging graphical user interface; receiving, from the instant message sender, a request to add a mobile telephone number that is associated with a specific mobile telephone to the list of potential instant message recipients maintained on behalf of the instant message sender; in response to receiving the request to add the mobile telephone number that is associated with the specific mobile telephone to the list of potential message recipients maintained on behalf of the instant message sender, adding the mobile telephone number that is associated with the specific mobile telephone to the list of potential instant message recipients maintained on behalf of the instant message sender; enabling an updating of the instant messaging graphical user interface displayed to the instant message sender to add the mobile telephone number that is associated with the specific mobile telephone to the instant messaging graphical user interface as a recipient identifier, the mobile telephone number displayed in the instant messaging graphical user interface being configured to enable the instant message sender to address a message to the mobile telephone number through selection of the mobile telephone number recipient identifier displayed on the instant messaging graphical user interface; receiving, from the instant message sender, a request to associate an alias with the mobile telephone number that is associated with the specific mobile telephone; in response to receiving the request to associate the alias with the mobile telephone number that is associated with the specific mobile telephone, associating the alias with the mobile telephone number that is associated with the specific mobile telephone; and enabling another updating of the instant messaging graphical user interface displayed to the instant message sender to replace the mobile telephone number recipient identifier with the alias that is associated with the mobile telephone number.