Flirting with Flirting
Filed under: customers, gadgets and gizmos, lifestyle, mobile handsets, mobile phone, Next G™, SMS, social trends
I have always maintained that I am a terrible flirt. I don’t get it. My friends will all howl with derision when they read this and say that I am great at flirting. One kindly friend (the only one on my side) tried to teach me an “across the bar” flirty look once. We had to give up because he said, through tears of laughter, that I looked quite a lot like Joan Crawford in Her Bad Eyebrow Years. I just think I’m being friendly. 
If I laugh at your jokes or ask you to tell me about yourself it’s because I genuinely find you funny or interesting. According to some of my friends, that’s flirting. One of them has even classified it for me into Flirting1 and Flirting2. I can’t quite remember what the difference between the two levels is (maybe I should pay attention more), but I think Flirting1 is playing and Flirting2 is playing with intent.
To get some clarity on this issue of life and death importance we sent poor, young Sam to a Telstra media event to interview Debra Goldstein and Olivia Baniuszewicz, authors of FLIRTEXTING™: How to Text Your Way into His Heart. You can watch his interview here and gather some tips on how to flirt effectively using text messages. It seems to me that Debs and Liv are saying the rules of flirt texting are:
- play to your strengths
- give your number out freely
- enjoy yourself
I’m not sure how these rules differ to normal flirting, but hey, that could just be me being old school. I’m also not really sure how these rules differ from being friendly so, really I’m no clearer on anything. There’s bound to be some value in this – just like there’s sure to be some value in Sex in the City 2 *howls with derision*
What do you think? Are the rules of in-person flirting that different for text messaging?
Geez Sam, that was a tough interview, how did you cope?
Like anything in life there’s often no clear line between being friendly or flirty – one person’s flirting is another’s friendliness. A glance and a smile on the tram could be anything from just a stranger being pleasant to someone treating you with elevator eyes.
The rules that Debra and Olivia aren’t really anything new though – basically just a reminder that even though texting a prospective partner is easier, you still need to show your best side through it, and that it’s only ever going to get you so far.
After all, with a text you can be as witty as you like in a response because you’ve got time to plan it – whereas eventually you’ll have to interact in person with the target of your texts, and if you’ve misrepresented yourself in your texts, you’re going to be found out pretty quickly.
Sorry to be a We Blanket here, but Telstra Just announced a Landmark Agreement to participate in the NBN, and we are discussing Flirting?
Flirting is an art and it’s fun! I think it’s part of human extinct to play around once in a while.
Hi Paul
Yes – point taken. This was one of my more interesting editorial decisions. Of course your gentle criticism makes me want to be friendly to you so you’ll like us again – but that’s something I can talk through with my therapist.
Thanks again
Kristen
Lol, that was different.