Friday, February 25, 2011

NYC Homeless Man Finds Daughter Through Twitter: Lessons to Help You Find Family in Mexico



By now you may have heard about the New York City homeless man who found his daughter through Twitter. Daniel Morales is part of a program for the homeless who were given cell phones. He set up a Twitter account and has been tweeting about life on the street. Just today, he reported that he has been contacted by his daughter whom he hasn't seen in 11 years!



So how can his story help you to find someone in Mexico? Here are three important steps he took that helped his daughter find him.
  • He let people know that he was looking for his daughter.
  • He posted her name.
  • He posted a photo of what she looked like when she was 16 years old.
One of the challenges with using social media is that often people do not give their full name. So if you are looking for Jose Martinez, there could be hundreds, if not thousands of people with that same name. That's like having a list of a thousand people and having to go through each one asking them if they are your Jose Martinez. If Daniel had only tweeted the name of his daughter, she probably would never have found him.

Another problem is that often there are no photos that you could look at to help you know if a particular person is the one you want to find. Daniel was smart because he put a photo online of his daughter, Sarah, so she could see it.

And finally, Daniel listed his cell phone number. You'll have to decide if you want the world to have that number since you could have that same cell phone number for the rest of your life. But by listing his cell phone number, Daniel made it easy for his daughter to connect with him.

The important lesson for you to take away is that it is possible to find someone through social media. Now this story takes place in the U.S., but you, too, may be able to find someone in Mexico through social media. However, you may discover that the family member you want to find in Mexico doesn't have a Twitter account or hasn't put up any personal information that will help you identify them as that special person you want to find.

Social media isn't a magic bullet for all of us to find family in Mexico, but you should check it out. In a week or so, you could be sharing with your friends (and maybe the world) that you have found a relative or friend. However, if you feel you need more help, especially for Mexico, you should get advice from a company that has the expertise to find family in Mexico.

Saludos,

Richard Villasana
  Richard

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

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2 comments:

MVPStarz said...

Amazing! It’s pretty much accepted that kids know more about computers and social media than do adults, and parents far too often feel left in the dust. This guy, however, with no intention, or perhaps even hope, of finding his daughter, just started using a very powerful social media channel that all the kids happen to be on and, lo and behold, his daughter finds him! It’s almost a miracle when you think of it. I think social media has a greater power then we realize to bring people together, even families!

Christopher, mvpstarz.com

Richard Villasana said...

I agree, Christopher. One statistic I just heard says that 61% of the Global Fortune 100 companies are on Facebook. They must feel there's something to social media.

It's a great tool, but it's just a tool, one of many to help people find and reconnect with family and friends in Mexico.

Let me know if you have a question. I'll be happy to point you in the right direction. And follow us on Facebook at Mexicogenealogy for even more tips. Thanks for sharing.