Recent Articles
Veteran’s Day Salute: Top 10 Reasons for Military Dating
Nov 11, 2010 Online Dating Tips Comments Off
I’m not cut out for the military. Never was. For me, it’s tough enough following the rules of an online dating service let alone a military service!
Being the demerit and detention leader throughout my school years had people thinking the military could straighten me out. Being the demerit and detention leader throughout my school years had me thinking that was a bad idea. It’s one of the reasons why I can appreciate the calling and those who answer it.
Later in my TV News career, I’ve met and dealt with various military personnel and their families. It is for the most part a most impressive group of people. So what is an online dating blog to do on Veterans Day 2010?
This Online Dating News Guy is armed with his 10 Gun Salute. (C’mon, it’s just online dating, the average American with a short attention span wouldn’t read through a 21 Gun Salute!)
My Top 10 Great Reasons for Military Dating
10. Trust. If you get into a relationship with someone in the military, they believe in partners covering each other’s back. They live by it.
9. Routine. Hot romances often burn out when the novelty wears off or the Viagra supply runs out. Military personnel know how to make a routine work and how to work well together within a routine.
8. Orders and Orderly. If you’re a control freak, military dating might work out well. The person you’re dating is trained to take orders! If you are a neat freak, there’s hope here, too. The person you’re dating is trained to be orderly and to maintain clean living quarters at all times.
7. Dealing with Adversity. Had a great talk with Alex Garwood, a best friend and Brother-in-Law to famous fallen military hero from Arizona, Pat Tillman. We agree that “Adversity Reveals Character” more so than builds it. All relationships have adversity. Members of the Armed Forces have this one covered on both ends.
6. Can’t Cook? No problem. If someone survived for years on the mess from the Mess Hall, what you serve up in the kitchen shouldn’t be a deal breaker or divorce maker. To be sure though, have a microwave.
5. R & R. Members of the U.S. Military are trained to fight and kill. Note to Self: Need to re-think this one.
4. R & R. Short hair or not, those in the Armed Forces know how to let their hair down and have fun when the time comes. A key to success in any relationship.
3. Boot Camp Background. Based on the shoes they’re used to wearing in the military, chances are your military lover won’t have shoe fetish to compete with yours.
2. Hot Bodies. While mainstream America is getting fatter by the day, those serving in the military are in good physical shape.
1. And my number one reason for Military Dating — Heroes Give Good Hugs!
Sincere thanks to all (military singles or married) who bravely served in the U.S. Military. And sincere thanks to those heroes by choice who are currently serving as active members of our Armed Forces. Whether it’s the United States Army, United States Navy, United States Air Force, or United States Marine Corps, we civilians know you do more to make a difference than we know.
I will always remember the sign at Fort Bliss in Texas, “It’s a Great Day to be a Soldier at Fort Bliss.” On this Veteran’s Day, I’m hanging my own little online sign here saying, “It’s a Great Day to Have You Protect Us in the U.S. I hope Your Day Comes Soon to Be Home Enjoying the Bliss, the Love, and the Life You Want.”
Veteran’s Day in U.S. is Singles’ Day in China
Nov 9, 2010 Online Dating News Comments Off
In the United States on November 11, we remember every single veteran who served our country. Meanwhile, in China that day, they simply focus on every single man and woman.
They call it Guang Gun Jie. It means Singles’ Day or One’s Day. It’s a pop culture holiday that began in the 1990’s at multiple universities in Nanjing, the capital city of Jiangsu.
College students created the celebration date based on the four lonely ones that make up the 11th day of the 11th month. The special day graduated with the university tradition and grew way beyond it. Now Singles’ is recognized by all kinds of young men and women across Chinese society.
Much of the festivities revolve around good food and good friends. Certain foods mark the occasion, but really the main way to celebrate is for singles to enjoy dinner with their other single friends. The tradition makes it important for each person to pay for his or her own meal to show their independence.
Some singles throw blind date parties to try to find a husband or a wife. Other singles take a husband or a wife by getting married on this day.
There is also a major online dating component to this day. Singles shop in what is like an internet supermarket looking for a spouse or their one true love. They pay what equates to $15 to post photos and vital statistics of themselves. What I like is they even are required to show official documents to prove what they post is their true online dating news.
Whether it’s the official Singles’ Day or any other day, the pressure to find a spouse is really on the guys because they greatly outnumber the girls. As you’ve surely heard by now, Chinese society favors male babies. According to government research, by the year 2020, the numbers dictate that more than 20 million Chinese men will be forced to remain bachelors.
Is Facebook More Real than Online Dating Profiles?
Nov 8, 2010 Online Dating News Comments Off
Let’s face it. Online dating has its challenges, right? The process would be a whole lot easier if there was a level playing field for all love and partnership seekers.
Wouldn’t it be great if every man and woman told the whole truth and nothing but the truth in their online dating profiles? Imagine knowing what a person’s real hopes and dreams were, being able to read an honest and accurate self-description and analysis, and seeing someone in photos as they are in real time, not online dating photos of avatars, family pets, sunsets, or various images altered in various ways through the wonders of photoshop.
Maybe “Friendship First” is the way to Truth and Success in Online Dating.
By “friendship” I really mean “Friending.” One of the easier ways to get to know someone or get a better sense of who they are is to “friend them” on Facebook. And according to a recent research study that’s not such a bad idea with online dating.
