In Milwaukee we can easily order Pizza Shuttle, take accredited college classes, and pay our rent online.

Cruising for our dating prospects is an obvious progression. Except while we feel no guilt for ordering three pepperoni pizzas at 3 a.m, the idea of dating online froths with guilt.

This guilt found me when I was on the reciprocating end of a coming out. Gwen admitted that she's been living a secret life, in shame of anyone finding out.

Gwen admitted to prospecting dates online.

I couldn't figure out why she was so embarrassed by this confession. This was the same girl who admitted to having a Rod Stewart haircut in the '90s.

Many of us live daily with our health records, banking, shopping binges and "entertainment" all happening online. So should we feel embarrassed about dating online?

Milwaukee, like many larger cities, is very geographically segmented landscape. And if you're like me, you tend to stay in your "zone" for errands like Wal-Mart trips, picking up Chinese food, and filling your gas tank.

I'm typically not going to drive to Brookfield from the East Side for a gallon of milk.

Online dating broadens your geographical scope or your "zone" of possibilities. Using the Internet to increase your dating net makes a smart dater, not an embarrassing one.

Online profiles also give daters the upper hand in knowing what their prospects are more accurately like. Through the online profiles you can gain insight to peoples priorities, previous relationships and family life.

It can sometimes take weeks to filter through this information when initially dating. Weeding through prospects by areas like these can be a time saver thus smart dater.

Although there is one trail that will always lead to "virtual" embarrassment and that is profile tweaks.

Exaggerating things like age, weight, profession or other "measurements" is ridiculous if you ever plan on meeting in person.

Andy, a serial online dater and close friend, met a man after chatting online a few times. But the man who answered the door wasn't the "athletic, fit, well groomed 25-year-old" that the online profile announced.

Andy can only presume this man had been using his prom picture circa 1976.

Stories like these are far from new. Anyone you talk to with has a cautionary dot com horror story. "Dateline" would have us believe that liars and predators lurk around every virtual corner.

But there are always people who lie, especially when it comes to dating. In the world of dating, gay or straight, the landscape is riddled with people who tweak with or without the help of the Internet.

The Internet continually changes our outlooks on how we learn, pass time and even pay our electric bill. We shouldn't be ashamed or scared because we're using it to cruise for dates online.

If you're using the Internet honestly and wisely, without tweaking, it's a great tool for getting connected to other people.

So, be proud and come out of that virtual dating closet.