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December 4, 2006 4:00 AM PST

The mating dance of the 'technosexual'

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BlackBerry Pearl. MacBook Pro. Slingbox. Palm TX. WordPress. TrueCrypt. Squeezebox.

To many, those are yawn-inducing tech terms. But to people like Eric Jordan, they're sexy talk. Jordan, 34, is the kind of guy who will take apart a new $300 cell phone so he can upgrade its software, or wire his vintage car with an old laptop. As a kid, in fact, Jordan liked to wire his Lego village with LED lights.

Jordan has found that when it comes to women he dates, they must be computer geeks. His last girlfriend hated the homemade digital video recorder, and it was just those kinds of differences that split them up. "The Internet-wired, remote-controlled coffee maker and lights did not go over well," said Jordan, who lives on Long Island, New York.

Nerd Passions

Now, he says he dates only "nerdly" women, having recently joined a science fiction dating site called Trek Passions "Anyone I date would have to be as into tech," Jordan said, adding, "Nerdiness is just sexy."

Sure, people bond over any number of things: politics, environmentalism, outdoor sports, food. But a decade-long boom in technology and gadgets has opened the closet door for many tech lovers, or "technosexuals," if you will. With the many special-interest sites on the Web, sparks can fly between two techies who wouldn't have otherwise found each other.

In the last year, specialized dating sites like Trekpassions.com (for sci-fi fans who want to hook up), Nerd Passions and Gaming Passions have emerged, and more offbeat sites like Consumating (which is owned by CNET Networks, publisher of News.com) give people an avenue to find someone who shares a taste for tech. Hard-core techies even joke that the boisterous tech site Slashdot should run personal ads, but its founder, Rob Malda, said he has no interest in that--even though Malda proposed to his wife on the site.

On Consumating.com, where people "tag" their profiles with various descriptive words to describe their interests, visitors can find more than 1,600 people with the tag "computers." (Granted, they're mostly men.) More than 500 are tagged "tech" or "technology," and more than 1,200 are self-described "geeks."

At general dating sites like Match.com, it's even possible to find a technosexual or two. One 26-year-old man said on his profile that he's looking for a woman who shares interests like playing video games and toying with new gadgets.

"If you can talk geek, thats (sic) a plus!," he wrote.

Still, the joke is that it's 100 techie guys to every one woman, given that the technology field is so dominated by men. Earlier this year, Conan O'Brien even poked fun at the dating site Trek Passions on his late night show on NBC. "Any month now they hope a girl will join," O'Brien said.

See more CNET content tagged:
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Ongoing Joke...
by mcka0471 December 4, 2006 8:56 AM PST
It's been a running joke between my wife and I that she married me for Tech Support...

"Techno-Sexuals Unite!"
Reply to this comment
Not a Tech Issue
by ss_Whiplash December 4, 2006 9:08 AM PST
This line says it all: 'Kristin still occasionally threatens to throw away his gadgets sometimes "because I spend more time with them than her."'

This is not an issue of finding a woman who's into tech, it's an issue of trying to find somebody who will take a back seat to your other intrests.

Get a clue guys, it doesn't work that way.
Reply to this comment
Can I point your attention to...
by dreadsword December 4, 2006 9:25 AM PST
http://www.simplematchingservice.com ? Its a match-making site that I put together to connect people with esoteric (or mundane!) interests - everyone builds an interest profile for themselves using an open (user-built) taxonomy. Matches are made on the basis of shared interests or locations. There's networking features, instant messaging, unlimited photo galleries, etc. Good times, and an interesting market space to be in!
Reply to this comment
Puhleeese...
by AMPerez December 4, 2006 4:48 PM PST
Talk about SPAMMING...

I bit your hook and of all the ---27--- members you've got there, not ONE is from the US. Good lunk in your project.
Puhleeese...
by AMPerez December 4, 2006 4:48 PM PST
Talk about SPAMMING...

