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	<title>TechCoquette &#187; Rachel Wilkerson</title>
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	<link>http://techcoquette.com</link>
	<description>The art of online flirting</description>
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		<title>Why I Don&#8217;t Believe in Free Love (Free Vs. Paid Dating Sites)</title>
		<link>http://techcoquette.com/2010/05/using-free-dating-sites/</link>
		<comments>http://techcoquette.com/2010/05/using-free-dating-sites/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 24 May 2010 14:50:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Rachel Wilkerson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Online Dating]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://techcoquette.com/?p=1712</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When it comes to online dating, there are many routes you can take, but one major option is choosing between a site you pay for or a free site.
The founder of OkCupid recently posted &#8220;Why You Should Never Pay for an Online Dating Site&#8221; on his blog. And I loved this article. I thought it made so much sense. It uses numbers to explain why Match.com is full of BS and actually doesn&#8217;t lead to a lot of relationships or marriages; he argues that people not finding love keeps sites ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://techcoquette.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/free-man-winking.jpg" alt="Free Vs. Paid Dating Sites" title="Free Vs. Paid Dating Sites" width="300" height="200" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1735" />When it comes to online dating, there are many routes you can take, but one major option is choosing between a site you pay for or a free site.</p>
<p>The founder of OkCupid recently posted &#8220;<a href="http://blog.okcupid.com/index.php/2010/04/07/why-you-should-never-pay-for-online-dating/">Why You Should Never Pay for an Online Dating Site</a>&#8221; on his blog. And I loved this article. I thought it made so much sense. It uses numbers to explain why Match.com is full of BS and actually doesn&#8217;t lead to a lot of relationships or marriages; he argues that people not finding love keeps sites like this in business.</p>
<p>I knew he had a point, so I had to ask myself &#8230; <B>Why do I keep paying for online dating?</b></p>
<p>And I realized that, just like many times a girl wants to be taken to dinner before she takes off her pants, I like that a guy has to pay to show his interest.</p>
<p>Now, at the risk of sounding like a gold-digging narcissistic <I>biatch</i>, let me explain: I&#8217;m a cute 24-year-old girl. From what I know about online dating through personal experience and from talking to other guys my age who use it, I know that I have a huge advantage. Most <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=PYT">PYT</a>s get tons of winks and e-mails from guys and they often get a little overwhelmed by the attention. But on Match.com, at least guys have to be a paid member to e-mail a girl &#8230; which cuts back on the attention slightly.</p>
<p>The other reason I prefer paid sites is because, like many PYTs, I&#8217;m kind of sick of guys just trying to hook up with me. I figure that a good way to meet guys who actually want a girlfriend is to use an online dating site. Now, this isn&#8217;t always the case &#8211; we&#8217;ve already seen that<a href="http://techcoquette.com/2009/12/ultimate-smackdown-match-versus-eharmony/"> Match.com is a little more tailored to booty calls than eHarmony</a>. But I assume that by paying to be on an online dating site, a guy is a little more interested in actually going out with the girl he meets there. Sure, he might see the $30/month fee as cheaper and more efficient than seeking out booty calls at the bar each weekend. But I just worry that if I go on a free site, I&#8217;ll get bombarded with e-mails from guys who aren&#8217;t seeking anything more than a one-night stand. There are a lot of creeps out there, and for me, <strong>the fact that guys have to pay to subscribe has been my filter of choice</strong>.</p>
<p>And it&#8217;s not like I&#8217;m just saying I want a guy who is willing to drop cash. I&#8217;m dropping cash to be there, too! But I only drop cash when I have the time and energy to invest in dating, when I really do want to meet someone. And I hope that the guys who whip out their plastic have used the same thought process. Because the only time I can see myself using a free site is if I just want to hit it and quit it. I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;s unreasonable to think that guys might feel the same.</p>
<p><B>Comment below:</b> How do you feel about free online dating sites?
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		<title>Should You Let Online Dating Sites Do the Work for You?</title>
		<link>http://techcoquette.com/2010/05/should-you-let-online-dating-sites-do-the-work-for-you/</link>
		<comments>http://techcoquette.com/2010/05/should-you-let-online-dating-sites-do-the-work-for-you/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 06 May 2010 13:13:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Rachel Wilkerson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Online Dating]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://techcoquette.com/?p=1667</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In 2006, Time Magazine declared &#8220;YOU&#8221; its annual &#8220;Person of the Year.&#8221; Since then, it has really become all about &#8220;ME.&#8221; We want things our way. Our favorite Web sites remember our info. We can customize anything and everything. And every company, from iTunes to Netflix to Amazon, will recommend the products they think we&#8217;ll like.
Online dating sites are in on the trend, too. We no longer have to know what we&#8217;re looking for &#8230; they&#8217;ll tell us. You think it&#8217;s creepy when iTunes knows exactly what album you&#8217;ll love? ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://techcoquette.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/should-you-let-online-dating-sites-do-the-work-for-you.jpg" alt="Should You Let Online Dating Sites Do the Work for You?" title="Should You Let Online Dating Sites Do the Work for You?" width="300" height="202" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1674" />In 2006, Time Magazine declared &#8220;YOU&#8221; its annual &#8220;Person of the Year.&#8221; Since then, it has really become all about &#8220;ME.&#8221; We want things our way. Our favorite Web sites remember our info. We can customize anything and everything. And every company, from iTunes to Netflix to Amazon, will recommend the products they think we&#8217;ll like.</p>
<p>Online dating sites are in on the trend, too. We no longer have to know what we&#8217;re looking for &#8230; <I>they&#8217;ll</i> tell <i>us</i>. You think it&#8217;s creepy when iTunes knows exactly what album you&#8217;ll love? Well how creepy is it when a Web site knows what guy you&#8217;ll love?</p>
<p>Match.com asks you questions about your interests and what you are looking for in a mate, and then offers recommendations based on that. If you&#8217;re not satisfied with your matches, you can simply browse for people whom you might be interested in, even if you aren&#8217;t a perfect &#8220;match.&#8221; Chemistry.com takes it a step further by having you take an intense personality test &#8211; and then shows you your perfect match based on your personality. The Match questionnaire is more about daily interests and activities, while Chemistry focuses on the big picture stuff. They want to know who <em>you</em> are &#8230; so then <em>they </em>can tell you who you want.</p>
