A certain online dating service has recently announced a brand-new marketing campaign. Since online dating is a popular topic around here, I couldnt help but write about whats going on here. So excuse me while I dust off my soapbox.

The very same website that my fiancee Emily and I met on is now offering what it calls a guarantee. Basically, if you subscribe for six months and do not meet the love of your life, they have your back.

Theyll give you six more months for free.

OK, first of all, where was this guarantee when I was happily enjoying the dating process? You know, back when I was spending THREE YEARS actually enjoying being single? I sure could have used a year and a half of that for free.

What? I hear some of you saying, Hey, I bet thats not what the guarantee is designed for! You are supposed to be out there meeting That Special Someone, not serial dating!

Well, theres the first of several Silly Points Im going to harp on. Namely, what makes this online dating service so sure all of us are members because we want to settle down right now? Surely I cant be the only one who enjoyed going on dates for a few years after a rough divorce. Right? Hello?

So some of you arent buying that. Perhaps you arent convinced that most people arent looking for The Love Of Their Life right here and right now.

Okay, fair enough. Im a flexible guy. Lets assume, then, that everyone who subscribes cant meet Mr./Mrs. Right soon enough.

Fine. That brings up Silly Point Number Two: So if something didnt work for six months, well give you twice as much of it.

Lookit, youre dealing with a guy here who worked for a major telecom conglomerate for years between life-coaching gigs. Scott Adams of Dilbert fame came from the same environment, so his cartoons are particularly funny to mebecause they are sadly TRUE! One of the main reasons my ex-employers stock is now trading at roughly 3% of its former value is because when bad management happens, they proceed to (you guessed it) redouble their efforts! Thats right, if something isnt working, do twice as much of it!

And so revolves the online dating world these days, apparently.

Hey, its a nice sales pitch, but that fact does nothing more than beg Silly Point Number Three: If I fail at online dating for six months, why is that the web sites fault anyway? Isnt it more likely MY OWN FAULT?

Indeed, if I have the worlds most boring, generic profile up there, insist on fibbing about my age, weight, etc. and have horrific pictures posted, whats six more months going to buy me? And if I repeatedly get burned because I pick the wrong people to go out with and / or have no clue how to not creep out women on first dates, what fault is that of the web site?

Its all starting to sound ratherumSILLY, isnt it? And what about Silly Point Number Four just to add fuel to the fire: Who needs SIX FULL MONTHS to figure out something aint working? Right?

Life is way too short for that. Getting smart about online dating and doing it in the shortest amount of time possible is always a better strategy than waiting for a free ticket to six more months of the same thing. Always.

Copyright 2006 X & Y Communications

Want to hear more? Scot McKay is a dating coach in San Antonio, TX and founder of X & Y Communications, a one-stop-shop for dating resources. He is the author of the books Deserve What You Want and Cook For Your Date, and hosts the popular podcast series X & Y On The Fly. He may be reached at scot@xandycommunications.net or on the Web at http://www.dating-advice.us/ and http://www.romantic-dinner.com/ . The podcast series is available free of charge at http://feeds.feedburner.com/xyonthefly .

Computers

Some people might jump the conclusion saying this is just another boring article about ID Tags.

I can assure you it's not.

ID Tags are one of the great inventions and it seems that they never get old. Maybe for some of us it's hard to believe, but they were worn at least as far back as ancient Sparta.

An ID Tag is the informal name for the identification tags worn by military personnel, but not only the army should wear these tags.

Suppose that one day, you get involved in an accident and loose your conscience. Who will be there to say that you are allergic to some medications? The ID Tags you are wearing. Maybe you don't care enough about yourself, but you will probably want to use an id tag for your kids. I mean, think about it, these pieces of metal can be real life savers.

Now let's imagine something more optimistic.

You want to give a very romantic present to your girlfriend but don't know exactly what? Hmm ... A teddy bear ? Come on, everybody does that, but you can do better. The tag will do the job again. Just choose the right shape and size and personalize it with words from your heart. Believe me, this kind of present will be noticed.

You can get a dog tag for your favorite pet. Write your full name and address on the tag and if he ever gets lost, the people who finds him will now how to send him back home.

ID tags are one of the best way to uniquely identify a sport team. No matter if we are talking about baseball, football or soccer, using a tag with an image as logo or meaningful words is the perfect way to reveal the team spirit and make its members proud to wear such a mark.

I knew a teacher who brought id tags for the entire class, just to show her appreciation to the little students. You can imagine their faces. They will never forget this moment.

And I can think of a lot more situations where an ID Tag can be very useful.

Not to mention that, some people are just being cooler wearing a tag. I'm really not the fashion type of guy, but this is the truth.

Now I think I've made my point clear.

ID Tags are really great and everybody can use them.

The place where you can find the largest variety of id tags, with the best engraving quality and over 300 images to choose from is www.yourdogtags.com .

Naas Ferreira

DVD's