In a move that will probably surprise no one, Facebook proposed updates to its Data Use Policy and Statement of Rights and Responsibilities for the millionth time.

In another move that will probably surprise no one, most users probably aren't even aware of Facebook's proposed changes.

And in a move that might actually surprise a few of you, Facebook allowed users to comment on the proposed changes and, after the commenting period closed, decided to delay the update as it deals with criticisms from privacy groups.

What? Facebook is being thoughtful, acting concerned about privacy, and taking others' feelings into account? Who are you and what have you done with Facebook?

Seriously, though, it's awesome that Facebook maybe cares a little bit about what its users actually think. Their announcement of the updates said that both the Data Use Policy and Statement of Rights and Responsibilities would receive new language that clarifies:

• How advertising works on Facebook
• What to expect when it comes to using your name, profile picture, content and personal info with ads or commercial content
• How to control or remove apps you've used
• What data you're sharing with mobile devices

The proposed updates were met with resistance from privacy groups, who asked the FTC to prevent Facebook from enacting the changes over concerns about how the social networking site handles user information for advertising. According to these groups, the new policy makes it easier for Facebook to use the data of its members for advertising without their consent.

"The Federal Trade Commission must act now to protect the interests of Facebook users," said a letter sent to the FTC and signed by officials from six groups, including the Electronic Privacy Information Center. "The right of a person to control the use of their image for commercial purposes is the cornerstone of modern privacy law."

The proposed new Data Use Policy states that Facebook will use the personal information supplied by users to provide more relevant advertisements. Unlike the previous Data Use Policy, which says "We do not share any of your information with advertisers (unless, of course, you give us permission)," the new policy says nothing about permission ("...we may use all the information we receive about you to serve ads that are more relevant to you."). It's a small change in language that means an awful lot.

Privacy groups now fear that actively giving permission is a thing of the past and that by using Facebook, your permission is automatically assumed. The real issue here is that companies like Facebook need to communicate in simple, plain language about how they handle users' data. Until that transparency is achieved, we have a long way to go.

Many of us agree that we can't live without our smartphones. It can even be addictive to check texts, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter through a handheld device which travels everywhere we go. No matter where we are, we are not alone. Our smartphones are by our sides.

According to a recent study conducted by JDate and ChristianMingle.com, our smartphone obsession has affected our dating behavior, too. Their report entitled Mobile's Impact on Dating and Relationships is based on an in-depth survey of 1,500 singles regarding their smartphone habits, and reveals an increased dependence on technology and expectations around how people prefer to communicate.

The study found that 55% of singles feel their mobile devices are making it easier to meet and get to know people for dating. A majority of 64% say that the quality of relationships with those they are dating has improved thanks to mobile technology.

Respondents also felt that it's less intimidating to ask someone on a date via text than by making a phone call. About 31 percent of men and 33% of women agreed, although respondents over the age of 43 said they prefer to ask someone out by phone instead of text. More men than women (44% compared to 37%) believe it's easier to flirt and get to know someone via text.

If you've had a good date, the majority of men and women say it doesn't matter who initiates contact, but it does matter how long it takes to respond. Forty-six percent of singles have become upset with someone they are dating over their text response time, with more women (52 percent) getting upset than men (40 percent). Seventy-eight percent of singles say they want to communicate within 24 hours after a first date, so goodbye three-date rule!

Daters are getting better about phone etiquette while on a date. Ninety-six percent keep their phones out of sight during a date, but beware if you excuse yourself to go to the bathroom - your date is probably checking her phone (or maybe posting a tweet or status update about your date)! Sixty-seven percent said they find a way to sneak a peek at their phones during a date.

It seems that our smartphone addiction is growing and won't be going away anytime soon. The study found that nearly 20% of all singles not only keep their phones on when they go to sleep, but also in bed with them.

Mobile technology has changed the way we date, as well as our expectations and accessibility. Sometimes though, it's okay to shut your phone off. Your date will appreciate it.

