would this be playful or immature?
Find a Conversation
| Sat, 09-03-2005 - 11:00pm |
*newbie alert*
A big hello to everyone. Well, I am very close to putting myself on one of the big 3 dating websites. I knew I should do some research on them and also find out the do's and don'ts of creating an online profile. I also knew I needed a catchy headline too. I immediately thought of something original but not sure if it would work.
You see a trip to an amusement park few years back, and $2.50 spent on a game of chance won me a giant stuffed bee. It didn't take long for this stuffed toy to take on a crative playful persona of it's own. On a whim, and because I thought it was fuuny, I took some pics of him hanging out, enjoying life and partying it up. He became a fun character I would mention to friends and they would laugh about it.
So I thought I might use some sort of headline like "come and meet the giant bee" or "the giant bee is all a buzz". I guess to the average reader those headlines might not spark any interest. Afterall, I am tall and might be preceived as the giant bee myself. So I'm not sure if I could capture anyone's attention or stand out.
I also thought of a few little playful blurbs to tack onto the end of my profile about the giant bee. Something like...Now you're probably wondering about "the giant bee". He's one crazy bumble, always buzzing around. He really seems to like flowers and chillin' at the beehive. Don't be jealous because he has all of the honey. Oh..and you should see the size of his stinger too : )
Being a guy, I don't know if this approach would come across as immature or playful/funny. I like to think I'm a creative, fun guy but to those who don't know me...I might seem weird or lacking some seriousness. I just wanted to get some opinions from the "experts".
wow, this post was just about the headline. Just wait until I attempt to write a profile, I've read most of the do's and don'ts about that. I have my doubts that I can actually write one that sounds appealing. I guess if I get stuck, I now know where I can go for help : )

Welcome! And yes, feel free to ask for all the advice you need...
Now, as for your profile, I stink at profile writing and rely on the guys and gals of our board, so I'll turn you over to them. I just wanted to welcome you here. :)
Hope to see you around more often!
And good luck!!!
<<"the giant bee is all a buzz">>
yes.
<>
no.
***
Let them ask you about the headline. Less is more in OLD, capiche?
I think people just wouldn't understand it, since it's such an inside joke, so I would leave out the bee.
Sheri
Hmm... I think if I had come across that when I was looking at on-line personal ads, I'd be kind of neutral about the whole thing. Playfulness is a good thing in my book, but I think I'd be thinking that I'm not sure if I go for this sort of thing. If there were other things in the post which seemed really promising, I'd probably still check it out, but otherwise I don't think those lines would be enough to catch my interest.
I think one thing to keep in mind when writing your ad, though, is that you're not trying to impress everybody or even the majority of the people, just the few people that would be truly right for you. I met the love of my life eight years ago through an on-line ad he'd posted. The main thing I remember about what got me to respond to his post was a line he had written in there which said, "I am a firm believer in nothing and in everything." Now, I don't think most people would have understood or appreciated that line, but I think that may have been exactly WHY it caught my attention, because my first thought when I saw that line was, "Wow! There's actually another person out there who understands me." And eight years later that is still one of the things I most appreciate about him.
So, my advice when writing your on-line ad is to just be true to who you are, and maybe also ask yourself what sort of things you'd like to see in a lady's post. If you're a playful type of guy, you probably wouldn't want to date a lady who's too serious to appreciate your sense of humor anyway. I hope that helps.
OK, the bee is pure gold. I think it's very important for a guy to show some sense of humor in his profile, although it shouldn't be all jokes either. So this is how I think you should play it:
Make your headline "Must Love Bees" and your username MustLoveBees. Have a couple of your profile pics show you with the giant bee in various "candid" shots, like you would if it were a dog or a child (eg, you walking the bee on a leash... you tucking the bee into bed... etc.) These should be extra pictures, not your primary profile picture. You're primary pic should just be a nice picture of you.
Then, don't mention the bee at all in your profile or when you're initiating contact with women. Play that part straight - you don't want to beat a joke to death. The username will set you apart. When you write to a women, your username will be odd enough that she will check out your profile out of sheer curiosity. Any woman with the slightest sense of humor will then crack up when she sees the pics. That's all you need to get the ball rolling.
Just my two cents.
Hey slippy,
I think the bee would be a hoot and set your profile apart. I agree with a couple of the other comments here. Less is more. Just refer to it maybe in your headline...the Must Love Bees thing is good and then a fun photo of/with the bee. I'm thinking of some kind of touristy shot. I can't remember exactly but a while back there was either a movie or an ad where a garden knome (sp?) is photographed in places like the Grand Canyon and in front of a pyramid in Egypt. I'd definitly leave out any reference to the size of his stinger though.
I say give it a shot and see what kind of reaction you get. You can always go back in later and re-vamp it.
When you're done with your profile, feel free to post a link to it here if you want some more feedback.
Good Luck and welcome to the board.
Chele
I totally agree, definitely keep the bee reference in the headline, but leave it out of the profile.