The University of Texas in Austin, a beautiful place in more ways than one, conducted a study in which independent observers used social networking profiles to assess the personalities of roughly 250 men and women. They found facebook profiles accurately reflected the personality traits of the people who posted them. The observers were able to successfully judge the people they were studying for personality topics such as openness and being extroverted.
The difference may come down to the powers friends have over strangers. Both men and women may try to project their perfection and ideal personality traits to strangers in online dating profiles. However, in online communities such as Facebook, their friends will call them on BS if they see it, smell it, or step in it.
So here’s a piece of online dating news you can use. Consider using Facebook to see potential matches and partners as they really are. Doing so might save you both some wasted time, money, and disappointment.
Let’s face it. Friends don’t let friends BS!
How to Gain 1 Hour in Online Dating
Nov 7, 2010 Online Dating Tips Comments Off
In Arizona, we don’t change our clocks. The rest of you have no excuse. What if you could both Spring Forward in Online Dating while you Fall Back in Bed? Well you can. It’s easier than you think. And today is the perfect day to do it.
If you want to get different results in your online dating efforts, try actually doing something different. When you change your clocks twice a year, you create a real feeling of change. So, this presents you with a great opportunity.
Here’s all you do…take the one hour you “gained” overnight, and use it today to gain momentum in your goals for online dating.
Only you know how your personal approach and why you do things the way you do. But if you want to create positive change in your strategies and aren’t sure what to do, here are some ideas for online dating tips:
- Review your online dating profile. Do a spellcheck, look for things you said that feel outdated, add more of yourself into what you show others, be more specific about what you are looking for so that others can get a better look at you as a potential match.
- Take new photos of yourself. You can keep your favorites posted but adding fresh photos is a good idea that helps potential matches get a sense of who the real you they would be meeting.
- Take a chance on someone new. Spend a few minutes looking for new matches or taking a different look at people you’ve been considering establishing communication with but haven’t done so for reasons only you know.
If you want to find the lifelong love, companionship, or just the good times you’re looking for through online dating, don’t fall back on the things you’ve already done that haven’t gotten the results you want. Spring forward, put one hour into making online dating news by promoting yourself. Even if no one else buys in to you romantically right away, you’ll benefit from simply showing love to yourself.
TV Newsman Turned Blogger offers Free Online Dating Profile Reviews for U.S. Heroes on Veteran’s Day 2010
Nov 5, 2010 NewsRoom Comments Off
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: (November 5, 2010)
www.blogonlinedating.com offers online dating news, reviews, interviews, tips, and fun for singles. The new online dating blog is run by an Emmy Award-winning TV journalist and single Daddy, who is a specialist at internet content development through writing and video.
Chandler, AZ, November 5, 2010 – As a Network TV News Producer, Thomas Baldrick has had many dealings with the various branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. He landed the first TV interview with “The Magnificent 7,” after the Iraq POWs were released. He extensively followed the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, and covered numerous other stories involving the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Marine Corps.
The newsman turned Internet Content Development Specialist will now put to use his creative and writing skills to help single veterans on the upcoming recognition of Veterans Day, November 11, 2010. Through his new online dating blog news site, blogonlinedating.com, Baldrick is offering a free online dating profile review and consultation to the first 10 single past or present members of the U.S. Armed Forces. Those interested need only send an email request to: blogonlinedating@gmail.com.
“In starting my blog, I became aware of the sad fact that certain lowlifes run online dating scams pretending to tie it to the U.S. Military” stated Baldrick. “I decided that for this Veteran’s Day I would do something positive to help the dedicated men and women who bravely serve or have served in our military. Since my online dating blog already offers 10 free tips for creating the perfect online dating profile, I decided to personally consult with 10 single veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces to improve theirs.”
Baldrick says he will not require official confirmation from veterans who request his help through this offer. “And if there are any American singles who would lie about being a veteran on such a sacred day across our nation, then they will be in need of much more help than I can give them through this consultation.”
The online dating industry remains in a rapid rate of growth. Most research shows the industry currently boasts annual revenues of more than $ 4 billion dollars. The latest U.S. Census Bureau figures report there are some 96 million American men and women over 18 years of age who are singles. That equates to some 43% of the entire U.S. population.
About BlogOnlineDating.com
BlogOnlineDating.com is a new online dating blog website designed for single men and women. It offers quality professional content such as online dating news, advice, expert interviews, true dating stories, and more. It strives to be informative, entertaining, thought-provoking, and conversational. For more information, visit http://www.blogonlinedating.com.
Contact Information:
Lance Lovett Creative Content Kings, LLC 1657 S. Villas Lane, Suite 2 Chandler, AZ 85286 (480) 941-4332
http://www.blogonlinedating.com
###
Phone App – Singles Around Me New Winger for Real-time Dating
Nov 4, 2010 Online Dating News Comments Off
Here is a dead giveaway. Can you tell I am a single Daddy in dire need of a social life? Here I am telling you about SinglesAroundMe (SAM) and all I can think of is the line from the Dr. Seuss classic, “Green Eggs and Ham.” “I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them Sam I am!”
Now on to the real online dating news. “SAM” is the new kid on the block as far as mobile GPS dating apps for phones are concerned. Thus, I am confused how it calls itself “the global market leader in location aware, mobile GPS dating applications.” Anyway, the patent pending SinglesAroundMe (SAM) app offers a new way to find singles whether you are on the hunt in your own backyard or other cities around the world. Be in a spot, fire up this app, and use your cell phone along with Google Maps to try to connect with other singles nearby in real time. Cool.