Have you been online dating a while? Do you feel like you aren't getting matched with the right people? Are you sending emails that get no responses? Rest assured, it's not you. But there are a few things you can do to help garner more interest online.

Often people think if they post a couple of pictures and answer basic profile questions, and then potential dates will come running. But this isn't the case - for most of us, we have to put in some effort in order to reap the results. So how do you attract more people to you?

Following are a few tips that are often overlooked when creating a profile or sending email messages. If you take the time to do these, you'll see better results:

Tell a story. There is a phrase writers often tell each other when crafting a good story: "show, don't tell." This means, instead of just saying "I like to mountain bike," provide some detail. Talk about your trip to southern California and how you rode through treacherous canyons and encountered snakes or coyotes along the way. You get the point. Tell a story, don't just make a statement. Make it come alive - then you have a conversation starting point.

Send more emails. How many emails should you send to potential dates every week? Five, ten, or twenty? Try fifty. If you aren't getting responses, it's because you aren't reaching enough people. Not everyone is going to respond to your email, no matter how great your profile may be. Be careful to not be generic, though. If you don't have the time to craft a lot of emails, then make the few you do send really count. Read the profiles of your potential dates, and talk about something they mentioned. Make your email stand out.

Have a friend look at your profile. Sometimes we can't be objective when we're trying to sell ourselves. We either think we're bragging, or we don't see ourselves in a clear enough light. Leave it to your friends to help tell you all of your wonderful qualities, or to help steer you away from revealing too much or talking about your ex. They can give you perspective and help you to shine.

Use a catchy subject line in your emails. This is important but overlooked. "Hey what's up?" isn't going to draw attention anymore than a blank subject line. Instead, headline with something she said in her profile. "Scuba diving in Costa Rica?" or "Would love to meet a Dodgers fan" can help in getting your email read.

Avoid the negatives. Maybe you had a bad break-up, or maybe you know exactly what you want to avoid in your next relationship. But your online profile is not the place to communicate it. Focus instead on the things you DO want - your interests, your home life, what you like to do on weekends. It's a new relationship, after all.

I haven't been this excited for a comeback since the Spice Girls reunion. Here's hoping the relaunch of the OkTrends blog lasts longer than the relaunch of everybody's favorite 90s pop girl group.

The disappearance of OkTrends, the quirky but insightful blog of OkCupid, was always a mystery to me. It dominated the web while it was active, and is undoubtedly one of the greatest marketing ideas ever deployed, but for some inexplicable reason the blog fell dormant.

"From August 2010 to April 2011," says Digiday.com, "OkTrends posts averaged a staggering 32,500 Facebook likes and 4,222 tweets." With OkCupid co-founder Christian Rudder at the helm, the blog took off and introduced the site to millions of new potential users. But then, shortly after IAC purchased OkCupid in 2011, OkTrends disappeared and many felt that the purchase was to blame.

Rudder, however, firmly denies the suggestion. He cites a lack of time due to other responsibilities at OkCupid and a new book he's writing, called Dataclysm, that's due out in fall 2014. Rudder promises the book will be "a superset of all the stuff I did on OkTrends." Digiday adds that the book is described as "a witty, provocative, visually fascinating look at how 'big data' is transforming our understanding of race, politics, age, beauty, sex, humor, even history, and ushering in a new era in the study of human nature."

Ok, count me in. Sounds like an intriguing read. But what about that OkTrends blog, huh? Sometimes I prefer to digest my information digitally. Why not just hire another writer to cover while Rudder finishes his book?

"This is just going to sound very self-serving, but I just don't know if that's possible," he says. "I'm in the unique position of being a founder of the site. I just know it so incredibly well...I just don't know how you find someone out there that can do it."

A little narcissistic, maybe, but the man's probably right. It would be a disappointment for all of us if the blog came back and was only half as good as the original. Do it right, or don't do it at all.

The good news is, OkCupid is going the "do it right" route. Rudder plans to rekindle the blog in March, after he's submitted the manuscript for Dataclysm, and he promises it's going to be better than ever.

