Recently my wife's sister got curious about what had
happened to her first husband after they split. That
marriage had ended badly and they hadn't been in contact
for nearly thirty years. She tried searching for her
ex-husband's name on Google and Yahoo but didn't get any
hits. Knowing I do research online in my work as a
professional writer, she asked if I could find out
anything.
I write for business and technical publications, so I use a
number of high-priced databases for in-depth research. But I
suggested she try a simpler alternative - a solution I use
myself when I want to find someone quickly and easily. I
recommended she try one of the people search database
services. Even the better ones cost so little, they're
practically free. Most offer a trial period. I gave her
the name of one to try.
She was dubious. She's not very comfortable using her
computer for much more than email. Her stab at the search
engines had already left her flustered. Now she was going
to have to "sign up for something and learn something
completely new... oh my goodness," was the way she put it.
Yet, later the same day I suggested it, she emailed back
excitedly. In just minutes, she'd found out all kinds of
information about her ex. It turned out that he'd done
something of a turnaround after they'd broken up. Their
divorce resulted from fights over his serious drinking
problem. After they broke up, though, he'd eventually gone
back to med school, gotten his MD and become an orthopedic
surgeon. He'd even been instrumental in developing some
sort of device used by other surgeons in his field.
Unfortunately, the poor fellow had passed, but at least my
sister-in-law found comfort in knowing that things had
worked out for him after all. She remarked that even
though their relationship ended in the worst imaginable
way, it had started from a good point. She said she
hadn't really wanted to contact him. She just wanted to
know what had happened to him.
Sometimes all we want is just to satisfy our curiosity
about what happened to someone we've lost track of. Most
of us have an old friend or acquaintance we still wonder
about.
A Better Way to Find People
I suspect that's what makes people searching so hot. As
many as half a million times a month, someone searches on
Google alone, looking for a way to find a lost person.
Whether it's someone from the past with whom we've lost
touch, or someone we met last weekend and yearn to see
again, were always searching for others.
Unfortunately, most general searches fail. Just like
Googling failed for my sister-in-law. The information is
out there, somewhere. But being forced to sift through so
many unrelated results makes it nearly impossible.
That's why I recommended she use a people search service -
sometimes they're called Internet Detective services. They
pull all the information spread across thousands of servers
and combine it into people-specific search databases. Then
when you drop in a name or an address or a phone number,
whatever bit of information you have, you get instant
gratification. Up pops the latest scoop about your person.
Thats totally unlike the cold mechanical response a Google
or Yahoo gives:
Results 1 - 10 of about 55,100,000 for joe smith. (0.06
seconds)
You can almost hear the search engine yawn.
By the way - most searchers don't know this - search engine
results don't actually extend beyond about a thousand
entries. Even when the search engine results page says
they found millions and millions of hits, they don't
actually bother to dig it up and give you access to all of
it. They're really just estimating from their own database
tables. Even they know it's a waste of time.
Yawn, yawn, yawn
On the other hand, it's exciting when you do a person
search on a dedicated database. You find what you're
looking for in seconds. Plus, you not only get current
information, often you get historical data too. You find
not only where the person is now but also where they lived
or worked before that and before that and before that.
You can sort of see your old friend's life laid bare.
(Now what in heaven's name was George doing in
Poughkeepsie, New York, in winter. He always hated the
cold)
Sometime you find a person's life didn't turn out the way
you'd have thought. That's when the Criminal Check part of
the service can help you find out what prison they ended up
in!
When You Choose a Personal Search Service, Here's What to
Look For
If you decide to try out a personal search database, here
are the things I've found important to consider during a
review
1. Free versus Paid
I've been disappointed by the free services. Their main
concern seems to be to try and get you to click on some of
the pay-per-click ads they're displaying - so they can make
a little money.
2. Speed
You want a service that responds quickly. Make sure you
try it out. A fun test is to do a search on yourself. You
get to check speed and accuracy!
3. Proprietary Database
If a service compiles their own database, they must be
fairly successful. It's costly to build and maintain. Such
well-funded providers are much more likely to stay around.
From a usability standpoint, it's better too. You get a
single interface that you can quickly learn.
And I've never seen a free service that has its own
database. Most of the free services I've checked out are
really just link farms - they just point you at some public
or government database.
4. Training and Support
Be sure you can easily learn to use any service you choose.
Actually, you'll find the better services are intuitive -
how to search will make sense as soon as you look at it.
But better services will also provide extra, in-depth
searching. If you ever need the extra, it might require
you dig into it a bit before you can fully use it. Just
make sure your service has easy, accessible ways to learn,
like tutorials.
And don't ignore support. Sooner or later you'll have
questions or there will be something you need help to get
resolved. It's best if they offer free, live support.
Final Word
Join the millions using the web to track down old friends
and new friends. But make it easier on yourself by using a
People Search service rather than a general search engine.
Have fun finding out exactly what did become of your old
friend (or even your old, not-so-friendly ex)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About the author
James Yee is the owner of a free Online Marketing System – http://1richway.com
and a free People Search Engine – http://alotpeoplesearch.com.
To conduct People Search by State, People Search by phone, People Search by SSN
and Background Check. Click Here!
http://alotpeoplesearch.com
http://alotpeoplesearch.com
Free People Search
by phone
SSN
United States
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