Around 2001, long before I met him, my (now) husband moved away from the US to work in a few different countries. Since this was before social media was ubiquitous (maybe there was Friendster?), he did what any internet savvy young person who wanted to share status updates and photos at the time would do...he started his own personal blog.
In 2005 we met at a friend's party. He was incredibly charming, very funny, and we had a lot in common, so I gave him my number when he asked. We planned a date for the following week.
Of course, in the days leading up to our date, I was super curious about him. I asked our mutual friend for more details, but the two of them had actually only met recently, so he didn't have much information to offer. It was at that point that I turned to the Internet for help. These days, it's expected that people will make good use of Google before a date. Heck, it's even pretty normal to mention to someone that you Googled them, depending on the social context of the situation. However, back then, Googling someone was considered a bit stalker-ish and definitely not something you'd bring up.
So I found that blog. Before we even had a first date, I knew all about his travels, his friends, his political opinions, and all the troubles he had during his recent breakup with his ex girlfriend. Luckily, his blog was also well written and hilarious. While it was definitely TMI for the level of relationship we had at that point, it actually made me like him more.
Fast forward to our first date. Somehow, I managed to go through the whole date without letting on that I had read the blog. I also didn't mention it on the second date or the third or the fourth...I decided that I wouldn't mention it until he told me about it himself. Which took about six months. So for six months I listened patiently while all the stories that I had already read about on his blog came up naturally in conversation. I kept wanting to say something, but I didn't want to embarrass him or scare him off.
When he finally told me about the blog and I confessed that I had already read it, he was shocked at first (his eyes got super wide and I think his mouth even hung open a bit), but then quickly recovered and thought it was the funniest thing ever.
We are celebrating our seventh wedding anniversary next month. I still think he's incredibly charming :)