Finding people online has become easier than ever. Anyone can locate past acquaintances, relatives or business partners through online resources such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and others. As long as the person has a profile, they can be found online through any social networking forum for free.
Facebook and Twitter are used more for social purposes, but are beginning to be more business-oriented as the tools grow and develop. LinkedIn is primarily for business contacts, and the network recommends that people actually know each other in a business capacity before accepting invitations from one another. This is done to ensure that the recommending person will not tarnish someone else's business reputation.
The fastest way to locate someone online is through Facebook or Twitter. Facebook allows its users to post to the wall of the person or send them an e-mail. Twitter allows its users to send 140-character messages and request invitation to communicate with a person via Twitter.
Nearly anyone is accessible in these online networks, but there are always those individuals who will abuse the accessibility for personal gain. Instances of cyber-stalking have occurred, in which a person repeatedly tries to contact someone else and doesn't back down when rejected. This practice is considered to be impolite at best, and dangerous at worst, and it is not approved in the online community. Cyber-stalking also takes other forms. For example, flashing advertising banners with your picture being forced into the person’s view -- that's borderline cyber-stalking.
LinkedIn is a novel way to provide business recommendations. This tool may be used for business leads, job leads, job hunting, graduate school recommendations and for marketing products. LinkedIn allows people to connect with others in their industry to remain abreast of the latest developments from an inside perspective. This is an easy way to request a business contact or a referral without being intrusive.