<p>eHarmony is so committed to customer service and doing things for you that they actually &#8230; do things for you. Through &#8220;guided communication&#8221; (which is optional but they <em>strongly</em> recommend it), users don&#8217;t e-mail potential love interests directly. They request to begin communication. Then eHarm will start the conversation. I can&#8217;t shoot off a message that says, &#8220;Hey Jeffrey, noticed you like astrology &#8230; me too.&#8221; I have to answer eHarmony&#8217;s question. &#8220;Well, Jeffrey, if my house was burning down, here are the five things I&#8217;d save&#8230;&#8221; And then he has to respond &#8211; not with a response to my question, but with an answer to an entirely different question&#8230; &#8220;I do believe in life after death, Rachel, and here&#8217;s why&#8230;&#8221;</p>
<p>Sure, it&#8217;s nice to discuss the &#8220;big&#8221; stuff, but it seems a little ridiculous to have to let the company guide the conversation for five rounds before you can finally just say, &#8220;So what was your major in college?&#8221; or &#8220;Hey, want to get a drink?&#8221; (This might be why <a href="http://techcoquette.com/2009/12/ultimate-smackdown-match-versus-eharmony/">eHarmony is less good for looking for booty calls than other dating sites</a>.) <strong>Yes, I&#8217;m looking for love online, but can&#8217;t I do some of the work myself?</strong></p>
<p>New site <a href="http://pickv.com/">Pickv.com</a> is all about doing the work for you, simply based on what you like. This site connects you with people based on movies, music, books, TV shows, and food. Seeking out people who like the same things as you do seems inherently narcissistic, like the old SNL skit &#8220;Me Harmony&#8221; showed. Everyone was matched up with themselves in drag. &#8220;At Me Harmony, we guarantee someone who is exactly like you &#8230; with different sexual organs.&#8221;</p>
<p>The obvious problem with this is that just because someone loves noodle bars as much as you do doesn&#8217;t mean you&#8217;ll have anything else in common.  And we all know that sometimes opposites attract. It also makes first date conversations awkward. Do we have to talk about noodle bars? Do we have to <em>go</em> to a noodle bar?</p>
<p>While it&#8217;s flattering that a dating site knows so much about you that they can tell you exactly which guys you want to date, there comes a point when there&#8217;s a thrill in discovering a little quirk or bit of chemistry on your own. Sure, you know he likes dogs, but when you realize on your first date that you both have a secret desire to raise a gaggle of pugs, that&#8217;s exciting. If the dating site has already told you this, you might wonder if he actually is into you &#8230; or if he&#8217;s just more turned on by how much you have in common.</p>
<p>While it&#8217;s nice to have that kind of commitment from a dating site, we have to wonder if it&#8217;s really necessary. It&#8217;s like the difference between being set up on a blind date or having your pushy mother come along on the blind date and interrupt every few minutes to say,  &#8220;Jeffrey! Jeffrey! Tell her about your greatest accomplishment!&#8221; Matchmaking is great &#8230; but meddling might be going too far.</p>
<p><B>Related:</b>
<ul>
<li><a href=http://techcoquette.com/2010/05/online-dating-and-media-consumption-a-peek-at-pickv/>Online Dating and Media Consumption: A Peek at Pickv</a></li>
<li><a href=http://techcoquette.com/2009/11/addicted-to-online-dating/>Addicted to Online Dating?</a></li>
<li><a href=http://techcoquette.com/2009/09/one-size-does-not-fit-all-choosing-the-online-dating-site-thats-best-for-you/>One Size Does Not Fit All: Choosing the Online Dating Site That’s Best for You</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>10 Things to Never Write on a Girl&#8217;s Facebook Wall</title>
		<link>http://techcoquette.com/2010/04/10-things-to-never-write-on-a-girls-facebook-wall/</link>
		<comments>http://techcoquette.com/2010/04/10-things-to-never-write-on-a-girls-facebook-wall/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 26 Apr 2010 14:06:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Rachel Wilkerson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Facebook]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://techcoquette.com/?p=1601</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Facebook Wall is a great way to flirt &#8211; we&#8217;ve already discussed things to write on a girl&#8217;s Wall to make her want you. But just like the wrong post can be exactly what you need to make it with a girl, the wrong post can be all you need to break it. Here are some things you should never write on her Wall.
10. &#8220;lol :-p had so much fun last night ;) lol.&#8221; Yes, internet shorthand enables Web flirting, but there comes a point when we&#8217;re just like, ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://techcoquette.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/10-things-to-never-write-on-a-girls-facebook-wall.jpg" alt="10 Things to Never Write on a Girl&#039;s Facebook Wall" title="10 Things to Never Write on a Girl&#039;s Facebook Wall" width="302" height="200" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1631" />The Facebook Wall is a great way to flirt &#8211; we&#8217;ve already discussed <a href="http://techcoquette.com/2009/12/what-to-write-on-a-girls-facebook-wall-to-make-her-want-you/">things to write on a girl&#8217;s Wall to make her want you</a>. But just like the wrong post can be exactly what you need to make it with a girl, the wrong post can be all you need to break it. Here are some things you should never write on her Wall.</p>
<p><strong>10. &#8220;lol :-p had so much fun last night ;) lol.&#8221;</strong> Yes, internet shorthand enables Web flirting, but there comes a point when we&#8217;re just like, &#8220;That wasn&#8217;t funny &#8230; is he really smiling and laughing that hard? Is he high??&#8221;</p>
<p><B>9. &#8220;Who is that guy in your pictures? Is he your boyfriend?&#8221;</b> It&#8217;s one thing  to jokingly admit to <a href="../2010/03/stalk-dirty-to-me-when-to-let-on-that-youve-followed-her-online/">Facebook creeping</a>; it&#8217;s another to creep her out by waving your Stalk flag for all to see.</p>
<p><B>8. &#8220;Sup?&#8221;</b> Sooo you&#8217;re &#8220;just saying hi&#8221; &#8230; literally. We get that you&#8217;re a man of a few words, but in that case, maybe embrace the character limit and Tweet at her. Wall posts need a little meat!</p>
<p><B>7. &#8220;How are you feeling? You were still pretty wasted when you left this morning.&#8221; </b>Even if you&#8217;re trying be romantic with Sloppy Sally, you don&#8217;t want to embarrass her &#8211; and a post like this outs her as a boozy floozy.</p>
<p><B>6. &#8220;Sorry but your opinion is wrong.&#8221; </b>If you comment on any of her status updates or the links and videos she posts with something disparaging &#8211; and you&#8217;re not kidding &#8211; she&#8217;s going to think you&#8217;re not into her &#8230; and that you take Facebook way too seriously.</p>
<p><B>5. &#8220;Your to cool.&#8221;</b> This sends a message that you can&#8217;t spell. So does &#8220;ur 2 kewl,&#8221; and this says that you can&#8217;t be bothered to write out full words. Come on now, use your big-boy words!</p>
<p><B>4. &#8220;My grandma just died yesterday, so I&#8217;m not  having a very good day, but I really hope you have fun with your friends  tonight. What are you guys doing? Going to that one bar? I had a lot of  fun there one time, when I was with some friends. Well, anyway, I&#8217;m off to the funeral home so I may not have service, but I&#8217;ll call you this weekend.&#8221;</b> There are so many things wrong with this post. First, don&#8217;t ever respond to a question she didn&#8217;t actually ask you; don&#8217;t come at her just sharing information. Second, steer clear of bad news. Third, don&#8217;t be desperate and let her know exactly where you and your phone will be at all times. And last, keep it concise! This is Facebook, not the opening chapter of your novel.</p>
