Whether it's your best friend from middle school, your college roommate or that guy you used to work with who loved the same television shows you did, there are people in your life you wish you'd made the effort to stay in touch with. If you're missing an old friend, the wealth of information online makes it easier than ever to track down people you'd like to see again, though sifting through the information can take a little time.
Step 1
Type your friend's first and last name into a search engine, putting quotation marks around the full name. If your friend has a listed phone number, you may luck out and see your friend's name, address and phone number pop up as the first result.
Step 2
Add a descriptive word in addition to your friend's name in quote marks to look a little deeper. Try the name of a town you know your friend lived in, the industry she works in or a school she attended to see if you can find any information.
Step 3
Type your friend's name without quotes into social networking sites, such as Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn or Classmates.com. Look for results that might be your friend, and send a message to make contact. If you don't belong to the social networking site, you may have to join to send a message to a member.
Step 4
Search for your friend's spouse or other family members if you know their names, using the same method of putting quotation marks around the full name. If you find your friend's husband or sister, they can put you in touch with her.
Step 5
Call your school or college alumni office if you went to school together, and ask for your friend's most current information. You may need to provide proof of graduation or attendance to get the information.
Step 6
Start a blog briefly detailing your search, including your friend's full name, nickname and any other relevant information. Because people often search for themselves online, your friend may find your blog and get in touch, says Kim Komando, host of an talk radio show about computers and the Internet, in "USA Today."
Tips and Warnings
- If your lost friend is a woman, search for both her married name and her maiden name. If you're having trouble finding her, search for her maiden name in the wedding archives of her hometown newspaper or on wedding registry sites to see if you can figure out her married name.
- Be wary of fee-based private online databases which don't provide information that isn't publicly available and may contain incorrect information, warns David Sarokin, a federal government worker and online people search expert, in the "New York Times." If you're willing to pay to find someone, your best bet might be hiring a private investigator.
Member Comments