It has been some time since I wrote about 123people, the real-time people search tool, (see Who Are You? Find Out With 123people).

It looks like the team have been quite busy in the meantime adding features and languages to the site. The latest development is ‘Deep Web’ search which allows content publishers to check and monitor their reputation online. The new service allows users to keep track of online conversations by scouring the ‘Deep Web’ otherwise known as the invisible Web, using an innovative search service.

123people say “The world has radically become transparent, with digital footprints remaining online for ever. It is important that your footprints are a positive reflection of you. Your online activities have an impact on your reputation, revealing what you are defined by.”

As social networking increases in popularity so too does the relevance of the footprint you leave behind. I have often written about the importance of reflection and restraint before committing yourself online as the words you type, the images and videos you post, will likely remain for a very long time. That may not be of much concern to you now but imagine what a future employer might make of it – see Drunk Facebook photos killing your job prospects?

123people tell us “About 21.6 million people in the UK are using social networks, that is over 60% of the UK population who are active in social media activities. Which means that the majority of Britons now have a digital presence or a web trail of their online activities. 123people finds publicly available information on anyone you want to know and what they do. Search results include: email addresses, blog postings, images, videos, Web links, comments, documents and Amazon reviews.”

As information builds up about you – you may have concerns about how you are represented online – a kind of ‘Brand Me’ if you like. Certainly the reputation of companies can benefit from really understanding the impact of information about their brand. With the rise of social networking this concern over ‘branding’ can spread to the individual (see How to use social networking and In the Social Web, We Are All Brand Managers).

Fortunately, you can utilise tools, such as those offered by 123people, who can “help you to cultivate your personal online brand identity, and ensure that your online presence tells your story as you wish it to be told.”

Of course you can always obtain information using the traditional methods of search engines and site searches – but how long will that take?

The 123people site is “designed to fundamentally improve the quality of people search on the web. In addition to retrieving people information from globally accessible databases and social networks on the web, 123people also searches country-specific websites, providing fast and comprehensive results.”

Features of 123people include:

• Combining people-related data into one easy to view page
• User can tag search results and give them more relevance
• Includes popular social media profiles (i.g. Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Friendster, HiFive, FlickR, Bebo, Bloglines, Blogger, LastFM,)
• Instant Messenger profiles and Microblogs
• Amazon review
• Phone numbers and emails
• News sites
• 123people is available in English, German, French, Italian and Spanish

You can visit 123people at www.123people.co.uk