The Blog

The following is a guest post by Dating Online. They offer exclusive reviews of many popular online dating websites and operate the dating blog: Dating Zen.

Regarding the fascinating recent post with the graph of the “Social Climb” from back in the fifties, more of us should take into consideration the perks of Group Dating.  It may seem like a social dinosaur to many of us, but believe me, group dating has its advantages!

Group dating gives you and a few of your best buddies the chance to hang out with some other cool people without all of the hassles surrounding dating someone one-on-one.  You aren’t responsible for holding up half of the conversation all night long and you don’t have to worry about those sudden, embarrassing silences that can be so awkward when you’re flying solo.

You get to check out several gals (or guys, depending on which half of the group date you’re in) all at the same time.  After a few group dates, you’ll notice you can learn a lot about someone by how they interact with their closest friends.  Which one is a leader, which one is the group clown?  Who is the one the others turn to for suggestions?  Who is the chatty one? The quiet one?  Group dating accelerates the whole “getting to know you” process, shortening the stretch from dating to mating instead of lengthening it!

Of course, you also get the helpful input of your closest friends when you start with group dating.  Just think how quickly you can weed out the duds if your friends have met the new guy or gal in your life from step one.  As you move from group dating to double dating, you can ask your friends for their honest opinions on the one you’ve singled out for some closer encounters.  Stepping up to double dating gives you and your best friend the chance to dig a little deeper without having to completely let go of your backup support.

By the time you’re ready to try single dating, you’ll have watched the person you’re dating interact with your closest friends both one-on-one and in a variety of group situations.  You’ll know what they’re like in a party situation, in a more intimate setting and you’ll know how they treat your friends – all very good insights to have into a prospective spouse!

When you’ve moved to the going steady stage, you’ll already have a solid idea of how well he or she will fit into the broader aspects of your life.  Let’s face it – no matter how great your new love is with you, if you find a supposed gem who’s a real dud around your closest friends, the relationship is going to have a tough time surviving.  Starting with group dating with your circle of friends and moving toward individual dates – instead of the other way around – means no more wasting months of your time on the wrong person.

So I say more power to Group Dating – the first and best logical step toward a successful marriage on the Social Climb!

July 31st, 2009 Posted by Adam | History of Group Dating, group dating |

Our friend Bambi Francisco of Vator.tv sat down with Richard Jalichandra, CEO of Technorati, and Ezra Roizen to talk about Ignighter. They show a clip from our San Francisco TechStars presentation (we’re forever grateful to Jason Mendelson, our friend and mentor, for being such a good sport) and then have a discussion about Ignighter that includes the question “Will group dating appeal to those over 30?”.

What are your thoughts on the topic?

March 11th, 2009 Posted by Adam | Blogs, Presentations, Press, group activities, group dating, techstars |

A couple weeks ago Allen Stern from CenterNetworks came by Ignighter HQ to talk to Dan and me. Check out the conversation below:

February 5th, 2009 Posted by Adam | About Ignighter, Ignighter Guys, Press, dating ideas, group dating |

The following is a guest post by Molly Bush, the charming young lady who helped Ignighter out over the summer by catalyzing our community and adding a much needed female voice to the group. She’s currently looking for a job which means her own irreverent blog is now password protected. Molly can’t go too long without sharing her commentary so we decided to have her write a guest post for us. The following is a reaction to this article on the popular academic website, ParisHiltonWatch, which alleges that Paris Hilton and George Clooney have been group dating:

I love internet sleuthing. Which is absolutely normal and not creepy. I also love celebrities and I love stalking them. But again, not like a creepy Paula Abdul obsessed fan. More like an internet socialite. It’s endearing, I swear. When I came across an article about Paris Hilton possibly dating George Clooney (and by dating, I mean group dating) I knew exactly where to find them!!! The only website I know about for group dating… and now for celebrity sleuthing too? Seemed to good to be true.

I signed onto Ignighter.com to see if they had profiles set up.  Sadly for them they aren’t members yet. I really think they might want to consider it, though, for great group date ideas, or in case they want to group date with someone other than their managers… or if maybe George Clooney wants to date me instead.  If for some strange reason he doesn’t want to date a stalker he could try some of the less stalkerish friends in my group on for size.

I like group dating for many reasons, mostly that it seems like less terrible and less alcoholic behavior to get tipsy (read: dance on tables) on a group date rather than on a regular old skool, awkward date. Another reason I love group dating is that it makes me look less loserish (read: unemployed). Example: If a potential suitor asks me what I do for a living and I respond “nothing”, a friend is most likely going to jump in with something that’s true like “yeah, but she is really funny” or “yeah but she has really marketable web research skills, especially in the celebrity research socialite department” or “yeah, but she is really tan and pretty!” That always helps. But weird if I said it about myself all by myself on a not-so-group date.

But, celebrities seem to be able to drink as much as they like. And they don’t even have to worry about their bar tabs. If they went to Catacombs for example, they’d be able to afford many, many $2 vodka sodas. A celebrity would never have to worry about coming off as a loser (like I do) they are celebrities after all! But I am all in for celebrities group dating. It feels like I am finally where I belong, thanks to group dating; on the same dating-playing field as Paris Hilton. Maybe one day we’d even be group dating together!!! And because we were together, group dating, I’d be there (when we both drank too much) to make sure she was wearing underwear. I guess celebrities must need good friends and group dates to help them out as well.

January 5th, 2009 Posted by Adam | Guest Post, group activities, group dating, ignighter, meet new people |