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Online Dating Sites – How Do They Work?

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Online dating sites have made meeting potential mates a lot easier, but it can be difficult to learn your way around. Here’s how online dating sites REALLY work!Dating has become much easier thanks to the invention of the Internet. Before then, people were limited on where they could meet potential dates by physical means. You would have to find dates through physical interaction, such as through friends or by meeting each other at places where both of you frequent. Many people would find dates through work, school or another regular activity.

What Online Dating Sites Are For

However, when online dating sites began appearing on the Internet, things were made a lot easier for people who may not have the time or social skills to meet a potential significant other. These sites allow people to find other singles that have the same interests as them, some of whom they may have never had the chance to meet any other way. While you may think that online dating is for lonely people or computer nerds, this is a common misconception. More people every day are using the Internet to find love and this is nothing that you should be embarrassed by, as it is a logical and convenient way to find love using technological advancements.

How They Work

Online dating sites work similar to social networking sites like Facebook or MySpace, in the sense that to start using them, you must register for the site and create a profile for yourself. Most dating web sites allow you to create a profile for free, but you may be restricted on what activities you can perform with a free profile. Once you have registered, you can begin adding information to your profile, such as a description of your personality, physical characteristics, interests, hobbies and other information that a potential date will be looking for when browsing the site. Make sure that this information is as accurate as possible, as you may find that your online dates will stop responding to you if they find that you are not what you described.

Your Profile Picture

Once you have finished adding text information about yourself, you can upload a profile picture. Some sites will require you have to a picture before you can begin finding dates, but it is always a good idea to include a picture or even several pictures on your online dating profile. This way, other users know exactly what to expect from your physical characters and can make sure they are attracted to you before making the commitment for a date. This may sound shallow, but physical attraction is a key component to healthy relationship.

Browsing

After this information is complete, you can begin browsing the site for other users who meet your criteria for someone you would like to begin dating. While it is always best to look for users who are within the area where you live, you can even find potential matches that live farther away, if you do not mind the idea of having a long distance relationship with someone. Online dating sites will usually allow you to set how far away a potential date can live from where you located, showing all of the users who are within a certain radius of your zip code.

Some sites even help you out in the process of finding a date by providing a series of questions or surveys that will help gauge how compatible you are with other users on the site. If you and another user who shares the characteristics you are looking for both answer these questions in similar ways, you will be determined as compatible and recommended to each other. There are also other ways to go about doing this, depending on the site. For example, you may be asked to rate other users based on their profiles. If you rate a user highly and they rate you highly, the site will send both of you messages recommending that you contact each other.

Congrats, You’ve Found Someone!

When you find a user on an online dating site that you want to get to know, you can start sending them messages. Again, whether or not you will be able to contact a potential match on online dating sites varies from site-to-site. Some sites will allow you to communicate through the messaging or chat service on their site, but you will not have access to their contact information.

After communicating with a potential date on the site, you can then mutually decide whether or not you would like to take your friendship to the next level and meet for a real-life or “offline” date. It is always best to have your first date in a public setting, such as a restaurant, coffee shop or museum, as having a date in your home or their home could become very awkward. Once you have met in person, you can then decide whether or not to continue your dating relationship. If it doesn’t work out, you can always try contacting another user!

Online Dating: How To Create A Winning Profile

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Online dating can be an excellent way to meet new people – if you do it right. Here’s how to create a page about yourself that will get you noticed!

Creating a top-notch page on the dating website that you choose is one of the most important tasks ahead of you. It shows others who you are while providing you with the opportunity to craft a compelling overview that will help attract the right matches. There are many things that you can do to create a great page and you’re about to discover the most important ones.

Honesty Is Critical

Being honest about yourself is how you’re going to attract the right matches. If you’re dishonest you’re simply taking the chance of not receiving the dating results that you set out to attain. Your goal here is to show others your most important attributes and give them a clear picture of what to expect if they want to take the online dating relationship even further.

Demand Excellence From The Photos You Add

Many people fail to take the time to post good photos to their online dating profile. This is critical as it’s a visual representation that others will be seeing when they visit. You want to make sure that the photos that you post are going to compel those who want to learn more about you.

