DATING might just be a whole lot less complicated for Malaysian men, thanks to April Yim.

Instead of putting them through the usual “will she, won’t she” torment of conventional courtship, April, 25, decided to make full use of her blog and Twitter accounts, and asked guys to simply send in an application form to have a date with her in a little social experiment she calls “September Socials”.

As April explains on her blog (www.verseincomposition.com), where interested parties can download the form: “I am about to dedicate the nights and days in September, to meet new people (especially the opposite sex) or to get to know the ones I’m already acquainted with a little better.”

The marketing executive included a section in the blog post on “Why should you date me?”, a bit of self-advertising which included personal attributes such as “random”, “passionate”, “decent physical stature” and the ability to pole-dance, to which she added that there’s more to her than “being flexible and having a good grip”.

April Yim's September Socials idea, where guys can send in online applications to have a date with her, as yielded ten dates so far, with many more to come.

To some people, that would sound just about as desperate as Lindsay Lohan; but as a popular TV advertising campaign said recently, it’s not the Stone Age. It’s a brave new world of new media technology and social networking out there where normal rules of engagement don’t apply, and young people are making things up as they go.

April, for example, has emphasised repeatedly that she’s not desperate, but is simply taking advantage of the new social possibilities made available by online social networking to have some fun, and revolutionise the dating game in Malaysia while she’s at it.

“The Internet makes dating easier. Most people are afraid of asking someone out because they fear rejection. It’s very hard getting a rejection to your face.

“But with September Socials, guys can just send in their applications; and if I don’t think I want to date the person, I just won’t reply. It’s easier that way because they won’t have to hear about the ‘rejection’,” said April.

So far, she’s had 23 applications, “rejected” three of them and been on 10 dates. She’s had three applicants from Singapore, been stood up once after waiting for almost an hour, had her heart warmed by some thoughtful gifts, and had one guy ask her to get serious with him.

“I feel very empowered by the experience. I never thought that I could be that laku (sought-after)!” she said with a laugh.

“It’s such an overwhelming feeling, to know that you are attractive in many different ways, and not just physically.”

Through September Socials, April was also able to learn more about guys, especially Malaysian guys.

“All of them had different dating etiquette. Every guy is a bit different, whether they walk you to the door, get the car door, reply your SMS promptly; but they were all good experiences.

Where it all started - the first blog post by April Yim about her September Socials idea, complete with application form for guys to apply for dates with her.

“And I never thought that Malaysian guys could be so nice. Some of them bought me flowers and gifts, which I thought only guys in Western countries did for their dates. Malaysian guys definitely have a lot of potential to capture a woman’s heart, but they’re just too shy,” she commented.

When she first posted the idea on her blog, April’s friends thought she had lost it. Some of her friends thought she was just joking, while others were worried about her safety.

But finding partners or dates online is hardly a Neanderthalic practice. In 1998, a movie introduced the masses to the (then) novel idea of using this new, uber-cool technology called “E-mail” as a means for romance to blossom.

Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan did their usual thing on You’ve Got Mail and had us all wishing our lives could be the product of the same serendipitous circumstances. In the movie, the two main characters start to fall in love via email correspondence, not knowing that they already know each other, and actually hate each other in person. The only difference with that and September Socials, is that the latter operates on a higher, more efficient level. And it’s safer too.

April’s blog is basically public domain, which means any interested guy can just waltz in and send in an application. It’s safer because unlike Tom Hanks, April does background checks (Facebook profiles, details from the form, etc.) before she decides to accept a date, let alone fall in love.

“I have some safety measures. I make sure I tell my friends where I’m going, introduce my dates to my sister when they come pick me up, get friends to call once or twice during the date, and I post updates about the date regularly on Twitter,” she revealed. By being sensible, April hopes that other girls out there will learn how to have some fun. “I want girls out there to know that it’s okay to date. Not every guy that approaches you is making a sexual advance. As for the guys, it’s okay to ask girls out! September Socials is meant to give guys a gentle nudge, and to show girls there’s nothing wrong with going out and having a good time with a guy,” she said.

And to accomplish that, April is willing to keep going with September Socials, though it will become a misnomer by tomorrow since it’ll be October.

“There are still some dates that I haven’t gone for yet, so I’ll definitely be extending September Socials beyond September. But I’ll carry this on indefinitely. I’ll leave the application form on my blog, and guys can apply any time,” she said.

If things work out for her, who knows, maybe we’ll be hearing about November Nuptials? Let’s just hope there are no December Divorces.

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