"I'm excited about starting it back up again," he teased in Digiday. "I'm definitely going to try and bring a new little twist."

Choosing the right picture for your online dating profile is an art form.

Wait a minute, you don't even have a profile picture? Ok, let's start right there: get one. Stat. You're gonna need it.

Here's what you need to know to choose one that brings all the boys (and girls) to the yard:

1. Do take candids. Candid shots that convey less effort tend to get a better response than professionally posed pictures. On average, candids receive 2x the messages that professionally posed photos do.
2. Don't pose in the bathroom. Please, just don't. No one has ever looked good with grout in the background.
3. Do share your passions. Show off your personality in pictures instead of words. Upload shots of you engaging in your favorite hobbies, pastimes, and passions. Action shots lead to 3x the amount of interest and higher quality conversations.
4. Don't do duck face; do do a kissy face. If your lips are parted, people are 5% more likely to be attracted to you. On top of that, women are 32% more likely to be chosen by someone when they pucker their lips into a kissing face instead of just keeping them sealed.
5. Do wear red. Both men and women find those who wear red to be more sexually appealing. Rawr.
6. Do put on a happy face. I don't need to tell you that people aren't looking for angry or sad dates. People are 12% less likely to click on you if your profile picture expresses a negative emotional state.
7. Don't post huge group shots. It just gets confusing. If it's not obvious which one is you, it's not a good choice for your dating profile.
8. Do go for natural light. It's the most flattering, and could make you look as much as 10 years younger.
9. Do remove your glasses. Online daters are 28% less likely to click on your profile if you're wearing glasses in the picture.
10. Ladies: do make eye contact. Making eye contact and flirting directly with the camera gets the best response from potential suitors. Think "Myspace angle."
11. Men: don't make eye contact. Men get better responses when they are staring at something off in the distance with a charismatic smile. Think "I'm too cool for direct camera contact."
12. Do smile! People are 45% more likely to select profile pictures when the subject is smiling.
13. Do find the sweet spot. 3 photos is the ideal number. Profiles with 3 pictures receive up to 85% more messages than profiles with more or fewer.

Not to brag or anything, but I think we ladies have it pretty good when it comes to the dating game. Sure, everybody has their ups and downs, but if we look at the way things are often run around here, we definitely seem to come out ahead in the online dating world.

Josh Fischer, the Director of Product Insights at SNAP Interactive, the company that owns Are You Interested, put together a collection of charts that shows exactly how women have the advantage over men on online dating sites. Each chart examines the probability that men and women respond to messages given the age of the message's sender.

The likelihood that an American woman responds to a man on AYI.com drops significantly as the age gap between them increases. The younger the man is, relative to the woman, the better shot he has. The probability of receiving a response peaks when the man is 7-8 years younger than the woman, and steadily declines from there.

The likelihood that an American man responds to a woman on AYI.com varies much more, and the response rates across all age differences are far higher. In fact, it actually dips the lowest when the man is 7-8 years younger than the woman. Merge the charts together, and they don't ever cross paths. Not even once.

Over all, AYI's charts show that, when comparing men and women responding to people their own age, women respond to men 4% of the time while men respond to women around 18% of the time. In other words, the vast majority of messages go unanswered regardless of age or gender.

It also means that the average straight man will have to send 25 messages to women his own age in order to receive one response, while the average straight woman will have to send just 5 messages. Hardly fair, if you ask me.

According to BusinessInsider.com, these conclusions can also be drawn from the data:

• A straight man's best bet is to go the Mrs. Robinson route. The 8-10% chance that a woman 10-8 years older than a man will respond to a message is double the rate of his own peers.
• The New York Jets have better odds of going to the Superbowl this year than men of a certain age have of getting a response from a woman ten years younger. Ouch.
• At worst, there's a 1 in 6 chance a man will respond to a woman's message regardless of her age. So go for it, ladies - you've clearly got nothing to lose.