High-Speed Speed Dating
SpeedDate.com attempts to adapt the popular singles icebreaker for the Web, sending its members on three-minute online dates.
VIDEO: Watch how SpeedDate.com sets up its members on three-minute online speed dates.
Page 2 of 2 -- A self-described shy guy, Contreras is disappointed the site hasn’t helped him meet more women closer to his school.
“It sets you up on random speed dates that are nowhere near you,” he complains.
Tisminezky acknowledges the long-distance speed dates sometimes occur when members live in less-populated areas or log on during late-night hours.
“People might go on at two in the morning, and there might not be that many people on,” he explains. “We still want to give them live dates, so we sometimes extend the filter in terms of miles to a pretty wide range for the live dates.”
Bryce, who declines to give his last name, has gone out with a fellow Arizona State student he met on SpeedDate. However, the 19-year-old from Tempe expresses frustration at the number of “cam girls” on the site.
“They’re like the online version of a stripper,” he says. “They flirt with you then they go and be like, ‘Hey come watch me on cam at this site for five bucks a month or something.’”
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Tisminezky is aware of the problem and says that the site is trying to block the “cam girls” as best it can.
“These people are like cockroaches,” he says. “They get reported, but then they open up a new account.”
Tisminezky’s ultimate goal is to one day have SpeedDate be as prominent as online dating powerhouses Match.com and eHarmony.com
Yet despite the rise of more interactive forms of Internet dating, established sites seem not to have been affected thus far. Membership at eHarmony grew by 20 percent last September, while Match saw a 17 percent jump in December alone, according to the TODAY show.
Still, Match and eHarmony should be learning from SpeedDate.com’s platform, according to Brooks.
“I think they need to add similar functionality to their sites, but I think they found it lowered their monetization when they tried it in the past,” he says.
Dating expert Renee Piane agrees that Match and eHarmony will eventually have to rethink their site strategies in order to stay relevant in the communication age.
“It’s a matter of keeping up with the technology,” says Piane, who is also president of the country’s “first non-denominational speed dating service,” Rapid Dating, and a consultant for Los Angeles matchmaking organization Elite Connections.
Piane calls SpeedDate’s model “fabulous,” particularly for tech-savvy teens and young adults. However, she believes more traditional dating businesses, like matchmaking and speed dating party organizations, will continue to thrive among older singles seeking more personalized service.
“Those in their 30s and 40, they want to meet face to face… and get it over with,” she says. “For people really serious about finding a relationship, matchmaking is the way to go, because we take all of the work out of it for you.”
Yet, Tisminezky knows of users who have met their spouses on his site. He also estimates around 300 former members chose the “met my soul mate on SpeedDate” option when deactivating their accounts.
As for Lindsey, she didn’t meet her soul mate on SpeedDate. Instead, she found him next door when she moved into a new apartment building. However, she strongly recommends online speed dating for outgoing singles looking to jump-start their love lives.
“I’m an in-person kind of person, so it kind of helped break the ice,” she says of SpeedDate. “I think it’s a cool way to meet people right away. Two hearty thumbs up!”
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