Rapporative is such a fundamental part of how I get work done that I often forget that it isn't just part of GMail.
While I am really excited that these guys had an exit -- founders who make really great products deserve to get paid -- I hope that this doesn't mean that Rapporative will eventually be shut down or merged with LinkedIn in some horrible way that removes it from my inbox. I'm not sure if I can keep people straight without it.
When I go to startup events I frequently encounter people who know me that I can't remember ever meeting. When that happens, if my wife is with me she will discreetly remind me, "She's the technical founder of such-and-such." You see, I'm terrible with both faces AND names.
It's also great for figuring out someone's email address. Open up a new draft and start typing iterations (e.g., first.last@domain.com, first@domain, etc.). You'll know you've reached the right email when a profile pops up.
Congratulations to Rahul, Martin, Sam and all the others.
As expressed by others I hope Rapportive continues independently in terms of account creation.
I really liked when Conrad from the support them explained an issue I had regarding merged accounts by providing the following graph, I did mention that I was a CS Major (hope the spacing lines up):
I find myself talking about Rapportive a lot as one of the better executed examples of the contextual delivery of relevant content. Glad these pioneers got rewarded for their work.
Often acquisitions are done for talent more than product. Other times its because the company being acquired fills out a need for the parent company that they can't or don't want to fill internally. i.e. Why spend resources developing a competing product internally when you can add another company that does it better. So its a legitimate question that deserves an answer to Rapportive customers.
While I am really excited that these guys had an exit -- founders who make really great products deserve to get paid -- I hope that this doesn't mean that Rapporative will eventually be shut down or merged with LinkedIn in some horrible way that removes it from my inbox. I'm not sure if I can keep people straight without it.