Social Engineering : How to Infiltrate a Community

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Let's say you just joined a new club, online community, or perhaps even a team. Some people like being the peon members of the group, which is very fortunate, because without those people, no group would be very good. But beyond the general masses is usually a smaller group of respected, and usually more priviledged individuals. In this article, I'll call those people "the inner circle". Within that inner circle there are decision makers - the members that have the power and duty to control the very nature and future of that group. To make this article a little more jargony and cool sounding, I'll call those people the kings. Today I'm going to teach you how to go from being a peasant to a king in a relatively short amount of time. Is this possible? It has been for me. The two best examples, which I will trace my involvement with through this article, are my interactions with the pickup community and with the gambling community. To give a quick background, the pickup community is a huge confederation of thousands of men, and a few women, who endeavor to become more appealing to the opposite sex. There is a public forum called Fast Seduction where everyone congregates. There are a great many factions in the community, most of which are

on bad terms with at least one other group. There's Mystery Method, Real Social Dynamics, Gunwitch, Pickup101, Badboy, Fidentia, and several others. In addition there is a private forum called "Mystery's Lounge" where the elite 100 or so members of the community hang out. That means that these people represent at least the top .1%, if not less. Technically speaking, Mystery's lounge has been renamed and a new forum has sprung up called Mystery's lounge. To make things simple, when I say Mystery's lounge, I am always referring to the more exclusive one. The gambling community was never as large as the pickup community, but it was still made up of a few thousand members. What makes it interesting is that everyone involved has a financial interest in the community. This hinders information flow somewhat. Within the large community was a once-secret group simply called "private". Private had only 40-50 members and being a member of it certainly meant a higher income. Later in the game private went to the wayside in favor of a smaller core group as well as exclusive secret groups outside of the main population. These aren't the only two societies I've risen to the top of, but they are probably among the most impressive and both are very good illustrations of my method. A natural reaction for many readers may be the thought that manipulation shouldn't be encouraged... let the strong rise to the top and the weak to the bottom. In general, I agree with that. However, I find that most communities favor the status quo. Those at the top like peace and don't want to admit anyone who may usurp their position. Many times, though, the most worthy are not at the top. For example, the music industry is notoriously difficult to crack (I'm working on it). I'm generally a fairly mainstream rap fan. I like Jay-Z, Nas, Kanye, Biggie, Tupac, Eminem, Dre, etc. Sure I have some more eclectic tastes as well, but they don't make up the majority of my preferences. With that in mind - my absolute favorite rapper is an underground legend named DZK. Despite being, in my opinion, more talented than any commercial act right now, he doesn't have widespread fame. I believe that's about to change, because he's finally putting effort into it, but my point is that the best doesn't rise to the top without action. The purpose of becoming a king in a group is to add value to the group, make it stronger, and embrace the next generation to join. Sneaking in to benefit yourself without helping others is never the right play.

Step One : Identify the Leaders

It's important to know who you are going to eventually be joining. Make sure you know who actually makes decisions and who is a member of the core group. Sometimes there are several core groups and you need to determine which is really at the top of the food chain. If you deserve to be at the top - get there. In the PUA group (pick up artist group) I identified Mystery's Lounge as the end goal. It was regarded as the Garden of Eden for pickup information and connections. Equally important was status in the main Fastseduction group, particularly being respected by Formhandle, the moderator and owner of the forum. In the gambling group I knew private existed, so I wanted to join that. It was pretty clear who most of the members were.

Step Two : Shake things Up

This is an important step, and probably the most ignored one. For change to happen, things must be shaken up. Most people aren't great at dealing with change, but you will become a master of it. This gives you a good chance to quickly ascend the ranks while the others are trying to get their bearings. I don't mean to do anything malicious. I mean to do something drastic that draws attention to you and separates you from the masses. In general the inner circles don't have much regard for the commoners as a group (although usually they will respect some of them, arguably a middle class). An important factor of shaking things up is putting yourself in a position where people HAVE to notice you and probably have to deal with you. Outside of my two case studies, it's pretty obvious that I'm trying to break into the blogging world (I will never say blogosphere - I promise). With millions of blogs out there, it's not an easy field. However, within two months I have been able to go from 10 readers a day to 4000 (if you average out the huge spikes), and I keep going. To shake it up here, I posted some stories which I knew would get massive publicity like the Ghetto Pool story, the UT Tunnel story, and most recently the Living with Courtney Love story. I knew that these stories would put me in front of a lot of eyeballs, which would force people to notice my blog and read it. I managed to get on the front page of digg, college humor, delicious, shoutwire,