<p><B>3. &#8220;Hey Rachel!!! Hope you&#8217;re having a good day!!! Can&#8217;t wait to see you this weekend!!!!&#8221; </b>Well, thank you very much. You just came all over my Facebook page. Let me go get you a towel.</p>
<p><B>2. &#8220;Did you take that pregnancy test yet?&#8221; </b>OMG.</p>
<p><B>1. &#8220;If the test says no &#8230; and you&#8217;re still horny &#8230; call me!&#8221; </b>DISLIKE.</p>
<p><b>Related posts:</b>
<ul>
<li><a href=http://techcoquette.com/2010/03/should-you-facebook-friend-a-booty-call/>Should You Facebook Friend Your Booty Call?</a></li>
<li><a href=http://techcoquette.com/2010/02/keeping-it-cool-with-an-ex-on-facebook/>Keeping It Cool With an Ex on Facebook</a></li>
<li><a href=http://techcoquette.com/2009/10/how-to-write-a-status-update-to-keep-him-interested/>How to Write a Status Update to Keep Him Interested</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>10 Profile Pics to Never Upload</title>
		<link>http://techcoquette.com/2010/04/10-profile-pics-to-never-upload/</link>
		<comments>http://techcoquette.com/2010/04/10-profile-pics-to-never-upload/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 12 Apr 2010 10:00:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Rachel Wilkerson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Online Dating]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[profile picture]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://techcoquette.com/?p=1562</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Whether you&#8217;re on Facebook or eHarmony (or, God help you, MySpace), a profile picture is pretty important when it comes to your love life. Chances are, that new guy or girl you&#8217;re convinced is the love of your life is going to look at your profile in depth. But, like it or not, no one cares what your activities are if you look like a freak in your photo. Here are ten types of profile pics to avoid making your own.
10. The Panorama. Hey, it&#8217;s great that you love traveling ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://techcoquette.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/two-thumbs-up.jpg" alt="10 Profile Pictures to Never Upload" title="10 Profile Pictures to Never Upload" width="300" height="200" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1582" />Whether you&#8217;re on Facebook or eHarmony (or, God help you, MySpace), a profile picture is pretty important when it comes to your love life. Chances are, that new guy or girl you&#8217;re convinced is the love of your life is going to look at your profile in depth. But, like it or not, no one cares what your activities are if you look like a freak in your photo. Here are ten types of profile pics to avoid making your own.</p>
<p><B>10. The Panorama. </b>Hey, it&#8217;s great that you love traveling so much that all your pics are you in front of world monuments (or just the local baseball stadium). But where are you? Oh that <em>is</em> you, in the sunglasses, the hat, and the big jacket, at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro? Funny, I can&#8217;t tell a thing about you by looking at that pic.</p>
<p><B>9. The Insecurity Crop. </b>Most people aren&#8217;t looking for a perfect body; they would, however, like to know what your body is like before they meet you. A super-close shot of someone&#8217;s face usually says as much about how insecure they are as it does about how hot they are.</p>
<p><B>8. The Baby Daddy Shot. </b>If you have kids and you want your potential date to know that, fine. If you don&#8217;t have kids and you want your potential date to think you like kids &#8230; think again. I&#8217;m sure I&#8217;ll find out you love your nieces and nephews on our first date, but when I see them in your picture, I assume you&#8217;re the kind of guy who volunteers at a nursing home just to hit on the hot visiting granddaughters.</p>
<p><B>7. The Sloppy Snapshot. </b>Yeah, you just want everyone to know you&#8217;re <em>so </em>fun &#8230; but if a guy clicks through your first five photos and there&#8217;s a Jagerbomb in every one, he might question whether you need a date or a sponsor.</p>
<p><B>6. The Colorblind Pic. </b>Using photo editing software to turn your picture black and white is great if you&#8217;re going for a romantic engagement photo. In a profile pic, it&#8217;s another form of an insecurity shot; we all know flaws show up best in full color.</p>
<p><B>5. The Stock Photo. </b>The picture your company takes for &#8220;Employee of the Month&#8221; is nice and all, but this isn&#8217;t a yearbook. A standard blue background and business-wear sends a message that you&#8217;re too boring to do the sort of activities where people actually take pictures.</p>
<p><B>4. The Fluent-in-Sign-Language Shot. </b>Hey, guys, I know you don&#8217;t know where to put your hands, but please do not put them in front of your body doing any of the following: one thumb up, two thumbs up, pointing at the guy next to you with a fake-pensive look on your face, making a &#8220;Who me?&#8221; gesture, making mock gang symbols, or demonstrating the Shocker.</p>
<p><B>3. The Outdated Photo. </b>If all your pics are you in college gear and college bars, rocking fashion from 2005, or simply looking way too fresh-faced to match the fact that your profile says you&#8217;re 28, we&#8217;re going to wonder what part of aging doesn&#8217;t agree with you.</p>
<p><B>2. The Hipster Pic. </b>Oh, girl, you&#8217;re such an individual with your dirty hair in your face and your refusal to smile. Maybe other members of the doucheoisie are attracted to the &#8220;ironic&#8221; angle at which you snapped your pic &#8230; enjoy your new boyfriend&#8217;s mustache and loft.</p>
<p><B>1. The Groupie Photo. </b>Which one are you again? All I see is five guys with  dark brown hair in button-down shirts. That one on the left is pretty  cute &#8230; oh, that&#8217;s not you? Um, well is he on Match too??</p>
<p><b>Related posts:</b></p>
<ul>
<li><a href=http://techcoquette.com/2009/06/facebook-photos-to-tag-or-not-to-tag/>Facebook Photos: To Tag or Not to Tag?</a></li>
<li><a href=http://techcoquette.com/2009/06/shorter-fatter-balder-mens-misleading-online-profiles/>Shorter, Fatter, Balder: Men&#8217;s Misleading Online Profiles</a></li>
<li><a href=http://techcoquette.com/2009/08/10-dos-and-donts-for-picking-your-online-dating-profile-picture/>10 Do&#8217;s and Don&#8217;ts for Picking Your Online Dating Profile Picture</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>More to Love: Cheating Vs. Polyamory Dating Sites</title>
		<link>http://techcoquette.com/2010/03/more-to-love-cheating-vs-polyamory-dating-sites/</link>
		<comments>http://techcoquette.com/2010/03/more-to-love-cheating-vs-polyamory-dating-sites/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 29 Mar 2010 10:00:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Rachel Wilkerson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Online Dating]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://techcoquette.com/?p=1445</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Although having sex with someone other than your significant other conjures images of shamed politicians and naughty mistresses &#8211; or just 1970s swingers parties &#8211; the fact is, many people are embracing these not-so-traditional relationships and using the Web to make it easier.
