123People beta testing

I can’t tell you how many times my boss has told me he needs as much information as I can possibly find on a particular individual – IN THE NEXT 5 MINUTES – to prepare for a last-minute meeting, an event introduction, etc. Hey, no pressure, right? So while reading our tech blogs last week, I saw a story about a new program currently in development called 123 People. They were seeking the first 123 people who volunteered to be beta testers, so naturally I responded even though I didn’t think I’d really get contacted. Imagine my surprise (and delight) when they emailed me with a login and password to give it a try!

In case you didn’t see the story, 123people is a program to help you “find everyone you (want to) know.” It basically searches every corner of the Web to find as much information as possible about the person you key into the search field. They claim to be able to find images, videos, phone numbers, email addresses, social networking info, Wikipedia profiles, etc. In addition, you can also add (yes add!) information to the profiles such as tagging, comments, etc. How cool is that?

Currently, the site is optimized for European Web users, so there was a disclaimer in the email they sent that stated US users would have a different experience of the site. For starters, I decided to enter a person’s name who I knew there should be searchable info on to see what would come back (Geoffrey Cowan). I was not disappointed. I found profile and data weblinks as well as weblinks to other places such as Amazon.com where you could buy his books, a ton of images, videos, his email address, a LinkedIn profile and various blogs he'd written. At first glance the site certainly seemed to live up to its hype.

In terms of the user experience, you could add comments, tags, pictures, and additional weblinks that did not come up during the initial search. There was also a ratings section for the individual’s profile that allowed you to rate the person as “smart, sexy, rich, vip, funny or cool.” I tried to explore this feature, but that part of the site did not appear to work. Personally, I thought that feature detracted from the site and made it seem rather frivolous.

I would have to say one of the best things about this program was the “email this profile to a friend” feature. Because they put everything in one neat little spot, it makes it easy to send info about a particular individual to someone else. However, the feature for reporting flaws in a profile could use a lot more work. I found it cumbersome and not well thought out. It would be better if you could click on each flaw and let them know it was incorrect rather than having to list all of the flaws in a single pop-up comment box.

I think this program has great potential even though it will never replace a Google search. The Google search on Geoffrey Cowan was more comprehensive with pages and pages of information. However, the beauty of having a variety of information on someone (contact info, images, videos, etc.) at my fingertips, in ONE place without having to click through a bunch of different search results was wonderful. It is going to be great for quick searches once they get the bugs worked out. I urge everyone to give it a try and see what you think.