I am a private investigator who specializes in social media investigations. So obviously, I am quite adept at finding my way around the various social networks. This means I have multiple social media profiles, some of which are only used during the course of my investigations in order to gain greater access to information on the targets of my searches.
In addition to using social media as an investigative tool in my work, I also use some of them for marketing. One of these includes social media giant, Twitter. When I joined Twitter, my intent was to use it solely for marketing purposes. However, once I joined, I discovered a hidden secret of this micro-blogging site… hidden to me at the time.
Twitter ended up being a hidden gem for finding and following all of the private investigators and related professionals out there who are spearheading our industry into the 21st century. I am talking about the shakers and movers who are constantly embracing technology, learning and sharing new and better techniques, and driving the private investigations’ industry into a more honorable profession for all of us.
Finding the right people to follow on Twitter has steered me in the direction I want to go as a novice private investigator. I am inundated with professionals who give outstanding advice, share educational articles relevant to private investigations today, write dynamite articles and books on topics of interest to me, keep me updated on applicable laws, and just generally model what I should be emulating as a private investigator to provide the best services to my clients.
Twitter has also allowed me to interact with some of the brightest minds in my industry. I don’t just have to sit back as a passive spectator and take it all in. I can contribute my own thoughts and ideas and begin to form professional relationships with them. All thanks to Twitter, I have published two articles for Pursuit Magazine, an online magazine for professional investigators.
Here are some of my favorites that you should consider adding to your own following list on Twitter. Some are private investigators; others are not. They are in no particular order:
- Brian Willingham @b_willingham
- Pursuit Magazine @PursuitMag
- Trustify @Trustify
- Nick Jaworsky @NBJaworsky
- Justin Seitz @jms_dot_py
- John Nardizzi @AuthorPI
- Mike Spencer @SpencerPI
- Scott Fulmer @TheUtahGumshoe
- Jason Fried @jasonfried
- SMI @smiaware
- i-intelligence @i_intelligence
- Cynthia Navarro @finnegansway
- Search Engine Watch @sewatch
- PInow.com @PInow
- Small Business Expo @SmallBizExpo
- Adam Visnic @AdamVisnic
- Kusic and Kusic Ltd @KusicAndKusic
- Eli Rosenblatt @pdxinvestigator
- Tamara Thompson @PIbuzz
- Hunchly @hunchly
- Michael Bazzell @IntelTechniques
- Toddington Intnl Inc @ToddingtonInt
- Omni Investigations @Omni_PI
- Starting a Business @suasbiz
- Marcy Phelps @marcyphelps
- writing pis @writingpis