Google’s not going to be a fan of this one. Cambridge UK-based Rapportive just released a Firefox and Chrome extension that boots ads off a person’s Gmail page and replaces them with Retagr-style social media links and bio info of the person whose email you are reading. It’ll also pulls in their Twitter stream.
There’s already many extensions out there that block ads but this one replaces the space with useful, relevant information. While some marketers might see this as usurping their ability to reach prospective customers with standard advertising, here’s a better way to look at it.
Smart brands are already all over the social web. And when one of these smart brands sends an email to a person (if that person hasn’t already dubbed that brand spam), it’s entirely conceivable that brand’s social profile could sit alongside an email just like any other person’s social profile. And what’s not to love about that?
Well, for the brands that is. Not so much for the recipient. Just think, now there will be Rapportive brand profile blockers created. Yes. The battle continues.
