TED Thursday: The world of online dating

I came across this TED talk today. A girl, recently out of a relationship, who loves data and connecting the dots and makes a mean timeline. She's a planner. Any of that sound familiar?

I found myself laughing out loud at a couple parts, loving how she broke down the system to find what she needed. The talk is hilarious. Give it a listen.

As I've talked to friends, most of whom are happily married, about the re-entry to the single world...they are at a loss for advice on how to meet guys. You can't just stroll across the Quad or go to a new class next semester and hope you find a cutie worth getting to know. And most of these happily married friends? Have friends who are happily married. So they can't troll their friends for possible dates for me, either. Time and time again, their answers were "what about online dating?"

There are so many thoughts that come to mind with that simple question. Because it doesn't feel so simple. Which site would I choose? Where do I even begin when it comes to setting up a profile? How much/how little information do I tell? What happens when no one emails/pokes/responds/messages/(insert whatever it is you do to chat on online dating because I'm so clueless here) me?

This lady took those frustrations and her skillset and made it work for her. It's hilarious...and ingenious. While I don't plan on engineering a handful of fake profiles, I applaud her for doing the legwork. And the moral of the story is: the legwork paid off. Sometimes, alright - most times, boys are dumb and they need help putting their shoes on, let alone finding someone who could conceivably become a life partner - so the creepy fake profiles seem less creepy when it pays off. Alright, the shoes are probably an overstatement, but I bet every girl reading this is nodding her head.

It all seems laughable to me.

[Find site]

[Create account with boringly literal or strangely funny username to lure boys]

[Insert picture]

[Add stupid quip that continues to attract said boys]

I'm pretty sure "Divorcee with dog and no steady income" is not the product of the algorithm that ends in my favor. That is not the milkshake that brings the boys to the yard.

I'm also pretty sure that my list would have at least 72 data points.

But what I do know FOR A FACT...is that I have awesome friends who will remind me along the way that he is out there and I just have to keep living and working and someday my man of action will show up.

Bring it, dating world. Smileygirl1978 ain't got nothin' on this milkshake*.

*In fact, it appears she hasn't even seen a milkshake in awhile.