Jane Saeman asked:


Many people on the dating scene today aren’t there to find “the one” person that they want to settle down with for the rest of their lives. Dating is now a standardized term used for social networking. Although the word implies that those who embark on a dating experience are doing so with romance in mind, the reality is that for most people who date people who have similar interests to their own are more likely to meet again socially with nothing more than a friendship in mind.

While this isn’t so good for anyone who is looking for romance with a view to a long-term monogamous relationship, it’s a positive change to the way that dating has been perceived in the past. At one time there was a lot of anxiety placed on anyone preparing for ‘a date’. They wanted to make a perfect first impression because they wanted their date to like them. They were looking for romance and hoped to find it.

In today’s dating scene, there may well be an underlying hope that one day the romance button may be clicked when meeting someone in a dating situation, but generally expectations are lower with most people looking to just enjoy themselves with someone that they think they have enough sufficient interests in common with to relax and have a little fun. This takes the pressure off the date and allows true personalities to shine rather than ones that are edged with a “best behavior” hang-up!

Western culture in particular is increasingly moving towards a trend of increased work ethic where single people, especially those following a career path, have little time for a serious relationship. The more informal dating rules allow people who are working towards their professional goals a release to get out socially (although some choose their dates selectively in order to use this as a networking opportunity as well as a social one!) and meet with people outside of their professional environment.
There are also an increasing number of people on the dating scene who have been seriously hurt in a previous relationship. They also are looking to connect with others, but they aren’t necessarily ready to entrust their feelings to anyone else at this time. Retired people who have lost their life partner are also among those who are initially looking for friendship rather than romance from a dating experience.

This doesn’t mean however that informal dating doesn’t lead to romance. There’s many a relationship that has started out as one thing and ended as something else. Any long-lasting permanent relationship needs a number of foundation stones that will hold it together during difficult times and one of these is friendship.

If you can find someone whom you like, and trust as a friend, and this relationship grows into a romantic one, then this relationship has a much stronger chance of surviving the long-haul than one that starts with a romantic spark which then fizzles out because there’s nothing else holding it together.

Jeff Schuman asked:


Have you heard of Twitter? It seems like there are new ways to promote your business online and Twitter is a very good one. It is one of these cool social network ways of staying in touch with people.

In this article let’s talk about 6 ways you can easily use Twitter to make friends and more money!

1. First and foremost Twitter is a great way to stay connected with people who are following you and who you are following. You do this by posting short messages called “tweets.

This has become known as micro blogging because you are limited to 140 characters in your messages. The key is to build up a large list of followers. You can do this at various sites like Twellow.com and then start following people who have similar interests to yours.

2. Make yourself stand out by offering things that are unique. I like to offer updates about what I am blogging on. Avoid selling all of the time and offer useful content and your followers will appreciate it.

3. You have to get your Twitter link out where people can find you. This means adding it to your email sig file, in forum posts, on your website, on your blog sidebar, in article resource boxes, and so on. People will follow you if you have some credibility which you should haveve doing it this way.

4. Be consistent when posting new updates, or tweets. If you have something to offer say it. This is like posting in your blog. If you let in stagnate you will lose your effectiveness.

5. Social networking is all about being a part of a community. Twitter is no different. If you are an asset to your followers people will want to see what you are up to. You can include a link in your Tweets to anything you want by creating a TinyUrl.

6. Understand all of the ways you can benefit from Twitter. For example you can find new joint venture partners just by posting what you are up to in your internet business. Another way to benefit is outsourcing things you need done by posting a tweet for work such as blog articles, graphics, website design, and so on.

These are 6 easy ways to use Twitter to make new friends and make more money by attracting traffic. Because it is here to stay, and the ways to use it will only increase, this is something you are going to want to learn more about.

Judy H. Wright aka Auntie Artichoke, family relationship coach asked:


Making friends is a skill, just like playing the piano or riding a bike. Skills can be learned and behaviors can be changed. While it may require more effort for some people to be comfortable in groups, it can be learned, especially if the child is willing to put forth the effort and knows that she has your support.

Be sure to encourage a child’s positive efforts to get along with peers and to find a friend, even when it appears that such attempts are not meeting with success. Remind her of the fine qualities that she has that will add to the friendship when just the right person comes along.

