Michelle's Real Life Experience with Online Dating

Michelle's online dating story first become available for online publishing after she agreed to a candid interview with the owners of the dating site she was once a member of. With the written consent of Michelle we bring to you her real life stories about the people she met online and the details about her online dating liasons.

Michelle 29 years of age - St Kilda, VIC. "Firstly, I would like to start by letting others know that the use of online dating sites altered my life beyond any expectation. It would often amaze me to encounter most of my single girlfriends sit with their laptops most days chatting to men on-line that they had never laid eyes on before. The whole thing got me thinking and given that I split with Chris (my ex) just a few months prior I figured there was nothing stopping me from trying online dating, what did I have to lose."

"Attention was something that I had not had for along time so I was completely flattered when I wandered into the singles chat rooms and my chat request message box lit up like a Christmas tree. I had heard through friends that the women were popular on these sites and they were right".

"I too found myself instinctively logging in at the first available opportunity on a daily basis as my ego was loving the attention. There was never any need to initiate a conversation new opportunities presented on a daily basis."

"Although I had made lots of new online (fantasy) friends I did not agree to meet anyone for four weeks until it felt right and I was confident with what I was doing. I had heard a lot of stories about people's actual and real appearance differing from their online dating profile so when I agreed to go on a date with Steve, I checked out his Face Book page to verify his identity."

"My very first internet date took place at a local coffee shop in inner city Sydney. It was evident of a mutual attraction as we seemed to bond quickly. Because we had chatted on-line for respective weeks leading up to the date, there was an unspoken expectancy already reinforced."

"After coffee we moved onto the World Bar at Kings Cross then several hours later we went back to his house for a 'coffee' with the unspoken anticipation of something more. We sat around for an hour talking. Suddenly I noticed the sun coming up, I realized this was all a fantasy, I felt ashamed and embarrassed then abruptly left."

"In the cab ride home it dawned on me that I had been living in a fantasy world. In the following days I accepted that I was more focused with stroking my ego than I was finding someone special. I was going about the online dating thing the wrong way. I would say to people thinking of using online dating, forget about creating a false attraction caused by weeks of chatting before a real date, just go on lots of dates until the right man comes your way. Trying to assess real chemistry before a real date is a mistake."

"My advice to anyone looking to meet men or meet women online would be to try and not get swept up in the whole fantasy online world, just go on lots of dates and meet new people until the right person comes along."

"As a result of my new online dating strategy, and nine dates later, I met Matt and we are now engaged to be married."

A Freaky Ending to My Online Dating Story

So if you read my last post about free dating sites youll know that I am heading out to meet this girl I met on a free dating site and she looks oddly familiar.

Ok, so I get out to her city, and we meet up at a red robins, we have lunch and we are both just discussing how incredibly strange it is that we recognize each other without having any contact ever save for the contact in the free dating site.

We finish dinner and decide to go see a movie. After the movie we head back to her place, and because we snuck a few bottles of wine into the theatre, she suggests I stay over so I dont have to drive 8 hours after drinking. This is where the story gets funny. As we walk into her dark house, she guides me to the living room and sits me on the couch, she tells me shell be right back, I look over to her computer and see that the free dating site which we met on is on the monitor, guess she was gonna message me. Anyways, she flicks on the light as she walks out of the room and it hits me.

I see all the family photos on the walls and there in the slick gold frames I see photos of my parents, my aunts, my uncles this girl was somehow related to me! I jumped up and called her in, as she comes running in I point to the picture and cringe thats my mom.and my dad. She dropped her glass of water and in that brief moment of realization we both burst out laughing turns out I met a third cousin on a free dating site, I hadnt seen her since I was a kid, thats why I was able to recognize her, I used to play with her whenever our families would visit So, the moral of the story is, if your gonna use a free dating site or already are using a free dating site you might just want to do a background check on any people you meet while on a free dating site we are good friends now by the way, so not all was lost.

A Weird Online Dating Story

I have a funny story about something interesting that happened to me while visiting a free dating site.

Yes, the story does have a point, and yes, there is a lesson to be learned from it.
I call this story, the beware of who youre talking to on free dating sites, yeah its a crappy title, but its a work in progress so cut me some slack.

Oh well, it all started about 4 months ago when I decided that for the first time ever, I would attempt to find love over the internet. Id never experienced this mystical feeling they call love, so I felt there was nothing to lose. I joined a free dating site, actually, two free dating sites, but I later dropped one after I discovered some hidden fees. Anyways, so Im surfing this free dating site, checking out all the features and of course, all of the beautiful women. When I come across this one girl who, who looks oddly familiar. I cant quite put my finger on who she was, but I know I had seen her face before. Turns out she was born and raised about 8 hours from me so the likelihood of us ever meeting was very slim. Well, on with the story now, so I message this girl who I am immediately infatuated with, I mean shes really really cute, so I message her via free dating site and await her reply. About two days later, after Id almost completely forgotten her, I get a message stating oh my god, you look familiar, do I know you? WEIRD right?

