Tech-savvy seek dating help in online courses - Greta Kaul, Houston Chronicle

The 21st century version of the self-help book is an online course on how to get a date. And this is no tutorial on using Match.com but rather an online course — complete with a quiz and practice activities — in how to read body language and make good conversation. Udemy, an online course platform that enlists “everyday experts” to teach classes, helps people learn everything from programming to photography to marketing — and also how to approach the person you’re eyeing across the coffee shop. Udemy has seen its personal development offerings take off since about 2011, a year after it started, said Shannon Hughes, the company’s senior director of marketing. Though they’re a smaller share of the site’s course catalog, personal development classes are growing fast, and 77 of them — with nearly 52,000 students — cover dating and relationships. http://www.chron.com/business/article/Tech-savvy-seek-dating-help-in-online-courses-6192588.php