Finally, the software gods have rescued us from our stalled, confused love lives by giving us so many new ways to meet, connect, and share what we want, feel, and mean. Or have they? Dating has never been simple, but in an age of IMs, text messages, e-mails, and BlackBerry notes, it can be an absolute minefield. How can you accurately judge a guy's potential when all you have to go on is his punctuation? What's the best way to maintain your witty, sassy rapport once you've decided to leave the safety of techno-anonymity and take your relationship off-line? When do you remedy a techno-gaffe or know if it's too early to hit send? And how can you gauge his feelings without seeing his body language or even hearing his voice?

Enough is enough. In The Joy of Text, real-life cyber-Cyrano Kristina Grish establishes hard and fast rules to help modern women navigate their love lives via technology; offers invaluable tips on how to analyze text, timing, and tone; and provides advice on etiquette in an age when the handwritten thank-you note is all but obsolete.