In our highly technological culture, I suppose this is not such a great admission. In fact, my sister and brother-in-law met on Match.com. Because of their success (and my new-found confidence in "dating"), I decided to give it a try.
My search was futile (which turned out to be a really good thing so stay tuned for that). However, in my short experience, I saw so much go wrong. Not because the online-dating concept is skewed; but because of the way people chose to portray themselves. Anyone who knows me well knows I am incredibly careful about my word choice because we choose the way present ourselves to people.
Dear friends, should you decide to create an online-dating profile, please do so according to my own 10 Commandments of Online Dating:
1) Thou shalt not include the number 69 in your username
I don't care if you inherited your dad's mint '69 Chevy or if Bryan Adams is your favorite artist - it's suggestive and creepy and you should choose another identifier. (And if you were born in 1969 then you're too old for me and this is irrelevant.)2) Thou shalt not call out another specific user in your profile
I'm not kidding: some guy wrote "prettygirl85, please respond to my messages - did you get them?" He could have been a great guy! And his dream girl could have been out there but obviously, I'm not going to continue to explore his profile because he's already blocked me out.
3) Thou shalt not include a photo of you playing video games in your profile
It's not cool. It's not interesting. It doesn't make me want to spend an evening with you watching you play WOW.4) Thou shalt not overuse words like "adventure" "laid back" etc...
I do like adventure. I do like relaxed people. However, not everyone can be these things though everyone claims to be them. It's actually statistically impossible (my credentials as a statistician will be available at a later date) so these words become diluted fillers. 5) Thou shalt not specify "no drama"
To be fair, no one LIKES drama. So boys, I understand this. First, girls that ARE drama, aren't going to identify themselves as such. That being said, all girls are 50 shades of cray (patent pending). You may as well be saying "I don't want a girlfriend". Guys, just know - there ARE women out there that won't cause you extra heartache because we have good heads on our shoulders. But that, by no means, means we're not dramatic.6) Thou shalt not talk about your ex
We haven't even met. But I now know that you and your ex dated for 6 years and she dumped you for your brother and stole your cat. No. Just...no.
7) Thou shalt not spell "boy" as "boi"
It's not 2003 anymore. Period.
8) Thou shalt not acknowledge seeing people you know on the site
Living in a small town, it's inevitable that you stumble upon profiles of people you know. Namely, coworkers (yes, my life is that awkward). It is a law that we must not acknowledge the fact that we know the other is desperate enough to seek a mate on the interwebs.
9) Thou shalt not bear false witness against your future paramour
Ok so this one's kind of an actual commandment too but seriously...why would lying about who you are make someone like you more?
10) Thou shalt not send stock emails
Literally, my friend got a copy and pasted elaborate email. It's not personal, it doesn't show interest, it doesn't show that you read the profile at all. Take 2 minutes out of your busy schedule and ask a question. It's not that hard, people.
10) Thou shalt not send stock emails
Literally, my friend got a copy and pasted elaborate email. It's not personal, it doesn't show interest, it doesn't show that you read the profile at all. Take 2 minutes out of your busy schedule and ask a question. It's not that hard, people.
Hopefully, this short list will help you navigate the the online dating world with a little more grace. Even if I'm no longer a part of it (sorry, fellas).
Also, here's a gem from one of my favorite blogs: [IMG] Insert Image.
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