reddit, fazed, and leenks. Thanks to those services, over 150,000 different people saw my blog in a month, and a number of them became regular readers. In the PUA world, I had a tougher time. The year prior to my entry played host to the world's first Pickup Artist summit, held in Boston by Formhandle. It was a small event, but it attracted some of the biggest names in the business - a perfect setting to get noticed. But I missed it. I decided that to shake things up I would host the next one that year. That meant that although I would have to do some work (read : bring value), the best in the game would be forced to deal with me. I emailed Formhandle with my plan, and he ignored me. He simply got too much e-mail and to him I was still one of the peons. So I had to get a little bold. I saw a post that he made that I didn't disagree with, and I publicly called him on it. Normally I would ignore it, but I needed to get noticed. He wrote back, and then to avoid a further flame war I e-mailed him to apologize and settle it privately. After that he always responded to my e-mails and agreed to help me organize the PUA summit. A sidenote : I'm sure he's forgiven me for my rudeness... today we're friends and we hang out every time we're in the same city. Gambling was interesting. Sometimes there's no convenient way to shake things up, so you must wait for an opportunity. As with anything, opportunities come frequently if you're looking for them. The previous owner of the gambling forum wasn't actually a gambler himself, which was breeding discontent amongst the ranks. We wanted fewer members to protect our secrets, he wanted more to increase revenues. To resolve the situation he agreed to sell the forum for a rather high price. I immediately told the purchaser I was interested in purchasing the forum. I was interested, but what was more important is that I knew that he would be a king soon. It's a good idea to be friends with the kings. The sale got botched, but it was good enough. Through him I had been introduced to others. I made good friends with one of the more influential members (not strategically) and he told me that if I started my own forum that he could bring most of the members with him. Sure enough I started my own forum and everyone moved over. Within a month I went from a nobody to one of the most important people in the community.

Step Two and a half : Take Power

Notice how in both of the examples I took a leadership role? All kings are in some sort of leadership role, formal or informal. The sooner you take one, the quicker your ascent will be. You don't need to kick someone out of their position either, just create a new role that you're good at that will benefit the group. Maybe you'll organize events for the group, or archive materials. It doesn't really matter - just make it important and hopefully well known.

Step Three : Cement your Role

Being at the top can be tricky. If you're part of the top 1%, that means that the other 99% are jockeying for your position. Now it's time to really flesh out your role in the group and make some ties. This is usually easy because others at the top will be like minded and you'll naturally befriend them. In the PUA world I did run the summit, but by that time I had moved in with three of the other kings and began teaching with one of them. Not only was I invited to join the lounge, but I was also in charge of the membership there, being the one person with the final say on who was a member and who wasn't. In the gambling scene I shared information with other top guys to show that I wasn't deadweight. Of course the information they then shared with me was even more valuable. Some people say that if you have no enemies, you're doing something wrong. I'm conflicted on whether or not I subscribe to that notion, but I try to avoid enemies. My philosophy is that most people who rise to the inner circle are probably reasonably interesting people and some benefit can be gained by being on good terms with them. My involvement in the gambling community faded over the years as I became more independent, but before that I was friends with everyone. In a few cases I was friends with two bitter enemies and had to help moderate. In the PUA scene even though I am fairly inactive in the community today, I am probably friends with more top guys than anyone else. It's ok to be friends with rivals. Just make sure you do not fuel their rivalry. It may be tempting at times to share stories and information from one faction to the other,

but this is a huge mistake. If you can't be trusted to keep your mouth shut, you will soon find yourself shunned by both. It's also important to continually add value to the group. Deadweight may get a few months tenure, but inevitably someone has to be removed to make room for the new. Every community has members who are not actively improving the community, and they are the first to go. Even though I barely ever go out anymore, I still offer value to the pickup community by sharing my ideas and stories, and also giving information on my other areas of expertise.

