Say Goodbye to your Online Date

I received an email in my Inbox today from JDate®, the largest online dating site for Jewish singles  announcing their new all-block feature. The email simply said, “JDate’s Got Your Block.” It was a catchy email and got my attention.

Now at the bottom of each online dating profile on their site, you have the ability to say goodbye forever to the bad date or former beau who broke your heart while looking for love online.

Since cyberdating safety is such a hot issue now, I think this is a great move from JDate. It’s simple to use and not much different than Facebook’s blocking feature. If you want to block someone for inappropriate behavior or someone you simply don’t want to have looking at your personal and online identities, here’s instructions on how to block your date:

1. You pull up a profile of someone you are interested in blocking.

2. At the bottom of the profile, it will say Report a Concern and the word Block.

3. Click on Block and a drop down menu will appear with the choice of:

• Block member from contacting you
• Block member from appearing in your search results
• Block member from viewing your profile in his/her search results

4. Click Submit and you’re done.

Screenshot A

Screenshot B

Voila! You have erased that person from your search and from contacting you, should you desire.

Should you use their blocking features? I think it’s terrific that you are given a choice of options.  From putting one toe in to the entire 10, the selection is up to you.

Naturally, the person you have blocked may realize you have done so, but dating should be about a matter of choice. If you’re uncomfortable, then go ahead and block someone. If you want to leave the door open for future communication, then I suggest you don’t block him or her. They won’t be happy to see you have done so.

For those who haven’t been able to get over their ex and are obsessively looking at their profile, this feature is for you.

At the end of the day, you’ll want to enjoy your experience and find someone to meet online rather than spend time on deciding which profiles you should block.

Will you use their blocking feature? Comments are always appreciated.

Note: Screen shot taken from my personal profile on JDate’s site

Interested in trying JDate? Click here to join

Tyra Banks featured a segment on her show about online dating, hook ups, and sexting.

She started The Tyra Show by stating that 60% of women say the Internet has changed their sex lives. She asked the audience to stand up if they had ever sex texted. Very few were willing to admit they had indulged in the habit. Tyra said she had an audience full of liars.

On the program Tyra said, “Personally I am not against online dating. There are a million steps you need to take before meeting that person, in person.”

Tyra doesn’t recommend meeting someone online if you are a teenager. “Please do not do that. It’s not safe,” she said. I have to agree. Most online dating sites require you to be 18 years or older to sign up.

Tyra’s panel consisted of four women in favor of sexting, and four who were vehemently against it for safety and self-esteem reasons.

One panelist said she likes to sex-text her boyfriend before he goes to sleep at night. Another panelist says it helps her relationship with her boyfriend while she is away at college.

I subscribe to the safety first theory. Just last week I was a guest on WPIX in New York with Tamsen Fadal and the subject was, cyber-dating safety. I provided some ways to date online, safely, which included:

• Don’t give out your last name
• Don’t give out your home address
• Don’t talk about  money
• If you’re uncomfortable, leave

Keep in mind,  your online communication often becomes public record and can be indexed by Google and the search engines. Think twice before pressing the send button, turning on your webcam, or uploading that risky video. If your relationship doesn’t end well, you don’t want your sexting history out there for the world to see.

Read my full article @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

On Thursday, April 23, 2010, Cyber-Dating Expert and bestselling author, Julie Spira will be a featured guest with Tamsen Fadal on WPIX Television in New York at 8:40am, eastern time.

Spira, the author of The Perils of Cyber-Dating: Confessions of a Hopeful Romantic Looking for Love Online, will talk about cyber dating safety and the importance of protecting your identity while dating online. Spira talks about the red flags in her book.

“Online dating safety is something that is near and dear to me,” says Spira. She adds,  ”I work closely with singles to ensure their experience is enjoyable and safe as well.”

Spira was recently featured on CNET in a story by Larry Magid, Find Love Online This Valentine’s Day – Safely and is a frequent guest in the media on the topic.

With the recent cyber bullying case in Massachusetts where a teenager committed suicide due to cyber bullying, the subject of Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites to gang up on children in schools is on every parent’s minds.

For more information, visit CyberDatingExpert.com

I’m filled with excitement as I prepare for the first-ever dating panel at the 140 Characters Conference in New York, which will be held at the 92nd Street Y. Conference organizer and creator Jeff Pulver has been working around the clock to make this the best social media event ever. There will be over 180 people speaking in 76 sessions on one stage.

On the flight from Los Angeles to New York, I had the chance to read part of Andrea Syrtash’s new book, He’s Just Not Your Type (And That’s A Good Thing) (Rodale) due out next week. Andrea will be a panelist in Wednesday, April 20th at 11:30am and will be signing copies of her book in the Schmooze Lounge from 12:00pm – 1:00pm in advance of it’s release, so don’t miss it. She’ll also be the featured guest on Saturday on Ask the Cyber-Dating Expert Radio Show at 1:00pm/Eastern Time.

I’m looking forward to seeing my co-panelist Tom Miller, General Manager of Your Tango. Our panel: Experiencing: Love, Dating and Romance in the Real-Time web is scheduled for 8:45am on Wednesday, April 21, 2010. I promise you it will be worth getting up early for. I’ll be talking about the changes in online dating since I created my first Internet dating profile 16 years ago and the effects of the real-time web in how we date and relate. I’ll toss in some dating advice, success couples, and where I believe we are heading with mobile dating and more.

After our panel, I will be signing copies of my book The Perils of Cyber-Dating: Confessions of a Hopeful Romantic Looking for Love Online in the Schmooze Lounge from 10:00am-10:45am. I hope to see you there!

Other authors who will be signing copies of their books include: John Kremer, Hank Wasiak, Melinda Emerson, Jonathan Maberry, Michael Tasner.

For a complete schedule of times visit the 140 Conference site.

If you can’t make it to the event, it will be streamed live on UStream at http://www.ustream.tv/nyc140conf. The hashtag for the event is #140conf.

The excitement will continue past the 140 Conference. On Thursday, I will be a guest on WPIX TV, channel 11 in New York in a segment with Tamsen Fadal. I will be talking about Cyber Dating Safety at 6:45am. I hope you tune in to watch.

On Thursday, several of the 140 Conference speakers will be attending the Broadway performance of Kelsey Grammer, now starring as Georges in the revival of La Cage aux Folles and we’ll be going back stage afterwards.

If this isn’t enough excitement, I’ll be back in New York again in May for Book Expo America where I will be speaking at the New York Public Library on May 25, 2010 and signing books at BEA -10 on May 26, 2010.

If you haven’t signed up yet for the 140 Conference, visit their site for tickets. Two-day passes are SOLD OUT, but you can still attend on Tuesday. For media inquiries visit CyberDatingExpert.com/contact

Ask the Cyber-Dating Expert Radio Show

Listen to Ask the Cyber-Dating Expert Radio show with Julie Spira and her featured guest, Shira Kallus, Dating Advisor to DATE.com, Matchmaker.com, and Amor.com, their newest site for Latin Dating.

Shira shared her personal story on how she met her husband online.

You’ll learn some online dating tips on how long you should wait to meet your date, relationship advice on finding your soulmate, and how to have realistic expectations while cyberdating.

We talked about cyberdating safety and more. Listen to learn more about DATE.COM, Matchmaker.com – a site truly geared towards finding serious relationships, and Amor.com