Blog - Page 15 of 17 - Marcy Phelps and Associates

What Makes Information Irresistible?

August 27, 2015 / by Marcy Phelps / Information about information / 2 comments

This is one of my favorite information-related quotes, because it describes so well why I love my job. I’m on a never-ending hunt for new and exciting ways to improve my reports and make the information I deliver irresistible. Yes, I need to stay up-to-date on all the latest and greatest tools and techniques for […]

You want what? – Better results through client conversations

August 20, 2015 / by Marcy Phelps / Investigative business / 1 comment

Measure twice, cut once. It doesn’t matter the activity. Time spent on preparation pays off in the end. Research and investigations are no different. Misunderstandings lead to poor results and unhappy clients (including bosses). Success depends on making the most of your initial conversation – the request for information. When I worked in libraries, we […]

People-Searching: Good Sources are Hard to Find

August 13, 2015 / by Marcy Phelps / Search tools, Tips/Techniques / 0 comments

While doing some research for a recent post on alternative search engines, I turned to one of my usual sources for inspiration, search expert Phil Bradley. I found a useful presentation on Slideshare, Alternative search engines; Library 2.014 presentation, and – when I got to slide #34 – I laughed out loud! This slide “says” […]

The Pesky Problem of People-Finding

August 6, 2015 / by Marcy Phelps / Investigations / 0 comments

The challenges of people searching and background investigations

At the upcoming WebSearch University conference, I’m presenting a session called “The Pesky Problem of People-Finding.” I must credit program director Marydee Ojala for the catchy title. I liked it immediately, because it really highlights how frustrating investigating people can be. So what’s so annoying about people-finding? Here are my top reasons, and I’d love […]

My Favorite Google Alternatives

July 30, 2015 / by Marcy Phelps / Search tools / 6 comments

Levels of due diligence background investigations

In recent posts about search engines I’ve covered Google and Bing, but sometimes plain vanilla isn’t enough – especially when you need advanced tools or focused content. It’s times like these when I turn to alternative, or specialized, search engines. Here are some of my favorite Google alternatives and how I use them: DuckDuckGo – […]

Is Google Really Making us Dumber?

July 23, 2015 / by Marcy Phelps / Information about information, Search tools / 0 comments

Since I’ve been tied up with work and vacation planning, here’s one I posted on the old blog in October 2014. I still get so annoyed with this Google-Is-To-Blame mentality: An article on Salon.com, Google makes us all dumber: The neuroscience of search engines, really caught my interest. In my research and investigations, Google is […]

Why I love Bing

July 16, 2015 / by Marcy Phelps / Information sources, Search tools / 0 comments

In the business of background investigations, the goal is to find as much information as humanly possible on your subject, while respecting the client’s time frame and budget. That’s why I use professional online tools that help me quickly target what I need within a vast array of sources. I also use Google, and I […]

How I Use Google for Better Results

July 9, 2015 / by Marcy Phelps / Search tools, Tips/Techniques / 0 comments

Us vs. Google. It’s a common theme among info pros, and – frankly – I wish it would go away. Google is one of my favorite tools of the trade, and I can’t imagine not consulting this and other general-purpose search engines before and after heading to more specialized sources. You’ll find lots of sites […]

How to Avoid TLDR

July 2, 2015 / by Marcy Phelps / Information about information, Tips/Techniques / 0 comments

We’ve all seen it, and – unfortunately – we’ve all contributed to it. TLDR, short for “Too long; didn’t read.” Think about it: Time is at a premium, our attention spans are shrinking, and we’re consuming information on some very small screens. People may not be spending a lot of time with your emails, client […]

The Smith Test

June 25, 2015 / by Marcy Phelps / Tips/Techniques / 0 comments

When searching online databases for public records or news articles, it’s essential to know how many years the database covers. For example, are you searching from 1982 forward, or does the database only go back as far as 1999? You need this information when you’re trying to be as comprehensive as possible – or to […]

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