When Love Comes to Town- Celebrating eHarmony’s 10th Anniversary

Julie Spira and Leeza Gibbons

When I was invited to celebrate eHarmony’s 10th Anniversary with them both in Los Angeles and New York, I couldn’t say no. Unfortunately, I missed the wedding ceremony for success couple Sheri and Rob at eHarmony’s headquarters in Pasadena due to a last minute trip to New York, but luckily I met up with the newlyweds during the online dating site’s pedicab parade in Manhattan.

Bright and early 25 online dating success couples along with Grand Marshall, Leeza Gibbons and eHarmony executives, we arrived at The Early Show plaza for our first stop of the day. The success couples were dressed in tee shirts commemorating the decade of love from eHarmony with their new campaign, “Love Begins Here.” After brief appearances on the CBS morning program, we boarded our pedicabs for the motorcade throughout the city.

eHarmony Pedicab Parade

Our next stop was at Rockefeller Center, home to the Today Show. Leeza emceed the first of many kisses among the couples who found love online. We continued to FOX News and ended up in Times Square to view the new 4-story mural of thousands of singles who met on eHarmony.

Don’t forget to visit the interactive online mosaic at eHarmony.com/love

Congratulations to eHarmony for 10 years of helping singles find love online.

Complete article @Huffington Post

Live on Broadway: Promises, Promises

I just returned from a 48-hour whirlwind trip to New York. No trip to New York City would be complete without a stop on Broadway. This time, I had the honor of being a guest at the revival of the musical comedy, Promises, Promises starring Kristin Chenoweth and Emmy award winner, Sean Hayes.

Back in Los Angeles, I’m still humming to the songs of “I’ll Say a Little Prayer” and “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” sung so sweetly by Chenoweth. The show is heartwarming, especially for a Hopeful Romantic like myself. As I witnessed the emotional matters of the heart and relationship woes,  I watched and wondered will the boy get the girl he has the crush on? Will the girl get over the married man she believes she is in love with? Will they ever fall in love again? If you have the chance to be in New York, I highly recommend seeing Promises, Promises. I promise, you won’t be disappointed. The performance makes you realize how important it is to open your heart to the possibilities and that a heartbreak isn’t the end of the world.

During my brief stay, coincidentally, over 2500 female bloggers were in town for Blogher 10. I stopped by Single Edition’s Bloggers in Babeland gathering and snuck in a quick trip to the Met to see the Picasso exhibtion, along with Ringo Starr’s gold drum, and Big Bamboo on the rooftop of my favorite museum.

If you can’t make it to New York, you can purchase the soundtrack of Promises, Promises on Amazon.com.

Take me out to the Ball Game

It’s been years since I attended a baseball game at Dodger Stadium. I often wondered why baseball was America’s favorite past time.

One day, an invitation arrived on Facebook from an old friend I hadn’t seen in 30 years. It simply said, “Let’s Go Mets!” I couldn’t resist saying no, so I accepted the invite from a true serious New York Mets fan. More than a Mets fan, my friend is a Mets fanatic. He arrived wearing his Mets tee shirt and shorts proudly displaying his favorite team’s emblem. He talked about how his life had changed years earlier, after attending Mets fantasy camp. The enthusiasm about the New York Mets playing against the Los Angeles Dodgers was contagious. I couldn’t wait to get to Dodger Stadium.

I sent out a tweet that said “Let’s go Mets!” and my online conversation started about the upcoming team.  A friend of mine sent me a tweet saying the Mets will win by 5 + runs. The Mets had been on a losing streak, but I was hopeful they would win this one game. My Mets fanatic pal talked about his years of following the team around the country. It was his greatest passion. He had over 500 shirts with Mets logos on them and a house filled with museum quality memorabilia.

I arrived in time to watch a home-run. I got excited. I watched another ball player smash his face into the fence to catch the ball. It could have been a million dollar catch. I witnessed a marriage proposal on the big screen which said, “Robyn will you marry me? Love, Andrew” followed by, “She said yes!”  I immediately shared this experience on Twitter. We sang “God Bless America” and “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” during the 7th inning stretch. We talked about love, marriage, relationships, and my friend admitted he had a crush on me 30 years ago.

The best part of the evening was, the Mets beat the Dodgers, 6-1. My friend on Twitter must be thrilled that he picked the game, my Mets fanatic pal got to see a victory, and I learned a little more about baseball, crushes, and friendship.

A Hollywood Bowl Beatles Celebration

Beatles Celebration at the Hollywood Bowl

As Ringo turned 70 this week with a performance at Radio City Music Hall in New York, Beatles fans in Los Angeles got to celebrate the Beatles 45th anniversary of their first performance at the Hollywood Bowl.

