Serenade by Norman Rockwell
Adding romance to online dating may seem overly ambitious and foolhearted when considering the commonly uploaded half-naked profile photos and risqué messages being sent. It appears we have gone so far forward with depersonalizing dating that romance was left behind a vast distance ago. However, there are traces of romance left…yes, in a current form of online dating. It’s not easy to locate and where you’ll find it is a taboo of sorts and rightly so. The hidden recess of romance in today’s online dating is lost within the personal ads. Not widely known, the subcategory of missed connections holds the last piece of romance in an online dating world drowning with a focus on the physical. Either it is stated outright that the ad is for a one night stand, as with personal ads, or you go to a dating website and state your stats, upload some pics, rattle off some erroneous hobbies and answer a hoard of questions that have been proven to be unlikely in getting you any closer to your true love. Yet, deep undercover, beautiful words and moving sentiments calling out to its intended are posted by someone just like you within missed connections. These modern love letters are mixed in with seedy and outright sexualized personal ads, which makes them nearly impossible to find and even more impossible to trust.
So, how do we extract these heartfelt posts and give them a safe space of their own away from the overwhelming ads for hooking up? That’s what we are creating at Peeksi.com. We are adding romance to online dating via missed connections posts combined with a twist on traditional online dating profiles. We hold the hope close to our hearts that the pool of users swimming in our waters will be believers in love at first sight, creators of romance, actors of chivalry and, most of all, looking for the kind of chemistry on which true, long-lasting intimacy is built. Are you in doubt that others desire to fall in love like you? Set aside your skepticism, because 80% of Americans believe in love at first sight.
You may be wondering why we would want to revolutionize the “wheel.” It would be easy for us to launch a dating tool similar to what everyone is currently using, like a tawdry app or a money-driven website that’s operated in such a way to keep you from meeting someone (because otherwise you wouldn’t be a paying customer any longer). Yet, the current models rarely result in mutual chemistry or love and that’s not the hope and sense of connection we are trying to give back to you and the rest of the dating world. Some may say we are overly idealistic. We don’t care. We want everyone to find love. We wish for nothing less than fireworks for each every user.
Hence, our questions to you are these:
- Would you be part of a concept that adds romance to modern dating?
- Are you merely a watcher or a doer?
- Are you in online dating to troll or make a connection?
- Do you want to have a one night stand or meet someone to cuddle with night after night?
- What is it you want from dating?
We want to know it all, as the more we know the better of a product we can create. Let us into your wishes for the world of dating, so we can work to make them come true! Please provide your answers and commentary below, so we can connect with you and make a change. This is the romance revolution — be a part of it! We need you!
The Blog for Peeksi.com 
1. Not sure how it would work but I’m up to try something new.
2. Both – depends upon the situation.
3. Connection.
4. Long-lasting relationship.
5. Ultimately marriage though that comes after the slow process of dating and building a relationship.
Thank you so much, Datingamiss! Your answers are invaluable to our endeavor!
Since you mentioned that you would try something new, would a free lifetime membership to a newly launched paid dating site be a good incentive to get you to involved? That’s our plan for tens of thousands of members before we implement the paid portion, so we’d love your feedback on whether that would interest you enough to join.
And, as an aside, I completely agree with your answer about the process of dating and building a relationship. There needs to be chemistry, like the blueprints for a building. After that, piece by piece, your relationship is built by each moment and the connection you share.
Best wishes to you!
I really like this concept. I’m not sure how you would manage this or, indeed, if users themselves would avoid seedy sexual innuendo in preference for loving and true-to-self words. To do this you would need to change the culture and the way people think about others. Though I am sure that there is a market for this, albeit small. I’m sure this is a reflection of how superficial people have become overall.
My approach to online dating involved creating profiles (despite the site used) that don’t ascribe to the common characteristics you mentioned as being unsuccessful for long-lasting intimacy. I made the site work for me. I didn’t let the site do the work. I didn’t care about how many contacts I was making. If I was getting lots of attention from the wrong types of people then it meant that my profile was not me, it was appealing to the wrong crowd. We all must realise that, while lots of attention boosts your self-esteem, we really will only have a handful of people that we are likely to have a real connection with. That’s what I wanted and I stuck to it. I maintained my own standards of interaction by responding with a ‘no thank you, all the best” when required. Those who I really felt a connection with I actually put some effort into communicating with. Trust your first instinct – get good at noticing what this is and behave accordingly, cut the excess. Skill users to be confident, know themselves and act with mindfulness.
To answer your questions:
1. Absolutely – but am currently seeing someone who is fabulous and I am content.
2. Watcher or doer? Depends on what it is and where I am at. Watch and learn, then do? See next answer.
3. I had to take the personal out of online dating, so became a troller I guess (depending on your definition of this – a watcher and talker). But I learnt a lot and learnt more about myself to ultimately develop a great connection.
4. One-night-stands aren’t for me. I suspect anyone reading this post is putting effort into something long-lasting. Hope you are posting these questions on your online dating profile for better consumer feedback.
5. What I want from online dating? From the site? From a potential partner? I’m not clear what you mean. My initial goal was for marriage. Then I became desperate so stepped back from this and decided to use it as a way to communicate with a variety of people I wouldn’t ordinarily speak with. It was fun and insightful. I am more open. Then discovered I wanted companionship/intimacy/friendship rather than marriage. Then I realised I was picky and really happy with my life. So… read the above comments I guess 🙂
I’m not clear about your business model, but if it is a central place to post lost and missed connections then I really like that idea. A few months ago I asked a random man in the hardware store for some assistance. I had no idea who he was, what he looked like, I just asked him where the sandpaper was as he had sandpaper in his hand. He looked up and stood up immediately with a fabulous smile. There was a connection for both of us – you just know and feel it when it’s there. But neither of us said anything more but a polite thanks and smile. In my mind I kept returning to that moment. If your site was known for being able to re-kindle that connection…it would be brilliant.
Hi Little Lion!
Thank you for answering the posed questions! Most all, thank you sharing your views and experience with dating =).
Love the sandpaper man story! That’s exactly the type of moment we mean by a missed connection.
In our model, you will be able to put up a post to him and see if he responds. While you await his reply, you will have access to member profiles and avenues to interact with other members on the site. You will also be able to post about what you are looking for in a partner or the next event you will be attending.
Our dream is that these missed connections posts will be used before and after a date with that someone special — modern love letters for your intended.
In the long-term, we would love to change the way people interact; to effect a slow-moving push towards a focus on the entirety of what a person has to offer. Lofty ideals, yes! But, wouldn’t it be refreshing?
Though, our short-term goal is to give people a way to connect with their missed connections or lost loves, while being part of a community of users that truly want to fall in love.
We hope that the product that we have been creating these past years will bring together people whom will share a lifelong love with their chosen partners.
Best wishes to you!