Tag Archives: How To

The Etiquette of Online Dating

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Online dating has been described before as going into a bar where you know every person
in there wants to meet someone. However, this is no ordinary bar scene where you can rely
on a bit of Dutch courage to strike up a conversation. There are some big differences in this
digital world, and a dating website etiquette should be followed when looking for love
online. However, not all of us know what this is.

finding love, dating, online dating, advice, guide, social media

In this relatively new social medium, Sean Wood, Communications Director at Cupid Plc,
talks us through the dos and don’ts of dating online. From choosing the right website to
picking a great place for your first date. Sean’s insider knowledge can guide you through the
journey to meeting your perfect partner online.

You have made the decision to join a dating website, how do you go about choosing the
right one? What should you look out for?

Online dating is now more and more popular and as a result of this the number of dating
websites on offer is constantly growing. Before you make any decisions, consider what it is
you want to get from your online dating experience, and what kind of person you are
looking for – this will narrow the choices and make your decision easier. For example, if you
are looking for love following a separation and want to find a mature partner,
MatureDatingUk.com might be the best choice for you. If you work in uniform and work
unsociable hours, you may be looking for someone in the same position, and so a site such
as UniformDating.com would be perfect for you. Most dating websites give users a choice
between a free account and a full subscription. This allows you to browse the singles
database and check out the functions of the site, before making the decision to move to a
full subscription. Wherever possible, try to get a trial run before subscribing to a dating site,
to make sure it is most suited to your needs before you spend money on it.

1) What is the best type of picture to post on your profile?

Choosing the right profile picture is very important. You should use a picture you are happy
with, but which is also a true likeness of you – altering your image in Photoshop may
improve your appearance but this will cause problems when your date doesn’t recognise
you and walks straight past you on your first date! On the other hand, it’s perfectly fine to
post what you consider as your best photos, and so posting your passport photo may be
taking it too far! Try to choose a picture that stands out from the crowd, one that catches
the eye of other members and leaves them wanting to find out more about you. Be sure to
choose a photo that looks natural and real whilst still engaging. You can usually change your
profile picture whenever you like, so feel free to play around with your snap until you find
one that gets the most interest from other users. One final note is to avoid including images
of beautiful sunsets and landscapes which you like. Although the views might be stunning,
users want to know about you first and foremost.

2) How do I start writing my profile? What are the main points to include about myself?

Your profile is designed to tell other members all about you, this includes basic personal
information such as your first name and age, as well as details about your interests and
hobbies, likes and dislikes, personality and traits. If you are suffering from writer’s block,
maybe bullet point all of the important information that you wish to share, briefly give an
overview of what you are like and leave the reader wanting to know more about you.
Always be honest in your profile, relationships that start from dishonesty rarely work,
furthermore, you want to find someone who likes you just the way you are! You can include
in your profile a summary of what it is you are looking to achieve from your online dating
experience, i.e. are you looking for friendship, love/romance, marriage etc? Stating this in
your profile will help you to find someone who is looking for the same things you are.

3) What safety features should I look out for when I am joining a dating website?

Before deciding to sign up to a dating site one thing you should pay attention to is the safety
features of the site itself. In order to date safely you will need to sign up to a dating site that
speaks openly about how to stay safe when chatting over the internet, and offers guidelines
on details which you should and shouldn’t share. Furthermore, you should use a dating site
that has invested time and money into developing safety features designed to better
protect you, the user. At Cupid.com we have developed a new safety feature called Safe
Mode. This function allows men to change their profiles so that they can only be contacted
by members who have been verified and who are looking for love – the verification process
is simple – it can be done over the phone and takes only a minute or two. The Safe Mode
function is unique from other safety functions of other dating sites as it acts as a shield,
blocking members from people who haven’t verified their identity and aren’t actually
interested in dating. To add to this, our site moderator continually posts messages in the
public areas of the site, explaining to users the importance of staying safe online and things
that you can do to keep yourself safe.

4) I have the perfect profile set up, now what do I do?!

Now your perfect profile is completed you’re ready to start meeting people! There are a
number of ways in which you can do this. Cupid.com has placed a great deal of emphasis on
developing functions and tools that enable effective communication between members and
we encourage you to utilise these as much as possible. The most common way people start
to meet other members is by searching through the database of single people and
messaging anyone that catches their eye… when you send messages to other members try
to make the messages personal to each individual member, avoid generic sounding
messages as these are much less likely to get a response. A more immediate way to start
conversation is through our free online chat rooms, in which you can start talking to other
members who are online immediately. When you have started to get to know another
member and decide you’d like to get to know them on a more personal level, you can start a
private chat with them.

