Rapport made easy

The list of “Top 10 Startups of 2010” was posted today on Read Write Web.

This is where I found Rapportive. It’s a plug-in that gets rid of the ads in your Gmail side bar AND replaces it with background info (photo, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc) about the person emailing you.

I’m all for sites that improve the lives of consumers instead of adding frustration. You also know that I’m zany about simple, clear messaging.

That’s why I was so excited– nay, giddy –about the giant blue arrow calling out where to click “Continue” to download.

They made it so simple that a monkey could do it. This so-called Monkey Test should be the ultimate assessment of intuitive design, and they passed with flying colors.

But wait, there’s more:

If for some reason you have technical difficulties, the founder offers his personal email address and Skype for you to contact him.

Really? Yes. I even clicked on the Skype link just to see if it would work, but it said I was about to call Rahul Vohra, so I clicked cancel.

It doesn’t matter if he doesn’t actually use that email address or Skype alias. It’s the fact that I, as a user, feel like I’m one phone call away from the founder of the coolest app ever.

Now that, my friends, is how to establish rapport.

Follow me on Twitter: @winniekao