Online Meeting

I never really liked the term "online dating." People meet online - but the dating part still happens in person.

I've talked about the many profiles that I used to meet people. I learned the hard way it's a bad idea to go overboard with the number of profiles one has. The truth is, different sites work for different reasons. The best thing to do is find one that works for you, and stick with it.

My preference was to use a site that made approaching people easy, and allowed us to exchange contact information. Why? I preferred having one email exchange on the dating site; and then move our communication to personal email/IM, if we both wanted to do so. The site where I had the most luck was Plenty of Fish - a site where email exchanges were easy and totally free. 

If you're comfortable online, chances are good that online meeting will work for you. When you're comfortable, you're more likely to be real. When the real you is shining through, you're much more likely to have success in meeting new people. This is true of any situation - whether you're online or not.

I had great success in meeting people online. I met some great guys with whom I enjoyed hanging out. I met a guy who is still a good friend. And I met an absolutely wonderful man, who I feel very lucky to have in my life. 

Did I meet some jerks? Sure. That'd be true no matter how I was meeting people. The truth is, the guys who aren't still around were mostly really nice guys, with whom I just didn't click. Dating isn't only about meeting other people. 

Dating is about getting to know yourself. It's about finding out what you do and don't like; what you can handle, and what you will and won't put up with. Once you figure out who you are and what makes you happy, you'll know what you're looking for. When you know that - really know it with all your heart - you'll meet the right person.

That's true no matter how you go about meeting.