10 Ways to Rock the Internet Better

I pride myself on being able to find out anything about anyone with limited information. I don’t know where this came from, I don’t think I’m nosy, but maybe I am. I think it all started when my identity was stolen and I got revenge on the hacker.  I wanted to offer you guys internet tips. Some you’ve probably heard of, some you may not have.

1. Have a Fed Ex or UPS tracking code? Enter it into the Google search and the tracking comes up immediately. Call it lazy but it’s just removing 1 step of finding where your damn Beats are that you ordered from Target.
2. Want to find out who owns a website? This was particularly useful when my identity thief was using my card to purchase domains. Go here and enter the website in: https://www.whois.com/whois/ This won’t work if they’ve paid for their site to be private.
3. Don’t buy anything before typing in the business here: https://www.retailmenot.com/ for a coupon code or in store coupon. I can’t even describe to you how much money I’ve probably saved with this. I use it from ordering pizza at Donatos to buying ink from supermediastore.com.
4. Which the last tip leads me into a money-saving tip, not really how to troll the internet better. Sorry but it’s too good not to tell you guys. I only buy my ink for my printer at supermediastore.com. Why? Because they have refurbished ink cartridges. I’ve been doing this for years now and it’s completely safe. The ink cartridge that would normally cost me around $22-$25, I get for $13. Which reminds me, I need to go buy some more!
5. I can’t tell you exactly how to enter in searches but never underestimate what can be found with just a few words strewn together in Google search. 2 weeks ago, my co-worker hooked up with a guy and only got his first name and the street (not the house number) he lived on. Nothing else. In order to properly Facebook stock him, she would need his last name. Long story short, I found out his last name, house number, family names, birthday, etc. Nothing is private anymore. Just enter in different combinations, I bet you’ll find what you’re looking for!
6. If you click on a link and it doesn’t work, right-click and select open link in new window. If that doesn’t work, try another browser. If that doesn’t work, none of this is your fault and I blame the website!
7. I’m sure most know this but if you have a Facebook post that is going to piss someone off, you can always exclude them from the post. How? Click on Friends button then select Friends except…. Then you can select people who you don’t want to see your post. I use it almost every post and it’s been a gift from God! Just remember, your next post will have that same parameter and you’ll have to adjust for everyone to see or that next batch that doesn’t need to see it.
8. There is one good thing about self-hosting as I do- Google Analytics. If you are intimidated, Google offers free online courses for it and I’ve gone through them. Google Analytics allows you to see where all your traffic is coming from, how long they are staying on a post and what time of day is the most popular. It’s like WordPress Stats on steroids. There are probably a million other things I don’t know how to do yet with Google Analytics!
9. Going for an interview? ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, take your interview agenda to Facebook and search these people’s names. More often than not, you can find who will be interviewing you and get a sense of who they are, what they like and anything else that may be useful. You can do the same for LinkedIn but make sure you make your trolling time private so they don’t think you’re a big creeper.
10. Want to find someone’s mug shot? First Google their name. No go? Do you have the county they were arrested in? Go to the county’s sheriff site and usually there is a button for: search for inmates. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve had to do this to find a certain relative’s indiscretions. Up until a few weeks ago, I thought every county had a search for inmate option but quickly found that for Columbus, it’s only people in jail right now, not in the past. Often times you can also go to the county’s clerk of courts site and find all the information on their court dates, bonds and judge’s rulings. Thank God all of this is public.

So what do you think? If you’re sitting here like “duh Hot Mess, I know all of this already,” then sorry. You are a smarty pants and need to write another post with more tips so I can learn even more! It’s gotten to the point where I have people coming to me, asking me to find this person or that person. What are your tips? I am always in the mood to learn so I can troll better!