Singles Event aka "The Marketplace"

Apparently I'm on numerous email lists, you know the famous "OORAH's 7 night 7 flights", the tzedaka organizations, the "OnlySimchas" autoemails, which then leads to sawyouatsinai updates as well as various others such as frumster and now sasson v'simcha.

I usually just delete them or skip over them, marking them as "Read" and move along to the more important emails. However, I have now been informed that not only do 'singles' get these emails, as there are too many addresses to filter, so they just send it out to a mass email list!

I got lucky on that factor-since one of my elderly family members gets email :) yay for skype to keep parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles in touch via videocalls! Well, this family member got an email from this singles organization informing them about the Singles event which is to take place shortly. Immediately after reading the email, they were extremely bothered.

Here, I thought I was going to get heck and be URGED, if not BEGGED to go to these events (which is why I WAS happy that this goes thru email and not any other publicity that any family or family friends or well-wishers would see!), but this relative was actually UPSET about this kind of event. I was told that shidduchim is not a 'marketplace' where you go to 'advertise your goods', so to speak.

In hindsight, I was like-ya it is...we're all 'on the market' and our resumes are like 'our flyers' and shadchans are our 'sales reps'. Making calls to references is our 'research' and/or 'background check' on the product before purchase, aka 'agreeing to a date'. Going to meet a shadchan is like 'advertising your product' aka ourselves, and doing 'PR' for ourselves.

That got me thinking.....there are toy shows, comic book shows, jewellery shows, food shows, why not make a 'Singles Show'? or would that be considered 'not tznius'? See who can come up with the most eyecatching booth, with the most creative marketing ploy, with the best gimmick or with the best freebie to advertise their product.

So do I agree with this relative-DEFINITELY! It IS a marketplace-but isn't that the point!?