Meet Jeanelle and Barry who were looking for love online on MySpace.

Both single, the two were hoping to meet someone to build a relationship with, but weren’t searching in the same zip code range. Barry was searching for girls in his zip code in Arizona and Jeanelle was searching within 50 miles of her own.

One day when Barry was online, his computer crashed causing him to have to restore his data. When he logged on to his MySpace page his search had mistakenly changed to include Jeanelle’s zip code. Barry told Jeanelle that her picture was on the second page of the results and although he kept looking for a few days, he kept going back to view Jeanelle’s photo.

For three days Barry read over Jeanelle’s page and wondered if he should reach out to Jeanelle and start a mixed-race relationship. Both Jeanelle and her friends were African-American according to the photos that Barry had viewed. Barry wasn’t sure if Jeanelle would be interested in meeting a white man for a serious relationship.

Barry emailed Jeanelle a sweet email welcoming her to Arizona and said that she could email him anytime. The two emailed each other for a month before they spoke on the phone and then talked via phone for an entire month before they met. They both wanted to make sure they were building a friendship before jumping into an intimate relationship.

What really made Jeanelle fall in love with Barry is that even after she told him that she had two sons and MS, he still chose to be with her. She knew they were really in love. After the two months of courting, the two finally met and one year later on the anniversary of their first date, they were married. “He’s my best friend and because we became friends first, we remain friends through any challenge we face,” said Jeanelle.  “Online dating can be successful when both parties go in wanting a friendship before they become intimate.”

Congratulations to Jeanelle and Barry who teach us that true friendship is the basis of a long term and loving relationship.

Do you have a Cyber Love Story to share? Share your stories on our Facebook page

Julie Spira is an online dating, netiquette and cyber-relations expert. Visit CyberDatingExpert.com for dating advice and where you can sign up for the Weekly Flirt. Like us at Facebook.com/CyberDatingExpert and follow @JulieSpira on Twitter.

After 15 years of marriage, Dabney was ready to start dating again. She created a profile on Match.com and went on just five lunch dates.

When she first spoke to Vic, the two had instant phone chemistry. Vic had his list of questions that he asked all prospective dates. Dabney passed the test with flying colors.

When the two finally met in person, they were both delighted that the phone chemistry matched their feelings in-real-life. Vic went to hold Dabney’s hand and she pulled back in surprise. Vic asked Dabney, “Did you feel that?” Dabney tells us, “It was electric.”

Dabney and Vic were fortunate to have felt a spiritual and soulful connection on their first date. Five years later, during a vacation in the Florida Keys, Vic proposed to Dabney. Dabney, of course said “Yes!”

Congratulations to Dabney and Vic, who prove that you can have a second chance at love while looking for love online.

Do you have an online dating story to share?

Julie Spira is an online dating, netiquette and cyber-relations expert. Visit CyberDatingExpert.com for dating advice and where you can sign up for the Weekly Flirt. Like us at Facebook.com/CyberDatingExpert and follow @JulieSpira on Twitter.

Photo credit: SineadOConnor.com

Do you think online dating is just for everyday people who aren’t being set up by their friends? If so, think again. More celebrities are joining online dating sites to seek love in a web 2.0 world.

Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter, Sinead O’Connor is hoping she’ll find her dream guy on Plenty of Fish.

According to CBS News, O’Connor recently shared the news with friends and readers on her blog.  “This is to let you all know before anyone else does that I have now officially joined the dating site known as PlentyOfFish.com (or pof) under the username of VeryCareful1 and invite anyone interested to view my profile.”

O’Connor knows that you need to cast a wide net on the Internet and added, “Although I am living in Dublin I am of course also very much indeed interested in meeting nice gentlemen from other countries.” Sinead O’Connor divorced her husband of 18-days, Barry Herridge in 2011.

Other celebrities who have dabbled in online dating include Gossip Girl’s Chase Crawford on JDate, Joan Rivers who was spotted on Match.com, Pirates of the Caribbean Star Orlando Bloom, and True Blood’s Deobrah Ann Woll.

Would you write to a celebrity if you saw their profile online? Thoughts and comments are welcome.

Julie Spira is an online dating expert and founder of CyberDatingExpert.com. She creates irresistible profiles for singles on the dating scene. Follow @JulieSpira on Twitter for more dating advice and like us at Facebook.com/CyberDatingExpert

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Watch online dating expert Julie Spira in a conversation with GenConnect’s Nancy Spears. Julie shares her favorite and best Internet dating profile tips to help you get noticed while looking for love online.

Remember to have a catchy screen name, wear colorful outfits in your profile photos, and join more than one online dating site to cast a wide net.

For more dating tips, visit CyberDatingExpert.com and join our conversation at Facebook.com/CyberDatingExpert and follow Julie on Twitter @JulieSpira.

Your source of online dating and relationships advice for singles looking for love online.

