Patent ID: 8417784

Claim:
A method of communicating user activity in an instant messaging system, comprising: monitoring an input region displayed in a user interface of a client associated with the instant messaging system and executed at a first user terminal, said client being configured to communicate over the instant messaging system; responsive to receiving a user activated keyboard input at said input region, analyzing said keyboard input to extract pattern information from the keyboard input and using said analysis to match said keyboard input to a type of user activity determined by the keyboard input patterns from a predetermined set of user activities associated with predetermined keyboard input patterns of known inputs to said input region, wherein the predetermined set of user activities includes at least a deletion activity, an accidental input activity, and a message completed activity; and transmitting at least one of (a) an activity notification in the form of a message comprising data representing said type of user activity determined by the keyboard input patterns and (b) an inactivity notification in the form of a message comprising data representing user inactivity, from the first user terminal to at least a second user terminal associated with the instant messaging system over a communications network.