It was my first official evening for the summer at the world famous Hollywood Bowl where the Fab Four performed in August of 1964 for their first time.

Although there were no signs of Paul or Ringo on the west coast, we did get to enjoy the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra conducted by Brian Wilkins and leading a variety of performers including Patti Austin who opened up with “I’m Looking Through You.” She followed up with her sweet soft version of “She’s Leaving Home” and delightful renditions of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” and “Penny Lane.”

Musical heartthrob Brian Laufler sang “Something” and “Across the Universe.” Guests in nearby boxes were singing along and enjoying the evening. Tony award winner Brian Stokes Mitchell sang one of his favorites, “Fool on the Hill” and added in “Norwegian Wood.”

After the intermission, R & B singer Bettye LaVette took the stage. If my eyes were closed, I would have thought it was Gladys Knight on stage. I have to say my favorite part of the show was the performance by musical genius Todd Rundgren. Todd opened up with “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite” and played “Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey.” I had a feeling he’d select one of his favorites. He ended with “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” and reflected about he had had performed with birthday boy, Ringo Starr. We heard “A Day in the Life” and “Let it Be.” Meanwhile, sitting in my box, I was reminded of memories of Todd Rundgren performing live in Central Park in 1970s which was memorialized in a vinyl album that I still cherish today.

We all expected everyone to join together at the end and had bets on “Hey Jude” for an encore and we weren’t disappointed. Along with Hey Jude the four performed “All You Need is Love.” You won’t get any arguments from me with that title. The crowd was waving their iPhones and BlackBerries as if they were holding a match or a flame to show their appreciation for the performers who honored the memories of The Beatles music all night long.

The Beatles Spectacular will continue on Saturday, July 10th and Sunday, July 11th.

iDate 2010 Update – The Internet Dating Conference

Ravit Abelman, Omnidate and Julie Spira, Cyber-Dating Expert at iDate

Twice a year the online dating industry gathers in the U.S. to discuss the latest trends in Internet dating. The conference, called iDate, was held last week in Beverly Hills at the SLS Hotel concurrently with the Social Networking Conference. The event started with a 3 hour presentation by Google followed by the evening party at the Stone Rose Lounge hosted by Elitemate.

This year I was a speaker and presenter on Web 2.0 Dating: Using Social Media to Create Brand Loyalty.

I spoke about Twitter marriage proposals and celebrity breakups and how Facebook has become the third largest country in the world. Social media is successfully keeping users engaged and informed with meaningful updates, dating advice, and well-deserved bragging rights of their success stories.

One of the examples of dating 2.0 I spoke about was, social dating site Zoosk. Zoosk has done an excellent job in creating brand loyalty through social media. When they reached their 1 millionth “fan” on Facebook, they celebrated by creating a video called What is a Milion to thank those who now like their page. They posted it on the Zoosk blog, on their Facebook page where over 200 fans commented and over 600 said they liked it.  They posted their video on their YouTube channel for Zoosk TV, where they have over 4500 views for this one celebratory video.

Other examples I presented included online dating newcomer, Brainiac Dating. Their Facebook page features profiles and photos of singles looking for love online. Several online dating sites use social media to engage their fans. eHarmony‘s Facebook page gives advice to daters. A sample update of theirs is, “Picnics make great casual dates, especially in the summer. What are some good picnic ideas?” Lavalife has a contest on their page where you can vote for the Top 10 singles. Match.com congratulates their success couple of the week, and JDate include their success stories on their pages.

I provided a list of online dating sites on Twitter. Sample tweets from online dating sites included eHarmony_Jack: “Are you in love or are you infatuated?”  Match “How do you break up with someone you met online? 25% of Happen readers said on the telephone.” OkCupid: “Speaking of faced and attractiveness..has the recession made you more beautiful?”

iDate 2010 - The Final Debate at the Internet Dating Conference

I participated in the conference highlight, The Final Debate, along with Elitemate’s CEO Victor Daniel, Mark Brooks from Online Personals Watch, Karinna Kittles-Karsten from Sacred Love, Tai Lopez from Niche Enterprises, Violet Lim from Lunch Actually, and Frederick Vallaeys from Google adwords.

Mobile dating was clearly a hot topic at the conference. Thank you to Marc Lesnick, head of the Internet Dating Conference and Mark Brooks from Courtland Brooks for the opportunity to speak at this well-respected event about Dating 2.0 and Social Media.

The next two Internet Dating Conference events will be held in Paris, France on September 15-17, 2010 and in Miami, Florida on January 19-21, 2011. If you missed my presentation and would like to hear more, contact me at CyberDatingExpert.com/contact or Social Media and More.

