Of the dozens of podcasts, radio shows, and call in TV shows on the air today, it comes a surprise to me that no advice show has tackled the confusing world of online dating. Yet the first one (that I’ve heard of) is here in the form of an internet radio show by online dating site PlanetLoveMatch, who have begun to broadcast their new talk show PlanetLoveMatch Radio, from their website and LATalkLive.com every Thursday night from 7 to 9 pm.

The show features two hosts, Josh and Jen, who share their own dating stories and mishaps each week for their listeners, who will likely be young(ish) singles interested in the world of online dating. PlanetLoveMatch Radio will also regular guests, from comedians to actors and matchmakers who will share anecdotes and advice on love, sex, dating and relationships. While entertaining and light-hearted, the show also aims to advise its listeners on safety and privacy in online dating, two aspects that have been dangers to online daters in the past.

We wish PlanetLoveMatch radio luck, although we sure wish we’d thought of it first… ;)

Story via DigitalJournal

via virilemag

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, this week is National Pet Peeves Week, which is funny because my pet peeves exist all damn year long. However, along with things like “people chewing loudly” and “one-uppers,” and “text messages with numbers in them,” people also have pet peeves about dating!

To celebrate this irksome holiday, dating site Zoosk asked 1500 of its members what some of their biggest pet peeves were, and shared them with the world via PR Newswire, so we could all make sure not to do (too many of) them on our next dates! From the press release:

Women say their #1 first date pet peeve is when their date is “smelly.”

• Women want you (and your breath) to smell nice! Single women ranked their top pet peeves on a first date as follows:
  • #1 pet peeve – when my date is smelly (45%)
  • #2 pet peeve – when my date is “too occupied with a cell phone” (22%)
  • #3 pet peeve – when my date is running late (13%)
  • #4 pet peeve – when my date talks about himself too much (5%)
  • #5 pet peeve – when my date peppers me with questions and treats the date like a job interview (5%)

Men say their #1 first date pet peeve is when a date is “too occupied with a cell phone.”

• Turn off the phone and put on deodorant! Single men ranked their top pet peeves on a first date as follows:
  • #1 pet peeve – when my date is “too occupied with a cell phone” (51%)
  • #2 pet peeve – when my date is smelly (21%)
  • #3 pet peeve – when my date is running late (10%)
  • #4 pet peeve – when my date peppers me with questions and treats the date like a job interview (7%)
  • #5 pet peeve – when my date is wearing too much makeup (7%)

Who knew there were so many things that bothered people? Well, honestly, probably everyone. But it’s interesting to see the differences between things that bug women on dates and things that get under the guys’ skins! It makes sense though, women do tend to be a bit more attached to their phones, and women are probably much more sensitive to their dates’ hygiene. PR Newswire shares more of singles’ pet peeves, and whether or not people can get past them!) at the source.

What do you think? Do you have any pet peeves that will make or break a date? Or are you more forgiving? Let us know in the comments!

The above chart might be a funny jab at marriage and the stereotypical  idea that when people get married they become angry sexless bores, but it is also a visual representation of all the things wrong with marriage and how you could hypothetically create a happier one (assuming marriage is an equation, which obviously, it is not). It comes from the book and blog “Spousonomics” by Paula Szuchman and Jenny Anderson, which provides a humorous, but fairly factual look at contemporary marriage and its mathematics.

The “existential dread” included, much of this chart is pretty accurate… married couples do tend to begin concentrating on trivial things and ignoring the important stuff. So how can you use this chart to ensure you don’t find yourself in a Hulu-filled, sexless marriage? By actively working to not let that happen. Many studies have shown that, for example, having sex a couple times a week (even if you’re “not really in the mood”) can improve a couple’s intimacy and relationship.

So what is this chart doing on a dating advice site? Well, it is especially important before you get married that you haven’t already fallen into the marriage-mindset. Dating is supposed to be the most exciting part of a couple’s life together, so as you get into a relationship, keep Spousonomics in mind, and flip that chart upside down!

The bloggers at Tastebuds took those stats and compared them to their readily available info on what its users’ favorite bands are. Assigning a score to each person’s willingness to hook up on the first date, they were able to compile this graph, which shows that the hardest rock fans like Nirvana and Metallica-lovers are most likely to put out. In the middle are more mid-range bands like Arcade Fire, The Beatles, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Pink Floyd, who would probably make out with you and then shyly push you away and tell you they have to go, and down at the bottom? Coldplay and Adele fans, heart-wrenching love-song fanatics who would rather DIE than even kiss you on the first date.