I mentioned nothing about recognizing her in my message so this was just freaky. Oh well. So we chatted it up on the free dating site quite a bit, probably for a month or two before we actually decided that I would head out there to meet her. Shoot, Im out of words, look for part. 2.

This is My Funny Little Free Online Dating Story

I met my husband Mark through free online dating. You could call it is coincidence, but the two of us had vaguely known each other during our senior high years.

The night after prom during our senior year, the two of us were partying at a friends place. My friend; Victor, was chosen as the prom king and we decided celebrating his crowning. Victor was seeing my best friend Linda, they made a great couple. Though I had my share of high school romances, I wasnt involved in a relationship at the time.

Anyways, coming back to the party, we were all enjoying ourselves celebrating when Victor emerged from the crowd with a dashing, tall, well-built young man who he introduced as his good friend Mark. Marks presence created a buzz in the party and the other girls could simply not keep their eyes off of him.

I dont know if Mark was a shy person or if he just didnt like me, but he hardly talked with me aside from some courteous chit-chat. Mark looked uncomfortable in the crowd so I thought I should ask him for a dance, he quickly responded with a sharp No!

I was pretty shocked with his response, and told him I was just hoping to help him relax and enjoy the party. I felt pretty embarrassed and left soon after.

Fast-forwarding about 7 years now, I decided to join a free online dating community, I met some very interesting people. I found that free online dating was a lot of fun.

One day, after being a free online dating member for a few months, I got a message from Mark. I liked his profile; he was a good looking, tall, well-built figure, and was working as a marketing consultant in a reputable firm. So I decided what harm could come from one date.

We started chatting the following night on the free online dating site. Our relationship was great, we shared a lot in common, we grew up relatively close to each other, shared friends, went to the same parties, but we hadnt yet realized exactly who we were talking to. The chatting on our free online dating site brought us very close in a short period of time.

So, one day while we were on free online dating, I told Mark about this pompous guy I met during my final year prom night party. Casually Mark asked me where I did my schooling and when I told him, he couldnt stop laughing.

I cant even begin to tell you my reaction after Mark explained to me that he was the pompous guy I had met that night! Whenever we chatted on our free online dating site, we would laugh about it all over again.

Mark and I dated for two years on the free online dating site before tying knot,

Im grateful that free online dating was able to re-unite me with the love of my life.

Craziest Online Dating Stories

There is no denying as the revolution of internet and dating sites has compelled hundreds of thousands of people to find their match online. You do not have to go here and there to find out your match, because there are in fact plenty of online dating websites made available for you, wherein you will easily be able to discover a reliable partner online. More importantly, these online dating websites have discovered many astonishing, intriguing, funny and craziest online dating stories. Some of the craziest online dating stories are mentioned below:

Sara Pauline and Redcliff Brown

Both of them met with each other on the success match online three months ago. Pauline is 27 years old girl, while Brown is 29 years old guy. One of the most wonderful things about Sara is her jokes. On the other hand, Brown is also a very funny person. Once, Sara sent an instant message to Brown via an unknown ID. In this email, she did express her exciting and natural feelings of love, obsession and romanticism about Brown and more importantly, Brown was really shocked by reading this email from an unknown ID. When Brown traced the lady, it was found as Sara. Both of them were laughing on that incident. Hence, this was the funniest and craziest online dating story of Sara and Brown.

Roger Muller and Julia Robertson

Roger and Julia began their relationships via perfect match online. Once, Roger put an instant inquiry to Julia's account from his email ID. As a result, Julia gave her instant response. Who are you? May I know about you Roger? Yes, what could I do for you? In response, Roger proposed Julia straight forwardly by saying that you are the spirit of love and romance, so please don't overlook my offer. I really admired your pictures, as you were looking rock over there. Consequently, Julia took her time and sent him an instant message via her email ID. Both of them made a date in a King's restaurant in California. Their relationships got stronger and stronger with the passage of time. All of a sudden, Julia proposed Roger for matrimony. Roger gave a shocking response to Julia by saying that sorry mate I cannot make marriage with you, as I am already a married person. Julia had not a single idea about Roger's marriage at all and she was completely shocked by hearing this from Roger. As a result, they were willing to be friends with each other and would never disrupt their loving relationships. This was one of the craziest online dating stories I have ever seen in my life span.

Online Dating Safety: Are You Falling In Love With a Scammer?

For the online dating industry life is good right about now. According to Jupiter Research, revenue generated now stands at over 500 million. Keep in mind this represents numbers compiled for 2006. Internet dating took a giant leap forward last year by being featured and talked about in quite a number of national and local media outlets so you can pretty much figure they will easily surpass that mark for 2007-2008.

However the online dating industry is not the only one making a fortune. If there is one thing you can be sure, it is that there will always be people who try to game the system. Say hello to the scammers.

