Tags in communication environments

Abstract

Communication services enable users to communicate electronically using various modes of communication. Conversations between groups of users are common, where emails, other communications, and data are exchanged repeatedly over a period of time. Provision of tags in communication environments may enable the users to organize, search for, and share content of the conversations more efficiently, improving communication and collaboration among the users. For example, a tag module of a communication service may associate a communication with one or more tags such that the tags are persisted with the communication as the communication is exchanged, and transmit the communication to participants of the conversation. The tag module may also provide automatic classification, suggestion, and/or completion of the tags. The tags may be displayed in conjunction with the communication through communication user experiences associated with the participants, where the participants may interact with the tags for search and organization purposes.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for providing a tag for a communication sent from a sender to a recipient, the method comprising:
 receiving, from the recipient of the communication, the tag to be associated with the communication; and   in response to receiving the tag from the recipient, automatically, with a processor, providing a tag indication to a sender of the communication, the tag indication identifying at least one selected from a group consisting of the communication, the tag, and the recipient.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the tag indication further identifies at least one selected from a group consisting of a group associated with the communication and a time elapsed from the association of the tag. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving the tag indication over a control messaging channel in a transport layer, wherein the control messaging channel is distinct from a communication exchange channel used to transmit the communication.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 analyzing the tag to identify a trend associated with at least one selected from a group consisting of the recipient, a group of participants, or an organization.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising automatically suggesting the tag based on a tag history of past communications comprising similar attributes. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the attributes comprise one or more of a sender of the communication, one or more recipients of the communication, a key word in a body of the communication, and one or more other tags associated with the communication. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 allowing the recipient to search and navigate through at least one selected from a group consisting of an additional communication and an additional conversation employing the tag.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein receiving the tag from the recipient includes automatically classifying the communication with the tag based on a content of communication as received by the recipient. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 in response to detecting an initial tag input, automatically suggesting the tag based on an attribute of the communication.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the attribute comprises one or more of a sender of the communication, one or more recipients of the communication, and a key word in a body of the communication. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 in response to detecting an initial tag input, automatically suggesting the tag based on an existing tag in another communication in the conversation including the communication.   
     
     
         12 . A computing device to provide a tag for a communication sent from a sender to a recipient, the computing device comprising:
 a memory configured to store instructions associated with a communication service; and   one or more processors coupled to the memory that are configured, via execution of the communication service, to:
 receive, from the recipient of the communication, the tag to be associated with the communication; and 
 in response to receiving the tag from the recipient, automatically, with a processor, providing a tag indication to a sender of the communication, the tag indication identifying at least one selected from a group consisting of the communication, the tag, and the recipient. 
   
     
     
         13 . The computing device of  claim 12 , wherein the tag includes one of a hashtag and a label. 
     
     
         14 . The computing device of  claim 12 , wherein the tag is a private tag to allow the recipient to organize communications privately. 
     
     
         15 . The computing device of  claim 12 , wherein the tag is a public tag to allow participants of the communication to organize, navigate, and search communications within a conversation. 
     
     
         16 . The computing device of  claim 12 , wherein the tag is provided to be displayed in at least one selected from a group consisting of a body of the communication and a subject of the communication. 
     
     
         17 . The computing device of  claim 12 , wherein the tag indication further identifies at least one selected from a group consisting of a group associated with the communication and a time elapsed from the association of the tag. 
     
     
         18 . A computer storage memory device readable by a computer system and encoding a computer program comprising instructions for causing the computer system to perform a set of functions, the set of functions comprising:
 receiving a tag to be associated with a communication as received by a recipient from a sender; and   in response to receiving the tag, automatically, with a processor, providing a tag indication to a sender of the communication, the tag indication identifying at least one selected from a group consisting of the communication, the tag, and the recipient.   
     
     
         19 . The computer storage memory device of  claim 18 , wherein the tag indication further identifies at least one selected from a group consisting of a group associated with the communication and a time elapsed from the association of the tag. 
     
     
         20 . The computer storage memory device of  claim 18 , wherein receiving the tag to be associated with a communication includes receiving the tag as an automatic classification of the communication.