I have INCREDIBLE news to report! This week, we received an email from Carolyn and Steve. This is what it said: “We thought we’d send a bit of happy news to PondIGo: We met on PondiGo March 2011 and married few weeks ago outdoors in Montana! The wedding gift Carolynn made was two antique fishing lures that she found and had a jeweler design & make key rings out of – fly casting in Pondigo has been a great success! We both went to Harvard graduate schools.” We at Pondigo are SO HAPPY for Carolynn and Steve! And we hope their story will serve as an inspiration to you as you continue to fish in our Pond. This site is for you, and people like you – help us spread the story of Carolynn and Steve, help us grow the site, help us help others find, as Carolynn says “my partner in life for the next half of the journey — it is going to be fun growing old together!” We wish them – and you – a lifetime of love and happiness!

It’s a new year. It’s a new day. Is your resolution for 2011 to find love? If so, to the Pond is where, perhaps, you should go! Here’s an interesting little article based on research that should be stimulating to the intelligent fish considering Pondigo – http://bigthink.com/ideas/25535 – why paid online dating sites produce better results for those serious about finding long term relationships. But, that said, you’ve still got a chance at our free trial – at least until Valentine’s Day. So, have at it, keep your New Year’s Resolution, change your life! Happy Fishing!

Happy Halloween Fishes! Remember, online dating is not scary or spooky. There are some freaks out there but there are also some super heroes! It’s time to discover your fate. Here’s a great, brief set of common sense DO’s and DON’T's for online dating to help you navigate the difference between the tricks and the treats:

http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/under-the-fine-print/2010/03/what-they-dont-tell-you-about-online-dating-sites.html

Boo!

Pondigo has been up and running for six months! During that time, we’ve received well over a hundred nominations of schools to add to the Pond – people want in! We took their recommendations seriously and did the research – dating back to the first issue of the US News and World Report Rankings, back in November 1983. It was interesting to witness the evolution of the list of the past three decades. And, certainly, we found schools (and alumni) who were more than worthy of admittance into the Pond (and many others that were, well, not). For example, if your school was ranked in the Top 15 throughout the 80s and that’s when you graduated, you are certainly the type of fish we want populating this Pond! So, in honor of our Six Month Anniversary, we’ve added about 20 schools that are available for verification and alumni membership in Pondigo. You can review the list here, in our FAQ section:

http://www.pondigo.com/Content/Default.aspx?page=help_faq#newschools

And, if your school is on the list, or you’ve got friends who are alumni of any of these schools, please pass the word along that we’d love to have you in our little verified online dating community.

And, as always, happy fishing!

I came across this great article from Paige Parker (“Dating without Drama” – something we all aspire to!) on the Huffington Post:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paige-parker/online-dating-tips-dos-an_b_603865.html

She’s aggregated tips for men from a number of women, but the truth is, most of her tips are JUST as useful for women, for example:

DO Use proper spelling, grammar and punctuation.

DON’T post pictures with children who aren’t yours. It’s just confusing.

DON’T talk about your ex on the first date. Or at least don’t go on and on about her [or him]. Or at the very least try not to cry.

DON’T select “it’s complicated” as a status. Why would I consider meeting a man [or woman] who is in a situation he [or she] can’t end?

There are a lot of other great tips in her post, so I encourage you to check it out.

Fish well!

I came across a great little blog post with three simple tips to demystifying online dating:

http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/13/three-steps-to-demystifying-online-dating/

Author Jenna Wortham offers some great, easy-to-follow tips for your Profile, how to initiate communication AND moving to the actual date! check it out and don’t be afraid to get your feet wet in the pond!

Pondigo.com was recently mentioned in a blog by THE eFlirt Expert, Laurie Davis, check it out:

http://eruptin.com/2010/06/dating-beyond-dorm.html

Thanks for the shout out!

For those of you excited about trying out Pondigo, but apprehensive about how to create an attention-grabbing profile, I came across this great set of tips on http://www.rachaelwestdesigns.com/:

If you want to be successful at finding the right person through online dating, always take the time to create your profile and please think about what you put on it. Give it as much care and thought as you would in creating your resume. Here are some pointers to help you create an interesting and compelling profile:

1. A good online photo will always attract interest. Make sure that your picture shows your face front and center. Avoid photos that hide your face or those that do not show your face in its entirety. It makes people think that you have something to hide.
2. Generate positive feelings. Show people how much you love life and how much you are enjoying it. Your profile is not the place to share your complaints and miseries. A happy and positive person will always attract people. They will want to be with you and to share in your zest for life.

3. Always show your positive qualities. And make it interesting so that people will want to read more. Be careful not to sound like you are bragging about these qualities. You want them to be interested and not turned off.

4. Do not share your whole life on your profile. You may share about your interests and hobbies but do not give out details of your whole life. You want them to be curious. You want them to make a move to get to know you better. Give them clues. Tease them. And provoke them to contact you.

5. Your profile should not include details of your past dating experiences. While people are curious to hear about this, they do not want to see this on your profile. Needless to say, any complaints about your past dating experiences nor about your past relationships should not be on your profile either.

6. Always use a spell checker. A well-written profile always attracts the right people. Nothing turns off people more than a profile which has a lot of grammatical errors as well as misspelled words.

Tomorrow (June 21) is the official start of summer, right? I guess I’m squeaking this post in by the skin of my teeth (by the way, that’s a weird phrase). I found this article,
“Spring Training Tips to Get You Back in the Dating Game” on the Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-terri-orbuch/10-spring-training-tips-t_b_576828.html). I thought the advice, from Dr. Terri Orbuch, overall to be very insightful. Before you go on your first Pondigo date, be sure to read the article for helpful tips on how to prepare for, and behave on, a first date. I know we all think we know what we’re doing, but sometimes it doesn’t hurt to get a brief primer or refresher in how to make the best first impression. And, here’s hoping you hit it out of the park!

We had the great honor of presenting the Pondigo business plan this past Friday at the 14th Annual PrincetonEN (Princeton Entrepreneurs Network) Annual Conference & Business Plan Competition, held in conjunction with Princeton Reunions. We learned that, in total, about 100 business plans were submitted for the competition. And, while we did not win the contest, we were one of only seven selected to present, so we are feeling pretty good about that! If you’re curious, the winner was www.FashionStake.com …it hasn’t launched yet. But, its founder is a Princeton/HBS alumnae, so kudos to her!