Searching for singles with “SAM” allows you to control how mobile you are willing to be. You can select the distance or range to look for results to match the type of profile you’re are seeking. “SAM” shows you a user’s profile, photos, and allows you to send and receive various kinds of winks, flirts and messages. For the single men or women you come across, you can also view their GPS location, add the hotties to your hot list, add the not so hotties or psychos to your block list. You can turn your GPS location on or off. You can turn the SAM app on and off. You can flirt anonymously. However you want to do it, you can maintain total control of your privacy.
Your Virtual Winger for Up to the Minute Online Dating Prospecting
The “Destination Search” option is like sending a winger out on a virtual recon mission for you. No more going to a bar with hope only to discover the pickins are pretty slim or it’s an unscheduled “Get in Ugly Early Night.” Destination Search allows you to scope or scout for matching singles at a designated location of your choice, and do it in real time. This feature means you can check to see if there are any worthwhile singles at a chosen spot before you decide to go there. For example, a night club, a restaurant/bar, a concert, resort, or an entire city. Finding and meeting singles has never been easier than with the help of technology and phone apps like SinglesAroundMe.
You can download “SAM” for your iPhone, Blackberry, and Android. Singles Around Me can be your virtual winger in a number of countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, and France. I don’t how well SAM will do for in Paris since English speaking Yanks seem to mainly be valued for spending money there.
Wanna Join the 2 Million Online Dating Skouts?
Nov 2, 2010 Online Dating News Comments Off
A phone that gets you hooked up with nearby hot singles you want to meet? That’s what I call a smart phone!
Skout.com, the cool, location-based dating and flirting app just skipped past the milestone of 2 million downloads. Meantime, millions of messages are sent by singles using the app every single month.
Skout made online dating news by becoming the first dating app for iPhone from Apple and Android. It introduces like-minded singles to one another based on geographic proximity using the iPhone’s GPS technology. Beta versions of the revolutionary app first hit the scene in 2007. They proved pretty much instantly that both males and females wanted a tool like this that gave them a mobile and easy way to flirt and meet other singles. Skout officially launched in 2009.
Skout allows singles to connect in real time. And users put real time into doing it. Research shows the average male and female Skouters spend about 40 minutes a day Skouting. Who said you’re ever too old to be a Boy Skout or a Girl Skout?
Skout was the brainchild of a 29-year old entrepreneur named Christian Wiklund. The founder is quite proud of the popularity of his solution for singles. “The exponential growth of Skout demonstrates that people in today’s fast paced world are tired of the same old online dating platform which requires weeks of back and forth before an actual meeting takes place,” says Wiklund. “Mobile users are looking for the same instant gratification in their dating life as they’re able to find when looking up what time a movie is playing.”
You have nothing to lose but your loneliness by trying Skout. Downloading this app is free. However, there are naturally upsells for using members. For example, you can pay for attention getting extras such as virtual gifts and wink bombs. You can even attempt to go viral in spreading your love seeds and messages. The Skout technology enables you to reach as many as 500 people at once. How’s that for increasing your odds for getting a “Yes”?
Online Dating Site for Ugly Finds Success Pretty Quickly
Oct 28, 2010 Dating Websites Comments Off
Women and men doing online dating must like to read about ugly people. Maybe it’s for relationship searches. Maybe it’s for amusement purposes. Either way, since you’re here I’m assuming you are one of these people. I mean you are an online dating person, not an ugly man or woman.
The post I did recently, Online Dating Home of the Brave and Ugly was quite popular. So many people read it that I promised to follow the story. Here is an interesting update of this unique piece of online dating news.
“Ugly Website” Unveils Its First Engaged Couple!
Pretty luck, huh? After just two months of online matchmaking for people who don’t count mirrors as friends, British-based website, The Ugly Bug Ball has already gotten credit for a couple getting engaged.
You can decide for yourself if the pair of lovebirds in the photo is “aesthetically challenged.” However, I will tell you that upon first glance (and actually my second, too), I thought for sure they were lesbians.
Their Love at First Bite Story
Tom (on the left) is 36. He works as a carpet fitter and has been single since 1998. He describes himself as having “a face that makes children cry.” He found 31-year old Janine on the site in late August soon after it launched.
They say a shared love of junk food and TV dinners was enough for them to “know” after just four dates. ”I always thought I was too ugly to meet Mrs. Right,” says Tom. “But my life changed when I met Janine. She’s beautiful and I love her in every possible way. I still can’t believe this happening.”
Now having just gotten engaged this week, the couple is planning a wedding this winter, and has already started writing their vows to each other.
They have also received a free honeymoon to Borth in Wales, courtesy of The Ugly Bug Ball. It brings to mind the old saying, “There is no such thing as an ugly bride.” I’d say that adage might soon be expecting a challenge. But based on some of the weddings I’ve attended, I’ve already seen enough proof.
More than 3 Strikes for Two and a Half Men Star Charlie Sheen
Oct 27, 2010 Celebrities Comments Off
I’ve never seen the TV show “Two and a Half Men.” Correct me if I’m wrong but I’m guessing Charlie Sheen plays the role of half a man. I say this because he seems to know the role of a small man all too well in real-life, especially when it comes to relationships with women.
How Charlie Sheen didn’t go down after “allegedly” abusing his wife last Christmas is beyond me. How he is still starring in a television series that a network pays him handsomely to do because many people still watch the show despite his off-screen behavior is way beyond being beyond me.
