Click here and let the flirting begin>>>

I shared some of my favorite flirting techniques today in my LA Dating Advice Column on Examiner.com. It’s not too late to grab something green in your closet, find a friend, and let the flirting begin.

Now that Valentine’s Day is a distant memory,  we survived the Ides of March and are in the middle of March Madness,  it’s time to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Whether you know the history of St. Patrick or not, it’s the perfect time to brush up on your flirting skills to get ready for spring fever.

You don’t need to be Irish to get into the spirit. Practice these flirting skills and you’ll likely have a date on your calendar before the weekend.

1. Wear a green button that says, “Kiss me if you’re Irish.” Chances are you’ll get at least a smile, if not a peck on the cheek.

2. Grab some friends and go to your local watering hole. You don’t need to drink green beer, or anything green for that matter, to get into the spirit. While standing in line, comment on someone’s outfit who has caught your attention. It’s the kind of day where approaching others isn’t just accepted, it’s expected.

3. Pick up a green carnation for your date. This would have been tacky on Valentine’s Day, but on St. Patrick’s Day, it’s worth a chuckle and shows your date that you took the time to think of him or her.

4. Smile. A smile is contagious. Practice the 5-second stare while smiling at someone you would like to meet. It’s the cue for them to come over and wish you a Happy St. Patrick’s Day. Who knows where the conversation will lead.

5. Bring a camera or your iPhone and take photos. Compliment the guy with the tacky green tee shirt and take his photo. It will start the conversation. Chances are he’ll ask to see the shot and may even ask you to take another one. You’ll be engaging and entertaining at the same time.

Keep in mind St. Patrick’s Day is the perfect time to practice the art of flirting. Go ahead and wear that green button that flashes to draw attention. If you are not one to visit a local pub, go to a public place and wear green and start smiling. Go ahead and put a green bandana on your dog’s collar and go to the local dog park. You have permission to do it all.

Julie Spira, the Cyber-Dating Expert is the author of The Perils of Cyber-Dating: Confessions of a Hopeful Romantic Looking for Love Online. Visit her at CyberDatingExpert.com where you can sign up for The Weekly Flirt and receive dating advice.

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Now that Jennifer Love Hewitt is single again, as a hopeless romantic, perhaps she should try online dating.

Celebrities dipping their toes online is not a new concept. With their Facebook Fan Pages, Twitter accounts, and active blogs, why be shy in dipping in a toe on a popular Internet dating site?

In my article on Huffington Post, I suggest reasons why the newly single star should go online to meet her next love interest. I’ve even offered my services in creating her IRRESISTIBLE online dating profile. Will she take me up on my offer? I’ll keep you posted.

Read full article on Huffington Post>>>

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

Cyber-Dating Expert

Dear Julie,

My boyfriend cancelled our date as he was home sick with the flu. He truly was sick and sounded awful. However, my friend saw his profile online and it said he was “online now.” Should I be concerned and should I confront him?

~Amy in Atlanta

Dear Amy,

Your beau may have been sick with the flu and had a little too much time on his hands. Rather than emailing you a romantic note or taking a nap, he decided to go fishing. It’s not uncommon, but if you are sleeping with him, it’s not a good sign. You have two choices here.

1. Pretend you don’t know. In this case, you aren’t going to feel comfortable taking off your clothes on the next date. He may have just been bored and curious, or he is looking for a plan B. If you haven’t talked about being exclusive, assume you are not.
2. Go ahead and bust him. He’ll assume you didn’t know about his get-well hobby. Let him know that your friend saw him online and was about to write to him, until she realized who it was. Take the high road and tell him you’d like to date others as well. Don’t let an excuse such as  he let his friend use his account to see what it was like to be on an Internet dating site. He’ll either take his profile down or agree with you that you both should be dating others.

I’m a believer of saying what is on your mind and let the chips fall where they may land. It’s not fun being in a relationship where you are walking on eggshells. It’s just a time bomb getting ready to explode. Who knows? Perhaps if you take a peek online, you might find a better model yourself.

If you have a question and need dating advice, please send your emails to CyberDatingExpert.com/contact

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 for dating advice and where you can share your online dating stories.

Recently, Ryan Torok and Melanie Reynard from The Jewish Journal came to my home to interview me about my book, The Perils of Cyber-Dating: Confessions of a Hopeful Romantic Looking for Love Online. Their video shoot came complete with my personal critique of Ryan’s online dating profile.

After a fun and fabulous interview with authors Debra Goldstein and Olivia Baniuszewicz on Ask the Cyber-Dating Expert Radio Show, I’m pleased to add their dating advice book, Flirtexting: How to Text Your Way to His Heart to the Cyber-Dating Expert Reading Room.

Their mantra in the book is, “We date,  therefore we text.” Flirtexting, according to the two, has become the new “first step” in dating.

