‘Today Gets Personal’

‘Today Gets Personal’

How to find true love in an impersonal world
In "Today Gets Personal," bachelorette Monica Flanagan and bachelor Don Baylor, Jr. learn about some of the latest forms of matchmaking as they search for the perfect date.


Jan. 22 — In a special series, “Today” looks at how to find true love using some of the latest forms of matchmaking. Learn more about “Today’s” bachelorette Monica Flanagan and bachelor Don Baylor, Jr. and how they are searching for the perfect date, and find out more about some of the dating services available.

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	January 22 — “Today Gets Personal”: Bachelor Don Baylor Jr.’s mom Jo Baylor talks to potential candidates to date her son at New York’s Drip Cafe.

“TODAY’S” BACHELOR
*Name: Don Baylor, Jr.
*Age: 30
*Occupation: Legislative director
*City: Brooklyn, NY
*Astrological Sign: Scorpio
*Likes: Crossword puzzles, watching C-SPAN, playing harmonica



	January 22 — “Today Gets Personal”: Bachelorette Monica Flanagan’s mom Mary talks to potential candidates to date her daughter at New York’s Drip Cafe.

“TODAY’S” BACHELORETTE
*Name: Monica Flanagan
*Age: mid-30’s
*Occupation: VP, financial sales
*City: New York City
*Astrological Sign: Virgo
*Likes: Singing in the car, photography, reading mystery novels

DATING RESOURCES:

Date Cafes:
Drip Cafe
What is Drip?
Drip, opened in June 1996 as a coffee bar/cocktail lounge/food and dessert cafe with a bulletin board on the wall called “Lovelife”. Since Drip was such a comfortable place to meet people, the bulletin board evolved into a dating service with thousands of people participating.
What is the matchmaking success rate at Drip?
Drip generates over 3,000 dates per month, with 10-25 dates nightly at the individual date cafes. The dating service has over 34,000 members, and Drip currently is responsible for 139 marriages!
Who is Nancy Slotnick and what is her dating expertise?
Nancy studied Psychological Anthropology at Harvard, specializing in the cultural differences between men and women. She founded Drip and Drip.com because she wanted to help people with their love lives. She is currently writing a book on this topic and on the program that she has created.
How do I apply for Nancy Slotnick’s 20 Most Eligible Program?
Simply e-mail: drip@drip.com with your self description and a brief explanation of why you feel you are ready to find “the one” in the next six months.
What is www.Drip.com?
Drip.com is online dating with a twist — a network of local cafes where you can schedule a date. The cafe staff introduces you when you get there!

Internet Dating:
Match.com
How does online dating work?
Online dating uses the speed and efficiency of the Internet to connect eligible singles. There are literally millions of singles using online dating today. On Match.com, singles can post profiles and photos, select preferences for a potential date and at the click of a mouse, see and read about their most likely matches, often numbering in the hundreds.
What kind of people will I meet on Match.com?
Match.com members are a diverse, global community of singles. Members tend
to be professional, college-educated, single adults who are seeking a fast and fun way to connect with other eligible singles.
How do I set up a profile?
It’s easy to get started. Log on to www.match.com and go to post a free profile. From there you will fill out information about yourself and your preferences regarding a potential date’s age, location, lifestyle, ethnicity, religion and body type, among other criteria. You can also post one or several photos with your profile. Before you decide to become a paying subscriber, you can browse the member profiles and search for matches
on the site.
How much does it cost?
When you’re ready to contact other Match.com members, the basic one-month subscription is $24.95. All contact between Match.com members on the site is done using an anonymous username, and not a real e-mail address, so personal contact information is not exchanged until ready to do so.

Online dating: The profits and pitfalls of Internet matchmaking
www.msnbc.com/news/onlinedating_Front.asp

Speed Dating:
8MinuteDating
What is 8minuteDating?
8minuteDating is a party where participants are introduced to at least eight other single people and are able to meet everyone at the party in a safe, comfortable environment and talk with a lot of single people. At 8minuteDating, there is no pressure, just the opportunity to have fun with other eligible singles. This combines the anonymity of online dating with the ability to meet people in person.
8minuteDating takes advantage of the Internet so people can sign up and receive matches, but it also offers the opportunity to meet people in person first. Since you don’t disclose your name, you can maintain your confidentiality unless you want to meet someone again.
8minuteDating is online dating in reverse, allowing people to meet first and then use the Internet to determine interest.
How does it work?
1. An equal number of single men and women gather at a restaurant or other venue
2. Each person has eight one-on-one dates that last eight minutes each.
3. To keep the conversations comfortable for everyone, we ask participants not to ask anyone for their last name, phone number or for a date.
4. There’s also an intermission where you get to meet everyone at the event, giving participants the opportunity to mingle with other potential matches.
5. After the event, participants log on to www.8minuteDating.com and enter the names of the people they want to meet again, whether it’s for dating, friendship, or business.
6. Whenever two people enter each other’s names, 8minuteDating sends the contact information to both people so they can set up another date.
Is eight minutes really long enough?
We designed 8minuteDating events to maximize the chances that participants will meet someone who they want to see again. In many cases, you can tell in two or three minutes if you “don’t” want to see someone again, but it takes about eight minutes to determine if you “do” want to spend an entire evening with someone. If the eight minutes goes by quickly, that’s a good sign that you’ll have more to talk about, but if eight minutes seemed like an eternity, then you probably don’t want to meet this person again for dating but you might make a new friend or business contact.
In addition, the number eight is a symbol of two rings connecting, and 8minuteDating is all about helping people connect with other people.