Creativity Is Key

It’s no secret that the creative ones are the ones to stand out from the crowd. By being creative,  you’re ensuring that you stand out to the matches that take the time to visit you. Nobody likes a dull person so make sure that your page doesn’t put you out to be one.

Avoid Any Forms Of Negativity

Being negative will be an instant turn-off to many people. If you are perceived to be a negative person the chances are that you won’t be able to connect with others. Make sure that you maintain a positive appearance and show others that you’re a person that’s not going to be the crash of the night.

Don’t Be A Dead User

Being active and finding matches that attract you is what’s going to contribute to your success in the online dating world. If you’re online daily you’ll notice that you will get a lot more views as dating websites feature the active users, not the inactive users that just add to the number of members in their user base.

You’ll also want to keep your page updated on a regular basis so that the image portrayed is one that reflects who you are now, not who you were before.

Bragging Can Lead To An Online Dating Failure

A lot of people think that if they brag about themselves they’ll attract more people and seem like the perfect person. This isn’t the case unfortunately. People don’t want to date someone that they see is going to do nothing but talk about themselves and how they are so awesome.

The goal here is to show others that you’re an extraordinary person. Have confidence but don’t talk about it – show it! This is simply a case that proves actions do indeed speak louder than words.

Clarify What You’re Looking For

Don’t expect others to automatically know what you’re looking for in a relationship. Clearly explain what would be the best match for you. This includes explaining what kind of personality you like and the kind of activities that you’d like your significant other to be a part of.

Being clear about what you want so you can give those who visit your page a clear picture of whether or not they would be someone that you’re truly interested in.

Don’t Forget That You’re Putting Yourself Out There

One thing that a lot of people fail to realize is that when they join a dating website they’re putting themselves out there for the world to see. This is why it’s important not only to follow the tips that were provided in this article, but also think about what they put on their page.

You want to be portrayed as someone that is worth having a relationship with. Not someone that aimlessly throws stuff up in an effort to quickly attract matches. After all, you can expect more people to be interested in you if you have a page that’s well thought out.

Flirting Tips: How To Do It Online

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Flirting online should be an enjoyable experience. You should take your time while you are doing it. Getting to know a person, especially online, is almost like having your first date. You are finding out about each other and trying to attract and sustain mutual interest.

Make sure you have “scooped” the person, that you have carefully checked out his or her profile. If the “other” has been good in putting it together, there would have been just enough information offered to reveal an interesting, even captivating personality, leaving just enough to hope that the “scooper” would want to look for more.

Flirting is a sport, like fishing. The woman attracts the man with some nice-looking bait or the man attracts the woman with bait that is just as well nice-looking and uniquely attractive.

Be Lighthearted

Go light and establish an edge. Use light email conversation, but angle on something real that was seen in the profile, something that gave a small flash of the person as special. That special something is what could feature the person for you. It would be entertaining and, hopefully, eventually fulfilling. There’s a lot of advice on online dating that’s pegged on being funny and humorous. Surely, being light, easy-going and humorous could move the fish closer to your net. Your net, itself, must be inviting and charming.

Write Short Emails

Some of the online dating sites have shaped the initial response/reply vehicles to be short comments signifying mere interest. If you are a woman, take your time in responding to the initial inquiries. If you are a man, respond to them easily and effectively. Both of you are lighting a campfire. You want to get the coals burning to an enticing, inviting warmth.

Ask her something about her location. Find out if she wants to talk about her job, don’t assume she does, even though it may be revealed on the profile. Look for things that are uniquely interesting on his profile. Either of you can take your time in getting personal, looking for signs that show the individual revealing more of her or himself.

Take Your Time In The Initial Phases

Both of you may have several people you are responding to, initiating conversation. Again, you want to enjoy these first few moments. You want to create light laughter as people are usually obliged to do at parties, at first meetings. As the emails get longer, you decide to narrow your choices and get into chat sessions with this certain individual. You like the interests and responses each of you have shared and want to expand on them.

If she mentioned children and you have children yourself, slowly reveal your kids to each other. This would most likely be on the profile.

Continue to show and build support and consideration. This is the time where you can grow in honesty, revealing more. You are looking for a good relationship, one that can be sustained, one where it feels “just right” to be open to. It’s like you are building comfortable structures for each other. Chatting, you both will serve up what the person inquires about, keeping it light and not going too far.

