A few years ago a girl I’d been dating texted me, saying never to text her again. Her exact message was something along the lines of, ‘Don’t ask me out with a text message ever again.’ At the time I was in my texting prime, sending and receiving hundreds per day. I remember being puzzled by this special request, especially since we’d already been texting and calling and meeting each other on short notice for several weeks. Hence my casual text, probably suggesting we get a drink or see a movie later that same night. Seemed appropriate enough. Or, worst case, undeserving of a timely reply. But her reply was instant, and her tone cold.
So I took an extra long look at that text from her, reading it again and again, and finally deleted it, along with her number. But she got me thinking about texting and dating and whether it really was tacky to go around asking girls out via text. ‘Who cares?’ I had always thought. We were living in wild cyber-times where anything would fly, it seemed. Why waste time wondering whether I should call, text, instant message, or write a letter? It all seemed OK as long as you made some kind of move, right? Wrong. Or maybe neither. Or maybe, without even knowing it, I was on the verge of something real exciting—Mobile Dating.
It dawned on me just the other day, while I was browsing a popular mobile dating site on my phone at a bar: It’s Spring 2012 already. 2009 seems like a whole other age, a darker age even, when texting and dating was second only to texting and driving in unacceptable behavior. But now, with mobile dating, that’s all you’re really doing—texting. I’m browsing profiles and reading status updates of local singles, messaging the ones who look promising, and marveling at the craziness of the whole interface. But the key is participating, seeing what works, and what doesn’t. With mobile dating, there are no real rules to adhere to, yet (aside from Don’t be a creep, Don’t be offensive), mostly because there’s only so much you can do within a chat window or a virtual gift shop. But it’s a thrilling new environment that, with the right tools and layout (and most importantly, member base), could be something special.
TruConnection.com already distinguishes itself from other sites by inviting more candid thought into the forum. Your profile isn’t static; other members get to know you based on what you write and share. So in the realm of mobile dating, TruConnection’s method of bringing singles together is a perfect fit.
Still in its early development stages, TruConnection Mobile isn’t simply an abbreviated form of TruConnection Desktop, but more of an extension. Its purpose ranges beyond a glorified text-messaging medium. TC Mobile is being designed with more real life practicality in mind, and I can’t wait to give it a try.
Derek@truconnection.com
