Social networking sites have morphed a lot over the past couple of years. Back when Friendster was all there was, I know a LOT of people who found love (and lust) on that site, as well as friends, business networking contacts, etc. etc. But now that the social networking stratosphere is significantly fuller, things get a bit more complicated.
The era of Myspace was a favorite for lots of people I know. It was so easy — if you had a unique Myspace URL, it was a great way to send a potential online date a simple link that included some photos and snippets about you, but didn’t disclose your most personal information (like your last name, place of work, etc.). While Myspace allowed for lots of disclosue, the culture wasn’t wild about putting too many details in, so it was a pretty safe and secure way to show someone a snapshot of your personality without disclosing too much sensitive stuff.
And it had another great application — as an online dating network. I know TONS of singles who used to use Myspace as a way to search for and contact other compatible singles. Now that Myspace’s heyday is over, those singles are lamenting all the changes to the online social scene — private profiles mean you can’t search for cool matches as easily, and Facebook’s dominance means it’s not a good dating platform.
Did you catch that, readers? Facebook is NOT a good dating platform! First and last names, places of work, detailed geographical and employment info, and no unique URLs means bad news for online dating. Facebook is a great tool in many ways, but this is just not an area where it shines.
So for now, stick to hand-picking which details your potential bachelor(ette)s receive, and happy (and safe) dating!