A Free Search Tip for 2008

One of the quickest and easiest ways to find someone for free online is to use the free features on two particular sites. Head on over to the free "people search" page of PeopleFinders, and enter your search criteria. Once you have your basic information (you won't get the address or phone number through this search), you should then take the most recent city and state of the person you just searched for and head over to Zaba Search. Enter the name and state of the person, and compare the search results with the results from PeopleFinders.

Using this simple method, you should be able to locate most people. However, there are some instances where a person is not listed, or does not have any current information available due to instability. It is a good place to start no matter who you're looking for, because you can get previous addresses that may help you with future research.

How Easy Would it be to Find You?

Okay, so many people have thought about how to go about finding people, but how would someone go about finding you? Have you ever done a vanity search on Google using your own name? It’s very interesting what you can find on yourself just by doing a search on your name. The interesting part is when you try to find yourself by not using your name. This is probably a very new concept to quite a few people. Vanity searches are becoming more popular as people realize just how much information is available on the web, not only on others – but on themselves. Your identity is sensitive, but some personal information is easily accessed through online search engines and databases.

Try typing your phone number into Google, Yahoo, or another search engine. I recommend using Google, since it is the most widely used, and probably the search engine that most sites try to get their website indexed within. Try a previous phone number, or one of your past addresses – even your current address. You may be surprised. For some people, they will come up with nothing. Others may find that the search results return a huge number of hits that are an exact match for your identity.

ZabaSearch is a great testing medium, as it is free, and produces a fantastic amount of information on people. Type in your name and see what you come up with. Be aware though, for many people this can be extremely shocking and worrisome, as the search results are incredibly thorough and revealing. It has created quite a bit of controversy among identity theft prevention activists, which is understandable. Most people are unaware of how easy their information can be pulled up on the internet, for free.

This information is gathered into online databases through public records, information sold through advertisers, and opt-in email systems. Also, when you move, if you submit a change of address through the postal service, your information may be sold or provided to others legally. This is common practice, as businesses build their contacts lists, mailing lists, and “safe” email lists.

If a person was to try to find you through a search company, such as PeopleFinders or ZabaSearch, you would turn up in the records due to this buying and selling of personal information that commonly occurs. Try a few different websites, and see how easy you are to find. Perhaps you want to make yourself more available if you have people who you know are interested in finding you. On the other hand, for some people – this information can be nerve wracking if you don’t want to be found. People who have been in abusive situations may want to find out how easy they can be found in order to protect themselves, and the internet is a great place to start. Finding out how easy you are to find can really open your eyes, and cause you to see things in a whole new way, and find ways to protect your sensitive information!

Creating and Claiming Your Online Identity

Kevin Poulsen, creator of Onxiam, found that he was constantly explaining to people, “On [this website] I am [this name]." This was getting tiresome, and I thought that there just had to be a better way of promoting myself to my friends, my family and to the online world as a whole.” He thought there had to be a better way to connect, without having to recite multiple usernames and identities for people to find him.

There are quite a few different concepts popping up recently, all geared towards managing your online identities. Having multiple online identities in one place would make it easier to find people, as well as adding convenience for people who use multiple social networking sites. sites like Findmeon and claimID offer to manage your online identity.

When internet users surf the net, not much damage is done to your online reputation. However, for those who choose to participate in online discussions such as message boards and blogs, permanent records are being created of everything that is written. It’s best to be conscious of what you write, because it may not be easily removed from cache files from search engines like Google. But it’s not all bad. Chances are, it will make finding people, such as past loves, friends and family members, just that much easier.

YouTube for Finding Old Friends?

Did you know that you could actually use social networks or photo and video sharing sites to locate people from your past? It doesn’t normally occur to people that the sites could be useful in finding people, but they are actually a great tool in finding current information. Some sites are even offering to combine online social networking identities, which could even make it easier to use when searching for a person.