&#8220;Life is short. Have an affair.&#8221; This is the slogan of the dating site AshleyMadison, which is devoted to people looking to be the shamed politician or the mistress, people willing to keep the relationship a secret from their spouses. But over at LoveMany, a site &#8220;for people ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://techcoquette.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/man-being-kissed-on-cheek-by-two-women.jpg"><img src="http://techcoquette.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/man-being-kissed-on-cheek-by-two-women.jpg" alt="More to Love" title="More to Love" width="300" height="200" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1523" /></a>Although having sex with someone other than your significant other conjures images of shamed politicians and naughty mistresses &#8211; or just 1970s swingers parties &#8211; the fact is, many people are embracing these not-so-traditional relationships and using the Web to make it easier.</p>
<p>&#8220;Life is short. Have an affair.&#8221; This is the slogan of the dating site <a href="http://www.ashleymadison.com">AshleyMadison</a>, which is devoted to people looking to be the shamed politician or the mistress, people willing to keep the relationship a secret from their spouses. But over at <a href="http://www.lovemany.com">LoveMany</a>, a site &#8220;for people who believe that love can exist between more than two people at a time,&#8221; the spouses are perfectly aware of the other person. There is no need for secrets &#8212; these are couples seeking a third.</p>
<p>Both these sites, and other similar ones, operate on the idea of, &#8220;People are going to do it so we&#8217;re just going to help.&#8221; They are attempting to de-stigmatize these relationships &#8211; or at least capitalize on them.</p>
<p>Most traditional dating sites have their users create profiles with their interests, hobbies, and favorite movies. <I>Ashley Madison</i> does, too &#8211; but first you&#8217;ll answer to your &#8220;intimate desires.&#8221; So many options! There&#8217;s the obvious (spanking, role playing) but also the more specific (likes to go slow, bubble bath for two). While traditional online dating sites may be connecting members to do the very same things, they certainly don&#8217;t admit it. Even if <a href="http://techcoquette.com/2009/12/ultimate-smackdown-match-versus-eharmony/">Match.com is for booty calls</a>, they still pretend otherwise by asking about the last book you read and if you have any pets.</p>
<p><i>LoveMany</i> makes it clear it&#8217;s not just a site for swinging or sex. (They direct you to <a href="http://adultfriendfinder.com">AdultFriendFinder</a> (NSFW!) if you&#8217;re simply looking for a one-night stand.) And most of the couples who have profiles echo this sentiment; they make it clear they are looking for a long-term addition to their relationship. They are the kind of people who could live next door to you; they have kids and love playing board games and drinking wine.</p>
<p>Although both sites are all about discretion, most members post profile pics. But anyone can quickly create a profile and browse profiles for free, so there&#8217;s a decent chance that someone you know will see you &#8211; or that the more vengeful and bored members of society could hunt for people to &#8220;out.&#8221; Some people are still worried about admitting to being on eHarmony &#8230; but the users on these sites are willing to say, &#8220;Yup, I want to sleep with a married man or watch someone else have sex with my wife and I don&#8217;t care who knows it.&#8221; We have to wonder: if the stigma has been removed <em>that </em>much, what&#8217;s next?</p>
<p><B>What do you think?</b> Are the couples who use <i>LoveMany</i> so different than the individuals who use <I>Ashley Madison</i> &#8211; or are both sites really just about sex? How do you view cheating versus having an open marriage?</p>
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		<title>Top 10 Booty Texts You Should Never Send a Guy</title>
		<link>http://techcoquette.com/2010/03/top-10-booty-texts-you-should-never-send-a-guy/</link>
		<comments>http://techcoquette.com/2010/03/top-10-booty-texts-you-should-never-send-a-guy/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 22 Mar 2010 14:20:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Rachel Wilkerson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Texting]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://techcoquette.com/?p=1486</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Whether you&#8217;re the sender or receiver, it&#8217;s pretty hard to avoid the Late Night Booty Text these days. We&#8217;ve already shared ways to compose a good LNBT, but here are the top ten we hope you never send a guy.
10. My friends and I are going out for a big Mexican dinner. Can I stop by after? Steer clear of ever mentioning your grande order of beans and cheese; he&#8217;ll likely be mucho turned off.
