Online dating is “in”.  It’s “hot”.  It’s the way to meet people.  It’s a great way of networking both with potential relationship prospects and also for making friends around the world.  It’s also however a culture of its own and there are some things you must, absolutely must, do if you hope to make a success of online dating.
Firstly, you must consider what you’re looking for from your online experience.  This won’t just help you hook up with the right kind of people, it’ll also help you choose which online dating site you want to become a member of.  There are those which are generic and anyone looking to socially meet online with anyone else will have a great time, but there are other sites which cater to certain demographic groups such as age or religion based. 
Next you must think about your profile.  In any online dating experience your profile is the public personality that you show to the world.  Try not to sound like you’re applying for a job, but rather write something that gives people who don’t know you a sense of who you are.  Don’t be afraid to say that you are good at things you’re good at, or state what things you really dislike – whether it’s human behavior or a music artist.  Your profile is representing you so give it to someone who knows you and ask them if it’s doing a good job – or better yet, ask them to write it and then tweak what they write to give a deeper insight to the real you.  As detailed as you make the profile, make sure you have no personal contact information in it whatsoever, that could include the exact town you live in or the business you work for.  Your profile should say what people need to know, and nothing more. 
The next must is to identify the kind of person/people you hope to meet.  If you have any exact criteria, then this should be included in an feature the online dating site you’re using has for this, or at the end of your profile.  Try to be clear about things you have no tolerance with, whilst not appearing to be preachy to anyone who might not share your views.  You should also be specific about things that are important.  For example, if you are looking for a serious relationship, and don’t want to date a smoker, then you must say “no smokers only”.  If you say “non-smokers preferred” then you’re opening a door for someone who smokes to contact you on the off-chance you won’t find their smoking as offensive as you find everyone else’s! 
Having created the perfect profile and identified the kind of person/people you want to meet, then you must learn how the site works.  Many online dating sites have numerous multi-media features that allow you to upload photos and even speech files.  Find out how all of the features work to get the most of what the site has to offer.
Finally now you have everything in place, and you know how it all works (or at least what’s available if not how it works), you must get out there and start networking with people.  At first you might want to stand back and just interact with people who contact you, but once you get the hang of things, start hunting profiles and contact those people who interest you.  Online dating is fun, and it can work out, but it’s only as effective as the effort you’re prepared to put into it!