As far as YouTube, I stumbled across a couple of old friends, simply by accident. It may sound a little strange, and I wasn’t actually looking for my old friends from high-school, but there they were on YouTube. I’ll spare them the embarrassment of sharing the video and we’ll just say it was late-night karaoke, and leave it at that! Interestingly enough, the video was taken at a local area hotspot, and it let me know that they still lived in the old neighborhood. I wouldn’t have guessed finding friends on YouTube could be so easy, but hey, if it works, it’s a great tool to use when initially starting a search. Start with first and last names, combinations of first names of friends or relatives. In my case, it would have been found under the first names of the two singing sisters. It sounds like a long-shot, but it just takes a few moments to search, and could be worth the time.

Once I had the sister’s names and where I believed they were located, I would actually begin to search for them using databases. I would run an initial search using a database website like Zaba Search or People Finders, and see if the results match up to anything remotely familiar. If so, then I could purchase the full page reports, each showing exactly how to get in contact with them again. Many results show up to 20 years of address history, making it very easy to match up the dates that you knew them, and contact them at their current location.

Many different types of information show up on some of the reports, and can be very useful if you are in need of finding a relative. In the case of the YouTube find, two of the women in the video are sisters. Since there was a link to someone’s username, and from their profile I was able to find a MySpace page. From there, I was able to find some of their friends, and contact another friend we had in common. Finding people is actually really easy, and once you have determined the general area in which the person is currently located, plug that information into a people search database.

In the past, people relied on paper trails to lead them to a person. Now, in the world of internet and instant information, we can not only follow their paper trail, but their web trail. People use the internet to share pictures, blog, join communities, business, journals, and other things that log a web trail. With this type of internet usage, there are usernames, real names, personal information, interests, and other information that can be accessed by users, and make you – and others, easier to find.

New GPS Technology Can Locate People and Keep Kids Safe

GPS has been in use among the general public for several years, and is most notably used in cell phones and cars. While the technology is said to help find your missing car, it could now be used to find missing people. Isaac Daniel has invented a sneaker that can be used for all sorts of purposes, but the idea came to Daniel after a scare with loosing his son. In 2002, Daniel was out of town when he got the phone call that his son was missing from school. After quickly flying from Atlanta to New York, it was explained to him that it was a misunderstanding, and that his son was fine. But the incident made him realize that a GPS locater could have easily solved the mystery, and saved a lot of stress. When asked what he calls his invention, he says that it is “Peace of mind. We call it a second eye watching over you.” He wears his shoe invention on his morning run, and has tested them on long distance trips, and traced himself to the precise building he was in.

The GPS shoes can be extremely useful for emergencies, but is not really intended to find out if your child is really going where they say, or if you are concerned with your spouse’s whereabouts. It is designed to alert the authorities when it is activated, which can be done by either pressing a button located on the shoe, or remotely by calling the monitoring service, and giving the operators the correct password. This will work to help find a lost or kidnapped child, traveling teens, hikers on mountain climbing expeditions, or Alzheimer’s patients who tend to wander. If any activity is reported to the authorities in the even of a non-emergency, the wearer of the shoes will incur all law enforcement costs, explains Daniel.

The main difference between the sneakers bearing the GPS locator chip and other inventions such as GPS bracelets, watches, wristbands, or phones, would be that shoes just aren’t as easy to lose. The cost of the monitoring service, which provides 24-hour service, is less than twenty dollars a month, which is a small price to pay if you’ve got a wanderer that causes you constant worry.

The original manufacturing count is just 1000 pairs of the limited edition running shoe style, with two silver (activate and deactivate) buttons near the shoelaces. Daniel says there is already 750 pairs ordered. The GPS shoe invention has already peaked interest with makers of military boots, and there is talk of them being used in Colombia and Ecuador. If the idea takes off, it could put a damper on the total number of missing people world-wide.

The problem is, overcoming the cool-factor, says Lee Diercks, managing director of New Jersey-based Clear Thinking Group, an advisory firm for retailers. While the military might be able to successfully implement the technology into their already rugged look, teens and young kids may not find the available styles very compatible with their fashionable attire!

More information about inventor Isaac Daniel and his company Fele Footwear.

