You may see someone you'd like to get to know in a public place like a singles bar. The problem is how do you go about it? Chances are that he/she is interested in meeting new people too, but most of us don't have the self-confidence it takes to just walk up and start a conversation. Even if we do, what do we talk about? I'm pretty sure that if I walked up to someone and said "Hi, my name is Gary, and I like to lay around in my underwear watching TV, what are your interests?" her response would be short, and not all that sweet. So the problem is getting past the initial stage of finding common interests. ( I don't lay around in my underwear watching TV by the way :)

With the personals that's all taken care of ahead of time, you have stated your interests in your ad, and you respond to ads from people that have something in common with you. You get a chance to get to know someone before you actually meet face to face.

The disadvantage of all this is that until you actually meet the person face to face you don't really know how well you will get along, or if the chemistry that's needed for romance is there. Hopefully you will have talked on the phone before hand to give you a bit more of an idea. Approach each meeting with a wait and see what happens attitude.

The personals are a lot less expensive than matchmaking services, plus you do the screening instead of leaving it up to some stranger. This means more work on your part, but it can be a lot of fun too.

They work better than placing an ad in your local paper because they cover a wider area. You can include your picture, and place a voice ad, usually for free. They are fast, and easy to respond to. You don't have to write, and mail a letter, you simply reply to the personal ads from your computer.

You're probably wondering how much success I've had with the personals. So far all that's happened is I've made a bunch of new friends. I haven't met anyone special with them. Then again I haven't met anyone special with traditional methods either.

The personals are one more tool yoy have for meeting new people. Experiment with them, and have fun.