When Google isn't getting into your wallet, they're tinkering with your inbox. Amidst the flurry of activity yesterday, Google announced on their Gmail blog that they would be rolling out a new "People Widget" that would show contextual information about all of your inbox contacts.
"The people widget surfaces content from friends, family and colleagues that is already available to you but may be hard to find and makes it easier to connect with them," explains Google Software Engineer Zohair Hyder in the blog post.
From the right-hand column, users will have quick access to a contact's latest emails conversations, shared documents, relevant Buzz posts, and Calendar events. Because it shows your contact's photo, title, and place of work, the People Widget ought to have some small business appeal (Google in fact cross-listed the post on the Enterprise Blog). Finally, users will also have to new quick communication tools, including starting a group chat session or scheduling a group meeting.
The functionality of the People Widget looks a bit like Xobni's plug-in for Microsoft Outlook and RIM Blackberry, though the Xobni plug-in can draw from enterprise applications such as Microsoft SharePoint.
In addition to the regular release of new tools in the Labs, Google has continued to aggressively roll out Gmail enhancements. Last month Google personalized the inbox, by allowing users to upload their own background or create a personalized theme. By using the same tech they rolled out for Priority Inbox, Google began serving up more location- and interest-based deals on the Gmail homepage. Finally, in March Google deployed Smart Labels to tidy up by auto-sorting incoming emails.
For all the latest on yesterday's People Widget, check out the blog post.