Butterfly Ball – A Night of Glee and Support for the Homeless

Julie Spira and Glee's Matthew Morrison

The 9th annual Chrysalis Butterfly Ball in Brentwood, brought out a combination of Hollywood Executives and celebrities to honor those helping the homeless in Los Angeles.

This year’s event honored Seth MacFarlane, Creator and Executive Producer of Family Guy, Ryan Murphy, Creator of Glee and Executive Producer of Eat, Pray, Love, and Brett Ratner, Director of Rush Hour and Chrysalis Board Member.

Ratner’s acceptance speech brought both himself and the attendees to tears. He thanked his grandparents, now in their 90s, and shared the story of how he saw the father he barely knew, alone on a park bench, homeless. His father was too embarrassed to reach out and ask for help. Ratner decided to dedicate his life to Chrysalis, an organization committed to reuniting people with their families and help economically disadvantaged and homeless individuals become self-sufficient through employment opportunities.

Cast members of Glee were in attendance, including Matthew Morrison, Amber Riley, and Mark Salling. Morrison sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” the song he performed during his audition for Glee. Other celebrities in attendance included Ryan Phillippe, Christina Ricci, Sophia Bush, Eva Mendes, Ashley Greene, and Ben Stiller.

Chrysalis has three locations in Los Angeles. Event co-chair and 20th Century Fox Television Chairman Dana Walden said she just visited their location on Skid Row in Los Angeles. Other locations include one in Santa Monica and the San Fernando Valley.

For more information and to make a donation, visit ChangeLives.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Julie Spira to Appear on KZSB Radio

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Los Angeles, CA June 3, 2010 -  Cyber-Dating Expert and bestselling author, Julie Spira will be a featured guest on KZSB AM in Santa Barbara on Thursday, June 3, 2010.

Spira will be a guest of show host and columnist Bruce Sallan, host of A Dad’s Point of View. The two will be discussing keeping secrets from your spouse and single parent dating.

Click here to listen to program>>>

ABOUT JULIE SPIRA

Julie Spira is known world-wide as The Cyber-Dating Expert. She is the author of The Perils of Cyber-Dating: Confessions of a Hopeful Romantic Looking for Love Online and host of Ask the Cyber-Dating Expert Radio Show. Visit her at CyberDatingExpert.com

Author, Julie Spira Appeared at the New York Public Library

As part of the first-annual New York Book Week, Julie Spira, bestselling author of The Perils of Cyber-Dating: Confessions of a Hopeful Romantic Looking for Love Online, was selected as the first of ten authors to be featured in the Library’s Meet the Author Series.

Spira talked about why she wrote her book on Tuesday, May 25, 2010 and read excerpts from two chapters. Following her presentation, she answered questions from the audience about the Internet dating industry as well as provided dating advice and tips for singles looking for love online.

“It was an honor to be selected by the New York Public Library at their “Meet the Author Series” during New York Book Week and to engage with the readers,” said Spira.

Spira donated a copy of her book to the New Amsterdam branch. She also signed copies of her book at Book Expo America on May 26, 2010.

New York Book Week was created by Book Expo America (BEA) to coincide with the publishing industry’s largest conference in North America.

New York Book Week included public “main stage” author programs at venues such as Times Talks, the 92nd Street Y, and the main branches of the New York Public Library and Brooklyn Public Library, as well as smaller events at other libraries in the NYPL system and chain and independent bookstores throughout New York City and its boroughs.

New York Book Week embraces all literary and book activity, and expands the awareness of authors, books and publishing.

To purchase a copy of The Perils of Cyber-Dating, click here>>>

For media appearances and interviews, visit CyberDatingExpert.com/contact

Sex and the City 2 Week – A Conversation with Stanford, the Broom

The Sex and the City 2 Opening Week Celebration was in full force. Starting with the Premiere at Radio City on Monday evening, continuing with a private party for SATC stylist extraordinaire Patricia Field at her swimwear disco soiree and fashion show, and ending with a 9-hour Sex and the City Hotspots Tour on the film’s opening night from On Location Tours. The evening ended with an exclusive interview with Willie Garson, best known for his role as Stanford Blatch,  Carrie’s best male friend in the films and television series.

Julie Spira and Patricia Field

Since I was in New York, where Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha frolicked in style, it seemed fitting to spend the evening on the Sex and the City Hotspots Midnight Madness Tour before going to the midnight show.After all, New York is the city that doesn’t sleep. I already knew my favorite scene was the wedding scene with Liza Minnelli singing Beyonce’s All the Ladies.