9. Wanna have a sleepover? Most guys have been tricked into a night of cuddling this ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://techcoquette.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/woman-with-cigarette-phone-bw.jpg"><img src="http://techcoquette.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/woman-with-cigarette-phone-bw.jpg" alt="Top 10 Booty Texts You Should Never Send a Guy" title="Top 10 Booty Texts You Should Never Send a Guy" width="301" height="200" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1495" /></a>Whether you&#8217;re the sender or receiver, it&#8217;s pretty hard to avoid the Late Night Booty Text these days. We&#8217;ve <a href="http://techcoquette.com/2009/09/the-girls-guide-to-booty-call-texting/">already shared ways to compose a good LNBT</a>, but here are the top ten we hope you <em>never</em> send a guy.</p>
<p><strong>10. My friends and I are going out for a big Mexican dinner. Can I stop by after? </strong>Steer clear of ever mentioning your grande order of beans and cheese; he&#8217;ll likely be mucho turned off.</p>
<p><strong>9. Wanna have a sleepover?</strong> Most guys have been tricked into a night of cuddling this way, so you better make it clear you&#8217;re not interested in sleeping.</p>
<p><strong>8. I wanna get you in the back seat, windows up, that&#8217;s the way I like to f*ck!!! </strong>When you can&#8217;t think of anything else to say, don&#8217;t turn to the lyrics of the rap song blasting at the club you&#8217;re in.</p>
<p><strong>7. I neeeeed to see you tonight. I promise I&#8217;ll make it worth your time!</strong> Try to be a little more Debbie Does Dallas and a little less Debbie Does Desperation.</p>
<p><strong>6. You can just come over here to watch the game!</strong> If you don&#8217;t know a thing about football and are just planning to tackle him when he walks in the door, he&#8217;ll be annoyed he ditched his friends.</p>
<p><strong>5. I want to pole dance &#8230; you come over and bring the pole.</strong> An actual text suggested by Cosmo. Sorry, but we beg to differ until you find a guy who can read that without LOL-ing.</p>
<p><strong>4. OMG drnuk to much. Get ovr here b4 I puke. </strong>We&#8217;ve already talked about <a href="http://techcoquette.com/2009/05/10-ways-to-stop-drunken-texting/">slurring your texts</a>, but this takes it to a whole new level.</p>
<p><strong>3. I&#8217;m all alone waiting for you. Come over and bring a friend. </strong>Whoa, there, sister! You can&#8217;t just propose a threesome via text message.</p>
<p><strong>2. I&#8217;m naked and cooking bacon for you. </strong>The way to a man&#8217;s heart might be through his stomach, but that&#8217;s just way too much pork.</p>
<p><strong>1. My boyfriend just left but I&#8217;m still horny.</strong> <strong>Want to come over? </strong>TMI! At least have the decency to take a shower and <em>pretend</em> he&#8217;s not getting sloppy seconds.</p>
<p><strong>What&#8217;s the worst LNBT you&#8217;ve ever sent or received? </strong>
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		<title>Stalk Dirty to Me: When to Let on That You&#8217;ve Followed Her Online</title>
		<link>http://techcoquette.com/2010/03/stalk-dirty-to-me-when-to-let-on-that-youve-followed-her-online/</link>
		<comments>http://techcoquette.com/2010/03/stalk-dirty-to-me-when-to-let-on-that-youve-followed-her-online/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:17:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Rachel Wilkerson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Facebook]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://techcoquette.com/?p=1409</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[With everyone plugged in to Facebook and Buzz, blogging and Tweeting and updating their BBM statuses, it&#8217;s pretty difficult to avoid finding out what your crush is up to. But there&#8217;s a fine line between curious and creepy. So &#8230; how should you reveal your stalking to members of the opposite sex? 
A lot of people choose to pretend they don&#8217;t stalk on Facebook. And maybe they don&#8217;t. But pretty much every guy and girl I know stalks the crap out of every guy and girl in their lives, especially ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://techcoquette.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/woman-looking-through-window-blinds.jpg"><img src="http://techcoquette.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/woman-looking-through-window-blinds.jpg" alt="Stalk Dirty to Me" title="Stalk Dirty to Me" width="301" height="200" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1418" /></a>With everyone plugged in to Facebook and Buzz, blogging and Tweeting and updating their BBM statuses, it&#8217;s pretty difficult to avoid finding out what your crush is up to. But there&#8217;s a fine line between curious and creepy. So &#8230; <strong>how should you reveal your stalking to members of the opposite sex? </strong></p>
<p>A lot of people choose to pretend they don&#8217;t stalk on Facebook. And maybe they don&#8217;t. But pretty much every guy and girl I know stalks the crap out of every guy and girl in their lives, especially someone who they think of banging/have ever banged/almost banged/know they are going to bang soon. And that’s fine. Since we all do it, why not just admit it? </p>
<p>Because the thing is, <strong>Facebook and Twitter do the stalking for you these days</strong>. Just log in and you&#8217;re going to see what someone has been up to. Fine, perhaps you don&#8217;t see it on her status (&#8220;Shannon is GOING TO THE BAR TONIGHT!&#8221;) and you avoided seeing it in her photos (a new album called &#8220;MY NIGHT AT THE BAR!&#8221;) and you missed it on her Wall (five new posts saying, &#8220;OMG it was SO GREAT seeing you at the bar last night!&#8221;) and sure, maybe you didn&#8217;t see her Tweet, &#8220;I LOVE GOING To THE BAR!&#8221; &#8230; sure, it&#8217;s possible. But on Monday when you ask her what she did over the weekend, she&#8217;s going to think you&#8217;re either not into her, or you&#8217;re full of BS. </p>
<p>But I kind of can’t blame you. If you say, “So how was the bar this weekend?” and you’re not someone she&#8217;s thinking of banging/have ever banged/almost banged/wants to bang soon &#8230; she&#8217;s going to think you’re the biggest creeper on the planet.</p>
<p>Some guidelines for what it’s appropriate to reveal:</p>
<h3>Admit to stalking your friends and your “friends.”</h3>
<ul>
<li>If you are comfortable calling or texting a guy, it’s OK to admit to looking at his tagged photos.</li>
<li>DON’T admit to stalking someone whose phone number you don’t even have. And on that note, DON&#8217;T pull phone numbers off of Facebook without permission. Yes, it&#8217;s out there, but a simple, &#8220;Hey, is it cool if I call you this weekend?&#8221; &#8212; either in person or via Facebook message &#8212; is pretty much required.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Check yourself.</h3>
<p>If you say you saw it on Facebook, but really you saw it on Twitter, she&#8217;s going to know you&#8217;re stalking her from all angles.
