Hello World (Part I)

The title of this three-part kickoff entry doubles as the opening words Tiger Woods used at his introductory press conference. Given the fact that this is a dating/relationships advice blog, rest assured that this is the first and last time you'll find me quoting him.

Welcome to the Equal Time Guy blog. I'll be your host - Equal Time Guy. Thank you for coming. I hope you'll stick around and invite others to do the same - though the responsibility for ensuring that happens is on my shoulders, not yours.

I'm well aware that the niche I'm trying to enter - online advice columns - is pretty crowded. There's no shortage of newspapers, magazines, books, blogs, and other forums with far more established  and well-known advice-givers than I.

So why would you come here? What makes this place different than the others?

Three things.

First and foremost, I'm a guy. My goal is to disprove the still-prevalent notion that talking openly and honestly about dating and relationships is something only women care to do (hence the name Equal Time Guy). That's not the case. I want to hear from men who aren't interested in the kind of talk we grew up with in high school locker rooms, but rather respect women and want a thoughtful place to find candid advice. And I want to hear from women who would appreciate a second opinion beyond what their girlfriends offer - that's one important place to find advice, but there's another point-of-view that I believe I can offer. In short, I want this to be a place where emotions can be expressed freely and openly, and where the aim is to find and hold onto love.

Now, to be sure, I'm not the only man who runs a dating/relationships column. So gender shouldn't be - and isn't - the only reason to come here.

The second reason is that here you will get an ongoing dialogue. In the vast majority of advice columns, the questioner writes, the advice-giver responds, and the story ends. Well, the story doesn't end there. I'd much prefer to have a conversation rather than give a lecture or a briefing. If you take the time to write and follow-up, you deserve a response every time. So that is what you will get. This is not to satisfy my curiosity regarding whether my advice worked out well or not, but rather to hopefully be what every advice columnist should aspire to be: a friend.

The third and final reason to come here: if my plan works out, this will be a community. While I do think I can offer sound and meaningful advice, I don't exactly hold a monopoly on all the good ideas out there - far from it. Here, readers will have the opportunity to offer their own comments and feedback to help their fellow advice-seekers. If you have a good idea, share it. If you think my advice misses the mark, and you have a better thought, express it. The floor is always open for thoughts, comments, and suggestions.

So again, welcome to Equal Time. In Part II, I'll tell you a little bit about who I am.