Our tour guide was as knowledgeable as a Sex and the City encyclopedia, if one did exist. She started by asking how many Samantha’s were on the bus. Only one person raised their hand. It appeared most women thought they were Carrie or Charlotte, or a combination of the two.

The Plaza Hotel

We started in front of the Plaza Hotel, where Carrie had said goodbye to Mr. Big in a scene based on the film The Way We Were. We drove past several locations that one could not forget, including Trey and Charlotte’s visit to Tiffany to pick out her diamond engagement ring.

We had the opportunity to jump off the bus and stop at the Pleasure Chest, where Charlotte bought her first “rabbit” and the trendy Buddakan, the location for Carrie and Big’s rehearsal dinner for the wedding that wasn’t.

Carrie Seim, Melissa Braverman, Julie Spira

It was a hot and humid New York evening, so I was thrilled to stop for a signature Cosmopolitan at O’Neals Grand Street Bar in Little Italy, along with Betty Confidential and New York Post writer,  Carrie Seim as well as  Single Gal in the City blogger, Melissa Braverman. The bar was known as Scout in the television series.

On the tour, we learned the following:

* SATC 2 had 114 costume changes
* Carrie Bradshaw spent $40,000 on shoes in one year.
* Carrie’s annual salary was estimated at $54,000
* Charlotte York was 32 when she asked a man out for the first time

When Aidan was going to be written out of the series, fans and loyalists around the world sent furniture made out of toothpicks and popsicle sticks to HBO and said, ‘Please don’t let Aidan go out of business”

Willie Garson (Stanford in SATC)

After dinner, I met up with Willie Garson,  who had just gotten off the phone with Sarah Jessica Parker in London. Before introducing the film to the crowd, Willie shared with us his thoughts about Sex and the City 2.

I asked the Sex and the City star who came up with the term “broom,” a combination of bride and groom, during the gay marriage wedding scene. Willie replied with, “Michael. We have the best writer in the business. If you asked him right now he’d write ten more movies, he’s so smart.” I have a feeling there will be many more brooms in days to come.

Willie added, “There’s a funnier line in this movie, but we can’t say it on television.  It’s Kim’s line about the guy in the desert. My God is that a funny line.”

Of the two weddings, one in the first film and one in the second, I asked him which was his favorite. He replied with, “Oh, wow. That’s hard to say. We don’t have favorites in Sex and the City. It’s all one story about these ten people.”

And finally, I asked, “Should one kiss and tell?” His reply was, “Always. You should kiss and tell someone, you shouldn’t kiss and tell everyone.” I have to agree with Stanford Blatch on this one.

In real life, Willie has been a friend of Sarah Jessica’s for 25 years. They talk almost daily.

If you missed the Midnight Madness tour and are a SATC fan, no need to fret. You can book your Sex and the City Hotspots Tour at your convenience.

Julie Spira is known worldwide as the Cyber-Dating Expert. She is the author of The Perils of Cyber-Dating: Confessions of a Hopeful Romantic Looking for Love Online. Visit her at CyberDatingExpert.com

Live from New York – Sex and the City 2 World Premiere, BookExpo and more

I’m quite excited to be back in New York. This week, the excitement can’t be missed with tonight’s World Premiere of Sex and the City 2.

I’m on my way to Radio City Music Hall to attend the premiere, happily dressed in a Herve Leger dress worn by Kim Cattral in the first film to get in the mood. If you can’t make it to Radio City, make sure you check out the live stream of tonight’s Red Carpet event starting at 6:00pm, ET.

On Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 1:00pm, I hope you can join me at the Meet the Author Series at the New York Public Library during New York Book Week. You’ll hear some of my personal stories from  my book, The Perils of Cyber-Dating: Confessions of a Hopeful Romantic Looking for Love Online. I’ll be discussing some of the similarities of Sex and the City and my memoir. A book signing will follow.

Book enthusiasts, publishers, and agents will all be at Book Expo America on May 26-28th. Join me at 9:30am on Wednesday, May 26, 2010 in the Authors Autographing Area where you will receive a complimentary signed copy of The Perils of Cyber-Dating. I’ll be at Table 21 from 9:30am – 10:30am. The lines start early, so put it on your calendar now.

On Wednesday evening, join me at the Opening Night for Sex and the City with the Midnight Madness Tour from On Location Tours. Get your tickets before it sells out. You’ll see real sights from the film and tv show, have dinner, and meet Willie Garson, best known as Carrie Bradshaw’s pal, Stanford Blatch from Sex and the City before our midnight screening of the film. Click here for tickets>>>

The excitement will continue all week long, so grab your Skyy Vodka Cosmos and Moet Chandon Champagne and enjoy the week.

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