1. A method comprising: accessing, by one or more computers of a first person, information for a graphical user interface that when rendered by the one or more computers displays an identifying characteristic associated with a second person's contact information; detecting, by the one or more computers, the first's person selection of a hotkey combination that specifies that the first user has selected textual information in the graphical user interface; identifying, based on detection of the hotkey combination, that the selected textual information is the identifying characteristic displayed in the graphical user interface; determining, by the one or more computers, a type of the identifying characteristic that is selected in the graphical user interface and that is identified by the selection of the hotkey combination, with the type of the identifying characteristic comprising one or more of a telephone number for the second person, a name of the second person, and an image associated with the second person; determining, based on the identifying characteristic that is selected in the graphical user interface and that is identified by the selection of the hotkey combination and the type of the identifying characteristic that is selected in the graphical user interface and that is identified by the selection of the hotkey combination, contact information for the second person; and launching a communication mode, with the communication mode using the contact information for the second person to establish a communication with the second person.
22. The method of claim 1 wherein the identifying characteristic comprises an image of the second person.