Speed Dating

usually need to pay. or fill out some psyche profile thing if thought a school.

There is always a level of BS in these posts, especially since I'm not an expert on dating or whatever (maybe I'm a nerd expert though) but today's might have an extra special amount of BSing and speculation since the topic is speed dating which I have never done. (I was going to try it for research purposes but I didn't want to spend the money!!)

Why am I writing about something I never tried? B/c someone asked me too and b/c it is an interesting topic and I've read some stuff on it and talked to some friends about their experiences and seen a bunch of examples on tv. Hee!

So here's the breakdown for people who don't know what speed dating is, generally speed dating is broken up into age categories like 20-30, 30-40 etc. When you attend an event there should be at least dozens of people there. When the dates start, women usually sit in a row and men rotate every 5-8 minutes (the amount of time depends on the venue). In those 5-8 minutes or so, you are expected to introduce basic information and essentially gauge your interest in meeting this person again. You mark yes or no next to their name on a card. If you both have marked yes, at the end of the event, the organizers will share your contact info.

Sounds like a good way to meet a lot of potential dates right? Yes and no. I think that for geeks, speed dating isn't a great way for us to find potential dating partners. Most of the time, we aren't impressive in first impressions and speed dating is all about first impressions. Our strength lies in the fact that we're good people and that takes a while to become evident. Also part of first impressions is being really good looking (again think of Chase from that episode of House). Not that we're bad looking, I'm just saying that geek shirts and pale skin from being indoors isn't necessarily prized.

I think that online dating is probably a better venue for us since it provides us time to put up better photos of ourselves and we have more time to think about responses rather than being super witty on the fly. And for people who are more introverted and used to communicating electronically, meeting people online can be more comforting.

I don't think speed dating is necessarily cheaper than online dating either. I've heard there are free speed dating things at universities sometimes. In exchange for the event, you have to fill out a survey or something. And I've heard that a library in southern Orange County also hosted a free speed dating event too about a year ago, but when I did some research to possibly attend an event, it looked like most places charge about $35 to register for an event.

So in my opinion, I think save your $35 and stay home from speed dating. Unless you're outgoing with good social skills and pretty good looking, I think that speed dating is not an effective way for geeks to meet people.