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Find Yourself (and Others) Online
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Go to Web Exploration Go to Technology Post
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By Kira Marchenese, Nancie Meng and Dan Pacheco
WashingtonPost.com Staff October 1, 1996 The three of us are of mixed minds about the explosion of people-finding sites on the Web. On the one hand, two of us are military brats, which means we've lost touch with a lot of people. These special search engines can be great tools to locate lost classmates and neighbors or get an invite to a class reunion. Yet, the idea that virtual strangers can easily access our home addresses, phone numbers and routes to our houses makes us uneasy. Maybe it comes down to whether we're the "searcher" or the "searchee." Here's a look at some of the better "people finders" available:
One of the pioneers of people directories, Four11 includes the entire U.S. telephone white pages and 7 million e-mail addresses. By year's end, it expects to have 10 million. While this is still a pittance compared to the 40 million or more Net users, it's probably the most comprehensive e-mail directory available. Four11 proudly sports the "Privacy Assured" logo, an industry watchdog group that assures users the site does not "knowingly list information on individuals which has not been volunteered for publication." Still, don't be surprised if that consent came from your Internet provider or online service (we've found a few cases ourselves). If you're wondering when a long-lost friend will register for the service, Four11 can notify you when the prodigal son shows up. Users who wish to be removed from the directory need only send e-mail.
What this directory lacks in numbers, WhoWhere? makes up in features. Rather than simply searching for people by name, you can use WhoWhere? to locate people by interest, occupation or alma mater. This could prove especially useful for those poor souls in charge of organizing class reunions and family gatherings. For the sake of privacy, WhoWhere? allows users to shroud their contact information and e-mail address. If people want to contact you, they can enter a message, which the service forwards to you. If you ever find yourself the target of unwanted advances ("You went to Aardvark Univerity? So did I? Go out with me!") or generally annoying e-mail, all you have to do is turn off your WhoWhere? account. The only downside of WhoWhere? is that in order to be listed, a person must visit the site and sign up. Unless the entire Internet knocks on the door of WhoWhere?, this service will remain a great idea and not much more.
A "for-people-by-people" service, Bigfoot is also a database of addresses that individual users have entered. It would easily melt into the sea of Internet white pages if it weren't for this juicy feature: At your request, the service will submit your e-mail address to direct marketers and ask them to purge you from their lists. At its heart, it's a wonderfully altruistic move that addresses a growing nuisance on the Net. Whether or not those companies will comply is another matter.
Even people who want to be found might balk at being listed in Lookup USA's American Directory Assistance, which is geared toward businesses who want to market products. In addition to your address and phone number, searchers get a map to your house. If you consider this more than people need to know, you can delete entries using a button on the screen that lists your street address.
If you're a college student or trying to find one, there's a compendium of college and university phone books. The information differs from school to school, but usually you can find student phone numbers and e-mail addresses.
On a creepier note, you can search for dead people, too. The Social Security Death Index provides the dates of birth and death and place of residence for people who were issued social security cards.
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