| In her bestselling book "Mr. Right, Right Now, How a | | | | figures out that you are eye-catching, spontaneous, |
| Smart Woman Can Land Her Dream Man in 6 | | | | bright and witty, without your having said any of those |
| Weeks," author E. Jean Carroll lists 119 great places to | | | | words. |
| meet eligible men. Her list includes #9 Mountain Bike | | | | Let's return to Rule #1, the one that Jean says is the |
| Trails, #28 NASCAR races, #41 yacht clubs, #64 | | | | most important, "Put Up a Peachy Picture." According |
| guitar class, #85 Home Depot, #95 cooking class and | | | | to the book, "It takes less than 2 seconds for a man to |
| #115 weddings. Her Number One #1 way to meet men | | | | suck in every detail of your hair, your clothes, your |
| is online dating sites. She says that online dating is now | | | | shape, your style, your status, your walk. Men |
| cool, something that smart couples brag about to their | | | | absolutely lose their brains over novelty and beauty. |
| friends, and is the most effective way to meet your | | | | 'The [first] impression is anchored,' says Dr. Frank |
| future husband. | | | | Bernieri, the Harvard Ph.D. world's leading authority on |
| In the book Jean provides a set of sensible rules for | | | | the subject. When a guy sees an attractive woman, |
| online dating. | | | | he wants to find her interesting. He wants to discover |
| Her Rule #1 of online dating is, "Put Up a Peachy | | | | she's intelligent." Guys can't help themselves when they |
| Picture." She advises 'hiring a professional makeup | | | | see an attractive woman, or an attractive photo of a |
| artist and spend an afternoon having a friend take | | | | woman. In fact, later when they meet her in person |
| pictures of you.' This is excellent advice, if you and | | | | they don't even care if she doesn't look exactly like |
| your skilled photographer friend have the time. If not, | | | | her photo. They were hooked by the first impression, |
| the next best thing is to have your non-professional | | | | and they stay hooked. |
| photo subtly enhanced so that it looks professional. | | | | Every photo of "beautiful people" that you see in a |
| Jean's Rule #2 is "Create a Bewitching Screen Name." | | | | magazine has been retouched. In the frozen time of a |
| Unless you are looking for "sex sixty or seventy times | | | | camera flash, actual people just do not look that |
| a day with dozens of strapping young rakes," she | | | | perfect. They have skin blemishes, their eyes are not |
| advises against screen names like Miss Behavin, | | | | even and fully open, the angle of the light makes their |
| Boobalicious or The Naughty Professor. For the | | | | noses look too long. The stars all have their photos |
| ordinary woman, she recommends references to | | | | retouched, and for online dating sites you should also. |
| poetic or literary characters like "Lady-Chat-Early" and | | | | Many companies do photo retouching, to correct the |
| "HalleBerryTwin." | | | | minor problems in a snapshot and transform it into a |
| Rule #3 of online dating is to spin a story for your | | | | professional portrait. Retouching can remove |
| profile. Instead of merely describing yourself, write a | | | | blemishes, smooth skin, eliminate crow's feet, correct |
| few sentences about something that happened to you | | | | color balance and even make you a little slimmer. |
| and how you responded to it. A real-life example from | | | | So go ahead and sign up with an online dating |
| the book: "I love behind the scenes of movies. I walked | | | | company, or several. Submit a nice, enhanced photo of |
| onto the set of Julia Roberts' new movie and the | | | | yourself. As soon as you do, you have taken the big |
| director walked over and thanked me 'for smiling at | | | | #1 step toward "Landing Your Dream Man in 6 |
| (him) so dimly.' Made my week!" A guy reading this | | | | Weeks. |