Wink.com - Website Review

Wink recently launched a company update, Wink Beta 2, with a fresher look for their website, and a new goal in sight: People Search. But not just for searching out names, but rather – identities. Web users are constantly creating new online identities, and Wink is gearing its technology towards recognizing people sharing common interests. This will enable users to create one main profile in which they can manage blogs, personal pages and profiles for websites such as MySpace, Bebo, LinkedIn, Live Spaces, Friendster, and the Web. This, along with user ratings and tagging, is making it easier than ever to find people, as well as user-ranked web search results.

Wink is largely a tag based user-ranked search system, but is now taking people searching to a whole new level. Searching for people will never be the same. Wink started in August 2004 by Michael Tanne, with the goal of integrating user feedback to improve search result. “We know we are trying something really big - and challenging. People can help each other find the best information on the Web, better than machine-based algorithms alone,” Tanne stated in a recent interview. “It just takes a few people who take the time to weigh in with their preferences to create a super experience for everyone else.”

ZabaSearch.com - Website Review

ZabaSearch was launched in 2005 by Nicholas Matzorkis, the founder of US Search. After a childhood experience, where young Nick Matzorkis traveled to Greece with his family to reunite with family members which they lost contact with after moving to the United States. Whereas US Search was the first company to bring people locating services to the public at an affordable rate, ZabaSearch is the first company to provide search results for absolutely free.

The website is easy to use, just type in the name you are looking for, and your results are returned in a quick, search engine-like manner. Of course there is the option of pulling up additional information for a small cost, most of the information you would be looking for will turn up in the free results.

Because ZabaSearch is providing such personal information in their free searches, the company has recently become the target of privacy activists and media coverage related to a recent surge in identity theft, even though the company remains innocent of any negative actions. But it isn’t just the general public who uses ZabaSearch, and the company provides services to news agencies, business and real estate professionals, and the government as well. According to Matzorkis, “Government use is over 20 percent. Military is 12 to 13 percent. Department of Homeland Security is around 1 percent of the government portion. Media and news agencies is about 2 to 3 percent.”

Searching for People Using Public Records Online

As we make our journey through life, we sign many documents of various types that become public records. These documents are filed typically by the counties in which transactions took place. In larger counties, there are smaller local regional branches that you can walk into and purchase copies of documents within the public records files. This can be any publicly recorded documents, such as real estate transactions, court records, marriage records, birth certificates, and death records. For a small fee, the county recorder can provide copies of certain records to the purchaser. Obtaining or purchasing the public records is not actually the most difficult part of searching for people, the hard part is finding out where the records are located.

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USsearch.com - Website Review

US Search, pioneered affordable people search services. Founded in 1994 by Nicholas Matzorkis, US Search has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, on television shows reuniting friends and family members, and recently appeared on 60 Minutes with their first customers, who were reunited 13 years ago. Matzorkis states that making public records available online has leveled the playing field. "Personal information in the U.S. is a multibillion-dollar-a-year industry," he said. "It's just a question of who has access. You, or the people selling it to other companies to market things to you?"

Their website offers various searches and reports such as background checks, criminal records, real estate reports, and reverse phone. They feature “4 Easy Steps to Public Records”, where the user enters search criteria for a preliminary search, which returns a list of names for you to choose from, select a report to purchase, and off you go to checkout online. Their famous 800-number connects you with operators assisting with searches and questions.

US Search grew rapidly. By 1996 the company had over 200 employees and took up three floors of office space on Wilshire Blvd in Beverly Hills, CA. By 1999, they employed 400, and were worth $160 million on the NASDAQ exchange. In 2002, control of the company was acquired by First American Title, and is currently traded as First Advantage (FADV), with a market capitalization of over $1.3 billion.

Researching and Obtaining Public Records

What Type of Information Do I Need?

