PeopleFinders News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PeopleFinders.com Announces Top People Search Trends for 2009

World's Most Comprehensive People Search Service Predicts Demand for Quality Will
Transform the Industry

Sacramento, CA – February 2, 2009 – PeopleFinders.com (www.peoplefinders.com), the premier online service that helps consumers quickly find and connect with anyone, anywhere, today released its list of top people search predictions for the coming year. Companies will be under pressure to provide faster, higher quality and more comprehensive people search services, while separating themselves from an evolving industry landscape. At the same time, people search services will have the opportunity to capitalize on the increasing number of people looking to find former colleagues and connect with others worldwide.

PeopleFinders.com's 2009 predictions include:

1. Consumers Will No Longer Tolerate Slow Search Results

In addition to quality information, consumers will demand faster access to people search results. Many services take minutes, hours, and even days to return the results of a search. Imagine if a consumer had to wait an hour, or even a minute, for Google or eBay to return search results. PeopleFinders.com predicts that services which take over a few seconds to return results will change their approach or close their doors in the coming year.

2. Leaders in Quality Will Rise to the Top

In 2009, companies will see increased pressure to provide people search services that are easy to use, accurate, and complete. Companies that provide information spanning several decades will be top of mind with consumers due to the comprehensive nature of their service offerings.

3. Competitors Will Join Forces to Improve Quality and Standards

Due to the vast number of companies in the people search space, we predict that its leaders will band together to improve quality across the industry. Because many companies have limited access to information, they are unable to help consumers quickly connect with each other. To ensure consumers are provided with superior service and products, we believe that the industry will begin to rally around a set of quality guidelines.

4. Consumers Will Drive Demand for Broader Information on People

In 2009, we predict the people search space will see a significant shift in the type of information consumers want to find out about others. With the rise of social media Websites like Facebook and MySpace, consumers have already been exposed to a new way of learning about a person’s background, personality and everyday existence. Beyond this, consumers will want to know about a person’s connections such as those they live, work and socialize with throughout their lifetime. This broader set of information will help consumers paint a complete picture of someone’s life.

5. People Search Will Cross Borders

According to comScore, the number of people 15 and older on the Internet passed one billion in December 2008. With more and more people coming online each day, we predict that U.S. people search services will expand internationally in the coming year. The rise of the Internet has eliminated physical borders, making it possible for people to connect with others nearly anywhere in the world.

6. Deteriorating Economic Conditions Will Lead to an Increase in Searches for Former Colleagues

According to the United States Department of Labor – Bureau of Labor Statistics, since the start of the recession in December 2007, the number of unemployed persons has grown by 3.6 million. Many of those that have lost their jobs will use this opportunity to find a new career path, start their own business, or reach out to people they worked with in the past. We predict those looking to reconnect with former colleagues will turn to people search services for help with this effort, leading to a significant new market opportunity for companies in this space.

7. Consolidation Will Transform the Industry Landscape

Over the last several years, the people search industry has experienced explosive growth. In addition to companies that provide general people search services and background checks, many new companies have formed to offer niche networking, social media and public records services. PeopleFinders.com predicts that the industry will see significant consolidation as larger players looking to expand their offerings acquire many of these smaller, more specialized services.

"2009 holds many transformational changes for our industry, and consumers will value companies that have earned their trust and offer higher quality services," said Bryce Lane, president and COO of PeopleFinders.com. "As a result of the trends towards quality and speed, finding and connecting with people will become easier than ever. Consumers will have access to more accurate, cost-effective and comprehensive people search services, enabling them to quickly rekindle ties with someone from the past or spark a new connection."

About PeopleFinders.com
PeopleFinders.com is the premier online service that helps consumers quickly find and connect with anyone, anywhere. The service provides comprehensive searches including people search, background checks, criminal checks, business ownership and other public records. PeopleFinders.com is the only company that can search billions of records spanning the last 40 years, making search results more comprehensive and accurate than competitors. PeopleFinders.com was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Sacramento, California. For more information, visit www.peoplefinders.com.

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