Matchmaking is not a new concept. It has existed for hundreds of years, in almost every different culture and society. Sometimes family were the matchmakers, setting children up with neighbors at a young age. Other times, agencies or third parties were used and a matchmaking fee was paid. So the introduction of online dating sites likes eharmony.com and match.com isn't something new. Instead, they are just a new spin on old practices. There are certainly many benefits to Internet dating and match making services. With technology today, Internet dating is a powerful new medium to meet new people and potential partners. For years, I laughed at the idea that you could meet, fall in love with and have a relationship online. However, my views on this have changed greatly in the past several months. I am now a believer in the revolutionary combination of online matchmaking and programs that facilitate communication, such as Yahoo Messenger and Microsoft Netmeeting XP.
There are many benefits to using a matchmaking service. First, you establish the criteria that you are looking for, which allow you to weed out the possible crazies. Personality tests and profiles help to match people up not by sheer physical attraction, but by a deeper intimacy that may lead to physical attraction. When you chat with people, it's because they have something in common with you and have similar interests to yourself. I found in my experience with online matchmaking and dating, that you really get to know a person. I chatted with several nice men online and had interesting conversation with them. Even though things didn't work out between us, I still got to meet new people and get to know the real them. I am currently engaged to a man I met on the Internet. We talked for two months online before we met in person. We chatted every night for hours at a time and by the time I got to meet him in person, I felt like I had known him for years. The chemistry, even online, was instant and it was because we established a deep friendship based on common interests and not physical attraction.
Second, online matchmaking services allow you to block communication with people you are not interested in. You can start a dialogue with someone and if sparks don't fly, simple ignore them, block them, or delete them from your inbox. There is no form of commitment, and the matchmaking sites do offer forms of protection and anonymity.
Unlike going to a bar and meeting someone, it's a safer way to get away if you feel uncomfortable in a situation.
The third and most important advancement in online dating is the introduction of instant messages and programs that help to facilitate communication. My fiancée and I communicate mostly through Yahoo messenger. We are 8,000 miles apart and still manage to talk everyday and see each other! What a feat, huh? Another popular program in this high tech age of courtship is Microsoft Netmeeting, XP. It's a wonderful program that allows people to use web cams to view each other, headphones to enable phone-like conversation and other great features, such as encrypted security and program sharing. Programs like Microsoft Netmeeting Xp allow people to be together, even if in separate states or countries. It's almost like being right there with the person. One can see every smile and laugh and it helps to make the conversation and connection with the individual more real. So while I was never a believer at first that Internet relationships could work or even thrive, online matchmaking and communication programs like Microsoft Netmeeting Xp have helped to make it possible. I can see my fiancée in Iraq via web camera and talk to him in person, while seeing him because of the headphone jack. One of the best features of Microsoft Netmeeting is the ability to share information while chatting. This feature enables me to show him pictures easily of houses I am looking at while we are online together. He can share with me pictures of his day at work or we can plan on wedding, all while online together and viewing each other through cameras! It's a simply wonderful and amazing thing we have.
It is true that my relationship with my fiancée is unlike any of that of my friends. We met each other and fell in love online. Through the use of a matchmaking program, we were able to meet because of all our common interests. We discovered how compatible we are because of the personality tests and through long hours on Internet conversation. Now that we are apart again, we can still be there for the other through programs like Microsoft Netmeeting Xp and Yahoo messenger. So while matchmaking is not new, the Internet forms of communication are and they are revolutionizing the way people fall in love. Welcome to the age of technology, this isn't your grandmother's matchmaker.