Have you decided to turn to the Internet to help give your romantic life the extra push that it needs?  Five years ago, you probably would have been teased relentlessly for being so desperate that you have to turn to your computer for love. Nowadays, Internet dating has become quite the norm.  In fact, nearly every single person (and many married people for that matter) has used the Internet in one way or another to help land a date or to otherwise seal the deal with someone they are trying to hook up with, so why shouldn’t you?

If you have decided to use the Internet as a dating tool - or even if you have already started - there are several things you should keep in mind in order to make certain it is a positive experience.  While the Internet can be a great place to look for a quick hookup or even for a potential long term relationship, it is also festering with psychotic and neurotic people who know a sucker when they see one.  So, follow these tips and you will be certain to have a good experience rather than one you have to retell to the police officer after you wakeup chained to a bed with your kidney missing.

Tip #1:  Know What You’re After

Before you start prowling around on the Internet, get an idea of what you are looking for.  Are you looking for someone to wine and dine and turn into a long-term commitment, or are you looking for someone who is likely to give you a little action right away?  Are you looking for someone to just hang out with, or do you hope to find a friend with “benefits?”  Believe it or not, there are dating sites geared toward each of these desired outcomes, so you are better off spending your time at one of the sites that caters toward people who are looking for the same thing as you.

Tip #2:  Get Your Game On

Now that you know what you are looking for, it is time to get your act together.  If you are going to use a dating site to help you find romance, you might want to have someone help you out with creating your profile so you don’t sound like a complete dumbass.  In addition, you want to come off as confident without sounding cocky, so work on how you are going to present yourself online.

Remember, it is a whole different game online.  The ladies will be reading what you have to say, so your body language and voice inflections won’t help you get your point across and can make it more difficult for you to express your thoughts.  At the same time, you will likely find that being located several miles away from the woman you are trying to hookup with will make it easier for you to say things you might not usually have the balls to say.

Tip #3:  Don’t Fool Yourself

Countless marriages and relationships have been destroyed thanks to online dating.  Remember how I mentioned that the distance makes it easier to say whatever you are thinking?  While this can be a good thing, it also makes it really easy for some chick to tell you a bunch of bullshit that you believe.  It also makes it easier for you to pour your heart out and think that she really “gets” you, but things can be a whole hell of a lot different when you are actually together.

So, before you sell your house and fly halfway across the country to be with your Internet sweetheart, make sure it is the real deal.  In addition, don’t start giving out personal information such as your home address or your work phone number until you know things are on the up-and-up.  The last thing you need is some psycho, clingy broad calling  your job every hour and asking why you never call her anymore.

Tip #4:  Keep Your Money in Your Pocket

There are many women who sign up with online dating sites or prowl Internet sites in search of “love” or a “good time” who are really just looking for a quick buck.  These women have no problem with investing a little time in you in order to string you along before asking for money.  Of course, they can be sneaky in the way they do it.  For example, they might need money for an airline ticket so they can leave an abusive husband.  Or, they may need cash for a mortgage payment so they don’t lose their house.  I once knew a guy who flew all the way to Colorado from Indiana to meet his Internet lover.  After he got a little action and returned home, she told him she was pregnant and needed money for an abortion.  The sucker fell for it and, after he sent her the money, she left him to go back to her husband.

Tip #5:  Stay with a Group

Internet dating sites are always advising women to meet their online companions in a public place so they don’t get taken advantage of by some creep.  While this is sound advice for women, it is also good advise for men. Let’s face it, you don’t really know who this woman is and you don’t know who else may be coming along on the date that you don’t know about.  For all you know, her crazy ex-husband is following her or she may have set up some plan with a couple thugs ahead of time.  Meet in a public place and stay in the public eye until you have had the opportunity to really get a feel for what she is after before you take things back to your place.

While following these five tips is no guarantee that you will find the perfect woman, it will certainly reduce your chances of hooking up with a lunatic or otherwise getting yourself screwed over.  So, use them wisely and have fun!

So, you have had your eye on some sweet thing and you are trying to figure out how to woo her, are you?  Whether you just met her at a party last week or you have been working with her for over a year, there are a few rules of thumb you might want to keep in mind when trying to win over that special lady.  Of course, I am no expert myself, so I decided to turn to some of my female friends and ask them give us guys a few pointers on how to find our way to their hearts.

