A general view of online dating and in particular Irish dating online.

I was talking to a friend recently who had just been on a date and decided that while he was really nice, he just wasn't for her as he was too quiet. When I related this story to a male friend he was shocked. He claimed that men had to go on three dates at least before they actually were themselves, so a woman judging them on the first date really made it difficult. This prompted my poll two weeks ago - how many dates should you go on before deciding yes or no and it I'm glad to see that in first place was 2 - with 46% of the vote but in second place was 1 with 35% and the magic 3 dates only got 12%. Maybe we should all give more people the benefit of the doubt, particularly if there is nothing really annoying about them. Chemistry doesn't always appear on the first date, it can sometimes take a little longer for the magic to work.

I look forward to reading your comments this week - remember best comment of the week wins a months free membership on Maybefriends.com - Great People, Great Friends, Great Dates.
And congratulations to sister of zorro for winning last weeks prize.

Well, one minute I was moaning about my single status, the next it all turned around! Which brings me to the feast or famine theory. I have not been single in a long time. People always react a certain way to that (ie don't really react at all) until I drive it home by highlighting the duration of my non-single status with the following three markers: the last time I was single Diana was still alive, nobody had heard of the euro and we got plastic bags for free. Prior to six months ago I looked at single friends with sympathy but also, I admit, pity and even disbelief. How hard could it be? Every time I went out there were loads of attractive men knocking around, there for the taking, and I assumed my friends, wonderful though they are, must be doing something wrong. But lo and behold no sooner had I dusted off my dancing shoes after getting unceremoniously dumped than I realised what they were talking about. The Irish dating scene is a cruel minefield. I, as part of a couple, was like a penniless shopper – you go shopping with no money, the shops are full of gorgeous clothes aching to be purchased. Yet when you do hit the shops on payday there's just nothing that fits, appeals to you, or is within your price range. When I became single I was shocked to find that there was not, as predicted by my mother, a huge queue of men awaiting my arrival. All the pubs I had been dying to go to as a singleton were now suddenly filled with loved up couples and men who just didn't fancy me, plain and simple. They turned away in their droves, until one landmark night when finally I managed a random snog'n'jog. Two nights later I went out beaming from ear to ear and radiating the confidence only seen in one who has recently pulled, and I managed to land a second catch, only this time instead of us both jogging away he asked for my number and I (in what I now realise is an unusual move) gave him the real one. I was seeing him for about a fortnight when I met someone else. Then it all fizzled out and I was alone again. This pattern has replicated itself for the last few months, and then this week after six weeks or so of a drought I find myself back in the feast zone. I had a date set up for Saturday, so went out on Friday night safe in the knowledge that I was not past it and was very promptly approached by a rather hot young man. Went to the date on Saturday delighted with myself about Friday and- you guessed it - I scored again! So spent today texting both and beaming with pride (and being vaguely concerned about glandular fever). I now have a brief window of opportunity in which I can pull, because as soon as the wind changes and a famine zone kicks in, my attractiveness will undoubtedly take a nose-dive. And so the cycle continues...

Labels: Date About Town - Irish Dating

Last weeks poll was about photos - without question the no. 1 result was "I'll show you mine if you'll show me yours" with 73% of you opting for this answer. So those of you who still haven't got around to putting your photo on your profile I would really urge you to do so. It increases your chances of appearing high up in the search results, it hugely increases the number of responses you get, and it's only fair that you put it up because we know that you want to see a photo of the person you're contacting so they should be able to see yours.
There are loads of options for photos so the shyer types can elect to just show it to your favourites or to only send it as an attachment when you want to. But if you want to get the most out of the site I would strongly recommend that you select either the option for everyone to see it or for members only to see it.
So I'd love to see lots new photos being added this week and you can see your popularity on the site soar!
Congratulations to Toffee for winning best comment of the week. I look forward to reading your comments this week and remember comment of the week wins a months free membership to MaybeFriends.com - Great People. Great Friends. Great Dates.

