Two-way instant message forwarding

Abstract

Systems and methods providing users with a rich web experience are disclosed. In one embodiment, a client and at least one server are in communication using a dual communication link. In another embodiment, a markup language based instant messaging application is disclosed. The instant messaging application may include group instant messaging. The instant messaging application may also provide group member persistence and message persistence at the server. In another embodiment, a card based web application is disclosed, where the card information and character may be shared with other users or within a group. The cards may also be configurable by users.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 receiving an instant message from a first user to a second user through a computer network;   determining whether the second user has indicated a preference for receiving the instant message via email; and   in the event the second user has indicated a preference for receiving the instant message via email, delivering the instant message to the second user via email.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising receiving a response to the instant message from the second user via email. 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 2 , sending the response to the first user as a second instant message. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 3 , adding a notation to the second instant message indicating that it was received via email. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the instant message is a group message and the first user and the second user are members of the group. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the instant message is received using an instant message protocol. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the instant message is an XML or HTML message. 
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the instant message is received via SMS. 
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 1 , where the user indicated a preference for receiving the instant message via email based on certain definable events. 
     
     
         10 . A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium embodying code executable by a computing system, the code comprising:
 program code that receives an instant message from a first user to a second user through a computer network;   program code that determines whether the second user has indicated a preference for receiving the instant message via email; and   program code that delivers the instant message to the second user via email.   
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 10 , further comprising receiving a response to the instant message from the second user via email. 
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 11 , sending the response to the first user as a second instant message. 
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 12 , adding a notation to the second instant message indicating that it was received via email. 
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 10 , wherein the instant message is a group message and the first user and the second user are members of the group. 
     
     
         15 . A method comprising:
 receiving a first message from a first user to a second user through a computer network;   determining whether the second user has indicated a preference for receiving the instant message via a wireless device; and   in the event the second user has indicated a preference for receiving the message via a wireless device, delivering the first message to the second user's wireless device   
     
     
         16 . The method according to  claim 15 , wherein the first message is an instant message. 
     
     
         17 . The method according to  claim 15 , wherein the first message is received from a wireless device. 
     
     
         18 . The method according to  claim 15 , wherein the first message is received via email, SMS, MMS, WAP, or via the Internet. 
     
     
         19 . The method according to  claim 15 , wherein the first message is received by email. 
     
     
         20 . The method according to  claim 15 , wherein the first message is delivered to the second user's wireless device via email, SMS, MMS, WAP, or via the Internet. 
     
     
         21 . The method according to  claim 15 , wherein the first message is a group message. 
     
     
         22 . The method according to  claim 15 , wherein the first message is a persistent message. 
     
     
         23 . The method according to  claim 15 , wherein the first message comprises data selected from the list consisting of HTML, XML, text, images, video, audio, location data, and time data. 
     
     
         24 . A method comprising:
 receiving a first message from a first user via a wireless device, wherein the first message is sent to a group of users;   providing the first message to the group of users via a web page;   receiving a second message from a second user via a webpage within the group of users;   providing the first message to the group of users via a web page;   sending the second message to the first user via the wireless device.   
     
     
         25 . The method according to  claim 24 , wherein the first message is received via SMS, MMS, WAP, email, or via the Internet. 
     
     
         26 . The method according to  claim 24 , wherein the second message is delivered to the second user's wireless device via SMS, email, MMS, WAP, or via the Internet. 
     
     
         27 . The method according to  claim 24 , wherein the first message is a group message. 
     
     
         28 . The method according to  claim 24 , wherein the first message is a persistent message. 
     
     
         29 . The method according to  claim 24 , wherein the first message comprises data selected from the list consisting of HTML, XML, text, images, video, audio, location data, and time data. 
     
     
         30 . The method according to  claim 24 , wherein first message is sent to a phone number or an email address that indicates the group to which the first message should be sent to.