Before you start chatting with someone, have a look at their profile and see whether they
would actually be a good match for you, for example, are they looking for the same things
as you are? Do they live in your area? Do they have similar interests to you? When you
start initializing a conversation with another member, ask questions about them and listen
to their response, ensure the conversation is two way and you are both engaging in it.

5) How long do you recommend talking to someone online before organising to meet
them in person?

How long you should speak to someone for before meeting them really depends on you, the
person you are talking to and how comfortable you feel with them. At Cupid.com, safety is
essential, so we would suggest waiting until you actually know a person before you meet
them. The usual process would be to start chatting online for a while, and then move to
other forms of communication, such as speaking over the phone. If you are ever unsure as
to whether you should meet someone we would recommend you don’t, never allow
yourself to feel pressurised into meeting someone before you’re ready, and you should
always be sure that it is something you want to do before agreeing to meet anyone.

6) When organising when and where to meet, what should I keep in mind?

When you do finally make the decision to meet up with another member, choose to meet
up in a public place, somewhere that has an atmosphere you can both enjoy, that will allow
you to chat freely and get to know each other even better. When you initially plan your first
date, it is a good idea to plan something short, so if you or your date knows there and then
that it isn’t going to work, you can walk away with no bad feelings. If the short first date
goes well, you can always extend your plans by going for a meal or something afterwards, or
arrange a second date for in a few days.

7) Do you have any do’s and don’ts for conversation on the first date?

The whole point of the first date is to get to know the person you have met up with, so the
best advice we can give you is to appear interested in your date, ask questions and follow
these up with further (related) questions, to show you have maintained an interest in what
they have to say. Answer questions about yourself as honestly as you possibly can, and
answer the question that was asked of you, avoid going off on a tangent or over sharing
information too soon. Be yourself as much as possible, if you are fake in any way it will likely
get noticed and may even put your date off you.

What’s your opinion on online dating? Have you found someone online?

Crowdsourcing For Dummies

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crowdsourcingfordummiesIf you are a relatively social and have a social media account, or even an email address you will probably know what crowdsourcing is. Not only has it now become popular, but it also has helped business and films. No longer are people with a great idea a slave to a bank or a PR company. What better way to find out how to improve your business than from people who want you to succeed, an audience and customer base who are already built in? What is not to like? Well, there are negatives I am sure but let’s find out more about Crowdsourcing For Dummies. Could this book help?

Crowdsourcing For Dummies by David Alan Grier has a wealth of information. Did you know that Netflix uses crowdsourcing to improve its ability to predict customers movie ratings and L’Oreal used it to create a television advert for a fraction of the usual cost? It really is all about the crowd now. You can use them to build your brand up, marketing, solving problems and to boost your profits.

One of my favourite things about this book is that is goes through all of the different variations of crowdsourcing, including crowdcontests, crowdfunding (very popular), macrotasking, microtasking and self organised crowds. The opportunities out there are vast with the right knowledge.

From the basics to joining the crowdforce and raising money with crowdfunding; I can’t think of anything that is not covered in this well researched book. Part 3 is all about building your skills and I really like the chapter on crowdsourcing with social media. At the very end is the part of tens, and I really liked the Ten Success Stories and  Crowdsourcing blunders to avoid.

This is a very good book. I would definitely buy it if you are even slightly interested in crowdsourcing.

 

How to Create a Clutter-Free Modern Living Room

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HK_Government_House_Living_RoomIt is imperative that you keep a tidy, neat living room in your home. The living room is where you’ll entertain guests and where you’ll want to hang out after a hard day at work. Inviting guests over to a cluttered living room is embarrassing, and coming home to one after work will only stress you out instead of calming you down.

 

If you’re really stumped about why your living room is in a constant state of clutter, you should probably think about re-organising it into the room of beauty and comfort that it’s meant to be.

 

Restructure your entertainment system

 

If you have a large television, or a nice audio entertainment system, or both, it probably takes up a lot of space in your living room. It doesn’t have to be this way. There are a number of solutions. You could get a TV cabinet that neatly stores your sound system as well as your TV in one compact area.

 

Alternatively, if you really want to save space, TV wall brackets are the best way forward. Your TV will no longer take up any ground space whatsoever, and will be neatly and beautifully displayed on your wall.

 

Display your books in an efficient manner

 

Instead of having small piles of books and magazines all over the place, you should probably invest in a sleek-looking bookcase to neatly stack all your books and other items there. Put the big classics that you’ve already read at the top, with everything else that you read often on the lower levels for easier access.

 

What you could also do is invest in a coffee table that has storage cabinets beneath it, where you can store some of your other magazines and books for curling up on the sofa with.

 

Impose laws

 

This is essential if you’re a family with kids. You have to understand that your living room is never going to be uncluttered unless you enforce rules about keeping it tidy. The first thing to get through to your kids is that they need to respect their own house, and all the rooms in it.

