Speed dating is being marketed as a melding of the best of both online and offline dating. Combining elements of traditional matchmaking with some of the frenzy of a game of musical chairs, participants get 3-8 minutes with a variety of potential mates, sometimes 25 people in a single evening. At the end of the night, they decide whether any are actually date-able. The other party has to agree, of course, for any future get-together to take place. Event organizers can make $1,000 and event, it’s claimed.

It’s better at these events to be male than female. Men are less apt to attend because they often don’t feel like they need help, even if they really do, according organizers. Then there is the potential for public humiliation. While some companies hold their events in private rooms or rent out entire bars, others meet in the public sections of lounges.

The online dating services leader has taken notice of this hot segment and is in on the act as well. In January 2004, Match.com announced the launch of Online SpeedMatching (onlinespeedmatching.com), the first integrated online/telephone speed dating experience enabling singles to easily meet and talk to a series of dates without having to leave the house 

With Online SpeedMatching, Match.com members login to an electronic pre-scheduled SpeedMatching session on the Internet where they may participate in 4 to 8 dates per session. Online SpeedMatching participants engage in a secure, four-minute “Get to know you” phone conversation with their first date before rotating to the second and third date, etc. During each phone conversation, a profile complete with age, location, a brief biography and photo of their date is displayed on their computer screen.

Match.com also offers live and local SpeedMatching through its offline events business, MatchLive.com. Currently available in 47 cities, with plans to expand in 70 cities in the U.S. and internationally by March, 2004, SpeedMatching is an interactive live events program that allows singles to engage in 25 mini-dates during the evening. Online SpeedMatching members register online and are able to attend an unlimited number of scheduled events for a monthly subscription fee of $24.95. The fee is discounted to $14.95 for current Match.com subscribers.