Singles Scene Newsletter 2/22/00 issue 13 sing-@primenet.com In this issue: * The best of the free online greeting cards * Singles Site of the Week * All Singles Dance Schedule * Arizona Date Ideas * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The best of the free online greeting cards You can send a virtual kiss, a virtual gift, or virtual greetings of all kinds by Janet L. Jacobsen Recently the Sunday Access magazine reviewed several "e-greetings" sites, which allow you to send free "greeting cards" via the Internet to the e-mail address of your choice. So we checked them out ourselves. First, be assured that these services really are free. They finance their projects by selling ads on the sites. After all, what better place to advertise where to order real roses online than on a web site that sends free valentines cards? Will all these services continue to exist in years to come? Depends on whether enough of us are sending free cards because we are simply too busy (rather than too cheap) to buy "real" cards, and will buy from the advertisers on these sites. www.bluemountain.com I already had experience with the most famous of the free e-greetings companies: bluemountain.com. A friend who lives in Costa Rica sent me a birthday card a year ago using bluemountain.com. The site's offerings have expanded greatly since then. Bluemountain.com has cards for every imaginable situation, including kind wishes you can send to your ex-love. (They offer their cards in eight languages, by the way.) Nearly all the cards have motion - usually characters doing something related to the message - and many have sound as well, but are just as sendable even if the recipient doesn't have a sound card to hear the clever music. You select from the occasion list (I've sent Ground Hogs Dog cards, Valentines, birthday greetings, and get well wishes) and then "shop" a number of selections under the occasion. When you've selected one you want, you can add your own line or two to the greeting card itself, as well as several lines of message in smaller type. You preview how the card will look, then specify when you want it sent: immediately, or on a specific date. The recipient has 90 days to retrieve your greeting and can go back to it any time during that 90 days. You receive an e-mail copy of the greeting you sent, and you can also ask to be alerted when the person first picks up your greeting. What the recipient gets is an e-mail message that says that they have a greeting waiting for them from you. By clicking a line in the e-mail message, they can go directly to your greeting. Or they can copy the web address for your message at bluemountain and pick it up by typing in the web address. www.virtualkiss.com Want to send a kiss via the Internet? Virtualkiss.com is the place. The site offers a variety of lip shapes and attitudes, as well as small messages. I sent a good night kiss - the lips are wearing a nightcap. You can add your own message to the kiss, as well. The site also includes dating tips, kissing stories, and "tips of the day." www.toonogram.com This site sends virtual "postcards" of several varieties (I looked only at the two "humor" sections) with lots of sub-categories under each, such as "bad ideas," "family," "business," and "annoying". You can add a few lines after the captions, but you don't get to see what the card looks like with your message attached, like you can on bluemountain. Toonogram will alert you when your message has been picked up. www.virtualpresents.com If it really is the thought that counts, why not just send the thought? That's the philosophy behind virtualpresents.com, and the background pattern on their site ("It's the thought that counts"). These "gifts" are individual photos of lots of different things, some obvious as gifts, some not so much. (Musk oxen? Sledgehammers?) The travel photos (many beach pictures) let you send a virtual vacation, but I thought the selection was limited. The same with the flower selection: one red rose, one white rose, other stuff. Why not a dozen roses? Got me. This site is also more awkward for the recipient than some of the others. The receiver must copy their "package number" from the e-mail message announcing your gift, before they click over to the "virtualpresent" site. But if they didn't notice the code in the message, they'll have to go back for it, which gets to be more hassle than fun. Virtual presents stay available for ten days. www.geocities.com/south beach/cabana/1410/fairy.html If the object of your attention likes things Victorian or enchanting fairies, select from the 22 Victorian greeting cards on this Faerie Fantasia site. They do let you know when your "posty" has been picked up, but the recipient will have to note their message code in their e-mail before they go to the site to see your card. The Winners The two sites I'm likely to use again are bluemountain and toonogram, because of their size of selection, variety of offerings, and ease and quality of service. How much time does it take? A little more the first time you visit a site, til you find your way around. But definitely less time than parking the car, going card shopping, selecting, paying, signing, addressing, and putting one in the mail. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Site of the Week: Nina Atwood, Single Advice Coach. Advice, resources, discussion groups * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ALL SINGLES DANCE SHEDULE: FEBRUARY Fri. 25* Sheraton Crescent, 2620 W. Dunlap MARCH Fri. 3 Mountain Shadows, 5641 E. Lincoln Dr. Fri. 10 Camelback Inn, 5402 E. Lincoln Dr. Fri. 17 Mountain Shadows, 5641 E. Lincoln Dr. (50 cents off if you wear green for St. Patrick's Day) Fri. 24 Sheraton Crescent Hotel, 2620 W. Dunlap, Phoenix Ballroom Fri. 31 Scottsdale Radisson, 7171 N. Scottsdale Rd. * Ladies' Night, ladies' admission $1 Call 480-949-8076 (press 1) for more info or see *********************** DATE IDEAS Wed., Feb. 23: 6-9 p.m., Classic car gathering, Wigwam Outlet Stores, I-10 & Litchfield Rd., Goodyear. Thurs., Feb. 24: Trinidad Calypso Band concert, 7 p.m., free, Glendale Public Library, 5959 W. Brown St., Glendale. 623-930-3530. Fri., Feb. 25 (also 26 & 27): Great Fair, Avenue of the Fountains, Fountain Hills. Juried arts & crafts, entertainment, carnival. Free. 480-837-1654. Scottish Gathering & Highland Millenium Games Concert, 6:30pm at Mesa Amphitheatre. $5. Call 602-431-0095. Sat., Feb. 26 (also 25 & 27): 36th Annual Lost Dutchman Days, Apache Junction. Rodeo, carnival, parade, gold panning, RV show. Free. 480-982-3141. Sat., Feb. 26: Northwest Black History Celebration, City Hall Complex, Peoria. 10 am to 6 pm. Music, cultural activities, speakers, food. 623-773-7137. Sat., Feb. 26: Hogs in Heat, all-you-can-eat barbecue & dance, Rock Springs Cafe, Black Canyon City (exit 242, I-17 n. of Phx.). 4 pm-? $10. 623-374-5794. Sun., Feb. 27 (also 26th): 34th Annual AZ. Scottish Highland Games, Mesa Community College. 8 am to 5 pm. Competitions, demonstrations, reenactments, music, food. 480-431-0095. Sun., Feb. 27 (also 26th): Matsuri: A Festival of Japan. Authentic and traditional Japanese food, activities and performers. Heritage & Science Park, 7th St. & Washington, Phoenix. 10:30 am to 4:30 pm. This year's theme is "Children & Toys." 602-262-5071. Mon., Feb. 28: Pack a picnic supper; drive up the hill in South Mountain Park and eat dinner while viewing the city lights. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * PLEASE FORWARD THIS ISSUE ---------------------------------------------- If you haven't already done so, please forward this issue to one or two of your friends or business associates. Thanks so much! To unsubscribe to this newsletter, send a blank email to singlesphx--@topica.com If a friend would like to subscribe, have them send a blank email to singlesphx-@topica.com