Get a date on Twitter

In all honesty, when I first started using the social networking site Twitter, I found it rather pointless. A year in, I'm completely addicted. I've made real life friends on Twitter, valuable business connections and have even used the site to meet single men.

James (not his real name) had been following me on Twitter for months. He posted witty responses to my tweets (140-character messages that users post) and sent me a few flirty direct messages. His avatar picture was cute. We started sending multiple messages, and decided to meet. After a quick drink, I soon realized that there wasn't much of a spark. There hasn't been a second date, although we continue to flirt from time to time.

While this date didn't work out, I figure I've got about as much chance of meeting the next love of my life there as I have anywhere else. Here's how Twitter can give you the advantage in the dating world:

A whole world of men

Ken Pearson, an online media strategist based in Toronto, explains why Twitter enables us to make connections: "Twitter is like the world's biggest cocktail party. It's all small talk, very light and friendly. Plus, you meet new people from all over because the whole world is invited."

The beauty of Twitter is that you can connect with absolutely anyone who has an account and converse with them. Katherine Dugas, who lives in New Minas, NS, (and tweets as @_peanut_) was reading her favorite web comic when she saw that the author was on Twitter. She started following him, made a real connection and developed a strong crush.

The crush turned mutual and Dugas is happy to report that she has found love on Twitter, which spilled into real life—the only snag being that her beau lives in Ohio. "We are talking about starting a life together," she says. "We have the next year's worth of visits all planned out."

More online honesty?

Meeting a guy through Twitter somehow seems more honest than other forms of online dating. You don't get to see a profile—not in the traditional online dating sense anyway—but you do get to see how that person interacts with other people. Looking at their tweet feed (a log of all the tweets that they have posted), gives you a much more in-depth sense of who they really are than a profile on a dating site ever could.