There are any number of reasons that you would want to search for a person online. Perhaps it’s someone that you’re looking for that you went to high school with. Maybe you have a resume that has been turned in to your company and you want to check someone out. You met someone out at a bar, and you want to do a little casual stalking before you call them back.
And whereas in the past, it may have been difficult to get much information about people based on a name, an image, a phone number, or even an address, now, it couldn’t be easier! Of course, tracing the long-lost family members or relatives is a whole different thing. It’s genealogy which involves checking historical records and obituaries (like this Morning Call obits). Searching anyone alive isn’t a big deal anymore with the availability of various technolgoies. So if you’re on a hunt, consider using Facebook google, phone lookup services, image searches, and professional services to get you the info that you want.
Facebook Search
At this time, one of the easiest ways to get information on a person is to do a Facebook search on their name. Because so many people are on that platform, and real names are a legitimate requirement, your top hits are going to be there. There may be many people with that same name, but if you know any extra information, like where they live or where they’ve worked, or you know generally what they look like, you can filter out the correct stuff.
The Google Search Engine
And just typing someone’s name in the Google search bar can potentially push you in the right direction as well. Though Google isn’t necessary going to prioritize personal profiles the same way that Facebook does, you might run into information about them from their school profiles, or perhaps news articles about them, or any sort of text-based service where their names may have been mentioned in the past.
Phone Lookup Services
And if you know a phone number for that person, using a phone lookup service can give you the information you’re looking for as well. Most of these services do cost money though, so they don’t necessarily fit in the ‘free’ category. Plus, it can be a little difficult to determine the accuracy of the data, especially if a person’s number has changed over the years.
Search By Image
One neat tool that you can use is a image search function that Google has now. If you have a picture of the person, you can put it in the Google image search button, and you’ll be sent to a page of similar photos, and you can investigate from there!
Professional Searches
If you’re doing a professional search specifically, working your way through the LinkedIn platform is probably going to be your best bet. LinkedIn also eliminates a lot of the extraneous social stuff that would clutter your feed if you’re simply looking for professional considerations.