Labels: Irish online dating - more photos

I made a mistake last night. It happens rarely, but when it happens, it HAPPENS. The mistake in question was Drunk Maybefriends-ing - an ugly phenomenon which should be reserved for Christmas week and, if you really have to, Paddy's day. If you're tempted to try it, don't. It's not funny and it's not clever and the chances of you getting an actual date with any of the people you've been working on so far will plummet further with each line you type. I was out earlier to support a few friends who were in a talent show, which meant that for much of the evening I was standing alone with a free bar to hand and a seemingly endless supply of tokens to spend at it. So needless to say when I got home at two I was full of the joys and all set to have a good natter. My flatmate moved out a month ago after 4 years of co-habiting bliss, and given that she never failed to appreciate me throwing open her bedroom door with a kebab from Zaytoon at 5 in the morning (the feeling was mutual), I was sure the MBF people would greet me with similar excitement. It started off harmlessly enough, with me sending a few random flirts. I then picked up speed and gaily caught up with some people who had been quick-noting me this week. But then throwing caution to the wind I thought I'd try to get onto a new level with my email friends. In fairness one of the reasons I wanted to do online dating was because I felt it would cut out the rubbish and allow everyone to be honest under cover of the internet. And I've noticed that, forget your flirts and your quick notes, emails are where the real action happens. So I decided to go for brutal honesty and let them know the real me. By day they had received breezy enough mails about my interests, my job and friends, with the odd reference to their profile, one or two funny comments, a smattering of smiley faces and polite questions about themselves. By night with the aid of a free bar in Camden Street they got a rant about my ex boyfriend, a rant about the Dublin Dating Scene and a rant about my overdraft, including actual figures and cross references to my credit card. There then followed a brief interlude in which I pondered on the pros and cons of the new Taoiseach, and soon enough back to ranting, this time about my boss, frozen sweetcorn (just doesn't taste the same) and the new leaving cert timetable. I genuinely don't know where these rants came from. I was in great form! Came in this morning expecting a barrage of emails where people thanked me for my honesty and asked me to meet them tonight as they just couldn't wait any longer. Nothing. Not so much as a flirt. I think I'm starting to realise why I'm still single.

We have a new guest blogger - "Date about town" who will be filling us in on her latest encounters in the Dating scene in Ireland. Here is her first installment - I look forward to reading your comments on it......

When in a social setting, if approached by a man who has a friend by his side, I will on 9 out of 10 occasions brutally ignore The Approacher and make eyes at the friend. This is because since my schooldays i have believed that the guy who plays the role of friend in these situations is probably a damn nice person. After all, he has agreed to act as a wingman. He has agreed to laugh at his friend's jokes and subtly leave when a snog is on the cards. He has agreed to sacrifice his own needs in order to support his friend who is in need of assistance when out on the pull. Should The Approacher at any time need to leave the conversation briefly, the Friend will confess that The Approacher is a great guy with unquantifiable hidden depths, while also ensuring that nobody else approaches the girl in question. The Approachers in my experience had always been far too sure of themselves, playing the part of man about town with a swagger, and that wasn't what I wanted at all. I was in a pub recently and was approached by a loud, confident rugby type called Breffni (obviously). So immediately I checked out Alan, standing staunchly but unobtrusively by his side. Alan had the look of the all round Nice Guy about him. While Breffni barked about the property market I slipped into a reverie involving Alan doing voluntary work at the ISPCA every Saturday, Alan insisting on holding doors open for me, Alan proclaiming to all who will listen that I was the best thing that ever happened to him. Before long Breffni went on the inevitable trip to the bar which left Alan and myself excitingly unchaperoned. This was Alan's big moment - his cue to tell me how Breffni had wanted to meet a lovely girl like me and how although he said he worked in sales, he was actually a paediatrician and just didn't want people to know. But I was jerked dramatically out of my daydream when Alan's tongue was suddenly shoved so far down my throat I thought I'd gag. I was disgusted! At least Breffni had taken the time to chat. Alan had completely shafted him and to make matters worse then asked for my number quickly as Breffni'd be back any minute (having bought drinks for all three of us, poor misguided fool). I met a friend a few days later who works with Breffni and Alan and I mentioned that I'd met them. She was all excited because while Alan's a notorious womaniser and general eejit, his friend Breffni apparently does a huge amount of work for Greenpeace and she thought we'd be great together. So ladies, if a man approaches you, give him the time of day. And Men, god love you, you can never win!

Remember best comment of the week wins a months free membership on MaybeFriends.com - Great People. Great Friends. Great Dates.

Labels: Irish online dating - Date about Town.

Schmoopy raised an interesting point in the comments this week why do people not fill in their profiles?If you have joined a dating site you clearly are interested in meeting new people so why do people leave their profile virtually blank? It's like opening a shop, inviting people in, and then having nothing for them to buy. Filling in your profile should be a pretty easy thing to do. Tell people about your personality type, what you like to do. What you dream of. If you weren't doing what you do what would you like to be doing. If you're the arty type talk about that. If you're the intellectual type talk about that. Basically be yourself but let people know who that is. That way you will attract people who find you interesting to them. You don't have to be hilarious, mad, the life and soul of the party you just have to be you. So if you haven't already done so, fill in your profile and then watch your mailbox start to fill up:-)i look forward to reading your comments on this. Remember, best comment of the week wins a months free membership on MaybeFriends.com - Great People. Great Friends. Great Dates.
Labels: Irish online dating - Profiles