Group therapy in a blog.
JDate
This Post Only Looks Unrelated
017 years
It looks like this post reveals the geek side of me, since it unites two geek-guilty pleasures, Conan and Star Wars. But if you view the video before, and wait for the last character to be introduced, you may put A and B together and remember, as I did, that there’s at least ONE (and let’s face it, probably more than one) JDate guy who uses that character’s name as his screen name.
JLove Freebie for Singles, through February 15
917 years
JLove, the online dating website that’s positioning itself as the market challenger of JDate (and founded by a former founder of JDate), is giving the gift of mail to single users this week…if you’re a non-premium member, you are being granted the chance to read your accumulated emails through the 15th for free. And if you want to send emails to a promising JLove user, that’s free too.
Of course, I would recommend that you not send emails like these two, the ones that were in my inbox when I redeemed this free offer…[original spellings preserved, of course]:
Subject: hello
“How are you? I like your profile and picture. You look pretty. Have a good weekend.”
Result: attempt to view profile blocked…”this profile is currently unavailable”
Subject: hello baby!
Message: I AM INTERESTED IN YOU. I LIVE IN MEXICO. COULD YOU DROP SOME LINES TO ME AT: [email address deleted] ??? THANKS YOU BEAUTIFUL BABY. I HOPE YOUR ANSWER. SO LONG.
Result: Moving to Mexico. Of course. We’re perfect together, can’t you see?
So don’t say JLove never got you anything for Valentine’s Day. Because three days of free membership privileges is better than you ever got at JDate, right?
“Single Mom” Takes NYC
717 years
Last night I attended a Barnes & Noble reading by Rachel Sarah, my J dating column colleague and single Jewish mom, not to mention author of the new book “Single Mom Seeking.” Then we met up for breakfast this morning, and schmoozed about my return from Israel, her return to New York from Berkeley, and how dating is different when your daughter is also a factor in any nascent relationship.
The book’s entertaining, with raw accounts that any dater–with or without children–will relate to. Everything from trying to conquer chemistry with rationality to choosing your words carefully when it comes to online dating profiles sounds eminently familiar to the modern dater.
I’m hopefully going to be doing a JW column about her soon, so stay tuned for that. In the meantime, check out her website and blog. And if you contact her or leave a comment, make sure to tell her Esther sent you…
Evan’s Amazing Gigs
617 years
He advises singles the world over through his work at E-Cyrano.com, and is brought on-board a recent JDate excursion to Club Med Turks & Caicos (where the sand is so soft and the water so clear and warm you wouldn’t ever want to leave) to be the dating expert in residence. A tough job, but someone’s got to do it.
From the report, it seems like everyone had a great time–which I somehow doubt. From the number of women quoted (5) vs. the number of men quoted (1, 2 if you count Evan) I wonder if that represents a) that women are more forthcoming about how they feel at events like this or b) that there was that much of a discrepancy in the ratio of participants in general. (I don’t know one way or the other, I just wonder.) And by the way, I have a friend who actually met her boyfriend (they now live together) at one of the JDate Club Med trips; but they didn’t “hook up” during the trip. They stayed friends with the group of people they hung out with at the resort, and sometime thereafter began dating in a more normal context.
Now, Yahoo Personals obtains Evan’s predictions for how dating will change in 2007:
“…the 20- and 30-something players stop playing and start getting serious. The dating sites realize that they need to produce a higher quality product to help their clients succeed and offer services that create better transparency such as background checks, rating systems and video chat.”
Do you have predictions for 2007 about how dating (online and offline) is going to change? If you could change one thing about the way dating has gone (for you or for others) in the past, what would it be?
Dating Advice From Celebrities: Harry Shearer
417 years
What? Harry Shearer’s single? Nope. But that doesn’t stop JDate’s JMag from asking him for dating advice that’s completely unrelated to the promotional tour for “For Your Consideration.”
GREG: You’re a married man; do you have any relationship advice for the singles on our website?
HARRY: Relationship advice… That would amuse my wife, if she heard that question being posed to me – there she is now! [phone ringing]. “Honey, don’t tell them that!†Just when you think it’s important to share your feelings about something is the moment when you should think twice about it…
I really wish he had just advised everyone to take their dating game to 11. Because it’s one higher than 10.
Let the Games Begin: “Surfing for a Sweetheart”
1117 years
There are endless sources of stress for a single person during the holiday season. Most of them center on the annual rite of passage known as “Determining What You’re Doing For New Year’s.” For years, this question has plagued me–seldom do I have a satisfying answer when the question is asked.
Occasionally I’ve thrown parties, which has been great, but stressful; other times, my friends have thrown parties, which have been great, except I drink too much and then have to stumble home. But on the whole, the “do you have a date” thing was so annoying that I was really glad to be going to Israel over New Year’s this year. I could evade the question and the event entirely! In fact, I could even pretend that we were still in the old year, if I wanted to!
But then I read this. A Miami Herald columnist is writing about her quest for a date by Valentine’s Day. That’s right–skip the December dilemma and head straight for the February FUBAR. Because in case you’ve decided New Year’s is stupid, this column will be here to remind you that Valentine’s Day is coming, and God help you, you’ll need a date for that too.
Aside from an initial “oh great, I have to worry about February 14th, too?”, I wish her luck. But more than that, I hope she stumbles across some essential truths that make it easier for the rest of us to date, or that she at least experiences some funny stories that she’s able to share with the class. But I have to say I’m skeptical. But if this quest does succeed, maybe one of us at JDA will do an online blog challenge like she is…it’ll be like The Biggest Loser, but with dates instead of weights, and online instead of prime time.
JDate Halloween Tips: Dress Like a Whore and You’ll Be Fine
317 years
That’s right…Halloween approacheth, like a slow, painful evisceration peeking over the horizon. Prepare for the endless string of horror flicks all over basic cable, a proliferation of candy corn at local supermarkets, and bloodied accident victims punctuating the streets with flecks of disastrous, panic-provoking seasonal color. (No, I’m not a big Halloween fan.)
And it wouldn’t be a holiday with an excuse for women to dress like hookers if JDate didn’t find a hook to self-promote. So they’ve released this handy “guide” to a successful Halloween, which includes tips about the most popular costumes (men enjoy the French Maid, and women the policeman) and how not to become a ghoul (don’t drink too much). And they’ve also announced a series of ‘Jewdunnit’ murder mystery dinner parties uniquely scripted for JDate members.
Of course, my posting about this blatant attempt to self-promote is itself an illustration that the PR strategy worked. It’s very meta. And very frustrating. But the upside? A hechsher to dress like a ho, if only for one night.
Corante Call to Action
218 years
Over at Corante, Dave Evans provides us all–daters and dating service providers–with a call to action that’s well worth the read. He calls it a rant, I say he’s right on the money, quite literally, as he anticipates the day that “dating and social networking sites begin to respect their members and cater to their deeper, more evolved needs,” instead of their current default, which is to “think singles are sheep with credit cards tattooed on their foreheads.” Right on, Dave…
I end this post with his inspiring challenge to us all:
If you work in the dating industry, go brainstorm something useful and cool for your site, create a new ad campaign, market to a new niche or tweak your search algorithm or find a new way to entice people to sign up for your site. Do something extraordinary that differentiates you from the competition.
If you’re single, go outside and do something outside your comfort zone. Talk to a stranger that catches your eye, strike up a conversation with new people, they are often more likely to connect you with someone than your friends.
Make it a Rosh Hashanah (New Year’s) Resolution. Do something different. What will you do?