<ul>
<li>DO accept that everyone uses Facebook a lot.</li>
<li>DON’T pretend you didn’t glean your information from it. If she says she went to a party dressed as Wonder Woman and you respond, “Oh, yeah! I … think I heard that … somewhere …” she&#8217;s going to wonder why you don&#8217;t just fess up.</li>
<li>DO come off as less weird/creepy by just admitting you are a little bit weird/creepy. She says: “So I was walked home by the cops wearing a Wonder Woman costume…” You say: “Ohh. Yeah, don’t think this is creepy but I saw pictures of that on Mini-Feed.” Easy-peasy!</li>
</ul>
<h3>Get caught.</h3>
<p>Let her catch you stalking her from time to time if you really like her. If she is already into you &#8212; we&#8217;re talking third date here &#8212; and she says, &#8220;Oh I had such a great time at the beach last weekend, I can&#8217;t wait to go back,&#8221; and you say, &#8220;Yeah, your pictures made it look like a total blast! Do you go there often?&#8221; she&#8217;ll be flattered and she&#8217;ll blush &#8212; and when girls are flattered and blushing, people get laid. If she&#8217;s not into you, she&#8217;ll still be pleased that you caught something important to her. </p>
<h3>Stalk her fan pages</h3>
<p>If someone is a fan of, &#8220;I hate when people send texts that just say &#8216;k&#8217;&#8221;&#8230; don&#8217;t send her a text that just says &#8220;k&#8221;! Then she&#8217;ll just think you don&#8217;t care. But DON&#8217;T go out of your way to reference obscure things that you read she&#8217;s into. Some people just accept everything Facebook suggests or don&#8217;t update their hobbies very often. </p>
<h3>When you&#8217;re the stalkee:</h3>
<ul>
<li>DO make her feel more comfortable about stalking you by assuming she already has. (Because &#8230; she has.) If you&#8217;re chatting with her about your awesome vacation and you just uploaded 300 pics, just say, &#8220;Did you see the pictures of us white water rafting?&#8221; Then she knows you&#8217;re cool with a little creeping.</li>
<li>DON&#8217;T retell a story that&#8217;s been all over Facebook and Twitter without a disclaimer. &#8220;Yeah, you may have seen it on Facebook, but I got a new job!&#8221; Again, this just assumes that everyone is stalking and says it&#8217;s OK. If your whole life is on the internet, then try not to go into major detail over something the other person already probably read about in great detail on your blog.</li>
<li>DO feel OK with not accepting a second date because someone&#8217;s been all up on your Mini-Feed with Farmville updates. Yeah, we&#8217;re sure finding pumpkins and selling virtual goats is fun, but sometimes stalking leads to judging, and certain updates are deal breakers.</li>
</ul>
<p>Ultimately, most people log into Facebook and Twitter a lot and stalk without even trying; those people are going to be really flattered when they hear the person they are into was stalking them back. There&#8217;s a fine line between good stalking and creepy stalking, but if you can perfect this, your next status update is going to say, &#8220;Shannon is now In a Relationship.&#8221; </p>
<p><b>Related posts:</b>
<ul>
<li><a href=http://techcoquette.com/2009/08/the-pros-and-cons-of-googling-your-date/>The Pros and Cons of Googling Your Date</a></li>
<li><a href=http://techcoquette.com/2009/08/online-dating-be-safe-not-paranoid/>Online Dating: Be Safe, NOT Paranoid</a></li>
<li><a href=http://techcoquette.com/2009/08/stalk-her-new-iphone-app-video/>Stalk-Her: New iPhone App (VIDEO)</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>Keeping It Cool With an Ex on Facebook</title>
		<link>http://techcoquette.com/2010/02/keeping-it-cool-with-an-ex-on-facebook/</link>
		<comments>http://techcoquette.com/2010/02/keeping-it-cool-with-an-ex-on-facebook/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:00:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Rachel Wilkerson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Facebook]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://techcoquette.com/?p=1370</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When it comes to exes and Facebook, things can get really ugly really quickly. With all your mutual friends gathered together in one spot, it can feel like a boxing ring where you&#8217;re about to go head-to-head. Sure, you could de-friend, but that might cause more drama. But it is possible to keep it clean &#8212; no referee required. 
Float Like a Butterfly
If you were on the delivering end of the &#8220;It&#8217;s not you, it&#8217;s me,&#8221; conversation, you&#8217;re entering the Facebook match favored to win. But don&#8217;t abuse your power. ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://techcoquette.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/cute-smiling-girl-with-laptop-in-bed.jpg"><img src="http://techcoquette.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/cute-smiling-girl-with-laptop-in-bed.jpg" alt="Keeping It Cool With an Ex on Facebook" title="Keeping It Cool With an Ex on Facebook" width="300" height="200" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1376" /></a>When it comes to exes and Facebook, things can get really ugly really quickly. With all your mutual friends gathered together in one spot, it can feel like a boxing ring where you&#8217;re about to go head-to-head. Sure, you could <a href="http://techcoquette.com/2009/09/when-is-it-ok-to-block-or-defriend-a-guy/">de-friend</a>, but that might cause more drama. But it is possible to keep it clean &#8212; no referee required. </p>
<h3>Float Like a Butterfly</h3>
<p>If you were on the delivering end of the &#8220;It&#8217;s not you, it&#8217;s me,&#8221; conversation, you&#8217;re entering the Facebook match favored to win. But don&#8217;t abuse your power. One option is to set your privacy settings so he can see less of your profile. Go to Account > Privacy Settings > Profile Information. There you can see each profile feature and click &#8220;Customize&#8221; and then &#8220;Hide This From&#8221; and enter your ex&#8217;s name (and his friends&#8217; names too, if necessary). This is useful no matter what your motivation for the break-up was. If you&#8217;re simply not into him and want him to leave you alone, the less he knows about your life, the better. (And the fewer of your status updates appearing on his mini-feed, the better.) If you broke up with him for someone else, keeping your new pictures and new relationship hidden for a few weeks might ease his pain. </p>
<h3>Sting Like a Bee</h3>
<p>If you got dumped, you can make yourself look great without looking desperate. Again, you can use your privacy settings to manage exactly what profile information he can see. If you prefer to keep him guessing, hiding your pictures and Wall will make him wonder what you&#8217;ve been up to since he dumped you. But if you are using the break-up as a starting point to making your life more exciting, then feel free to let him see that! Just be careful with trying too hard to get attention; constantly updating your status with comments of the &#8220;OMG my life&#8217;s SO AMAZING!!!!!!!&#8221; variety are going to come off as desperate. It&#8217;s better to just be yourself. DO post about your great day or your good news; DON&#8217;T post about all your new amazing dates, your Walk of Shame, or your trip to the ER for alcohol poisoning. But even if you do decide to take the &#8220;Share&#8221; approach, you can still leave a little mystery in your updates or photos. Let him wonder. </p>
<h3>Hitting Below the Belt</h3>
<p>Sarcastic status updates are the fastest way to get the gloves off. Don&#8217;t post things like, &#8220;Katie is just SO happy she decided to date a guy who thought that &#8216;forever&#8217; really meant &#8216;until I meet some skank on Spring Break.&#8217;&#8221; And while we&#8217;re at it, let&#8217;s just skip any references to your ex&#8217;s skills in bed. We know you&#8217;re mad &#8211; and as spectators, yes, we like it when the fight gets dirty &#8211; but maintain your dignity. When you share things with 500 of your closest friends, there&#8217;s no taking them back. </p>
<p>Other penalties include de-tagging him in each one of your 400 Facebook photos together and antagonizing him with fan pages (i.e. Jenny became a fan of &#8220;Mike Jones is a Herpes Covered Cheater&#8221;). And it doesn&#8217;t matter if you were the heartbreaker or the heartbreakee &#8212; adding his new girlfriend as a friend is definitely off-limits. </p>
<p>And if he does these things to get your attention, don&#8217;t take the bait. All of his friends are watching him kick his own ass &#8211; and they&#8217;re watching you maintain your cool as he does it. </p>
<h3>Becoming the Champion</h3>
<p>The &#8220;like&#8221; button can be good to use after the dust has settled on the break-up. The wounds are beginning to heal and whether you broke up or were broken, you really wish him nothing but the best. So if he posts that he just got tickets to a band you know he loves, go ahead and like it. It&#8217;s a simple way of saying, &#8220;Hey &#8230; we&#8217;re cool.&#8221; </p>
<p>After a break-up, Facebook can start to resemble a cage fight, but if you fight clean, you&#8217;ll come out looking like a knock-out, ready for your next match. </p>
<p><b>Related posts:</b></p>
<ul>
<li><a href=http://techcoquette.com/2009/09/when-is-it-ok-to-block-or-defriend-a-guy/>When Is It OK to Block or Defriend a Guy?</a></li>
<li><a href=http://techcoquette.com/2009/10/lets-not-be-friends-facebook-ex-etiquette/>Let’s Not Be Friends: Facebook Ex Etiquette</a></li>
<li><a href=http://techcoquette.com/2009/09/hate-reading-your-exs-facebook-wall-learn-how-to-stop/>Hate Reading Your Ex’s Facebook Wall? Learn How to STOP.</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>Valentine&#8217;s Day Gifts for the Chic Geek</title>
		<link>http://techcoquette.com/2010/02/valentines-day-gifts-for-the-chic-geek/</link>
		<comments>http://techcoquette.com/2010/02/valentines-day-gifts-for-the-chic-geek/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:00:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Rachel Wilkerson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://techcoquette.com/?p=1271</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When it comes to Valentine&#8217;s Day, flowers and candy are the expected gifts. But come on &#8212; we live in a digital age! If you or your Valentine is a chic geek, why not give and receive sexy techie gifts? Treat yourself to these gifts or pass the list along to your boyf.
