There are plenty of strange postings to be found on Craigslist, but one in particular is getting a lot of attention recently. It's a job ad searching for a "virtual dating assistant."
What on earth does this position entail — and is it really a good idea?
The job posting in question is reasonably simple. It explains that someone is searching for an individual who can create Internet dating profiles for a group of hopeful daters and ghostwrite their emails to romantic prospects. In other words, it's basically setting up a modern (and hopefully less twisted) version of Edmond Rostand's "Cyrano de Bergerac."
Virtual Dating Assistant (U.S.)
My business is growing and I need help creating male and female internet dating profiles, headlines, tag lines, and writing emails to women that clients are interested in. My clients are 28-62, professionals - so no PUA [pick-up artists].
Each profile would be custom - I'll send you a written summary.
Emails have to be customized to the person (no create, copy and paste emails that are sent to all) and targeted to get positive responses.
Profiles and emails have to be a combination of fun and professional.
Completed profiles are 300-350 words, and emails 30-75 words.
I would need a fast turnaround — the longest is 48 hours for each profile and every 10 emails. Writing has to be good — when emails get a positive reponse then bonuses maybe paid (TBD).
PLEASE READ — WON'T BE CONSIDERED UNLESS THIS PIECE IS INCLUDED. For consideration, SEND a sample of an email that you would consider writing to a woman. Writing for internet dating is different than magazines, publications, etc. so someone with previous virtual dating assistant experience preferred. This is similar to ghost writing as email needs to sound like the client's profile.
The better and faster someone is — the more work s/he will get.
Confidentiality agreement and 1099 will be completed before start of assignments.
As some commenters on women's interest site Jezebel point out, whoever crafted this particular Craigslist ad definitely isn't the first person to consider that there could be a need for ghostwritten romantic correspondences outside of the world of tragic plays and romantic comedies:
See a pattern being set up? From movies, plays, and books to real-world scenarios experienced by Internet commenters, nothing seems to have a truly happy ending when romantic ghostwriters are involved.
And that shouldn't surprise us. After all, the truth and reality about people is bound to come out eventually — unless they take things quite a bit further, as blogger Anna North remarks, tongue firmly in cheek:
Why stop with online dating? A truly great [virtual dating assistant] could handle busy people's valentines, birthday cards, even wedding vows. There's a budding industry here, and all you need to cash in is a good typing speed and total comfort with the grisly death of romance.
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Rosa Golijan writes about tech here and there. She's a bit obsessed with Twitter and loves to be liked on Facebook.