Tip #1:  Don’t be a Chump

One thing I heard over and over again was that women don’t want a guy who is a real pushover.  As you might suspect, finding the proper balance between being a romantic guy and a loser chump is quite thin with the ladies.

“I don’t want a guy who will let me walkover him,” said Elizabeth.  “I mean, I don’t want a guy to be a jerk or anything, but I also want him to have his own opinions and to feel free to express them. If I find a guy who just agrees with me on everything and does whatever I tell him, I will tend to just use the guy and get tired of him right away.”

It seems that the ladies don’t want a doormat when it comes to forming a serious relationship.  Most of the women I talked to wanted a man to be a man - after all, it is our differences that attract us to one another - while still treating them like they are someone special.  Good luck striking the proper balance with the more fickle of the sexes.

Tip #2:  Watch Out for the Friend Zone

We guys have always been weary of falling into the friend zone - and it turns out there is good reason for our fears.

“It is really hard to date a guy after you have become good friends,” comments Irene.  “I know we always tell guys we are afraid of losing them as a friend, but the truth is that is just hard to feel romantic about a guy you consider to be a friend.  We pretty much classify guys as either ‘friend’ or ‘possible boyfriend.”  Once you are in the ‘friend’ category, it is hard to move out.”

Does this mean you should just avoid being friends with every girl you meet?  According to the women I talked to, no.  Most of the women I talked to said they basically know which category you fall into shortly after meeting you.  If you fall into the “possible boyfriend” category, showing your sensitive side and lending an ear to them during their time of need will only help solidify your chances of hooking up later.  If you fell into the “friend” category, on the other hand, your only chance of getting somewhere relies upon you showing what a great guy you are.  So, what’s the bottom line?

“Make a good first impression,” advises Irene.  “Then, you will have a better chance of falling into the ‘possible boyfriend’ category and getting somewhere with her later.”

Tip #3:  Leave the Lines at Home

“I hate it when a guy approaches me with some overused line,” said Samantha.  “It also pisses me off when I see a guy hitting on a bunch of women and then he hits on me after having been shot down.  It tells me the guy is desperate and just trying to hook up with any chick he can find.”

If you are trying to capture the interest of someone special in your life, forget about trying to make her jealous by paying attention to other girls or by laying on thick with the pick up lines.  This will only make you look like a player and will get you nowhere with the lady you have your eye on.  If she is looking for a good time, your lines may be enough to get a roll in the sack, but she won’t look at you as relationship material.

Tip #4:  Be Confident

“There is a difference between being confident and being cocky,” commented Sarah.  “I like a guy who appears to be comfortable with who he is and with his opinions, but I don’t want someone who is full of himself and thinks he is God’s gift to women.  In fact, I’d rather have a guy be awkward and shy rather than act like an ass.”

So, even if you really aren’t too sure about where you stand with the lady you are interested in, project a sense of confidence when you are around her.  This goes back to not being a chump, as most women prefer a man who is strong, capable of making decisions and willing to be his own person.

Tip #5:  Go for It

“If a guy is interested in me, I would rather he just come out and ask me out rather than sit back and play games,” said Cindy.  “I mean, we aren’t in high school anymore.  If I don’t have an interest in him, it’s not like I am going to make fun of him or want nothing to do with him anymore.  Besides, when he tells me he is interested in me, it shows he is confident and willing to put himself ‘out there’”

By asking her out as soon as you start feeling interested in her, you can successfully follow all of the advice the ladies offered:  you don’t come off like a chump, you avoid getting trapped in the friend zone, you don’t fall back on using your lame lines and you show confident.  So, if there is someone you have thinking about lately, go ahead and ask her out - you just might be happy to see where it leads you.

OK, stud, just picture it – you are out on the prowl for a little action and the club you just walked into is full of women you wouldn’t mind taking home for the night. You walk through the club and try to pick out the lucky lady you will pursue for the night while trying to judge whether or not you have a real shot. But, would you really know if a chick was into you or not? If you are like most guys, you can’t figure it out unless she slaps you upside the face and screams “Fuck me now you hot, sexy man!” Even then, you might not be too sure if you really have a shot. Yeah, we men can be pretty obtuse sometimes.

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