Google over the next two weeks will be rolling out a new ‘People Widget’ located on the right hand side of your messages. 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.

Next to all your emails you’ll see the widget which houses relevant information about the contact including things like recent email threads you’ve engaged in with them, shared calendar information, shared documents, Buzz posts, contact information (including quick access buttons for calling or chatting them), shared documents and more. You also have quick access to a variety of ways to communicate with individuals, start a group chat or schedule a meeting with groups of people.