A contact list is a collection of

screen names Screen name may refer to: * Stage name, pseudonyms used for film appearances * User (computing) A user is a person who utilizes a computer or network service. A user often has a user account and is identified to the system by a usernam ...

. It is a commonplace feature of

instant messaging Instant messaging (IM) technology is a type of online chat allowing real-time text transmission over the Internet or another computer network. Messages are typically transmitted between two or more parties, when each user inputs text and tri ...

Email client An email client, email reader or, more formally, message user agent (MUA) or mail user agent is a computer program used to access and manage a user's email. A web application which provides message management, composition, and reception functio ...

s, online games and

mobile phones A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while ...

. It has various trademarked and proprietary names in different contexts. Contacts lists' windows show screen names that represent actual other people. To communicate with someone on the list, the user can select a name and act upon it, for example open a new E-mail editing session, instant message, or telephone call. In some programs, if your contact list shows someone, their list will show yours. Contact lists for

mobile operating system A mobile operating system is an operating system for mobile phones, tablet computer, tablets, smartwatches, smartglasses, or other non-laptop personal computing, personal mobile computing devices. While computers such as typical laptops are "mobi ...

s are often shared among several

mobile apps A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on des ...

. Some text message clients allow you to change your display name at will while others only allow you to reformat your screen name (Add/remove spaces and capitalize letters). Generally, it makes no difference other than how it's displayed. With most programs, the contact list can be minimized to keep it from getting in the way, and is accessed again by selecting its icon. The style of the contact list is different with the different programs, but all contact lists have similar capabilities. Such lists may be used to form

social networks A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods for a ...

with more specific purposes. The list is not the network: to become a network, a list requires some additional information such as the status or category of the contact. Given this, contact networks for various purposes can be generated from the list.

Sales Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. The seller, or the provider of the goods or services, completes a sale in r ...

people have long maintained contact networks using a variety of means of contact including phone logs and notebooks. They do not confuse their list with their network, nor would they confuse a "sales contact" with a "friend" or person they had already worked with.

See also