Deb and Liv describe Flirtexting as “Any text message sent between you and a boy you would like to date or are currently dating (i.e., someone you would like to make out with or are currently making out with). These texts are normally comprised of the flirty, witty banter that you throw back and forth with each other that typically leads to a date and, if you’re lucky, then some.”

If you aren’t sure who should make the first move in the electronic generation, then this book is for you. You’ll learn about some fun and flirty ways to communicate with the opposite sex.

Some questions you’ll get answered include:

• Should a woman send a text message to a man to thank him after a date?
• What are the benefits of texting while dating?
• What are the do’s and don’ts of texting
• What is sexting and should you press the send button?

You’ll also find out which of the two authors actually was asked to the prom via text message.

It’s a fun and easy book to read and fits in nicely with our theme of dating in a Web 2.0 World.

Click here to purchase your copy>>>

Read my dating expert column on DateDaily.com, where one woman wants to know if her first boyfriend could be “the one.”

A man isn’t happy with any of the women he meets online and asked for some dating advice.  Could he be “too picky?”

Another  man wants to have sex with his girlfriend before they are married. Should he put a ring on her finger first and set a date?

Read the answers to these relationship questions from singles on Date Daily and feel free to comment!

Click here to read dating expert column>>>

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 where you can sign up for the Weekly Flirt and receive expert dating advice.

It’s on the calendar every year. Those with a passion for fashion on the west coast anxiously await for the Fashion Week every March.

One of the treats leading up to Fashion Week is the FIDM Debut Runway show. It’s an exciting time for the students at FIDM, Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles.  Over 10,000 people view the invitation-only runway show over a period of 3 days.

I attended the dress rehearsal along with other members of the Costume Council of LACMA as one our annual events.

The theme this year included FIDM’s Theatre Costume Design presentation: “FIDM goes to the movies – A Tribute to Judy and Liza,” complete with 2 Judy and Liza impersonators, a chorus line,  and film clips from their famous movies including, Easter Parade and The Wizard of Oz.

The event is supported by Industry Leaders and the business community. Proceeds from the evening will benefit the FIDM Scholarship Foundation. The event showcases exciting and unique collections from FIDM’s graduating students in Fashion Design, Theatre Costume Design, Interior Design, Textile Design, and Graphic Design Advanced Study Program.

Along with the excitement and festivities for Fall Fashion Week scheduled for March 17-24, 2010, I think I’ll do a bit of spring cleaning in my closet.

Ask the Cyber-Dating Expert

Listen to Ask the Cyber-Dating Expert Radio Show where my guest, author Lori Gottlieb talked about her book Marry Him: The Case for Settling for Mr. Good Enough.

Find out why women have a list of 300 deal breakers while men typically have only three. Listen to the show to find out exactly what those three traits will excite the man enough to want a second date.

Hear Lori’s dating advice and her experience with online dating.

Find out EXACTLY what it means to settle, why it’s not such a bad idea,  and how to find happiness in your relationship. Are women too picky? Listen to the show to find out.

Learn more about dating, love, and romance in a Web 2.0 World on Ask the Cyber-Dating Expert Radio Show.

Lisa joined the online dating site OkCupid while she was still in college in southern California. She was busy working on her thesis on online dating for her major in Sociology so she thought she’d give the free site a try. She participated in their “quick match” game where each participant receives a picture and some information. She saw Kevin’s picture and clicked on “yes.”

Kevin was working as a computer programmer in northern California when he received an email from Lisa who lived hundreds of miles away. Fortunately fate brought them together when he also clicked “yes” when he saw Lisa’s photo. It was the epitome of a digital cupid!

As a student and waitress, Lisa couldn’t financially justify a flight up to San Francisco just to meet this guy she’d been talking to over the internet, so she painstakingly called in every favor of everyone she knew in order to get a job interview in San Francisco.  It took her 6 months to secure the interview and another month to pick her outfit (not for the job, but for their first date.) Oddly enough, she ended up getting the job, and was able to move up to the same city where Kevin resided.

Because they were so far away, and didn’t meet for so long,  they had the opportunity to do something that many people don’t get. They were able to get to know one another as friends. They hadn’t met in person, and didn’t want things to get romantic until they had done so. But they had such an incredible passion for one another, that they stayed up late every night talking on the phone for months, learning every detail about one another before their first date. Lisa and Kevin liked talking so much, that it was a short leap to full-fledged relationship. The first time he kissed her, she had this incredible jolt and  got the strongest feeling that this was the person she was going to kiss for the rest of her life.

The relationship grew quite quickly and she moved in with Kevin. They have now been together for 19 months and she couldn’t be happier with him than she already is.

Congratulations to Lisa and Kevin where a simple class experiment turned into a beautiful relationship of love.

For consideration in the Cyber Love Story of the Week, send us your stories!

Click here to read more Cyber Love Stories