Not everybody is famous enough to be on the internet, would it be surprising to know that most people have some personal information on the internet even without being famous? There are a variety of sites with people's personal information from a simple thing like phone numbers, to addresses and even family connections. With a few simple clicks of the mouse, a person can find just about anybody.

Let us start with newest thing around, Facebook. Facebook is a free social networking site, which people setup accounts to get in touch with old friends, and make new ones. When people setup accounts they include personal information, while Facebook has tightened there security, allowing users to block personal information from being seen by unfriended people, a person can still get information from the site without too much trouble. Not always but many times a person will leave such things as gender or place where they live available also they can include a picture. This is a good way to check and make sure the person being searched is correct although not everybody using self-portraits, many people use avatars or other pictures.

There are several drawbacks to using Facebook to search for a person. First, there are many people on Facebook with the same name. Many times private information is not included so it is difficult if not impossible to find the right person unless you friend them (friending is asking the person to accept you as a friend allowing for viewing of there Facebook page.) Also not everyone includes personal information at all, some people just have there name and that is it. Facebook may not be the strongest starting place for a public records search.

Twitter is also another social networking site. It is becoming increasingly popular with businesses as well as individuals as a way to communicate with the world. Users may subscribe to Tweets and they are called Followers. Tweets can be sent by email, computer, cell phone and Ipad. Subscribers usually have a bio along with there account which means a person can find some information either personal or business by looking at the bio. If the person being searched is Tweeting, they can be followed and if information like there current location is mentioned, well you can figure out where they are at and maybe where they are going.

Another site called MyLife is a fee-based site that lists people's information everything from age, address, to relatives and associates. For free you can get do a search and get the persons age, and associates. This can be a great starting point for finding the person, because from there you can search the family or associates and find where they live and get there phone numbers through 411 or the white pages online. The advertising on this site is a little annoying but if you sign up for an account and give them your credit card it makes navigating much easier because it would keep blocking you from viewing the results and asking for you to signup.

LinkedIn is another type of social networking site only this one is for professionals. LinkedIn can give a person tons of information about an individual or a business. It is a great way to double check resume information to make sure the person is on the up and up. The site also has links to other professionals, which can lead to associates and friends another source for finding a person. The person who opened the account gives the information, so it may not be all on the table but for the most part, it is a good way gain more research material.

The internet has become the new best friend of anybody searching for family members, businesses or old friends but it doesn't replace good old-fashioned legwork. Sometimes the information just isn't going to be found on the computer but in the paper files in a courthouse. In that case, sometimes a phone call to the county clerks office well meet with a friendly person willing to do a check but other times it is a personal trip to find what is needed.

Using all the available tools will help in finding a missing person, or just more information on a person or business. At times, it may seem daunting, but don't give up the information is out there somewhere.