 

Next, you need to lay down specific rules about them leaving their toys and belongings all over the place. Adults should be able to follow rules too – there should be no dumping of jackets, shoes and hats when you come in from work – use the coat hooks!

 

Parking Guide Infographic

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Are you like one of the 1 in 6 drivers who struggles to park their car?  If so, this handy cut out and keep guide to parking could be just what you need. Place it strategically on your dashboard and you will never be stuck in the multi-storey again.

Parking Guide Infographic
Parking Guide Infographic – An infographic by T W White & Sons

How To Build A Website

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buildawebsiteBuilding a website can seem like a daunting experience. Especially to the technologically challenged. But like most things, when you get the hang of it, it becomes a lot easier.

To get you on your way Frost has put together a handy guide. Good luck!

Get Some Hosting

If you are going to build a website you need to have it hosted on a server. When deciding what hosting site to go with ask around. Word of mouth is important. 1&1 My Website have a good reputation. They also have good customer service. My first ever website was hosted by them. Aw, memories.

Get a Domain

Different from hosting. The domain is the name of the site. So Frostmagazine.com is our domain. A good domain name enhances your brand and makes your URL (uniform resource locator) easier to find. These can be inexpensive. Although it you want katemiddleton.com not only would that probably be taken, but it would also be very expensive.

Think About The Design

You want a design that is pleasing to the eye and easy to read. Also think carefully about installing flash or lots of plugins. This will slow the site down and some people might not even be able to view it.

Content is King

This is the most important thing on your site. Nothing is more important than content. It will get people coming back to your site. You need to update your content regularly. Not only for your readers (if an online magazine) or customers (if for your business) but also for the search engines. If you constantly update your site then search engines like google love it as it shows growth.

Think About Getting a Template

You don’t need to learn how to code. You can use a wordpress template. We use one on Frost Magazine and so do a lot of other sites.

Ask For Help

Never be scared to ask for help. If you are stuck you can ask your hosting site’s customer service, search on the internet or ask the question on Twitter and Facebook. People love to help.

Back Up!

This is so important: Back up your site! If you don’t back up then you can lose all of your hard work in an instant. So many things can go wrong so back up at least once a week.

 Do you have any website building tips? Share them below.

 

Errol Douglas Tells Frost Magazine How To Get Great Hair. Exclusive Interview

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erroldouglasErrol Douglas MBE, one of the most influential hairdressers in the world, has been announced as the incoming President of The Fellowship For British Hairdressing. Douglas, who has 3 decades in the hair industry and a roster of high profile clients, will take the helm at an official handover ceremony at The Dorchester Hotel on April 22nd 2013. Receiving an MBE for services to Hairdressing in 2008, Douglas has a recognised track record in championing the hair industry and nurturing young talent. He was also named Hair Hero 2013 at the Hair Magazine Awards.

After receiving the award, Douglas said “This means the world to me, I’ve received many awards over the years, and to be recognised in this way at such an important event really is incredible. I love my industry, its creativity, talent and integrity. I’m so very lucky to have a stunning team who’ve worked alongside me for many years, and it never feels like work, because I knew as a boy that this brilliant industry was for me”

We were very excited to interview him and learn how to get great hair with lots of volume.

 

How do Frost Magazine readers achieve their best ever hair day? 

 

By investing long term in hair health.  That means weekly conditioning treatments (Moroccan oil Hydrating Mask is great because it’s easy to use at home in between salon visits and only a small amount is required), regular salon visits as the finish really is in the quality of the cut and using a small amount of a styling product suited to your hair type to prep it before you style.

 

 

What are the main causes of flat hair?  

 

Without a doubt it’s product overload, it’s the worst offender, weighing hair down and dulling it. Less really is more in terms of product.   A close second is not building the right foundation before blow drying or styling. Volume needs to be built into the roots by using a firm tension and barrel brush to blow dry, consider it the scaffolding for a polished finish. A small amount of Moroccan oil Treatment on wet hair will infuse moisture into the hair and  help eliminate frizz in the final style. It’s been a game changer for the quality of finish in styling for my clients.

 

What products are best for big hair?  

 

A “working” hairspray that allows hold to be built in as the hair is styled without that “crispy” stiff result.  I like to use Moroccan oil  Luminous  Hairspray on wet hair to blow dry it into roots.  Using rollers at the crown builds in movement, which allows the hair to look thick and healthy. Plumped cuticles are the scaffolding of volume based styling. Wash the hair in cool water so as not to stimulate the scalp’s sebaceous glands and create unwanted grease. Using Morrocanoil Extra Volume Shampoo and conditioner will begin the root plumping process and create the right canvas.

 

What is the best way to achieve volume?

