Well honestly I do not do OLD cuz i think it is mostly a big grind and waste of time. The conversion rate is really low vs the hours you need to put in chatting etc. I like IRL betters so i don't have this issue really.
You're doing it the right way. However, cold approaching is also a time suck with a low conversion rate. On the whole, cold approaching is better. The best thing is to put together a solid social circle.
Women go on MANY bad first dates so she's also looking to save time and $. Back in the "old days" of dating like 10-20 years ago, some women wanted to talk on the phone first. I always hated this but if she was hot I'd do it but then cut the call after about 10-15 minutes and say I had to go and try to set up a real date if I liked her.
Men go on MANY bad first dates too. The outcome of most app sourced first dates is "one date, no sex, no second date". That's a total waste.
I remember the phone call era of website dating in the 2000s. That seemed to die by the early 2010s when women stopped answering phone calls or returning phone calls. It seemed to add an unneceesary complication to an already challenging process.
I don't think video chats are a bad thing. You as a man don't want to waste your time so it is possible a video chat would screen out a bad date and save you time and money.
However, the better option is cold approaching.
