Method and system for organizing electronic messages using eye-gaze technology

A system comprising:

• a messaging module for transmitting and receiving messages to and from other computer systems of a network;
• a display device coupled to the messaging module for displaying a plurality of messages that have been previously received and transmitted and for displaying an outgoing message;
• a user input device coupled to the messaging module for allowing the user to compose the outgoing message;
• and
• an eye-tracking system coupled to the messaging module and to the display device for tracking where the user is gazing as the user composes the outgoing message,
• wherein the messaging module determines, during a composition time period in which the user is composing the outgoing message, a relevance rating for each of a plurality of gaze areas, wherein each gaze area is associated with one of the plurality of displayed messages, and wherein the relevance rating of a gaze area is based on a number of times the user's gaze dwells on the displayed message associated with the gaze area after the user's gaze is directed away from the displayed message, identifies, based on the relevance rating of each of the plurality of gaze areas, at least one displayed message that is related to the outgoing message, and associates with the outgoing message an identifier for at least one of the at least one displayed message.

A tangibly embodied computer readable medium containing a computer program for organizing messages received and transmitted between at least two computer systems over a network, the computer program comprising executable instructions for:

• tracking where a user of a first computer system is gazing as the user is composing an outgoing message;
• determining during a composition time period in which the user is composing the outgoing message a relevance rating for each of a plurality of gaze areas, wherein each gaze area is associated with one of a plurality of messages displayed by the first computer system, and wherein the relevance rating of a gaze area is based on a number of times the user's gaze dwells on the displayed message associated with the gaze area after the user's gaze is directed away from the displayed message;
• identifying, based on the relevance rating of each of the plurality of gaze areas, at least one displayed message that is related to the outgoing message;
• and
• associating with the outgoing message an identifier for at least one of the at least one displayed message that is related to the outgoing message.

A system comprising:

• means for transmitting and receiving messages to and from other computer systems of a network;
• means for displaying a plurality of messages that have been previously received and transmitted and for displaying an outgoing message;
• means for allowing the user to compose the outgoing message;
• and
• means for tracking where the user is gazing as the user composes the outgoing message,
• wherein the means for transmitting and receiving messages further determines, during a composition time period in which the user is composing the outgoing message, a relevance rating for each of a plurality of gaze areas, wherein each gaze area is associated with one of the plurality of displayed messages, and wherein the relevance rating of a gaze area is based on a number of times the user's gaze dwells on the displayed message associated with the gaze area after the user's gaze is directed away from the displayed message, identifies, based on the relevance rating of each of the plurality of gaze areas, at least one displayed message that is related to the outgoing message, and associates with the outgoing message an identifier for at least one of the at least one displayed message that is related to the outgoing message.