I was recently asked if online dating was a dying trend. This may sound ridiculous; it's difficult to get a good fix on how much the online dating industry is worth but even conservative estimates put it at around the £700,000,000 (not far short of a billion) mark in the UK alone. And usage is growing. An estimated 60% of singles have tried online dating.
Research conducted at the California Institute of Technology has found that people make speed dating decisions based on a combination of two different factors that are related to activity in two distinct parts of the brain.
I don't normally use my time off to research work related topics but I'd recently begun to wonder what the rest of the world thought about speed dating. I'd heard that many still see it as a little odd, if not sad and desperate. Where, I thought, are they getting this misinformation?
Have you heard the one about the guy who walked into a bar?
There are some men who tread their own path, who carve a way through life unique from all those around them. To you sirs, wherever you are, I salute you. I have had the privilege of meeting many of you because you are the ones who attend Speed Dating events, often alone because you are a pioneer, a trend-setter, a man amongst boys.
Who wouldn't want a job where you get to meet such a broad spectrum of professionals from all sorts of backgrounds?
One of the most effective aspects of speed dating is the fact that time is so limited. It is one of the reasons it appeals to so many people; you don't have to spend a great deal of time meeting a large number of new people, and if you meet one you don't like the date will be over swiftly without the awkwardness associated with a typical blind date.
Following a surge in popularity of speed dating in the early 2000s, fuelled in part by its glamorisation in popular TV shows and the media, the speed dating boom subsided and gave way to a rise in internet dating websites.
It's been rather a long time coming but today we're delighted to unveil our brand new website and branding, so whadaaya you think?
I've learnt always to exercise caution when I am urged to try out the latest US-inspired fad. For every Myla Pearl thong there are a dozen boob tubes and day-glo leg warmers cluttering up the dark corners of my wardrobe.
A short story about the travails of speed dating in London by Kelly Roberts.
The beauty of Speed Dating London lies in its no-nonsense approach. You take an equal number of single girls and guys, put them in a room and give them a few minutes to chat with every other member of the opposite sex.
Original speed dating events in London normally begin at 7.30pm. You will need to register with our hosts and to begin with they will issue you with a score sheet. This will help you to keep track of the singles that you would like to meet again and perhaps go on a date with. After a short period of mingling, your host for the evening who will run through detailed instructions and give you your starting position if you are a guy or table for the event if you are a girl.
A London speed dating event is split into two halves, each lasting around an hour, there will be an interval at half time of about 15 minutes for speed dating London. You will have between 4 and 5 minutes with each person, after which you need to tick a box on your score sheet - "yes, I would like to meet this person again" or "no. Thanks but no thanks". Or "friend" if you'd like to get to know them platonically. Make sure that you do this after each date to keep track. Afterwards there is an opportunity for everyone to meet and mingle informally - this is often where the real action begins, so make sure you don't disappear too quickly!
After the event you simply tick who you liked on the Original Dating website and the site works about your matches automatically. If the dates you have ticked as a "yes" have reciprocated you have a match. You will be able to view the first names and message them via our site online without revealing your email address until you are ready to. You'll be having proper first dates in no time.