Truth, Lies, and Online Dating: Secrets to Finding Romance on the Internet (Paperback)

by Terry Ulick (Author), Alyssa Wodtke (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Online dating represents an amazing new way to meet people, but it requires technology skills in addition to social skills. "Truth, Lies, and Online Dating" shows you how you can effectively use your PC, digital camera, word processor and other PC-based tools to effectively market yourself and communicate who you are -- and who you are looking for. It teaches the mechanics of online dating services and shows you how to put each service's search engines to work to find the best dates. Learn how you can try services first without having to subscribe, and how to find dating sources that match your lifestyle. Finally, you'll explores the darker side of online dating, learning how to spot people who may not be telling the truth about themselves and even using background check services to verify the identity of the person you are interested in.

About the Author
Terry Ulick has extensive experience chronicling the revolutions in media and computing. He has written extensively on PC use since the late 70s and was a columnist for PC Magazine in its earliest days. He went on to publish the first magazine on desktop publishing, Personal Publishing, in the mid 1980s and to write three of the first books on desktop publishing. Most recently he has authored PC Magazine's Guide to Media Center PCs (Wiley, October 2004, Bookscan: 194 YTD) and Building a Home Entertainment Network (Que's Intel Digital Home series, Forthcoming: March 2005). In 1995 he co-founded the first online digital photo service for America Online, PicturePlace, an AOL Greenhouse Venture. Currently, he is the President and Co-Founder of Good Time Networks, a next-generation TV network designed to deliver all-original lifestyle programming via broadband delivery on home entertainment networks in addition to cable and satellite services. Good Time Networks shows include Good Time Wine, Camp U.S., First Resorts, Snacks and Wine After Dark. Terry lives in Red Bluff, CA.

Alyssa Wodtke has edited numerous Web sites, novels, technical books, and proposals in the last decade. Her Web site www.stylewithsubstance.com contains reviews, commentary, short stories, and shoes! She is the author of Learn Online Dating for 5 Bucks (Peachpit, Forthcoming December 30, 2005)

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Course Technology PTR; 1 edition (June 14, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592009166
• ISBN-13: 978-1592009169
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #385,263 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Complete How-To book , September 9, 2005

By	John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A male, Terry Ulick, and a female, Alyssa Wodtke have both tried matchmaking through the online dating web sites. Terry reports that he has found his true love online, Alyssa is still looking.

The web is perhaps the most significant change in communications since the invention of the printing press. And to move to match making is a logical use of these communications capability. The Internet expands your horizons beyond the local bar, or church, or any other social group that you might use to meet people.

First talking about the general rules, the authors move on to the mechanics of selecting and then using these sites. Let's face it, there are some commonly understood rules about making yourself as attractive as possible over the web without telling lies. As the story goes: 'She wants Tom Cruise, but she's no Nicole Kidman.'

The mechanics here include how to show yourself best in a picture, what to put in the written summary, how to phrase your first e-mail, and how to keep out of trouble -- the web is pretty wide open , how to proceed from just communicating online to gathering your heart in your throat and having that first meeting.

8 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars improves the odds, August 5, 2005

By	W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

When the dot com bubble burst in 2000, one of the few, consistently profitable sectors that remained was online dating. The biological imperative to um, you know, kept those websites well visited. Match.com, date.com and a whole slew of others.

Now, Ulick and Wodtke offer a guide to the uncertain newbie. Who might be considering patronising one of those sites, but is understandably wary. Indeed, well you should be, as pointed out by the authors. There is a potential bad side to this phenomenon. They explain how to take sensible and easy precautions to minimise your risk.

But there is a broader and more optimistic theme to the book. Namely that online dating can [might, maybe] increase your chances of finding a compatible person. Sure, people can lie online. But that also happens in personal ads of newspapers, and in face to face meetings.

Online dating can let you expand vastly the pool of people; far beyond your personal acquaintances. And to do comprehensive filtering on their preferences and yours to improve the odds.