There must be something really embarrassing about admitting that you are on a dating site? Explains why my friend rolled her eyes, made a weird face and vehemently denied
my asking if she was on any dating sites.
Despite all
the chit chat about not putting a price tag on love, online dating is rapidly growing
into a $3 Billion international Industry for software
engineers, psychologists and tech venture capitalists who are reaping its rewards.
With certain sites charging members up to $4500 a year, one would wonder just
how high the perfect matching probability is. But for the time-poor, cash-rich
professional, finding love in the old fashioned way (through friends, family,
or at the bar) is almost impossible. That i
How the love
algorithm works? During sign up, a ‘love seeker’ will be prompted to fill in
questionnaires about themselves, their interests, opinion on certain issues,
hobbies, physical attributes and the aspects they would find most appealing for
their ideal partner. So, based on the demographic data, traits, personality and
interests, the compatibility algorithm will match you with persons whose
attributes are most ideal for you as a partner. How true it is that a
mathematical algorithm will create the perfect match for you is up for debate.
Certain sites
curve a niche for their online crowd, for instance, you can choose to join dedicated
websites for religion, green living, country lovers, people into fetishes, vampires,
interracial daters or over weights. Hey! Whatever tickles your fancy! Some of them are borderline crazy though. Am
reminded of the cheaters website that gives ‘A chance to those who have been
cheated on to meet other faithful singles in their area’ in the famous words of
John Greco. However, a niche that I frown upon is that which targets the
unhappily married. Really now? LetsCheat.com maybe?
For someone
with the same routine, running in the same circles, hanging out in the same
places and is about to blow 39 candles on her next birthday, meeting new
singles online doesn't sound like such a bad idea, does it? A couple of nasty
disadvantages come along with that too, meeting creepy people first on the
list. You will meet people who lie about everything and present themselves
richer, better looking or younger. You will meet those who make assumptions
that they are in a serious relationship with you after 3 emails of
communication, or those who post pictures of their children all the time, those
who think compensation in monetary forms is extremely important and those who
are downright disrespectful and perverted. However, the most comical are those
with unexplained wtf profile pictures. (If you love to have a good laugh like me, I would suggest you click on this link)
Once in a
while however, cupid smiles on you and you get a charmer. Many singles will
often be energized when starting out on these sites but with time, they realize
that competition is stiff and that there are many singles out there with
captivating pictures and impressive profiles. So what happens normally, the
energy fizzles out.
If you
decide to give it a try, be true to yourself and try as much as possible to portray
your sincerity and how you are genuine in pursuit of love (LOL), make
yourself stand out by being unique and distinctive in your headlines, don’t
show too much skin otherwise you will attract the wrong crowd, always have a
profile picture of yourself, save us some typos and don’t be too quick to trust
people on these online streets. For a first date, arm yourself with a whistle,
pepper spray too. Practice how to use the whistle diligently before putting it
in an easily reachable compartment in your bag – Coco’s online dating tip for
today.
Whichever means
you use to get the love of your life don’t be ashamed to admit it. Whether you
are speed dating, being hooked up by all your family and friends, or trying
this online thing…only haters mind the aggression. So relax, it’s never that
serious J
