March 21, 2005

lost ape? curious george,whats the best free way to find someone on the internet?I recently found a old girlfriend,that I havent talked to in over 12years,Now she,s looking for someone from twenty years ago,Any advice?
posted by pakman 19 years ago
  • Does she have any information besides just a name? Birthday or perhaps possible locations this person might currently reside? If she has any information about where she went to college (if she went to college?) then they might have an alumni database, but I'm not sure if privacy concerns would prevent her from getting information that way. If the name is somewhat unique a google search may yield some information.
  • You might find some info in this Curious George post.
  • Get a new girlfriend. Ba-dum-bum-tss.
  • Classmates.com
  • What genial said. You need data points. If you don't have them, you might want to get another friend-of-a-friend from way-back-when to pitch in. Do you know anything about the subject's parents? Siblings? Vacation homes? All these things can help. In my experience, colleges don't share alumni info except with alumni (and marketers), and sometimes all they do is forward the inquiry to the alumnus you are looking for. There are hacks to get a lot of public record data for free, but the quality of the inquiry is the most important factor. Another 2 cents: Keep at it. Most people can be found, but it may take time. If you can't wait get someone else to do it on your behalf. Let us know how it is going.