Few of us have the gumption to chase after the curvy blond who gave us the eye on the bus ride into work; or to ask out the tall, handsome gent who held the door for us on the way out of Starbucks. But modern technology has made sure we don’t have to.
Craigslist.com has long been known as a source for finding everything from a used car to a long-ago crush, but Kizmeet.com, which was launched about a year ago by Mark Jaffe, claims to be the first site solely dedicated to finding missed connections. “The site really taps into the romantic in all of us,” says Adele Testani, Kizmeet.com’s manager.
The site is sorted by city and geographic location, as well as date and time to help people reconnect. You can also search by locations like gyms, coffee shops or grocery stores, or by a specific location.
Although she couldn’t say for sure how many first dates the site has generated, her advice is to be as detailed as possible in your posting. “Be as descriptive about where you were, what you look like, what the person looks like, what you were wearing, and the interaction you had, even if it was just a glance,” says Testani. “Also, make it engaging and don’t forget to spell check. It’s your second first impression so you want to get it right.”
I wonder how so many missed connections can happen. Testani chalks much of it up to good old-fashion nerves and a fear of being rejected.
But in an era when you can keep up with your friends over Facebook — and instant-message other singles on dating sites instead of having to strike up a conversation — perhaps these missed-opportunity websites are just another way to let us hide behind our keyboards. Maybe we should get over our fear of rejection, locate our gumption and just say hello in the first place.
