Very Special Entry: Blogs, Dating & Shameless Self-Promotion

Dating is hard. There, I said it.

I love being single, the potential of a new adventure with an as-yet-unmet Prince Charming, the freedom of painting the town and shamelessly flirting without remorse, and ultimately not having to think of the well-being of anyone but myself at the end of my day.

I do not so much love the loneliness when I could really use a shoulder to cry on or someone to snuggle with, the lack of meaningful date for any number of weddings and hallmark holidays, or (heaven forbid) the bit of longing I feel when I’d actually welcome someone else to consider at the end of my day.

And so, I date. And, as you can see from my Ridiculously High Standards it does not always go so well. I’ve tried all sorts of avenues for finding potential mates. Meeting men in bars, at extracurricular activities, at work, setups by friends, and on any number of online dating websites.

One place I haven’t met any dates yet though, is through this blog. I didn’t really think about it until I read a great piece by Al3x (via Richard), regarding blog-dating.

In my eyes, telling a blogger “hey, I love what you write every day, and you look kinda cute in that 200×100 pixel photo on your site” seems a lot less shallow than picking up a random attractive stranger at a bar. A blog date starts from mutual intellectual respect, and that’s a healthy thing.

Go forth, then, and mack. The only thing you have to lose are your TrackBacks.

You know Alex, I agree completely.

And really, all of this is a lead-up to say that while I may not have had any success finding dates via my blog, what I write about them afterward seems to be popular. So if you enjoy reading about my escapades, and would like to see me speak and/or pick my brain a bit about dating, blogging & the interactions and implications thereof, you may want to sashay your way over to the Northern Voice site and register for the conference on February 10th & 11th.

I’ll be participating in a panel on “Blogs and the Bedroom: Blogging and Relationships” as the token “single blogger” with the likes of Maryam Scoble (wife of megablogger Robert Scoble), blogging betrothed Chris Pirillo and Latthana ‘Ponzi’ Indharasophang, and married bloggers Ted & Julie Leung (and if any of these names, links, or statuses are incorrect, please email me!).

Of course, the entire conference was a blast last year (and really the kick in the pants I needed to take my site to the place it is today), and I recommend you go anyway. But if I’m the inspiration you need to make the committment to go, then so be it. And if I’m that kind of inspiration for you to go, don’t forget to ask me for a drink afterward!

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