Love
Looking For Love?
Taking a social media friend out for drinks and dinner can be a lot less nerve-racking than the traditional first date – drawn from their network page, you already have a potted history of that person’s interests, hobbies, likes and dislikes to help ease the conversation and avoid those awkward initial questions ("do you come here often...?").
Top Dating Destinations....in the UK
Take a personality test, get a counsellor, IM, email, 24/7 updates here, here and here...
Top Dating Destinations....in the US
According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project’s online dating survey, some 17m people, last year alone, attempted to find love online.
Niche Dating
Niche sites target very, very specific communities. And yes, traffic is often lower, but isn’t that the point. From a dating & marriage service that’ll solve your money and relationship problems to sites of a more serious niche nature.
Ethnic Origins
Ethnic-specific & interracial dates sites are ‘apparently’ booming.
A Social Network near you
Facebook ... social network or dating site? The web increasingly carries stories of people in love, who found one another as a result of a chance encounter on their favourite social network. When Mashable asked readers “Which social network is most likely to get you laid?” Facebook got approximately 800 votes, coming in second to MySpace and ahead of Friendster, Bebo, YouTube and Xanga.
Blasts from Past
School, College, Uni? Find old flames and new flames with sites like;
Google
Do what everyone else is doing and ‘Google stalk’ to find out everything you can about your ‘would be’ date.
Start Spreading The News
Beware... there’s nothing worse than discovering the day after your first date (as some first-date social networkers reportedly have) that, each time you went to the bar, your date was telling the online community what a thoroughly bad time they were having.
Docu-Dating or Tweet & Twitter
Social networkers are renowned for recording their dates for posterity with live Twitters and video podcasts. But, for those lucky in love, who can’t bear to be parted for even 5 mins – there’s nothing nicer than receiving regular tweets that show you (and everyone else who’s linked in) that your loved one is thinking of you.
Flaunt your new relationship status
Of course, when things go wrong, as any agony aunt will tell you, in the interests of keeping your dignity intact, it’s crucial to stay in control. And there’s no more dignified and controlled way to end things than to change your online relationship status – as most famously and recently demonstrated by former Prince Harry sweetheart Chelsy Davy.
‘Apps’
In today’s fast-moving interconnected world, long distance relationships now have an increasing chance of survival – particularly with an array of animated social media applications that allow instant messaging. These apps also offer a range of unique and personal ways to say "I love you."
Take a look at these from the Apple Store:
DIY Love
Star in your own romance novel. Create personalized books, where you star in your very own erotic novel. A great addition to the personalised trend.
Customize your own sweets. Keep it short, sweet and low on calories with these heart-shaped ‘digital’ candies. Want real personalised chocs – a quick Google will throw up loads of choices.
Dejected, Dysfunctional, or Dumped? ‘Real’ chalky-tasting sugar sweets styled on the ubiquitous love hearts have messages like I MISS MY EX, DORK MAGNET, WE HAD PLANS, I'M HOT INSIDE, CELEB8 THX2U.
A Picture Tells. Create gifts and keepsakes - hardbound photo books, calendars, greeting cards. Choose a theme, drop in your photos, add text, and click to buy.
Spray it, Don’t Say It. Express your love on the controversial wall that divides Palestine and Israel. Pay 30 Euros and a Palestinian sprays your message on the wall and emails you 3 digital pictures. The money supports the Palestinian NGOs.
Make Your Moo-ve. This much talked about London based print company, is much more than that. It turns images into useful things. Greeting cards, note lets, mini cards, postcards, or sticker books.
The Unfortunate TV ads aside… Moonpig is a modern personalised gift card service. 1. Choose a Card from over 7000 designs. 2. Personalise it 3. Preview It. 4. Send it to yourself or direct to your loved one. It’s printed and posted in 24 hours.
Design a Love Tee & Make Money. The much talked about Threadless – a community based tee company with an ongoing open call for submissions. But if you don’t feel like pouring your heart out in public Google a made-to-order one.
Veg Out. A heart-shaped potato was recently up for grabs on eBay in the UK. So if you need to raise any money to cover you V.Day expenses – you could check your own salad drawer for loved-up veg.
Seal The Deal
When a relationship becomes more serious, some social networks are now offering the prospect of virtual marriage. Of course, it has no legal status, but it is one way of showing your friends and family just how much you love each other.
Pop THE Question on any Social Network
There are those who have chosen social networks as their preferred channel for popping the question for real. Of course, proposing marriage in front of one’s friends and family, one needs to be pretty confident that the answer will be "yes". Otherwise, the only remaining course of action may be to commit social media suicide.
Get Married on MySpace
TV production company Endemol is offering one lucky couple the opportunity to get married on MySpace, with the happy event planned and witnessed by MySpace users – what better way to become a legend in your own online community?!
You can also have an online ‘wedding’ at:
Marry Your Virtual Love
SECOND LIFE MARRIAGES - Oh what a carry on....
Marriage Apps
ipropose - When you can’t do it yourself, use this Valentine’s Day to pop the question.
Wave Goodbye
Sometimes things go wrong, as any agony aunt will tell you, in the interests of keeping your dignity intact, it’s crucial to stay in control. And there’s no more dignified and controlled way to end things than to change your online relationship status – as most famously and recently demonstrated by former Prince Harry sweetheart Chelsy Davy. If they’re just not getting the message, try these antisocial networking techniques.
Protect yourself from pesky callers. See who’s calling, even if they've withheld their name or number. You decide who can phone you directly, who goes straight to voicemail, and you can cancel a number so you'll never be bothered again.
SLYDIAL
Dump your lover on voice mail. Connect directly with another person's phone voice mail, bypassing the traditional ringing process that often results with someone picking up on the other end.
Write Them Off. Document your break-ups anonymously online with this collection of break up letters.
Dial 0 For Rejection. A local phone number that you can give out, either to dump someone, or to reject someone who asks for your number.
The Automatic Dear John Generator. Dump him/her by email. It's ‘apparently’ the easiest way to end your relationship.
Complete History of My Sexual Failures. If you’re on the receiving end, then you’ll relate to this protagonist. Waite has been chucked, every which way, so settle down with a bag of popcorn and cheer up.