To get in the spirit, create custom Necco Sweethearts with their iPhone app &#8212; and then share them with your loves via Twitter.
For the Valentine whose iPod is always filled with the latest songs, we love these heart-shaped ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>When it comes to Valentine&#8217;s Day, flowers and candy are the expected gifts. But come on &#8212; we live in a digital age! If you or your Valentine is a chic geek, why not give and receive sexy techie gifts? Treat yourself to these gifts or pass the list along to your boyf.</p>
<p><img src="http://techcoquette.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Sweethearts2010-300x196.jpg" alt="sweethearts" title="sweethearts" width="300" height="196" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-1274" />To get in the spirit, create custom <strong>Necco Sweethearts</strong> with their <a href="http://www.mysweethearts.com/">iPhone app</a> &#8212; and then share them with your loves via Twitter.<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR></p>
<p><img src="http://techcoquette.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Picture-182.png" alt="heart earbuds" title="heart earbuds" width="188" height="238" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1272" />For the Valentine whose iPod is always filled with the latest songs, we love these <a href="http://fredflare.com/customer/product.php?productid=4592&#038;cat=343"><strong>heart-shaped earbuds</strong></a>.<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR></p>
<p>Mix tapes may be a thing of the past, but you can give a <a href=http://www.hardwaresphere.com/2009/01/04/kissing-octopus-couple-flash-drives/><b>cute USB drive</b></a> loaded with great tunes along with the earbuds. The real gift is the USB drive &#8212; a real geek always needs more storage space.</p>
<div align=center><img src="http://techcoquette.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/kissing-octopus-couple-flash-drive.jpg" alt="kissing octopus flash drive" title="kissing octopus flash drive" width="470" height="235" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1279" /></div>
<p><BR></p>
<div style="float:right;margin-left:5px;"><img src="http://techcoquette.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/P249104_hero.jpg" alt="Lashlight mascara" title="Lashlight mascara" width="250" height="250"></div>
<p>For the Valentine who is always batting her lashes to get what she wants, this <a href=http://sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P249104&#038;categoryId=C19766&#038;shouldPaginate=true><B>Lashlight mascara</b></a> is a perfect gift. Not only is the mascara&#8217;s formula innovative &#8212; it packs microscopic mirrors to reflect light &#8212; but the wand lights up. Perfect for touching up in the cab on your way to a late night booty call.<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR></p>
<p><img src="http://techcoquette.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Picture-183.png" alt="Flip cam" title="Flip cam" width="185" height="361" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1290" />Decided you&#8217;re <a href="http://techcoquette.com/2009/12/are-you-ready-to-make-a-sex-tape/">ready to make a sex tape</a>? Or just trying to get cute videos with your sweetie? Any guy or girl would be thrilled to receive a super user-friendly <B>Flip Cam</b>. They have a slew of <a href="http://store.theflip.com/designs/subcategory.aspx?cat=new_designs&#038;subcat=new_designs&#038;cid=m2">Valentine&#8217;s Day designs</a> or you can personalize it with a picture of the two of you.<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR></p>
<p><img src="http://techcoquette.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Picture-184.png" alt="chocolate tee" title="chocolate tee" width="231" height="259" class="alignright size-full wp-image-1298" />Skip the chocolates &#8212; a real geek will dig this tee with the <a href=http://www.thinkgeek.com/interests/valentines/8f6f/>molecular structure of <b>chocolate</b></a> on it instead&#8230;.<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR></p>
<p><a href="http://techcoquette.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Picture-185.png"><img src="http://techcoquette.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Picture-185.png" alt="I Love My Geek" title="I Love My Geek" width="320" height="303" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1303" /></a>Or wear your heart on your sleeve and proudly declare <a href=http://www.thinkgeek.com/interests/valentines/5981/>how you feel about the <B>geek</b></a> in your life.<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR></p>
<p><a href="http://techcoquette.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/saved_design_8234.png"><img src="http://techcoquette.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/saved_design_8234-163x300.png" alt="iPhone cover" title="iPhone cover" width="163" height="300" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-1306" /></a>For the selfless techie Valentine, check out these artist-designed <a href=http://www.getuncommon.com/collections/189/><B>iPhone covers</b></a>. 100 percent of the profits go to the Red Cross and the relief effort in Haiti.<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR></p>
<div style="float:left;margin-right:5px;"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&#038;bc1=000000&#038;IS2=1&#038;bg1=FFFFFF&#038;fc1=000000&#038;lc1=0000FF&#038;t=techcoquette-20&#038;o=1&#038;p=8&#038;l=as1&#038;m=amazon&#038;f=ifr&#038;md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&#038;asins=B0015T963C" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe></div>
<p>The Kindle is perfect for the Valentine who is always lugging around the latest bestsellers. Load it with love poems &#8212; we love when old-fashioned romance shows up on new technology &#8212; or trashy romance novels.<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR></p>
<div style="float:right;margin-left:5px"><img src="http://techcoquette.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Picture-188-300x206.png" alt="Dell mini" title="Dell mini" width="300" height="206" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-1312" /></div>
<p>Single this year? Treat yourself to a subscription to <a href=http://match.com>Match.com</a> &#8212; and a bright <a href=http://www.dell.com/us/en/home/notebooks/laptop-inspiron-10/pd.aspx?refid=laptop-inspiron-10&#038;s=dhs&#038;cs=19><B>mini notebook</b></a> where you can record all your exploits.<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR></p>
