Daily Writing Challenge: Image vs. Text/To Love Online or To Love Face-To-Face

(Image of Juliet’s Wall in Verona, Italy, retrieved from iStock)

Finding love today is not as simple as it was when our parents and grandparents met and fell in love naturally. That is to say, ever-lasting love found without technology and computerized matchmaking companies employing algorithms is impossible…or is that what we’ve been made to believe?

Matchmakers have always been a fixture of our history, even if that matchmaker was our Aunt Irene. However, some are acting as if technology can entirely and wholly do away with falling in love naturally, whether that be by chance or through a family member or friend, and this service comes at a staggering price.

(Image rights reserved by Peeksi.com)

Don’t get me wrong, I believe that paying for services, features, and safety is acceptable and necessary…within reason. Yet, when a company’s repeated messages cleverly state that without its service people are less likely to fall in love and more likely to end in divorce, the lengths that are being traveled for more consumer dollars to fund their negative campaigning and line their pockets start to aggravate the gag reflex.

(Image rights reserved by Peeksi.com)

Here are some of the unsavory ways in which we are led to a watering hole that charges a fortune to get a much-needed drink, but then holds a mere few drops of water that millions are trying to lap up: negative advertising expertly camouflaged by pretty pictures of smiling couples; “research” that is purported to prove online dating is the surest way to find a long-term partner whilst this research was funded by the online dating company itself; significant, reputable research that is presented in snapshot ways, like infographics, that mask the actual truths found and ignore citing the makeup of the population surveyed because the study likely didn’t represent the average me and you; and much more.

(Image retrieved from “Thirsty?” Junaid Dawuld/Flickr)

So, I asked myself, why can’t we combine the technology of today with falling in love naturally in a safe way that is both exciting and engaging that doesn’t empty the pocket in a time when not everyone has money coming in like a flood? What were the ways of connecting with people that were attempted long ago that maybe were before its’ time? History has demonstrated that some of the greatest ideas come from looking back at what didn’t work, examining why it didn’t work (e.g. shoddy execution, societal rejection, missing pieces that weren’t available to complete the puzzle), and assessing whether it can be put into action today by taking into account all the reasons why it failed and make improvements using current wisdom. Well, I didn’t find much.

(Image retrieved bellesbookshelf.blogspot.com)

The closest relatives to what my company is launching might be the famous love letters of long ago and personal ads of recent decades past. Love letters from across the ages have given us great quotes and sentiments that renew our hope and wishes for love in today’s world. Then, in the late 70s through the 90s, personal ads were the twist on those love letters that incorporated reaching out to missed connections and loves lost at a small price written in a paragraph or two, then published in print. However, personal ads were not well-received, and, by in large, looked down upon as a shady means to connect.

(Image retrieved from quotemylifex3.zanga.com)

So, here we are in today’s technologically driven world where we are connecting through very few words all via devices that keep us separated physically. Hmmmm…the light bulb is flickering. How can we encourage people to reconnect face-to-face, give them a positive message of having confidence in their own instincts of who to love, while using the safety of the online realm we have come to integrate into our daily lives? Here’s the brainstorming of it all: love letters, personal ads, today’s technology, positive messages, finding love, living life, being present in the moment, love at first sight (plus some others I will blog about in the future)…all came together and seeded the creation of Peeksi.com. A digital space that people can go to AFTER they have shared a spark in a random place or a moment at a friend’s gathering or regrettably lost the love of their life and need a way to connect or re-connect through the means that we know and prefer…online.

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