technology and dating

In this digital age, men and women aren't just hitting bars and coffee shops to snag a date. More and more, they're heading to the Internet. In fact, 50 percent of men have met a woman online according to a recent survey. It's obvious that online dating has become the norm, and for good reason — the Internet gives you more options because you can cover a wider area of partner possibilities (as in, the entire globe). And while your chances are better of finding a compatible mate on the worldwide web than, say, your small town of 13,000 people, the Internet can't help you if you don't give off the right signals. First impressions are everything — even virtual ones. Beef up your online dating profile with these tips, and snag yourself one of those "many fish" your mother is always talking about.

• Make sure you're fishing in the right pool —You wouldn't go to Craigslist's Casual Encounters to look for a serious relationship, so don't go to Match.com if you're just looking for a little fun on a Friday night. Sites like eHarmony and Chemistry have had a lot of success by getting scientific about the dating process (taking your likes and dislikes and matching you up with someone who's compatible), so make sure you're ready to commit before diving in!
• Lose the negativity — No one wants to meet up with a Debbie Downer, so if your online dating profile is riddled with sarcasm, negativity, and pessimism, you can be sure that you won't be getting many date requests any time soon. This doesn't mean you have to be fake, just keep the "I'm too cool for school" attitude to a minimum.

See a few more tips, including some important dos and don'ts for your profile photos, when you read more

AskMen.com and Cosmopolitan teamed up to release the results of the Great Male/Female Survey. The poll of more than 80,000 men and women around the world looks at the current state of love, health, fashion, and life for both sexes. Of course, we're a bit more interested in the survey's findings on dating in a digital world.

• Both men and women are nearly equally comfortable with a partner friending an ex on Facebook. Forty-four percent of men say this is fine, and 40 percent of women are not bothered with exes keeping in touch.
• More of the surveyed women are tempted to read a partner's Facebook messages or emails. Twenty-nine percent of women would not peek at this correspondence, compared to the 36 percent of men who refuse to look at private messages.
• Online dating? Sure! Only 37 percent of men and 44 percent of women would completely rule out the prospect of finding a mate through a matchmaking website.

With the intricacies of digital life, social networks, and online dating moving into the mainstream, perhaps it's now OK to make this assumption: both men and women are looking at tech life through the same (digital) lens.

It's fairly easy these days to snoop on your spouse, and according to a recent study, quite a few of you are already doing so. The study, which polled 1,000 people online, found that 37 percent of married couples have spied on their spouse at one point or another. The most common (and easiest) way to snoop is to check their call history and emails. But there are a few other sneaky ways you could monitor your significant other's digital life as well. Check out our list below.

• Check their web browsing history — Checking your web browser may not give you any juicy details, but it could help you narrow down where your spouse spends their time online (dating sites, perhaps?).
• Monitor their check-in apps — Apps like Google Latitude and Foursquare give you a running tab on places your spouse has checked in at. If they've checked in with a "friend," you'll see their name pop up as well. Now Google her.
• Hack in to their cell phone SIM card — Read cell phone text messages with a little tool called the SIM Card Spy — a favorite among cell phone hackers like Kim Kardashian.
• Get a Video Girl Barbie — Don't act like you haven't thought about using Video Girl Barbie as a spy cam. Everyone has!
• Use GPS — By tossing a GPS device in your car, like the WinPlus Beacon GPS Tracker ($75) you can track your spouse's location on Google Earth, and even get SMS text messages of their whereabouts.

In my social circle, there are more than a few gals asking themselves "Where are all the single geeks?" If you find yourself pondering this question as well, don't fret. We've rounded up six places you're likely to find some geeky love online and in the real world.

1. Online — According to new research, 66 percent of Gen-Y daters know someone who found love online, and there are lots of places to look. From Cupidtino to DateCraft (the insanely popular World of Warcraft dating site), you're sure to find that special geek wandering the Internet. You may even stumble upon a geek worth talking to in forums and comment sections on your favorite websites. Keep your eyes peeled — they're out there.
2. Sunnyvale, CA — OKCupid's recent Valentine's Day poll shows that there are more eligible geeky bachelors in Sunnyvale, CA, than anywhere else in the country. It's in the heart of the sunny, Silicon Valley, so if you're ready to settle down with a hard-working software engineer, tech expert, or entrepreneur, then head west my friends. You may also get a good tan in the process.
3. Google+ — The piping hot social network from Google is fresh out of the kitchen and already has over 10 million members under its belt. According to new research, 66.4 percent of Google+ members are male, so while there's no "looking for love" relationship status to select on your Google+ profile, chances are, you'll come across plenty of single geeks on this social network.

See the rest of the list when you read more.

The men of Swingers championed a rule that fundamentally changed how fellas of the '90s plotted post-date communication. They said a man should wait three days after a date to call a woman so she would want them more. Preposterous, right? Today the possibilities for contact are so varied — email, work email, IM, gChat, Facebook, Twitter, text and so on — that it can be harder to gauge interest or commitment based on the time frame and way someone reaches out. In this installment of my Tech Dating 101 series I will address how technology and texting have changed the moments and days after a good first date. To see what I think (spoiler alert: it's complicated), read more

Saying there are a million ways to connect with people online isn't much of an overstatement. The trouble is, all that online communication and connection alters in-person interactions. People now use Facebook to get to know one another and, for better or for worse, judge one another on their online activity, friends, and reputation. When is it OK to say "no" to being online friends with a real-life pal or potential love to protect your face-to-face relationship? You'll find out in this installment of our Tech Dating 101 series.

A co-worker recently shared that a close friend and former flame of hers, whom she has known for more than 10 years, requested to follow her on Twitter after he started following one of their friends in common. She went to click the "accept" button but realized she had protected her updates for a reason, and though she knows this man well, respects him, and doesn't have secrets from him, she isn't ready for him to know what she thinks about Vampire Diaries or her lunch. She asked me if I thought it was OK to ignore his request, even though she will inevitably have to face him. To see my advice, read more