Online dating ads

So I thought I would start this endeavor by looking at some online dating ads from guys in my age bracket and general geographic area as well as some of my 'competition'. What an eye opening expereince.

First, let's start with the user names that the men choose....

• there are the straight-forward ones like Jeff4267 or MattB7134
• then there are the ones that say what people like skibuff5689 or BruinsFan09
• then there are the ones that make you go hmmmmmm like ilovesleep or aloneallthetime

For men it does not seem to be that big of a deal. The majority choose their name with some number combo.

For woman it is an entirely different world.

• About one quarter choose their names or their name with a number.
• Some choose what they like to do... shopaholic357 or trailblazer4
• Then there are the rest... from the sluty to the sickenly sweet: hotbabe6785, twinklelittlestar, joyrider, sweetandhot.

When I first signed on to Match.com back in the 90's, before I was married and it was a new thing, it was pretty easy. No one used their real name, no one had a photo up (if you wanted to put a photo up, you had to mail one in!), and everyone's email address was something like lovestodance @ aol.com. Back then I think my user name was something like AvenueCgirl, as that was the club I hung out at.

Now I have to decide, do I use my name? a nickname? something cute? Is using my name so bad? Especially since my photo will be up there for all to see? Ugh! So many decisions to make before January 1st!