As another World Series is about to begin, it begs the question, how many embarrassing real-life situations does it take to strike out the guy who played the pitcher, “Wild Thing” in the movie “Major League”?
Earlier today reports say New York City police were called to The Plaza Hotel in midtown Manhattan after an allegedly drunk and half-naked Charlie Sheen was found in a widely damaged guest suite with a naked woman identified as an escort.
Whether it was made online or by telephone, it sounds like a pay for play date gone bad for Sheen, 45. According to Life & Style magazine, the naked woman was discovered screaming inside a closet “fearing for her life.”
NYPD found the hotel room was trashed. Hotel security officials reportedly estimate the damage caused by Sheen to be around $7,000. The New York Daily News also reports that authorities found cocaine in the room.
When the police officers approached Sheen, whom they described as incoherent, he screamed slurs at them and told them he was “out partying,” according to the New York Post. Sheen apparently went into a rage when he discovered his wallet and cell phone missing.
The police officers who recognized the actor, gave him the choice of going to jail or the hospital, reports Life & Style Magazine. Eyewitnesses say Sheen left the hotel in a bathrobe and shorts as he entered an ambulance accompanied by his ex-wife Denise Richards.
NYPD officials confirmed that a 45-year-old emotionally disturbed white man was transported from The Plaza Hotel to the hospital early Tuesday. However, as of this evening, he was on a flight to California. No charges have yet been filed against Sheen because he was hospitalized as an emotionally disturbed person. Sheen’s spokesperson told People.com that the actor had an “adverse allergic reaction to some medication.” A violation of his probation is possible.
Escort Radar makes the best radar detectors on the market. I wonder if they have a BS detector for us to use on Charlie Sheen. We seem to need one in this sad dating news story involving him and an escort.
A Virgin Reveals The Starbucks Conspiracy Behind Online Dating
Oct 26, 2010 BOD Bites Comments Off
I am a virgin. I am a grown man and still a virgin. I admit it. In some ways I wear it like a badge of honor.
I’m not talking about sex. I’m talking about what many people seem to think is more pleasurable than sex:
I have never had a cup of coffee in my life.
My father drank it day and night. My mother drank it too. I didn’t like the smell. And when my father got me once to try coffee ice cream as a kid, I discovered there was in fact something that tasted more like stinky ass than my mother’s alleged meat loaf.
A few years ago I tried to drink an expresso while sitting at gunpoint in a moment of peer pressure with my new friends in Bosnia Herzegovina. I didn’t get beyond a sip of that mud.
Don’t get me wrong. I know Starbucks. I’ve bought and sold their stock successfully. When I was married, I went there every single morning as an act of kindness for my wife because I knew it got her day off to a good start. I also have a friend named Troy who has given me a proprietary look inside the business model of Starbucks since the place is more or less his landlord.
Starbucks is the Real Offline Star of Online Dating
Plenty of Fish is making plenty of profits. Match.com and its sister sites are part of the wealthy IAC Corporate family. And eHarmony has an advertising budget that makes today’s political spending in America seem conservative. They basically have a license to print money from singles. But who has an even sweeter deal?
Starbucks does.
Dinner and a movie are way off the standard online dating menu today. Most men and women doing online dating don’t want to go all out and risk it all on a first encounter with someone new. No one wants to commit to making a day or night of it.
Most sensible women don’t want to meet a stranger at night in the event he is the next psycho or Ted Bundy. Most chivalrous men don’t want to invest the time and expense of a nice dinner in case the woman they’re meeting looks and eats more like the offensive line of the Pittsburgh Steelers than the person she posted in her online dating profile photos.
Starbucks is the meeting place du jour. It is the online dating stick your toe in the water place of choice. If you can go through five online dating profiles without finding a man or woman saying their suggested first meeting spot is a Starbucks, I’ll buy you a Venti Peppermint Mocha and hand deliver it to you anywhere in the free world.
It has got to be a conspiracy. It is the online dating news story of the century that no one in the traditional media is telling. I’ve done countless TV interviews with U.S. Senator Arlen Specter. He was at the heart of the Warren Commission’s investigation into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. I should talk to him about it. He just got voted out of office.
Starbucks is behind the birth of the whole online dating industry. Starbucks is the master of the movement. Trust me, if you haven’t already had an online dating first meeting at one of their locations, it’s only a matter of time.
By the way, if you’re a virgin like me, the hot Chai Latte is pretty good, but nothing even close to resembling great sex.
Dating Canadian Baby Boomers say Condoms are for Kids
Oct 24, 2010 Online Dating News Comments Off
Hockey season is here again. And older dating Canadian singles will continue doing more than pucking. They’re heating up their empty nests on cold winter nights.
A national survey by the Canadian Liver Foundation found some interesting information that makes for good online dating news. The results from one thousand single men and women aged 46 to 64 prove they are reliving their youth and doing exactly what they have told their own kids not to do sexually.
- They are having one-night stands.
- They are engaging in sex with multiple partners.
- And they are failing to use condoms.
“Do as I Say in Dating – Not as I Do!”
When it comes to safe sex, the Canadian survey shows older singles aren’t practicing what they preach. While 70 percent of those surveyed say they tell their kids to practice safe sex, 30 percent of unmarried boomers admit they’ve had unprotected sex with a new partner. Furthermore, the same group said they aren’t worried about contracting a sexually transmitted infection or disease. The Canadian Liver Foundation was researching ways to prevent the widespread virus hepatitis as a sexually transmitted infection. Across Canada, there are 250,000 cases of hepatitis C.
