Review: Slow and Tight, a Guide to Online Dating

Buy Slow and Tight: Every Man's Guide to Online Dating... Simplified!

In the film School for Scoundrels, some losers pay for a class that promises to build self-esteem and get them more action. Although the movie itself is an exercise in cruelty--literally, the teacher berates the students and steals love interests--the fact that it was filmed in 1960 and again in 2006 is evidence of an ongoing problem: Quality guys don't always have confidence in what they're offering, so they're overlooked by women who'd rather be with self-assured guys--even if they're not as right for them.

Shane Dailey, the self-proclaimed "Professor of Online Dating" (in fact, he teaches a Scoundrel class of his own at a Los Angeles-area college), has written an e-book that details his own successes with online dating and gives advice guys can use in the comfort of their homes.

Dailey suggests that no matter what kind of relationship (sex, casual dating, long-term) or type of woman (older, barely legal, super-hot, taller) you're looking for, you can get it by using his guidelines. The first part of the book helps you determine what you're looking for, then feeds into a system for defining prospects much like a marketing agency would. The bottom line here is: Decide your target market, sell yourself, and make the sale. 

The title of Dailey's method comes from his philosophy of "slowing" down to figure out what you want and "tightening" up your game to target only women you're truly interested in. It's sort of The Rules--for men.

As a woman, I'm not convinced you can simply turn anyone into a charmer overnight, but Slow and Tight does provide valuable information about different dating sites and online dating trends. For instance, you'll get data on what dating sites are generally used for. (Is the one you're on a hook-up or LTR zone?) In addition, he provides:

• Specific guidelines of how and when to communicate with prospects
• Tips for keeping your online dating organized
• Pointers on profile photo DOs and DON'Ts (and he is spot-on about these!)
• Plenty of DOs and DON'Ts of profile-writing
• Message templates that, although they first kind of made me mad with their impersonal nature, actually appear to work

The entire book is comprised of conversational copy, funny illustrations, and bold callouts, so it's very readable. You can breeze through this book and not even realize how much you're learning about what you want and what you should do to get it.

Back when I was single, I did a lot of online dating, and I can attest to the fact that much of Dailey's advice is valid and will be successful when used with most women. In fact, if I was on the market, I'd probably buy this e-book to get the male perspective on online dating. At $37, it's a good value. (He recently added on a bonus, How to Give Any Woman Orgasms, that is included. I don't need that one, though. I already know how.)

Buy Slow and Tight: Every Man's Guide to Online Dating