There’s no doubt about it, that online dating allows you to cast a very wide net. You can easily change your zip code to a new city when you’re traveling to meet single men or women to find love online in another city. (Yes, I’ve done this myself).

If you’ve just moved and are the new face in town, chances are you don’t have a social network to rely on. This is where Internet dating can become your best digital friend.

Take for example, our Cyber Love Story couple, Sophie and Greg who met on JDate. Sophie was from Paris. Greg resided in Los Angeles. After 5-months of corresponding online, the two met. They had a whirlwind romance and were married in eight months. Sophie happily relocated to Los Angeles.

On Catholic Match, success couple John and Krystina didn’t let distance get in the way. John had just relocated to Michigan. He had hoped to meet someone close to home, but fell in love with Krystina, who resided in Massachusetts. Eighteen months later, the couple became engaged.

Recently, I was interviewed for an article on Match.com for dating advice magazine, Happen. In the article, Love: Make Your Move on how to find love online and offline when you move to a new city, I provided some tips for those who are willing to widen their search or have just relocated to a new city.

Online Dating Profile Makeover tips

“You should overhaul your online dating profile every few months. This is especially the case when you’re moving to a new city. Add some recent photos and start your ‘About Me’ section with something like, “I’ve just relocated from Chicago and am new in town.”

Offline Dating Strategy

Don’t forget your off-line strategies, says Julie Spira (www.cyberdatingexpert.com), a Los Angeles author, blogger and public speaker. “Introduce yourself to your neighbors and let them know that you’re single,” she suggests. “Find clubs and activities that match your interests and join them.”

Would you move for love? Are you presently in a long-distance relationship with someone you met online?

Your comments are welcome and if you get a moment, follow me on Twitter @JulieSpira and at Facebook.com/JulieSpira 

Julie Spira is a leading online dating expert and coach. She creates irresistible online dating profiles for singles on the dating scene and is the author of the bestseller, The Perils of Cyber-Dating: Confessions of a Hopeful Romantic Looking for Love Online. Visit her at CyberDatingExpert.com for dating advice and to share your online dating stories.

It’s been a fun summer at Cyber-Dating Expert Headquarters helping singles with their Irresistible online dating profiles, cheering them on when they happily retire them in favor of finding themselves in a committed relationship, and best of all, reading your online dating stories that you shared on Facebook and at CyberDatingExpert.com.

Now that summer is almost over, it’s time to announce the winners of the Looking for Love Online summer promotion.

In the category of worst date, our winner is Teresa Marroquin from Texas.

Teresa will receive a complimentary Irresistible online dating profile and a 3-month membership to Match.com.  In her submission, Teresa’s online date flew from Philadelphia to visit her for four days in Texas.

Find out why her date turned out to be a “Gorilla Guido,” and wasn’t what she expected.

“A guy came from Philly, PA to meet me & visit me in south Texas for 4 days, just two weeks ago. This guy is a “Gorilla Guido” type guy btw.  We get ready to go to the club, he starts to get ready, just like you see in the show Jersey Shore but 10x worse. We get in the car to leave and he is shirtless. We get in the parking lot and he needs to “pump up” before we can go in, so he starts to do pushups shirtless and says he’d be using his dumbbells too, but didn’t bring them.”

“He didn’t want me talking to anyone, he didn’t want me to say hi to anyone, I was stuck against the wall & wasn’t allowed to talk to anyone. We called it an early night.  Early the next morning he snuck out while I was still asleep. He text messaged me telling me he felt guilty for leaving his son back home. He still calls me his wifey, texts me, and wants me to go up to Philly to visit! I don’t think I’m the only one he saw while he was down here in Texas.”

In the category of funniest date, our winner is Carol McLeod Sanders from Alabama. Carol will receive a complimentary online dating profile critique and an autographed copy of The Perils of Cyber-Dating. Carol’s funniest date was with a man over 60 years older than her.

“My funniest date was with an 84 yr. old man when I was 22. We were walking about a mile back to his home and my car. During the walk from the Parade, he conned me into thinking he couldn’t go to the Homecoming game because he had no ticket or a way to go. I gave him a ticket and told him I would pick him up. When I got to his house, there were five sets of eyes peering thru his curtains! When we got to the game they all mysteriously showed up. I knew then I had been duped! I ended up buying drinks and food for six men instead of one. But we had a ball !! I never saw these men again but they smiled from ear to ear all day!”

All of those who entered the contest will receive a free email online dating profile critique. All of us at Cyber-Dating Expert thank you for participating and sharing your stories.

If you’re truly ready to become irresistible and want to know the secrets to finding love online, let us know. With the change of seasons, many singles are joining online dating sites and are ready to find love.

