Friday, February 29, 2008

Welcome to the future of romance, folks.

Will U Marry Me on TMZ's Live Stream?
02-28-2008
One man proposed to his girlfriend on today's TMZ Livestream -- and his prospective fiancee got back to him via text message! Welcome to the future of romance, folks.

Click HERE to watch the video!

Now, the! guy -- his name is Jared -- didn't get on his knees when he asked, and, let's face it, this ain't exactly the top of the Eiffel Tower or a beach in St. Barths. So what do you think she said?



thanks for spotting this Jess!

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Reconnecting with Friends

Interestingly, for me one side effect of the state of today's technology is that when I receive an actual phone call from my high school or college friends (not an email, not a text, but an actual call when they have to dial my number and talk and everything) I know something big is going on. And most likely it's focused around romance. Either someone is getting married or is pregnant. Extremely life changing events related to love/romance seem to be the topics that inspire person to person conversations. I've gotten other life changing news from friends via email/text (got a new job...illness in my family...moving to Vermont...got my PhD...broke up with my girlfriend...) but the "good romance" news always seems to come via phone call. So it's kind of funny to get an actual voicemail from an old friend because I pretty much know right away what they're going to say, or else I would have just gotten an email! It's good to know that there are still some things worth the phone call.

From woman in Chicago.

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Perfectly Flawed

From a male POV:

At first it seemed doable to try to maintain a long distance relationship with someone, because we had the video skype, and the google talk, and the multimedia messaging service, and so many other ways to simulate being there. But, oh how quickly it faded. A good video feed can't ensure that sarcasm will be understood, you can't properly comfort someone without putting your arms around them, and let's not even talk about sex. A million columns written by Regina Lynn at wired won't make cybersex more appealing than the real thing.

To get to the point, I ever so recently attempted to maintain a relationship with someone I met in person but happen to live a couple thousand miles away from. She being from a city that I had so very recently moved from, but didn't meet until a business trip, post move. Just stupid cosmic happenstance. She and I shared one completely clothed evening together and then continued to talk after returning to our respective home towns. We "communicated" over a number of different types of data connections for months before seeing each other in person again. She came out to visit me, and we had a great time. She would later come to describe this brief flirtation with reality as "perfectly flawed." At least that's how I remember the quote going. I refuse to open the e-mail, even though it is archived in my gmail.

It was a very slow process for me to realize that it wouldn't work out. What can I say, sometimes boys are just dumb. When it came to an end after a number of awkward phone conversations she was upset. She expected that if it was the real thing that I would drop everything and come to her. I don't fault her for this at all, in my heart I want to be idealistic in that way, but my jaded skin occasionally stops me. There were just too many things that didn't fit right. Things that would have made our incompatibility very quickly obvious in closer proximity.

The upsetting part though, is the slow aftermath. Her calling attention to the fact that she had removed me as a friend from a social networking site. Haunting status messages under her IM name like "i wish that without me your heart would break." I didn't want to just assume that it was directed at me, but I took the possibility into consideration.

Friday, February 15, 2008

Utter mortification!

Another post by Jenny C:

Yet another reason why text messaging is the bane of my existence….

As discussed in my previous posting, I hate texting. So when I have a text/email repartee with a new guy, and we haven’t actually spoken a whole lot, I tend to respond to his “let’s hang out tomorrow”-texts with a “sure, call me tomorrow” reply. Inevitably, I either get a text in return the next day or nothing at all.

On one such day that I received nothing at all, I decided to tell my girlfriend. She was out at a loud bar, so I decided the best way to get my announcement across to her was through a text message. What happened then, you may ask. Nothing good, that’s for sure.

My message to her read something like: “Big surprise. He didn’t call me again.” Unfortunately for me, in my dislike of texting over the years, I have never become completely adept at it. So, of course you know what inevitably happened: I sent this message not to my girlfriend, but to the non-caller himself. Utter mortification! There is still no “recall” button for a text like there is for emails-gone-wrong.

I am swearing off important/scandalous/plan-making text messages. To do otherwise is just asking for more trouble.

PS – the non-caller actually responded to me…via text message. Oh yeah, a keeper.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

An Actual Call; Not a Text

This post was submitted by Jenny C from Chicago:

Why has text messaging replaced actual phone calls in today’s dating world? When I give my digits out to a new guy, it is with the hope that I will get a phone call. Now I understand that women are intimidating and all, but we’ve already spoken to each other! I’ve given you my number! But I guess that first “hi” after all the alcohol has worn off is a little scary, so a short “hello, wasn’t Friday fun? Let’s hang this week”- text isn’t so bad.

However, when I reply “sounds great – call me!”. I really mean it. Do not text me back to make plans. “Text” does not equal “Call”.

I hate making plans via texting for three main reasons: (1) It takes many many texts to solidify plans, (2) Lots of time out of my life wasted trying to text message is very annoying, and (3) When I go over my allotted text amount because of this plan-making exchange with you, it costs me extra money.

Let me reiterate, please do not text me to make first, second or even third date plans. I don’t know you yet, and my annoyance threshold is very low at this point still. Feel free to text to say hi during the day while I’m at work and can’t talk anyways, but when I say “call me”, I expect a call later on that evening or the next. It’s really just that simple. I’m not a bitch and ignoring your texts. I just hate texting. And I know that I am not the only female out there that feels this way! Just ask my girlfriends….

So, next time, just suck it up and make the call. If I don’t answer, leave a voicemail. I will call you back – an actual call; not a text.

Sperming vs Cyberworld

This sent in by "Lori" in California

missy, i so love your 'technology relations' photos. what a brillant vision/statement on technology and it's intrusion in interpersonal communicaiton! How about the under the table text while talking at dinner? or better yet...my lil story:
i was once in bed with a tv exec who when laying on top of me grabbed his blackberry!! the nerve. needless to say, i did not marry him. ha!
I'm sure this happens to LOADS of women and men for that matter. what is the world coming to??? or not cumming due to technology. i'd love to see a study between sperm count and protable hand held device users. are men sperming less do to the cyberworld?

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Valentines Day Post


This idea about Technology and interpersonal relationships has been floating around in my mind for quite some time now. In fact, Valentines Day of 2003 was a major catalyst for this train of thought. I had spent New Year's Eve that year solo, as my then boyfriend had a video game playing party with his two male roommates on their new flat screen and whatever new game system had just come out. I was tentatively looking forward to Valentines Day, though we had never made a big deal about it. I went over to his house to exchange gifts and he had a box for me with some sweet hand drawn wrapping paper (see graphic to left). He handed it to me with a knowing smile and I was surprised by how heavy it was. I carefully preserved the paper and revealed my gift (drum roll….) an external hard drive for my computer. I wondered, is technology the end of romance?