Peoplesearch is a Technological Political-Economy

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peoplesearch, to borrow a phrase from my college professor, is a technological political-economy. Through the simple use of our personal computers (PCs) and Macs we can interact with others while conducting an amazing amount of work from our living rooms.From acquiring endless data on any topic, to tracing peoplesearch (a verb) we have lost touch with long ago — there are so many things we used to do without a second thought, we would dread doing them now that we’ve experienced life on the Internet. The fields of information and computer technology have made it all so convenient. We shop at home, we bank at home, we order food online, we read online, and we even send letters electronically. There’s not even a reason to pick up the phone if you have Microsoft’s Instant Messenger. We live in a world made simple by computers and cyberspace. But, how much of our information is floating around in cyberspace?About a year ago, I wanted to get in touch with an old buddy from college. I hadn’t seen him for a couple decades, and apparently lost his address. That’s always a bummer. But, never worry!Anyone can resort to tracing peoplesearch on their personal computer. Some websites even offer a free search option at first. So, I took full advantage of this just a week ago. I was able to locate my friend’s most current address. Now, just to be clear, this process can be a bit tedious if your friend has a common name like “Brian Marshall.” Dozens of people who go by that name will result.So, if you know their middle initial, it’s best to use it. Anyway, this process of tracing people on the web proved handy and effective for me and it got me to thinking about just how easy it had become to find out so much about one another! This was, apparently, one of the down-sides to the Internet.I don’t know that I want everyone having so much access to my personal or private information. Anyone with a computer and Internet access can find me, as long as they have my first and last name. You can even purchase online investigation services that will really help you with this process. From reverse addresses, to reverse cell phone lookups, to social security numbers, to current phone numbers; it all can be found. So, how safe are we from the criminals of the world?I won’t dispute the fact that tracing people online is convenient and sometimes a helpful service. But, take a look at some of the sites you visit. They’re tracing your computer’s IP address and using that information to serve pop up ads that are in line with your (apparent) online interests. So, while the Internet is certainly helpful, it’s no less harmful than anything else made by man. My advice: Surf with caution!

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