It is a good idea to keeps these nine safety tips in mind to make sure you are protected:

Tip number one is a one of the most important ones – make plans to meet your date at your destination. The last thing you should do is hand out your home address to a complete stranger over the Internet, and you certainly don’t want to invite a stranger into your home where the two of you are alone. Wait until you get to know the person a little better before you let them that far into your world.

The second tip is an extension of the first one. When you arrange to meet a date, make sure you are meeting at a busy, public place. You certainly wouldn’t meet a new person and head off into the wilderness with them five minutes later in the real world, and no matter how long you spend online chatting with someone, you should never do that with an online date either. There is safety in numbers and if you have a problem, you can ask for help from other people around you.

Tip number three hammers home the importance of location in protecting your safety. Just as you shouldn’t have your date pick you up, you shouldn’t spill the beans about where you live when you are out on the first date. Play your cards closer to your vest until you get to know someone.

Your behavior on the date can really impact your safety, and that is where tip four comes into play. One drink may be fine. Several drinks may impair you to the point where your date could take advantage of you if they wanted to. Getting intoxicated with a stranger is never a good idea. If it is a love match, you will have plenty of time for throwing caution to the wind when drinking in the future.

If you do decide to drink, remember tip number five. Keep a watchful eye on that drink. All it would take for things to go downhill very quickly is a few seconds for your date to slip something in your cup. Don’t let your drink out of your site on date number one.

Tip number six is for the ladies especially. Offer to pay your own way throughout the date. Some people think that if they buy your dinner, you are obligated to show your gratitude later. Avoid any confusion by covering your own expenses.

Tips seven and eight related to your cell phone. Keep it handy during the date, and make sure to give your date that number to contact you instead of your home number. Your home phone can easily be traced to your address – and you’re back to tip one again.

Last but not least, tip number nine is to listen to your instincts. If someone gives you a bad vibe pay attention to the feeling. If you listen to it and you’re wrong, the worst that happens is that you are a little embarrassed. If you don’t listen and you’re right, the stakes are way too high to pay.

You have been chatting on line for months now with a special someone. You know their favorite color, their favorite animal, and their favorite song. Maybe it feels like you know everything there is to know about them. Online dating can certainly provide a sense of intimacy that is nearly impossible to emulate in a real life setting. In a sense, online dating is kind of old fashioned. If you think about it, online dating is a little like old-fashioned dating, when couples sent romantic letters to one another, except today, couples send romantic emails.

Why e-mail is just not enough

So you have been e-mailing for several weeks, or maybe even several months. You feel like you could tell your online sweetheart just about everything, and email gives you the sense of privacy and confidence that you need to be intimate with your online boyfriend or girlfriend. Or perhaps this is a new person, someone you just met on one of the Internet’s many popular dating web sites. Perhaps you have even exchanged pictures. Still, no matter how much you think you know about your online sweetheart, you really don’t know all that much about them until you have talked to them and heard their voice. E-mail can only do so much for a relationship. Eventually, you will have to talk, and eventually you will have to meet in person. Here are some tips for getting to know your online love interest through the important medium of a telephone conversation.

Tips for getting to know your online sweetheart on the telephone

What should you look for when you first speak with your online love interest over the telephone? There are several things you should make a note to of when talking to your online sweetheart before the first time. First, take the time to get to know their voice. Do you find it pleasant? Although it may not seem entirely relevant, research has shown that people are attracted to certain distinct voices. Next, the most important thing is to gauge how your conversational style matches theirs. Do you tend to talk more? Do they dominate the conversation, or do they fail to keep up their part of the conversation? Did they use offensive speech or bad language? Does their style seem to match yours? Remember, this person is a potential partner. You want to make sure it is someone you can truly be open with.

Conducting the informal interview

One of the most important things you should do before at the meeting and online of interest in person is to conduct a kind of informal interview over the phone. Of course, you do not want them to know you are conducting an interview. You are simply trying to get to know this person better. You should spend at least twenty minutes chatting on the telephone. Confirm the personal information that you have exchanged over the Internet. Make sure that your online interest is consistent about their personal history. If the person appears to vary their answers considerably, you may want to be careful. This is a warning sign that something is not right.

