Methods and systems for organizing meetings

Abstract

A conference organizer uses conference software to define a conference and to store conference information on the organizer's computer system. The stored conference information includes a list of attendees, and a personal proxy mailbox for each attendee. Each attendee has a wireless device, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA). The organizer's computer system includes a wireless communication station that can communicate in wireless fashion with the wireless devices of the attendees at the conference. During the conference, an attendee uses his/her wireless device to access the conference information, select another attendee or a group of attendee from the list of attendees, and send the selected attendee or attendees a message. The message can be conveyed to and stored in the personal proxy mailbox or mailboxes of the selected attendee or attendees. The use of personal proxy mailboxes allows attendees to send messages to one another and to receive messages from one another without divulging their primary email addresses.