MyStalkingTM

Laugh all you want, you MyHaters, but MyStalking^TM is critical for the single college student up through the 20-something. There is some very important and necessary information that can and should be learned by someone before agreeing to go out with another. MySpace is easy to access and someone's page can be found with an e-mail address or even a name. With time, it can also be found through circle of friends' friends lists.

Is he single? Check the relationship status box, does it say In a Relationship or Single? People are quick to change that when relationships go sour, so it's an accurate indicator.

What is he here for? Is he here for Friends? Dating? Serious Relationship? Although no one actually uses MySpace to meet new people (at least no I know does, we use it just to keep in touch), his answer will indicate what he's looking for and how serious he wants to get. Having Dating listed, but not Serious Relationship, will give you an idea of his mindset.

Does he have his shirt on in his profile picture? Seriously? Do you really want to date that guy? You know, the one who doesn't have his shirt on in his profile picture? Forget MyStalking^TM, that's just a good rule of thumb.

Who is in his Top 8? Is it all girls or is it a mix of males and females? What do the girls look like? If it's eight barely-clothed, slutty looking girls, he's a player. If it's eight normal looking girls, he might just have a lot of female friends, however, most guys will at least have a best bro in the Top 8. It's just not normal to have a unisex Top 8. The same applies to guys who have all-male Top 8s.

What do his comments say? Check out his comments section: who is leaving them and what do they say? 20-something girls are fairly conniving and will leave, "Thanks for last night ;)" all over a guy's MySpace as an attempt to stake claim on him. How often do these comments appear? Do they appear from the same girl, or different girls? You can also check the date for frequency. In the case of an ambiguous flirtation, click on the girl's profile to see what he has written to her. This is often a missed, but very important step.

And, for the MyStalking^TM Pro, try reverse stalking. Put a stat counter that works without javascript on your MySpace page. This is the one I use. Because MySpace doesn't allow javascripts, the stats are going to be limited, but you're still going to get a location and an IP address and anyone with a blog stat counter knows how to use this to figure out who someone is.

It's how I found out despite limited messaging through MySpace, David still visits my page at least 4 times a day. And every visit is a thought.

Still nay say about MyStalking^TM as a reference check for future dates? My friend in New York City found out through a combination of MyStalking^TM and Googling a potential suitor was fired from his school teaching job for molesting children. If that's not a reason to start, I don't know what is.