Archive for the ‘dating’ Category

Divorced Singles and Online Dating

Monday, March 10th, 2008




Divorced single and online datingI’m sure that you’ve heard countless times that over 50% of all marriages end in divorce. This is an overwhelming statistic, and it just goes to show how difficult relationships with the other sex can be.

Each person has a different time table for getting over a divorce, and it’s important not to rush from one bad relationship into another. Before getting ready to date again, it’s wise to make sure that you’ve had a chance to work through your issues before jumping into the next relationship.

You need to be honest with yourself, and ask yourself if you are prepared mentally, physically, and spiritually to commit yourself to finding a new relationship. Some people are ready the moment their previous relationship ends and others can take months or years until they reach that point.

The longer you were married, the more difficult it becomes to find other singles. Married couples tend to develop and foster relationships with other married couples. Once a divorce is finalized, one of the divorced couple tends to lose this base of friends.

Where are the best places to meet other singes? This is an age old question, and there is a variety of old stand bys: the local bar or pub, night clubs, social clubs, and church to name a few. Many singles rely on friends or people they already know to help them find someone (i.e. a blind date or prearranged meeting). Finally many singles cling to the hope of a chance encounter (i.e. bumping into someone while shopping, etc.) leading to finding Mrs. Right.

The internet becomes a great source for meeting other singles. It’s an ever increasing pool with more and more people getting connected to the internet. For seasoned internet veterans, it’s hard to believe that tens of thousands of people use the internet for the first time each and every day, and this trend won’t be ending any time soon.

Where is the best place for these people to find other singles?

I’m sure you’ve read countless stories about free social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. These sites are great for keeping in touch with people that you already are familiar with, but finding quality singles is not something these sites are renowned for.

For older singles, these sites also seem quite intimidating to use. They tend to be oriented towards younger web surfers, with the majority of users under the age of 35.

Online dating sites provide a great service for divorced men and women. They provide a large pool of qualified singles that are also looking to find someone else.

Technology has gotten to the point where anyone is able to use one of these sites. If you know how to type out an email, then you’re more than qualified to navigate your way through an online dating site.

There are countless sites out there, and the service they offer cover a wide gamut. There are sites for divorced singles, single parents, disabled singles, interracial, ethnic (i.e. Italian, German, Asian, Arab, Indian, Russian, etc.), mail order brides, seniors, gay and lesbian, as well as various sites set up for singles just looking for sexual experiences either online or in person.

Most paid sites will offer a free trial membership so you can get a chance to look around a site and see what it has to offer before making a decision on whether or not to join. See what the pool of singles look like in your local area and take the time to investigate the various options out there.

The world is a really big place, and the task of finding someone can become overwhelming, but online dating sites do a really good job of helping you narrow down your search.

Men and Online Dating Difficulties

Thursday, March 6th, 2008

I was surfing the net today and I came across an item written by Andrew Johnstone which states: research shows that 97% of all men give up on online dating within 3 months of starting. That number really jumped out at me, and after giving it some thought, I have to dispute it.

As I’ve outlined before, internet dating involves a lot of work up front to make the entire process successful. Once you eliminate the pool of people who are only using free dating sites, I think the number of people that fail is significantly smaller than what Johnstone states.

People that reach into their wallet and make the decision to pay for a service are much more committed to making the process work. They are essentially prequalified leads (to use a sales term).  That’s a proven fact!

The article lists the many reasons why so many men feel they fail. The most common theme he kept coming back to was that most men weren’t properly prepared before joining a site. This immediate lack of results discourages both men and women alike.

Most of this goes back to a lot of the things I’ve addressed in previous blog articles on this site. The top five items Johnstone says that internet daters need to address are the following:

  1. Use a good photo of yourself.
  2. Compose a catchy headline
  3. Write an informative profile that has the reader looking for more info
  4. Personalize each email that you compose, make it unique
  5. Be yourself and enjoy the process

Follow these steps as well as some others I’ve outlined previously in this blog and I can guarantee that your online dating experience will be a success.

Background Checks Divide Online Dating Sites

Tuesday, March 4th, 2008

Here’s an interesting story this morning regarding the use of background checks for online dating sites. The article goes into detail about the ongoing debate on whether or not these checks will add any value to a dating service.

Of all the major online dating companies, only True.com currently provides a screening process for it’s customers. This process involves running names through state databases of criminal records. There are arguments about whether or not the screening test is comprehensive or thorough enough, and it may lead True.com members into a false sense of security.

The article is in response to the New Jersey Law passed in January (know as the Internet Dating Safety Act) that requires online dating sites to provide background checks on each of their members. New Jersey remains the only state with the law in effect, with other states such as New York and Pennsylvania looking at similar legislation.

This is just a reminder to use your common sense when dating online. Remember to keep your personal information secure and make sure to follow the same rules of safety you would when dating off line.