With Valentine’s Day around the corner, singles are joining online dating sites in record numbers.

Searching for romance over the Internet has become more and more popular over the years. Online dating is almost a billion dollar industry and growing every day.

Cyberdating is definitely a cheaper and more convenient alternative to meeting people. It saves you the cost of using a real-life dating service, it takes less time to find people to “chat” with, and it provides instant gratification. In addition, it’s a great service to those who are too shy to strike up a conversation face-to-face with a stranger. It allows more exposure for those who live in small isolated towns; and it’s perfect for those who can’t easily get out due to being a single parent, physical limitations, illnesses, or other conditions. Geography and demographics suddenly melt away. And, let’s face it, we all know that time stands still out in cyberspace when you have the ability to connect 24/7 from the comfort of your home.

The biggest positive factor may be the privacy. Nobody sees anything that you do unless you want him or her to, so you are free to make moves that you would never dare to do in your everyday life. You can define yourself, as you want to be seen. You can highlight parts of yourself that may not be that obvious. And you are free to look, from the comforts of home in your pajamas, or in your underwear for that matter. You can look and look and look. It’s a lot like going shopping, but simpler.

With the increased popularity of using computers to find dates, there’s lot of questions about this method of looking for, or finding, love. Some of the most common ones are listed here:

• Can you find true love on the web?
• I’ve been chatting with a great person online for some time now. We want to meet, but I’m afraid that it won’t work out. Should we take a chance and ruin a good online relationship?
• Can you really trust what someone is like from talking to them in a chat room?

Remember when you were a kid and you wanted to go out somewhere or do something but the only way to explain it to your parents was to say those dreaded words “everybody’s doing it”. In which you were quickly asked the stupidest question in the world; “If your friends jumped off of a bridge, would you do it too?” Well, the answer to that question today may surprise you. According to the US Census, 44% of American Adults are single; 40% have tried online dating.

It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that these are pretty good numbers if you are looking for love. Lets break it down even further, that would mean that in the US, there are over 100 million potential partners available and of that number, oh about 40 million people that have taken the leap off that bridge and landed knee deep into cyberdating and are hanging around inside internet dating sites looking for a new connection.

The question now becomes what do you do next. Well, according to Sex in America: A Definitive Survey suggests, 63% of married couples met through friends and aquaintences. It’s the best way to meet people and make new friends….right? Even if you come across someone that is not right for you (as a potential partner), they could very well be your next best friend and the hookup to your love connection. Keep in mind these other numbers. For every 100 single women there are 86 single men. Now these numbers alter slightly depending on where you live.

The best thing about cyberdating is that it doesn’t matter where you are…right now. You can connect with anyone anywhere and all you need is a computer and an internet connection. Online dating not only covers the meet and greet part of dating it’s also serves to grow relationships too. People often use the internet to not only look for potential mates, but to flirt, ask someone out, and even look for ideas and locations to go out on that first date.

Now if you’re still stuck in that “old school” way of thinking, “let’s just go down to the local bar or nightclub”, it may be of some interest to you to know that only 2% of men and 9% of women say that they’ve actually found a relationship at a bar. And according to a report released by Pew Internet & American Life Project, even those that have not used a online dating site (yet), 31% of American adults knows someone that has. 26% know someone who’s gone on a date and 15% knows someone that been in a long-term relationship or married someone that they met online. Heck, my younger brother met his wife online, so I know for a fact that cyberdating works.

Don’t let the numbers fool you or scare you, but the reality is that the people that are the most insecure about dating online, are the one’s that have never tried it. Makes sense, doesn’t it? They don’t know any better. So, why are you still reading this article? Don’t you have some online dating to do?

Oh yeah, one more thing before I go, it took some economists at MIT and some University in Chicago to do a study to tell you that women and men who post a photo as a part of their profile had 15 times more responses than those without. So post an image or two of yourself.

So consider it! Get online and browse the profiles. Take a look at the our newest site Twin City Personals below and see what you can find. A lot of interesting, available singles are doing the same thing. Someone may be looking for a partner JUST LIKE YOU!

Join Twin City Personals before February 14th, 2010 and you will automatically be upgraded to a FREE Premium Membership for life ( $119.00 per year value) after your profile is approved!

The Online Backup Market is Exploding! There are still ways to capitalize on today’s technology and make a great living!

Take Advantage of a Limited Amount of Local Sales Opportunities! Sell Skadoit Safe & Secure Online Backup Solutions!

Our local Skadoit Franchise based in the Twin Cities has an outstanding opportunity for a creative, high energy, new business generators. The Skadoit Commissioned Sales Rep Program is a great way to earn additional revenue for you or your company.

