Questions about Online Dating

If you've been blogging for a couple of years or so and through your blog you essentially tell people most everything they would need to know in order to form at least a basic opinion about the sort of person you are, then is it ok on those dating sites to answer none of the questions and just refer everyone to the blog?

I know that in reality they don't allow hyperlinks nor do they allow you to reveal your real self, but would it be acceptable to answer an ad with, "Here's my website. Let me know if you're still interested."

Probably not the level of assuredness that single ladies are looking for.

I just responded to an online ad with only a bit more than that (actually quite a bit since my aim was as much music sharing as it was dating due to our age difference). I had never looked at Craig's List until Cracker told me I should go take a look. He sent me there for free stuff, but I find that I am fascinated by their personal ads. They are all text and completely free form: write whatever you want, post it, and go on dates. I think that it forces people to think about dating a lot differently than they would for an online site like Yahoo personals or Match.com. I'd love to do some sort of study that looked at how people described themselves on different dating sites. The layout provided by the service obviously drives the nature of at least a portion of the data presented. How much? To what degree? In what direction? If the questions are the same, put the entry portal is different, how do the descriptions vary (for example, if I get there through the free weekly paper as opposed to through The Onion even though it's really the same service)? It would be interesting.

My sister recently met a girl who is an online dating nut. Apparently this girl goes on 3-4 dates a week with guys she meets on Match.com and has been doing so for years. Is it even possible that she can have a conversation on the date about anything other than such dating habits? To me that seems like such strange behavior. Maybe that's the introvert in me.

When do you tell some you're dating that you blog? And god forbid, do you actually have to say, "blog?" It sounds a bit better as a noun than as a verb, but still, it's a little Star Wars-ish or Tolkien-troll-esque, isn't it?

Am I the only one who Googles just about everyone they meet who doesn't have too common a name? Are you ever surprised that everyone you meet has run or walked or biked in some race and had their poor times along with their age and hometown forever enshrined on the internet? Surely most people must Google their dates. Or is this just not such a big deal for people who, you know, actually date?

What do you do if you find out your date has a blog, but she hasn't told you about it?

1) Keep your mouth shut, read it religously from different computers arriving at the site through different links so that she doesn't realize it through analysis of her referral files, all in order that you can gain power to manipulate her or find out what she really thinks about you?

2) Tell her, "Hey, I found your blog. I love the layout. Could you teach me about cascading style sheets so that I can make my blog better? (alternatively, you could ask for help installing MT)"

3) Split the difference, and be honest about finding her blog but don't mention your blog unless asked directly.

4) Are you kidding, if she doesn't blog, I don't date her.

Comment, vote, and comment below in the, err, comments.

Jonathan 2/04/2005 06:31:00 PM