| Back in the days before the internet there were | | | | people move house more than they ever have |
| many ways to find information, people and | | | | before. Nowadays, however, many old friends are |
| secrets. The library, telephone directories and | | | | reconnecting on the internet through social |
| good old fashioned detective work were all fair | | | | networking sites like MySpace and Facebook, |
| game. The private detective rose up as an icon in | | | | which have made it easier to search for old |
| many movies; small smoky office and young, | | | | friends, classmates and relatives. |
| attractive blonde in distress often lead to intriguing | | | | Searching for those people no longer with us is a |
| stories featuring the likes of Philip Marlowe or Sam | | | | bit trickier. As people have become more mobile |
| Spade as portrayed by screen legend Humphrey | | | | in recent times, they often lose connections with |
| Bogart. Nowadays however those private eyes | | | | their past and culture. This is one of the reasons |
| are few and far between as all the research can | | | | why so many find themselves increasingly |
| be done through services available on the internet. | | | | interested in their past and family history. |
| There are many reasons why people feel the | | | | Genealogy research has always interested people; |
| need to find out information on a particular | | | | the opportunity to find out that someone in your |
| person, and more often than not it's for personal | | | | past was famous, or the chance to discover |
| reasons. | | | | something about your family history that has |
| The most delicate and personal situation is | | | | previously been unknown. In fact, it isn't unlikely |
| possibly for people who have been adopted. In | | | | when digging into the past to find family secrets |
| some cases these children grow up and find that | | | | that have been kept hidden for many generations! |
| when they get older they would like to find and | | | | Unfortunately for people trying to build their family |
| connect with their birth parents. Often they | | | | tree they cannot just search on a social |
| discover their records have been sealed or they | | | | networking site. A more detailed people search will |
| no longer contain the correct information. | | | | undoubtedly be necessary, especially if you want |
| Other times the cause of a people search is not | | | | to go back more than a few generations. Luckily |
| as delicate, such as when searching for old friends. | | | | the internet has made this kind of research |
| Moving around often when growing up and even | | | | possible and more affordable than ever before, so |
| into adulthood, it's easy to lose touch with people | | | | finding people can now be just a few clicks away. |
| you were once close to - especially now when | | | | |