I bit your hook and of all the ---27--- members you've got there, not ONE is from the US. Good luck in your project.
Society of Incredible Nerds = Geek, not Greek
by disco-legend-zeke December 4, 2006 9:51 AM PST
The jocks get the glory, the nerds get the money, and the women.

One of the biggest attractions of my last wife was her technophilia.
Reply to this comment
Huh?
by Dachi December 4, 2006 1:02 PM PST
You are right, jocks have neither money or looks if you ask the band kids.

Emo is where it's at because their girlfriends can borrow their makeup.

People keep trying to call it something else, but from where I sit the dating scene is still mostly just a meat market.

Most women have already made up their mind about you long before you get a chance to brag.

The reverse is true as well. Just like most decent women don't give guys under 5'10" a second look even if they drive a Ferrari, I won't give a fat chick a second look even if she?s got a private jet.

It is a cruel fact of life.
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I think online dating is wonderful
by jen953982 December 4, 2006 12:18 PM PST
At least, it's wonderful up until the point where you actually meet in person.
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Beats the bar
by Ricky Matthews December 4, 2006 1:31 PM PST
I've tried different forums. The bar: one good date, but I actually
knew her from High School. Language classes: Lots of nice
people but nobody from the demographic that I'm interested in
(female, single, 30-35). Online dating sites: lots of good dates, a
few bad ones, mostly sincere people. Sure, there's the people
who do themselves the disservice of posting photos that are 10
years out of date, but for the most part, I've had good
experiences from online dating.

Sites like verbdate.com provide the ability to use Skype Video to
chat with people long before you meet face to face.
View reply
Beats the bar
by Ricky Matthews December 4, 2006 1:53 PM PST
I've tried different forums. The bar: one good date, but I actually
knew her from High School. Language classes: Lots of nice
people but nobody from the demographic that I'm interested in
(female, single, 30-35). Online dating sites: lots of good dates, a
few bad ones, mostly sincere people. Sure, there's the people
who do themselves the disservice of posting photos that are 10
years out of date, but for the most part, I've had good
experiences from online dating.

Sites like verbdate.com provide the ability to use Skype Video to
chat with people long before you meet face to face.
LOL - You're not kidding!
by AMPerez December 4, 2006 4:58 PM PST
I hear ya. I've met a few.... doozys! :)

Hey Jen - give me a Yahoo sometime... :) "rvrnet1"
Amen to that!
by ewelch December 4, 2006 5:43 PM PST
I tried online dating for two years and got lots of nerotic women
angry at their ex's or unable to commit, or looking for an upgrade,
and made it clear they would do it again.

I decided to do what I enjoy and figure I'd meet someone doing the
same, and guess what?

Yeah, online dating is not the way to go.
Online dating is a good starting point
by bluemist9999 December 5, 2006 7:34 AM PST
But, a lot of profiles contain lies. It's for pretty much the same reasons people lie in real-life --- so people can look better than they are.

Also, even in totally honest profiles, a lot of important terms are totally subjective---what I believe is "playful" may be "stupid", "insane" or "boring" to another person.

As if that weren't enough, people unconsciously setup expectations of the person they're going to meet---and 99% of the time, those expectations are very inaccurate (even with honest profiles) because they're based on that person's wants, fears and past experiences.

Esentially, I feel online dating is a great starting point, but it's good to reach a point where you talk on the phone or meet in real life at a neutral location.
script me
by gmatters December 5, 2006 3:24 PM PST
Or they turn out to be a fembot.
Talk Nerdy to me with SkypeWeb!
by bobbydassler December 4, 2006 1:01 PM PST
If you geeks really want Dating 2.0 then check out verbdate.com with; Tags, Voip, Presence, Location, RSS, and a little ajax sprinkled ontop! Oh ya and its 100% FREE! Talk on all, talk on!
Reply to this comment
by osra76 October 21, 2009 8:37 PM PDT
Surely 'better sex' is a self-defined level of satisfaction. "Better satisfied with their sex lives" would make sense, right.. It just seems self-evident that this can only be the conclusion from this 'study' because better sex is communicative sex..
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