Added: 09/13/2006 |
Picture personalsBefore starting the narrative, remember that brevity is the soul of wit and a picture is worth a thousand words. There are a million reasons why you may not want to post a photo personal. You may think that you are not pretty/handsome enough to ensure the person will go on reading your ad after he/she sees your picture. You may be confident that a person should first form an opinion of the advertiser and only then see the source of the ideas expressed. You may, you may, you may…..The list can be endless.
The biggest excuse for not posting a photo personal is that you do not want anyone you know to recognize you. By the way are you a Hollywood actor? And you are afraid of crazy admirers' outpourings of love? Every day thousands of photo personals are posted on web-personals sites. But that's ten to one that someone that actually knows you will come across you picture on the web. And if so, then what? It's no shame having a photo personal posted. Many people do find their true love like this.
Also, a common excuse for not nor having a photo personal on the web is not owing a scanner. That is a lame excuse, most print shops or camera shops can easily scan your photo at a minimal cost. By the way, almost every person has a digital camera nowadays. This is very useful because you can take multiple pictures and then choose the best one to post on the web.
If you have no photo personal, it doesn't mean that your ad is to fail from the very beginning. Though, it would be better to post a photo to make the number of ad views increase.
So, why is a photo personal better than a non-photo one? There is an option in the search criteria – “Search profiles with photos only”. People prefer to use this one, than to bank on mere words. No, it doesn't mean that you should doubt what is written in a personals ad, but you trust the person more if you see his eyes (at least on the photo). You also do not have to read the text of the ad too attentively. You just look at the person's picture and decide whether you like him/her or not. If the answer is “yes”, you can proceed with the reading (or rather with more careful reading). By the way, only 25 percent (roughly three of four) who search the ads will ever see yours if you do not post a photo personal.
Caution! There are two issues concerning picture personals. The first is this one. You may run into a photo that is not recent. Surprised? This does happen, whatever you may think of it. Imagine that you have a rendezvous with a thick haired, in shape handsome young creature. You are eager to impress that lady-killer, and conquer his heart. You've been awaiting this date, and what you see? Maybe you have got to the wrong bar or confused the time? Nothing of the sort. The man that smiles up at you is an elderly copy of what you have expected to see. And that is not too bad. Disappointing? If you have the heart, ask him of the picture in the ad.
The second issue about posting a picture personal is people posting a photo that is not even they. Even more surprised? It does happen, and you should be prepared to meet a caricature of Alen Delon instead of himself (again, an elderly Delon would be not the worse).
It's difficult o say how often such situations occur. But even if you get in such a situation only once, it will be quite enough. It is also hard to say why people do so. Do they hope to capture one's interest by their intelligence and manners? Do they rely on one's tactfulness and unwillingness to get in a mess? Who knows. But it's unlikely that the impostor will be granted round two with the person he cheated. Most likely, when things come to a date the one tricked will just behave as if he/she is not the person the faker is waiting for.
Cheer up! That is not a common case. That is just a warning for you not do be completely disappointed in picture personals and internet dating on the whole.
Article comments:
No comments for this article yet. Post your comment now!
