Posts Tagged ‘social media’

If you are wondering where all the good guys are, apparently you can find them on Twitter, where they hold a 56% majority amongst users. And believe it or not, they seem to be becoming better communicators than women, at least in the social media world where, according to a recent survey conducted by Liberty Mutual, they are more likely to tweet on a regular basis than women.

Though 37 year old Alyssa has yet to find Mr. Right, she has created her own intimate dating pool by casting a broad net of followers, people who care about her commentary and brain blurps. “There really are single men out there” says Alyssa as she demystifies the myths for 35+ single women. “These smart and savvy guys are approaching me from every corner of the world.”

As we continue to witness with Facebook and iPhone, the success of one media platform breeds adjunct applications, and Twitter discovered it is no exception.  Already Philip Kaplan, founder of FuckedCompany and Adbrite, lauched Flirt 140, a free service which allows users to find potential matches on Twitter based on gender, geographic area and keyword. Though all boast the same benefits and functionality, there are plenty of microdating communities out there including Plenty of Tweeps, TwitDates and Radaroo. Given that the technology is fairly easy to implement, we predict that larger dating sites like Match.com will be next to launch dating tweet decks of their own.

And though art often imitates life, in the case of social media the real world often mimics the medium. Justin Parfitt, founder and CEO of Fastlife.com, a Canadian-based dating service provider, launched “Flitter” singles events in Australia and is now introducing them to social media singles throughout North America.

Guests at the 140 conference who attended the tweet and greet session simply wore a white sticker with a number given to them upon entry and were able to send direct messages to any number of strangers who caught their eye and fancy from across the room, all via their mobile devices.

And like Alyssa you don’t have to be a tech geek to join in the fun. Just beware who you talk to and what you tweet about, because these days it seems everybody it watching!

Photo courtesy of www.cyberdatingexpert.com

This week on my blog, I’m highlighting a virtual acquaintance who I met on Twitter. Her name is Julie Spira.  Spira is an expert in dating and relationships who earned a B.S. in Television-Radio from Ithaca College, and was the first female disc jockey on WAAL Radio in Binghamton, NY.  But Spira had bigger aspirations.  In 1994, she created her first online dating profile which led to her first marriage (to an online suitor) and her first major heartbreak – when it ended in divorce.  Determined, she went on more than 250 dates in 16 years which provided her with unique insight to the dating world.  Her book, The Perils of Cyber-Dating: Confessions of a Hopeful Romantic Looking for Love Online ( rel. Feb 19, 2009), details in humorous form, some of these blind dates like ‘The Architect’, ‘The Plastic Surgeon’, and ‘The Boy Next Door’.  She also includes 10 very simple, but necessary ‘Rules of Netiquette’ for successful cyber dating which are included in Chapter 9 of her book. Three of them include:

• Unless you’re prepared for anything that pops up, Don’t ‘google’ your date
• Never, under any circumstances, discuss body parts or any procedures like vasectomies and breast reductions
• Lying on your profile may help you ‘snag’ a match, but it will NOT help you ‘bag’ the match-stay as close to the truth as possible and come clean before or during the date

For more information on Julie you can check out an interview on The Huffington Post, or if you’re into videos, she has a collection of YouTubes that are full of various interviews related to her extensive knowledge of cyber dating, and Social Media.  Julie will also be attending the 140 Conference in NYC for twitter on April 20^th and 21^st.  For more information check her out at CyberdatingExpert.com or on Twitter/@JulieSpira.