Here are some of the other sex and dating facts found in the survey:
- 82 percent of baby boomers believe it’s important to have an active sex life at every age.
- 57 percent feel more free about having sex.
- 40 percent of men and 5 percent of women are open to one-night stands.
- 33 percent of unmarried boomers have done online dating.
Father-Son Team Rethinking Radical Changes to Online Dating Compatibility
Oct 24, 2010 Online Dating News Comments Off
Clicck is clicking (or should I say “challenging”?) on all cylinders again. The online dating website that stakes claims to marrying science with good old-fashioned internet matchmaking, is now focusing a new line of questions on psychology.
Clicck is looking at the viability of the online dating industry’s current standard for matching two individuals based on complimentary personalities. They are doing this because their psychological team is trying to create a viable alternative to the many disappointing online compatibility tests today that really lack proven clinical legitimacy.
While staying shy of a complete psychological profile, Clicck’s current questionnaire is being retooled to create a more in-depth exploration into what makes a potential mate tick. They hope this will deliver a clearer and more successful match to users.
You don’t hear the term “Father-Son Combination” too much in the online dating industry. But Clicck is now controlled by a unique father-son team. Earlier this year, Psychologist Diplomate Dr. Christopher Ovide Sr. joined his son, CEO Christopher Ovide Jr. They hope this combination provides a more accurate and professionally designed technology tool for all of those men and women looking online for love.
Dr. Ovide is partnered with Dr. Heather Martens, another psychologist focused on relationship and marriage counseling. It is her subsequent analysis that will play a vital role in developing a better psychological profile of a person despite the limitations of online dating technology.
“During our research and review of the available data we have determined it is essential to assess every aspect of an individual’s personality,” said Dr. Ovide. “And we must also include demographic compatibility in the mix before indicating if two persons are compatible. We also believe it is critical that people understand a compatibility test is not the same as a psychological profile.”
Clicck claims to have two unique dimensions to its next generation compatibility questionnaire “This is very exciting,” says CEO Chris Ovide, Jr. “The new dimensions and more specific questionnaire will allow us to improve our recommendations and decrease the number of inaccurate matches.”
This would be the kind of online dating news all singles would want to hear.
Why do BBW’s Get to Throw Their Weight Around in Online Dating?
Oct 23, 2010 Dating True Stories Comments Off
I hear voices. So what? I hear songs, too. In fact, I can still sing along with Ray Stevens’ huge hit from 1970, “Everything is Beautiful.” Part of the lyrics was, “Everybody’s beautiful in their own way…”
Bigger is better. Yeah I’ve heard. There are popular reasons for it such as a value meal, better cushion for the pushin, more to love, and so on.
I’m just like you. In some ways I wish I was bigger. In other ways I wish I was smaller. Guess all you want.
Size matters. I get it. But looks matter, too. Don’t they? To me they do. That’s why I’m using this online dating blog to generate food for thought about BBWs.
Long before online dating and nine years after Ray Stevens’ greatest hit, Carole Shaw had hers. She deserves credit for coining and copyrighting the phrases “Big Beautiful Women” and “BBW” when she launched BBW Magazine for plus-size women.
No matter how accurate a term it is, nobody wants to be labeled as “morbidly obese.” It’s just not flattering. Nor is it socially acceptable.
I also understand that saying “Fat” ain’t where it’s at. Full-figured seems diplomatic and user friendly. Plus-sized sounds pretty positive, too. But these softened descriptions and all others like them don’t add up to BBW. It’s a term that’s grown more mainstream than the magazine and its marketing mission ever was.
Good for Carole Shaw and her creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. However, I just want to weigh in that I find fault with her phrases the way they are used today in online dating and society in general. Here’s why with just one case in point.
Years ago there was a dancer named Avalanche at my friend Shawn’s rather tame bachelor party. She said she was 402 pounds. She was warned that she wouldn’t get paid if she took off her clothes in her performance. Depending on the person, her appearance was the highlight or lowlight of the evening festivities.
It’s important to state that this woman put herself through the laughter and ridicule in return for money. No one forced her to do such shows. I remember she body slammed my friend who is a big guy and practically killed him. He was still sore a week later at the wedding. But what I vividly remember most and wished I didn’t was that when the light hit her face just right, she was one of the least attractive people I’ve ever seen. It had little to do with her weight.
I’m glad that the online dating industry features a sizable niche for overweight singles and those who are attracted to them. Go for it people. Make your own online dating news. From a business standpoint, BBW online dating websites make sense given the fact that America is growing more obese every year.
I work hard to stay height weight proportionate. It’s not fun. Still, I’m totally fine with big women basically saying, “This is who I am, take it or leave it.” That’s their attitude and their choice.
Sure, we call old people “seniors.” But we don’t call all Caucasians, African-Americans, Latinos, tall people, short people, disabled people, or middle-aged, average-sized Irishmen like me – beautiful.
Simply put…to me, BBW is often BS today.
It’s an overused, overweight stereotype. Not all big or obese women are beautiful. And so they shouldn’t try to seize an advantage in online dating by throwing their weight around using the euphemism – BBW.
Dear Online Dating Diary: Zoosk Thinks I’m Ugly!
Oct 20, 2010 Dating True Stories Comments Off
Mirror Mirror on the wall. I must be the ugliest of them all. Based on who Zoosk is matching me with, I’m convinced of it. I don’t want to make this kind of online dating news. Say it ain’t so!
