I date. I dig Social Media. And I spend a lot of time thinking about both. Because the problem is, like I always say, that in dating and in social media, it’s the blind leading the blind. Well, now, I think it’s time to pin down some answers. And that is what has inspired “Dating 2.0″ category on this blog, which after a long hiatus IS BACK. In each post, we tackle dating situations made sticky by this wired world we live in. I ask for your opinion. I give you mine. It’s fun, I promise. And maybe we’ll even set some standards along the way.

So far, we’ve tackled:

• whether or not it is acceptable to getting a potential date’s phone number off Facebook,
• at what point to Facebook someone you are dating, and
• the best way to send a post-date thank you message.

Today’s digital dating dilemma stems from my own personal experience: I recently dated someone who on our first date revealed that he did not have a Facebook account. I wondered immediately if an unreformed social media specialist and a social media atheist could be compatible together. (A fish and a bird can fall in love, but where will they live?)

As pointed out in the recent Bank Of America Merrill Lynch (BofA) report on the way Americans are using Facebook and other social services, Facebook is used by almost all Americans at this point. 96% of the people surveyed say they use Facebook and the other four percent probably hold out for a variety of reasons, with the one I’ve heard cited the most is privacy concerns. And so, it’s unlikely that that they’re eager to jump onto the site even if asked.

But our online identities have very much become an extension of our offline lines, and just like we want a partner in life who shares our experiences, doesn’t the same hold true on Facebook? So, I pose the question to you: