Speeding through the first step?

Topic: Speed-dating: A little like entering the great wild?
Posted by: Aly Walansky

A friend and I (actually the friend I wrote about last week), decided to try our luck at the mystical world that is speed-dating last night.

If any of you are unfamiliar (and missed the Sex and the City episode devoted to it), you take turns telling the person across the table all the meaningful details about yourself, hoping that (if they are not too terribly strange) you might click enough to want to have a full date. You’ve got 3 minutes. Then a gong shrills, and your next date appears. Repeat. 40 times. If you are lucky, you may get a pee break.

We are talking serious marathon dating.

In the SATC plot, Miranda didn’t do well at all. Many people don’t - and then you ask yourself, do you really want to put yourself through 40 bad dates in one evening? Isn’t ONE enough?

As anyone who’s ever been single knows … when it rains it pours. Raining men, that is! We’ve all been there, suffering through a long dry spell - and then all at once, the heavens open up and send us a downpour of bow-wrapped manhood! You meet several hot dating prospects within a couple of weeks and have to juggle a bunch of guys at once. That is exactly what the scene is at speed dating, except it’s all blind dates, and you are obligated to be nice (for 3 minutes), before moving on.

Depending on the locale (I ended up at a downtown lounge complete with video arcades, stiff drinks and free Cosi on premesis), participants take their seats on sofas or long narrow bar tables. When the gong blows, your first 3-minute date has begun. The gong will blow every three minutes and the men get up and move to the next date. If you like the guy you’re talking to, you write his name on your score card and circle ‘Yes’. If you don’t want to see him again, you circle ‘No’. When the event is over, you enter in your own responses on the website. Everyone’s Yes’s and No’s are calculated, and if you “match” with a guy – meaning you said yes to him and he said yes to you, you receive each other’s email addresses. The next step is up to you! Very often the event will be centered around certain age groups or fields (say, creative people).

Sounds great, in theory - but all just a little intense for the average shy single. And so, the next day, it all seems a little like a whirlwind - friends attending together, one disappointed because the other got more matches than she did, and the girl who got lots of matches feeling somewhat confused...honestly not able to at this point pinpoint one guy against the other in her memory's annals.

So, I was wondering, what all of you thought of this dating "method". Is there a way to best make it work for you?

Comments

[rachel]

Speed dating scares me - you just can't get that good of a read on someone in so little time. 10% of sex offenders use online dating, so if you are speed dating 20 in an evening, there might be 1 or 2 sex offenders at the table - yikes!

[Kait]

"I wanted to share with everybody that I found a great way to meet guys through Precision Dating. The guys I met were able financially secure, stable men with good careers and good values, and eventually I met the one I'd been looking for my whole life!"http://www.precisionspeeddating.org

[Hakuna]

If you go with a girl, it'll greatly improve your success ratio. And speed dating is a great way to get over come your social phobia of approaching girls. Eventually you become desensitized to that fluttering you feel in your stomach before an approach, and you can talk to girls with relative ease and exude confidence.

[Indian Dating Sites]

Personally I believe you've either got to go all-in, Ultimate Intensity and Here Is My Heart or trawl the Internet's road stops and forgotten byways looking for anonymous sexual encounters with like-minded strangers.

Speed dating is cool but does not give the full impression.

[Mobimasterminds]

Speed dating is no longer just a in-person thing. It's a mobile thing. Mobile Speed Dating is hot. One company offering such services is DatingSource.mobi. Check it out at www.datingsource.mobi.

[Queenie]

I have never gone to a speed-dating event before. It kind of sounds like fun but I'm outgoing, I can see how it might make a shy person pee their pants. I'm not sure if I could keep up with the speed of the event. I mean, I'm down for some speed-humping but not sure about the dating party! Humpy Humpy!

[Lee]

Hey There

Enjoyed reading the site it was very interesting, will defo be coming back to read updates in the future

Keep up the good work

[PETER Hopkins]

Hello,
I have read similar over the past weeks and tend to agree with your comments however let’s see what will happen over time. I very much enjoyed reading your piece though.
Thanks, Peter

[Get Laid]

I personaly think speed dating is just a fun night out, I've been on quite a few in the past and I realy enjoyed the night.

[Peter]

Speed dating ?? What ever happened to getting to know each other and having relationships grow over time. I believe that is why so many dating and personals websites are so popular as it allows members to chat and get to know each other over time even before they meet. Speed dating can never really work as one approaches it with a list of requirements and as a result so many really good candidates are overlooked who do not meet all the listed requirements.

[Maurice]

speaking of speeding on your first step, try speeding when you only have a minute left to win a million dollars with your loved one...thats Minute to Win it for ya!

[Nic]

I tried speed dating. Pretty much a wast of time. Anyone else I knew that tried it also had pretty much the same opinion

[Dance Singles]

Speed dating is a good idea and a great way of spending an evening.

We're trying to make it less pressurised by combining dating and dancing at our new site - Dance Singles

[Dating With Herpes]

I guess Speed dating could be thrilling, fun, interensting, disastrous, irritating ...it really depends on your experience and who you meet. Nice concept in today's busy life!

[Russian Dating]

I think as any other method of dating, speed dating can work for some people. Besides it's pretty exciting. Always wanted to try it! But already married, lol!

[Russian Dating]

I think that as any other type of dating, speed dating can work for some. Besides it's very exciting. I have always wanted to try it. But I'm already married, lol!

[Katelynn Esquibell]

Personally, I don't know of anyone who has developed a successful relationship from speed dating.

How can you know if a person is a good match for you after only 5 minutes of conversation and 39 other encounters?

In 5 minutes, it's easy to present yourself in a way other than how you really are. With no time to explain each story, it wouldn't be hard to embellish or tell the other person what you think they want to hear.

I think it'd be fun to try, but I'd never expect a genuine relationship to stem from speed dating.

[Getboyfriendback]

Speed dating can be a ton of fun if you don't go into it with too many expectations. The more relaxed you are, and the less you try to impress people, the better you'll come off in general.

[eritrean women]

My experience with speed dating is that it basically is people judging each other by there physical features. But that is what dating is all about because you are first attracted to someone through there looks. That is why I love speed dating.

[Julie]

Thanks for this blog, very informative and I enjoyed reading on it

[Julie]

You can try also this speed dating sites which are totally free.

Totally Friends Sites where you can call or email beautiful women for FREE, No Registration needed.

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http://www.darlingasian.com
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[Neil Ward]

Speed dating is actually a revolutionary concept in what is now the new era in social dynamics. I have been going to speed dating events for the past 2 years now, more for research purposes but also to meet women too. I found that it was a great way to meet a vast amount of women in a very short space of time. No messing around, no long dinner dates, no other hang ups. If you don't like the person sat opposite you, no big deal, they will be gone in a few minutes!

Most of us can tell if we like a person physically in the first few seconds anyway, then within a couple of minutes we will know if we are connecting and clicking. In my opinion, it's a great way to meet people, and worse case scenario is that you meet some new friends. A good return on investment for the time and money.

Neil,

[Tiffany]

Hi, nice blog (found you in Top Dating Blogs You Should Be Reading) , But I found you need to find someoen you have a clear commonality with. I love to read and met my fiancee via BookLoversDating.com there are a whole bunch of others, but I like to read and he can! lol

[jane]

nothing to be ashamed off but i did like this new dating site launched here in australia. Its called 247dating.co

check the site if you want to find true love.

[Friend]

i don't know about you but i definately like this site too Jane.

Of course every dating site seems like ok but this one is really good.

just check out this www.247dating.co