Considerations for scheduling your first meeting

Before you schedule your first meeting with your online interest, you will want to make sure to take certain precautions. First, make sure you meet in a public setting. That means cafes, shopping centers, or other large open public spaces. Second, you want to make sure that you tell someone exactly where you are going and how long you will be there. Carry a cell phone and give your number to a trusted friend. Finally, make the plan with your online interest about the length of your date.

Often times that first phone call is a dreaded one. How to start the conversation, what to say and worst of all, how will it sound to the match? These are all legitimate questions that bounce around in ones head before getting ready for the first phone call with a person found through Internet dating services. Of course, these questions also bounce around in anyone’s head that has to make a first phone conversation with someone they just met. Some of the following tips will also be good tips for general first phone calls.

Before attempting a first conversation, it might be a good idea to check out the profile of the conversation partner. The profile, as well as e-mail correspondence that was taken so far, should give many topics and interesting points that can be used in a first conversation. Maybe the match has told about some of her or his hobbies, family connections, work related topics or more in the e-mails or profile. These points and topics are a good choice for the first conversation.

Generally, a good advice is trying to not be nervous, trying to stay calm. When people are nervous, it often happens that they forget what they wanted to do or say and therefore come across wrong. Staying calm, since it is only a phone call and there are many other choices for partners out there, is one good way to have a first phone conversation.

The phone call itself should be started like any other phone call. It does not need to be anything specific. Dialing the number, saying, “Hi, this is….” is one great way to start a phone call. Next, it might be time to mention that in the e-mails the following points were stated and it would be interesting to know more about it. Already a great conversation will be going on with this easy and simple way to start a conversation. Trying to be a hot shot on the phone often goes wrong. The other person can only hear, not see and trying to impress in a first phone call can ruin everything else.

First phone calls do not need to be long if they are meant to set a date and time for a first face-to-face date, but sometimes they can be long. The Internet is a connection to people all over the world, which does not only mean all across the United States, but essentially everywhere, even to China. Generally, you will not find many foreigners trying to find a relationship through American online services, but the match might be found several hours if nor more away. This can mean that first phone calls can be expensive, if both or one does not have a long-distance calling plan. A good suggestion might be to buy one or two long distance phone cards, since a first call it is not even clear if a calling plan is necessary. This also means that a first face-to-face date might include long driving hours or a flight.

Since this is can be expensive sometimes, instead of phone calls, video conferences can be a good tool. Online dating means that the person is already having access to an internet connected PC and all that is necessary now to have a video conversation is a webcam, a microphone and speakers. A good quality webcam can be bought for around 50 to 100 dollars and microphone and speaker, if not built into the PC already are around 20 to 50 dollars. This investment can be a good one considering that gas prices and airline tickets are very expensive.

OK, guys, you’ve got the date – now what? If you think you want that first date to turn into a second one, it is all about getting this one right. Sound like a lot of pressure? Well, you can relax. There eight tips will help you sweep your date off her feet with ease, so you can enjoy your date and feel about getting date number two.

First things first: sorry to break this to you, but hygiene counts. It counts a lot, actually. Don’t head over for your date after a game of b-ball with the guys without cleaning up in between. It doesn’t matter if your date is going to be casual. It doesn’t matter that she seems like a down to earth kind of girl. It doesn’t matter that if she falls in love with you, she will love you even when you are sweaty. These are examples of you reaching for an excuse not to take a shower. There is no such good excuse, and if you want to see a girl again, don’t even think about skipping the cleanliness stage.

Tip number two involves fitting that shower into your schedule wisely. In other words, don’t be late. If you need extra time to condition, plan it in there, but do not, under any circumstances, come rolling up to your date fashionably late. Unless of course your intention is to let your date know that you plan to treat her badly on date one, and it’s all downhill from there, in which case, show up whenever you want. She might not be waiting, but maybe that’s for the best.

