It so often happens that we get so busy with our work and the new people in our life that we often end up forgetting important people from the past. In today’s ever-changing world it’s common to lose touch with someone, especially the ones you met a long time ago. At times like these, we feel guilty and hopeless, the prior because we didn’t bother to contact them for a long time and the latter because even if you want to get back in touch again it’ll be impossible if you don’t have their number or address, right?
The good thing is, technology has advanced enough to be capable of searching for people using just their name. Yes, now finding your old friends from college or past neighborhoods or even your high school is now entirely possible – even if the only thing you remember about them is their name and nothing else. According to spokeo.com, searching for people of the past has never been easier with the use of vast online databases of information that are available now.
If you too are searching for an old friend to meet up with them and have a cup of coffee for old times’ sake, then worry not, we’ll help you find your way. In this article, we’ll list down several options that you can adopt in your search so that you find the person you are looking for. Always remember, as long as you have the will and patience to keep looking, your actions will bear fruits.
Use google to get you started.
With our lives getting more and more digitized, there are hardly any people that haven’t gone online with their personal information public for all the internet to see. Even elderly people have their google accounts set up by their younger family members so that they can use the internet. That’s why Google is your primary link to finding any old friend that you remember.
Any details you remember, like their name or address, can be crucial to acquiring their contact. Search up their name first with all the possible locations you think they can live in to see if they have put their personal information on some website. If you don’t get anything, search up their address and see if you can find the number of their house to call them up. Most times this is the only thing you need to do, but if Googling doesn’t work then we have several methods that will give you results.
Social media can be your savior.
You’d be surprised to know how many old names can pop up with one single name search. With sites like Facebook offering search filters for location, your quest to find your old friend becomes significantly easier. If you remember their professional aspirations, you can even try Linkedin to see if any search results pop up. This may actually work because many people don’t like keeping social media, but have an account on Linkedin to apply for jobs or potentially get scouted by major companies.
There are other social media sites too that can help you find your old friend to some extent like Instagram or Twitter. You can try this if both Facebook and LinkedIn show unsuccessful results. As an additional approach, you can post on various social media that you are looking for an old friend and if anyone has any information on them, they should let you know. If that doesn’t show any results either, you mustn’t get disheartened and stop searching for your friend. Be hopeful and something is bound to pop up.
Use people-intelligent web databases and services.
As we said earlier, there are numerous web services that are more than willing to look through their entire database of information to search for any details of your old friend. As long as you remember at least one major detail, such as their address or email or even their name, these web services are able to return positive results. They not only can give you their current address but also their past history, active phone number, and the numbers of related contacts in case their current number is unreachable.
It’s vital you note that the best services often cost a small fee to search for information on your old friend. However, there are also several free-to-use web databases that keep information on everyone they get. The problem is, the details in these free websites are often outdated and sometimes even wrong. We recommend you try the free service first, and if it doesn’t get you anywhere and you are adamant about finding your friend, then you can try the premium web services by paying a small fee.
Contact people with potential connections.
If your old friend was in high school with you, you can contact your high school association to request their contact details. Schools are made to maintain records for their alumni and that’s why there is a big chance you might find the number of a family number or even an address to work with.
However, this won’t work every time because some schools are known to have strict policies about the information about their students and will not cooperate with your request. And since schools have no reason to update the contact information of their students, there is a chance that the information they give you will lead to an old address they don’t live in or a phone number that’s out of service.
If that happens, one of your last resorts is contacting potential contacts and family members. Do you have the contact information of someone else who knew your old friend?
If yes, then try calling them and see if they still do. Keep calling and texting everyone who might have contact with them and at the very least you will end up with the contact information of their family or friends. If you acquire the contacts of their family members through this method, or by searching online, ensure that you drop a text or a call to everyone to maximize your chance of getting a response.
Conclusion
Searching for an old friend without any vital information about them can seem a hopeless and daunting task. In reality, it is possible to do it if you keep trying and have patience. We hope this article helped you find your old friend, and if it did, please consider following our website for regular updates as it will help us out immensely.