<p><a href="http://techcoquette.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/blogthisunderwear.png"><img src="http://techcoquette.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/blogthisunderwear.png" alt="blog this underwear" title="blog this underwear" width="300" height="223" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1316" /></a>And instead of lingerie, we&#8217;ll be rocking this <a href=http://www.thinkgeek.com/interests/valentines/a09b/><b>underwear</b></a> and proudly declaring, that yes, we write about sex, and you better get used to it.<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><b>Comment below:</b> What are you planning for your sweetie on V-Day?</p>
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		<title>Online Snooping: Are You a Saint or a Sinner?</title>
		<link>http://techcoquette.com/2010/02/online-snooping-are-you-a-saint-or-a-sinner/</link>
		<comments>http://techcoquette.com/2010/02/online-snooping-are-you-a-saint-or-a-sinner/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:51:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Rachel Wilkerson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Email]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Facebook]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://techcoquette.com/?p=1256</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Dating in the digital age brings a lot of benefits. How many of us would be single if it weren’t for text messaging? But is there is such a thing as too much information. There’s the TMI we share with others, and then there’s the TMI we actively seek out about those we are dating. Looking at a laptop or a cell phone, we feel like Eve in the Garden of Eden. Just one little bite can’t hurt … or can it? Some tech offenses are pretty saintly, while others ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://techcoquette.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/angel-devil.jpg"><img src="http://techcoquette.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/angel-devil.jpg" alt="" title="Online Snooping: Sinner or Saint?" width="300" height="200" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1265" /></a>Dating in the digital age brings a lot of benefits. How many of us would be single if it weren’t for text messaging? But is there is such a thing as too much information. There’s the TMI we share with others, and then there’s the TMI we actively seek out about those we are dating. Looking at a laptop or a cell phone, we feel like Eve in the Garden of Eden. Just one little bite can’t hurt … or can it? <strong>Some tech offenses are pretty saintly, while others are straight-up sin.</strong>  </p>
<ul>
<li><b>SAINT: Googling your date.</b> We’ve already investigated the<a href="http://techcoquette.com/2009/08/the-pros-and-cons-of-googling-your-date/"> pros and cons about Googling a date</a>, but when it comes to crossing the line, Googling is no big deal. And if you’re going out with someone for the first time, first checking to see if he’s a sex offender may be a good idea.  </li>
<li><b>SINNER: Checking your date’s Gmail.</b> An email account is a private, private place. You may break into his Gmail looking for emails from his ex … but you’ll also have access to emails from his family, his colleagues, his accountant … that’s dangerous territory. And once you’ve accidentally stumbled upon something you don’t like, you won’t be able to get it out of your mind.  </li>
<li><b>SAINT: Stalking your date’s Facebook.</b> Going through your date’s pictures isn’t a huge deal. Sure, some of the things you see there might mislead you, but as long as you take what you see with a grain of salt, it’s not crossing the line. And yes, it might be good to know if <a href="http://techcoquette.com/2009/07/marking-your-territory-peeing-on-his-facebook-wall/">girls are all up on his Wall</a> about how much fun they had last night. If he’s putting it out there, you don’t have to feel bad about reading it. </li>
<li><B>SINNER: Reading your date’s Facebook messages.</b> So you know his password, or he accidentally stayed logged in at your place. Reading someone’s messages is a no-no. As with email, it’s a private space, but also consider that a lot of people don’t take Facebook too seriously. If a girl messages him, “You look great! I miss you, let’s get together soon!” and he sends a message back that he misses her too, he may just be trying to keep her at bay. Or she may be his cousin. </li>
<li><b>SAINT: Checking the phone bill.</b> If you’re in a serious relationship and you notice a bunch of calls to or from the same number – a number you don’t recognize – it might be a tip-off that you’re dealing with a cheater, especially if he’s exhibiting other shady behavior.  </li>
<li><b>SINNER: Checking the phone.</b> Yes, checking a guy’s phone and reading his text message can prove a guy is up to no good, but if you’re in the kind of relationship where you feel like you need to do this, you need to take a look at yourself and at your relationship. What’s making you feel so insecure? Why don’t you trust him?  </li>
</ul>
<h2>If You Find Some Dirt</h2>
<p>Now, whether you just take a bite or eat the whole damn apple, you may discover something you don’t like. How do you deal? </p>
<ul>
<li><b>SAINT: Confront the bigger issue.</b> Don’t be specific. If you break into his Gmail and see that he hasn’t told you his dad is having major health problems, maybe it’s time to open a casual conversation about family. If you see he is in terrible debt, then maybe it’s time to have a money talk. And if there’s a mysterious woman, have a chat about how often you talk to your exes. If he doesn’t give you the answer you’re looking for though, don’t press it. When you snoop online, it’s very easy to be misled, so don’t scream, “Well, how about the fact that your college girlfriend is going to be in town this weekend!?!?” </li>
<li><b>SINNER: Do not confront him and tell him you know everything that’s been going on and that he’s a liar.</b> First, he’ll be so pissed you were snooping; he’ll make that the center of the argument. If it’s not true – and it very well may be a misunderstanding – he’s never going to trust you in the same way. Suddenly you’ve gone from the great, laid-back girlfriend to the crazy bitch. If it <em>is</em> true, he’ll just be sorry he got caught, and he’ll find a way to make you feel really bad for snooping. The kind of guys who are texting multiple women are really good at that trick – suddenly he’s the one who cheated, but you’re the one apologizing.  </li>
</ul>
<p>Like Eve, you may sometimes find you’re dealing with a snake – but that doesn’t give you an excuse to sin. If you find yourself constantly tempted, it may be time to find a guy who treats you like the apple of his eye. </p>
<p><b>Related:</b>
<ul>
<li><a href=http://techcoquette.com/2009/09/digital-clues-signs-your-lover-is-cheating/>Digital Clues: Signs Your Lover Is Cheating</a></li>
<li><a href=http://techcoquette.com/2009/08/how-to-tell-if-hes-a-cheater/>How to Tell if He’s a Cheater</a></li>
<li><a href=http://techcoquette.com/2009/09/hate-reading-your-exs-facebook-wall-learn-how-to-stop/>Hate Reading Your Ex’s Facebook Wall? Learn How to STOP.</a></li>
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