On a first date, asking people what their favorite band is has always been a cheesy “icebreaker” sort of question, but now that we know that the type of music someone likes could give you a clue as to whether or not you’re going to get to third base that night, well… maybe we’ll actually start paying attention to what they answer! ;)

Just like there are some brilliant people who just “don’t test well,” apparently there are people who would make great significant others but just don’t have the time or the online communication skills to lock down a dating in the new millennium. According to Jezebel, there is a Craigslist ad floating around that offers a position for a “Virtual Dating Assistant,” someone who will take on individual single clients and write a profile, headline, and e-mails for them. The ad is as follows:

Virtual Dating Assistant (U.S.)

My business is growing and I need help creating male and female internet dating profiles, headlines, tag lines, and writing emails to women that clients are interested in. My clients are 28-62, professionals – so no PUA.

Each profile would be custom – I’ll send you a written summary.

Emails have to be customized to the person (no create, copy and paste emails that are sent to all) and targeted to get positive responses.

Profiles and emails have to be a combination of fun and professional.

Completed profiles are 300-350 words, and emails 30-75 words.

I would need a fast turnaround – the longest is 48 hours for each profile and every 10 emails. Writing has to be good -when emails get a positive reponse then bonuses maybe paid (TBD).

PLEASE READ – WON’T BE CONSIDERED UNLESS THIS PIECE IS INCLUDED. For consideration, SEND a sample of an email that you would consider writing to a woman.Writing for internet dating is different than magazines, publications, etc. so someone with previous virtual dating assistant experience preferred.This is similar to ghost writing as email needs to sound like the client’s profile.

The better and faster someone is – the more work s/he will get.

Confidentiality agreement and 1099 will be completed before start of assignments.

We wonder how well a system like this could work out without the client and the dating assistant working very closely. How could you possibly convey someone else’s personality without talking to them for several hours? And if that’s not a priority, how would one transition into a real date? “Hi, my name is Tim and I have never had a conversation with you until now so please please don’t actually ask me anything that we’ve talked about k?” That sounds like the beginnings of a VERY successful relationship, right?

Would you be someone’s Virtual Dating Assistant? Or, more importantly, would you let someone else write your profile and messages to a potential date?

The movie Hall Pass is a comedy about a man and wife who get so sick of each other that the wife gives the husband a “Hall Pass,” or a week off marriage to do as he pleases. To accompany the release of the movie, a UK company decided to poll a population of married couples about the unfortunate fizzle that comes with marriage. Along with the sad news that the “7 year itch” is now a “3-year glitch” (couples are now claiming to lose interest and begin taking each other for granted after 3 years instead of seven), they came up with a list of the top ten reasons that make people lose interest in their partner. The results were as follows:

1. Weight gain/lack of exercise, 13 percent

2. Money & Spend thriftiness, 11 percent

3. Anti-social working hours, 10 percent

4. Hygiene issues (personal cleanliness), 9 percent

5. In-Laws/extended family – too much/too little, 9 percent

6. Lack of romance (sex, treats etc), 8 percent

7. Alcohol – drinking too much, 7 percent

8. Snoring & anti social bedtime habits, 6 percent

9. Lapsed fashion-Same old underwear/clothes, 4 percent

10. Bathroom habits – Stray nail cuttings etc, 4 percent

So basically if you want your marriage to work you have to remain a sexy gym rat who likes to spend money and works 9 to 5 and showers twice a day and doesn’t have any family and is romantic and doesn’t drink and doesn’t snore and dresses nice and cuts their nails in the garage. EASY PEASY.

Have you ever been in line at the grocery store with a frozen pizza and a tall can of PBR, and then you see the hottie in front of you buying a bottle of expensive wine and the makings of a gourmet meal? So then you quietly inch backwards and move to another line? That was me a couple days ago and boy was it embarrassing. However, there are also times when the line is really long and the checker is really slow and you catch a cute guy or girls eye and you two have a short little chat that is cut short by the awkward, “HAVE A NICE DAY” from the cashier. You don’t know if each other are single or even if they were interested, and may not run into each other again for a long long time.

