Walking down Broadway in New York City the other day, I couldn't help from feeling a bit overwhelmed by the sheer volume of people. I began wondering what it would be like to move to such a huge metropolis, and how in the world I would go about meeting new people, people I could really click with. To be single and alone, and yet surrounded by so many millions, could make for a bittersweet recipe. How in the world could anybody find Mr. or Mrs. Right amongst such an immense sea of possible candidates, many in far too much of a hurry to ever stop and give you the time of day? It was in that moment, shoulder to should with thousands of New Yorkers I would never meet, that I realized the amazing wonder of online dating. Joining an online chat and dating site is a lot like finding a really great party where everybody is either single or looking. And now, with most dating sites offering unlimited picture and video uploads, instant messaging, and unlimited and uncensored chat rooms, there's no reason in the world not to take advantage of this new and amazing technology.

Dating in the online world has many similarities with dating in the real world, and joining an online dating site is much the same as going to a party. If you want to meet new and exciting people, you're just going to have to get out from behind that television and start mixing and mingling. It's really that simple. Like most important things in this world, finding someone who just does it for you, takes an investment in time and effort, and settling should not be an option. Gone are the days where you just had to pick from what was available to you at the time, and make the best of it. Now, with online dating, mixing, mingling and making dates just got one giant leap easier. I know guys who have been able to set up one or two dates a week using a combination of different chat and dating sites. Now with regards to chat, dating and social networking sites, the bigger is often considered the better. After all, more potential candidates mean more selection and more possible results. However, this doesn't mean you should put all your eggs in just one basket. Spreading your time and effort across a few different dating websites could mean the difference between success and great success.

As I mentioned earlier, joining a dating website is not all that different from going to a party or social. Sure, most people would prefer going to a larger party with more people; numbers always seem to attract more numbers. As well, the more popular the party, the more people seem to want to go. These seem to be social facts. Remember, however, that just because a certain party is more popular, or will have more people attending, doesn't necessarily mean it will be a better experience. The same is true for dating websites. Some of the newer websites that are just emerging have way more features and capabilities than their older predecessors do. They just don't have the numbers because of the fact that they are new. It's a bit like comparing job applicants. Would you pick the younger candidate whose education is more current and whose head is full of new ideas, or would you go with the candidate who graduated 20 years ago but also has 20 solid years of experience. There's a good argument for both. However, most succeeding companies know that it's a good idea to have employees on both sides of that fence.

While going to a crowded party might seem like a lot of fun, it's often easier to meet people where the crowd is a little smaller, and the pretty girl you're noticing hasn't already been hit on 500 times. Smaller parties and get-togethers can be a very exciting way of meeting and mingling with new people, or even just getting to know your acquaintances even better. What's more, you just seem to get noticed more. Imagine attending a party with over 500 people. You've just made your entrance and now you're looking around the room. You'd have to be Brad Pitt to be noticed. Now imagine the odds of being noticed when you've just made the scene on a party with only 50 people. There might only be a few really hot singles there, but guaranteed they are already noticing you (and you're not even Brad Pitt).

So now that you're on the online dating scene, remember not to put all your hope and faith into only one site, just like you wouldn't plan to attend just one party this year and hope to find Mr. or Mrs. Right. It's a time and numbers game, and the more events you attend, and the more time you invest, the better are your odds. So go ahead and pay for that really big and popular site, just don't ignore some of those new, smaller and totally free sites. Personally, I've had much better response rates on these smaller sites than on the larger ones, where many of the attractive singles (especially women) get bombarded with far too many notices and messages each day. Whatever you do, don't waste your time and money on sites that censor everything you want to say or do. Time is of the essence, and it's much better to spend that time on sites that allow you to say what you want, and to exchange whatever information you want. Just hurry up, because while you're hesitating, somebody else is chatting, mingling and hooking up with your Mr. or Mrs. Right.