I know this is a bit unorthodox…but here’s a snippet of an online conversation I had with a self-employed friend about dating that perfectly illustrates a point most of us know all too well but still occasionally ignore…
Him: Is it true that the more a woman likes you the slower she is to respond to your messages?
Me: No, I’d say not true
Me: Who says that? One of those divorced ladies who wrote “the Rules”?Him: Some writer named Jenni.
Me: Some girls will play those games
Me: But most will not unless a friend is sitting right there telling her she’ll look too eager if she replies right awayHim: Don’t know who to believe now.:)
Me: Yeah–me versus some dimwit who gives love advice on the internet*
Me: Who’s probably a guy pretending to be a girlHim: She gets paid for it.
Aha! So on the one hand, he has an opinion from a friend–someone who is usually on the same page as him. Someone who’s fairly active in the dating scene and has a sense of the type of girl he’s looking for.
On the other, he has an opinion from someone he doesn’t know at all. She could be a total man-hater who sends guys scurrying away. She could be writing for a completely different audience–like teenagers.
And yes, she may not be a “she” (you’d be surprised how often men pretend to be women on Internet sites about dating!).
But none of that matters much because she’s being paid to give advice. (Although he’s not the one paying in this case.)
And in the end, whether it’s advice on dating, business strategy or basketweaving–people value something paid for much more than something free.
*Apologies to anyone who may happen to be an Internet love advice columnist! I’m referring to all those affiliate sites masquerading as expert dating advice where the articles are written by whoever was willing to accept $2 for an article that day.
