Eight-minute Dating isn't really about the site, it's about the parties, or "meets." One of many Speed Dating companies, 8-Minute Dating puts a bunch of men and a bunch of women* in a room and gives every man and every woman a chance to speak to each other--briefly. The theory is that you should be able to tell within the first few minutes whether or not someone is going to be right for you. Why commit yourself to an entire evening with someone when you know you're not into him or her from the get-go? Participants have eight eight-minute "dates." When they meet someone they like, they write his or her name down. After the event, they enter the names of the folks they liked, and if they like them back, they get each other's contact information.
D.G., a 54-year-old hetero man in NH, has been a member for two weeks and attended his first meet just a few days ago at Tom Doyle's in Boston. "The women were all professionals. I met an airline stewardess, a playwright, a nurse, an IT person and a Buddhist [DD: I didn't know you could be a professional Buddhist!], and then it gets blurry, as the more I drank the more I don't remember. Not that I drink all the time, but I am a very shy person. I had a blast, but unfortunately no one wanted to date me, so I'm still out of luck. Would I try it again? Yes."
J.M., a 40-year-old hetero woman from TX, tried 8-Minute Dating on the advice of a friend. "I have tried many online dating services, and so far this experience has been much better. I think meeting someone face-to-face is much faster and easier than trying to exchange emails and phone calls. I also think it helps with the honesty factor. I would do this again, and am thinking of dropping all my internet dating subscriptions. I feel that I can tell in eight minutes whether I would want to spend any more time with this person. (I am not sure I would try anything much shorter.) I have attended two events, and have been very successful meeting men this way. I would definitely recommend it to friends!"
My take? It's a fun concept, and might be good for an exciting evening once in a while, but I personally would find the pace too frantic. It could be a nice chance to sharpen your conversational skills, though.
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*some cities may have meets for gay men and lesbians. Visit Site
