But That’s Not Our Guy – Why Social Media & Online Research Can Be Frustrating

DIY platforms and other data gathering programs are great, but before you consider them to be inaccurate or not helpful, keep in mind that they are only as good as the person using them for research.

For many professions, including private investigators, law firms, and insurance companies, social media and online research on individuals has opened a new venue for assisting with investigations into court cases, insurance fraud, and other situations.

While it can be done, it can also be time consuming and frustrating. The more common the name, and the less information that is being used to search for a person’s online activity, the longer it can take. One roadblock is information that does not actually belong to the person you’re looking at – their information is getting mixed up with someone else with the same name.

In talking with folks in the industry, this is a pain point that not only makes it more difficult to search for people online, but it also gives the impression that the quality of such searches is not great. This can make investigators leery and question the benefit of conducting such research.

It’s important to remember a few key points when considering options for conducting social and online research:

1. Software is good, but will never be perfect. Whether it’s a DIY online search platform or TLO/Tracers/IDI report, there is a chance that information will be provided that does not in fact belong to the individual you’re interested in, whether it’s a phone number, email address, or social site. The opportunity for false positives is there no matter what platform is being used.

It’s important to utilize multiple software platforms – what one will pick up, another will miss, and what one provides as a “false positive” another will not pick up at all. Each platform works off its own algorithm, or process for producing search results based on what information is provided about an individual.

If an investigator is using such programs to conduct a search, they can be very valuable. However, it is important to keep in mind that not all information provided will be accurate; these are meant to be used as a starting point in an online investigation – manual research & identification will be needed to confirm whether a piece of information really belongs to the person you’re looking at. Typically, if it’s not readily clear from the initial search, a good rule of thumb is to find three pieces of confirmation to ensure it’s the person’s social account or site.

Here’s an example: if you find a Facebook page that you think belongs to the individual, but perhaps it’s not really clear just from looking at the user name or “About” section, take a look at their friends list, places they’ve checked in, “About section” to see if birthdays or employers are listed, etc. If you can identify the location of the individual whose Facebook page you’re looking at, or maybe confirm that some of their Facebook friends are relatives that correspond with findings from a TLO report, then you can be more certain that it’s the right account.

2. What may seem to be inaccurate information can actually be a key to what you’re looking for. Sometimes people will see social reports and say something like, “That phone number for Joe is so old and hasn’t been used in years. This report isn’t accurate at all. I want his current phone number.” Valid point, but here’s something to keep in mind: Joe may have accounts, comments, or forum membership tied to these old numbers. While he’s not currently using the phone number, the accounts still live online and are easier to tie to Joe. Sometimes these old accounts are long forgotten, which means they’re not being scrubbed if they are involved in a situation where a lawyer tells them to “clean up their online presence.” This means that there could be valuable information to find based on what seems to be inaccurate information.

3. DIY programs are great, but they are called DIY for a reason. There are many companies who will allow you to purchase a subscription to an online search product to find content posted by or about an individual. As this type of research has evolved, the services have greatly improved. There is definitely a place for do it yourself search programs – but you have to do it yourself. No matter what the company claims, it will not be as simple as entering some information about an individual and being presented with all of the person’s online activity without any false positives or inaccurate information. It’s going to take you (the “yourself” part in DIY) to validate, investigate, and determine the validity of the results. Before deeming a DIY program as not useful, remember its actual purpose and that it is not meant as a be all end all service. And, if the company is promising that it is, you may want to reconsider using it.

4. There is no magic bullet – online research takes a lot of time. There’s no way around it. While we all wish a software platform would be created to give us instant and completely accurate results, this will likely never happen. Why? Things are changing all the time, whether it’s social media privacy laws, Google algorithm updates, or any number of things that can change in an instant. This is where online and social media research gets tricky and frustrating, leaving people to give up easily. Software can not be relied on as a standalone product – manual research is needed to confirm the validity of the information provided, and then take that information as a starting point and fleshing out what can be found through manual searching. When multiple platforms and other similar products are used simultaneously, the time spent can be greatly reduced. This is why it can be useful to turn to a full-service social media and online research service – they often have efficiencies in place to search quicker and provide more accurate results, which saves a lot of time for those needing to conduct investigations.

DIY platforms and other data gathering programs are great, but before you consider them to be inaccurate or not helpful, keep in mind that they are only as good as the person using them for research. Take them for what they are and realize that they will not be the magic bullet to quickly investigate an individual’s online activity.

Myspace Lost Tons of Music and Data

If you are above the age of 30, it is more than likely that you had a Myspace account. Myspace was “the place to be” before Facebook came along. The question is: Do you know what happened to your Myspace account? Did you abandon it when you converted to Facebook? Or is it still floating around out there in cyberspace?

Chances are you never planned to go back to Myspace, but if you did, your plans have been altered. That may not necessarily be a bad thing if you posted embarrassing pictures or posts that may not be regarded highly by your current employers. A quick scan of social-media chatter reveals plenty of people expressing relief that their Myspace histories had been deleted. Snapchat and Instagram Stories have become popular for a reason — they let users post without worrying about adding skeletons to their closets. In an age when old tweets constantly resurface out of context and you can be canceled at a moment’s notice for anything you might have done at any point in your posting history, the obliteration of one’s Myspace history may come as a relief.

Twitter Ads info and privacy

But for those who used Myspace as a career launch site – such as numerous musicians and artists – the latest announcement has been rather upsetting. Myspace just recently revealed it lost 12 years’ worth of music uploaded to its site, following a server migration error — a loss potentially amounting to 50 million songs. The Los Angeles-based company, which was once a leading music-sharing platform, announced that content uploaded to its site from its inception in 2003 up until 2015 may no longer be accessible.

