Have you ever dated over the internet? Have you ever met someone through an online social network? Have you ever been a bit afraid to put yourself out there? Well, I have done all of this.

Online dating can be fun, but, it is always important to use caution. Keep in mind if you go from meeting online to meeting in person, you are still meeting a stranger. So, always use caution, and take your time. Make sure the first meeting is in a public place.

Internet dating can be a blast!! For me, I love it because I don't go to bars, so, I can sit at home and browse profiles. I really enjoy reading about people. Plus, I feel that it helps you really get to know someone first. Have you ever been on one of those dates where you could say anything and the other person would agree with you? I have! It seems that type of person is just wanting to please you. It's nothing more than a facade. If I were to say to the waitress, "I'll just have water, I'm a non-drinker." The guy would say the same thing. Then, I find out 2 months later that he is a drinker, and a pretty big one.

This brings me to tip number one! Be HONEST! When building an internet profile, why wouldn't you be completely honest? Wouldn't you want to get someone of like mind? Wouldn't you want to get exactly what you are looking for? The best way to do this is to be honest about yourself, as well as an honest description about the person you are looking for.

Tip number two. Get out a piece of paper and write down EXACTLY what you are looking for in a person. Then, next to each thing begin to number them with #1 being the most important quality. And get honest with yourself. If someone being a non smoker is the most important thing to you, make sure to write that in your description. If sexuality is number one on your list, then, get honest about that even with yourself. Figure out exactly what is important about that to you. But, you can base your profile in such a way that portrays that. You can also find specific dating sites that are geared around what's important to you. Why settle for less? You've got the entire internet to choose from!

Tip number three. And, I really think this is important. What ever you do, make sure to spell check your profile. Stay away from using basic internet 'lingo', or text message short cut type 'slang'. When reading a profile, it makes people sound uneducated. So, make sure to use full sentences, not use short cuts, and run each part of your profile through a spell check. Or even better yet, run it through Microsoft word doc and it will tell you if you have broken sentences and if your spelling is correct.