At the end of last semester, I tried my hand at something that I never thought I would try: online dating. After seeing several friends have immense success, I figured I might as well see what it was all about. I decided to make a profile on okcupid.com and I’ve got to say, it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The website is free and fairly easy to use, so I quickly started filling out the questions and I quickly realized that I didn’t know the answers to some of the questions, and I was writing about myself. Writing “my self-summary” is like someone asking “tell me about yourself.” I never know how to answer that question! It forced me to really think about who I am as a person and what I want out of life. Not only did I eventually find success, but I also learned a lot about myself that I wouldn’t have otherwise.
The thing I like most about OkCupid is the questionnaire function. The range of questions they ask is huge, from “In a certain light, wouldn’t nuclear warfare be exciting?” to “Is astrological sign important in a match at all?” and everything in between. This is how the site creates a percent match, either as a love match, friend or an enemy. The more questions answered, the better a match potential. For example, I have answered 254 questions, so my highest percent match possible is 99.6%. The site generates a personality page, by taking each answer and likening that to a personality trait. It’s an easy way to get a glimpse of someone’s personality before deciding whether or not to talk to him or her! There is also the option to pay and use other functions of the site, like a rating system, but I found that unnecessary.
I absolutely recommend this website to anyone that is looking to meet someone. Within a month of being on the site, I found the perfect girl and we are now dating. The only con to the site that I found was that there are definitely some weirdo’s on it, but I think you’ll find that on any dating website. If you have patience and are willing to put the effort into making the best and most accurate profile possible, then give OkCupid a try! From my experience, here are some do’s and don’ts that I found useful in sifting through the creepers to find my perfect match:
Do’s
– Be honest! If you aren’t honest, how can you expect others to be?
– Be yourself. Writing a personal profile is hard, it forces you to really examine who are, so don’t try and be something you are not.
– Post recent pictures that show every side of your personality. And please, please don’t post inappropriate pictures – it might send a message that you don’t mean.
– If the question/answer function of the site allows you to explain your answer, utilize it! Sometimes you may relate to more than one answer, so take the opportunity to elaborate.
– Think about your answers before you submit them – don’t say something you don’t mean. First impressions are key; it can make or break if someone talks to you.
– Meet up with people, but be selective and smart about it. Meet in a public place and make sure friends or family know your plan in case of an emergency.
Don’ts
– Answer questions like you think they should be answered. Remember, be honest and be yourself!
– Don’t forget to use spell-check. If you have misspelled words in your profile, it tells the world that you just don’t care about what you’re doing.
– Talk to everyone; trust that gut feeling you get when someone is being creepy!
– Give up. You can’t expect that the first person you talk to will be your soul mate. It takes time!
– Don’t say every single thing on your profile; leave things a mystery for conversation.
– Don’t ever say or do anything that makes you uncomfortable.