Here is a short, interesting article about how Dutch police used targeted cell and mobile device messaging to find information on soccer match thugs.  Some of the suspects even contacted the police after the mobile messages were sent.  You can read the entire article here: Dutch Police Use SMS To Catch Hooligans by David Utter @ webpronews.com . 

How is this one for a unique mapping site?  A9.com offers maps of major U.S. cities that allow you to view the map location at the street level on both sides.  You can search for a specific address or just travel the street by moving the magnifying  glass along the map layout.  You can also "walk" the street virtually by moving the arrows on the picture frames.  Try the A9 map search out for yourself at maps.a9.com .

Are you searching for a family member; former classmates; past friends or coworkers?  If so, then you may want to start your people search by posting a message to the Craigslist community message boards.  The craigslist boards have a Missed Connections section under the Personals area, where you can post messages about people you are searching for.   

The type and amount of information that you choose to include in your people search post is up to you, but be sure to post it in the city where the person is likely to be found.  For instance, if the person you are searching for has ties to San Francisco and you live in NYC, then post the people search message in the San Francisco Missed Connections section. 

You can find a list of available cities at Craigslist .  Choose your city, then choose Missed Connections under the Personals section.  You will need a valid email address to make a people search post on these boards.

There are currently over one billion messages posted and archived on Google Groups.  People will very often use all or part of their real names when posting messages in these forums.   This provides a great  opportunity for people searches.

I recently found posts on these forums from a past college friend by doing some simple searches.  You can do a general search for an individual like John Doe, which will search for any mention of the person in any of the messages.  To weed down larger results you may want to try "John Doe" in quotation marks to find an exact string match or a search for just Doe or J. Doe for more general searching.

In addition, you can search specifically for authors of posts. For instance, author:John Doe or author:J. Doe or even author:Doe will search for posts where these names appear as an author of the message. Make sure there are no spaces between the colon after author and the beginning of the name you are searching for.  Spaces should be left between first and last names in the people search.

You can try your own people searches here at  Google Groups.

Here is an interesting news item on the controversial ZabaSearch service.  The article details how the ZabaSearch people search service is planning on launching blogs that allow individuals to comment and discuss other people online.  The prospect of this is both interesting and frightening, as it will allow friends and foes alike to editorialize on you and others online.  Office politics and gossip may no longer be contained in cubicles. The full article is available here: ZabaSearch: A Good Way To Get Reporters In Trouble by Jason Lee Miller @ webpronews.com.

The first three digits of a valid social security number are considered the area number.  If you know these first three SSN digits for someone you are searching for, it can help in locating a previous state of residence and possibly family members. 

For instance, say someone you are looking for has the social security area number of 305 and a fairly uncommon last name.  By doing a social security area search, you will find out that the person’s SSN ( if valid ) was likely issued in the state of Indiana and more than likely that person has lived in this state at one point or another.  Now a whitepages last name only search for the state of Indiana may turn up one or more possible relatives with the same last name residing in Indiana, who may know of the person’s whereabouts. 

You can do social security area number searches at 411 x 411 SSN Area Number Search . Whitepages and other people searches can be done at 411 x 411 Free People Searches      

The 2005 World Investigators Conference will take place on September 21 - 24 in Las Vegas, Nevada.  The conference is expected to draw over 1,000 investigators from around the globe.  Events will include pre-conference seminars; celebrity speakers; exhibitors; professional networking; social events / entertainment and more.  For more information and registration, you can visit their website at 2005 World Investigators Conference .