No question online or off it is important to be on your guard but with internet dating being on guard takes on an added urgency. One of the major benefits of online hookups is also one of its most devastating drawbacks. The power of being anonymous has many people running wild but it has become an incredible tool for online scammers.

This puts you in a tough position. You meet someone online and everything feels so right. Time flies when you two are chatting and you feel it will not be long before the first meeting.

And it will be a first meeting alright. The meeting of your money and their bank account. The whole key with these scams is to play so heavily on your emotions that giving the scammer money almost seemed like your idea.

Like anything in life there are no one hundred percent guarantees but there are some things you can watch out for.

1. Goodbye Contact System You two have been communicating pretty regularly with no problems thanks to the dating service you both have signed up for. Now however, they want to bypass that and start communicating with you directly via email; specifically your primary address. Why? Do not be afraid to ask that question. Tell them you want to keep things as they are and gauge their reaction? Do they get angry and impatient about it? If so watch out.

2. The Too Good to Be True Photo
Your online photo shows you at your best but their photo looks like the step out of a high caliber fashion magazine. You do a double take and think to yourself that you have struck gold. Chances are you haven't.

Many scammers are experts are finding a photograph online and cropping it until it fits their profile. The whole point is to get your hormones racing way out in front of your reasoning capabilities as well as your instinct. When you see one of these, take a step back and do some more investigating.

3. They Love You. Really?
Regardless of how much time has passed they start laying it on thick. They love you and cannot live without you. Where did this come from? You admit the conversations have been terrific but keep in mind you still have not met this person. Whether scammer or not, anyone professing their unrequited love should have your instincts ringing like a ten alarm fire bell.

4. The Hard Luck Story.
They would sure love to meet you but wouldn't you know it they just do not have the transportation or the funds. In Nigeria (currently the scam capitol of the internet) the hard luck story has been raised to an art form.

They are stranded in a hotel by an angry desk clerk who has confiscated their airline ticket. He is holding it as payment since your online dating partner's belongings were stolen and their whole family was wiped out in a single engine plane which crashed on the runway as they were on their way to the bank to deposit your partner's inheritance check. Get the idea?

5. Money Time
You've kept your wits about you for the most part but now the gloves are off. They want money and they want it now. The communique get more desperate and are now coming faster than the hard luck stories. In fact they start giving you specific instructions about transferring money.

You are not online to be anyone's personal atm machine. If you feel the need to continue the communication let them know in no uncertain terms you will not provide money for anything. If they are a scammer that will probably end the "romance" right there. If they persist end all communication and if possible contact the proper authorities.

There are many people who are genuine and really do want to meet you online; for that reason do not be afraid to give some of the online dating services a chance. But we live in a world where many others driven solely by greed are out to commit cyber pick pocketing. Just remember the five tips listed above, keep your emotions in check and your instincts on high alert.

Nigerian "419" Scam Affects Online Dating. Man in Canada gets Last Laugh

There are very few people left in the modern world who have not opened an enticing email claiming that they have won an international lottery or offering a percentage of a large amount of escrow capital. Often, these types of dishonest solicitations originate in Nigeria where scamming Westerners is a huge industry. The variety of ways in which such scams are perpetrated is seemingly endless, and it was interesting and saddening to hear a story of one such scam the started as a man took his first step into online dating in Canada.

A recently divorced individual from Ontario was lonely one night, and he decided to see what all the commotion surrounding internet dating in Canada was all about. He was lonely and looking for a bit of companionship to get him through the long and lonely winter. After spending hours going through all the big online dating companies, he finally picked one and paid his money to join. It did not take long before he got an encouraging message from a cute lady who claimed to live several hundred miles away. The man was excited to get any attention, but he found it strange that a fellow Canadian would have such poor grammar and English skills. It was soon forgotten when his online friend's son got into a terrible accident overseas.

Many of us are very sympathetic, but the man in our story was well-versed in all the ways that people try to steal money from others. Through some research and a few pointed questions, he was able to find out that his new acquaintance was actually logging on to a computer in Lagos, Nigeria. Understanding that country's reputation for scams, he decided to turn the tables on this lady, and he acted like he was going to send her money. It took several weeks before the perpetrator realized she was the one getting scammed, and in the process she wasted countless hours and real money on internet fees.

Fortunately, this story does have a happy ending. Although our protagonist was initially disillusioned with online dating in Canada, he got back on the horse and found the free dating website http://www.kisscafe.com. While everything on this site is at no cost to members, he was especially fond of the video-chat function - the website he was almost scammed on did not have this option. Now, before he even starts talking seriously with anyone, he hits them up on video-chat to make sure they are who they claim they are. This is a great way to stay protected if one is online dating in Canada.

Of course, most people who are dating online in Canada are legitimate singles looking for love. KissCafe is a community of individuals who look after each other, and it is clean of nefarious practices like deception and scamming. In general, dating in Canada is safe and fun, but people must always be aware of who they are dealing with on the internet.