All the time, keep asking yourself is this the person you would like to be with, is this an individual you can be comfortable with.

Stick To Your Profile

Profiles show movies, books, activities that people like and pursue. You believe in some ways these activities complement yours. Ask questions concerning it in relation to your own interests. Then inquire about interests and things the other has done that you would like to know more about. Compliment her on her experience. If he expresses a liking for his job, ask him about his interesting experiences with it.

You have so far:

  1. Taken your time, shown comfort with the person’s profile.
  2. Have not been too flashy, but have created smiles and laughter.
  3. Enjoyed and appreciated the first few moments.

Good things don’t happen inordinately fast or quick. You are enjoying subtleties that build refreshing communication.

Don’t Dive To Deep In The Beginning

If the chatting proves okay, and there has been good humor, relaxation, it means you both have accepted and acknowledged a pace, a certain rhythm.

Sitting around the chatting campfire, some of the unusual stuff will come out. Check out some of this, but not all. Wait for the actual dates. Depending on age, experiences, there are several hills and valleys in people’s lives. Maturity shows that people can appreciate that others have had hard or difficult times. If the relationship engenders anything, it will present future soft places for these things to come out.

The initial aim is to see if both of you want to make a move for that first date, where it becomes a pleasure to move from the campfire into the dawn of a new friendship.

Can You Find Love Online?

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Online dating can be fun, but is it really possible to fall in love with someone over the Internet?

Is Online Dating Desperate?

Online dating is a great way to meet people and form romantic relationships, but there are many people who doubt that someone can find love online. Also, there is a common belief that people who register for these sites are desperate, lonely or socially awkward. However, all of these thoughts are common misconceptions about online dating. Do not let these opinions fool you, because it is entirely possible to find love online.

All dating web sites work in essentially the same way: users create profiles that describe their personalities, physical appearances, favorite activities and what they are looking for in a date. Users also upload images of themselves to show other users exactly what they look like, which can also prove that their physical appearance description is accurate. With this information, other singles in their area find the profile and contact them for a date, if they are interested.

How You Can Find The Right Match

Dating web sites also use a variety of methods to match their users up with other singles who have profiles by gauging their compatibility. Typically, a dating web site will have a series of questions and surveys that users will answer to help create a score that can be used for judging how compatible they are with each other. The benefit of using these to find love instead of traditional dating methods is that you already know whether or not you have much in common with someone.

Another reason that online dating can help you find love is because you are not limited by physical constrictions when meeting people on the Internet. Traditionally, people would have to have met in person or be hooked up through mutual friends. You may only discover that your date shares or does not share interests with you after the first couple dates. However, with online dating, you can find a person who shares the same interests as you without discovering that they are different than you expect.

In fact, online dating allows someone to communicate with a match before they meet in person. Through chats and messages, a potential couple can skip the awkward situations of figuring out how similar they are before meeting in person. However, it is worth noting that some online dating sites will not allow users to communicate with each other with a free profile. In this case, you will have to pay for the site’s services. But you can always cancel your membership after you have found love, which will help save money.

Also, if you do not mind traveling long distances to find love, online dating sites go even further than traditional dating for finding matches. For example, let’s say a user in West Virginia finds someone who meets all of their expectations for a significant other on the site, but they live in California. Without online dating, this relationship would have never been formed, due to the fact that both people would not have crossed paths through the means of traditional dating and will be more likely to have a healthy relationship, based on the fact that they are compatible lovers.

Are Predators An Issue?

Another worry many people have about online dating is that the sites allow online predators to prey on potential victims. Fortunately, there are many ways to make sure that you will find love on these sites and not find yourself in a dangerous situation. Most online dating sites take extreme measure to prevent predators from using their web site, as it is obviously bad for their business. By contacting someone online and over the telephone before meeting in person, you can make sure that you are talking to someone who is genuinely interested in finding love.

