Speed dating for geeks TLC style.

TLC knows whats hot, and that’s geeks. Well, financially speaking. Okay, maybe not really, but let’s just pretend for a moment.

Next month (Dec 18th) TLC will be airing a new show called ‘Geek Love’ that pairs Sci Fi geeks together in an speed dating forum. Now, I’m not sure how well this will go over with those of you who have social anxiety, but, it seems like a good forum to get like minded people together and possibly dating. Yes, the internet already does that; however, the problem is that real life is, real. Accept no substitutes.
And who knows, maybe this will be your inspiration to get out there and start meeting people.

I could write a long article about online dating profile pictures, but I won’t.

Instead, have a look at this video from Derren Brown’s Science of Attraction. In it, they break down the typical types of online dating profile pictures and test which one evoke the greatest responses. After viewing, you just may decide that its time to take down that self shot cell phone image once and for all.

Cause sometimes the best part of dating is the end.

We’ve all been there. You’re dating this girl and everything is going great. Then all of a sudden, the two of you split and this whole new being comes to life that you never knew existed. Have no fear fellas. We’ve categorized the different creations that can manifest after the dating is over and the girl has officially become your ex.

Alright ladies. Let’s hear your responses.

If you do a good enough job I’ll complile them to make a Girls Guide to Ex Boyfriends. The challenge is on!

Related Articles:

How to Flirt

Online Dating Sites For Geeks…kind of

How to Write a Good First Online Dating Message

Here is an excellent trilogy of videos that shows exactly what we’re trying to get across here at Dating A Geek. Being a geek is something that you should use as a tool rather than a crutch. Here is a series of videos about a geek, who uses his RC skills to pick up and date a totally random hot girl he met at the beach. Take notice to his confidence and his flirting, as opposed to talking, that he does in part 2. He was able to do this even though she had no idea what he looked like. And this brings us to another important point, being original is incredibly attractive to women. If you can be original, show confidence, and know how to flirt, you’re well on your way to mastering the art of dating.
Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Preparing your place for your date.

When dating, having good hygiene is a given. Having good household hygiene unfortunately isn’t.
Let’s be honest, this article is probably aimed at you guys. Why? Because you’re guys. Cleaning and dusting and mopping just isn’t part of your DNA, unless of course, you’re Monk.
But you’re not.
Here are a few tips to get that mess of a geek pad in order before its scrutinized by your date.

The living room is not the laundry room.
Guys treat clothes like basketballs. 3 points for the couch. 2 points for the floor. Unfortunately, your living room, and fondess for sports will be the first thing that a woman will notice when you invite her over for that “movie night.” Believe me fellas, if your place is a dump, the only action you’ll be seeing is in the movie. So, pick up those clothes, and while you’re at it, take out those dishes. Which reminds me…

Dishes need doing.
The goal of dishes isn’t to see how many varieties of mold they can collect. After seeing how spic ’n span your living room is, she’s probably going to say yes to that drink you just offered her. So, why ruin it by leading her to your episode of Dish Hoarders? Oh, and pro tip: Plastic cups   fancy. Go ahead and splurge on a cheap set of wine glasses, or for god’s sake anything glass. Even if she doesn’t come with you to the kitchen she’ll notice that. But you know where she will go? The bath room.

Bathe that bathroom.
Clean the toilet. Clean around the toilet. Lift up the seat and clean in the toilet. Clean the walls next to the toilet. Scrub the floor the toilet sits on. Disinfect the entire area that is even remotely close to the toilet. And when you’re done with that, do it all over again.
Oh, and occasionally changing your shower curtain and wiping your sink of facial hair and toothpaste would be nice too. But, next to the toilet, these are a faaaar second.

Put away those posters.
If it so happens that the two of you make it back to your bedroom, don’t stake the mood in it’s heart by creeping her out with your wall full of questionable posters and toys. Yes, we here at Dating A Geek encourage you to let your full geekiness shine. That being said, women expect men, geek or not, to behave manly. Seeing a room full of toys does not project manliness. Don’t believe me? How about this straight from the geek capitol of the world: Japan.

via Kotaku
You might think those posters of big-eyed little anime girls are cute as a button. But according to FujiTV, nearly 80 percent of Japanese women polled give a big no thanks to dudes who cover their room with stuff like that.

