Another Match.com success story; and Six Singles

Happy New Year, everyone! Guess what? One of my friends got engaged over Christmas vacation -- to a guy she met through Match.com a mere 7 1/2 months ago! They live in the same city and love to go out dancing, so I have a feeling they may have met each other eventually anyway. But Match.com brought them together first. They are really happy. A summer wedding is in the works. :)

Also, December 28th was the one-year anniversary of when the Nicest Guy in the World and I started dating! It doesn't feel like a whole year has gone by already. Which I guess is good -- better to feel like it hasn't been long at all than to feel like it's been way too long. ;)

A reader commented on my last post about a web site called Six Singles (http://www.SixSingles.com). It's an on-line dating site, but they also have interesting articles like "What If Your Profile Is A Dud?" and "What To Talk About on the First Real Date" -- worth checking out.

Dating errors, & dating success

If you're not having much luck on-line dating, check out David Wygant's article "14 Fatal Online Dating Errors That Single Women Make" (http://dating.personals.yahoo.com/singles/datingtips/33451/14-fatal-online-dating-errors-that-single-women-make;_ylt=At1N9.lxWma9fjGxbbqbYlRfjLR_). An interesting read, but I don't think I made any of the errors he mentioned (not putting up current photos, listing what you hate about Internet dating, lying about your age, etc.), and by the end of my on-line dating time I still wasn't having much luck.

Or, if you've been dating someone a while and are starting to think he's "the one," here's an article by Ruby Madren-Britton called "9 Signs Your Guy is a Keeper" (http://dating.personals.yahoo.com/singles/datingtips/88524/dating-tips-9-signs-a-guy-is-a-keeper). According to Madren-Britton, the nine signs are 1) he has his act together (i.e., not still struggling to grow up); 2) he puts you first; 3) he doesn't disappear when you're sick; 4) he asks about your family; 5) he makes time for your friends; 6) he's your biggest cheerleader; 7) he remembers the little things; 8) he's happy when you're happy; 9) he makes you feel the best you can be. A pretty good list, I think!

Your Infinite On-line Dating Profile (!)

A friend sent me this very interesting article about how your on-line dating profile and the information you disclose to dating web sites can be used against you. In "Online Dating: Your Profile's Long, Scary Shelf Life" (http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9127799&intsrc=hm_list) Robert L. Mitchell writes about how on many dating sites, even if you cancel your subscription, the data still sits there in the company's records. The risk, as Mitchell writes, is that "'the detailed personality profiles can be disclosed in a lawsuit and then used against you in novel and negative ways,' says Pam Dixon, executive director of the World Privacy Forum. These include divorce or custody proceedings, employment-related lawsuits and potentially even medical-related lawsuits. Though rare, legal actions have been filed in cases ranging from date rape accusations to sexual harassment accusations to a lawsuit against former WellPoint Inc. executive David Colby by a woman who contended that he misrepresented himself on Match.com."

Hmmm. If I'd sued everyone who misrepresented himself on Match.com, I'd be a millionaire! Just kidding. ;) Maybe I was just lucky, but I don't think I actually met anyone who blatantly lied about himself (or perhaps I just didn't date them long enough to realize it!).

The Drummer Boy's profile revisions

I just checked out the Drummer Boy’s on-line profile for the first time since he first e-mailed me a week or two ago, and he has revised some of it – for the better, I might add! Now for the “Got kids?” question, instead of answering “Nope, and I never will,” he changed his answer to “Nope, not yet.” He also made himself sound like less of a drinker – he changed his answer from “On a Friday night, I am: having a martini by 5:02 PM” to “I am: at a bar or lounge with some friends.” And for “What type of relationship am I looking for?”, instead of answering with something like, “Not looking to settle down, but someone to have fun with would be nice,” he changed it to “Looking for the right one.” Very interesting....