Within the Contacts section of Gmail, you’ve taken the time to build a database of information about all the people you communicate with regularly – from business titles and phone numbers, to Twitter handles and profile photos.

Rapportive is a free browser plugin and it is available as both a Firefox add-on and as a Chrome extension. This app replaces the ads in Gmail’s sidebar with useful information about your contacts: a photo, bio and links to social media accounts (Twitter, LinkedIn, Flickr, etc).

Features of Rapportive

• Alternative to Ads : You can replace the ads with more useful information which will  improve your contact information.
• Live Display of Tweets : You may view their Tweets live in their email margin without having to toggle between browsers and contact information.
• Links with All Social Media Applications : Links to LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and the new Google Plus social networking applications will allow you to view all of their updates into one compact application.
• Photograph with Email : A photograph will be provided to remind you and help you establish a connection.
• Brief Biography : A brief biography of the person will remind you of your contacts interests and skills before you contact that person and thus easier to establish rapport.
• Displays Notes about the Contact : You can write notes or set small reminders in the notes for future contact.

Install the Rapportive for your web browser from here. Once installed, login to your Gmail. The Rapportive link should be visible at the top of the page. So the next time when you are reading your email, it will grab the sender’s address and scan the various social networks for detail.

Also see: Customize Gmail with Minimalist Chrome Extension

It is a great solution for people who have a hard time remembering personal information about people they meet at networking events. If you know of other applications like Rapportive? Leave a link in the comments.

(via The Next Web)