How to Google Your Date

Is it too "stalkerish" to Google a first date or even someone you've known for a long time? Would you still google the person if they could find out that you were googling them? The background check has gone overtly high tech over the past 3 years. Finding background information dating back to elementary or high school and beyond is now made simple beyond belief with a few simple internet searches. Certain websites offer private investigation services but why pay for such an extensive search when a simple internet search could satisfy your curiosity and possibly give you peace of mind that you're not dating a serial killer?

The Method to the Madness
Searching on Google and other search engines can bring up random and unrelated information from the person you're actually searching for. For example typing in Michael Clark in google brings up an actor, real estate website, a physician's webpage, a photography webpage, and a technology journal and this is just the first page of results! The key to being more specific is to contain the search name in quotation marks eg: "Michael Clark" and possibly including more information about the subject including the city. An example would be to type "Michael Clark" Columbus Ohio. This search brings up several telephone listings and results specific to the city of Columbus, Ohio. If this method is still bringing non-specific results you can add certain information that you may know about the person including their field of employment, college attended, and extra curricular activities. This should bring you general information on your date of interest including possible hobbies, contact information, employment contacts, and awards or accomplishments.