“As a result of a server migration project, any photos, videos and audio files you uploaded more than three years ago may no longer be available on or from Myspace,” the company said in a statement on its website. “We apologize for the inconvenience.”

The site is credited with helping launch the careers of numerous international artists, including Kate Nash, Arctic Monkeys and Calvin Harris, who were discovered on the platform.

Steven Battelle, the former lead vocalist of British rock band LostAlone, expressed sadness at the data loss and said the platform played a pivotal role in the establishment of his group. “This makes me really sad, so much of the start of my band came from the exposure and community Mspace had,” he wrote on Twitter. “I still think it was the best platform for artists / bands. Just music and people who loved the music commenting on it.”

Generally speaking, big, mainstream data handlers like Myspace should be able to reliably store your data. They usually create backups and redundancies spread across multiple server farms. They should be able to revert after something like a failed server migration. If the website is going to make your data inaccessible by, say, ceasing operation, they should give you advance warning and the option to export your data. It should tell you proactively when there is a catastrophic screw-up. Myspace did none of these things, even though, even in its modern form, it almost certainly had the resources to do so.

Myspace has been in decline for years, unable to compete with other leading social media and music-sharing platforms including Facebook and YouTube, despite multiple redesigns of the site. In 2009, the platform employed approximately 1,600 people. It now has a staff of 150, according to the company website.


The Myspace debacle should be a lesson to younger people whose life revolves around social media: if it really truly matters, save it on a backup drive.

The Role of Social Media for the School Resource Officer

School resource officers (SROs) are now the gatekeepers to an untapped wealth of information. At their fingertips are computer databases containing well-networked contact information of every student who has attended the school, along with photographs and behavior reports. SROs can also utilize social networking web sites which offer staggering amounts of information. These resources allow SROs to identify frequently changing gang and drug trends as well as criminally active juveniles. 

Social Media and Intelligence


Because SROs are familiar with the culture of young people and know who to investigate online, they are at the forefront of social networking and information collection. The abundance of information presented on sites such as Facebook and Twitter can be a huge asset to law enforcement across the country. 

Facebook allows its users to post information and pictures on their personal “wall” covering any topic they wish to write about. Even more intriguing, users can carry on current, written conversations with friends on their wall for anyone to see. 

Twitter enables its users to send minute-by-minute messages or “Tweets” using several methods, including mobile texting, instant messaging and Web-based messaging, to whomever is an accepted “follower.” What makes Twitter unique is that the messages are sent in real time. Frequently, SROs may discover information about gang affiliation, narcotics dealings, underage drinking parties, terroristic threats or plans to disrupt the safety and security of a school.

Online investigations routinely lead to the discovery of photos that depict criminal activity. Brenda Miller, chief deputy attorney for Waseca County, Minn., specializes in juvenile prosecution. She explains, “Photographs can be used to establish probable cause and later be admitted as evidence.” According to Miller, “Photos are actually owned by the social networking web sites, and a person has no expectation of privacy in photographs owned by a third party unless they are trademarked.” 

Working with School Administrators


Successful information collection starts by building cooperative working relationships between SROs and school principals. David Dahl, principal of Armstrong High School in Plymouth, Minn., has devised such a program. Dahl recommends that SROs attend weekly meetings with school administrators. “These meetings are intended to transfer information between school administrators and SROs in an effort to prevent juvenile misconduct and provide needed intervention,” Dahl said. 

SROs also need to gain a better understanding of students’ rights in school, and bring information to school administrators about suspicious activity or suspected criminal misconduct. SROs also have an obligation to work with school district administrators and police supervisors who are interested in implementing communication systems or participating in information sharing programs. SROs must remain dedicated to building strong relationships with school administrators and investigating social media in an effort to collect and disseminate criminal intelligence.


Blake Prewitt, superintendent of Lakeview school district in Battle Creek, Michigan, typically wakes up each morning to twenty new emails from a social media monitoring system the district activated earlier this year. It uses keywords and machine learning algorithms to flag public posts on Twitter and other networks that contain language or images that may suggest conflict or violence, and tag or mention district schools or communities.

In recent months the alert emails have included an attempted abduction outside one school—Prewitt checked if the school’s security cameras could aid police—and a comment about dress code from a student’s relative—district staff contacted the family. Prewitt says the alerts help him keep his 4,000 students and 500 staff safe. “If someone posts something threatening to someone else, we can contact the families and work with the students before it gets to the point of a fight happening in school,” he says.

Lakeview’s service is provided by Firestorm, a Georgia company that also helps schools develop safety and crisis response policies. Hart Brown, Firestorm’s COO, told WIRED that earlier this year, the company’s system flagged a post by a student containing a photo of a backpack with a weapon inside. When the school’s principal approached the student on campus, they were carrying the weapon, Brown says.

Desmond Patton, a professor at Columbia, believes social media monitoring can work if managed correctly. “I think there’s an opportunity for schools to use this as a way to support people but I would do so with extreme caution,” says Patton. His lab has collaborated with social workers trying to reduce gang violence in Chicago to train machine learning software to find tweets expressing trauma and loss. The group has shown updates of those kinds often precede posts containing threats, and is hoping to test its algorithms as tool for community organizations in Chicago and New York City.

Scan public posts, targeting topics and locations not individuals, is a rock solid start to any successful school program. In Lakeview’s schools, students receive classes on social media. Those include guidance on privacy settings, but not discussion of the district’s use of Firestorm’s service. Both companies say they have designed their systems to work for different kinds of slang around the country, and frequently update their vocabularies with fresh data.