On the FujiTV segment, women were interviewed about whether it was okay for men to decorate their rooms with posters of girls. According to the clip, 79 percent balked. It didn’t just stop there.

“Eh, no way,” replied one young woman, when asked about whether anime or game figurines were okay for a guy to have in his room.

Keep in mind that everything else that we’ve mentioned so far also applies to your room. Actually, it especially applies to your room.

Manly Magazines.
Call this one a hygenic tip for your ego. You know what type of magazines I’m talking about geeks. Who knows, maybe she’s into that sort of thing, but better to give yourself a chance to find out.

Take care of your car.
Did you know that landlords will often look inside your car to see how clean of a person you are? True story. Guess what? Women do the same thing. Not exactly a “household” tip; but, your car goes in your house, or is at least parked near it, so, close enough for me.

Dating geek girls. -(^.^)-

I came across this article from 2007 and had to re-post it. Credit goes to Cash from Science and Super Models

Let’s face it, sometimes we get tired of dating models. Sure, they clean up well but it gets annoying having to tell her she’s beautiful a hundred times a day and the cocaine bill gets expensive. You might think you have no hope of getting an attractive low-maintenance geek girl and I am inclined to agree ( that you can’t anyway ) but I would rather light a candle than curse your darkness, so here are my tips to try and help. I present to you Version 1.0 of The Mens Guide To Dating A Geek Girl.

Getting Your First Geek Girl

So you’ve seen a geek girl. She’s got the Tina Fey glasses on and the hair is thrown up in a mess, she’s wearing clothes just frumpy enough you can’t tell what kind of body she has. Trust me, my friends, if she’s like any geek girl I have ever known, she has a better body than Eva Longoria. She just doesn’t need to flaunt it because Pete Yorn would never date Eva Longoria anyway. Now you just have to talk to her.

1. Be direct.

How to Flirt 101.5

Geeks, has this happened to you? You’re interested in a guy or girl. After a few weeks, or months (yikes) you work up the nerve to ask them out. You plan everything in advance. Make sure everything is right. Walk up to the person, or maybe give them a call, and when you finally invite them on a date, you get “Awe, I’m flattered John but honestly I think it would be better if we just stayed friends.”
You’re shocked but you sheepishly accept. “Yeah, sure, pfft, it’s probably better that way. So, uh, I’ll see ya around yeah?”

And there you are, confused, embarrassed, but most of all, wondering how you got all the signals wrong.

If that is you, or even if its not, read on.

One of the biggest mistakes geeks, and those who are a little socially unaware, make is the inability to distinguish between talking and flirting.

Talking is what friends do. Talking doesn’t convey sexual interest and it doesn’t label you as one either. Talking is what will get you thrown into the LJBF zone faster than Fat Albert sledding down Mt. Everest.

Flirting, on the other hand, is what you should be doing the very moment you meet someone who even has the slightest possibility of anything beyond friendship. And this is where I think a lot of people get it wrong.

Flirting doesn’t imply being all creepy. It doesn’t mean using cheesy pick up line. It doesn’t mean touching them in inappropriate ways. It doesn’t mean coming across as a sleaze ball or a slut.
Proper flirting should convey that you are interested in that person in a way that shows you’re a confident and respectful while giving off a hint of sexual tension.

I know this sounds a little complicated, and truth be told flirting is an art, so let me illustrate.
Say there’s this person at work that you may be interested in. You both cross paths at the vending machine. You could either:

Talk to them: “Hi, how are you? Good. So you work in the tech department, huh? Cool. Yeah, I wanted to get a job there but you guys are never hiring. I know. Bummer.”
Flirt with them: You go up and hit cancel on the machine. “Sorry, I was here first. Didn’t your mother ever teach you any manners?” (said with a smile).
She says: lol “No you weren’t! You totally butted in line.”
You: “WHAT? Ridiculous. Fine (give her back her change and make sure to make hand contact) I’ll let it slid this time, but you owe me” etc. etc.

