A general view of online dating and in particular Irish dating online.

Well I've been in the dating business now for over 10 years so I've seen and heard it all. I've been doing a radio piece on RedFM with Victor Barry for about a year now and I thought it would be nice to do a bit of it online as well. So if you've got any questions, thoughts or insights into dating I'd love to hear about them - leave a comment hear or email me directly - jill@maybefriends.com

I'd love to hear about any relationship issues whether you're in a relationship, trying to get out of one, or just newly back on the dating scene.

1 in 3 name Obnoxious drunken behaviour the worst Christmas party sin
1 in 5 confess to sleeping with a co-worker at an office Christmas party
43% admit they have done something at a Christmas party they later regretted.
3 out 4 say a relationship started at a Christmas party can last

Obnoxious drunken behaviour has been named the number one Christmas Party crime according to our latest survey. A third (33%) of respondents told the website getting drunk and rowdy behaviour is unacceptable at the Christmas work do. Nearly one in four (24%) said insulting the boss is the worst offense while 17% named sleeping with a co-worker as a step to far.
43% of people admitted to Maybefriends.com that they had done something they regretted at a Christmas party.
When asked what Christmas party sins they themselves had committed a third (30%) confessed to snogging a co-worker, 26% admitted to obnoxious drunken behaviour, 20% revealed they had slept with a co-worker, 8% had insulted the boss and 4% had a fight with a co-worker.
I think that the office Christmas party can be a great opportunity to let your hair down and have a good time with your colleagues after a long and hard year at work. However, you need to remember that they are still work colleagues and even if there is somebody in the office you fancy then perhaps the Christmas party is not the best time or place to take action. A far better idea is to let that certain someone know you are interested in them and then perhaps arrange a date for just the two of you; well away from prying eyes and office gossips!

Most respondents( 47% ) viewed the Christmas party as "essential for team morale" but 37% viewed them as "a necessary evil" while an optimistic 16% said they thought of the end of year party as a "chance to score".
However 3 out of 4 (75%) believe that a relationship started at an office Christmas party can last and 65% of people are planning to go to their works do this year.
57% of people told us that the best way to deal with the consequences of bad behaviour the night before is to apologise, 35% say you should laugh about it and 8% believe you should ignore it.
65% of respondents told the website that spouses/partners should not be invited to the Christmas party.

Labels: christmas party

As the nights gets colder members of MaybeFriends.com have named Daithi O Se and Kathyrn Thomas as the Irish TV stars they would most like to snuggle up to on the sofa.
Actor Stephen Moyer who plays Bill Compton in True Blood and Kim Kardashian from Keeping up with the Kardashians are the international stars that MaybeFriends.com respondents chose as the man and woman to whom they would most like to snuggle up.
Now the nights are getting darker and colder and with less money to spend it is great to just spend some time snuggled up on the sofa watching the telly and who better to spend time on the sofa with than some of our more attractive telly stars. And when you get bored of the telly you can always log on to Maybefriends.com and find your very own star for a bit of sofa time!

Irish Man Top 3

Daithi O Sea
Hector O Heochagain
Ryan Tubrity

International Man Top 3
Stephen Moyer (True Blood)
Mark Sallings (Glee)
Jon Hamm (Mad Men)

Irish Woman Top 3
Kathryn Thomas
Clare Byrne
Miriam O Callaghan .

International Woman Top 3
Kim Kardashian
Anna Paquin
Christina Hendricks

Labels: snuggle

Following our survey last week, here's how you are dealing with dating in a recession.
• Women have cut back more than men.
• We would rather spend less on drink and more on looking good.
• Majority spend between €50 - €100 on a night out
• Men putting themselves under pressure to pay for a date but most women want to go halves.
In these cash strapped times it appears we would rather spend our money on looking good than drinking. The survey also revealed that women are cutting back more than men in their spending.
62% of respondents told MaybeFriends.com that they spend less on drink now than they did twelve months ago. However, over half (54%) admit they still spend the same on grooming and/or makeup.
Interestingly the survey found that it is women who seem to be cutting back the most. Female respondents saying that they now spend less on clothes (52%), less on grooming/make up (65%) and less on drink (73%).
On the other hand men told MaybeFriends.com that they spent the same on grooming (68%) the same on clothes (52%) but less overall on drink (53%).

Dating and going out can be expensive. People have cut back but it was interesting to see their priorities. Looking good is important to people and there are cheaper and better ways to find a partner or date than going to the pub. I found it interesting that it is women who are cutting back more.
The majority of people (43.5%) spend between €50 and €100 euro on a night out, a third (33%) spend between €25 and €50.
And it would seem that we are all a lot more money conscious with 56% of people telling MaybeFriends.com that they are spending less on a night out compared to this time last year. 39% say they are spending the same and a tiny 5% admit to spending more.
But again MaybeFriends.com found that women are more likely than men to be money savvy with 60% of women saying they think about how much they spend on a night out. Whereas 45% of men say they don’t think about it at all.

We all have to be more money conscious these days in all aspects of our lives. One thing our survey did pick up is that over half the men (53%) believed that they should pick up the tab for a date but the women don’t expect it – 65% of women believe it should be spilt equally. It would seem men are putting themselves under unnecessary financial pressure in the dating scene.
55% say going for a coffee is the best cheap date followed by 28% going for a walk with 15% saying going to a museum and only 2% picking window shopping.

The best looking people in Ireland are to be found at opposite ends of the country according to a new survey from Maybefriends.com.
Almost 1 in 3 respondents (29%) named men from Cork as the most attractive while 27%of the people surveyed voted women from Belfast the best looking in the country.
With men like Cillian Murphy, Sean Og O hAilpin and Jonathan Rhys Myers you have to admit that Cork does have its fair share of good looking men and Belfast also does well with women like TV presenter Christine Bleakley and the singer Katie Melua. But these days geography matters less and less. With facebook and twitter you can stay in touch with friends and family no matter where they are…and with online dating you can meet likeminded people from all over the country.
If you are going out on the pull then you are best heading to Limerick as the south west city was selected as the best city in the country for pulling. While Kilkenny was named top city for both hen nights (23%) and stag nights (22%).
Over a quarter of people (26%) selected Dublin as the best city for a first date and also named it as the most fashionable but perhaps unsurprisingly the capital was also voted the most expensive to go out in by 25% of respondents.
Waterford was named as the city that was the best value for money for a night out and Galway was named at the city that was the most fun.

All of Ireland’s cities have something to offer the country's singletons. Whether it is a great night out in Galway, a fantastic stag night in Kilkenny or a brilliant first date in Dublin. The great thing about online dating is that it does not stay online. The end result will always be getting out there, meeting people and having fun.

Labels: Belfast, dublin, Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick, Waterford

I just read online about an article in OK magazine where Katy Perry, in my opinion summed up what us women really want in a man when she described what attracted her fiance Russell Brand:

"His eye for detail was so impeccable, he made me realise he was listening and understanding me completely and wanted to jump into my world."

Doesn't that sum up what we are all after. Someone who actually listens to you and cares about what you say. Understands what you mean and wants to be part of it.
I presume that men want this as well but I can't speak for them on this one.
Katy went on to say...

"I have always been open to someone who would really challenge me emotionally, spiritually and mentally and he really covers those bases"

Again I agree - while we want men to listen and understand us we don't want them necessarily to accept what we say. It is much more interesting when whey challenge our beliefs and opinions. And when there is a major disagreement over a subject be it emotional, spiritual or intellectual there is always the universally loved "making up" after it!

Do men think the same? I'd love to hear from some guys on this subject.

Labels: Fiance, katy Perry, Love, Russell Brand