If you are still worried, there is a very easy way to prevent any trouble from meeting someone for a date from an online dating site. First and foremost, do not meet someone in person until you are certain that you have made a match and think that you have found love. When you finally decide to meet someone for an in-person or “offline” date, make sure to pick a public place and do not meet them at their home or invite them into your home. Popular examples include restaurants, coffee shops and museums. Avoiding private places like your homes for a few dates will also help make sure that whoever you are talking to is actually who they say they are and not an online predator.

But do not let the unfortunate scenario of meeting a predator make you avoid trying online dating. There are many more stories about people finding love through these sites than the unfortunate stories described above. In fact, as the Internet becomes more and more of a cultural mainstay, you will find that more couples are meeting through technological means.

Online Dating: What You MUST Put In Your Profile To Get Girls!

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Online dating is a scary world, but it doesn’t have to be. Here’s what your online dating profile HAS to have if you actually want to get dates!

If you’ve racked your brain for days trying to come up with what to say in your online dating profile, you’re not alone. Many men, including myself, have faced this challenge. Luckily for me, I figured out what types of profiles have women checking you out and responding to your messages and which ones make them cringe and get away fast. In this article I will give you some examples of what you want to include in your online dating profile to generate more dates.

Anyone who knows what they’re talking about when it comes to online dating can tell you that you need to stand out in your dating profile, but how exactly do you do that? Mr. Creepy, who talks about his love of bondage in great detail will clearly stand out, but he will have women searching for the block feature on their dating website, instead of responding to his messages.

That’s why it’s important to point out that you must stand out in a positive way. If you do this and say some memorable stuff, you can show women you are a real person and not just a collection of words on a screen. By following the suggestions below, you can also be someone she responds to and eventually agrees to meet.

Write About Your Passions

Writing about something you actually care about in your dating profile will get you much more responses than the same old boring stuff. Now granted, if your passions include something really bizarre like collecting stamps, you might want to consider finding something else you love to talk about. However, the bottom line is if you’re excited about it, it makes it way more interesting for the woman, and you get better responses.

Communicate The Right Things

This includes showing women you:

  • Are well adjusted
  • Are confident
  • Have a busy life with a bunch of things going on in it
  • Have a sense of humor

Now, anyone can think of a list of great characteristics and write it in a dating profile, but if it really shines through by the way you write your profile it will be much more effective. For example, stating clearly why you’re on the dating website, what you’re about and what you’re looking for will make you appear confident. So will leaving out any wishy-washy or insecure comments like “I don’t know what to write on this thing.” The effect of confident writing will be much better than simply stating you’re confident.

Write Descriptively

If you ever browse through men’s dating profiles, (and seriously I recommend doing it to know what the online dating competition is doing), you’ll soon feel your head start to involuntarily drop toward your chest as you desperately fight off your body’s desire to nap. That’s because the typical vague list of likes and attributes is excruciatingly boring to read. What’s much better is to take one or two things that really show your personality, and get into more detail about it. For example, if you’re a bit of a chef you can describe some of the things you’ve cooked recently or what you’d like to make soon.

Being more detailed will give a woman an actual vision of who you could really be, which will definitely stand out among the crowd. You don’t even have to do that much with the details to really stand out, because 95% of men’s profiles as about as boring as reading a scientific journal article.

Keep It Light

Remember to keep it positive, light and flirtatious. This doesn’t mean you can’t include anything serious but keep the overall mood light. Keep in mind that this is your first impression. If you were to meet someone out at a bar and they started unloading all this serious stuff about world hunger and their dying cat in the first minute, you’d probably be turned off as well. This is that initial communication. It’s that first minute or two in a bar or a grocery store. If you can effectively keep it light and playful for now, you will probably be someone she wants to get into a relationship with eventually.

Use Appropriate Grammar and Spelling

You may not think it’s that big of a deal, but more women than you would think will instantly ignore your profile if they see you making a mockery of the English language all over your profile. If a woman is really overboard about it, like having a conniption fit because you forgot the apostrophe in the word “it’s,” you’re better off far away from her anyway. Imagine being around her when something actually goes wrong!

However, spelling things right and utilizing the basics of good grammar are still very important to most women, especially when it comes to online dating since all they have to go off of is what they’re reading. So yeah, you need to use all those annoying little periods and commas. A spell check would be a nice touch as well.

So there it is. Be sure to incorporate these dating tips in your online dating profile and I promise you your results will be much better.