Go Do It!
Now you have everything you need to know to become a king of your community. Everyone is in some sort of community (even if it's just your family or friend group), so start now and hopefully with your help your group will grow even stronger. Also, watch for how I rise to the top of both the blogging world, but soon the rap industry.

How to Infiltrate and Hide

Military spies go through extensive training to observe and adapt to their surroundings. These skills are as important in civilian life as they are in foreign espionage. Use spying skills in civilian life to infiltrate any social group, community or business. Hide from prying eyes and appear to be an average citizen, group member or employee.

Instructions
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Observe the group you seek to infiltrate. Learn their customs and habits. Pay attention to styles of dress and language. Buy clothing that the average member of the group wears. You want to fit in, not stand out from the crowd. Practice using the group's mannerisms and language habits before attempting to infiltrate. Change your appearance to fit in but keep the changes natural and easy to maintain.

Infiltrate the group from normal entry points. Join a community group. Attend performances or fund raising events and become a regular face in the crowd. Join a religious institution that the group you seek to infiltrate attends. Behave as others in the

group behave on a daily basis. Buy your groceries where the neighbors shop. Eat local cuisine. Drop by the local gathering spots such as a bar or coffee shop.

Stay in the background. Be a follower, not a leader. Hide in plain sight and fit in to the community. Join the groups everyone joins and look like everyone else around you. For tips on how to stay hidden, read 1930 Russian spy tips on the United Kingdom's National Archives website. Adapt the tips for today's world. 4
Keep your schedule on par with the community. Have a job that supports the neighborhood lifestyle. Pay your bills on time. Share little information about your background but listen closely to others' stories. Collect information to adapt your personal information to fit the average community profile. Stay away from public officials, especially the police. Obtain proper credentials including background credentials if necessary.

Fit In: 4 Steps

The economy appears to be on the rebound, which means some guys might be moving to new areas for new jobs. The change can feel more drastic than it is and a guy can get the sense he's suddenly on the outside of the well-established social scene, looking in. All of the sudden, the way loners and rebels shun other people looks like a luxury.

The idea of deliberately bending oneself to fit in may strike some guys as unpalatable, raising questions about sincerity and conformity, but we do it all the time. It's a requirement for being part of a free society, and no values need to be compromised in the process. The following four steps to fit in presuppose that we all know how to get along with others but that the older we all get, the harder it becomes to forge new relationships. These steps attempt to accelerate the process without making a guy seem overly desperate.

1- Evaluate the culture

The first step to fit in is to determine the characteristics of whatever it is you're trying to fit in to the culture, in other words. Cultures naturally develop among any steady collection of people, and they're defined by those ideas, beliefs and behaviors shared by the group.

When applied to a few clowns at the office who regularly hit the localhappy hours, the term culture and its definition seem mock-heroic, but they still apply. Those guys attach a high value to happy hour; they all make minor but choreographed personal and professional choices throughout the day to accommodate the event. The same holds true for coworkers who start work earlier on some mornings so they

can squeeze in nine holes as often as possible. We reward what we value by making it affordable by sacrificing other areas of our lives. Evaluating the various cultures percolating around you can be considered a sort of social due diligence, determining which group offers the highest returns on the investment you'll be asked to make of your time and energy.

2- Stick your neck out

The second step to fitting in goes against the instincts of self-preservation, but it's unavoidable: a guy has to stick his neck out and introduce himself to other people. He has to drop his defenses and risk the possible rejection and humiliation if he wants to make new friends. The efforts don't need to be Herculean. Consider inviting a few people to go for lunch by saying you want to get a better idea of what their jobs entail. Even if rejected, this little effort will pay dividends by informing others of your openness and willingness in getting to know them.

3- Implicate yourself
The third step to fitting in entails that you to find a way to involve yourself in the workings of the culture. Despite its criminal connotations, we use the term implicate with careful deliberation. The idea here is to make yourself known to this group. It's your chance to remake yourself in an image more suited to how you see yourself. Project to others the qualities you value by being a doer. For example, choose to opt out of office gossip, volunteer your skills or expertise to a community, actively listen when people talk to you, remember the names of people you meet and use them when you see them next. Implicate yourself in the lives of the people around you by being the kind of person people want to be around.

When trying to fit in, it's easy to be passive and go along for the ride, but it's hard to do this without compromising yourself.