See the difference here? Flirting is a playful way of showing interest while allowing the other person to reciprocate their interest or not. There are also a few elements that can enhance your flirting. Such as:

Touching - As in the example above, touching (or kino) enhances the sexual tension that may arise in the moment. It’s a powerful attraction switch and should be used at every appropriate opportunity.

Teasing – Teasing and flirting go together like peas and carrots. It brings humor, another attraction switch, into the interaction which gives it all a playful comfortable atmosphere. If you can make a person comfortable right from the start, you’ll definitely be looked at completely different.

Innuendo – Innuendo is saying something without saying it. For instance, say you ran into vending machine girl again the following day. You could say “Vending machine girl, we really need to stop meeting like this, people will start to talk you know.”

shinesforyou, flikr

The implication here is that the two of you have a secret relationship.

Use Hypotheticals – This is a good way to insert sexual tension where it otherwise may be lacking. It takes the impetus off of you and places it in this hypothetical situation. For instance, “Hey, you seem like you’re pretty smart. What’s your opinion on this. I have this friend who thinks its okay to sleep with his ex even though shes kinda sorta seeing someone, but not really. What’s your take on that?”

Confidence – Confidence is the ring that rules them all. Everything you do, even if its dumb, will come across 10x better if done with confidence.

I know many of these things will be hard for you guys to do right away. Flirting is a little ballsy and can be will require some work before you master it. Just know that everything can be done in small steps. Maybe work on your confidence. Then work on becoming good observers so you can make those situational teases. Then maybe work on your touch. etc. etc.

No matter what you do, however, just keep working on your inner game and I guarantee that you’ll master flirting in no time.

Have comments or suggestions? Go ahead and leave them in the box below!

Related Articles:

• Dating For Shy Men and Women
• 2GL1: Awesome Dating Advice for Socially Shy People

Online Dating Sites for Geeks

Ok I lied a little bit. These sites dating sites aren’t only for geeks. The truth of the matter is that most of the sites aimed directly at geeks have no where near the amount of members are the other major dating sites. However, what you miss in quantity, you may, and I highly stress may, make up in geek quality. Here are a few that you may want to check out.

Geek 2 Geek – Paid

gk2gk is a site solely dedicated to getting geeks together. It is free to see, and to be honest, I didn’t see much. When I did a search I think I came up with one page of results, none of which tickled my fancy. Yikes. Until this site picks up a little more steam I’d say you may be better off with another. Members ~40k

Match – Paid

Match is one of the kings of paid dating sites boasting ~96 million members. My experience with Match has been generally good but I will say that the members tend to be a tad bit pickier. The downside is obviously the cost which is in the $30 a month range. They do have a free to see feature which is pretty much useless, however.

eHarmony – Paid

eHarmony is another fairly large paid online dating site with ~37 million members. Their niche is that they use personality tests to pre-screen and determine matches. I have not tried this site so I cannot vouch for it; however, I have heard that people were pleased with their service. As a note, they only allow male/female dating. Their loss right!? Right.

Chemistry – Paid

A sister site to Match.com with a slightly better free option. ~11 million members.

Ashley Madison – Paid

This is the naughty dating site of them all. Members are married looking for other married people to hook up with. Why do I always envision Austin Powers laughing when I think of this site? Either way, geeks, I doubt you’ll find much here but if you’re into that sort of thing, who knows. ~11 million. Yes. I’m a little shocked too.

Meetic – Paid

Meetic is mainly for European singles and I believe it is the biggest one? Being from the US I have no experience with this site.

Zoosk – Paid

Zoosk is the one you’ll see plastered all over the place and on Facebook. It does have a large membership at ~50 million but it is international. Unless you just plan on looking this one will cost you.

Soul Geek – Paid

This is another one aimed directly at geeks. Similar to Geek 2 Geek, the members are relatively small so you may or may not find that geek your looking for.

Do you have an online dating site to add? Leave it in the comments

Cause dating a geek is serious business.