While I am not Brad Pitt or Denzel Washington, Tom Brady or Derek Jeter, I don’t think I’m that bad looking. Even if you think I fell out of God’s ugly tree, I didn’t hit every single branch on the way down.
Since I write an online dating blog, I decided to explore the fast-growing online dating site and Facebook app, Zoosk. One of its features for single men and women is called the Zoosk Scientific Match System. It goes by the acronym ZSMS. Sadly, in my personal experience so far, I’m thinking ZSMS stands for:
Zero Science MatchMaking Skills.
Here’s how it works or doesn’t work. Every day I am sent an email informing me I have been matched with another woman. Both of us have been notified and asked to vote on each other’s profile within 24 hours. All responses stay anonymous unless both singles approve. Otherwise, neither person knows about the other person’s response.
There is nothing in my eyes with the Zoosk Scientific Match System that even remotely resembles the law of attraction. Yeah I know, I’m like every other guy trying to upgrade to find a woman who is too good for me. But c’mon, couldn’t the Zoosk computers once in a while match me with someone I’d consider to be sexy or at least attractive?
The reality is most of the women I’ve been matched with by Zoosk are so not my type upon first glance that I’m now fully expecting to hit the decline button. I don’t even need to scroll down to the online dating profiles any more.
It’s been so disappointing I’ve reached the point that I consider it a moral victory if once in a while I happen to weigh less than a woman ZSMS recommends for me.
In the Zoosk forum I can see that ZSMS calculates matches for Zooskers according to their search criteria. It claims that over time, ZSMS will learn more about your preferences and will work to find your best match. Here’s more of how they describle the Zoosk Scientific Match System:
“Think of it as being like DVRs that suggest television shows to you. At first, TV show suggestions are based on very basic criteria along the lines of, “If you like science fiction, you’ll like The X-Files.” As you tell the DVR what shows you do and don’t like, it comes up with better suggestions.
ZSMS is free to all Zooskers, so when you log in, just take a moment to accept or decline the match it suggests. If you decline the match, ZSMS will soon offer you another to choose from. The more you use it, the better your matches will get. If you and your suggested match both click “Accept,” you’ll both be notified and you can take whatever next steps you like.
ZSMS is not yet at the point where it’s using your search settings. For now, it’s selecting profiles based on pretty basic criteria, such as age and proximity…We’re tweaking it regularly, taking member feedback into account. We’re pretty excited about it. Soon, ZSMS will be making some pretty solid matches and bringing people together!”
The Zoosk Scientific Matching System is free to all members. So you have nothing to lose but your time, patience, confidence, hope, and so on. Until now, I’m scoring a big, fat zero with Zoosk.
The Truth about Lying in Online Dating
Oct 18, 2010 Online Dating News Comments Off
Here’s the truth about online dating…not everyone is honest. And I just don’t get it. I have to say it because if I don’t keep it real in writing this online dating blog, readers won’t return. So far so good.
If your goal is really to find your perfect match then you have to be who you are. You have to think like you really think. You have to feel like you normally feel. You have to act like you usually act.
And you have to look like you currently look, right?
If you lie in your online dating profile about your likes and dislikes, you’re hurting yourself and the person you meet. If you lie to yourself and others using photos from many years, many hairs, or many pounds ago, you’re only going to be discovered when you actually meet any potential match in person. In addition, this practice doesn’t make perfect because it often leads to disappointment and added doubts about what other truths you’re not telling.
It sucks when you meet a woman whose profile says she loves to work out but the butt she hauls on your date is wider than the backside of a race track. And for the ladies, it’s a sad moment when you quickly realize it’s “game over” because the new guy you just met who loved the same football team as you, in reality is so friggin old his favorite players wore leather helmets.
What led me to write about this topic right now was not to unload on my personal experiences. Yeah I have plenty and I’ll get to them. The truth of the matter is I just came across a University of Kansas study that I thought was interesting enough to share with you.
“What people lie about depends on what kind of people they are.”
Those are the words of Jeffrey Hall, a Jayhawk researcher and assistant professor of communication studies. He surveyed more than 5,000 men and women in a national Internet matchmaking service. Hall was trying to determine what kinds of singles are most likely to lie during the online dating process. So, he inquired as to how likely they were to lie about personal issues such as wealth, weight, age, relationship goals, past relationships, and more.
The findings of the study were published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. But here are the major online dating news headlines:
Men admitted to lying more overall. Women were most likely to lie about their weight.
Hall found that those who lie on online dating services are people-pleasers who want to present themselves in the most favorable light to get someone to like them He believes the behavior would be the same if these individuals were dating in the traditional manner. Their actions are not necessarily manipulative, Hall said, but rather a more of a reflection on their personal desire to be liked and to fit in.
Whatever the reason behind the baggage and BS, starting a relationship without a foundation of trust is in my opinion a blueprint for a breakup. If you can’t trust in yourself enough to be honest with yourself and just be who you are, you’re probably headed for online dating headaches and heartaches.
Surely, you can do better than that. Surely, you and anyone you meet deserve better than that, too.
Cougar Online Dating Site Wants Relationship with CougarTown Star Courteney Cox
Oct 17, 2010 Celebrities Comments Off
Online dating takes no time off. Case in point is that a million dollar offer is already on the table for Courteney Cox even though her separation from husband David Arquette was just announced a few days ago.