4- Bring value
In our accelerated steps to fitting in, the final step is to make a contribution to that culture according to those values you evaluated in the first step. This act is symbolic; you are confirming the values of this culture by agreeing to be a part of them.

Keep in mind that some people are quick to close ranks if they perceive the slightest threat, so try not to overdo it. If you earned an invitation to go play some golf on a late weekday afternoon, take it at face value. Be careful, too, of the temptation to gravitate toward the most overtly friendly person around, it's too easy and you risk getting adopted by them, a situation that could prove uncomfortable down the road. You're better off hanging back a little in order to get a feel for the social landscape. After all, there are many paths into any social circle, but the one you should be wary of is the path of least resistance.

How to Gather Information on People

Print this article Share By Maria Evans, eHow Contributor

There are all types of reasons to want to gather information on an individual. Motives range from checking out a potential date to seeing what a long lost friend has been up to, while potential employers might want to determine if a job applicant is being honest about prior convictions. Advances in technology and the rise of the Internet have created more opportunity to collect information on people. Have a question? Get an answer from a Lawyer now!

There is a wealth of information available on people.

Instructions
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Check Facebook for information. There are more than 500 million active users on Facebook. If you don't have access to a user's Facebook page there will still be information listed on the outside of their user page. A person's organization affiliations, favorite television shows and some of their friends will show up outside of their profile. Other sites to check are LinkedIn and MySpace.

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Google the person's name. Google can turn up a lot of information on a person. If they have a common name, enter their name and state or their name and some form of unique piece of identifying information that will distinguish them from everyone else with their name. Home and work addresses and telephone numbers may come up; social networking sites the individual participates in will appear; forum postings made by the individual will also show up. Scholarships received and any other type of information that either the individual or an organization connected with the individual has decided to display on the Internet can be located. Check several search engines including Yahoo and AOL. Some search engines will bring up information that others will not.

Check deed records. If the person you are gathering information on has bought or sold property, a deed record will be available. Go to the courthouse of the county in which the property was purchased or sold. The deed books will be available in the county clerk's office. Look through the grantor (seller) and grantee (buyer) deed indexes for the person's name. If property has been purchased or sold by the individual, their name, deed book and page number will be specified in the grantor or grantee index. The deed book will contain information describing the property, and when it was purchased or sold. 4
Do a background check using US Search or another online information bank. The background search will include the person's age, address, phone numbers, aliases, marriage and divorce records, bankruptcies, tax liens and a wealth of other information. This is a quick and easy way to gather information on a person, however these databases are not always complete.

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Hire a private investigator. Private investigators are professionals who are trained to find information on people. They work a variety of different cases and deal with anything from investigating a cheating spouse to uniting an adopted child with their birth parents. Private Investigators prefer to start out with some information. Before calling them, have all currently known details about the person handy.

Read more: http://www.ehow.com/how_7548501_gather-information-people.html#ixzz2l5TfgMyI

How to Profile People

Getting a Basic KnowledgeGetting a Test SubjectEnhancing Your Knowledge
Edited by Maluniu, Diana Nistor

To understand the psychology of people about the way they behave and act, profiling is a key skill to learn. Pause the world around you and watch others. Many people travel to get from Point A to Point B, but have you really looked beyond that?

Part 1 of 3: Getting a Basic Knowledge

1. 1
Compare people to onions. Define four layers of an onion about a person's being. The deeper you get into the "onion" will determine how much you can read someone.

The skin: We, as people, show and reveal our personalities and traits towards others without even knowing it. It could be a simple conversation at the bus stop about the weather or other topics about lifestyle and the world around us.

Second layer: People whom we appreciate or get to know better, such as co-workers or classmates, rather than a random stranger, is now allowed to comprehend you better due to the comfort and trust between your relationship you have with them.

Third layer: Relationship bonds, such as best friends and marriages, create a "locked" sense of security between people. This layer is defined as presenting ourselves in ways where we connect on a personal basis, such as sharing secrets based on a trust factor, explaining fears and worries to another person, etc.

The core: Each person has a "core", where the thoughts and secrets aren't shared with anyone but oneself. This layer is more psychological rather than anything else, due to grasping onto the reality of something and the acceptance or failure to accept it.

