LinkedIn, networking and ‘naming and shaming’ dating site dates

As you may  know, I rarely discuss my personal life in my blog.  Much of it is not appropriate for an update that’s shared with the world.  However, there’s one story that I’ve told several times this week that’s left people absolutely shrieking with laughter – or in jaw-dropping disbelief.

Having signed up on a dating website (it’s much like LinkedIn in a lot of ways) I started chatting with a lovely looking man whose photo was more creative and appealing than many.  I did also check him out on LinkedIn, actually, as that shows much about a person’s character as well as their professional standing.  (The power of testimonials again…!!)  Then when I clicked on his Facebook page I was astounded to see that, out of the 48,000ish men on line, he and I shared several mutual friends.

All seemed marvelous!  He phoned me, we chatted, we seemed to have loads in common…. So when he invited me to the Hippodrome in Leicester Square for a late-night cocktail I said yes.  It was downhill from there…  First of all, the artistic photo that had caught my eye was ‘several’ years old.  I don’t judge; there could be reasons.  I couldn’t find any. But what was so shocking about that was when he told me he’d previously agreed to date a woman whose photo turned out to be six years old – and he’d promptly walked out!  He hadn’t even waited to find out whether she was a nice person.  He simply branded her a liar.  Hmmm… pot, kettle…

Having spent a good two hours (in the long two hours sense, not the pleasant one) telling me of his vast fortunes, he gave me £10 and instructed me towards the roulette table to “Go have some fun!”  So I did, winning a nice tidy £110!!  The polite thing is obviously to offer to share it with my date – or go immediately to spend it together in a lovely candlelit restaurant.  I was fairly sure he’d refuse to take a penny, being a gentleman of course.  But… In fact… he pocketed the lot!!!  (You couldn’t make it up…).

I don’t often wish bad thoughts on people, but I do hope my winnings burnt a nasty hole right through his designer trousers and scorched his leg!  Although everyone I’ve told has found the whole thing hysterical, I did actually check with Amanda – a Facebook friend who ran a party roulette business before battling successfully against Cancer.  (She now writes a brilliant blog based on her health experiences and positive thinking, the Law of Attraction and the power of the subconscious mind.)  She confirmed the winnings were legally, ethically and morally mine – and even if they weren’t, It Was A Date!!

One moral of this story is to keep your social media profiles up to date – whether they’re business or personal.