Googling your date
Dating used to be largely a matter of spending time with a love interest, discovering the good, the bad and the ugly in person. If you were lucky, friends helped fill in some of the blanks.
These days, the Internet -- and the ability to check people out before they ever meet up -- has forever changed the rules.
For better or worse, "googling" your date has become standard practice.
"I often tell my friends that are still in the dating sphere to use the power of Google to their advantage," says Katie Laird, a 24-year-old Web marketing professional and self-proclaimed "social software geek" from Houston.
The results can be enlightening, surprising -- and sometimes, a little disturbing. So Laird's advice also comes with a warning: "Don't google what you can't handle."
