In the Beginning

The 1980s saw the introduction to the micro-computer and homes were beginning to slowly make them part of their daily lives for such mundane tasks as word processing, cataloging recipes and playing rudimentary games.  In the 1990’s, the internet arrived which opened a whole new world of information and possibility.

During this time, another social factor was at work: cocooning, driven by new technologies that allowed people to enjoy the comforts of life without stepping outside their home. This meant that people were retreating into their homes, socializing less and becoming more withdrawn.

A New Kind of Pen Pal

Facebook has now changed all that.  Now people can socialize from the comfort of their own homes, share their successes, failures, dreams and disappointments for the world to see.  Launched in February 2004, it now boosts over 800 million members (1 in every 13 people on earth) with a quarter million more joining each day.  Not only that, but 50% of these users log in every day, 60 million status updates are posted per day and 200 million photos are uploaded each month.  Interestingly, 57% of people talk to more people online than they do in real life.

Entertainment Weekly stated in their Best of the Decade List, “How on earth did we stalk our exes, remember our co-workers’ birthdays, bug our friends, and play a rousing game of Scrabulous before Facebook?”  While their review may have been a light-hearted jab at the site, there is more than a little truth in their statement.

Social media sites like Facebook, Google+, MySpace and even LinkedIn for the business world, have become an encapsulated view of a person’s place in the world, divulging far more than a person would to a casual stranger.  This information is being used by jealous spouses, stalkers, employers pre-screening potential staff, police during investigations and private investigators.

Much More Than Meets the Naked Eye

While a casual search of these sites can usually achieve a cursory result of a person’s profile, having a skilled and intimate knowledge of how the sites work and capitalizing on loopholes in their infrastructure can reveal much more than the average user could ever hope to find.

A properly executed social networking search will examine various websites of information, databases and even a wide variety of Google searches, each configured to elicit a little more information.

Who Are You?

A properly executed social networking site can discover what a person looks like, their criminal history, known associates, employment, address history, marital status, general health and medical history, upcoming social events, travel plans or previous trips and so much more.

This level of detail and insight can be invaluable when conducting a wide variety of investigations such as insurance investigations (accident benefit or personal injury investigations), developing associations for crime-related and corporate investigations (thefts, frauds and workplace violence), locating missing persons, developing assets and so much more.

All you have to do is start looking.