For more dating advice, follow Julie on Twitter @JulieSpira and at Facebook.com/CyberDatingExpert

Click here and let the flirting begin>>>

Thinking about expanding your zip code or dusting off your passport while looking for love online? I can tell you from first-hand experience that you need to cast a wide net and brush up on your technology skills.  Mobile phone use and high speed Internet makes it so much easier than in the pre-Internet days where you spent a fortune in long-distance bills and time buying Hallmark cards. Now, a cute e-card, Skype, twitter, and facebook along with your smartphone should keep you digitally connected and happily-in-love.

In a recent interview in the Times-Union, A Modern Twist on Long-Distance Love, I talked about the use of Skype and texting to keep you connected to your loved ones.

Julie Spira, author of “The Perils of Cyber Dating,” says many people look at technology to enhance relationships. Whether you use Skype, iChat or text, technology makes it virtually impossible to be disconnected from the world.

Spira said people must still invest in the relationship, and that relationships held together over distance are big commitments.

Spira advises women to even put on that cute dress and lipstick, the same as they would do face to face.

But Spira cautions that relationships starting out as long distance have a longer honeymoon stage. “Sometimes long-distance relationships give the false illusion you are in a long-distance relationship, but it is a vacation relationship,” Spira said. “Time is so concentrated you only know vacation mode; it is a romantic fantasy.”

Spira said in vacation relationships, you often only see each other for a short period of time, so you usually stay at nice hotels, eat at expensive restaurants and leave the real world behind.

“You don’t talk about issues real couples face, like talking about paying bills and mold in the house,” Spira said. “Vacation couples often have trouble making the transition into real relationships when they move to the same city or household.”

If you feel you’re in a vacation relationship, Spira said to incorporate regular life into the relationship, find boundaries and how to manage them.

“Try and focus on reality and not just romance.”

Are you involved in a long-distance relationship? Are you using video chat on facebook or skype as part of your digital dating regime? Your comments are always welcome and if you get a moment, follow me for dating advice on Twitter @JulieSpira, on facebook.com/CyberDatingExpert and on Google+ gplus.to/juliespira

This week’s Cyber Love Story of the Week is one where I’m proud to share, as I’ve known Tammye for over a year. Find out how an online flirt, initiated by Tammye, followed by her cancelling the date, eventually led to a marriage proposal. Here’s the story of Tammye and Scott.

He Said:

I had been dating online for about a year. If there was no connection, I just moved on. Most profiles and pictures were a lie and I was ready to give up on the entire process. I have never been one to go to bars, so dating online was my only real option. I had put a 25 mile limit on my search radius. Somehow Tammye came up within that search. She sent me a flirt. Tammye was 25.9 miles away, although she was just outside my criteria, I was impressed by her profile. She was articulate and I liked that. I answered the flirt. We set up plans to meet for coffee. Tammye cancelled [I still swear that she said due to a spider bite on her face]. That was my final straw … I was done. I was frustrated with the whole online dating thing, but Tammye and I remained Facebook friends. I watched her posts and the events she attended, she captured my attention. In one of her posts, she mentioned Italian food, I told her about a great spot for real Sicilian lasagna, and Tammye said “All you have to do is ask”. The date was set, June 15^th at 6:30pm. She was late, one of my pet peeves. I ordered for her.  She texted me when she arrived in the parking lot and I went out to meet her. As I waited to greet her, in my mind I saw her float above the ground, wearing a long white dress [come to find out it was a short black & white polka dot one] it was as if I had known her all my life.

I knew the moment I saw her I had found the one, I proposed on December 30, 2010. She said ‘Yes’ ~ three times. I never want to be without her. We have everything in common. She is my life mate.

She Said:

In December of 2009, out of sheer frustration, I joined an online dating site. I had just set up my Facebook account and one of their sister sites was Zoosk. I was dutiful and filled out the questionnaire, trying to be thorough yet interesting. Just let me say, you have to go through a lot of frogs before you find you find your prince. Having deleted my way through a few dozen or so gentlemen, and I use that term loosely, there was only one man that stood out, Scott. I was very hesitant, but we made plans to meet for coffee. Call it a mid-life crisis, but at the time I was determined to experience all those things that I didn’t have time for or money for in the past. I had recently taken up Kick boxing lessons, and a few days prior to our meeting, I took a punch to the eye. A swollen, black-purple-and-blue eyeball never makes a good first impression, so I cancelled. Scott and I never rescheduled the coffee meet up, however we remained Facebook friends for 6 months. In May of 2010, having found out it was my birthday, Scott invited me to dinner. We made plans to meet once again. This time the date was kept. We have been inseparable ever since. He means absolutely everything to me.

Scott and I just celebrated our one year anniversary; we are engaged and will be wed in March 2012. You really can find love online!

Congratulations to Tammye and Scott, our Cyber Love Story of the Week.

Do you have an online dating story to share?

Julie Spira is the author of the bestseller, The Perils of Cyber-Dating: Confessions of a Hopeful Romantic Looking for Love Online. Visit CyberDatingExpert.com for online dating advice and to share your online dating stories. Follow Julie on twitter @JulieSpira and at Facebook.com/CyberDatingExpert