Hasta La Creative!

Pipl.com claims to provide the most comprehensive people search on the Web. I have no idea if that’s true, but the site is one of the Internet’s more depressing destinations, judging by some of its user testimonials (which appear at the top of the page with each refresh). Raves one “happy” customer: “I lost contact with him … I found him on Pipl … This was a big punch to the gut to find out that he had passed … at the age of 20.” Another proclaims: “I found my best friend’s obituary deep within the recesses of a newspaper in South Carolina. Without Pipl.com, I would never have known.” After reading those, I hesitate to do a Pipl search. Everyone seems to turn up dead! It would be a good place for shrinks, organized religions and Häagen Dazs to advertise—they’re three pillars of comfort in times of despair. Most unsettling of all: “For 11 years, I have been searching for an ex-girlfriend … On the very first search, Pipl found an address and a website … and we have rekindled the friendship.” Some people just don’t know when to let go!

—Posted by David Gianatasio