onlinedating

I watched a humorous but helpful video on Tango today that talks about ‘decoding’ his profile. While not all of the tips were meant seriously, the point was.

See what I mean:

Online Dating Profiles Decoded

While some people are intentionally misleading or deceitful in their online profile, others may understand an option to mean something different from what you think it means, or may have not been given an option that was an exact fit, so they chose the closest one with the intention of filling in the details when communication starts.

It is healthy to be cautious, but unhealthy to be paranoid or totally untrusting. I have found that the best policy is to start out by giving people the benefit of the doubt while not turning a blind eye to anything that seems questionable or raises a warning flag.

Today’s Question: What is the funniest ‘decoding’ you have come across?

Photo © Mara Denardo - www.freerangestock.com

Today, a brief post before the American holiday weekend – Independence Day. While we are out celebrating our independence as a nation, perhaps we can find some things to enjoy about our personal independence, as well.

I have compiled a brief list of links to check out that feature various forms of online dating humor – some of which may give you unique replies to the questions routinely put to singles such as “Why aren’t you married, yet?”, “Are you too picky?”, and “When are you going to settle down and give me/your parents some grandchildren?”

I hope you enjoy your weekend, and the humor. The humor at the following links comes in various styles and ratings – proceed with caution, and at your own risk.

The Dating Humor Fun Zone from Online Dating Magazine

Funny Dating Videos from Online Dating Magazine

Online Dating Humor from Innocent English

Pricilla Pigg’s Advice to the Lovelorn & Singles Humor Section from Amazing Singles

Today’s Question: Speaking of the above questions, what are your favorite comebacks to such questions?

Photo © Chance Agrella - www.freerangestock.com 

I recently posted links to some online quizzes relating to kissing, and dating, and such. Today, I am going to give you some links to site that allow you to create your own fun quizzes. These quizzes can be posted on your blog or social networking page. Links to them can be emailed to others. 

A few years back, some friends created their own “How Well Do You Know Me?” quizzes. It was really fun to take them because I got to learn things about my friends that I had not known previously. I then created my own quiz, and it was a lot of fun to see how well others knew me. Sometimes new acquaintances did better on the quiz than friends I had known longer. Another fun aspect of the quiz was how it added to my online dating experience. It was fun to get acquainted with prospects by taking the quizzes we created for each other. 

If you would like to create your own quiz to test your friends and potential dates, about pretty much any topic, including how well they know you, try the following sites: 

Testriffic

Quibblo

HelloQuizzy (a test making/taking spinoff site of OkCupid)

OkCupid (also a social networking/dating site)

CoolQuiz

If you create a quiz, feel free to post a link to it here in the comment section. I personally will take every quiz that is linked to in the comments and post feedback about it. 

Today’s Question: If you were to create a quiz for potential dates to take, what would the topic be and what would one of the questions be?

I came across this blog that mentioned an interactive game for daters. The game sounded interesting, so I tried it out. The game is VO5’s Interactive Ultimate Flirting Championship. It is available also as a widget you can install on your own site. The widget wouldn’t install here, so you will have to go to the link in order to play.

In the game you get to be either a judge or a player. Judges choose from pre-written questions to ask flirters. This process is timed. Flirters then come up with their best flirty answer. There are 3 players (1 judge and 2 flirters) in each ‘room’. When you enter, you are in a ‘waiting room’ until there are two more players for you to play with.

Have fun playing – and have a great weekend!

Today’s Question: If you play the game, please comment here about your reaction. What did you like and dislike about it?

The Interactive Flirting Game may be found at: http://onlinedating.today.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=97

 Photo © Aleksandar Momirovic - www.freerangestock.com

I wanted to try something new here on the Online Dating blog. I am calling it Pet Peeves and it is a forum for rants, raves, and general gripes about various online dating issues. 

Each time I post a Pet Peeve topic, it will be your chance to vent, rant, and gripe about the pet peeves you have in that topic. There will be no “Today’s Question” posted, per se, because the post is intended as a rant session amongst fellow online daters. 

The purpose is not only to get it out of our collective systems, but to laugh together, commiserate together, share advice, and to perhaps see that we are not alone in having a few online dating frustrations. 

Today’s topic is Online Dating Websites – the features, lack of features, customer support or lack thereof, the prices, the rules, etc that drive us all crazy. 

I will get you all started with a few of my pet peeves with online dating websites: 

Hidden charges. I think it is deceitful for online dating websites to advertise they offer ‘free memberships’ when it fact it is a ‘free profile’ and everything else comes with a fee. 

With that, I think it is sleazy for online dating websties to hide the fees. There are sites out there that only show you what the fees will be once you have gone through the lengthy and tedious process of registering and setting up a profile. Then and only then do they hit you with the sticker shock. 

Not letting you hide your profile/suspend your account/leave the site. There are also sites out there that do not allow for the option to hide your profile from certain groups you are not interested in, suspend your account when you are pursuing a relationship or want to take a dating break, or easily leave the site altogether when you no longer want a membership. 

