123People offers visitors a real time search that scours the web for the individuals they seek. More than just an address look up, 123People provides all available information found through the search. This includes videos, email addresses, images, phone numbers, Wikipedia profiles, and any social networking profiles currently available. Through each new search, the application gains “crowd wisdom” which helps perfect the search and provide more relevant results. The roots of 123People begin with a European IT and telecommunication company called I5invest. As of February 25th, 2009, 123People became available in a total of seven countries, including the United States, Switzerland, Spain, United Kingdom, France and Austria. The following September the application became available as an iTunes iPhone app. On first glance, 123People may seem like a concept that has been done over and over again. Many other people-themed searches area available and provide a number of listings, including various contact details and social networking profiles. However, 123People varies slightly in the way it searches. Rather than performing a search and getting the same results every time, 123People begins to learn through user input and search terms. This helps create better defined results that provide more detailed information. In some cases, information that is not yet found on the internet may be uncovered through 123People. A new visitor can appreciate the clean homepage offered by 123People. Users are met with a search bar, logo and not much else. This works well, keeping the focus where it belongs – on the search rather than on advertisements. A small “people in the news” box provides a little more detail, however this does not hinder the user’s ability to get right to work with a search. The results are also sorted logically, with each type of result contained in its own box. There are boxes for criminal record checks, documents, videos, IMs, documents, Amazon listings, weblinks, blogs, biographies and pictures. Many users can enjoy the fast, easy access offered by 123People. Rather than spend any time entering details to create an account, there is no registration required. Users never have to remember a password to perform a search. Simply enter the name, and zip code if it is known, and hit the search button then browse results. Access to premium public records will require additional details and payment, however to perform a basic search neither of these is requested. Users who frequent 123People have the option to sign up, if they want to. Basic information including name, address, date of birth, gender, email and a password is required. This also allows users to sign up for the 123People newsletter. 123People is currently offered as a free search tool for all visitors. No registration is required, so anyone can perform a search. While the application’s abilities sound enticing, an actual search for an individual may not be as thorough as would be expected. A test search performed on the writer produced results that lacked a few easy to find profiles and information. The three photographs that were also found had nothing to do with the individual being searched. If 123People ever chose to charge users the search results should be fine tuned first. Not all record are available for free. Users will also get premium public record search results that require a fee to access. These are clearly noted and not mixed in with other free results. The cost of the record varies depending on where you choose to order it. These are third party companies that are not a part of 123People. Everyone has the desire to search for someone at some point. Whether they just need a quick contact phone number or want to learn about a long lost friend or relative, 123People search may be able to help. Individuals who seek information on famous people may find the results far more extensive.

• The “tag cloud” feature that provides relevant search terms based on the individual being searched
• Daily people in the news updates to find famous entries that are relevant today
• Eight language options which includes English, Spanish, German, French, and Italian
• A voluntary registration option for users who wish to become members
• Diverse collection of search results that include profiles, images, videos, blogs, and more

http://www.123people.com