Every once in a while, I stumble onto a product that just makes life easier. Rapportive, defined as a social CRM tool for Gmail, is the most recent add-on to find it’s way onto my PC. Rapportive (available for Firefox and Chrome users) replaces the advertising space in individual emails with up-to-date social networking contact information on the people you correspond with.
My first thought was “this looks like XOBNI for Gmail” and, according to the comments and feedback I have read on this product, I am not alone. XOBNI is another fantastic tool, but unfortunately is only available for Outlook users, and a product that I have missed terribly since switching from Outlook to Gmail. Both of these products make it very easy to see what social networking services your friends, family and even customers are using.
Once installed, the social networking information on the person/company that emailed you appears out to the right of an open email. Icons (with links) are provided for services like Twitter, LinkedIn, Flickr, MySpace, Facebook, etc. Simply click on any of these to open the profile page of that individual in a new tab. Below the links you will find a comment area that you can use for keeping track of customers, but I am sure individuals will find some other creative and unique ideas for this space.
