She loves me? She loves me not?
Ultimately, your answer this Valentine's Day season may lie in surfing the Web. That is, if Clark Benson has anything to say about it.
The 33-year-old entrepreneur is one of the founders of ecrush.com, a 2-year-old Web site that allows users to send anonymous e-mails to individuals with whom they would like to be “crushed.” Benson started the site on Valentine's Day 1999 and since then claims to have made more than 300,000 matches.
“With the Internet, you can break the ice without any chance of getting rejected,” he said. “Most people don't make the first move because no one wants to be rejected.”
Benson speaks from experience. His whole motivation behind creating the Web site, he insists, came about after a former girlfriend handed him his walking papers.
Fortunately for 49-year-old Robert Welton, his decision to create the similarly themed lovepolice.com last year did not come about quite so ominously. He simply wanted to send his significant other a message.
The site lists more than 150 love crimes that mates can charge one another with. After receiving a citation, offenders can visit the site to enter a plea and post bail, which is set by the victims and can range from an apology to a night on the town.
More than 100,000 love offenders have been charged, estimated Welton, who added, “It sort of gets everything in black and white.”