Tip number three might again involve you suspending your impressions of what your date wants. She may seem completely un-materialistic and into the intangible things in life over flashy cars and big accounts. That may all be true – but she’ll still be thrilled if you bring her a little gift to your date. You don’t have to go overboard, but a gift will show her that you’ve been looking forward to spending time with her.

The fourth tip is to mind your manners. Are you treating your date in a way your mother would be proud of? In other words, are being gentlemanly. If your mother would swat you on the head and correct your behavior, you’re doing something wrong. In this day and age, women may not care of you get out of the car and rush over to open their door – but trying gets you brownie points.

Number five on the tip list is to button your lip and listen up. Some people are nervous talkers – guys especially – and you may find yourself running off at the mouth on your first date. Don’t do it. Conversations have at least two players, so give her a shot. If you want to talk to yourself, you can do that at home. If you’re worried that you won’t be able to reign in the nervous babble, think of tip six – plan your conversation. You don’t need to write a script, but get a few general ideas of conversation starters in mind so you can weather those silent moments without going on and on about you. Looking for something to say? Think tip number sever – compliment your date. Don’t make it insincere, but there must be something you like about her, right? After all, you asked her out. Let her know what you think makes her great.

The last tip, number eight, is to be honest. If you have gone through all of these steps and have decided date number two isn’t so high on your list after all, don’t tell her that you’ll call her soon. Thank her for a nice time and move on. False hope is a bad move.

There is no getting around the fact that the need can be hard. In fact, dating can be brutal. But then there are those dates, those magical nights that make all the other one’s worth it. Online dating has officially entered the mainstream. It is now considered one of the most acceptable ways to get a date, and hopefully, make a very real connection. But no matter how long it you have been on the dating market, chances are it that you will eventually make mistakes. If you know that someday he will probably make a small to huge dating mistake, you will be better prepared to handle it when that day finally arrives. Here are some tips for avoiding common online dating mistakes, and advice on how to deal when you can’t avoid them.

Not knowing what you really want

This is a common mistake. Many of us go on line and are quickly overwhelmed with the sheer number of profiles available for our perusal. Before you click on that contact button, take a moment and make a full appraisal of the situation. This is a crucial step that many on-line daters skip entirely. Ask yourself why you are attracted to this person. Is it for the right reasons, or is it simply because you find their picture attractive? The right reasons are that you seem to have a lot of things in common, you seem to share a similar sense of humor or outlook on life, and you seem to share common dating goals. You will save a lot of time and energy if you take a moment and decide whether it you really should contact that person. Not knowing what you want can cause a lot of grief and lost time.

Not being honest with the other person

Another common mistake that seems to thrive in the online dating universe is an overall lack of honesty and clarity. In a lot of people let relationships go on too long that should probably be ended much earlier. Do not try to spare anyone’s feelings. If you find that you are no longer attracted to someone, or simply do not see a future beyond a friendship, let the other person know right away. You are not doing them any favors by giving them hope. A tactful and honest communication style will get you a long way in the often complicated and messy world of online dating.

Letting relationships drag on too long before the first in person meeting

One of the major on-line dating mistakes seems to occur when two people let their online relationship get the best of them. This is especially common with couples that are shy, tentative, or simply lack an open communication style. If you find yourself very interested in the other person, you will want to set up a real date as soon as possible. Although it may be tempted to remain in e-mail and telephone mode, in order for a relationship to take flight, the two of you need to meet face to face. E-mail and phone relationships often languish or settle into a comfortable pen pal-like friendship. Avoid this scenario by being honest and open with your online in trust. Let them know right away that you are interested in meeting in person after a couple of weeks of the mailing and talking on the phone.

Moving too fast

The opposite of the previously delineated problem is moving too fast. Maybe you took one look at someone’s profile and you thought you were destined to be together. As romantic as this sounds, it is probably not very realistic. Before you set up an in person date, take the time to get to know the other person via e-mail and telephone. The last thing you want to do is expand the time and energy of a real date, and then find out you really have nothing in common.