Suffice it to say the grocery store is just as social place as we internet-and-text happy folk get to experience these days. That must be the thought process behind the creation of Asda Dating, a UK site that matches potential daters based on their shopping choices. According to the site, 71% of Asda shoppers believe that the store is a better place to try and meet a mate than at a pub or bar, so they set up a site where singles can look for a date while browsing the local grocery specials. The whole “meet based on your food tastes” seems a little strange to me, but it would be interesting to know which of the frequenters of your local store are actually single, so you can stop drooling over that girl in workout pants who’s always tempting you by buying your favorite beer.

With the surge in weird, nonsensical dating sites cropping up all over the place, this one actually strikes us as less stupid than say, a vampire themed dating site, and more stupid than a book themed dating site. If anything it proved that maybe I should get a little more dressed up when I go buy cheese in bulk.

What do you think? Would you ask someone out at a grocery store? And do you think food opinions can spark a first date?

One of the most used searches to get to DatePro is the saddest two-word phrase on the planet: “Friend Zone.” We have stewed over and contemplated the depressing, blue balls inducing area known as the Friend Zone for some time now, trying to decide if there is a secret passage out of it, or a way to skip the room all together, or if perhaps, unfortunately, it’s a region you’ll be stuck in forever.

We might have found the reason, and its quite the double-edged sword: The Pill.

We read a post over at the OnlineBootyCall blog a few days ago (a blog which frequently presents pretty convincing material on why people should avoid marriage) that talked about recent research that showed oral contraceptives might actually contribute to the massive divorce rate. According to the study they cited, The Pill causes a woman’s body to believe she is pregnant, screwing up her hormones, and causing her to be attracted to men who remind her of her father or brother (or some other comforting male presence), instead of being attracted to a man she should reproduce with. Because of this, many times when a woman in a long term relationship (or marriage) decides to stop taking oral contraceptives, her hormones switch back to normal and her body decides it is not attracted to her boyfriend/husband anymore. The shift can be devastating to a marriage.

So what does this mean for the dreaded Friend Zone?

Well, it’s possible that a girl who you believe you have great chemistry with, who is exactly your type and vice versa, might not be attracted to you in “that way” because of her birth control! It’s not unimaginable to believe that women who are on birth control (which is a large percentage of the dating-aged populace), might be looking in the wrong place for love… and it’s not their fault. The hormones in their very-important daily medication could be screwing with their brain and causing them to see you as a loving brother figure instead of someone they’d want to be in a romantic relationship with.

Unfortunately you can’t just tell a woman “hey stop taking the pill ’cause I think we’re meant for each other,” so these findings might be more negative than positive.

The only good thing to come out of is the knowledge that hey, you might be right. She might be perfect for you and you for her, but she’s literally drugging herself into not being attracted to you.

So, you know. That’s a pleasant thought.

via glamour

Your dating profile headline is a part of your persona that is oft overlooked in the internet dating world. People put tons of thought into lengthy “About Me”s and “Who I’m Looking For”s, and yet leave their virtual first impression as a dull one-liner from a movie or an awkward, “hey, I’m new here!”

The fun bloggers at OnlineBootyCall recognize that your headline can be a make or break situation… someone might not even click on your full profile and find out about the awesomeness that is you, just because you opted to put “hey” as your headline.

Head over to the OBC blog to read more about how to improve your online dating headline.

Every time we think the bloggers at OKCupid couldn’t possibly come up with another statistic-based post that holds our attention from start to finish, they do it again. This time, with “The Best Questions for a First Date,” which gives great tips to those of us who walk into first dates feeling like we’re about to sing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl, terrified we’ll screw it up (get it? Because Christina did that?).

They did a bunch of number-y mathish things (blogger here — not good at math), and came up with a bunch of friendly, unobtrusive questions that correlate very high with the real important questions we all think about while on a first date.

For example, if you’re wondering, “am I going to get laid tonight?” you might want to ask, “do you like the taste of beer?”

And if you want to know if you and your date have the same politics, a fun but revealing question is, “Do you prefer people in your life to be simple or complex?”

Interesting, right? For more on the best questions to ask on the first date, check out the OKCupid blog for the rest of the stats.