If you want to go down to the county recorders office and get a copy of the marriage record for John and Mary Johnson, you would first need to know in what county the license was filed. Without knowing that information, you would have a harder time obtaining the records. What county were they married in, and better yet, what city and the year? You will need to know Mary’s maiden name as well, it’s a little more difficult if you only know that Jane’s last name is Johnson because she married John. The ideal amount of information to have would be: Mary Jane and John Johnson married on June 1, 1985 in Los Angeles County, in Norwalk. Their marriage records would be filed in Norwalk, at the County Recorders Office. If they were married in a smaller area, you could just go straight to the county office.

If you are looking for general information, then you can also perform a search online with much less information. That type of search will then return more information than you have, and with the added information you can find the answers you are looking for. So depending on where you live, who you are looking for, and where the records you are seeking are located, it is often cheaper to just get public records online.

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Contacting Loved Ones from the Past

Ever wondered about contacting that lost love of yours? With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, it’s time to take action! What a perfect time to reconnect, and possibly rekindle that old flame. It may be easier than you think. But what will you say? It’s been so long, and your nerves take a jolt when you think of saying ‘hi’ for the first time in years. But if you don’t do it, you’ll keep thinking about what could have been.

If you’re considering finding people from your past, and searching for and contacting your lost loves, there’s a few things you’ll need to have to be prepared for the search. People are relatively easy to find, as everyone leaves a paper trail behind them as they travel through life. These paper trails leave bits of information in the public records system, such as through marriage and divorce records, birth records, real estate information, and other common documents. The records are compiled into online databases, and are accessed when you use resources such as PeopleFinders.com to find your lost loves. So now searching for your lost love is quick and easy, and you could reconnect sooner than you had hoped.

It is very common that people will remember their past, and think…what if? I have known people who married their high school sweetheart – 30 years later! It’s a wonderful feeling when you first contact a lost love, especially when that person is equally excited to hear from you. Searching for lost loves is always going to bring up memories, so when you finally meet, remember to be sensitive to the fact that your lost love may be surprised to hear from you. Give everything time to sink in, it can be quite emotional when you first speak to one another.

Once you decide that you are going to search for someone, you have past the first hurdle. Sometimes it’s easier to find someone you haven’t talked to in a year or so than a person you’ve lost contact with for many years. Who you look for depends on how hard it will be. For instance, if you are looking for a man from your past, there’s not much of a chance that his name has changed. Perhaps the place he calls home changes over the years, but not so much his name. However, with women, it can be a whole different challenge. Generally a woman’s name will change when she becomes married, and sometime finding her with her new name is a challenge. For some people, they continue to live in the same area, and you may even know if she is married, and to who. But if you haven’t been in contact with your lost love in quite some time, the challenge may be finding her new name. You may consider contacting a close friend or relative, chances are they still keep contact with her, and may be easier to find. But even with the information you might have, it can be simple and easy, and in some cases, just a few clicks of your mouse.

So once you have the information, it’s time to go for it, procrastination never found anyone, but searching for them does. So be brave, and take on the challenge to find someone you miss, someone you haven’t been in contact with, and old friend or an old flame, just in time for that romantic day. Can you imagine anything more romantic and meaningful than receiving a card or flowers from someone you’ve thought about over the years? Well now’s your chance to do that for your lost love.

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Finding People with Common Names

So you’ve decided to take the plunge and search for someone from your past, but don’t know where to start? Let’s first start with how much you know about the person. Before you contact any search company, start out by making a list of all the information you know about the person. This means everything you know whether you think it will make a difference or not.

Let’s take a look at what type of information you might have, and how it can help you find who you are looking for. Start with their name, and write down all possible names or name combinations the person may have used. For example, a man named Richard Johnson could use quite a few variations of his name, such as Rick, Ricky, RJ, Rich, Richey, Dick, or even RJ. If you knew the parents, what did they call him? How about friends or co-workers? Sometimes people have a formal name they use for business and work, but a less formal nickname that their friends and family used. In that case, there would be several names you could use to find him. On the other hand, you’ll want to gather even more information if the name is quite common, such as the example we’ve chosen.