Another reminder is that making just the right friend for her may take some time and not to give up. Help her to see what she has to offer as a friend. For example, you might say: “I really appreciate it when my friends call me and invite me places. It makes me feel welcome and accepted. Even on the times when I am not able to go, I still feel good to know they thought of me. That is why I treat them with kindness and respect, because that is how I want to be treated.”

In my workshops I find it helpful to make a list of what people look for in a friend. You may want to make such a list with your child. After brainstorming it is easy to include such things as:

• Trustworthy

• Kind and compassionate

• Willing to share happy and sad times

• Loyal, will watch my back

• Sense of humor

• Positive attitude, upbeat

• Similar interests

• Fun to be with

• Not be too possessive or needy

• Cooperative

• Enjoys being with me

If you look at the list, almost never does it include psychical attributes, they are all character traits and inner personal skills. If we don’t have those skills, we can work on obtaining them by practicing a little each day until it becomes automatic action. It is this attitude of openness and willingness to share that is communicated to those we would like to be our friends.

The irony is that people, young and old, tend to blame outward appearances for lack of friends, when it is the inward attitudes and character traits that are longed for in friendship. We are not searching for lovely nearly as much as loyalty in a companion and buddy.

When we realize that it is not our big ears, speech impediment or color of skin that stops others from befriending us, as much as it is how we treat others and feel about ourselves, we will have more to offer a friendship. As you encourage making a list of what the child is looking for in a friend, be sure to mention that appearances may be deceiving. She may very well know many in her class who are also looking for just the right person to hang around with.

Hopefully, your child will draw her own conclusions that she is a valuable person and has much to bring to a relationship. And likewise, there may very well be many people who meet the criteria of a friend that she has been overlooking.

It is more empowering for a child to list her own positive qualities that will make her a valuable friend than for you to do it for her. This is her work, but you are the support team. You cannot make your child happy, popular, talented or attractive to other children. If you think you can, you will be setting both of you up for disappointment and a great deal of frustration.

What you can do is offer her suggestions, assistance, opportunities and options. Hopefully, she will recognize the clues of social interaction and ‘click’ with a good group of friends who will support her in her school years and become life long buddies.

How you manage social situations affects the way your children view social interaction. If you have meaningful relationships that add pleasure to your life, they will see that and want to have the same thing.

I also do Confidence Coaching for young adults (8 to 18) Call me for more information.

© 2008 by Judy H. Wright, Parent Educator, Author and international speaker on family relations. Ph: 406.549.9813 You may reprint this article, but please keep the contact information and content intact.

For Free articles and to sign up for the e-zine The Artichoke-finding the heart of the story in the journey of life please go to www.ArtichokePress.com You will also find a full listing of books, workshops, and Free teleclasses held every Thursday on family relationship issues.

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arundhati khopker asked:


Making friends is quite easy if you really try hard but  most important is that you should like him and he should like you. Having similiar like and dislikes is half the battle won. He should be physically appealing, that also means pleasant, nice to talk to and interested in you. You should admire his/her qualities as a person and respect them and vice versa. Meeting one another frequently  is also an important requisite of being a friend to a friend. They say that  a friend is one who is around when the bad times comes and  helps you get over  them.

Why must we have friends? well, since man is an  Asocial animal he/she needs feedback for   doing things the right way and  needs to have an outlet for his views and  opinions.  Our  friends, whom we discuss  topics of current interest  give us an insight into  opinions that we may not agree with. Our  outlook on life broadens and we start to address  various issues in life with a renewed  vigour. We increase our  knowledge and  become popular as an  outgoing person. The more our circle increases  by word of mouth, the better we become as a human being. We can relate to people in our family and outside it with more maturity. 

Our  life would be barren and sad if we did not have friends to talk to, go out  for a picnic, meet in the park or have a meal with them. We have different  levels of relationships with people. Some may be intimate, others may be  aloof, still others could be  cordial, and so on. The way someone relates to us makes us react to them in the same way. The most important thing is to make the most friends and that  can only be achieved by being a natural and as good as one can possibly be. It is the answer to every problem in life.