One top site will only let you leave if you call them and go through their ridiculous sales pitch and prodding. They try to convince you that you have not tried hard enough, given it enough time, etc. I find such tactics disgusting and dishonorable. 

There are a few of mine – now it is your turn. What pet peeves do YOU have with online dating websites?

Photo © Roxana Gonzalez - www.freerangestock.com

Dating quizzes can be anything from downright silly to eerily accurate. They make great fodder for forums and can sometimes result in fun things to publish in online dating website profiles.

As promised, today I present links to two silly quizzes along with my scores. Please post the score of any quiz you take from this post, and answer today’s question.

First Date IQ Quiz – 5 Quick Multiple Choice Questions

My Score: “Your score is: 37 (32-50 points) Congratulations! Your First Date IQ is at the certified GENIUS level. You are socially aware, personable and sensitive to others. You’ll do well on your first date and all dates thereafter. Go for it!”

What is Your Dating Personality Quiz – 5 Quick Multiple Choice Questions

My Score: “Your score is: 22 (20 points or higher) Your Romantic Dating Personality: A True Hopeless Romantic - but definitely not hopeless! Your dates are lucky, indeed. You have the knowledge that will make your date or partner feel appreciated, loved, and cared for. Keep up the great work! You probably have many friends who could USE some of your dating advice. Send them this quiz, and if they score poorly, you can offer to sell them your upcoming ‘how to’ book on dating and romance!”

Today’s Question: When it comes to first dates, how nervous do you get about them and why?

 Photo © Fotografia Privata - www.freerangestock.com

Kissing quizzes were among some of the most fun and popular quizzes linked to on the forums at an online dating website to which I used to have a membership. The results were funny and sometimes right on the money. The quizzes and results always got people talking. 

Though I wouldn’t recommend posting kissing quiz results on your profile as it can look tacky to ‘brag’ about your skills in that department, it can be fun in a forum to include a link and start a conversation about it. You can learn a lot about people from how they respond to different things in forums. 

Just like yesterday, today I present links to two silly quizzes along with my scores. Please post the score of any quiz you take from this post and answer today’s question. Tomorrow’s post will include dating quizzes. 

What is Your Kissing IQ? – 5 Quick Multiple Choice Questions 

My Score: “Your score is: 25 (20 points or higher) Wow! You’re a virtual kissing genius. Your technique seems polished and passionate. Keep up the good work!” 

What is Your Kissing Personality? – 5 Quick Multiple Choice Questions 

My Score: “Your score is: 14 (6-14 points) Your kissing personality leans toward the planned, quiet type. Don’t forget that spontaneity and romance are important for fun kissing.” 

Today’s Question: How close where your quiz results to the truth about your kissing IQ and kissing personality?

Photo © Roxana Gonzalez - www.freerangestock.com 

I thought it was time for a little fun. One thing I used to do at one of the online dating websites to which I belonged was post links to funny or silly quizzes. It seemed to entertain the masses, and sometimes the results were hysterically accurate. Sometimes, the results made for interesting tidbits to include in online dating website profiles. 

Today I present links to two silly quizzes related to flirting, along with my scores. Please post the score of any quiz you take from this post, and answer today’s question. Tomorrow’s post will include kissing quizzes. 

What is Your Flirting IQ? – 5 Quick Multiple Choice Questions

My score: “Your score is: 21 (20 points or higher) Wow! You’re a flirting genius. You know the signs and signals. Keep up the good work!”

The Flirting Quiz 2 – Catch That Signal? – 5 Quick Multiple Choice Questions 

My Score: “Your score is: 15 (14-19 points) Not bad! Your flirtability factor is getting there. You can stand to brush up a bit on eye contact - but a crowded room flirtation would not be fatal at this point.” 

Today’s Question: All silly quiz results aside, how do you think you rate as a flirt and as someone who recognizes when they are being flirted with?

Photo by Chance Agrella - www.freerangestock.com

This is a bit of a tongue-in-cheek post for those online daters who just really need a chuckle. The following contain a little bit of humor as well as a little bit of reality. Overall, they illustrate that what you read in a profile is not always what you get with the person behind it.

First up, this humorous entry from InnocentEnglish.com that translates what some keywords in online dating profiles really mean.

Next, we have a blog from Torto and Friends that lists one person’s translation of what certain keywords really mean.

From ApprovedArticles.Com we have this more serious article the breaks down common profile phrasing and then gives translations and advice about the phrases.

The design section of this t-shirt ad from Zazzle.com further illustrates commonly misleading statements found in online profiles.

*Note: I am in no way affiliated with Zazzle.com and I am not encouraging the purchase of this t-shirt by linking to it in this post. I have included it in the post purely for entertainment purposes.

In my own life I have most commonly seen the misleading use of the terminology related to body build, incorrect ages listed, misleading statements revolving around marital status, and misleading statements regarding what type of a relationship (if any) the person in question is seeking.

Today’s Question: What are the top three words or phrases that you have found to be most commonly misused/to be misleading in online dating profiles?