Eliminate projection barriers around you. Prepare to accept the truth that is handed instead of forcing oneself to believe something that is not.

Many situations may result because of embarrassment, guilt, and insecurity that blind us from accepting life in a reality state.

1. Eliminate any prejudice when displaying yourself. Prejudice in psychology is far beyond race and gender. Acknowledge that prejudice is basing opinions on ideas without knowledge or facts. Keep yourself in a neutral state of mind before consuming your mind into false statements.

Edit

Part 2 of 3: Getting a Test Subject

1. 1

Analyze a person you know. Refrain from strangers, as you will need to observe them for some time. Suggestions include your significant other, co-worker, or friend.

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Recognize their "baseline" profile. A baseline of a person is defined as their comfort zone or rest state.

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Observe their behavior at random times. Make note on how they react to certain events, evaluate them on different days, and see how they interact.

All of us have different stress levels at work versus relaxing at home or if one holds a grudge against a specific person and acts completely different towards another.

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Brainstorm a list of patterns. Shape your list to structure the most common traits and acts the person has shown or done. These patterns of the person is the foundation to start knowing the truth or false being of them.

Different vocal tones (normal tone, excited, fear, defensive, etc) Eye moments Facial expressions Body language (how they present themselves)

5. 5
Concentrate on non-patterns. Draw a list of unexpected moments, behaviors, or ticks of this person that does not fit into their "baseline" profile.

Edit

Part 3 of 3: Enhancing Your Knowledge

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Define who they are. Allow their personal being, appearance, and styles become "them".

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Recognize how they vocalize towards others. Soft toned vocalization might mean that they are shy beings, but also depending on other environmental factors such as tiredness. Loud tones show the need to feel higher than others or to take command or charge of others.

Does their voice change when defending an opinion, or are they neutrally balanced? Do they communicate with you in a mature or immature manner? This would give you a better sense of their highest completed education level and vocabulary knowledge. Make sure you're aware and can differentiate between exaggerations, sarcasm, slang, and other verbal expressions used in a conversation. Watch the context flow of words being used, as it would signal to you if they have a good educational background or making themselves sound smarter than they really are.

3. 3
Analyze their personal space. Relate their home and/or work life to how they present themselves towards the public view.

What kind of neighborhood do they live in? Low-income housing tends to tell people that they can afford to be on their own, with assistance versus a person in a known wealthy neighborhood placement.

Organization skills tell a great amount, but don't judge that quickly. If they follow a heavy life schedule, an unkept home might be that they don't have the time to keep it clean, while someone whom does have the time might come off as the lazy type. Usually the more organized a person is and they are willing to show it in public, the more confident they are and not stressed in an array of situations.

How do they share their personal life with others? Many of us aren't secure in doing so in public view, however, if you walked into a business office, you are walking into that person's "comfort zone" at work. A lot of business workers (even doctors and psychologists) position pictures of their family on their desk. It can decipher to you that the person cares about their family and reminds the person of them every time they see it.

4. 4
Review their fashion. Handle these judgments as you do with cars and homes. One can interpret on the person's organization skills on how they dress and present themselves.

Are their clothes tucked in or hanging casually loose? Are they suited for a business environment or casual vacation? Does it look professional or fitted for someone living in the outskirts?

What about their hairstyle? Does it look like they spent time on it or more of a simple "look in a mirror and quickly approve"? The "look and go" kinds of people may harvest an "as long as it looks halfway decent" personality than actually going through and seeing if it is the best they can do for a public appearance.

What kind of footwear do they have on? Do they take pride in having their shoes shined or do sandals have that last "wear and tear" to them?

5. 5
Follow their reactions to sudden things in public. If they burp, do they make it conspicuous or do they try to conceal it? Burping, sneezing, and coughing in different ways can separate those whom exercise proper etiquette from the ones that don't.

6. 6
Detect eye movements. Are they looking straight in your eye or off to the side? Do their eyes stray away when asked for an honest answer? Look what paths the eyes goes when detecting lies.

7. 7
Evaluate their self-composure while around others. Some people tend to be nervous, especially in crowded areas, and think of any way they can to avoid being there.

Impatient people tend to tap their feet more at a stand-still position than relaxed individuals. They're also always fidgeting with something, such as lip biting, sighing, or looking at their watch/phone more than needed.