When Dr. Judith Silverstein’s husband, Dr. Andrew M. Silverstein, died of renal cell carcinoma in 2000, her loss was great. Andy was deeply devoted to his family and highly respected by his colleagues. Writing about him in the American Journal of Neuroradiology Drs. David Greene and Patricia A. Hudgins said, “From the moment Andy came to our practice, it was as if a ray of sunshine had settled over us. He was upbeat, optimistic, enthusiastic, and energetic, bringing joy and excellence to everything he did.”  

When you’ve been loved by someone lik him, where do you go to find a new love? If you’re one of the 74 percent of Internet users who say they’re single and looking for romance, you do what Dr. Silverstein did. You turn to cyberspace. “I don’t go to bars and I didn’t want to go on blind dates,” said Dr. Silverstein. “I wanted to do it just right.”  

Her cybersavvy daughers and neice helped her set up a profile and download her photos. Soon, Dr. Silverstein was surfing for possible matches. Once thought to be the exclusive domain of the social klutz, online dating has become an increasingly popular way for busy professionals to meet their match. According to 2007 statistics from “Online Dating Magazine,” more than 20 million people visit at least one online dating service per month. In addition, at least 31 percent of adults say they know someone who has used an online dating service.  

Industry experts expect online dating to be a billion dollar business by the end of the decade and that’s because Cupid’s arrows hit their mark in cyberspace. Fifty-three million Americans know someone who has gone on a date with a match they met online. Moreover, 30 million Americans say they know someone who has either married or been in a longterm relationship with someone they met online.  

Finding that someone takes work. “I decided to be completely proactive,” Dr. Silverstein said. “I had certain things that were very important to me and online dating allowed me to find out if someone had those qualities up front. So, when I found someone who looked like a fit, I contacted him, even though that flew in the face of what I was taught as a teenager — that I should wait for the man to make the first move.”  

Her strategy paid off. In the first six months Silverstein was online, she went out on eight to 10 coffee dates with interesting matches. One or two rated a second date. Then, she saw Michael Lasky’s profile. “I looked at it and said, ‘that’s the guy,’” she said. Lasky was a patent attorney based in Minneapolis. Silverstein was a dermatologist practicing in Atlanta. The chances they would have met in the offline world were slim to none.  

Today, Lasky and Silverstein are married.  They are also the authors of “Online Dating for Dummies,” sharing with other cyberlove hopefuls the practical, proven strategies they used for everything from selecting the right dating site and establishing their Internet identities to building their profiles and protecting their privacy as well as how to easily make the transition from email to phone call to meeting in person.