Arquette appeared last night at the Spike TV Scream Awards in Los Angeles. He was wearing jeans and a leather jacket and looked happy and relaxed. He did not walk the red carpet in order to avoid interviews with members of the media. The 39-year old actor was there to promote his latest work in Scream 4 with his co-stars, Neve Campbell and Emma Roberts plus the film’s director Wes Craven.
It was on the set of the first Scream movie in 1996 where he met Courteney Cox. The two stars got married three years later. They now have an 8-year old daughter Coco. Us Weekly magazine reports the couple is “by no means interested in giving up. They just need time apart.”
Meantime, dating website CougarLife.com is trying to get together with Courteney Cox. The website which promotes itself as the “premier online dating service that pairs women in their prime with younger men and ends the double standard,” has made a $ 1 million contract offer to lure Cox into a relationship as its spokeswoman.
The sexy 46-year old Cox stars on the ABC Television series “Cougar Town.” Her character is a divorced mother who is busily vying for the affection of younger men. Last Wednesday at 9:00 the show finished third in its time slot attracting 7.3 million viewers for a slightly higher rating of 4.4.
Cougar Life is said to be pouncing on Cox because her separation actually took place a couple of months ago. While it certainly makes sense that the actress could put a pretty and popular face on the branding of the online dating website, Cougar Life could really run wild on singles if they were able to convince Courteney Cox to complete an online dating profile and become a member. Now that would make for big time online dating news and wouldn’t hurt her show’s ratings either.
Even a 4-Year Old Knows not to take NO for an Answer in Dating
Oct 5, 2010 Dating True Stories Comments Off
Bear with me please. I know this is an online dating blog for singles. But I write it from Chandler, Arizona. It rained here today. To me, that’s breaking friggin online dating news! But wait…there’s more.
The storm blew my rocking chairs into the lake. That might have been a huge news story on Fox 10 in Phoenix had I called my buddy there. Anyway, the real story is my weather tragedy turned into a dating triumph…for my 4-year old.
Never Miss a Good Opportunity to Jump in a Puddle!
That’s one of the life lessons I’ve learned from my son. Today, we had a rare opportunity to act on it. So when I picked him up from preschool, we went feet first. Times like this between a single Daddy and a 4-year old boy with no adult supervision have their rewards.
After stopping home for dry clothes, we went to the indoor playland at the worldwide place with the golden arches. My little man always calls it “Old McDonald’s.” It amuses me every time so I have never corrected him.
No other people were there when we arrived. Within 30 seconds, not one but two adorable little girls his age appeared with a Mommy. Jackpot!
My son the hunter picked up the scent faster than a bloodhound on a prison break. “Daddy, I want to play with them,” he said as he locked on the targets. I replied, “Go get em Buddy.” To myself I thought, “That’s my boy!”
He had no time for small talk. There was no foreplay. Not even a hello. I laughed as he went right for the kill in boldly asking, “Do you want to play with me?” “No,” said one of the girls. Yep, just like his old man.
He came back to me to “Supersize” the “No” he got. It was an emphatic enough protest for the girls and the Mommy to hear. Actually, his disappointment might have been loud enough for Ray Kroc in his grave to hear. Then came the matchmaking breakthrough.
The Mommy called the girls over to her. When they broke their quick huddle, the girls offered to play with my boy. Aah. Young love was alive and well. Life was better than a Happy Meal. I thanked her for making us both smile.
The kids played well together for nearly two hours. The girls were really nice despite him being “All-Boy.” I watched my son chase two little beautiful girls in and out of slides and chutes, and shared some laughs with the Mommy of the one girl about him being so smitten with them. The good news is I think my son scored another “play date.”
Now it would be way too predictable to tell you the moral of the story here is, “Don’t Take No for an Answer” in your dating pursuits. Boring!
The real golden nugget of dating advice from my 4-year old is this. To increase your odds of getting a date – Always do your asking out within earshot of their Mommy.
Rutgers Gay Suicide: Online Dating Invasion of Privacy
Oct 2, 2010 Online Dating News Comments Off
Tyler Clementi’s 18-year old body and spirit were dragged out of the Hudson River on Thursday. It was more than a week after he jumped to his death from the two-level George Washington Bridge, which safely takes commuters across the river between New York and New Jersey.
A Facebook page supposedly belonging to Tyler Clementi had a mobile status update on September 22. It read, “jumping off the gw bridge sorry.”
The Middlesex County, New Jersey Prosecutor’s office has charged two Rutgers students with invasion of privacy. Further charges including bias are pending. Allegedly, Clementi’s roommate at Rutgers, 18-year-old Dharun Ravi and another student, 18-year-old Molly Wei, placed a web camera in Clementi’s dorm room without his knowledge. It was then used to broadcast his sexual encounter with another man on the internet.
The social media trail
Reports say Dharun Ravi is believed to have posted messages on Twitter.com a number of times to share information about his roommate’s sexual orientation and activities. Tyler Clementi is believed to have used a gay website, JustUsBoys.com.
Twitter – August 22, 2010 (allegedly from Ravi):
“Found out my roommate is gay?” The tweet also linked to a thread on JustUsBoys. Another page on JustUsBoys showed a post labeled “college roommate spying.”
Twitter – September 19 (allegedly from Ravi):
“Roommate asked for the room till midnight. I went into molly’s room and turned on my webcam. I saw him making out with a dude. Yay.”
According to prosecutors, Ravi tried to use the webcam again two days later.
