Heeding advice from friends living in New York City, Allison turned to the Internet. “There weren’t a lot of people using the Internet to date back then,” she says. “I had to go to Kinko’s and scan in a picture of myself for my profile.” Soon after that, she was on a date.

“I met this guy for drinks, and everything was going fine. I have a tendency to mess with my hair when I get nervous, so I start running my hands through it. An hour or so into the date, he looks me straight in the eyes and says: ‘You have got to stop touching your hair because it’s driving me crazy. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to control myself!’ I didn’t know what to say to that, so I told him my friends were at the back of the bar, which they were. I never went out with him again.”

How are all of these people finding success in love online? According to experts, honesty, patience and a well-thought-out profile are all anyone needs to find true love.