Online Dating - Find Your Perfect Partner

When first embarking into the new world of online dating there are many things you must consider. You have to consider the safety of yourself, your PC, your home, your children (if you have any) and you must protect your identity until you are sure of whom you are talking to.

Next you have to ensure you set up a profile that is accurate and interesting. This will enable you to talk and get to know many people who are interested in people with profiles like yours. You may then email a few times and then maybe move to instant messenger services. You may talk for many hours before you decide if you want to get to know that person more.

The world of the PC might be new to you. If this is the case you need to learn a new language, the world of PC acronyms. You can manage without this but it is fun to learn them all and helps you understand what others may be saying.

Hopefully you will find someone special who you want to talk to all the time, maybe to speak to on the phone or by webcam and then finally to meet. Again at this stage there are many do's and don'ts that you need to be aware of before proceeding.

Once you are sure that you wish to meet (IRL - In Real Life) then you need to plan carefully where you meet, who you tell, how you know each other and what you are going to do.

Take each stage carefully and enjoy. You never know how it will end. I will do a new article each day expanding on the topics I have briefly touched on above.

You may like to know I met my wife through these services and have been happily married for 6 years!

Online dating can be fun but you must not neglect safety and common sense. If the internet is new to you or you have not used it very often then you must firstly protect your computer. You need to have a firewall and an anti-virus protection programme (for example Norton). These will help to protect you from hackers and viruses.

In order to protect yourself you should just let common sense prevail. Always use email only and do not give out your phone number to the first people you speak to you. Develop a relationship by email first. Make sure you use a reputable dating site, ask friends and co-workers of any they have used. At the end of this article is an example of one you can look at and search around without having to pay (you only pay a small fee if interested in contacting someone).

If you then find someone who you like and would like to meet then again be sensible. You need to protect yourself and your family. Remember the person who you are chatting to or maybe even falling for; may not be who they say they are. Although we all like to think everyone is open and honest there are people who use other people's profiles and pictures; they end up being who you want them to be instead of who they are. Do not invite anyone to your home, nor give them your address. If you feel that you have had enough talking on email and maybe on an instant message service and you would like to talk by phone then either ask for their telephone number (this will allow you to decide if and when you call them and it provides you with a genuine point of contact) or if you want to give them your number, a mobile number is better as it is easier to change if required. If you then want to arrange to meet them please arrange to meet someone public and with lots of people around. It is always a good idea to take someone else with you but if this is not possible then ALWAYS tell someone else where you are going and who you are meeting. Finally if you have children I think it is better not to involve them initially then no-one gets worried or hurt if the date does not go well and it turns into a one off meeting.

You are all set up and ready to go, the PC is secure and you are aware of all the pitfalls relating to giving away personal information. You have registered with a web site and now you need to find that special someone. Who are they? Where are they? How will you find them? Unfortunately there is no easy answer but here are some tips that may make the journey easier.

The number and quality of responses that you get from an online dating website depends mostly on your profile. A good profile may help you find the romance you have been hoping for and looking for, for life, an average profile may make users move on.

The first and most effective way to make someone stop and read your profile is your picture. It should be a picture that looks like you and it should be a good photograph, clear and distinct. If you can find a photo which shows you doing something different, a photo that would stand out to someone just glancing through, then this is the one to use. If you are looking for love and using the site as a real tool for this then don't be tempted to use a photo of someone else or one that is 15 years out of date. In the end you will get hurt.

A good opening line is the best way to get noticed, scan through other people's profiles and see what attracts you most. Then use this information to build your own opening line. Whilst going through other peoples profiles note down anything of relevance regarding yourself that you may not have thought of.

You can then complete your profile. Be careful about your language, spelling and punctuation. There is nothing more annoying than trying to read a profile that is littered with miss spelt words. Who would want to date someone who couldn't even spell their own name?

Have one look back at what you have written, is it fair? Is it accurate? Have you stated your strong points? Is there some humour contained within it? If you have fulfilled these points and not run yourself down then you have completed the ideal profile.

Sometimes perseverance is needed at other times you find the perfect person first time. Good luck, be careful but enjoy.