Twitter – September 21 (allegedly from Ravi about Clementi):
“Anyone with iChat, I dare you to video chat me between the hours of 9:30 and 12. Yes it’s happening again.”
JustUsBoys.com – September 21, one day before Tyler Clementi’s jump from the GW Bridge (allegedly Clementi under username “cit2mo”):
“so the other night i had a guy over. I had talked to my roommate that afternoon and he had said it would be fine w/him. I checked his twitter today. he tweeted that I was using the room (which is obnoxious enough), AND that he went into somebody else’s room and remotely turned on his webcam and saw me making out with a guy.”
Reports say the user, Cit2mo, then asked readers what he should do, including whether or not he should try to get another roommate. Several responses said the webcam was an invasion of privacy. Cit2mo said he might talk with a resident assistant in the dorm.
Cit2mo later responded that he had reported the incident. “He [the resident assistant] seemed to take it seriously… he asked me to email him a written paragraph about what exactly happened… I emailed it to him, and to two people above him….”
A lawyer for JustUsBoys.com confirmed the posts were traced back to Rutgers.
Rutgers University is reeling from scrutiny over the controversy and looming legal issues about how long it knew about the situation, and what it did or didn’t do to resolve it. University President Richard McCormick is meeting with members of the school’s gay and lesbian community. So far the only statement from Tyler Clementi’s family said, “We understand that our family’s personal tragedy presents important legal issues for the country as well for us.”
To try to put out the fire, a candlelight vigil is being held tomorrow night on the Rutgers University campus. Tyler Clementi might be there in spirit.
How Low Do You Go in Online Dating?
Sep 29, 2010 Dating True Stories Comments Off
If you have more than a few minutes of experience in online dating, you know the above question is a fair one to ask. How low do you go in online dating? How low are you willing to go?
Okay, so maybe I’m a Mickey Mouse television journalist turned online dating blog dude. The photo to the left of Mickey and Goofy doesn’t lie. But really, I’m thinking of the low end of the online dating spectrum a little because of myself, but more because of interviews I’ve done recently with online dating users.
I spoke with a woman tonight who genuinely seemed pleased that so far none of the men she’s met online have turned out to be real psychos. Is that how we judge success in this thing called internet dating? On a brighter note, she is hoping her online dating experience gets much better when she meets the guy she’s been wanting to connect with but hasn’t yet due to their continued scheduling conflicts.
A guy I’ve talked to told me he’s lowered his expectations to the point that now when he meets a woman in person who he’s been communicating with online, if she’s within being 25 pounds heavier than her posted photos he considers that okay. Is that really okay to you?
Another attractive woman I know is dealing with her low expectations by intentionally putting up what is essentially a keep away sign on her online dating profile. She’s taken down her photos and listed her home cities as being in both the northern and southern parts of the United States. Is that a good state to finding one’s perfect match or soul mate?
How low do you go? Hopefully, you don’t go low at all. Singles shouldn’t do the limbo for love. No matter how many frogs you kiss that hop onto your path, hold on tight to your high hopes. Remember, it’s only that one prince or princess you are seeking.
How to Find True Love & Luxury in Online Dating using Forbes
Sep 28, 2010 Online Dating Tips Comments Off
Real value for free? Really? You bet. Here’s a valuable multi-tasking, money-making, online dating tip if there ever was one.
You already know not to settle for someone who isn’t your perfect match or at least a great match. And remember, whenever a bride and groom exchange wedding vows, they always speak of for richer or poorer. But since no one roots against richer, let me pose this question to you:
Why shop for singles in poverty when you can zero in on wealthy women and mega-rich men by zip code?
To do this, we follow Forbes Magazine. Believe it or not, Forbes can create better fantasies than Playboy or Playgirl. Forbes has just released its ranking of America’s Most Expensive Zip Codes. It’s a list that could give all new meaning to the term “Mail Order Bride” because it features the top 500 pockets for you to look for luxury while you’re looking for love.
Do Duarte!
The funny thing about the Forbes list is more than half of the richest zip codes come from the financially strapped state of California. Duarte, California, the small suburb near Los Angeles has the #1 ranked zip code in 91008. Forbes finds that the median cost for buying a home here in the most expensive housing market is $4,276,462. The air quality ain’t great but multi-million dollar mansion owners can afford to buy a mask if necessary.
Targeting Duarte for your online dating prospects would be a hunt for quality not quantity. There are only 1,391 legal residents in 91008.
In some encouraging online dating news and economic news, more than one out of three zip codes in the United States saw its median prices either increase or stay flat in the past year. However, the slump staggers on for high-end homes. The slide continues but at a slower pace. In the top 500 high-end zip codes, the average home price fell 5% to $1.2 million from last year. In 2009, the decline of the markets on saw a drop of 7%.
If you’re wondering about Beverly Hills, 90210, it came in at # 6. Somehow, my zip code of 85286 in Chandler, Arizona must have been forgotten by Forbes. Here is their list of the top 10 richest U.S. zip codes:
1. 91008 – Duarte, California
2. 94027 – Atherton, California
3. 90274 – Rolling Hills, California
4. 07620 – Alpine, New Jersey
5. 10014 – New York, New York
6. 90210 – Beverly Hills, California
7. 10065 – New York, New York
8. 94920 – Belvedere, California
9. 10012 – New York, New York
10. 93108 – Santa Barbara, California
Here’s a link to look at the full list by Forbes of the most desirable U.S. zip codes for wealthy online dating prospects.
Happy hunting!