Today, I can officially say "I know a great couple that met online." I got the news today around noon, when one of my best girlfriends sent me a photo of a gorgeous princess cut 1 carat stunner in a platinum setting. Of course, this immediately resulted in me sitting in my living room, dogs staring at me quizzically while I squealed like a girl opening a box containing her first Coach bag (it's my only basis for comparison).

And the first thing she said when I called was "First off, thanks for writing my profile." Squeal two!

It was a girlfriend night last year, and she had been following my (lack of) dating adventures while I was using a dating site. She was recently out of a long-term relationship and thinking that she needed to get back out there. I, being the perfect candidate to tell everyone else on the planet what a fantastic, wonderful woman she was, volunteered my services to write her dating profile.

While there are tons of advice and articles that you can dredge up that will tell you precisely what your profile should contain (32 million, according to Google), here's the 32nd-million-and one.

1. Start your search by looking at quotes. Why? Quotes are like song lyrics or movie lines that you use in daily conversations with your friends: they are the shorthand on which conversations can be built. My best friend knows when I send him a text that says "Did I rush it? It felt like I rushed it" that the appropriate response is "The Teen Beat thing was harsh," and we've shorthanded a situation to our internal language. Find a quote that is meaningful to you. Like a text message, keep it to 140 characters or less.

2. Tell the truth about yourself. I can't say this enough. If you're not into sports, don't say that you are just because. If you don't like cooking, don't say that you are a budding Julia Childs with the hope that you'll grow to enjoy it should you meet an epicurean. Focus on what you like first and why you like those things.

3. Just because you have 2,000 words doesn't mean you need to use all of them. A perfect profile length is between 300 and 600 words (about the length of this article). Any more is way too long.

4. Get an editor. Have a friend read anything you write before you post it. Better yet, ask a friend to write a first draft and then you can edit it. Sometimes, our ability to be our own worst critic can make it difficult to position ourselves in the best light.

5. Do not divulge personal information -- it could make you a target for a scam. Things like your real name, your employer, the make/model/year of of your car (or photos with license plates in them) need to be avoided at all costs. And be careful if someone starts asking for too much of this kind of information in initial emails. Be smart.

Writing your dating profile can be a fun exercise. Start by creating a list of all the nice things that your friends would tell others about you if they were setting you up for a blind date. Be honest about yourself and who you're looking for, and it can bring positive results.