A recent survey indicated that over 40 million singles have used or are currently using online dating services. It’s a huge business that has ushered in a whole new era of dating with its own unique set of rules.

Of course you know about online dating safety and how to protect yourself from unwanted attention. But do you know the unwritten rules, the tips and tricks that will make your online dating experience much better?

Keep Your Expectations Low

It has been estimated that 96% of the people who use online dating services fail to find a compatible person with whom to have a dating relationship. Part of the reason for this, though, is that most people approach online matchmaking with unrealistic expectations. When they don’t find a perfect match after one or two dates they give up and try something else.

Despite what the advertising wants you to believe, your perfect match isn’t going to just fall out of the sky one day. It takes diligent searching, careful screening, and lots of dates to increase your chances of success. Keep your expectations low key; don’t set yourself up for failure by getting too excited when you see an interesting profile or meet an interesting person.

Don’t Respond Too Quickly

Most online dating services won’t tell you this because they make money from email messages between members, but don’t be too quick to answer when a message comes in. Many online dating experts suggest waiting 24 to 48 hours to respond, and also say never to respond on a weekend or holiday. Their reasoning is that when you respond too quickly it makes you appear desperate and also doesn’t allow you to pause and carefully compose an appropriate response.

Yes, it’s exciting when someone notices your profile and makes contact, but don’t let the excitement run away with you. Relax, take a deep breath, and if necessary refer back to the previous section on maintaining realistic expectations.

Keep It Light

When you answer an email, keep the tone light and friendly. Online messages are NOT an appropriate avenue for providing your entire life history or unloading about your past hurts and current emotional state. Don’t be shallow and flip, of course, but do be conservative with what you write. And, as always, don’t reveal personally identifiable information via online messages.

Don’t Drag Things Along

Once you have exchanged a few messages, it’s time to either meet in person or move on. As a general rule of thumb, if more than three to five messages have been exchanged and you haven’t set up a date yet, then it’s time to say goodbye. Don’t allow yourself to be sucked into email communications that drag on for weeks or months at a time. Email is not a substitute for meeting and getting acquainted in person.

Tell The Truth

One of the great temptations of online personal ads is to embellish the truth about you. Whether it’s shaving a few years off your age, overstating your career achievements, or understating your body weight, remember that the truth will be revealed once you meet someone in person. It’s pointless to lie about such things and it undermines trust right from the start. As Mark Twain once said – “When in doubt, tell the truth.”

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Everyone will agree that it is much more difficult to find a special gift for a person you are close to, no matter what the occasion. In such cases people usually spend hours and hours without luck. It is the same for me, I always need lots and lots of time when I'm looking for a present for someone I love, no matter if it is for a birthday or any other occasion. Just by accident I once found a great special present for my sister.

I was actually very lucky as she is very limited in what she can wear, being allergic to all types of metal jewelry. So that bracelet I found was made of two lines of glass beads and was just in the colors that she likes and wears a lot. It was stretchy so size didn't matter at all and the most important - there was no metal on it at all.

On another shopping trip of mine I luckily came upon a special gift for my godchild. She has always been into the heart shaped things, and what I found was a wide variety of different colors and sizes of hearts shaped out of glass. I also found a heart shaped bow made of glass so I purchased some hearts and the bowl, making a very nice and warming set of crystal hearts.

After a few lucky occasions I realized that it was actually much easier to get those special gifts when they are not the priority and you are not looking for them at all. This made me take the decision and now I am looking at such items all year round.

It is better like this because first there is no pressure and shopping itself becomes much more pleasant and relaxed and second it saves me money, because shopping all year round I often get the sale prices, and even if they are not on sale it is much easier to get a thing each month instead in getting all together in December.

And in case I already managed to convince you that it is better to do it my way, I will give you some advice on how to make it even easier to find a special gift. It is very simple but it helps a lot. Just make a list of all the beloved people you usually buy for and make sure to have it always with you. Any time you find a gift suitable for a person on your list just buy it and cross the name off.

Then when holidays come you just buy for the ones still on the list. It is also a good idea to arrange a place where to store all those, because it already had to buy another present because I could not remember where the one that I bought earlier was. Being sensible and organized in purchasing the presents for you closest people can both help you save money and time finding a special gift, and make holidays much more relaxed and pleasant.

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