Patent ID: 7765265

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of displaying electronic information in an instant-messaging application, the method comprising: maintaining, on behalf of an instant messaging user, a set of identifiers of users of an instant messaging application; maintaining, on behalf of at least two of the users for whom identifiers are included within the set of identifiers of users of the instant messaging application, electronic messages that are designated as being reflective of the present status of the users to whom they correspond and that presently are set to be sent as automatic responses to incoming instant messages intended for the users to whom they correspond; identifying, from among the set of identifiers of users of the instant messaging application, at least two users as users for whom electronic messages that are designated as being reflective of the present status of the at least two users and that presently are set to be sent as automatic responses to incoming instant messages intended for the at least two users have been changed recently, including: a first user for whom a first electronic message that is designated as being reflective of the present status of the first user and that presently is set to be sent as an automatic response to incoming instant messages intended for the first user has been changed recently, and a second user for whom a second electronic message that is designated as being reflective of the present status of the second user and that presently is set to be sent as an automatic response to incoming instant messages intended for the second user has been changed recently; in response to identifying the at least two users as users for whom electronic messages that are designated as being reflective of the present status of the at least two users and that presently are set to be sent as automatic responses to incoming instant messages intended for the at least two users have been changed recently, accessing electronic messages that are designated as being reflective of the present status of users and that presently are set to be sent as automatic responses to incoming instant messages intended for the users that correspond to at least some of the identified users including: accessing the first electronic message that is designated as being reflective of the present status of the first user and that presently is set to be sent as an automatic response to incoming instant messages intended for the first user, and accessing the second electronic message that is designated as being reflective of the present status of the second user and that presently is set to be sent as an automatic response to incoming instant messages intended for the second user; analyzing content contained within the first and second electronic messages to determine that at least a portion of the content is common to both the first and second electronic messages; and based upon the content analysis, indicating to a user that the first and second users have a common characteristic.