Find your friends on the computer using social networking and email

Have you been ‘friended’ or ‘poked’ lately? Did someone say they would ‘Google’ you? What about ‘tweeting’? Do you even know what tweeting is? If not, you should find out about some of these social networking options available to you. All of them contain great information on how to find your friends online. If you want to find your friends online, think about these few simple things before your start your search.

 

Degrees (of separation)

Did you go to college? How about sitting in the dorm batting around homecoming themes and parade float ideas for your sorority house or fraternity?

Those are the friends that are the easiest to find sometimes. People who list their names in the alumni book or create “accounts” on Classmates.com are first and foremost people who want to be found. They list their names and geographical information so that their friends and colleagues who care to seek them out, can find them easily.

 

It?s elementary

Don?t just think of college. Think of all of the schools you attended as a good way to find your friends online. Create Facebook events if your elementary school is about to hold its reunion. Often the people who are friends of your friends, or at least some of those people, will share a common group such as a school group.

 

Work for it

Many companies maintain a page on social networking sites. One of the most common is LinkedIn. Get connected with a LinkedIn profile for the best business connections. This site is specifically targeted to creating and maintaining business relationships by fostering business networking skills. By searching through LinkedIn for companies you have worked for, may want to work for or where your friends work, you may find your friends online, just sitting there waiting for that business deal or even their next job.

 

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Travel bugs allowed

People who take sports travel and tours are very likely to post information about their exploits online. By conducting a simple search of their name, or maybe about the sport itself, you can easily find your friends online. Let?s face it, boasting about the trip is half the fun of going, right? If you took a trip, especially if it involved some sort of sport, look for others who you met during the trip. Sharing experiences is a good online ice breaker and a good way to become friends online.

 

If you want to know how to find your friends online, search the internet for places you have been, schools you have attended, and jobs you may have had in the past. You never know how you will find your friends online. It could be a post in a travel forum or in a company newsletter.

 

Once you find your friend, you can comment on what you read about them. They may not even know they were mentioned online! It is a great way to stay in touch. Who knows? You may have a couch to crash on during your next visit to their city or a person to consult as to what to bring for a job interview at their company. Regardless of what you use it for, it is always good to have another connection, especially if it?s an old friend.

 

Here is a list of some places you might use to find your friends online by entering their name (and variations!) into the “search” tool:

 

Google.com

Classmates.com

Ancestry.com

Zabasearch.com

ZoomInfo.com

Facebook.com

MySpace.com

Friendster.com

LinkedIn.com

Twitter.com

Pipl.com

FriendFeed.com

 

It is more difficult, but can help you find your friends online, to search reverse phone directories, obituaries and news outlets.

 

Resources:

Web Search Tips