 Google
If I feel a connection with anyone I chat to, I always do a basic Google search of their name. If I suspect someone is playing with me, I do a basic Google search.
It's amazing what you can find out about people. Just reading their MySpace or Xanga can reveal a lot about the type of person they are, things that aren't always revealed in chat right off. I've also managed to find their profiles on other sites, whether it be dating sites or just interest sites.
One guy I questioned about a comment by a woman on his MySpace immediately blocked me and set his MySpace as private. He obviously had something to hide. Funnily enough he contacted me again over the weekend, profusely denying he was hiding anything. Apparently he had read my blog about him. LOL.
I also found out that another guy on here who acted rather strange with me during our brief chat had recently been in rehab.
I have done routine Google checks on another guy I started getting serious about months back as I felt he wasn't all he made out to be. I've checked all the details he gave me about his life and job and nada came up on Google. Either he lied about his name or he is a player. And a very good one. Had me fooled.
Some people get put off when they know I am doing preliminary checks on them like this, but hey, this is the internet. We have to protect ourselves when we start to get emotionally involved with people we meet via this medium.
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