I don't think Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites are good places for randomly asking out anyone due to etiquette. In fact, even offline there seem

I don't think Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites are good places for randomly asking out anyone due to etiquette. In fact, even offline there seems to be a growing backlash, at least in American society, toward randomly asking out women. However, what I believe the author meant by using Facebook and Twitter for dating is that if you have already built a community using these sites and if you are active in that community, it may be possible for you to ask out someone else in that community, provided that both of you already know each other and have spent a significant amount of time interacting with each other. I know someone who met his ex-girlfriend via Instagram sometime eight years ago; she saw his Instagram posts and was a regular commenter, and they started exchanging messages. I think the key for dating, whether it's online or offline, is being part of a community and being valued in it. I agree with the author that the problem with online dating is that the medium for expressing yourself is limited to a profile photo and a profile description; you are reduced to a résumé. When people are reduced to résumés, then whoever has the best-looking résumé ends up getting responses. Not everybody does well under these circumstances. However, if people were able to know a person's desirable traits that cannot be easily captured in an online dating site's profile, then that person's dating chances may improve. Being a part of a community, whether it's offline or online, gives people a chance to see how people in the community behave and what they think. But, given my limited success in dating, "you don't have to take my word for it" (with apologies to LeVar Burton).