L A Johannesson

Romantic fiction with a geeky twist

L A Johannesson - Romantic fiction with a geeky twist

On the plus side of online dating

Online dating often gets an undeserved bad rap.

Shows like Catfish sensationalise the negatives of online dating, rarely, if ever, showing the up sides.  The media, so-called web and relationship experts and  internet fear mongers everywhere jump at the opportunity to promote their hypothesis that everyone on the big, bad internet is either psychologically twisted, out to steal your money or your identity and no one online is to be trusted. The sub-text is “offline=good, online=bad”, especially when it comes to looking for love.

To that I say, “Rubbish, bullocks, bullshit!”

As in the offline world, online you will find good, bad, honest, deceitful, trustworthy, dishonourable, exciting, boring, intelligent, ignorant, happy, morose, passionate, apathetic, beautiful, unattractive, tall, short, young, old… (you get my point) people.

The online world is a microcosm of the offline world.

Offline or online, do you not try making friends because you have one enemy? Do you not trust anyone ever again because you had a promise broken? Do you stop looking for love because you’ve had your heart broken?

Worse yet, do you you cower in fear, paralysed into inaction because someone, somewhere, at some point in time had a bad a experience?

No, you don’t!

You find balance. You respect that there is the potential for a negative experience, but you focus on the positive. You take calculated risks. You learn from others. You implement safeguards. And then you harness your inherent optimism, create some truly great experiences and share them with everyone who’ll listen.

The positive needs promoting. It’s out there. Everyday, people using online dating sites are having a few laughs, making new friends, getting lucky, forming relationships and falling in love.

While not every time, these sites deliver lots of the good stuff lots of the time – the entertainment, the self discovery, the companionship, the sex, the romantic dreams and the happy-ever-afters.

We need to get better at sharing the positive stories and helping others to see the plus side of online dating.  This is one of the reasons I wrote eloves me, eloves me not.

And, it’s a key reason I started this Google+ community for fans of online dating to share their stories, their milestones, their inspiring experiences.

Online Dating Fans - Google+-2

If you’re still reading, I suspect you might agree with the notion that the positives far outweigh the negatives when it comes to online dating.

So, if you do and you have great experiences to share, then step over to the Google+ platform, find your voice and start shoutin’ from the rooftops.

There’s a lot of negative noise to overcome. So, online dating fans, let’s crank up the volume on the positive side and drown out the naysayers.

Because there’s a lot that sits on the plus side of online dating!

eloves me, eloves me not was Dianne’s first!

Never knowing where your next connection is going to come from or with who it will be, is part of the fun and serendipity of the web. It’s one of the reasons I love it so much.

I recently connected online with Dianne Velazquez-Hunt over on Google+.

A crochet addict, wife and mother of three children, she is also a blogger. Being an avid reader she thought it was time to take this passion, combine it with blogging and start reviewing books.

eloves me, eloves me not was her first review! Thanks Dianne and congratulations. You did well. You’ll always remember your first!

Her review can be found on here on her blog.

Dianne, I applaud you for taking on the additional challenge of book reviewer and thank you for your kind review. I also appreciate the social support you’ve been showing for eloves me, eloves me not and I wish you great success with all of your passions!

To everyone reading, if you’re on G+ or blog surfing I urge you to reach out and say hello to this enthusiastic lady – tell her LA sent you!

 

APE – The Theory of Revolution

We’re in the midst of an indie revolution. Traditional publishing is challenged by those who are ‘doing it for themselves’ and by the people who are making it their business to do it for others, share what they know and help many of us to realise the dream of becoming successful self-published authors. And it’s all happening without the assistance of the traditional publisher.

Guy Kawasaki and Shawn Welch recently co-authored, published and launched APE -Author, Publisher Entrepreneur – How to Publish a Book. While apes are usually associated with evolution, not revolution, this time it’s different.

Detailing the trend they call ‘artisanal publishing’, their new book is a ‘how to’ guide for the indie author, outlining practical ways to best publish and promote the independent work, thus bypassing traditional publishing practices.

While a handy guide on it’s own, this book is being used as the platform upon which revolutionaries Guy and Shawn stand to rally  the indie author troops, inspire them and  band them together to build their indie movement. Once it gains the requisite membership momentum, it will surely  challenge the foundations of traditional publishing and be a formidable force of its own. Benefits to authors and readers alike should ultimately result.

I will not sit idly by and watch this happen. I want to be an active part of the movement. I have some of my own revolutionary ideas on this that I’ll share in a future post so watch this space. Thankfully, I’ve already taken some steps to secure my place. I have embraced the roles of indie author, publisher and entrepreneur and am proud to discuss, defend and share my experiences.

I have also been lucky enough to be in conversation with Guy and Shawn and was recently featured on a HOA for an APE Makeover on Google+ where they reviewed a number of indie works and provided feedback to us based on the principles they espouse in their book. For the full episode, aired originally on February 14, 2013 see the video below. The detailed discussion of ‘eloves me, eloves me not‘ begins around the 44 minute mark.

APE Makeover with co-authors Guy Kawasaki and Shawn Welch Co-authors Guy Kawasaki and Shawn Welch, moderated by Peg Fitzpatrick

I found this a great experience where I received a few sincere compliments, some helpful tips and suggestions (a number of which have already been implemented) and the chance to meet others involved in creating change within this industry .

Thanks to the Google-goodness, it was all achieved without even leaving the comforts of home. Yet another reason I’m becoming quite the Google+ fangirl!

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