When searching for a common name, the name variations can be a big help, but knowing some other key pieces of information can bring you closer to success. Knowing where someone may have lived can help distinguish your person from another person who shares the same name. For instance, if you know that Richard Johnson lived in Utah from 1994 to 2000, but you find a Richard Johnson in New York who has lived there for the past 30 years, you know that’s not the same person, even though the names match. Even better if you have several addresses from the past, as many search results return 20 years of address history on the person you are searching for, and knowing a few addresses can give you better results on your first time searching.

Other resources that you could use for searching for a person from the past would be names of relatives. Brothers, sisters, parents, and even spouses can be a real added plus when searching for a person, especially if you are searching for a woman who may have married over the years, changing her name. Men usually keep the same name throughout their lives, making them much easier to find. Also, your search may be more successful if you know the person’s middle name, or their maiden name. If this is someone in your family, and you have their social security number, it is almost a surefire guarantee that you will get the most current information on the person. However, that is a piece of information few people have on the person they are looking for, so your best bet is the list of information you are making.

Be sure to list as many of the following pieces of information that you can: Birth date, or approximate birth, and birth place, city and state if possible. List any siblings and parents names, and birth dates if possible. Last known address, or any and all addresses that you are aware of, even if it’s just city and state, or just state. Places of employment or businesses owned. Spouses, approximate year married, maiden name for a woman, nicknames or other names used. Names of good friends who still may be in contact with the person, they may have current information. If you know of any tendencies the person had to lie about their age, this could also prove to be useful information. Once you have compiled all of the information that you can remember about the person, you are ready to start your search.

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Searching Your Genealogy – Your Family Tree

The family tree is often one of the most valuable heirlooms within a family. There are a great number of families in the United States that places a great emphasis on their genealogy and family history. Other families struggle through long searches trying to find answers as to where they came from, and how they got where they are now. Questions about who they look like go unanswered, but the desire to see their own faces in another human being grows with intensity.

But for many families, even though the information may be readily available on their genealogy, a wonderful family tree could be build, but it simply hasn't been started yet. These records can be extremely useful when researching the genealogy of your family. But record keeping wasn't a strong point of many of our ancestors, but birth, death, and marriage records have proven to be extremely useful, and are readily available online, as well as directly from the public records of many courthouses.

Putting together a family tree can be a difficult task. But in recent times, most people leave a paper trail, detailing records back as far as 20 years. As we fill out forms and sign documents, apply for loans, purchase property, get married, divorced, gain credit, and even destroy credit, we ourselves create this paper trail. It helps when you can give your project some organization right from the beginning. Set goals of how long each day or each week you would like to spend on your project, because there will be times you are truly addicted to your project, and just don't want to quit for the night, and other times you are completely frustrated, and won't want to touch it again for a year!

Frustration is one of the major reasons why people just starting to build their family tree end up quitting halfway through, never to pick up where they left off. Keep your project moving, and if you loose motivation in one area, try going back to an area you got stuck on in the past. A break in your thoughts can provide the ability to see clues you were blind to in your frustration. Try working on another area of the genealogical line for a while, and then later, come back to that which you were having trouble with earlier. If one relative seems to continue to provide dead ends, try a different relative. That's the true beauty of building a family tree. With extended family relationships, you have the option of using several different people searches to get information about the same relative.

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Before You Hire Anyone to Help You Search...

Be sure you have covered as much as you can do on your own. There are a plethora of free websites, databases, and government entities that hold information on you, your family, and those who you have associated with in the past. If the person you are looking for was close to you (such as a family member or ex-spouse), you may even have the option of looking yourself up in a few online databases, and you may find information leading to the person.

The first place (always) to start online when searching for anyone is a ZabaSearch. It has one of the best free online searches I've yet to see. You can try search engines, such as Google or Yahoo. But you should remember that these are not sufficient most of the time for pinpointing someone you lost contact with. The results come up in the millions, and most of the time you will get similar name matches, doctors, lawyers, and such. But never-the-less, it's worth a try; just type in as much information as you have on the person, such as a city and state, their name, year of birth, all of which are pretty specific bits of info. Chances are you would come up with little or nothing of importance. However, some search engines have been known to bring up the darndest things. It's worth a shot.

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