The Levels of Online Dating Part I

Much like the classical poet, Dante, I've gained some experience in online dating, have travelled its depths, and am ready to chronicle my experiences for the entertainment and education of you - the reader.

Level One - Profile Creation

This is the most crucial part of the process and most people never get past this part. You have to have a decent profile to attract a first contact message or to help elicit a return contact message. There are numerous theories about how long your profile should be but one thing remains constant above all: Be Honest.

Be honest about yourself - Talk about who you really are. Don't lie about your physical attributes. Don't lie about your personality traits. Don't lie about your marital status.

Be honest about what you're looking for - What do you want in a potential mate? Be honest about it. If you don't like short people mention that you like someone taller. Be sure to say what you want as well as what you don't want. This makes the screening process easier for you and will help eliminate a lot of unnecessary messages. I know that if I read a woman's profile and she says, "I like taller men," I don't bother to message her. I respect her for putting that out there and if I don't have a shot because I'm short, I don't care. I figure it's her loss.

Post decent pictures - I'm not saying you need to hire a professional photographer or go to "Glamour Shots". Here are my tips. First, your main profile picture should be a close up of your face. I would stick to either color or black/white photo rather than a sepia tone or a digital effect. Second, I would have a full-length photo that shows you in a normal pose. This is so people can get a full view of you. Third, I would have a full length picture of you and other people. This is to a) show that you aren't completely anti-social and b) give the viewer a better perspective of your size and height when compared to others.

Proofread your profile - Having a grammatically correct profile isn't absolutely necessary, but I believe it is appreciated and doesn't go unnoticed. Profiles that lack punctuation and proper capitalization (no ALL CAPS) and/or are riddled with misspellings, l33t/text speak, and emoticons only says two things about the person. They are either immature or careless (i.e. irresponsible). No one minds a smilie or two but to have one at the end of every sentence? C'mon, grow up people.


END OF PART I