HurryDate is a speed dating company. They organize real-life parties in popular bars all over the country. Local singles can have up to 25 three-minute dates in the course of the evening. (They also have a standard personals site, where you can create a profile for free, and meet people there.) Of course they don’t expect you to make major life decisions concerning a person you’ve only interacted with for the length of the average commercial break. The idea is to see if there’s chemistry. This can be more efficient and painless than taking the time to correspond with someone online for possibly weeks, only to finally meet him or her in person and realize there’s no spark.
After each three- to seven-minute date, the host blows a whistle. The daters indicate on their SCOREcards(TM) whether they would like to see each person again. If you and your beloved both mark “yes,” they’ll tell you, and then you can email each other on the website. (But things stay anonymous until you’re ready to reveal more.) HurryDate is the only speed-dating company to offer online profiles, so it’s easier for participants to remember each other afterwards. You can also search for people on the website, so you can even have the chance to meet folks who haven’t attended the parties you did. Subscribers to the site receive discounts to all HurryDate parties.
The HurryDate people say that their parties “have a distinctly different feel than similarly styled events -- they attract a fun, friendly, cosmopolitan crowd of professionals and are consistently organized in a familiar format with twists of local flavor.” HurryDate has events in more than 65 cities across the United States, Canada and the UK for multiple ages, ethnicities and religions, and for gay and straight folks.
A paid membership on the website allows you to initiate e-mail contact with other members, but everything else on HurryDate Online is free (i.e. browsing and creating profiles, sending
"drinks," replying to others' e-mails, etc.). The website actually acts a lot like a regular dating site, so you can use it perfectly well without ever attending a party. I was bummed out not to find a "Pagan" option on the religions list, since they consider themselves so cosmopolitan. The profile multiple-choice questions are thoughtful, relevant, and very thorough. Their matching method reminds me of OK Cupid, because it allows you to answer multiple-choice questions for yourself as well as for your ideal partner. There are also two essays, “you” and “what you’re looking for.” As usual, I was disappointed, and amazingly enough, still surprised, to see how few members took advantage of this opportunity to really show and sell themselves.
I like how they ask you to post a question for people to answer when they email you. It's a great icebreaker idea, and they make it very easy for you to answer them with an “answer me” link. I also like the “See how cute you look together” feature that puts your photo next to that of the person you’re reading about.
Party matches and profile matches are in separate sections.
They also have virtual HurryDate parties – a great idea for folks who are shy, live too far away from the live parties, or have kids and can’t get out.
The “SetUps” feature is pretty cool, too. After you start attending parties, the computer will have a good idea of what types of people you’re drawn to, because of who you circle “yes” for. It also gets information based on your common “yeses” with other folks of your gender. In other words, if you (Harry) and Rob both liked Draco and Neville, then Rob goes to another party and fancies Rupert, chances are that you’ll like Rupert too. So next time you log in, they suggest Rupert to you.
I heard from P.D.F., a 40-year-old gay man from GA. He said, “I am considered a good-looking guy, and prior to Hurrydate, had been on a very well known online dating service for a couple of months with no real success. A friend mentioned that he was going to ‘that three-minute dating event called Hurrydate’ for gay singles, and would I go with him for moral support? I made a date for the next event at a popular local bar. I had a great time, there were a lot more people than I had expected, the ages varied, and a lot of very attractive professional men were there for the very same reason I was: to have fun and possibly meet someone. I was a ‘mover,’ which means I had to go from table to table and chat with a bunch of strangers... for three minutes each!....No problem! I had a blast, ended up meeting my partner one year and seven months ago. We live together and thank God every day that we were able to find one another through Hurrydate. Anyone who tries this service has zero to lose and everything to gain. Its easy to sign up, and most of all its fun!!! My one and only bit of advice is ‘be yourself.’ I know that sounds like a big old cliche, but it’s true!”
