A stand-alone icon (i.e., an icon that is not part of an application interface) is provided to facilitate communications across a network between users of at least one communications program. The icon represents a contact or a set of contacts. Status information regarding the contact or set of contacts...http://www.google.com/patents/US7434169?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US7434169 - Facilitating communications between computer users across a network
