Though out my years involved in the adoption community and as the internet has become a tool for searching it can be one of the most powerful tools available to you in your adoption search. It is a powerful tool because of the people who use it. This is particularly true when it comes to triad members searching.

There are many popular online mailing lists where you can find support and encouragement as you embark on your adoption search.

For myself I belong to several mailing lists to keep current on changes in regards to adoption law, access to records and provide search guidance to those who are searching. There is not a day that goes by that I don’t receive email messages from triad members spread across the country. Some have celebrated successful matches on a registry, some have questions about search, or some are seeking support during the search and reunion process.

To check out the mailing lists offered on line go to www.yahoogroups.com. You will be able to search by topic and subscribe to as many mailing lists as you would like depending on your needs and interests.

Search engines are something else to be aware of, the value of them, and how to use them. You can enter the name you are searching for into a search engine in hopes of finding the person listed on the some website. If you put the name in quotation marks you will get back all with the first name and last name. For example, use “John Doe” to narrow down the search for what you want. Entering a person’s phone # will sometimes bring back their address.

If you don’t have a name but know something of the person’s background you can search on that information. You can search for unions, schools, religions, athletic events, etc. Some search engines are more powerful than others. If you do not have luck with one, try another.

Another website that may be useful in your search is www.anybirthday.com. By being a member of mailing lists (discussed above) you may be able to find people who have memberships to paid sites such as www.classmates.com or www.ameridex.com and they can get more information for you. The risk of obtaining old information is always a possibility however if the person you are searching for has not moved in some time then, it will do it’s job.