Maybe you decided to start dating that geek that’s been giving you his cheese sandwiches since the first grade. Or maybe there’s that guy in the tech department that you have this huge crush on despite his overt love for all things electronics. Whatever the reason, you now find yourself in uncharted territory and need a little help navigating the waters.
Argh me geek lover. Ye be in luck.

GeekMom assembled this nifty little chart which will help you keep your geeks in a row. Just make sure you direct him (or her) to this site so they can take their game to the next level.

• Astrophysics Geek: When units are measured in lightyears and parsecs, pi equals 3.
• Trek Geek: Kirk or Picard? You must have an answer, it will come up and its important.
• Jedi Geek: Han shot first.
• Apple Geek: Its release is purely speculative, no one knows what it will actually look like, no one knows what it will actually do, but its been pre-ordered.
• Engineering Geek: Duct tape can fix everything, and yes they have it with them.
• Food Geek: Do not ask for steak sauce with your $100 steak.
• Hitchhikers Guide Geek: 42 is the answer.
• Linux Geek: That source could be a little more open.
• Board Gaming Geek: No, you can’t put your stuff in their trunk, its full of games.
• Physics Geek: A cow is simply a series of spheres.
• Doctor Who Geek: Bow ties  are cool.
• Conspiracy Geek: Gas prices too high? Global Warming? Fluorinated Water? Burnt the toast? All the Illuminati.
• Electronics Geek: If you just add one component to that clock it could also bake bread.
• Simpsons Geek: They are so smart, S-M-R-T, I mean S-M-A-R-T.
• Photography Geek: Yes that’s a camera in their pocket, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t happy to see you as well.
• Anime Geek: = Otaku. And they love Cos-play. Not related to Cos-tco.

Related Articles: Geek Speak Turned Mainstream (because chances are you’ll run across these words in real life)

Dating for shy men and women just got easier.

Dating can be tough. Dating for shy men and women, can seem impossible. Not only do you have to deal with all the stresses of being on a date, which even extroverts have to deal with, you have to overcome your shyness on top of that. Yikes right? Not so fast. Dating for shy men and women may not be as difficult as you think! I’m about to let you in on a little secret.

For most people who claim that they are shy, what they really mean to say is that they are shy in certain situations. You’d be amazed how many “shy” people act like total goofballs around their friends and family. In fact, I probably just described you did I?

If I did, then you’re already half way there to overcoming that shyness around new people. And if I didn’t, and you’re truly a shy person, then that’s okay too. Dating for you shy men and women is about to get easier. This is what we’re going to do.

The next time you go out, I want you to talk to two people.

Hold on. Hold on.

I hear it already. “But I’m shy, I can’t just go up to talk to some strangers are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

No, I’m not, but I am trying to break your shyness so that the normal goofball awesome you can come through on dates and in your daily life. And before you freak out, let me finish.

I don’t want you to go up to just any random person. To start off, go up to people who you would normally approach during your day. Think cashiers, waitresses, people you pass at work, the perfume lady at Macy’s, it doesn’t matter – basically, anyone who you would naturally come in contact with.

But this time, instead of just standing there while they swipe your groceries staring into space, or simply just giving your lunch order to the waitress, or passing that co worker with a smile, I want you to say something, anything, that you notice or comes to mind.

For instance: You’re at the checkout and some cute girl is swiping your groceries. You notice that she has neon green nail polish on. Instead of just thinking ‘wow that’s some bright nail polish’ say it! And say it right away. Don’t psych yourself out by thinking. Say exactly what’s on your mind right away.

Chances are this simple observation will lead to a conversation. And if you go to that same place a lot, maybe even a friend, or maybe even a date. Even if it doesn’t, you’re being proactive about defeating your social shyness, facing that twinge of anxiety, and overcoming it. As a note – it doesn’t matter if it’s a guy or girl. Talk to anyone at every opportunity.

I guarantee that if you do this for a week, not only will you find yourself opening up to situations where you would normally remain quiet, but, you’ll find that its just a more interesting and engaging way to go about your day.

Before you know it, you’ll be talking to anyone who you feel like talking to and well on your way being your true self. Dating for shy men and women? You got this.

Related Articles: Is Online Dating Good For Geeks and Shy People?