The Human Search Engine
Searching for a someone who owes you money or a long lost classmate? Rather than scouring the entire Internet, these search engines troll only Web sites that are rich with personal information. The results they provide are individual profiles coupled with links to where users can find more details. The goal is to cut through the clutter that Google and other general-purpose search engines sometimes offer when users enter the name of a friend, co-worker or celebrity.In addition, the information the search engines provide isn’t always reliable.
The results occasionally include fake profiles or profiles of people who are only tangentially related to a query. Rather than scouring the entire Internet, these search engines look only at Web sites rich with personal information, like Wikipedia, MySpace, LinkedIn and Friendster. Lists of keywords, or tags, that the engines automatically generate for individuals, based on what’s online about them, are sometimes unflattering. Someone who has written about child abuse, for example, may be linked with the tag “pedophile.” Policies for removing inaccurate or embarrassing material vary. Spock allows users to vote down an image or tag so that it isn’t as prominent. Go ahead, find someone…
Spock ( www.spock.com)
Wink ( www.wink.com)
Zoominfo ( www.zoominfo.com)
Just don’t get too carried away: Stalking is a serious crime in every state.