 

One way that volume is achieved  is by texture brushing. Apply direct heat from the nozzle of the hairdryer directly onto the roots and pull firmly as you dry with the Morrocan oil barrel brush. What I love about this brush is that it maintains a consistent temperature and reduces drying time. The bristles produce negative ions causing water to evaporate more quickly. To really build the lift into the whole head, section off the hair with silver pins and work the texture brushing as you dry equally on all parts. Once dry with big roots and volume, a little gentle backcombing with the barrel brush at the crown is how to achieve that dramatic lift specifically as on the catwalk.

 

How do you get big hair when you have fine hair?

 

The best trick is to lightly backcomb the roots or lightly emboss the roots ( this means using a heated crimping tool just at the roots)

 

How do you get your hair to stay full of volume all day?   

 

Use hairspray “up and under” not “around and on top” – the hold needs to be built from the bottom up to maintain the lift, spraying directly onto the crown in a halo is a flattener by the middle of the day.  To refresh, tip the head upside down and brush the hair gently forward.

Thank you Errol.

Learn more about Errol here: www.erroldouglas.com

Matt’s Big Match: Warm Steak and Roquefort Salad

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Get a sneak peak to see self-confessed foodie, Matt Dawson match his very own Warm Steak and Roquefort Salad recipe with the perfect pick from Bordeaux

Since winning Celebrity MasterChef back in 2006, Matt Dawson has now become a firm fixture in the culinary world. Good Food Would Choose Bordeaux, and so does Matt.

This winter the foodie becomes a Bordeaux wine lover: Matt shows Brits how to match great food with great Bordeaux wines without breaking the bank. Discover culinary passion with a series of cooking demos that will introduce you to the versatility of Bordeaux wines and endless pairing possibilities for any occasion.

Matt has fond memories of Bordeaux that date back to his teenage days when he spent Easters playing rugby against the local side, Bordeaux Bègles, and enjoying the hospitality of host families.

Food and wine are central to Bordeaux-style life, but back then Matt had no idea food was going to become his central focus after hanging up his boots. This self-confessed foodie now has time to devote to his great passion. Being able to match his own recipes to a selection of Bordeaux wines is a labour of love that takes Matt back to those memorable Easters in Bordeaux.

Watch our video where Matt cooks up a delicious Warm Steak and Roquefort Salad, and with help from Wine Expert Ewan Lacey matches his creation to the perfect style of wine from Bordeaux.

Watch the full recipes: http://www.bordeaux.com/uk/artofliving/aficionados

How To Throw A Successful Dinner Party

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Julia Dowling, Managing Director of Snapdragon Parties, shares her tips on dinner parties

People don’t come to a dinner party for the quality of food, they come for the company and to be entertained. Many hosts make the mistake of putting too much time into the food and not enough time into other things.

1. Invite: set the tone, first off by the way that you invite people. While it’s old fashioned and highly unusual, hand written invites, particularly on ‘at home cards’ are classy and a great way to invite people to a dinner party.

2. Connect: a good host thinks about the connections between people – a successful dinner party is one where people get on. When you think about who to invite, think about who you believe will genuinely get on together, particularly if they don’t know each other.

3. Plan: plan the flow of your evening and inject some pieces of originality into the way you do things. Decorate your home, try to serve your guests something a little unusual during the course of the evening, such as an unusual dry sherry as a pre-dinner aperitif, or for an injection of entertainment, get in a mixologist.

4. Embellish: find a way to use candles and flowers intelligently without breaking the bank. A beautifully laid table helps the food taste better!

5. Breathe: as a general rule, red wine should be served at room temperature, opened in advance and poured into a decanter to let it ‘breathe’ – allowing the oxygen to bring out its flavour. However, with particularly mature red wine (15 years old or more), you should be careful about opening it too long in advance as old wine can ‘deteriorate’ relatively quickly.

6. Match: give consideration to food and wine pairings – there are many good examples on the web. Take people a little off piste to introduce them to something new and get them talking.

7. Eat: Although it might open up a whole can of worms, make sure you are aware of any intolerances or allergies and look after your vegetarian guests every bit as much as the others!

8. Listen: make sure there is a good flow of conversation (each guest should be involved) and be careful with your music choices. If you have music playing whilst you eat make sure it doesn’t make it difficult to talk.

9. Sit: really think about the seating plan and don’t leave it to chance. Don’t worry about the boy-girl thing too much and if people are having a ball don’t insist everyone moves.

10. Relax: Remember that this is a dinner party in your home. Relax and entertain, don’t feel like you need to be on parade. If you aren’t enjoying yourself, your guests won’t be either. If something goes wrong make a joke of it and don’t worry. Line up some taxis to arrive at midnight to ensure your guests get home in comfort.