Managed Backup and Disaster Recovery “ Your clients won’t have any sleepless nights wondering if their data is being backed up anymore. No one readily admits to liking insurance, especially paying for it. However, when something goes wrong everyone is thankful they have it. The same can be said about remote online backup, which is the process of copying files over the Internet and storing it remotely in another location.

When a computer crashes, a fire happens, a theft occurs or equipment is damaged in a disaster, your clients will breath a sigh of relief knowing that their important files were safely backed up and available for use in short order.

Skadoit Premuim Business Solutions.

Today, the amount of data that large organizations are creating is far exceeding the amount of storage space they can handle. Skadoit Premium Business Solutions offers several different options for these organizations to securely back up their data. Skadoit backups are automated and continuous; incremental changes are captured after the initial full backup. Commissioned Sales Reps with our Skadoit Franchise will be participating in a fast and growing market.

Skadoit Home User/Home Office Sales.

Do you know of any users who are looking to back up their digital life? Then Skadoit’s Home/Small Office Solutions program is the perfect way for you to sell in one of the fastest growing Internet markets and make money. We will work with you to tailor your sales goals and commission levels depending on your projections. For every Skadoit account you sell, you’ll earn a commission. The more accounts you sell, the more money you make!

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Secure sales opportunities for our Skadoit Franchise by calling on home users, business clients, store managers, business owners large and small, even corporations. The more computers they have the better?
• Prepare proposals proactively as a result of the sales opportunities created by cold calling.
• Maintain constant contact with client before, during, and after the sale to establish and positively manage the business relationship.
• Manage, organize, and update relevant data using provided systems and processes
• Being able to work independently without supervision while maintaining the Skadoit Franchise standards.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Business to Business sales experience or Solution based/Consulting based selling experience ideal
• Ideally, a track record of successful sales experience demonstrated by specific achievements
• Understands how to build long-term customer relationships
• Self Starter
• Make sales presentations to businesses
• Work independent, own hours
• Sales & Marketing Materials to get you started provided

** We will accept enthusiastic, quick learning candidates with no experience. If this sounds like the job for you, yet you don’t have the experience, we will work with you.

Send your resume and contact information to our Sales Team for immediate consideration.

Join the Local Movement Help Local Businesses Grow & Earn $$

Take Advantage of the fast growing Hyper-Local Search Industry and become an Online Advertising Consultant.

The Twin Cities Online has an outstanding opportunity for a creative, high energy, new business generator, marketing-oriented media seller to sell advertising space, marketing services and the investment opportunity on our global network of hyper-focused directory/blog sites.

The DirectoryOfMinneapolis.com is one of many hyper-local hubs connected to the Directory Network Association.

You should have a passion for what advertising can bring to blue-chip advertisers and local small businesses and a competitive drive to succeed.

This position is virtual. You will be based out of your home office and will need a computer with high-speed internet access, a dedicated phone line and a professional, quiet working environment.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Secure sales opportunities for the DirectoryOfMinneapolis.com by calling on clients, brand managers, marketing directors and local business owners.
• Prepare proposals via the inbound lead process and also prepare proposals proactively as a result of the sales opportunities created by cold calling.
• Maintain constant contact with client before, during, and after the sale to establish and positively manage the business relationship.
• Manage, organize, and update relevant data using provided systems and processes (ie: CRM, etc).
• Work with Ad Operations to insure campaign delivery objectives according to insertion orders are being adhered to.

WHATS IN IT FOR YOU:

• 20% commission on all base marketing products ($59 – $120 in commission per minimum sale)
• 20% commission on all upsell services (average $300 – $500 per sale)
• You will be allowed to negotiate pricing with clients if necessary in order to help close sales.
• Paid every 2 weeks. Option to be paid from wire or Paypal.
• Contests and bonuses offered to top performers.
• We will provide a list of proven converting verticals in the local search industry.
• We will provide training resources, cold calling scripts and tips for leads to local businesses and are always here to help you with anything.
• We will provide ongoing inbound leads from centralized marketing efforts. That means higher closing percentages for you.

REQUIREMENTS:

• 5+ years of online advertising sales experience ideal for the Senior Account Executive position
• 1+ years of online advertising sales experience ideal for the Junior Marketing Consultants
• Business to Business sales experience or Solution based/Consulting based selling experience ideal
• We Will accept enthusiastic, quick learning candidates with no experience. If this sounds like the job for you, yet you don’t have the experience, let’s talk.
• Ideally, a track record of successful sales experience demonstrated by specific achievements Understands how to build long-term customer relationships
• Ability to travel if needed

The Directory Network Association is a hyper-focused network of 500+ directory/blog hubs connected globally and managed locally. We are building teams of entrepreneurs at all levels of the network; domain publishers, local/niche marketing consultants, affiliate network and independent blog partners for long term network success.